No trades, although I think there will be a LOT of movement tonight and Friday.
1 (CHI) QB Caleb Williams-USC
Break out the nail polish, this is pretty much a forgone conclusion. The Bears grab one of the most highly touted QBs in recent years.
2 (WAS) QB Jayden Daniels-LSU
Kliff Kingsbury gets an electric playmaker to mold into Washington's next signal caller. I think Maye is the better prospect, but Daniels and Kingsbury are an appealing duo in DC.
3 (NE) QB Drake Maye-North Carolina
It's a new era in Foxboro and the Pats start off with a new QB. They'll get a lot of calls from teams looking to move up, but ultimately start the rebuilding process with my QB2. Maye struggled at times in 2023, but his 2022 tape with a far more talented Tar Heels supporting cast is really impressive.
4 (AZ) WR Marvin Harrison Jr.-Ohio State
The cupboard at WR is pretty bare in Phoenix. There's a lot of smoke around them taking Malik Nabers, but I can't see them passing on Harrison. Ultimately, I don't think it matters as they'll likely move this pick for a team who will pay a king's ransom to take J.J. McCarthy.
5 (LAC) OT JC Latham-Alabama
Despite having very few weapons for Justin Herbert to throw to, new HC Jim Harbaugh goes OL at 5. Joe Alt is the premier OT prospect, but he's a career LT. The Bolts aren't moving Rashawn Slater to RT, so they target a true RT. The Chargers OL coach worked out Latham extensively at the Bama Pro Day. Harbaugh should be familiar with him as well, as Latham was J.J. McCarthy's LT at IMG Academy.
6 (NYG) WR Malik Nabers-LSU
The Giatns are a candidate to move up into the top 5 for Maye or McCarthy. With no trades in this mock, they go with a major need at WR. Nabers has explosive potential and is great after the catch. Odunze will get some looks as well.
7 (TEN) OT Joe Alt-Notre Dame
The Titans to Peter Skoronski last year and he was great for them at LG. They continue rebuilding their OL and get a replacement for Taylor Lewan at LT in Alt. Alt and Skoronski will solidify the blocking on Will Levis's blindside.
8 (ATL) WR Rome Odunze-Washington
An EDGE or CB are probably bigger needs, but the Falcons tend to draft BPA. Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Bijan Robinson. They added Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore, but Moore is a free agent next year and Mooney is more of a slot receiver. Odunze and London would be two big targets for new QB Kirk Cousins. Don't be surprised if there's a trade here for a team looking to grab the last of the three elite WRs.
9 (CHI) DL Byron Murphy II-Texas
The Bears get their QB and now turn to the defensive side of the ball at 9. The Bears resigned Andrew Billings and drafted Grevon Dexter and Zacch Pickens last year, but they're more space eaters than pass rushers. The three combined for just 3 sacks and 6 hurries in 2023. Murphy gives them a pass rushing threat up the middle the other three don't have. The Bears would also love to move down a bit to add more picks, as they only have 4 picks this year, but don't be surprised if they make a move with the Chargers if Harrison is still available at 5.
10 (NYJ) TE Brock Bowers-Georgia
The Jets are another team that would love to trade down to potentially recoup the 2nd they sent to Green Bay for Aaron Rodgers. They are 100% in a win-now situation, so whoever they take will need to contribute from Day 1. Bowers is a tremendous offensive weapon and should see a healthy amount of targets from Rodgers next season.
11 (MIN) QB J.J. McCarthy-Michigan
With Kirk Cousins gone, the Vikings are not ready to start the Sam Darnold era. McCarthy has the tools to be a great QB, but his production was hampered by the Michigan offensive scheme. I feel pretty confident that Minnesota will not be making this pick at 11. I see them moving up with Arizona and taking McCarthy there.
12 (DEN) QB Bo Nix-Oregon
The Broncos are said to have significant interest in Nix. Is he a reach at 12? Sure. But after releasing Russell Wilson, they have a dire need at QB. I think he's ultimately a better fit in a a Payton offense than Penix. It'd be nice to trade down a few spots, but if he's your guy, you have to make the pick here.
13 (LV) QB Michael Penix Jr.-Washington
I'd be shocked if the Raiders don't leapfrog Denver to ensure they get their guy. They have last year's spot starter in Aidan O'Connell and QB mercenary Gardner Minshew, but their are long-term solutions. New coach Antonio Pierce get his franchise signal caller here.
14 (NO) OT Taliese Fuaga-Oregon State
In the Sean Payton era, the Saints OL was a strength for the Saints. Cap issues led to Terron Armstead leaving for South Beach and Ryan Ramczyk has major injury concerns. They drafted Trevor Penning, who has struggled, but if Ramczyk can't return this year, they have no one at RT. Fuaga is a mauler that can help rebuild the Saints OL. Watch for them to make a deal with Chicago to leap frog OT-needy teams like New York and Vegas.
15 (IND) CB Quinyon Mitchell-Toledo
The Colts really struggled in pass coverage last season. With Trevor Lawrence in the division and the emergence of CJ Stroud in Houston, they need to improve there if they want to challenge for the AFC South title. Mitchell gets to nod over Arnold based off his testing and Senior Bowl performance.
16 (SEA) CB Cooper DeJean-Iowa
OL is a popular choice here and I really like what Troy Fautanu could bring to the Seahawks OL. They brought DeJean in for a Top 30 visit and he tested extremely well after a broken leg sidelined him in 2023. He can play at safety or corner, allowing them to play Tariq Woolen or Coby Bryant at safety.
17 (JAX) CB Terrion Arnold-Alabama
With all the EDGE rushers still on the board, the Jags may be tempted to add another pass rusher alongside Jsoh Allen. Ultimately, they fill a major need at CB with the Alabama CB. Arnold will need to mature, but he's got the talent to match up with Diggs, Hopkins and Pittman.
18 (CIN) WR Brian Thomas Jr.-LSU
Tee Higgins wants a trade and with Tyler Boyd gone, the Bengals are sorely lacking a solid WR3. Even if they don't trade Higgins this weekend, he's likely gone after next season. Thomas can slide into the WR2 role with fellow Bayou Bengals Burrow and Chase.
19 (LAR) EDGE Jared Verse-Florida State
An edge rusher finally comes off the board. The Rams got a pair of gems in the draft last year in DL Kobie Turner and EDGE Byron Young. With Aaron Donald gone, all the double teams he drew will now fall on these two sophomores. Verse has two years of great production in Tallahassee and gives the Rams a pair of good edge rushers.
20 (PIT) IOL Jackson Powers-Johnson-Oregon
This may be a little high for JPJ, but the Steelers have been linked to him going all the way back to January. He has the versatility to play guard as well, but likely starts the season as the starting center for Russell Wilson.
21 (MIA) OT Troy Fautanu-Washington
Fautanu was the Huskies' LT, but could play inside as well. With Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson likely locked in at OT for at least the next season, Fautanu becomes a starter inside and helps protect Tua.
22 (PHI) CB Nate Wiggins-Clemson
The Eagles are a strong candidate to move up in the draft. CB is a big hole for a team that is still very much a Super Bowl contender. Staying at 22, they address that hole with Clemson speedster, Nate Wiggins.
23 (MIN) EDGE Laiatu Latu-UCLA
Just like their pick at 11, I don't see the Vikings holding onto this pick. Keeping this pick, they grab a guy with great production, but a troubling injury record. The Vikings added Andrew Van Ginkel and Jon Greenard in free agency to offset the loss of Danielle Hunter, but Van Ginkel is only on a two year deal and is coming off a career year in a contract season.
24 (DAL) OT Tyler Guyton-Oklahoma
With Tyron Smith off the the Big Apple, the big debate in big D is whether Tyler Smith will stay at guard or kick out to LT. Guyton could slot in at LT or push RT Terrance Steele.
25 (GB) OT Olu Fashanu-Penn State
Quite a fall for a guy that may have been a top 10 pick last year. With David Bahktiari retiring, the Packers are left with Rasheed Wallace and Zach Tom at OT. Tom was a bright spot in 2023 and could move inside to center. Fashanu can slot in as Jordan Love's blindside protector.
26 (TB) EDGE Dallas Turner-Alabama
The Bucs have to address the pass rush in this draft. Rookie YaYa Diaby led the team with 6 sacks. After that, it was safety Antoine Winfield at 6. Turner is a physical specimen, as seen during his stellar combine workout. He needs to work on developing his technique though.
27 (AZ) DL Darius Robinson-Missouri
After JJ Watt retired, the Cardinals top pass rush threat was Dennis Gardeck. As much as they need a WR, pass rush is just as big of a need on the other side of the ball. Robinson can contribute inside or out on the defensive line and looked unblockable at times during the Senior Bowl.
28 (BUF) WR Adonai Mitchell-Texas
With Stefon Diggs now in Houston and Gabe Davis in Jacksonville, WR is a major need for the Bills. They could go a variety of directions whether it's Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman or Troy Franklin. Mitchell is more of a vertical threat than the others. Don't be surprised if the Bills trade up for Brian Thomas or go really big to get Odunze or Nabers. The Bills are in their Super Bowl window, but need a Diggs replacement to make that happen.
29 (DET) IOL Graham Barton-Duke
EDGE rusher, DL and CB are all areas of need for the Lions, but if last draft was any indication, the Lions won't follow the conventional route. Barton gives the Lions a replacement when Frank Ragnow retires and would give them depth at all five spots in 2024. Watch out of a Washington trade here, as they apparently really like Arizona OT Jordan Morgan.
30 (BAL) OT Amarius Mims-Georgia
Mims has tons of raw talent, but lacks experience. Ideally, he would sit for most of 2024, but could push RT Daniel Faalele for starting time.
31 (SF) OT Jordan Morgan-Arizona
Morgan was a LT at Arizona, but I think his future is inside at guard. The Niners could also try him out at RT in place of Colton McKivitz or as Trent Williams' eventual successor at LT. I would not be surprised to see Washington move up ahead of the Niners to take Morgan.
32 (KC) CB Kool-Aid McKinstry-Alabama
The Chiefs sent L'Jarius Sneed to Tennessee, so there's a hole in the Chiefs' secondary. McKinstry should get drafted higher, but medicals may hurt his stock. He has good length and is a capable tackler and would make a solid young tandem in the defensive backfield alongside Trent McDuffie.

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While the 17-game schedule for each team has thrown off where exactly the mid-way point of the NFL season is, we are through nine of 18 total weeks and we’ve played exactly half of the 272 contests (136). So at this point, it’s time to summarize what has happened here a little bit and hand out all the major awards as if the season ended today.
I’ll once again break down the top three candidates through half of 2023, making my case for each of them, based on watching the tape and looking at the numbers, along with reflecting a little bit on what I predicted just before we kicked off the year. A quick note on that – I could have literally used the cover photo from back then.
Let’s get into it:
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Most Valuable Player:

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1. Lamar Jackson
   
2. Patrick Mahomes
   
3. Tua Tagovailoa
   

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As I proclaimed after seeing the Ravens destroy the Seahawks 37-3 this past Sunday, they are the best team in the NFL right now. We’ll get to the defense a couple of categories from now, but Lamar Jackson is playing the quarterback position at a significantly higher level than he even did during his MVP campaign back in 2019. Accounting for 14 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions sounds pretty good, but those numbers aren’t even close to encapsulating what he’s meant to this team. Prior to this past Sunday, the Browns, Lions and Seahawks were all top-ten defenses in terms of EPA per play – with Cleveland still at number one. Baltimore outscored those three opponents 103-12 and Lamar didn’t even play a full fourth quarter, if you combine the playing time across those three fourth quarters. And I can point to three or four plays in each of those that I’m not sure another QB in the league could’ve made. The Todd Monken offense is running smoothly now, but they certainly needed some time to get there and Lamar navigated them through some tough times, only to not get chances to finish drives as a passer early on and boost his stats. Individually, he leads the league with a 71.5% completion percentage, he’s tied for fourth in yards per attempt (7.7 YPA) and he’s tied for third among ALL players – behind only Jalen Hurts and Christian McCaffrey – in first downs picked up as a runner (32) despite being 31st in attempts. The Ravens could/should really be the only undefeated team right now – and the two losses aren’t on Lamar in the grand scheme of things. Against the Colts, a pass over the middle should have resulted in them setting up a game-winning field goal in overtime, but a blatant pass interference call was missed, and against the Steelers, his receivers dropped eight(!) passes, which directly took three touchdowns off the board basically.
I believe there’s a steep fall from Lamar to the rest of the pack right now. I could think of a couple of skill-position players worthy of consideration, but understanding that this is a quarterback award and treating the Offensive Player of the Year as a separate category for non-QBs, I’m going to stick with that position here. While the Ravens may ultimately snatch it away from them, the 7-2 Chiefs currently own the number one seed in the AFC and while it hasn’t been perfect, Patrick Mahomes has still played at a high level when needed. The story for Kansas City really has been the defense, which is allowing the second-fewest points per game (15.9 PPG), but their quarterback has performed better than his numbers would indicate and has been able to navigate the offense through some murky waters. I would admit that Mahomes had two legitimately bad games – at the Jets and at the Broncos – in which he threw one touchdown compared to four of his eight interceptions. However, his receivers have dropped four more passes (23) than any other group in the league. And looking at their two losses against the Broncos and back in the season-opener against the Lions (when they lost 21:20 without Travis Kelce), he should have had a perfectly-placed 26-yard touchdown to Skyy Moore and a third-down conversion on a crosser to Kadarius Toney, which instead turned into a pick-six on his resume. If those two passes alone are caught, they probably at least win one of those contests. I think the offense definitely feels the loss of former OC Eric Bienemy to some degree and even Mahomes’ one reliable pass-catcher Travis Kelce has been banged up at times. And yet, the Chiefs QB ranks third in EPA per play and two areas he really separates himself in – he easily has the best pressure-to-sack conversion rate (14.6%) and despite their infuriating tendency of getting jet sweeps stuffed on third downs, the Chiefs are fifth in conversion percentage on that down (45.5%), with Mahomes’ ten yards per scramble and 17 first downs as a rusher being a major factor.
That brings us to number three and you can’t feel great about this coming off a season-low 14 points scored by the Dolphins this past Sunday in Germany, even if it came against the Chiefs’ excellent defense. People wanted to eviscerate me three weeks ago, for having Tua as my number seven overall quarterback in the league and tiered him with the “great system guys”. Since then, the offense scored 10 points at Philadelphia and then just had that disappointing performance vs. Kansas City, in which they were shut out in the first half. That 70-burger they put on the Broncos back in week three feels like ages ago and it still pumps up their stats, but he did sit out the entire fourth quarter that day and I’m not going to act like this attack hasn’t been a fireworks show for most of the year. My whole point back when I put together that QB index was that Tua executes that offense at an extremely high level, but when defenses have the edge schematically on certain days and he’s asked to elevate his surroundings, there are some limitations. He still deserves a lot of credit for running the show at such an extremely high level. Miami remains number one in yards and points per drive and game each, as well as yards per play (7.1 YPP). Tagovailoa himself ranks first in passing TDs (19), passer rating (106.4) and second in yards per attempt (8.5 YPA), despite having the shortest time-to-throw (2.38 seconds). His ability to alter arm slots to get the ball out on time, manipulate second-level defenders with his eyes and attack windows in coverage are as good as it gets. Yet, on top of that, he’s improved his passing outside the numbers and created more off-script, extending plays and delivering big throws off a new or not a clean platform altogether. The Dolphins and their signal-caller have to prove they can defeat true contenders, but head coach Mike McDaniel is continuing to evolve an explosive scheme and Tua is cashing in on the opportunities he’s given.
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Honorable mentions: Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen & Jalen Hurts
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(Non-QB) Offensive Player of the Year:

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1. Christian McCaffrey
   
2. A.J. Brown
   
3. Tyreek Hill
   

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As always, I treat the OPOY award as “who has been the best/most impactful non-quarterback on the offensive side of the ball”, and we have some of the better candidates I can remember in a while. I do CMC has a little bit of separation however and because he plays on a team without a marquee name at quarterback – although it’s insane how people have gone from treating Brock Purdy like Tom Brady to questioning in the matter of just a couple of weeks – he actually has an outside shot at ultimately being among the MVP finalists. The 49ers have lost some shine after losing three straight following their 5-0 start, but they had the ball with the chance to win in two of those, including what should’ve been a game-winning field goal at Cleveland, and McCaffrey has been the driving force of that offense, which ranks third in both EPA per play (0.139) and success rate (50.7). Individually, only Tyreek Hill is averaging more yards from scrimmage per game (118.0 YPG) despite an average depth of target of 0.7 compared to Cheetah’s 10.2 on a league-leading 97 targets. CMC is tied for number one with 13 total touchdowns, he’s gained more total first downs than anybody (56) he has nearly 100 scrimmage yards more than any other RB despite already having had his bye week, and he is number in rushing yards after contact (2.2 YPA) among guys with 100+ touches. So he’s getting massive volume (NFL-high 21.1 touches per game), playing at least 85% of offensive snaps in every one-score game they’ve played other than when he got hurt against the Browns, yet his efficiency is still up there with the very best. He’s a very decisive decision-maker, hits creases at full speed and runs as hard as anybody, while in the passing game he changes the complexity of how defenses have to approach the 49ers, since they can legitimately flex him out wide and attack matchups that way.
Number two here was extremely tough to decide between and it’s pretty much a tie between these two superstar receivers, but I gave A.J. Brown the slight nod because he’s delivered his best when needed most a little more than Tyreek Hill. The Eagles own the best record in the NFL at 8-1 and I don’t think there’s really a question about who their best player has been. This past Sunday ended Brown’s insane streak of six straight games with more than 125 receiving yards, yet he still delivered five first downs and the touchdown that put his team up 28-17 against the Cowboys. Once again, he ranks behind only Cheetah with 1005 receiving yards and 46 first downs on five fewer targets (92) and as part of an offense that averages 1.6 yards fewer per play than the Dolphins. While quarterback Jalen Hurts remains a nightmare for defenses to deal with as a scrambler and he’s shown incredible toughness this season, his efficiency has certainly declined from a year ago. Despite that, Brown ranks in yards per route run (3.2 YRR) and is only one off the top mark in catches of 20+ yards (18). Jalen relies heavily on his number one target, as Brown has the highest share of the team’s air yardage (48.6%), leads the league with a 50%(!) target rate against true man-coverage and has accounted for 41.9% of their conversions through the air on third downs. Whether it’s snatching the ball away from defenders draped all over him at the catch point or shrugging off would-be-tacklers once the ball is in his hands, A.J. has been an absolute beast. He has hauled in 63.2% of his contested targets and among the 15 receivers with 50+ catches, he’s averaging nearly a full yard more above expectation after the catch (+2.1 YAC), according to Next Gen Stats.
Last but definitely not least here is Tyreek Hill, who does certainly have a case to be made for being the favorite right now. As I mentioned with Tua already, the Dolphins offense is number one across all the major categories, with 45 yards more per game (435.2 YPG), 0.8 yards more per play (8.1) and 3.7 points more per game (31.7 PPG) than the next-closest team. And as well as Tua has run the show, Tyreek is the straw that stirs the drink. Not only does he lead the league in yards (1076) and touchdowns (eight) through the air, but even though he’s tied for the most targets (97), he’s also incredibly efficient in regard to when he’s out in the pattern – he averages nearly a full yard more per route run than any other pass-catcher this season (4.30) and the mark that lead the league last season – also set by Hill. With the way Mike McDaniel allows him to get running starts and off motion and work out stacks, he puts defenses in a bind constantly, even though he regularly ends up running off coverage and helping create green grass for his teammates. Yet, if defenses just isolate him one time on the backside, he’ll run by corners in just a couple of steps, to punish single-high looks. Among the 15 receivers with 50+ catches so far, Tyreek ranks second in yards per target (11.1 YPT) and number one with 6.1 yards after the catch on average. Last season, we saw the Dolphins rely on hitting windows they created with their route spacing, but there wasn’t a ton of YAC. They got back to hitting Cheetah on the run and he’s killing angles as well as breaking angles yet again. The two reasons he’s “only” at number three is his contested-catch rate going down to just 25.0% and in Miami’s three losses, opponents were able to hold him in check largely, averaging just under 70 yards and only scoring once total against the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs.
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Honorable mentions: Travis Etienne & Stefon Diggs
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Defensive Player of the Year:

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1. Myles Garrett
   
2. Roquan Smith
   
3. T.J. Watt
   

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This is obviously still my personal opinion and you can feel free to disagree with it, but being able to put the exact same names here at numbers one and two as I had in my full-season predictions, after being told I was completely off, is pretty satisfying. Back then I also realized – inconceivably for me – that the general public doesn’t consider Myles Garrett in that elite tier with names like Micah Parsons (thanks to playing for the biggest brand in the NFL), Nick Bosa or T.J. Watt (due to their well-regarded family name). The crazy part about that is he’s right there with Watt for the best mark ever in sacks per game (0.91). So I’m happy to see him finally get the national recognition he deserves, leading the way for the number one defense in yards per game (by 28 yards – 234.8 YPG), in terms of DVOA (-32.2%), EPA per play (-0.240) and success rate allowed (33.0%). They’ve done so despite facing three of the top-10 offenses by DVOA and success rate. DC Jim Schwartz deserves a lot of credit for how he’s deploying the pieces at hand, where it’s really about how tightly they contest receivers on the back-end combined with their rush getting home, but Flash Garrett is like the queen on the chess board for them. When he’s lined up on the edge, you have to slide protection that way or provide chip help, which ends up creating one-on-ones for his teammates, yet then he’s an absolute menace standing up over the interior line, where he’s practicing his cross-over before putting blockers into catch-up mode instantly by winning against one half of the man. His combination of power, length, flexibility and fluidity to create favorable angles and finish his rushes is second to none. Myles is just half a sack (9.5) and one QB hit (18) off the top marks in the league, and while he’s currently “only” tied for eighth in total pressures (39), if you go by pressures per pass-rush snap, he actually has the second-highest success rate among guys with 200+ such opportunities (18.0%), despite being double-teamed at the highest rate for anybody at the position (31.0%).
I realize it’s pretty unlikely to see an off-ball linebacker win this award with the gaudy numbers pass-rushers put up in today’s aerial-oriented style of play, but Roquan Smith is the most integral piece on arguably the best defenses in the NFL right now. So while the standard for the voting process is different than league MVP, I believe it should be treated at least somewhat similarly and we’ve evolved as a football-watching community to a point, where we can look beyond the individual numbers. Through nine games, the 2023 Ravens defense is allowing a touchdown on only 8.7% of opposing drives. Since 2000 (as far back as TruMediaSports has data), only one defense has allowed opponents to score touchdowns at a lower rate of their drives (8.2%) – the 2000 Ravens. And guess who won Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP that season? – Their incredible middle linebacker Ray Lewis. In his second season back in Baltimore, DC Mike Macdonald has turned himself into truly one of the elite play-callers on that side of the ball, in terms of taking away the staples of opposing offenses and then all the different looks he’ll throw at opponents on third downs. He has a bunch of unique players at hand, giving new life to the careers of aging veterans and putting lesser-known names on the map. However, for this system to work the way he does, he needs this incredibly smart rangy player in the middle of it all. Smith shows a tremendous understanding for spacing and how opponents want to attack them through the air, regularly occupying a body in protection after being mugged, then flying underneath routes in order to make quarterbacks come off them, before racing up and making a drive-ending stop. While he doesn’t have the same backfield production as running mate Patrick Queen, he allows that guy to have as much success going forward by cleaning up for him, while having broken up five passes and only missed two of 87 attempted tackles (2.2%). Looking through the betting odds, Roquan is currently 101-to-1, which is unfathomable to me, in part because I believe that’s the same number he was listed at pre-season as well.
For number three, I could have gone a lot of different ways, with Micah Parsons, Josh Allen and Maxx Crosby having absolutely dominant stretches of their own in terms of edge defenders, but nobody has made more game-altering plays from that position this year than T.J. Watt. I’ll get to head coach Mike Tomlin’s mind-boggling ability to keep his team in games despite being the inferior team, but a large portion of their lackluster offense is offset by Watt and company wreaking havoc and changing the complexity of contests. And the Steelers defense overall is a definite plus, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them dominant as a group – certainly not in a tier with the Browns and Ravens for that matter – because on paper their linebackers and cornerbacks (outside of rookie Joey Porter Jr.) are actually below-average, which is which they’re allowing the eighth-highest mark in yards per play (5.5 YPP). So them being 5-3 on the season almost makes no sense by the numbers, but then you look at each of those wins – Watt scored the game-winning TD on a scoop-and-score against the Browns, he had five combined sacks and QB hits against the Raiders, whilst being in Jimmy G’s face for a couple of interceptions, he ended the Ravens’ final two drives by jumping on a loose ball and getting the game-sealing sack, he had an amazing interception that completely flipped the momentum on the opening drive of the second half against the Rams, where he perfectly read a pass concept whilst being forced to play off-ball by the opponent’s design, and then he was heating up Titans rookie Will Levis regularly this past Thursday Night. So his fingertips are all over the Steelers' wins and nobody has filled the stat sheet quite like number 90. He is tied for second in sacks (9.5) and QB hits (18), along with having forced two and recovered three fumbles (one returned for a touchdown), recording that one pick and six more passes batted down at the line. The only reason I don’t have him even higher – his pressure rate on a per-snap basis isn’t quite up there with the best. However, to be fair, he also hasn’t been set up in many positive game-script situations.
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Honorable mentions: Micah Parsons, Dexter Lawrence, Josh Allen, Maxx Crosby, Fred Warner & Danielle Hunter
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Offensive Rookie of the Year:

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1. C.J. Stroud
   
2. Puka Nacua
   
3. Bijan Robinson
   

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While we’ve seen a couple of questionable choices of quarterbacks over skill-position players over the last several years – Kyler Murray over Josh Jacobs in 2019 and Dak Prescott over teammate (and the league’s leading rusher) Ezekiel Elliott in 2016 – this is far less of a QB award than you’d think initially. With that being said, while I’m not giving that position preferential treatment, me choosing Stroud here is a sign of how tremendous he’s been, when he’s competing with a guy who currently ranks fourth among all players in receiving yards. We have had bigger “rookie phenoms” in terms of the athletic skill-set, but the fact Stroud never actually looked like a guy in his first season at the game’s most difficult position is actually insane. This is obviously coming off a performance against the Buccaneers, in which he threw for a rookie-record 470 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner with just six seconds left. However, he’s been playing excellent all season long, ranking third in yards per pass attempt (8.1) and featuring the league’s best touchdown-to-interception ratio (14-to-1). The most impressive statistic to me however – the Texans currently are the number nine offense in both EPA per play and DVOA right now. That’s after ranking dead-last and second-to-last in those two categories last year and their running backs this season averaging just 3.1 yards per rush (3.3 as a team – 30th). And Stroud has been doing this behind what we perceived to be a below-average offensive line and throwing to a below-average receiving corp coming into the year. This team has no business sitting at .500 – and that includes a couple of field goals with time running out by their opponents. They played the first month of the season with four of their five slated starters on the O-line out, their top-three pick at corner from last year was placed on IR after week two and this past Sunday, they even needed a backup running back to jump in at kicker. I love the coaching staff in Houston, but a rookie QB isn’t supposed to cover up those kinds of holes as Stroud is doing.
As I mentioned – Puka Nacua currently is fourth league-wide in receiving yards and tied for fourth in catches, behind only Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs respectively. Among those three names, only Brown hasn’t been an All-Pro selection multiple times and all of them made the cut last year. So for this guy to come in as a fifth-rounder and produce at that type of level – being relied upon as the number one target over the first month of the season without Cooper Kupp – is truly remarkable. And his numbers would be even better if he didn’t have Brett Rypien trying to throw the ball to him the last one-and-a-half games. Prior to that, nobody had caught more passes total and only once did Puka have less than 71 receiving yards in a game. When Matt Stafford has been slinging it around for L.A., we’ve seen Nacua and Kupp co-exist, because as I verbatim outlined in my analysis of the Rams draft class, I thought the rookie could turn into head coach Sean McVay’s new version of Robert Woods. He does a lot of the stuff that guy used to for years in that offense, where he’s trusted with crack-blocks at the point of attack and is asked to insert against a linebacker in the run game, they put the ball in his hands on crossers and quick screens, but then also we’ve seen him win on the perimeter in isolated situations. His body control to adjust for the ball and then the physicality with the ball in his hands are highly impressive. And for some reason, people have this image in their head about Puka just being this smart route-runner, who eats on option routes and winning against zone coverage. The fact is, he is tied for third league-wide – with Tyreek freaking Hill – in catches of 20+ yards (16). I’d say early on the target share was a little inflated, but more importantly, only Tyreek has dropped more passes so far than this rookie (seven).
You can certainly argue for a couple of other names here to conclude the list based on the numbers they’ve put up, but I could not punish a fantastic player for his coach not allowing him to shine as much or as bright as he should. Taking positional value out of the equation, Bijan Robinson was my number two overall prospect in this past draft class and I don’t really feel any different at this point about that choice. I put together a super extensive video breakdown of why the Falcons offense would become one of the toughest units to deal with in 2023 in the offseason, but due to inconsistent quarterback play, poor red-zone play-calling, turnovers and other factors, they simply have been far off my lofty expectations. They rank 22nd or worse in DVOA, EPA per play, success rate and most importantly – points per game (18.4 PPG). My number one advice to head coach Arthur Smith would be to stop this petty back-and-forth with the media and just put the ball in the hands of his incredibly talented rookie running back. Watching Atlanta on a weekly basis, while Tyler Allgeier is a hard-nosed runner who justifies a certain role, every time he touches the ball instead of Bijan, I feel like they’re losing an immense amount of dynamism. As soon as the former Texas superstar gets it, you start holding your breath, because his initial burst, the ability to make defenders miss without any wasted movement and his skill in the open field are truly special. That is not just a metaphoric feeling – the rookie literally averages 1.8(!) yards more per carry (5.0) and he’s turning his touches into first downs at a 7% higher rate (28.2%). Bijan ranks fourth among all players with 5+ carries per week in rushing yards over expected per attempt (+1.04), according to Next Gen Stats, and he’s averaging 7.9 yards after the catch. I showed a few weeks ago how he was responsible for a couple of interceptions and he’s fumbled twice, but with his natural receiving skills and explosive, he should already be a fantasy and real-life superstar, rather than sitting at one(!) touch inside the opposing five-yard line.
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Honorable mentions: De’Von Achane & Sam LaPorta
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Defensive Rookie of the Year:

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1. Jalen Carter
   
2. Devon Witherspoon
   
3. Will Anderson Jr.
   

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This Defensive Rookie of the Year race is a pretty strong one compared to past years, where we’ve had a clear-cut favorite for the majority of the season, and I’m happy to see the three names here being among the top-four of my pre-season predictions. To be fair, all of them were drafted in the top-ten back in late April, but the name at the top was actually fourth for me heading into the year, despite being my highest-ranked prospect coming in. The reason I thought Jalen Carter may not quite be able to take home the honors was that he may just not play enough on this stacked Eagles D-line – and I was right about that part, as he’s played more than 50% of snaps just twice for the year (49% on average, with one game missed), but he’s still found ways to show off his dominance with limited opportunities. Among rookie defenders, Carter is tied for second in sacks (4.0), tackles for loss (five) and QB hits (seven), despite the guys ahead of him in those categories all having played at least 116 additional snaps. Even more impressive, this guy has the highest pass-rush win rate among all interior D-linemen in the entire league at 22%, according to ESPN analytics – just ahead of All-Pros Dexter Lawrence and Aaron Donald. While the competition is certainly stronger than it was even in the SEC with Georgia, he still looks like a rolling ball of butcher knifes out there, who has overwhelmed the opposing interior for the most part, until somewhat finding his match this past week in Cowboys second-year guard Tyler Smith. Carter’s ability to knife into the backfield and provide this disruption in the run game has been on display, you rarely see him get moved off the line on combos and what’s crazy about his efficiency rushing the passer is that he’s not even close to having a fully-developed arsenal of moves, relying on the high swim – at times combined with working across the face of guards – and the bull-rush paired with grabbing cloth to free himself late.
While Carter was my top-ranked prospect in this past class, my most fun watch was Devon Witherspoon at Illinois. Seeing this guy click-and-close on routes, be able to get back in phase after losing early on, but then also fly downhill and blow up bigger ball-carriers was just awesome – and he’s continued to do so in the NFL. Obviously, his major breakout performance came back in week four on Monday Night against the Giants, when he had a 97-yard pick-six, two sacks, three QB hits and two tackles for loss. Those remain the only numbers he’s logged in those categories, sliding inside to the nickelback spot for that game. Thanks to his physicality and smarts, I really like him in that role, but after heading to Cincinnati the following week, he’s gone back to primarily lining up on the outside. With that being said, just because he doesn’t have the backfield production or intercepted any other passes, doesn’t mean he hasn’t been impactful in any way. Since missing the season-opener for Seattle, he has played every single snap for the Hawks defense, holding opponents to 28 completions for 253 yards and two touchdowns across 51 targets (54.9% completion rate), compared to his one INT and nine more passes broken up. That puts him at a passer rating responsible for of 73.4 and a yards-per-target mark of 5.0 – for reference, Sauce Gardner as an All-Pro corner and DPOY last season was at 5.3 YPT. Even coming off a 37-3 shellacking at the hands of the Ravens, Seattle ranks 11th in dropback EPA and even with Riq Woolen coming off a sensational rookie campaign himself, Witherspoon has been their most reliable player in coverage, although he needs to improve as a tackler (eight misses on 47 attempts). His ability to play inside and out, make plays in the run and pass game could pay major dividends down the road for what had been a very stingy Seattle team prior to this past Sunday.
My prediction for who would win this award before the season started was the first non-quarterback off the board, as they traded up to number three overall, in order to pick quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge defender Will Anderson Jr. back-to-back, as cornerstone pieces of their franchise on both sides of the ball. I’d say so far that has definitely worked out. Some of the casual observers may disagree about Anderson living up to the hype, when they see he’s only registered two sacks so far, but he has nine additional hits on opposing quarterbacks and looking at the ESPN Analytics data, he's actually tied for third among edge defenders with a pass-rush win rate of 27% – behind only Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett. Being able to “finish” his rushes is a major part for young D-linemen to learn, but you definitely feel the impact this guy has made on the Texans defense, where they ask their edge guys to work from those wide alignments and use tilted angles to collapse the pocket from both sides, forcing quarterbacks to step up, whilst pushing the interior line backwards. That’s why Houston is tied for the fourth-fewest sacks across the NFL (17) despite being right outside the top-ten in pressure rate as a team (24.4%). In terms of the run game, he can fly down the line for quick stops when left unblocked, man-handle tight-ends near the point of attack and what I appreciated about him always at Alabama was the combination of leverage and extension he played with to set a physical edge at 240-245 pounds. He currently owns the highest run-stop win rate (39%) among EDGEs according to ESPN. Thanks to improved linebacker play and Anderson’s presence, they’re top-ten in rushing success rate (36.4%) and yards per rush (3.8 YPA), while overall having been more than respectable as a unit, despite not having their OTHER number three overall pick at corner in Derek Stingley from a year ago since week two.
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Honorable mentions: Brian Branch, Tuli Tuipulotu & Byron Young
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Comeback Player of the Year:

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1. Tua Tagovailoa
   
2. Breece Hall
   
3. Matthew Stafford
   

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I’m not going to spend too much time talking about this award, because the parameters by how this is voted for simply aren’t defined properly. It basically just states “an NFL player who has shown perseverance in overcoming adversity”. We saw that last year when Geno Smith legitimately played at like a top-ten quarterback in the league by all the numbers and the eye test, but I’m not sure “coming back” from sitting on the bench should qualify him. This year, it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that Damar Hamlin would win it, if he just stepped on an NFL field at all, yet he’s only even been active for one game so far. So now that feels a little weird.
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The rest of the analysis can be found here!

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Honorable mentions: Damar Hamlin
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Coach of the Year:

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1. Mike Tomlin
   
2. Dan Campbell
   
3. Mike McDaniel
   

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Right off the bat, this award typically goes to either the coach of the best team in the NFL, if it became the storyline of the season, or the guy in charge of a franchise, that significantly exceeds its pre-season expectations or has overcome adversity throughout the year. John Harbaugh certainly deserves consideration for running what I believe currently is the best all-around team in the NFL and looking at this as more of a recognition of the entire coaching staff, they’ve been outstanding, but I predicted them to win 11 games and the two things Harbaugh should have his eye on the most – special teams and fourth-down aggressiveness – they’re average in both.
The Steelers may just be the worst 5-3 team I’ve seen in my life. By now, we all know that they’ve been outgained by their opponents in all eight of their games. Of the 34 teams in NFL history that’s true for, they are the only one with a winning record, and only the Broncos – who were responsible for the most yards surrendered in any game ever, when Miami put 70 points on them – have a worse yardage differential (-790 yards) this season. It really doesn’t even make sense, especially considering in their three losses, they were defeated by a combined score of 80-to-23, yet here they sit again. I’ve already given T.J. Watt his flowers and as bad as the offense has been, Kenny Pickett has delivered with the game on the line (three game-winning drives), but the one constant for this organization for the last 17(!) years by now is the guy wearing that black cap on the sideline. Mike Tomlin just has these guys believing at all times. There have been so many times this season where the other side was clearly superior, yet Pittsburgh somehow hung around and was able to pull through in all five of their one-possession games. That toughness and belief his troops bring to the table is even more insane when your offense has to be infuriating to watch for large stretches of games, being in the bottom-three in yards and points created, with your fans openly calling for your OC to be fired whenever possible. We can argue Tomlin and the organization should have made a move at offensive coordinator and this would be over pretty quickly when I look at what Matt Canada has brought to the table, but for that environment to elevate players in high-leverage moments and for them to be able to weather the storm the way they do, with the steady presence of the guy running the show, not enough can be said.
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The rest of the analysis can be found here!

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Honorable mentions: Nick Sirianni, John Harbaugh, Doug Pederson & DeMeco Ryans
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If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider checking out the original piece and feel free to check out all my other video content here!
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Twitter: @ halilsfbtalk
Instagram: @ halilsrealfootballtalk

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Every week of the NFL season there are a million things going on and it’s impossible to keep up with it all. So after watching the first full slate of games, I decided to outline three key storylines or takeaways for all 16 contests. These can be based around an individual player, coach, team unit or schematic nuance to track going forward.
Of course, week one can be liar and we shouldn’t overreact to anything we just watched, but based on where we stand right now, these are things that jumped to me across the league upon watching every game and trying to put them into context.
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Detroit Lions @ Kansas City Chiefs:

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Final score – 21:20

1. Both these teams desperately lacked an ace pass-catcher

This one is pretty obvious, in particular when it comes to Travis Kelce being ruled out a couple of hour prior to the 2023 season kickoff. His lacking presence was truly felt every time Patrick Mahomes dropped back. Even when he maybe wouldn’t have gotten the ball, the gravity he has if you isolate him on the backside, to give the rest of the group more space to work with, the timing was off at times by the other pieces in his place, and then thinking back to that big drop/incompletion by Kadarius Toney – who had an absolute nightmare performance – off a mesh concept, Travis would’ve probably been part of it and you wouldn’t have had guys running at the same depth, colliding with each other. Plus, then of course the 3rd-down magic between him and Mahomes was missing, which is how they went 5-of-14 on the day. Meanwhile, the Lions were fairly efficient on offense, out-producing their opponents in passing (11) and rushing 1st downs (8), but they had just one play of 25+ yards on the day and Jahmyr Gibbs was the only explosive element that flashed at times, being limited to nine touches. You don’t want to live in a world where you’re running designed screen passes to Josh Reynolds and Marvin Jones Jr. – Amon-Ra St. Brown is a tremendous chain-mover, who can win vs. man or zone, but he doesn't necessarily change the math for defenses. They need Jameson Williams to give them that dynamism once he returns from suspension in six weeks.
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2. Aidan Hutchinson and the Lions D-line might be making a massive leap

The amount of discourse around Jawaan Taylor being lined up offside, jumping the snap and twitching with his outside foot was insane. Clearly there was illegal movement that should’ve been flagged and the rules committee should probably think about emphasizing alignments along the front. However, that kind of overshadowed that Taylor did his best by taking advantages of those rules to an extreme and having some good moments, but Hutch did flash on several occasions throughout the day. He put KC’s right tackle in the spin cycle a couple of times, was on-point with his hand-swipes to win the corner and when he didn’t have somebody inside of him, took advantage of the wide-open B-gap with some inside moves. However, while they actually didn’t have any sacks as a unit because of how ridiculous Mahomes is at eluding pressure and getting rid of the ball, the rest of that front had some moments as well – Benito Jones was a firm interior run-stopper who helped hold the Chiefs to 3.9 yards per carry, Josh Paschal had that big TFL on the fly sweep to Rashee Rice, when Andy Rice got a little too fancy on a 3
rd-and-one and you saw multiple other guys flush the QB at times. Along with how the rest of the new additions in the back-seven looked, this defense could at least be an average unit, after being one of the worst last season.
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3. Kansas City’s defense might be pretty good now with Chris Jones back

Like I already mentioned, the Lions had one play of 25+ for the game and overall, they averaged a miniscule 5.3 yards per. Particularly defending the run, going up against one of the best offensive lines and ground attacks from a year, KC held David Montgomery and company to 3.5 yards per carry, with one of 34 going for more than eight yards on the night. Detroit had one impressive touchdown drive of 91 and 75 yards respectively. However, looking at the other nine drives they had, two gained one 1st downs, one ended in a punch-out and fumble-recovery at the fringe of the red-zone, they forced two turnovers on downs and the other five were three-and-outs. They barely allowed those receivers to create separation when playing man and in zone, everybody hustled to the ball, in order to limit completions to minimal yardage. Now all they really needed was a true difference-maker up front, in particular. Well, on Monday they agreed to a re-worked one-year deal with Chris Jones, whose 97 total pressures last season were 27(!) more than the next-closest interior D-lineman and 11 of his 15.5 sacks ended up directly stopping drives.
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Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns:

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Final score – 3:24

1. Cleveland's defense has all the pieces to be a top-five unit in the NFL

Feel free to scroll back to August 30th for my prediction of the top-10 defenses in the league this year, where I had the Browns number six overall. Understanding how they’re constructed and who’s calling the shots I really liked the idea of it, but now we also have proof of concept, even if the sample size obviously is small. Early on in the offseason, I mentioned that they have one of the most improved defensive lines this offseason, with two legit nose-tackles added in free agency and the draft to firm up one of the worst interior run defenses, along with a diverse group of pass-rushers, I projected Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Martin Emerson to have breakout years. Cincy’s rushing success rate of just 18% was the worst mark of this millennium. They had tremendous depth up front, with Myles Garrett as the true queen on the chessboard, who they had as a spinner over the center and create problems in passing situations. Their average time to pressure of 1.95 seconds against the Bengals was tied for the sixth-fastest by a defense in a single game since the start of the 2019 season. JOK was kept clean to shoot gaps for run stuffs, Denzel Ward looked like the guy they had that big contract, to give them one of the premiere corner trios and allowing them to run a lot of single-high structures, and Grant Delpit triggering down on everything in front of him so aggressively.
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2. Tee Higgins did not seem present in this game

And to be honest, while I don’t want to assume something about his character, it kind of felt like he really wanted to be there – which is worrisome considering the reports about him and the Bengals not being close in terms of contract negotiations. I know it rained throughout the day and receivers couldn’t get out of their breaks in a very precise fashion, but Tee truly looked lazy running routes. The initial burst was non-existent, he didn’t even really try to stack his man on vertical routes, he rounded off his breaks and actually enabled corners angles to the ball themselves. When Joe Burrow goes 14-of-31 for 82 yards, there’s not a whole lot of production to be had, but a goose-egg in receptions and yards on eight targets? That’s pretty wild. On Sunday they’ll be going up against the Ravens, who Higgins has had one monster game against in a blowout win a couple of years but has otherwise been pretty quiet against. If he doesn’t show up against a wounded Baltimore secondary, this will be something worth continue tracking throughout the year.
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3. Deshaun Watson still simply doesn’t seem right

Browns fans won’t care too much about this right now, after beating their division-rivals by three touchdowns on the backs of their defense and over 200 yards rushing (5.2 yards per). However, that makes what their 230-million-dollar guaranteed QB did even more concerning. Looking at the final numbers, going 16-of-29 for 154 yards, one touchdown and interception each doesn’t seem horrible, and where he did add real value was as a runner, gaining 45 yards and scoring the Browns’ other touchdown on five additional attempts. However, Deshaun looked erratic inside the pocket, he dirted some passes when trying to drive them and he simply wasn’t able to execute pass concepts on time consistently. That’s along with completely missing Dax Hill hanging there in the flats and throwing it right to him after escaping the pocket. If the rest of the team performs similarly to what we saw on Sunday, they can certainly be a playoff team, even in a loaded AFC, but how the most important piece and the biggest investment of the franchise plays going forward will determine if they might be able to compete with the elites in the conference.
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San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers:

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Final score – 30:7

1. Pittsburgh's offense is the next unit we greatly overhyped during the preseason

Full transparency, I wasn’t feeling great about “only” having the Steelers going 9-8 and just missing the playoffs whilst watching their offense effortlessly go up and down the field when Pickett was out there during the preseason. George Pickens was one of the names I highlight as a young breakout candidate this offseason and if he did, that skill-position group was looking legit, while the left side of the O—line supposedly was going to look a better, investing a 1st-round pick in Broderick Jones (Georgia) and signing veteran guard Isaac Seumalo. Well, turns out Pittsburgh went with Dan Moore Jr. on the blindside tackle instead and he got destroyed, Pickett got back into his bad habit of escaping the pocket instead of using more subtle movements to navigate around pressure points and keeping a throw-ready posture and most importantly, as long as Matt Canada remains at offensive coordinator, they just go through the motions when they run – wait for it – motions and play iso-ball with their receivers. Obviously, 17 rushing yards on nine carries other than one good Najee Harris run doesn’t help, and having to put games into the QB's hands.
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2. The Drake Jackson breakout is in full swing

Since I just referenced George Pickens as one my breakout candidates for 2023, Jackson was part of my list on the defensive side of the ball and he didn’t make us wait around for long until justifying that. The second-year edge defender racked up two tackles for loss, three sacks and QB hits each. While the Nick Bosa return did give that entire unit some extra juice (even if he didn’t impress on the stat sheet), Clelin Ferrell seemingly will be the next reclamation project of D-line coach Kris Kocurek (which I discussed as a pivotal situation three weeks ago) and Javon Hargrave got his first sack with the Niners late, but Jackson ended up leading this star-studded group in all three of the categories mentioned. Coming out of USC, I thought he had a special ability to bend and win the corner, but in this matchup, it was more about he attacked the chest of the aforementioned Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle and was able to track down the scrambling Kenny Pickett that made the difference. Along with the lateral agility and how he can corner off twists, he could have a big year.
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3. If Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk play at this level, the rest of the league is in trouble

And this may seem like an easy observation, when you have a quarterback with a QBR of 91.3 (number one in week one and would’ve been for 2022) and a wide receiver who hauled in all eight of his targets for 129 yards and two TDs (third and tied for first respectively so far). However, I think we have to look at it through this lens – based on investments into them compared to the rest of the team, this was supposed to be a game-managedistributor-type QB and his number four target in the passing game. And yet, they were absolutely murdering what has been one of the most prideful defenses in the league over the last few years. Purdy was on the money consistently working timing-based routes – in particular curls, deep outs and digs to Aiyuk – and he created secondary play opportunities when needed, once spinning away from an unblocked blitzing Minkah Fitzpatrick. Meanwhile, Aiyuk’s ability to get DBs leaning the wrong way before breaking them off, the extra gear he has after the catch and the concentration to come down with the back-shoulder fade vs. Patrick Peterson – whose words pre-game really came back to haunt the veteran CB – really shined.
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You can read up on the following games, right here!

