By: Andy Davies

The NFC West was considered the elite division in the NFL as little as a year ago but things have progressed since, despite having the current Super Bowl champions in the Los Angeles Rams. 

Russell Wilson is no longer in the division, and no one quite knows who will be the QB1 in San Francisco. 

But who is the divisions best quarterback? Here are the rankings of the NFC West quarterbacks from best to worst.

Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)

What better place to start than with the QB1 of the Super Bowl Champions. Whilst Stafford was not the reason the Rams won Super Bowl 56 over the Cincinnati Bengals, with 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, he was certainly the final piece of the jigsaw as the Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since the 1999 season. 

The Rams were always contenders, making it all the way to Super Bowl 53, but there was always something missing at the quarterback position. Jared Goff did well but even he would admit he was probably not good enough to take the Rams where they needed.

He was traded to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Stafford and the rest is history. Stafford had reached the postseason on three previous occasions, but each time came up short at the first attempt. His lack of playoff wins was a factor pointed out by sceptics when he arrived but when the Rams made the playoffs, Stafford showed why the team gave up so much to get him. In four games, he threw for 1,188 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions as well as having a 70% completion percentage (98 from 140).

In the regular season, Stafford also impressed. Only Tom Brady (43) threw for more touchdown passes (41), with Stafford throwing for the third-most passing yards (4,886). 

Stafford is clearly the choice for the number one spot on this list and it will take a lot for the other players in this list to catch him up.

Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals)

Murray’s future is unclear, with his fifth option exercised but no longer-term deal in place at time of writing. 

The 2019 first overall pick has shown signs of his potential but is yet to fulfil this on a consistent basis. In three seasons, he has thrown for 11,480 yards, 70 touchdowns and 34 interceptions, whilst also recording  1,786 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. 

A trend of Murray’s career so far is starting off the season well but tailing off down the stretch. He will need a big year to convince the Cardinals front office that he is the player moving forward. Either way, he still remains second on this list.

Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers)

When the 49ers lost to the Rams in the NFC Championship game back in January, it was seen by many to be the end of Jimmy G in San Francisco. However, he is still on the team.

Having missed OTA’s due to rehab on his shoulder,  he has yet to be traded. Say what you want about Jimmy G, but he wins games. Simple as that. Whilst he has never been the reason for the 49ers winning games, he is a very serviceable quarterback. With uncertainty over Lance after reports of the organisation being underwhelmed, Garoppolo is the right guy to be under centre for the 49ers in week one. 

Drew Lock/Geno Smith (Seattle Seahawks)

Whether it is Lock or Smith, there is no way they aren’t at the bottom of this list. Lock has a great start to life in the NFL, when he started for the Denver Broncos towards the end of the 2019 season, his 2020 and 2021 campaigns flattered to deceive. Meanwhile, Smith has been a backup for most of his career. Neither of these quarterbacks, whoever starts against the Broncos in week one, are likely to inspire confidence from fans or the Seattle coaching staff. 

The post Ranking the NFC West Quarterbacks right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jason Ferris

The AP’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year award is an illustrious one rich in history and lore. Since it’s inception in 1972, the award has been handed out forty-nine times, with Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans being the most recent recipient. 

Scrolling through the list of past winners conjures up fond memories of dynasties such as Bill Walsh’s West Coast 49er teams and Marshall Faulk’s Greatest Show on Turf. But through all of the years of record-breaking performances and iconic moments, only two wide receivers have ever earned the coveted Offensive Player of the Year award: San Francisco’s Jerry Rice (1987 and 1993) and New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas (2019). That’s it. That’s the list. No Randy Moss. No Calvin Johnson. No, Michael Irvin.

It’s not hard to see that quarterbacks and running backs truly are the chosen ones when it comes to NFL awards. They are the cover boys who drive for the show while the rest putt for the proverbial dough.

But with all of the incredibly talented wide receivers that have entered the league in the past few years, not to mention this year’s sizzling incoming crop, it is only a matter of time before another wide receiver claims the title of NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. Question is, who will it be? DeAndre Hopkins. Sounds like a future Jeopardy answer that Aaron Rodgers might be giving and it should be. Hopkins is as elite a wide receiver as there is in the league today and oh, by the way, his quarterback is just about to enter his prime.

DeAndre Hopkins has been nominated for the OPOY before and he last finished runner up in 2018 to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and his ridiculous 52 total touchdowns. He is a highlight waiting to happen on every snap and his time has come. Here are the reasons why Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins will be crowned the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2021:

The Stats

In the world of sports, stats are important – Really important. Ever try to frame a house without screws? Well in sports, stats are those screws.

