By: Rich Maletto

Every year, the NFL announces one NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Some of the coolest stories of NFL careers, like Eric Berry in 2015, battled and beat cancer. Last year was no different when Alex Smith won the award. Today I will cover three candidates for comeback player of the year for the 2021 season.

Alex Smith was the epitome of what one would expect for an NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award winner. The man about lost his leg from an injury obtained on the field during an NFL game. An injury that was so atrocious, it led to seventeen surgeries! Smith broke his leg in 2018, missed the entire 2019 season to play in eight games for the Washing Football Team, where he started six games.

In those six games, Smith went 5-1, threw for over 1500 yards, and had six touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t sure he would ever see the football field again. Alex Smith won the award in a landslide, 49 votes for, and Big Ben Roethlisberger got the only other vote.

Saquon Barkley Coming Back From Injury

To be clear, I don’t see anyone next year as a clear favorite for such an award. Christain McCaffery is coming off of any injury, as is Saquon Barkley. Two players that have had great success that saw their respective seasons end in lackluster performances.

Most people expect CMC to bounce back, but as good as I believe most people think Barkley is, I hear some doubts out there. To be fair to Barkley, Saquon has been way too much of the offense in the past. He’s been too much of the offense because Daniel Jones has not lived up to the expectations.

Saquon has had such high expectations since being taken second overall by the New York Giants in 2018. Barkley primarily lived up to expectation his rookie year, where he won Rookie of the Year.

In 2019 Barkley battled a high ankle sprain for most of the year, then last year in 2020, Barkley tore his ACL and was lost for the season on week two. Before being lost for the season, Barkley averaged 1.8 yards a carry and 17 yards a game, atrocious numbers.

If Daniel Jones can start forcing defenses to respect the passing game, Saquon could be in store for quite the season. Let us not forget the season Adrian Peterson had after tearing his ACL, and Peterson did it much later in the season. As of writing this, there is zero belief that Barkley won’t be 100% ready by the start of the season.

The Giants need Daniel Jones to get those defenses to stay a little more honest instead of selling out to stop Barkley. If he does that and Barkley stops pressing and trying to break the big play on every down, Saquon has a real shot at being a position leader in the NFL.

I expect Barkley to improve upon his rookie stats and finally show what a complete back he is. However, if Barkley blows up, I think he’s capable of it; he should be considered for comeback player of the year.

Fresh Start For Sam Darnold

Another player taken early in the 2018 NFL Draft was Sam Darnold, who was taken third by the New York Jets. Since the draft in 2018, Darnold has dealt with nothing but challenges.

You could argue his largest challenge was being on the team with head coach Adam Gase. I believe that the horror story that we call Adam Gase is overstated, but what isn’t overstated is the impact a coaching staff has over a young developing quarterback.

Sam Darnold now finds himself with what I think is a great coaching staff that Matt Rhule has built under his leadership in Carolina. It’s a fresh start with a team that looks to air it out. I thought this was a perfect landing spot for Darnold.

Another reason why I am so excited for Sam Darnold and his role with the Carolina Panthers is what the Panthers did during the draft. It’s more accurate to say what they didn’t do at the draft.

The Panthers had every opportunity to select a quarterback to either back up their new, unproven acquisition or potential upgrade if the organization thought that was appropriate. Instead, the Panthers didn’t take a quarterback, and they picked up the fifth-year option on Darnold.

You don’t have to read the “tea leaves” to see that the Carolina Panthers have all the faith in the world in Sam Darnold. Surprising since some people have already labeled Darnold a bust. Apparently, Matt Rhule feels much differently because, at this point, they are all in with Darnold for 2021.

Teddy Bridgewater was adequate in that same offense last year, and the organization didn’t think twice from moving on. However, if Sam Darnold somehow puts together an all-pro season, which I realize is a very bold take, he would easily be in line for Comeback Player of the Year.

A New Quarterback Means New Opportunites for DJ Chark

The last player I will mention is DJ Chark. Chark splashed on the scene in 2019. Jacksonville drafted Chark in 2018 but only appeared in 11 games where he had 14 catches on 32 targets. In 2019 Chark had 73 catches for 1008 yards and touchdowns.

Sadly the 2020 season saw Chark essentially go underused, where he caught 53 catches for 706 yards. Chark has not played all 16 games in a season yet. That is a concern. Chark also hasn’t had a quarterback to count on. The rookie Trevor Lawerence will be the eighth quarterback Chark has played with since being drafted.

There are plenty of question marks about DJ Chark and what he can indeed be at the NFL level. But, at the same time, Chark has flashed, and the Jacksonville offense, as bad as it was in 2020, was much better when Chark was on the field.

Jacksonville took one wide receiver in the draft, round six, and they took Jalen Camp out of Georgia Tech. So Chark should be slated into that number one receiver spot, with a legit quarterback under center now.

If Chark can stay healthy, and as much as that offensive presumably will be throwing the ball, Chark could finish the season as a top ten to fifteen wide receiver.

Of the three players, I listed, Chark, in my opinion, has the most to prove if we will call him a comeback player of the year. The player I am betting on to be a comeback player of the year is Sam Darnold. I have high hopes for him in that Carolina offense.

The post 3 underlooked candidates for Comeback Player of The Year appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Green Bay Packers have managed to put themselves into a bit of a bind. As fantastic as the Packers looked last year, many had hoped that 2021 would be even more successful. I will be upfront with all you Packer fans; if that is going to happen, the front office needs to get creative.

Currently, the Packers are over the salary cap, and there had been some discussion of revamping Aaron Rodgers’s contract. If the Green Bay Packers are going to sign any rookies or other free agents, this has to happen.

Keeping that in mind, the latest reports are, the Packers may not change Rodgers’s contract at all. Green Bay has some financial outs after the 2021 season, and if they plan to move forward with first-round pick Jordan Love, the Packers may not change Rodgers’s contract.

The info above then begs the question, how are the Packers going to add much-needed depth? To give you an idea of how thin this roster is, only two offensive tackles are signed and only two quarterbacks. Both examples are pretty odd. There is still free agent time left and the NFL draft, but Green Bay is currently over the salary cap.

As I scour the internet looking for potential free-agent options for the Packers, I am thoroughly stumped. I could give you a great list of targets or players that would fit well in Green Bay. It would be a completely useless list, as no matter how well the player works in the system, the Packers literally can’t sign anyone, legally.

One thing that did catch my eye was that the Packers do not have Allen Lazard on the roster. I understand he’s not the most exciting player, but I could argue he was their overall second-best receiving option the last couple of years. Considering the Packers’ history drafting wide receivers, I found this interesting, except the Packers, can’t even afford Lazard.

How Bad is the Salary Cap Situation?

What options do the Green Bay Packers have? That’s a good question. It makes sense to renegotiate Aaron Rodgers’s contract, but again for the Packers over the long haul, maybe it doesn’t. The Packers may not want to push back the dead cap money. Is that the only option?

The only other option or option is to start cutting players with minimal impact to dead cap space. There is a couple of contracts they could renegotiate, but frankly, I feel like this season might be a lost cause for the Packers from a salary cap standpoint.

At the very least, to get through the NFL draft with the expectation of signing some draft picks, the Green Bay Packers are going to have to free up approximately nine to ten million in cap space. That is a significant number.

I will be frank. I have no idea what the Green Bay front office will do to get this figured out. The Packers have to add some young talent in the draft and add some depth on the roster””specifically that offensive line, defensive secondary, and the wide receiver position.

Free Agent Options

Looking at what is currently on the free-agent market that could be more affordable, the Packers will be scrapping the bottom of the barrel. If you look at the wide receivers out there, names like Marqise Lee and Dede Westbrook jump out.

Neither player can demand a high salary, and they both have flashed at times. At 30 years old, Lee is a bit old for my preference. Maybe gambling on a bid body guy like Chad Hansen wouldn’t be a wrong move either, also a reasonably low-cost option.

The biggest challenge the Packers are going to face is on the offensive line. There aren’t many options at the tackle position, and what is available is some of the more costly options on the market. David Bakhtiari is an excellent starting option, but you have to have at least a backup or two on the roster.

The Packers aren’t going to sign a guy like Jason Peters or Eric Fisher. They will probably have to take a shot at someone more like Jason Spriggs or Chad Wheeler. Neither player would excite me in any way, but they would add needed depth.

The best targets will be the low-cost options like Alex Brown or Tae Hayes in the defensive secondary. Again, no players you are excited to target, but players that might work for now.

Do you see a reoccurring theme with these free-agent options? All of them are nothing more than backups at best and lower-cost alternatives. As a fan or even front office personnel, nothing excites me about these free-agent options, literally none of them.

I cannot speak to Jordan Love’s development, but if the coaching staff doesn’t see Love as potentially “the guy” in 2022, I think you have to revamp Rodgers’s contract. The only reason to eat all of the money they have to this year would be so you can be free and clear of Aaron Rodgers next season.

Jordan Love’s Development is Key

Let me be clear on something, I have no idea where Love is in his development, and I see Rodgers having another two to three good years left. I would not be in any hurry to move on from Rodgers unless I saw something from Love that made me excited to throw him in the lineup.

