Tag: drake jackson

Texans redouble pass rush in latest Draft Wire 3-round mock

The Houston Texans sellout with the pass rush in the latest Draft Wire three-round mock.

If Davis Mills is the answer at quarterback, at least for 2022, then the Houston Texans have two approaches to the draft: provide Mills more weapons, or bolster the defense.

According to Luke Easterling of the Draft Wire, who released his latest three-round mock, the Texans claim Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 3 overall pick — only after the Jacksonville Jaguars take Aidan Hutchinson No. 1 overall and the Detroit Lions draft Kenny Pickett.

If Pickett’s still on the board, he probably goes here. If not, the Texans will get to steal whichever edge defender doesn’t go No. 1, either Hutchinson or Thibodeaux. Either would be a huge win for Houston, and in this scenario, they land a high-upside player who was the consensus top pick for most of the last two seasons.

After getting a dominant edge rusher in Round 1, Houston then takes another in USC’s Drake Jackson at No. 37 overall in Round 2.

General manager Nick Caserio adds a young running back with Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker at No. 68 overall in Round 3.

Houston uses their other third-round pick, which was acquired in the Bradley Roby trade to the New Orleans Saints, to ironically acquire another former Ohio State cornerback in Sevyn Banks at No. 80 overall (Round 3).

2022 NFL draft: Giants stock up in full 7-round mock

The New York Giants stock up in the first 2022 NFL mock draft of the season compiled by the Giants Wire staff.

The 2022 NFL draft is still four-plus months away but with the New York Giants effectively out of the playoff hunt, we at Giants Wire have decided it’s time to look ahead.

That means mock draft season begins now.

In our very first mock of the year, which was conducted using the current draft order (pre-Week 15 games), we employed the mock draft simulator from The Draft Network.

The settings were default: TDN’s predictive board, seven rounds and fast speed. We chose only for the Giants during a single run. There were no trades used in this simulation.

Here are the results:

Five keys for Notre Dame to defeat USC

These five factors could be huge for the Irish against USC

In all rivalry games, there’s always a lot riding on them, regardless of record. Yes, the Trojans come into South Bend 3-3, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t talented. There’s players on both sides of the ball for them and the Irish will have to bring their A-game. Here are 5 keys for the Irish to defeat the Trojans Saturday night.

Know your foe, USC: Five Trojans who could give Notre Dame problems

The Irish will have to be aware of these 5 Trojans

As we all know, wide receiver Drake London has been getting a lot of publicity recently and rightfully so. He’s fourth in the NCAA in yardage, and has four straight 100-yard games. London is an absolute monster but the Trojan’s aren’t a one-trick pony. The have lot of talent and these are five other USC players who could give Notre Dame problems Saturday night.

Colts held tryout for several players

Colts held a tryout for several players on Monday.

The Indianapolis Colts held a tryout for several players on Monday, per the league’s transaction wire.

In total, the Colts had seven free agents at the tryout while five of them were safeties and the other two were centers. Here’s a look at the players who attended the tryout on Monday:

  • C Cohl Cabral
  • C Drake Jackson
  • S Delano Hill
  • S Josh Jones
  • S Lucas Jordan
  • S Will Parks
  • S Andrew Sendejo

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Colts are working out safeties. They are currently thin at the position with only three players on the active roster in Julian Blackmon, Khari Willis and George Odum.

The elevated veteran Sean Davis from the practice squad for game day, but he has since been returned to the practice squad.

The Colts may also be keeping tabs on the center position given Danny Pinter’s foot injury, which kept him out of the season-opener. They had to elevate Joey Hunt from the practice squad to be the backup to Ryan Kelly.

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Texans waive DT Auzoyah Alufohai, C Drake Jackson

The Houston Texans announced they have waived DT Auzoyah Alufohai and C Drake Jackson.

The Houston Texans continue to trim down their roster as they gear up for the preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday night at NRG Stadium.

The team announced Tuesday evening they had placed second-year defensive tackle Auzoyah Alufohai on waivers along with undrafted free agent center Drake Jackson.

Alufohai went undrafted in 2020 out of West Georgia. The 6-4, 320-pound defensive tackle played in three games last season and collected one tackle.

Jackson was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Lions in the middle of August, and he saw seven snaps at center against the Dallas Cowboys in Houston’s 20-14 preseason win at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Texans claim center Drake Jackson off waivers from the Lions

Jackson is the second UDFA the Lions waived in a week to get claimed by another team

For the second time in a week, an undrafted rookie waived by the Detroit Lions has been claimed by another team. This time it’s center Drake Jackson, who was waived by the Lions on Monday.

The Houston Texans claimed Jackson on the waiver wire, per the NFL’s transaction report. Jackson joins tight end Jake Hausmann, who was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants after the Lions severed ties last week.

Jackson did not show a great deal in his time in Detroit. He was undersized and pushed off the roster when the Lions activated Evan Brown and signed Evan Boehm, each of whom can play center.

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Jalen Reeves-Maybin returns, Darius Jennings signed in Lions roster moves

The Detroit Lions make a couple of roster moves with Jalen Reeves-Maybin returning, the signing of Darius Jennings, and Drake Jackson cut

Heading into Week 3 of training camp, the Detroit Lions have made a few changes to the roster. Jalen-Reeves Maybin has been removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list, along with the signing of WR Darius Jennings and the release of center Drake Jackson.

