Tag: PFF

PFF ranks the Saints secondary 17th in the NFL for 2019

The New Orleans Saints secondary was ranked 17th in the NFL for its performance in 2019, but major changes could be on the way in 2020.

The New Orleans Saints defense carried the offense through some tough times last season, and turned in a much stronger performance in the playoffs. Their pass rush logged one of its highest sacks totals (51) in years, largely thanks to tight coverage on the back end. Top cornerback Marshon Lattimore was selected for this year’s Pro Bowl.

However, the analysts at Pro Football Focus weren’t quite as impressed. In their eyes, the Saints secondary underperformed, and ranked 17th in the NFL:

Just three short years ago, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen inherited a coverage defense that had just finished the 2015 season with a 32nd-ranked team coverage grade of 29.8. But even though this year’s 17th-ranked 71.3 coverage grade is a vast improvement, there is still room to grow for New Orleans’ talented coverage unit. The Saints’ secondary consisted of seven players who were drafted in the first three rounds, but only two — Marcus Williams (89.5) and Janoris Jenkins (81.2) — earned a PFF coverage grade above 80.0. Former first-round picks Marshon Lattimore (68.7), Eli Apple (59.1) and Patrick Robinson (65.0) all performed below expectations, while Vonn Bell (51.9), P.J. Williams (47.8) and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (68.7) are also expected to play a little better than their grades would suggest. They are a talented group, but they underachieved this past season.

This is one position group that should get shaken up in the offseason. Free agents include Apple, Bell, and P.J. Williams, while contract decisions must be made for expensive veterans like Jenkins and Robinson, as well as Lattimore and Marcus Williams, who will be due sizable extensions next year.

It’s easy to get hung up on the big plays Williams has allowed in critical moments throughout his career, ranging from missed tackles to untimely penalties. But those don’t outweigh his penchant for momentum-shifting plays in his own right — he was the only member of the Saints defense to intercept multiple passes last season, ranking among league leaders with four such takeaways.

The age of the group should also be considered. Williams and Lattimore are both just 23, and have been cornerstone players of the defense for three years now. Compare that to Gardner-Johnson, who is 22. This is a young core for the team to be built around, and it’s important that they be kept together.

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Eagles have 2 players land on list of the highest-graded NFL players at each position

Eagles Jason Kelce and Brandon Brooks land on a list of the highest-graded NFL players at each position

The Philadelphia Eagles have the best offensive line in football, so it should be no surprise that when ESPN and Pro Football Focus combined to list the highest graded players at each respective position, two Birds landed on the list.

Guard

Best overall: Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia Eagles
Grade: 92.9

The Eagles are rightfully represented by two of their interior players on the offensive line here, as the common theme from Philly appears yet again in our postseason accolades. Brooks anchored an offensive line that is arguably the best in football and clearly the Eagles’ calling card. He allowed just 19 pressures this year — and one sack — on his 647 snaps in pass protection, while he led all guards across the league in run-blocking grade.

Center

Best overall: Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles
Grade: 81.0

Kelce once against dominated from the center position. He commanded the action in the run game and allowed six combined sacks and hits in pass protection. Kelce has now finished six of the past eight seasons with a PFF overall grade above 80.0.

Kelce’s been the top center in the NFL over a three-year run that features three straight first-team All-Pro nods from the Associated Press.

Brooks is recovering from shoulder surgery and is coming off a dominant season that saw him rewarded with a contract extension that made him the highest-paid guard in the NFL.

2 Cardinals (and no Kenyan Drake) among PFF’s top 50 free agents

Larry Fitzgerald and D.J. Humphries make the cut. Kenyan Drake did not.

Free agency is still about two months away but NFL teams are preparing, making their own lists of players and ranking them by priority. The Arizona Cardinals have their own free agents to perhaps re-sign as well.

According to Pro Football Focus, two of their pending free agents are among the top 50 in the league. However, one big name does not appear on the list.

Who makes the list?

It includes receiver Larry Fitzgerald and tackle D.J. Humphries. It does not include running back Kenyan Drake.

Fitzgerald comes in at No. 48.

The NFL needs Larry Fitzgerald in it, and the Hall of Famer is somehow still playing at a pretty high level, even if he isn’t quite the force he once was. This season, Fitzgerald caught 72.1% of the passes thrown his way and didn’t drop a single pass all year. Fitzgerald has had the best hands in the game since he came into the league, and despite slowing down, he was still able to register a catch of 54 yards this season along with four touchdowns. His days as a true No. 1 receiver are long gone, but in a league that needs deep benches of receiving talent, Larry Fitzgerald can still be a valuable member of a receiving corps and a solid contributor on Sundays.

