Tag: chase edmonds

Cardinals on 20 sacks in 2020 campaign for Chandler Jones

Even Jones’ teammates want him to get the sack record.

Arizona Cardinals All-Pro pass rusher Chandler Jones has lofty sack goals for himself in 2020. He believes he can get the single-season record, passing Michael Strahan’s 22.5. A 20-sack season in general is special. He was one short of that in 2019, setting a career-high and franchise record 19 sacks last season.

He feels he can set the record and this season is a great opportunity to do it.

His teammates also want to see him get there. They are openly talking about 20 sacks for him.

Running back Chase Edmonds has a nickname for Jones this year.

“I’m calling him ‘Veinte’ right now this year because the goal is 20-plus (sacks),” he told reporters last week. “I know he wants to hit that record.”

Veinte, of course, is 20 in Spanish.

“I started calling him ‘Veinte’ about two months ago,” he said. “We were joking around with that.”

Defensive lineman Jordan Phillips also wants Jones to get to 20 sacks.

“If I can do what I need to do, I can get him to 20 sacks, 23 sacks,” he told reporters last week.

Jones has more help this year. Phillips had 9.5 sacks last season. Devon Kennard had seven each of the last two seasons.

While many might say these additions would take sacks away from Jones, the Cardinals feel like it will improve his chances of reaching such a rare number of sacks.

20 in 2020? That’s what everyone is shooting for.

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Young Cardinals can count on ‘3 amigos’ to help them feel comfortable

Chase Edmonds, Trent Sherfield and Christian Kirk go out of their way to help young players feel comfortable with the team.

As a result of the lack of an in-person offseason because of the coronavirus pandemic, NFL players on new teams have not had the opportunity to spend time with teammates in the locker room until training camp began. The process of building camaraderie and trust in the locker room was delayed, which surely makes it harder for players to find their place with their teammates, especially if they are a rookie coming into the league.

However, the young players on the Arizona Cardinals have some support, thanks to a trio of players who are conscious of the sometimes tough adjustment to the pros and the locker room.

Running back Chase Edmonds and receivers Christian Kirk and Trent Sherfield are pretty much inseparable. Edmonds refers to them as the “three amigos.”

During the downtime of the offseason when teams could not work out together, they worked out together nearly every day for two months with new quarterback Chris Streveler.

Now that they are in training camp, Edmonds tries to help all the young players feel comfortable.

“I try to embrace every single rookie, every single young guy coming in here because I remember how it was my rookie year just trying to find a place where you can be comfortable,” he told reporters recently after practice.

Edmonds, a fourth-round pick in 2018 out of Fordham, from where no other player had been drafted since 2010, remembers the adjustment. Sherfield was an undrafted player that year, while Kirk was drafted in the second round. It is tough for rookies to both feel comfortable and also not to say too much.

Edmonds reaches out to the young players now.

“I’ll always try to talk to guys,” he said. “If I see someone sitting alone at the lunch table, I’ll invite them over to the ‘three amigo’ table with me, Trent and Kirk.”

He wants them to “feel like it’s just football” and hopes to “just get guys where they can be confortable.”

Edmonds believes the Cardinals’ locker room is in great shape with veteran leaders and a good mix of young players.

That should help the team as it deals with a short offseason, no preseason and little time before the regular season begins.

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Cardinals view Chase Edmonds as a starting-caliber running back

Kenyan Drake is their No. 1 back, but they have 100% confidence in Edmonds.

After his performance in the second half of the season following his trade from the Miami Dolphins, Kenyan Drake is the clear number one running back on the Arizona Cardinals. However, the team believes it has not only one running back capable of starting in the NFL.

Despite bringing Drake back on the transition tag, head coach Kliff Kingsbury is a big fan of Chase Edmonds. In fact, had it not been for an injury, Edmonds might be the guy this year.

“We all feel like he’s a starting running back in this league and he does, too,” Kingsbury told reporters on Wednesday after practice. “Had he not gotten hurt, I’m not sure if we would have traded for Kenyan.”

Edmonds was coming off a 126-yard, three-touchdown performance against the New York Giants, but the next week against the New Orleans Saints, he injured his hamstring. That, combined with an injury to David Johnson, led to the trade for Drake, who went on to rush for 643 yards and eight touchdowns in the Cardinals’ final eight games.

