NFL Draft Position Rankings-Offense

Here are the rankings for the offensive players in the upcoming NFL Draft. I stretched it to 15 running backs, and 20 wide receivers. Use it as a bit of cheat sheet come draft day. Here are the top offensive players at each position.

QBs

1)    Blake Bortles-Central Florida

2)    Johnny Manziel- Texas A&M

3)    Derek Carr-Fresno St

4)    Teddy Bridgewater-Louisville

5)    Zach Mettenberger-LSU

6)    Jimmy Garoppolo-Eastern Illinois

7)    A.J. McCarron-Alabama

8)    Tom Savage-Pitt

9)    Logan Thomas-Va Tech

10) Aaron Murray-Georgia

RBs

1)    Carlos Hyde-Ohio St

2)    Jeremy Hill-LSU

3)    Tre Mason-Auburn

4)    Bishop Sankey-Washington

5)    Lache Seastruck-Baylor

6)    Ka’Deem Carey-Arizona

7)    Kapri Bibbs-Colorado St

8)    Charles Sims-West Virginia

9)    Devonta Freeman-FSU

10) Tyler Gaffney-Stanford

11) Andre Williams-BC

12) Jerick McKinnon-Georgia Southern

13) Terrence West-Towson

14) Lorenzo Taliaferra-Coastal Carolina

15) Marion Grace- Arizona State

WRs

1)    Sammy Watkins-Clemson

2)    Mike Evans-Texas A&M

3)    Odell Beckham-LSU

4)    Brandin Cooks-Oregon St

5)    Marqise Lee-USC

6)    Kelvin Benjamin-FSU

7)    Davante Adams-Fresno St

8)    Jarvis Landry-LSU

9)    Allen Robinson-Penn St

10) Martavius Bryant-Clemson

11) Jordan Matthews-Vanderbilt

12) Paul Richardson-Colorado

13) Brandon Coleman-Rutgers

14) Donte Moncrief-Ole Miss

15) Jared Abberderis-Wisconsin

16) Cody Latimer-Indiana

17) Bruce Ellington-South Carolina

18) Josh Huff-Oregon

19) Dri Archer-Kent St

20) Mike Davis-Texas

TEs

1)    Eric Ebron-North Carolina

2)    Austin Seferian-Jenkins-Washington

3)    Jace Amaro-Texas Tech

4)    Troy Niklas-Notre Dame

5)    C.J. Fiedorowicz-Iowa

6)    Xavier Grimble-USC

7)    Arthur Lynch-Georgia

8)    Marcel Jensen-Fresno St

9)    Jacob Pedersen-Wisconsin

10) Richard Rodgers-California

OTs

1)    Greg Robinson-Auburn

2)    Jake Matthews-Texas A&M

3)    Taylor Lewan-Michigan

4)    Zack Martin-Notre Dame

5)    Morgan Moses-Virginia

6)    Cyrus Kouandjio-Alabama

7)    Joe Bitonio-Nevada

8)    JuWaun Jones-Tennessee

9)    Antonio Richardson-Tennessee

10) Jack Mewhort-Ohio St

OGs

1)    Xavier Sua-Filo-UCLA

2)    David Yankey-Stanford

3)    Cyril Richardson-Baylor

4)    Gabe Jackson-Miss State

5)    Trai Turner-LSU

6)    Dakota Dozier-Furman

7)    Anthony Steen-Alabama

8)    Chris Watt-Notre Dame

9)    Jon Halapio-Florida

10) Andrew Norwell-Ohio St

Cs

1)    Weston Richburgh-Colorado St

2)    Marcus Martin-USC

3)    Travis Swanson-Arkansas

4)    Tyler Larsen-Utah State

5)    Bryan Stork-FSU

6)    Gabe Ikard-Oklahoma

7)    Russell Bodine-North Carolina

8)    James Stone-Tennessee

9)    Jonotthan Harrison-Florida

10) Andrew Miller-Virginia Tech

2014 Denver Broncos Schedule!

The NFL unveiled the 2014 schedule on Wednesday night, and the Broncos schedule is quite an interesting one. I’ll provide analysis of the schedule below, but here is the table for the Broncos 2014 campaign (All times EST).