Humphries comes in at No. 45.

Humphries battled injuries early in his career, only flashing the ability that made him a 2015 first-rounder, but he is coming off his best effort as a pass blocker. He gave up only 30 pressures on 677 attempts in 2019, just two more pressures than he allowed in 2018 on 335 fewer opportunities. It was Humphries’ first season grading below 72.0 in the run game, but he could be the classic “late bloomer” along the offensive line as he heads into his age-26 season.

Fitzgerald won’t actually make it to free agency. He will either re-sign with the Cardinals before it begins or he will announce his retirement. He will not play for another team.

Humphries, though, is another story. He would like to re-sign, but if he doesn’t have a new deal before free agency begins and the Cardinals do not use the franchise tag on him, he will land a big contract elsewhere.

The absence of Drake, who was dynamic down the stretch for the Cardinals after he was acquired in a midseason trade. In eight games, he ended up leading the team in rushing and rushing touchdowns. Both general manager Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury believe he could be their top back and express their desire for his return.

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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. 255

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Ep. 254

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PFF doesn’t rank any Saints players among 50 best free agents

The analysts at Pro Football Focus did not rank any New Orleans Saints players in their list of the 50 best available free agents in 2020.

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The analysts at Pro Football Focus put together their ranking of the 50 best available free agents in 2020, and not a single New Orleans Saints player made the list. It’s not for a lack of pending free agents out of New Orleans: their offseason priorities include starters like left guard Andrus Peat, cornerback Eli Apple, safety Vonn Bell, defensive tackle David Onyemata, and linebacker A.J. Klein.

While the Saints can probably afford to let some of those players go and choose to pursue upgrades instead, many of them were still critical to the team’s success in 2019. If anything, it goes to show just how deep and talented this year’s free agency crop may be.

However, the list doesn’t feature any quarterbacks — the PFF team covered them separately, recognizing the different scale in value they present to teams around the league. Both Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater were profiled as maybe-limited passers who teams can win with, but should have reservations about over-committing to. Between Brees’ disappointing finish down the stretch and Bridgewater’s limited exposure compared to other young quarterbacks like Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, any teams (the Saints or otherwise) have questions to ask themselves before making a contract offer.

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Amid injuries, Germain Ifedi has anchored Seahawks offensive line

Seattle Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi has been a steady presence on the offensive line, and his performance improved in 2019.

The Seattle Seahawks offensive line, perhaps more than any other position, has been beleaguered by injuries this season.

In fact, only one player, right tackle Germain Ifedi, managed to appear in all 16 regular season games.

Ifedi is by no means an elite, or even above-average right tackle, but coach Pete Carroll saw improvement and consistency from his performance during the 2019 season.

“I think he’s been solid throughout the year,” Carroll said on Friday. “He has been very consistent. He’s been a solid performer. He’s been one of the real anchors. He’s been able to stay out there the whole time which has been good. He continues to grow as a pro and he’s doing a nice job.”

Ifedi finished the regular season with a 56.2 grade from Pro Football Focus, which falls under the ‘replaceable’ category, but he did make improvements in his pass protection, a big area of growth for the fourth year pro.

Additionally, while his 13 penalties were fifth in the NFL, it was also an improvement for Ifedi – and not too bad considering he played the second most snaps among NFL offensive linemen this season.

Seattle declined Ifedi’s fifth-year option this offseason, meaning he will hit the open market in March. Carroll has previously expressed interest in bringing him back, and his performance this year likely didn’t do anything to dissuade him.

The Seahawks appear to be transitioning Jamarco Jones to guard, likely replacing Mike Iupati next year, and they love keeping George Fant in that extra lineman role, so they have very little depth at tackle – making a reunion with Ifedi all the more plausible.

For now, he’ll have his hands full with a vaunted Green Bay pass rush on Sunday when the Seahawks look to win their ninth road game of the season against the Packers.

Kickoff is at 3:40 p.m. PT.

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Notre Dame Football: Top 10 Returning Quarterbacks Ranked by PFF

Notre Dame may be getting their experienced signal-caller back but what they won’t be getting is a top ten returning quarterback.
At least not according to Pro Football Focus.

Notre Dame received great news on December 29 when starting quarterback Ian Book took to social media to announce that he would be returning to South Bend for one final season.

The Irish get their QB-1 back and their starter since he took over for Brandon Wimbush in late September of 2018.

All he’s done since is help guide the Irish to their only ever College Football Playoff appearance and helped lead them to victories in 19 of his 22 career starts.

