Category: Washington

The NFL’s 11 best edge defenders

From Josh Allen to Myles Garrett, here’s Doug Farrar’s list of the top 11 edge-rushers in the NFL today.

Edge defenders aren’t just edge-rushers. That’s a big part of what they do, of course, but there’s a lot more to being a transcendent player off the edge than just pinning one’s ears back and attacking offensive tackles. You have to have a comprehensive array of pass-rush moves, you must combine power and speed together in a package that’s difficult to block, and you must be able to define your rush path early in the rep.

In last week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” we set out to build the perfect defensive line, and Greg talked about the attributes required for the best edge guys in the league at any given time.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Building the perfect defensive line

“One thing I’ve learned, not only from watching tape but also from talking to coaches, is that to be a good edge-rusher, you have to be able to control the high side,” Greg said. “If you cannot win off the edge, it’s very hard to be a quality pass-rusher. Because winning off the edge and being able to threaten and challenge off the edge, forces offensive tackles more often than not to break down their technique. They do not want to get beaten off the edge, and if you get them to break down their technique, then you can work with your moves and your counters. Then you can work back inside.

“And you see this with a lot of guys — they’ll take two or three steps to the edge, and they get the offensive tackle to do what we call an ‘over-set. They’re so conscious of not being beaten off the edge, because that’s a quick path to the quarterback, that they turn their bodies to the sideline, and that opens them up to the inside quick counter.”

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More than that, the 11 players in this year’s list of the best edge defenders had to meet these criteria:

  • How often can you get to the quarterback without help — from teammates on the line, blitzes and overload fronts, and from stunts and games? High-quality solo pressures and sacks mean a ton; if you’re more a product of scheme and design and those around you, that’s fine, but not quite what we’re looking for here.
  • Gap versatility will serve you well on this list. If you can rush the passer from multiple gaps, you’re more indispensable to your defense.
  • Defending the run is important, but this is mostly about how you get to the quarterback over and over.
  • Sacks aren’t necessarily weighted more than quarterback hits or hurries; it’s all about how you got into the backfield.

Without further ado, let’s get into this year’s list of the NFL’s 11 best edge defenders. Also, you can read our other 2023 positional lists as we move ever closer to the top 101 players in the NFL today in late July.

The NFL’s top 11 linebackers
The NFL’s top 11 slot defenders
The NFL’s top 11 cornerbacks
The NFL’s top 11 safeties

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

The best pro football player to wear every jersey number

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar picks the best pro football player to wear every jersey number — from Jim Otto (00) to Aaron Donald (99).

Football is a game of numbers, and that includes jersey numbers — which define players in our minds to a certain degree. Who can think of Hall of Fame center Jim Otto without thinking of his 00 jersey, or Warren Moon’s No. 1, or a host of legendary quarterbacks rocking the No. 12, and on and on.

In this specific exercise, we are determining the greatest player in pro football history to wear each jersey number from 00 to 99. Sometimes, the choices are eminently obvious, and other times… not so much. No. 8 had the duel between Steve Young and Troy Aikman, just as we saw in multiple NFC Championship games in the early 1990s. No. 21 had us deciding between LaDainian Tomlinson, Deion Sanders, Frank Gore, Charles Woodson, and Patrick Peterson. Yikes!

On and on it went, but we finally worked through each jersey number and each correspondingly greatest player, and here is that list for your perusal — with the honorable mentions that made this process quite tricky at times.

Training camp reporting dates for all 32 NFL teams

Football’s almost back! Here are training camp reporting dates for all 32 NFL teams — rookies and veterans.

Our long national nightmare — life without football — is nearly over. As the summer starts to turn, and the days get just a bit shorter, it’s time to start thinking about your favorite team’s new coaches, acquired free agents, and draft picks. Maybe this is the season for your team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy?

We all live in hope, which is what the season is about.

In just a few weeks, rookies will report to their new NFL facilities for their first training camps, with the veterans soon to follow. Here are the starting dates for all 32 teams — rookies and veterans.

2024 NFL first-round mock draft: 2023 NBA draft edition

Now that the 2023 NBA draft is done, what better time than now to run another 2024 NFL first-round mock draft?

Now that the 2023 NBA draft is in the bag, what better excuse can we at Touchdown Wire have to do another 2024 NFL mock draft? The 2023 college football season is still weeks away, and it’s the dead part of the NFL timeline, so while we don’t think we’ll see any insane deals like the one the Wizards and Suns pulled off (unless the Rams decide to get weird again), it is time to start thinking about what NFL teams will need after the 2023 season and after 2024 free agency.