Quite frankly, whatever the Packers decide to do with Rodgers’s contract will indicate what the Green Bay future holds. Don’t be surprised if the Packers do the minimum to get below the cap this year, just enough to sign a full roster and the rookies they like. If they don’t rework Rodgers’s deal, chances are his time in Green Bay will be coming to an end.

I understand this point of this piece was to suggest to you who the Packers will be targeting in free agency. But I will be upfront with you, and I don’t think the Packers have any idea at this point. There are 0 significant targets for Packers. They don’t have the means to sign those players.

Frankly, if you are a Packer fan, you might have watched your last opportunity at an Aaron Rodgers team making a run. There are plenty of studs on this team in starting roles, but there are significant challenges in this roster’s depth.

All the free agent moves will be for depth, not significant splashes to improve the roster. At this point, I am more interested in seeing what the Packers will do during the draft because they have to make changes to sign those players. I would love to see the Packers add a wideout through the draft. Wouldn’t we all?

If Rodgers is gone next year, you need tools for Jordan Love. It would help if you also protected him. I thought the Steelers had a nightmare with the salary cap, and I think the Packers are in worse shape. The Steelers, though, fixed their challenges by renegotiating Big Ben’s contract.

The post Remaining Free Agent Targets For the Green Bay Packers appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The free-agent market is fun to watch, but for us fantasy players, they can be crucial. Most of the fantasy community will tell you to take skill over their role when drafting fantasy players. I tend to disagree with this stance, especially for redraft leagues, and I will tell you why.

Coaching Schemes and Systems Do Matter

I firmly believe coaches take certain players to do specific jobs on the field. You have heard the old saying, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. A prime example of this is when we see a player leave one team and go to another group and breakout. Ryan Tannehill comes to mind as one example.

Tannehill had little to no success under Adam Gase, which more than a few players have experienced this problem. Ryan Tannehill goes to Tennessee, starts working with a new coaching system, and he ends up being one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league the last two years.

Coaches and systems do matter. If you listened to the podcast I do or read some of my pieces last year, I pushed Logan Thomas as a late TE to draft and altogether avoiding Ian Thomas. Why? Ian Thomas flashed when Greg Olsen was hurt while they both played for the Carolina Panthers under Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner.

Under Ron Rivera, Scott Turner has been a coach who’s employed a balanced run attack and using both the running backs and tight ends in the passing game. Turner is not a guy that spreads the field a ton and throws the ball all over; that is not his style. Given this background on Scott Turner and Ron Rivera, let’s look at the most recent free agent moves of the Washington Football Team.

Ryan Fitzpatrick Has Significant Fantasy Implications

The most significant move, in my opinion, is the signing of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick changes what this team can do and is the first quarterback that Rivera and Turner have had to stretch the field. Fitzpatrick has a true gunslinger mentality, which is not something Rivera and Turner had with Cam Newton.

Cam’s strong suit was his ability to run the ball and keep defenses guessing while Cam led the Carolina Panthers. One thing you didn’t see was wide receivers that were leading the league in passing yards. Cam Newton only threw for over 4000 yards once, his rookie year 2011, where he threw 4051 passing yards and 21 passing TDs. The leading receiver on that team was none other than Steve Smith

Once Steve Smith left Carolina, the only 1000 yard reivers that Cam and the Carolina coaching staff had were DJ Moore in 2019, Kelvin Benjamin in 2014, and Greg Olsen in 2014, 2015, 2016. Note the three straight years of Olsen leading the team in yards. Does the Logan Thomas suggestion last year now make sense?

I understand cream rises to the top when referencing talent, but teams gameplan off the head coach’s schemes and systems. Given the info we have on Ron Rivera and Scott Turner’s time in Carolina, are we surprised with what we saw from Washington this year? Washington looked a lot like Carolina of the past last year.

Washington played tough defense, had an offense that focused on both the tight end and running backs in the passing game, and still had a balanced offensive approach. This year’s Washington team also didn’t have a mobile QB as Rivera and Turner have had in the recent past, and this offense still looked very similar to the historical trends of this coaching staff.

We should point out that Fitzpatrick is much more a pocket passer than Cam Newton has ever been, and we have to be conscious of this. I say that because Fitz’s skill set will change what the offense can do. Do I expect the tight end and running backs to be highly involved in the passing game? Yes, but I also expect Curtis Samuel to be more involved in the gameplan to stretch the field, more so than we saw in Carlina with Cam.

Let’s talk about what Fitzpatrick can do or will do with this offense. First off, Fitzpatrick is not afraid to test defenses on the outside or deep. I can see how this coaching staff is excited about this possibility, and it should free up some lanes for the running game.

Second, Fitzpatrick has seen just about every defense out there, which should mean this team should be able to test or gauge all other offensive positions truly. Last year when Washington took so long to go to Alex Smith, I was dumbfounded; it appears to me they don’t like Smith’s skill set. Smith is another QB that isn’t going to test most teams deep as it’s not his style.

Lastly, Fitzpatrick brings swagger. Please note that Fitz mentioned the starting role was no guarantee. The Washington coaches have admitted that is the goal. Fitzpatrick has no problem with a quarterback competition, or he wouldn’t have taken the job, and he thinks he can win the position competition. I am excited to see what Fitz can do with the weapons he has in Washington.

Curtis Samuel Brings an Explosion Element to the Offense

Another big free-agent signing in Washington was with Curtis Samuel. Samuel has worked with this coaching staff before, as I have previously noted. For fantasy purposes, I am less excited about the signing of Samuel. There were much better landing spots if we were hoping for a monster Curtis Samuel breakout season.

I am excited for Samuel’s impact on the rest of the team and from an overall football perspective. I know a lot of folks are worried about Samuel impacting Antonio Gibson. I do not think that needs to be a concern at all. After the Samuel signing, folks pointed out that historically Samuel is used on short passing routes, like running backs. Fair observation, but did you all see what JD McKissic did?

Starting in week nine, McKissic got a total of 77 passing targets. That is an insane number in its own right, but let us look at JD’s output along with Gibson’s work over that span. During week 12, Gibson got hurt and was then inactive over weeks 13 and 14. During weeks 13 and 14, McKissic didn’t see an increase in passing targets, for some frame of reference, but he did see a significant jump to double-digit carriers.

Regarding Gibson’s touches from weeks nine through 17, Gibson averaged 15.6 carries and 3.6 targets a week. That’s on par with about 18-20 touches per game. It isn’t very reasonable for us to assume or even want to have Gibson see more touches.

At first, I was a little perplexed by the Samuel signing, given how the Football Team used McKissic last year. I don’t see the Samuel signing impacting Gibson’s usage much. If you believed that Samuel is a concern, I would argue you ignored what Mckissic was last year. I am not sure the team holds onto McKissic, and if Washington does, it’s for depth.

Samuel will do many of the same things McKissic does, receiving the ball out of the backfield and getting the occasional carry. That said, Curtis Samuel can do things that McKissic can’t, though, and that is stretch the field. Samuel and Fitzpatrick bring an element to the Scott Turner offense that hasn’t existed yet.

Given the free agent moves by Washington, this is how I see it breaking down for fantasy purposes. Antonio Gibson’s value is mainly unchanged. If anything, I can see Gibson becoming more efficient on the ground, as teams will have to account for Samuel’s speed. Gibson isn’t going to see fewer carriers, and if you were looking for a jackpot of receptions, that wasn’t going to happen anyway.

The team isn’t going to give Gibson more than 20 touches a game, and I think they want to stay below that 20 touch threshold. At the end of the year, we saw Washington lavishly used Gibson, and we still saw McKissic with an insane amount of passing targets.

Some of those passing targets are going to go to Curtis Samuel. If you have Samuel on your dynasty roster right now, you should be hoping Washington moves on from McKissic. McKissic caps the potential upside of Curtis Samuel’s usage, but Samuel will still be a flex play in most leagues.

Understand that Fitzpatrick enables the Football Team to take some deep shots down the field, and this means that Samuel is liable to have three catches, 70 receiving yards, and one touchdown on any week. Samuel will be a boom and bust play for you on any given week. How you rate that for your roster is up to you. For me, he’s a wide receiver three at best with weekly potential to win you a game that week.

I understand if you look at the yearly numbers for Samuel for 2020, it screams of being a wide receiver two, but look at the numbers each week, and you will find there are weeks he disappears on your roster. Samuel is a better football move for the Washington team than it helps any fantasy roster.

Can Logan Thomas Continue to be a Fantasy Darling?

Fitzpatrick has the most significant impact, and as a quarterback, that’s not surprising. My biggest fear is Fitzpatrick’s impact on Logan Thomas, the tight end. I pointed out, Scott Turner’s offense will use the tight end, but it’s obvious some quarterbacks look more their way than others. Alex Smith is one of those quarterbacks as an example.

Do I think Logan Thomas is talented enough and a big enough part of the game plan to be effective? Yes, I do, but I am not sure you can expect those 1000 yard seasons like Greg Olsen in Carolina. Some of those logan Thomas targets of this past year go to Terry McLaurin this year and even Curtis Samuel.

What does this Mean for Terry McLaurin?