“We liked Kenyan a lot,” Kingsbury added. “We may have done something after the season, but we felt that confident in what Chase brings. When he had his opportunities, he shined and he continues to shine. He can catch it. He can run it. He can block, splay special teams and he is really bright, football-wise, so he’s everything you want. I couldn’t be more impressed by him as a competitor and just a true pro.”

Edmonds will get opportunities in 2020, and the team’s trust in him is probably a large reason why it only committed to one year of Drake, signing him to a one-year transition tag deal.

The way Kingsbury talks about Edmonds, it is similar to how he talked about center Mason Cole a year ago. Cole had to sit behind A.Q. Shipley for a year and now is the starter.

We might be looking at the same scenario. If things go as planned, Drake will get paid in free agency and the Cardinals will be able to use Edmonds as the starting running back in 2021.

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Fantasy football: 6 running back sleepers to target for 2020

This group of under-the-radar RBs will be worth the late-round pick.

The expanding list of running backs with pass-catching abilities has created a dramatic shift in fantasy football — especially PPR (points per reception) leagues.

Considering the high rate of touches they receive and the short dump passes that add up, it’s not a surprise. But, running backs average 3.3 seasons in the NFL because of the damage they take, leaving room for new players to emerge consistently. There’s an ever-revolving door of backs that will flow and fantasy owners can take advantage of that early.

Here are six sleeper choices that won’t gain much national attention at the start of the season, but have potential to rise as stars by the end.

Lamar Miller

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Lamar Miller is the only player on the list who shouldn’t be listed as a sleeper, but his health circumstances landed him here. Miller signed with the New England Patriots on Monday night after missing the 2019 season with the Houston Texans because of a torn ACL and MCL.

The 29-year-old running back has averaged 834 rushing yards and 224 receiving yards in his seven-year career. Miller’s sleeper status comes from the depth ahead of him with Sony Michel and James White. He’s coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2018 and has the potential to quickly become the primary back if Michel’s injury concerns don’t dissipate.

Miller finished 23rd in fantasy points in 2018 and it was largely to due with his 163 receiving yards — the second-lowest in his career. He’s joining a Josh McDaniels offense that thrives off of dump passes, which will be instrumental in helping Cam Newton gain comfortability in the offense.

Miller will make an immediate impact if his health allows him and could very easily shoot up to the No. 1 role early in the season. He’ll begin as an RB2 or flex option, but could quickly ascend into the top-tier fantasy role he once claimed.

Chase Edmonds

Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Edmonds has an extremely high ceiling. The third-year running back will enter a backfield that let go of David Johnson and features Kenyan Drake — who hasn’t started a full slate of 16 games in his four-year career.

He’s a strong candidate to pick up in the middle rounds and the rewards will be reaped early in the season. The Arizona Cardinals’ offense is ascending under Kyler Murray and with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins. Edmonds averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season, while erupting for 126 yards and three touchdowns in the only game he played more than 65 percent of the team’s snaps.

Edmonds will start off as a flex option, but his potential to quickly rise will make him worth the pick.

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WATCH: Kenyan Drake’s debut with Cardinals resurfaces

Kenyan Drake had a dominate debut with the Arizona Cardinals after they sent a Day 3 pick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange.

Kenyan Drake was traded to the Arizona Cardinals from the Miami Dolphins in the middle of last season in exchange for a Day 3 pick, and it’s a trade that continues to pay off for Arizona.

Even from the debut with his new team, Drake immediately showed that he was well worth the asset Cardinals general manager Steve Keim had parted with, and recently, a fantasy football expert with FF Astronauts reposted a Drake’s highlights from that game.

As the fantasy expert points out in the tweet, it was a quick turnaround for Drake after being traded. And he would also be going against one of the league’s best defenses in the San Francisco 49ers, who would eventually come just short of winning a Super Bowl in February.

The result? Drake rumbled for 110 yards on 15 carries (7.3 yards per attempt) with a touchdown on the ground. The 6-foot-1, 211-pounder also added 52 yards and four receptions.