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Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts
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Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
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Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings
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Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints
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Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Commanders
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Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos
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Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears:
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Miami Dolphins @ L.A. Chargers:

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Final score – 37:34

1. The Kellen Moore effect on the Bolts offense is palpable

How former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi held back Justin Herbert and made this a predictable, non-dynamic unit last season was a big topic for discussion and something that got me frustrated regularly as well. We’ll have to see how well he’ll be able to adjust depending on how opposing defenses approached him, but initial signs are pretty encouraging – The Chargers scored on six of their ten possessions on the day, with touchdowns on four of those. Herbert’s intended air yards per pass attempt was at still towards the bottom of the list, but he did have three completions of 20+ yards (tied for eighth) and only Jordan Love in a bootleg-heavy Packers offense had a higher yards after catch per completion (8.0 yards per). And even more telling was their success on the ground – If you take out two-minute drills at the end of either half, the Chargers ran the ball on 19 of 31 first downs throughout the day, and if you look at their EPA per rush mark, it’s right on par with Patrick Mahomes on dropbacks during last year’s MVP campaign (24 of 36 runs were graded “successful”). We saw a lot more vertical orientation in the run game, tight-ends weren’t asked to deal with edge defenders at the point of attack, but rather wrapping around for lead-blocks and executing kick-outs.
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2. Mike McDaniel continues to find ways to challenge defenses

Right off the bat, Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill were insane on Sunday. Tua had arguably the best game of his career, being extremely decisive with getting the ball out before the rush could get to him (zero sacks and two QB hits) and making more plays out of structure than I’ve seen from him in the NFL yet, as he went 28-of-45 for 466 yards and three touchdowns, while his lone interception came on a 50-50 ball into the end-zone. 215 yards and two of those yards went to Cheetah, hauling in 11 of 15 targets. However, I was equally impressed with the guy pulling the strings and creating issues for the defense schematically. In 2022 they used lots of jet motion and had that one RPO concept they terrorized the league with throughout the first half of the season, but then in this game it was a ton of short motion on the same side of the formation, where it forced defenders to communicate and change responsibilities. They would create a fast four to one side or fake orbit motion and then revert, in order to use the speed of those weapons and change the picture just before the snap. One play that stood out was a same-side speed motion into a dig route for Tyreek, which put J.C. Jackson in a blender. Tua finished the week with the highest intended air yards per attempt (11.1) despite having the fifth-quickest average time to throw (2.53 seconds). That’s almost impossible – and so is taking away explosives for this Miami offense, if McDaniel continues to evolve them.
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3. His interception masks how toast J.C. Jackson is

And since I just mentioned him, Jackson had a rough day against this dynamic passing attacks. On paper, he had that nice interception in the end-zone and three more pass break-ups. According to pro-football-reference.com, he allowed three completions for 99 yards and a touchdown at the end of the 3rd quarter, where Tyreek ran right by him a fade route, catching it with a full three yards of separation. And that I don’t believe actually includes a 29-yard gain on that dig route off speed motion – which to be fair, would’ve been nearly impossible to defend for anybody. Yet, two of those three PBUs were pretty easy ones on underthrown deep overs. Plus, then of course he had that stupid shove of wide receiver Erik Ezunkanma on a vertical route with zeros on the clock and allowing the Dolphins to hit another field-goal just before halftime, when there were four Charger defenders around the ball. Those three points ultimately made the difference in the outcome of this game. That’s all after being responsible for a passer rating of 149.3 last year, surrendering four touchdowns and not picking off a pass for the first time in his career. L.A. ran man-coverage about 80% of dropbacks – that may not be a feasible strategy going forward, especially against the weapons on an offense like this.
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Philadelphia Eagles @ New England Patriots:

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Final score – 25:20

1. Zeke is beyond washed and can’t be on the field this much

When the Patriots signed free agent running back Ezekiel Elliott in the middle of August, I was confused about the move. I thought if he was a pure short-yardage runner and could take some pressure of Rhamondre Stevenson playing fewer pass-pro snaps, I thought six million dollars was a high price tag and if they used him more extensively, it would result in lost value based on touches, because Rhamondre proved last season that he can be a true three-down back for the first time in a while for New England, turning 210 carries and 69 catches into 1461 yards and six touchdowns. Meanwhile, Zeke had been one of the least efficient ball-carriers in the NFL for the last couple of years, while Rhamondre forced more tackles after the catch (21) than any RB not named Austin Ekeler, who caught 40(!) more balls. And yet through the first half, their touches were about evenly split. For the day, Zeke had seven carries for 29 yards and five more catches for 14, as they actually called screen passes and designed basically triple-option plays with him as the “speed” element. He could not wiggle himself out of the initial wrap ever and had a ball punched out. It was a bad day for the Pats’ run game in general as Rhamondre had only 25 yards on his 12 carries, but he did catch six passes for another 64 yards, including three key 1st downs picked up, where he was able to make the first man miss.
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2. New England's defense will give 11-personnel heavy offenses a lot of trouble

Going into the matchup, I thought New England’s defense was a tough matchup for Philly and flirted with the +4 spread (which would’ve hit), but ultimately decided to bet the Under 46.5 live instead (which I did actually cash). The reasons I thought we might be see a low-scoring struggle here were based on the bad weather to some degree, but much more importantly how the Patriots would be able to match by far the Eagles’ favorite personnel set. After finishing near the top of the league in that regard this past season, they once again had three wide receivers, one tight-end and running back on the field for about 85% of snaps on Sunday. Across the field, the Patriots easily led the league in their usage of dime personnel defensively and that was their primary set in this matchup as well against 11. Along with just the idea of matching similar body-types, they actually have the cover talent to challenge receivers at the line with press-man coverage to throw the timing of Philly’s RPOs and use their ”free” DBs to bracket in certain situations. On the front-end, they do run a lot of games and have become a better unit at finishing for sacks, but the core pocket-collapsing principles are still there and in this matchup, how well they stayed in their pass-rush lanes made it tough for Jalen Hurts to escape. Following the quick 16-0 lead they built thanks to a short field set up by the Zeke fumble and the Darius Slay pick-six, the Eagles picked up just ten 1st downs through the final 47 minutes.
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3. Jalen Carter is going to be a game-wrecker right away if given the opportunity

The Georgia star defensive tackle was my number one overall prospect in the draft purely based on talent and while I couldn’t gage how off-field concerns may ultimately affect how willing teams across the league were to invest a high pick into him, when the Eagles moved up one spot in order to select him ninth overall, I thought the rest of the league might be in trouble. He was the most disruptive player on a Bulldog defense that put up historical numbers, won back-to-back national championships and sent six other 1st-round picks to the NFL. Well, after one week – and to some degree what we saw in the preseason – there may be a couple of other franchises thinking why they didn’t trade up or straight-up select him earlier. Not only was he quite easily the highest-graded rookie in week one by PFF (92.1), but he finished third in that regard among all defensive players in the league and his productivity on a per-snap basis was pretty insane. Along with one tackle for loss and sack each, he recorded seven(!) other pressures, while only logging 50% of defensive snaps for the Eagles (40 of 80). Putting that into relation with the 34 pass-rush snaps he had, that puts him at a pressure rate of 23.5% per rush opportunity. For comparison – Chris Jones, who stood above the rest of the interior D-linemen with his 97 pressures last season, was at “just” 13.1%. It’s unheard of, and he didn’t Carter didn’t even need many moves, either winning cross-face with the high swim or starting with the bull-rush one way and then pulling the opposite arm over once he got the guard off balance.
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L.A. Rams @ Seattle Seahawks:

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Final score – 30:13

1. The Rams were clearly the better-coached team

It was easy to poke holes in the Rams this offseason, because on paper their offensive line – which lost the battle at the line of scrimmage on a weekly basis last season – was largely the same, outside of a 2nd-round pick at left guard, and the defensive depth chart was loaded with late-round draft picks and undrafted free agents. However, a great coaching staff can elevate the talent you have and that’s what Sean McVay, Raheem Morris and company did on Sunday afternoon. When fifth-round pick Puka Nacua and 160-pound Tutu Atwell lead your team with 119 receiving yards each (on ten and six catches respectively), you know you’re doing something right schematically on the offensive side of the ball. McVay regularly created spacing issues through clever route patterns and funky cross-releases that challenged the rules of Seattle’s coverages. If not for two long field goals being blocked and missed respectively, they would’ve scored on all but one of their possessions on the day and they had the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the energy Morris had this defense flying around with popped off the screen. They dropped an eight man to really flood the underneath areas and create muddy pictures for Geno Smith in the quick game, their young D-line played with a lot of energy and when they manned up, their cover-guys did so with aggressiveness and attitude.
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2. If those Seahawk offensive tackles miss extended time, they may be in trouble

Seattle him an absolute homerun with their 2022 rookie class, which included finalists for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year in Kenneth Walker III and Tariq Woolen. Maybe most importantly however, they came out of it with their starting tackle duo of Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, who were both plus starters right away and were expected to take another step in their respective sophomore campaigns. Unfortunately, they both left the game on Sunday and the contest got away from them once that happened. The score was 14-13 Rams midway through the 3rd quarter when the lost the second half of that tandem to injury and from that point onwards, the only 1st down they still picked up on offense (three more possessions) came on a pass interference call against the corner on what would’ve otherwise been a five-yard catch on 2nd-and-long. Of course, it would be silly to make this a direct correlation, but you saw Seattle’s O-line have trouble picking up twists, 3rd-round pick Byron Young flashed off both edges and Michael Hoecht got involved on the last couple of driving-ending, while Geno Smith got pushed backwards by the interior rush quite regularly.
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3. Matt Stafford isn’t done yet

Man, the dude was slinging it on Sunday! We were all quick to write off the Rams prior to this season and Matt Stafford in particular was looked at by many as this completely broken-down quarterback, who they may be moving on from next offseason. While I still believe that as much as I like the ideas of defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and how well he may have this unit fine-tuned, ultimately talent will win out and they’ll have problems against some of the top offenses in the league, and the fact they’ll need to hit on several late-round draft picks like Puka Nacua, in order to return to legit contender status, they may still have the franchise signal-caller in place. Stafford was absolutely ripping throws over the middle, his helmet was moving like a water sprinkler as he was progressing through full-field reads and he was side-arming passes to his targets in the flats or wrapping the arm around one of his offensive line. Generally, he had a pretty clean pocket to operate from, but he looked light on his feet dancing around back there and was nailing throws on the move. The one that really stood out to me – he had an unreal touch-throw over the head of a defender in perfect position on a shake/circus route for a huge 3rd-and-eight conversion in the 4th quarter.
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Dallas Cowboys @ N.Y. Giants:

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Final score – 40:0

1. The Cowboys D-line can absolutely take over games

The beatdown Dallas put on the Giants defensively this past Sunday night was one of the most dominant performances I can remember in recent years. The home team actually made it down all the way to the opposing eight-yard line on their opening drive, before penalties pushed them back and they had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown. From that point onwards, only once did the G-Men make it past the 50-yard line and that resulted in a badly missed kick shortly before halftime. Seven different Cowboy defenders recorded a tackle for loss and they had 19(!) combined sacks and QB hits, pressuring Daniel Jones on an insane 62.2% of dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Things just started to pile on and that’s where the Dallas front can really shine, bringing bodies in waves, running a variety of different games up front (which they did more than any other team in the league all season) and going after the ball. You have to be able to run the ball at them – which the Giants did fairly well, averaging 4.3 yards per carry for their running backs – but then you make one or two little mistakes and they take full advantage.
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2. There are still no real difference-makers among the Giants wide receivers

What Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka were able to do in New York last year, somehow paper-clipping things together to orchestrate a more than functional offense, despite a couple of shaky starters on the O-line and the least inspiring group of skill-position players we have in the league outside of Saquon Barkley. Well, on Sunday even those mad geniuses appeared completely flabbergasted by the waves that were coming at them, as they were clearly overmatched up front and they couldn’t create any schematic advantages to help out Daniel Jones. Above all though, as fun as it was to see like seven different slot receivers on this initial 90-man roster, they just didn’t seem to have the dudes that could win early and neutralize the pass-rush to some degree, Outside of Darren Waller’s three catches for three catches for 36 yards, Isaiah Hodgins actually led the team with 24 yards on his one grab off a slant route and he had the ball punched out by Trevon Diggs at the end of it for another fumble. Trying to throw shallow crossers to Parris Campbell or Darius Slayton and hoping they don’t get their heads knocked off by the safety on the opposite side of the field just isn’t going to cut it. They need 3rd-round pick Jalin Hyatt to threat defenses vertically, Hodgins to be more involved as a bigger body on in-breaking routes and add that special sauce to their three-man concepts when defenses overplay Waller as the single receiver on the backside.
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3. Early swings set the table for this score to get out of hand

The Cowboys are obviously a really tough matchup for the G-Men and the last team you want to get down by multiple scores against. We saw the same thing happen against the Vikings last year, when they were a (faulty) 8-and-1 team at the time and the Dallas pass-rush could just go after the trailing team. Based on what we saw in their two matchups, the Cowboys were clearly the more talented team, but both of those contests were one-score affairs. The blocked field goal and TD return plus the pick-six by Daron Bland, where Trevon Diggs squeezes inside on Saquon Barkley from cover-two, where he’s trying to catch a dump-off and the corner pops the ball up for his teammate, combined with a field goal for Dallas and it’s suddenly 16-0 less than 13 minutes into the game. That’s despite making it inside the opposing ten-yard line on their first possession for the Giants. From that point on, you’re trying to get back in the race and that’s just not going to happen when the Cowboys have several sportscars lined up across from you wreaking havoc, when you’re just not built to get into catch-up mode. And we have to question if the score would have been any close to this, if their rookie center doesn’t have that low snap on 3rd-and-goal that pushes them back and ultimately leads to the blocked kick. On paper, this is at least a slightly better team and the coaching staff remains the same from last year. I don’t expect them to completely fall off going forward.
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Buffalo Bills @ N.Y. Jets:

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Final score – 16:22

1. Jets fans just can’t have anything nice

Like I mentioned on social media – I can’t even describe in words how sick to my stomach I feel for them and Aaron Rodgers after bringing in the four-time MVP to end their seemingly endless streak of disappointing QB play throughout the years. With 12 years straight of not making it to the tournament, they own the longest playoff draught across the four major US leagues. This year’s crew on paper was by far the best team since the early Rex Ryan years with Gang Green and you can certainly argue they had the opportunity to actually be more complete, if Rodgers could even just perform somewhere between MVP and 2022 form, in particular with a championship-level defense. But no, all the New Yorker got four stinking plays of a REAL quarterback, before he went down with the worst injury of his career. Now on the verge of turning 40 years old, we have to question if he’s willing to push himself to a return from the torn Achilles still for probably one final season. All the more impressive that the Jets somehow rallied and ultimately won on a walk-off punt return TD by undrafted free agent Xavier Gipson in overtime, despite their head coach even looking like a saw a ghost when you saw his face when seeing number eight go down.
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2. Josh Allen is too good to be reason Buffalo loses games

The Bills offense certainly had some bright spots and there were elements of pre-elbow injury Josh Allen that were very encouraging, showing that tremendous chemistry with Stefon Diggs to quickly get to a secondary route and defeat an All-Pro corner in Sauce Gardner, a couple of cool play-designs and Josh working down to his checkdowns for positive. Unfortunately, for most of the day it looked like he was back in Wildcard game mode against the Dolphins, where he’s playing hero-ball and treating the situation as if he was down by six points in the 4th quarter. The first of his three interceptions was more like an arm-punt, but then on a 2nd down on the fringe of field-goal range he just blindly trusted the backside safety in quarters would drive down on a dig route and later the Jets were in cover-two and Allen tried to force in a corner route, which Jordan Whitehead playing from inside leverage had the freedom to undercut for his third pick on the day. Yet, even more so maybe diving into traffic after bobbling a snap and trying to dive over a couple of defenders in the open field – he turned back into “Captain Chaos” as Nate Tice from The Athletic likes to call him. After seeing Aaron Rodgers leave the game and the gameplan of the Jets being running the ball on 1st and 2nd down pretty much every possession, this was a game where they just needed to take care of the ball and put up 17 points.
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3. Zach Wilson deserves a chance, but this team is too good to relive another 2022 season

Don’t get me wrong here – Zach Wilson has been a massive disappointment since the Jets selected him 2nd overall in the 2021 draft and he’s received plenty of opportunity to prove himself as the starter. With that being said, I thought it made no sense to bench him last year when they did, seemingly more so for a lack of maturity in the comments he made on the podium than his play. Because while he didn’t give them a whole lot in the passing game, it was enough to lead them to a 5-2 record until losing the second contest to the Patriots – who have consistently given young Jets QBs trouble through the years. Wilson looked good in the preseason and I think he’s found a nice balance between confidence and humility. With that being said, if he can’t play winning football, this supporting cast of Garrett Wilson making an insane TD grab on Sunday and Breece Hall ripping off 127 yards on 10 carries, combined with that bonkers defense are too strong to waste on another 2022 season. And if there are any options out there, the Jets can’t leave any stones unturned. The one tiny thread of positivity is that now because Rodgers won’t even come close to the percentage of snaps they put into the trade with the Packers, New York will actually retain their 1st-round pick and could use it potentially at the deadline to acquire a veteran QB from a team that may be looking to the future.
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If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider visiting the original piece & feel free to check out all my other video content here!
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Twitter: @ halilsfbtalk
Instagram: @ halilsrealfootballtalk
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It’s that time of the year again! After going through the extensive exercise of ranking the top 20+ players at every single position in the NFL today, I combined those to create a list of the 100 best in the game heading into this upcoming season, regardless of position.
The player’s list is one of my favorite things to watch every year, but the process is inherently flawed, since the voters only fill in their top-20 names and are tempted to prop up their teammates or even list themselves. Some of the guys near the bottom shouldn’t be on anybody’s top-20 ballot if they’re being objective.
What’s important to understand is that I’m trying to isolate the individual players, rather than judging their value to their respective teams or how good they may be in a specific role. So not while I bring up general statistics, but also give you background on studying the game’s best and try to draw a bow between both those worlds with some advanced metrics, in order to add context.
Before we get to the actual list, here are a few players who I considered ineligible due to missing time with injury in the past or expected to not be available for a certain amount of games in 2023 – Kyler Murray, Matt Stafford, Alvin Kamara, Calvin Ridley, Darren Waller, Harold Landry, J.C. Jackson and Micah Hyde.
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1. Patrick Mahomes

I’m feeling very similar about Mahomes as I did with Aaron Rodgers in the early 2010s, when you could really put him atop the list every single year. People – including me – will try to be fancy/different and make cases for other names, but I don’t believe you can say since this guy took over for Alex Smith in 2018, anybody has been more valuable to his team than Pat. Last season he easily had the top mark among quarterbacks in EPA per play. He’s only finished worse than second once across his five seasons as a starter – and that was at third in 2020. The Houdini-like plays are what catches everybody’s eye, to where people don’t appreciate how he can dice up defenses within structure as well. Plus, his toughness and drive are off the charts, as we saw when he defeated the most-loaded roster in the league on a bummed-up ankle for his second ring.
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2. Justin Jefferson

Just on the surface, Jefferson obviously led the NFL in receptions (128), yards (1809) and 1st downs through the air (80). You can argue his quarterback Kirk Cousins had a career year and the passing game overall was the most well-designed since Jefferson got there, but I don’t believe even more well-versed fans understand how much this guy carried that unit. Looking at yards per route run (which Jefferson finished behind only Tyreek Hill among players with 50+ targets at 2.55 per), the only Viking higher than 166th in that metric last season was T.J. Hockenson, who didn’t get traded to Minnesota until the second half of the year – and even then, his number fell off. This dude can absolutely destroy DBs in man-coverage, displays high football IQ working against zone and understands how to manipulate the safety when bracketed, his ability to evade contact as a route-runner is impeccable, yet then he also hauled in 22 of 40 contested targets.
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3. Nick Bosa

It didn’t take the second overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft very long to make his presence known in the pros, as he set what still easily is the top mark in defensive pressures by a rookie (80) since the inception of PFF. After being lost with injury in the second week of his encore season, he’s been one of the elite edge defenders in football these last two years, ascending to apex predator status in 2022. Not only did Bosa lead the NFL with 18.5 sacks, but he also racked up 12 more QB hits than any other player in the league (48) and only Maxx Crosby recorded more than Bosa’s 19 tackles for loss. That’s even more impressive considering he played just under 70% of defensive snaps for San Francisco. And when you look at their pass-rush win rate with or without #97, it’s pretty drastic.
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4. Josh Allen

The term “force of nature” I believe encapsulates best what type of player Allen is. He finished head and shoulders above the rest of the competition with his 52 big-time throws (compared to Mahomes’ 38), yet he also led the Bills in yards per rush (6.1), 1st downs (55) and touchdowns on the ground (7). Early on last season, it looked like he was unstoppable, because he started getting to his checkdowns and pick apart defenses trying to take away the deep ball, but once he injured the elbow on his throwing arm, the average depth of target actually increased substantially, because without precision accuracy, the payoff wasn’t worth the risk associated with high-volume underneath passing. With that being said, he will need to take better care of the ball in the red-zone. I believe we saw a healthy Allen become more efficient in those areas again, whilst still having the most lethal arm (strength) in football and killing defenses with his legs, as his 9.4 yards per scramble was second to only Justin Fields (9.6) among QBs with 10+ attempts.
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5. Travis Kelce

Something Danny Heifetz of the Ringer’s Fantasy Football Show loves to bring up – the difference between having Kelce in half-PPR formats compared to the number two tight-end (T.J. Hockenson) was the same as the difference between that guy and TE22. He’s a cheat-code in all fantasy formats, but he’s even more frustrating to deal with for defenses in real life. No pass-catcher was responsible for more 1st downs (78) and touchdowns (12) last season than Kelce, with 90 total, finishing second in both categories. That’s despite seeing 32 and 28 fewer targets than the respective leaders among those marks. His ability to manipulate any man-defender with body-language and untraditional movements during the route or punish any voids left in zone coverage are immaculate. The implicit chemistry between him and Mahomes is hard to even verbalize, but it’s been a huge reason Kansas City has finished top-three in 3rd-down conversion rate each of the five years they’ve worked together.
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6. Myles Garrett

With Nick Bosa missing almost all of 2020 and T.J. Watt being at full strength for half of this past season at best, you can easily make an argument that Garrett has been the best edge defender in football over the last three years. In 2022, he actually “fell” to second-team All-Pro after a couple of 1st-team nods, in large part because the Browns were in the bottom-quarter of the league in rushing yards average and total, which led to fewer favorable true pass-rush opportunities. However, he received the highest overall PFF grade (92.5) and pass-rush grade (93.5) among all defensive players in the NFL, along with being tied for fourth in TFLs (18). While I believe Garrett’s run defense is underappreciated, it’s how much more bendy he’s become and his ability to move across them line in passing situations that have made him a menace to block. That’s how he’s tied with T.J. Watt for the highest sack-per-game rate in NFL history (0.89).
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7. Chris Jones

Since I just mentioned him, Myles Garrett was the only defensive player in the NFL with a higher overall PFF grade (92.3) than Jones, between week one and the Super Bowl. While I don’t believe he’ll ever be quite as dominant against the run as Aaron Donald has been, I thought he became a lot more impactful near the point of attack this past season and he was tied for seventh among all defensive players in TFLs (17). More importantly, looking at the PFF database, Jones’ 97 total pressures were 27(!) more than the next-closest interior defensive lineman, if you include the playoffs. The fact he put up the highest pass-rush win rate among interior D-linemen (20.2%) and 11 of his 15.5 sacks ended opposing drives is even more impressive considering he was double-teamed at the highest rate in the league (69%). He’s become a true closer for the league’s most dominant team.
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8. Trent Williams

The only reason Trent isn’t considered an all-time great like Joe Thomas was (yet), entering the league three years later, is that he missed 29 games between 2016 and 2019 – which the last of those he sat out entirely. In three years with the 49ers, he has been the highest-graded offensive tackle in PFF’s database in each of those. That was the case in two other years in Washington (2013 and 2016). Williams has to be the scariest man to step in front of in the run game, where he can drive guys out to the sideline, cave in one side entirely for cutback lanes or make the knees of defenders shake when he gets out in space. Along with that, he has held opposing pass-rushers to just one sack each of the last two seasons and 61 total pressures across 1708 pass-blocking snaps these prior three years.
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9. Aaron Donald

Even though Donald is coming off by far his least productive season as a pro, I could not ignore the resume of this all-time great and drop his outside the top-ten. Even if you just go by traditional statistics, his 103 sacks and 160 TFLs across 138 career games, that puts him into a league of his own as far interior D-linemen go. However, in four of the five seasons prior to 2022, he cracked at least 102 combined pressures, including the playoffs. Only Tamba Hali, J.J. Watt, Za’Darius Smith, Maxx Crosby and Micah Parsons have reached that number since PFF started tracking those back in 2006 – and they all only did it once each. However, that should not overshadow the type of disruption Donald creates in the run game, where his first step combined insane strength around 280 pounds constantly messes up plays. In fact, he has received an overall grade of over 90 in all nine of his seasons as a pro.
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10. Joe Burrow

This guy is an absolute killer. I actually made a video on why the Bengals offense struggled during their 0-2 start to last season, but once they made the fundamental shift to a more 11-personnel heavy, spread approach, they became one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL (second behind only the Chiefs in EPA per play from week six onwards). Even with Ja’Marr Chase missing some time and the supposedly improved O-line having issues in protection for stretches, Joey B was able to finish behind only Mahomes with 279.7 passing yards per game and 35 TDs through the air, whilst being tied for the second-lowest time-to-throw (2.5 seconds). While the Bengals were probably one mental mistake in Kansas City away from going to back-to-back Super Bowl, after beating up the Bills at their place, Burrow himself was tied with Mahomes for the highest PFF grade (92.0), with the best big-time-throw (37) to turnover-worthy play (18) rate among the three (2.06-to-one).
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11. Micah Parsons

As Parsons has transitioned from off-ball backer all the way back to defensive end coming into 2023 – which Penn State originally recruited him as – he’s turned himself into one of the toughest guys to block in all of football. According to PFF, Micah led the NFL with 106 total pressures (across 577 pass-rush snaps) if you include the playoffs, and his 19.3% pressure rate was first as well. Not only has he made 1st-team All-Pro and finished second in DPOY voting each of his first two seasons, but he also joined Reggie White and Aldon Smith as the only three players with 13+ sacks in consecutive years to begin their careers. His speed off the edge is too much to handle for most NFL tackles, but he’s improved his ability to defeat their hands and the power he can convert that initial burst into shocks most opponents. He’s also uber-active in the run game, as somebody constantly fighting off contact and too fast to leave unblocked on the backside, while he forced three fumbles this past season.
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12. Tyreek Hill

Until the last couple of weeks of the 2022 season, Hill was actually head-to-head with Justin Jefferson and if he didn’t lose QB1, he might’ve actually had those extra 100 yards he needed for the receiving crown (1710 yards). However, while those two actually shared almost the exact same target share around 40%, Tyreek was the only pass-catcher with 20+ targets to average at least three yards per route run (3.07 – about half a yard more than Jefferson). What’s crazy about that, is the fact that Miami actually didn’t set him up with a ton of run-after-catch opportunities, with hole-shots off wheel routes off motion and several deep balls chucked his way, where he actually needed to stop and work back towards the ball, making his 50% contested catch rate at 5’10” even more impressive. You watch the Ravens and Lions games – in which he put up 190 and 188 yards respectively – and this dude almost single-handedly earned them those wins, when everybody knew that’s where they were going in key spots.
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13. Fred Warner

Fans of the linebacker position had the luxury of watching perennial All-Pros Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner during the 2010s, along with the tail-end of the Patrick Willis-NaVorro Bowman tandem. Well, since then a new alpha on the second level has separated himself from the rest of the pack in San Francisco. Fred Warner’s numbers across 86 career games are certainly impressive – 634 total tackles, four INTs, 35 PBUs, seven forced fumbles and 30 combined sacks and QB hits. However, it’s his impact on games that you can’t express in numbers that make him truly special – how he forces running backs to redirect because of how quickly he fills on the front-side, how he splits a couple of blockers to shut down screen passes, how he’s mugged up in the A-gap and is still able to carry the slot receiver 40 yards down the seams. His play speed is absolutely insane and just watching games, his presence is constantly felt. He’s also missed just 6.2% of his attempted tackles since 2020.
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14. T.J. Watt

After a monster start in week one against the Bengals, when he had a sack, QB hit, three TFLs and an interception, Watt suffered a torn bicep at the end of the game and ended up missing a couple of months. He never quite returned to form, but we can’t forget what kind of insane path this guy has been on. Even with that injury-plagued 2022 campaign, Watt still has the most sacks (77.5), QB hits (162), and forced fumbles (23) since entering the league in 2017. He’s capable of taking over games in a hurry, but it’s his steady presence and effort to consistently affect the run and pass game that make him one of the game’s best. Looking at his impact when Watt was on the field this past season, the Steelers defense allowed 16.9 points per game and had 3.2 sacks per game (8-1 record). Without him, it allowed 25.3 points and had just 1.1 sacks (1-6 record).
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15. Patrick Surtain II

As I’ve said before, if you’re looking at the job description of a cornerback, in terms of sticking to your man and not allowing him to catch passes, I believe Surtain has ascended to the top of the list. He earned the second-highest PFF grade in coverage (86.7) to only rookie sensation Sauce Gardner and while the raw numbers for opposing QBs targeting him (45-of-77 for 468 yards and four TDs vs. two INTs) don’t scream out lockdown corner to you, I believe context is needed. Unlike most teams today who either leave their guys on respective sides and/or play different variations of match-zone coverages, Pat II is legitimately isolated with the opposing team’s top outside receiver every week and the Broncos structure their defense around him. Watch his two matchups against Davante Adams last season, where he was all over the All-Pro receiver until the very last play of their overtime game, when because Josh McDaniels understood what kind of student of the game he was, they got him on a double-move off one of their staple concepts.
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16. Zack Martin

I was shocked to find out Martin finished all the way down at 50th among all offensive linemen who played 100+ snaps last season in terms of PFF grade. Considering he didn’t allow a single sack, just two QB hits and 15 additional pressures on over 700 pass-blocking snaps, that had me scratching my head even more so. The reasoning behind it was a run-blocking grade of 63.7, which I just disagree with, considering he and his fellow linemen regularly placed defensive linemen in the laps of linebackers and guys never seem to disengage from him once he’s been able to latch his hands. Martin has now made 1st-team All-Pro six times and second-time twice, with the only year he didn’t reach either being 2020, when he played a career-low ten games (only one other time did he not reach at least 16 starts).
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17. Ja’Marr Chase

After setting the NFL record for rookie receiving yards in 2021, Chase was still able to affect the 12 games he was available for in equal fashion. Seeing six more targets his way (134) and catching all of those (87), he was able to convert 50% of his targets and 77% of his receptions into either 1st downs or touchdowns. The amount of big plays (13 catches of 20+ yards) certainly decreased, but he was an even more reliable piece in key situations, as only Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown converted more 3rd downs per game into 1st downs (1.42) among pass-catchers with 50+ targets. He can run by pretty much anybody and looks even faster with the ball in his hands, but he’s worked on his craft, in order to come open at the marker and find space along the sideline for crucial grabs. And acrossed 15 total games played (including playoffs), he finished below 50 yards just once. The one issue – he led the NFL with 0.92 drops per game (11 total).
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18. Davante Adams

While Adams’ yards per game decreased to “only” 89.2 last season (still top-five), he led the NFL in receiving TDs for the second time in his career with 14. That’s despite being part of a Raiders offense that other than him and Josh Jacobs didn’t have any consistent producers among their skill-position group. If you put in perspective how much Davante meant for that unit, he not only accounted for half of their scoring through the air, but also second behind only D.J. Moore as part of a horrible Panthers offense, in the percentage share of his team’s air yardage (41.8%). However, while he was still a chain-mover for the Silver and Black, he was used downfield more than he ever in his career, as his 10.2 yards before the catch on average was just 0.1 yard behind Tyreek Hill and his 24 receptions of 20+ yards was just one behind the Miami speedster. That included a walk-off touchdown in overtime in their second Broncos game.
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19. Lane Johnson

Really to express how freaking good Lane has been over these last few years, all I need to say is that he hasn’t allowed a sack since week 11 of 2020. He’s also only allowed one QB hit, despite spending over 1100 snaps in pass-pro since then and having faced some of the top-flight pass-rushers across the league. Johnson isn’t quite up to par with the brute force of his counterpart Jordan Mailata over at left tackle or as versatile in his usage as Jason Kelce at center, but he’s able to control and steer bodies in the run game, while his guy never seems to make the tackle. Johnson is the best pure pass-protector in the game today and got the job every week for the most devastating rushing attack in the NFL, as they led the league in total yards (3040) if you include the playoffs and set a new record with 42(!) TDs on the ground for a season.
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20. Maxx Crosby

You need convincing that Crosby is one of the premiere defensive linemen in the game or just want to have fun for the next hour? Go put on some Raiders tape and watch this man go to work – please don’t pay attention to the rest of that defense though. Somehow because he’s this big white dude, people act like Crosby isn’t an above-90th percentile athlete for the position, yet he plays harder than anybody as physically gifted as he is. He’s not the most diverse pass-rusher, but his ability to put tackles of their heels and then throw in a spin move a couple of times per game gets the job done. According to PFF, his 189 total pressures over the last two years lead all defensive players, despite being on a below-average defenses and not having any playoff games to expand that number. Yet, he’s also hyper-active in the run game, to work off blocks and track down the ball-carrier, which is how he had three more tackles for loss (22) than any other player in the NFL, along with three forced fumbles.
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21. Christian McCaffrey

After combining for just ten games the two years prior, McCaffrey was able to finally play a full 17 plus playoffs again in 2022. However, I believe to express how insane he is on a real offense – not the Panthers, who were literally dead-last in the NFL through the first six weeks, when the star running back was still there – we have to look at what he did as a member of the 49ers. Across 14 games and 263 touches for Kyle Shanahan, CMac racked up 1509 yards and 13 TDs from scrimmage, plus another passing TD. You could tell he ran with a different attitude once he got to San Francisco and him as another movable piece for that skill-position group almost seems unfair. Despite seeing the second-highest target share among running backs to only Austin Ekeler, Niner QBs had a passer rating of 115.5 when going McCaffrey’s way.
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22. Chris Lindstrom

With the surprising fall of Quenton Nelson and the rest of the Colts offensive line, a new challenger to the Cowboys’ Zack Martin for the title of best guard in football emerged. Lindstrom received easily the highest PFF grade among offensive linemen (95.0), in particular without another interior guy quite cracking the 90-mark. His ability to create lateral displacement on the front-side of zone concepts, get to the outside edge of defenders in order to scoop them up away from the point of attack and take linebackers for a ride when he snatches them up was a huge factor in the Falcons finishing just two yards short of second in rushing yards (2718) and just outside the top-three in terms of yards per rush (4.9), despite having very inconsistent QB play to keep defenses from stacking the box. And while Lindstrom isn’t put in a ton of true dropbacks, with the league’s highest rate of RPOs (28.9% of pass attempts), only allowing nine total pressures across 517 pass-blocking snaps is highly impressive.
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23. Minkah Fitzpatrick

This marks the second time in three years that Minkah finds himself atop my safety rankings on one of these lists and you almost can’t deny he’s become one of the games’ greats, earning his third 1st-team All-Pro nod in four years with the Steelers. Even with a couple of games missed due to injury, he was tied for a league-high six INTs, along with 11 more PBUs. However, he’s far from a finesse free safety. This guy can be an enforcer dropping as a robber or when you try to hit seam routes/benders against him in two-high shells. 2022 marked the second straight year with a run defense grade of over 82 for him and he missed a career-low 5.0% of his tackling attempts. Other than maybe Derwin James, he’s the most useful safety, but at the same time his knack for the ball also makes him the most dangerous one.
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24. Sauce Gardner

Not enough is made of how rare it is for rookie cornerbacks to even be above-average starters, much less play at an All-Pro level. However, not only did Sauce win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but the Associated Press also named him 1st-team for how consistent he was all season, as he was tied for the best PFF coverage grade among all defensive backs (90.0). Along with his two interceptions, he led the league with 20 more passes broken up, despite only seeing 86 targets come his way. 46 of those got completed for 452 yards and one touchdown – which was actually on him based on their rules in zone coverage, but he was labelled the next-closest defender. With as zone-heavy as the Jets defensive system is, they ask their corners to help a lot in run support and Sauce didn’t back down at all as a tackler, missing just five of 80 attempts on the year.
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25. Justin Herbert

Just looking at the total numbers, not only did Herbert set the all-time record for passing yards and touchdowns through year one and two, but he’s also sixth ever in TD-to-INT ratio (2.69). This past season despite losing his All-Pro left tackle mid-way through week three, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen missing 11 combined games, the team averaging just 3.8 yards per rush and Herbert fracturing his rib cartilage in week two already, he was able to throw 26 TDs compared to ten picks and lead the Chargers to ten wins. He finished tied for 31st in intended air yards per pass attempt due to the restrictions of the Joe Lombardi passing game, with so many static, repetitive concepts with no vertical stretching of defenses and very limited space created for run-after-catch opportunities. Putting statistical context to the tape, which shows how many bad plays he gets L.A. out of, he put up the fifth-lowest pressure-to-sack conversion rate (14.2%).
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26. Nick Chubb

Chubb “only” finished third in total rushing yards last season (1525), but he also received 37 and 47 fewer carries than numbers one and two. He led the NFL with 47 rushes of 10+ yards and had the best missed tackle forced-per-carry rate at 27.5%. Yes, he operates behind one of the best offensive lines in football, but his ability to make those big guys look good with appropriate pacing, manipulation of 1st- or 2nd-level defenders and to get skinny for a nearly 230-pound back is tremendous. He squats about three times his weight, which shows up in the way he clears arm-tackles like turnstiles and is able to churn out yardage when he is actually wrapped up. The only reason he isn’t considered among the elite by everybody is his limited usage in the pass game, but he does average 6.3 yards per target for his career, despite a yards-before-catch average mark of -0.6. By the way, he just became the first running back ever to average at least five yards per carry for five straight years – which is as long as he’s been in the league.
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27. Dexter Lawrence

I know nose-tackle isn’t the sexiest position for casual NFL fans, but we need to appreciate how dominant Sexy Dexy was in 2022. Only Myles Garrett received a higher PFF grade during the regular season (92.4) among all defensive players in the league and I would argue Lawrence was the most impactful player in New York’s first playoff win since 2011, as he abused the Vikings interior O-line throughout the day. Despite spending about two thirds of snaps between the guards, Lawrence finished second to only Chris Jones among interior defenders with 70 total pressures. Taking the playoffs into account, he was tied for sixth among all defensive linemen with 32 run stops, yet only missed just one of 69 tackling attempts. His ability to control guys on the inside one-on-one, swallow combos and take pass-blockers on the inside for a ride set up one of the most dominant seasons we’ve seen from a legit nose.
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28. Quinnen Williams

While personnel-wise the Jets secondary experienced the biggest overhaul heading into this past year, their dramatic shift from dead-last to top-five across basically all defensive statistics can be equally connected to the ascent of Williams as a true difference-maker up front. While he had been an impactful starter his first three years with Gang Green, the former number three overall pick finally lived up to my lofty expectations for him coming out of Alabama. For the 2022 regular season, Big Q’s pressure-per-pass-rush-snap rate of 12.9% put him behind only Javon Hargrave and Chris Jones in terms of interior defensive linemen, while pro-football-reference has him tied for second with 28 QB hits. Despite only spending 270 snaps in run-defense (36th for his position) due to the heavy rotation New York uses, he was able to throw off plays before they could even get going with regularity and finished tied for sixth among that group with 12 TFLs.
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29. Stefon Diggs

Even with Gabriel Davis being expected to break out in 2022 and QB Josh Allen banging up his elbow mid-way through the year, it didn’t really slow down Diggs’ production in in his eighth season, as he set personal highs in 1st downs (74) and TDs responsible for (11). Looking at his numbers among all wide receivers, he finished top-five in receiving yards (1429), 1st downs per receptions (46.8%) and passer rating when targeted (120.3). While he can still win down the field with tremendous focus and ball-skills (finished behind only Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams with six catches of 40+ yards), it’s his ability to win early in the route that have made him one of the most efficient high-volume targets across the league. With that being said, he was only tied for 18th in catches that converted 3rd downs (16), had a career-worst contested catch rate of just 46.2% (which is still pretty damn good) and he was tied for the tenth-most drops across the league (nine).
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30. Jaire Alexander

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The rest of the analysis can be found here!

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31. Roquan Smith

32. Jalen Ramsey

33. A.J. Brown

34. Tristan Wirfs

36. Andrew Thomas

36. Lamar Jackson

37. Cooper Kupp

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38. Jason Kelce

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39. Jeffery Simmons

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40. Derwin James

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41. Laremy Tunsil

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42. Josh Jacobs

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43. Justin Simmons

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44. Marlon Humphrey

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45. Saquon Barkley

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46. Haason Reddick

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47. Mark Andrews

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48. Joel Bitonio

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49. DeForest Buckner

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50. Creed Humphrey

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51. Trevor Lawrence

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52. George Kittle

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53. Austin Ekeler

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54. Matt Judon

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55. Terry McLaurin

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56. Jalen Hurts

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57. Ceedee Lamb

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58. Jonathan Allen

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59. Derrick Henry

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60. Shaquille Leonard

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61. Brian Burns

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62. Jonathan Taylor

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63. Deebo Samuel

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64. Jaylen Waddle

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65. Christian Wilkins

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66. Javon Hargrave

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67. Penei Sewell

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68. Christian Darrisaw

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69. Matt Milano

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70. Rashan Gary

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71. Cam Heyward

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72. D.K. Metcalf

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73. Talanoa Hufanga

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74. Darius Slay

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75. Von Miller

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76. Frank Ragnow

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77. Joey Bosa

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78. Aaron Rodgers

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79. A.J. Terrell

80. Nick Bolton

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81. Tony Pollard

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82. D.J. Reader

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83. Rashawn Slater

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84. Kevin Byard

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85. Jaelan Phillips

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86. Dallas Goedert

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87. Joe Thuney

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88. Wyatt Teller

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89. Trey Hendrickson

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90. Antoine Winfield Jr.

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91. Quenton Nelson

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92. Jaycee Horn

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93. Trevon Diggs

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94. Rhamondre Stevenson

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95. Jordan Poyer

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96. T.J. Hockenson

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97. Tariq Woolen

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98. Aaron Jones

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99. Kyle Dugger

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100. Amon-Ra St. Brown

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The next 30 names:

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DeMario Davis, Tyson Campbell, David Long Jr., Marcus Williams, D.J. Moore, Jessie Bates, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Ryan Ramczyk, Jimmie Ward, DaRon Payne, Jevon Holland, Za’Darius Smith, David Njoku, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Vita Vea, Ronnie Stanley, Josh Allen (JAX), Dre Greenlaw, Geno Smith, Budda Baker, Elgton Jenkins, James Bradberry, Lavonte David, Quincy Williams, Jonah Jackson, Amari Cooper, Kenny Clark & DeVonta Smith
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If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider checking out the original piece & feel free to check out all my other video content here!
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Welcome to the 30-21 Rankings for the NFL Top 100 Players of the 2022 Season!

Link to Previous Post (40-31)

Players whose average rank landed them in places 30-21 are on this portion of the list revealed today. Players are associated with the team they finished playing for at the end of the 2022 season
Below you will see some write-ups from the rankers summarizing the players’ 2022 season and why they were among the best in 2022. Additionally, their ranks from previous years are available for y’all to see

METHODOLOGY

Link to more detailed writeup on our methodology

• Step 1: A Call to Rankers right after the Conference Championship games
  
• Step 2: Rankers from each team nominated players to rank, with a 11 game minimum threshold. Players are associated with the team they played for in 2022
  
• Step 3: The Grind. We instructed users to tier positions groups into T25, T50, etc based on 2022 regular season play only. This took several weeks as the rankers tiered each position group and discussed them. There were no individual player threads and no arbitrary position caps. Just questions and rankings.
  
• Step 4: Users submitted their own personal Top 125 lists.
  
• Step 5: User lists were reviewed by myself, u/mattkud , and u/MikeTysonChicken . The rankers were expected to answer questions about their lists. They were allowed to make any changes to their list, and were not forced to make any changes
  
• Step 6: The Reveal… where we are now!
  

And without further ado, here are the players ranked 30-21 in the NFL Top 100 Players of the 2022 Season!

#30 - Nick Chubb - Cleveland Browns - Running Back

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019	2018
42	38	34	N/A​

Key Stat:
Most rushing yards by someone who finished 3rd in the league since 2012
Written by: u/TheeCock
Key Stat: In 2022, Nick Chubb led the league in “Number of Times TheeCock questioned his Sexuality”.
Not sure why I’m required to submit this write-up so early for the #1 player of 2022, but regardless. Nick Chubb continued his reign as the unquestioned best Nick Chubb in football, and he ran the ball pretty well too. For the old-heads, Nick had his best year so far as he racked up the 3rd most rushing yards in the league (1,525) to the tune of 5.0 yards per carry (not to mention 13 total touchdowns). For the advanced stat-nerds he’s a consistent Pro Football Focus monster, with his rushing grade topping out at 90.7 in 2022. In fact, he’s never had a rushing grade below 80! If PFF reported real stats, this would be nuts.
All this fluff to say what everyone already knows: Nick Chubb has an argument for the best back in the league, and he continues to churn out production in a system (previously) centered around him. The guy spent the year facing stacked boxes, breaking tackles at an elite rate, and covering up for our former franchise QB (Brissett) and the worst person on earth, yet still dominated. Chubb not only led the league in Rushing Yards Over Expected by a wide margin (389 vs 2nd place 263), but did so while spending the most time behind the LOS with an average of 3.1 seconds per attempt. Here are some samples of his best plays from 2022 to accentuate just how good he was last year 1 2 3
Nick has made this general area on the list his home for the past few years. He's no longer underrated, and could be HOF bound with a few more years of elite production. 2023 will likely introduce Chubb to even more volume by way of a larger passing game role, but I'm not worried. The man is a freak of nature and will occupy the #1 spot in my heart for years to come.

#29 - Quinnen Williams - New York Jets - Interior Defensive Lineman (IDL)

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019
N/A	84	N/A​

Key Stat:
First Jet to get DPOY votes since Darrelle Revis in 2009
Written by: u/KingDing-a-Ling13
Over the past few years, there has been a big changing of the guard for elite interior defensive linemen across the league. With guys like Geno Atkins and Gerald McCoy retired, and most of the active big name big boys on the wrong side of 30 (Donald, Cox, Suh, Heyward), the opportunity is currently there for new blood to break through. One of the new kids on the block making a name for himself is Quinnen Williams. The third overall pick in the 2019 draft, Williams didn’t exactly burst on the scene the way Jets fans hoped. He was certainly a good player, but hadn’t quite reached expectations for his draft position. That is, until last year, when Quinnen finally broke out. Big Q set a new career high with 12 sacks, plugged the center of a great Jets defense, and earned a 1st Team All-Pro nod.
At 6’3” 303lb, Quinnen Williams possesses a rare combination of size and speed. His pure strength with his quick feet and explosiveness makes him a nightmare for opposing guards and centers to stop, and he is one of the best interior pressure generators in the league. This play is a great example of his pure physical dominance and pass rush combination. Williams wins the initial engagement, driving the guard back a few yards, proceeds to longarm the guard, before literally throwing him back into his own quarterback for a strip sack. The guard, Jon Runyan, is actually slightly larger than Williams, yet Quinnen tossed him around like a ragdoll. If that amount of pure power wasn’t enough, watch this play, where Williams ends up as an outside rusher off a stunt. It is freakish how fast Quinnen got to the quarterback around the edge. How about Quinnen splitting the center and right guard and sacking Aaron Rodgers just three seconds after the ball was snapped. And in case you were concerned about his run defense, don’t be. Let’s pick on Runyan a little more, and show Williams absolutely stonewall him for a tackle at the line of scrimmage. Or this play against Runyan, where Quinnen honestly just makes him look silly and gets a big tackle for a loss. In case you couldn’t tell, Quinnen Williams had a really, really good game against the Packers. Just for good measure, here’s a special team contribution by him, where he blocked a field goal against, you guessed it, the Packers. I wonder if Quinnen Williams really hates cheese.
Quinnen Williams might not quite be a household name yet, but he is undoubtedly going to be soon. With his big breakout finally behind him, and just entering what should be his peak years, opposing offensive linemen are going to start checking under the bed for Quinnen Williams at night. He had one of the most dominant single-game performances of any defender last season, and he was disruptive in every other game as well. This is his last year under contract with the Jets, and reports say he’s looking for a market-setting deal, which anyone would be hard-pressed to say he does not deserve. As a Patriots fan, I hope the Jets cheap out and lose him, but as a football fan, I can’t help but admire an incredible player.