Hopkins’ 2020 season was exceptional for most but average for him. He posted 115 catches for 1407 yards and 6 touchdowns. Statistically, it was his fourth-best season in his eight-year career thus far.  He is a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time First-Team All-Pro. In his last six seasons, DeAndre Hopkins has been in the top 5 in receiving yards four times and top 3 in receptions in each of the last three years. He has posted 1,100 yards or more six times and soared over 1,500 twice.  Hopkins has the pedigree to win the OPOY award, of that there is no doubt. But had Derrick Henry not had the monster 2027 yard and 17 touchdown season, would DeAndre Hopkins have been considered for the award last year? Probably not.

Looking back at the past wide receiver winners of the OPOY award tells a story. In order to even be considered for the award, wide receivers have to go well beyond what is considered a ”˜great’ season for their position. For example, when Michael Thomas won it in 2019, he posted 149 catches for 1724 yards, and 9 touchdowns. In 1987, Jerry Rice won the award after a season in which he scored 22 times. Both are astronomical in their own right but there have been other performances worthy of the award throughout the years.

The moral of the story is that if you are a wide receiver looking to take home the OPOY, be prepared to have to put up historical numbers in order to be considered. Otherwise, the award is going to the best quarterback or running back that year. Plain and simple. In order for Hopkins to take the hardware home next season, he is going to have to crush his career bests. And he will.

The Past

The Arizona Cardinals finished a blah 8-8 in 2020, good for third in the division and an early tee time rather than a playoff game. In a division that was there for the taking, the 2020 season was a disappointment. Losses to the lowly Dolphins, Patriots, and Lions, combined with two crucial losses to the division rival Rams summed up the 2020 season for the Cardinals. 

So for a team that scored 410 points (good for 13th in the league) and was 12th in total defense, why did that not translate into more wins? What went wrong? The answer is quite simple. Kyler Murray. Not his 67.2% completion (up from 64.4% in 2019), not his QB rating of 94.3 (up from 87.4 in 2019), nor was it his 26 TDs (up from 20 TDs in 2019). No statistically, Murray had an excellent sophomore year. He definitely improved over his rookie season. The problem with Murray in 2020 was that he was always on the run.

NFL teams took note of Kyler Murray’s impressive rookie season. So much so that the universal consensus amongst defensive coordinators was to turn up the heat on Murray. Teams dialed up a total of 156 blitzes against Murray in 2020, creating a pocket where he was pressured 16.7% of the time. Even though that was not the most in the league, it was enough to send Murray scrambling 56 times on broken plays. Having his quarterback rush 133 times for 819 yards (2nd on the team) pretty much drained the life out of DeAndre’s OPOY aspirations.  

The Future

It does not take a genius to see that Kyler Murray, and DeAndre Hopkins indirectly, could benefit from a little more time to execute timing and routes. The re-signing of Kelvin Beachum and Max Garcia was a good start but more line work needs to be done. The upcoming draft has Arizona picking at #16 and #49 in the first two rounds and although running back is a definite need, an offensive lineman should be gracing their draft board in the first round. OT Alex Leatherwood (Alabama) or OT Jackson Carman (Clemson) would look great in Cardinal red. 

Kliff Kingsbury also needs to ramp up Hopkins’s involvement for maximum production. DeAndre Hopkins lined up for only 92% of Arizona’s offensive plays last year. To give that stat some perspective, during Hopkin’s most productive years in 2015 and 2018, he was on the field for 97% and 99% of his teams’ snaps respectively. Now maybe the NFL’s version of ”˜load management’ for it’s players is to monitor and manage a player’s snap count, but DeAndre Hopkins obviously thrives as a workhorse and benefits from the reps. Kliff if you are reading this, get Hopkins on the field more.

DeAndre Hopkins has the best chance of any wide receiver out there to win the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award next season. Besides his obvious elite talent and very favorable playing situation with Kyler Murray, Hopkins personifies durability. In eight seasons (plus 6 playoff games), he has only missed a game twice. That is 132 out of 134 games for those of you trying to do the calculation. This, more than any other X factor, separates Hopkins from the rest. This will be the year that DeAndre putts for the dough and steals the show.

The post Why DeAndre Hopkins can win OPOY: time for nuk is now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Chandler Hyler

James Conner, former Pittsburgh Steeler running back is still looking for his next home. As we have moved past the first, second, and maybe even third waves of free agency, Conner is still on the market. While he will certainly be brought in by a franchise this year, that really is not the question; it is just which franchise will bring the former 2018 Pro Bowler in.

