Tag: seth walder

Chargers receive high grade for 2024 offseason

ESPN’s Seth Walder thinks highly of the Chargers’ offseason.

The Chargers had an eventful offseason, and it received high praise from most pundits, with ESPN’s Seth Walder being the latest who liked what the Bolts did.

Walder graded each team’s offseason moves and gave Los Angeles an A-. Overall, they finished third, only behind the Eagles, who were the only team to receive an A and the Chiefs (A-).

The biggest move made by the Chargers was the hiring of Jim Harbaugh.

“It’s hard not to buy the Chargers long term with Harbaugh on board given his incredible track record and Justin Herbert under center,” Walder said. “This is a team that should be a force in the future.”

Training camp hasn’t even started yet, but there’s been nothing but rave reviews coming out of the Chargers facility with Harbaugh at the helm. His presence has positively impacted the culture of the team.

Beyond the acquisition of Harbaugh, Walder mentioned how he liked Joe Hortiz and company retooled the roster with players who will be contributors not only this season but also in 2025 and beyond.

They made minor moves in free agency — signing veteran players such as linebacker Denzel Perryman, running back Gus Edwards, center Bradley Bozeman and tight end Hayden Hurst — released high-priced receiver Mike Williams and traded receiver Keenan Allen, another costly veteran. They retained their two veteran edge rushers, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack (a bit of a surprise), but got them to take pay cuts.

Rookies Joe Alt and Ladd McConkey received praise, as Walder said the Chargers selected two players at key positions early in the draft.

The only thing that Walder disliked was the Bolts not adding a higher-quality veteran wide receiver. While his point is valid, they still have a formidable positional group that should benefit from the arm of Justin Herbert.

On paper, the Chargers are a solid team that should be able to contend for a playoff spot this season, given Harbaugh’s presence, Herbert, top-end talent at most positions and having the second-easiest schedule.

Del Rio defends Commanders tackles Allen and Payne

Del Rio makes it clear: Allen and Payne are playing well.

Jack Del Rio took exception Thursday to two of his players being called out publicly this week.

ESPN’s Seth Walder this week had tweeted, stating that Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are producing less pass rush in 2023 than in 2022.

Walder revealed some numbers to back his claim. Allen had ranked 9th and Payne 12th in 2022 in “pass rush win rate.”

He then conveyed that through ten games this season, Allen is now 26th and Payne 42nd out of 52 qualifying defensive tackles.

Consequently, when Del Rio was asked about this by the Washington media Thursday, he responded, “I don’t like to sit up here and grade for you guys. They’re two really good players, and they’re playing well.”

Then Del Rio was challenged when one asked where Allen and Payne were making their impact, despite their pass rush win rate” being down from last season.

Del Rio threw out his own challenge, “I’ll watch tape with you if you’d like. They’re pretty good players, and they’re having a good strong year for us.”

Later, Del Rio was asked about how defensive tackle John Ridgeway has played. “Ridge? I think Ridge has played very well the last few weeks in particular.”

Then came a question regarding rookie defensive end Andre Jones Jr. and his pass rush.

“He’s been very aware and has done a nice job with it. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play, and (DE) KJ (Henry) was so close to getting his first sack two weeks ago. As they get opportunities to play, they’re going to make plays, and it’s not all going to be good. But we ask them to go out and apply their technique, play hard, compete their butts off, and help us get the ball back for the offense.”

Back to Andre Jones, “I just think he’s worked hard all year. That’s the one thing I would say about him. He’s been very consistent in how he’s approached things. His role had become primarily a lot on special teams and a little on D, and that equation’s going to change a little bit. He is going to get a little more on D and probably a little less on special teams, but I like the way he’s working at it. He’s done a good job being conscientious, coming in and putting in the work every day.”

ESPN’s Seth Walder ranks Minnesota Vikings 13th-best roster core in the NFL

Despite not having the strongest roster in the league, the Vikings have a great group of cornerstone players.

It’s well-documented that a team must have value from every player on the roster from 1-53. However, you can learn from a team’s best five players. These are the “playmakers” or “cornerstones” of the organization, as ESPN’s Seth Walder called them in his latest piece.

The Vikings were in the top half of the league in this ranking as they were ranked 13th. They were ranked the best team in the NFC North and the fourth-best in the NFC. The five players who represented Minnesota were Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Danielle Hunter, Christian Darrisaw and T.J. Hockenson. There is no doubt that there are arguments for other players to represent Minnesota, but these were the five that Walder chose. 

They were labeled 13th mainly off of the back of Jefferson as he became the center of the offense under O’Connell. Walder proclaimed that if you don’t “have an elite quarterback, the next-best thing is an elite wide receiver.”

Another thing to note is how four of the five players are on the offensive side of the football. The offense is currently doing the heavy lifting keeping this team competitive as the team rebuilds throughout the roster. As Kwefi Adofo-Mensah continues to build this team, look at how he allocates resources to the defense in the next few years. He’s already spent premium capital on building the secondary with two of his last three top 50 picks for the last two drafts. What will he covet next as Minnesota looks close the gap to contender status?