Tag: position rankings

Ranking the AFC West: Linebacker corps

Ranking the AFC West: Linebacker corps

Working our way through the defense, we move off the line and into the linebackers. Most teams tend to deploy two full-time starting off-ball these days, even in 4-3 alignments. That’s because nickel defense is used more often than base defense which replaces a linebacker with a defensive back.

With that in mind, we rank the linebacking corps in the AFC West.

1. Broncos

Starters: Alexander Johnson, Josey Jewell

These two combined for an astounding 237 tackles between them which put them at one and two in the division. What’s crazy is it was the first full season either had as full-time starters. But the Broncos seem to have stumbled upon some gems in these two.

2. Raiders

Starters: Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski

Last offseason the Raiders went out and got Littleton and Kwiatkoski to upgrade their longtime weak spot at linebacker. It didn’t work out as they had hoped, but there is reason to believe it could. While Littleton was a big disappointment as the team’s big free agent get, there was a decided difference in the play of the defense with Kwiatkoski on the field than without.

As for Littleton, he was considered one of the best coverage linebackers in the league last year and then looked completely out of sorts. That’s often a surefire sign of a poor fit. And if that’s the case, changing out defensive coordinator Paul Guenther for Gus Bradley could get Littleton back to the player he had been with the Rams.

3. Chargers

Starters: Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill

In 2019 Tranquill showed well for himself. Then the Chargers made Murray their top pick in the draft only to lose Tranquill for the season after one game. Murray went on to put up 107 tackles as a rookie. This season they could actually take the field together.

4. Chiefs

Starters: Anthony Hitchens/Nick Bolton, Willie Gay Jr

Selecting Nick Bolton in the second round of this year’s draft could mean the Chiefs are looking to get him on the field sooner than later. And since Hitchens is only a marginal starter, you could see why.

Despite Gay appearing in 16 games last season with eight starts, he put up just 39 combined tackles and three pass breakups. This unit has a lot to prove.

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Ranking the AFC West: Edge Rusher Duos

Ranking the AFC West: Edge Rusher Duos

Pressure on the quarterback is a major factor in the NFL. The AFC West has at times in recent years had some fantastic duos. While it isn’t quite the pass-rushing powerhouse division is once was, there are still some remnants that remain.

1. Broncos

Starters: Von Miller, Bradley Chubb

Miller was lost for all of last season, keeping him from heading to his seventh consecutive Pro Bowl. So, Chubb decided he would go and make the Pro Bowl instead. Basically, the Broncos have bookend Pro Bowl edge rushers. And of course, Miller is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Some believe at 32 years of age, his best years are behind him, but I’ll believe that when I see it.

2. Chargers

Starters: Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu

If Miller is on the downhill of his career — and that’s a big if — then Bosa takes the crown as the top pass rusher in the division. He turned 26 years old yesterday, ready to embark on his sixth NFL season in pursuit of a fourth Pro Bowl nod. He led the division in sacks (7.5) and QB hits (27) last season.

Bosa won’t have Melvin Ingram on the other side, but Nwosu is solid too. The former second-round pick is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He’s coming off a career-best 4.5-sack season and will be looking to put up big numbers in order to try and cash in with a second contract.

3. Raiders

Starters: Maxx Crosby, Yannick Ngakoue

Full disclosure had one of the starters been former top pick Clelin Ferrell, the Raiders would be dead last in these rankings. Ferrell has been an immense disappointment as an edge rusher with just 6.5 sacks over his first two seasons. His fourth-round draft classmate Maxx Crosby has been a revelation, putting up 17 sacks in that same amount of time despite not even becoming the full-time starter until midway through his rookie season.

So Crosby is having to do all the work around the edge himself, the team added Ngakoue to the mix. The recent journeyman lands on his fourth team in a calendar year despite never posting less than eight sacks in a season. He may not be known for much other than pass rush, but he bulked up this offseason to try and remedy that.

4. Chiefs

Starters: Frank Clark, Taco Charlton

Clark has most of the talent in this duo with 48 sacks and over 100 QB hits over his six-year career. Though he’s currently facing some serious trouble with a felony weapons charge, so his season is in jeopardy.

Charlton doesn’t add much to the mix. The former first-round pick has just 11 sacks and 20 tackles for loss over four NFL seasons with the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Chiefs.

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Ranking the AFC West: Defensive Interior Linemen

Ranking the AFC West: Defensive Interior Linemen

We ranked the big men in the middle of the offensive line. Now we jump to the big men who will be facing them on the other side.