Speaking of Terry McLaurin, if you have him on your dynasty rosters, you should be excited. Fitzpatrick being in Washington is nothing but good news for Terry McLaurin. I see an increase in targets, yards, and touchdowns. For me, McLaurin is a low-end WR1 with top seven to eight potential.

Overall here is how I believe it will break down. Logan Thomas will see a reduction in target but probably even more efficient. Potentially a prime touchdown target with his size, regardless of who the quarterback is. Gibson’s potential output should be about the same. He, too, will mostly be more efficient, with the additional talent on the field.

Curtis Samuel will be a boom or bust play for you, at least with Fitzpatrick at the helm. You have to like Samuel’s potential on any even week. Terry McLaurin is the biggest gainer for me. The defenses will have to account for Samuel and Thomas in the passing game plus the running backs. McLaurin will finally have a quarterback willing to take chances and throw to the receivers on the outside.

Ryan Fitzpatrick and Curtis Samuel will make this offense much more explosive and dangerous. For an offense that was lackluster at best last year, I think we see a bump in all fantasy categories. I am not saying expect a fantasy bonanza, but I am more than willing to gamble on some Washington players this season.

Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @Bodaciousbeer for more fantasy thoughts and questions. Check out some of the other pieces at profootballmania.com as we cover all things football.

The post Fantasy Impacts of Washington Football Team’s Free Agency Additions appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Raiders have approximately $3 million to use before they are over the cap, per overthecap.com. That said, the Raiders have to have some money to sign the rookies they draft. As of right now, Las Vegas has seven picks in this upcoming draft and only $3 Million to spend. Honestly, I think we better prepare to see more cuts from the Raiders. 

One of the unfortunate things for the Raiders, and maybe it was by design, is that I don’t see any free agent signings for Las Vegas to help them take a step forward. The signing of Keyon Drake is quite interesting on its own, considering the current high volume usage of Josh Jacobs. 

Drake signed a two-year $11 million contract. If the Raiders were to cut one or both backs in 2021, the dead cap hit would be $7 million for Jacobs and $8.5 Million for Drake. For the 2022 season, Jacobs’s cap hit would $3.7 million while Drake’s would be $5.5 million. 

I won’t cover all the cap impacts of players, but I use these two to illustrate a particular point. The point being, the contracts and constraints thereof help us determine future moves. In this example, cutting either player this year would be foolish. In other words, we know this backfield will be a two-headed committee at the very least. 

Next year is a little different. I won’t say that the cap hits next year scream that both players will hit waivers, but we can see that the coaches wanted some competition for Jacobs. It seems obvious this coaching staff is not sold on Jacobs being their guy, and there is too much money tied up in both of these running backs. 

The other thing I take away from these two signings, Las Vegas isn’t running back shopping in this year’s draft. The reason I say that the Raiders would be eating quite a bit of dead cap space by doing or overloading their running back room going in 2022. 

Stranger things have happened. I assume they will snag a young back still and maybe move on from one of the other backups. The dead cap hit for 2022 isn’t atrocious, to be fair, but let us remember the Raiders have no cap space left for this year. 

Is WR an Area of Need For The Raiders?

I see a similar challenge at wide receiver. When you look at the Raiders roster, and you peruse over the wideouts, you notice something. It’s a bunch of unproven players or players that already appear to be journeymen. For example, the third highest-paid wide receiver in Las Vegas is none other than Zay Jones. John Brown is the second-highest-paid receiver. Henry Ruggs is at the top of the pay scale in Vegas. 

I will be upfront in that I still think that potentially the best wideout on that team could be Bryan Edwards. Nothing we have seen on the field shows that, but Edwards did join the team after a significant injury, and we had little to no off-season last year. For reference, Edwards is collecting roughly what Hunter Renfrow is making this year, which 4th on the team. 

Quite frankly, I believe the Raiders could use some receiver help. I had questions and concerns regarding Henry Ruggs last year, and I didn’t see anything throughout the season to change my mind. I have faith in Edwards still based on his size. Speed kills in the NFL, but there isn’t a lot of undersized, fast receivers that have found success in the NFL historically. 

To be fair to Jon Gruden and the Raiders, I am nitpicking this receiver group and the running backs. The fact was last year, the Raiders ranked 10th in points and eighth in yards, offensively. That’s pretty solid, but I don’t see any moves where the Raiders improved. Maybe Drake is a crucial piece, but I strongly doubt that. 

What Are The Areas of Need?

One thing to point out, though, the Raiders did lose some key offensive lineman. The changes to the line are not insignificant. There is a lot of linemen available, and multiple teams are doing all they can to shore up their offensive fronts. 

The Raiders don’t have any money to do so. I am very concerned about this offensive line. Vegas has historically been good, but they lost an anchor in Hudson and a very talented left tackle in Trent Brown. The Raiders did sign Zack Martin, but he’s no Rodney Hudson. 

The real struggle for Las Vegas in 2021 was the defensive side of the ball. The Raiders ranked 30th and 25th in points and yards allowed, respectively. There is no denying the fact that’s just flat terrible. The Raiders should feel fortunate they even came close to making the playoffs. 

I lay out this background to give you an idea of what options the Raiders have and potentially what they can do to help themselves. Since Vegas only has $3 Million to play with regarding the salary cap, I can’t see the Raiders making any more free-agent moves unless they start cutting some players. The Raiders will probably have to cut some players to sign any rookies. I am betting they don’t do any of that until after the draft, and they see what players they were able to draft.

We have already outlined some significant holes on this team, both the offensive line and most of the defense. The positions I see Mike Mayock and Gruden targeting in the draft are the following: offensive tackle, defensive back, and potentially help on the interior defensive line. 

The lack of experience or familiarity with the Raiders system could have been a part of the defense’s challenges last year. Mayock and Gruden may feel like they coach up some of these players, like Johnathan Abram, who was a first-round draft pick in 2019. 

The raiders did go out and spend some money on that defensive front. The lack of push rush was something both Mayock and Gruden wanted to address. The Yannick Ngakoue signing was a big splash in the marketplace. If the Raiders can’t make any more free-agent moves, the only other place to improve the team’s talent is through the draft.

Here are where the Raiders will be picking:

• Round one overall pick 17
• Round two overall pick 48
• Round three overall pick 80
• Round four overall pick 121
• Round five overall pick 162
• Round six overall pick 202
• Round seven overall pick 247

Here Are The Rookies The Raiders Should Target With Their Current Picks

I suspect Mayock and Gruden will be looking at offensive tackle in the first round. Chances are Penei Sewell won’t be available at pick 17, but Christian Darrisaw could be available at that spot. Given this is Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden, don’t be surprised to see them take a swing with someone like Dillon Radunz out of North Dakota State. If Mayock does like Radunz, I would expect the Raiders to wait until round two or three to make that pick. 

The Raiders may not see the challenges at the offensive line with age that I do, and I will be upfront, I am big in building teams around your offensive line. Mayock may want to go more with an edge rusher, which could make sense, but with the Yannick signing, I am not sure that’s the first concern. 

In round two, the Raiders really should look for an additional playmaker for the defensive secondary. There is a lot of young talent in the secondary, but they could use a boost with a solid playmaker. The guy I like here is Richie Grant or Hamsah Nasirildeen.

I like Narsirildeen better for the Raiders due to his size. At 6’3″ and 213 lbs, he can be a tight end neutralizer and be moved all over the secondary. Since the Raiders play both the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos each twice a year, I would think neutralizing the tight end would be a big help for this defense. 

Narsirildeen suffered an ACL tear in 2019, leading to Hamsah missing all but two games this past season. Hamsah has a great skill set, and if it wasn’t for the injury in 2019 that cost him games, it would exciting to see the player that led the Florida State Seminoles in tackles that year.

The injury, unfortunately, has led to Hamsah slipping down some draft boards, but that also means we could see a team take a gamble on him earlier. Either way, I do believe in round two, either Narsirildeen or Richie Grant would be available. Both players can play multiple roles, including playing man to man in the slot. Grant, in particular, is a bit of a ball hawk. 

The last draft pick I want to address is round three. I don’t want to go past round three at this point. It’s my opinion once you get past round three in the NFL draft, all bets go out the window. Teams move up or back based on their players’ grades, and the teams tend to target players they feel they can develop.

The player Mayock should target in round three is Tyler Shelvin. Not many defenses in the NFL use a nose tackle, but the Raiders are one of those teams. Shelvin is perfect for a nose tackle. He is a dominant run stopper, and at his size, he clogs up the middle of the line. Shelvin has no problem playing the 0 technique, and he seems to embrace the idea of taking out blockers. 

I will be somewhat surprised if Shelvin doesn’t find himself on an NFL roster before the Raiders pick. That said, the Raiders should have an idea of who they need to move in front of to make sure they get Shelvin. As I mentioned, not many teams use a nose tackle, which’s the perfect fit for Shelvin. 

Players taken in the fourth round or later are essentially skilled players who need time to evolve or are players that teams have concerns about them. Those concerns could come from off-the-field issues to mental breakdowns on the field. There is a lot of personal preference at this point in the draft. 