Reeves-Maybin was looked upon as a player who may benefit from the regime change as his style of play is better suited in this scheme where athletic linebackers are coveted versus Matt Patricia’s, where he preferred big-bodied linebackers.

He landed on the COVID-19 listing right before training camp, slowing down his progress in the new-look defense. Due to this fact, he has lost out on valuable reps to fringe players who know are making some noise with the advantage of the extra playing time like Shaun Dion-Hamilton and Anthony Pittman.

It is hard to say how far behind Reeves-Maybin, but the curve has become higher for him due to other players showing out during camp. Even though he is a solid special teamer, that may not be enough for him to hang his hat on. He has a short time to put his horse ahead, or otherwise, it might be a long road ahead for him.

On the flip side, the Lions brought Jennings to help alleviate the receiver depth after most of the receiver corps was out for Saturday’s scrimmage, Tyrell Williams with a groin injury, Breshad Perriman with a hip issue, and Quintez Cephus with a head injury.

Jennings was undrafted coming out of Virginia and has bounced around between the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Tennesse Titans, and the Los Angles Chargers on various practice squads. He is the biggest guy on the field, but where he made the most impact was kick returns, where he set the Titans franchise record with 31.7 yards per return. He will have a long road ahead coming late in camp and probably a camp body to supplement, but never shut the door.

Jackson was brought in as an undrafted free agent this year, and some believed he had a legit shot at making the team as center depth behind Frank Ragnow with his superb play at Kentucky. Unfortunately for Jackson, due is short arms; he was probably just a center-only prospect holding back the possibility of moving him to guard. Also, with Evan Brown returning from the Non-Football Injury list last week, it ultimately made Jackson expendable since Brown can play anywhere on the interior.

Giants select two defenders in latest 2022 Touchdown Wire mock draft

In the latest two-round 2022 mock draft from Touchdown Wire, the New York Giants select two defenders and an offensive tackle.

With the 2021 NFL season still a month away, what could football fans be less interested in than a 2022 mock draft? Not so fast. NFL fans and pundits are always looking ahead and would be remiss if they weren’t aware of what was lies ahead on the horizon.

Luke Easterling of Draft Wire recent published his latest two-round 2022 NFL mock draft and for the New York Giants that means three picks. Here’s how Easterling sees things shaking out.

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Round 1, Pick No. 8 – Christian Harris, LB Alabama

Fans have to be concerned if the Giants are picking this high. That means they had another losing season and failed to qualify for the postseason again. If that happens, there’s little chance they answer with a linebacker with their top pick. If they don’t win eight games and/or Daniel Jones shows no improvement, general manager Dave Gettleman will be gone and a new GM will be calling the shots. That would likely mean going in another direction at quarterback. This pick will be used to either draft one or trade for one, possibly Aaron Rodgers.

Round 1, Pick No. 10 (from Chicago) – Drake Jackson, EDGE, USC

Again, this presents an issue. This pick will not be used for a EDGE rusher if the Giants have another losing season. This would also mean that Azzez Ojulari and/or Elerson Smith busted as rookies. This pick will likely be part of a trade to move up in the draft order or in a trade for a veteran QB.

Round 2, Pick No. 40 – Nick Broeker, OT Ole Miss

This pick is contingent on what happens in Round 1. I’m never averse to taking an offensive tackle early in the draft but this selection tells me that one or both Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart busted. That means Gettleman is surely gone and who knows what the new GM has in mind.

I have no issues with the players Easterling has mocked to the Giants but it stands to reason that if they are drafting eighth, they won no more than six games in 2021 and if that happens John Mara is likely to blow this thing up. That would mean eight losing seasons out of the last nine and that just cannot the tolerated. The fans won’t stand for it.

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Giants select two defenders in PFN’s latest 2022 mock draft

In the latest 2022 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network, the New York Giants select two key defenders.

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Pro Football Network has pounded the drum and beat the dead horse to dust when it comes to New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. They don’t believe in him, they feel the Giants are wasting time and have repeatedly projected a quarterback to Big Blue in the 2022 NFL draft.

However, PFN finally took a much-needed and long-awaited break from that narrative last week during their most recent 2022 mock draft. And while they still took a jab at Jones, they passed on the Giants taking a quarterback.

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Rather, with the seventh overall pick, PFN has the Giants selecting USC edge rusher Drake Jackson.

7. New York Giants: Drake Jackson, EDGE, USC

If the Giants are picking seventh overall, the Daniel Jones experiment failed for likely the last time. However, with the sure-fire QBs off the board, PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator has the G-Men acquiring a top-tier edge defender. Drake Jackson can play the edge, kick inside, stop the run, and rush the passer. What more could you ask for from a top-10 pick?

With their second pick in the first round, acquired in a draft day trade with the Chicago Bears this past April, PFN again has the Giants going back to the defensive well with Alabama linebacker Christian Harris.

10. New York Giants (via Chicago): Christian Harris, LB, Alabama

With two selections in the first 10 picks of this 2022 NFL Mock Draft, the Giants double-dip in the defensive player pool. This time, they draft Alabama linebacker Christian Harris. Outside of Blake Martinez, New York’s linebacking corps is suspect. Adding Harris brings a physical presence in the heart of the defense that has been missing for some time.

If the Giants are again picking inside the top 10, a bunch went wrong. But without knowing what the future holds, grabbing two Day 1 defensive starters would be a huge get.

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