1. Chiefs

Starters: Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi

Jones is one of the best defensive tackles in the league. He put up 7.5 sacks last season to head to his second consecutive Pro Bowl. In total, he has 40.5 sacks in his five-year career and averages nearly ten sacks per season over the past four years while landing in the top three in sacks at his position the past three years. Only Aaron Donald has been better over that span.

Nnadi is the lane-clogging nose tackle of the Chiefs’ line. He had 42 run stops last season, fourth-most among nose tackles last season.

2. Broncos

Starters: Shelby Harris, Mike Purcell

Harris had 11 QB hits last season in 11 games, which is pretty solid. He also had 2.5 sacks and four tackles for loss. In 2019 he put up a career-high six sacks. He’s also had a penchant for batting passes at the line, having knocked down 16 of them the past two seasons. The former Raiders draft pick has put together a nice career for himself.

Purcell saw his 2020 season end after six games, but last season he put up 48 combined tackles which were tied for second in the NFL with 47 of those being run stuffs.

3. Chargers

Starters: Jerry Tillery, Linval Joseph

Tillery was the team’s pick at 28 overall in the 2019 draft and is either bordering on being a disappointment or ready to break out. The 6-6. 295-pounder has five sacks and 17 QB hits in two seasons. He improved in his second season and that improvement will have to continue if he is to live up to his draft status.

Joseph led the league last season among interior defensive linemen with 57 run stops. And it wasn’t close. The second most was 51 by Sheldon Richardson and Lawrence Guy.

4. Raiders

Starters: Solomon Thomas, Johnathan Hankins

Thomas is trying to resurrect his career and he’s hoping a move from 5-tech to 3-tech does the trick. The former third overall pick was a bust with the 49ers and he thinks the problem was going away from what earned him his draft status at Stanford. He is pegged as the starter but could have some competition from the likes of fellow newcomers Quinton Jefferson and Darius Philon.

Hankins has quietly been a very solid performer for the Raiders the past couple of years. He put up 98 tackles the past two seasons while starting every game at nose tackle. On De’Ron Payne (110) and Sebastian Joseph (99) have had better tackle numbers among nose tackles the past two seasons.

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Ranking the AFC West: Interior Offensive Line

Ranking the AFC West: Interior Offensive Line

We move inside now to weigh the strengths of the interior offensive lines in the AFC West. The big fellas who hold off the pass rush up the gut and open holes for the running backs.

What you notice in this division is a lot of rebuilt lines. So, it will be interesting how each of them holds up with some having more than one new starter.

1. Chiefs

Starters: C Creed Humphrey, LG Joe Thuney, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Three new starters for the Chiefs from last season. But that doesn’t mean unproven. While their new center is a second-round rookie, he will have proven veterans on each side of him.

Joe Thuney is a proven veteran starting guard, coming over after several years in New England where he never missed a start and collected two Super Bowl rings. Duvernay-Tardif opted out of last season to go put his medical degree to good use in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was the team’s starting right guard for their Super Bowl-winning 2019 season.

2. Chargers

Starters: C Corey Linsley, LG Matt Feiler, RG Oday Aboushi

This unit takes the second spot largely on the strength of Linsley. With Rodney Hudson no longer in the division, Linsley is easily the best center and probably the best lineman period.

To his left, he has veteran free-agent addition Matt Feiler, who has been a full-time starter the past three years in Pittsburgh — first at right tackle, then left guard. To his right is the weak link Oday Aboushi who is a veteran journeyman who is on his sixth team in eight NFL seasons.

3. Broncos

Starters: C Lloyd Cushenberry, LG Dalton Risner, RG Graham Glasgow

The one interior line in the division that returns all three starters. Cushenberry was the team’s first-round pick last year, and he struggled as a rookie. You figure he should improve in his second season.

Risner and Glasgow are both serviceable starters. Risner was a second-round pick in 2019. Glasgow in particular has been one of the league’s better interior offensive linemen for the past five years and even stepped in and started every game at center for the Lions a few years back.

4. Raiders

Starters: C Andre James, LG Richie Incognito, RG Denzelle Good

It’s weird seeing the Raiders interior line last in the division. They were usually top in the division. Trading away Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson put an end to that.

Replacing Hudson is former undrafted free agent Andre James. Jon Gruden loves the former college tackle, but he has a lot to prove to the rest of us. Replacing Jackson is Denzelle Good, who has done quite well in fill-in duties the past couple of seasons.

