Here is the 2019 NFL Draft Cheat Sheet. Up first are the offensive players...
QBs
1) Kyler Murray-Oklahoma
2) Drew Lock-Missouri
3)Dwayne Haskins- Ohio State
4) Daniel Jones- Duke
5) Ryan Finley- NC State
6) Will Grier- West Virginia
7) Jarret Stidham- Auburn
8) Clayton Thorsen- Northwestern
9) Tyree Jackson- Buffalo
10) Easton Stick- North Dakota State
RBs
1) Josh Jacobs- Alabama
2) Damien Harris- Alabama
3) Justice Hill- Oklahoma State
4) Mike Weber- Ohio State
5) Miles Sanders- Penn State
6) Devin Singletary- Florida Atlantic
7) David Montgomery- Iowa State
8) Myles Gaskin- Washington
9) Bennie Snell Jr.- Kentucky
10) Elijah Holyfield- Georgia
WRs
1) D.K. Metcalf- Ole Miss
2) Hakeem Butler-Iowa State
3) N'keal Harry- Arizona State
4) Kelvin Harmon- NC State
5) Deebo Samuel- South Carolina
6) A.J. Brown- Ole Miss
7) JJ Arcega-Whiteside-Stanford
8) Riley Ridley- Georgia
9) Marquise Brown-Oklahoma
10) Terry McLaurin- Ohio State
11) Parris Campbell- Ohio State
12) DaMarkus Lodge- Ole Miss
13) Emanuel Hall- Missouri
14) Andy Isabella- UMASS
15) Antoine Wesley- Texas Tech
TEs
1) Noah Fant- Iowa
2) T.J. Hockenson-Iowa
3) Irv Smith Jr.-Alabama
4) Jace Sternberger- Texas A&M
5) Dawson Knox-Ole Miss
6) Dax Raymond- Utah State
7) Josh Oliver- San Jose State
8) Foster Moreau-LSU
9) Kaden Smith-Stanford
10) Isaac Nauta-Georgia
OTs
1) Jawaan Taylor-Florida
2) Jonah Williams-Alabama
3) Dalton Risner-Kansas State
4) Michael Deiter-Wisconsin
5) Yodny Cajuste- West Virginia
6) Andre Dillard-Washington State
7) David Edwards-Wisconsin
8) Tytus Howard-Alabama State
9) Chuma Edoga-USC
10) Greg Little-Ole Miss
C/OGs
1) Garrett Bradbury-NC State
2) Cody Ford-Oklahoma
3) Chris Lindstrom-Boston College
4) Erik McCoy-Texas A&M
5) Dru Samia-Oklahoma
6) Ben Powers-Oklahoma
7) Elgton Jenkins-Miss State
8) Nate Davis-Charlotte
9) Connor McGovern-Penn State
10) Beau Benzschawel-Wisconsin
Monday, April 8, 2019
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Broncos Add Bryce Callahan and other moves in Free Agency
Here are some of the moves the Broncos made in recent days of free agency....
Signed:
-Bryce Callahan-CB: Callahan had a breakout season last year in Chicago under Vic Fangio, so it made sense for him to come to Denver. Callahan helps bolster the Broncos secondary and joins newly signed Kareem Jackson and longtime Bronco Chris Harris in that group. This is a great move and to reunite Callahan with Fangio is a perfect move.
-Jeff Heuerman-TE: The Broncos re-signed Heuerman, who showed some flashes at times last year. He has been injured throughout his career, but it was a solid move to bring him back.
-Zach Kerr-DT: Kerr is another player to re-sign with Denver. Kerr brings depth to the defensive line, and you can never have enough depth and big bodies in that unit, so it was nice to bring back a familiar face.
Signed:
-Bryce Callahan-CB: Callahan had a breakout season last year in Chicago under Vic Fangio, so it made sense for him to come to Denver. Callahan helps bolster the Broncos secondary and joins newly signed Kareem Jackson and longtime Bronco Chris Harris in that group. This is a great move and to reunite Callahan with Fangio is a perfect move.
-Jeff Heuerman-TE: The Broncos re-signed Heuerman, who showed some flashes at times last year. He has been injured throughout his career, but it was a solid move to bring him back.
-Zach Kerr-DT: Kerr is another player to re-sign with Denver. Kerr brings depth to the defensive line, and you can never have enough depth and big bodies in that unit, so it was nice to bring back a familiar face.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Broncos Free Agency Moves
The Broncos started free agency with a number of moves to improve their roster. Here are my thoughts on the signings the Broncos have made so far....
