Las Vegas Sun Newspaper - Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 ...
Las Vegas Sun Newspaper - Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 ...
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Las Vegas Sun News - Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 winners ...
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2020 Westgate Las Vegas NFL SuperContest Player Picks and ...
Las Vegas Sun Newspaper - Vegas pick'em: NFL Week 4 ...
NFL WEEK 4: John Kryk’s straight-up picks and preview ...
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las vegas sun nfl picks week 4
las vegas sun nfl picks week 4 - win
RB Handcuff Lottery Week 1
RB Handcuff Lottery In Yahoo, NFL.com and Sleeper leagues you are able to drop players on your bench after they play their game (ESPN and Sleeper this doesn't work). This is a major cheat code advantage! that allows you to extend the number of players on your bench on a given week. The goal here is to pick up the most enticing RB handcuffs for each set of games (Thursday/Sun-AM/Sun-PM/Monday) and drop them if nothing happens to their corresponding starter and pick up the next lotto pick for the next set of games. Some people have a bench spot always dedicated to this each week. Or you can not draft or drop your kicker or DST and wait as long as you can to fill those positions in each week. You can also do this with breakout WTE candidates early in the season. Some starters and handcuffs are still up for debate, so use your judgement. Let me know if I made any big mistakes. Week 1 Thursday 09/10
After last season/the Bears loss/the Packers loss, it’s become clear to all of us that the 2020 Lions are a completely unsalvageable pit of despair from which there is no escape. Patricia should have been fired at the 50 yard line of Lambeau and then beheaded for his crimes against humanity. Quin should be exiled from the land by a pack of ravenous hounds that chase him back east across Lake Huron. Hopefully Stafford can catch a ride on a ship to the Undying Lands and get a fat contract from a QB-needy team before he retires. Killing Barry and Calvin AND Stafford is more than I can handle as a fan, let somebody be happy for the love of god. That said, what to do for the rest of the 2020 season? Time to pick a team to bandwagon! It’s important to pick a good bandwagon team now if you want to have a chance at riding another team’s coattails all the way to the playoffs. Let’s go through the list (by last week’s power ranking) and discuss. The Top 5 Here’s where you go for your best bet at sure-fire contenders. This section is for bandwagoners who want to see their team go to the Super Bowl in order to get some semblance of the shine of the Lombardi trophy on your face, even if you know in your heart you cheated to get there by becoming an imposter in the fanbase of a foreign team from foreign lands.
Chiefs – Last year’s super bowl winners with the new hotness Patrick Mahomes at QB and lovable BBQ-eating Andy Reid at HC, plus Travis Kelce. Historic underdogs finally having their moment in the sun is a perfect fit for a Lions fan to root for. This is bandwagoning on easy mode, the clear pick in my opinion. Number one in the rankings, number one in my cold dead 2020 heart.
Ravens – The only better pick than the Chiefs is the Ravens. Lamar Jackson playing QB is probably the most fun thing you can watch on television right now period. I bandwagoned the Ravens all through last season while dreaming that Stafford’s back healing up might make a difference in 2020 (oh how young and naïve I was) and it was a great time! They imploded a little bit in the playoffs but hey, this could be their year!
Seahawks – This is a nice pick for some history, familiarity, and stability. The Seahawks are always in it as long as they have Russ and Pete Carroll, and last night we watched them go 2-0 against the Pats in a serious nail-biter finish. You know you’re at least going on a deep playoff run if you bandwagon the Seahawks.
Saints – Watching Brees continue to cement himself as a top all-time QB, potentially in his final year, with an actual defense, Michael Thomas, and Kamara? It’s sure to be a fun ride! Plus, the Saints are another team that knows a lot about long droughts of success, hanging around the bottom of the league, kicked while they’re down, nobody ever believing in them. They’re soul mates in pain, and it’s fun to watch those teams succeed.
Packers – No. Never.
The Middle of the Pack So you’re not looking for a sure thing, you’re interested in a bumpier bandwagon ride. The middle of the pack of is for you! These teams will have ups and they’ll have downs, and if they make it to the Super Bowl, or even the deep playoffs, the victory will be all the sweeter.
49ers – After Sunday I believe every single player on the 49ers has a torn ACL or something like that, but hey, they made it to the SB last year and they could do it again! 49ers are historic and who doesn’t like to root for a classic franchise?
