Tag: Touchdown Wire

Jets right in middle of latest Touchdown Wire power rankings

Jets right in middle of latest Touchdown Wire power rankings

The Jets have a good-looking roster. On paper. Of course, football is not played on paper. There are valid injury concerns with the Jets and how all the new pieces will gel together. In some ways, the Jets are a tough team to project. That’s exactly why Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey has the Jets right smack in the middle of his latest power rankings, checking in at No. 16.

The Jets are such a difficult team to project. Defensively, they’ll be good, but how good will Aaron Rodgers be? Even so, they did bring in multiple new offensive linemen, which was much needed after the tumultuous year they had. With all the uncertainty surrounding Rodgers and how he’ll bounce back, though, they get placed directly in the middle.

As a note, these rankings came out before the Jets acquired edge-rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles, so it will be interesting to see how that addition changes the Jets’ outlook in some of these power rankings. But for now, right in the middle feels about right. They certainly look much better than last season, but there’s valid worry about a 40-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury. However, the protection in front of him should be much better and the weapons are improved with the addition of wide receiver Mike Williams.

At the very least, the Jets should be in playoff contention and be in a three-horse race with the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins for the AFC East title.

Jets grab Joe Alt in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

Jets grab Joe Alt in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

Could Joe Alt actually be available for the Jets when they come on the board at No. 10? In the latest mock draft from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, that scenario actually plays out and the Jets gladly grab the Notre Dame product with the pick.

A run of quarterbacks and wide receivers help push the offensive tackles down the board for the Jets as four quarterbacks go in the top eight along with four wide receivers among the first nine picks. The Titans selected Olu Fashanu of Penn State at No. 7.

If Alt is somehow on the board for the Jets, they should sprint the podium with the card for the selection. This mock is an example that the Jets are still in a good position to have their pick of the litter with how quarterbacks will be pushed up the board. The Jets do pass on Georgia tight end Brock Bowers – who lands with the Bengals at 18 — but getting Alt would solidify one of their tackle spots for years to come (the Jets hope at least).

Jets land Joe Alt in latest Touchdown Wire mock draft

Jets land Joe Alt in latest Touchdown Wire mock draft

Another day, another mock draft giving the Jets an offensive tackle. While it may start to sound boring, it makes a lot of sense with the state of the position for the Jets entering the offseason.

This time around, we’re looking at the latest mock draft from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, following a week of practices at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The tackle going to the Jets in this mock was not in Mobile, however, but will still be one of the first tackles taken in the draft — Notre Dame’s Joe Alt.

With the Jets sitting at No. 10 in the draft order, Alt, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga could all be in contention to be the newest offensive tackle for the Jets. In this case, the Jets had their choice of Alt and Fuaga — Fashanu was selected No. 4 by the Arizona Cardinals.

Fashanu had a nice week at the Senior Bowl and will make a case for a top-ten selection. In this mock, he went at No. 13 to the Las Vegas Raiders. What this shows is that if the Jets want a top offensive tackle in this draft, they should be in position to land one. The last thing they want to happen is a repeat of last season where after trading back to No. 15, they watched as the Patriots trade the No. 14 pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. The Jets then took Iowa State edge Will McDonald at No. 15.

The Jets should be in a good spot, but a lot can and will happen, so stay tuned.

Dolphins jump back up in power rankings after beating Patriots

Miami moves back up recent power rankings.

The Miami Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots 31-17 on Sunday, bringing their record to 6-2 on the season.

Mike McDaniel’s team showed some grit, as they finished with a two-score lead despite missing four of their starting offensive linemen at one point. They continue to beat the teams they should, but they’ll have some bigger tests coming up.

With the season ongoing, Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey has been producing weekly power rankings for the NFL. The Dolphins had dropped to No. 5 last week, but after the win, they’ve climbed back up to No. 4.

“The Dolphins’ offense is a video game, and the video game is Need For Speed. Plus they got Jalen Ramsey back well ahead of schedule to help the defense- watch out for ‘The Greatest Show on Surf.’”

Ahead of the Dolphins are now the Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 3), Kansas City Chiefs (No. 2) and Philadelphia Eagles (No. 1).

Miami jumped the San Francisco 49ers, who fell all the way to No. 9, after losing to Cincinnati.

The three teams ahead of the Dolphins have at least a 6-2 record (Eagles are 7-1), and Philadelphia holds a head-to-head victory of Miami.