Notre Dame may be getting their experienced signal-caller back but what they won’t be getting is a top ten returning quarterback.

At least not according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF released their list of “The Top Ten Returning Quarterbacks for 2020” on Wednesday and Book was nowhere to be found.

What you did find however was that the best returning quarterback will be in South Bend on November 7 as Trevor Lawrence was given that honor (no surprise).

Jamie Newman checked in at number three and was supposed to take on Notre Dame as Wake Forest’s quarterback but he announced recently that he’d be transferring and is yet to announce his next destination.

It’s not surprising to see Book unranked as I can’t put him over anyone on the list. I am however more optimistic than some about the steps he may be able to take before the regular season as I thought he played perhaps his best month of football to date this past November.

With that said, I’m not going to argue that he was wronged in any way as the difference in quarterback play in two of Notre Dame’s three most recent losses (Clemson ’18, Georgia ’19) has been as glaring as anything else on the field.

Notre Dame’s Good, Not Great Offensive Line Gets Graded by PFF

Unfortunately, the dominance was not nearly as evident in the running game for Notre Dame. 

Notre Dame had a good offensive line in 2019.

However, in some places, certain things simply require more than being just “good”.

When it comes to Notre Dame, the play of the offensive line is one such thing.

A look at the recent NFL All-Pro First-Team saw three of the five selected offensive linemen be products of Notre Dame where the standard is being dominating as a unit, not simply good.

Pro Football Focus released their team rankings for offensive lines and Notre Dame, although rated fairly high, came in far from elite.

Here is the PFF write-up of the 13th ranked Notre Dame offensive line:

Splitting hairs with the team right above them, both Notre Dame and Penn State ranked 17th in overall grade from their offensive lines this year, but the Fighting Irish get the advantage due to their second-ranked pass-blocking grade in 2019. The Fighting Irish were led by Eichenberg, who didn’t allow a single sack all year long.

-Pro Football Focus on 1/6/2020

Liam Eichenberg graded the best of any Notre Dame offensive lineman, largely because of his ability in pass-protection, something the entire unit was rather dominant in.

Unfortunately, the dominance was not nearly as evident in the running game for Notre Dame.  The most telling number to that comes when you look at the Irish’s ability, or lack thereof, to run the ball successfully against the two best teams they played at Georgia and Michigan.

In those two games Notre Dame ran for just 93 yards total on 45 attempts, good for an average of just 2.06 yards per carry.

If Notre Dame is going to take that next step and close the gap separating them from the likes of Clemson, Alabama, LSU and Georgia, they’ll have to re-establish the ability to run the ball with regularity.

For what it’s worth Oregon, Alabama and Georgia graded out as the three best offensive line units for 2019.

Jaguars come in at No. 26 spot on PFF’s regular season OL rankings

Without a shadow of a doubt, most Jacksonville Jaguars fans would like to see the team address the offensive line to some degree this offseason. Despite the resources Dave Caldwell and company put into the position with high draft picks and steep …

Without a shadow of a doubt, most Jacksonville Jaguars fans would like to see the team address the offensive line to some degree this offseason. Despite the resources Dave Caldwell and company put into the position with high draft picks and steep contracts, things haven’t quite panned out for the group and it’s hard to envision the team not making any changes within the unit.

The data recently accumulated by Pro Football Focus in 2019 further validates that changes are needed and will likely in the trenches as the Jags finished the regular season with the No. 26 ranked offensive line. According to them, a key reason behind their struggles were partly due to Cam Robinson, who had a rough season though it’s worth noting he was coming off a 2018 ACL tear.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars

After returning from an injury-shortened second season, left tackle Cam Robinson showed more of the form that we saw from him as a rookie when he posted one of the worst pressure rates allowed in the NFL (9.0%). This season, Robinson allowed 45 pressures at left tackle in 552 pass-blocking snaps for a slightly improved — yet, still concerning — rate of 8.2%. As this ranking would suggest, Robinson wasn’t the only player along the line who struggled. Outside of Brandon Linder, there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about for Jacksonville up front.

According to PFF, Robinson accumulated a grade of 54.8, a total tied for the worse amongst the whole starting offensive line with A.J. Cann. Simply put, that’s not good for someone who the Jags selected in the second-round and hoped could become their franchise player on the blindside. Add in the fact that he was tied for fifth in penalties in the league with 10, and it’s possible the Jags may look for new options at left tackle despite Robinson being young.

However, the young left tackle has been far from the only issue within the unit.

