Tag: top-5

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco names himself as a top-5 rusher all-time

#Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco didn’t lack confidence in his recent comments on the All Things Covered Podcast.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco wasn’t hesitant to name himself as one of the top-five running backs of all time during a recent podcast appearance.

Pacheco, who rose to prominence as Kansas City’s leading rusher during the Chiefs’ march to Super Bowl LVII earlier this year, was asked to name his five favorite running backs during his time on the All Things Covered podcast and started his list with the same names many fans would expect.

“I [haven’t] watched football that much,” Pacheco explained, “but I know that I’ve watched highlights. Barry Sanders was on my highlights, A.P. [Adrian Peterson] was on my highlights, LaDainian Tomlinson, and then I’m going to get a little bit into this era, Saquon Barkley. Then… myself.”

With this kind of talk before his sophomore campaign in Kansas City has even begun, Pacheco will have a lot to prove if he intends to make fans and his peers agree with his rankings at season’s end.

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Frank Ragnow leads the way for Lions players in latest Madden 22 ratings

The Madden ratings were not kind for the Detroit Lions, but there are notable ratings that are quite interesting among the team

In the midst of the opening of training camp, EA Sports released their latest Madden 22 ratings for every player and team. With the new regime in place, not many people have high hopes for the Detroit Lions this coming season, and it showed with the ratings that were given to the team and players.

With only five players managing to receive an 80 overall rating or higher, the team came at a 74 overall rating, coming in at third-worst in the league behind the Carolina Panthers (73 overall) and the New York Jets (72 overall).

Frank Ragnow comes in as the highest-rated Lion with an 88 overall rating, which was good enough to (barely) crack Madden’s Top-100 players — coming in right at 100. To no surprise, he is the lone Lions representative. Ragnow is easily the best player on the Lions and will be looked upon as a cornerstone for the organization going through a rebuild.

T.J. Hockenson follows with an 85 overall rating, landing him as the 8th-best tight end in the league. That seems disrespectful considering who is ahead of him: Hunter Henry, Rob Gronkowski, and Austin Hooper. None of those three tight ends came near what Hockenson produced last year and it leaves you scratching your head.

Next comes Michael Brockers (82 overall), who will be looked upon providing a veteran presence, especially for the two rookies, Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill, while providing a force up the middle. Trey Flowers comes in with an 81 overall rating as a right outside linebacker, following suit to his position change from end. He will be a player to keep your eye on with the new coaching and see how he responds.

Finishing out the top five lands us in the special teams category with Pro Bowl sensation punter Jack Fox with an 80 overall rating. Fox lit the NFL on fire leading, averaging 49.1 yards per punt, ranking third in the league, and was easily was one of the better players for the Lions last season.

To round out the top ten Lions, Jamie Collins (79 overall), Tyrell Williams (79 overall), Romeo Okwara (79 overall), D’Andre Swift (78 overall), and Taylor Decker (78 overall). Jamaal Williams finishes outside the top ten with a 77 overall rating, but interesting how close the two running backs are rated.

For the rookies, Penei Sewell comes at a respectable 75 overall, landing him eighth among rookies. McNeill and Onwuzurike each earn a 71 overall rating, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Amon-Ra St. Brown receive a 67 overall rating, Derrick Barnes gets a 66 rating, and Jemar Jefferson lands with a 64 rating.

Since these two are tied at the hip with comparisons, Jared Goff comes in with a 77 overall rating, while ex-Lion Matthew Stafford receives an 83 overall rating.

Other interesting rating nuggets for the Lions:

  • Brockers comes in with the highest tackle rating with a 96, ahead of Aaron Donald with a 95.
  • Williams ranks as the third-best back in the carrying attribute with a 97 rating. Also, rates at the 20th-best back in stiff-arm with an 85 rating.
  • Melifonwu ranks as the 18th-best player (95 rating) in the jumping rating, the best among rookies
  • Goff ranks as the 11th best (86 rating) in medium throw accuracy, 12th best quarterback (88 rating) in the play-action category, and short-throw accuracy (90 rating). But comes at 29th overall with an 89 throw power rating.
  • Kalif Raymond rates as the fastest Lion with a 94 rating in the speed section.
  • Ragnow comes in as the 13th-toughest player rating with a 98 overall, but it should be a 99 considering he played with a broken throat.

Seahawks back into top 5 of Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings

After beating the Rams to win the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks have jumped back up into the top 5 of Touchdown Wire’s NFL power rankings.

The Seattle Seahawks clinched a playoff spot in Week 15 against Washington and won the NFC West on Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.

For their efforts in securing the division title, the Seahawks have jumped all the way up from No. 8 to No. 5 in Touchdown Wire’s post-Week 16 NFL power rankings.

“With the NFC West secured, the Seahawks can now think about positioning. They still have an outside shot at the first-round bye, if they win in Week 17 and the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints both lose,” writes Mark Scofield. “Oh, and remember Seattle fans, that was a damn good defense that the Seahawks faced Sunday.

“And yours might just be getting better at the right time.”

The Seahawks square off against the 49ers next Sunday to close out their regular season – here’s how Seattle has an outside chance of clinching a first-round bye.

