FOX Sports NFL recently ranked #Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes as the league’s top quarterback ahead of the 2023 season.
Preseason accolades have already started piling up for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was ranked as Fox Sports NFL’s top signal called in the league ahead of the 2023 season on Wednesday.
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This should come as no surprise to fans given that Mahomes is the league’s reigning MVP and has a shiny new Super Bowl ring to show for his efforts in 2022. It seems that the soon-to-be 28-year-old quarterback is leaps and bounds ahead of any competition he might have for the superlative title of “NFL’s best” given his production and ability to win games on the biggest stage.
For his part, though, Mahomes seems to be entering the 2023 season with the same underdog mentality that motivated him to find success in years past. He and the Chiefs will have a massive target on their backs as they endeavor to defend their Super Bowl LVII championship, and it will take another stellar campaign for Mahomes to end the season atop FOX’s Sports NFL’s best quarterback list in February 2024 after the playoffs.
Farrar revealed his list of the NFL’s 11 best interior defensive linemen heading into 2023. With a down year from Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald in 2022, Jones was able to finally claim the top spot for his own. In doing so, he met the three criteria of displaying gap versatility, different ways to get to the ball (and quarterback), along with the ability to stop the run.
After a brief recap of Jones’ college to NFL pedigree, Farrar delved into what makes Jones the best at what he does:
Jones has been a force multiplier in Steve Spagnuolo’s defenses ever since, but the 2022 season saw him raise the bar to an even higher degree. Jones bagged his second Super Bowl ring in a season that saw him total 17 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, 63 quarterback hurries, and 35 stops. Nobody in the NFL who was throwing their weight at opposing blockers from the inside was better than Jones last year.
And while Jones was great from every gap, he was specifically amazing when aligned in a 3-tech role, to the guard’s outside shoulder. This is the “rock star” alignment for interior pass-rushers, and you need a combination of speed off the snap, explosiveness through gaps, and fearsome strength to re-direct blockers. Last season, Jones totaled 42 pressures from 3-tech alignments — Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons ranked second with 30.
Included were clips of Jones’ making Bengals’ Max Scharping look silly rushing outside of his shoulder and a speedy inside rush against Broncos’ Graham Glasgow. There is also, of course, a play where he knifed into the backfield, beating an offensive lineman to his spot and dropping Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker for a big loss. You can find that film and interior defensive linemen ranked 2 through 11 at Touchdown Wire.
Where does Kyren Williams rank on Notre Dame’s all-time running backs list?
Notre Dame has been playing football for 133 years and had some outstanding running backs along the way. Where Kyren Williams ranks on that all-time list is a conversation I’m sure some will have this off-season, but Williams just some very rare air in Saturday’s blowout win over Stanford.
Williams rushed for two touchdowns and 74 yards in the victory. Those 74 yards put his total at 1,002 for the season. By doing so, Williams becomes just the fifth Notre Dame running back to ever rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.
Which did they get right and which did they get wrong?
Earlier this week Fox Sports released a fun list where they named the greatest football player to ever come from each of the 50 states. Some were more accomplished than others (ie – Reggie Bush, California vs. Jamie Duncan, Delaware) but it was a fun list nonetheless.
Of the 50 states only one to ever play at Notre Dame was named the best to come from their home state and that was Angelo Bertelli of Massachusetts. Bertelli won the 1943 Heisman Trophy as he quarterbacked the Fighting Irish team that won that season’s national championship.
The list is a fun one and there probably is no absolute right answer for many of the states but without giving too much away I will say that Red Grange should have been chosen over Dick Butkus in my home state while Cam Newton getting the nod over Herschel Walker in Georgia is borderline criminal (and yes, I’m aware of what Newton did in his one season at Auburn).
As for Rod Woodson being chosen for the state of Indiana, I’d love to argue for a Notre Dame player if there was one but this former collegiate hurdler is in 100% agreeance with that selection.
Two former Alabama running backs are named to CBS Sports’ top-10 best RBs list. There are six running backs active in the NFL that at one…
Alabama sends numerous players to the NFL every year. It seems as if each position has at least one Crimson Tide product at or near the top of their respective positional rankings.
One position Alabama has a strong hold on is running back. With six running backs active in the NFL, the Crimson Tide is well represented.
CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker recently listed the top 10 running backs heading into the 2021 NFL season, and two of those six aforementioned running backs made the list. Walker also added reasons as to why these two made the list.
9. Josh Jacobs – Raiders
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“A breakout rookie season for the Raiders put Jacobs on the radar for this list, but a bigger sample size was needed before listing him as one of the 10 best in the league at his position,” writes Walker. “One year later, he’s earned the right to be listed here, to say the least. Yes, the Raiders are having difficulties on offense, but it’s not because of the run game. Jacobs has been consistent in his ability to punch opposing defenses in the mouth on a weekly basis. Two years in, he already has two 1,000-yard seasons without the benefit of a dominant pass game to complement him (Darren Wallernotwithstanding) and to take pressure off of him a a snap-to-snap basis.
“All Jacobs did with that complication was pretend it didn’t exist, rushing for 2,215 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns in his first two years as a pro and he’d add an extra 404 receiving yards to his stat line in the process. Maybe the addition of Kenyan Drake shaves some of his numbers in 2021 and maybe not, likely the latter. The bottom line is Jacobs will get his reps and he’ll make the most of them when he does, as has been the case heading into Year 3. And with looming contract talks on the horizon, he has an added reason to continue elevating his game.”
1. Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
“Yes, you can attribute some of the turnaround in Nashville to Ryan Tannehill. For the most part, however, it was Henry strapping the Titans on his back and bulldozing through opponents,” writes Walker. “When Tannehill couldn’t get things going, Henry took the ball and became a man possessed — especially when it mattered most. In the playoffs following the 2019 season, he rushed for an eye-popping 182 yards and 195 yards, respectively, in the upsets over the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, on the road… and with both teams throwing the kitchen sink at him. He could only be stopped by the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, but the aforementioned playoff performances let everyone know his regular season was no fluke.
“And what a regular season it was, with Henry taking the NFL rushing title with a career-high 1,540 yards to go along with 16 rushing touchdowns, and those who believed he was simply a bowling ball found out he can navigate around the pins at will; as evidenced in the All-Pro adding another 321 receiving yards to his resume last season. Some wondered if he could replicate that success and, to be fair, he didn’t. Instead, he ran past those marks like they were standing still — rushing for a monstrous 2,027 yards with 17 rushing touchdowns while averaging an eye-popping 126.7 yards per game in the process.”
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The Chiefs advance to 13-1 with a win over the Saints. Check out the best reactions from the Twitter timeline here.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 13-1 with the best record in the NFL after a Week 15 win over the New Orleans Saints. This was an extremely competitive game and like most of the Chiefs’ games lately, it came down to the wire. There were some lighter moments in the game, but the drama also made for some great reactions from observers on Twitter.
Below you’ll find some of the best Twitter reactions from throughout the game:
The Chiefs advance to 11-1 with a win over the Broncos. Check out the best reactions from the Twitter timeline here.
The Kansas City Chiefs are 11-1 and headed to the playoffs after defeating the Denver Broncos in Week 13. There was a strange aura about this game and it seemed to impact Tyreek Hill and the offense from the get-go. The Chiefs wouldn’t be held down for long, though. The team came storming back in the second half to regain the lead from Denver, making for quite the show on “Sunday Night Football.”
Below you’ll find some of the best Twitter reactions from the Chiefs’ Week 13 win:
Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith is a relatively quiet member of a loud and in your face offense. However, he may leave the program as…
The Alabama Crimson Tide has seen some elite wide receiver talent come through Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban, while a defensive-minded coach, has been able to produce such elite talent that is consistenly involved in the debate over which wide receiver is the best in the NFL.
Names such as Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III and others have once called the University of Alabama home.
In the upcoming 2021 NFL draft, Crimson Tide fans are expecting to say their goodbyes to two more receivers who have had a lasting impact on the Crimson Tide: Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith – both of whom are expected to be early first-round selections.
Smith is a receiver who has always been making plays since he arrived on campus, but he remains quiet. Bursting onto the scene alongside Tua Tagovailoa, Smith made up half of the cast that put together ‘2nd & 26,’ the play that brought Alabama National Championship No. 17.
