Nelius

I thought this thing went off the rails about 3 minutes in with Cousins at #99. The posterboy for QB purgatory, let's give that guy some claps. Seems like Poyer's gonna get slighted. What a shame, he's easily top 100. Maybe they slide him in top 50, that wouldn't be too outlandish but it feels too high. Cousins, Mac Jones, various random 49ers, but no Poyer is something.

The Saints?! I read a lot of offseason nonsense and this might be the first time I've seen anybody rate them, let alone that high. Bucky just throwing Michael Thomas out there as guaranteed elite as if the last 2 years didn't happen. I know there's been some chatter about how good he looks in practice but shouldn't you at least mention the fact that he hasn't really played in years if ranking the offense that high? Olave's also a rookie and he's mentioning him like he's Tee Higgins dependable. Terrible take all around.

I don't think it is at all. There's been a surprising amount of creeping offseason Jets hype. They had a good draft and every talking head wants Saleh to succeed. It's a huge blow if your 2nd year QB goes down, and Mike White ain't gonna do it.

Wild. Felt a lot quicker than Haack too, perfectly in sync. Also very interested to see a 30 yard coffin kick when it counts but I haven't been this excited about a punter in my life.

Been saying this myself and couldn't agree more. QB depth after about 30th best in the league is abysmal, we're lucky to even have a guy with some solid experience. This is why the conversation about he who shall not be named keeps popping up, and rightfully so, there are some terrible QBs hanging on to rosters right now. Nathan Peterman still showed up in a game today in 2022. And he looked very much like Nathan Peterman, yet he'll probably still be on a roster Week 1, because to your point there is nobody. Fitz would be an upgrade but I'm assuming he's not an option until he says otherwise. Other than Fitz there is nobody.

Got a nice Allen one courtesy of my better half. That's the go to. Also got a similarly nice Mario Williams hahaha, cheaper Reeboks or whatever of Poszlusny and Stevie J, and then a really old cheap relic Kelly that I wear most often. They all fit me weird, especially around the neck. Still hoping to properly grow into the Allen jersey at 43 years old.

I don't really get it. He certainly can't run like he used to which makes him pretty much the most boring QB in the league. Stats support it as well, he's been awful since Buffalo. Feels like they're prepping for a tank if Jones doesn't light it up out of the gate. What better guy to show up every week and lose on his way to a 3-14 season than Tyrod Taylor in 2022?

These Browns are kind of a mess huh? I've still seen some recent forecasts with them in the playoffs, I don't quite see how with all of the recent developments. Gonna be weird in Cleveland this year. Between Cleveland and Denver's reported early struggles (Patrick out for the year, linebacker issues, gonna trust Jeudy as a real #1 even a #2?) the AFC is already shuffling around a bit. If both Denver and Cleveland fail to deliver, then like 90% of all talking heads are already incorrect. Watch out for Las Vegas, seriously.

I mentioned several, but it's all good man. No real need for the testy exchange, I've backed my reasoning for not liking the Pack this year, and respect your take. I will enjoy Rodgers missing the playoffs if it happens, and I personally think it will happen. It also seems like injuries and missing multiple starters has been a serious ongoing issue for them as well, and there's no guarantee that they'll suddenly fix that this year. Your list of injured star players doesn't necessarily inspire confidence that all will return to their previous peak forms, quite the opposite actually. And yes, give me Dawson Knox over Robert Tonyan all day. May peruse the books to see if I can even wager on it. Barring injury, Knox will have a better year statistically.

Board seems to agree but I don't know man. I think I'm betting all unders on the Pack this year. I'm not sold on AJ Dillon, they have no WR. People act like Tonyan is some threat but he did nothing last year and was Dawson Knox lite the year before, he's no bedrock guarantee that you build an offense around. That entire offense is going to be terrible, not just the WR. Why such confidence in a poor offense, old QB, and clearly confused front office?

Cool article, thanks for sharing. Rooting for Mitch. Chicago's kind of been a mess for awhile, and he's a still a who knows with a good attitude and mental in my book. Regarding missing Daboll, I'm hoping that Dorsey just follows his lead but lets it fly even a little more loose since his role is new and Allen's really assuming control. Why wouldn't the Daboll philosophy persist? There's no way he takes the offense in some kind of strange new direction.

Green Bay is going to be terrible. There's no way that team is going to be good with that roster, this 38 year old dork isn't going to beat an entire NFL team by himself. Their roster is Oakland A's bad right now. Aaron's going to end his career with some 5-win seasons.

Is Green Bay inept or just trolling Rodgers at this point? On the same day that their big FA WR signing Sammy Watkins goes on the injury list. It sounds like they had some interest and maybe Julio just said nope to that whole mess, but I'm dumbfounded by what they're giving Rodgers. Feels like this comes up weekly in the offseason, but some just don't understand that very few teams in the NFL have great WR depth. There is definitely no team with 5 incredible WRs, as if you can load some super team offense like it's the NBA. The unicorns with more than a couple are really only Cincy and Tampa Bay, and even Cincy's depth is questionable. Therefore the news that Shakir is already flashing in training camp is pretty nice. If he contributes at all, and McKenzie and Crowder do what they normally do, then our WR depth is pretty much top tier.