1) Kareem Jackson-CB: Jackson comes over from Houston and he will be a starter opposite of Chris Harris Jr. Jackson can play outside corner, slot corner, nickel, and even some safety. The Broncos essentially swapped Jackson for Bradley Roby, who left to go to the Texans.
2) Ju'Wuan James-RT: James comes over from Miami and the Broncos gave him a massive deal at RT. Hopefully, this finally solves the revolving door at RT for the Broncos. James comes off his best year last season.
1) Kareem Jackson-CB: Jackson comes over from Houston and he will be a starter opposite of Chris Harris Jr. Jackson can play outside corner, slot corner, nickel, and even some safety. The Broncos essentially swapped Jackson for Bradley Roby, who left to go to the Texans.
2) Ju'Wuan James-RT: James comes over from Miami and the Broncos gave him a massive deal at RT. Hopefully, this finally solves the revolving door at RT for the Broncos. James comes off his best year last season.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Broncos Free Agency Primer
As we head into March, free agency will get going in then NFL next week, and there will be trades, signings, and more draft chatter as a result. Since this is the calm before the storm, let's do a quick mailbag about what the Broncos might do once free agency starts.....
What are the positions that the Broncos need to address in free agency?
The Broncos need to address Inside Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety, Offensive Line, and Tight End. Those are the spots they should be looking at. The top players in those spots include C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander, Jordan Hicks, and Denzel Perryman. The top CBs available are: Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, Pierre Desir, Kareem Jackson, and Steven Nelson. The top Safety players available include Landon Collins, Adrian Amos, Earl Thomas, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, and Lamarcus Joyner. The Broncos might go the bargain-basement route, but I would start with trying to get one of those free agents into the fold.
What players are the Broncos in danger of losing in free agency?
The Broncos are going to let Matt Paradis hit the market, and I think they will lose him to free agency. I think he will get a better deal out on the open market. I also think that the Broncos will lose Shaq Barrett. I think Barrett wants a chance to be a starter, and he will find a deal that gives him that once the market opens next week. I think Bradley Roby will get paid out of necessity, and I think his contract numbers will be too high and he will walk. I think Shane Ray will leave as well, but Ray never made a big impact in his time in Denver. Jeff Heuerman could go as well, but I would like to see him stay, but he might get a big deal somewhere else.
What happens with Case Keenum and Brandon Marshall?
I think the Broncos will try to trade Keenum, but I think they will eventually release him. They will eat the $7 million in dead cap money, but they will save $10 million. I think Marshall will be let go as well after not coming up with a restructured cap number.
Will the Broncos trade for Antonio Brown?
It is has been reported that the Broncos will try to trade for Brown, but I would be shocked if they made this move. I just don't see it happening. I think the Broncos are better off without him. They don't need Brown's bullshit on this team. Emmanuel Sanders is coming back, and the trio of Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Daesean Hamilton is young and promising.
What are the positions that the Broncos need to address in free agency?
The Broncos need to address Inside Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety, Offensive Line, and Tight End. Those are the spots they should be looking at. The top players in those spots include C.J. Mosley, Kwon Alexander, Jordan Hicks, and Denzel Perryman. The top CBs available are: Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, Pierre Desir, Kareem Jackson, and Steven Nelson. The top Safety players available include Landon Collins, Adrian Amos, Earl Thomas, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, and Lamarcus Joyner. The Broncos might go the bargain-basement route, but I would start with trying to get one of those free agents into the fold.
What players are the Broncos in danger of losing in free agency?
The Broncos are going to let Matt Paradis hit the market, and I think they will lose him to free agency. I think he will get a better deal out on the open market. I also think that the Broncos will lose Shaq Barrett. I think Barrett wants a chance to be a starter, and he will find a deal that gives him that once the market opens next week. I think Bradley Roby will get paid out of necessity, and I think his contract numbers will be too high and he will walk. I think Shane Ray will leave as well, but Ray never made a big impact in his time in Denver. Jeff Heuerman could go as well, but I would like to see him stay, but he might get a big deal somewhere else.
What happens with Case Keenum and Brandon Marshall?
I think the Broncos will try to trade Keenum, but I think they will eventually release him. They will eat the $7 million in dead cap money, but they will save $10 million. I think Marshall will be let go as well after not coming up with a restructured cap number.
Will the Broncos trade for Antonio Brown?