#28 - Haason Reddick - Philadelphia Eagles - EDGE Rusher

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A​

Key Stat:
First player in NFL history to have 10+ sacks three seasons in a row, on three separate teams
Written by: u/wrhslax1996
Coming in at Number 28 on the NFL Top 100 players of 2022 is Haason Reddick, the dynamic EDGE rusher for the Philadelphia Eagles. When the Eagles signed Reddick last year I was definitely excited but I did not expect him to hit quite as big as he did. The stat sheet itself is wildly impressive. He notched 68 pressures, 40 hurries, and 16 sacks which is a pretty nutty year for any one player. These numbers are even more impressive when you factor in his usage. The Eagles rotated the defensive line heavily last year and, with that depth, who wouldn't? However, his snaps are substantially lower than a lot of other top EDGE rushers around the league. You also have to factor in that Jonathan Gannon, the Eagles absolute mastermind of a DC last year, just loved to have him drop into coverage more than he should have (even though he's not totally totally bad there). Therefore, while his numbers are impressive on the surface, the context of his usage only makes them more impressive and they indicate the efficiency of his 2022 campaign.
So we've established that, by the numbers, Reddick had a phenomenal season. But numbers are just numbers and, without the context and the "how" behind player wins, I'd argue that stats mean next to nothing. I'll lead off this section with Brandon Thorn's final True Sack Rating results for the '22 season. While no metric can perfectly encapsulate how good or not a player is, Thorn is one of the smartest dudes around at evaluating talent and, by his charting, Reddick finished at #1 in the True Sack Rating for 2022. The brief background on this system is that Thorn looks at each sack by each player and determines whether the sacks are Rare High Quality (1.25 points - a 1v1 win against a very good or elite OT), High Quality (1 point - a 1v1 or 1v2 win against an average or below-average tackle due to the pass rusher's moves or athleticism), Low Quality (0.5 points - the pass rusher was unblocked or won due to a stunt or game that made it free for him), or a Coverage/Clean-Up Sack (0.5 points - pass rusher won because the QB held on too long or the secondary was balling out). Reddick finished with 16.5 points due to his absurd 10 high quality sacks. Another thing of note here is that 14 of his 18 sacks (16 is the official number, 18 is what Thorn charted) killed drives and resulted in either turnovers or punts. That's an impressive stat and shows that Reddick usually shows up when it really matters.
Reddick is pretty multiple in how he wins. He typically aligns anywhere from a 7 to a 9T (lining up far outside of the OT) and crashes downhill. From that alignment, he can use his athleticism to manipulate OTs to gain favorable leverage, as he does here against the Giants. He crashes down and plants hard with his right foot which brings the RT's weight forward. The second the tackle commits upfield to stop the inside move, Reddick engages and just bowls him over to pressure Danny Dimes. That's just plain savvy. Here's another fun clip that shows two more pass rush wins. The first is not totally dissimilar to the first clip. Reddick engages the RT and, using the tackle's momentum on his punch against him, uses his agility and speed to rip him aside and strip sack Trevor Lawrence. The second clip there shows how Reddick can adjust to his circumstances. He tries really hard to rip around the RT's outside shoulder but he just can't disengage. Instead, Reddick just uses his motor to drive the tackle back right into Trevor's lap to force yet another fumble. Speaking of Reddick's speed, though, check out this clip. It looks like he goes into the rep wanting to chop and rush inward, however he sees that the tackle is gaining pretty much no depth on his kicks and just rips right around him. I think the speed there is just amazing to see. I also want to use this opportunity to plug my boy Josh Sweat and his absurd pass rush ability. I can't tell if it's an inside chop or if it's just a swipe but he covers a lot of lateral space without sacrificing the speed at which he moves upfield which is just wild.
I know I'm droning on so I'll just drop a few clips of Reddick being a plus run defender, beating TEs, and his one good coverage snap and then call it a day. As 49ers fans should know pretty well at this point, it's probably not a good idea to block him with a TE. Other teams, like the Bears in this case, tried and it doesn't typically work out well. 0/10 do not recommend. Here's some fun run defense for you. Reddick lines up in the C gap outside of Sewell but his fit is the B gap. He recognizes run and tries to fight inside but Sewell, being the really fun tackle he is, isn't going to give up that gap easily. Reddick fights him downfield a step or two, gets low, and forklifts that mean to get into his gap and stock the run. That's just good old fashioned football right there. Finally, here he is making a play in coverage. I could've done without this throughout the year but Gannon's gonna Gannon.
That about wraps up this write-up. Reddick is an amazingly fun player and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to do this write-up. Here's to hoping Reddick follows up his 2022 campaign with another 16+ sack season in 2023.

#27 - Andrew Thomas - New York Giants - Offensive Tackle

Previous Ranks

2021	2020
N/A	N/A​

Key Stat:
The Giants had the 2nd best percentage of converting 1st downs off left tackle
Written by: u/Enthereal
Ask any Giants fan what position group caused the most issues for the team over the last decade and without a doubt they would say the offensive line. Whether it was in the draft, where they selected the likes of Ereck Flowers and Will Hernandez and Bobby Hart, or free agency where they gave deals to guys like Nate Solder, the Giants seemed poised to never have an offensive line that was near average, let alone similar to those that carried us to our recent Super Bowl victories. And after Andrew Thomas’ first year in the league, we were ready to be disappointed again. Heck even after his second year, we were all still quite nervous with the young tackle out of Georgia.
So imagine our surprise in week 1, when Thomas let up but a single pressure while also rating as PFF’s #3 tackle on the week. Or the following week when he rated as PFF’s #1 tackle, allowing three pressures total. And at the halfway point of the season, 9 weeks in, when he’s still PFF’s #1 tackle, allowing a grand total of 9 pressures (or 1 pressure per week for you math nerds out there), with a top10 run blocking grade. Thankfully, nolovedrew (his instagram handle) received the attention he deserved for his accomplishments, garnering nods to both The Athletic’s and PFF’s Midseason All-Pro team.
Though Thomas’ play began to decline in the second half of the season, due to a harder schedule and a constantly rotating interior line decimated by bad play and injury (the Giants still ranked in the bottom5 for offensive line play despite having Thomas), he still ended as PFF's #4 offensive tackle on the season, and more importantly is solidified as the franchise tackle of the future for the Giants. If you don’t believe me, or the AP who awarded him a 2nd-team All Pro, here’s Brian Baldinger saying the same thing.
Much like how Josh Allen has become the guy to compare every large-framed toolsy quarterback to if you want to show what their potential is, Thomas has become the guy for offensive tackle busts.
Giants fans have a ton to be happy about coming out of this last season, but watching big A thrive in the big A is definitely one of the things that is bringing the most joy.

#26 - Stefon Diggs - Buffalo Bills - Wide Receiver

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
38	10	74	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A​

Key Stat:
Diggs now has the the top 2 highest single season receptions totals and the top 3 highest single season receiving yards totals in Bills history
Written by: u/Man_0n_F1re
Stefon Diggs put up no shortage of impressive receiving stats in the 2022 season, demonstrating that he remains one of the league’s premier wideouts. He finished 4th in receptions (108), 5th in targets (154), 5th in receiving yards (1,429), and T-3rd in receiving TDs (11), all of which (besides targets) marked a slight rise in output from the previous season. Beyond the raw numbers, Diggs continued to display an ability to come through in the clutch during key moments, such as the final seconds of the Bills-Lions Thanksgiving clash when he sliced through three defenders to grab a laser from Josh Allen that set the Bills up for the game-winning field goal.
Other Diggs highlights from the 2022 season include the 53-yard TD reception he caught during the Week 1 contest against the Rams after burning Jalen Ramsey on a deep go route, after which Stef wasted no time keeping up the trash talk. Then there was his 3-TD performance against the Titans the following week, leading the Bills to a 41-7 victory, a 2-0 start, and a 55-point scoring differential through the first two weeks of the season. From there, however, while Stef continued to post solid numbers week after week, he seemed to settle (perhaps not altogether happily) into a slightly different role in the Buffalo offense under freshman OC Ken Dorsey. Bills fans grew used to seeing Diggs utilized in shorter-yardage, simple slant or curl route plays that, while usually effective, became a somewhat predictable staple of the Dorsey offense.
Whatever frustration Stef may have been experiencing reached an apex during the conclusion of the Bills-Bengals Divisional Playoff game, when he appeared to be at wit’s end with Josh Allen as the Bills floundered. He then took to social media after the game to vent frustrations about the loss, the season, and the team’s level of play. There was also the brief drama surrounding his attendance (or lack thereof) at the first day of mandatory mini-camp. As Diggs heads into his 9th year in the league, still due $85 million over the next five seasons, we can expect him to continue to lead the Buffalo receiving corps, although perhaps his role will continue to evolve as the Bills look to develop other hands around him.

#25 - Zack Martin - Dallas Cowboys - Offensive Guard

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
15	88	40	35	17	24	41	59​

Key Stat:
Of the 10 Hall of Fame players from Notre Dame, none have as many 1st Team All-Pros as Zach Martin
Written by: u/Hepppster
Once again, all I wanted to write was “Zack Martin Good” and figured people would understand, but alas I am once again forced to write a little more on him for the second year in a row.
So, I will try to put in context how good Zack Martin is once again:
- He Block Good
- He has an easy name to remember
- Earned his 6th first team all pro, tying him with Legendary Cowboy Larry Allen for the most all pros for https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/all-pros.htman offensive player in Cowboys history
- Needs only one more first team all pro to tie for the most first team all pros as a Cowboy with all time greats Bob Lilly and Randy White
- Also earned a 1st team all pro from Pro Football Writers
- Was voted to his 8th pro bowl this season, tying him for the 3rd most pro bowls for an offensive player in Cowboys history with Emmitt Smith and Tyron Smith.
- He was voted 1st Team All Pro by the NFLPA’s first ever player voted all pro team (#1 Right Guard in their eyes)
- He still has more pro bowl appearances (8) than Holding penalties (7) all time
- He is credited with only giving up 9 Sacks in his 9 year career (including only giving up one this year)
And here are some Highlights just in case:
- Stands firm against Daron Payne and helps keep Johnathan Allen out from clearing Tyler Biadasz
- Once Again holds up against Daron Payne for a sweet Cooper Rush TD
- Creates a hole for Tony Pollard by bouncing 2 guys (Greg Gaines and Bobby Wagner) out the way for one of the Cowboys longest runs of the season.
- Kicks out the last man running through the gap to help create a wide hole for Tony Pollard for the TD.
- Had an excellent game against the Vikings: kept Harrison Phillips in front of him easily and got the better of Za’Darius Smith for the passing play to develop
- Was able to shove 3 Texans into a pileup for a long Zeke run
So yet again, Zack Martin is in fact still good.

#24 - Maxx Crosby - Las Vegas Raiders - EDGE Rusher

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019
17	N/A	N/A​

Key Stat:
Crosby has the most hurries over the last two seasons, and trails only Myles Garrett in Pass Rush Win Rate over that stretch
Written by: u/KingDing-a-Ling13
The term “dawg” gets tossed around a lot nowadays, but there is absolutely no one in the league more deserving of the term right now than Maxx Crosby. After breaking out in 2021, Mad Maxx reached even higher heights in 2022, setting new career highs in tackles, sacks, and dawgedness. Crosby quite possibly has the highest motor in the entire league, and never takes a play off. That refers to both his tenacity on the field, as well as his raw snap counts, as he played 96.27% of snaps for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, for a total of 1085. He was the only defensive lineman in the entire league to clear 1000 snaps or 90% of team snaps, and he cleared both with ease. You might as well call him the Energizer Bunny because he just keeps going and going and going. Now let’s get into some film.
Almost every elite EDGE rusher in the league makes their name on their pass rush. Maxx is rare in that his run defense is the better aspect of his game, and he genuinely might be the best edge run defender in the league. His strength and drive makes it extremely difficult for opposing right tackles to seal him off the play. What stands out about Maxx’s run defense isn’t his edge setting, though. When the defensive play call gives him the freedom to make a play, Maxx can jump his blocker on the inside and wreak havoc in the backfield before the play can even develop. Look at these nearly identical plays, here and here, against the Chargers, when Maxx does not have outside edge setting responsibilities. He has the agility and technique to swim over the right tackle and disrupt the play in the backfield immediately. Even when the run play is away from Maxx, it’s very dangerous to leave him unblocked, as evidenced by this play and this play. Watch Crosby for an entire game, and you’ll see him making plays all over the field, on his edge, in the backfield, or the opposite sideline. And with all of this talk of his run defense, I’d be remiss not to discuss his pass rush. What better way to demonstrate his pass rush prowess than with his three sacks against rival Patrick Mahomes. He can beat you with an inside spin move, he can beat you with a bull rush into swim move, he can beat you straight up with a speed edge rush. Hell, he can even beat you after he’s been cut blocked. PFF gave Crosby 57 stops on the season, 13 more than any other nominated EDGE rusher, and more than some linebackers on this list. There are no answers when Maxx enters the Thunderdome.
I hesitate to call Maxx Crosby underrated, because I think any big football fan knows his quality, yet he still feels somewhat underappreciated. Maybe it’s because his sack numbers aren’t top of the league. Maybe it’s because the Raiders have been mediocre his whole career. Whatever the case, Maxx has shown that he belongs in the conversation with the best defenders across the league. At worst, he’s a top 5 EDGE rusher, and he has shown out on some not-great Raiders defenses. He more than deserves his spot on this year’s list.

#23 - AJ Brown - Philadelphia Eagles - Wide Receiver

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019
N/A	52	N/A​

Key Stat:
60.6% of his yards came in the 1st half, only his teammate DeVonte Smith had a higher percentage among those in the Top 20 in receiving yards this year.
Written by: u/BigGoopy
The Eagles received AJ Brown in the off-season via trade with Tennessee in exchange for two draft picks (a first and a third) and immediately signed a four year deal with Philly. Some questioned how well he would do competing alongside another #1 receiver in Devonta Smith, but most Eagles fans were thrilled. Titans fans (sorry guys) were upset their organization let a star player go for so cheap.
Any doubt about whether Brown and Smith could be effective side by side was quickly quieted, and they combined for deadly efficiency leading the birds to the bowl. While Brown certainly benefited from having another talented receiver on the team to ease the pressure, he was still Jalen Hurts’ top target on the year, resulting in nearly 1500 yards and 11 touchdowns.
With three years left on his contract, Brown looks to bring the eagles back to the big game this year and promises to help keep the eagles competitive for a long time.

#22 - Minkah Fitzpatrick - Pittsburgh Steelers - Safety

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019	2018
N/A	29	39	N/A​

Key Stat:
First Steeler to lead the league in interceptions since Mel Blount in 1975
Written by: u/ezDuke
When it comes to Safeties, the debate is over. After earning his 3rd 1st team All Pro in 4 years, Minkah officially reigns supreme.
Minkah started the season about as hot as you can get. Often overlooked because it was in Week 1, it was easily one of the best defensive performances of the entire season. In the first quarter against the defending AFC champion Bengals, he jumped a pass from Joe Burrow and took it to the house. Later in the game, holding onto a 6 point lead in the final seconds, Minkah shut the door again. On the next play, things looked lost when Burrow finally found Ja'Marr Chase for what should've been the game-winner (wisely throwing away from Minkah this time). Minkah would not be denied, however, blocking the extra point and sending the game to overtime and eventually securing the win.
That has become a recurring theme throughout his time in Pittsburgh. He is not only one of the league's best ball hawks and a strong open-field tackler. He can lay the wood both in coverage and in the run game. He can even get into the backfield when needed. Most importantly, he is also one of the league's most clutch players.
Exhibit A: his perfectly timed pass breakup on 4th down with 30 seconds on the clock.
Exhibit B: what should've been his second pick 6 of the year, but instead he goes out of bounds to guarantee the victory.
Exhibit C: yet another game-winning interception with 20 seconds on the clock against our biggest rival.
I could go on with even more clutch plays throughout his Steelers tenure, but we'll just focus on 2022 for now. Along with co-leading the league in interceptions with 6, he was also the lone nominated Safety to give up only 1 touchdown in coverage. Among nominated Safeties, he was 2nd in PFF coverage grade, 3rd in PFF run defense grade, and 3rd in QB rating against. He was the only Safety to earn a PFF grade over 81 in both coverage and run defense.
Fitzpatrick is everything you could want in a Safety, and everything Steelers fans could've ever hoped for when we traded for him 4 years ago. Honestly, ranking him 22nd is surprisingly low in my opinion. He has solidified himself as one of the league's top defenders and would likely have gotten more attention in the DPOY conversation if people hadn't stopped paying attention to the Steelers by midseason. If he can keep this pace up, he will no doubt find his way into a gold jacket.

#21 - Josh Jacobs - Las Vegas Raiders - Running Back

Previous Ranks

2021	2020	2019
N/A	N/A	85​

Key Stat:
With 229 yards, Jacobs broke both the single game rushing record for the Raiders, but also broke the Seahawks record for most rushing yards against
Written by: u/musefan8959
After not reaching 1000 yards for the first time in his career last season, Josh Jacobs turned it around this season, nearly doubling his rushing production and becoming the league's leading rusher this year with 1653 rushing yards. For this reason and others that I'll get into below, Josh Jacobs is my running back #1 for the 2022 season.
Most of Jacobs' season (and the Raiders) can be grouped together three games at a time. After the questionable decision to have Jacobs play some snaps in the Hall of Fame game, he did start the season with an average 64 ypg over the first three games while the Raiders started off 0-3.
But then Jacobs went on to average 6.4 yards per attempt the next three games nearly averaging 150 yards per game! The Raiders won two of those games, only losing by a single point against the Chiefs in what ended up being a much closer game than most people probably expected. This was also the Raiders' only loss of the season where Jacobs didn't reach at least 100 rushing yards. And plays like this against the Chiefs or this against the Broncos really showcase how Jacobs landed himself at #21 this year. He'd refuse to go down at first contact and somehow manage to turn nothing into something more often than not. PFF credited Jacobs with 90 avoided tackles, the most of any RB this season. And other than Chubb, no other RB came remotely close to that number.
Games 7-9 were similar to the first three games of the season in terms of performance for Jacobs. But following the pattern of threes, Jacobs then went on to have another spectacular three game stretch afterwards. Over this span, Jacobs actually averaged just over 160 yards per game. This is skewed slightly higher of course due to his game-winning 86 yard TD in overtime against Seattle
The grouping of threes ends there for the most part. It's also tough anyways since 17 isn't a multiple of 3 and math is a thing that exists. Jacobs ended the last five games of the season still putting up respectable numbers. In addition to being such a fun runner to watch this season, he did also help out in the passing game having exactly 400 receiving yards throughout the season putting his total yards from scrimmage over the 2000 mark.
Even though the Raiders didn't have the kind of season their fans were hoping for, Josh Jacobs was a large part of any success they did manage to find throughout the year. And if I were a Raiders fan, despite the RB market being what it is right now, I'd want them to get a deal done to keep Jacobs around.

Link to Positional Tracker Sheet

Link to Ranker Reveal Sheet

Link to Hub

12 minutes. 3167 words.

the state will provide free healthcare to over 2,000 athletes representing Olympic sports

Ministry: The program launches on July 24. It will include services with the latest and most expensive technologies, complex tests, and dental care.
The athletes used to receive only ambulatory care at a clinic. They should receive great medical care for injuries, fitness improvement, and being generally healthy and competitive. //
source,

COVID stats for the past week

6158 tested. 956 infected. 547 healed. 7 deaths. 1144 currently sick.

BA.5 is the most common Omicron variant in Armenia

CDC: We continue to conduct a molecular-genetic examination of samples of patients who test positive. We have discovered the original Omicron variant (B 1.1.529), the BA.2 (aka "Stealth"), BA.4, and BA.5 (predominant).
Get vaccinated, get boosted, and follow the safety rules. //
source, source,

private cash flow from Russia to Armenia has reached record levels

2021 2022 (in million dollars)
Jan: 40 40
Feb: 52 82
Mar: 63 116
Apr: 64 174
May: 72 266 (record)
Cash transfers from the US have also increased, going from $46m to $58m in May.
source,

economy grew 11.8% in the first half of this year

January: +14.8%
February: +8.2%
March: +6.7%
Q1: +9.6%
April: +8.8%
June: +18.5% (foreign trade +71%, industry +19%)
H1: +11.8%

... in H1

Industrial production +6%
Agriculture -6%
Construction +13%
Trade turnover +11%
External trade +44% (import +49%, export +36%)
Electricity production +15%
Services +27%
Consumer price index +8.1%
source, source, source, source, source,

Armenia wants to establish trade representation in Poland

Economy Ministry hosted the Polish ambassador today to discuss the strengthening of economic cooperation and commercial partnerships.
source,

Armenia will import more wheat from Russia this year

The EAEU has approved Armenia's petition to import more wheat. This year the overall consumption is 377k tons, from which 275k tons will be imported from Russia.
Armenia will also import sunflower oil, barley, and corn from Russia.
source,

Turkey's special envoy Serdar Kilic visited the Armenian border as part of efforts to normalize AM-TR relations PHOTO

The delegation visited the historical Ani, museums, and the Dogukapi border railway checkpoint with Armenia.
Simultaneously, an Israeli company was hired to conduct demining operations on the Turkish side. One person has been injured after a landmine explosion.
source, source,

Pashinyan and Anthon Blinken had a phone call

They discussed AM-US relations, regional security, AM-TR relations, AM-AZ relations, the unblocking of roads, locating missing persons, and the return of POWs.
Blinken: We welcome your telephone conversation with Erdogan on July 11. We the US is willing to support the efforts to normalize relations.
source,

government is relaunching the "Neruzh" repatriation program for professionals and tech startups

The NerUzh Diaspora Tech Startup Program was successfully piloted in 2018 as a means of attracting Diaspora tech and business talent back to the homeland.
[It] is designed to introduce diaspora entrepreneurs to the possibilities of basing their startups in Armenia and familiarize them with the country’s business practices as well as the local ecosystem.
The winners of the competition—provided that they present a business plan, company registration in Armenia and a local corporate bank account—are invited to repatriate to Armenia and awarded between $15,000 and $30,000 in funding, as well as mentorship to grow their businesses

The re-branded program is returning after a 2-year break. The Neruzh 3.0 will take place in September in Dilijan, with 60 representatives of 30 startups from around the world. It's being implemented in partnership with the My Step Foundation.
The new website is accepting applications until August. To qualify, the startup must have Armenian co-founders.
High Tech Minister: One of the goals is to create 10 international companies and help them capture the international market.
source, source,

prosecutors could press felony charges over the collapse of the road near Hamalir in May

It took a month to repair the busy section of the collapsed road (Leningradyan-Tsitserbanaberd Highway). A nearby condo construction company was accused of violating the code.
Inspectors: We have examined several locations on Tsitsernakaberd Highway. There is sufficient evidence indicating a crime. The findings were sent to prosecutors.
In March 2020, Yerevan's urban development committee approved the construction project. In June 2020 and March 2022, mayors Hayk Marutyan and Hrachya Sargsyan approved and re-approved the illegally-designed project.
The junctions intended for the entrance/exit of the underground floors/garages of the residential buildings were built outside of the boundaries of the lands owned by the project developer.
The construction firm SahakyanShin carried out the works with gross violations of the agreed work plan. They conducted demolition and earthworks outside the boundaries, along the highway.
They also violated a requirement about a 27-degree pit slope, which led to the collapse of the section of the highway.
We submitted documents to revoke the company's construction license. The municipality officials had also failed to carry out their duties, failed to prevent the illegal use of city lands, and aided the illegal activities by approving the project. //
source,

Yerevan's "Vernissage" open-air market operator is accused of large-scale tax evasion

NSS: The head of the LLC that rents the Vernissage area conspired with other individuals to evade taxes in 2019-2022.
They charged sellers $2/day for a pavilion but didn't print the receipts, or printed fake receipts showing a lower price tag, to conceal the real revenues. They evaded ֏233.5m in taxes. //
source, source,

marriage registrations and ceremonies are getting cheaper in Armenia VIDEO

Justice Ministry provides marriage registration ceremonies for newlywed couples in Hamalir. From now on, the official ceremony and the entry free will cost ֏20k each, down from ֏60k.
Foreign citizens can also apply to register their marriage in Armenia after bringing marriage documents from their country's relevant authorities.
source, source,

Dan Bilzerian did not get married

He posted a wedding-themed photo of him walking with his girlfriend, and titled it "finally did it."
It turns out Bilzerian attended his friend's wedding in France, where his girlfriend was one of the bridesmaids.
instagram, source,

Armenian vampires have been spotted in the wild

A Netflix movie will feature Armenian vampire hunter characters from Glendale.
The upcoming vampire action comedy film DAY SHIFT, starring Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg, will feature Nazarian Brothers (played by non-Armenians) as vampire hunters from Glendale.
original, article, trailer,

khachkar and tombstone with inscriptions were accidentally discovered while cleaning the territory of a monastery in Artsakh PHOTOS

Bri Yeghtsi Monastery is located in the village of Hatsi, Martuni. The discovery was made while cleaning the area of weed, as part of efforts funded by the church and Dr. Virginia Davies's "Save Armenian Monuments" project.
source, source, source,

newly built Armenian church opens in Malaga, Spain PHOTO

The Church sent a delegation to conduct the official Դռնբացեք ceremony and give a blessing. It will have a Sunday school and hold events for the local Armenian community.
There are few Armenian churches in Spain. The country has an approximately 40,000-strong Armenian diaspora.
source, source, source,

a bypass road is being asphalted in Syunik to connect Kapan to southern villages PHOTO

This is the section where part of the state highway ended up on the Azeri side after the war. Kapan is to the north, and Chakaten is to the south of the problematic area.
The new 7.5km road will connect Kapan to Chakaten, Shikahogh, Srashen, Tsav, and Sishkert villages (stretching south).
source, source,

Armenia celebrated water festival Vardavar VIDEO

Gyumri filled the fountains across the city ahead of the celebrations and created a separate area for children to play safely. The day began with the washing of statues located in Theater Square. The municipality's water trucks were locked at loaded in the main square.
Video of the countdown and mass jrotsi in Gyumri.
Photos from Gyumri.
Photos from Vanadzor.
Video from Aghavno, Artsakh.
In Kyiv, the Armenian community attended church, watered each other, and received free medical advice from volunteer doctors.
source, source, source,

this is how Vardavar was celebrated at Yerevan's hockey & figure skating sports center VIDEO

The ice machine brought a bunch of snow for the children waiting in the backyard. Everyone started playing snowball in the middle of summer.
Parent: Not a single parent is worried about their child catching a cold, lol.
A grown-ass man: We all enjoyed the snowball fight very much 😃.
The public was given the opportunity to watch performances by figure skaters indoors.
video,

drowning incidents in Lake Sevan have significantly decreased

Emergency Ministry: Years ago we would record 10-14 deaths in Sevan during the swimming season. Last year was 0. This year we recorded 1 drowning after a group used motorboats to enter the lake for swimming.
The rescue teams are working in an enhanced mode, on multiple beaches. The increased effectiveness of our rescuers, coupled with new technologies and awareness campaigns, has contributed to the reduction of deaths.
Most problems are caused by drunk swimmers. People often use water bicycles, travel beyond the warning buoys, and can't come back because of heavy winds.
The majority of deaths are among people who know how to swim. Confident in their abilities, they can ignore safety rules and find themselves in difficult situations.
If you use a motorboat, do not ride it fast in areas close to the beach, where people swim. //
more, https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1088938.html

Yerevan will build and renovate hundreds of new fire hydrants to help the firefighters VIDEO

Municipality: The capital has around 600 fire hydrants, over half of which haven't been functional for many years, causing issues for firefighters.
We will build 100 new hydrants and renovate another 150. The construction is underway. //
video, article,

speakers were installed in all 12 districts of Yerevan to play morning music synchronously with the City Hall's clock tower VIDEO

Mayor Hrachya: It's going to play the tunes of the Erebuni-Yerevan anthem once an hour, for a duration of 3-4 seconds, starting at 7 am. The city will wake up early, the workday will begin early.
We got a lot of jokes about the music potentially disturbing the residents. But the thing is, it had been playing for the past 25 days and people only noticed it after my Facebook post. I'm sure not much has changed in their morning routine.
You can also check the time and weather on the newly installed LED display on the roof of the opera building. The old display was broken beyond repair. //
Resident: 7 am is too early for the music.
Reporter: Have you heard the music?
Resident: No. What is it playing?
Reporter: The Erebuni-Yerevan anthem.
Resident: Ohhh. Then it's worth it!
Resident 2: It's akin to Soviet totalitarianism.
Resident 3: We should help business owners to wake up early so they can take care of deliveries from 6 am to 8 am, so the roads won't be clogged with their cargo trucks around 9 am.
video,, article, video, video,

Yerevan will have new bus stops

The city will purchase new furniture and revamp 10 bus stops. The efforts are underway.
source,

the sad little soccer pitch next to Yerevan's Vazgen Sargsyan soccer stadium is finally being revamped VIDEO

HFF: The construction is underway. We are building a soccer school named after Khoren Abrahamyan next to the pitch. It should be ready by October.
The grass will be installed once the building is ready. It will be 105x68, per international standards.
source,

Yerevan's Opera and Republic Square buildings will have a new lighting system

The municipality plans to implement "artistic solutions". They are discussing several options before testing them on some of the buildings to see what percentage of you will complain about it.
source,

Yerevan has a new art gallery in downtown PHOTOS

Co-founder Simonyan: The goal of the Form & Seasons gallery is to discover new talent and make their artistic voice more recognizable in the cultural world.
The emphasis is on sculptures by over 25 artists of various ages. We've noticed that the public generally prefers paintings, so this is an attempt to gradually convince them to appreciate sculptures.
source,

blood donors will receive free tickets to enjoy State Symphony Orchestra

Orchestra: We launched a new promotional program with Yolyan Hematology Center and IDBank. It'll help promote blood donations and classical music. The donors will receive a free ticket for two. Armenia always needs extra blood. //
Here is how to donate blood.
source,

polls: Armenia-Russia-USSR

The collapse of USSR was bad for Armenia: 67% agree, 22% disagree
The living standards were better during USSR: 52% yes
Armenia should continue to be part of EAEU bloc: 40% yes
Armenia should form a union state with Russia, Belarus: 34% yes, 37% no
Share of population who views Russia as Armenia's closest friend: 83% in 2013, 63% in 2017, 35% in 2021.
source,

Indian migrants in Armenia VIDEO

2,660 Indians visited Armenia in Q1 2022, around 100 of whom decided to stay.
126 people applied specifically for work: 60 approved, 11 rejected.
Expert: Armenia became an attractive destination starting in 2017 when the visa regime was simplified, allowing Indians to receive a Visa on the border or via e-Visa. A later amendment made it slightly more difficult.
Farhad in Yerevan: We were facing financial hardship before COVID so we decided to give our jewelry to a pawn shop to borrow cash. Two months later we went to repay the loan but the owner claimed the gold was stolen. They told us to contact the police, but we can't, because we are undocumented. We need our gold before we can go back. We moved to Armenia 3 years ago. Our daughter was born here.
Prakash: We don't have documents. I work whenever there is an opportunity: sanitation, labor, etc. Some employers are very nice and even invite me for a dinner, while others can swindle and never pay. I get paid from 2k to 7k per day.
continue, article

Armenia is included in CNN's list of the world's 23 best hiking trails

Easily overlooked, Armenia has some of the best walking trails in Europe.
The 11-day Armenia and the Silk Road trip takes in some of its finest routes, connecting the UNESCO protected monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat, passing over limestone peaks and through verdant forests, with the opportunity to hike in the wild Geghama Mountains and climb to the top of Aragats, the country's tallest mountain.

source,

Zarni-Parni is gaining popularity among tourists VIDEO

In this high-altitude place in Lori, you can learn about the history of the region, eat tasty food, and enjoy the sounds of nature.
Czech tourist: Look at these beautiful gorges covered in forests. Czechia is mostly flat. I feel like in a movie right now. The region's story helps reinforce that feeling. //
see it yourself, article,

Armenia's Greco-Roman wrestlers won 4 medals during an international tournament in Poland VIDEO

67kg Slavik Galstyan won the gold medal after defeating his Japanese opponent 8:1. Other athletes won 2 silver and 1 bronze.
source,

Armenia is preparing for World Robot Olympiad

A competition will be organized in Armenia to choose the students who will represent the country. It's co-organized by AYB Foundation and Rostelecom.
This year the number of students has doubled, and the girls' involvement in robotics has also increased. 16 teams from across Armenia will compete.
source,

robot attacks a child, breaks his finger VIDEO

A chess tournament was held in Moscow, attended by a robot player. A 7yo child was playing against it when the bot smashed the child's finger with its metal paw.
The conflict was reportedly caused by the child's failure to wait for his turn before touching the desk. "That's a chess lesson for ya, ya little prick," mumbled the robot before calling Uber to voluntarily get his copper-ass to the nearby scrapyard.
video,

Armenia will launch the second imaging satellite by 2024: Minister

High-Tech Minister Khachatryan: The second one will also be an imaging satellite. The launch date will be sometime in 2023 or 2024, I don't have the exact date.

... we want to produce satellites in Armenia

Our main goal is to launch a satellite production in Armenia. It's an ambitious plan, and we must strive to accomplish it.
We are negotiating with various companies to understand what components can be produced in Armenia at this stage. Our Soviet-era capabilities have been partially preserved, we have excellent scientists.
By the end of this year, we will have a control station for the ARMSAT_1 satellite. The efforts are underway. They are delivering the equipment ordered by us. Simultaneously, there will be expert retraining programs. //
source, source,

the first images taken by Armenia's first satellite will be available in the coming days

Partner Satlantis: After the successful launch a month ago and its smooth entering into a sun-synchronous orbit, the satellite URDANETA-ARMSAT_1 is correctly revolving around Earth, and we are proud to state its good health.
The commissioning of the satellite platform is nearing its completion and we are looking forward to the next steps, like the upcoming calibration of the payload and the reception of the satellite images. //
source, source,

a look back at the previous STARMUS science festival

Read July 19 digest for context about STARMUS and its founder Garik Israelyan. This year the organizers will hold the 6th festival. Flashback to the first festival:

Starmus 1: 50 years of man in space

It was held in the Canary Islands in 2011. Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and others appeared on stage with their Soviet counterparts Alexei Leonov and Victor Gorbatko.
Garik Israelian: Many people didn't believe Neil Armstrong would participate in the event because of his rare public appearances. We lost our credibility, people thought we were crazy. And then he came!
Neil Armstrong's last public speech: Let us hope that our grandchildren at our age can look back and say, “The 20th century was a century of advancement and improvement in technology, and the 21st century was a century of advancement and improvement in human character. And that may just qualify us as humans from Earth to sally forth and expand the human presence beyond Earth not to take with us our worst behavior, but rather to be accompanied by our best behavior. //
Alexei Leonov, the first person to conduct a spacewalk, described the early days of the Soviet space program.
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the most popular (searched) consumer brands around the world

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Yesterday's news in English, русский (by Impossible-Ad-). Archive by Armeniapedia. Donate to Armenia & Artsakh here
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https://www.espn.com/nfl/insideinsidestory/_/id/34125688/ranking-nfl-top-10-edge-rushers-2022-execs-coaches-players-make-their-picks-best-defensive-ends-linebackers

1. T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers

Highest ranking: 1 Lowest ranking: 3Age: 27 Last year's ranking: 2
Watt claims his first-ever No. 1 ranking here, after jumping from No. 7 in 2020 to No. 2 last year. And his 22.5 sacks to tie Michael Strahan's single-season record make his case for him. Watt was the unanimous AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. But his impact comes from the total package he brings to the field.
Watt's 35.5 disrupted dropbacks -- which include sacks, interceptions, batted passes and passes defended -- ranked first in the NFL last season by a wide margin (Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs was next at 32.0). Furthermore, his 23.1% pass rush win rate ranked seventh overall.
"Rare motor and quickness with his hands, has developed good power, and he can also dip and bend high side," an AFC exec said. "Basically, he can beat you inside through you or outside. And [the Steelers] bring so much pressure typically that he's able to add good chase production."
Where is Watt truly elite? The exec pointed to his ability to locate the quarterback quickly and burst to him if his initial pass-rush move stalls. He'll stop, look and then close.
As Watt keeps increasing his sack totals every year, the NFL record of 200 held by Bruce Smith is perhaps something he can chase. He is currently sitting on 72.0 takedowns through five seasons.

2. Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Highest ranking: 1 Lowest ranking: 5Age: 26 Last year's ranking: 1
Garrett made a compelling case for a second consecutive No. 1 ranking thanks to 16.0 sacks and a first team All-Pro spot. Plus, Garrett's 26.5% pass rush win rate led all defensive ends in 2021. Simply put, he's one of the best athletes on the planet, and everyone on the field feels it.
"He takes over a game," an NFL coordinator said. "You build your entire defense around him and don't look back."
The knock on Garrett two years ago was that he could disappear at times during the season, failing to impose his will on some Sundays. But the Browns know he was facing double- and triple-teams back then. Having Jadeveon Clowney on the bookend is huge in keeping defenses honest and allowing Garrett to get after the QB.
"When he's on, one-on-one, he's unblockable," an AFC offensive coach said.
"He still gets chipped and extra help/slides his way, but it's not what it used to be," an AFC front-office official said. "That helps explain his recent dominance."

3. Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers

Highest ranking: 2 Lowest ranking: 10Age: 24 Last year's ranking: 8
Not much illustrates Bosa's prowess quite like this graphic from ESPN sports analytics writer Seth Walder, which displays pass rush win rate against double-team rate through Week 13 of last season.
When it comes to double-teams off the edge, there's Bosa ... and then there's everyone else. Bosa was facing doubles on nearly 30% of his snaps in 2021 and still posted 15.5 sacks and a 23.0% pass rush win rate, eighth in the NFL. He finished the year at 26% double-teams, tops among this list.
"Consistent producer," an NFL personnel evaluator said. "A closer. Impact player at all times."
Bosa logged an impressive third place here after his 2019 rookie year, then fell five spots due to a torn ACL in Week 2 of 2020. He returned to the lineup stronger, with a career-high 88.9 Pro Football Focus rating.
"He's so compact and sudden that when he wins with his hands and technique, it's going to be a long day for the defense," an AFC scout said.
With Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald reworking his contract to surpass the $30 million-per-year threshold, don't be surprised if Bosa signs a comparable deal this summer.

4. Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers

Highest ranking: 2 Lowest ranking: 9Age: 26 Last year's ranking: 3
The elder Bosa didn't earn enough top-three votes for a higher ranking, but he appeared on every single ballot. In five healthy seasons, Bosa has won Defensive Rookie of the Year and made four Pro Bowls. And he just produced his fourth double-digit-sack season (10.5) and a career-high seven forced fumbles in 2021.
"He always has a plan. He's setting up his moves for later in the game, and he's got great technique," an NFL personnel evaluator said. "He's just a classic edge rusher. He's a nightmare for a tackle because of the way he keeps you guessing."
Bosa was double-teamed on 23% of his pass rushes last year, but that rate could decline with the arrival of Khalil Mack in Los Angeles via an offseason trade. That means potentially even more production for Bosa in 2022.
"Relentless effort," an AFC offensive coach said. "He's the guy you have to worry about on every snap."

5. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

Highest ranking: 3 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 24 Last year's ranking: Unranked
Teams demonstrate how much they value players by the money they pay, and Crosby, fresh off a contract extension, is now the second-highest-paid defensive end in the NFL on a per-year average at $23.5 million annually. He anchored the Raiders' attack with 42 quarterback pressures, tied for ninth in the NFL last season, and a 21.4% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th.
"He's not the most gifted on the list, but he's so damn relentless, and he's got great power [and] knows how to use it," an AFC defensive coach said. "He's a technician, too."
Crosby has benefitted from good wingman help, to be sure. His game took off after the arrival of Yannick Ngakoue, who has since been traded to Indianapolis. His new running mate for 2022? Chandler Jones.
But an NFC defensive Pro Bowler says Crosby shouldn't be knocked for that because "he's still got moves and a knack for understanding the flow of the game, elevating his pass rush the last two years with adding his spin as counters, and his long arms set up more moves."

6. Von Miller, Buffalo Bills

Highest ranking: 3 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 33 Last year's ranking: 5
Miller is the kind of player who must be watched to be appreciated. The Rams acquired him via trade to help make key plays in the postseason, and he totally delivered with four sacks. Miller even made several splash plays in the Super Bowl -- beating the right tackle inside for a pass deflection in the red zone, coming off a stunt to chase down Joe Burrow for a sack and spinning off the left guard for another sack late in the game.
"I bumped him up because of what he did in the postseason," an NFL personnel evaluator said. "Took over in critical moments."
The only real issue with Miller is age. The Bills aren't too concerned with that, having signed Miller to a massive six-year, $120 million deal, though they have a potential out after three years and $52 million. Regardless, that's a huge investment for a player on the back nine of his career.
But as one general manager said, "He will age better than most. His explosiveness is still there."

7. Chandler Jones, Las Vegas Raiders

Highest ranking: 3 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 32 Last year's ranking: 5
This is one of the tougher evaluations because Jones turned 32 in February and five of his 10.5 sacks in 2021 came in Week 1 against Tennessee. His 13.6% pass rush win rate ranked 43rd in the NFL, unspectacular for a player of his caliber.
But many voters are still partial to Jones' all-around game. He has never really had a major weakness, playing the run and pass with fervor. Jones has seven seasons with double-digit sacks.
"Maybe he's declined slightly, but he's still really good," an AFC scout said. "Always been a stiffer guy, but he's got power and knows how to rush skillwise."
Free agency also said Jones is still elite. The Raiders gave him a three-year, $51 million deal in March. Jones wanted to be traded last summer but played out the year in Arizona with plans of cashing in -- which he did.

8. Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers

Highest ranking: 4 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 24 Last year's ranking: Unranked
Joining Crosby as another newcomer to the list, Burns doesn't own a double-digit-sack season since entering the league in 2019. But evaluators say the numbers don't tell the whole story with Burns, an explosive, rangy player.
"Rare athlete," an NFC scout said. "Can be deployed any way in any scheme, and you have to know where he is. Can cover better than some stack linebackers. Commands attention every down for where he lines up."
Burns made his first Pro Bowl after a second straight nine-sack season in 2021, and he ranked 15th in pass rush win rate (20.1%). And Burns can do much more -- if he gets help.
That same NFC scout told me that Burns "still has huge upside, and while his production has been good, he would really take off if his offense scored more often, to where he could pin his ears back an extra 15-20 times per game."

9. Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers

Highest ranking: 5 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 31 Last year's ranking: 4
Mack has slipped eight spots over two years, which is sort of understandable given the lack of raw production. His last double-digit-sack season came in 2018. But foot surgery that cost him 10 games last year masked solid play in limited action.
"Six sacks in [seven] games is pretty good," an NFL scouting coordinator said.
Evaluators say you can't overstate the impact of Mack playing alongside bookend Joey Bosa, and how the two can challenge each other. The Chargers acquired Mack in an offseason trade with Chicago.
"Major toughness and physicality," a high-ranking AFC official said. "Football guy. Toughness. Playmaking."
Detractors argue his 76.5 sacks over eight NFL seasons simply hasn't been good enough, though. "Teams have always loved his potential, and he's shown the ability to be great," a veteran NFL defensive player said. "It just hasn't always happened."

10. Cameron Jordan, New Orleans Saints

Highest ranking: 5 Lowest ranking: Out of top 10Age: 32 Last year's ranking: 9
Jordan won a tight race with former teammate Trey Hendrickson for the last spot in our top 10. Some coaches and scouts are partial to Jordan's all-around game. He ranked No. 2 among defensive ends in disrupted dropbacks (22.5), he has produced double-digit sacks in four of the past five years and he's great against the run. In fact, Jordan's 33.5% run stop win rate is the highest among players on this list.
"Until he shows tangible drop-off -- like some of these younger guys who haven't had nearly the production despite getting all the attention from protections like he does -- I'd say he hasn't fallen off," an NFC scout said. "Still one of the best in the game."
Jordan's 9.7% pass rush win rate (No. 81 in the NFL) is unimpressive, but as one AFC defensive coach pointed out, the Saints move Jordan all over the defensive line, and he faced plenty of double-teams last season as New Orleans was depleted up front.

Honorable mentions

Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals: He put together a massive two-year stretch with 27.5 sacks and 52 quarterback hits, and after he signed a four-year, $60 million deal with Cincinnati, he validated it in a big way by anchoring the Bengals' front on the way to the Super Bowl. "Instinctive, tough and plays his ass off," an NFC executive said. "Has rush savvy."
Chase Young, Washington Commanders: Young won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2020 but struggled in Year 2 with 1.5 sacks in nine games. And now he is recovering from a torn ACL that could affect his early-season outlook for 2022. "He'll be fine long-term," an NFC front-office official said. "He's best when he plays with power. He's a power-first guy."
Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings: Hunter is a top-10 rusher when healthy, but he has missed 26 games over the past two seasons. Still, he has 60.5 sacks in 85 career games. "A long-arm power guy. Greatest asset speed and length. Those things will always cause problems," an AFC coach said. "I did not think he should be what he is. He certainly proved me wrong."
Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He reinvented his career in Tampa Bay with 37.5 sacks and two Pro Bowls in three years. "Really good but different than some other rushers -- great athlete, a run-around guy, can counter off the speed, makes plays all over the field," an AFC defensive coach said. "Not a whole lot of power to his game, but he's just dynamic."
DeMarcus Lawrence, Dallas Cowboys: Lawrence made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2017-18, but his sack production stalled (14.5 since 2019), and he missed much of last season due to injury. "I watched him closely because we thought he could [be a] potential cap cut -- they use him all over the place," an NFL defensive coach said. "He's kind of like Clowney was in Houston -- all over, super dynamic. If he stays healthy, there's a ton of production left. Joker plays super hard. King on the chessboard."
Also receiving votes: Josh Allen (Jacksonville Jaguars), Robert Quinn(Chicago Bears), Rashan Gary (Green Bay Packers)

We did this via a discord server, we had GMs and war rooms for every single NFL team and commissioners who basically got to also act as the agents for FAs on top of doing all the behind the scenes stuff and trying to keep trades realistic and fair.
Admittedly I was not GM the entire sim, but I did gain the GM role right before FA kicked in, and I was in the war room prior to that. _garynunchucks_ was the GM until real life commitments saw him stepping down.

