HEADLINES

PFR Originals News & Rumors

Poll: Will Eagles Regret Carson Wentz Deal?

June 7th, 2019 at 10:10am CST by Zachary Links

On Thursday night, the Eagles and Carson Wentz reached agreement on a massive new contract. The four-year add-on is worth $128MM in total with upwards of $107MM in overall guarantees. Meanwhile, Wentz reportedly gets $66MM guaranteed at signing, a huge haul for a player who has finished the last two seasons on IR.

Wentz nearly captured the league’s MVP trophy in 2017 before a season-ending ACL tear sidelined him and cleared the way for Nick Foles‘ legendary run to the Super Bowl. It was a similar story (albeit with a different ending) in 2018 – Wentz managed to throw for 21 touchdowns against seven interceptions in eleven games last year, but a back injury forced him to cede the starting role to Foles once again.

Wentz’ injury history is cause for concern, but the Eagles have doubled down with this colossal new deal. The club no longer has Foles as a safety net and Wentz, the former No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft, is now the first QB in the NFL signed through the 2024 season.

Of course, the market for top-end quarterbacks advances rapidly, so Wentz’s $32MM average annual value might not seem like a big deal by the time he enters Year Two of the extension. And, if Wentz returns to MVP-level form, it will prove to be a rather reasonable contract for the Eagles.

Ultimately, do you see this deal backfiring for Howie Roseman & Co.? Cast your vote below (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comment section.

Will Eagles Regret The Carson Wentz Deal?
Yes 60.82% (1,124 votes)
No 39.18% (724 votes)
Total Votes: 1,848

Poll: Which 2018 First Place Team Is Likeliest To Miss Playoffs In 2019?

June 4th, 2019 at 6:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

In 2018, three first-place teams from the previous season did not earn postseason berths. Those clubs — the Steelers, Jaguars, and Vikings — each missed the playoffs for different reasons. Injuries, poor luck, off-field issues, and plain old regression to the mean all contributed in certain instances, and 2019 doesn’t figure to be any different for the 2018 first-place teams.

We’ve already asked PFR readers which 2018 last place team is likeliest to make the postseason in 2019 (the Jaguars were the top choice). Today, we’ll flip that question: which 2018 first place club is going to miss the playoffs during the upcoming campaign?

Let’s take an overview of the teams:

New England Patriots

You don’t need me to tell you the Patriots have dominated the AFC East for the better part of two decades. They’ve won 10 consecutive division titles, and have finished first in 16 of the last 18 campaigns. New England is still considered the favorites to win the 2020 Super Bowl, despite losing players like Rob Gronkowski, Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, and Malcom Brown during the offseason. While the Jets and Bills have each improved and built around young quarterbacks, the AFC East is still unquestionably the Patriots’ to lose.

Baltimore Ravens

After turning over their offense to rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson against the Bengals in Week 11, the Ravens managed to rebound from a 4-5 start to win six of their final seven games, edging out the Steelers for the AFC North crown in the process. Pittsburgh should still contend in 2019 despite trading Antonio Brown and allowing Le’Veon Bell to walk in free agency, but Baltimore’s real competition is the Browns, who are now favored to win the division after adding Odell Beckham Jr., Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, and others over the past several months.

Houston Texans

The Texans have quietly won the AFC South in three of the past four seasons under head coach Bill O’Brien, but their path will be extremely difficult next season. The Colts are building for long-term success and are the division favorites in 2019, while the Jaguars and Titans could also be in the running. Wide receiver Will Fuller‘s return from a torn ACL should help quarterback Deshaun Watson, but if the third-year signal-caller can’t stay upright behind what is still a sub-par offensive line, Houston may not have a chance.

