Tag Archives: NFL Draft

NFL Draft

Top 10 linebackers of the 2024 NFL Draft:

After starting our positional draft rankings series with the running backs a couple of days ago, we look at the guys lining up across from them in the linebackers. Once again, I’ll be going through my top ten along with a couple of names that just missed the cut, discussing individual skill-sets, bringing up relevant measurables and statistics, potential scheme fits and how I personally value them as prospects.

Similarly to the running backs, this group lacks real top-end talent, most likely with no linebacker going in the first round, but it’s a fairly deep class with a good ten names who could be long-term starters in the NFL along with some guys who present intriguing skill-sets to be developed and/or fit in a specific role. Since it’s a relevant topic right off the bat here, let me remind you that I don’t have any access to medical reports or personal backgrounds beyond what’s freely available (which the NCAA doesn’t make a whole lot public). So my evaluations are all based on what the tape tells me, without being able to fully judge ancillary factors.

This is what my list looks like:

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NFL Draft

Top 10 running backs of the 2024 NFL Draft:

It’s that time of the year! We’re just over six weeks away from the start of the 2024 NFL draft and I will spend that time presenting my top-ten prospects at every single position with in-depth evaluations, alternating between offense and defense with counterparts so to speak. I will talk about individual skill-sets, bring up relevant measurables and statistics, potential scheme fits and about where I personally value those names.

We’re kicking things off – as always – with the running backs (meaning linebackers will follow on Friday). This class lacks big names at the top, but it’s a very deep class, where we could see a run start once the first name comes off the board around the top-50 and we probably see over 20 guys get the call overall.

Let’s get straight into the list:

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College Football, NFL Draft

Biggest risers and fallers from the 2024 NFL combine

The 2024 NFL scouting combine is in the books and I’m here to tell you helped or hurt their draft stock working out in front of decision-makers across the league.

While you have to be cautious about what to do with that new information and what those testing numbers mean, they give us a reason to compare how things match up with the tape and if a couple of prospects are closely graded, this can be the decisive factor for how they ultimately stack up.

I present to you one name at each position that is currently on the rise and fall each:

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NFL Free Agency

One free agent each NFL team should target for 2024:

We’ve arrived at the NFL offseason and while the new league year doesn’t official start until March 13th, the franchise/transition tag period was opened on Tuesday and we can already speculate on where pending free agents could end up.

So I took on the exercise of going through all 32 NFL teams listed by effective cap space, talk about some overarching decisions ahead of them and matched each with one player about to hit the open market!

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College Football, NFL Draft

Biggest standouts from the 2024 college all-star events:

The 2023/24 NFL season has come to a close, but we immediately transition into draft season, as all 32 teams have their eyes set on which young talent they want to bring in as their quest to Super Bowl 59 starts.

Some key events of the calendar have already taken place, when many of the top prospects tried to impress scouts and decision-makers across the league across multiple college all-star events. I did watch the Hula and Tropical Bowl games, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll be focusing on the Shrine and Senior Bowl. For the participants there, I already had done some background work and could contextualize what I saw across three days of practice plus the actual games.

I’ll discuss the ten players on offense and defense each, who impressed me the most and should be moving up draft boards thanks to their performances – I actually ended up going with ten each for both events. At the end, I listed several other players who helped themselves during the early stages of the process.

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NFL Rookies

NFL All-Rookie team 2023/24:

The regular season has come to a close and after 17 games, it’s time to talk about what players were able to show in their first years as pros. Therefore, I put together my annual NFL All-Rookie team, consisting of a starting lineup on offense and defense, along with six “key backups”.

Just like the All-Pro teams this year, I decided to add a 12th spot to offense and defense, along with the classic four special-teamers. However, I took a little more freedom with that, since only two rookie fullbacks saw extended run (Cowboys’ Hunter Luepke and Saints’ Adam Prentice) and I thought there were more deserving players along the defensive front than an additional slot defender, since I already went with nickel personnel.

Let’s get into it:


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NFL Draft, Storylines around the NFL

A look ahead to the top half of the 2024 NFL Draft:

We’ve arrived at the week of Thanksgiving and since I’m in a generous, giving mood, I decided to give something to look forward to for fanbases of the teams that aren’t currently projected to be factors in the playoff picture. And while this includes a couple of teams from the NFC South, that could ultimately still host a playoff game due to the division they’re in, and two .500 teams from the AFC, I think when you look at the list of teams, they all still lack certain elements, which the best way to acquire those is with high draft picks.

I will start by quickly listing the current draft order – if the season ended today – then share my general bird’s-eye view of the upcoming class, before we work our way through each team, shortly discussing their overall state and how they may already look ahead to February through April with their scouting staffs to some degree.

The cut-off for the teams discussed here is pick 16, which makes sense considering the next teams up would be the Bengals and Bills before we get to the current playoff seeds – Cincinnati may have a couple of uncomfortable decisions to make in free agency but were on pace to be one of the most dangerous groups in the AFC, while Buffalo is still very much in the thick of things with the way they looked this past Sunday and being just half a game back from the number seven seed.


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Storylines around the NFL

Analyzing the 2023 trade deadline moves:

The NFL trade deadline for 2023 has come and gone. Unfortunately, we didn’t get as much action altogether as last year, nor did we have legit superstars being moved. Most frustrating among the names everybody wanted to see with a change of scenery was Davante Adams, whose frustration in Las Vegas has continued to grow and since then the names at the top of the operation have been let go. However, we did see a few contenders make potentially crucial additions and also a couple of surprises on Halloween.

So now I want to take a look at those eight trades that went down this week, talk about the compensation and break down what those mean for both sides. I did not include Kevin Byard being shipped from Tennessee to Philadelphia for a bag of chips a week prior, because Eagles GM Howie Roseman yet again was able to acquire a veteran DB that should be a key pieces at a position of need for way under market value.

Let’s focus on the rest of the list now:


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College Football

The top five college players at each position in 2023:

Three weeks into the 2023 college football season, I decided it was time to give an overview of the landscape and list my top players in the nation right now, going through each position. Generally I tried to stick with five or six names – if there was a tie for number five – but for some of these I felt the need to quickly outline one other player, who I struggled with ranking due to different circumstances, but looked at as worthy of bringing up in this discussion.

Please bear in my mind that I look at this through the lens of where these guys are right now at the college level, rather than evaluating them as NFL Draft prospects – there’ll be plenty of time for late from February until the end of April and beyond – although I may mention certain qualities/question marks that will ultimately be discussed further. So look at this as “If I had to play a college game today, who would I pick for my team?”. I went a little further in depth about the quarterbacks, while trying to give more of a general understanding of the other positions.

And just a quick note – some players that were in the running for me when I started putting together this list before the season kicked off, but haven’t yet played at all or have gotten hurt and therefore didn’t qualify – QB Michael Pratt (Tulane), WR Zakhari Franklin (Ole Miss), WR Ladd McConkey (Georgia), TE Brant Kuithe (Utah), LB Jestin Jacobs (Oregon) and SAF Rod Moore (Michigan).

Let’s get into the list:


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Storylines around the NFL

Most pivotal situations of the 2023 NFL season:

Only two weeks away from the 2023 NFL season being kicked off, I decided highlight some situations across the league that are highly volatile and I’m most interested in how they work out. These can be players, team units or coaches heading into crucial years. Altogether I came up with eight questions I’m waiting to have answered.

Just two quick disclaimers:
– Obviously how Deshaun Watson might bounce big for the Browns will be key, but I wanted to focus on different topics, without any off-field implications
– And I had already recorded this before the 49ers lost Taco Charlton to IR

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