Tag: football

Player Profile: Ashton Jeanty

Hello everyone, sorry I was gone for a while. I am back to talk about one of my favorite running backs available in this upcoming draft. His name is Ashton Jeanty. He comes from Boise State, which is a football program out of the Mountain West Conference, a Group of Five school. The Group of five schools are mid-major schools that play Division One sports.

            Even though players from the Mountain West Conference do not get a lot of national recognition, Boise State did thanks to their dominant running back. Even though Ashton Jeanty stands at 5’8”, he is one of the most physical workhorse-type of running backs going into this draft. Even though he ran for over 2,600 yards this season, he did not run behind one of the best offensive lines in college football (unless you are talking about the right side of the offensive line, namely Daylon Metoyer and the center, Mason Randolph). Therefore, the production that he displayed for the Broncos this year showed his capabilities and why he was impressive to watch over the last two years.

            He came on the college football scene his sophomore year. That season was a breakout season for him, in that he was able to complement the dual passing attack that Boise State employed. That year, they had a quarterback, named Taylen Greene who was able to confuse defenders with his running ability. Jeanty complemented this with his specialties in the running game, and his workhorse ability. That season, Jeanty ran for over 1,300 yards. What should be considered is what he did in the passing game for that team. He had collegiate career highs in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

            So, as we look at his draft outlook, he is going to help teams in whatever way is needed based on the weekly opponent. He can be a receiving back out of the backfield, but he’s more known for his natural running ability. As we all know, a good running game comes from good O-line play. Even though, during his senior year Boise State dominated their opponents, it would be hard to judge fully how good of an O-line Jeanty played behind when schools at higher levels (ex: Penn State) are able to recruit higher-quality players. Even though the combine and his pro day already happened, teams should trust what they see on tape, and not get so caught up in metrics such as the 40-yard-dash.

            Therefore, as the draft is coming up, where should Jeanty go? I believe we could see him fall anywhere in the 1st round of the draft, between picks 12 and 22. The Dallas Cowboys (pick 12)  could use him to enhance their running back room. The Denver Broncos (pick 20) could definitely use him. Any team that has Sean Payton directing the offensive line is going to be able to run the ball at an effective pace. Lastly, the Los Angeles Chargers (pick 22) could use him too. Jeanty would face little competition in L.A. from Najee Harris and Kimani Vidal. Jim Harbaugh loves blue-chip players, and Ashton Jeanty is definitely that.

Free Agency Part I: QBs

Hello everybody, welcome back to the Offseason Journey!

As we track closer to Free Agency, it is important to look at each position in its collective. The QB position is one that will be followed the most. It is the most important position in all of sports. Most free agent quarterbacks are players who are not looked around the league as a top-15 quarterback, but someone who might be a bridge QB, or someone who can tutor a young QB if a team is looking to draft a QB on the second day, which is the 2nd and 3rd round of the draft.

            Geno Smith is a great example of this type of quarterback. Yet, if you have followed recent news around the league, Geno Smith is the next mid-level QB to join the Las Vegas Raiders. Ever since Derek Carr left the Raiders, the Raiders have been looking for their next QB. However, they have been waiting for the right guy. Time will tell when that said QB will come to fruition. Yet, it is more than likely that Smith went to the Raiders because of who coaches the Raiders, which is Pete Carroll. Pete Carroll was Smith’s first coach, and the two of them went to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to the 49ers.

            Anyways, let us take a free-agent preview of a few of free-agent QBs who are looking for their new home. In this section, we will look at Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Drew Lock.

Sam Darnold

            I have followed Sam Darnold’s career ever since he was the highly touted QB at USC. As people who have followed Sam Darnold would know, he led USC to a win in the Rose Bowl against James Franklin’s Penn State Nittany Lions. Then, he got drafted 3rd overall by the New York Jets, and has had a turbulent career to say the least.

All the hoopla around Sam Darnold has come from what he did with the Minnesota Vikings this previous year. He was signed to a 1-year, $10 million dollar contract. Then, because of an offseason injury to the guy who was looking to start the job, which was a rookie, Sam Darnold caught fire with an offensive head coach. Overall, they went 14-3 and ended their season losing a neutral playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams.

            In order to evaluate this player, it is important to understand how Darnold plays in the biggest of games. In the playoff game against the Rams, he is giving long glances to his receivers throughout the game. For example, look at the play that leads to the interception at the 3:10 mark of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSgFD4pwmMg

Darnold throws a pick to Coby Durant because he was deadlocking on Jordan Addison, and throws the ball inside, when the receiver runs an out route.

As you can see from this video, this game shows pros and cons for why Darnold should be signed for any team that is looking for a QB, such as the Seattle Seahawks, since they got rid of Geno Smith. Darnold is prone to be a risk-taker, which has been more of a problem for him, due to the high risk of him throwing an INT. Because of this, I believe it is a bad financial decision to sign him for a 3-year/$100-million-dollar contract. Yet, when he is given time, he can make good reads, and therefore get the ball to the playmakers.

            Even though people think he will go to Seattle, this would be a bad move for him due to Seattle having a defensive-leaning head coach, and the uncertainty of what the roster looks like around him. He needs great infrastructure around him in order to succeed. I would sign him for a 2-year/$50-million-dollar deal if I was a GM looking for a QB.

Justin Fields

            Justin Fields is your typical QB who had high hopes, but is quickly running out of time. It should not have to take much deductive reasoning to understand that Fields is not your long-term QB in any condition. He had an offensive head coach in Matt Nagy when he got drafted to Chicago, but Nagy got fired, and then he struggled with a defensive-leaning head coach, Matt Eberflus.

             He goes to Pittsburgh, and is quickly supplanted by a QB that will be discussed  Overall, I believe he will be signed as a backup somewhere, making $8 million for a year. This contract would be heavily incentive-laden.

Russell Wilson

            Once Russell Wilson started playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game against the New York Jets, he was able to quell most of the criticism that came from the way things ended when he was on his last stop in Denver. Though as the season got later, and the outside temperature got colder, his limitations (due to age and playing style) became exposed and created problems that brought them to their ultimate fate of being a fringe playoff team.

            If I were to predict his future in Pittsburgh, he likely has two more years left. Pittsburgh is likely not going to look for a QB in the draft or free agency, except for Wilson. Then next year, the Steelers could start looking for their QB of the future. I would expect that whatever contract Pittsburgh brass negotiates with him would front-load money on the contract for the first year, but put incentives on the back end, due to Wilson’s age and need to find a long-term solution at the position.

Drew Lock

            Drew Lock has been an interesting player in the league due to his small stature, and his rocky start in the league. He started 3-0 in Denver, but then had an acrimonious finish there, and got traded for Seattle for Russell Wilson. He had one great act in Seattle in a primetime win over a streaky Philadelphia Eagle team, and then left for the Giants, who have been chaotic ever since he got there.

            This QB is the definition of a free agent. I believe his two logical fits are the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants. Both these teams do not have a definite No. 1 at QB. I believe he would gladly take the 1-year/$10 Million dollar contract to compete for the starting job with either one. I think it would be better for him to go back to Seattle, because under Klint Kubiak, the new offensive coordinator, Drew Lock would be able to thrive in their offense,  because Klint Kubiak would be able to execute an offense around Lock’s capabilities. Drew Lock is a great athlete and can run the bootleg play-action plays, while also throwing the ball with good accuracy (around 60%).

            Alright, thanks guys for reading and let me know if you have any comments.