Kansas City Chiefs

After nearly advancing to the Super Bowl a season ago, the Chiefs enter the 2019 season with change in the air. Not only did Kansas City make two separate franchise edge defender trades (shipping Dee Ford to the 49ers while acquiring Frank Clark from the Seahawks), it also added key defensive players like Tyrann Mathieu, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Alex Okafor. The Chiefs’ biggest outstanding question, of course, revolves around wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is still being investigated after being accused of child abuse. At present, it’s unclear if Hill will be suspended or even be on Kansas City’s roster once the regular gets underway.

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas won seven of its final eight games down the stretch after acquiring wideout Amari Cooper from the Raiders, taking the division from the Eagles in the process. As has become the norm, the Cowboys didn’t do much during the offseason. Jerry Jones & Co. re-signed defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, brought tight end Jason Witten out of retirement, and added slot receiver Randall Cobb, but otherwise kept his club intact. Given that the Giants and Redskins don’t look like serious contenders, Dallas will likely battle Philadelphia for the NFC East crown again.

Chicago Bears

The Bears seem to be the current pick for regression in 2019, and it’s not difficult to see why. Chicago was buoyed by its league-best defense last season, and defensive success is historically less stable and less predictive than production on offense. Not only did the Bears lose key defenders like Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan, but star defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is also gone. Chicago will likely need to rely on improvement from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky if it wants to hold off the Packers and Vikings next year.

New Orleans Saints

After posting three consecutive 7-9 seasons from 2014-16, the Saints have manged 24 regular season victories and two NFC South titles over the last two years. New Orleans added two new weapons — tight end Jared Cook and running back Latavius Murray — for Drew Brees, and found both a short-term (Nick Easton) and long-term (Erik McCoy) replacement for recently-retired center Max Unger. On paper, the Saints still look like an incredibly strong team, but their division is one of the toughest in the NFL.

Los Angeles Rams

Fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, the Rams added two free agent defenders in edge rusher Clay Matthews and safety Eric Weddle, but also lost key contributors like Ndamukong Suh, Rodger Saffold, and Lamarcus Joyner. Additionally, Todd Gurley‘s knee condition isn’t likely to allow him to be a bell-cow in 2019, meaning more responsibility will be placed on Jared Goff. Luckily for Los Angeles, none of the other clubs in the NFC West appear ready to dethrone the Rams just yet.

So, what do you think? Which 2018 first place team is likeliest to miss the playoffs in 2019? Vote below! (Link for app users).

Which 2018 first place team won't make the playoffs in 2019?
Baltimore Ravens 33.99% (691 votes)
Dallas Cowboys 22.87% (465 votes)
Chicago Bears 15.64% (318 votes)
Houston Texans 15.35% (312 votes)
Los Angeles Rams 3.94% (80 votes)
Kansas City Chiefs 3.64% (74 votes)
New England Patriots 3.10% (63 votes)
New Orleans Saints 1.48% (30 votes)
Total Votes: 2,033

8 NFL Teams Have Wrapped Up Their Draft Classes

June 4th, 2019 at 8:25am CST by Zachary Links

Roughly one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have signed every player in their draft class, as shown in PFR’s tracker. The front offices of the following clubs have a little bit less on their plate as mandatory minicamps get underway:

  • Cardinals
  • Falcons
  • Browns
  • Lions
  • Chiefs
  • Saints
  • Eagles
  • Steelers

While the league’s rookie slotting system has been criticized by some, there’s no denying that it has streamlined the signing process for the incoming class. Prominent first-round picks like Joey Bosa and Marcus Mariota have squabbled with teams over offset language in recent years and the third round lacks some structure due to flexibility in base salary, but, on the whole, rookies have been quicker to put pen to paper in recent years.

We’ll likely see several more teams wrap up their draft classes before the week is through. The Bills, Bengals, Cowboys, Packers, Texans, Colts, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Seahawks, Titans, and Redskins each have just one straggler remaining. Unsurprisingly, most of those unsigned players are third-rounders. The Vikings are a notable exception – seventh-round pick Austin Cutting is waiting to find out whether the Air Force will permit him to play instead of immediately fulfilling his two-year service requirement.