The Jags made Andrew Norwell the highest-paid guard in football temporarily but he hasn’t looked close to the player we saw dominate with the Carolina Panthers. As previously mentioned, the Jags’ other guard in Cann, didn’t really look any better either.

As for the positives with the unit, rookie right tackle Jawaan Taylor had a rough start to his career, too, accumulating the second-highest penalty total in the league (15), but at least came on strong towards the end of the season and cleaned up several issues. As mentioned by PFF above, Brandon Linder was the unit’s most encouraging player accumulating a score of 75.7. While it’s worth noting he had 10 penalties on the season, too, he did enough to keep his job in 2020. 

When considering all the data above, Linder and Taylor are the two that will be a part of the offensive line without question in 2020. However, the left and right guard spots, as well as the left tackle spot, should definitely be evaluated for upgrades. They could also use a new positions coach, too, though George Warhop has only had a year with them.

If the Jags attack the needs of the unit right this offseason, they could put a respectable product on the field, and maybe even get back to the level of play fans saw in 2017. With a lot of draft capital by their sides, maybe the draft will provide a starter or two, which would be huge in a crucial year for Caldwell and Marrone.

Gardner Minshew, Jawaan Taylor and Josh Allen make All-Rookie PFF team for 2019

When looking at the class from top to bottom, fans would be hard-pressed to find a team that got more out of their 2019 draft class than the Jacksonville Jaguars. While it may have gone under the radar of most casual fans, the good people at Pro …

When looking at the class from top to bottom, fans would be hard-pressed to find a team that got more out of their 2019 draft class than the Jacksonville Jaguars. While it may have gone under the radar of most casual fans, the good people at Pro Football Focus seemingly paid close attention to the group and named quarterback Gardner Minshew II, pass-rusher Josh Allen, and right tackle Jawaan Taylor to their annual All-Rookie team this past week.

Of the three, Minshew came away with the highest overall PFF grade (70.3), which was also more than first-round selections Dwayne Haskins and Kyler Murray.  According to PFF analyst Ben Linsey, Minshew especially thrived with deep ball throws, accumulating a 129.0 passer rating on passes 20 or more yards, which was a total good for the best in the league.

Allen made the cut alongside San Francisco 49ers pass-rusher Nick Bosa due to ranking behind him with the second highest pass-rushing grade (70.2) of any rookie on the edge. He also was slightly behind Bosa in total pressures with 49, pressure rate (13.7%) and win rate while pass-rushing (15.7%).

Lastly, Taylor was praised by PFF for his pass-blocking success mostly. He was the only rookie offensive tackle in the league to register 500 or more offensive snaps and record a pass-blocking grade higher than 60.0. He was also one of 20 right tackles to allow a pressure rate lower than 6.0%.

Heading into 2019, the Jags had clear needs at both quarterbacks and right tackle, so the analytics and grades compiled by PFF are certainly encouraging for the futures of Minshew and Taylor. As for Allen, he made a respectable Jags pass-rush even better, and if he continues the fast growth fans witnessed in 2019, the Jags’ have their franchise player on the roster to take Jalen Ramsey’s place.

Russell Wilson headlines Pro Football Focus’ All-Pro team

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was named to Pro Football Focus’ All-Pro team, over Lamar Jackson.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson put together perhaps the best season of his masterful career in 2019, which resulted in a 90.9 passing grade from Pro Football Focus – the top mark in the NFL.

That was enough for Wilson to earn an All-Pro nod from Pro Football Focus, who ranked him ahead of MVP favorite Lamar Jackson on their annual list.

“Lamar Jackson is the presumptive league MVP, and his development this year has been phenomenal, but what Russell Wilson has been able to do while dragging a sub-par offense has been remarkable,” PFF wrote in their article. “Wilson’s grade and PFF WAR has been incredible all season long, and even when the offense cooled down the stretch, he was still making big plays only to be let down by his supporting cast. Wilson finished the year with six more big-time throws than any other quarterback, and he had just 11 turnover-worthy plays to balance those high-end plays.”

While PFF loved Wilson and his performance last year, they weren’t big on the rest of Seattle’s offense. In fact, they ranked the Seahawks offensive line 27th out of 32 teams – far and away the worst mark among teams in the playoffs.

Wilson finished the regular season with 4,110 passing yards and a 31-to-five touchdown-to-interception ratio – despite leading the NFL with 48 sacks taken.

Wilson will need to be on his game if Seattle wants to advance in the playoffs this year, where they’ll take on an Eagles squad that won four games in a row to earn the top spot in the NFC East.

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