Week 1-Sunday Sept 7^th: vs Indianapolis (NBC 8:30pm)

Week 2-Sunday Sept 14^th: vs Kansas City (CBS 4:25pm)

Week 3-Sunday Sept 21^st: at Seattle (CBS 4:25pm)

Week 4- BYE WEEK

Week 5- Sunday Oct 5^th: vs Arizona (FOX 4:05pm)

Week 6-Sunday Oct 12^th: at NY Jets (CBS 1:00pm)

Week 7- Sunday Oct 19^th: vs San Francisco (NBC 8:30pm)

Week 8-Thursday Oct 23^rd: vs San Diego (CBS 8:25pm)

Week 9-Sunday Nov 2^nd: at New England (CBS 4:25pm)

Week 10-Sunday Nov 9^th: at Oakland (CBS 4:05pm)

Week 11-Sunday Nov 16^th: at St. Louis (CBS 1:00pm)

Week 12-Sunday Nov 23^rd: vs Miami (CBS 4:25pm)

Week 13-Sunday Nov 30^th: at Kansas City (NBC 8:30pm)

Week 14-Sunday Dec 7^th: vs Buffalo (CBS 4:05pm)

Week 15-Sunday Dec 14^th: at San Diego (CBS 4:25pm)

Week 16-Monday Dec 22^nd: at Cincinnati (ESPN 8:40pm)

Week 17-Sunday Dec 28^th: vs Oakland (CBS 4:25pm)

Analysis:

-It was a given that Denver was going to be featured again in primetime. They got 5 primetime games featuring Peyton Manning and the Broncos/

-It is no surprise at all that they open at home on SNF with Indy because I predicted that would be the SNF opener. Andrew Luck vs. Peyton Manning. That will be one hell of a way to open up the year.

-5 of their first 7 games are at home. Also, throw in their bye week in Week 4 and out of the first 8 weeks, they only travel twice from September 7^th through the end of October.

-The Broncos get nailed with the dreaded 3 in a row on the road. It starts with NE on November 2^nd but goes through Oakland and St.Louis which isn’t such a bad back end.

-The Broncos have 6 out of 9 games on the road in the second half of the season. That is a pretty rough stretch to finish out the year.

-The Broncos get a tough break when they host SF in a Sunday night game on October 19^th and then they have to play a Thursday Night game against San Diego three days later. That is rough situation, but at least they are at home for both games.

-I absolutely love the Monday night game at Cincy on December 22^nd. It is perfect timing. It is right before Christmas, late in the season, on a Monday night. That is a really good night to watch football.

-Overall, it is a tough schedule because Denver is saddled with the NFC West this year and a division that featured two other playoff teams. The truth is that when you have Peyton Manning there isn’t a schedule that is so bad. Yes, there are some really tough games this year, but with Manning at the controls every game is winnable. He is 12-4 on the road with the Broncos the last two years, and there is no reason to believe that he can’t go at least 5-3 on the road this year.

2014 NFL Primetime and Thanksgiving Predictions

The NFL schedule should be released in a week or two, and in preparation for that I would like to present my predictions for the opening night game, the first week primetime games, and the Thanksgiving games. The NFL used to release these games at the league meetings in March, but the last few years that have not revealed these games in advance. It doesn’t look like they will do that again this year. In any event, it is fun to speculate, so I will present my picks for this year’s Thursday night opener in Seattle, the Week 1 primetime games, and the Thanksgiving tripleheader. Here goes….

Thursday Night Opener (NBC)

Thursday 9/4 8:30pm EST

San Francisco at Seattle

-This is a no-brainer for the first game of the year. The NFL likes to come out with a bang, and this game would do just that. Plus, FOX can still get the second game between these two teams later in the year.

Sunday Night Football Opener (NBC)

Sunday 9/7 8:30pm EST

Indianapolis at Denver

-It is always a good idea to feature Peyton Manning in the beginning of the year, so NBC decides to go with Manning vs. Andrew Luck to kickoff their SNF package.

Monday Night Football Doubleheader (ESPN)

Game 1

Monday 9/8 7:15pm EST

Dallas at NY Giants

-The NFL likes to feature big markets on the early game of the Monday Night opener, so I think they go with two NFC East rivals to kick things off.

Game 2

10:15pm EST

Oakland at San Diego

-There aren’t a lot of options with the backend of the doubleheader, so I’ll go with the Chargers and Raiders to finish off Week 1

Thanksgiving Games

12:30pm EST- CBS

Buffalo at Detroit

-It apparently was leaked by the Bills website, but this makes sense because the only other option was the Dolphins. Give the Bills a chance on Thanksgiving with a fairly short trip to Detroit.