INITIAL DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE
QB: Matt Ryan, Feleipe Franks RB: Mike Davis, Caleb Huntley FB: Keith Smith WR: Calvin Ridley (who doesn't want to play for us), Frank Darby, Chad Hansen, Austin Trammell, Brayden Lenius TE: Kyle Pitts, Parker Hesse, Ryan Becker, Daniel Helm, John Raine LT: Jake Matthews, Rick Leonard, Willie Beavers LG: Jalen Mayfield, Rashaad Coward C : Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman RG: Chris Lindstrom, Ryan Neuzil RT: Kaleb McGary
DEFENSE
NT: Grady Jarrett 3T: Tyeler Davison, Marlon Davidson 5T: Nick Thurman, Ta'Quon Graham, John Cominsky ED: Duke Ejiofor, Quinton Bell, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, James Vaughters, Jordan Brailford LB: Deion Jones, Mykal Walker, Dorian Etheridge CB: AJ Terrell, Kendall Sheffield, Avery Williams, Darren Hall, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong, Corey Ballentine, Lafayette Pitts S: Richie Grant, Jaylinn Hawkins, Luther Kirk
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: None P: None

PRE-FA BUSINESS - CLEARING CAP

Our first order of business was restructures. We figured Deion Jones was basically untradeable because he had such an awful 2021 season and even if we did trade him his dead money is actually higher than the amount of cap relief we'd get in doing so. So we just restructured him instead, clearing a hot $6,586,030 in cap space. We also restructured Matt Ryan and Jake Matthews, saving $11,315,000 and $5,690,000 respectively.
Now I will say, before I took over as GM, we did cut quite a few more players than I personally would have wanted to cut. Had it been entirely up to me, we would have cut Mike Davis and Tyeler Davison to clear $2,500,000 and $3,697,059 of cap space, respectively. But the previous GM wanted to go all out on clearing cap space, and I wasn't really in a position to take a stand on not cutting lower level guys, so it went through. The rest of our cuts were as follows: CB Kendall Sheffield (saved $2,540,000), FB Keith Smith ($1,300,000), DE John Cominsky ($965,000), ER James Vaughters ($965,000), TE Parker Hesse ($825,000), and OT Rick Leonard ($705,000). In the long run, these 6 cuts ended up only actually saving us a grand total of like, just shy of $2 million. If I could go back and fight to keep them, I would. Maybe we could cut Smith, he kinda sucks, but the rest of those guys are either promising enough to keep around (Sheffield) or don't have enough of an affect on the cap to bother cutting.
The next big mistake I made was not knowing how the tender process worked when I first became GM. Our original GM had no intention of offering any RFA or ERFA tenders aside from Younghoe Koo, whom we offered a 2nd round tender in an effort to basically bamboozle another team into giving up a 2nd round pick for a kicker. That didn't work, so I ended up just signing Koo to an extension that lowered his 2022 cap hit and would keep him around through the 2025 season, with possible outs after the 2023 and 2024 seasons as well.
You can actually see by the end of the sim that we ended up with Colby Gossett and Qadree Ollison anyway, but I would have really liked to just give them both ERFA deals and be done with it. It ended up costing the same regardless, but with the ERFA deal neither of them would have even hit the market. I also really wanted to offer an ROFR tender to both Anthony Rush and Olamide Zaccheaus but those got out-voted by the war room and then when I finally got GM power I messed up the tendering of Rush after asking the WR if they were cool with it and being met with no real opposition, so he hit FA and we lost him. Bummed about that. No RFAs were retained through RFA tenders other than Younghoe Koo, who I just ended up signing to an extension anyway.

MAJOR TRADES & RE-SIGNINGS

We decided that Calvin Ridley and Grady Jarrett both needed to get traded. The commissioners actually decided to force us to trade Ridley, and I personally was on board with trading him all along, just because if the guy doesn't want to play for us, we should get as much value out of him as we can.
The Ridley trade saw us sending him to Indianapolis in exchange for their 2022 2nd and 3rd round picks (#47 and 82 overall) as well as their 2023 5th round pick. We had better offers but they all got vetoed by the commissioners so we had to settle for this one.
The Jarrett trade saw us sending him to Denver in exchange for their 2022 4th round pick (#113 overall) and another 2023 5th. We really didn't get many good offers for him because his contract is just absolutely absurd and he's coming off a down year, but we got value out of him AND we cleared up $16,500,000 worth of cap space by getting rid of him. We used every last bit of that money, and after everything was said and done, we ended up with less than $7 million in cap space remaining, which would end up rolling over to the 2023 season.
Finally, the only other player who was already on the team that would have become a FA but we managed to keep around was Isaiah Oliver. He was starting to show some promise in the slot but then got hurt so we gave him a 2 year deal worth a little over $8 million. We attempted to re-sign Russell Gage but our $4m/yr deal got rejected, and then our second offer, a $6m/yr deal, also got rejected, so he decided to test FA, and ended up signing a 3 year, $38 million deal with Washington. I personally think that's absolutely ludicrous for a player of Gage's caliber, so I'm happy for the guy for getting what he can out of the league while he's in it.
By the time Free Agency actually began, we ended up with a grand total of just about $50 million in cap space after taking into account the Y1 cap hits of signing our 2022 draft picks, and a roster that looked like this:

PRE-FA DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE
QB: Matt Ryan, Feleipe Franks RB: Caleb Huntley FB: John Raine TE: Kyle Pitts, Daniel Helm WR: Frank Darby, Chad Hansen, Braydon Lenius, Austin Trammell OT: Jake Matthews, Kaleb McGary, Willie Beavers OG: Jalen Mayfield, Chris Lindstrom, Ryan Neuzil, Rashaad Coward OC: Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman
DEFENSE
NT: None 3T: Marlon Davidson 5T: Ta'Quon Graham, Nick Thurman ED: Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Jordan Brailford, Duke Ejiofor, Quinton Bell LB: Deion Jones, Mykal Walker, Emmanuel Ellerbee, Dorian Etheridge CB: AJ Terrell, Isaiah Oliver, Darren Hall, Avery Williams, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong, Lafayette Pitts, Corey Ballentine SS: Jaylinn Hawkins FS: Richie Grant, Luther Kirk
SPECIAL TEAMS
P: Dom Maggio K: Younghoe Koo LS: None PR: Avery Williams KR: None
So I went to work. Free Agency was a lot of fun, but also very frustrating at times. My whole goal was to just field a team of at-or-above replacement level NFL starter quality players. I also really wanted to focus on improving the offense as much as possible because my whole line of thinking is, we want a rookie QB to have the easiest job possible. We don't want to bring in a kid with as much potential as Trevor Lawrence only to go full Jaguars and give him absolutely nothing to work with. So I figured, hey, we give Matt Ryan the easiest job imaginable because that will then directly translate into giving the incoming rookie QB the easiest job possible as well. I wasn't necessarily planning on taking a QB in this draft, but I was hoping to set the team up so that we could get one in the 2023 draft and he'd have a nice, successful rookie season, rather than the dumpster fires we had to watch happen this year with Lawrence and to a lesser degree, Fields.
Our first wave of FA signings would have been worth $48,625,000 of our $48,878,648 cap space. That's if every single guy would have agreed to terms and signed with us. As it turns out a lot of them had better deals on the table and they didn't sign with us, but the ones who did I was very happy about, especially taking into account some of the other absolutely ludicrous contracts that some other players signed at similar positions. Gage's contract ended up paying him more per year than we ended up getting Christian Kirk for. To keep it as simple as possible, rather than posting all of the details of every contract, I'm just going to post what our roster looked like at the end of the free agency period, pre-draft.

POST-FA DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE
QB: Matt Ryan, Jacoby Brissett, Feleipe Franks RB: Leonard Fournette, Chase Edmonds, Royce Freeman, Caleb Huntley FB: Jakob Johnson, John Raine TE: Kyle Pitts, Kahale Warring, Daniel Helm WR: Christian Kirk, Kalif Raymond, Demarcus Robinson, Trent Sherfield, Richie James, Cameron Batson, Frank Darby, Chad Hansen, Braydon Lenius, Austin Trammell OT: Jake Matthews, Germain Ifedi, Kaleb McGary, Willie Beavers OG: Chris Lindstrom, Andrew Wylie, Jalen Mayfield, Ryan Neuzil, Rashaad Coward OC: Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman
DEFENSE
NT: Mike Purcell 3T: B.J. Hill, Marlon Davidson, Ta'Quon Graham 5T: Demarcus Walker, Nick Thurman ED: Arden Key, Stephen Weatherly, Porter Gustin, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Jordan Brailford, Duke Ejiofor, Quinton Bell LB: Deion Jones, Jaylon Smith, Micah Kiser, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Mykal Walker, Emmanuel Ellerbee, Dorian Etheridge CB: AJ Terrell, Isaiah Oliver, Brandon Facyson, Noah Igbinoghene, Keion Crossen, Darren Hall, Avery Williams, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong, Lafayette Pitts, Corey Ballentine SS: Andrew Wingard, Jaquiski Tartt, Jaylinn Hawkins FS: Armani Watts, Richie Grant, Luther Kirk
SPECIAL TEAMS
P: Dom Maggio, Ryan Winslow K: Younghoe Koo LS: Josh Harris PR: Richie James KR: Richie James
And at this point we had around $6.8 million left in cap space, but that's even taking into account the cost of signing our rookie picks. So it's actually there, like it's not an illusion, it's real lol.

FA SIGNINGS EXPLANATIONS

To go over the roster, I wanted a high upside backup QB in case Matt in his old age ended up getting hurt. Brissett is to this day one of the best deep passers in the league, and intermediate and deep passing are very valuable things to be really good at.
Then at RB, we originally had offers out on Edmonds, Freeman, and JD McKissic as a sort of 3rd down satellite back potential slot WR type guy, but he signed elsewhere for more money, so after the first wave of free agents signed and we realized how much money we had left, we went in on Lenny. Signed him to a 3 year deal, and I think he's the perfect Derrick Henry substitution for Arthur Smith's offense here in Atlanta. The New Hammer. Edmonds is just a really freaking good change of pace type RB, really elusive guy and great as a receiver out of the backfield. Freeman was basically just kind of a cheap "do it all" backup that has the kind of build, athleticism, and receiving ability to be a functional starter if we have really bad injury luck at the RB position.
I wanted to bring in a new FB because Arthur Smith really likes using heavy sets, so we nabbed Jakob Johnson on the cheap. He's pretty much just a pure blocking FB, so he's not like a Kyle Juszczyk type, but he can still be the lead blocker in the run game and help protect Matt on dropbacks.
Now to one of the big ones. Wide receiver. We lost Julio last year. We lost Ridley and Gage in this sim. We're basically barren at the position. So I basically went out looking for high upside guys that could get open. Christian Kirk was sort of the "superstar" of the bunch, having put up just as many receiving yards over the last 4 years as Michael Gallup, and more than Marquez Valdes-Scantling, DJ Chark, Will Fuller, and James Washington - all other WR FAs we considered. He's also been more productive in the last 2 years than Russell Gage, and he's done it on fewer targets/receptions because obviously he's nowhere near the best target on his team. I'm pretty happy with this signing. Kirk in his 4 years with Arizona has had to compete for targets with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, David Johnson, Ricky Seals-Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, AJ Green, and Rondale Moore, not to mention Chase Edmonds who followed him here to Atlanta. And despite all that he's still managed a career 18.8% target share on a per game basis. I also really liked the idea of adding Kalif Raymond, because I was impressed by what he put on tape with the Lions this past year. There was one point in the sim where we got an offer for Calvin Ridley that saw us getting Jalen Reagor, and I asked the Philly GM if he'd be willing to trade us Quez Watkins instead, that's just the type of guy I really wanted to add to the team. Of course he declined, but I do think Raymond is valuable as a field stretcher. Demarcus Robinson is a guy I've been curious about for a while because he's been in KC and he gets open CONSTANTLY. Dude is obviously not part of their gameplan, but when he's on the field, you can bet he's open. So I noticed that and then I went and looked for his athletic testing and oh hey, turns out he's freakishly agile - he posted a 6.69 3 cone time at his pro day after posting a still ridiculous 6.77 3 cone at his combine. So in my mind, before anything else happens, Raymond is our X, Kirk is our Z, and Robinson is our slot. Obviously we need a big upgrade at Z still, and we weren't able to address that via the draft, but we weren't going to be competing for a Super Bowl this year anyway, and it's something we'll definitely be able to address in the 2023 offseason/draft, not to mention if anybody would get cut we have some cap space we could use on that still. For now I just wanted a bunch of solid guys who could get open. Basically think back to the 2016 season when Julio got hurt for 2 games and then Sanu got hurt for 1 of those 2 games and in that 1 game without either one of them we still managed to drop 42 on the Rams with Matt throwing to guys like Taylor Gabriel, Nick Williams, and Aldrick Robinson? Yeah I'm envisioning that type of receiving group this year. Just a bunch of fast and/or quick guys who get open. That's also why I added Sherfield and James, I think those guys are just flat out solid receivers. Batson is more of an upside add admittedly, dude ran 4.35 at his pro day and had nutty hops and agility, so he's like a "hey let's see what he does at camp" kinda guy.
Now to talk about the nightmare. The TE position. Oh my god I hated this. So, for context, I really wanted to get a good primarily inline TE so that Arthur Smith could run his heavy sets more effectively. Hayden Hurst is just the definition of mediocrity and his contract was up anyway so I really wanted to upgrade that spot. I see that player as a starter, because both in 2020 with TEN and this past year in Atlanta, Smith has run 2+ TEs on the field around 60% of offensive snaps. So I'm like, alright, we might not be able to get any truly elite receivers, but if we can just lock down a really good inline TE to pair with Pitts, who might as well be our starting X receiver anyway, our offense has a chance to be actually sick. So in our original first wave of FA offers included offers to both Maxx Williams and Mo Alie-Cox, thinking if we get both, cool, but we're pretty likely to get one. They both had way higher offers. So I realized after that first wave of signings that David Njoku wasn't signed, and I put out an offer on him. He got an absolutely ridiculous deal. So at this point I'm getting desperate, grasping at straws, trying to find a guy so we don't get into a position where we NEED to draft an inline TE early in the draft, and I put an offer out on OJ Howard. He signs somewhere else for more money. I did my best, guys. I really did. I ended up getting Kahale Warring for vet minimum. This was far and away the worst part of this entire experience.
Anyway, onto the OL. I knew I wanted Andrew Wylie because when he was allowed to play LG for the Chiefs he was very good there, and that's the exact spot we need help at. We got him on the cheap. Our original GM wanted Germain Ifedi and I'm totally down for that as well, so we put an offer out on him, and landed him as well. The OL actually looks pretty nice after these two guys get added to it. Matthews, Wylie, Hennessy, Lindstrom, and then a camp battle between Ifedi and McGary for the starting RT job. If McGary can put it all together, he's got the upside to be the singular best RT in the entire league. If he doesn't? He's not expensive to keep around, and acts as a functional swing tackle while the much better pass blocker (up until this point at least) in Ifedi gets the starting nod and Matt gets to stay on his feet more often. Then we still have Dalman backing up in the middle, as well as of course Jalen Mayfield should any light bulbs manage to go off in his head and he randomly improves a ton between seasons. Not likely but you never know I guess.
Defensively, I basically went pure moneyball. I wanted to add as many functional bodies as we could afford, and I think I did extremely well with it.
At DT, we went from Grady Jarrett, Tyeler Davison, and John Cominsky, to B.J. Hill, Mike Purcell, and DeMarcus Walker. If you just count up the amount of pressures those two groups had in 2021, the group we had finished the season with 19 (Jarrett 17, Davison 2, Cominsky 0) and the incoming group finished with a total of 32 - 15 from Hill, 3 from Purcell, and an impressive 14 Walker. Add up the TFLs too - I care about the run game! Maybe not as much as I care about pass rush but it does matter to some degree. Jarrett had 3, Davison had 3, and Cominsky had 1. Meanwhile, Hill had 6, Purcell had 1, and Walker had 4. So I genuinely believe that, in aggregate, we actually improved on the DL despite losing Grady Jarrett. We also decreased our spending in that area (specifically across the 3 player sample we're talking about here, outgoing and incoming) from almost $30 million to not even $12 million. So we cut our spending in half, and improved. that's a huge win in my mind. Our most expensive DT in 2022 in this sim is still Grady Jarrett, because of his $7,333,000 dead money cap hit. B.J. Hill's year 1 cap hit is lower than that, Walker's is only $2m, and Purcell we got on a VSB contract so we're only paying him $895k. I actually did have an offer out on former UGA NT John Jenkins but he signed elsewhere for more money.
At edge, again, straight moneyball. Specifically, Stephen Weatherly and Arden Key. Those two guys are so insanely undervalued by the league (and consequently, the GMs in this sim) it's not even funny. I have edge rusher analytics that are pretty good at predicting high upside guys, and both Weatherly and Key came out as tier 1 everything prospects. They both went late, but Key in his 4 year career already has 58 pressures in 54 games. That is actually nutty. He's at 43 QB hits and only 9.5 sacks, but I think we can all agree that making the QB uncomfortable is the main priority here, right? Like sure sacks are objectively better than just getting pressure, but pressure can also lead to INTs! Weatherly is another guy who gets an awesome amount of pressure when he's on the field. He barely played at all in his first 2 years - only 91 defensive snaps combined. Since then, so we're looking at the last 4 years, 2018-2021, he's put up 57 pressures in 56 games. These two dudes are not going to ALPHA APEX PREDATOR EDGE RUSHERS, they're just going to get the freaking job done. They're going to make QBs uncomfortable. Cause some turnovers. Prevent us from being a bottom 10 pass rush team again, hopefully. I did also add Porter Gustin who was another tier 1 3-4 OLB prospect in my edge model, I'm thinking he's a potential Sam LB prospect for us, but he probably won't be starting any time soon, I just really like the upside he brings.
Linebacker wise, we kinda...well let's just say we kinda went overboard. Basically if Deion Jones is a liability again, I wanted to make damn sure that we had 2 other viable NFL starters on the roster. So I went out and I signed a bunch of those guys. Jaylon Smith got cut by multiple teams last year, and yet despite all that, he still managed to put up a PFF coverage grade over 80, and that's over a 183 coverage snap sample. In 2020, he had yet another positive (albeit not nearly as insane) coverage grade over a much larger sample, over 500 coverage snaps. In 2019, he had a great season overall, including a slightly positive coverage grade. In 2018, he was downright excellent, and one of the best LBs in the league. The guy's not even 28 years old yet. I'm not convinced he's washed yet. I also went out and signed Kevin Pierre-Louis because he's another guy who's just kind of a solid football player (hasn't had a negative PFF coverage grade since 2016) with athletic upside, and then Micah Kiser, because he does what none of the other starting quality LBs on our roster are really great at, and that's get downhill and blow up the run. Kiser is a thicker guy and I think he has really high football IQ. He's really good at diagnosing and reading plays, so he could end up being a starter for us depending on how things shake out. I also do still like Mykal Walker and Emmanuel Ellerbee as potential starters, just didn't want to have to rely on them because they're even more unproven than the guys I signed here.
At CB, we kept Isaiah Oliver, which was pretty big, and then we signed Brandon Facyson from LV and Keion Crossen off of the Giants. Facyson isn't really a guy I get super excited about, but he is a guy with NFL starting experience, he's really good against the run, and he flashed really nice coverage for the Raiders. I also just kind of think he fits the Pees scheme pretty well so if needed he could be the starting outside CB across from Terrell. Then I went after Crossen because I think he's a super high upside slot CB, just in case Isaiah's Oliver flashes before his injury in 2021 were an illusion. I also traded pick #151 in the draft for Noah Igbinoghene for similar reasons - super high upside, potential slot guy, still extremely young, really just chasing ceilings here.
Finally, my personal favorite changes in this sim, the safety position. Andrew Wingard, Armani Watts, and Jaquiski Tartt. Wingard has been quietly EXTREMELY FREAKING GOOD in the NFL over his short 3 years in the league. Really solid in coverage the last couple years, really good against the run in 2020 when he got to play a little more SS than FS, absolute tackling machine at Wyoming, athletic dude, just a lot to like in general. Armani Watts, just criminally underused by the Chiefs. He's not as athletic as Wingard, but he's still a plus athlete, and when he was at Texas A&M he had an awesome freshman season as more of a coverage defender, then developed into an absolute tackling MACHINE over his final 3 years. He had an 83 solo tackle season as a sophomore, then got hurt in 2016 and didn't finish the season, then came back in 2017 and lead the team in solo tackles at 57, and put up 10 TFLs, 5 PDs, and 4 INTs. He has also flashed really good ball skills in coverage this year, but there's only so much you can do when you're not on the field, and KC only let him play a grand total of 286 snaps in his entire 4 year career with them so far. I want to see what he can do and his biggest competition is Richie Grant. Let's see what these two kids can figure out. Then we also added Jaquiski Tartt because he's another one of those sort of at-or-above replacement level guys who can start in a pinch and play well. Bit on the older side, but we got him on the cheap, and he's still playing well, or at least he was as of this past season in 2021.
Finally, the draft, and of course, UDFAs and post-draft FA signings.

DRAFT + UDFAs

1.08: Derek Stingley, CB, LSU. Top 7 picks were Thibodeaux, Hutchinson, Neal, Ekwonu, Willis, Hamilton, Karlaftis. Stingley immediately plugs in as the starter opposite Terrell and suddenly we actually have a really solid secondary, if not maybe even top 10 or so? Assuming Stingley actually pans out.
2.43: Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State. This is the pick most likely to get hated on, but I keep saying, the 2nd TE in an Arthur Smith offense is absolutely a starter. Trey is far and away the best inline TE prospect in this class, and in this specific instance, he was actually one of the 2 BPA on our board. It was legitimately a toss up between him and Logan Hall, and with Hall, we also really liked Cameron Thomas out of SDSU, so we went with McBride in hopes of getting one of Hall or Thomas at 47. McBride I think is a huge upgrade over Hayden Hurst, and we're basically guaranteed to keep both him and Pitts for quite a long time going forward, since Pitts feels an awful lot like a Falcon lifer. Dude's got the size, the production, the athleticism, and one of the biggest reasons I ended up pulling the trigger on him was because I looked at his reception heatmap, and the places on the field where he wins are almost the exact opposite to the places on the field where Pitts wins. Having both of them means our entire offense is going to win more, period.
2.47: Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State. I hate not having athletic testing numbers, but if I had to guess, I think this guy is gonna test like an absolute freak at the combine. He has a really nice getoff, great hand fighting technique, and is just flat out super difficult to block and keep blocked. While I don't want to hype him up like the next Joey Bosa or anything crazy like that, I do think of him as basically a discount Aidan Hutchinson. I think he actually has better burst off the line than Hutchinson, but I think they win similarly, and I think Thomas in the mid 2nd is a much better value than Hutchinson in the top 3, personally. He's also a versatile guy. He can play anywhere on the line basically. Put him at DE (7 tech or 5 tech) on base downs, then kick him inside to 3 tech in obvious passing situations so you can get another streamlined edge rush guy out there as well. I wouldn't actually be upset if he was our pick at 43 in the real life draft.
2.58: Damone Clark, LB, LSU. Because clearly we didn't have enough LBs already. This was just a value pick for me honestly. Clark to me is the next in line of the lineage of great LSU LBs in the NFL, a lineage that actually includes our very own Deion Jones. Make no mistake about it though - Clark is the best LSU LB prospect since Devin White. Better than Patrick Queen and Duke Riley by a significant margin. Dude is a monster and I genuinely don't think he'll last anywhere close to as long in the real draft as he lasted in this simulated mock draft. He's my LB3 behind Nakobe Dean and Devin Lloyd, but athletic testing could change that. Pretty good at stack-and-shed run defense, but also really good at slipping by blockers without letting them get a grip on him. I also think Clark is in the conversation for best coverage LB in this class alongside Nakobe Dean, who was long gone when this pick was made.
3.74: Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan. I think this dude would end up being the starter across from Christian Kirk in our base 12 personnel offense. He's an absolute beast after the catch, my best NFL comp for him is Golden Tate, so I'm wondering if he'd be able to maybe carry a few rush attempts out of the backfield and fill the shoes Cordarrelle Peterson found himself in this past season. Moore in his 3 years at WMU put up 171 receptions for 2,482 receiving yards and 16 TDs in 30 games, on a team that threw for 580 completions, 8,145 passing yards, and 62 passing TDs in 32 games. In his final season he put up almost 40% of the team's total receiving yards, and over 3.5 yards per team pass attempt. He's just a really impressive receiver from a production standpoint, and if you know anything about WR analytics, you know that college production is the biggest signal to NFL success.
3.82: Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati. I had no intention of taking a QB in this draft, but Ridder falling this far is just stupid honestly. He's at least worth a late 1st round pick in my mind. He has all the tools you look for in an NFL QB - great mobility, good enough arm, great accuracy most of the time, but I think what he does better than any other QB in this class is throw with anticipation, which is a trait I've loved about Matt Ryan for a really long time. Not a lot of QB prospects throw with anticipation these days. Most of them need to see a guy open before he'll throw him the ball. Ridder throws guys open, and throws the ball before they get open in such a way that it gets to them as they come open. From an analytics standpoint, he had an 88th percentile career SoS adjusted QB efficiency score, which, as you'd guess, is really good, but not amazing. Still, a more impressive college resume than guys like Stafford, Tannehill, and even just looking at this draft class, guys like Pickett and Strong. He also has over 50 games of college ball under his belt - something he has in common with other non-first round QBs who went on to overperform their draft position like Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, and Dak Prescott. He's not a perfect prospect by any means, but here? Late in the 3rd? Definitely worth taking over the endless stream of "meh" that got drafted after this selection.
4.113: Jamaree Salyer, OL, Georgia. This was a pick that our war room was really excited about. He's not the biggest dude, but he still managed to shut down Aidan Hutchinson in the Orange Bowl, and he can back up basically any position along our entire OL. He also graded out exceptionally well as a pass blocker via PFF's college grades, so hopefully that translates to the NFL.
4.114: DeAngelo Malone, ED, Western Kentucky. Really just an upside Sam LB pick. Insane production at WKU. Legit been on my (an analytics nerd) radar for 3 seasons now. Absolutely blew up the stat sheet as a true junior in 2019. Actually led the entire team in solo tackles from the edge spot, which is all but unheard of. I think he has a Bruce Irvin type ceiling, which is very exciting to get in the 4th round.
6.189: Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri. Really just a silly value pick if anything. Badie is a bit undersized, but he checks every single other box you could possibly look for in a full time, workhorse level RB in the NFL. His production at Missouri, which I feel the need to bring up is an SEC school still, was really incredible. If you take into account that he didn't play in Missouri's bowl game (which was actually his coaches' decision, not his - he would have played, they chose to hold him out for his best interest) he put up 39% of Missouri's total offensive yards. He also caught almost 18% of their completed passes. He ran a 4.46 40 COMING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. This isn't speculation either, it's official - it's literally up on ESPN's recruiting website, here. He was also one of Missouri's captains, absolutely a plus character guy, he was getting all kinds of positive press at senior bowl practices, AND he measured at exactly 5076, 199. What that roughly translates to is, he's closer to 5'8 than 5'7, and his BMI, which is just a general use number to tell you how thick a guy is, is 30.5. RBs with a BMI over 30 tend to last longer and be slightly less injury prone than RBs with a BMI under 30. This dude could literally be the next Ray Rice, without the off field shit he ran into that ended his career. You don't pass that up in the 6th round.
And then just for funsies, Green Bay messaged us about wanting our last pick, the 6.212, and asked me what I want for it. I said a 2023 4th, and eventually he actually went for it. So we traded our 6th round pick in this draft for a 4th round pick in next year's. Massive W I'd say.
After the draft, I signed 4 "big" (if you can call it that) UDFAs that I think have a legitimate shot at contributing to the team, year 1.
NT Dion Novil, North Texas WR Justin Hall, Ball State CB Sam Womack, Toledo QB Anthony Brown, Oregon
obviously Brown shouldn't contribute year 1, but he is a toolsy dude with a lot of upside. He's got a strong arm, he's extremely mobile, and his career SoS adjusted QB efficiency score is 76th percentile. Not as good as Ridder, but you wouldn't expect that either comparing a guy who should be a 1st round pick to a likely UDFA.
Womack is a really interesting decent prospect, and a guy I think should definitely get drafted. He's only going to be 23 in July, and his PD production is fucking insane. Literally, over the last 3 years, this dude has deflected 38 passes in 31 games. He's also intercepted 4 of them, but the actual PDs are just ridiculous to me. The even crazier thing is that over those 3 years, he's deflected those 38 passes on teams that have only combined for 134 pass deflections TOTAL, over all 3 years! So he's accounted for damn near 30% of this team's overall pass deflections over the last 3 seasons. That's just...I mean jesus, that's ridiculous. Like we drafted Stingley, and I think he's incredible, especially his freshman season, but even in that freshman season, he put up 15 PDs on a team that cranked out 77 of them. So like yeah, obviously, massive jump in competition, not questioning that, but production is production. Stingley's never hit 20% PD share, Womack's been at or around 30% for 3 straight years lmao. It's just insane. And apparently he's going to run a pretty solid 40 too, NFLDS has him projected at 4.42 which is plenty fast for the NFL. I just think this kid has way too much upside to go undrafted.
WR Justin Hall feels like he's been in college forever, because he's been on my radar forever. He literally broke out as a true freshman at Ball State in 2017, and has just been cranking out mid level production every single year since. Legitimately, his true freshman season at Ball State was incredible. On the surface level, you might see 78 receptions for 801 yards and 3 TDs and not be impressed, but context matters. That Ball State team could not complete a pass to save its life. As a team, their completion percentage was 56.3%. Their TD rate through the air was 2.5%. They threw 11 TDs to 14 INTs. The passing offense was just flat out inept. But they had Justin Hall. Hall accounted for 34.2% of the team's receptions, 37.7% of their receiving yards, and 27.3% of their receiving TDs. AS A TRUE FRESHMAN! The last WR who dominated to this degree as a true freshman was a little known guy who goes by the name of STEFON DIGGS. To be clear, because I feel like I need to say this nowadays, I don't think Justin Hall is anywhere close to as good as Stefon Diggs. I'm just saying he achieved a freakish feat from a production standpoint that puts him in a very exclusive club that Diggs also belongs to. Xavier Worthy actually joined that club this year and I'm very excited to see where he ends up in HOPEFULLY the 2024 draft.
And finally, NT Dion Novil. Talk about a find. This guy is a freaking bowling ball. He's so fun to watch. He's just unblockable. He almost sneaks past offensive lineman like they're trying to block him but then they just forget to or something. But they don't forget to, he just beats them so cleanly that he makes them look like they don't know what they're doing. I think he's cut from the same cloth as Jordan Davis, only we get to sign him for next to nothing as a UDFA rather than needing to spend a top 50 pick on him. Obviously he doesn't have all the same physical gifts Davis has - he's only about 6'1 rather than 6'5 or 6'6, whatever Davis ends up being, and because of that his frame can't necessarily reasonably carry 340 pounds. But interestingly enough, if you do the math, he and Davis have very similar builds from a proportions perspective. Both end up with a BMI just a smidge over 40, with Davis coming in at 40.05 and Novil coming in at 40.12. Regardless, Novil is just a really fun watch, a really talented player, and was actually super productive at North Texas in terms of solo tackles and TFLs, which is exactly what you want in an NT prospect.
FINALLY, after all that was over, the final few moves...just some final FA signings to round out the roster.
RB Qadree Ollison WR Justin Watson OG Colby Gossett EDGE Jacob Martin EDGE Chris Smith EDGE Rasheem Green 5 Tech Isaac Rochell
Really I just thought it was funny that so many productive edge rushers went unsigned so I snatched them up.
Obviously this isn't actually final, because in the real world we'd let training camp, practices, and preseason performances play out, and then the coaches would play a huge role in putting together a final 53, but here's the roster we've managed to piece together in this sim. I'm taking some liberties by basically projecting where I think new players would land on a "final" depth chart.

FINAL ROSTER

OFFENSE
QB: Matt Ryan, Jacoby Brissett, Desmond Ridder, Anthony Brown, Feleipe Franks RB: Leonard Fournette, Chase Edmonds, Tyler Badie, Royce Freeman, Qadree Ollison, Caleb Huntley FB: Jakob Johnson, John Raine TE: Kyle Pitts, Trey McBride, Kahale Warring, Daniel Helm WR: Christian Kirk, Skyy Moore, Kalif Raymond, Demarcus Robinson, Justin Watson, Trent Sherfield, Richie James, Justin Hall, Cameron Batson, Frank Darby, Chad Hansen, Braydon Lenius, Austin Trammell OT: Jake Matthews, Germain Ifedi, Kaleb McGary, Willie Beavers OG: Chris Lindstrom, Andrew Wylie, Jamaree Salyer, Jalen Mayfield, Colby Gossett, Ryan Neuzil, Rashaad Coward OC: Matt Hennessy, Drew Dalman
DEFENSE
NT: Mike Purcell, Dion Novil 3T: B.J. Hill, Marlon Davidson, Ta'Quon Graham 5T: Demarcus Walker, Cameron Thomas, Isaac Rochell, Nick Thurman ED: Arden Key, Stephen Weatherly, Chris Smith, Jacob Martin, DeAngelo Malone, Rasheem Green, Porter Gustin, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Jordan Brailford, Duke Ejiofor, Quinton Bell LB: Deion Jones, Damone Clark, Jaylon Smith, Micah Kiser, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Mykal Walker, Emmanuel Ellerbee, Dorian Etheridge CB: AJ Terrell, Derek Stingley, Isaiah Oliver, Brandon Facyson, Noah Igbinoghene, Keion Crossen, Darren Hall, Avery Williams, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong, Lafayette Pitts, Corey Ballentine SS: Andrew Wingard, Jaquiski Tartt, Jaylinn Hawkins FS: Armani Watts, Richie Grant, Luther Kirk
SPECIAL TEAMS
P: Dom Maggio, Ryan Winslow K: Younghoe Koo LS: Josh Harris PR: Christian Kirk, Richie James KR: Noah Igbinoghene, Justin Hall, Richie James
And that's that! The final results of the simulated mock offseason! This is my first time doing this in a really freaking long time, probably at least 4 years at this point, but I had a lot of fun, and I'm really happy with the results! Honestly, fielding this team compared to the 2021 unit, I think it's still probably a middle of the pack NFL team, probably in the 6-11 to 8-9 range, but the arrow is pointing up whereas it was pointing down before this offseason. I hope you all agree! I'd say more but I'm out of characters! THANK YOU to the war room, and especially _garynunchucks_ for this experience!

Here’s a look at some players in this week’s games who might interest the Cowboys in the 2022 NFL draft.
Who would have thought to start the season that Washington second-rounder Samuel Cosmi would be having the better season than Detroit’s Penei Sewell, the No. 7 overall pick out of Oregon?
Therein lies the problem when it comes to drafting players from Oregon: quite a few have fallen short of expectations in recent years.
While it’s too early to label Sewell a “bust” – he’s been very solid recently – many evaluators considered Sewell to be one of the best offensive tackle prospects in recent memory.
While that may still prove to be true, it makes you wonder a bit about Oregon star Edge Kayvon Thibodeaux. It’s all but assumed that the 6-foot-5, 250-pound redshirt sophomore will enter the draft, where he’s expected to be one of the top 5 picks and has a chance to be the first overall selection. And there’s good reason to like Thibodeaux (click here to read a great story about the Sewell-Thibodeaux battles). Although limited by injuries this season, Thibodeaux has still racked up 22 tackles, 7.5 TFLs and 4 sacks. Last week’s thrilling win over UCLA showed just what Thibodeaux was capable of, as he was unblockable with 9 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. (By the way, I’d probably drop an “F” bomb on live TV, too, if I had a game like that.)
But I just can’t get over Oregon’s recent draft history.
Consider this:

• From 2015 to 2020, Oregon had 17 players drafted, an average of three per year. (Obviously, this excludes the most recent draft.)
• Of that total, four were drafted in the first round, including quarterbacks Justin Herbert (No. 6 in 2020) and Marcus Mariota (No. 2 in 2015).
• It’s early, but Herbert appears on his way to becoming a future star, and DL DeForest Buckner, the No. 7 pick in 2016, is already one of the best in the game. But Mariota and Arik Armstead – who have both had their moments – haven’t enjoyed the same success.
• Six of those 17 players – 35 percent of the picks – are either no longer in the league, on a practice squad or are signed to a future’s contract.

Again, all that would scare me a bit as a GM.
Still, I can’t stop thinking about what Thibodeaux could do for the Cowboys, so I busted out the ol’ Calculator Soup draft calculator to figure out what it would take to move up from Pick 24 to No. 1. The answer wasn’t pretty. It would require this year’s No. 1 and as many as three other No. 1 picks to make the trade nearly equal.
Say Dallas says it only wants to give up three first-round picks instead of four. Then you’re likely going to have to give up either Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb or Trevon Diggs. Just want to give up two first-round picks? Then you’ll probably have to include two of those three players.
Too steep of a price for me.
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Dallas could add more pieces to its secondary – read more about that here – and Oregon has a pair to keep an eye on. Some evaluators thought CB Mykael Wright had the chance to be the first Oregon DB drafted in the first round since 1996 when the season begin. However, he’s not listed among Pro Football Network’s top-10 CBs or ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s top-10 CBs. Likewise, Wright is ranked No. 90 in my latest big board. Translation: the 5-foot-11, 182-pound redshirt sophomore could present great value in the late-second to third round and beyond. Wright has 43 tackles, 4 TFLs, 1 INT and 4 PDs this season. … Oregon has another redshirt sophomore making waves in S Verone McKinley III. At 5-foot-11, 196-pounds, McKinley has 40 tackles, 3 INTs and 4 PDs, giving him a line of 132-8-8. … RB C.J. Verdell was having a great year before injuring his leg and will now miss the remainder of the season. The 5-foot-8, 210-pound redshirt junior has rushed for 2,920 yards and 26 TDs the last four years and would be great value late on Day 3. Keep in mind, Tony Pollard will be a free agent at the end of next season. … I have Colorado LB Nate Landman as a late seventh rounder to priority free agent. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, the redshirt senior has eye-opening stats for his career: 347 tackles, 42 TFLs, 10 sacks, 3 INTs, 11 PDs, 2 FRs and 3 FFs. And counting. Landman could see his stock soar if he tests well at the Combine.

Day 11

The Cowboys practiced on Sunday for the second day in a row, just five days out from the first football action of the season -- the Hall of Fame game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sunday was the final day of "install", and as we move through preseason, what we see from the team should be more inline with what they'll actually look like during the regular season.
Starting with the injury situation, Amari Cooper is getting closer and closer to returning to action. McCarthy noted that Cooper's weight is lower than he's ever seen it. McCarthy also mentioned that the team's injury list is getting a little long, and that they're trying to manage reps between the young guys. In particular, C.J. Goodwin exited practice with what appeared to be a lower leg injury and Tyron Smith continues to manage his workload as he works through his elbow tendonitis.
TE Sean McKeon continues to make a case for himself, catching a redzone touchdown on a pass from Garrett Gilbert. Zeke showed off his ability to get open securing a touchdown after beating Leighton Vander Esch in the endzone. Later in practice, Dalton Schultz makes a nice catch and then jukes Keanu Neal into the grass for a nice gain. While CeeDee Lamb has been the darling of the WR room halfway through camp, some of our depth guys have made plays as well, such as this clutch grab for a touchdown by Reggie Davis.
Our defense has been getting their hands on footballs and making plays all training camp, like the aforementioned Neal who continues to heat up, snagging this interception out of the air as it traveled towards the endzone. Bossman Fat, aka the rookie Kelvin Joseph, does a good job here of sticking to his receiver during a scramble drill. One of our newest additions to the secondary, Kyron Brown, does an excellent job of covering the flat route here, insuring that the ballcarrier gained no additional yardage after the catch. Though he gave up a touchdown earlier, here LVE does a good job of covering Dalton Schultz and knocking the ball down to tally a PBU.
Micah Parsons shoots through the B-gap completely unblocked for what would have been a sure sack in live-action. Randy Gregory continues to be a menace for the offensive line, blowing up a play and batting a ball down on this designed WR screen. Maurice Canady has been having a fantastic camp in the slot, pulling in his third interception since they got to Oxnard. Canady was a opt out in 2020 and written off as only special teams depth by many, but is making a strong case thus far for a spot on the final 53-man roster. Free agent addition Carlos Watkins used his long arms to knock down this pass at the line of scrimmage, ending the play before it could even get started.
CeeDee Lamb does what CeeDee Lamb does, which means he's consistently making plays and dominating practice. He makes sure to keep his feet in bounds on this out route towards the sideline. Later, he leapt up and pulled in a nice ball from Gilbert with Trevon Diggs covering him about as well as he possibly could. Lamb vs Diggs has been one of the most entertaining matchups to watch throughout camp, and though Lamb has gotten the better of him recently it's not like Diggs hasn't been playing extremely well: For instance, check out the tight coverage on CeeDee here that results in a PBU for Diggs -- CeeDee is simply playing at another level right now. He's putting together a highlight camp reminiscent of Dez' days with the Cowboys.
Finally, how can you not like Dak Prescott?. After most of the other players had left the field, QB1 was still out there running sprints in his pads to ensure that he got a workout he could be proud of, even though he was unable to throw for another practice.
We're now at the halfway point of training camp, and it's hard to blame Cowboys fans for their optimism. The defense has looked rejuvenated under Dan Quinn even if it's only been in training camp, and the offense can be lethal with all of it's parts healthy. The important thing is to stay healthy, and for the most part we've done a good job of that. The Cowboys took Monday off after the weekend practices, but will be back on the field today. Thanks for reading!