This Date In Transactions History: Chiefs Release Jeremy Maclin

June 3rd, 2019 at 11:01am CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2017, the Chiefs shocked the football world with their release of Jeremy Maclin. Despite a down 2016, Maclin still profiled as one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL and was slated to enter the year as the Chiefs No. 1 wideout. 

At the time of his release, Maclin was still only 29 and was not far removed from his 1,000-yard+ 2015 campaign. There was some logic in the move – cutting Maclin loose saved the Chiefs $10MM in cap space with just $2.4MM left in dead money, but the veteran surely would have preferred to be released in March, when there was more available money around the NFL.

Maclin never got the opportunity to justify his hefty five-year, $55MM deal in Kansas City, and he clearly wasn’t the same player when he moved on to the Ravens in 2017. Maclin finished out with just 40 catches for 440 yards for an average of eleven yards per grab – all career lows.

With Maclin out of the picture, the Chiefs were able to put a larger focus on rising sophomore Tyreek Hill. Hill was something of a gadget player as a rookie, but he truly broke out in 2017 with a 75/1,183/7 line.

Today, Hill’s football future is in limbo, but, from a football perspective, the decision to move on from Maclin proved to be a wise one. The Chiefs have boasted one of the league’s most potent aerial attacks for the last two seasons thanks in large part to Hill and a younger group of targets. Meanwhile, Maclin spent 2018 out of football before announcing his retirement earlier this year.

This Date In Transactions History: Panthers Extend Cam Newton

June 2nd, 2019 at 7:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

During what became the best year in Panthers franchise history, the team took care of its centerpiece player. On June 2, 2015, the Panthers and Cam Newton reached an agreement on a five-year extension.

This deal preceded Newton’s monster 2015 season, a year that saw him pilot the Panthers to a 15-1 record and Super Bowl 50. The extension turned out to be incredibly team-friendly — especially as the quarterback market exploded in the years that followed. Newton signed a five-year, $103.8MM contract that came with $41MM fully guaranteed.

At that point, Aaron Rodgers‘ five-year, $110MM pact — agreed to in 2013 — remained the standard. And the market did not move much for the next two years. Both Andrew Luck and Derek Carr took it higher, with the latter’s extension spiking it to the $25MM-per-year mark. Now, having Newton on a $20.8MM-AAV deal is a staggering bargain for the Panthers — regardless of the 30-year-old quarterback’s situation — and represents a mark in the win column of embattled GM Dave Gettleman. The since-fired Carolina GM did not draft Newton but oversaw the extension process.

Matthew Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, Rodgers and Russell Wilson led to the passer market ballooning to its current place, with Wilson’s $35MM-AAV accord pacing the NFL. In between Carr’s deal in June 2017 and Wilson’s April 2019 re-up, the landscape has changed significantly. Newton is now the NFL’s 16th-highest-paid passer. His full-guarantee number ranks 11th. Both Ryan and Cousins more than doubled it in their most recent deals.

Newton has not come close to replicating his 2015 MVP performance, which featured 35 touchdown passes (11 more than any other season), 636 rushing yards and 10 TDs, and a 66.0 QBR. The former No. 1 overall pick regressed in 2016 and ’17, failing to top 22 touchdown passes or the No. 21 spot in QBR in either slate. The Auburn phenom was faring well in Norv Turner‘s offense last season, but another shoulder injury halted his progress and has forced a second lengthy rehab process in three years.

Two years remain, with cap numbers of $23.2MM and $21.1MM, on Newton’s contract. He is not in a strong bargaining position right now, reinjuring his shoulder and having just resumed throwing regulation-sized footballs. But if Newton returns to the form he showed to start last season, extension talks figure to transpire in 2020. The Panthers used a third-round pick on Will Grier but remain committed to Newton as their starter.