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Seahawks climb back up into top 5 in USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings

The Seattle Seahawks have climbed back up into the top five in USA TODAY’s NFL power rankings ahead of Week 9.

The Seattle Seahawks took quite a hit in the weekly NFL power rankings when they dropped their first and only losing contest of the year to the Arizona Cardinals.

But after Week 8 and an impressive win over the division-rival 49ers, the Seahawks are clawing their way back up. After Sunday’s victory, Seattle is back in the top five of the USA TODAY’s rankings, jumping all the way up from No. 6 to No. 3.

“QB Russell Wilson is nearly on pace for a 60-TD season,” writes Nate Davis. “More important, Seattle is on pace for its first No. 1 seed since 2014, when it lost Super Bowl XLIX.”

The Steelers – the league’s lone undefeated team – sit in the top spot once again.

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Watch: Top-5 plays from Lions 2020 training camp

The Detroit Lions 2020 training camp is over and the team’s media department put together a video of the Top-5 plays from the past three weeks.

The Detroit Lions 2020 training camp is in the books and the team’s media department put together a video segment focusing on the Top-5 plays from the past three weeks.

Lions’ multimedia journalist Tori Petry has been hosting “Inside Training Camp” and each episode she has multiple guests, including the Detroit Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman.

In the final episode, Petry and Twentyman looked back at the top plays from camp breaking down what happened in each situation.

Without giving too much away, if you want further perspective on what was going on surrounding these plays, the No. 5 play happened on Day 5, the No. 4 play on Day 4, the No. 3 play at the scrimmage (Lions Wire was not present for observations that day), while the No. 2 play and No. 1 play both happened on Day 6.

You can watch the entire four and a half minute video in the YouTube clip below:

Javon Kinlaw makes sure the Lions haven’t forgotten about him

The 2020 NFL Draft is under a month away and South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw sent the Detroit Lions a subtle reminder message that he’s still around on Twitter.

The 2020 NFL Draft is under a month away and South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw sent the Detroit Lions a message on Twitter, reminding them not to forget about him.

Kinlaw was a dominating force in college and is someone who has been on the Lions radar for some time now. When mock drafts picked up late in the season, Kinlaw was routinely connected to the Lions, creating a nice blend of talent and need.

At the Senior Bowl, Kinlaw continued his reign of dominance and while the Lions weren’t the staff coaching him, he surely got their attention with his frame (6-5, 234, 34.88″ arm length) and play strength during practices.

Unfortunately, Kinlaw injured his knee during Senior Bowl practices and even though it was fully healed at the NFL Combine for medical checks, the rehab process slowed his training progress and he elected not to participate in testing/on-field drills.

Now, with Pro Days canceled, Kinlaw won’t have the opportunity to showcase his athleticism ahead of the draft and, in turn, he has flown a bit under the radar as most haven’t seen him perform in over two months.

Today, the Lions Twitter account ran a promotion asked people to respond to their tweet with their last name and number for a possible custom phone wallpaper — and Kinlaw seized the opportunity to remind them he should still be in the mix at the top of the draft:

Kinlaw wore No. 3 in college, but if he were drafted by the Lions, per NFL rules, he’d have to switch to a new number, but the message Kinlaw delivered wasn’t really about a number and more about him thinking he’d look good in Honolulu Blue.

And quite frankly, he’s not wrong. The Lions still need to add a penetrating defensive interior force and Kinlaw emphatically checks that box. He is primarily a penetrating 3-technique, but can also spend time at the 1-, 4i-, and 5-techniques. With length and power his power tools, Kinlaw is an elite run defender with more pass-rushing skills than he is given credit for.

Kinlaw is perfect for the Lions scheme and could easily be among the top-5 targets on the Lions draft board — and could honestly be as high as No. 3 likely behind only Ohio State’s Chase Young and Jeff Okudah.

If the Lions trade out of the three spot, and if Young and Okudah are off the board, Kinlaw may very well be wearing Honolulu Blue come April.

Seahawks finish at No. 5 in Touchdown Wire’s final NFL power rankings

Following Super Bowl LIV, the Seattle Seahawks have finished at No. 5 in Touchdown Wire’s final NFL power rankings of the 2019 season.

Now that Super Bowl LIV is officially in the books, USA TODAY’s Touchdown Wire issued its final NFL power rankings of the 2019 season.

After winning the championship, the Chiefs – to no one’s surprise – claimed the top spot. The Seahawks finished the season at No. 5.

“The Seahawks lost to Green Bay in the divisional round,” writes “There’s no shame in that, because Lambeau Field is a difficult place for visiting teams to win – especially in the postseason. The problem is that Seahawks coaches think they’re a run-first team. But the reality is that quarterback Russell Wilson is their best player. The Seahawks need to give Wilson more freedom going forward.”

Seattle landed behind only the Packers, Ravens, 49ers, and of course, the Chiefs.

These rankings could somewhat change between now and the start of the 2020 regular season depending on how each team fares throughout free agency and the NFL draft.

Regardless, the Seahawks wrapping up 2019 in the top five is respectable, to say the least.

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