Tag: Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf praises the Falcons for drafting QB Michael Penix Jr.

“This was playing chess when others were playing checkers,” Ryan Leaf said about the #Falcons drafting QB Michael Penix Jr.

In terms of entertainment value, the 2024 NFL draft lived up to the hype, and then some. The Atlanta Falcons’ selection of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at pick No. 8 was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of Round 1.

Not only was Penix taken ahead of Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy, but he went to a team that few expected to draft a quarterback in the first round. This led to many NFL analysts giving Atlanta poor draft grades, primarily criticizing the Penix pick.

However, much of the criticism hasn’t been aimed at Penix but rather the team’s decision to draft a QB after signing Kirk Cousins in free agency. While it isn’t the most conventional version of a succession plan, there’s nothing crazy about investing in the most important position in football.

Former No. 2 overall pick Ryan Leaf was one of the few to praise the selection. Leaf, who had Penix ranked as the No. 1 QB in the class, complimented the Falcons during an appearance on “Up & Adams” with Kay Adams.

“I think he’s the most pro-ready,” Leaf said about Penix. “The fact that he’s going to be able to sit and learn from what is a great veteran quarterback in Kirk Cousins — I thought this was a great move. This was playing chess when others were playing checkers.”

When Leaf was selected one spot after Peyton Manning in the 1998 NFL draft, he was forced to step in before he was emotionally ready and never developed into the player many thought he would be. While his career didn’t live up to the hype, Leaf often gives refreshing takes as an analyst.

Watch the full episode of “Up & Adams” featuring Leaf, as shared by the show’s YouTube channel below:

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Steelers QB Russell Wilson gets big endorsement from NFL analyst Ryan Leaf

The Steelers season is going to depend on new starting quarterback Russell Wilson.

With all the changes the Pittsburgh Steelers have made this offseason, the success of this team really hinges on the play of the quarterback. This team is going to go exactly as far as Russell Wilson can take them.

NFL analyst and former No. 1 overall pick Ryan Leaf was on Up & Adams and told Kay Adams he believes Wilson still has a Super Bowl champion quarterback in him and to watch out for the Steelers.

Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowl appearances and went 1-1. The Seahawks blew out the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII and lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

The Steelers were at or near the bottom in nearly every passing stat in the NFL last season. This is why the front office completely gutted out the quarterback depth chart and hired new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

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1998 NFL draft isn’t anything like the 2024 draft for QB prospects

Ryan Leaf’s 1998 NFL draft journey is very different from what we see with the 2024 QB class.

The Straight Line podcast host Ryan Leaf and Rich Eisen discussed Leaf’s 1998 NFL draft experience. Leaf went No. 2 overall to the Chargers after Peyton Manning went first to the Colts. This is nothing like the 2024 NFL draft if you stop and think about it.

In the 1998 draft, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were the two best quarterback prospects on the board. There was a real debate about which player should be taken first, though Manning did have the inside track. This 2024 NFL draft quarterback class is different. It’s not a 1-versus-2 debate the way it was with Leaf and Peyton. It is generally felt that Caleb Williams is the best prospect, and that the next few quarterbacks on the board could be really good. Jayden Daniels could be very good. Drake Maye could be very good. J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix have generated plenty of buzz. It’s a different dynamic compared to 1998.

Ryan Leaf also talked about why Caleb Williams starting as a rookie for the Chicago Bears is “setting him up for failure,” why NFL teams should be more patient with young quarterbacks, why he’s all-in on Washington’s Michael Penix, and more.

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NFL draft bust Ryan Leaf is not sold on Caleb Williams

If a memorable draft bust isn’t a Caleb Williams believer, maybe that means Caleb is going to be a superstar.

If one of the most memorable NFL draft busts of all time says a top quarterback prospect isn’t ready to start in his NFL rookie season, does that mean you should trust the draft bust or treat his words with skepticism? That’s the question after Ryan Leaf expressed skepticism about Caleb Williams and his ability to start right away in the NFL. It could be that Leaf, a failed NFL player, might not have the right instincts as an evaluator, and that Caleb Williams will thrive. We will find out soon enough.

Ryan Leaf made his way into the news cycle two months ago when someone on social media made an erroneous comment which tried to link Leaf with Williams.

A person tweeted that Caleb Williams was going to become the biggest Heisman Trophy-winning NFL draft bust since Ryan Leaf. However, Leaf never did win the Heisman. As we wrote in the article linked to above, “It’s crazy that the original tweeter identified Ryan Leaf as a former Heisman winner, given that Leaf wasn’t even in the top two in 1997’s final vote. It was Charles Woodson first, Peyton Manning second. If Leaf had won, it would have been a historic Heisman upset.”