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In our second part of this series, we are looking at the second- and third-year NFL players on defense, who I believe are primed to break out
To avoid subjective interpretation of which players are or are not eligible for making this list anymore, I already stated that they can’t have made a Pro Bowl / All-Pro team so far or are just generally considered one of the top players at their position already, like a Quinnen Williams or Darnell Savage for example. To go along with that, players that have reached double-digit sacks or tackles for loss, or led his team in another major category, are excluded. Oh, and the players that made my list already last year, won’t repeat doing so.
Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates like Antoine Winfield and Jeremy Chinn did not qualify and neither did obvious names like Derrick Brown or Isaiah Simmons, because of how high they were in my pre-draft rankings.
Just like the offensive edition, two of the first three players mentioned here were selected in the middle of the first round, but the other six names all went on day two or later.
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EDGE – Rashan Gary

Back in 2019, this was a somewhat controversial name, because Gary was labelled by many as an overrated prospect. I was totally fine with it back, if they just had a clear plan for him. I would have agreed that he wasn’t a really dominant college player, since defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was always the table-setter for that Michigan defense in my opinion, but I thought Gary offered a very intriguing skill-set projecting him forward, with elite athletic tools and the improvement we had already seen from him during his career with the Wolverines. However, when the Packers selected him with the 12th overall pick that year, I thought then-defensive coordinator Mike Pettine looked at Gary as a versatile piece up front, with the kind of moldable body to play anywhere from a five- to a three-technique on base downs and then move around in passing situations, since they had just signed Za’Darius and Preston Smith as their true edge rushers. Yet, they labelled Gary as an outside linebacker right away and he became a true backup, playing just 24% of defensive snaps as a rookie.
This past season, he doubled his workload and started making actual impact plays for this squad, while Preston Smith looked a little overweight and just didn’t produce until late in the season. That’s why expected the veteran to be a prime cut candidate, but instead they managed to restructure his contract, to massively reduce the cap hit and keep him around in Green Bay. Regardless, you saw the development of Gary, and Smith will have to re-establish himself still, to continue having a significant role for this group. Gary improved from two to five sacks, five to 19 pressures and three to five tackles for loss, while only missing on one attempt, on twice as high a percentage of snaps (48%). So I definitely expect the third-year man to come closer to splitting snaps at least with Smith, but he has all the tools to become a dominant player. And as you go through the tape, you see that he is already a much better player than the casual fan would think, while having the potential to continue growing.
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This is a big ass dude, at 6’5”, 277 lbs. Gary is as physical a run defender as there is on the edge, re-setting the point of attack routinely. He lands those heavy hands, to where you actually see the heads of offensive tackles snap backwards. And he absolutely man-handles tight-ends, just like he did in this clip above to Jonnu Smith, being able to grab cloth and pull guys to the side, when the ball-carrier is in range. Coming from the backside, he may not that crazy burst to make it impossible to leave him unblocked, but he does chase with good effort and you see his force when he pushes guys into that direction and negate any cutback opportunities, as blockers show up in the offensive backside and running backs see those guys in their peripheral vision. I would still think you’d rather run away from him, because he has that sturdy frame, to not get out of position, even if he gets knocked around a little as somebody catches him from the side or there’s a pulling lineman trying to kick him out, but Gary is an all-around asset on run downs.
To go along with that, Gary offers a complete skill-set as a pass-rusher – he has incredible burst for a guy his size and is devastating on speed to power, where he can take offensive tackles for a ride with that nasty long-arm move. He is also tough to slow down on inside moves, like up-and-unders, because of his impressive short-area agility and the way he can power through the blocker’s reach. I believe he has definitely improved with his ability to rush with a plan, understand angles and the depth of the pocket, as well as coordinating his strides. His sack production might still be limited, but he directly forced an interception in the week 16 Titans game and there’s a few drag-down tackles on the QB on his tape, that were a yard away from a sack. In terms of his versatility on passing downs, Za’Darius Smith has taken on most of the duties of rushing from different alignments and angles. The fact that Gary’s snap count doubled in year two was not only because they just rotated their guys more, and the “Smith Brothers” both played a full 16-game schedule, but because of Smith’s ability to move around and the Packers coaching staff wanting to get their second-year player more on the field – which he repaid them for already. Although they did put Gary over guards a few times, where his quicks seemed surprising to the opposition.
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While I believe his development isn’t given the credit it deserves, Gary still has room to improve, with his ability to actually shed blockers and make plays in the run game, while his biggest area to work on in the pass game will be understanding his opponents and how to set them up throughout games, stressing them one way and then taking advantage of those guys overreacting to it. Like I mentioned, Preston Smith was brought back, on a much more team-friendly deal, but he has to really crank things up this offseason, because the Packers have a guy now coming into year three, who has shown all the signs of being ready to be a play-maker for this group. So while I don’t see the two just swap roles, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if both were in the 60-70% range. Gary is a supreme edge-setter in the run game, he can win in a lot of different ways as a pass-rusher and as time goes along, I expect his usage to diversify. He can set up his teammates by banging into offensive linemen on twists, but also has the burst to take advantage of when he is given a nice lane, and you can legitimately have all three so-called “outside linebackers” on the field for a full series, because Gary won’t be taken advantage of as a three-technique for example.
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EDGE – Alex Highsmith

(This was written before the Steelers signed free agent outside linebacker Melvin Ingram.)
We move on from a high first-round edge rusher two years ago to a late third-round pick from 2020, when the Steelers grabbed this guy 102nd overall out of Charlotte. I had Highsmith as a fringe fourth-to-fifth rounder, in large part because it took him until his senior year to produce in the pass game in Conference-USA, but there were plenty of things that I liked about his game, in terms of the violence he played with and the fact he could go around, through or inside of offensive tackles as a pass-rusher. So when Pittsburgh used that late day-two selection on him, I thought he’d be an excellent fit, to add some depth to one of the premiere defenses in the NFL. However, he didn’t get to put up big numbers as a rookie, mostly because he didn’t get on the field a whole lot, outside of special teams – at least early on. Over the first 11 games, Highsmith logged just 128 defensive snaps, which made up 18.5% of the total amount over that period of time. He earned some of that trust by hustling on kick coverage units, but as he got out there more on defense, he started to make an impression on that coaching staff and his teammates.
It took until late in that weird Wednesday night against a decimated Ravens squad for Highsmith to get more playing time, when Bud Dupree unfortunately tore his ACL. Over those final five weeks, the rook showed a lot of positive signs, to the point where they felt comfortable with him stepping into a starting role and letting Dupree walk in free agency – although them being strapped for cap certainly played a factor in that as well. He recorded one of his two sacks for the year over that stretch, but added five more hits on the QB and stopped the run at a high level, to go with a somewhat game-changing pick-six at the start of the second half of that first Ravens game, when he was still a backup. It was interesting to see how the coaching staff started trusting the 23-year old more and more as the year went along, but now he will have to show that belief was justified, as he will be in the starting-11 and play a pretty significant role in year two.
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Highsmith may be a tiny bit undersized at 6’3”, 248 lbs, to consistently just establish contact at the point of attack with big offensive tackles and hold his ground, but he has very quick hands to step around blockers and not allow flow to be created on those lateral run schemes. However, when lining up over tight-ends, he can bench-press those guys and take the inside path, to establish first contact with the ball-carrier. Neither does he shy away from taking on pulling guards or throwing his body around in that regard. To go along with that, he has the speed to chase guys down from the backside of wide zone runs and others on numerous occasions. And he displays an outstanding motor, chasing down screen passes from behind in impressive fashion. What surprised me however, for somebody who really was a true defensive end in college, was how quickly Highsmith started to be an asset dropping into coverage, quickly getting out to the flats or hook zones, as well as matching backs coming out and even taking tight-ends in man-coverage, either moving out to the slot with them or even trailing them stride-for-stride on deep crossing routes.
When going forward as a pass-rusher, Highsmith has the speed to really threaten around corner, plus he packs a nice dip-and-rip maneuver, where he can get pretty low. He has the quick burst to create an angle for himself, after looking like he’ll be caught in a stalemate, and he brings a sudden spin move to the table, to complement that. When he sees the tackle overset to the outside, to counter his speed off the edge, he can quickly take the inside path in general, which at that point the blocker will likely not get another hand on him, before he at least forces the QB off the spot. While he can’t really push guys all the way back into the QB’s lap, as those blockers usually find a way to re-anchor, he can create that initial movement or make up the rest of the way, if his blocker really retreats against him. I re-watched the Colts game among others, where he rushed against the backup left tackle primarily, and if he wasn’t a rookie, he would have probably gotten two or three holding calls. The Steelers also used Highsmith as a stand-up blitzer a few times as well, as he got more comfortable in that defense, and he’s already pretty good at freeing up teammates on D-line games.
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With that being said, the second-year man still does at times lack discipline with his contain responsibilities from the backside, which was a concern of mine with him as a draft prospect. He doesn’t quite have the ankle strength or overall power to always bend around those tight corners and flatten to the QB, to where he needs to do a better of finishing, by continuing to work those hands and clear himself. Working with T.J. Watt on those things will accelerate his growth I believe and he should get plenty of opportunities to rush one-on-one against tackles, with Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt covering up those inside gaps and drawing a lot of attention. Highsmith will step right in for Bud Dupree and while he may not be as far along at this point, which it took the veteran a while to get to himself, I believe he can take advantage of playing in such a talented front, plus he offers more in terms of dropping into coverage than Dupree. That should only make that unit more versatile, as Watt took over a lot of those duties as well, as QBs have to be alert for both potentially getting underneath what just looked like an automatic completion. This guy plays like a Steeler. So he will fit right in and make an impact for them.
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Interior defensive line – Javon Kinlaw

The San Francisco fanbase and analysts seemed to be pretty split on what John Lynch and company did this past offseason, as they used the 14th overall selection on South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw, as a direct replacement for DeForest Buckner, who the Colts acquired in exchange for that pick. Well, actually the Niners originally received the pick one prior, but swapped with the Buccaneers, who selected their Pro Bowl right tackle Tristan Wirfs in that spot. I personally had Kinlaw and Derrick Brown (Auburn) in the top-ten of my big board, although the two were very different prospects to me, as Brown was more of your typical shade-nose tackle, who can be a dominant space-eating run defender and really overpower guys, while Kinlaw certainly packs a punch as well, but offered a more impressive athletic profile, as someone who can shoot up a gap and create chaos. I’d certainly say Brown had a better rookie season and that whoever thought Kinlaw would be able to directly replace what DeFo did for them, didn’t have the right level of expectations going in, but their new number 99 certainly had his flashes.
I remember the first day of last year’s Senior Bowl, when Kinlaw’s official numbers came out and I almost couldn’t believe what I had heard. For somebody who I evaluated – and still look at primarily – as a three-technique, his weight is just crazy, measuring in at 6’5”, 320 lbs. There was definitely a certain rawness to his game, overwhelming opposing blockers with his physical supremacy on most occasions, but the athletic profile was second to none for any defensive tackle we had seen come out in several years. While Buckner-like numbers or impact were an absurd target for a first-year player, I would think most people weren’t very happy with what Kinlaw did ultimately put out, as he missed two games and played 53% of the defensive snaps overall. He combined for 33 total tackles, only 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss, but he did bat down four passes and made that huge play in the second Rams game at L.A., where he pick-sixed what should have been a screen pass to the running back. And he did have ten additional ten pressures. Still, that is far from where the type of player he can become.
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Evaluating his tape at South Carolina and projecting him forward to the pros, Kinlaw has always been at his best as an upfield disruptor. When he comes off the ball with urgency and knives through one half of a blocker, there’s not much they can do. Because there was a little delay in his get-off, often times the rookie wasn’t able to attack the edges of offensive linemen and there is barely any deconstructing of blocks, but this guy has some of the most powerful hands you will ever see and a lot of times, he would just punch guys in the chest and wrap up the approaching ball-carrier anyway. To go along with that, he has some ridiculous lateral agility, to flow with zone run plays and even step around blockers, who try to cut his legs. From the backside, he has equally impressive change of direction and flexibility, to flatten down the line and chase down the running back, while doing so with the effort necessary. We saw Kinlaw work over the top of down-blocks at times, when following a puller, which he can create chaos with, if learns to be more consistent with it, and he if he can just get a little more effective with his hand-usage, he’ll get involved on a lot more plays. The Niners trusted him to line up in the A-gaps quite a bit as well, where we saw flashes of him getting around centers with the high swim to force the running back to re-direct almost instantly.
As a pass-rusher, Kinlaw may not offer the biggest array of moves at this point, but he is already not fun to face for anybody. He can really take offensive linemen for a ride with his bull-rush and you see him toss guys to the side a few times like rag-dolls, once he gets them trying to recover somehow. What I always thought was crazy about him in that regard was his ability to twist his upper body and corner to the QB, despite seemingly being completely off balance. He is still definitely reckless in his approach, but he can create push up the pocket and forces guys to really sit in that chair, to absorb his power. San Francisco put him in a lot of wide-three or almost four-alignments, where he comes in on an angle and can build up momentum, before crashing into the guard, but then he can also side-step that guy or slant into the A-gap in general, to draw the center with with him as well. And I’ve seen him shove the center back by a couple of yards with one punch and then loop all the way to the outside. The timing and coordination could still see some work, but he could become a problem when involved in different games up front. Plus, when his rush stalls or he sees theQB load up, Kinlaw is great at putting those 35-inch arms up and making it tough to throw over him.
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Like I already said, it starts with improving snap anticipation for Kinlaw. He needs to do a better job altogether of establishing that half-man relationship and playing with better extension in the run game. To go with that, it will be important for him to reduce that near shoulder, as he tries to cross the blocker’s face, and at this point he raises his pads too much versus double-teams. His pass-rush repertoire will have to diversify as he goes along, but having Nick Bosa come back and working with him on that hand-usage, as well as that just giving the second-year man more one-on-one opportunities will be huge. With the alignment versatility Arik Armstead presents, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Kinlaw rushing off the edge more as well. Compared to some of the other guys on this list, who already put out some high-level NFL tape, this is much more of a projection, because the rookie did not play at a very high level I would say in year one – at least not in terms of what you would hope for from a mid-first-round pick. But this situation reminds me so much of DeForest Buckner as a young player, where he flashed all kinds of potential, but had room to grow technically. I’m not 100% sure Kinlaw will get there in year two already, but I’d rather be too early than late with such a talent.
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Linebacker – Zack Baun

One of the surprising fallers in last year’s draft was this Wisconsin linebackeedge rusher, who I personally had as my 30th overall prospect and I could have easily seen go at the end of the first round, but instead he stayed on the board all the way until pick 74 overall. While the right fit for him was a bit of a question mark, with sort of tweener measurements, there was a lot to like about his game – the ability to elude blockers in the run game, his speed as a pass-rusher and then also some of the plays he made in coverage when standing up. So he really offered a versatile skill-set coming out of Madison, which we really got familiar with during Senior Bowl week, when he was put in some tough situations for an outside linebacker, who primarily went forward in college, as he was asked to cover tight-ends in man, but more than held his own. Now the big discussion point was where he would fit best and which teams could take advantage of the things Baun brings to the table. As it would turn out, many teams didn’t feel great about how they could use them, until the Saints decided to stop the madness and bring in a really good football player in the third round.
At 6’2”, 238 lbs, I evaluated Baun as an off-ball linebacker on base downs and then come down to rush the passer in longer-yardage situations. Despite New Orleans not having the best options at MIKE, the rookie would not fit that spot, since he doesn’t have your prototypical measurements after all and his strengths lie in playing more in space, to go with being able to play on or off ball. Therefore he is the player on this whole list with by far the lowest amount of total snaps this past season. He recorded just 12 total tackles, no sacks, QB hits or passes defensed, playing only 8% of the defensive snaps (82 total). However, he did a season-high 22 snaps on defense in week 17 and then 19 in their Divisional Round loss to the division-rival Buccaneers, which in that game you actually saw Tampa Bay make a bit of a run, when they didn’t put the rookie LB out there for most of the second half. I believe Baun has earned himself more playing time, thanks to some solid work he did on 54% of special teams snaps, and shown the coaching staff enough to carve out a role for himself. With them using another third-round pick this April on Ohio State’s Pete Warner, who will step in right in the middle, to keep Demario Davis at WILL and have Baun as their hybrid SAM backer, I’d expect more personnel diversity, especially with the Bucs and Falcons likely using heavy amounts of 12 personnel.
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For NFL standards, Baun Certainly a little undersized for a full-time edge defender. The Saints primarily put him on the strong-side of their 4-3 Under fronts, where he was lined up outside the tight-end. As an on-ball defender, Baun is excellent at landing his hands and held his ground really well against those big traditional Y types, while being able to yank them to the side, once he feels them lean in too much. Then he is quick to disengage and wrap up the legs of ball-carriers trying to run through the C-gap and gets involved on a lot of tackles late (in comparison to the amount of time he is on the field for). Standing up, he displays good pursuit and has the speed to run down ball-carriers to the edges. It may look a little too aggressive from the backside, which could open up cutback lanes for running backs with the appropriate vision, but he’s a big plus in not letting ball-carriers get out to the sideline. I was so impressed with Baun going up against Rob Gronkowski in that Divisional Round game, setting the tone at contact in the run game and sticking with him whenever they were matched up one-on-one.
And that I think is the most impressive part about his game at this young age, considering the limited amount of man-coverage snaps in college. Sure, he has also always shown the speed to bail out quickly and he is rapid in identify guys releasing out to the flats, as well as chase them down, but having to actually turn his back to the QB and match up with guys is a different deal. Like I mentioned at the beginning, we did see glimpses of it down in Mobile, but it is still surprising how sound Baun is with landing the outside hand underneath the shoulder pad of the tight-end and feeling the route develop that way, to go with the athleticism to make stay in his hip-pocket. You saw him bang into those guys and stick with them across the field on multiple occasions, as you go through the tape. Of course, he is also still an asset in the pass-rush department, where he has good speed, to threaten offensive tackles in their sets, and then he has a devastating spin to counter off that. His get-off and ability to reduce their near shoulder can create problems for blockers, even if he doesn’t bring much of a power element in that regard.
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I still believe there are some limitations to what exactly Baun can do in more of your typical edge defender and stand-up linebacker roles. He showed that he can absolutely hold his own against tight-ends in the run game, but big tackles gave him issues, because he simply doesn’t have the bulk to anchor down. And from an off-ball alignment, he doesn’t have a ton of experience actually reading plays between the tackles, in case they wanted to have him stacked up over the guard in nickel packages. However, if allowed to play the appropriate role of more like an overhang defender or matchup piece against backs or tight-ends, to go with letting him get after the ball on some third downs, I believe he can become a playmaker for this group. What I do believe we’ll see more of is Baun lining up in one of the interior gaps and either get involved on a stunt or bail out, which they already did quite a bit with Alex Anzalone in 2020. I don’t envision him playing more than two-thirds of the snaps in that type of hybrid position, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make a major impact when he is out there.
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Cornerback – Trevon Diggs

The Cowboys had an outstanding overall draft in 2020, with all but one of the selected players being higher in my personal rankings, in significant fashion for quite a few of those, with their seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci not being on my watch list, as he more so showed up when I watched a few FCS games and scouted defensive players. In the second round, with the 51st overall selection, they made Alabama’s Trevon Diggs the eighth corner taken in 2020. That was about the range I had him in too, as my CB6 and 47th overall prospect, but I thought this was one of the higher-upside players in that range and I could have easily seen him go late on night one. He might have had one of the worst tapes of any corner that year, when he got exposed by LSU superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase and trucked by running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on numerous occasions, but his athleticism, with the genetic base as brother Stefon Diggs, the length and impressive plays on the ball made him an intriguing name. And while you could argue he had a few of the worst reps for an outside corner his rookie campaign, you can’t deny some of the high-end plays he made.
Diggs was asked to fill big shoes, with Byron Jones leaving in free agency, and while the run defense was absolutely atrocious in 2020, with Chidobe Awuzie missing half the year as well, the Cowboys were vulnerable for big plays on the outside too. The former Alabama DB missed four games of his debut season, combining for three interceptions and 14 more passes broken up the rest of the way. Despite being heavily targeted and some technical issues leading to bad losses, like what should have been a 63-yard touchdown to D.K. Metcalf, he continued to fight, just like he did on that mentioned play, as he punched the ball out and through the end-zone for a touchback at the end of it. Looking at the overall stats, they were more than respectable for a rookie, allowing a completion percentage of 54.8% and a passer rating of 85.8, even though it included five touchdowns. So as expected to some degree, I think you can certainly call it an up-and-down showcase, when you look at the numbers, allowing a passer rating above 115 in four games, but below 80 in seven of the other eight contests he was out there for.
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As a press-corner, Diggs has the length to crowd receivers at the line of scrimmage. His jam technique could use some work still, but he can throw guys off with that physical nature. He ran 4.43 at the Alabama pro day (didn’t participate in the combine) at 6’2”, 200 lbs, and as you go through his rookie tape, there are several impressive snaps, where he is stride for stride with true burners on go routes down the sideline, plus then he can track the ball over the inside shoulder and make WR-like catches on it. He has that sort of innate ability to stay in phase with a receiver, but then turn his head and play the ball when it’s time. Adding to that, Diggs displays surprisingly loose hips, to get back into position after initially opening the wrong way. And he may not be the quickest to stop because of that lanky build, but his re-acceleration is excellent, which you see as well against pick and switch-releases, where he’s put in an unfavorable position of having to bubble or shoot through a lane, but he can still contest the catch ultimately, often times getting back on top of shallow crossers across from bunch sets or stacks.
Diggs routinely bump guys at the top of their route, but not to the point where he gets penalized for it, as he was flagged just four times as a rookie, including his one for illegal contact being declined. He is strong enough to re-route tight-ends to some degree, when they are put as the last eligible receiver to his side, and he has such long arms to still keep contact with the targets at the end of his reach. That also enables him to come over the back of receivers and knock the ball up for grabs, setting up his safeties and linebackers for easy picks on in-breaking routes. While his work in cover-two was limited, when Diggs was asked to control the flats, he showed the ability to toggle between the high-low stretch, to not let QBs read it cleanly. And in three-deep coverages, he not only has the speed to not let the target get behind him straight up, but he finds post routes across the field, when he can fall off in cover-three, as the receiver to his side quickly works inside. My biggest issue with Diggs coming out of college was his tackling, leaving his feet too much and dipping his head, but as a rookie, he was really effective for a corner, missing just 7.9% of his attempts. He may not be a tone-setter in that regard, but he will wrap his body around bigger ball-carriers and drag them to the turf in the end. He also had a few key stops, where he had to come from depth and make sure the ball-carrier was stopped before crossing the first-down marker.
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Despite receiving some of the best DB coaching at Alabama, technical nuances are what Diggs has to really work on. He gets caught lunging way too aggressively and loses badly off the line against skilled receivers with their hands, when he’s in tight press-alignment. And he has a tendency of arriving at the target a little early, when he’s already there in good position. Because of his lanky build, he takes too long to stick his foot in the ground and work downhill when playing way off, where weight-transitioning plays a big factor. However, I don’t expect to see much of that in 2021 under new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Like all Seattle-style defensive minds, he has adapted to the modern game to some degree, especially with being more aggressive with his blitz-packages, but I’d still expect a high amount of cover-three and then press-man, when he wants to bring pressure. We’ve seen him call a lot of single-high coverages, even when he didn’t have an adequate centerfielder necessarily. This year’s second-round pick Kelvin Joseph from Kentucky will likely start on the opposite side of Diggs, which will lead offense to attack the rookie more. This guy coming into year will therefore primarily play coverages that he’s comfortable with, opposing teams won’t try to attack him with certain matchups as much and when he does get thrown at, if he just works on timing his arrival a little better, he has the exceptional ball-skills to produce PBUs and INTs at a high rate.
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Cornerback – Jaylon Johnson

Since we’re looking at cornerbacks from last year’s draft, let’s talk about the guy who went one pick prior to Trevon Diggs, right with that 50th overall selection. The Bears became the seventh team to bring in a corner, with Jaylon Johnson. I personally had him as my CB5 and eight spots higher in my overall rankings. While I didn’t think he was a top-tier athlete, I really liked Johnson’s physicality, technique and competitive nature, which I saw at Utah. This is obviously a tough position to play as a rookie, especially when you’re thrown right into the fire like Chicago did to their then 21-year old, coming off consecutive first-team All-Pac-12 selections. Standing at six foot, 193 lbs, Johnson was a starter in every contest he was available for, but with mixed results, as the season progressed. Similar to the Bears defense as a whole, which went from one of the elite units league-wide to more above-average, as the offense picked things up a little bit, the play of their young corner started falling off.
Despite missing the final three games, Johnson led all rookies and was tied for sixth league-wide with 15 pass break-ups, but he didn’t have a single interception. As I just mentioned, he started the season off really strong, holding opponents to a passer rating below 80 over the first seven games, despite seeing a heavy target share of seven looks per contest. However, over the final six contests he appeared in, Johnson surrendered a rating in the 100’s all but once (when he was only targeted twice), with it twice being in the 150 range. And what really got out of hand was his yards surrendered per target of almost exactly 10 a pop. This was one of the players and situations I analyzed most closely, since I really liked the player coming out of college and was surprised to see his numbers regress, after that strong start in pros. Individual play obviously was the biggest factor, but I think there are some things he can quickly improve and he should benefit from adjustments in the Bears’ defensive scheme, which I’ll explain in more detail at the end.
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The first thing that really stands out about Johnson to me is how patient he is off the line, mirroring receivers and staying technically sound in soft-press alignment when put in man-coverage. You see him use a lot of catch-technique, where he does have pretty good speed to trail guys down the sideline or carry them up the post. You see his eyes really locked on the hips of the target and he feels comfortable reacting to what he sees with his back to the QB. He does not lack confidence, when trailing receivers down the field and his habit of falling for double-moves in college seems to not have carried over too much. In zone-coverage, he is very physical, with not allowing receivers to release against his leverage and is already pretty sound for a young player at funneling targets to the safety behind him. He tries to keep contact throughout routes and shows excellent anticipation for breaks, as soon as he feels the receiver cut down his stride length or lean either direction. He may not be super-springy, but he usually trusts his eyes and doesn’t shy away from jumping an out route, when he has to freedom to. Plus, he has those long arms to wrap around and swipe through the reach of receivers.
Johnson may be on the slimmer side, but he did match up against tight-ends a few times, when they were the single receiver to that right side he was almost exclusively lined up on. While his physicality doesn’t fully translate to the run game, which was one of my issues with his college tape, as he wasn’t overly interested in coming off his island, he does approach blockers with good extension and rarely loses contain. I would like to see him become more active with actually getting off blocks still, but I thought that actually improved as the season went along, and especially when he’s unaccounted for, you see him work his way down to set the edge with greater urgency now. Johnson’s biggest issues show up when he has to play six to eight yards off the receiver. There’s certainly a pause, when he tries to redirect against breaks back towards the QB, and he tends to lose balance at times, not looking super comfortable overall. He has a tough time coming forward against slants from when having to give that cushion, and he is not the type of guy you want pedaling backwards and driving on breaks. He has to stay lower and work on his fluidity this offseason, as Chicago was very vulnerable to quick-hitting routes, but also to avoid getting beat deep, as he can’t feel the receiver, because Johnson simply doesn’t have the make-up speed to get back into the picture when he is beat. One example was what should have been a touchdown by Calvin Ridley late in the fourth quarter of week three, to secure the victory, but Matt Ryan underthrew him pretty badly, and the Bears were able to pull off the comeback with Nick Foles.
Clip 2 - https://halilsrealfootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/johnson-2-gif.gif?w=696
Under last year’s play-caller Chuck Pagano, you saw a lot more man-coverage principles, even if they actually were in three-deep, which ultimately leaves their corners one-on-one on the outside. With new defensive coordinator Sean Desai having worked under Vic Fangio for a few years already and then just being promoted when Pagano replaced the now-Broncos head coach. I would expect Desai to have taken on a lot of the basic principles from Fangio’s defenses. So I expect the Bears to run a lot more match-quarters and showing split-safety looks pre-snap, to not tip off the opposing QB. Moreover, because Pagano ran those rather simplistic coverages, where the corners where responsible for anything deep their direction, we didn’t see them switch sides pretty much at all. Even though Chicago surprisingly cut Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller in late March, who now is back with Fangio in Denver, to take on that field-side corner role, I would think Desai looks at Johnson as his boundary guy, while the aging Desmond Trufant should assume the spot on the opposite end of the field. Therefore I believe the second-year man could get tested even more, going up against opposing X receivers on the short side of the formation, but he will also not be asked to play as much off as we saw from him as a rookie, since the single receiver is accounted for in man, unless he immediately works across the field usually. So the schematic fit seems much more adequate for Johnson now and if he works on the few things I just described, I expect him to become one of the better corners in the NFL.
​
https://preview.redd.it/2f6lj0vzy7d71.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ede239682652900b8762fb2e852f023033a08af

Safety – Juan Thornhill

https://preview.redd.it/izrbp8g0z7d71.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=97b0b3161637f54dddbd588fd877d2a51567d6e2

Safety – Xavier McKinney

Others:

​
EDGE Marlon Davidson
EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson
IDL Neville Gallimore
IDL Shy Tuttle
LB Patrick Queen
CB Justin Layne
CB Bryce Hall
SAF Donovan Wilson
​
The last two players are in the comments, since the maximum for characters was reached!
If you enjoyed this breakdown, I would really appreciate if you could visit the original piece.
I have detailed breakdowns of every team's draft on my page and my Youtube channel.
Make sure to check out my social media outlets for more NFL coverage:
Twitter - @ halilsfbtalk , Instagram - @ halilsrealfootballtalk, Facebook - facebook.com/halilsrealfootballtalk/

The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Great League Remix 2.0, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs or less powering up.
As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the most expensive. I will also only be highlighting Shadow versions when they're particularly relevant... many are worse, and that's what you can generally infer if I don't talk about them.
That all set, here we go!

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

MANTINE
Wing Attack Bubble Beam & Ice Beam
Fitting in this category thanks to the Baby Discount™, as giving a Mantyke a second move costs only 10k dust, and then evolve and it's only about another 30k to build up to a right sized Mantine from there. Anyway, Pelipper is banned, so here's your easiest replacement. And yes, Mantine can perform well, though it's obviously rather dependent on Bubble Beam to work right. But IF it all works out, you can beat ALL Fighters, and nearly all Grounds, Fires, Bugs, Flyers, and even Grasses, plus stuff like Zweilous and Lickitung as bonuses. I do NOT necessarily recommend Mantine to those unfamiliar with it--the timing of baits is very key and takes some practice to get the hang of--but the ceiling it very high here.
GOLBAT
Wing Attack Poison Fang & Shadow Ball
Sticking with the Flyers for now, Golbat has long been a budget player’s hero in The Silph Arena, and with the buff to Poison Fang has a chance to break out at long last in GBL as well. And GL Remix looks like a good place to get started, holding down Fairies, Fighters, Bugs, Grasses, and Psychics (mostly thanks to the looming threat of Shadow Ball), and even outlasts Diggersby, Drifblim, Sableye, Perrserker, and half of the Castforms.
NOCTOWL
Wing Attack Sky Attack & Psychic
If Pidgeot is unbanned, then yes, you absolutely want it, but for now, this is the best fill-in we got. And it's really not bad at all, and super cheap to build… but it's no Pidgeot.
CHARIZARD
Fire Spin Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ
No Talonflame, no problem? I don’t know that Zard will end up being quite THAT dominant, but it does have a good package for success in this meta. First off, no Azu, Toed, Swampert, Pelipper, Altaria, DD, Bastiodon, Talonflame, G-Fisk, Galv, OR A-Wak to cause it problems. Second, plenty of good Steels, Fairies, Grasses, Bugs, Ices, and even Fighters to roast. Add to that big bonuses like DIggersby, Lickitung, Pidgeot, Drifblim, and Hypno (even with Thunder Punch), and yeah, maybe it WILL end up that dominant after all! Time will tell, but Zard really appreciates what this meta is shaping up to be… and what is banned from participating.
Almost as exciting is TYPHLOSION, but the unique wins it gets (Stunfisk, Sableye, Nidoqueen) are a hair less interesting that the Diggersby, Beedrill, and Fighters (Shadow Champ, SIrfetch’d) that Zard is able to bag. Typh is certainly more than viable, though!
BLAZIKEN
Counter Blaze Kick & Blast Burnᴸ/Brave Bird/Stone Edgeᴸ
As per usual, Blaze doesn’t operate quite like other Fires, which is both blessing and curse. The blessing is Counter ripping through things like Diggersby, Dewgong, and Darks like Zweilous and Mandibuzz that can cause other Fires some trouble. The curse, however, is less Fire damage means Blaze struggles a bit against Bugs, Grasses, and especially Fairies… Blaze is the Fire that usually loses, badly, to Charmers, and of course it doesn’t appreciate Psychics either. If you’ve used it before, likely none of this is new to you, but it’s good to be reminded of what makes it great… and what also has kept it from more fully breaking out in PvP. (Blast Burn and Brave Bird, by the way, can beat Stunfisk, whereas the otherwise-tempting Stone Edge fails. All are viable but that’s probably the biggest difference between them.)
WHISCASH
Water Gun/Mud Shot Mud Bomb & Blizzard
Ready for a bold claim? You may want to consider Water Gun on your Whiscash in this format. Yes, really. In that configuration, Cash can pick up wins over Mandibuzz, Sableye, Escavalier, and Clefable, matched against only two losses that come with Mud Shot: Zweilous and Drifblim. Now do take that with a grain of salt, as Mud Shot is a bit better still with shields down or in 2v2 shielding, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Perhaps that would fit YOUR team better?
CHESNAUGHT
Vine Whip Superpower & Energy Ball
The easiest way to deal with those Grounds and Waters, of course, is Grass. But uh… Venusaur is banned, as is Meganium. So where do we turn next? Actually, the best overall Grass may not one with Frenzy Plant at all. Check out Chesnaught, which has the added bonus of Fighting damage too to take on things like Zweilous, Perrserker, Sableye, Melmetal, Lickitung, and Ferrothorn and living to tell the tale, as well as still doing most everything you’d ask of your Grass type (beating all Waters, Grounds, and Rocks without a noted anti-Grass advantage). It’s a nice versatile option that would be good to build now if you haven’t already!
Beyond Naught, the Grass pickings are kinda slim among the cheap options. Your best one with Frenzy Plant is probably the newest recipient, SERPERIOR, and it’s fine if unexciting. SCEPTILE is similar… does some genuinely nice things, just not enough of them. No, perhaps your best fill-in is actually a Pokémon that’s not even fully evolved….
IVYSAUR
Vine Whip Power Whip & Sludge Bomb
Venusaur’s pre-evolution Ivysaur is a cross between Venu and first-in-the-line Bulbasaur that’s flexing nicely in Element Cup right now. Ivy runs with the Sludge Bomb that makes Venusaur awesome, but of course lacks Frenzy Plant, settling for Power Whip instead. (5 more energy and 10 less power than Frenzy, but still a fine move on its own.) That means that, of course, it does not live fully up to all that Venusaur could do in this meta, but the differences are small, especially when considering that two of those losses are Munchlax and Mew (specifically with Flame Charge), so only the third--Lickitung--is of true, painful consequence. Ivy is just fine here, and certainly the closest you’re gonna get to capturing Venusaur’s normal glory. You still beat the Charmers, the big Grounds, most Waters and Fighters, and even Cresselia and Sableye and Nidoqueen. All in all, it’s really not a bad performance at all for something that can literally say “this isn’t even my final form!”
BLASTOISE
Water Gun Hydro Cannonᴸ & Ice Beam/Skull Bash
Would you believe Blastoise is finally one of the top Water options (in this meta)? It’s not really ranked as such (slipping just inside the Top 100 overall), but it puts up pretty good numbers. Blastie doesn’t have the flashiest moves, but combined with its high bulk, it gets the job done not just against Fires and Grounds and such, but also against Steels, Charmers, and things like Drifblim, Obstagoon, Sableye, Froslass, and Beedrill. (Skull Bash beats Mantine, BTW, while Ice Beam hates on Flyers and beats Pidgeot specifically.)
EMPOLEON
Waterfall Hydro Cannonᴸ & Drill Peck
Probably the only other (eligible) Water starter worthy of serious consideration, but even Empie is just okay here. Yes, it represents a very hard counter to Charmers, and its Steel typing also blunts the attacks of things like Abomasnow and Hypno, but it’s more of a specialist while Blastoise actually has more widespread usage, at least versus the core meta.
RAICHUS
Volt Switch Wild Charge & Brick Break/Thunder Punch
Overall, both Raichus are rather similar. The key differences? Alolan Raichu resists Psychic and Fighting and has clear advantages versus opponents that rely on that type of damage, leading specifically to wins versus Hypno, Shadow Machamp, and Registeel (Focus Blast). Original Recipe Raichu’s advantage is Brick Break, which is awesome for baiting and for chipping in enough Fighting damage spam to make it feel almost like a Fighter. End of the day that plus Wild Charge brings in wins AhChu struggles to match, like Beedrill, Munchlax, Ninetales, and even Wigglytuff and Clefable. Also not being vulnerable to Ghost and Dark damage (as AhChu is) means KayChu can also beat Mandibuzz, Jellicent, and Sableye much more easily than its Alolan cousin. Either way, both Raichus have solid value, and have already proven themselves even in open PvP formats. They’re well worth your consideration here.
CHARMERS
Charm ...does it really matter?
Several cheap options here, though WIGGLYTUFF remains the best, what with its handy Ghost resistance leading to unique wins over Jellicent, Drifblim, Lickitung, Mew, and Hypno, among others. CLEFABLE and even WHIMSICOTT are okay too, but generally fall behind Wiggly overall. In one form or another, however, Charm will likely have a big impact in this meta... for better or for worse.
OBSTAGOON
Counter Night Slash & Hyper Beam/Gunk Shot
Yes, really, Hyper Beam is a legit option with unique wins against Stunfisk and Pidgeot. (The more common Gunk Shot is a slightly better answer to Charmers and outraces Tropius and Ninetales, so yes, it's still fine too.) Of course, most of what Goonie does is with just Counter and Night Slash anyway, threatening Steels/Darks and Psychics/Ghosts alike, as well as most Normal amd Ice types and a smattering of others that don't appreciate its spammy (and high!) damage output. Goonie is easily one of the best "Fighters" here (and super thrifty!), despite its especially glaring weakness to Charm.
There are other true Fighters that can be had cheaply thanks to the Baby Discount™, including Medicham Junior HITMONCHAN and LUCARIO, though they mostly pale in comparison to other Fighters we'll look at later, and even Obstagoon above. You may see them here and there but I have trouble really recommending them.
BEEDRILL
Poison Jab Fell StingeX-Scissor & Drill Runᴸ
Wrapping up the 10ks with The Bee, who I finally saw starting to pop up in GBL last season after far too long being underrated. This is a Bug that's always been able to handle things like Registeel, Cresselia, Escavalier, and even Sunny Castform thanks to Drill Run, as well as still doing standard Bug/Poison things like beating the Charmers, handling Fighters, eating through Grasses, and even stinging most Darks. And it's only better now after the still-recent buff to Poison Jab... combined with Fell Stinger, it can potentially dust off Melmetal and win the mirror match, though X-Scissor is perhaps still slightly better and more reliable overall for at least dealing decent Bug-type damage when unblocked. Shadow Bee is an interesting alternative to screw with the opponent's expections, beating things like Froslass, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, and Sableye, but as the cost of losing to others like Melmetal, Perrserker, Lickitung, and Sunny Castform.

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

NIDOQUEEN
Poison Jab Poison Fang & Earth Power
It's amazing what a little move shakeup can do for long-derided Pokémon, isn't it? The Queen is the new hotness since the last move rebalance, and a true force in PvP, including Remix. She's SO popular now that you wonder if she'll be on the ban list next time around, but for now her unique ability to handle Fires and Electrics and Steels and Fairies and Fighters (and others like Lickitung, Pidgeot, Stunfisk, and Tropius) with equal proficiency is extremely valauble. As with Beedrill, Shadow Queen presents an intriguing alternative that can trip up the opponent, flipping things like Cresselia, Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz, and Zweilous to wins, but it gives up several Fires, Sable, Beedrill and others to get there, and I personally slightly lean non-Shadow here. But either Queen has unquestionable viability!
EXCADRILL
Mud Shot Rock Slide & Drill Run
So I've written about Excadrill before, both in a pre-Mud Shot analysis in Master League and then as part of the GBL S6 Rebalance analysis, but I always noted it was best in ML where it could flex its high CP and somewhat mask its shaky bulk, and that in lower leagues it was completely overshadowed by Galarian Stunfisk. Well guess what? With G-Fisk banned, now Excadrill IS basically G-Fisk here... as close as you can get, at least. It's still not as good, but it DOES fill mostly the same roles: holding down Charm and Psychics, rolling over Steels (though Registeel can frustratingly escape) and Poisons, still handing U-Fisk, extinguishing most Fires, bringing down (most) Flyers with Rock Slide, and even besting Froslass and Zweilous and such too. This is its best chance to shine out bright without Fisky around, and it looks ready to make the most of it.
PROBOPASS
Rock Throw/Spark Rock Slide & Thunderbolt/Magnet Bomb
We have our G-Fisk replacement, and now here is our Bastiodon fill-in. Obviously Probo is not QUITE that good, but it IS close, losing only Sableye and either Mew (which it typically beats with Spark) or Hypno (which it usually takes down with Rock Throw, as simmed above) and matching all of Bastie's other core meta wins. Probo is FAR cheaper too, which is good since you may not have one built yet (but should have, if you followed my past advice! 😉). If Bastie poundings are your thing, you'll like Probo. There's even Shadow Probo if you wanna mix things up.
MAGNEZONE
Spark Mirror Shot & Wild Charge
So honestly, even I'm not sure how legit this is, but... well, dang. And as a Shadow... dang squared. Electric is a pretty good typing here overall, but Zone is a high risk (albeit obviously high potential reward) option with so many likely-common weaknesses (Fire, Fighting, and especially Ground). That all said, there are plenty of Fairies and Waters and Flyers and Grasses and even Bugs that want nothing to do with it, and it even holds up admirably if Mirror Shot baits fail, so this is certainly at least somewhat legit. If you like piloting Zone in UL and/or ML, I don't usually recommend it in Great League, but with several of its scarier counters on the ban list, this would be the time if ever there was one!
ESCAVALIER
Counter Megahorn & Drill Run
You likely already know all the good that Escav can do by now, but here's a reminder. Not every day you run across a "Fighter" that can also handle Charmers and Psychics, but that's Escav in a nutshell. If you like it, you'll likely continue to like it here.
ROSERADE
Bullet Seedᴸ Weather Ball (Fire)ᴸ & Leaf Storm
Hopefully you built one for Great League during its Community Day back in February, because Bullet Seed and Weather Ball are both absolutely key to its success. But it's the more recent addition of Leaf Storm that has really pushed Rose over the top as a true PvP threat in Great League, and gives it its role in Remix... and specifically wins over Dewgong, Nidoqueen, Obstagoon, Sableye, and often Mew. Beyond that it handles most Charmers, Waters, and Grounds while also toasting Melmetal, Escavalier, Froslass, and most Grasses with Weather Ball. It's super glassy, but it hits a good chunk on the meta hard on its way out.
What you do NOT want to do is run Roserade with Razor Leaf. Grassholes in general really struggle here, and are all (rightly) ranked far outside the Top 100. Shadow VICTREEBEL and VILEPLUME are okay, hard on Fighters and Charmers and of course most anything Water or Ground, but they're nothing particularly special here, and don't have their customary Bastiodon or G-Fisk protective detail. For the sake of all... I recommend NOT trying it.
ABOMASNOW
Powder Snow Weather Ball (Ice) & Energy Ball
The secret is long out now: Aboma is good in basically every format where it's eligible, and Remix is no exception. Other than my customary heads up that Aboma can actually beat Shadow Machamp AND Sirfetch'd (those are leads Aboma CAN win with 2x Weather Ball... don't auto swap out!), there's not much to point out that you don't already know. So how about this, then: consider Blizzard instead of Energy Ball. Obviously you lose stuff like Dewgong and Jellicent, but you potentially gain Cress, Hypno, Lickitung, Sable, AND the mirror... and keep Champ and Fetch'd, despite what that shows. (You just need WB, remember.) Blizzard Aboma is an overlooked stud too, especially in this meta with no Azu and Swampert and such to throw Energy Balls at.
DEWGONG
Ice Shardᴸ Icy Windᴸ & Blizzard/Water Pulse
Here's another one where I recommend Blizzard rather than the second move more commonly used... Water Pulse, in this case. Pulse is a BAD PvP move, and while it does allow wins at times versus stuff like Ninetales, Blizzard brings in a lot more good wins (Cress, Ferro, Sable, Aboma, and the mirror) and pushes Dewgong into more elite territory.
A fun alternative (which requires no Legacy moves) is SEALEO, and here the speedy charging of Powder Snow masks Water Pulse's deficiences enough that it's actually halfway decent, providing handy coverage versus Ninetales, Sunny Castform, and Froslass. Dewgong struggles versus all of those, and cannot normally beat Lickitung as Sealeo can either. Dewgong IS better overall, but Sealeo does much of what it can plus some surprising twists that can really mess with the opponent's head... much of it thanks to having one of the spammiest Body Slams in the game.
FROSLASS
Powder Snow Avalanche & Shadow Ball
The Ice princess that can beat Fighters... and Psychics and many other Ghosts, of course, and even stuff like Dewgong and Escavalier thanks to Shadow Ball. But keep far, FAR away from Charmers, Fire, Waters, Normals, Steels, most Darks... as good as Lass is (and she really can be in experienced hands), she's got some exploitable vulnerabilities too.
GENGAHAUNTER
Shadow Claw Shadow Punchᴸ & Shadow Ball
Eligible and still just fine as generalists, yep!
JELLICENT
Hex Bubble Beam & Shadow Ball
With Grass rather suppressed, this seems a much better meta for Shadow Ball than Ice Beam, and Bubble Beam is actually a good fit with Fire and Ground being rather potent. And yes, JelliBelli is as potent (and bait happy) as ever too. Expect to see several and plan accordingly!
QUAGSIRE
Mud Shot Stone Edge & Earthquake
The oft-forgotten member of the OG Mud Boy trio, Lord Quag may be the best one here, and especially with good PvP IVs. 👀 Those new wins are against Charmers, Munchlax, Escavalier, and Drifblim, so no slouches! Got a really good Quag? Here's your chance to smash face with it.
LANTURN
Spark Thunderbolt & Hydro Pump
While it's in direct competition with Rainy Castform for the same slot/role and is perhaps slightly worse, there is no doubt Lanturn is sold. It's a tad slower than Chinchou that's tearing up Element Cup (no true bait move), but carries itself quite well against Fires, Waters, and Flyers (just like E.C. Chou) and also Charmers and Ices and others too. Like I said, solid performance.
NINETALES
Fire Spin Weather Ball (Fire) & Overheat/Solar Beam/Returnᴸ
So the question before us is thus: Solar Beam for awesome coverage (particularly a legit win against Jellicent!), or Overheat to overpower and outrace Obstagoon, Drifblim, Sableye, and Pidgeot? Or heck, even a bit of both (plus the mirror match) with Return? Decisions, decisions!
MACHAMP
Counter Rock Slide & Cross Chop
It's really Shadow Champ for its unique wins over Ninetales, Tropius, Sableye, Sirfetch'd, and Froslass, thanks mostly to Rock Slide. Put simply, it's the best Fighter here, bar none. I'm a little surprised Champ wasn't on the ban list, actually.
Others like SIRFETCH'D and PRIMEAPE do a lot of good things too (beating Stunfisk, and Ape can also most easily beat Aboma and also Champ head to head), but they just can't really measure up to Shadow Champ overall.
HYPNO
Confusion Ice Punch & Shadow Ball (non-Shadow)/Fire Punch (Shadow)
A staple of so many past metas I really don't feel you need me to say much, but here's what I can offer. Ice Punch is important in nearly any moveset configuration, and I think with non-Shadow Hypno you pair it with Shadow Ball and don't look back, nailing Cress, Castforms, and Ninetales that way. With Shadow Hypno, I think the coverage of Fire Punch (paired with Ice) may be best (burning Steels and Wigglytuff and others), but there are lots of ways you can go with Hypno's moves, and few "wrong" ways to go about it. Hypno is not this meta's nucleus, but it's in orbit.

75,000 Dust/75 Candy

It's not that the 75k and 100k Pokémon aren't good, it's just that I'm running out of space (and your brain likely is too!), so I'll go through these expensive options in rapid fire style!

• MANDIBUZZ is its usual potent self here, but another moveset curveball I want to lob your way. Rather than the standard Foul Play/Aerial Ace, consider throwing Shadow Ball into the mix, with which you can beat Castform, Ninetales, and even Froslass! Guarantee you that Froslass owners everywhere will be floored if they lose THAT matchup!
  
• There's nothing at all wrong ZWEILOUS's standard second move choice of Dark Pulse. But in 1v1 shielding and with shields down, Dragon Pulse can actually do slightly better (+Tropius and +Mandibuzz, respectfully). I found that interesting!
  
• Yes, DRIFBLIM wreaks its usual havoc on Grounds, Grasses, Psychics, Bugs, Fighters and more. Oh, and gets Registeel and even Melmetal as a bonus!
  
• Don't be shocked to see GLISCOR or GLIGAR! They're sneaky good in holding down Fighters, Fires, Bugs, Steels, Grounds, Electrics, and a decently wide smattering of others. Study those win/loss lists!
  
• Its Galarian cousin is banned, but that won't stop STUNFISK from showing up either. Fires, Flying, and especially Steels fear few things less here, and it conveniently blunts Machamp's Rock Slide and can beat it too, among others.
  
• Thinking of FLYGON? Now might be the time to think Dragon Tail. 🤔
  
• Other Dragons like SHADOW 'NITE and GOODRA are alright too, but honestly can't be labeled anything more than "spice" here... though very nice spice, eh?
  
• LAPRAS works fine, but is really no better than cheaper Dewgong or even Sealeo. Perhaps then you may want to consider running Water Gun for a more unique threat that much better handles Fires (pickups include Ninetales and Castform) and fellow Ices (win vs Dewgong) and can beat Registeel! Shard loses those but gets Mandi, Aboma, Hypno, and Charizard instead.
  
• Definitely a meta that more favors Air Slash TROPIUS (beats Escav, Ferro, Zweil, Bee) more than Razor Leaf (Sable and Perrserker instead), but if you HAVE to run a Razor Leafer, Trop is probably your best bet.
  
• If the baits work, FERROTHORN can eke out wins against Lickitung and Froslass, but even if they don't, Ferro is still a solid Grass that doesn't really have to fear Psychics, Fairies, Poisons (looking at you, Nidoqueen), or Dewgong/Sealeo. So that's nice.
  
• The potential is there for FORRETRESS to be SCARY good... if the baits go well. Otherwise, it's more just simply scary. It NEEDS those baits to handle most Steels, Grounds, and Waters its capable of (as well as things like Beedrill), but at least if that doesn't all work out, it still represents a hard counter to Fairies and Psyshics, and can still take out most Darks and Ices too. The ceiling is high, perhaps TOO high, but at least the floor isn't terrible.
  
• STEELIX with Thunder Fang isn't something many would ever expect. Just sayin'. 😉
  
• Got a good SNORLAX left over from Retro Cup? Good... deploy! Regular Lax uses its bulk to outlast Registeel, Hypno, Obstagoon, Perrserker and such, while Shadow Lax sheds those wins to instead outrace Charizard, Escavalier, Sableye, Stunfisk, Whiscash, and Rainy Castform.
  
• And speaking of the CASTFORMS, yes, they're ALL good here. SNOWY is arguable the best overall Ice type here, overpowering a ton of things despite having no coverage. SUNNY is basically Ninetales with slightly more bulk. RAINY is a slightly better Lanturn, trading big Flyers like Mandi and Jellicent to instead beat Grounds (Diggersby, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, Mud Boys), Steels (Escav, Registeel), and Beedrill and Sableye. And yes, that NORMAL Castform you have left from Retro is viable too if you want to spice things up!
  

100,000 Dust/100 Candy

• Yep, REGISTEEL is good, though perhaps not as much as you'd expect. Even with so many of its hardest counters banned, there are still lots of things that are gunning for it, from Fires to Fighters to the Grounds and Waters that remain. Perhaps a slightly better bet is actually REGIROCK, who does lose to Cresselia and Lickitung that 'Steel can beat, but turns the tables on Fires and the few Flyers (Mantine, Drifblim) that do beat 'Steel, as well as stuff like Beedrill and Melmetal. 'Rock actually seems like the best Regi here, to my eyes.
  
• If you want a big expensive Steel anyway, might I suggest MELMETAL? In all ways except beating Psychics (Hypno, Cress, Mew specifically), it also seems superior to Registeel here, handling Beedrill, Mantine, and Charizard (akin to Regirock), as well as Rainy Castform and Registeel itself.
  
• I made the same recommendation in Retro Cup but didn't see it have much of an effect, so I am once again asking for you to consider Confusion on your CRESSELIA. It gains potential wins against Beedrill, Escav, Lickitung, Tropius, Ninetales, Charizard, and Castform as compared to Psycho Cut Cress, which outraces Obstagoon and Zweilous but loses all those others I listed. There's nothing WRONG with Psycho Cut, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing wrong with Confusion in this meta either. It warrants your consideration, so consider this your (second) wake-up call.
  
• Expect a LOT of MEW this time around, at least in part because many folks will have acquired their shiny blue one by now and surely kept it at Great League size if they overpowered their initial one long ago. (Or, uh, MAXED it, like this silly author. 🙋‍♂️) You can probably also expect a lot of Shadow Claw and some combination of Wild Charge, Surf, Dragon Claw, Flame Charge, Rock Slide, and many others. I won't bother with a ton of sims, but PvPoke sims it thus, to give you a rough idea of what it can do.
  
