Category: Latest News

Joe Burrow lands top 3 in 2024 QB rankings

Joe Burrow with a top three spot behind two major names.

Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow nearly fell out of the top 10 in recent fantasy football quarterback rankings.

As expected, though, he fares much better in standard rankings.

Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus just rolled out 2024 rankings for all 32 starters and slots Burrow third behind only Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson:

Burrow, unfortunately, had an injury-riddled 2023, starting with a calf strain that it appeared he was rushed back from to start the season. He then suffered a torn ligament in his wrist on his throwing hand that ended his season. But I won’t let an injury-affected season take away from what we have seen from Burrow when he is fully healthy: an ice-in-his-veins decision-maker with assassin-like accuracy and MVP-caliber play.

Some variation of that theme — with Josh Allen and Justin Herbert mixed in for good measure — usually dominates the top five in normal passer rankings right now.

It says much about Burrow that despite the injury-plagued season last year that started during the summer, he remains in the top three rankings like this.

Burrow’s top weapon Ja’Marr Chase had a similar spot in recent rankings, too.

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Bengals’ free-agent signing hailed as team’s most underrated player

A new Bengals signing receives some major hype.

The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty of underrated players on their roster when thinking about things from a national perspective.

For example, Trey Hendrickson hasn’t exactly been a household name despite production that places him in the top-tier rankings alongside the likes of T.J. Watt.

As it turns out, one of the team’s newcomers this offseason arrives underrated, too.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire outlined each team’s most underrated player and listed safety Geno Stone:

It’s a great move for Lou Anarumo’s defense, which had been struggling at safety for a while, but when a guy plays in the deep third on 80% of his snaps and allows 28 catches on 42 targets for 197 yards, 145 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, seven interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 53.5…

Stone came over via free agency this offseason as what the team hopes is a better-late-than-never Jessie Bates replacement.

Already learning the defense from Vonn Bell, Stone will be a workhorse for the unit while Bell and sophomore Jordan Battle see the field too — all while former first-round pick Dax Hill competes at cornerback.

Should Stone be a nice fit for Lou Anarumo’s scheme, last year’s down season for the unit would indeed be an anomaly — and possibly help raise Stone’s national profile in the process.

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Bengals are one of NFL’s ‘top-tier teams’ on 2024 schedule

Some interesting insight into why the Bengals have so many big games next season.

The Cincinnati Bengals appear in five primetime games next season on the initial 2024 NFL schedule, with roughly half their games sitting in a national-type spotlight given the presence of late-afternoon kickoffs.

It’s just more proof the Bengals have become a hot commodity for the league during the Joe Burrow era.

Actually hearing it from those in charge of the schedule is always interesting, though.

Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com the following about Cincinnati’s prominent spot on the schedule next season:

“Every time a fan interacts with the National Football League, they’re telling us what they care about. Whether watching television, listening to a podcast, buying a hat or jersey, putting a player on their fantasy team, following someone on Instagram, and the Bengals are getting to be one of those top-tier teams our fans care about week in and week out.”

What’s interesting is how North talks about the late-afternoon kickoffs, too. While not “primetime” games, he told Hobson that those 4:25 p.m. ET kickoffs do 28-30 million people, compared to 16-18 million for a Monday night game.

So, looking at Cincinnati’s schedule that way, it’s pretty clear just how much the league values the Bengals as an attraction right now, which is all based on fan response in the first place.

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Current and former Bengals make top free agency value signings list

The Bengals get the nod for finding a great value.

The Cincinnati Bengals had a pretty well-received offseason overall, between adding notable free agents to reloading on talent through the draft.

At least one of the moves has been tabbed as an excellent value by an expert, too.

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski recently tabbed the best value free-agent deals of the offseason and Cincinnati’s deal with running back Zack Moss made the cut:

The Bengals basically signed a quality starting option for a third of what Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs got with their average annual salaries. Moss also came in under the likes of fellow free agents D’Andre Swift, Tony Pollard, Devin Singletary, Derrick Henry, Antonio Gibson, Austin Ekeler and DeeJay Dallas in total contractual value.

Moss’ major hints of production at his last stop made him easily worth the two-year deal worth $8 million the Bengals gave him on the market. Now, he’ll pair with the explosive sophomore Chase Brown in a committee approach that better fits the new-look offense and could produce big numbers.