Going against Kansas City this week, Miami should jump past them with a win.

Every NFL team’s (potentially) fatal flaw

What’s the potentially fatal flaw for every NFL team?

No NFL team is perfect. Even the truly great teams have potentially fatal flaws. The 1972 Dolphins, the only undefeated team in pro football history, were pilloried at the time for their relatively weak schedule. The 1985 Bears were undone by Dan Marino’s quick passing game in their only loss of the season. The 1998 Vikings looked like an unstoppable juggernaut until that whole kicker thing happened. And the 2007 Patriots were unable to seal the deal on the second undefeated season in NFL annals when they proved unable to block Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s NASCAR packages in Super Bowl XLII.
So, as we come into the 2023 season, it’s time to ask — what’s the potentially fatal flaw for every NFL team? Fortunately, our NFL Wire team site editors were at the ready with their informed analysis.

NFL analyst has the Commanders much higher than others in Week 1 power rankings

The Commanders come in at No. 16.

ESPN analyst Mike Clay predicted the Washington Commanders to be the NFL’s lowest-scoring team in 2023. He also ranked the Commanders No. 28 in his power rankings, noting how the team is a question mark until Sam Howell proves he’s a legitimate NFL starting quarterback.

We strongly disagree with Clay’s projection about Washington’s offense in 2023. There’s no way Sam Howell and Eric Bieniemy aren’t better than Carson Wentz/Taylor Heinicke and Scott Turner. However, it’s fair to question Howell, with only one NFL start on his resume.

Touchdown Wire released its Week 1 power rankings Monday, and it’s safe to say that Jarrett Bailey is much higher on the Commanders than others. Bailey ranks Washington at No. 16 in his power rankings, offering the following explanation.

I will continue to drive the Washington Commanders bandwagon from now until January, so get on before it’s too late. Sam Howell showed a lot of promise throughout the preseason, and the roster is quietly really deep. The defense was a top 10 unit in DVOA last season, and they won eight games with a combination of Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback. That isn’t a high bar for Howell to clear. In an Eric Bieniemy offense with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, he’ll have a lot of help.

If Washington’s defense can be close to the unit it was in 2022, the Commanders can be a playoff team.

Justin Jefferson ranks 2nd in third top 100 poll

Justin Jefferson in the unanimous second-best player in the NFL

The Minnesota Vikings got tremendous value in the 2020 NFL draft when they selected wide receiver Justin Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick. His peers and ESPN both ranked him as the second-best player in the National Football League.

Touchdown Wire released their final 25 players in their rankings and Jefferson once again ranked second. This should be no surprise considering how great Jefferson has been and Doug Farrar said it best in his write-up.

The Vikings selected Jefferson with the 22nd pick in the 2020 draft out of LSU, and through his first three seasons, Jefferson ranks first all-time in targets (476), receptions (324), and receiving yards (4,825). That’s throughout pro football history, which is pretty good.

There were those who believed that when Jefferson came out of college, he would be limited to a slot role in the NFL. That’s not the way things turned out — last season, Jefferson caught 46 passes on 73 outside targets for 530 yards, 345 air yards, and three touchdowns. Jefferson didn’t have as many outside targets as many of the players on this list, but the impact of those plays was undeniable.

Jefferson’s combination of route correctness, speed off the snap, and physical geometry (how he uses his body to create short-area openings) is unparalleled, and makes him the NFL’s toughest receiver to cover on a consistent basis.

Jefferson is going to continue terrorizing defenses for years.

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Three Chiefs rank in top six on Touchdown Wire’s 101 best players list for 2023

Three #Chiefs ranked in the top six of Touchdown Wire’s 101 best players list ahead of the 2023 season.

The Kansas City Chiefs host an incredible amount of talent heading into the 2023 regular season, and if the team can maintain its health in the coming months, it should have no problem competing for another Super Bowl title.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recently compiled his list of the NFL’s top 101 players and ranked three Chiefs in his top six heading into the new season.

Prolific tight end Travis Kelce took the sixth spot behind Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett and was the only player at his position to crack the top 10.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones ranked as the third-best player in the league, according to Farrar, and was placed just one spot behind All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, who took second place.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Patrick Mahomes was Farrar’s top player at the number-one spot, but the accolade is yet another feather in the MVP’s cap ahead of the 2023 season kickoff next week.

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