Bills – A true sister-ship team of the Lions. Forever frustrated and disappointed fans now getting their chance to root for a QB who throws over 400. I like Josh Allen because to hear his bio it really sounds like he just found himself in the NFL by accident and is somehow pulling it off. Plus now he’s got Stefon Diggs, who is no longer our divisional problem. Classic underdog pick, go Bills.
Steelers – Roethlisberger is back, JuJu is great, and the Steelers are always in it. If you want that authentic “we’re more blue collar than you” experience, Steelers are a solid pick. Bonus: revisit the days of Ebron and watch him brick-hand pass after pass, and feel some semblance of relief that out of all the problems the Lions have this year, he’s not one of them.
Titans – A great pick for the Lions fan who wants a long-shot with good odds. If Tannehill keeps his breakout alive and Derrick Henry keeps trucking people, they’re a tough team to stop. Plus now they have Clowney (how could Patricia not go after Clowney Jesus Christ are you kidding me he had a chance to grab an elite DE in free agency and shore up in pathetic pass rushers and we didn’t even hear about him trying to land him how fucking pathetic can you believe this guy… wait no don’t think about that!) Titans are a sleeper for the SB and I think they’ll continue to surprise everybody this year.
Patriots – No Brady, no problem. Patriots still look great as always, plus Cam Newton is way more fun to root for than Brady ever was. Watch Belichik potentially use his evil powers for good and get Cam a ring. Patriots can feel dirty to root for but it’s also like eating a whole chocolate cake after you’ve been on a years-long diet. Sometimes it feels good just to give in.
Rams – This is the team you want to root for if you’re a big NFL conspiracy theorist and think hidden capitalists are pulling the strings behind the scenes to rig games. “The NFL wants LA to succeed because it’s a huge and largely untapped market of a city. For that to work, either the Rams or the Chargers have to go deep every year until LA is turning out their pockets for that sweet football merch.” Maybe it’s true, maybe not, maybe who cares! Also a great team to watch if you want to see Aaron Donald wreck people every single play. Remember, Donald could have been ours but instead we drafted Ebron. I’m just kidding, I know you didn’t forget. How could you?
Cardinals – Kyler “Calamari” Murray, DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald pulling this team out of the depths and into something respectable would be a fun ride to watch. Another franchise with historic pain, a dark horse long-shot, it speaks to my Detroit-hardened heart.
Cowboys – Rooting Cowboys is like going after the dumb hot girl. She’s not going to amount to much but she sure does get a lot of attention. If you want to watch a lot of primetime games and hear about your bandwagon team in sports media constantly, may as well pick the Boys. Win, lose or draw, for some reason we all have to talk about them all the time. Also, it’s fun to root for Kellen Moore, and it’s fun to watch Zeke be a wrecking ball. Successful run game teams actually exist!
Vikings – Ew. I guess. Kirk Cousins can play football and Dalvin Cook is a running back. Riley Reiff used to live here. Kyle Rudolph has a fun name if you’re a big Christmas person. I don’t know. This seems like a pointless bandwagon unless you really like the color purple.
Buccaneers – Never count Brady out. Love him or hate him (hate him) Brady is historic and worth watching. If you want to watch Belichick-less Brady in his final year(s), reunited with Gronkowski, tearing up the ground with Fournette, this is a solid band wagon pick.
Texans – Another great fit for the Lions: watch an incredibly talented QB get hamstrung by his incompetent coaching staff and wasted in his scheme, all while his good-on-paper defense continues to let him down on the field. JJ Watt is still fun to watch, and moreso if you close your eyes and pretend is 2013 and we all still love him.
The Bottom Half Bandwagoning to win is for pussies, you’re here to bandwagon a team that is either an extra-super long-shot, or another team with no chance to pair with your Lions heartbreak. You sick son of a bitch, I respect it, but I don’t think it’s good for you.
Eagles – Good pick for It’s Always Sunny fans who want to root for Jim Schwartz.
Raiders – Cool uniforms, cool fans, another chance at an NFL conspiracy team due to the move to Vegas
Falcons – If you can’t watch Stafford succeed, you may as well watch his buddy Matt Ryan also not succeed.
Bears – Chicago is cool and nearby, and the Bears haven’t been successful in a long time, so it doesn’t feel completely gross. Any win they can get with Trubisky at the helm they damn sure deserve.
