Tag: Frank Gore Jr.

Assessing the Buffalo Bills’ backfield for fantasy purposes

Will Buffalo rely heavily on the run with a shaky WR corps?

Heading into last season, the Buffalo Bills made the decision to let running back Devin Singletary (now with the New York Giants) depart for greener pastures. That thrust RB James Cook into the lead role. He responded. After rushing for 507 yards while splitting time with Singletary as a rookie, Cook carried the ball 237 times for 1,122 yards last year. That’s solid production from a lead back, especially with a capable running quarterback factoring in.

Things didn’t go as smoothly further down the depth chart. Damien Harris, signed from the New England Patriots to serve as RB2, suffered a severe neck injury in Week 6 and missed the rest of the season. He retired in March. With Harris lost, the team tried its luck in playing veteran Latavius Murray and even brought RB Leonard Fournette onto the practice squad in late October. While Murray (79-300-4) was the best of the bunch, the overall lack of production from that spot was an issue.

General manager Brandon Beane hopes he has addressed that with the selection of Ray Davis in the fourth round, and perhaps even via the signing of undrafted free-agent RB Frank Gore Jr. With major changes at receiver in Buffalo as well, let’s take a look at the Bills’ backfield to see who holds value in 2024.

Frank Gore Jr. recalls watching his dad play for the Bills

Already knows the ‘Shout Song’

Frank Gore Jr. has an uphill climb to make it to the Buffalo Bills final 53-man roster.

Gore signed with the Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent after not being picked at the 2024 NFL draft.

All UDFA players have a huge task in making any final roster so it’s not slight against Gore to say it’s going to be tough for him to make the roster. However, of all UDFAs that signed in Buffalo, he’ll be the one that could most-likely envision himself being on the field for a game one day.

There’s a simple reason for that. He’s already seen his dad do it.

Speaking at Buffalo’s rookie minicamp, Gore dusted off the Bills’ iconic “Shout Song” when discussing his experiences watching his dad play for the Bills. Gore said he attended at least three games at Highmark Stadium when his father was playing for the Bills in 2019.

Gore discussing seeing his experiences in Buffalo can be found in the WKBW-TV clip below:

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Bills’ UDFA Frank Gore Jr. confident after 2024 NFL draft

“No way 257 people were better than me.”

Frank Gore Jr. might have been one of the most-motivated players at the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 rookie minicamp.

Gore, who saw his father play for the Bills during his career, signed in Buffalo after the 2024 NFL draft. The Southern Miss. product was not selected by any team.

After officially joining the Bills, Gore Sr. was excited the Bills came calling.

“We’re good. We’re going to Buffalo man to do our thing,” Gore Sr. told CBS Sports. “All the scouts were like you can tell that’s my son. I [explicit] with (Brandon) Beane. He’s the real deal.”

That same type of confidence can be found in the younger Gore.

After going undrafted, Gore said at rookie minicamp he did not believe that was just.

“It pushed me a lot,” Gore said of going undrafted. “I feel like there’s no way 257 people were better than me in this draft.”

For more from Gore, see the attached Batavia Daily clip below:

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PFF: Bills’ Frank Gore Jr. was actually pretty good in college

PFF: #Bills’ Frank Gore Jr. was actually pretty good in college:

The Buffalo Bills have gone through a lot of turnover over the past few months as the team has had to find a way to get young, cheap talent in the door. As Buffalo moves through with the rest of their offseason following a successful 2024 NFL Draft, it’s good to know a player they acquired after the draft is better than most people think.

According to a recent post by the Pro Football Focus’ Bills page, Buffalo undrafted free-agent running back Frank Gore Jr. was one of the best at his position during his time in college. Gore Jr., the son of future Hall-of-Famer Frank Gore, was not drafted in this past draft despite being one of the most productive backs amongst his peers per PFF.

For starters, Gore had a 93.5 PFF grade since 2022, placing him sixth among running backs and it makes sense when you consider that Gore put up at least 1,131 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns in the two seasons captured in that timespan. In four seasons for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Gore was first-team All-Sun Belt in 2022 and was second-team All-Sun Belt in 2020 and 2022.

The post also points out that Gore forced 150 missed tackles since 2022, third among RBs, showing that he has some ability to make things happen even when he meets a defender. Based on those two numbers, it seems like the Bills may have one of the bigger steals in the most recent draft cycle.

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Jets trade up for Rome Odunze in 7-round mock from The Athletic

Jets trade up for Rome Odunze in 7-round mock from The Athletic

The Jets would love to come away with a Round 1 pass-catcher Thursday night and they may very well move up the board to get it.

That’s the scenario that plays out in the final seven-round mock for the Jets by Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. He has the Jets moving up three spots in a trade with the Tennessee Titans to land Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze and instantly make the Jets’ offense much more dynamic.

The Jets may very well get aggressive in getting one of the top pass-catchers in this draft, particularly Odunze, who would immediately form one of the best young wide-receiver duos with Garrett Wilson. In this scenario, the Jets trade pick No. 134 this year and a fourth-round pick next year to make the move and jump ahead of the Falcons and Bears to land the Washington stud.