Yeah I'm not buying that this guy suddenly turned into somebody else in 5 months. Talk about hype. Mac has always been kind of soft with limited physical skills, that's not going to suddenly change because he worked really hard in one offseason. He may be alright from a W/L successful game manager perspective but he's not going to impose his will like Josh.

From out of nowhere. What? I could see how this might apply to say Kirk Cousins or somebody who regularly disappoints, not the defending AFC Champ. Why the hate? I'm afraid Burrow may annoy you for about the next decade plus unfortunately.

This is true but he's never actually had 400 carries in a season. 378 and only 303 respectively in his last two full seasons, when he clocked 5.2 ypc, and that's as high as its ever got. To the point about good coaching, they're not destroying him like Jamaal Anderson. I don't think he's nearly done yet.

Tennessee. I don't like them, but it's a safe bet as long as once in a generation megafreak Derrick Henry is healthy. I think we'll at least see 1-2 more insane seasons as he solidifies himself as one of the best ever. Henry rumbling for 140+ per game and a couple of stiffarm TDs is an incredible advantage right now, he's unlike anything in the league. AJ Dillon might be the closest and he's not even in the same galaxy.

Awesome stuff, thanks for posting. The fact that Shakir is already popping seems like very great early news. There have been some interesting discussions lately around NFL WR depth and the conclusion seems to be that despite some great 1-2 punches, and some extremely rare 1-2-3 punches (Cincy) that none of the top teams have amazing WR depth. If Shakir can pop and Gabe Davis continues to be the truth, this offense is going to be insane.

Yeah sure, that is all correct, but he's also not young and has no Buffalo track record to speak of. I guess I was just caught off guard recently by the assumed certainty that he would just step right in and be fine, nothing to worry about folks. I think it's a position of concern.

Saffold worries me. Just a couple of weeks ago folks were acting like Guard is a done deal with Bates and Saffold, yet Saffold is 34 years old and has never played a down for the Bills. I haven't quite understood why some seem to think he's just going to step in and be a healthy, guaranteed lock, so good signing I guess. Guard is an uncertain weakness.

I honestly don't think this is too bad. There are City Connect baseball jerseys nowadays that look like they were designed by a team of 6 year olds throwing paint around so I kind of appreciate the simplicity.

I can live with the 92 although we all know it's a bit low. It takes a SB ring or multiple years of dominance for Madden to really plus people up. If Josh has another Josh-like year he'll be 95+ next year. Haven't played this glitchy nonsense in probably 5 years but I'm tempted to give it a whirl with this loaded Bills offense, those ratings look fun. I remember relying on David Nelson at a cool 68 as an actual option.

Wow I think this might be the most interesting reply in the thread. Is this from personal experience? I was 7 when he retired so have no experience watching the guy live but the numbers really don't support this. I could even buy the Emmitt is overrated argument over this, although I personally think his durability counts. Genuinely curious

History is tough. Asomugha's name came to mind as well especially after Shady roasted him recently. It's hard to pick somebody who retired still overrated, it seems like people typically course correct over time. For example, the half decade or so where people thought Jay Cutler was good was a mistake because he was clearly a checked-out douche canoe at best. The mental was never there, at any point. They burned his jerseys here in Denver when he left. Leveon Bell is another example. Probably hard for many to overrate him now but boy was he considered top tier for awhile. I always thought Aikman was overrated and he might legitimately still be. Lastly I personally find Brandin Cooks overrated in a weird way. Is he talented and does he put up stats? Of course, but they guy just kind of has a history of being nearly invisible on mediocre to bad teams and somehow cobbles together 1k seasons without really doing anything. Like a modern Stevie Johnson. He's maybe the 6th best WR from that 2014 draft. I don't think many consider him to be top tier but he's always mentioned alongside some much better names in fantasy circles, etc. I think he's closer to a Robby Anderson than a Davante Adams personally.

NFL: - The Broncos hype train derails by about Week 6. Las Vegas becomes the "surprise" AFC West Team with an incredible pass rush led by Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby. Crosby goes on to lead the league in sacks. - Packers squeak into the playoffs, thanks in part to a borderline 1,000 yard resurgent season by everybody's favorite weirdo, Sammy Watkins. They then lose early in the playoffs again, and everybody for about the 10th year in a row wonders what now nearly 40 year old Aaron Rodgers has left in him. - Mitch Trubisky has a great season as the clear #1 in Pittsburgh - Justin Herbert puts up 4500/40 in the air and becomes the clear-cut 2nd best QB talent behind Allen. Lamar continues to regress. Kyler Murray continues to be annoying. Bills: - Von Miller leads the AFC East in sacks - Zack Moss makes the team and is a dependable goal line threat - 8+ TDs - Poyer is named first team All-Pro again and finally makes his first Pro Bowl - Punting is a problem - Punt God loses his powers and Haack takes 19 seconds to get a punt off in a preseason game