Tag: profootballfocus

One former Badger is among PFF’s ‘top 25 players under 25 entering the 2021 NFL season’

Wisconsin products can be found at the top of nearly every ranking of the best players in the NFL. The names that’re usually found are

Wisconsin products can be found at the top of nearly every ranking of the best players in the NFL.

The names that’re usually found are Russell Wilson, T.J. Watt and J.J. Watt—all players that are well past their early years in the league.

ProFootballFocus put together a list of the best players under 25 years old entering the 2021 NFL season.

No. 22 on their list: former Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.

Taylor had a productive rookie season for the Indianapolis Colts, totaling 268 touches, 1468 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns. That all came after beginning the year sharing carries. So projecting forward, Taylor is poised to continue his breakout with the season just around the corner.

Here’s what they had to say about the Wisconsin Badger and college football legend:

Once Jonathan Taylor got going for the Colts last season, it became obvious that he has the same ability at the NFL level as he did during his all-time great college career. Taylor averaged almost 3.0 yards after contact per carry and broke off 35 runs of 10 or more yards, slipping past 41 tackles along the way. As he continues to run behind one of the league’s best offensive lines, expect him to be a force again this upcoming season.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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PFF sees Wisconsin as the second-best team in the Big Ten West this season

ProFootballFocus released their ELO rankings for all 130 FBS teams today. In addition to ranking every team in the sport, the article gave

ProFootballFocus released their ELO rankings for all 130 FBS teams today. In addition to ranking every team in the sport, the article gave each top 25 team a percentage change to both win their conference and win the national title.

The rankings are based on each program’s talent, an evaluating metric called ELO and a simulation of the season.

Below is where every Big Ten team ranks in PFF’s complete ranking. Yes, as referred to in the title, they don’t see Wisconsin as the best team in the Big Ten West.

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Think J.J. Watt isn’t the best pass-rusher on the free-agent market? PFF says think again

The J.J. Watt free agency experience has been entertaining thus far. His activity on Twitter aside, though, PFF showed yesterday why he’s

I, for one, have enjoyed the J.J. Watt free agency experience thus far.

First, he’s a former Wisconsin Badger. Second, seemingly the entire state of Wisconsin wants their Green Bay Packers to sign the Badger legend.

Third, Watt has had some fun on social media since the offseason began.

 

But his free agency fun aside, ProFootballFocus tried the end the conversation of who is the best free-agent pass-rusher yesterday.

No. 1 on their highest pass-rush grade since 2019 among free-agent edge defenders? Yes, it’s J.J. Watt.

Their positions obviously call for more than just pass-rushing, but the impressive thing here is Watt’s continued dominance into his 30s and after years of injury problems.

You can argue him vs. Shaq Barrett, Haason Reddick or Carl Lawson, but all I know is whoever sings the Badger legend is getting a tremendous football player and even better leader.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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T.J. Watt’s 2020 season has continued to cement him as the best edge defender in the NFL

Former Wisconsin Badger and current Pittsburgh Steeler T.J. Watt has had a remarkable first 3.5 years in the NFL. Already with two…

Former Wisconsin Badger and current Pittsburgh Steeler T.J. Watt has had a remarkable first 3.5 years in the NFL.

Already with two Pro Bowls and one first-team All-Pro honor, Watt has risen to the top of the league at his position. And given the way things are trending now, he is only getting better.

Related: Where each Badger assistant stands in the Big Ten recruiter rankings

His 2020 season thus far includes 20 solo tackles, 25 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, 1 interception, 3 passes defended, 8 run stuffs, a league-leading 39 pressures and the highest ProFootballFocus grade at his position.

The former Badger has followed in the footsteps of his older brother J.J., a guy who has been an absolute game wrecker since he entered the league in 2011. And, as I noted earlier, T.J. is only getting better. It doesn’t seem like it will be long until he takes home Defensive Player of the Year honors in the AFC.

Jack Coan receives a top-30 nod in PFF’s 2020 college quarterback rankings

Two days from now Jack Coan would have been starting his senior season at home against the Indiana Hoosiers. As we all know, that is…

Two days from now Jack Coan would have been starting his senior season at home against the Indiana Hoosiers.