Here’s how DeVonta Smith could be Alabama’s greatest wide receiver when it’s all said and done:
To start, we must acknowledge that at the time this story was written, Alabama has played in eight games, so the ‘per game averages’ will be based on taking his 2020 season totals and dividing by eight. Also, Alabama is predicted to run the table for the rest of the regular season, which puts them in the National Championship game. When assessing his projected season totals by the end of the 2020 season, the two more regular season games plus three postseason games will be accounted for.
If you get confused, there will be a summary at the end of where he’s predicted to finish in total rankings.
But for those of you who love stats, let’s take a look at where he ranks on the various stats:
Receptions.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Career:Â
Smith currently ranks No. 4 in receptions over a career at Alabama with 190 catches.
Currently, Amari Cooper holds the record with 228, only 38 more than Smith.
Through eight games in 2020, Smith averages nine receptions per game, meaning he should be on pace to finish his career with a total of 235, making him the new Alabama record holder in total receptions.
Single season:
Smith’s 2020 total currently ranks No. 5, tied with Calvin Ridley, with 72 receptions. Though, it should be noted his 2019 total of 68 is ranked No. 7 in the list, as well.
Amari Cooper also holds the top spot in this category with 127.
With an average of nine receptions per game in 2020, if Alabama makes it to the National Championship, this would put Smith on pace to total 117 receptions for the season, not quite reaching Cooper, but puts him at the No. 2 spot within reach of No. 1 by only 10 catches.
Single game:
Smith’s name actually appears on the top 10 list four times. He is tied with himself for No. 10 three times with 11 receptions. He is already on top of the list at No. 1 with 13 receptions in one game, as he did in the 2020 season against Ole Miss.
However, he is not alone atop the list. He is kept company by D.J. Hall and Amari Cooper .
This is a stat that there can’t be any future predictions for; however, with Waddle out for the season, there’s a possibility that Smith and Jones start off a game hot and keep it going.
Florida Gators have a star pass-catcher at tight end this season in Kyle Pitts who received the highest grade from PFF recently.
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Kyle Pitts‘ electric start to the 2020 season doesn’t just put him in a league of his own among tight ends.
The junior is Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded pass-catcher in college football through Week 7, edging out even the sport’s most elite wide receivers.
Pitts graded at a 95.0, higher than Wake Forest receiver Jaquarii Roberson and Alabama receiver Devonta Smith. No other tight end was even in his stratosphere, as BYU’s Mason Wake, the No. 2 player at the position, graded at 84.6.
Through three games, Pitts has 17 catches for 276 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s been the favorite target of quarterback Kyle Trask, and the duo has led a UF offense that is on pace to set records.
He even finds himself receiving some attention as a dark-horse Heisman candidate despite the fact that no pass-catcher has won the award since Desmond Howard in 1991, and no tight end has ever technically won the trophy.
The last was Notre Dame‘s Leon Hart in 1949, though Hart played the “end” position as there were no tight ends at the time.
Pitts is facing an uphill battle if he’s going to be the first, but he’s got the production so far. Should he continue on this pace, it will be hard to ignore him come December.
Here are some reactions from Twitter after the game…
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first loss of the season 40-32 to the Las Vegas Raiders in a back-and-forth game. It stings a bit more, seeing their win streak come to an end against their biggest rival within the AFC West division. All-in-all there’s work to be done in Kansas City and Las Vegas is heading home within one game of a share of the division lead.
Here’s a look at some of the Twitter reactions following the game:
Mahomes had another confusing game
Mahomes was brilliant at times against the Raiders’ defense. Other times he was utterly perplexed. If you look at the stat sheet, it certainly wasn’t a bad game for Mahomes. It seems like these types of games are becoming more prevalent in his career, but they’re much more noticeable when the Chiefs don’t notch the win.
The defense had been tremendous through the first quarter of the season for Kansas City. Against Derek Carr and the Raiders, they were exposed in a big way. The secondary gave up big chunk plays and the run defense struggled to slow down Las Vegas’ rushing attack.
I haven’t seen the Chiefs pass defense play this poorly since before the bye last season.
Things might look bleak today, but it’s still early on in the season and this loss can motivate the Chiefs to be better. Just look at what happened last season…
Chiefs also lost the 5th game of the season last year… they won the Super Bowl.
