Tag: PFN

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins wins Pro Football Network Midseason award

Falcons QB Kirk Cousins wins Pro Football Network Midseason award…

After investing heavily in the quarterback position during the offseason, the Atlanta Falcons are sitting pretty atop the NFC South with a 6-4 record. Quarterback Kirk Cousins, who left Minnesota to sign a four-year, $180 million deal in Atlanta, has been worth every penny thus far.

For a team on a six-year playoff drought and coming off three consecutive 7-10 seasons, Cousins’ clutch play in crunch time has helped the team get over the hump through the first 10 games.

Atlanta’s one-dimensional offense has transformed into one of the league’s most explosive units with help from the veteran quarterback. The 36-year-old is ranked third in the NFL with 2,634 passing yards.

Cousins was named the 2024 Pro Football Network Midseason Comeback Player of the Year. Eight of PFN’s panel of 11 experts voted for the Falcons signal-caller:

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is the 2024 PFN Midseason Comeback Player of the Year, earning eight of 11 votes from our panel of experts. Exactly one year ago, Cousins was in the first days of recovery from a torn Achilles that coincided with his contract year.

Now, he’s the NFL’s No. 13 quarterback according to PFN’s proprietary QB+ metric and the man under center for a Falcons team that enters Week 11 as the NFC’s No. 3 seed. Cousins, 36, has completed 68.2% of his passes and thrown 17 touchdowns to just eight interceptions for the 6-4 Falcons. Five of Atlanta’s wins have been by one score, and Cousins has been solid in crunch time. — Adam H. Beasley, Pro Football Network

Starting with the team’s improbable comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, Cousins has consistently shown up for the Falcons whenever the team has needed him.

Atlanta’s many offensive weapons have also thrived with the addition of Cousins. Wide receivers Drake London and Darnell Mooney are on pace for career years while tight end Kyle Pitts is looking more and more like he did during his 1,000-yard rookie campaign.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris knew exactly what he was getting in Cousins and deserves credit for prioritizing a position that has held this team back for the last few years.

Atlanta will travel to Denver for a matchup against former nemesis Sean Payton and the Broncos in Week 11.

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2025 NFL mock draft: Vikings get help along defensive line

Pro Football Network writer Owain Jones gives the Minnesota Vikings some help at defensive tackle in his latest 2025 mock NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings defense was much improved last season under the tutelage of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. One area where the defense can still get much better, though, is along the defensive line, specifically at defensive tackle. The Vikings’ defense could be markedly improved by applying consistent pressure on the inside.

Luckily for the Vikings, they land the help they need for the future in the latest 2025 mock NFL draft from PFN. Of course, this is all hypothetical at this stage, but if things were to play out as writer Owain Jones has laid out, winding up with Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker could help the team’s defensive front immensely. According to Jones:

Deone Walker is a physical specimen at 6’6” and 348 pounds, and he has the production to match, with 7.5 sacks in 2023. The Kentucky DT combines his size with otherworldly athleticism, and his explosive first set is difficult for offensive linemen to handle.

If Walker can consistently play with a lower pad level he will be considered a unique prospect with his physical abilities.

Walker is an absolute beast on the inside at Kentucky, and he would serve the Vikings well, likely in a rotational role, to begin his career. Later, he could serve as the next Vikings stalwart defensive tackle after Harrison Phillips calls it a career.

Ranking all 32 NFL offensive lines heading into the 2023 season

Let’s see where the Seahawks offensive line ranks compared to the competition.

Football has evolved a great deal over the last few decades. While quarterbacks and wide receivers reign supreme in today’s pass-happy game, finding a quality offensive line remains one of the best ways to field a competitive team. Let’s see where the Seattle Seahawks offensive line ranks compared to the competition.

To arrive at our rankings, we averaged where each unit is ranked at three different outlets: Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Network and Sharp Football. One thing they all seem to agree on is that Seattle has one of the weaker offensive lines in the league. Here’s how all 32 teams stack up.

Jared Goff checks in lowly in PFN’s quarterback rankings

Pro Football Network ranked 39 NFL quarterbacks from 2022 and Jared Goff didn’t even make the top half

Jared Goff played some truly outstanding football down the stretch for the Detroit Lions in 2022. The quarterback overcame an uneven start to the year by catching fire in the team’s 8-2 finish, churning out stats that were in the top 10 in pretty much everything and top five in many categories.

The torrid finish from Goff wasn’t enough to overcome the inconsistent start in the latest set of NFL quarterback rankings from Pro Football Network.

PFN ranked the 39 quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes in 2022 and “have a reasonable chance of being part of the quarterback discussion next year.”

Of those 39 quarterbacks, Goff checks in at No. 22 overall.

Goff sits in the middle of the fourth tier, one labeled “useful, but limited”. He’s sandwiched between Cleveland’s Jacoby Brissett and Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett.

The comments hint at why Goff appears much lower than expected by most,

Like Purdy and Garoppolo, Goff takes advantage of an excellent supporting cast to help produce on offense. He doesn’t process as quickly as the other two, and his accuracy is not quite up to their standards, but he does have a good arm and an understanding of what he needs to do. If he could create off-book as well as Purdy or some of the other quarterbacks on this list, he’d be ranked much higher.

Goff’s ranking is one of a few that raise some skeptical eyebrows. Geno Smith and Kirk Cousins each being at least 10 spots above Goff, and both 49ers QBs, Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie Brock Purdy, are also above the Lions QB. Hard to argue with the player at the bottom, Zach Wilson.

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