Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The latest round of 2024 mock drafts are split on who the Saints will pick, but there’s a clear emphasis on one offensive lineman:
Everyone has an opinion on what the New Orleans Saints should do (or will do) in the 2024 NFL draft, so we surveyed the picks from 10 recent mock drafts to get an idea of which prospects are being linked to the black and gold.
And those opinions are split. Seven different players were suggested in those 10 different projections, but there’s one clear favorite. Here’s what we found:
Here is how things should look Sunday. Agree?
College football’s conference championship weekend has come and gone. With it came Alabama ending Georgia’s extensive winning streak. Did the Tide kill the Bulldogs chance of a College Football Playoff berth in doing so?
Will Alabama get in with the SEC championship, even though they were rated eighth in the most recent rankings?
Will Texas get credit for the early season win over Alabama and get in over the Tide?
And will Florida State get passed over despite running the table and going 13-0 after winning the ACC championship Saturday night?
Here is how the College Football Playoff should set up (not will) when its announced Sunday:
The Broncos have won four games in a row, dramatically shifting the Saints’ projected picks in the 2024 NFL draft:
This isn’t great. The Denver Broncos have won four games in a row, improving their record to 5-5 in Sean Payton’s first year on the job — powered by five Wil Lutz field goals in a Sunday night win against the Minnesota Vikings.
All of their success has a ripple effect on the New Orleans Saints, who are receiving Denver’s second- and seventh-round 2024 draft picks after trading Payton and Lutz to them earlier this year. Where are the Saints projected to be picking now that the Broncos have turned things around?
Here’s the Saints’ updated draft order from Tankathon, based off the latest standings after Week 11:
Remember, those compensatory draft picks for 2023 free agents David Onyemata, Marcus Davenport, and Kaden Elliss will not be awarded until March, and it’s possible the expert predictions miss the mark. We’ll have to wait and see.
For now, it’s looking like there will be a sizeable gap between the Saints’ second-round choice (coming from Denver) and their next pick, whether it’s a compensatory fourth rounder or their own pick in the fifth round. Trading so many early-round picks away like Mickey Loomis has done will do that. Philadelphia controls the Saints’ second-round selection, while Denver has New Orleans’ third-round choice, and the Saints’ fourth-round pick is going to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hopefully those compensatory picks transfer as expected.
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Alabama’s projected opponent in the Peach Bowl may come as a shocking surprise
With only three weeks left in the 2023 college football season, it’s time to start taking a quick glance at what this bowl season may have to offer. It is the final year of the four-team playoff before expanding to the 12-team so this is the final year of the bowl season as we know it.
For the Alabama Crimson Tide, their playoff aspirations are still alive but they are definitely going to need to have some games go in their favor over these next couple of weeks. Alabama still has road trips to Kentucky and Auburn that should not be overlooked, but they will likely be a double-digit favorite in both games. So, the Tide’s playoff hopes and aspirations will likely entirely come down to Dec. 2 when they will more than likely take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta with the SEC Championship on the line.
USA TODAY Sports already has their eye on bowl season as they have released their Week 10 bowl projections. Erick Smith does not share my optimism that Alabama will be playing in the final four but rather has them playing a shocking opponent in the Peach Bowl.
A look at the remaining nine games for Detroit, ranked from the easiest to the most difficult as they appear from Week 10.
No games in the NFL are easy. Even the best teams invariably have a weird slip-up or two, and bottom-feeders rise up and pull off surprises almost weekly across the league.
Having said that, some games do appear easier than others. That is certainly true for the nine remaining games on the Detroit Lions regular season schedule. The playoff push is real for Detroit, and the relatively manageable schedule from Week 10 on out is part of the reason why the 6-2 Lions have a legit chance for a postseason bye in the NFC.
They’ll need to take care of business, of course. Let’s look at the remaining nine games for Detroit, ranked from the easiest to the most difficult as they appear from Week 10.
Alabama can still reach the College Football Playoff, but experts are projecting the Tide to fall just short.
The second half of the 2023 regular season has begun for Alabama and the College Football Playoff is still within reach despite the early-season loss to Texas at home. Projections, however, have the Crimson Tide just missing the playoffs.
The latest bowl game predictions by ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach (subscription required) are split on Alabama.
Bonagura’s projection has the Tide facing Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, while Schlabach has Alabama also facing the Sooners, but in the Peach Bowl.
While no reasoning was offered, the fact that both experts predict Alabama to take on Oklahoma is very interesting. The Sooners sit atop the Big 12 through Week 7 and appear poised to compete for a spot in the CFP.
This would certainly be an interesting matchup between two teams with late-season playoff aspirations.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football and postseason projections as the 2023 regular season progresses.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.
2023 NFL regular season final standings prediction for each division
The 2023 NFL season has arrived, and not a moment too soon. All 32 fan bases are ready to cheer their teams in meaningful football games in what looks like one of the most wide-open seasons the league has seen in some time.