• Other Electrics have looked good so far, and so does ZAPDOS, particularly as a Shadow, where it really gets to flex its uniqueness as a Flyer by beating Ferrothorn and Abomasnow in addition to already handling the major Fighters, Bugs, and most other Grasses utilizing Drill Peck. If you have a good GL Zappy (with Thunder Shock, of course), go nuts!
  

FEELIN' LUCKY?
Here I cover 'mons that are no less "nifty" than those in the main article above, but require maxing or at least almost maxing out, so they are FAR from "thrifty"! Best acquired in a Lucky trade for good IVs and less investment. I'll also cover these in bulletized format to bring this article home!

• Don't mistake the lateness of DIGGERSBY appearing in this article as indication it is not good... quite the contrary! At the time of this writing, it is actually ranked #1 in Remix, and while it puts up good but not mind-blowing numbers overall, it's hard to argue with the ranking when you look at all that it can handily beat. I'll let you look over that fine list yourself, but a couple important points to specifically cover. First, you might be surprised to hear it's just as good with Hyper Beam, with which it can beat Cresselia, Charizard, and Mandibuzz (and is guaranteed to shock and awe them in the process!) in exchange for the Lickitung, Jellicent, and Escavalier that Earthquake beats. The other interesting tidbit is that Diggs performs just as well without being XL, losing Cress but actually re-gaining Lickitung with Beam, or keeping ALL the same wins as XL Diggs and adding the mirror with Earthquake... so that's nice!
  
• And speaking of Lickitung, it's still great if you have one, but thankfully not as wholly dominant as in past metas for those who don't. There are a goodly number of hard counters here... much moreso than we had in Retro Cup, for instance. Licki is still a force to be reckoned with, but you have a few more answers to call upon this time around, and a even a number of its listed wins (Fires, Grasses, and stuff like Zweilous and Stunfisk) are close and within the IV and/or lag margin of error.
  
• WOBBUFFET has to be maxed, hundo, AND purified, but we all know that one guy or gal that's actually made that investment, right? And they'll surely want to use it here. Maybe they've even best buddied it too, bringing in a win over fellow arm-and-a-leg-investment Lickitung. It's not wholly dominant, but Wobb is definitely scary and well worth bringing... for the 1% of you out there lucky enough to have one ready to go. (Darn you to heck, by the way. 🤪)
  
• An investment many more of us HAVE likely made is SABLEYE, and it is indeed a very good generalist here, of course being especially rough on Psychics but conveniently handling the big name Steels, Bugs, Ghosts, and (less consistently) Fighters too. And good news: once again, you can run non-XL and not miss too much: just super close wins that XL can sometimes get versus Whiscash and Dewgong.
  
• I'm reluctant to even point this one out, as it will give many (myself included!) renewed hatred for regionals, but for those that have access to it, PACHIRISU is good. Like, really, REALLY good. It's super bulky, especially for an Electric, and thus can do silly things like outbulk Charmers and Fighters and all the big Steels in addition to being a top-flight Electric doing standard Electric things. Stupid regionals. 😒
  
• And once again, repeat after me: DO NOT RUN CHANSEY. But if you hate yourself and everyone around you and decide to max one out anyway... well, here's what it can maybe do, if that's worth your mortal soul. 😂
  

And 60+ Pokémon later, we're done! Hopefully this helps you balance the cost of where to save yourself some hard-earned dust (and candy!). This will be up on GO Hub soon as well, with a handful of other spice options I just didn't have room for here on Reddit 😬, so keep an eye out for that.
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter for near-daily PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll try to get back to you!
Thank you for reading! I sincerely hope this helps you master Great League Remix, and in the most affordable way possible. Best of luck, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Great League Remix 2.0, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs or less powering up.
As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the most expensive. I will also only be highlighting Shadow versions when they're particularly relevant... many are worse, and that's what you can generally infer if I don't talk about them.
That all set, here we go!

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

MANTINE
Wing Attack Bubble Beam & Ice Beam
Fitting in this category thanks to the Baby Discount™, as giving a Mantyke a second move costs only 10k dust, and then evolve and it's only about another 30k to build up to a right sized Mantine from there. Anyway, Pelipper is banned, so here's your easiest replacement. And yes, Mantine can perform well, though it's obviously rather dependent on Bubble Beam to work right. But IF it all works out, you can beat ALL Fighters, and nearly all Grounds, Fires, Bugs, Flyers, and even Grasses, plus stuff like Zweilous and Lickitung as bonuses. I do NOT necessarily recommend Mantine to those unfamiliar with it--the timing of baits is very key and takes some practice to get the hang of--but the ceiling it very high here.
GOLBAT
Wing Attack Poison Fang & Shadow Ball
Sticking with the Flyers for now, Golbat has long been a budget player’s hero in The Silph Arena, and with the buff to Poison Fang has a chance to break out at long last in GBL as well. And GL Remix looks like a good place to get started, holding down Fairies, Fighters, Bugs, Grasses, and Psychics (mostly thanks to the looming threat of Shadow Ball), and even outlasts Diggersby, Drifblim, Sableye, Perrserker, and half of the Castforms.
NOCTOWL
Wing Attack Sky Attack & Psychic
If Pidgeot is unbanned, then yes, you absolutely want it, but for now, this is the best fill-in we got. And it's really not bad at all, and super cheap to build… but it's no Pidgeot.
CHARIZARD
Fire Spin Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ
No Talonflame, no problem? I don’t know that Zard will end up being quite THAT dominant, but it does have a good package for success in this meta. First off, no Azu, Toed, Swampert, Pelipper, Altaria, DD, Bastiodon, Talonflame, G-Fisk, Galv, OR A-Wak to cause it problems. Second, plenty of good Steels, Fairies, Grasses, Bugs, Ices, and even Fighters to roast. Add to that big bonuses like DIggersby, Lickitung, Pidgeot, Drifblim, and Hypno (even with Thunder Punch), and yeah, maybe it WILL end up that dominant after all! Time will tell, but Zard really appreciates what this meta is shaping up to be… and what is banned from participating.
Almost as exciting is TYPHLOSION, but the unique wins it gets (Stunfisk, Sableye, Nidoqueen) are a hair less interesting that the Diggersby, Beedrill, and Fighters (Shadow Champ, SIrfetch’d) that Zard is able to bag. Typh is certainly more than viable, though!
BLAZIKEN
Counter Blaze Kick & Blast Burnᴸ/Brave Bird/Stone Edgeᴸ
As per usual, Blaze doesn’t operate quite like other Fires, which is both blessing and curse. The blessing is Counter ripping through things like Diggersby, Dewgong, and Darks like Zweilous and Mandibuzz that can cause other Fires some trouble. The curse, however, is less Fire damage means Blaze struggles a bit against Bugs, Grasses, and especially Fairies… Blaze is the Fire that usually loses, badly, to Charmers, and of course it doesn’t appreciate Psychics either. If you’ve used it before, likely none of this is new to you, but it’s good to be reminded of what makes it great… and what also has kept it from more fully breaking out in PvP. (Blast Burn and Brave Bird, by the way, can beat Stunfisk, whereas the otherwise-tempting Stone Edge fails. All are viable but that’s probably the biggest difference between them.)
WHISCASH
Water Gun/Mud Shot Mud Bomb & Blizzard
Ready for a bold claim? You may want to consider Water Gun on your Whiscash in this format. Yes, really. In that configuration, Cash can pick up wins over Mandibuzz, Sableye, Escavalier, and Clefable, matched against only two losses that come with Mud Shot: Zweilous and Drifblim. Now do take that with a grain of salt, as Mud Shot is a bit better still with shields down or in 2v2 shielding, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Perhaps that would fit YOUR team better?
CHESNAUGHT
Vine Whip Superpower & Energy Ball
The easiest way to deal with those Grounds and Waters, of course, is Grass. But uh… Venusaur is banned, as is Meganium. So where do we turn next? Actually, the best overall Grass may not one with Frenzy Plant at all. Check out Chesnaught, which has the added bonus of Fighting damage too to take on things like Zweilous, Perrserker, Sableye, Melmetal, Lickitung, and Ferrothorn and living to tell the tale, as well as still doing most everything you’d ask of your Grass type (beating all Waters, Grounds, and Rocks without a noted anti-Grass advantage). It’s a nice versatile option that would be good to build now if you haven’t already!
Beyond Naught, the Grass pickings are kinda slim among the cheap options. Your best one with Frenzy Plant is probably the newest recipient, SERPERIOR, and it’s fine if unexciting. SCEPTILE is similar… does some genuinely nice things, just not enough of them. No, perhaps your best fill-in is actually a Pokémon that’s not even fully evolved….
IVYSAUR
Vine Whip Power Whip & Sludge Bomb
Venusaur’s pre-evolution Ivysaur is a cross between Venu and first-in-the-line Bulbasaur that’s flexing nicely in Element Cup right now. Ivy runs with the Sludge Bomb that makes Venusaur awesome, but of course lacks Frenzy Plant, settling for Power Whip instead. (5 more energy and 10 less power than Frenzy, but still a fine move on its own.) That means that, of course, it does not live fully up to all that Venusaur could do in this meta, but the differences are small, especially when considering that two of those losses are Munchlax and Mew (specifically with Flame Charge), so only the third--Lickitung--is of true, painful consequence. Ivy is just fine here, and certainly the closest you’re gonna get to capturing Venusaur’s normal glory. You still beat the Charmers, the big Grounds, most Waters and Fighters, and even Cresselia and Sableye and Nidoqueen. All in all, it’s really not a bad performance at all for something that can literally say “this isn’t even my final form!”
BLASTOISE
Water Gun Hydro Cannonᴸ & Ice Beam/Skull Bash
Would you believe Blastoise is finally one of the top Water options (in this meta)? It’s not really ranked as such (slipping just inside the Top 100 overall), but it puts up pretty good numbers. Blastie doesn’t have the flashiest moves, but combined with its high bulk, it gets the job done not just against Fires and Grounds and such, but also against Steels, Charmers, and things like Drifblim, Obstagoon, Sableye, Froslass, and Beedrill. (Skull Bash beats Mantine, BTW, while Ice Beam hates on Flyers and beats Pidgeot specifically.)
EMPOLEON
Waterfall Hydro Cannonᴸ & Drill Peck
Probably the only other (eligible) Water starter worthy of serious consideration, but even Empie is just okay here. Yes, it represents a very hard counter to Charmers, and its Steel typing also blunts the attacks of things like Abomasnow and Hypno, but it’s more of a specialist while Blastoise actually has more widespread usage, at least versus the core meta.
RAICHUS
Volt Switch Wild Charge & Brick Break/Thunder Punch
Overall, both Raichus are rather similar. The key differences? Alolan Raichu resists Psychic and Fighting and has clear advantages versus opponents that rely on that type of damage, leading specifically to wins versus Hypno, Shadow Machamp, and Registeel (Focus Blast). Original Recipe Raichu’s advantage is Brick Break, which is awesome for baiting and for chipping in enough Fighting damage spam to make it feel almost like a Fighter. End of the day that plus Wild Charge brings in wins AhChu struggles to match, like Beedrill, Munchlax, Ninetales, and even Wigglytuff and Clefable. Also not being vulnerable to Ghost and Dark damage (as AhChu is) means KayChu can also beat Mandibuzz, Jellicent, and Sableye much more easily than its Alolan cousin. Either way, both Raichus have solid value, and have already proven themselves even in open PvP formats. They’re well worth your consideration here.
CHARMERS
Charm ...does it really matter?
Several cheap options here, though WIGGLYTUFF remains the best, what with its handy Ghost resistance leading to unique wins over Jellicent, Drifblim, Lickitung, Mew, and Hypno, among others. CLEFABLE and even WHIMSICOTT are okay too, but generally fall behind Wiggly overall. In one form or another, however, Charm will likely have a big impact in this meta... for better or for worse.
OBSTAGOON
Counter Night Slash & Hyper Beam/Gunk Shot
Yes, really, Hyper Beam is a legit option with unique wins against Stunfisk and Pidgeot. (The more common Gunk Shot is a slightly better answer to Charmers and outraces Tropius and Ninetales, so yes, it's still fine too.) Of course, most of what Goonie does is with just Counter and Night Slash anyway, threatening Steels/Darks and Psychics/Ghosts alike, as well as most Normal amd Ice types and a smattering of others that don't appreciate its spammy (and high!) damage output. Goonie is easily one of the best "Fighters" here (and super thrifty!), despite its especially glaring weakness to Charm.
There are other true Fighters that can be had cheaply thanks to the Baby Discount™, including Medicham Junior HITMONCHAN and LUCARIO, though they mostly pale in comparison to other Fighters we'll look at later, and even Obstagoon above. You may see them here and there but I have trouble really recommending them.
BEEDRILL
Poison Jab Fell StingeX-Scissor & Drill Runᴸ
Wrapping up the 10ks with The Bee, who I finally saw starting to pop up in GBL last season after far too long being underrated. This is a Bug that's always been able to handle things like Registeel, Cresselia, Escavalier, and even Sunny Castform thanks to Drill Run, as well as still doing standard Bug/Poison things like beating the Charmers, handling Fighters, eating through Grasses, and even stinging most Darks. And it's only better now after the still-recent buff to Poison Jab... combined with Fell Stinger, it can potentially dust off Melmetal and win the mirror match, though X-Scissor is perhaps still slightly better and more reliable overall for at least dealing decent Bug-type damage when unblocked. Shadow Bee is an interesting alternative to screw with the opponent's expections, beating things like Froslass, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, and Sableye, but as the cost of losing to others like Melmetal, Perrserker, Lickitung, and Sunny Castform.

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

NIDOQUEEN
Poison Jab Poison Fang & Earth Power
It's amazing what a little move shakeup can do for long-derided Pokémon, isn't it? The Queen is the new hotness since the last move rebalance, and a true force in PvP, including Remix. She's SO popular now that you wonder if she'll be on the ban list next time around, but for now her unique ability to handle Fires and Electrics and Steels and Fairies and Fighters (and others like Lickitung, Pidgeot, Stunfisk, and Tropius) with equal proficiency is extremely valauble. As with Beedrill, Shadow Queen presents an intriguing alternative that can trip up the opponent, flipping things like Cresselia, Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz, and Zweilous to wins, but it gives up several Fires, Sable, Beedrill and others to get there, and I personally slightly lean non-Shadow here. But either Queen has unquestionable viability!
EXCADRILL
Mud Shot Rock Slide & Drill Run
So I've written about Excadrill before, both in a pre-Mud Shot analysis in Master League and then as part of the GBL S6 Rebalance analysis, but I always noted it was best in ML where it could flex its high CP and somewhat mask its shaky bulk, and that in lower leagues it was completely overshadowed by Galarian Stunfisk. Well guess what? With G-Fisk banned, now Excadrill IS basically G-Fisk here... as close as you can get, at least. It's still not as good, but it DOES fill mostly the same roles: holding down Charm and Psychics, rolling over Steels (though Registeel can frustratingly escape) and Poisons, still handing U-Fisk, extinguishing most Fires, bringing down (most) Flyers with Rock Slide, and even besting Froslass and Zweilous and such too. This is its best chance to shine out bright without Fisky around, and it looks ready to make the most of it.
PROBOPASS
Rock Throw/Spark Rock Slide & Thunderbolt/Magnet Bomb
We have our G-Fisk replacement, and now here is our Bastiodon fill-in. Obviously Probo is not QUITE that good, but it IS close, losing only Sableye and either Mew (which it typically beats with Spark) or Hypno (which it usually takes down with Rock Throw, as simmed above) and matching all of Bastie's other core meta wins. Probo is FAR cheaper too, which is good since you may not have one built yet (but should have, if you followed my past advice! 😉). If Bastie poundings are your thing, you'll like Probo. There's even Shadow Probo if you wanna mix things up.
MAGNEZONE
Spark Mirror Shot & Wild Charge
So honestly, even I'm not sure how legit this is, but... well, dang. And as a Shadow... dang squared. Electric is a pretty good typing here overall, but Zone is a high risk (albeit obviously high potential reward) option with so many likely-common weaknesses (Fire, Fighting, and especially Ground). That all said, there are plenty of Fairies and Waters and Flyers and Grasses and even Bugs that want nothing to do with it, and it even holds up admirably if Mirror Shot baits fail, so this is certainly at least somewhat legit. If you like piloting Zone in UL and/or ML, I don't usually recommend it in Great League, but with several of its scarier counters on the ban list, this would be the time if ever there was one!
ESCAVALIER
Counter Megahorn & Drill Run
You likely already know all the good that Escav can do by now, but here's a reminder. Not every day you run across a "Fighter" that can also handle Charmers and Psychics, but that's Escav in a nutshell. If you like it, you'll likely continue to like it here.
ROSERADE
Bullet Seedᴸ Weather Ball (Fire)ᴸ & Leaf Storm
Hopefully you built one for Great League during its Community Day back in February, because Bullet Seed and Weather Ball are both absolutely key to its success. But it's the more recent addition of Leaf Storm that has really pushed Rose over the top as a true PvP threat in Great League, and gives it its role in Remix... and specifically wins over Dewgong, Nidoqueen, Obstagoon, Sableye, and often Mew. Beyond that it handles most Charmers, Waters, and Grounds while also toasting Melmetal, Escavalier, Froslass, and most Grasses with Weather Ball. It's super glassy, but it hits a good chunk on the meta hard on its way out.
What you do NOT want to do is run Roserade with Razor Leaf. Grassholes in general really struggle here, and are all (rightly) ranked far outside the Top 100. Shadow VICTREEBEL and VILEPLUME are okay, hard on Fighters and Charmers and of course most anything Water or Ground, but they're nothing particularly special here, and don't have their customary Bastiodon or G-Fisk protective detail. For the sake of all... I recommend NOT trying it.
ABOMASNOW
Powder Snow Weather Ball (Ice) & Energy Ball
The secret is long out now: Aboma is good in basically every format where it's eligible, and Remix is no exception. Other than my customary heads up that Aboma can actually beat Shadow Machamp AND Sirfetch'd (those are leads Aboma CAN win with 2x Weather Ball... don't auto swap out!), there's not much to point out that you don't already know. So how about this, then: consider Blizzard instead of Energy Ball. Obviously you lose stuff like Dewgong and Jellicent, but you potentially gain Cress, Hypno, Lickitung, Sable, AND the mirror... and keep Champ and Fetch'd, despite what that shows. (You just need WB, remember.) Blizzard Aboma is an overlooked stud too, especially in this meta with no Azu and Swampert and such to throw Energy Balls at.
DEWGONG
Ice Shardᴸ Icy Windᴸ & Blizzard/Water Pulse
Here's another one where I recommend Blizzard rather than the second move more commonly used... Water Pulse, in this case. Pulse is a BAD PvP move, and while it does allow wins at times versus stuff like Ninetales, Blizzard brings in a lot more good wins (Cress, Ferro, Sable, Aboma, and the mirror) and pushes Dewgong into more elite territory.
A fun alternative (which requires no Legacy moves) is SEALEO, and here the speedy charging of Powder Snow masks Water Pulse's deficiences enough that it's actually halfway decent, providing handy coverage versus Ninetales, Sunny Castform, and Froslass. Dewgong struggles versus all of those, and cannot normally beat Lickitung as Sealeo can either. Dewgong IS better overall, but Sealeo does much of what it can plus some surprising twists that can really mess with the opponent's head... much of it thanks to having one of the spammiest Body Slams in the game.
FROSLASS
Powder Snow Avalanche & Shadow Ball
The Ice princess that can beat Fighters... and Psychics and many other Ghosts, of course, and even stuff like Dewgong and Escavalier thanks to Shadow Ball. But keep far, FAR away from Charmers, Fire, Waters, Normals, Steels, most Darks... as good as Lass is (and she really can be in experienced hands), she's got some exploitable vulnerabilities too.
GENGAHAUNTER
Shadow Claw Shadow Punchᴸ & Shadow Ball
Eligible and still just fine as generalists, yep!
JELLICENT
Hex Bubble Beam & Shadow Ball
With Grass rather suppressed, this seems a much better meta for Shadow Ball than Ice Beam, and Bubble Beam is actually a good fit with Fire and Ground being rather potent. And yes, JelliBelli is as potent (and bait happy) as ever too. Expect to see several and plan accordingly!
QUAGSIRE
Mud Shot Stone Edge & Earthquake
The oft-forgotten member of the OG Mud Boy trio, Lord Quag may be the best one here, and especially with good PvP IVs. 👀 Those new wins are against Charmers, Munchlax, Escavalier, and Drifblim, so no slouches! Got a really good Quag? Here's your chance to smash face with it.
LANTURN
Spark Thunderbolt & Hydro Pump
While it's in direct competition with Rainy Castform for the same slot/role and is perhaps slightly worse, there is no doubt Lanturn is sold. It's a tad slower than Chinchou that's tearing up Element Cup (no true bait move), but carries itself quite well against Fires, Waters, and Flyers (just like E.C. Chou) and also Charmers and Ices and others too. Like I said, solid performance.
NINETALES
Fire Spin Weather Ball (Fire) & Overheat/Solar Beam/Returnᴸ
So the question before us is thus: Solar Beam for awesome coverage (particularly a legit win against Jellicent!), or Overheat to overpower and outrace Obstagoon, Drifblim, Sableye, and Pidgeot? Or heck, even a bit of both (plus the mirror match) with Return? Decisions, decisions!
MACHAMP
Counter Rock Slide & Cross Chop
It's really Shadow Champ for its unique wins over Ninetales, Tropius, Sableye, Sirfetch'd, and Froslass, thanks mostly to Rock Slide. Put simply, it's the best Fighter here, bar none. I'm a little surprised Champ wasn't on the ban list, actually.
Others like SIRFETCH'D and PRIMEAPE do a lot of good things too (beating Stunfisk, and Ape can also most easily beat Aboma and also Champ head to head), but they just can't really measure up to Shadow Champ overall.
HYPNO
Confusion Ice Punch & Shadow Ball (non-Shadow)/Fire Punch (Shadow)
A staple of so many past metas I really don't feel you need me to say much, but here's what I can offer. Ice Punch is important in nearly any moveset configuration, and I think with non-Shadow Hypno you pair it with Shadow Ball and don't look back, nailing Cress, Castforms, and Ninetales that way. With Shadow Hypno, I think the coverage of Fire Punch (paired with Ice) may be best (burning Steels and Wigglytuff and others), but there are lots of ways you can go with Hypno's moves, and few "wrong" ways to go about it. Hypno is not this meta's nucleus, but it's in orbit.

75,000 Dust/75 Candy

It's not that the 75k and 100k Pokémon aren't good, it's just that I'm running out of space (and your brain likely is too!), so I'll go through these expensive options in rapid fire style!

• MANDIBUZZ is its usual potent self here, but another moveset curveball I want to lob your way. Rather than the standard Foul Play/Aerial Ace, consider throwing Shadow Ball into the mix, with which you can beat Castform, Ninetales, and even Froslass! Guarantee you that Froslass owners everywhere will be floored if they lose THAT matchup!
  
• There's nothing at all wrong ZWEILOUS's standard second move choice of Dark Pulse. But in 1v1 shielding and with shields down, Dragon Pulse can actually do slightly better (+Tropius and +Mandibuzz, respectfully). I found that interesting!
  
• Yes, DRIFBLIM wreaks its usual havoc on Grounds, Grasses, Psychics, Bugs, Fighters and more. Oh, and gets Registeel and even Melmetal as a bonus!
  
• Don't be shocked to see GLISCOR or GLIGAR! They're sneaky good in holding down Fighters, Fires, Bugs, Steels, Grounds, Electrics, and a decently wide smattering of others. Study those win/loss lists!
  
• Its Galarian cousin is banned, but that won't stop STUNFISK from showing up either. Fires, Flying, and especially Steels fear few things less here, and it conveniently blunts Machamp's Rock Slide and can beat it too, among others.
  
• Thinking of FLYGON? Now might be the time to think Dragon Tail. 🤔
  
• Other Dragons like SHADOW 'NITE and GOODRA are alright too, but honestly can't be labeled anything more than "spice" here... though very nice spice, eh?
  
• LAPRAS works fine, but is really no better than cheaper Dewgong or even Sealeo. Perhaps then you may want to consider running Water Gun for a more unique threat that much better handles Fires (pickups include Ninetales and Castform) and fellow Ices (win vs Dewgong) and can beat Registeel! Shard loses those but gets Mandi, Aboma, Hypno, and Charizard instead.
  
• Definitely a meta that more favors Air Slash TROPIUS (beats Escav, Ferro, Zweil, Bee) more than Razor Leaf (Sable and Perrserker instead), but if you HAVE to run a Razor Leafer, Trop is probably your best bet.
  
• If the baits work, FERROTHORN can eke out wins against Lickitung and Froslass, but even if they don't, Ferro is still a solid Grass that doesn't really have to fear Psychics, Fairies, Poisons (looking at you, Nidoqueen), or Dewgong/Sealeo. So that's nice.
  
• The potential is there for FORRETRESS to be SCARY good... if the baits go well. Otherwise, it's more just simply scary. It NEEDS those baits to handle most Steels, Grounds, and Waters its capable of (as well as things like Beedrill), but at least if that doesn't all work out, it still represents a hard counter to Fairies and Psyshics, and can still take out most Darks and Ices too. The ceiling is high, perhaps TOO high, but at least the floor isn't terrible.
  
• STEELIX with Thunder Fang isn't something many would ever expect. Just sayin'. 😉
  
• Got a good SNORLAX left over from Retro Cup? Good... deploy! Regular Lax uses its bulk to outlast Registeel, Hypno, Obstagoon, Perrserker and such, while Shadow Lax sheds those wins to instead outrace Charizard, Escavalier, Sableye, Stunfisk, Whiscash, and Rainy Castform.
  
• And speaking of the CASTFORMS, yes, they're ALL good here. SNOWY is arguable the best overall Ice type here, overpowering a ton of things despite having no coverage. SUNNY is basically Ninetales with slightly more bulk. RAINY is a slightly better Lanturn, trading big Flyers like Mandi and Jellicent to instead beat Grounds (Diggersby, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, Mud Boys), Steels (Escav, Registeel), and Beedrill and Sableye. And yes, that NORMAL Castform you have left from Retro is viable too if you want to spice things up!
  

100,000 Dust/100 Candy

• Yep, REGISTEEL is good, though perhaps not as much as you'd expect. Even with so many of its hardest counters banned, there are still lots of things that are gunning for it, from Fires to Fighters to the Grounds and Waters that remain. Perhaps a slightly better bet is actually REGIROCK, who does lose to Cresselia and Lickitung that 'Steel can beat, but turns the tables on Fires and the few Flyers (Mantine, Drifblim) that do beat 'Steel, as well as stuff like Beedrill and Melmetal. 'Rock actually seems like the best Regi here, to my eyes.
  
• If you want a big expensive Steel anyway, might I suggest MELMETAL? In all ways except beating Psychics (Hypno, Cress, Mew specifically), it also seems superior to Registeel here, handling Beedrill, Mantine, and Charizard (akin to Regirock), as well as Rainy Castform and Registeel itself.
  
• I made the same recommendation in Retro Cup but didn't see it have much of an effect, so I am once again asking for you to consider Confusion on your CRESSELIA. It gains potential wins against Beedrill, Escav, Lickitung, Tropius, Ninetales, Charizard, and Castform as compared to Psycho Cut Cress, which outraces Obstagoon and Zweilous but loses all those others I listed. There's nothing WRONG with Psycho Cut, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing wrong with Confusion in this meta either. It warrants your consideration, so consider this your (second) wake-up call.
  
• Expect a LOT of MEW this time around, at least in part because many folks will have acquired their shiny blue one by now and surely kept it at Great League size if they overpowered their initial one long ago. (Or, uh, MAXED it, like this silly author. 🙋‍♂️) You can probably also expect a lot of Shadow Claw and some combination of Wild Charge, Surf, Dragon Claw, Flame Charge, Rock Slide, and many others. I won't bother with a ton of sims, but PvPoke sims it thus, to give you a rough idea of what it can do.
  
• Other Electrics have looked good so far, and so does ZAPDOS, particularly as a Shadow, where it really gets to flex its uniqueness as a Flyer by beating Ferrothorn and Abomasnow in addition to already handling the major Fighters, Bugs, and most other Grasses utilizing Drill Peck. If you have a good GL Zappy (with Thunder Shock, of course), go nuts!
  

FEELIN' LUCKY?
Here I cover 'mons that are no less "nifty" than those in the main article above, but require maxing or at least almost maxing out, so they are FAR from "thrifty"! Best acquired in a Lucky trade for good IVs and less investment. I'll also cover these in bulletized format to bring this article home!

• Don't mistake the lateness of DIGGERSBY appearing in this article as indication it is not good... quite the contrary! At the time of this writing, it is actually ranked #1 in Remix, and while it puts up good but not mind-blowing numbers overall, it's hard to argue with the ranking when you look at all that it can handily beat. I'll let you look over that fine list yourself, but a couple important points to specifically cover. First, you might be surprised to hear it's just as good with Hyper Beam, with which it can beat Cresselia, Charizard, and Mandibuzz (and is guaranteed to shock and awe them in the process!) in exchange for the Lickitung, Jellicent, and Escavalier that Earthquake beats. The other interesting tidbit is that Diggs performs just as well without being XL, losing Cress but actually re-gaining Lickitung with Beam, or keeping ALL the same wins as XL Diggs and adding the mirror with Earthquake... so that's nice!
  
• And speaking of Lickitung, it's still great if you have one, but thankfully not as wholly dominant as in past metas for those who don't. There are a goodly number of hard counters here... much moreso than we had in Retro Cup, for instance. Licki is still a force to be reckoned with, but you have a few more answers to call upon this time around, and a even a number of its listed wins (Fires, Grasses, and stuff like Zweilous and Stunfisk) are close and within the IV and/or lag margin of error.
  
• WOBBUFFET has to be maxed, hundo, AND purified, but we all know that one guy or gal that's actually made that investment, right? And they'll surely want to use it here. Maybe they've even best buddied it too, bringing in a win over fellow arm-and-a-leg-investment Lickitung. It's not wholly dominant, but Wobb is definitely scary and well worth bringing... for the 1% of you out there lucky enough to have one ready to go. (Darn you to heck, by the way. 🤪)
  
• An investment many more of us HAVE likely made is SABLEYE, and it is indeed a very good generalist here, of course being especially rough on Psychics but conveniently handling the big name Steels, Bugs, Ghosts, and (less consistently) Fighters too. And good news: once again, you can run non-XL and not miss too much: just super close wins that XL can sometimes get versus Whiscash and Dewgong.
  
• I'm reluctant to even point this one out, as it will give many (myself included!) renewed hatred for regionals, but for those that have access to it, PACHIRISU is good. Like, really, REALLY good. It's super bulky, especially for an Electric, and thus can do silly things like outbulk Charmers and Fighters and all the big Steels in addition to being a top-flight Electric doing standard Electric things. Stupid regionals. 😒
  
• And once again, repeat after me: DO NOT RUN CHANSEY. But if you hate yourself and everyone around you and decide to max one out anyway... well, here's what it can maybe do, if that's worth your mortal soul. 😂
  

And 60+ Pokémon later, we're done! Hopefully this helps you balance the cost of where to save yourself some hard-earned dust (and candy!). This will be up on GO Hub soon as well, with a handful of other spice options I just didn't have room for here on Reddit 😬, so keep an eye out for that.
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter for near-daily PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll try to get back to you!
Thank you for reading! I sincerely hope this helps you master Great League Remix, and in the most affordable way possible. Best of luck, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Great League Remix 2.0, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs or less powering up.
As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the most expensive. I will also only be highlighting Shadow versions when they're particularly relevant... many are worse, and that's what you can generally infer if I don't talk about them.
That all set, here we go!

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

MANTINE
Wing Attack Bubble Beam & Ice Beam
Fitting in this category thanks to the Baby Discount™, as giving a Mantyke a second move costs only 10k dust, and then evolve and it's only about another 30k to build up to a right sized Mantine from there. Anyway, Pelipper is banned, so here's your easiest replacement. And yes, Mantine can perform well, though it's obviously rather dependent on Bubble Beam to work right. But IF it all works out, you can beat ALL Fighters, and nearly all Grounds, Fires, Bugs, Flyers, and even Grasses, plus stuff like Zweilous and Lickitung as bonuses. I do NOT necessarily recommend Mantine to those unfamiliar with it--the timing of baits is very key and takes some practice to get the hang of--but the ceiling it very high here.
GOLBAT
Wing Attack Poison Fang & Shadow Ball
Sticking with the Flyers for now, Golbat has long been a budget player’s hero in The Silph Arena, and with the buff to Poison Fang has a chance to break out at long last in GBL as well. And GL Remix looks like a good place to get started, holding down Fairies, Fighters, Bugs, Grasses, and Psychics (mostly thanks to the looming threat of Shadow Ball), and even outlasts Diggersby, Drifblim, Sableye, Perrserker, and half of the Castforms.
NOCTOWL
Wing Attack Sky Attack & Psychic
If Pidgeot is unbanned, then yes, you absolutely want it, but for now, this is the best fill-in we got. And it's really not bad at all, and super cheap to build… but it's no Pidgeot.
CHARIZARD
Fire Spin Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ
No Talonflame, no problem? I don’t know that Zard will end up being quite THAT dominant, but it does have a good package for success in this meta. First off, no Azu, Toed, Swampert, Pelipper, Altaria, DD, Bastiodon, Talonflame, G-Fisk, Galv, OR A-Wak to cause it problems. Second, plenty of good Steels, Fairies, Grasses, Bugs, Ices, and even Fighters to roast. Add to that big bonuses like DIggersby, Lickitung, Pidgeot, Drifblim, and Hypno (even with Thunder Punch), and yeah, maybe it WILL end up that dominant after all! Time will tell, but Zard really appreciates what this meta is shaping up to be… and what is banned from participating.
Almost as exciting is TYPHLOSION, but the unique wins it gets (Stunfisk, Sableye, Nidoqueen) are a hair less interesting that the Diggersby, Beedrill, and Fighters (Shadow Champ, SIrfetch’d) that Zard is able to bag. Typh is certainly more than viable, though!
BLAZIKEN
Counter Blaze Kick & Blast Burnᴸ/Brave Bird/Stone Edgeᴸ
As per usual, Blaze doesn’t operate quite like other Fires, which is both blessing and curse. The blessing is Counter ripping through things like Diggersby, Dewgong, and Darks like Zweilous and Mandibuzz that can cause other Fires some trouble. The curse, however, is less Fire damage means Blaze struggles a bit against Bugs, Grasses, and especially Fairies… Blaze is the Fire that usually loses, badly, to Charmers, and of course it doesn’t appreciate Psychics either. If you’ve used it before, likely none of this is new to you, but it’s good to be reminded of what makes it great… and what also has kept it from more fully breaking out in PvP. (Blast Burn and Brave Bird, by the way, can beat Stunfisk, whereas the otherwise-tempting Stone Edge fails. All are viable but that’s probably the biggest difference between them.)
WHISCASH
Water Gun/Mud Shot Mud Bomb & Blizzard
Ready for a bold claim? You may want to consider Water Gun on your Whiscash in this format. Yes, really. In that configuration, Cash can pick up wins over Mandibuzz, Sableye, Escavalier, and Clefable, matched against only two losses that come with Mud Shot: Zweilous and Drifblim. Now do take that with a grain of salt, as Mud Shot is a bit better still with shields down or in 2v2 shielding, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Perhaps that would fit YOUR team better?
CHESNAUGHT
Vine Whip Superpower & Energy Ball
The easiest way to deal with those Grounds and Waters, of course, is Grass. But uh… Venusaur is banned, as is Meganium. So where do we turn next? Actually, the best overall Grass may not one with Frenzy Plant at all. Check out Chesnaught, which has the added bonus of Fighting damage too to take on things like Zweilous, Perrserker, Sableye, Melmetal, Lickitung, and Ferrothorn and living to tell the tale, as well as still doing most everything you’d ask of your Grass type (beating all Waters, Grounds, and Rocks without a noted anti-Grass advantage). It’s a nice versatile option that would be good to build now if you haven’t already!
Beyond Naught, the Grass pickings are kinda slim among the cheap options. Your best one with Frenzy Plant is probably the newest recipient, SERPERIOR, and it’s fine if unexciting. SCEPTILE is similar… does some genuinely nice things, just not enough of them. No, perhaps your best fill-in is actually a Pokémon that’s not even fully evolved….
IVYSAUR
Vine Whip Power Whip & Sludge Bomb
Venusaur’s pre-evolution Ivysaur is a cross between Venu and first-in-the-line Bulbasaur that’s flexing nicely in Element Cup right now. Ivy runs with the Sludge Bomb that makes Venusaur awesome, but of course lacks Frenzy Plant, settling for Power Whip instead. (5 more energy and 10 less power than Frenzy, but still a fine move on its own.) That means that, of course, it does not live fully up to all that Venusaur could do in this meta, but the differences are small, especially when considering that two of those losses are Munchlax and Mew (specifically with Flame Charge), so only the third--Lickitung--is of true, painful consequence. Ivy is just fine here, and certainly the closest you’re gonna get to capturing Venusaur’s normal glory. You still beat the Charmers, the big Grounds, most Waters and Fighters, and even Cresselia and Sableye and Nidoqueen. All in all, it’s really not a bad performance at all for something that can literally say “this isn’t even my final form!”
BLASTOISE
Water Gun Hydro Cannonᴸ & Ice Beam/Skull Bash
Would you believe Blastoise is finally one of the top Water options (in this meta)? It’s not really ranked as such (slipping just inside the Top 100 overall), but it puts up pretty good numbers. Blastie doesn’t have the flashiest moves, but combined with its high bulk, it gets the job done not just against Fires and Grounds and such, but also against Steels, Charmers, and things like Drifblim, Obstagoon, Sableye, Froslass, and Beedrill. (Skull Bash beats Mantine, BTW, while Ice Beam hates on Flyers and beats Pidgeot specifically.)
EMPOLEON
Waterfall Hydro Cannonᴸ & Drill Peck
Probably the only other (eligible) Water starter worthy of serious consideration, but even Empie is just okay here. Yes, it represents a very hard counter to Charmers, and its Steel typing also blunts the attacks of things like Abomasnow and Hypno, but it’s more of a specialist while Blastoise actually has more widespread usage, at least versus the core meta.
RAICHUS
Volt Switch Wild Charge & Brick Break/Thunder Punch
Overall, both Raichus are rather similar. The key differences? Alolan Raichu resists Psychic and Fighting and has clear advantages versus opponents that rely on that type of damage, leading specifically to wins versus Hypno, Shadow Machamp, and Registeel (Focus Blast). Original Recipe Raichu’s advantage is Brick Break, which is awesome for baiting and for chipping in enough Fighting damage spam to make it feel almost like a Fighter. End of the day that plus Wild Charge brings in wins AhChu struggles to match, like Beedrill, Munchlax, Ninetales, and even Wigglytuff and Clefable. Also not being vulnerable to Ghost and Dark damage (as AhChu is) means KayChu can also beat Mandibuzz, Jellicent, and Sableye much more easily than its Alolan cousin. Either way, both Raichus have solid value, and have already proven themselves even in open PvP formats. They’re well worth your consideration here.
CHARMERS
Charm ...does it really matter?
Several cheap options here, though WIGGLYTUFF remains the best, what with its handy Ghost resistance leading to unique wins over Jellicent, Drifblim, Lickitung, Mew, and Hypno, among others. CLEFABLE and even WHIMSICOTT are okay too, but generally fall behind Wiggly overall. In one form or another, however, Charm will likely have a big impact in this meta... for better or for worse.
OBSTAGOON
Counter Night Slash & Hyper Beam/Gunk Shot
Yes, really, Hyper Beam is a legit option with unique wins against Stunfisk and Pidgeot. (The more common Gunk Shot is a slightly better answer to Charmers and outraces Tropius and Ninetales, so yes, it's still fine too.) Of course, most of what Goonie does is with just Counter and Night Slash anyway, threatening Steels/Darks and Psychics/Ghosts alike, as well as most Normal amd Ice types and a smattering of others that don't appreciate its spammy (and high!) damage output. Goonie is easily one of the best "Fighters" here (and super thrifty!), despite its especially glaring weakness to Charm.
There are other true Fighters that can be had cheaply thanks to the Baby Discount™, including Medicham Junior HITMONCHAN and LUCARIO, though they mostly pale in comparison to other Fighters we'll look at later, and even Obstagoon above. You may see them here and there but I have trouble really recommending them.
BEEDRILL
Poison Jab Fell StingeX-Scissor & Drill Runᴸ
Wrapping up the 10ks with The Bee, who I finally saw starting to pop up in GBL last season after far too long being underrated. This is a Bug that's always been able to handle things like Registeel, Cresselia, Escavalier, and even Sunny Castform thanks to Drill Run, as well as still doing standard Bug/Poison things like beating the Charmers, handling Fighters, eating through Grasses, and even stinging most Darks. And it's only better now after the still-recent buff to Poison Jab... combined with Fell Stinger, it can potentially dust off Melmetal and win the mirror match, though X-Scissor is perhaps still slightly better and more reliable overall for at least dealing decent Bug-type damage when unblocked. Shadow Bee is an interesting alternative to screw with the opponent's expections, beating things like Froslass, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, and Sableye, but as the cost of losing to others like Melmetal, Perrserker, Lickitung, and Sunny Castform.

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

NIDOQUEEN
Poison Jab Poison Fang & Earth Power
It's amazing what a little move shakeup can do for long-derided Pokémon, isn't it? The Queen is the new hotness since the last move rebalance, and a true force in PvP, including Remix. She's SO popular now that you wonder if she'll be on the ban list next time around, but for now her unique ability to handle Fires and Electrics and Steels and Fairies and Fighters (and others like Lickitung, Pidgeot, Stunfisk, and Tropius) with equal proficiency is extremely valauble. As with Beedrill, Shadow Queen presents an intriguing alternative that can trip up the opponent, flipping things like Cresselia, Ferrothorn, Mandibuzz, and Zweilous to wins, but it gives up several Fires, Sable, Beedrill and others to get there, and I personally slightly lean non-Shadow here. But either Queen has unquestionable viability!
EXCADRILL
Mud Shot Rock Slide & Drill Run
So I've written about Excadrill before, both in a pre-Mud Shot analysis in Master League and then as part of the GBL S6 Rebalance analysis, but I always noted it was best in ML where it could flex its high CP and somewhat mask its shaky bulk, and that in lower leagues it was completely overshadowed by Galarian Stunfisk. Well guess what? With G-Fisk banned, now Excadrill IS basically G-Fisk here... as close as you can get, at least. It's still not as good, but it DOES fill mostly the same roles: holding down Charm and Psychics, rolling over Steels (though Registeel can frustratingly escape) and Poisons, still handing U-Fisk, extinguishing most Fires, bringing down (most) Flyers with Rock Slide, and even besting Froslass and Zweilous and such too. This is its best chance to shine out bright without Fisky around, and it looks ready to make the most of it.
PROBOPASS
Rock Throw/Spark Rock Slide & Thunderbolt/Magnet Bomb
We have our G-Fisk replacement, and now here is our Bastiodon fill-in. Obviously Probo is not QUITE that good, but it IS close, losing only Sableye and either Mew (which it typically beats with Spark) or Hypno (which it usually takes down with Rock Throw, as simmed above) and matching all of Bastie's other core meta wins. Probo is FAR cheaper too, which is good since you may not have one built yet (but should have, if you followed my past advice! 😉). If Bastie poundings are your thing, you'll like Probo. There's even Shadow Probo if you wanna mix things up.
MAGNEZONE
Spark Mirror Shot & Wild Charge
So honestly, even I'm not sure how legit this is, but... well, dang. And as a Shadow... dang squared. Electric is a pretty good typing here overall, but Zone is a high risk (albeit obviously high potential reward) option with so many likely-common weaknesses (Fire, Fighting, and especially Ground). That all said, there are plenty of Fairies and Waters and Flyers and Grasses and even Bugs that want nothing to do with it, and it even holds up admirably if Mirror Shot baits fail, so this is certainly at least somewhat legit. If you like piloting Zone in UL and/or ML, I don't usually recommend it in Great League, but with several of its scarier counters on the ban list, this would be the time if ever there was one!
ESCAVALIER
Counter Megahorn & Drill Run
You likely already know all the good that Escav can do by now, but here's a reminder. Not every day you run across a "Fighter" that can also handle Charmers and Psychics, but that's Escav in a nutshell. If you like it, you'll likely continue to like it here.
ROSERADE
Bullet Seedᴸ Weather Ball (Fire)ᴸ & Leaf Storm
Hopefully you built one for Great League during its Community Day back in February, because Bullet Seed and Weather Ball are both absolutely key to its success. But it's the more recent addition of Leaf Storm that has really pushed Rose over the top as a true PvP threat in Great League, and gives it its role in Remix... and specifically wins over Dewgong, Nidoqueen, Obstagoon, Sableye, and often Mew. Beyond that it handles most Charmers, Waters, and Grounds while also toasting Melmetal, Escavalier, Froslass, and most Grasses with Weather Ball. It's super glassy, but it hits a good chunk on the meta hard on its way out.
What you do NOT want to do is run Roserade with Razor Leaf. Grassholes in general really struggle here, and are all (rightly) ranked far outside the Top 100. Shadow VICTREEBEL and VILEPLUME are okay, hard on Fighters and Charmers and of course most anything Water or Ground, but they're nothing particularly special here, and don't have their customary Bastiodon or G-Fisk protective detail. For the sake of all... I recommend NOT trying it.
ABOMASNOW
Powder Snow Weather Ball (Ice) & Energy Ball
The secret is long out now: Aboma is good in basically every format where it's eligible, and Remix is no exception. Other than my customary heads up that Aboma can actually beat Shadow Machamp AND Sirfetch'd (those are leads Aboma CAN win with 2x Weather Ball... don't auto swap out!), there's not much to point out that you don't already know. So how about this, then: consider Blizzard instead of Energy Ball. Obviously you lose stuff like Dewgong and Jellicent, but you potentially gain Cress, Hypno, Lickitung, Sable, AND the mirror... and keep Champ and Fetch'd, despite what that shows. (You just need WB, remember.) Blizzard Aboma is an overlooked stud too, especially in this meta with no Azu and Swampert and such to throw Energy Balls at.
DEWGONG
Ice Shardᴸ Icy Windᴸ & Blizzard/Water Pulse
Here's another one where I recommend Blizzard rather than the second move more commonly used... Water Pulse, in this case. Pulse is a BAD PvP move, and while it does allow wins at times versus stuff like Ninetales, Blizzard brings in a lot more good wins (Cress, Ferro, Sable, Aboma, and the mirror) and pushes Dewgong into more elite territory.
A fun alternative (which requires no Legacy moves) is SEALEO, and here the speedy charging of Powder Snow masks Water Pulse's deficiences enough that it's actually halfway decent, providing handy coverage versus Ninetales, Sunny Castform, and Froslass. Dewgong struggles versus all of those, and cannot normally beat Lickitung as Sealeo can either. Dewgong IS better overall, but Sealeo does much of what it can plus some surprising twists that can really mess with the opponent's head... much of it thanks to having one of the spammiest Body Slams in the game.
FROSLASS
Powder Snow Avalanche & Shadow Ball
The Ice princess that can beat Fighters... and Psychics and many other Ghosts, of course, and even stuff like Dewgong and Escavalier thanks to Shadow Ball. But keep far, FAR away from Charmers, Fire, Waters, Normals, Steels, most Darks... as good as Lass is (and she really can be in experienced hands), she's got some exploitable vulnerabilities too.
GENGAHAUNTER
Shadow Claw Shadow Punchᴸ & Shadow Ball
Eligible and still just fine as generalists, yep!
JELLICENT
Hex Bubble Beam & Shadow Ball
With Grass rather suppressed, this seems a much better meta for Shadow Ball than Ice Beam, and Bubble Beam is actually a good fit with Fire and Ground being rather potent. And yes, JelliBelli is as potent (and bait happy) as ever too. Expect to see several and plan accordingly!
QUAGSIRE
Mud Shot Stone Edge & Earthquake
The oft-forgotten member of the OG Mud Boy trio, Lord Quag may be the best one here, and especially with good PvP IVs. 👀 Those new wins are against Charmers, Munchlax, Escavalier, and Drifblim, so no slouches! Got a really good Quag? Here's your chance to smash face with it.
LANTURN
Spark Thunderbolt & Hydro Pump
While it's in direct competition with Rainy Castform for the same slot/role and is perhaps slightly worse, there is no doubt Lanturn is sold. It's a tad slower than Chinchou that's tearing up Element Cup (no true bait move), but carries itself quite well against Fires, Waters, and Flyers (just like E.C. Chou) and also Charmers and Ices and others too. Like I said, solid performance.
NINETALES
Fire Spin Weather Ball (Fire) & Overheat/Solar Beam/Returnᴸ
So the question before us is thus: Solar Beam for awesome coverage (particularly a legit win against Jellicent!), or Overheat to overpower and outrace Obstagoon, Drifblim, Sableye, and Pidgeot? Or heck, even a bit of both (plus the mirror match) with Return? Decisions, decisions!
MACHAMP
Counter Rock Slide & Cross Chop
It's really Shadow Champ for its unique wins over Ninetales, Tropius, Sableye, Sirfetch'd, and Froslass, thanks mostly to Rock Slide. Put simply, it's the best Fighter here, bar none. I'm a little surprised Champ wasn't on the ban list, actually.
Others like SIRFETCH'D and PRIMEAPE do a lot of good things too (beating Stunfisk, and Ape can also most easily beat Aboma and also Champ head to head), but they just can't really measure up to Shadow Champ overall.
HYPNO
Confusion Ice Punch & Shadow Ball (non-Shadow)/Fire Punch (Shadow)
A staple of so many past metas I really don't feel you need me to say much, but here's what I can offer. Ice Punch is important in nearly any moveset configuration, and I think with non-Shadow Hypno you pair it with Shadow Ball and don't look back, nailing Cress, Castforms, and Ninetales that way. With Shadow Hypno, I think the coverage of Fire Punch (paired with Ice) may be best (burning Steels and Wigglytuff and others), but there are lots of ways you can go with Hypno's moves, and few "wrong" ways to go about it. Hypno is not this meta's nucleus, but it's in orbit.