4:30pm EST-FOX

New Orleans at Dallas

-FOX has some attractive options, but I’ll go with the Saints here. New Orleans should be good so this has the potential to be a quality matchup and ratings win for FOX and the NFL.

8:30pm EST- NBC

Philadelphia at Green Bay

-This is a tough game to figure out. The last two years featured division rivals with the Pats and Jets in 2012 and Steelers and Ravens in 2013. I think this game works because it is Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving night, and it features two teams in the playoffs from last year.

2014 Broncos Mock Schedule

One of my favorite ways to kill time in the offseason is to try to predict the Broncos upcoming schedule. This is a complicated process that requires many revisions and rewrites. I know that the chances of me getting at least half of these dates correct is remote, but it is a fun little offseason project. Here is my 2014 Broncos mock schedule....

(All times Eastern Standard Time)

Week 1: Sunday 9/7 vs. Indy 8:30pm NBC

Week 2: Sunday 9/14 at NY Jets 4:25pm CBS

Week 3: Sunday 9/21 vs. Kansas City 4:25pm CBS

Week 4: Sunday 9/28 at St. Louis 1:00pm CBS

Week 5: Monday 10/6 at Cincinnati 8:30pm ESPN

Week 6: Sunday 10/12 vs. Arizona 4:25pm FOX

Week 7 Thursday 10/16 vs. San Diego 8:00pm CBS

Week 8 Sunday 10/26 at Kansas City 1:00pm CBS

Week 9 Sunday 11/2 at New England 8:30pm NBC

Week 10 Sunday 11/9 vs. Oakland 4:25pm CBS

Week 11 BYE WEEK

Week 12 Sunday 11/23 at Seattle 8:30pm NBC

Week 13 Sunday 11/30 vs. Buffalo 4:25pm CBS

Week 14 Sunday 12/7 vs. San Francisco 4:25pm FOX

Week 15 Sunday 12/14 at Oakland 4:05pm CBS

Week 16 Sunday 12/21 vs. Miami 4:25pm CBS

Week 17 Sunday 12/28 at San Diego 4:25pm CBS

Broncos Offseason Update

The Broncos seem to be done in free agency as they set their sights on the draft in May. They did make a move last week when they signed C Will Montgomery from Washington. It is essentially a one-year deal without any real guarantees. Montgomery started the last three seasons for Mike Shanahan. He is a pretty durable player, and his signing gives the Broncos some options on their offensive line. If Montgomery beats out incumbent Manny Ramirez, then the Broncos slide Ramirez over to LG to replace Zane Beadles. If Montgomery doesn’t beat out Ramirez, then Denver still needs to find a replacement for Beadles in the draft and Montgomery will be an insurance policy in case there are injuries on the line.

John Fox signed a three-year extension last week. It was a foregone conclusion that Fox was going to get extended considering that he was entering the last year of his contract. Fox has done a really solid job since coming to Denver in 2011. The Broncos have gone 34-14, won three straight AFC West titles, an AFC Championship and a berth in this year’s Super Bowl. Fox did a great job fixing the locker room and the team after the disastrous Josh McDaniels era. It was a no-brainer to get a deal done with him. It deserves a raise and it is good to have Fox locked up for the near future, but I do think that he needs to do a better job in these big games. His ability to challenge plays is curious at times, but he needs to have a better performance in the big games. The end of the Baltimore playoff game last year and the way he got outcoached in the Super Bowl this year are two games that Fox needs to look at and fix going forward. I like Fox a lot, but he has to have some better moments in the biggest games of the year.

Denver lost some valuable free agents as well in the past few weeks. RB Knowshon Moreno signed with Miami. Shaun Phillips left to go to Tennessee, and Robert Ayers left to go sign with the NY Giants. All three guys can be replaced, and there are better options on the Broncos roster right now, but those three players all played a significant role in helping Denver get to the Super Bowl last year. I understand that you can’t keep everyone, but each of those guys were integral parts of that team and their success. Just go watch the AFC Championship Game against the Pats. Moreno had big runs in that game, Ayers had a solid game and key sack on Tom Brady, and Phillips played great and made a huge stop on Shane Vereen late in the game on a two-point conversion. All three will be missed in some aspect.