As an aside, former Bengals wideout Tyler Boyd’s deal with Tennessee made the cut too. Given what Cincinnati fans know about his relibaltiy, it’s not hard to see why the one-year, $4.5 million deal to help along a developing quarterback looks like a fantastic value.

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Titans cornerbacks get recognition from national writer

Two Titans cornerbacks were recently showered with praise by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

One of the Tennessee Titans’ most improved position groups ahead of the 2024 season has been cornerback, where general manager Ran Carthon made a pair of significant moves.

Not only are the Titans returning Roger McCreary, they also signed Chidobe Awuzie and traded for L’Jarius Sneed, the latter of whom is considered one of the best in the business at his position.

In what is a departure from what we’re used to when it comes to the national media, two Titans cornerbacks are getting some love from Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire.

In a recent article naming the most underrated player for every NFL team ahead of the 2024 season, the choice for the Titans was McCreary. Here’s what Farrar said about that.

One thing Carthon didn’t want to alter was Roger McCready’s position as his primary slot defender. The 2022 second-round pick out of Auburn was outstanding last season not only in slot coverage overall, but specifically in slot press when he was able. Playing press out of the slot is especially tough, because the boundary isn’t there as an extra defender, and you have to match where the receiver goes, with more options for the receiver to use.

McCreary was aligned in press on a team-high 138 of his 946 snaps last season — you can expect that number to double in 2024. When in press, he allowed eight catches on 15 targets for 5.3 yards per reception, one explosive play, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a slew of receivers who were surprised at how well McCreary was able to turn against his team’s formerly passive preferences for positive results.

Further padding the idea that McCreary is a lot better than people give him credit for — at least nationally — the Auburn product was ranked as the No. 18 cornerback in the entire league last season by Pro Football Focus.

Bear in mind, that was McCreary’s first season playing in the slot after he was on the boundary in Year 1. It stands to reason he could really break out in 2024, especially with things around him being much better.

Farrar wasn’t done showering Titans cornerbacks with praise, though.

He listed both McCreary and Sneed as two of the best press corners in the NFL. McCreary landed at No. 11 on the list, while Sneed was No. 1. Farrar’s thoughts on Sneed are as follows:

Sneed is the foundation of the Titans’ desire to play much more press coverage in 2024 than they did in 2023. That’s why they paid him as they did. It’s also why they brought in former Cowboys and Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, and it’s why they held onto Roger McCreary — more on him in a minute. But Sneed has established himself as one of the best press defenders in the league, and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo gave him every opportunity to show it off. Last season, Sneed pressed on 393 of his 1,285 snaps, and he gave up 18 catches on 50 press targets for 4.4 yards per reception, four explosive plays, no interceptions, and no touchdowns.

It’s interesting that Sneed got neither of his two interceptions last season in press coverage, but most of his 16 pass deflections came in press, and he was responsible for other kinds of havoc when his route disruptions allowed Kansas City’s pass-rushers to hunt. It’ll likely be very much the same story in Tennessee.

The Titans were an absolute sieve in coverage last season, but that figures to change in a big way with McCreary, Awuzie and Sneed now patrolling the back end.

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Ravens land in the top two of NFL’s top 10 most complete teams for 2024 season

Baltimore Ravens land at No. 2 on a list of the NFL’s most complete teams

The Ravens are looking to return to the AFC Championship game, where they’ll look for a different outcome after falling to the Chiefs, 17-10 this past January.

After after suffering free agent losses, Baltimore is still among the best teams in the league, and landed at No. 2 on an NFL.com list of the top ten most complete squads.

They’re also debatably less deep in the backfield, even if the addition of Derrick Henry and the return from injury of Keaton Mitchell provide hope. With reigning MVP Lamar Jackson at the peak of his powers, helped by a strong supporting cast of Henry, Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers and others, the offense should keep humming — assuming the offensive line can find enough pieces to man all the positions ably.

Defensively, this remains a very good group, even with the losses of Queen, Jadeveon Clowney and Ronald Darby. Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith are two of the very best at what they do. Keeping Justin Madubuike was crucial; he teams with Michael Pierce to form a very stout middle up front. The hope is that young pass rushers Odafe Oweh, David Ojabo and Adisa Isaac can keep the rush unit effective after a 60-sack season.