Regardless, I feel like teams make their hay with day two picks. You have to hit on day one selections. We see it yearly where teams miss with those picks in the first couple of rounds. Yet if you can find those gems in rounds two and three, you really can get a jump on your competition. Side note, this is how I feel about fantasy football too. 

The Raiders flashed with success on the offensive side, but they did lose two anchors on that offensive line. The defense was atrocious, and there is no denying that. If the Raiders want to take a step closer to being playoff-bound, these would be players I would be targetting. All that said, I am not going to pretend I know what Mike Mayock is going to do. So far, he has surprised me each year. 

Please check out more of my pieces on Profootballmania.com, where we have you covered on all things football. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @BodaciousBeer to answer questions, talk football, and I always welcome comments. 

The post Top 3 targets for The Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL Draft appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The New York Jets can’t get out of their own way. They managed to lose the right to the number overall draft selection. Sam Darnold is still on the roster, and it looks like Jamison Crowder is on the chopping block. Here are three landing spots for Jamison Crowder.

I understand Crowder isn’t the most exciting player to watch or to talk about, but the fact is Crowder was the Jets’ most productive receiver leading the jets in both catches and yards. I understand it wasn’t pretty with 59 catches for 699 yards. Frankly, if that’s your top receiver, you have significant issues in the passing game.

Those issues aren’t going to disappear by keeping Crowder on the roster at the cost of $10 million this year. Not when the dead cap hit is one million dollars. What kind of contract will Crowder demand?

I don’t know if Crowder is going to have any negotiating leverage. He’s going to be 28 years old this summer, which isn’t old for a wide receiver by any means. That said, we know what Crowder is at this point. At 5’9″ and 178 lbs, he is not an “X” receiver in the NFL.

Jamison Crowder may not command the money or the ball like an NFL number one receiver, but he will improve an offense in the right role. There are a few teams that I believe Crowder would be an excellent fit with the systems those teams run.

New England Patriots

The first and most obvious place for me is the New England Patriots. Julian Edelman just has not been able to stay on the field, and he’s 34 years old. Edelman has only played 16 games twice in the last six years. He is at that point in his career where we often see a significant decline in performance.

Jamison Crowder is a perfect fit for this offense. I realize this isn’t the same Patriot offense that we have seen in the past with Tom Brady. That doesn’t change the fact, and the Patriots still prefer to attack the middle of the field. You do that with tight ends and slot receivers.

The New England Patriots will almost certainly address the tight end position, and there are a few players for them to target. The Patriots also need help at the wide receiver position. N’Keal Harry is starting to look more and more like a bust. Jakobi Meyers has flashed at times, but he needs support from other parts of the passing game to be effective.

Crowder also brings some veteran leadership with whatever team he would join. The Patriots could also use some help in that department, regardless of who the quarterback ends up being.

As far as what kind of contract would Crowder demand? It’s tough to say, but the Patriots have not spent much of the team’s salary cap on receivers. Currently, among nine receivers, the Patriots are paying just over $11 million.

Think about that for a second. Crowder was due to be paid $10 million this year, and his contract is on par with John Brown as an example. It’s not an outlandish contract, and the Patriots are paying a total of $11 million on nine players, half of which I challenge most diehard fantasy players to name.

I don’t know if New England could bring Crowder in for six to seven million a year, but they should consider paying him the $10 million Crowder was on scheduled to be paid. He would elevate this wide receiver room instantly. Jamison Crowder is a perfect fit for this system.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Another team that could use a little bit of a veteran presence on the team and gains a dependable wideout like Crowder is the Jacksonville Jaguars. Dede Westbrook is currently a free agent. Laviska Shenault and DJ Chark are very much different receivers than Crowder, but they all could compliment each other well.

The Jags have the number one overall pick, and it looks like they will be selecting the highly acclaimed Trevor Lawerence. There are three things the Jags need to do for Trevor Lawerence to help ensure his success.

One, be sure to protect him with a solid offensive line, don’t be like the Cincinnati Bengals. Two, have a decent run game to lean on, don’t ask Trevor to do more than he needs to; he is a rookie. Lastly, get him weapons to throw to.

Shenault is a very talented rookie that Jacksonville can move around and find creative ways to get him the ball. I think Chark is an excellent receiver, but I don’t think he’s talented enough to be a passing game’s focal point. Chark needs a capable receiver on the field to help take the pressure off of him.

Crowder can do all the things the Jags are missing in the passing game and bring a veteran’s presence to a very young team. With his quick and precise route running, Crowder will improve the players in that wideout room.

Miami Dolphins

The last team I will mention here is the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are another young team that could use some veteran experience on the ball’s offensive side.

Devante Parker has mainly been a letdown and, at the same time, flashed with brilliance. It appears to me Parker flourishes with volume, but forcing your passing game through one receiver never works.

Preston Williams is still a wild card, and he has also looked very good at times. That in itself isn’t all that surprising; Williams fell in the draft due to off-the-field issues.

Regardless of all of this, Crowder would be replacing the work that Jakeem Grant and Albert Wilson perform. Just like their teammates, both players have looked good on the field. Yet, neither has been able to stay on the field.

Crowder would give the Dolphins some in the passing that would demand targets with his skill set and ability to get open regularly. He would compliment the work that Parker and presumably Williams would do.

Miami is in the same boat as the Jags are; the Dolphins have a young quarterback with many unknowns at the skill positions. The positions you want to make sure you have quality players at for your young quarterback to lean on.

Crowder has found success playing on bad teams for the most part, but it wasn’t from his lack of quality play. Crowder has had only one season where he didn’t receive at least 78 targets and 59 receptions. That one season, he only played nine games.

Crowder is a complimentary player in any offense, but he is a high-quality player at that position. I don’t know if anyone is willing to pay Crowder what he believes he is worth. I struggle to believe that any of these teams will pay Crowder $10 million for this year, especially with the reduced salary cap.

I can’t speak for Crowder, and I will not pretend I know what he is thinking. I do know that he is going to want to play. Crowder is only going to be 28 years old at the start of the season, and he looks like he still has some good years ahead of him. After all, he is six years younger than Edelman, and I believe Crowder could have been as effective in that Patriot system.

I think a team should take a shot on Crowder, and my money says if Crowder wants a chance to play and show what he has, these three teams are excellent landing spots. The other thing all of these teams have in common? All these teams are well below the salary cap and have the luxury to spend some money. So far below the cap, they have the luxury even to take a risk with a player like Crowder.

Please be sure to check out my other pieces along with all things football by the team at Profootballmania.com. Follow me on Twitter for other fantasy football thoughts and questions, and feel free to hit me up there! @BodaciousBeer

The post 3 Potential Landing Spots For Jamison Crowder appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Sadly, with the year of Covid continuing, we won’t be blessed with the NFL combine as we have in years past. For those football junkies out there, the NFL combine was the yearly travel to NFL Mecca. You have watched the film all year, you have your notes and thoughts on each player, and the combine was where you could confirm or question some of your thoughts. The combine was the last chance to see these players doing football things before the NFL draft. This year, we will have to find a way to turn pro days into fantasy gold.

So now what? We don’t have the combine, and in the past, there were still pro days, so why is everyone suddenly happy about pro days? We don’t have a choice, and the pro days will be our only opportunity until the season starts to watch these players do football things. It’s not so much we all are happy as much as it is; this is our only option. 

What’s the big deal with pro days and combines? It’s the only place where we get “official” measurements. That said, pro days vs. the combine does bring up the concerns regarding pro days. 

At the combine, the league oversees all measurements. The NFL doing this is essential, as mundane as it sounds. The reason I say this is common knowledge and practice that colleges fib on the numbers. It’s not uncommon for a player to be listed in the college program at 6’2″ when the player is only 6’1″. 

I realize one inch isn’t a lot, but we also see this with weights and even 40 yard dash times. The point being, the colleges will flub or error on the side of helping the athlete. I don’t fault the colleges for this, but for NFL scouts and analytic types, the actual numbers are essential to know. I know I want the real numbers; they do matter, after all. 

I bring this up because I fear that any numbers we see at the pro days we need to take with a grain of salt. The teams will continue to error on the side of the players. I am not sure we didn’t see some of that with the EXOS combine last week. I say that because the company EXOS has a vested interest in the athletes who took part in that combine. All of those athletes were clients of the training facility EXOS. 

I cannot find a list of all the athletes that participated in the EXOS, nor can I find all of the results. A report publicly released stated that Rashad Bateman ran a 4.39 40-yard dash. That time is a bit better than many thought, so the talk online was how Bateman is now skyrocketing up draft boards. 

What’s the Big Deal About Pro Day Numbers?

Let’s be clear about a couple of things. How one athlete performs in any one skill should not dramatically impact how we see players. I have been a big Bateman fan, watching him play football at the University of Minnesota. Bateman’s 40-yard time doesn’t have me moving him to number one on my draft board. 

Granted, Bateman was already in my top two or three for overall receivers, but what that 40 time tells me is that having Bateman ranked where I have him is now supported with both film analysis and tested measurable skills. If Bateman ran a 4.55 40 time, while I wouldn’t get overly alarmed at first, I would have to adjust my rankings slightly. A 6’2″ 210 lbs receiver running a 4.55 isn’t ideal, but that doesn’t make the player completely un-draftable, as an example. 

