Jeremiah Attaochu

Broncos To Re-Sign Jeremiah Attaochu

March 23rd, 2020 at 7:42pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Broncos will re-sign edge rusher Jeremiah Attaochu to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Attaochu will earn $1.5MM, per Mike Klis of 9News.

A second-round pick in 2014, Attaochu hasn’t necessarily lived up to that draft billing, but he has carved out an NFL career that’s thus far lasted 61 games. After spending time with the Chargers, 49ers, Jets, and Chiefs, Attaochu latched on with Denver last October, and ended up appearing in 12 games and posting 3.5 sacks.

The Broncos boast one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing duos in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, so Attaochu will return as strict depth. However, he’ll likely be the first man up if either Miller or Chubb goes down.

Broncos To Let Adam Gotsis Hit FA

February 27th, 2020 at 5:58pm CST by Rory Parks

Not too long ago, it seemed as if he Broncos and defensive lineman Adam Gotsis would be entering into a multi-year contract. But Gotsis struggled in 2019 after a promising 2018 campaign, and Mike Klis of 9News.com says Denver will let the 2016 second-rounder hit the open market (Twitter link).

Klis also confirmed that the surgery that ended Gotsis’ 2019 season prematurely was to repair Gotsis’ ACL, and that he may miss the first month of the 2020 season. So Gotsis will almost certainly need to settle for a one-year prove-it deal in an effort to rebuild his value, and it does not like such a deal will be coming from the Broncos.

In other Mile High news, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Broncos will not be bringing back linebacker Corey Nelson. Denver selected Nelson in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, and he entered his second tour of duty with the team when he signed a free agent pact last September. But his season ended after seven games due to a torn bicep.

Similarly, the Broncos are not planning to tender RFA corrner De’Vante Bausby, per Troy Renck of Denver7 (Twitter link). Bausby suffered a frightening neck injury in October that was ultimately diagnosed as a cervical sprain, but he has flashed some ability and is reportedly healthy, so he should find a new home at some point this spring.

Though they are preparing to part with Gotsis, Nelson, and Bausby, the Broncos are interested in bringing back linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, as Klis notes in a separate tweet. In his first year with Denver in 2019, Attaochu started a career-high five games while recording 3.5 sacks, also a career best. However, it does not sound as though the Broncos will re-sign him prior to the opening of free agency and will instead wait until after the first wave of FAs have signed.

Chiefs Place Chad Henne On IR

September 1st, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs carried Chad Henne onto their 53-man roster but will not have him at practice for at least six weeks. Henne will be placed on IR. Matt Moore took his place as Kansas City’s backup quarterback.

Additionally, the Chiefs re-signed Jeff Allen and released Jeremiah Attaochu. The Chiefs released Allen on Saturday. Their former second-round pick already had multiple stints on the roster; he’ll be back as a depth piece up front. The Chiefs signed Attaochu earlier this year, one of several new edge players brought in under DC Steve Spagnuolo.

Henne cannot return to the Chiefs’ active roster for at least eight weeks. The veteran passer recently underwent ankle surgery.

Moore and Patrick Mahomes are the only quarterbacks on Kansas City’s roster. Moore has not played since the 2017 season. The Chiefs, however, signed Kyle Shurmur to their practice squad. A rookie out of Vanderbilt, Shurmur is Giants HC Pat Shurmur’s son.

Chiefs To Sign Jeremiah Attaochu

April 8th, 2019 at 5:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs will add another player to their edge rush mix, bringing in former Chargers and Jets pass rusher Jeremiah Attaochu, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Attaochu joins Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah as new defensive ends in Kansas City’s post-Justin Houston/Dee Ford era. While Attaochu did have some success getting to quarterbacks in San Diego, he has not lived up to his second-round billing.

Registering six sacks for the 2015 Chargers, Attaochu has notched just four since. He collected two with the Jets, before his season ended in mid-December due to injury. Injuries also limited the Georgia Tech product to just four games in 2017.

Just more than a year ago, Attaochu caught on with the 49ers via one-year deal with $2.5MM guaranteed. Attaochu’s Chiefs contract likely does not include that much guaranteed, considering the 49ers cut the edge defender after their preseason slate.

The Chiefs are transitioning from their 3-4 look, which they used for 11 seasons, to Steve Spagnuolo‘s 4-3 defense. Its edge rush figures to be further augmented in the upcoming draft, when the Chiefs hold four picks in the first three rounds. But Attaochu, 26, stands to likely supply depth for the new-look edge corps — one that already houses recent second-round picks Breeland Speaks and Tanoh Kpassagnon.

