Chiefs 2019 rookie season review: DB Juan Thornhill

A standout from the get-go, Kansas City Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill now faces a comeback after an injury ended his 2019 prematurely.

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The Kansas City Chiefs added six draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and each of those rookies made contributions during the season and postseason. This draft had a mix of offensive and defensive players compared to the 2018 NFL Draft, which was primarily defensive players for the Chiefs. Let’s take a look at Juan Thornhill’s 2019 season and see what we can project for the future.

Virginia DB Juan Thornhill – 63 overall

Stat

2019 totals
Games played 16
Games started 16
Defensive Snaps 996
Special Teams Snaps 48
Total Tackles 57
Solo Tackles 41
Interceptions 3
Touchdowns 1
Passes defended 5

2019 season review:

Thornhill came in and made his presence felt early. He was a star of training camp, leading all Chiefs’ defenders in interceptions. He was a bit gun shy when the preseason got underway and didn’t initially stand out, but he did enough to earn the trust of the coaching staff. He unseated veteran safety Daniel Sorensen for the starting spot opposite Tyrann Mathieu to become the only opening day starter of this draft class.

“One of the things I like, his open-field tackling,” Chiefs DB coach Sam Madison said of Thornhill at the midseason mark. “He’s been doing really good in that area. He’s improved from Week 1. We try to explain to him that this isn’t college anymore and these quarterbacks are going to lie to you. They’re going to look one way to hopefully move you and then they’re going to come back. He’s gotten better with that and the play down in the endzone when he came up with the interception, it just shows that he can get there. When you have a middle-of-the-field post safety, you want him to be able to get from two-to-three yards outside the numbers to two-to-three yards outside the numbers and he’s able to do that. He’s showing his range and hopefully, he can keep getting better.”

From a season-long perspective, Thornhill was remarkable in coverage, allowing just 0.22 yards per coverage snap according to Pro Football Focus. That number was good for the sixth-fewest in the NFL among all defensive backs. He gave up a single play of 20 or more yards one time during the entire 16-game 2019 season.

Unfortunately, Thornhill’s season ended prematurely as he suffered a torn ACL in the regular-season finale. He was placed on injured reserve before the postseason run that would make the Chiefs Super Bowl LIV champions.

2020 season outlook:

Thornhill seems motivated in his recovery, but right now we don’t even have all the details on his injury. We know that he tore his ACL, but we don’t know if there was any accompanying ligament damage. Those details can make all the difference when it comes to the recovery timeline.

The 2020 season outlook for Thornhill is very much a wait-and-see type of scenario. Even if he returns by the preseason or start of the regular season, there could be an adjustment period before he looks like the players we saw dominate as a rookie. It’s also possible that he comes back as sharp as ever and prepared to pick up right where he left off. With Jordan Lucas and Kendall Fuller set to leave in free agency, Kansas City will be hoping to see Thornhill sooner than later.

Chiefs 2019 rookie season reviews:

WR Mecole Hardman (Coming soon)

DB Juan Thornhill (You’re here!)

DT Khalen Saunders

CB Rashad Fenton 

RB Darwin Thompson

OL Nick Allegretti

Eagles reunite with Nick Foles in crazy ESPN free agent scenario

Jaguars star quarterback Nick Foles returns to the Eagles in crazy ESPN free agent scenario

Carson Wentz is firmly entrenched as the Eagles franchise quarterback and after leading his team to the postseason, he could be better suited to deal with Nick Foles.

In a crazy 2020 NFL offseason prediction centered around the free agency period, Foles returns to Philadelphia as Wentz backup after a series of moves sees him jettisoned out of Jacksonville.

In the scenario from ESPN.com, Tom Brady sets the dominoes in motion, signing a 4-year, $160 million deal with his former rival, the Indianapolis Colts. After losing Brady, the Patriots respond as only Belichick can, truly shaking up the NFL by trading a first-round pick to the Lions for Matthew Stafford.

The Chargers then sign Saints free agent Teddy Bridgewater to a deal, signaling the end of the Philip Rivers in San Diego.

Hoping to secure their passer of the future, the Jaguars trade spots with the Miami Dolphins, snagging Oregon star signal-caller Justin Herbert at pick No. 5.

That scenario sends the earth spiraling, as Howie Roseman sure up their backup quarterback spot by reuniting with Nick Foles.

With Wentz having started a full season and leading the Eagles to the postseason, Carson could settle in knowing that this is his team and he can surely hand the keys over to Foles in a pinch if need be.

Rams share new video from inside SoFi Stadium showing Oculus screen

The Oculus video board will weigh 2.2 million pounds when completed.

The 2020 season is going to be a big one for fans of the Los Angeles Rams, not because the team is guaranteed to go deep into the playoffs, but because of all the changes coming this offseason.

The Rams will get new uniforms, new colors and a redesigned logo, coinciding with the opening of the magnificent SoFi Stadium. The stadium is more than 85% complete will be finished in July, in time for the preseason.

The Oculus video board is one of the best features of the stadium, stretching 120 yards of double-sided 4K video for every fan in every seat to see. The Oculus is still on the ground being constructed, but it’s coming together and the screens are being installed.

You can see that in this new video shared by the Rams, giving a look inside the stadium.

Cooper Kupp marveled at the size of the screen, noticing how monstrous it is compared to the construction worker next to it.

Needless to say, the Oculus will be revolutionary when it comes to stadium scoreboards. It will weigh 2.2 million pounds, feature 80 million pixels and house 260 speakers, which will be the sole provider of all the audio in the stadium.