This is my final preseason prognostication of how the season will play out for each team, broken down by division.
Division winners are noted with an X, while wild card teams get a *
Alabama dropped two games last season and did not make the College Football Playoff, what will it take to get there in 2023?
Alabama football’s 2022 season ended with a New Year’s Six Bowl win over the Big 12 champion. With such an accolade and a 10-2 regular season record, the average college football fan would be ecstatic. However, Crimson Tide fans were not.
The annual expectation in Tuscaloosa is to win a national championship or compete for one at the very least.
The upcoming 2023 is shaping up to be an interesting one for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. Not only is the schedule loaded with challenges, but there are a lot of crucial contributors from 2022 that need to be replaced. At the time of publishing this, two weeks from Week 1, there is still an ongoing three-man race for the starting job.
Recently, Seth Emerson and Kennington Smith III of The Athletic (subscription required) predicted how many wins each SEC team will win in the 2023 season.
For Alabama, the projection is 10, which means two losses for the second year in a row.
“The dynasty could be ending – or we could be forgetting that Alabama’s two losses last year were by five combined points – and it barely lost the national championship game the prior year,” writes Emerson. “There’s still enough talent, and there’s still Nick Saban, to bet the over.”
Smith takes a slightly different approach to the Tide.
“The Crimson Tide’s schedule is loaded: marquee games against Tennessee, Texas and LSU and potential land mines at Kentucky and Tennessee. There are questions at quarterback, but the overall roster talent and the fact that the toughest three games (Tennessee, Texas and LSU) are at home should mean we should take the over, slightly.”
Alabama will be tested early in the season, as Texas will visit Bryant-Denny Stadium for Week 2. Only time will tell how this Crimson Tide team performs; but for now, there are many question marks that warrant a prediction of around 10-2.
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 season approaches.
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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.
USA TODAY projects the Detroit Lions to win the NFC North for the 1st time in the division’s history
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Count at least one analyst at USA TODAY Sports as drinking the Honolulu Blue Kool-Aid in 2023.
In his annual team-by-team win prediction, Nate Davis jumps on the Detroit bandwagon. Davis bullishly projects an 11-6 finish and an NFC North division title — something the Lions have never done — for the Lions.
But the guess here is that a revamped secondary – part of a defense that ranked last overall in 2022 – an imposing offensive line, first-round RB Jahmyr Gibbs and a boost from second-year WR Jameson Williams (after his six-game gambling suspension ends) will give this club its first division title since 1993.
Moreover, the Lions are the only NFC North team projected here to finish with a winning record. Davis prophesizes the Bears, Packers and Vikings to all finish with matching 7-10 records in 2023.
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Georgia and Tennessee are expected to finish on top of the SEC East, but Florida gets the third-place nod on ESPN’s 2023 conference projections.
The 2023 college football season is rapidly approaching and ESPN is previewing each conference ahead of fall camps. As most might expect, Georgia is expected to finish on top of the SEC East for a third-straight season, with Tennessee finishing as a competitive second.
There’s a big gap between the top two teams in the division and the rest of the field, though. Florida comes in third with an SP+ ranking of 14.8 (21st overall), but Kentucky is very close behind (14.5, 22nd overall) as the projected fourth-place team.
Florida’s offense is once again projected to be its strength, with a 37.4 offensive SP+ rating that’s good for the 23rd-highest coming into the season. A defensive rating of 22.6 is only the 38th-highest in Division I football, though. Only South Carolina (26.3) and Vanderbilt (32.3) are expected to be worse on defense.
As far as average wins go, ESPN sees Florida winning 6.4 games, meaning another .500 finish to the regular season is likely. Florida’s expected 3.7 conference wins are the same as Kentucky’s, so that could end up being the biggest game of the season for both teams.
ESPN staff writer Bill Connelly also tackles how long it will take Billy Napier to find success at Florida, citing a “miserable” fanbase’s growing lack of patience. A difficult schedule won’t make things easy, and Florida’s strengths might not be enough to overcome it’s deficits.
“While Georgia will be the preseason No. 1 and the Vols and Seminoles will get lots of top-10 votes, Florida will be facing what SP+ sees as the hardest schedule in the country with another transitional roster — a new starting quarterback, at least five other new offensive starters and mega turnover at linebacker and in the secondary,” Connelly wrote.
Connelly does like the tandem of Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne in the backfield for Florida. Ricky Pearsall also earned some love as Connelly’s favorite slot receiver in the division.
The big question mark is at quarterback for the Gators. Billy Napier is still deciding whether he’ll give the ball to Graham Mertz or Jack Miller III to start the season.
“Napier and offensive coordinator Rob Sale have done their best work with dual-threat quarterbacks, and Mertz … is not that. Miller might be.”
It will be tough for Billy Napier to find the kind of success fans want him to in Year 2 of the culture change. Finishing above .500 seems like a tall order, and Connelly says that there are only three “likely” wins on UF’s schedule. Everything else is a toss-up or expected loss.
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