It was instantly one of the best performances of Drake’s career, and it proved that he was capable of handling the lead back duties in Arizona. In fact, head coach Kliff Kingsbury and company were so confident in Drake that they traded star running back David Johnson to the Texans in the offense.

In eight games with the team to finish 2019, Drake rushed for 643 yards and eight touchdowns on top of 171 yards receiving. Of those rushing yards, 363 of them came over the course of the last three games.

Yes, valued backup running back Chase Edmonds is still on the roster, and former Arizona State standout runner Eno Benjamin was drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but Drake is still expected to be a vital part of the offense this upcoming season.

Stay tuned for more updates on Kenyan Drake and other former Alabama stars in the NFL from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire sites!

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Christian Kirk, others have worked out with Cardinals QBs

Kirk spends a lot of time with Chase Edmonds and Trent Sherfield. They have thrown the ball around with Brett Hundley and Chris Streveler.

The Arizona Cardinals have not yet been able to get on the practice field as a team but several teammates here in the Phoenix area have managed to get some work in together. There has been talk of getting quarterback Kyler Murray together with his receivers and that is coming up, but some guys have been working out together and it has included Cardinals quarterbacks.

Receiver Christian Kirk said he spends a lot of time with teammates Trent Sherfield and Chase Edmonds. “We three like to stick together and we’re always with one another, so I do a lot of training with them,” he told reporters in a video conference last week.

Kirk said they have had quarterback Brett Hundley with them “a couple of times here or there” to throw the ball around a bit. Hundley lives in the Phoenix area. Chris Streveler, the quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League and signed with the team this offseason, also has worked out with them. “He’s been fun to get to know and be around,” Kirk said. “Hard-working guy, he’s been willing to learn and get out on the field and throw some route, being able to help him and get him up to speed so it isn’t overwhelming when it comes to training camp.”

Kirk also said he has done some working out with Larry Fitzgerald, as he lives just down the street from him.

As for Murray, “Kyler has been in Dallas for the majority of the time,” but Kirk said their reunion will come “real soon.”

Kirk said doing it leading into camp is ideal “so we are picking up right where we left off.”

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 268

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Ep. 267

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Josh Hart and Team NBA beat Team NFL in SLAM Call of Duty tourney

Pelicans guard Josh Hart had some adversity, but he kept his perfect Call of Duty tourney record intact Saturday.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart is passionate about Call of Duty.

Hart competed in SLAM’s sixth Call of Duty: Modern Warfare tournament Saturday, and he had to express his emotions — after all, his undefeated record was on the line.

In a video that’s gone viral, Hart smashed his keyboard after a bout of frustration over the game. Despite the close series, though, Hart’s record remained flawless. He and Team NBA defeated Team NFL, 4-3, coming back from a 3-1 series deficit.

The keyboard suffered defeat when the Hart and Team NBA were at their lowest.

The two teams were playing Search and Destroy on the map Hackney Yard, and it was the fourth game of the series. Team NFL had been up 2-1 in the tourney, and the NBA squad needed a win. Team NFL went on to win Search and Destroy, 6-4, and took a commanding 3-1 lead.

Warning: The video below contains explicit language. 

Though it resulted in a loss, the match was one of Hart’s best of the series. He had nine kills, the second-highest on the team behind Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall.

The rest of the NBA team included Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. Team NFL included Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry and Browns running back Kareem Hunt. In addition, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds competed, along with Denver Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton.

Hart was an important part of Team NBA’s comeback. During Capture the Flag on Rammaza, he finished with 18 kills and tallied a capture.

The hoopers won Capture the Flag, 4-1, and then Hart had another good performance in Game 6 of the series, a game of Headquarters on Crash. Hart had 19 kills and two captures, along with a team-high two defends. Team NBA won, 200-33, on Headquarters.

With Hart keeping his perfect record intact, even through some adversity, he’s shown he’s one of the most reliable and consistent Call of Duty players in the NBA.

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Eric Paschall helps lead Team NBA to win in SLAM Call of Duty tourney

Warriors rookie Eric Paschall had a solid performance in his first SLAM Call of Duty tournament.

Golden State Warriors rookie Eric Paschall and a group of fellow NBA players were on the brink of a virtual loss.