At any rate, we will see if Ryan Leaf is right about Caleb Williams.

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Wild, unhinged tweet about Caleb Williams creates hilarious moment involving former Pac-12 QB

Ryan Leaf is an NFL draft bust, but an erroneous tweet trashing Caleb Williams gave Leaf a chance to laugh.

Sports fans can and do get excited. They love to be the first people in the room to say that a star athlete will be the next big thing. They also love to be the first people to say that a high draft pick will be the next really big bust. All of this recalls the memory of the 1998 NFL draft in which Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were the top two picks. Manning went at No. 1 to the Indianapolis Colts and became a legend of the game. Ryan Leaf went at No. 2 to the then-San Diego Chargers and became one of the biggest NFL draft busts ever. Caleb Williams hopes to become Peyton, not Leaf. That said, a wildly incorrect tweet about Ryan Leaf — made by a person who was trying to trash Caleb Williams — gave Leafa a chance to have some fun.

It’s worth a look:

Former NFL QB Ryan Leaf says Baker Mayfield could make Bucs “possible playoff contender”

Could Mayfield lead Tampa Bay to the playoffs for the fourth year in a row?

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There has been much media coverage on new Bucs QB Baker Mayfield since he signed with Tampa Bay, and though much of it has been negative, he still has his admirers among certain circles.

Former NFL QB Ryan Leaf sat down with NFL Network’s Good Morning Football last week and discussed a number of topics with the program. Former Bucs DT Gerald McCoy asked him who he thought would win the Bucs’ QB competition, and he expressed his admiration for Mayfield — he thought his tenure in Los Angeles with the Rams to end 2022 was strong and that Mayfield will win the starting job.

“I like him to be the starter in Tampa Bay,” Lead said. “I think he can do a good enough job to make them a possible playoff contender in that division.”

Leaf mentioned that on top of his play with the Rams, he was particularly impressed with how Mayfield handled being “thrown out” in favor of current Browns QB Deshaun Watson and heading to his third team in two years.

“I love how he’s overcome the adversity,” Leaf said of Mayfield. “How the Cleveland Browns and that city, that team treated him and kinda just threw him out, and how he’s battled back — I really like how he’s taken care of himself and handled his business.”

Although Mayfield hasn’t won the starting job just yet, his standing in the QB room will likely become clearer as training camp kicks off and preseason begins to roll around.

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Ryan Leaf called out former Colts GM Bill Polian for ‘embellishing’ his NFL Draft story: ‘I’ve never met Bill’

The all-time draft bust has had enough of people piling on.

By now, most who follow the NFL are probably intimately familiar with the story of the 1998 NFL Draft. It’s the class that saw one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Peyton Manning, go No. 1 overall to the Indianapolis Colts and one of the biggest draft busts ever, Ryan Leaf, go to the then-San Diego Chargers.

With the 25th anniversary of said draft happening this week, the crew at Good Morning Football had Leaf on as a guest to discuss his experience. As a result of his bust status, Leaf has struggled with his mental health and lived with that unfortunate label for a long time. In 2021, he even emotionally called out the NFL for not caring about its players.

But that wasn’t the point of contention of Leaf’s discussion here. No, no. Here, he called out former Colts general manager Bill Polian for embellishing the story of what led to Leaf’s draft bust.

Among the more notable tidbits?

In a recent video with The 33rd Team, Polian said Leaf’s pre-draft meeting with the Colts went horribly. But there’s one problem: Leaf clarified he’s never actually met Polian. This explanation followed a Tuesday Twitter post where Leaf first touched upon this “huge [expletive] lie.”

Ruh-oh.

 

If Polian has indeed embellished details about what led to Leaf’s bust, that’s not great, especially when — as Leaf talked about — the former quarterback has had to contend with being an individual laughingstock in football circles for a quarter-century. When people think of “draft bust” in conversations, his name usually pops up first.

So, of course, he’s not going to take those allegations — ones that Polian may have gotten wrong — lightly.

Ryan Leaf remains a believer in Titans QB Malik Willis

Former NFL QB Ryan Leaf has not given up on Titans QB Malik Willis just yet.

Over the last couple of seasons, the Tennessee Titans have been forced to go through an unfathomable amount of injuries at every single position.

Even quarterback Ryan Tannehill wasn’t able to escape the injury bug in 2022. That unfortunate situation ultimately forced rookie quarterback Malik Willis into the starting lineup before he was truly ready.