Returning at left guard is veteran Incognito. Quite veteran, in fact. He’s 38 years old and coming off a second consecutive season cut short by injury. Last season he played just one game and he hasn’t played a full season since 2017.

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Ranking the AFC West: Offensive Tackles

Ranking the AFC West: Offensive Tackles

We move from the offensive skill positions to the big fellas who do the dirty work. We start with the pass protectors who give the quarterbacks time to work and find open receivers.

1. Broncos

Starters: LT Garett Bolles, RT Bobby Massie

After a rough first couple of years, Bolles has turned into one of the best left tackles in the NFL. Last season he gave up just a half-sack in 15 starts.

Massie too was considered a middling starter for most of his career but has quietly stepped up the past few seasons as the starting right tackle in Chicago. A solid 2018 season earned him a 4-year extension,  but injuries ended his past couple of seasons.

2. Chiefs

Starters: LT Orlando Brown Jr, RT Mike Remmers

Brown comes over in a trade with the Ravens, becoming the division’s only Pro Bowl tackle. Brown has been to two Pro Bowls in three NFL seasons. The Chiefs lost former first overall pick Eric Fisher to injury and managed to replace him with a potential upgrade.

Remmers stepped in at right tackle for the injured Mitchell Schwartz last season and earned a return as the starter. In ten starts, Remmers didn’t give up a single sack.

3. Raiders

Starters: LT Kolton Miller, RT Alex Leatherwood

Miller has improved each season, playing into the level of one of the more solid left tackles in the league. He gave up a respectable two sacks in 2020 in 14 starts. His run blocking has been better, but could still use some work.

The Raiders made former Alabama left tackle Alex Leatherwood their pick at 17 overall in the draft and will put him at right tackle. Leatherwood is known as a strong run blocker but has some concerns as a pass protector. He will get his shot at right tackle to see if he can hold up.

4. Chargers

Starters: LT Rashawn Slater, RT Bryan Bulaga

Veteran Bryan Bulaga is a proven talent. Though he is coming off a down season, giving up 3.5 sacks in just ten starts. He is joined by 13th overall pick Rashawn Slater, widely considered one of the top tackles in this draft. Then again, left tackle in the pros isn’t always an immediate transition.

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Ranking the AFC West: Tight Ends

Ranking the AFC West: Tight Ends

The AFC West happens to have two of the only teams in the league whose tight ends outshine the rest of their wide receiver corps. Most look at the Raiders’ situation with targeting the tight end so much as a product of the lack of talent at other offensive skill positions. But the Chiefs don’t have that problem, and yet the tight end is still a huge part of the offense.

Basically, what it comes down to is when you have talented players, you get him the ball. Regardless of any other factors. These two guys are not just the best in the division, but the best in football. So, naturally, that’s where we start.

1. Chiefs

Starter: Travis Kelce

Kelce is such a ridiculous talent. His 1416 yards were second in the NFL at any position. He also had 11 touchdowns which were tied for fifth. And he did this while sitting out the season finale along with several Chiefs starters. Just unreal. He was a unanimous first-team All-Pro selection; his third All-Pro selection of his career and his sixth Pro Bowl.

2. Raiders

Starter: Darren Waller

Waller set a franchise record with 107 catches. That was good for the fourth most at any position last season and two more than Kelce. Waller’s 1196 yards and 9 touchdowns were both 10th in the league. He would have at least been second-team All-Pro had it not been for Kelce’s insane numbers last season. Though Waller had more yards after the catch than Kelce and led the NFL in contested catch percentage (73%).

3. Broncos

Starter: Noah Fant

The 2019 20th overall pick has not taken the league by storm, but he has put up respectable numbers. He improved his numbers in his second season, catching 62 passes for 673 yards and matching his rookie touchdown total (3).

4. Chargers

Starter: Jared Cook

Hunter Henry left to sign a three-year deal with the Patriots. The Chargers replace him with the 34-year-old Cook. His numbers came down considerably last season from his previous couple of seasons in Oakland and New Orleans. In 2018 with the Raiders, he had career highs in catches (68) and yards (896). In 2019 he had career highs in yards per catch (16.4) and touchdowns (9). Last season he had his second-lowest yards per game (33.6) in the past ten years. He figures to see some rebound with a better QB, but it’s hard to predict a career upswing at the age of 34.