Once it’s finished, it’ll be hoisted into the air and suspended from the roof, which will tie the whole venue together.

Here’s another look at the stadium from inside, where you can see the roof coming together with glass panels being installed every day.

4 left guards the Jets should target in free agency

Jets Wire takes a look at four left guards the Jets should target in free agency this offseason.

When the Jets traded for Kelechi Osemele last offseason, it looked like they were getting their starting left guard for the next two seasons.

Instead, Osemele lasted half a season with New York, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury that required surgery and led to his release in late October. That left Alex Lewis and Tom Compton to man the position from November on — a duo that was not exactly up to snuff.

Joe Douglas now has a chance to right the Jets’ wrongs at left guard in free agency. There are plenty of intriguing options available on the open market, including a big fish that has the potential to change New York’s entire look in the trenches.

With that being said, here are four left guards the Jets should target in free agency.

Joe Thuney

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

New York’s pursuit of a new left guard begins with Thuney. A former third-round pick out of NC State in 2016, he has become one of football’s elite offensive linemen, earning second-team All-Pro honors last season.

Thuney has not only established himself as a reliable run and pass blocker, but as a durable option on the line as well, not missing a single game since getting drafted. Thuney’s 64 career starts have afforded him ample experience early in his career and at only 27-years-old, he still has a lot of room to grow.

Thuney comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s safe to assume Douglas is willing to meet it considering the need to improve in the trenches. Expect New York’s first-year general manager to do whatever it takes to steal him away from New England.

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Sixers now must answer question of who starts in Al Horford’s place

The Philadelphia 76ers must now figure out who’s going to start in place of Al Horford.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a big question to answer now that they have made the bold move of removing Al Horford from the starting lineup. The question now becomes who replaces Horford in the starting lineup moving forward?

Coach Brett Brown has a ton of options that he can turn to and what we’re going to do is rank all of the options he can turn to:

Glenn Robinson III

Even though Brown turned to Furkan Korkmaz on Tuesday in the first game, that’s probably unlikely to continue despite his emergence lately. The Sixers acquired Robinson III from the Golden State Warriors and Brown loves his ability to be a two-way player. He can knock down an open 3-pointer on one end and play tough defense on the other end. He will get a long look as a starter for this team.

Matisse Thybulle

Thybulle has earned the trust of Brown on a high level and it’s well earned. He has one elite skill that a lot of other guys don’t have and that’s his defensive effort. He is already one of the better perimeter defenders in the league and it’s a skill that can keep him in a starting lineup and play big minutes. He can also shoot the ball too so he is another top option. The one drawback is that he has a tendency to foul a lot.

Furkan Korkmaz

As electric as Korkmaz was in their wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and the Chicago Bulls, he was a dud against the Los Angeles Clippers. He followed up back-to-back 30+ point games with a goose egg against the Clippers and while he has improved defensively, he still isn’t exactly good on that end of the floor just yet. He is capable of big shooting nights so he’s definitely an option, but his inconsistencies could hold him back.

Alec Burks

Burks is a scorer. The guy thinks score and when he gets into a groove, he can be tough to stop. The thing that will hinder him in this race is that he will probably be used in a much different role and Brown will want to bring him along slowly. His role is most likely a mixture of scoring plus ball-handling duties and with Josh Richardson already there, there’s no need for that in the starting lineup. He’ll be better suited off the bench while the other options offer a little bit of both. [lawrence-related id=25742,25754,25736]

Knight, who returned to the Pistons as …

Knight, who returned to the Pistons as part of the Drummond deal, remembers the day vividly and would have preferred to hear it from Dumars, who engineered the trade for the Pistons. Now 28, he understands how the sausage is made. “A lot of times with these trades and what we have to understand as players, not saying whether it’s right or wrong, they happen quickly so it’s tough to say we’re not trading you and then something develops quickly, and you try to inform the player, it’s almost impossible,” Knight said.

The agents delivered the message to …

The agents delivered the message to their client, along with a new cellphone. It was connected to a new number, one with a New York-based 917 area code. “Don’t give it to anyone,” they told him. “This is your NBA phone.” That number is one of the few possessions that Shumpert, whom the Brooklyn Nets waived in December, has carried with him throughout his nine-year NBA career. “It’s my work number,” he said. “If you work in the NBA or play in the NBA, you know it. If not, you don’t.”

Young estimated that he changes his …

Young estimated that he changes his number every 5-6 months. Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner said he changes his number “a lot,” which, he added, places him on the lower end of the spectrum. “Some guys, like Paul George, change it, like, every week.” NBA veteran Taj Gibson said he’s had “a bunch of teammates who change their numbers all the time.” He recalled sitting around the Chicago Bulls locker room earlier this decade and hearing teammates shout, “Man, Derrick just changed his number again!” referring to then-Bulls teammate and 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose.

However, many NBA players prefer to …

However, many NBA players prefer to operate under the assumption that anyone who needs to reach them will eventually figure out how to. Tucker, for example, has six listings for Milwaukee Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe. “I can never remember which one is right,” he said. As a counter, one Western Conference team inserted a rule into its player handbook stating that any player who didn’t notify the team of a number change was subject to a fine.

Other players hope deceiving unwanted …

Other players hope deceiving unwanted callers can buy them more time. Sometimes, upon seeing an unknown number flash across his phone screen, Turner will hand the device to Pacers massage therapist Andrei Mikhailau. “They hear his Russian accent and say, “Oh, it’s probably not Myles,’” Turner said. Other times, for incoming FaceTime calls, he’ll ask a team video assistant to remove his Pacers gear and answer.