That said, this will be a key season for the three-time Pro Bowler — particularly from a health standpoint. If 2019 does not go well, the Panthers could get out of Newton’s deal with merely a $2MM dead-money charge. Although, if the team wanted to change course after nine years of Newton, this contract (and the passer’s talent) would not make for difficult trade talks. But we’re obviously a ways away from that potential reality. The most successful quarterback in Panthers history will have a chance to rebuild his value soon.

PFR Originals: 5/26/19 – 6/2/19

June 2nd, 2019 at 5:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:

  • With five franchises set to deploy new starting quarterbacks this year, and among those multiple teams having not yet decided on a starter, I asked which of the new signal-caller investments will work out most in 2019. Thus far, readers view the Jaguars’ Nick Foles selection as the one that will pay off most immediately. Interestingly, Las Vegas’ offensive rookie of the year favorite, Kyler Murray, sits fourth.
  • As post-June 1 cut money became available, Ben Levine provided a refresher on how this type of transaction works. Of the teams that made this type of release, the Chiefs — with $9.55MM due to their Eric Berry cut — saw the biggest 2019 cap-space spike.
  • The Bills may have an entirely new offensive line this year, with a host of outside investments now on the team and 2018 starters possibly at different positions. Dallas Robinson took an expansive look at how Buffalo managed to revamp its front. This new line, and the additions the franchise made to its receiving corps, figures to enhance Josh Allen‘s 2019 capabilities.
  • More than 200 rookies have signed their deals. Many of the stragglers are, unsurprisingly, third-round picks. Zach Links took a look at where the 2019 crop of unsigned rookies stands.
  • Going along with the Foles intrigue, there certainly appears to be a belief among the PFR community the Jaguars can return to their pre-2018 trajectory. Dallas asked readers which 2018 last-place team is most likely to book a playoff berth this season. The Jags are the runaway leaders, with the Raiders’ new acquisitions likely influencing their portion of the vote.
  • Follow along where the Jets are in their general manager search process with PFR’s 2019 general manager search tracker. A key candidate wrapped up his two-day interview Sunday.
  • Only one running back went off this year’s board in the first round, but Zach’s poll asking which of this year’s rookie runners will finish with the most yards did not produce Josh Jacobs by a wide margin — as last year’s did for Saquon Barkley. Instead, Bears third-rounder David Montgomery has plenty of believers.
  • Before his lengthy career with the Steelers, Ryan Clark began his NFL run with the Giants. Ben continued PFR’s “This Week in Transactions History” series looking at the day Big Blue cut ties with the future Super Bowl-winning safety. He spent two years in Washington before finding his way to Pittsburgh.

Poll: Which Team’s New QB Will Have Best Season?

June 1st, 2019 at 4:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

While this offseason did not bring quite the same level of quarterback movement 2018’s did, a handful of teams will deploy new starters. Draft choices, trade acquisitions and free agent signings will be given the keys to offenses that struggled last season.

The Broncos, Cardinals, Dolphins, Jaguars and Redskins made moves to fortify their quarterback jobs. Which team’s investment will work out best?

Denver will use a different starting quarterback for the third straight year. Joe Flacco is set to be the Broncos’ fourth starter since Peyton Manning‘s retirement. While his QBR figure (58.7) was better than any the former Ravens starter had posted since a quality 2014 season, Flacco still ranked 20th in that metric last season. Having never made a Pro Bowl and fresh off back-to-back years featuring injury trouble, with a back problem limiting him during the 2017 offseason and a hip injury beginning the Lamar Jackson era, the 34-year-old starter will try to revive his career in Denver. Flacco, though, is the most accomplished quarterback the Broncos have employed since Manning.

The other surefire veteran starter acquired this year, Foles will have his first chance to be a team’s unquestioned first-stringer since 2015. The 30-year-old flourished in his second Philadelphia stint, submitting an all-time postseason run in 2017 and helping the Eagles back to the playoffs last season. A 2013 Pro Bowler, Foles will take over a Jaguars team that does not possess the kind of aerial weaponry recent Eagles rosters did. Jacksonville is in line to have Marqise Lee back from a torn ACL, but the team’s wideouts and tight ends will place additional emphasis on Foles living up to his contract. With the Rams in 2015, Foles threw seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions before being benched.