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The Titans or Falcons feel like the teams to watch if the Jets are going to trade up to get one of the trio of stud wide receivers (Odunze, Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers). I went with the Titans because I don’t think it can be ruled out that Atlanta might want to take a wide receiver after investing in Kirk Cousins. The Titans already have DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley and should still be able to get a top offensive tackle at No. 10.

As for the Jets: GM Joe Douglas has made it clear with all of his moves this offseason — and the structures of the contracts he has given out — that they are all-in on winning in 2024. So if the opportunity presents itself to go and get a wide receiver of this caliber (whether it’s Odunze, Nabers or Harrison), I don’t see why he wouldn’t pursue it. It shouldn’t take too much to move up a couple spots in the order and wide receiver is still a need, even after signing Mike Williams.

It would be interesting to know whether Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt was still on the board when this deal was made, but regardless, coming away with Odunze would be a home run on Day 1 of the draft for the Jets and all for the low price of two Day 3 picks.

The remaining picks for the Jets in this mock are as follows:

72. Brandon Coleman, OT, TCU
111. Michael Pratt, QB, Tulane
185. Dominique Hampton, S, Washington
256. Jowon Briggs, DL, Cincinnati
257. frank Gore Jr., RB, Southern Mississippi

10 running backs for the Ravens to watch at the 2024 NFL combine

We’re looking at ten running backs for the Baltimore Ravens to watch during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine

Running back depth is a massive priority for the Ravens, and that’ll be the position to watch on Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Eric DeCosta is looking to retool the roster following Baltimore’s heartbreaking AFC Championship loss to Kansas City.

Baltimore has three free-agent running backs, and Keaton Mitchell rehabbing a torn ACL.

With Day 3 of on-field workouts set to begin, we’re looking at ten running backs for the Ravens to watch.

10 running backs for the Eagles to watch at the 2024 NFL Combine

We’re looking at ten running backs for the Philadelphia Eagles to watch during the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine

Running back depth is a massive priority for the Eagles, and that’ll be the position to watch on Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Howie Roseman is looking to retool the roster following Philadelphia’s historic collapse, finishing the season 1-6 after a 10-1 start.

Philadelphia has three free-agent running backs, and Kenneth Gainwell has done nothing to show that he can be an every-down, starting running back.

With Day 3 of on-field workouts set to begin, we’re looking at ten running backs for Philadelphia to watch.

Full 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft: Patriots land Senior Bowl standout QB to pair with elite weapon

The Patriots get arguably the best player on the board at No. 3 in this full seven-round 2024 NFL mock draft

The New England Patriots are less than three months away from one of the most important decisions in the past 30 years.

A brand new head coach is in the building in Jerod Mayo, and Eliot Wolf is working through the personnel decisions. This is an opportunity for both men to stamp their names on the Patriots.

For better or worse, the team will have a different philosophy heading into the offseason. It’s a breath of fresh air for Patriots fans who grew impatient with the lack of offensive success since Tom Brady’s departure in 2020.

In this mock draft, we’re taking a look at one scenario that could shake up on draft night, netting the Patriots a generational cornerstone receiver and some developmental tackles.

The ‘What If…?’ Mock Draft: Cowboys, Bears swap Dak Prescott for Justin Fields

A thought exercise if Dallas and Dak Prescott can’t agree to an extension, how much he’d be worth in a trade, and then working with Chicago to upgrade both teams’ situations. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Marvel Comics Universe, better known as the MCU, has centered fictional characters for over a decade. Although it’s losing steam commercially over the last several years, One property has been able to recapture the magic, the two-season animated run of What If…?

What If,,,? is another comic convert, that takes well-known characters, but from alternate universes, and puts them in scenarios originally encountered by other heroes. We’re going to borrow this concept for a minute and walk an alternate universe path of what if the Dallas Cowboys were willing to hit the reset button on the franchise and trade Dak Prescott.

Prescott has a ridiculously high cap hit in 2024, along with both no-tag and no-trade clauses. The almost assured scenario is that not only will he return to Dallas for 2024, but he’ll do it as the league’s highest-paid QB.

But what if he didn’t?

What if the two sides are unable to work out an extension over the next 3-plus months and owner Jerry Jones hit the reset button? We already outlined all of the teams we believe would jump at the chance to acquire Prescott, and that list includes the Chicago Bears.

Mock drafts, especially ones in January, are as What If… as anything can get in sports. So before things get serious, we’ll use this iteration to play out a scenario where Dallas doesn’t hitch their wagon to Prescott and instead looks to find the next starting quarterback.

 

Frank Gore Jr. tells social media to chill after he stiff-arms his aunt

Record-setting Frank Gore Jr. just wants folks on social media to chill

Who can blame Frank Gore Jr.’s aunt for being thrilled?

The Southern Miss running back was being interviewed after his record-setting performance in the Golden Eagles’ 38-24 victory over Rice in the Lending Tree Bowl on Saturday.

His exuberant aunt wanted to congratulate her nephew for his 329-yard rushing performance but the time wasn’t right and Gore shoved her out of the shot.

Needless to say, the push went viral causing Gore to let all of social media know it was time to relax and that he adores his aunt.