This time, the draft positions are courtesy of the Pro Football Network mock draft simulator, with no first-round trades during the simulation.

Without further ado, here’s one version of how the first round of the 2024 NFL draft might look.

The NFL’s All-Underrated Team: One Secret Superstar for all 32 teams

From Matt Milano to Denico Autry to Tyler Lockett to Tony Pollard, here are the NFL’s most underrated players by team.

Why are great players underrated in any sport?

There are all kinds of reasons. In football, it could be that the guy playing your position is even better than you are, and he’s been doing it longer. Maybe we only have the attention span for one great player at your position Maybe you’re on a team that doesn’t get much national praise, or you’re part of a unit that… well, stinks… and you’re one of the few bright spots. Or, you’re just getting started on the ascent, and the world hasn’t quite caught up yet.

No matter the reason, there are many NFL players who ply their trade at an exceedingly high level, and they’re not given their proper due. Here, we look to rectify this in 32 individual instances with the most underrated player for every NFL team. Some of these guys have been doing it the right way in the shade for a long time for their teams; a few are new in their uniforms.

No matter why, all 32 of these NFL players deserve more love than they get, and here’s why. Here is every NFL team’s most underrated player.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

Eagles had serious interest in a Russell Wilson trade… but Wilson nixed it

The Philadelphia Eagles wanted to trade for Russell Wilson in 2022, but Wilson nixed it. Sometimes, you win by not getting what you want.

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is among the best in the business right now, given the deals he’s made and the players he’s selected in the draft to build one of the NFL’s most stacked rosters. That roster made it to Super Bowl LVII and nearly beat the Chiefs.

However, as is the case in all areas of life, there are those times when the things you want, and don’t get, work out the best for you.

Per Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop, appearing on Seattle’s ESPN radio affiliate, the Eagles had serious interest in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson that Wilson nixed before the deal that eventually sent Wilson to the Denver Broncos for players and a flurry of draft picks.

“I think what I would say is that the Eagles really wanted him – I think they liked his style of play, and I think that makes sense, right, because he’s similar to Jalen Hurts, especially when he was in his prime and a little bit faster than now,” Bishop said. “My understanding is that at that point in time, Russ wanted to stay here [in Seattle].”

Quarterback coach Jake Heaps, who has worked with Wilson for years, brought this up back in 2022 on Denver station KOA, after the Broncos deal happened. Heaps was more definitive about the deal.

“The reason why this [deal] happened so quickly and progressed quickly is because, one, Denver was working on this behind the scenes for a while now,” Heaps said back then. “The other reason is because the Seahawks were limited, guys. There’s not real leverage if there’s only a certain amount of teams that Russell Wilson’s actually interested in or be willing to waive his no-trade clause for.

“He turned down the Washington [Commanders] offer. He turned down an offer from Philly during the Combine. And the Denver situation was the clear-cut, number one choice for him going into all these other teams.”

Meanwhile, the Broncos had been investigating the possibility of getting Aaron Rodgers in a trade, which was a primary reason they hired Nathaniel Hackett, who worked with Rodgers in Green Bay, to be their head coach.

In the end, it all worked out for the Eagles, as Jalen Hurts became the earthmover they needed in their run-based passing game. It did not work out at all for the Broncos, of course, as Wilson’s historic regression made the trade look like an all-time heist for Seattle.

Now, it’s up to new Broncos head coach Sean Payton to get the most out of Wilson, or… not.

2024 Mock Draft: Cardinals, Bucs, Raiders, Packers look for new franchise quarterbacks

In Doug Farrar’s latest 2024 mock draft, the Cardinals, Buccaneers, Raiders, and Packers are in the market for new franchise quarterbacks.

May and June mark the “slow” part of the NFL year (don’t tell that to DeAndre Hopkins’ agent), which means that teams are now engaging in some summer scouting in between all the minicamp preparation and whatnot. This means, of course, that teams are already putting the work in on prospects for the 2024 NFL draft.

We’re doing the same at Touchdown Wire, and based on projected team needs and our own initial tape work, we thought it would be interesting to start up the inevitable 2024 mock drafts! In this case, the order of teams is set by Pro Football Focus’ Mock Draft Simulator, and we go from there.