Predictably, Willis severely struggled more often than not. To make matters worse, the Liberty product was surrounded by inferior talent that even the most elite quarterbacks would likely struggle to elevate.

Nevertheless, as unfair as it may be, a lot of fans and media are very down on the once hyped-up prospect.

Willis only accounted for a combined 276 passing yards over the eight games (three starts) in which he appeared. The young quarterback was also sacked a whopping 10 times and finished the year with an underwhelming passer rating of 42.8.

It also certainly didn’t help that Josh Dobbs instantly made the offense look better upon his Week 16 arrival, something that further soiled Willis’ rookie campaign.

Despite those struggles, former NFL quarterback-turned-analyst, Ryan Leaf, was recently on “Good Morning Football” and essentially pounded the table for Willis.

When discussing Kentucky’s Will Levis on the show, Leaf used Willis as an example of someone who benefited from falling in the draft due to the decreased expectations for someone who clearly wasn’t ready.

“I think after (Willis’) performance last year, that’s where that (doubt) crept in,” Leaf explained. “But I also don’t think it’s a referendum on him. I don’t believe that at all. I think Tennessee flat-out told everybody ‘we did not want to play him.’ We (The Titans) were forced to do it because of injuries, we wanted to see him develop, and we knew he was a couple of years away. That’s why we drafted him where we drafted him.”

“I think (Willis) can develop into one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, and that’s where they hope they can move onto after Ryan Tannehill. And the expectations are certainly not there if he were picked in Kenny Pickett’s spot.”

This is certainly a fair take when it comes to Tennessee’s young signal-caller. Anyone who actually took the time to watch him play at Liberty could see how steep his learning curve was going to be.

On the flip side, Willis’ rare skill set and untapped potential were as undeniable as his rawness was.

There’s no telling how much Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon truly believe in Willis’ long-term potential, but the former Liberty legend undoubtedly has all the tools in the shed to make something special out of himself.

However, now that he has a full year of experience under his belt, it’s time to consistently start showing positive signs of that development, both in the meeting room and on the football field.

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NFL analysts discuss options for Houston Texans with No. 2 pick

Former No. 2 overall draft pick, Ryan Leaf, shares what he thinks the Texans’ draft strategy should be

The Chicago Bears traded the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the Carolina Panthers this past weekend and all of the madness is ensuing. The Panthers have publicly said they are open to trading back, but nobody knows what is really going to happen. A lot of executives in the NFL believe that CJ Stroud will be the Panthers guy at No. 1, so what do the Houston Texans do at No. 2?

Former No. 2 overall draft pick and NFL analyst for Good Morning Football, Ryan Leaf, shares his draft strategy for the Texans. The Texans have reportedly been all in on Alabama Crimson Tide QB [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] since day one so the Panthers trading up for Stroud would be perfect for them.

The Texans previously had to worry about their division-rival Indianapolis Colts trading up to No. 1 for Bryce who they seemed to really like. Leaf thinks that the Texans are in the spot they wanted to be in all along.

The Texans would be a great fit for Young as they have an outstanding offensive tackle in Laremy Tunsil and will have the opportunity to build around him. He would also be teaming up with former Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III.

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4-Down Territory: Heisman snubs, worst trades ever, revenge games, Brock Purdy

Heisman snubs, the NFL’s worst trades ever, revenge games, and Brock Purdy! Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling have it all on this week’s “4-Down Territory.”

Every week in “4-Down Territory,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire and Draft Wire go over the things you need to know about, and the things you need to watch, in the NFL right now. With Week 13 of the 2022 NFL season in the books, and the Heisman Trophy finalists announced, there was a lot to cover!

This week, Doug and Luke discuss:

  1. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, TCU quarterback Max Duggan, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, and Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett III were announced as the finalists for the 2022 Heisman Trophy. With all due respect to those four players, what was the most egregious Heisman snub this year?
  2. The Russell Wilson trade is in danger of becoming the worst trade in NFL history — at least, for the Denver Broncos. At this point though, what has been the worst deal in the annals of pro football?
  3. A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles and Bobby Wagner of the Los Angeles Rams had compelling revenge games on Sunday against their former teams, the Tennessee Titans and the Seattle Seahawks. Which player’s revenge game was more compelling?
  4. Do the San Francisco 49ers still have a Super Bowl shot with rookie “Mr. Irrelevant” quarterback Brock Purdy under center?

You can watch this week’s episode of “4-Down Territory” right here:

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