75,000 Dust/75 Candy

It's not that the 75k and 100k Pokémon aren't good, it's just that I'm running out of space (and your brain likely is too!), so I'll go through these expensive options in rapid fire style!

• MANDIBUZZ is its usual potent self here, but another moveset curveball I want to lob your way. Rather than the standard Foul Play/Aerial Ace, consider throwing Shadow Ball into the mix, with which you can beat Castform, Ninetales, and even Froslass! Guarantee you that Froslass owners everywhere will be floored if they lose THAT matchup!
  
• There's nothing at all wrong ZWEILOUS's standard second move choice of Dark Pulse. But in 1v1 shielding and with shields down, Dragon Pulse can actually do slightly better (+Tropius and +Mandibuzz, respectfully). I found that interesting!
  
• Yes, DRIFBLIM wreaks its usual havoc on Grounds, Grasses, Psychics, Bugs, Fighters and more. Oh, and gets Registeel and even Melmetal as a bonus!
  
• Don't be shocked to see GLISCOR or GLIGAR! They're sneaky good in holding down Fighters, Fires, Bugs, Steels, Grounds, Electrics, and a decently wide smattering of others. Study those win/loss lists!
  
• Its Galarian cousin is banned, but that won't stop STUNFISK from showing up either. Fires, Flying, and especially Steels fear few things less here, and it conveniently blunts Machamp's Rock Slide and can beat it too, among others.
  
• Thinking of FLYGON? Now might be the time to think Dragon Tail. 🤔
  
• Other Dragons like SHADOW 'NITE and GOODRA are alright too, but honestly can't be labeled anything more than "spice" here... though very nice spice, eh?
  
• LAPRAS works fine, but is really no better than cheaper Dewgong or even Sealeo. Perhaps then you may want to consider running Water Gun for a more unique threat that much better handles Fires (pickups include Ninetales and Castform) and fellow Ices (win vs Dewgong) and can beat Registeel! Shard loses those but gets Mandi, Aboma, Hypno, and Charizard instead.
  
• Definitely a meta that more favors Air Slash TROPIUS (beats Escav, Ferro, Zweil, Bee) more than Razor Leaf (Sable and Perrserker instead), but if you HAVE to run a Razor Leafer, Trop is probably your best bet.
  
• If the baits work, FERROTHORN can eke out wins against Lickitung and Froslass, but even if they don't, Ferro is still a solid Grass that doesn't really have to fear Psychics, Fairies, Poisons (looking at you, Nidoqueen), or Dewgong/Sealeo. So that's nice.
  
• The potential is there for FORRETRESS to be SCARY good... if the baits go well. Otherwise, it's more just simply scary. It NEEDS those baits to handle most Steels, Grounds, and Waters its capable of (as well as things like Beedrill), but at least if that doesn't all work out, it still represents a hard counter to Fairies and Psyshics, and can still take out most Darks and Ices too. The ceiling is high, perhaps TOO high, but at least the floor isn't terrible.
  
• STEELIX with Thunder Fang isn't something many would ever expect. Just sayin'. 😉
  
• Got a good SNORLAX left over from Retro Cup? Good... deploy! Regular Lax uses its bulk to outlast Registeel, Hypno, Obstagoon, Perrserker and such, while Shadow Lax sheds those wins to instead outrace Charizard, Escavalier, Sableye, Stunfisk, Whiscash, and Rainy Castform.
  
• And speaking of the CASTFORMS, yes, they're ALL good here. SNOWY is arguable the best overall Ice type here, overpowering a ton of things despite having no coverage. SUNNY is basically Ninetales with slightly more bulk. RAINY is a slightly better Lanturn, trading big Flyers like Mandi and Jellicent to instead beat Grounds (Diggersby, Nidoqueen, Stunfisk, Mud Boys), Steels (Escav, Registeel), and Beedrill and Sableye. And yes, that NORMAL Castform you have left from Retro is viable too if you want to spice things up!
  

100,000 Dust/100 Candy

• Yep, REGISTEEL is good, though perhaps not as much as you'd expect. Even with so many of its hardest counters banned, there are still lots of things that are gunning for it, from Fires to Fighters to the Grounds and Waters that remain. Perhaps a slightly better bet is actually REGIROCK, who does lose to Cresselia and Lickitung that 'Steel can beat, but turns the tables on Fires and the few Flyers (Mantine, Drifblim) that do beat 'Steel, as well as stuff like Beedrill and Melmetal. 'Rock actually seems like the best Regi here, to my eyes.
  
• If you want a big expensive Steel anyway, might I suggest MELMETAL? In all ways except beating Psychics (Hypno, Cress, Mew specifically), it also seems superior to Registeel here, handling Beedrill, Mantine, and Charizard (akin to Regirock), as well as Rainy Castform and Registeel itself.
  
• I made the same recommendation in Retro Cup but didn't see it have much of an effect, so I am once again asking for you to consider Confusion on your CRESSELIA. It gains potential wins against Beedrill, Escav, Lickitung, Tropius, Ninetales, Charizard, and Castform as compared to Psycho Cut Cress, which outraces Obstagoon and Zweilous but loses all those others I listed. There's nothing WRONG with Psycho Cut, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing wrong with Confusion in this meta either. It warrants your consideration, so consider this your (second) wake-up call.
  
• Expect a LOT of MEW this time around, at least in part because many folks will have acquired their shiny blue one by now and surely kept it at Great League size if they overpowered their initial one long ago. (Or, uh, MAXED it, like this silly author. 🙋‍♂️) You can probably also expect a lot of Shadow Claw and some combination of Wild Charge, Surf, Dragon Claw, Flame Charge, Rock Slide, and many others. I won't bother with a ton of sims, but PvPoke sims it thus, to give you a rough idea of what it can do.
  
• Other Electrics have looked good so far, and so does ZAPDOS, particularly as a Shadow, where it really gets to flex its uniqueness as a Flyer by beating Ferrothorn and Abomasnow in addition to already handling the major Fighters, Bugs, and most other Grasses utilizing Drill Peck. If you have a good GL Zappy (with Thunder Shock, of course), go nuts!
  

FEELIN' LUCKY?
Here I cover 'mons that are no less "nifty" than those in the main article above, but require maxing or at least almost maxing out, so they are FAR from "thrifty"! Best acquired in a Lucky trade for good IVs and less investment. I'll also cover these in bulletized format to bring this article home!

• Don't mistake the lateness of DIGGERSBY appearing in this article as indication it is not good... quite the contrary! At the time of this writing, it is actually ranked #1 in Remix, and while it puts up good but not mind-blowing numbers overall, it's hard to argue with the ranking when you look at all that it can handily beat. I'll let you look over that fine list yourself, but a couple important points to specifically cover. First, you might be surprised to hear it's just as good with Hyper Beam, with which it can beat Cresselia, Charizard, and Mandibuzz (and is guaranteed to shock and awe them in the process!) in exchange for the Lickitung, Jellicent, and Escavalier that Earthquake beats. The other interesting tidbit is that Diggs performs just as well without being XL, losing Cress but actually re-gaining Lickitung with Beam, or keeping ALL the same wins as XL Diggs and adding the mirror with Earthquake... so that's nice!
  
• And speaking of Lickitung, it's still great if you have one, but thankfully not as wholly dominant as in past metas for those who don't. There are a goodly number of hard counters here... much moreso than we had in Retro Cup, for instance. Licki is still a force to be reckoned with, but you have a few more answers to call upon this time around, and a even a number of its listed wins (Fires, Grasses, and stuff like Zweilous and Stunfisk) are close and within the IV and/or lag margin of error.
  
• WOBBUFFET has to be maxed, hundo, AND purified, but we all know that one guy or gal that's actually made that investment, right? And they'll surely want to use it here. Maybe they've even best buddied it too, bringing in a win over fellow arm-and-a-leg-investment Lickitung. It's not wholly dominant, but Wobb is definitely scary and well worth bringing... for the 1% of you out there lucky enough to have one ready to go. (Darn you to heck, by the way. 🤪)
  
• An investment many more of us HAVE likely made is SABLEYE, and it is indeed a very good generalist here, of course being especially rough on Psychics but conveniently handling the big name Steels, Bugs, Ghosts, and (less consistently) Fighters too. And good news: once again, you can run non-XL and not miss too much: just super close wins that XL can sometimes get versus Whiscash and Dewgong.
  
• I'm reluctant to even point this one out, as it will give many (myself included!) renewed hatred for regionals, but for those that have access to it, PACHIRISU is good. Like, really, REALLY good. It's super bulky, especially for an Electric, and thus can do silly things like outbulk Charmers and Fighters and all the big Steels in addition to being a top-flight Electric doing standard Electric things. Stupid regionals. 😒
  
• And once again, repeat after me: DO NOT RUN CHANSEY. But if you hate yourself and everyone around you and decide to max one out anyway... well, here's what it can maybe do, if that's worth your mortal soul. 😂
  

And 60+ Pokémon later, we're done! Hopefully this helps you balance the cost of where to save yourself some hard-earned dust (and candy!). This will be up on GO Hub soon as well, with a handful of other spice options I just didn't have room for here on Reddit 😬, so keep an eye out for that.
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter for near-daily PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll try to get back to you!
Thank you for reading! I sincerely hope this helps you master Great League Remix, and in the most affordable way possible. Best of luck, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!

A lot has happened since the offseason has started. The Suez canal was blocked and unblocked, over 100 million COVID vaccinations have been given in the US, and the Roadrunners extended several players and added more in Free Agency.
With the rookie draft looming in 3 months, it’s time to look at the moves they made and how it prepares them into the 2021 season.
First off they extended 6 different players, none of which included a Tight End. Starting off with the biggest contract extension, they signed Running Back, Chase Edmonds, to an additional 3 years with a $5 salary. Last year, Edmonds was their top Running Back that stayed on the Roadrunners roster to the end of the season. And pairing him with Ekeler, those are the only 2 Running Backs the Roadrunners have in the top 30 within the league. There was hope that Edmonds could pick up where he left off and be even better next year, but critics are worried that he isn’t ready for a bigger role yet. If he can produce with a larger role, this was a smart move that allows the Roadrunners to help solidify the position, assuming Ekeler can remain healthy. BUT, if he isn’t ready for the role of lead back, he could be a big financial mistake, tying the Roadrunners up for years to come.
As for the Wide Receiver group, the Roadrunners signed a full trio of receivers to extensions. Fuller and Davis had 2 year extensions, giving them both $4 salaries, and Antonio Brown was given an extra ‘prove it’ year for $3. This means the Roadrunners have a combined $31 of salary cap tied up with the Wide Receivers. That’s a substantial amount of cap, and for good reason. Their most solid group consisting of Julio Jones, Stefon Diggs, and the 3 that were resigned, it’s arguable that they have 5 of the top 20 Wide Receivers in the league, if they can all remain healthy. That’s the key part to this group, is remaining healthy. If they can do that, the Wide Receivers of the Roadrunners are going to be dominant for the years to come.
The last of the extensions are probably more of a safety net than long term players for the team. In the last hours of the 2020 season before the 2021 Free Agency opened up, the Roadrunners extended Jameis Winston and Tyrod Taylor to an additional year, for $3 and $2 respectively. They had a combined 41 passing attempts last year, most of it coming in week one with Tyrod, before he was yanked for the likes of Bridgewater and Tannehill. Winston, Taylor, Cousins, and Tannehill have had top 10 seasons at some point in their career, the only problem is Winston and Taylor are rusty at this point. If they can prove themselves by knocking off the rust in training camp and claim some snaps during the season, then this can prove to be a smart enough move. But the likelihood is they will be riding the bench for yet another season.
Then splashes were made in Free Agency.
The big signing was a 5 year $5 contract to returning Tight End, Logan Thomas. Later on they also added practice squad member Jack Doyle to the Tight End group. Bringing Thomas back to the team was a huge win for the Roadrunners, as they didn’t have pretty much anyone behind Gronkowksi. With Thomas, they now have their 1-2 Tight End punch back. But it’s still a group that needs help should either of them get injured, or even when they need to take mandatory rest. It’ll be curious to see if they add help through the rookie draft or through trading at this point, but it’s apparent that they still need help here.
The only other non practice squad member they signed was Running Back Kenyan Drake. They signed him for a $2/2 year deal, in hopes that he can continue his progress from last year, but being behind in the salary and depth chart of Ekeler and Edmonds, it’s understandable that he will most likely regress some this year. The only question is, does he still have enough to be a suitable backup, or do the Roadrunners again need to look outside the house to find better talent.
To round out the Free Agency additions, the Roadrunners sign practice squad members Quarterback Jacoby Brissett and Wide Receiver Russell Gage. It seems as if the Roadrunners like the team they had last year and want to keep the gang together with the signing of Brissett. He did have some moments within games that make him stand out as a possible breakout player, but in all likelihood, he is going to be sitting behind Tannehill and Cousins yet again. Russell Gage also enters a very crowded room, and will most likely never see starting snaps, but has some solid talent should 4 receivers in front of him get injured, be taking mandatory rest in any given week, or regress too much during the season.
So what does this mean for the Roadrunners? Well for starters, their new roster looks almost identical to the roster they ended the season with. The one that got them to 5th place. Which is what they are looking like right now, a middle of the pack roster. They have very little depth in Quarterback, Running Back, and Tight End, which is pretty significant. If nothing bad happens to the team, they could excel, but in the game of football, it’d be foolish to think you can get through the season with no injuries. They will have a few additional rookies eventually, and their defense will look completely different this year. Those two factors alone can make the Roadrunners a championship team, or a team with the first overall pick depending on how well they go through the motions. Maybe this isn’t their year, but 2022 looks jam packed with action for the Roadrunners as their stadium opens up for the first time, and a significant number of rookie draft picks in the early rounds to build a young budding team.

Hey guys, a quick post about the run stuffing abilities of each and every corner. Now before we start I know a lot of you will say "I know Deion has 49 blockshed but he's the best tackler on my team so why does this matter?" To that I say yes, I agree, Deion for me knifes into the backfield and can generally bring down the running back despite his terrible run defense stats.
That's largely because of his speed, pursuit and most importantly 95 play recognition, but the key is: when he's unblocked.
It reminds me of when Steve Young was asked "who's the hardest hitter you ever played against?" I imagine most thought he'd say L.T. or Reggie White, or maybe Charles Haley but his response? "The unblocked guy."
So if Deion is outside the numbers as your 1 or 2 he'll have less traffic to deal with to get to the ball carrier than if he's inside as your nickel or dime back. The second he has to encounter some blocker he'll usually lose and your opponent will be off to the races unless your safety has the angle.
Also this would be a good point to stress not to constantly press your CBs. If you do then the WR or TE won't have to worry about having a better awareness rating in the field of play to target your CB and will most likely get knocked out of the play, especially if they have physical WRs like Hines, Team Captain McCaffrey or Larry Fitz. If they sub in TEs then your only hope is that the awareness dip for playing them OOP will make the AI do something screwy but if you are pressing then they don't have to worry about that.
All this is to say that when setting up your CB rotation these are the guys you should play in the slot when you see 11 or 10 personnel. If you see a more dominant 12 or 20 and know your opponent likes to run then base (4-3 or 3-4) might be the play. Now if you don't know what these personnel groupings are here is a link that will define them for you.
Without further ado here are the best block shedding CBs and who you should and shouldn't feel confident about in a nickel package:

Cornerback	Block Shed Rating	Actual Block Shed Rating
97 Rod Woodson	77	68.32
96 Charles Woodson	77	67.65
93 Brian Poole	74	66.49
95 Steven Nelson	72	65.34
93 Taron Johnson	75	64.225
96 Bryce Callahan	73	63.025
93 Antrel Rolle	69	62.39
96 Eric Allen	70	62.35
95 Night Train Lane	67	62.34
97 Xavien Howard	71	61.825
95 Ronde Barber	71	61.625
91 Courtland Finnegan	69	61.525
96 Troy Vincent	65	60.9
97 L'Jarius Sneed	70	60.55
97 Richard Sherman	61	59.42
92 Nnamdi Asomugha	63	59.225
94 Champ Bailey	66	59.05
96 Marcus Peters	61	58.5
96 Tre'Davious White	61	57.625
93 Antonio Cromartie	60	57.425
93 Chris Harris Jr.	65	57.3
94 C.J. Henderson	61	57.14
95 Quentin Jammer	59	56.84
94 Darrell Revis	63	56.775
93 Trevon Diggs	58	56.24
90 Jamel Dean	58	56
91 Jeff Okudah	59	55.94
96 Patrick Peterson	54	55.86
94 Janoris Jenkins	63	54.775
92 Tracy Porter	55	54.225
94 Shaquill Griffin	57	53.87
93 OOP Mike Evans	47	53.625
96 Jalen Ramsey	53	53.45
92 Nickell Robey-Coleman	64	53.39
93 Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie	56	53.24
97 Asante Samuel	61	52.7
94 Joe Haden	53	51.92
93 Carlton Davis	53	51.67
96 Denzel Ward	56	51.475
91 Jarie Alexander	55	50.87
93 Marlon Humphrey	49	50.625
90 A.J. Terrell	52	49.52
92 Carlos Rodgers	49	49.29
95 DeAngelo Hall	50	48.975
93 Darious Williams	54	48.275
97 Deion Sanders	49	45.05

The elite are the Woodson brothers (no relation) and should always be your slot CB in your specialist screen. I have Deion-Rod-Peters-Peterson as my top 4 but in nickel Rod slides into that slot CB role and I'll only play dollar or dime when I know for a fact the offense is in a passing situation.
Now how should you use this list? Again it's simply to help you order your CBs so that if they're inside they won't get swallowed up. This is also a list to help really understand who is a great run supporting CB because the ranking on muthead can be vague. No disrespect to muthead, love the site. This should help you play those second and 5 or third and 3 better, and not be left vulnerable to the run.
With that, good luck and have fun!

Before every Bills’ game I spend some time, probably too much time, digging into how the Bills roster stacks up against their opponent’s. While doing this I specifically look at 5 matchups; Bills’ Pass Offense vs. Opponent’s Pass Defense, Bills’ Rush Offense vs. Opponent’s Rush Defense, Bills’ Pass Defense vs. Opponent’s Pass Offense, Bills’ Rush Defense vs. Opponent’s Rush Offense, Bills’ Special Teams vs. Opponent’s Special Teams. After doing all of this I try to come up with reasons “Why We Will Lose” and “Why We Will Win” ultimately leading to a prediction. Below I present 2020’s 18th iteration of this analysis for the Bills upcoming home game against the Ravens. Included is a scale to rank the advantage in each matchup from 👏👏👏👏👏 (Massive Advantage) to 👏 (Minimal Advantage).
NOTE: If you have followed this series all season long be prepared, these playoff posts are very long and highly detailed. If this is your first time reading, I hope you enjoy and can find the time to finish the whole thing.
Bills’ Passing Offense vs. Ravens’ Passing Defense
After yet another great performance throwing the ball the Buffalo Bills are proving that they can beat anyone and everyone through the air. In their past 4 games the Bills have played the #11 (DEN), #18 (NWE), #6 (MIA), and #8 (IND) pass defenses, according to Football Outsiders Pass Defense DVOA, and have gone 108/153 (70.6%) for 1415 yards and a 12:2 TD:INT Ratio (Josh Allen’s stats here). Making the Bills recent run of success more impressive is that they have been successful against starkly different schemes, with tangible evidence the past two weeks. The Dolphins, who predominately run man coverage, were shredded for 388 passing yards, 124 of which came while targeting First Team All-Pro CB Xavien Howard. The Bills followed up this performance with Josh Allen picking apart the Colt’s Zone First Scheme for a Playoff leading passer rating of 121.6 (His regular season Passer Rating was 107.2). All of this leads to the following conclusion, with the way the Bills are playing right now there does not seem to be any specific scheme, team, or player that is capable of stopping the Bills’ passing attack.
Against the Ravens the Bills will need to find a way to beat Press Man Coverage. With one of the most physically gifted set of DBs in the NFL, headlined by Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens are particularly adept at this scheme. Their top two corners have both earned All-Pro honors at least once in their career primarily due to their physicality, but it is their ball skills which put them over the top. In 164 combined games Peters and Humphrey have 42 INTs, 20 FF, 11 FR, and 9 Defensive TDs. With the growing expectation that the Bills will primarily run 10 personnel (1RB, 4WR) the Ravens will likely spend the majority of Saturday in their Nickel package meaning that Jimmy Smith will join the previously mentioned CBs on the field. This sets up likely man matchups of Peters on Diggs, Smith on Brown, Humphrey in the Slot covering Beasley, and one of the two safeties (Chuck Clark, DeShon Elliott) on Gabe Davis. In this alignment the Ravens would be forced to choose between blitzing the safety not covering Davis or having that player shade deep over the top to Diggs side of the field. At the end of the day this will be a game of 1-on-1 matchups with the winner determined by which side can consistently beat the other.
The Ravens’ Press Man is able to excel because of their skill in the secondary but where it becomes one of the most dangerous schemes in the NFL is their proficiency and consistency in rushing the passer. For the 3rd straight season the Ravens lead the NFL in Blitz %, this year blitzing 44.1% of the time (Dolphins are 2nd at 40.6%). This facilitated an environment where the Ravens were able to pressure opposing QBs on 24.0% of their drop backs (NFL-11) and sack those QBs 39 times (NFL-14). The Press Man and Pass Rush work in concert by reducing the ability for offenses to complete quick short passes which then allows the pass rush more time to disrupt the QB. The Ravens will send anywhere from 5-8 players at the QB with the players primarily running up field being Patrick Queen (MLB) and Matt Judon (OLB) but when forced into Nickel concepts the Ravens will not hesitate to send either safety. All of this allowed the 2019 Ravens to put constant pressure on Josh Allen during their game last season ultimately resulting in 5 sacks for a loss (6 total) with 4 of them occurring with 5+ blitzers (#1, #2, #3, #4). It is however important to note that the Buffalo Bills offense from 2019 looks absolutely nothing like they do in 2020, in fact it is remarkable how drastically different they truly look.
This matchup comes down to the Bills receivers being able to beat whichever DB is lined up in front of them. If the Bills can accomplish this, then it will allow Allen to get rid of the ball before the Ravens pass rush is able to get to him. If the reverse were to occur it will create an environment where multiple blindside forced fumbles and/or interceptions may occur which would be incredibly difficult for the Bills to recover from. While on paper this matchup may be extremely close the reality is that the Bills simply have to many weapons that excel at beating man coverage for the Ravens to consistently stop. Stefon Diggs is widely regarded as one of the best receivers against man coverage in the entire NFL while the quickness of Cole Beasley provides for the ability to continuously beat man coverage in the intermediate range. Couple this with the Ravens struggles in covering TEs and RBs while still considering that the Ravens will need to find a way to contend with Gabe Davis and John Brown and the Bills, surprisingly, have a massive advantage here.
EDGE: Bills 👏 👏 👏 👏
Bills’ Rushing Offense vs. Ravens’ Rushing Defense
With Zack Moss going down with a season ending injury Wildcard weekend most Bills’ fans have spent this week wondering who RB2 will be behind Devin Singletary. Up until Thursday afternoon it was very clearly a three-horse race between T.J. Yeldon, Antonio Williams, and Devonta Freeman but via a statement from Sean McDermott we now know the winner of that race. T.J. Yeldon will suit up on Saturday night and be the RB2 behind Devin Singletary. McDermott also did make it very clear that this did not preclude the Bills from activating Antonio Williams for the Ravens game. Regardless of if it is one or two backs behind Singletary we can say with a fair degree of certainty that he will be the Bellcow back moving forward for Buffalo, meaning you can expect him to see north of 75% of the offensive snaps. One concern with that is in games where Singletary has exceeded 60% of offensive snaps (6) in 2020 he has a Y/A of 3.6 and in all other games he has a Y/A of 5.1. Let me make this abundantly clear, and see all of my previous posts for proof, I believe that the majority of the issues running the ball in 2020 are due to the blocking up front and not the RBs carrying the ball however, this stark contrast in Y/A should be a concern moving forward for a Bills’ team who at times will need to show they can move the ball on the ground if they want to continue winning football games.
This section now lends itself to a breakdown of the backups to Singletary on Saturday, one we know, and one is a maybe. With that in mind we start with T.J. Yeldon who has demonstrated the ability to be a competent runner of the football throughout his career with an acceptable 4.1 Y/A. Yeldon possesses exceptional agility for a player that is 6’1” 225lb and at times in his career has been one of the more dangerous receiving options in the NFL coming out of the backfield. The main knock Bills’ fans have on Yeldon is his fumbling where he has lost the ball 7 times on 677 career touches (1 per 97), for context Singletary has 5 on 374 (1 per 75). Next to discuss is the new darling of Bills Mafia, undrafted rookie Antonio Williams. One of the bigger unknowns on the Bills’ roster, Williams busted onto the scene against Miami with 83 all-purpose yards on 13 touches for 2 TDs in just one half. Out of UNC the 5’11” 215lb RB, who looks and plays much bigger, possesses exceptional lateral quickness and does not shy away from contact making him a dangerous player once he gets to the second level. Also, while it is highly improbable, we see him Saturday, I would be remised to not mention the signing of 2-time Pro Bowler Devonta Freeman who just a few years back was considered one of the best RBs in the game. Freeman suffered a groin injury in 2018 which required surgery which has since deprived him of some of the quickness that made him one of the biggest home run threats in the league. Still, Freeman provides a veteran presence with gas left in the tank, at just 28, he could be an integral part of the Bills’ Playoff push. All these players may play a factor if the Bills continue to advance in the playoffs, but Bills Mafia should fully expect T.J. Yeldon to do so on Saturday night.
If and when the Bills do run the ball, they will be doing so against a team which ranks 26th in the NFL (The Bills rank 24th) in Y/A against at 4.6. The Ravens also rank 27th in both 20+ A (1 per 32) and 40+ A (1 per 127) which is indicative of their blitz dependent defense. When the Ravens defense aligns with the proper gap they typically bring the ball carrier down in the backfield as the team has combined for 71 TFLs but when they miss ball carriers tend to pick up chunk yardage leaving their secondary to clean up free runners. This of course assumes the ball carrier can bypass the Ravens’ 3-4 alignment which is championed by one of the deeper DLs in all of football. On the right side is, long time Broncos DE, Derek Wolfe who typically lines up somewhere from the B to C gap and is one of the better run stuffers at the position. In the middle is the behemoth known as Brandon Williams who specializes as a NT, a dying position in the NFL that Williams still excels at. Lastly left of Williams is Calais Campbell who while listed as a DE plays more like a DT because of the blitz packages which the Ravens use. Campbell may be 34 and towards the end of his career but this exceptionally physical and athletic lineman will threaten Bills LG Ike Boettger all night.
The last group of players to cover for the Ravens is one of the most athletically gifted groups in the entire NFL, the Ravens LBs. Strength, Speed, Quickness, you name it, the 6 primary LBs on this team have it all. They are headlined by 21-year-old MLB Patrick Queen who ran a blazing 4.5 at the rookie combine in 2020. About as promising as they come Queen lead the Ravens in Tackles and TFLs and will challenge Josh Allen on any QB Draws the Bills may attempt. Next to him is either Pass Rush specialist Matt Judon or Pass Coverage specialist Tyus Bowser. Judon earned his second straight Pro Bowl selection because of his propensity to pressure the QB with his 4th straight season of 6+ sacks from the OLB position. Bowser, not nearly the pass rusher Judon is, instead has 3 INTs this season and an astounding 42.2 passer rating against (On just 15 targets). There are other players of note like ILB L.J. Fort, long time vet Pernell McPhee, or even the highly sought after Yannick Ngakoue but all you really need to know is that regardless of pass or run this unit has the ability to get into the backfield or chase down players that get outside of it.
EDGE: Ravens 👏 👏
Bills’ Passing Defense vs. Ravens’ Passing Offense
Against the Colts the Bills’ struggled at times against the pass with the most damage coming from the Colts’ TEs and the 6’4” rookie WR Michael Pittman. In isolation Phillip Rivers 300+ pass yard day implies that the secondary struggled covering their responsibilities, in reality the issue lay elsewhere. Rivers finished the 2020 season with a Time-to-Throw of just 2.52s (NFL-6) which he continued into the playoffs making it difficult for the Bills to get any pressure on the Indy QB. In fact, it was so difficult that the Bills had only 1 QB hit the entire game. This is the same team that in their last 6 games, post their Bye Week, was averaging 5.5 QB Hits per game. With the Bills running the Palms Scheme they are highly dependent on either pressure or extended Time-to-Throw in order to get into their secondary transitions, neither of those happened on Saturday which is why the Colts were so successful through the air.
Against the Ravens the Bills should be able to get more players in the vicinity of Lamar Jackson than they did Rivers. Of the 41 players with more than 128 pass attempts in 2020 Lamar ranked 38th in Time-To-Throw holding onto the ball for an average of 2.98 seconds. This was a primary reason that Lamar was sacked 29 times (NFL-13) and fumbled the ball 10 times. Obviously, the challenge here is that while teams can occasionally get pressure on Lamar, and even bring him down, the counter of his rushing ability poses a bigger threat (More on that in the rushing section). Credit is still due to Lamar and his OL who lost 2019 All-Pro LT Ronnie Stanley to an ankle injury just 6 games into the season and had to flip their RT, Orlando Brown Jr., over to LT and plug and play from there. While the main threat of Lamar is undoubtedly his legs, he did finish 2020 with 2757 passing yards, 26 Passing TDs, and just 9 INTs by utilizing his receiving weapons to the best of their abilities.
At receiver the Ravens don’t have one imposing weapon, but they do have a slew of good options. First and foremost of these options is 2019 1st round draft pick Marquise “Hollywood” Brown who some tried to drop the “Bust” tag on in the middle of the season after he had a 4-game stretch where he caught just 6 balls for 55 yards and 1 TD. In opposition to that ideal try taking those 4 games out of the season and then pacing it to 16 games, when doing that Browns’ season would be 65 catches for 892 yards and 9 TDs, a solid season for any NFL player. He also answered the bell Wildcard weekend raking in 7 catches for 109 yards against a stout Tennessee secondary. Outside of him the only other receivers of note are Willie Snead, a vet who built his name in New Orleans and is a solid option at WR, Devin Duvernay, a lightning quick 2020 3rd round draft pick, and Miles Boykin, their big bodied WR who has a knack for bodying opposing defenders. But by far their most dangerous weapon in the passing game is not a WR but instead their TE, one of the best in the league, Mark Andrews. Andrews is a walking Tonka Truck that is built the same way as Dawson Knox with better hands and a more complete set of receiving skills. This is Lamar’s check down option which is a primary reason he shared the team lead in receptions (58) and finished second in receiving yards (701) meaning he should be the Bills’ biggest concern in the air on Saturday night.
For the Bills to dominate this battle they will need to get pressure on Lamar while simultaneously maintaining contain to avoid him escaping the pocket. Assuming they can accomplish this, which is a tall order, they will need to avoid letting all 3 of the Ravens primary receivers beat them deep and put a big body, say Tremaine Edmunds, on Mark Andrews. RBs have yet to prove a consistent threat for the Ravens through the air in 2020 accounting for just 15.8% of targets and 18.3% of catches but are something to monitor Saturday night as the Bills try to contain Lamar while putting a spy in the middle to avoid a big run. Buffalo must win this matchup, and should, if they have any chance of winning this game. A takeaway or two through the air wouldn’t hurt either.
EDGE: Bills 👏 👏 👏
Bills’ Rushing Defense vs. Ravens’ Rushing Offense
The Bills had no answers against the Colts run game Wildcard weekend giving up the most rushing yards they have since the Cardinals game on November 15, 2020. Most of Buffalo’s success came when the Colts most powerful back, Jonathan Taylor, was running the ball holding him to just 3.7 Y/A but they had issues with the quicker players. Nyheim Hines only rushed the ball 6 times but accounted for 75 yards on carries of 4, 1, 29, 3, 33, and 5. This stat line should worry a Bills’ fan base that is hoping the Bills can beat a team stacked with shifty players and advance to their first AFC Championship Game since 1993.
The Ravens offense is built off an option scheme the likes of which the NFL has never seen. This offense can execute everything and anything on the ground and it all starts with QB Lamar Jackson. On option plays the QB will generally key off one defender and read which “option” said player chooses to defend. An example, a designed handoff to the right side of the line except all linemen wash down to the left and leave the defensive end unblocked. When this occurs it forces the defensive end to choose between scraping down to the RB taking the supposed handoff or to maintain contain on the QB (See example here). Lamar Jackson is an expert at reading such defenders and even in the rare event where he keeps the ball when he should hand it off, he has the athleticism to beat the defender to the edge. When handing the ball off he primarily will be handing it to Gus Edwards or J.K. Dobbins. Gus the Bus is bigger than Melvin Gordon but plays with the speed of Alvin Kamara which has allowed him to maintain a Y/A of 5.0+ in each of his first 3 seasons. J.K. Dobbins is the smaller, faster, and quicker of the two which makes for a good change of pace from Edwards. This three headed monster has created for the Ravens one of the best rushing attacks in NFL history which continues to defy the mantra that the NFL is just a passing league.
The second part of the Ravens that make them so deadly running the football is their offensive line. At the two guard spots are Bradley Bozeman (LG) and Ben Powers (RG) who each possess incredible strength which allows them control defenders at the time of the snap. Neither is exceptionally gifted at pulling or blocking in the open field but their strength couples nicely with the athleticism of the Ravens backfield. Between them is Center Patrick Mekari who took the starting Job from Matt Skura midway through the season after snapping issues forced him to the bench. Mekari is a big bruiser like his guards Bozeman and Powers which gives the Ravens just south of half a ton of Man in the middle of their line. At RT is veteran D.J. Fluker who was chosen 11th overall by the San Diego Chargers in 2013. Fluker now on his 4th team in 8 seasons is a competent RT crushing the scales at nearly 350lb but is dealing with a nagging knee injury which is something to monitor. Last is LT Orlando Brown who was laughed at for only putting up 14 on the bench press at his combine three years ago and has quieted the doubters by being named to his 2nd straight Pro Bowl. In all this is an above average OL built perfectly for a Lamar Jackson lead offense.
Buffalo will need to slow down the Ravens run game if they have any chance of winning on Saturday and this may be an odd thing to read, but the Bills defense actually lends itself to do just that. There has been discussion all week on Reddit, Twitter, and everywhere else of who will play the spy for the Bills against the Ravens and while they assuredly will occasionally spy, with Edmunds, Milano, or Poyer, the Bills’ Palms Scheme is actually proficient at slowing down mobile QBs. In this scheme the Bills will have multiple defenders zoned in the middle of the field, effectively playing a coverage spy on Lamar while also holding an advantage on the outside via their tradeoff concepts. In the event Lamar does break outside the pocket the Bills defense allows the boundary guarding CB to step forward to Lamar while the safety over the top takes the receiver. This is how the Bills defense is built and while an incredibly difficult scheme to run it is one the Bills have mastered. Don’t take this description of the Bills’ defense to say they will nullify Lamar Jackson but realize that the Bills have the tools to somewhat contain him, that is assuming they play a perfect game.
EDGE: Ravens 👏 👏 👏 👏
Bills’ Special Teams vs. Ravens’ Special Teams
Throughout 2020 the Bills’ average starting field position was their own 30.7-yard line (NFL-6). Against the Colts their average starting field position was their own 15.4-yard line. The Bills would obviously go on to win this game, but field position has proved to be an indicator of success in 2020 as each team finishing within the Top-8 made the playoffs. This leads to a defense of one of the Bills most polarizing players, Andre Roberts, who has been integral to the Bills’ success in this measure and the insinuation that he was a major contributing factor in the Bills’ field position issues Wildcard weekend is not backed up by any tangible evidence. In the first half of the Colts’ game the Bills’ average starting field position was the 7.8-yard line primarily because of an exceptional Colts’ ST unit and the bend, don’t break, style of the Bills’ defense. How did each of the Colts’ first 6 drives end? Punt downed at the Bills’ 3, Magical kickoff dies on the Bills’ 15, Punt fair catch at the Bills’ 11, Kickoff returned by Roberts’ to the 12 with a 6 yard penalty bringing it back to the Bills’ 6, Colt’s Turnover on Downs at the Bills’ 4, Colts kneel before halftime. For the Bills’ this game was an aberration, and one I have confidence they will clean up against the Ravens, mainly because I have confidence in Andre Roberts.
Outside of the return game the Special Teams group for Buffalo continues to be one of the best in the NFL. Corey Bojorquez rightfully received a vote to the All-Pro team, and it could be argued he deserved more. Bojo punted 4 times Wildcard Weekend averaging 47.0 Y/P with a Net Y/P of 43.5. These numbers would have been significantly higher had he not purposely drilled in I20 punt which only required a 29-yard kick. At kicker is another player who arguably deserved some All-Pro consideration, rookie Tyler Bass. This kid has been on complete fire the past 10 weeks going 42/43 on XPs and 18/19 on FGs with his only miss coming from 61 yards out. I was personally skeptical on Bass coming into the season, but my goodness, this kid is a stud. There is one more player on the Bills’ Special Teams that got an All-Pro vote, Tyler Matakevich. A guru at the position the man nicknamed “Dirty Red” is around the ball carrier on every kick and tossing people around on every return. Bills’ fans know more than most that Special Teams players can have a huge impact on a team and the Bills’ have a ton of great ones.
The Ravens also have one of the better Special Teams units in the NFL. For most of the season Devin Duvernay handled KR while James Proche took care of PR however, in recent weeks Duvernay has taken control of both. Averaging 11.5 Y/PR and 27.5 Y/KR, with a 93-yard return for a TD, Duvernay is a dynamic rookie with open field speed that few can match. Just like the Colts game this will likely effect the Bills’ short kick strategy meaning a lot of touchbacks when the Bills kick off. Punting for the Ravens is the 38-year old veteran Sam Koch who the Ravens have under contract until he is 40. Koch had his lowest Y/P (44.5) in a decade but finished 8th in the NFL with a Net Y/P of 42.8, a difference of just 1.7. Koch rarely allows players to return the ball and when they do, they are averaging just 4.8 Y/R. Last is the best to ever do it, Kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker has a 90.7 FG% in the regular season throughout his career with a career long of 61. As automatic as they come if you see Tucker on the field there is basically no tradition Bills’ fans can do that would make him miss.
EDGE: Bills 👏
Why We Will Lose
The Ravens have steadily improved the entire season and are peaking at the perfect time. Improving their odds of advancing is that the Ravens’ strengths matchup well against the Bills’ weaknesses. On defense the Ravens excel against the pass and have been able to put pressure on every QB they have played in 2020. That pressure should be extra concerning for a Bills’ team that has seen their star QB struggle at holding onto the football, now realize that the Ravens had a combined 25 forced fumbles in the regular season and start panicking. In reality the Ravens only weakness on defense is against the run which is something that they shouldn’t particularly care about when playing a Bills team who has struggled running the ball and should find a more difficult go of things after losing their RB2.
On offense the Ravens continue to be one of the best running teams in history. Whether it be Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, or Lamar Jackson doesn’t matter because whoever has the ball will be able to effectively move it on the ground. This means consistent yardage with the occasional big run sprinkled in. That continuous success ultimately will keep the ball out of the hands of Buffalo’s offense while putting up points for Baltimore which is a typical strategy against a Bills team that has struggled against the run in 2020. Making matters worse is the Bills’ can’t just bail out to stop the run because if they did attempt this Lamar Jackson, the 2019 MVP, has shown the ability to make big plays through the air and will do so against this Bills’ team. The Ravens offense is built to beat a team like Buffalo, as is their defense, which is a recipe for a Baltimore victory.
Why We Will Win
The 2019 Bills lost to the Ravens 24-17. The 2020 Bills are a significantly improved version of that team with an MVP caliber QB. The Bills offense had no answer for the Ravens pressure last season which is a primary reason they went out and got a receiver that could specifically help with handling that scheme. That receiver is your first team All-Pro WR, Stefon Diggs, who has dominated every single player that has tried to guard him this season. You factor him in with Buffalo’s other 3 options at the position and the Bills suddenly have the ability to put up points against a Ravens’ defense that is one of the best in the NFL.
On defense the Bills may not have had the same success in 2020 that they did in 2019 but they have continually improved all season long. This game comes down to the Bills’ ability to contain Lamar Jackson and a healthy Matt Milano makes that slightly easier. Dark horse candidate to have big game is A.J. Epenesa who the Bills coaching staff has surely coached up to not do to much and instead do his 1/11th. And that is just what every single Bills’ player must do, their 1/11th, do that and you won’t stop Lamar Jackson, but you can reduce the damage he inflicts. If Buffalo accomplishes that your Bills will be heading to their first AFC Championship game in nearly 30 years.
Prediction: Bills 27 – Ravens 24
This is going to be a close game whichever way you slice it. On paper the Ravens seem to have the matchups but in reality, the Bills seem to have the ability to win them. Because this will be so close this game likely comes down to which team makes fewer mistakes, inclusive of turnovers. With the way the Bills are playing right now you must trust Josh Allen more than Lamar Jackson to hold onto the ball. At the end of the night though this will be a battle of heavyweights with the last one standing being one game away from Super Bowl Sunday.