Above is another example of why I prefer to get pro-day numbers and combine numbers. Sometimes we have off days, so the more numbers or, the larger the sample size we get, the more likely we will be closer to being accurate. 

While getting accurate and reliable numbers is critical, the fact remains that we need to adjust this year. We will get a full month of pro-days and then some, and that’s all the raw numbers we will get. 

You Can Use Pro Days to Help Your Fantasy Rosters

That said, we still can use these pro days to help ourselves as fantasy players. Being ahead of the curve in fantasy is crucial to having success. You have to take risks to be successful in fantasy sports, but don’t confuse that with being foolish. Making calculated risks is the key. Understand your risks and the best way to do that, use analytics and watch the players. 

I recommend doing this, and frankly, it’s what I will do for the next month-plus. I am going to the dollar store, and I am buying four spiral ring notebooks. Each notebook is for a position. One is for running backs, and one is for receivers, and so on. 

Use a page per player, make a note of 40 times, bench reps, three-cone drill, and all the other drills. In addition to noting the specific measurables, write down what you see. Don’t be afraid to be wrong or even to make notes that later are unnecessary. These notebooks are for your eyes only. Think of it as a scouting journal. 

Here’s an example; let us use the info we got from the EXOS combine. Bateman is 6’2″, 210 lbs, 4.39 40 yard dash time. We will have to pretend that we watched, but here are some specific examples I might write down: only had one drop while catching passes, locates the ball well, and uses his hands to catch instead of his body, needs to work on cleaner breaks while running routes, tends to telegraph where he is going. 

I list above just examples of what someone might see, not what I have seen from Bateman. I noted earlier that with that 4.39 40 yard dash time, some might feel the need to move Bateman up their rankings. 

I already had Bateman as a top two or three receiver in this draft, and while I am taking Bateman’s 40-yard time with a grain of salt, I am noting it. I want to know how it compares to other player’s pro days. 

A Few Players to Watch and Why

To help illustrate this point further, I want to cover a few players, what I plan to watch, and why. The first is Kyle Pitts.

Kyle Pitts has been talked about a lot this past season, and for good reasons. If you watched any of Unversity of Florida football the last couple of years, you couldn’t miss Kyle Pitts. Pitts currently has the label of a tight end, but there are teams in the NFL that have thrown around the term “wide receiver.” 

When I watched Pitts, my honest take was he reminded me a lot of Calvin Johnson. Johnson and Pitts are similar in size, but Megatron was a freak with his size and speed. Pitts has shown some similar dynamic ability on the field, but the only measurables outside of height and weight we have to go back to Pitts’s high school days. 

If Kyle Pitts somehow runs a 40 time under 4.5 or even 4.55, I think you will see NFL draft circles start to go crazy. There is already a debate if Pitts is a tight end or a wide receiver, and we haven’t even had a pro day yet. I am looking forward to official height and weight numbers, along with a registered 40-yard time and three-cone drill. I also want to see Pitts perform these drills, and our eyes can be some of our best tools. 

We haven’t seen much of another player, but as a true Freshman at Michigan, Chris Evans looked good. Evans accepted his invite to the Senior Bowl, but unfortunately, he didn’t register one statistic. Jim Nagy, who runs the Senior Bowl, did mention how impressed he was with Chris Evans. 

Evans has the size and the blue-chip background that NFL teams look for in a player. We will only have the pro day and limited film on Evans, as he missed his sophomore year due to academic challenges. Chris Evans could jump up draft boards for NFL teams because you can’t coach size and natural ability. It’s a shame we didn’t see much of Evans in the Senior Bowl, but it’s up to us as fantasy players to use the tools we do have. 

The last player I will use as an example is Chuba Hubbard. Chuba went from being one of the top colleges to the NFL prospect for running backs in 2020, to he is nowhere near the top five for most folks. One has to ask, why has this changed? There is a great article out on the web covering some of the whys, and it’s worth reading here. 

That said, understanding why you or others might be lower on a player matters, but we watch pro days more to confirm or question our current hypothesis. We are not looking to create or redo our beliefs. It is an important distinction to keep in mind though while ranking or determining a player’s value.   

I enjoy watching the running back drills, particularly looking at footwork and quickness. In the article, I reference the author talks about how the offensive line was a concern. Hubbard can’t manage the line, but what he does control is his footwork. We should note Hubbards, speed, cone drill, and how quick he is to plant and cut.

If Hubbards numbers are much closer to the top five backs in this class, and we are willing, to be honest about things that were a challenge for Chuba this year, we may want to reconsider how we have Hubbard ranked. 

Remember, the whole point of watching pro days is to get a better idea of quantifiable measurables. We are looking to help confirm or question our current beliefs. We are NOT looking to base our final rankings on just the pro days or combines, and this would be a horrible approach if this is your plan of attack. 

To summarize, tune into all the pro days you can:

1. Record them if possible.
2. Get a notebook for every position you want to follow.
3. If you feel like looking at defensive players, too, go for it. Just get notebooks for them.
4. Treat the notebooks as a pro-day journal; write down your thoughts as you watch. Putting your thoughts down is crucial.

Purchasing spiral notebooks is still relatively cheap these days, and while it may be an old-school method, it does work. If you have a better way that works for you, do it. Everyone has their process. My biggest suggestion, watch, make notes, and trust your thoughts. 

Please be sure to check out my and our team’s pieces on profootballmania.com. We have you covered on all things football!

• Rich Maletto @BodaciousBeer

The post Scouting NFL Pro Days For Fantasy Wisdom appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Rich Maletto

Last week I wrote on Pro Football Mania that the Chicago Bears needed to address the quarterback position. I briefly mentioned then that the Bears had many other holes to fill, especially regarding the offense. Today, I will go over who are some free-agent offensive skill positions the Bears should target, as well as how they should approach the NFL draft.

In last week’s piece, I suggested Chicago should address their quarterback concerns both on the free-agent market with a savvy veteran and with this year’s NFL draft. Keeping that plan in mind, I want to look at what options the Bears have at filling positions where they lost players to free agency. The method I suggested was to sign Ryan Fitzpatrick and draft Kellen Mond in the third or fourth rounds. Thereby saving their first and second-round picks for valuable draft assets that the Bears need.

Allen Robinson May or May Not Be Back

Keeping that in mind, two draft picks are not going to save this Bears offense. Currently, their best offensive player, Allen Robinson, is an unrestricted free agent. The Bears could and probably should franchise tag Robinson. Right now, though, the relationship between the Bears and Robinson is a tumultuous one. Chicago can’t afford to let Robinson walk free and clear from the team. They have no way of replacing him. Simultaneously, both the Bears and Robinson can’t get on the same page regarding a long-term contract.

In addition to Robinson’s challenges, currently, the Bears are projected to be around two million dollars over the projected salary cap, without Allen Robinson on the roser. Cordarrelle Patterson is also an unrestricted free agent, and the rumor is Jimmy Graham will be on the chopping block due to the salary cap concerns.

These skill position players are currently on the Chicago roster and under contract: Nick Foles, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, Anthony Miller, David Montgomery, and Tarik Cohen. This group is a solid base to build around, minus Nick Foles. Montgomery looked the part of a bell-cow back down the stretch, and he is on a cheap rookie deal. Anthony Miller has been a letdown, in my opinion, but Mooney, on the other hand, has flashed. While Mooney has looked good. In his rookie campagin Mooney saw 98 targets, not bad, but he is not a guy you use as your number one receiver.

The biggest questions for me and the Bears are, what will the final salary cap number be, and can the Bears tag Allen Robinson and still get under the cap? While I want to say, the Bears HAVE to sign Robinson with the franchise tag, and I am just not convinced they can make it work. Chicago has put themselves in a bind with the trade they made to move up to get Mitch Trubisky.

Cole Kmet is a Potential Fantasy Stud

If Chicago can find a way to get under the cap and franchise tag Allen Robinson, it would allow the Bears to bolster the offensive line, take a shot with someone like Kellen Mond, and add needed receiver depth. To try this approach, Chicago would have to cut Jimmy Graham, which looks likely, as I already mentioned. Frankly, for what Jimmy Graham brings to the table, there is no reason to feel like Cole Kmet can’t fill that role amicably. As a roookie tight end Kmet started nine games and saw 44 targets, with Graham in the lineup.

Regarding the tight end position, Kmet’s skill set is getting downfield and being a receiving target. Don’t get me wrong, Kmet has made considerable strides in the NFL as a blocker, but if you want to showcase his skills, you need to get him involved in the passing game, which is the role Graham mostly held last year. In my opinion, waiving Jimmy Graham only bolsters Kmet’s fantasy value and truly allows Kmet more time on the field. There’s no reason to overthink this.

Another player that played some significant snaps for the Chicago Bears that is no longer under contract is Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson has been more of a gadget player than a dedicated wide receiver or running back. Due to Cohen’s injury this year and when Montgomery got banged up, Patterson played running back. In weeks 10 and 12, Patterson got double-digit carries at runningback while never seeing more than four passing targets in any game this season.