Paschall and some other hoopers played against Team NFL on Saturday in SLAM’s latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare tournament.

With the series tied at 3-3, the two squads had been going back in forth during the last match, a game of Search and Destroy on the map Shoot House. Team NBA defeated Team NFL, 6-5, to win the tournament.

Paschall was pivotal in the series clincher. He tallied 11 kills, the second-highest number on the squad.

The rest of the team included Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.

The team of mostly NFL players included Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds, along with Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry, Browns running back Kareem Hunt and Denver Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton were also on the team.

During the second game of the series, Team NBA was routed 200-90 in Headquarters on Talsik Backlot. But this game was perhaps Paschall’s best performance. He had a team-high 26 kills and a team-best two defends.

Before the final game of the tourney, the teams had split two games of Search and Destroy.

The NBA took the tournament’s opening match, winning 6-5 in Search and Destroy on Gun Runner. The NFL won 6-4 during the second Search and Destroy game, which was on Hackney Yard; the football players took a 3-1 lead in the series with that win.

Paschall had a team-high 11 kills in the Hackney Yard game, and he continued to be a valuable player as the NBA squad rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit.

He had nine kills when Team NBA won, 4-1, in Capture the Flag. Then, when the NBA needed to force Game 7, Paschall contributed with 12 kills on Headquarters. His team won, 200-33, on the map Crash to tie the series at 3-3.

Paschall was a newcomer in SLAM’s tourney, and with his solid performance, perhaps he will be invited back to have some fun on the sticks.

 

Eno Benjamin set to follow Chase Edmonds’ early NFL career path

He expects to have the same role that Edmonds had in his first and part of his second year in the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals drafted running back Eno Benjamin believing he will be the third running back they need for their offensive rotation behind Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds.

As he looks ahead to his rookie season, he has Edmonds’ career path to watch to know his own career might go to start off.

“I think I will be used as the type of guy that Chase was used the previous years, just kind of as a rotational guy — just a guy who is going to be called and gets whatever that needs to be done, done,” he said in a video conference with reporters on Wednesday. “That’s as far as I know about that. I’m just going in head down to earn my right to be able to get on that field.”

He, like Edmonds, was a workhorse back in college selected on Day 3 of the draft. Edmonds won over the coaching staff as a rookie and then moved his way up the depth chart in Year 2, winning over the current coaching staff.

Edmonds played a lot on special teams, worked hard in practice and earned the respect of his teammates. When given the opportunity to start, he rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns in one game when David Johnson was injured and Drake was not yet on the team.

It will be a change going from the No. 1 option on offense like he was with the Sun Devils to being the third-string running back, but it is something he is ready to face and it is something he is used to doing.

“It’s just doing whatever it takes to win and to succeed,” he said. “When I was in high school, I was never the first guy. I had to work my way up. When I got to college, I was not the first guy. I had to work my way up.

“It’s just that same mentality. You start off at the bottom and you work your way to the top and it’s a cycle that never ends. You have to keep working.”

He already has a relationship with Edmonds. They worked out together in Benjamin’s predraft process.

It will be exciting to see him cut his NFL teeth on special teams and potentially getting a few snaps here and there on offense once the season arrives.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 266

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Ep.265

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2 NFL stars will play Suns vs. Thunder in NBA 2K20 on Wednesday night

Chase Edmonds and Shaq Lawson will give Suns and Thunder fans the matchup they would’ve gotten if the NBA season hadn’t been suspended.

The NBA season might be on a bit of a hiatus, but we’ll get to see the Suns and Thunder square off in a virtual battle on Wednesday night.

According to the Arizona Sports 98.7FM out West, Phoenix Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds will lock virtual horns with the Miami Dolphins’ Shaq Lawson. In a world where we don’t have real-life games to watch, the NBA 2K20 version of the matchup might be the next best thing.

The NBA itself has partnered with the NBPA and 2K sports to have a virtual tournament featuring real NBA stars, and it appears that Thunder fans will have the opportunity to see their squad in action as represented by Lawson, as well.

Edmonds and Lawson’s showdown will begin at 6:00 p.m. CT and will be available to be viewed on the Phoenix Suns’ stream over at Twitch.tv.