Conner has had an up and down career, hardly seeing the field in 2017 as the Steelers still were represented by one of the top backs in the league at the time, Le’Veon Bell. In the following year, Bell had his controversial contract dispute which led to him missing the entire season. Conner would actually be the beneficiary of this, as he was given his opportunity to shine, and he capitalized. He amassed 973 rushing yards while adding another 497 receiving yards. He would also reach the end zone 13 times in his scratching the surface debut season.

In the following years, Conner has not been as productive as he has battled though not only injuries, but a struggling offensive output in general. Since the departure of Offensive Line Coach in 2019, Mike Munchak, the Steelers run game as a unit has plunged significantly. The air-raid offense that has been led by a quarterback who is meeting father time also has not worked out Conner’s benefit.

Is Conner the 2018 version, where we saw him reach the Pro Bowl, or was that lone season a mirage in a very efficient offense? Regardless, I think it would be wise for both sides, Conner and his future team to come to terms on a one-year prove-it type deal so neither team mortgages their future on an unknown commodity. So, which teams could possibly roll the dice on Conner?

1. Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills have been one of the few teams that are connected to possible first-round pick Najee Harris in the 2021 NFL Draft. What that tells us is that they are a team looking for a running back, and while I believe Harris is definitely the better option at this point, you could see a team like the Miami Dolphins pick him before he drops to pick number 30. With that said, This Bills team is ready to win now, as they made it to the AFC Championship game last year, but they just couldn’t surpass the juggernaut in the Kansas City Chiefs. If you subtract Quarterback Josh Allen’s rushing yards from that game, they would have totaled 41 rushing yards, and nine of those came from weapon Isiah McKenzie. If this team wants to make a late push again, and get over the hump, it would be wise for them to address the backfield. Conner hasn’t been the most reliable, but he would not need twenty touches a game in this offense. Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll could limit his touches until January football, and this could be the extra ingredient needed to keep defenses honest against Allen and crew,

2. New York Jets

As the New York Jets look to rebuild their roster under first-year head coach Robert Saleh, they will need some veteran faces inside the huddle and locker room. They are basically penciled in to select quarterback Zach Wilson out of BYU with the second overall pick in this year’s draft, and a quarterback’s best friend can be a good ground game. Conner would help take some pressure off of Wilson, and at the minimum keep the opposing defense honest. Conner could be brought in on a one-year deal, enough to come in and give him the chance to show the other 31 teams in the NFL that 2018 was not an anomaly, and helps rookie signal-caller and head coach get through their first year as a pairing.

3. Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a wildcard in the running for Conner, and there really aren’t any outstanding connections that I’m at least aware of. That being said, they just lost running back Kenyan Drake to the Las Vegas Raiders, so there is a chance to upgrade their backfield. Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury wants to build a potent offense, and with the weapons that they currently have at wide receiver including All-Pro Deandre Hopkins, and a lightning bolt at quarterback in Kyler Murray, Conner could add the final dimension to this offense. He is an able pass-catcher and is a tough runner. Adding pass rusher JJ Watt tells me that this team believes it is in its window right now, and adding Conner could be a valuable piece to add to their offense.

4. Miami Dolphins

Head Coach Brian Flores is building quite the team in Miami and has proven to be a great hire. As he continues to look for pieces to upgrade his offense, Conner could be a name that warrants attention. Out of every team in the running for running back Najee Harris, the Miami Dolphins seem to have the most smoke surrounding them. They actually pick in front of the Steelers as well as the Bills. If for whatever reason they are unable to land Harris, they could turn to Conner as a veteran presence to be behind second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Their defense is solid and is backed by a great secondary; their offense is the unit that needs improvement. The AFC East is a division that is clearly led by the Buffalo Bills, but the window to finish second is surely up for grabs, and if the Dolphins can add some weapons, they could push for a wild card spot in the upcoming season’s playoffs. Adding a playmaker on the outside at the top of the draft, some protection for Tua at pick number 18, and adding Conner could beef this offense up in just a few transactions.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Conner could be the last resorts for both sides in this situation. As the Bills and Dolphins, the Steelers are interested in Alabama product Najee Harris. If they are unable to land Harris and aren’t able to find a running back they like in this year’s crop, we could see the Steelers look towards the familiar face in Conner. The same goes for Conner, if he is unable to get what he wants out of the open market, he could accept the chance to stay home and try to pull one more productive season out of the black and yellow. This seems like it could be the last ride for Steelers’ current quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, bringing back Conner could be similar to the situation that brought Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster back to the Steel City. One last ride for this Steelers roster, and we could see it blown up the following season.

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