It is has been reported that the Broncos will try to trade for Brown, but I would be shocked if they made this move. I just don't see it happening. I think the Broncos are better off without him. They don't need Brown's bullshit on this team. Emmanuel Sanders is coming back, and the trio of Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and Daesean Hamilton is young and promising.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Broncos Trade for Joe Flacco
The Broncos made a big move when they traded a 4th round pick to Baltimore for QB Joe Flacco. Everyone knew that Flacco would be on the move, but I think a lot of Broncos fans were surprised that John Elway made the move to get Flacco-especially since Gary Kubiak was not brought back as offensive coordinator. But, in typical Elway fashion, the Broncos look to get a quick upgrade at the QB position, and they turn to the 34 year old Flacco to help them in that area. It looks like Case Keenum will be either traded or released after only one year as the Broncos QB. Here are my thoughts on this trade............
-I was surprised when I found out about the trade and I wasn't very excited about it at all. I'm not a big Flacco fan, especially after the last four years, and this trade doesn't get me too pumped up for next year or for this offense.
-I understand why Elway did this move, and it does provide a slight upgrade at QB. I would take Flacco over Case Keenum, but it is not that much of an upgrade. It is going from a C to a C+ at the QB position in my opinion.
-I still don't understand why Elway is afraid to go young at the QB spot. Look at all the young QBs who were drafted and have played well enough to make their teams successful (Mahomes, Trusbisky, Watson, Goff, Wentz etc...) Just because Elways whiffed on Paxton Lynch doesn't mean he shouldn't draft another young QB early ever again. We know what we are getting with Flacco, but he doesn't provide a long term answer at QB.
-I have no problem moving on from Case Keenum, but I don't like the idea of having about $7 million of dead money on the cap.
-The best part about the Flacco move is that it will cost $18.5 million this year, but none of his salary is guaranteed. The Broncos can part ways with Flacco at any point and it will not cost them anything or leave any dead money. That is the only part of this deal that is a true win for me.
-I was surprised when I found out about the trade and I wasn't very excited about it at all. I'm not a big Flacco fan, especially after the last four years, and this trade doesn't get me too pumped up for next year or for this offense.
-I understand why Elway did this move, and it does provide a slight upgrade at QB. I would take Flacco over Case Keenum, but it is not that much of an upgrade. It is going from a C to a C+ at the QB position in my opinion.
-I still don't understand why Elway is afraid to go young at the QB spot. Look at all the young QBs who were drafted and have played well enough to make their teams successful (Mahomes, Trusbisky, Watson, Goff, Wentz etc...) Just because Elways whiffed on Paxton Lynch doesn't mean he shouldn't draft another young QB early ever again. We know what we are getting with Flacco, but he doesn't provide a long term answer at QB.
-I have no problem moving on from Case Keenum, but I don't like the idea of having about $7 million of dead money on the cap.
-The best part about the Flacco move is that it will cost $18.5 million this year, but none of his salary is guaranteed. The Broncos can part ways with Flacco at any point and it will not cost them anything or leave any dead money. That is the only part of this deal that is a true win for me.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Vic Fangio and the Broncos New Coaching Staff
New Broncos Head Coach Vic Fangio has completed his coaching staff for the 2019 season. It is a mix of young and old coaches some with a lot of years of experience and some with some new key roles. Here is the staff
Head Coach: Vic Fangio
Offensive Coordinator: Rich Scangarello
Offensive Line Coach: Mike Munchak
Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Chris Kuper
Quarterbacks Coach: T.C. McCartney
Wide Receivers Coach: Zach Azzanni
Running Backs Coach: Curtis Modkins
Tight Ends Coach: Wade Harman
Offensive Assistant: Rob Calabrese
Defensive Coordinator: Ed Donatell
Defensive Line Coach: Bill Kollar
Linebackers Coach: Reggie Herring
Outside Linebackers Coach: Brandon Staley
Defensive Backs Coach: Renaldo Hill
Defensive Assistant: Chris Beake
Teams Coach: Tom McMahon
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Loren Landow
Head Coach: Vic Fangio
Offensive Coordinator: Rich Scangarello
Offensive Line Coach: Mike Munchak
Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Chris Kuper
Quarterbacks Coach: T.C. McCartney
Wide Receivers Coach: Zach Azzanni
Running Backs Coach: Curtis Modkins
Tight Ends Coach: Wade Harman
Offensive Assistant: Rob Calabrese
Defensive Coordinator: Ed Donatell
Defensive Line Coach: Bill Kollar
Linebackers Coach: Reggie Herring
Outside Linebackers Coach: Brandon Staley
Defensive Backs Coach: Renaldo Hill
Defensive Assistant: Chris Beake
Teams Coach: Tom McMahon
Strength and Conditioning Coach: Loren Landow
Super Bowl LIII Recap and Reaction!