In my opinion, the most significant loss with Patterson not being on the roster is in the return game. Patterson is so good at returning kicks he can change a game. The lack of Patterson in the kicking game is the loss that will hurt the Bears most, considering it was defense and special teams that kept Chicago in games. Over his career Patterson has eight return touchdowns and has averaged almost 30 yards per return. To give you a frame of refference, Patterson is second all time in average return yards and tied for first in touchdowns.

Finding a returner as skilled as Patterson in the draft is not easy, but considering the Bears need to draft some receiver talent, finding a player that can also return kicks should be a focal point for Chicago. The Bears can use the draft to try to minimize the loss of Patterson. After all, Patterson was drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings has mainly been just a return specialist for years. Finding a replacement the does exactly what Patterson does, probably isn’t going to happen, but finding a reciever that can also return kicks is plausible.

The thing you do have to wonder, though, how shallow is the depth at running back for the Chicago Bears? The Bears felt the need to move a player, historically designated as a wide receiver, to play running back instead of pulling a running back off the bench. I understand Tarik Cohen was out of the lineup with an injury, but I can’t help but question and wonder, what are the Bears doing at running back?

Bears Still Need Running Back Help

Cohen and Montgomery are very different players and bring two different skill sets to the table. The problem I see, Cohen is never going to be a between the tackle running back, like Montgomery is. Cohen thrives with the ball in his hands in the open field, while Montgomery is a guy you count on to pound the rock.

Do I think Montgomery is uber-talented for a running back? Not really, but frankly, we have seen plenty of successful NFL offenses and running backs that don’t scream, “I am a super talented running back.” Some people even think the system is more important than who the actual running back is. That’s a topic I would like to discuss but for a different day.

The point being, the Bears have both Cohen and Montgomery under contract for this year. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel at the running back position. Montgomery has a cheap deal right now and is signed through the 2022 season. But, if you played a wideout at running back last year, it’s probably a good idea to add running back depth.

The Bears should add depth through the draft. There will be some talented running backs available in the fifth or sixth round. I am thinking of Trey Sermon, Demetric Felton, Rakeem Boyd, or maybe someone like Kylin Hill, Chuba Hubbard, or Larry Roundtree fall to them there. Running backs have been going later and later in NFL drafts, and I think this is a reasonably talented class. This class doesn’t have the top-end talent that last year did, but there are plenty of adequate running backs in this class.

How The Bears Should Approach The NFL Draft

What does all of this mean for the Bears, and what is the plan? I think the Bears sign Fitzpatrick and draft Kellen Mond in the third is still the best initial approach. Second, for sure, cut Jimmy Graham. That only leaves the Bears with two tight ends on the roster, but plenty of free-agent tight ends are available. I would look to bring one to two well-rounded veterans like Seth Devalve or Jake Butt. Kmet is the future, and there is no reason to chase high-priced tight-end talent.

Next, the Bears still need to decide what they are going to do with the offensive line. I would use the 20th overall pick to get a lineman that I believe is the most talented that is still available. There should be plenty of talent on the board with the 20th pick. If there isn’t an offensive lineman to take at 20, the Bears should look for a wide receiver. Either way, with the 20th selection, the Bears need to look at filling holes in the roster with high-end talent.

The second-round selection is no different. If I were the Bears, I would still be looking to fill both OL and WR spots on my team. Even if the Chicago Bears franchise tags Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller is a free agent next year. Miller has been a bit of a letdown, but he still plays a significant amount of snaps. Last year Miller had 49 catches on 76 targets and started six games.

With the third-round selection, the Bears should be taking Kellen Mond, and there is no fourth-round selection. That leaves rounds five, six, and seven to find some running back depth. In reality, the Bears should probably look to grab that running back depth in round five. Especially if Chicago isn’t interested in signing Montgomery to a long-term deal, and frankly, I don’t see any need in the Bears even persuing that.

I am suggesting this approach and focusing more on the draft, and the Bears don’t have the luxury of chasing high-priced talent on the free agent wire. The tight ends I mentioned are low-cost solutions. Suppose the Bears want to look at low-cost solutions at the wide receiver spot. They need to look at players like Rashard Higgins or Tim Patrick. I don’t see a need in chasing someone like Curtis Samuel as to me, and the Bears already have that type of player with Darnell Mooney. If there is no Allen Robinson, they need a physically bigger reciever.

I would not chase any free agent running backs. The running backs cost is much lower when you draft a running back and sign them to that three to four deal. It’s by far the most cost-effective solution at that position. If the bears do any significant free-agent signings, I expect it to be with the offensive line. The problem is, I have no idea how they are going to free up the money to get the type of talent the Bears need for that offensive front.

Quite frankly, I feel bad for Chicago Bears fans right now. That team is close to being a consistent winner if they could get the offense figured out. The problem is, they have a lot of holes to fill and not enough money to go around to fill them all without doing some significant shuffling of the roster.

• Rich Maletto @BodaciousBeer

The post Offensive Skill Positions the Bears Should Target appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Rich Maletto @bodaciousbeer

Mitch Trubisky is on his way out of Chicago, he’s currently an unrestricted free agent, and the Chicago Bears have not openly said they would not bring Trubisky back, but the writing is on the wall.

A recent report reported that the Bears are the front runners for obtaining Carson Wentz, but currently, the Philadelphia Eagles’ trade demands are outlandish at best. I am not ruling out a Wentz trade because, honestly, it makes the most sense, but at the time of writing this, it is looking improbable. Bearing that in mind, let’s look at some other options if the Eagles hold firm on their demands.

Bears Trading for Quarterback

The 2021 college class of football players is relatively deep, and frankly, there are some attractive options at the quarterback spot. The Bears problem, none of those options look like they will be available at the 20th pick in the draft, which is where they currently sit. Does that mean that no rookies will be available for the Chicago Bears? Not necessarily, but if they aren’t going to trade for Wentz, they should strongly consider trading up in the draft.

The latest report stated the Bears said they are not interested in Wentz unless he’s 100% in for Chicago. If I were Wentz, since Indianapolis is still in play, I would nix the Bears deal and find a way to get to Indy. Does it make sense for the Bears to count on the rookie draft for the starter at quarterback? That seems like a horrible idea to me. (As I finished this the report came out that Wentz went to the Indianapolis Colts)

I reached out to a good friend who is a knowledgeable Chicago Bears fan I know and asked him, “with the mess at quarterback, what do you wish the Bears did this year to address the position?” The reason for my question, I was perplexed about what a fan would want. If I was a GM, I have to worry about selling tickets and winning, and frankly, what Chicago did with Mitch Trubisky created a disaster, in my opinion.

Bears Sign a Savvy Veteran

They “mortgaged the farm,” so to speak, to move up in the draft to get Trubisky, and it’s created a snowball effect of negativity. They haven’t been able to surround Mitch with better receivers or an offensive line. And now they aren’t bringing back the guy they traded up to get. It’s a mess, and the salary cap decreasing to $180 – $190 million probably won’t help the cause.

The funny part about my buddy’s conversation was that he pointed out an obvious and brilliant play the Bears should do. They should sign a savvy vet AND still draft a quarterback. As I mentioned earlier, the only challenge with this is that there will not be many Chicago options regarding the 20th pick. In the best-case scenario, Mac Jones would be available to them.

I see two potential options for Chicago landing a veteran quarterback. They could make a run at Jameis Winston, I know not everyone loves Winston as a player, but he would be a significant upgrade over what the Bears have been using. Truthfully, I am not sure that’s the best play. Winston has had some of his challenges, and while I think he’s up to the task, I believe there is a better option.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is a free agent, and it doesn’t look like he wants to go back to the Miami Dolphins. Frankly, after the way the Dolphins treated Fitzpatrick, I don’t blame him. He is more than capable of starting for an NFL team. He’s a perfect “bridge quarterback” because he is well versed in multiple offensive schemes. Fitzpatrick has played so long, and he’s like Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers. There isn’t much a defense can throw at Fitzpatrick that he hasn’t seen before.

The Chicago Bears need to make a play at Ryan Fitzpatrick, sign him to a two-year contract. Put a plan in place to either trade up for a quarterback they want or even trade up to make sure they get Mac Jones. Trying to trade up to get Trey Lance or Zach Wilson would be problematic and quite costly. The concern would be repeating the mistake from the Mitch Trubisky trade. If the Bears sign Fitzpatrick, they have options and don’t have to force a quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft.

One of the concerns I would have with taking a quarterback with the 20th overall pick is that there is still a lot of talent available at positions the Bears need help. For example, both offensive line and wide receiver are areas that Chicago needs help. With the 20th pick, there will be plenty of talented offensive lineman and wide receivers on the board, and it would be prudent, in my opinion, for them to go that route.

The Best Approach for The Bears

Here is what the Chicago Bears need to do. Priority should be to sign Ryan Fitzpatrick. Next, the Bears need to form a draft plan for the quarterback position. If they sign Fitzpatrick, they could gamble on a prospect like Kellen Mond. Still, use that first-round pick for the talent they need at other places. Gambling on a prospect in the third or fourth round RARELY pays off. There is a some risk with this approach.