For Baltimore, the biggest concerns will be avoiding major injuries to Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, while replacing Patrick Queen at linebacker.

Ravens news: Left guard position named Baltimore’s biggest weakness

Baltimore’s other position of need is backup quarterback, where a Lamar Jackson injury would force the Ravens to start 38-year-old Josh Johnson.

The Ravens finished the 2023 regular season with the NFL’s best record, and even after losing several quality starters and contributors, they’re still among a handful of Super Bowl contenders.

ESPN recently look at the biggest remaining roster hole for all 32 NFL teams, and the left guard position was deemed a weak spot.

Roster hole: Left guard

Right now, the penciled-in starter at left guard is Andrew Vorhees. Many scouts considered him a Day 2 prospect at USC until he tore his right ACL at the 2023 combine. That dropped him to the seventh round and cost him his rookie season in the NFL. If Vorhees isn’t ready to start, the Ravens could move over swing tackle Patrick Mekari or perhaps stick in 2023 sixth-round pick Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, who spent his entire rookie season as a healthy inactive.

Baltimore’s other position of need is backup quarterback, where a Lamar Jackson injury would force the Ravens to start 38-year-old Josh Johnson.

Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu battled John Simpson for the left guard battle last off-season, and he’ll give Vorhees a run for his money, while Ben Cleveland appears to be the favorite at right guard, with rookie Roger Rosengarten penciled in at right tackle.

Titans’ Peter Skoronski details rookie struggles: ‘I was all over the place’

Titans LG Peter Skoronski had his fair share of struggles during his rookie campaign, something he spoke about recently.

On top of simply having to acclimate to the NFL, Tennessee Titans 2023 first-round pick Peter Skoronski had to learn how to play guard during his rookie campaign after starting at left tackle in college.

Considering he was a rookie, Skoronski did a good job making the switch, but there were definitely some struggles along the way, as you’d expect with a first-year player.

As if things couldn’t get more difficult for him, Skoronski underwent an appendectomy that knocked him out of three games while also sapping strength and weight.

During OTAs earlier this week, Skoronski spoke about how tough it was to make the move to guard at first.

“This time last year, I felt like I was all over the place,” Skoronski admitted, per Jim Wyatt. “I didn’t even know how to play guard, or get into a guard stance.”

With the rest of the offensive line routinely crumbling around him, Skoronski held his own in pass protection, with the Northwestern product giving up just one sack over his first nine games.

But things went off the rails a bit near the end of the season, with Skoronski giving up four of his five sacks over the final five games.

The sophomore offensive lineman attributes some of that to “hands and posture,” something he’s working to fix with esteemed offensive line coach, Bill Callahan, who will be an immense asset to Skoronski’s development.

“I feel like that’s something that kind of got away from me toward the end of the year last year,” he said of his fundamentals in pass protection. “So, I’ve definitely been trying to focus in a little more on that. Having Bill here, he’s been big on that too. We spend a lot of time doing that too, especially hands.”

After giving up four sacks and 12 pressures from Weeks 14-17, Skoronski finished the year on a high note by absolutely manhandling the Jacksonville Jaguars’ front in Week 18, ending his sacks allowed streak while giving up just one pressure in the winning effort.

Looking ahead to 2024, Skoronski is in a very different position when it comes to his comfort level.

“My comfort level is night and day, comparing last year to this year,” he said. “A lot more comfortable in the position. I played (14) games at guard, so definitely night and day. Having a year in the league, for sure, (helps).

“But also having a year at guard and just having that overall comfort level where I’m not so nervous, I’m not a rookie any more.”

One thing that has been very noticeable about Skoronski is his size. The 22-year-old no doubt looks bigger than he did last year, but not in a bad way. Skoronski says that wasn’t his intent, it just came as a result of him “working out and eating right.”

“You have to be big and strong to play inside, so I’m not complaining about anything,” Skoronski added.

Another thing that needs to be taken into account with Skoronski’s rookie year is that he was sandwiched in between two less-than ideal starters.

Whether it was Andre Dillard or Jaelyn Duncan, the Titans had the worst left tackle situation in the NFL last season. Aaron Brewer was serviceable but certainly not a top option at center.

This time around, Skoronski has a very different situation.

Granted, the projected starter at left tackle, JC Latham, is unproven, but he simply cannot be any worse than Dillard and Duncan. At center, Skoronski will be playing next to one of the best in the league in Lloyd Cushenberry.