Super Bowl LIII is in the books and the New England Patriots defeated the LA Rams 13-3 to win their 6th Lombardi Trophy. It is also the 6th title for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady together, and the Pats continue to add to their already distinguished history as the greatest dynasty in the history of the NFL and all of sports. The game wasn't the type of game I thought it would be. It was a defensive struggle, but it lacked excitement, intrigue, and it was at times downright boring. Defense is fun to watch, but punting is not. For the biggest stage of the NFL season, this game fell short. Here are my thoughts and observations as we wrap up Super Bowl LIII....
1) Both defenses established themselves. The Rams picked off Tom Brady on the first drive of the game, and the Pats missed a field goal in the 1st quarter. The Rams could do absolutely nothing against this Patriots defense. The Pats and Belichick completely befuddled and stifled the Rams and their offense for most of the game.
2) It was 3-0 at halftime, and I was waiting for the game to pick up and the points to explode. It reminded me of the Panthers-Patriots Super Bowl in the first half. That game got wild and had a lot of scoring in the second half. This just never happened in this game. This game just didn't have enough of those great moments that you would like to have in a Super Bowl. It had the fewest points in a Super Bowl, the fewest points by a winning team, and it was 3-3 going into the 4th quarter. That is unimaginable in the era we are in with the NFL.
3) Outside of the Brady pick and missed field goal in the first half, what else is there to get into in the first part of the game? The game picked up when the Rams finally put together a sustainable drive but Goff waited too long and threw late to a wide open Brandin Cooks in the back of the endzone and the Pats knocked it away. The next play Gronk got sacked and they had to settle for a FG to tie the game at 3 instead of taking a 7-3 lead.
4) The Pats moved the ball effectively down the field and Julian Edelman killed the Rams all day long, and the play of the game was when Brady hit Gronk on a 29 yard completion down to the 2 yard line with 7:36 left to play. Sony Michel capped it off with a 2 yard TD run and the Pats had a 10-3 lead with 7:00 to go. That was the play of the game.
5) The Rams moved it down the field but Belichick dialed up the right blitz at the right time and Goff got intercepted by Stephon Gilmore at the NE 4 with 4:17 to play in the game. That was the game right there, and it capped off a dreadful performance by Goff. Give Belichick credit for using the right blitz and saving it for the right time. Brandin Cooks dropped a pass a play earlier that would have been the tying touchdown. It hit him right in the hands over his shoulder as the defensive back was closing in on him. Goff was pretty bad all game, but this was his best throw of the night and Cooks couldn't hold on. That play will haunt the Rams all offseason.
6) The Pats ran the ball right down the throat of the Rams on a 9 play 72 yard drive and Gostkowski hit a 41 yard FG to give the Pats a 13-3 lead with only 1:12 to play in the game. The Rams did move the ball into NE territory and Greg Zuerlein missed a 48 yard field goal with 5 seconds left and all that was left for NE to secure the win was one kneeldown.
7) Sean McVay has done a great job with the Rams the last two years, and he got them to a Super Bowl in year two, so they are headed in the right direction. but he got badly out-coached and had a bad night all around. Hopefully, he will learn from this experience and spend all offseason working on adjustments to his team and his offense in preparation for 2019. He has to come up with something else when the Rams offense gets thrown off their game like they did in this Super Bowl. The Rams also have to figure out how to get Jared Goff to play better against the top defenses and teams in the NFL. We saw how he struggled this year against the Bears, Eagles, and the Pats in the Super Bowl. Goff has to take that next step. Give Wade Phillips credit for his gameplan and the job the defense did on Brady and the Pats offense, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough.
8) The Patriots and Bill Belichick proved once again how special they are. They looked like they were in trouble in December, and a lot of people, including myself, thought they would have trouble getting out of the Divisional Round, but they played their best football at the right time and won another Super Bowl. Belichick deserves all the credit for getting this team to the Super Bowl and winning another one, and the gameplan he put in for the Rams was terrific and executed perfectly. It was another dominating coaching performance by Belichick. Brady got his 6th Lombardi Trophy in a game that he did not play well, but it doesn't matter. Six Super Bowl titles is amazing for him and he will go down as the greatest QB to ever play the game.