As we all know, that is obviously not the case with the Big Ten choosing in early August to postpone its season to the spring. One bright spot, though, is that the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility so even if the Badgers aren’t able to take the field during the 2020-21 school year, the seniors–including Coan–will still get a final college campaign.

I’ve written extensively about the Badger quarterback, his impressive 2019 season, an NFL comparison for him and why he hasn’t really been getting the respect he deserves.

Related: Opinion: It’s time Jack Coan gets the respect he deserves

Well, ProFootballFocus is on my side on this one as they ranked Coan No. 27 in their 2020 College Football Quarterback Rankings.

Big Ten quarterbacks ranked ahead of the Badger starter include Northwestern’s Peyton Ramsey at No. 14, Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr. at No. 12, Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan at No. 5 and Ohio State’s Justin Fields at No. 2.

Here’s what they had to say about the senior quarterback:

“Coan had an impressive breakout year in 2019. He went from a 41.4 PFF grade on a limited sample in 2018 to a grade of 78.5 in 2019, the sixth-best PFF grade among Big Ten quarterbacks. He could look to improve his deep ball, as he tended to force deep throws into tight coverage (seven turnover-worthy plays to his first read on deep balls last season, third-most in FBS). That said, you have to love the way he performed in the difficult Wisconsin offense.”

They’re spot on about him improving dramatically from 2018 to 2019, his spot near the top of the Big Ten in nearly every category and his impressive work last season in “the difficult Wisconsin offense.”

Related: An NFL comparison for Badger quarterback Jack Coan

But for some context about where his 2019 season lands in the program’s history see this:

Coan’s final line from 2019 was 2727 yards, 70% completion, 8.4 adjusted passing yards per attempt, 18 touchdowns, five interceptions and four rushing touchdowns.

Since Russell Wilson’s remarkable 2011 season, during which he bested all of those numbers with 3175 yards, 73% completion, 11.8 AY/A, 33 touchdowns, four interceptions and six rushing touchdowns, where does Coan’s season rank?

Passing yards: first, completion percentage: first, AY/A: second (to Joel Stave in 2012 with a smaller sample size), touchdowns: second (to Alex Hornibrook in 2017 when he also threw 15 interceptions), interceptions: second (again to Stave in 2012 with far fewer attempts) and rushing touchdowns: first.

I said it in a previous article but it’s pretty clear: Jack Coan’s 2019 season was the best Badger quarterback season since Wilson’s 2011 campaign.

On a personal note I sincerely hope we get to see Coan finish out his Wisconsin career whether it be this spring or next fall. The Graham Mertz era will be a great one for the program, but after what we saw last season it would be a travesty if Coan doesn’t get one more campaign for Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers.

ProFootballFocus continues to rave about Jonathan Taylor’s NFL future

Given the situation the Big Ten is currently in–the fact that they aren’t playing football this fall–I don’t think anybody would argue…

Given the situation the Big Ten is currently in–the fact that they aren’t playing football this fall–I don’t think anybody would argue that former Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor made the right choice when he declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season.

Badger fans obviously would have loved to see him in Badger red for one more season–but being a second round pick, landing in a great situation in Indianapolis and now seeing the Big Ten not playing this fall has put Taylor on a path towards NFL success, and lots of it.

ProFootballFocus has been raving about the former Badger’s NFL chances all offseason and it continued today when their college account put out who was projected to lead rookie running backs in touchdowns.

You guessed it. It’s Jonathan Taylor.

Despite being the No. 3 running back off the board this past April, Taylor is projected to lead the rookie class in nearly every category as he figures to step into the lead back role Week 1 behind the Colts’ exceptional offensive line.

Yes, there isn’t Wisconsin football this fall. But at least Badger fans will be able to turn on their televisions every Sunday and watch one of the greatest college running backs of all time go to work on opposing defenses as if he never left Madison.

Where the Badger defense ranks among the Big Ten’s best over the last three years

The Big Ten conference is most commonly known for its old school-style play, cold weather and stellar defensive units…

The Big Ten conference is most commonly known for its old school-style play, cold weather and stellar defensive units.

The Wisconsin football program is probably the perfect embodiment of all three, finishing near the top of the conference in nearly every defensive category year after year.