Everything is setting up for Skoronski to really make his mark for the Titans upfront. If he can do that, and if Latham pans out at left tackle, Tennessee’s offensive line will be vastly improved from what it was a year ago.

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Titans named best fit for top remaining free-agent safety

The Titans were recently named a best fit for one of the best remaining free agents in the NFL.

The Tennessee Titans have done a phenomenal job plugging several holes from their 2023 roster, which has also sped up the rebuilding process that started in the wake of the firing of former head coach Mike Vrabel.

But one position that remains a big question mark is safety, where the Titans don’t have a sure situation next to Amani Hooker, who is a locked in starter.

Elijah Molden is the favorite to start, but he has a limited sample size at the position and the Titans don’t have much behind their projected starters.

One way the Titans could solve that issue in a big way is with free-agent safety Justin Simmons, who the Titans were recently named a best fit for, courtesy of ESPN’s Matt Bowen.

The top safety still available would be an easy fit under new Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Simmons is a high-level communicator in the secondary with deep range and great ball skills. He has at least three interceptions in six straight seasons and is a productive starter who is strong in run support.

In Tennessee, Simmons would start opposite Amani Hooker, giving Wilson two interchangeable safeties with scheme versatility, bolstering a rapidly improving secondary that added cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie this offseason.

If you’re dreaming of a secondary with Sneed, Chido, McCreary, Hooker and Simmons, who is one of the best in the business at his job, you aren’t alone.

Tennessee’s group is already one of the best in the NFL and adding Simmons would only cement that further. It isn’t crazy to think it could happen, either.

After all, the Titans were reportedly targeting Simmons earlier this offseason. They also have the cap space to pull off such a move, with Tennessee owning a shade over $20 million in cap space.

In case you didn’t catch the vibe already, yes, I absolutely believe the Titans should pull the trigger on such a move. My only request is that the Titans do not make a long-term commitment to the 30-year-old, but even then that wouldn’t be enough to stop me from wanting to bring him to Nashville.

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Titans’ Will Levis gets no love in PFF’s QB rankings

PFF recently ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks ahead of the 2024 season, but Titans QB Will Levis was far too low.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis had an impressive rookie season. There were no doubt some negatives, but fans were left with enough positives to at least believe he could be the guy.

And that’s even how the Titans and new head coach Brian Callahan, who watched from afar, came away viewing Levis’ rookie campaign. In fact, Callahan admitted the team’s belief in Levis helped spur on the spending Tennessee did this offseason, which beefed up the group around him.

Despite the positive outlook for Levis, he’s getting no semblance of respect from Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema, who placed the Kentucky product at No. 28 among starting quarterbacks. Here’s Sikkema’s write-up before we get irrationally mad:

Levis didn’t get his first NFL start until Week 8 in 2023, but from then on he was an entertaining gunslinger. He finished the season with 16 big-time throws and 14 turnover-worthy plays with only two games where he earned a passing grade above 70.0.

His mission in 2024 is simple: make more good throws than bad ones. He has the arm talent to be a good starter in this league. He just needs to know when to rip it and, perhaps more importantly, when not to.

I have a very simple philosophy: you cannot rank rookie quarterbacks ahead of those who have actually played a snap in the NFL. Granted, Levis’ sample size is small, but at least we have one.

Now, there are instances where a starting quarterback can be so damn bad that you have to give the rookie the edge, but Levis is certainly not in that boat.

Sikemma has guys like Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams ahead of Levis. Both may very well end up being better than Levis, but we cannot say that right now. Besides, no shortage of talented quarterbacks have entered the league with a ton of promise and hype before crashing and burning.

Even putting Bryce Young over Levis is suspect, considering Young had a brutal first season that had far less positives than Levis’. However, Young suffered the same issue Levis did: a brutal supporting cast.

Levis could potentially jump another spot up ahead of the combination of Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett, but the latter has at least proven he’s a serviceable quarterback in the NFL, albeit a serviceable backup.

That said, Brissett isn’t even guaranteed to start in 2024 and Levis is, so I can definitely make the case for the latter to be higher.

Nobody is saying Levis is going to be the next coming or anything like that. He’s certainly still got to prove himself, but at least we have something to go on with him, which is more than we can say for the aforementioned rookies.

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