Tag: A.J. Green

Justin Jefferson joins rarefied air with another 1,000-yard season

Justin Jefferson became only the fifth WR to notch 1,000 yards in each of his first 4 years

It came in a loss, but Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson showed in Week 18 why he’s one of the best receivers in the league when healthy. Jefferson finished Sunday’s game vs. the Detroit Lions with 12 receptions for 192 yards and a touchdown. The 192 yards put Jefferson over the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in his young career.

Despite missing seven games this season, the star receiver was still able to surpass the 1,000-yard mark, becoming only the third wide receiver in NFL history to eclipse the 1,000-yard threshold in 10 or fewer games. Along with that feat, Jefferson found himself in some excellent company with his fourth straight 1,000-yard season.

Jefferson became only the fifth receiver in NFL history to start his career with four straight 1,000-yard seasons, joining the New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Mike Evans, the Cincinnati Bengals’ A.J. Green and Vikings legend Randy Moss.

It’s remarkable what Jefferson has been able to accomplish, and he’s only just starting to come into his prime. The sky is the limit. How high can his stats reach with the Vikings? Only time will tell, but he’s well on his way to becoming an all-time great.

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Look: A.J. Green rules the jungle after retiring with Bengals

See A.J. Green rule the jungle for the Bengals.

One day after officially retiring as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, franchise legend A.J. Green ruled the jungle at Paycor Stadium.

Green held the honorary spot as the Bengals hosted the Baltimore Ravens in the team’s home opener, leading a sold-out crowd in chants and taking his spot at the customary throne.

Below are some of the best media shared from the special occasion and even fan reactions, which we’ll update as more happens throughout and after the AFC North battle.

A.J. Green is back in Cincinnati to be Ruler of the Jungle

A.J. Green is back in town.

The Cincinnati Bengals have their home opener against the Baltimore Ravens Week 2, and the Ruler of the Jungle for the game is going to be none other than long-time Bengal A.J. Green, who just retired as a member of the team.

“I’m honored to come back,” Green said.

He will be leading the “Who Dey” chant before the kickoff at 1 p.m. in his return to what is now Paycor Stadium. Cincinnati fans were extremely excited to hear the former star wide receiver would be returning to the stadium.

Green played for the Bengals for nine years and amassed 9,430 yards and 65 touchdowns which are both second in franchise history behind Chad Johnson.

He commented on the current Bengals team before his return and said there’s nothing he’s able to teach them since they have already played in a Super Bowl. He also had high praise for Joe Burrow, saying they will come back from their slow start with him at the helm.

“He still has to get the feel back, it’s a long season,” Green said. “They’re going to be fine. They have a great defense and a great offense, and they’re led by one of the greatest, and that’s Joe. I call him a young Tom Brady, the way he carries himself… They’ve got the same demeanor.”

Extremely high praise for the Bengals quarterback from a player that is not far removed from the game, and played against Brady.

Green officially retired in February after two seasons with Arizona and this will be his first time back in the stadium since he left for the Cardinals.

A.J. Green officially retires as a Bengal

A.J. Green retires as a member of the Bengals.

Cincinnati Bengals great A.J. Green has officially retired as a member of the team.

Green, who announced his retirement from the NFL in February, was at Paycor Stadium on Saturday to make things official before serving as the Ruler of the Jungle for the team’s home opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

The fourth pick by the Bengals in 2011, Green caught 649 passes (second all-time in franchise history) for 9,430 yards (2nd) and 65 receiving touchdowns (2nd) and recorded 33 100-yard games (1st).

Green, who went on to play two years with the Arizona Cardinals, finished with seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods.

A look at the happenings around Paycor on Saturday:

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Bengals reveal A.J. Green as Ruler of Jungle for home opener vs. Ravens

A.J. Green is coming back to the jungle.

Cincinnati Bengals great A.J. Green will be the team’s Ruler of the Jungle for the Week 2 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

That’s the September 17 home opener for the Bengals at Paycor Stadium, a 1 p.m. ET kickoff.

As Bengals fans surely know, Green was something of a Ravens-destoryer throughout the course of his career, registering nine touchdowns in 13 games against Baltimore.

The team’s website reminisced about some of his dominant performances during the announcement:

And, it seems, more monster games. His single-game high came against the Ravens in a 2015 game in Baltimore with 227, the last seven coming with 2:10 left on a touchdown pass from Andy Dalton that gave them a come-from-behind 27-24 win. The year before in the 2014 opener in Baltimore with the Bengals trailing by one, Green caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from Dalton with 4:58 left for another come-from-behind win.

Green is the second all-time receiver in Bengals history after leaving the team after the 2020 season.

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1 veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group for the Browns

After overhauling chunks of their roster, which veterans could find themselves on the bubble as training camp nears?

The Cleveland Browns and general manager set out to add talent not only to positions of need but all over their roster this offseason, and may not be done yet. While the microscope is on the defensive tackle room given how abysmal it was a year ago (meaning second-year player Perrion Winfrey will need to lock in this summer), there are now veterans on the roster bubble in every room.