Jets Place Brandon Shell, Jeremiah Attaochu On IR

December 19th, 2018 at 5:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets have placed offensive tackle Brandon Shell and linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu on injured reserve, the club announced today. To fill its two newly-opened roster spots, New York claimed linebacker Emmanuel Lamur off waivers from the Raiders and promoted linebacker Anthony Wint from the practice squad.

Shell, 26, was a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft and become a full-time starter along the Jets’ offensive line in 2017. While New York’s front five ranks 31st in pass protection and 32nd in run blocking according to Football Outsiders‘ metrics, Shell hasn’t been to blame. Pro Football Focus‘ grades don’t label Shell as an All-Pro, but he ranks a middling 55th among 83 qualifying tackles. He’ll be back in 2019 at a minimum salary.

Attaochu, for his part, has been long on talent but short on production during his five-year NFL career. Drafted out of Georgia Tech as the 50th overall pick in 2014, Attaochu managed only one season as a starter for the Chargers from 2014-17. Injuries have been a problem, as Attaochu played in just 12 total games over his final two years with Los Angeles, but he’s never posted results even when on the field. In 10 games with Gang Green, Attaochu played 22% of the club’s snap and put up two sacks.

Lamur, 29, followed defensive coordinator Paul Guenther from Cincinnati to Oakland this offseason, inking a one-year deal for the minimum to join the Raiders. In nine games (four starts) with Oakland, Lamur registered 13 tackles while playing on roughly a quarter of the team’s defensive snaps. He’ll offer depth and special teams prowess in New York.

Jets Sign DE Jeremiah Attaochu

September 3rd, 2018 at 11:30am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A day after bringing him in for a visit, the Jets are signing defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

The Jets have been looking for pass-rushing help all offseason, and finally found someone they felt good about. After losing out on the Khalil Mack sweepstakes, they settled for Attaochu, recently released by the 49ers.

Attaochu signed a one-year deal with San Francisco back in March, but apparently didn’t show enough to stick. While he never lived up to his draft status and has struggled with injuries at various points, he’s shown he can be a fairly productive pass-rusher when given the chance.

Back in 2015, he started 12 games for the Chargers and notched six sacks, a career high. Given the state of the Jets’ current edge rushers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Attaochu ends up playing a role right away in New York.

Jets Bring In DE Jeremiah Attaochu For Visit

September 2nd, 2018 at 5:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Jets brought in former Chargers and 49ers defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu for a visit, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).

Attaochu, who was released by the 49ers yesterday during final cuts, was a second round pick by the Chargers back in 2014. The Jets have made clear all offseason that they aren’t satisfied with their current group of pass-rushers, so it makes sense they’d look to some recently released veterans for help.

Attaochu signed a one-year deal with San Francisco back in March, but apparently didn’t show enough to stick. While he never lived up to his draft status and has struggled with injuries at various points, he’s shown he can be a fairly productive pass-rusher when given the chance.

Back in 2015, he started 12 games for the Chargers and notched six sacks, a career high. Given the state of the Jets’ current edge rushers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Attaochu lands in New York.

49ers Cut 21 Players, Reach 53-Man Max

September 1st, 2018 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have reached the 53-man roster maximum after releasing 21 players on Saturday afternoon. Here’s the full rundown:

The following players have been released:

DL Jeremiah Attaochu
WR Aaron Burbridge
G Jonathan Cooper (story)
WR Steven Dunbar Jr.
TE Ross Dwelley
DB Antone Exum Jr.
TE Cole Hikutini
FB Malcolm Johnson
OL Andrew Lauderdale
DB Dexter McCoil
CB Tavarus McFadden
RB Jeremy McNichols
CB Emmanuel Moseley
QB Nick Mullens
DB Tyvis Powell
DL Niles Scott
OL Coleman Shelton
LB Pita Taumoepenu
LB Korey Toomer
OL Najee Toran
RB Jeff Wilson Jr.

In addition to those cuts, the Niners also have a few extra spots on their initial 53-man roster thanks to suspensions for wide receiver Victor Bolden and linebacker Reuben Foster. They’ll also be without defensive lineman Kentavius Street as he sits on the NFI list.

49ers Sign LB Jeremiah Attaochu

March 15th, 2018 at 5:02pm CST by Ben Levine

The 49ers have signed linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, reports NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). It’s a one-year deal worth up to $5.125MM, with $2.5MM fully guaranteed.

The 25-year-old had spent his entire four-year career with the Chargers organization after being selected in the second-round of the 2014 draft. The Georgia Tech product didn’t necessarily live up to expectations due his tenure, and missed 24 total games.

Attaochu was limited to only four games in 2017, compiling seven tackles. His best season came in 2015, when he finished with 55 tackles and six sacks. He still made his way onto PFR’s free agent positional rankings, as he was listed 10th among edge defenders.