On average over the last three seasons each Big Ten team has allowed 671 points. The Wisconsin Badgers? 492.

As seen above that mark is good for second behind Iowa’s 476 and ahead of Penn State’s 494, Michigan State’s 524 and Michigan’s 552.

What’s crazy to think about is that the best years may be yet to come for Jim Leonhard’s unit, as the program has landed commitments from top defensive prospects including Braelon Allen, Hunter Wohler and T.J. Bollers.

What we do know at this point, though, is for however long Leonhard stays around on Paul Chryst’s staff the defensive unit will be one of the best in the conference and in the country. After his time in Madison is done? Who knows. But the unit right now has been great and seems to be only getting better.

A former Badger is one of the NFL’s best on third down according to PFF

The key to success in the NFL often comes down to converting third down opportunities on offense and stopping your opponents’…

The key to success in the NFL often comes down to converting third down opportunities on offense and stopping your opponents’ third down tries on defense.

It’s obviously a bit more complicated than that, but whether a team finds success or not over the course of a season often comes down to how they perform on third down.

Well, ProFootballFocus tweeted the four NFL players that had the highest pass-rush win rate on 3rd down in 2019 and No. 3 on the list with a whopping 25 percent success rate is NFL All-Pro and former Badger T.J. Watt.

Badger fans know well what Watt was able to do during his time in Madison, but now through three years in the NFL he has already made a Pro Bowl, been named first-team All-Pro and recorded three interceptions, 18 passes defended, 15 forced fumbles, 34.5 sacks, 70 quarterback hits and 177 tackles.

Also being named in the same company as arguably the best defensive player in the NFL in Aaron Donald and two pass-rushing stars in Joey Bosa and Chris Jones? Watt must be doing something right.

His jump from year one to year two was sizable, his jump in production from year two to year three was even bigger. If the trajectory of his career means anything about how the coming years will play out, T.J. Watt–already being one of the best outside linebackers in the league–is only getting better.

Jonathan Taylor projected to lead rookie running backs in carries this season

ProFootballFocus tweeted their projections for which rookie running back will lead the group in carries this season and Wisconsin…

ProFootballFocus tweeted their projections for which rookie running back will lead the group in carries this season and Wisconsin great Jonathan Taylor was No. 1 on their list with a projected carry total of 212.4.

Too much tread his tires to lead an NFL backfield? It’s clear PFF doesn’t think so.

During draft season much of the talk surrounding Taylor was about his greatness in college, remarkable skillset but also about his carry total leading the Badgers’ backfield for three seasons.

To his advantage he’s now in an environment in Indianapolis with a stellar change-of-pace back in Marlon Mack and one of the league’s best offensive lines. Will the carry total be a story during the season? Most likely, especially if he explodes onto the scene and make teams regret letting him fall to the middle of the second round.

But given the environment he landed in including the offensive talent around him, the teams’ commitment to running the ball, PFF’s projections and the fact that the Colts traded up to select Taylor, it’s become apparent that his 926 carries as a Badger do not present much of a red flag and the team is ready to make him their feature back.

A former Badger’s 2019 season named one of the best of the decade by PFF

ProFootballFocus tweeted the top four offensive tackle seasons of the decade according to PFF Wins Above Replacement yesterday and Saints…

ProFootballFocus tweeted the top four offensive tackle seasons of the decade according to PFF Wins Above Replacement yesterday and Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk fell at No. 2 on the list.

PFF WAR is a statistic that looks at how good a player was over a certain period of time, maps that production into a “wins” value for his team, simulates the same team if a replacement-level player was at the position and creates a numerical value of how many wins above replacement the player is worth.

Broken down into a very simple sentence: Ryan Ramczyk’s 2019 season was the second best offensive tackle season of the decade.

The New Orleans Saints have gotten everything they asked for and more from the former Badger after selecting him with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Since entering the league Ramczyk has started 47 of a possible 48 games and has become a premier player at the right tackle position–earning honors including an All-Rookie team nod in 2017 and first-team All-Pro in 2019 when he recorded a PFF grade of 90.9 to go along with his WAR value.

The former Badger is under contract through the 2021 season though is set up to be starting on the Saints’ offensive line for years to come.