And in this mock, we have four teams looking for new franchise quarterbacks in the first round. The Arizona Cardinals, who have the first two picks overall, are starting the process of moving on from Kyler Murray, which may or may not be an actual thing by the end of the upcoming season… but it could be. We also have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looking to accentuate a quarterback room that currently consists of Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask, and John Wolford, which kinda speaks for itself.

Also, the Las Vegas Raiders may well be tired of the Jimmy Garoppolo Experience after one year of it, and the Green Bay Packers may be in a situation where the Jordan Love succession plan didn’t go quite as everybody hoped.

So, here’s one version of how the first round of the 2024 NFL draft might go.

The All-22: What DeAndre Hopkins has to offer his next NFL team

DeAndre Hopkins is now a free agent after his release from the Arizona Cardinals. What does Hopkins still have to offer the NFL?

Well, so much for Memorial Day weekend being a relaxing one for NFL coaches and executives. On Friday, it was announced that the Arizona Cardinals released receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and that will perk up the ears of the shot-callers in all 31 other NFL stops.

Selected by the Houston Texans with the 27th overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft out of Clemson, Hopkins has been at his best an elite production machine. From 2014 through 2020, Hopkins led all receivers in targets (1,117) and receptions (695), only Julio Jones had more receiving yards (10,159) than Hopkins’ 9,207, and only Antonio Brown, Davante Adams, and Mike Evans had more touchdowns than Hopkins’ 58.

However, Hopkins hasn’t played a full season since 2020. Hamstring and knee injuries limited him to 10 games with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021 — his second in the Valley of the Sun after a major 2020 trade — and he was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season for violating the NFL’s policies no performance-enhancing substances. His 106 catches on 160 targets for 1,289 yards and 11 touchdowns over those two seasons would have been about one season’s production before.

It was too much for the Cardinals, who had tried unsuccessfully to find a willing trade partner for the veteran receiver. The primary issue was not performance, but salary. Hopkins signed a two-year contract extension in 2020 that gave him $54.5 million in new money with $42.75 million guaranteed at signing. By releasing him now, Arizona saves $8,911,114 of his cap hit this season, and they still take on $21,077,776 in dead cap in 2023.

That’s the bad news. The good news for the Cardinals is that they’re obviously rebuilding at all levels, and getting Hopkins’ entire contract off the books in 2023 makes the most sense of all available solutions — unless we’re talking about the one solution of seeing what Hopkins has left in the tank at age 30.

That’s now for the rest of the NFL to decide. So, for those interested and interesting teams, what does DeAndre Hopkins have left to offer?

2023 NFL Draft: Consensus grades from best to worst for all 32 teams

The wisdom of crowds isn’t always the ideal, but here’s how 29 different analysts rated every NFL team’s draft, from best to worst.

Finding oneself beholden to the wisdom of crowds isn’t always the wisest move, but there is some tangential value in looking at how multiple analysts view the drafts of NFL teams. Worst-case, you get a sense of how we’re all wrong at the same time. Best case, there’s an aggregate response that can be accurate and telling.

Recently, football analyst René Bugner did us all the favor of compiling the post-draft grades for 2023 from 29 different sources (including yours truly, for better or worse), and did the math for each team from a grade-point perspective.

So, with those roll-offs and curves, we have a general sense of how those who analyze these things for a living (again, for better or worse) have put each NFL team in its respective place.

Here, then, are the post-draft GPAs for all 32 NFL teams. I’m including analysis for every team from my original grades at Touchdown Wire.

2023 NFL Draft: Final grades for all 32 NFL teams

The worst owners in pro football history, from George Preston Marshall to Dan Snyder

From George Preston Marshall to Harry Wismer to Bill Bidwill to Dan Snyder, here are the worst owners in the history of professional football.

Now that soon-to-be-former Washington Commanders owner has agreed in principle to sell the team to a group led by Josh Harris and includes basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the NFL will have to look around for a new worst owner. Snyder, who experienced more team names (three) than playoff wins (two) in a tenure that started in 1999, was absolutely horrible, and you’ll see all the reasons why in a minute.

Not that Snyder is the only horrible owner in the history of professional football. It stands to reason that for every great owner over time, there have been those individuals who were in no way qualified to be in control of any franchise. Whether it was due to financial issues, the ego to believe that personnel decisions should be theirs and theirs alone, or just general incompetence and personality issues, there are those people who have controlled pro football teams when they had no qualifications to do so.

Here, for your consideration, are the worst owners in the history of professional football.

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