Draft order was from tankathon
1 - New York Jets - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson - There’s not really much I can say here that hasn't been said. Lawrence is an absolute lock for #1. Dont fuck this up, Jets.
2 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State - Fields had a REALLY ugly game against Indiana, but he’s still pretty clearly QB2 in the class, and I still feel like he’s closer to Lawrence than the rest of the field.
3 - Cincinnati Bengals - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon - Holy shit please protect Burrow. His injury just looks worse and worse. Cincy’s probably going to lose out and that means they’ll have a near guaranteed shot at Sewell, but if they somehow drop out of the top 3, IMO they NEED to take BPA OT. I dont care how good Parsons, Chase, etc might end up being, because Burrow is their franchise savior, and they must 1000% protect him with everything they got. Hell, draft an entire offensive line this year. This class is solid enough to where it might be possible. Also, hire a better OL coach.
4 - Dallas Cowboys - Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama - Last time Dallas picked this high, they had to make a hard choice between a game changing RB and the best DB prospect in recent memory. This year, there’s no game changing RB on the level of Zeke, so the choice is pretty easy, especially with how bad the Cowboys secondary is. Outside of the injured Diggs, who else is really a building block for the future? Surtain should give them a solid once.
5 - Washington Football Team - Trey Lance, QB, NDSU - There’s been a lot of hype around Zach Wilson recently, and I won't disagree that Wilson has been fantastic, but Lance is still my QB3 for this class. Some things you just cant teach, like arm strength, and if the success of guys like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson have shown, its that teams can build around these game breaking QBs successfully. Yes, Wilson might be more of a finished product, but why the hell would Washington want a more pro-ready guy? They aren't even close to contending right now, and sitting Lance behind Alex Smith for a year ala Mahomes could allow for deja vu, or at least Lance to become a pretty good QB once Washington is ready to contend again.
6 - Chicago Bears (via LAC - Sends 1.16, 3.80, 2022 CHI 1st, 2022 CHI 2nd for 1.08, 2022 LAC 4th) - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU - At this point, I think Zach Wilson has raised his stock enough to where it’s very unlikely he’s falling out of the top 10, and that means the really QB needy teams are going to have to pay through the nose to move up to get him. Chicago might not end up being the team that picks him, but I think they’re currently by far the most desperate, for good reason. They’re a contender level team hamstrung by terrible QB and OL play, and Wilson might be the panacea they need for their offensive woes. His reckless brilliance has been exciting to watch at BYU, and if Chicago can hit here, they’ll blow their Super Bowl window right back open.
7 - New York Giants - Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU - When you’re a team that’s as bad as the Giants, just take BPA. And BPA here is arguably the single best WR prospect in recent memory. Darius Slayton is a solid WR, but he’s a better fit at WR2 than the main guy, and the rest of the Giants WR corps isnt really worth talking about. With Daniel Jones showing off enough potential to earn another year and all 4 of the top QBs gone, New York grabs themselves a guy who should be an absolute monster coming into the league, considering he was better than current stud and MIN WR Justin Jefferson.
8 - Atlanta Falcons - Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami - Is the third time a charm for Atlanta? Atlanta loves their raw, athletic EDGE, but the last two guys in Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley have not panned out great, to put it lightly. Rousseau is a different beast than them though. Someone who lined up all over the Miami D line, he’s got the versatility to be a great chess piece while possessing enough speed and motor to be a consistent force on the EDGE. There is still some rawness to his technique, but this is a pass rusher who doesnt stop until he’s gotten into the backfield, with an extremely high ceiling. He’d be an integral part of the defense if Atlanta ever wants to return to the SB with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
9 - Miami Dolphins - DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama - I honestly think DeVonta Smith is significantly closer to Chase than the rest of the WR group, enough to where he’s almost WR1B to Chase’s WR1A. And what better spot than back with his old college QB who he dominated with? Dont forget on a loaded roster with 3 other first round WRs including Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, and near lock R1 pick Jaylen Waddle, it was DeVonta Smith who led the team in yards and TDs. With excellent separation, hands as soft as that Minnesota - Purdue OPI call, and great route running along with an established connection to Tua, Smith might help out the Dolphin’s franchise QB by giving him a security blanket.
10 - Carolina Panthers - Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State - And the best LB in the class drops to the Panthers, who just lost Luke Kuechly. It must be fate, I guess. Personally, I’d try to look for a new QB, but Bridgewater is good enough to where no QB available is an immediate improvement, and Parsons is so good to where it’s a perfect fit of BPA and need. He should be the new Kuechly for Carolina for the next decade or so.
11 - Detroit Lions - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama - The Lions CBs havent been great but Amani O and Okudah still have promise, and there’s not really an LB I’d pick this high, barring JOK getting an even more meteoric rise. So onto the last big need, WR. Golladay is a WR1, but Jones is clearly past his prime, and all 3 of the Lions top WRs are free agents this offseason. They need at the very last a new WR2, and Jaylen Waddle is good enough to be both an interesting complement to Golladay, or his own WR1. He’s an electric WR who can stretch the field and pull defenses apart the way the best deep threats can, and even has bonus functionality as a kick/punt returner. Golladay, if he’s back, and Waddle would make for an electric WR duo for Stafford to play with.
12 - Minnesota Vikings - Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State - Kirk Cousins has shown that he still has some juice, and although he’s not a Mahomes/Brady type QB who can lead to the SB, he’s certainly good enough to be a QB who wont cost you the SB trip. But if the Vikings want to keep Kirk consistently at his best, they need the OL, and especially the interior OL, to be as good as possible. Thats why they cant pass up on Davis here, who has almost no flaws and might be the best iOL prospect since Quenton Nelson. With Dozier’s return uncertain due to cap issues and Cleveland possibly moving to LT, there are holes in the interior that must be addressed. Worst comes to worst, the Vikings have two great OGs on their team. That’s a problem most teams would kill for.
13 - Arizona Cardinals (via NE - sends 1.20, 3.84, 2022 ARI 2nd for 1.13) - Caleb Fairley, CB, Virginia Tech - The Cardinals have an elite offense with Murray, Hopkins, and Kingsbury calling the shots, but man that pass defense is ugly. With Patrick Peterson aging every day and his contract expiring, they need a replacement for him ASAP. So Steve Keim, who’s no stranger to bold moves, mortgages a bit of the future to grab arguably the second best CB in the class, Caleb Farley. Farley is an outstanding press corner in the same mold as Peterson, someone who mirrors well and sticks to receivers like glue. He should seamlessly replace PPat if they choose to move on from the All-Pro this offseason, or learn greatly next to him if they bring him back.
14 - San Francisco 49ers - Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma - The lifeblood of the 49ers is their run game, built on the zone blocking scheme of Kyle Shanahan. Thats why the center position is so important to the 49ers. And its been a bit of an issue the last 2 seasons. Weston Richburg is oft injured and cant be relied on, and I’d be hesitant to rely on Daniel Bruskill for anything more than being a solid replacement iOL. Creed Humphrey here fit the 49ers scheme like a glove, having played a ton in Lincoln Riley’s zone blocking offense. He’d be an instant starter and with his high IQ as well as excellent leadership, should be a great fit for a young, hungry 49ers team that might be losing Richard Sherman this offseason.
15 - Denver Broncos - Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State - With QB off the table here, the Broncos still really need a better CB1. AJ Bouye is mediocre on the field when he isnt injured. Bryce Callahan has been good but he was injured recently and might not be back this offseason to make room for Bolles and Simmons extensions. Michael Ojemudia showed promise to start the year but was snubbed completely vs the Raiders and Dolphins. There’s no Talib or CHJr anymore in Denver, a CB1 that Denver can rely on to erase opposing WRs. But Shaun Wade could be that. A great slot corner who also can move outside and defend the run at a high level (run defense ala Trae Waynes), he could be the lockdown CB that helps the Broncos defense return to their former glory once Von Miller returns.
16 - Los Angeles Chargers (Via CHI) - Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech - The Chargers should heed the Burrow injury as a serious warning of what might happen to their young franchise QB if they don't protect him. So, they grab the rising Christian Darrisaw out of VT, a massive mauling tackle who knows how to use his hands and possesses an excellent anchor. There are still some technique issues he needs to hone out, mainly his footwork, but once those are cleaned up, he can easily be an utterly dominant force on the OL for the chargers.
17 - Miami Dolphins - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramah, LB, Notre Dame - Miami doesnt go Parsons, but they get the next best thing in the class, a stud who's also exploded up the draft boards recently. JOK's ascent reminds me a lot of Devin Bush’s, who also went from a fringe R1-R2 player to a mid first lock. He’s small at 6’1, 215, but utterly explosive and flies around the field in both run stopping and pass coverage. With the Miami defense looking for playmakers, JOK can be that guy who establishes himself as the QB of the defense, and a swarming pest for any offense.
18 - Baltimore Ravens - Alex Leatherwood, OG/OT, Alabama - The Baltimore offense looks almost nothing like it did a year ago. The playcalling has gotten stale, the WRs cant catch and Lamar seems to have regressed, but the biggest problem is the significant step back the OL has taken after the loss of Marshall Yanda. Alex Leatherwood might be an OT at the college level, but he has the ability and anchor to be a mauling guard, something which the Ravens would love for their run game heavy offense.
19 - Philadelphia Eagles - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina - The Eagles secondary has been a thorn in their side for so long now. They just cant seem to get their CBs to play well for some reason, and with WR hopefully fixed after the emergence of Fulgham and the addition of Reagor, CB needs to be addressed. A physical aggressive corner who knows how to properly use his size as leverage against opposing WRs, Jaycee Horn would hopefully shore up CB2 for the Eagles alongside Darius Slay, and be a building block that the Eagles can build around for the future.
20 - New England Patriots (via ARI) - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida - If there’s two things BB loves, its trading down and versatile players. Well, Pitts is one of the most versatile TEs when it comes to receiving, able to line up all over the field for a team with one of the single worst receiving corps in the league. He’ll be a super versatile weapon for the Patriots, and if anyone knows how to get the best out of a freak TE, its gotta be Belicheck.
21 - Las Vegas Raiders - Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan - Paye somehow falls to the Raiders here, and they better run to the stage for this pick. For a team that still needs pass rush inside and out, Paye would be a perfect fit, able to play both DE/EDGE and slide inside to cause problems if necessary. He’s excellent at causing pressure, and Im sure Gruden would love this Gruden Grinder beast of an EDGE.
22 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas - Donovan Smith is not the long term answer at LT. And even if Brady leaves/retires this offseason, they still need to bolster the offensive line. Samuel Cosmi is an athletic specimen of an OT who moves well all over, someone who is smart enough to plan out his attack and possesses a huge mean streak. He should be a great fit at either LT or RT, cementing himself and Wirfs as a great pair of bookends.
23 - Indianapolis Colts - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota - TY Hilton is very done, and although Pittman has shown flashes of promise so far, 2 excellent WRs are almost necessary nowadays in the NFL. Bateman would fit great here as a big play machine and YAC beast, especially if the Colts keep Phillip Rivers for another season.
24 - Cleveland Browns - Jayson Oweh, EDGE, Penn State - Myles Garrett might be a beast, but he cant do it all by himself. The Browns need to find a better compliment to him, someone who can also put pressure on the QB so the opposing offense cant just focus on him. Jayson Oweh could be that. A freak athlete who’s been rising up the draft rankings recently, Oweh has all the tools to be a monster EDGE in the NFL. He does need polishing on his technique, but this is a high ceiling guy who could give the Browns their dominant EDGE duo of the future.
25 - New York Jets (Via SEA) - Terrace Marshall Jr, WR, LSU - Now that the Jets have their QB of the future, they should probably give him better weapons than the Jets currently have. Mims has promise, and Crowder is a solid WR, but it’s hard to picture either becoming the WR1 for New York right now. Terrace Marshall Jr could be that, however. He’s been a monster for LSU after they lost both Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, and with how bad LSU has been, thats a serious accomplishment. There’s all the physical traits to be elite, and with his ability to break press coverage and grab contested balls, he’ll could be the guy that Lawrence develops an excellent bond with in the future.
26 - Green Bay Packers - Jay Tufele, DT, USC - The Packers have a stud in Kenny Clark and a decent DT in Keke Kingsley, but outside of that, the DT depth is pretty dire. And with the best DT prospect in the class dropping right into their laps, its too hard to pass up Tufele here. Jay Tufele can be a dominant force when he’s on, almost completely unblockable at times, and can play both the 1/3T, allowing for Clark to be able to move around if needed for better matchups. WIth his explosiveness and powerful hands, a defensive line of Clark, Keke, and Tufele could be an absolute nightmare for the OLines of the NFC North.
27 - Tennessee Titans - Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas - The Titans pass rush has been anemic, and it’s certainly not going to get better after the likely loss of Jadeveon Clowney this offseason. They need someone to pair with Harold Landry, and Joseph Ossai could be the answer here. A quick trigger pass rusher who has plenty of room for improvement, Ossai presents a tantalizing option for Tennessee as someone who has the ability to become a very dominant pass rusher. He’d be a great fit in the Titans hybrid defense, and could grow into a cornerstone alongside Simmons and Landry on the DL.
28 - Buffalo Bills - Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia - There’s a huge hole in the Bills defense opposite of Tre White, something that has caused their defense to go from elite to horrid in one year. They need someone to help out White, and Eric Stokes could be that guy. No stranger to being paired up with great CBs, Stokes has actually outplayed his more hyped partner in Tyson Campbell this year, and with his excellent agility and great instincts, can be a smothering corner who can lock down WR1s with the help of his FS.
29 - Jacksonville Jaguars (via LAR) - Liam Eichenburg, OT, Notre Dame - As I mentioned before, if you have a young franchise QB, you need to protect him. With serious problems on their OL and Justin Fields coming in as their new savior, the Jaguars look to protect their investment by solidifying one of the tackle spots on the OL. Liam Eichenburg is another product of the Notre Dame OL machine, with an excellent build and great strength to thrive in power blocking schemes. He’s especially effective at clearing the way, which is not only great for James Robinson and the run game, but mobile QBs like Fields if they need to scramble outside the pocket. Whether he’s at LT or RT, Eichenburg should be a solid and well-coached OT for the Jaguars.
30 - Kansas City Chiefs - Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama - The Chiefs overall have been elite once again this year, but there’s one clear flaw in their team, the run defense, which ranks in the bottom 5 in the league. Good thing Dylan Moses is available here. He’s an elite athlete with plenty of range and can hit like a truck. He also knows when to wrap up and is generally a sure tackler, which is a rather underappreciated trait. He does need to improve his ability to diagnose plays and shed blocks, but overall, he’s a force at ILB, and would greatly help out Chiefs ailing run defense.
31 - New Orleans Saints - Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh - The Saints are hilariously over the cap next year, needs to cut about $95 million in order to become cap compliant. That means that S Marcus Williams is probably gone, as the Saints simply wont have the money to replace him, which leads to a big hole in the NO secondary. Paris Ford should be a seamless replacement for him. With the ability to play anything from single high to a role closer to the LOS, Ford is an instant starter, who excels especially in pass coverage. Interestingly enough, he also seems to try to become a missile too much of the time and needs improvement on his tackling form, so hopefully the Saints teach this safety how to wrap up properly.
32 - Pittsburgh Steelers - Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson - The Steelers dont have a ton of needs, and OT is probably the safest pick here, but James Conner is an FA after this year and there are questions if the Steelers should pay him big money. Travis Etienne is also the best RB in the class and easily BPA here. Etienne is an elite RB, who can break off huge chunks of yardage at a time and rip defenses apart with his burst. He’s also improved his catching ability to where he can be a every down RB. With Pittsburgh still a SB contender for the near future and possibly question marks on James Connor’s future, Etienne seems like a great fit here to both replace Connor’s production and keep Pittsburgh in title contention for the near future.

Order taken from tankathon. Seems like there were a LOT less trades this time.
1 - New York Jets - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson - Another week another loss. The Jets are currently undefeated in the Tank for Trevor sweepstakes, leading the way with a pristine 0-9 record. It’ll be interesting to see how Lawrence plays after his bout with COVID, but realistically, no matter who ends up picking first, the choice should be Lawrence. He’s the best QB prospect since Andrew Luck, and should be the centerpiece for the Jets for the rest of the decade.
2 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State - The Jaguars manage to pull out a very close loss against the Packers, ensuring that they stay in the coveted second spot position to keep their dreams of a new franchise QB still alive. And although both Minshew and Luton would make great backups and ok starters, neither have the ceiling that Fields has shown off this year in an electric Ohio State offense. There are concerns on how much of his play is from the system and his WR and how much of it is from himself, but I think most people have seen more than enough to crown him the clear second best QB prospect in this class behind Lawrence.
3 - San Diego Chargers (via WFT - Sends 1.05, 3.67, 2022 SDC 2nd for 1.3) - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon - Right now the Chargers plan A-Z should be about protecting Herbert, because he’s looked like an elite QB so far. Penei Sewell is the best QB prospect since Joe Thomas decided to declare out of Wisconsin, and he should be able to man either side of Herbert at an All-Pro level for the next decade.
4 - Dallas Cowboys - Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama - The Cowboys defense has been atrocious to say the least. Half their defensive backs are also free agents and who knows how many will return? The only true building block in the secondary currently is the currently injured Trevon Diggs. So here comes another Alabama CB to complete the pair. Surtain II should be an elite cover corner from day 1, someone who can lock down an opponent’s #1 WR and should hopefully help the Cowboys become a playoff contender again once Dak returns.
5 - Washington Football Team(Via SDC) - Trey Lance, QB, NDSU - Haskins is probably done. I dont foresee any sort of happy conclusion to his time in Washington, and thus Ron Riveria is probably going to look to install his own guy at QB. Will it be Trey Lance or the rapidly rising Zach Wilson? Who knows, but I currently think Lance will be the slightly more tantalizing prospect. Trey Lance might not be a near finished product the top 2 QBs are, but he has gobs of potential and has a ceiling that might even surpass Fields or Lawrence. Will Trey Lance end up being Mahomes/Josh Allen or just another big armed bust? That’ll be up to the Washington coaching staff, but he’s a fantastic prospect for Washington to figure out.
6 - Miami (Via Houston Texans) - Jamarr Chase, WR, LSU - Its Tua time in Miami, and although DeVante Parker is the dude in Miami, having 2 alpha receivers is becoming more and more popular. Chase is the best WR prospect in this class, an elite route runner who can also get plenty of yards after the catch. He dominated in 2019 as the clear best WR in the league, and honestly reminds me a bit of Titans star WR AJ Brown as a WR who isnt necessarily the biggest or most athletic, but excels when it comes to situations after the catch. He needs to be a bit better when it comes to his short/med routes, but his ability to separate vertically or snag balls and take it for a home run should be a great boon to the Miami offense.
7 - Cincinnati Bengals - Alex Leatherwood, OT/OG, Alabama - Parsons and Surtain are tempting here, but when you just drafted a franchise QB #1 overall, protecting him should be priority 1, 2, and 3, especially after how many hits Joe Burrow took to begin the year. The Bengals need line help everywhere, especially on the right side, and Leatherwood is a 4 year starter who can excel at both OT and OG. He should be an immediate upgrade to either Bobby Hart or Trey Hopkins/Alex Redmond/whoever the hell starts at RG for the Bengals and hopefully significantly improve the protection of Burrow. Wyatt Davis was also a serious consideration here, but I believe Leatherwood is good enough to where his ability to play RT outweighs the gap in talent.
8 - Chicago Bears (via NYG - Sends 1.16, 3.80, 2022 CHI 1st, 2022 CHI 2nd for 1.08, 2022 NYG 4th) - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU - The Giants incite a bidding war between SF and Chicago, and the Bears end up offering an offer NYG cant refuse. And theres good reason for why Chicago goes all in. They were anemic against a pretty horrid Titans defense and with 3 of the top 4 QB prospects off the board, the Bears bite the bullet. With an aging defense and their Super Bowl window closing fast, they jump up high to draft Zach Wilson. Wilson has been flying up the draft boards recently, torching defenses on his possible Heisman campaign. He’s got great mobility, especially when it comes to extending plays, and solid pocket presence. Most of all, there’s a bit of reckless brilliance that reminds me a little of guys like Stafford, Mahomes and Allen. Its a fine line to balance and Wilson does have his flaws - such as too much aggressiveness and concerns about his shoulder’s durability, but if the Bears can keep Allen Robinson, then I can foresee a very fruitful connection in the future between the two, as well as a chance for Wilson to be the best QB in Bears history (Yes, its that bad).
9 - Carolina Panthers - Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State - Micah Parsons is a special linebacker, athletic, versatile, rangy and blah blah blah. Im sure you all have read it before. Micah Parsons is really fucking good. There’s not much else to say here.
10 - Atlanta Falcons - Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami - The Falcons historically have had a type at EDGE, elite athletic EDGE who are still a little raw technique wise. Well, Rousseau fits that type to a T. The potential here is sky high and his punch is elite. If he can develop his this repertoire some more, he could be as scary as someone like Chase Young, who he was able to keep up with in 2019. With both Matt Ryan and Julio Jones aging, Rousseau might be able to revitalize their defense enough to where the Falcons can try to go for one last deep run.
11 - Denver Broncos - Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State - Lock has been unstable but with such an injured Denver team, he probably deserves another season, and Garrett Bolles has actually been playing at a near elite level all season. That leaves one last problem for the Broncos, their secondary. Bryce Callahan has been fantastic all year and I've heard some praise for Michael Ojemudia, but AJ Bouye has been a disappointment, and that's when he’s on the field. Shaun Wade should be able to be that final piece in the Broncos secondary they need. It was close between Farley and Wade, but with the season the Broncos have had, Wade’s ability to stay on the field was the tiebreaker. Of course, that's only a bonus to Wade’s fantastic coverage ability, especially from the slot, and his run defense reminds me of Trae Waynes’s ability to stop the run at corner. With how complex NFL offenses are now, Wade’s ability to be both a slot and outside corner means he can follow a #1 WR wherever they go, which is surely should help him become an elite CB at the next level.
12 - San Francisco 49ers - Caleb Fairley, CB, Virginia Tech - The 49ers have 0 total CBs under contract in 2022. Yes, ZERO. That makes CB a huge huge need for them. Fortunately, Caleb Farley has dropped into their laps. He’s an outstanding press corner, and mirrors opposing receivers so well that he might as well be running their routes. He’s long, physical, and impressively sticky, and should be an elite outside corner for the 49ers. Grabbing Farley would allow for the 49ers to more easily part ways with Sherman or Verrett, as the #1 CB spot should not be an issue for them anymore. Wyatt Davis was considered here, but Shanahan has not historically valued guards highly, mostly focusing on OT and C.
13 - Detroit Lions - DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama - There’s been a lot of rumblings about Kenny Golloday’s unhappiness in Detroit, and although I do think they ought to pay him, if they cant come to an agreement and franchise tag him, they’ll likely need a replacement. And thats not even mentioning both Marvin Jones Jr and Danny Amendola are also free agents at the end of this year. That makes WR a pretty big need for the Lions. Enter DeVonta Smith, who’s surpassed his teammate Waddle as the #2 WR on my big board. Any concerns he had last year are all gone now, especially with Waddle out. It’s been the DeVonta showdown at Alabama, punctuated with a 200+ yard 4 TD performance against Mississippi State. Smith has Charmin soft hands and fantastic route running, and most importantly, gets fantastic separation. He’s a bit thin at only 175, but his frame should fill out nicely once he gets to the NFL. Whether he’s the Lions new #1 or a #2, either way he should be an elite weapon for Stafford to play with.
14 - Minnesota Vikings - Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State - The Vikings OL has two possible building blocks of the future in Ezra Cleveland and Brian O’Neil as well as an OK starter in Garrett Bradbury, but that leaves two rather large holes on the offensive line. Dakota Dozier’s a free agent at the end of this year, Cleveland might end up moving to OT, Pat Eiflen hasnt shown much to be excited about and I think the only time Vikings fans want to see Dru Samia on the field is if he’s starting for the opponents. Wyatt Davis is the last of the truly elite prospects in this class, an elite guard prospect who will run over anyone in his way and a plug, play and forget guy from Day 1. Count this pick as killing 3 birds with one stone. Helping Cousins, helping Dalvin Cook and the run game, and protecting whoever the Vikings pick as the QB of the future.
15 - New England Patriots - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama - The Patriots receiving corps seems to have 1 saving light right now in Jakobi Myers, but that doesnt mean the rest of the receiving corps isnt absolutely putrid. With no QB really worth the pick here, Waddle is the clear best fit, an electric speed demon who can take the top off of defenses, a player with a great catch radius and the ability to dart to the holes in coverages, and a great kick/punt returner. Adding a burner like Waddle who can stretch the field should only help the Patriots offense and might allow Harry to finally be productive, as he excelled at ASU when paired up with a speed demon as well.
16 - New York Giants (via CHI) - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina - The Giants land an absolute haul, and still managed to grab a fantastic player in Jaycee Horn. A physical aggressive corner who knows how to properly use his size as leverage against opposing WRs, Horn would short up the CB2 position for the Giants, and could become the CB1 in. You want to see him at his best? Watch his game against Auburn and think of the ceiling.
17 - Cleveland Browns - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame - Outside of Zach Wilson, no player has boosted his draft stock as much as JOK has. His ascent reminds me a lot of Devin Bush’s, who also went from a fringe R1-R2 player to a mid first lock. He’s small at 6’1, 215, but utterly explosive and flies around the field in both run stopping and pass coverage. With the Browns LB play this year being pretty horrid after the loss of Joe Schobert, JOK should be able to become the immediate QB of the defense.
18 - Tennessee Titans - Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan - The Titans went up against a Bengals Oline that was starting 3rd stringers and recorded 0 sacks. Thats all I need to say about how terrible the Titans pass rush is. Landry is still pretty promising, but at this point Clowney is neither an answer to the pass rush woes nor is he likely staying long term in Tennessee, and Derick Roberson has had 1 good game against a terrible Bears OL. Kwity Paye could be though, as one of the very few bright spots in a horrid season for Michigan. He is a very strong power rusher who can uses his bull rush well to set the LOS. He’s a tank with fantastic explosiveness and a pretty high ceiling, and his ability to cause problems against the opposing offensive line should be welcome on the Titans defense alongside Harold Landry.
19 - Philadelphia Eagles - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota - Fulgham is a great WR, and Reagor has a ton of potential, but I dont think the Eagles can really pass up on Bateman here. Bateman’s a big play machine, someone who not only runs great routes, but gobbles up YAC once he has the ball. He should be a fantastic addition to the Eagles offense as a compliment with both Fulgham and Reagor.
20 - Arizona Cardinals - Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma - Kyler Murray is reunited with his old college center. What a story. Aside from that, the Cardinals zone-blocking scheme puts a heavy emphasis on center play, and Humphrey is the best center in the class. Humphrey should slot into the Cardinals ZBS scheme perfectly. Thats not even mentioning his football smarts or his leadership, both of which would be huge boons for the offense. Humphrey should be a centerpiece in the Cards offensive line for years to come, the Jeff Saturday to Murray’s Peyton Manning.
21 - New York Jets (Via SEA) - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida - With Lawrence on the roster, the Jets need to get him some receiving weapons, and Pitts is easily the best receiving weapon left on the board. He’s an extremely versatile weapon in the way that most modern TEs are with fantastic routes, soft hands, a huge catch radius and an excellent understanding of how to beat zone, able to line up all over and cause issues for the opposing defense. He might not be a WR, but with a very deep WR class in R2 and Pitt’s ability to play everywhere on the field, he’ll be an awesome addition to a pretty terrible Jets offense.
22 - Miami Dolphins - Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas - The Dolphins have added an offensive playmaker with their first pick in Ja’Marr Chase, so its time they add a defensive playmaker with their second first. A quick trigger pass rusher who has plenty of room for improvement, Ossai presents a tantalizing option for Miami as someone who has the ability to become a very dominant pass rusher. He’d be a great fit in the Miami defense, and could grow into the EDGE the Dolphins have lacked since losing Cam Wake and Robert Quinn.
23 - Indianapolis Colts - Terrace Marshall Jr, WR, LSU - T.Y. Hilton is done, Parris Campbell can't seem to stay healthy enough to play, and although MIchael Pittman Jr is good, he still needs a lot more games to prove himself to be the WR1. Its a perfect opportunity for Terrace Marshall Jr to take over here. Marshall has been fantastic at LSU with Chase out - which is more impressive with how bad LSU has been, and he’s got all the physical traits to be an elite WR. He rarely gets caught in press coverage and with his ball skills and frame, excels in contested catch situations. He’ll be a fantastic addition for the Colts offense, and could usher in a new era for the Colts.
24 - Baltimore Ravens - Trey Smith, iOL, Tennessee - With the retirement of Marshall Yanda, the Ravens have had a huge hole at LG that they still haven't been able to fill. And with their offense becoming more and more run heavy due to the addition of JK Dobbins and Lamar Jackson’s rushing abilities, one guy came to mind here. Trey Smith, the OG out of Tennessee, seemed like the natural fit. Smith is an absolute road grader in the run game, absolutely flattening whatever defensive players who are unfortunately enough to get into his way. He’s solid enough in pass protection, but more importantly, his fantastic run blocking paired alongside Orlando Brown Jr should lend itself to an absolutely terrifying run game from the Ravens.
25 - Jacksonville Jaguars (via LAR) - Dillion Radunz, OT, NDSU - After drafting their QBOTF in Justin Fields, the Jaguars now need to protect him. And with so much draft capital on their hands, they part ways with some of it in order to move up and grab the last OT I could consider a possible day 1 starter, OT Dillion Radunz out of NDSU. There are some question marks about athleticism and competition level, but Radunz’s technique is elite, and his toughness is unquestionable. He should be a welcome addition to the Jaguars offensive line, and will provide solid protection for Fields.
26 - Las Vegas Raiders - Jay Tufele, DT, USC - The Raiders need pass rush help badly along their DL. Maxx Crosby hasnt lived up to the hype he had after a stellar rookie season, and although Clelin Ferrell is an elite run defender, he’s nowhere near as good of a pass rusher. They need to add someone who can GET after the QB, and Jay Tufele is too much talent to pass up on here.T ufele can be a dominant force at 1 or 3T, with his explosiveness and powerful hands, which allows him to be utterly unblockable at times. And adding such an interior force would boost the Raiders pass rush, as Tufele should be the shot in the arm the Raiders DL needed.
27 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech - The Buccaneers OL was absolutely dominated by the Saints, and Donovan Smith really isnt the long term answer at LT. Christian Darrisaw is an interesting OT prospect who has bee flying up the big boards recently, as a massive mauling tackle who knows how to use his hands and possesses an excellent anchor. There are still some technique issues he needs to hone out, mainly his footwork, but once those are cleaned up, he can easily be an utterly dominant force on the OL.
28 - Buffalo Bills - Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia - The Bills have had serious issues this year at CB2, which has been a huge factor in the regression of the Bills defense from elite last year to absolutely horrid this year. Tyson Campbell has had some issues this year, but he’s still a very tantalizing prospect overall. He’s a bit thin at 6-2 185, but possesses outstanding athleticism and has very loose hips as well as great agility. Although he is a bit raw and would need some development, if McDermott and the Bills can properly develop him, Campbell can be an island in the NFL.
29 - Green Bay Packers - Azeez Ojulari, EDGE, Georgia - The Packers pass rush was supposed to be a strength this year, but it's been mostly a weakness. They did show some signs of life against Jacksonville, but that's just one game and the Jaguars OL is near the bottom of the league. Plus, you can never have too much pass rush. Azeez Ojulari is a player who can GET after the QB, and I think Ojulari is the best pure pass rusher on the board. He’s got fantastic hand usage and his low center of gravity lets him bend the corner through contact really well. There’s some work to be done on run defense, but Ojulari does give me flashes of Ngakoue at times, and could be a great fit either alongside Gary or with him if the Packers move Gary to DE for a few snaps.
30 - Kansas City Chiefs - Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama - The Chiefs overall have been elite once again this year, but there’s one clear flaw in their team, the run defense, which ranks in the bottom 5 in the league. Good thing Dylan Moses is available here. He’s an elite athlete with plenty of range and can hit like a truck. He also knows when to wrap up and is generally a sure tackler, which is a rather underappreciated trait. He does need to improve his ability to diagnose plays and shed blocks, but overall, he’s a force at ILB, and would greatly help out Chiefs ailing run defense.
31 - New Orleans Saints - Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh - The Saints are hilariously over the cap next year, needs to cut about $95 million in order to become cap compliant. That means that S Marcus Williams is probably gone, as the Saints simply wont have the money to replace him, which leads to a big hole in the NO secondary. Paris Ford should be a seamless replacement for him. With the ability to play anything from single high to a role closer to the LOS, Ford is an instant starter, who excels especially in pass coverage. Interestingly enough, he also seems to try to become a missile too much of the time and needs improvement on his tackling form, so hopefully the Saints teach this safety how to wrap up properly.
32 - Pittsburgh Steelers - Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson - The Steelers dont have a ton of needs, and OT is probably the safest pick here, but James Conner is an FA after this year and there are questions if the Steelers should pay him big money. Travis Etienne is also the best RB in the class and easily BPA here. Etienne is an elite RB, who can break off huge chunks of yardage at a time and rip defenses apart with his burst. He’s also improved his catching ability to where he can be a every down RB. With Pittsburgh still a SB contender for the near future and possibly question marks on James Connor’s future, Etienne seems like a great fit here to both replace Connor’s production and keep Pittsburgh in title contention for the near future.

Draft order was from tankathon
1 - New York Jets - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson - Jets are still winless? Yup. I think its pretty clear at this point that Darnold isnt the future and Trevor Lawrence is the best QB prospect since Andrew Luck. Honestly, it really doesnt matter what team picks here, because I'm near 100% sure Lawrence should go 1. Jets land themselves a franchise QB. Lets hope Adam Gase isnt around to ruin him as well.
2 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State - Losing is winning for Jacksonville right now, with both Minshew and Luton looking like capable near starters but neither being THE guy for the Jaguars. Those problems should be set to rest with the arrival of Justin Fields, however. Fields has been utterly electric this year for the Buckeyes and would be a nice shot in the arm for a Jacksonville passing attack that has been pretty poor this decade.
3 - Dallas Cowboys - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon - The Great Wall of Dallas must be a distant memory at this point for the Cowboys, with the current line a shadow of its former self. Tyron Smith’s contract is also up soon getting older, and with Dak likely demanding a huge payday as well as Smith, C Tyler Biasdiaz and RT La’el Collins coming off injuries, there’s a lot of uncertainty around the Dallas OLine right now. Penei Sewell would go a long way of addressing those concerns. The best OT prospect to come out of college since Joe Thomas, Sewell would be an immediate starter on either side of the line, and should be a rock on either side of Dak.
4 - New York Giants - Ja’marr Chase, WR, LSU - This was a close one here. The Giants really need an inside linebacker and Darius Slayton has been a great player for them. But Jamarr Chase is just that good. And the rest of the Giants receivers outside of Slayton dont exactly inspire any confidence. Daniel Jones might or might not still be the Giants QB of the future, but Jamarr Chase should absolutely be their WR1 going forward.
5 - Washington Football Team - Trey Lance, QB, NDSU - Haskins is probably done. I dont foresee any sort of happy conclusion to his time in Washington, and thus Ron Riveria is probably going to look to install his own guy at QB, with Alex Smith obviously not having it and Kyle Allen having peaked at handing off to CMC. Trey Lance might not be a near finished product the top 2 QBs are, but he has gobs of potential and has a ceiling that might even surpass Fields or Lawrence. Will Trey Lance end up being Mahomes/Josh Allen or just another big armed bust? That’ll be up to the Washington coaching staff, but he’s a fantastic prospect for Washington to figure out.
6 - Chicago Bears (Via Los Angeles Chargers - Sends 1.16, 3.80, 2022 CHI 1st, 2022 CHI Second for 1.06, 2022 LAC 3rd) - Zach WIlson, QB, BYU - After watching that horrid display of the Chicago offense on Sunday, I think it's clear the Bears NEED a different QB if they want to win it all. They were anemic against a pretty horrid Titans defense and with 3 of the top 4 QB prospects off the board, the Bears bite the bullet. With an aging defense and their Super Bowl window closing fast, they jump up high to draft Zach Wilson. Wilson has been flying up the draft boards recently, torching defenses on his possible Heisman campaign. He’s got great mobility, especially when it comes to extending plays, and solid pocket presence. Most of all, there’s a bit of reckless brilliance that reminds me a little of guys like Stafford, Mahomes and Allen. Its a fine line to balance and Wilson does have his flaws - such as too much aggressiveness and concerns about his shoulder’s durability, but if the Bears can keep Allen Robinson, then I can foresee a very fruitful connection in the future between the two, as well as a chance for Wilson to be the best QB in Bears history (Yes, its that bad).
7 - Miami (Via Houston Texans) - Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami - Miami’s pass rush wasnt as anemic as it was last year, but it certainly still isnt good. They need help there, and Rousseau could be the replacement they have been looking for ever since they lost Robert Quinn and Cam Wake. Rousseau is still very raw, but the potential here is sky high and his punch is elite. If he can develop his this repertoire some more, he could be as scary as someone like Chase Young, who he was able to keep up with in 2019.
8 - Cincinnati Bengals - Alex Leatherwood, OT/OG, Alabama - Parsons and Surtain are tempting here, but when you just drafted a franchise QB #1 overall, protecting him should be priority 1, 2, and 3, especially after how many hits Joe Burrow took to begin the year. The Bengals need line help everywhere, especially on the right side, and Leatherwood is a 4 year starter who can excel at both OT and OG. He should be an immediate upgrade to either Bobby Hart or Trey Hopkins/Alex Redmond/whoever the hell starts at RG for the Bengals and hopefully significantly improve the protection of Burrow.
9 - Carolina Panthers - Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State - Miach Parsons is a special linebacker, athletic, versatile, rangy and smart. He’s disruptive everywhere, and his ability to slip blocks and penetrate the offensive line definitely shows his background as a defensive end. Outside of perhaps not being the most consistent run defender, something that's barely an issue, the only flaws are nitpicky. There isnt much else to say about this pick. A year after losing Luke Kuechly, Carolina has their replacement.
10 - Atlanta Falcons - Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama - Pretty easy pick here. Surtain II is an elite cover corner in every way and should be a lock down guy day 1 for whatever team he starts on, which is a boon for the Falcons. With Matt Ryan and Julio Jones both aging and their title window almost nailed shut, Surtain II might be able to pry it open just enough to where the Falcons can go for one last shot at a ring.
11 - Detroit Lions - DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama - There’s been a lot of rumblings about Kenny Golloday’s unhappiness in Detroit, and although I do think they ought to pay him, if they cant come to an agreement and franchise tag him, they’ll likely need a replacement. And thats not even mentioning both Marvin Jones Jr and Danny Amendola are also free agents at the end of this year. That makes WR a pretty big need for the Lions. Enter DeVonta Smith, who’s surpassed his teammate Waddle as the #2 WR on my big board. Any concerns he had last year are all gone now, especially with Waddle out. It’s been the DeVonta showdown at Alabama, punctuated with a 200+ yard 4 TD performance against Mississippi State. Smith has Charmin soft hands and fantastic route running, and most importantly, gets fantastic separation. He’s a bit thin at only 175, but his frame should fill out nicely once he gets to the NFL. Whether he’s the Lions new #1 or a #2, either way he should be an elite weapon for Stafford to play with.
12 - Minnesota Vikings - Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State - The Vikings OL has two possible building blocks of the future in Ezra Cleveland and Brian O’Neil as well as an OK starter in Garrett Bradbury, but that leaves two rather large holes on the offensive line. Dakota Dozier’s a free agent at the end of this year, Cleveland might end up moving to OT, Pat Eiflen hasnt shown much to be excited about and I think the only time Vikings fans want to see Dru Samia on the field is if he’s starting for the opponents. Wyatt Davis is the last of the truly elite prospects in this class, an elite guard prospect who will run over anyone in his way and a plug, play and forget guy from Day 1. Count this pick as killing 3 birds with one stone. Helping Cousins, helping Dalvin Cook and the run game, and protecting whoever the Vikings pick as the QB of the future.
13 - Jacksonville Jaguars (Via New England Patriots via San Francisco 49ers - Sends 1.22, 3.66 for 1.13) - Dillion Radunz, OT, NDSU - After drafting their QBOTF in Justin Fields, the Jaguars now need to protect him. And with so much draft capital on their hands, they part ways with some of it in order to move up and grab the last OT I could consider a possible day 1 starter, OT Dillion Radunz out of NDSU. There are some question marks about athleticism and competition level, but Radunz’s technique is elite, and his toughness is unquestionable. He should be a welcome addition to the Jaguars offensive line, and will provide solid protection for Fields.
14 - Denver Broncos - Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State - From what Ive seen of the Broncos, Drew Lock has shown plenty of promise, and Garrett Bolles has actually been playing at a near elite level all season. That leaves one last problem for the Broncos, their secondary. Bryce Callahan has been fantastic all year and I've heard some praise for Michael Ojemudia, but AJ Bouye has been a disappointment, and that's when he’s on the field. Shaun Wade should be able to be that final piece in the Broncos secondary they need. It was close between Farley and Wade, but with the season the Broncos have had, Wade’s ability to stay on the field was the tiebreaker. Of course, that's only a bonus to Wade’s fantastic coverage ability, especially from the slot, and his run defense reminds me of Trae Waynes’s ability to stop the run at corner. With how complex NFL offenses are now, Wade’s ability to be both a slot and outside corner means he can follow a #1 WR wherever they go, which is surely should help him become an elite CB at the next level.
15 - San Francisco 49ers - Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech - The 49ers have 0 total CBs under contract in 2022. Yes, ZERO. That makes CB a huge huge need for them. Fortunately, Caleb Farley has dropped into their laps. He’s an outstanding press corner, and mirrors opposing receivers so well that he might as well be running their routes. He’s long, physical, and impressively sticky, and should be an elite outside corner for the 49ers. Grabbing Farley would allow for the 49ers to more easily part ways with Sherman or Verrett, as the #1 CB spot should not be an issue for them anymore.
16 - Los Angeles Chargers (Via Chicago Bears) - Creed Humphrey, iOL, Oklahoma - Herbert looks like a franchise QB so far, so the Chargers look to fix the most glaring issue on their team, their offensive line. With plenty of experience in Oklahoma’s zone blocking scheme and having protected both Kyler Murray and Spencer Rattler, Humphrey should slot into the Charger’s ZBS scheme perfectly. Thats not even mentioning his football smarts or his leadership, both of which would be huge boons for the Chargers offense. Humphrey should be a centerpiece in the Chargers offensive line for years to come.
17 - Miami Dolphins (via Cleveland Browns - sends 1.21, 3.87 for 1.17, 4.114) - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama - How can anyone pass up reuniting Tua and his old college buddy? Of course, Waddle isnt just Tua’s former WR. He’s an explosive receiver who shreds the turf just like his former teammate Henry Ruggs III, a player with a great catch radius and the ability to dart to the holes in coverages, and a great kick/punt returner. Adding a burner like Waddle who can stretch the field should only help Tua, Parker, Williams, and the rest of the Miami offense.
18 - Indianapolis Colts - Jaycee Horn, CB, - Xavier Rhodes has had a resurgence for the Colts, but it's hard to say how long that will last, and there have been issues with the other corners getting torched. Jaycee Horn should help with that problem. A physical aggressive corner who knows how to properly use his size as leverage against opposing WRs, Horn would benefit greatly from Rhodes, and could be a great compliment alongside him as well. You want to see him at his best? Watch his game against Auburn and think of the ceiling.
19 - Philadelphia Eagles - Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia - The Eagles WR situation was looking dire, but thanks to the emergence of second year WR Travis Fulgham, they can look to shore up another issue. The Eagles secondary has been pretty terrible for a few years now, and they need to find a solid answer. Tyson Campbell has been excellent at Georgia. He’s a bit thin at 6-2 185, but possesses outstanding athleticism and has very loose hips as well as great agility, making him an extremely interesting prospect. He is a bit raw and would need some development, but if the Eagles can properly develop him, Campbell can be an island in the NFL.
20 - Arizona Cardinals - Jay Tufele, iDL, USC - The Cardinals passing defense is pretty terrible, and corner is a definite need. However, there’s more ways to improve a passing defense than just adding corners, and Tufele is too much value to pass up here for the Cardinals. Tufele can be a dominant force at 1 or 3T, with his explosiveness and powerful hands, which allows him to be utterly unblockable at times. And adding such an interior force would boost the Cardinals pass rush even more, which could also help improve their defense. If Tufele can become more consistent, there’s no good reason why the Cardinals defensive line can’t become one of the best in the NFL.
21 - Cleveland Browns (Via Miami Dolphins) - Kwity Paye, Michigan, EDGE -Myles Garrett is having a DPOY level season, but once again he’s missing someone disruptive on the opposite side of him. Oliver Vernon is gone soon, and Clayborn is no long term solution. They need to grab the compliment to Garrett, who although is a one-man wrecking ball, is still one man. Kwity Paye is a very strong power rusher who can uses his bull rush well to set the LOS. He’s a tank with fantastic explosiveness and a pretty high ceiling, and his ability to cause problems against the opposing offensive line should be welcome on the Browns defense.
22 - New England Patriots (Via Jacksonville Jaguars via Los Angeles Rams) - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida - TEs and the Patriots, name a more iconic duo. BB cant ignore BPA here any longer, and grabs the stud TE out of Florida in Kyle Pitts. He isnt in the same mold as the traditionally favored type the Patriots like, but he’s at least a willing blocker and can be coached up in that area. More importantly, He’s an extremely versatile weapon in the way that most modern TEs are with fantastic routes, soft hands, a huge catch radius and an excellent understanding of how to beat zone, able to line up all over and cause issues for the opposing defense. With the receiving corps is more barren than the Sahara, especially thanks to some brutal misses at WR Cough N’Keal Harry Cough, Pitts should be a great weapon for BB to play around with, and can carry the mantle of excellent Patriots tight ends that have been held by Gronkowski, Hernandez and Coates.
23 - Las Vegas Raiders - Azeez Ojulari, EDGE, Georgia - The Raiders EDGE corps isnt barren the way it was two years ago, but Maxx Crosby hasnt lived up to the hype he had after a stellar rookie season, and although Clelin Ferrell is an elite run defender, he’s nowhere near as good of a pass rusher. They need to add someone who can GET after the QB, and although there are better EDGEs left, I think Ojulari is the best pure pass rusher on the board. He’s got fantastic hand usage and his low center of gravity lets him bend the corner through contact really well. There’s some work to be done on run defense, but Ojulari does give me flashes of Ngakoue at times, and his versatility would allow for Ferrell to slide inside and be a mismatch there. This might be a little high on his currently, but I dont think Ojulari is someone who will end up rising on draft boards in the future
24 - Baltimore Ravens (Via Tennessee Titans - sends 1.27, 4.112 for 1.24) - Trey Smith, OG, Tennessee - With the retirement of Marshall Yanda, the Ravens have had a huge hole at LG that they still haven't been able to fill. And with their offense becoming more and more run heavy due to the addition of JK Dobbins and Lamar Jackson’s rushing abilities, one guy came to mind here. Trey Smith, the OG out of Tennessee, seemed like the natural fit. Smith is an absolute road grader in the run game, absolutely flattening whatever defensive players who are unfortunately enough to get into his way. He’s solid enough in pass protection, but more importantly, his fantastic run blocking paired alongside Orlando Brown Jr should lend itself to an absolutely terrifying run game from the Ravens.
25 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas - The Buccaneers OL was absolutely dominated by the Saints, and Donovan Smith really isnt the answer at LT. osmi is an intriguing prospect with tons of athleticism and excellent smarts, someone who wins via brains and technique rather than pure brawn. With enough practice and proper coaching, Cosmi and Wirfs can be excellent bookends for the Buccaneers in the future.
26 - New York Jets (Via Seattle Seahawks) - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota - Trevor Lawrence is now in New York, but he needs weapons if they want him to succeed. Denzel Mims is still a prospect, and although Jamison Crowder has been good, I dont think he’s anyone’s idea of a #1 WR. Thats why Ive got New York picking Bateman. Bateman’s a big play machine, someone who not only runs great routes, but gobbles up YAC once he has the ball. He should be a fantastic addition to the Jets offense, as a reliable target for Lawrence, and could build a fantastic rapport with him.
27 - Tennessee Titans (Via Baltimore Ravens) - Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas - The Titans went up against a Bengals Oline that was starting 3rd stringers and recorded 0 sacks. Thats all I need to say about how terrible the Titans pass rush is. Landry is still pretty promising, but at this point Clowney is neither an answer to the pass rush woes nor is he likely staying long term in Tennessee, and Derick Roberson has had 1 good game against a terrible Bears OL. Joseph Ossai could be the answer here, though. A quick trigger pass rusher who has plenty of room for improvement, Ossai presents a tantalizing option for Tennessee as someone who has the ability to become a very dominant pass rusher. He’d be a great fit in the Titans hybrid defense, and could grow into a cornerstone alongside Simmons and Landry on the DL.
28 - Buffalo Bills - Josh Myers, iOL, Ohio State - The Bills have been carried by the brilliance of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and the pass attack, but the rushing attack has been terrible this year, ranking in the bottom third. Replacing one of their iOL with Josh Myers is a good first step to fixing that issue. Myers is a very mobile iOL who is a great anchor and provides stability in both the pass and run game. He was an integral part of helping JK Dobbins dominate at Ohio State, and would hopefully allow the flagging run game to pick up potency once again, as well as being a stalwart on the line.
29 - Green Bay Packers - Terrace Marshall Jr, WR, LSU - Davante Adams might be the best WR in the league, but there’s a reason why he gets so many targets from Aaron Rodgers. The rest of the Packers WR corps doesnt inspire that much confidence. Not to mention that the talent is too much here to pass up. Marshall has been fantastic at LSU with Chase out - which is more impressive with how bad LSU has been, and he’s got all the physical traits to be an elite WR. He rarely gets caught in press coverage and with his ball skills and frame, excels in contested catch situations. He’ll be a fantastic addition alongside Adams for the Packers offense, as someone who is good enough to be a WR#1 himself, someone who should be a complete mismatch going against CB2s.
30 - Kansas City Chiefs - Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama - The Chiefs overall have been elite once again this year, but there’s one clear flaw in their team, the run defense, which ranks in the bottom 5 in the league. Good thing Dylan Moses is available here. He’s an elite athlete with plenty of range and can hit like a truck. He also knows when to wrap up and is generally a sure tackler, which is a rather underappreciated trait. He does need to improve his ability to diagnose plays and shed blocks, but overall, he’s a force at ILB, and would greatly help out Chiefs ailing run defense.
31 - Carolina Panthers (via New Orleans Saints - sends 2.42, 4.106, 2022 3rd for 1.31) - Kyle Trask, QB, Florida - Teddy Bridgewater is a good stopgap, but the Panthers need a long term solution at QB if they dont want to waste CMC’s career. So, they trade up for Kyle Trask in a move reminiscent of the Ravens trade for Lamar Jackson in 2018 to secure the 5th year option. Trask is still very raw, but he’s been excellent at Florida, and has especially excellent in short routes and RPO plays. He’s also quite good at extending plays, and his ability to manipulate the defense with his eyes is very advanced. With CMC as a safety valve, Trask should be able to be a very nice fit for Joe Brady’s offense, which has excelled with Bridgewater and Burrow, both of whom are very accurate passers the same way Trask is.
32 - Pittsburgh Steelers - Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson - The Steelers dont have a ton of needs, and OT is probably the safest pick here, but James Conner is an FA after this year and there are questions if the Steelers should pay him big money. Travis Etienne is also the best RB in the class and easily BPA here. Etienne is an elite RB, who can break off huge chunks of yardage at a time and rip defenses apart with his burst. He’s also improved his catching ability to where he can be a every down RB. With Pittsburgh still a SB contender for the near future and possibly question marks on James Connor’s future, Etienne seems like a great fit here to both replace Connor’s production and keep Pittsburgh in title contention for the near future.