Top 2018 Free Agents By Position: Defense

March 6th, 2018 at 5:32pm CST by Dallas Robinson

NFL free agency will get underway on Wednesday, March 14th, and while the list of free agents will change between now and then, we do have some idea of who will be available when free agency kicks off. The frenzy is right around the corner and it’s time for us to break down the outlook for each position. After looking at offense on Monday, we’ll tackle defense and special teams today.

Listed below are our rankings for the top 15 free agents at each defensive position. These rankings aren’t necessarily determined by the value of the contracts – or the amount of guaranteed money – that each player is expected to land in free agency. These are simply the players we like the most at each position, with both short- and long-term value taken into account.

Restricted and exclusive-rights free agents, as well as players who received the franchise tag, aren’t listed here, since the roadblocks in place to hinder another team from actually acquiring most of those players prevent them from being true free agents.

We’ll almost certainly be higher or lower on some free agents than you are, so feel free to weigh in below in our comments section to let us know which players we’ve got wrong.

Here’s our breakdown of the current top 15 free agents by defensive position for 2018:

Edge defender:

As a positional group, pass rushers comprise interesting market on the defensive side of the ball. It’s not often that a list of best available players is topped by a 38-year-old, but Peppers is the top free agent edge defender after the Cowboys and Lions deployed the franchise tag on Demarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel Ansah, respectively. As with quarterbacks, NFL clubs are extremely reluctant to allow pass rushers to hit the open market, so top-tier options are rarely ever truly “available.” Peppers, for his part, hasn’t even declared whether he’ll return in 2018, but indications are that he’ll suit up for a 17th campaign after posting 11 sacks last year.

Alongside Peppers, other veterans populate the edge market, and while William Hayes may not be a household name, he’ll be a contributor for whichever team signs him. A stout run defender, Hayes is also capable of generating pressure despite managing only one sack in 2017. The Dolphins used Hayes on only 271 defensive snaps a season ago, and have since replaced him by acquiring fellow defensive end Robert Quinn from the Rams. Now that he’s entering his age-33 season, Hayes should come cheap, but will almost assuredly outplay his contract.

Nearly every other available pass rusher has some sort of flaw which will likely limit his market next week. Trent Murphy is only 27 years old and put up nine sacks in 2016, but he missed the entirety of the 2017 campaign with injury. Pernell McPhee, Alex Okafor, Junior Galette, and Derrick Shelby have also been plagued by health questions in recent seasons. And Adrian Clayborn famously registered the majority of his 2017 sacks (and 20% of his career sack total) in one game against overwhelmed Cowboys backup Chaz Green.

The two names that I keep coming back to are Aaron Lynch (49ers) and Jeremiah Attaochu (Chargers). Yes, Lynch has been suspended for substance abuse, struggled with his weight, and was reportedly in danger of being waived prior to last season. He’s also extremely young (he won’t turn 25 years old until Thursday) and ranked fifth in the league with 34 pass pressures as recently as 2015. Attaochu, a 25-year-old former second-round pick, also has youth on his side, and while he hasn’t quite flashed as much as Lynch, he’s also been buried on LA’s depth chart for much of his career.

Interior defensive line:

Interior rushers are getting more respect in today’s NFL, but that still hasn’t translated to them being paid on the level of edge defenders — the 2018 franchise tag for defensive tackles, for example, is roughly $3MM cheaper than the tender for edge rushers. While the 2018 crop of interior defenders boasts some impressive top-end talent, none of the available players figure to earn a double-digit annual salary. Sheldon Richardson may have the best chance to do so, but Seattle determined he wasn’t worth a one-year cost of $13.939MM, so is any other club going to pay him $10MM per year? I’d guess he comes in closer to $9MM annually, which would still place him among the 25 highest-paid defensive tackles.

Dontari Poe will be an intriguing free agent case after setting for a one-year deal last offseason, but the most interesting battle among defensive tackles will take place Star Lotulelei and Muhammad Wilkerson, and I’m curious to see which player earns more on the open market. Both are former first-round picks, and it’s difficult to argue Wilkerson hasn’t been the more productive player — or, at least, reached higher highs — than Lotulelei. Wilkerson also won’t affect his next team’s compensatory pick formula given that he was released, but his off-field issues, which include a reported lack of effort and problems with coaches, could limit his appeal.