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Ranking the AFC West: Wide receiver trios

Ranking the AFC West: Wide receiver trios

In today’s NFL, teams basically have three starting wide receivers. Lining up in three-wide sets is more common than two, which forces defenses to line up in nickel the majority of the time as well. Which AFC West team deploys the top trio? Whose top three doesn’t measure up? Let’s take a look.

1. Chargers

Starters: Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton

Allen has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since he entered the league in 2013. A rookie season with 1046 yards and eight touchdowns gave way to three seasons in which he couldn’t stay on the field due to injury. The past four seasons, however, he has turned his injury problems around entirely, not missing a single game.

It was Allen’s injury problems that had the Chargers use the seventh overall pick on Mike Williams. His addition has given them two outstanding receivers who both thrive as different types of receivers in this offense. Last season former undrafted receiver Jalen Guyton came on strong as well, starting nine games and catching 28 passes while averaging over 18 yards per catch.

2. Chiefs

Starters: Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman

Hill is the top receiver in this division and easily one of the top receivers in the league. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of his five NFL seasons and been an All-Pro twice. He has speed to burn and sets the standard for Z receivers in the NFL. Only Packers’ Davante Adams had more touchdowns than Hill (15) last season.

Hardman has plenty of speed in his own rite. Shown by his averaging over 20 yards per catch as a rookie in 2019. While his yards per catch came down last season, his catches and yards went up. Robinson doesn’t do much worth mentioning and disappears in the playoffs, but he had career highs last season in catches (45) and yards (466).

3. Broncos

Starters: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler

Sutton was a baller coming out of college and has been lights out in the NFL. His 2020 season ended as soon as it began, but his 2019 season saw him catch 72 passes for 1112 yards and 6 touchdowns. And the most impressive part of that those numbers is how terrible the Broncos’ QB situation was (and continues to be).

Jeudy was nabbed at 15 overall in the 2020 draft out of Alabama. He easily outplayed his Crimson Tide counterpart Henry Ruggs III who was chosen ahead of him by the Raiders. Catching 52 passes for 856 yards and three TD’s with Drew Lock throwing him passes is no small feat. He was joined by KJ Hamler who the Broncos selected with their next pick in round two, giving the Broncos three receivers all taken in the top two rounds.

4. Raiders

Starters: Henry Ruggs III, John Brown, Hunter Renfrow

Brown comes over as a free agent, joining last year’s top pick Henry Ruggs III and third-year slot target Hunter Renfrow. Ruggs was the first receiver taken in the 2020 draft and struggled to live up to it. He couldn’t seem to get open regularly and rarely did his elite speed show up in terms of gaining separation from defenders.

Brown comes over as a free agent, with the Raiders hoping he can provide production at or above what they got last season from Nelson Agholor who left in free agency. Brown has a couple of thousand-yard seasons in his career and was on pace to approach those numbers again last season prior to injury. Renfrow is a dependable slot receiver who always seems to be able to get open to convert on third down.

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Pro Football Focus shows egregious disrespect to Raiders TE Darren Waller

Pro Football Focus shows egregious disrespect to Raiders TE Darren Waller

Today, the folks over at Pro Football Focus wrapped up their drawn out countdown of who they believe to be the NFL’s top 50 players. Among them was nary a single Raiders player. One Raiders player snub sticks out like a sore thumb — tight end Darren Waller.

As of Thursday, PFF had counted down to 11 and there had yet to be a tight end mentioned. Which may have left same to wonder if Travis Kelce and Darren Waller would both be in the top ten. Considering Waller was right on Kelce’s heels all last season at the position.

That was not the case.

Their top ten came out and it was Kelce at third overall and Kittle at nine overall. Waller was nowhere to be found.

While this in and of itself is shocking, you need only look at their recent activity to see signs this was coming. Just the day before, they had choreographed their preferences with this interesting little poll.

How you gonna ask this question and not even have Darren Waller as a choice? Of course they didn’t do a standard twitter poll — which allows for as many as four options — they did the like or retweet thing because it’s all about visibility.

It’s the same reason you typically see them pulling specific positive stats about players knowing fans will retweet them. Such things may have led you to believe they loved Waller. Like this one about Waller leading all tight ends in yards after catch. Or this one about Waller leading all receivers (not just TE) in contested catch percentage.

The last positive mention PFF had for Waller came out in March. Come May, PFF had begun pumping out Kelce and Kittle as the NFL’s unquestioned top two tight ends.

I’m not saying Kittle is *not* the second best tight end in the league. He’s elite, no question. What I am saying is it’s far more arguable between him and Waller than PFF is currently letting on.