9) I actually rewatched the game on Monday night on NFL Network to see if there was anything that I missed or if I would appreciate it more on a second viewing, but the game did nothing for me. It was a boring game, and it reminded me of some of those 1970s Super Bowls that ended in scores like 16-13, 16-6, and 14-7. If you took the Bears-Eagles 16-15 Wild Card game and replaced it with this game, then it would have been way more entertaining. Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and the Patriots was 7-3 going into the 4th quarter and finished 17-14, and it was way more exciting than this game ever was.
1) Both defenses established themselves. The Rams picked off Tom Brady on the first drive of the game, and the Pats missed a field goal in the 1st quarter. The Rams could do absolutely nothing against this Patriots defense. The Pats and Belichick completely befuddled and stifled the Rams and their offense for most of the game.
2) It was 3-0 at halftime, and I was waiting for the game to pick up and the points to explode. It reminded me of the Panthers-Patriots Super Bowl in the first half. That game got wild and had a lot of scoring in the second half. This just never happened in this game. This game just didn't have enough of those great moments that you would like to have in a Super Bowl. It had the fewest points in a Super Bowl, the fewest points by a winning team, and it was 3-3 going into the 4th quarter. That is unimaginable in the era we are in with the NFL.
3) Outside of the Brady pick and missed field goal in the first half, what else is there to get into in the first part of the game? The game picked up when the Rams finally put together a sustainable drive but Goff waited too long and threw late to a wide open Brandin Cooks in the back of the endzone and the Pats knocked it away. The next play Gronk got sacked and they had to settle for a FG to tie the game at 3 instead of taking a 7-3 lead.
4) The Pats moved the ball effectively down the field and Julian Edelman killed the Rams all day long, and the play of the game was when Brady hit Gronk on a 29 yard completion down to the 2 yard line with 7:36 left to play. Sony Michel capped it off with a 2 yard TD run and the Pats had a 10-3 lead with 7:00 to go. That was the play of the game.
5) The Rams moved it down the field but Belichick dialed up the right blitz at the right time and Goff got intercepted by Stephon Gilmore at the NE 4 with 4:17 to play in the game. That was the game right there, and it capped off a dreadful performance by Goff. Give Belichick credit for using the right blitz and saving it for the right time. Brandin Cooks dropped a pass a play earlier that would have been the tying touchdown. It hit him right in the hands over his shoulder as the defensive back was closing in on him. Goff was pretty bad all game, but this was his best throw of the night and Cooks couldn't hold on. That play will haunt the Rams all offseason.
6) The Pats ran the ball right down the throat of the Rams on a 9 play 72 yard drive and Gostkowski hit a 41 yard FG to give the Pats a 13-3 lead with only 1:12 to play in the game. The Rams did move the ball into NE territory and Greg Zuerlein missed a 48 yard field goal with 5 seconds left and all that was left for NE to secure the win was one kneeldown.
7) Sean McVay has done a great job with the Rams the last two years, and he got them to a Super Bowl in year two, so they are headed in the right direction. but he got badly out-coached and had a bad night all around. Hopefully, he will learn from this experience and spend all offseason working on adjustments to his team and his offense in preparation for 2019. He has to come up with something else when the Rams offense gets thrown off their game like they did in this Super Bowl. The Rams also have to figure out how to get Jared Goff to play better against the top defenses and teams in the NFL. We saw how he struggled this year against the Bears, Eagles, and the Pats in the Super Bowl. Goff has to take that next step. Give Wade Phillips credit for his gameplan and the job the defense did on Brady and the Pats offense, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough.
8) The Patriots and Bill Belichick proved once again how special they are. They looked like they were in trouble in December, and a lot of people, including myself, thought they would have trouble getting out of the Divisional Round, but they played their best football at the right time and won another Super Bowl. Belichick deserves all the credit for getting this team to the Super Bowl and winning another one, and the gameplan he put in for the Rams was terrific and executed perfectly. It was another dominating coaching performance by Belichick. Brady got his 6th Lombardi Trophy in a game that he did not play well, but it doesn't matter. Six Super Bowl titles is amazing for him and he will go down as the greatest QB to ever play the game.
9) I actually rewatched the game on Monday night on NFL Network to see if there was anything that I missed or if I would appreciate it more on a second viewing, but the game did nothing for me. It was a boring game, and it reminded me of some of those 1970s Super Bowls that ended in scores like 16-13, 16-6, and 14-7. If you took the Bears-Eagles 16-15 Wild Card game and replaced it with this game, then it would have been way more entertaining. Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and the Patriots was 7-3 going into the 4th quarter and finished 17-14, and it was way more exciting than this game ever was.
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