Kyler Murray represents the other locked-in starter added this offseason. The electric one-year Oklahoma starter accomplished about as much as a college passer can in a single season, turning in Division I-FBS’ second-ever 4,000-1,000 season en route to Heisman Trophy honors. Working with Kliff Kingsbury, Larry Fitzgerald and a host of young wide receivers, Murray is the centerpiece of one of the most daring experiments an NFL team has attempted.

The Cardinals turned the keys over to a sub-.500 college coach and a 5-foot-10 signal-caller — the first sub-6-foot passer to be chosen in Round 1. Arizona trotted out the league’s worst scoring and total offense last season, however, and sported a skeleton-crew offensive line by year’s end. The Cards added new starters Marcus Gilbert and J.R. Sweezy up front. Due to the lack of precedent behind this move, it is hard to tell how Murray will fare. But the unique talent has opened as Las Vegas’ offensive rookie of the year favorite.

Washington and Miami have not committed to a starting quarterback yet, but it is fairly safe to project Dwayne Haskins and Josh Rosen will see extensive time. While Case Keenum and Ryan Fitzpatrick could log starts, with the latter possibly even on track to do so, the Redskins have liked what their first-round pick has done so far and the Dolphins will need to see Rosen in games to help determine if they will consider a first-round QB in 2020. On the heels of a 50-touchdown pass season, the Ohio State product sits second in offensive rookie of the year odds. Although only eight passers have won this award since 1957, seven such instances have occurred since 2004.

Both Daniel Jones and Drew Lock could factor into their respective teams’ mixes later in the season. Of the 13 first-round QBs taken over the past four years, only Patrick Mahomes and Paxton Lynch were not promoted to the starting role as rookies. (Though, Eli Manning is not your typical stopgap.) Lock was projected by most as a first-rounder, and Flacco ceded his role to the No. 32 overall pick last year. So the 12th-year veteran’s grip on Denver’s job should be considered tenuous.

Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.

New Poll
Nick Foles 28.48% (407 votes)
Joe Flacco 24.35% (348 votes)
Kyler Murray 13.72% (196 votes)
Dwayne Haskins 13.58% (194 votes)
Josh Rosen 10.57% (151 votes)
Ryan Fitzpatrick 3.08% (44 votes)
Daniel Jones 2.24% (32 votes)
Drew Lock 2.17% (31 votes)
Case Keenum 1.82% (26 votes)
Total Votes: 1,429

Four NFL Teams Set To Receive Cap Space

June 1st, 2019 at 10:15am CST by Ben Levine

Four teams are set to receive some cap space tomorrow due to post-June 1st cuts, as ESPN’s Field Yates points out on Twitter. Those clubs include:

Way back in the day, our own Luke Adams explained all of the nuances of the June 1st designation. In simplest terms, a team’s salary cap can account for a released-player’s bonuses based on two separate time periods.

If a player is designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining bonus money is immediately added to the upcoming year’s cap. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com uses the 2013 release of Steve Breaston (Chiefs) as an example. The wide receiver only completed two years of his five-year contract, meaning he was only paid $2MM of his $5MM bonus. Therefore, since he was designated for release prior to June 1st, the remaining $3MM in bonus money was added to the Chiefs’ 2013 salary cap.

However, if the player is designated for release after June 1st, then the player’s current-year bonus remains the same for that respective year (in regards to the salary cap) . The rest of that bonus money would then be added to the following year’s cap. So, using Breaston as an example, if the Chiefs had designated him for release after June 1st, then the team would have seen his $1MM bonus money added to their salary cap in 2013. Then, in 2014, the remaining $2MM would be accounted for.