While Beau Allen and Denico Autry are potentially candidates to be overpaid based on their youth, there are bargains to be had at defensive tackle. Tom Johnson is 33 but he’s offered consistent pressure from the interior for years — his last contract was for three years and $7MM, so he shouldn’t cost much this time around. Haloti Ngata was injured in 2017 but plans to continue his career, and he can still stop the run. And Dominique Easley was outstanding as a 3-4 end in 2016 before missing last season with a torn ACL, meaning the former first-round pick could be a value play for any number of teams.Read more

Linebacker:

Although there are a number of high-quality starting linebackers available in free agency this year, I predict most contracts signed by LBs over the next few weeks will come in lower that most expect. The linebacker market is relatively stagnant, and unless the player is a legitimate star or inking an extension with his original club, he’s usually disappointed with his annual value. The most expensive deal for an unrestricted free agent ‘backer who signed with a new team was Bruce Irvin‘s $9.25MM/year pact with the Raiders, and Irvin can almost be considered an edge rusher. After Irvin, it’s Danny Trevathan, whom the Bears signed for a $7MM annual value in 2016.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise if no linebacker listed above is able to top Trevathan’s two-year-old average, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t starting-caliber LBs on the market. Zach Brown, the poster boy for having to accept cheap contracts, is coming off another solid season, but is reportedly asking for top-three inside linebacker money. Good luck. Similarly, Demario Davis is looking for $8-10MM annually, while the Jets — who have interest in re-signing him — view him as a $3-4MM/year player.

Nigel Bradham and NaVorro Bowman should both come in around Trevathan’s $7MM average after posting excellent 2017 campaigns. While the Eagles would surely prefer to re-sign Bradham, the club’s dire cap situation may mean Bradham will hit the open market next Wednesday. Bowman, meanwhile, was traded from the 49ers to Raiders last season, and he seems like a good bet to stay with Oakland after new defensive coordinator Paul Guenther heaped lavish praise on the 29-year-old.

Cornerback:

Top-to-bottom, the cornerback market is the deepest positional group on the defensive side of the ball. Need a No. 1 defensive back with experience in both man and zone? Trumaine Johnson is your guy. How about a top-end cornerback who, while admittedly up-and-down at times, has the ability to shut down opposing wide receivers? Malcolm Butler has you covered. A former first-round pick who has finally played up to his potential over the past two seasons? Take a look at Morris Claiborne. Or is a career journeyman who posted 10 excellent games last year more your speed? Look into Rashaan Melvin.

Slot cornerbacks are also prevalent in this year’s defensive back market, and while I ranked Aaron Colvin, T.J. Carrie, Patrick Robinson, and Nickell Robey-Coleman in order of my preference, they could each be plugged into a starting nickel package immediately. I originally though Robinson could land a disappointing deal given his age (31) and his track record of underwhelming play prior to 2017, but he’s already garnering interest from the Giants, Raiders, and Cardinals, so his market should allow him to reach at least $5MM annually. Colvin could garner even more than Robinson thanks his youth (26), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects Colvin to have a “legit” market.

If teams are looking for a bargain at cornerback, they should target Ross Cockrell, whom the Steelers dealt to the Giants last year for a seventh-round pick. Cockrell has always been overlooked in the NFL, but he keeps producing results. In 2017, Cockrell finished first in Football Outsiders’ success rate, which measures cornerbacks on their ability to consistently stop opposing wideouts short of the sticks. In fact, Cockrell was one of only eight defenders who stopped a receiver short of a successful gain on over half their tackles a season ago, as FO’s Aaron Schatz recently tweeted, but the league consistently undervalues him and his skill-set.

Safety:

The best free agent safety was taken off the board earlier today when the Rams used the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner, and the remaining market is extremely top-heavy. Eric Reid, Morgan Burnett, Tre Boston, and Kenny Vaccaro could all be in line for at least $5MM annually, but the rest of the class could struggle to find multi-year deals. Among the top-tier safeties, Vaccaro stands out as perhaps the most interesting name. A first-round pick in 2013, Vaccarro has posted three exemplary campaigns and two dreadful years; in 2017, Pro Football Focus ranked Vaccaro as the single-worst safety in the league among 87 qualifiers. But given his draft pedigree and his ability to man the slot, Vaccaro should land a solid deal.

While I like Reid and Burnett a bit more as players, it wouldn’t be a shock if Boston actually lands the largest contract. Reid and Burnett spend a lot of time close to the line of scrimmage, and both have been used as de factor linebackers from time to time. Boston, on the other hand, is a deep safety who can play coverage, and that repertoire is much more difficult to find on the open market. Similarly, Tyvon Branch has been great in coverage during his career with the Raiders, Chiefs, and Cardinals, so he could also see a nice pay bump next week.

After Branch, the crop of available safeties steeply drops off. Every other free agent we’ve listed above will be at at least 29 years old when the 2018 gets underway except for the Lions’ Tavon Wilson, and he was one of the NFL’s worst starting defensive backs last season. Veterans like Corey Graham or Ron Parker can still play as third safeties who see time in “big nickel” packages, but if you’re looking for a starting safety, you’ll want to bring in one of the top six defensive backs on the board.