They may have Waller as third behind Kittle among tight ends, but based on their top 50 list, their tight end rankings look more like this:

1. Travis Kelce
2. George Kittle
.
.
.
.
.
.
3. Darren Waller

With all due respect, this is downright laughable and absurd.

Only three players in the NFL had more catches last season than Waller (107). And yet there are ten receivers ranked in the top 50. Hard to say it’s a position thing either, considering no position had fewer players in the top 50 than tight end, while there were eight wide receivers and five running backs.

If you put Waller and Kittle’s stats the past two seasons side-by-side, it shows how close they are. I will even double Kittle’s 2020 stats since he missed half the season with injury.

Catches Yards TD’s YPC
George Kittle 181 2321 9 12.7
Darren Waller 197 2341 12 11.9

Again, these are not even Kittle’s actual numbers. Setting aside the best ability being availability, I gave Kittle the benefit of the doubt for last season, doubling his 8-game totals.

Even with that, Waller had more catches, yards, and touchdowns, and averaged less than a yard (.8) fewer per catch than Kittle. Does that look like the kind of numbers that would have Kittle top ten in the NFL and Waller not ranked at all? I don’t think so.

Pro Football Focus shows egregious disrespect to Raiders TE Darren Waller

Pro Football Focus shows egregious disrespect to Raiders TE Darren Waller

Today, the folks over at Pro Football Focus wrapped up their drawn out countdown of who they believe to be the NFL’s top 50 players. Among them was nary a single Raiders player. One Raiders player snub sticks out like a sore thumb — tight end Darren Waller.

As of Thursday, PFF had counted down to 11 and there had yet to be a tight end mentioned. Which may have left same to wonder if Travis Kelce and Darren Waller would both be in the top ten. Considering Waller was right on Kelce’s heels all last season at the position.

That was not the case.

Their top ten came out and it was Kelce at third overall and Kittle at nine overall. Waller was nowhere to be found.

While this in and of itself is shocking, you need only look at their recent activity to see signs this was coming. Just the day before, they had choreographed their preferences with this interesting little poll.

How you gonna ask this question and not even have Darren Waller as a choice? Of course they didn’t do a standard twitter poll — which allows for as many as four options — they did the like or retweet thing because it’s all about visibility.

It’s the same reason you typically see them pulling specific positive stats about players knowing fans will retweet them. Such things may have led you to believe they loved Waller. Like this one about Waller leading all tight ends in yards after catch. Or this one about Waller leading all receivers (not just TE) in contested catch percentage.

The last positive mention PFF had for Waller came out in March. Come May, PFF had begun pumping out Kelce and Kittle as the NFL’s unquestioned top two tight ends.

I’m not saying Kittle is *not* the second best tight end in the league. He’s elite, no question. What I am saying is it’s far more arguable between him and Waller than PFF is currently letting on.

They may have Waller as third behind Kittle among tight ends, but based on their top 50 list, their tight end rankings look more like this:

1. Travis Kelce
2. George Kittle
.
.
.
.
.
.
3. Darren Waller

With all due respect, this is downright laughable and absurd.

Only three players in the NFL had more catches last season than Waller (107). And yet there are ten receivers ranked in the top 50. Hard to say it’s a position thing either, considering no position had fewer players in the top 50 than tight end, while there were eight wide receivers and five running backs.

If you put Waller and Kittle’s stats the past two seasons side-by-side, it shows how close they are. I will even double Kittle’s 2020 stats since he missed half the season with injury.

Catches Yards TD’s YPC
George Kittle 181 2321 9 12.7
Darren Waller 197 2341 12 11.9

Again, these are not even Kittle’s actual numbers. Setting aside the best ability being availability, I gave Kittle the benefit of the doubt for last season, doubling his 8-game totals.

Even with that, Waller had more catches, yards, and touchdowns, and averaged less than a yard (.8) fewer per catch than Kittle. Does that look like the kind of numbers that would have Kittle top ten in the NFL and Waller not ranked at all? I don’t think so.

2021 NFL Draft: Ranking the top 10 offensive tackle prospects

Shane Carter of Longhorns Wire listed his top offensive tackle prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Offensive tackle is a premiere position that every team needs that you can never have too many of. Luckily enough for NFL organizations this year, not only is it a deep position in this draft, but we could end up seeing day one starters selected as late as the fifth round. Continue reading “2021 NFL Draft: Ranking the top 10 offensive tackle prospects”