So why were teams announcing these releases prior to today? Well, the NFL allows each team to designate two players as a post-June 1st cut. This provides the player with more time to find their next gig. This was seemingly a concession by the teams, as they benefit via the salary-cap relief.

For the Bears, Chiefs, Falcons, and Panthers, this added cap space will be especially useful as they look to sign their draft picks or extend their current players. These teams could also be looking to clear some space for a free agent acquisition, as the Panthers are presumably doing for Gerald McCoy.

How The Bills Revamped Their Offensive Line In A Single Offseason

May 30th, 2019 at 6:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

There’s little question offensive line continuity is an important facet of any winning NFL team’s success. As Thomas Emerick of the Sporting News and Rotoviz recently examined, many of the league’s best front fives – including the Eagles, Steelers, Colts, Ravens, and Bears — are set to return all five starters in 2019. Given that the offensive line is an extremely cerebral position group where all five members are consistently working as one, it makes sense that the most productive lines are those were familiarity is a constant.

But what about when things go wrong? The 2018 Bills ranked 30th in adjusted line yards, Football Outsiders’ attempt to filter out what part of a team’s rushing performance can be attributed specifically to its linemen. While Buffalo finished in the middle of the pack with 41 sacks allowed, they ranked just 23rd in adjusted sack rate, which accounts for down, distance, and opponent. The Bills ended the season as a bottom-five club in pressure rate allowed, and Pro Football Focus listed Buffalo as a bottom-seven offensive line in overall grading.

The Bills’ struggles can’t be blamed on offensive line changes. As Vincent Verhei of FO wrote in April, Buffalo actually ranked 10th in offensive line continuity score, which factors in the number of starters a team used, the number of weekly changes to its front five, and the longest starting streak of any single five-man unit. The Bills can’t point to injuries, either, as they finished with only 5.5 adjusted games lost along their offensive line, sixth-best in the NFL.

So what exactly was the problem for the Bills’ line last season? Frankly, it was a question of talent. Buffalo didn’t have a single offensive lineman grade among PFF’s top-60 OLs, while only one — left tackle Dion Dawkins — ranked top-90 positionally. Non-starting-caliber players such as Russell Bodine, Jordan Mills, Vlad Ducasse, and Ryan Groy each played more than 500 snaps a season ago.

In order to rectify their offensive line issues, the Bills deployed an interesting offseason plan: throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Buffalo struck quickly in February, signing interior veteran Spencer Long just a week after he’d been released by the division-rival Jets. Long is no world-beater, but he’s got 44 games worth of starting experience under his belt, can play center and both guard positions, and will cost less than $4MM against the Bills’ 2019 salary cap before a series of options kick in 2020-21.

The Bills waited until the free agent market officially opened in March before making their big-ticket purchase, inking former Chiefs center Mitch Morse to a four-year, $44.5MM deal that made him the NFL’s highest-paid pivot. The 27-year-old Morse would prove to be Buffalo’s only high-priced addition to its front five, as the club wisely avoided an exploding offensive tackle market that saw Trent Brown reel in $16.5MM annually and Ja’Wuan James collect $12.75MM per year.

Instead, the Bills targeted mid-level veteran contracts to improve their offensive line, a strategy often employed by the Patriots (albeit typically at other positions). Buffalo stole tackle Ty Nsekhe from the rest of the league, signing the 33-year-old away from the Redskins on a two-year deal worth only $10MM. Nsekhe, who didn’t garner regular NFL playing time until he was 30 years old, sat behind two high-quality tackles in Washington but produced whenever he was called upon.

Buffalo didn’t stop there, and continued to add role players throughout the rest of March and April. Former Raiders backup Jon Feliciano came to town on a two-year, $7.25MM pact, tackle LaAdrian Waddle received a one-year, $2MM deal, and 48-game Titans starter Quinton Spain got one year and $2.05MM.