Another option is to sign Fitzpatrick and hope that Mac Jones is available at pick 20. I am not sold on Jones, but he’s worth a shot for the Bears. He has the best tools from the neck up, but Jones is limited athletically. Mac is a natural-born leader, knows how to win, and understands that the quarterback’s role is to get the ball into your playmaker’s hands. In my opinion, this is the least risky option for Bears, regarding the quarterback position. They wouldn’t be overpaying financially or with draft capital trying to sure up that roster spot, but it’s not going to help the Bears in the other areas they need help with.

The last option is one that is going to required the Chicago front office to be willing to gamble. While all four of the top quarterback options are getting a lot of love in NFL circles, we have seen in the past drafting a quarterback is no sure thing. The going rate for the top two to four overall picks is pretty steep. I would assume the Bears would have to give up multiple first-round selections and probably a second-round pick or more to move up to the top four spots.

The reason I suggest the top four spots, they have a better opportunity to get one of the higher valued prospects. That’s a high price to pay for an unknown commodity, and with what happened with Trubisky, some might find it foolish. If you try to wait and land a golden nugget like Tom Brady in the fifth round or Dak Prescott in the fourth round, you might as well be wishing with a genie in a bottle. These players are rare, but neither team risked much and found gold at the quarterback spot in both examples.

Overall, my suggestion is to sign Fitzpatrick and take a chance on Kellen Mond later in the draft. Bulk up that offensive line, get a high upside wide receiver prospect, and draft Mond in the third round or later. Rayn Fitzpatrick is more than capable of running the offense for the next year or two. You can see if Mond can develop, and if not, you didn’t risk much on a quarterback to be wrong. The bottom line, the Bears are going to have to get creative, or they are going to waste a very talented team lead by their defense.

The post Top 2021 QB Options For The Chicago Bears appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Rich Maletto

There are three rookie tight ends to target that, I believe, are head and shoulders above the rest of the field as we head into the NFL draft season. Below I will discuss who they are and why you should target them in your upcoming fantasy drafts. We will even cover when you should look for them in your drafts. Rookie tight ends are rarely impactful their rookie year, but they can also give you an edge if you hit on one. 

Kyle Pitts

This first tight end is the only one I would consider targeting in any of my redraft leagues. Kyle Pitts is a complete freak of nature. He measures over 6’5″ tall and around 235 lbs. For those asking, yes, he’s roughly the same size as Calvin Johnson, who was 6’5″ and 237 lbs. Megatron also ran a 4.35 40 yard dash time at the combine. No one believes we will see anywhere near as fast of a time from Pitts if Pitts were able to get into that sub 4.5 range; wow, lookout. The last official time I could find online was 4.70 seconds from 2017. 

Let’s be clear about a few things. Currently, Pitts is listed as a tight end. I have read somethings that state some teams see him more as a receiver than a tight end. In my honest opinion, he plays all over the field, and I don’t care what teams list him as. It’s all going to depend on two things. Do teams think Pitts can put on enough size to take on edge rushers consistently, or does he have enough speed to play on the outside regularly? 

How teams list, Kyle Pitts will determine where we can play him on our rosters. The fact remains, it doesn’t matter what position he will play. He’s too talented not to be on the field. In college, Kyle played inline, split out wide and even out of the slot. He is a complete mismatch nightmare. Pitts may not be the best blocker for a tight end, as he tends to get bulled over by larger edge rushers, he does have decent technique. Pitts will be a solid blocker on the outside, though. 

Depending on Kyle’s 40 time, and depending on how the pro days go, we could see teams taking Pitts in the top five on the NFL draft. Unlike most rookie tight ends, I don’t think you have to worry about Pitts not seeing enough snaps. Don’t be surprised to see him lineup all over the field, especially in three-wide sets. Pitts is also a tremendous red-zone target. There is so much to be excited about that I can’t stand it!  

Pat Feiermuth

Pitts is a receiving mismatch, but he is by no means a prototypical tight end. On the other hand, Pat Freiermuth is maybe the most complete tight end in this class. At 6’5″ and 258 lbs, he has the size and ability to play inline. Immediately for an NFL team, Freiermuth is much more ready to play as a full-time tight end. 

The curious thing for me is how fast does Freiermuth run the 40 at his pro days. He’s projected to be right around that 4.70, but if he can run a little quicker, it would be huge for Freiermuth. Not to be crass, cutting few tenths of a second getting down to a 4.67 could be a big difference for Pat in both contract pay and where he gets selected. Freiermuth has been labeled with a moniker referencing Gronk because he can be a blocking tight end and split out wide. 

When you Pat Freiermuth at Penn State, you notice something about him that you also see with Pitts. Both of these gentlemen bails out their quarterbacks. Freiermuth has some incredible catches down the sidelines catching balls that looked they were headed out of bounds. Pat has excellent hands, and he also goes up and high points the ball. I don’t know if you can count on a lot of fantasy points in year one. He’s ready to start for an NFL franchise, but typically tight ends need a little time to come into their own. 

Brevin Jordan

The last tight end is probably not someone you would consider drafting in any redraft league. Bervin Jordan is a heck of an athlete and is dynamic with the ball in his hands. Jordan is listed at 6’3″ and 245 lbs. He’s a little undersized to play consistently inline. He can put on the size and strength and work on his passing technique, which needs improvement. The power of his game, though, is out in the open field.

Even though he’s dynamic with the ball in his hand, getting the ball in his hands might take a little time at the NFL level. He’s a bit raw with his route running. He does project to be under that 4.67 forty time, and he looks plenty quick enough on the field. There’s plenty to like about Jordan, and I think we might need a second or third year to see a real breakout. Jordan reminds me of Irv Smith in some ways. 

Where to Target these TEs in Drafts

As fantasy players, these incredible athletes are only somewhat important to us no matter how good they are at football. We need to invest players that will be on the field and involved or have no value on our rosters. That’s just the fact of the matter. Once they are on the field, they also need to be involved in the game plan.

Kyle Pitts, I firmly believe, will do that. He’s going to be a first-round pick, and Pitts is going to see the field early. There is an opportunity for immediate return on investment with Pitts. As such, in redraft leagues, I would be willing to draft Pitts as an upside TE2. That puts you taking him in the 15th round or so. You may have to take him sooner, but I don’t think I would want Pitts any earlier than after the first 12-15 tight ends were selected.

For dynasty, if this was a rookie draft, you better be ready to select Pitts in the top five spots. Regardless if it’s just hype, Kyle Pitts is going early and often in rookie drafts. For your startup fantasy drafts, while I wouldn’t condone it, I have a feeling Pitts is going to be selected in the first three rounds. There is a lot of hype around him, and it’s all going to depend on how early you are willing to go on an unknown entity. 

Pat Freiermuth will see the field, I believe, early. Since he can be counted on blocking and being split out, he can be used in many ways. I think in redraft, you could get Freiermuth a bit later than Pitts. Freiermuth would be your TE2 that you could pick up as your last pick or even as a free agent pickup. It’s a name you should watch, though, because he will see the field.

In dynasty rookie drafts, he will be available in the middle to end of round two, maybe slips a little further back depending on if it’s a Superflex league or not. In startup drafts, this is a name that might fall a little. I would target him as the second rookie tight end taken. Pat Freiermuth doesn’t have the hype surrounding him that Pitts does. You might be able to snag Freiermuth in the double-digit rounds. 

Brevin Jordan does have plenty of upsides, but I would rather have him sitting on my taxi squad instead of my active roster. I mentioned earlier that I see some Irv Smith similarities, and as excited as I am about Irv Smith, it will be a three-year project come this fall. We might see the same from Jordan. So, I am avoiding him for redraft leagues. Note the name and watch the numbers, but do not target Jordan in the draft.

Jordan does offer some exciting upside at the tight end positions for dynasty leagues. Ideally, you would have a taxi spot for Jordan to sit on for the year to see what happens. If this is a rookie draft and not a Superflex league, you can probably wait until the end of the third round and into the fourth round before drafting Jordan. In a startup league, it’s tough to say. You will have to draft based on when you see some of the second or third tier wide receivers come off the board.

One thing to remember about any draft, every draft is different. No matter how much you mock, you will never know how a draft will go. You have to have some feel for the draft and try to keep more than one target in mind. Once we see the NFL draft, we will have a much better idea of how the fantasy committee will rate these talented tight ends.

• By Rich Maletto @BodaciousBeer

The post 3 Rookie TEs to Target in Fantasy Drafts appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Rich Maletto (@BodaciousBeer)

Michael Carter is going to be a name you hear a lot over the next few weeks. It’s also the name you are going to hear the most regarding the 2021 Senior Bowl.

I was looking forward to seeing Kylin Hill and Khalil Herbert play. I will be frank I didn’t see anything that impressed me in the slightest from either of those two. Michael Carter, on the other hand, jumped off the screen and forced you to take notice.

Michael Carter’s Fantasy Outlook

Carter had eight carries for 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground while notching two catches for 15 yards.
To give you a frame of reference the next highest rushing total for the game came from quarterback Ian Book with 18 yards. Kylin Hill led the American Team with 15 yards on six carries. The running game was largely not existent, except for Carter.