Who else joins Winfrey as veteran roster bubble candidates as the Browns look to get training camp underway in three weeks? Here is one player per position that will be in a fight for a roster spot.

Rocket Sanders among top running backs in college football according to College Sports Wire

College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn ranked the best running backs in college football for next season. Check out where he has Arkansas’ Rocket Sanders.

Arkansas football experienced a lot of change over the off-season, but the running back position is largely the same.

Raheim “Rocket” Sanders will once again lead the Razorback backfield, with [autotag]A.J. Green[/autotag], [autotag]Rashod Dubinion[/autotag] and [autotag]Dominique Johnson[/autotag] returning to help the SEC’s second-leading rusher from 2022. The only newcomer to the group is incoming freshman [autotag]Isaiah Augustave[/autotag] – a four-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class.

With so much depth and experience returning to the Arkansas backfield in 2023, the Razorbacks are expected to pick up right where they left off last season. New offensive coordinator [autotag]Dan Enos[/autotag] has made some noticeable tweaks to the offense from what it looked like under [autotag]Kendal Briles[/autotag], but the philosophy of being a dominant rushing team has not changed.

Adding in the fact that [autotag]K.J. Jefferson[/autotag] is also back for another season, and it’s hard not to expect another big year for Sanders and the Arkansas backfield. Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire is also a big believer in Sanders entering next season. Conn shared his top running backs in college football for 2023 and had [autotag]Rocket Sanders[/autotag] ranked at No. 3 behind Blake Corum (Michigan) and Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss). Conn says that 2023 could be Sanders’ best yet since arriving in Fayetteville.

The man they call “Rocket” was a force for the Hogs offense over the last two seasons, and despite the opportunity to go pro he returns for another season. Over the past two campaigns, Sanders has tallied 2,401 yards of offense and 18 touchdowns. This could be his best season yet with K.J. Jefferson also returning to Fayetteville.

As previously mentioned, Sanders finished last season as the SEC’s second leading rusher, behind Quinshon Judkins. He ran 222 times for 1,443 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, while also hauling in 28 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Sanders was the only consistent presence on an Arkansas offense which struggled for most of the season.

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2024 NFL draft prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. compared to A.J. Green

NFL draft prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. compared to a Bengals great.

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The 2023 NFL draft has come and gone and with it went some elite wide receiver prospects.

Next year, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. will likely be one of the receivers available, and he is getting some pretty good comparisons.

Jordan Reid of ESPN compared Harrison to Cincinnati Bengals legend A.J. Green on Twitter.

“Marvin Harrison Jr. = A.J. Green,” Reid said. “It’s a comparison that should be used a lot. Identical frame, skill set, A+ body control and poise at the catch point. Elite hand-eye coordination.”

Harrison showed off his “A+ body control” with an unbelievable catch on the sideline in a game against Indiana last season, and has earned the early comparisons, but another year will need to go by before he gets the chance to prove it at the NFL level.

Without extensions for Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd in the last season of his contract, the Bengals will likely be keeping their eyes on Harrison at the very least.

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Texans could get A.J. Green starter kit with TCU WR Quentin Johnston

The Houston Texans could get an A.J. Green starter kit if they manage to draft TCU wideout Quentin Johnston.

Player comparisons are as commonplace during draft time as orange construction barrels on I-35.

According to Cynthia Frelund from NFL.com, one receiver that shares similar traits to a Pro Bowler from the past decade is TCU’s Quentin Johnston. The analytics maven believes that the former Horned Frog compares favorably to former Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals receiver A.J. Green.

When I vetted this with some of my NFL team folks (execs and scouts), they wanted to make sure I’d stress that this comp falls on the more generous end of the spectrum. Nobody wants to insult Johnston, but rather create fair expectations for a 21-year-old who’s yet to take an NFL snap. (After all, Green made the Pro Bowl in his first seven seasons!) According to PFF, Johnston’s 3.05 yards per route run led the pass-happy Big 12 last season and ranked fifth in the FBS. Meanwhile, his 8.9 yards after catch per reception ranked second in the nation. Computer vision shows that Johnston’s ability to earn more than 1 additional yard after contact (per reception) ranked in the top 20 percent of my ten-season prospect sample. This is where the Green notes align, as these two receivers’ post-contact productivity is similar. Johnston is a true outside physical presence. Per PFF, his 19 forced missed tackles on receptions tied for first in the Big 12 and his 23 explosive receptions were tied for third.

The team that Frelund believes would be a great fit for Johnston would be the Houston Texans. Just put Robert Woods in the slot, and allow Johnston to work on the outside. Of course, that also doesn’t take into account how helpful Nico Collins, John Metchie, and Dalton Schultz would be for the Texans’ signal caller in 2023.

Johnston won’t be at the draft in Kansas City as he is not expected to go until late in Round 1. Houston could get him at No. 33 overall in Round 2 if this expectation tracks.

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