The Bills’ final offensive line improvement came in Round 2 of the draft, when general manager Brandon Beane moved up from No. 40 overall to No. 38 by trading the Raiders a fifth-round pick. That swap enabled Buffalo to select Oklahoma guard/tackle Cody Ford, a prospect whom many analysts had pegged as a first-rounder. In the Bills’ excellent behind-the-scenes draft video, Beane and his staff are seen attempting to trade back into Day 1 for Ford, expressing disappointment when they believed he was headed to the Panthers at No. 37, and registering elation realizing they’ll acquire the ex-Sooner.

Now that Buffalo has added seven offensive linemen capable of starting, the team has some decisions to make. Who exactly will play where? Morse, at center, is seemingly the only player locked into a certain position. At the Bills’ most recent practice sessions, the line has been Dawkins-Long-Feliciano-Wyatt Teller-Ford from left-to-right, but with both Morse and Spain battling injuries, that’s probably not a fair representation of what the front five will look like when the regular season begins. A more realistic guess at the 2019 starting unit might be, from left-to-right, Dawkins-Spain-Morse-Ford-Nsekhe.

An improved offensive line should do wonders for second-year quarterback Josh Allen, who struggled after being selected seventh overall in the 2018 draft. Allen finished 29th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt during his rookie campaign, and his 4.37 mark was the sixth-worst figure by a rookie signal-caller since 2011 (minimum 300 attempts).

While Next Gen Stats charted Allen with the most time to throw in the NFL (3.22 seconds), that was likely a result of the Wyoming product’s scrambling ability — Allen’s legs allowed him to escape the pocket and continue the play until he could attempt a pass. Allen also led the league in both average intended air yards and air yards differential, meaning that while he was attempting a high number of deep throws, Allen wasn’t very effective with such passes. A more established pocket could allow the 23-year-old to go deep with greater efficiency.

And go deep he will. Allen showed late-season rapport with undrafted rookie wideout Robert Foster, who posted 19 receptions, 285 yards, and two touchdowns over the final four games of the season. Per PFF, Foster posted the highest average depth of target of any receiver who played at least 25% of his club’s offensive snaps. Free agent addition John Brown, signed to a three-year, $27MM contract, ranked sixth in aDOT.

Eric Eager and George Chahrouri of Pro Football Focus have researched the tremendous value of simply improving from replacement level to average along the offensive line. In fact, based on their wins above replacement metric, a team will realize a greater benefit from a front five going from below replacement level to average than it would from one that improved from average to elite.

That’s essentially the strategy the Bills have employed this offseason. No new member of their offensive line, not even Morse, qualifies as an elite level player. But Buffalo has significantly raised the overall floor of their offensive line, and could reap the benefits in 2019.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

200 NFL Draft Picks Have Signed

May 30th, 2019 at 10:27am CST by Zachary Links

When Bengals fourth-round quarterback Ryan Finley inked his rookie deal on Thursday, he became the 200th member of the 2019 NFL Draft class to do so. With that, we have only 54 unsigned picks, meaning that nearly 79% of this year’s picks are officially under contract.

[RELATED: 2019 NFL Draft Results By Team]

Unsurprisingly, most of the remaining stragglers are third-round picks. Third round negotiations tend to drag since there is wiggle room when it comes to base salaries. In fact, only ten of this year’s 31 third-rounders have signed as of this writing: Cardinals defensive end Zach Allen, Bills running back Devin Singletary, Panthers quarterback Will Grier, Browns linebacker Sione Takitaki, Jaguars tight end Josh Oliver, Vikings running back Alexander Mattison, Patriots tackle Yodny Cajuste, Jets linebacker Jachai Polite, Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, and 49ers wide receiver Jalen Hurd.

We also have 12 unsigned players in the first-round, which also doesn’t come as a shock. First round picks tend to have the most leverage, which means that agents will often haggle on issues such as offset language. Half of those unsigned first-rounders come from the Raiders and Giants, who have three first-round picks each. It’s possible that the agents for each player are playing a bit of a waiting game to see how the team’s other first-round picks fare when it comes to offsets.

Load More Posts