Javonte Williams has received a lot of praise recently, and rightfully so, but I think it has led to us looking past Michael Carter. The UNC backfield duo of Carter and Williams combined for a total of 2385 rushing yards this season. I was surprised to see that Williams had more receiving yards than Carter on the year.

As you watch UNC games from the 2021 season, it’s hard not being impressed with both running backs in this duo. Williams has the size that catches the eyes of pro scouts, and I think that’s why some of us have discredited Carter. I will admit I am guilty of this.

I watched multiple UNC games and was thoroughly impressed with both running backs, but I was guilty of looking past Carter and what he brings to the team. Carter’s talents were on display at the Senior Bowl. Carter had a beautiful run in the second quarter that started with him making two defenders miss in the backfield. It was by far the best run of the day, as the run game had been nonexistent for both teams up to that point.

Carter’s elusiveness is the first thing you notice in the run I mentioned above Carter jukes one defensive player then casually uses a stiff arm to push past the next defender before making a cut and turning on the jets. While none of the running backs had much room to run all day, Carter somehow found ways to make room.

Carter also had the only rushing touchdown all day. On that run, he ran up between the tackles and ran into a scrum, where the offensive line just decided to push Carter to the endzone. I mention this because Carter is about 5’8″ and weighs about 202 lbs. That is a bit on the smaller side for running backs, but you wouldn’t know by watching Carter play. He does not go down easily, and as you saw on the TD run, he has the strength to push through defenders.

I should point out, a talented running back that had a solid NFL career, Warrick Dunn only measured 5’9″ and 180 lbs. If Carter could put on five to eight lbs without losing any burst or top-end speed, he would be about the same size as Maurice Jones-Drew. Those are two backs that had pretty successful NFL careers proving the doubters wrong.

One benefit of watching the Senior Bowl we were able to watch all the running backs in a similar scheme with similar players, and the fact that only Michael Carter shined, I believe, says a lot about this young man. Carter is not currently listed as one of the top six running backs in this class, and he should be. One NFL team is going to get a steal at the running back position with Carter.

A team like the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan would allow Carter to shine. Sharing a backfield doesn’t seem to bother him and frankly, Carter had a lot of success in college in a shared backfield. The Green Bay Packers would be another solid fit to team up Carter with a power guy like AJ Dillon.

I don’t see Carter as every-down running back in the NFL, but most teams aren’t looking for that anyway. I would like to see some better pass protection from Carter for him to take his game to another level.

Kellen Mond NFL Prospect

Another player that jumped out to most people was Kellen Mond, as he walked away with the Senior Bowl MVP trophy. Mond came back into the game in the 3rd quarter and threw for 112 yards, completing seven out of 10 attempts and two touchdowns. It was quite the 3rd quarter to watch!

What you found watching the game were a few things. The first being, Mond is quite mobile, he needs to work on his pocket presence a little bit, but he is a quarterback that can move around behind the line of scrimmage. The second thing you will notice, he is not afraid to sling that ball into tight windows. This was never more apparent than his first touchdown to Amari Rodgers.

Not only was it a gutsy throw by Mond, but an incredible catch by Rodgers who took quite a shot and held onto the ball for the touchdown. The third thing I noticed, Mond throws a ball with some serious heat. Which, at times leads to overthrows in the intermediate areas and tougher balls to catch on the short routes. If Mond, can work on his touch with the ball on the shorter passes it would help his game tremendously.

To be clear, I am not suggesting Mond is a top-end talent like what we saw with Patrick Mahomes a few years ago. What Mond is, is a young talented player that needs some grooming. He is not a player I would expect to see the field in 2021.

I think about some of the past quarterbacks taken in the middle rounds of the NFL draft and most have either had careers as backups or very short careers. There are a few later round picks that did stick around in the NFL and even started, like Tom Brady, but most didn’t. Mond is not Tom Brady, but when I think about Mason Rudolph or Gardner Minshew and I compare them to Mond, I feel like Mond is better than both of those players. At least, he has the raw tools to be better than both of those players, in my opinion.

Things that will translate to the NFL for Mond are his mobility, willingness to unleash his throws, and an arm that can live up to NFL standards. When you watch his past games, inconsistency is a reoccurring theme. Flashes of brilliance followed up by games that make your stomach turn. I am hopeful a solid NFL coach or the right NFL coach can mold Mond into a consistent performer.

Dez Fitzpatrick Fantasy Sleeper

The last player that caught my and eye was Dez Fitzpatrick. Two of the best catches you saw in the game, were made by Fitzpatrick. Sick out route where he somehow dragged his feet to complete a catch. Then Fitzpatrick made an incredible catch over the defender along the sidelines. Both catches had me in awe.

As impressive as two of the six catches were, he had an absolute terrible drop that hit him square in the hands as he was wide open. I don’t want to overstate any one ball, but I can’t deny that was one play that made me take notice. However, Dez didn’t let it get in his head, rebounded and the young man led all players with six catches and 90 yards.

I will be upfront I have a thing for bigger taller receivers. I believe that you can’t coach or teach speed and size. At 6’2″ and 210 lbs. Fitzpatrick has the build to play in the NFL. Fitzpatrick should be more than an adequate, red-zone target at that size, and the way he attacks the ball on contested passes, I see Dez being a problem for a lot of defensive backs.

Fitzpatrick does possess a lot of the skill set needed to be successful in the NFL. He has the size, he is rumored to be in that 4.4-4.5 range in the 40, and he had a lot of attention coming out of high school. All this means he has the raw tools, so why haven’t we heard much about him until now?

Fitzpatrick started his freshman year with promise, he had 49 catches and 699 yards, with Lamar Jackson throwing to him. Then the quarterback play went the way of the NFL draft when Jackson moved onto the NFL. But it wasn’t all quarterback play or lack thereof that impacted what we saw from Fitzpatrick.

The Louisville Cardinals brought in a speedster by the name of Tutu Atwell in 2018. Atwell’s production had an impact on Dez Fitzpatrick’s role and output for the team. In 2020 Dez caught 43 passes to Atwell’s 46 passes, but Fitzpatrick went for 833 yards compared to Atwell’s 625 yards. The point being, there wasn’t a ton of volume in this passing game compared to the teams like Florida or even Alabama.

It’s easy to discredit Fitzpatrick and his lack of yards and catches if you just look at the stat sheet, but there’s more to that story as I just mentioned above. Fitzpatrick does need to improve though if he is going to make an impact in the NFL. Dez has got to work on his lateral quickness, which he has shown he can do so. He is so long it can take him a little too long to slow down and cut.

Earlier I mentioned size and speed can’t be coached, and I believe that, but improved route running and better movement through your hips can be taught. Fitzpatrick was a highly touted recruit, the raw tools still appear to be there, Dez just needs to be molded a bit. To be clear, I am not suggesting Fitzpatrick as a round one or two draft pick, but more a player that can be developed into an NFL starter.

Now let’s get to the fun stuff, what does this all mean in terms of fantasy? Right now without knowing where these players land and me being a coach and systems kind of guy, where to draft these players is a bit of a crapshoot.

Michael Carter should be a target for those of you in dynasty leagues, regardless if it’s a startup draft or rookie draft. I firmly believe Carter is a top-five running back in this class. He has elite burst and elusiveness that is just phenomenal to watch. Once he gets his pass-pro down, he’s going to see the field, even if it’s just a third-down back. He is too explosive and talented to keep off the field. Carter needs to be a fantasy target for fantasy GMs.

In the case of Kellen Mond, patience will be a virtue. Mond is not going to jump on NFL rosters and start unless he ends up in a similar situation to what we saw with Gardner Minshew in 2019 in Jacksonville. This is a player you should target in the later rounds of a rookie draft to sit on your taxi squad. If we see much or anything from Mond other than preseason in 2021, I would be shocked.

Dez Fitzpatrick is a tricky one to gauge here. There are a lot of talented wide receivers in this rookie class, and frankly, the last two years have produced some very talented receivers. The range of outcomes for Dez Fitzpatrick is incredibly diverse. We could see him not develop into a starter and I don’t see him as much of a returner on special teams, or we could see him as a WR2 on a couple of teams two or three years from now.

I will be targeting Dez in my fantasy drafts. I will be hoping to draft him in about the same spots I was able to grab Donavan Peoples-Jones or Antonio Gandy-Golden last year, which was at the very end of rookie drafts. Just like DPJ and AGG Fitzpatrick has a lot of the tools to like and still quite a bit of work to put in to refine himself at the position. I still believe the sky is the limit for Fitzpatrick. He would make a heck of a possession receiver and red-zone target with his size and body control.

Senior Bowl Fantasy Impacts

Don’t go crazy targeting these players, maybe be willing to reach on Michael Carter, but Mond and Fitzpatrick are much more projects than Carter is. Also, don’t be surprised to see Carter climb up both NFL and fantasy draft boards after this weekend he was impressive at the Senior Bowl. One thing you will notice, none of these players I mention here will you find in anybody’s top 10 mock draft selections, because that’s not what these players are. These folks played in the Senior Bowl with the goal of raising their draft stock. Carter, Mond, and Fitzpatrick all did that at the Senior Bowl.

-By Rich Maletto

The post 3 Senior Bowl Fantasy Prospects appeared first on Pro Football Mania.