Chargers – Actually looked legit good against the Chiefs with their new QB Justin Herbert, plus you got Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram on defense. This is probably as far down the list as you can go and find an actual contender. This is your longest long shot for the true masochist who still wants hope involved.
Broncos – Good pick for big South Park fans. Also I guess if you’re still high on Von Miller.
Colts – Their colors are similar to ours and Indiana is pretty close. This strikes me as a particularly hopeless bandwagon pick, but they do have a running back, which could be fun to watch.
Jaguars – Minshew Mania makes this a solid pick. Plus it’s another cat team.
Washington – Chase Young, oh what could have been.
Lions – "Bandwagon? Bandwagon?! We don't need no stinking bandwagon!" Ride or die motherfucker, it's Lions Only for your fandom. You're a captain going down with the ship, you're gonna sit here and watch Patricia waste another year of Stafford's career, fail at the run game, fail to adjust, fail on defense, fail at everything all season long. Because when we go 0-16 again, you'll be able to look back and say you were there. You'll bear witness to our heroic Tank for Trevor Lawrence, and the pride that comes before the fall of the house of Quintricia. And when we see flashes of greatness from Stafford, 100 yard rushers from AD, interceptions from Okudah, and long-yard FGs from Prater, you'll be there to cheer on the Lions as always. Win or lose, rain or shine, Detroit vs. Everybody.
Bengals – Root for Joe Burrow. Plus it’s another cat team.
Panthers – Blue cat team.
Dolphins – Tank for Tua actually happened and honestly good for them. Plus a little dose of Fitzmagic in your life.
Giants – Daniel Jones is an Eli clone and honestly that kind of science should be studied. Might be worth checking out.
Browns – Great pick if you’re done with the Lions but don’t want to improve through bandwagoning in any way shape or form. A true historic and present lateral move, a decision forged in Midwest hopelessness and gallons of beer. Godspeed to anyone choosing to bandwagon the Browns this season.
Jets – The "just let the pain flow through me" option.
Comments analysis after 24 hours The names I'm seeing the most after 24 hours and 48 comments are Seattle, Buffalo, Arizona, and Chargers. So 3 outta 4 you guys are goddamn gluttons for punishment! Lions fans through and through, you won't even bandwagon a sure thing, it's gotta be a long-shot underdog story of a long-suffering franchise that MIGHT have some success this year. Goddamn, never change guys.
Back in the spring of 2016, I was in a really different place. I lived in Berkeley, California. Now I’m back in Massachusetts, but there are things I really miss about living out West. Primarily, I miss the pick-up basketball. I was playing three days a week at the University of California gym. The game was a real mix of dudes and got quite competitive. I remember being there one day when all the regulars were there. The 73-year-old gunner who you still had to check. The guy that always tried to fight me. The nice guy who let out that mean streak once in a while (Sup, Jake). The line of college kids who looked down on us older folk. Then a guy I hadn’t seen before arrived. And the whispers started. It was Cal alum Richard Rodgers. At that time, he was a tight end on the Green Bay Packers and had just caught a famous hail mary against the Lions. https://youtu.be/r0vVqStvh_8 His thighs were the size of my whole torso. This dude wasn’t trying to mess up his contract. So he simply hit 28 footer after 28 footer. The few times he did drive to the hole, it was clear he could do that any time he wanted. We did have some legit players too. Yet he was like Thanos in Infinity War, just banishing anyone who stepped to him. The combination of that story and a video I saw a few years later of Josh McCown, has always made me wonder just how good the average NFL player is at basketball. Their supreme athleticism automatically moves them into a higher class. Are they all skilled too? The video was of 35-year-old journeyman quarterback Josh McCown throwing down alley oops in a charity basketball game. I mean I expected that from Luke McCown, but not Josh. That’s a joke, I can’t tell the McCown’s apart. But that proves my case even more. I never viewed either brother as a special athlete in the context of those around them. (In doing research, it did turn out that Josh had a 38 inch vertical leap, but he was still 35 and over ten years into a career of getting treated like a tackling dummy.) You may have noticed that the name of this site is musicmoviesandhoops.com and not musicmovieshoopsandamericanfootball.edu. But the air is rapidly cooling down outside and the NBA doesn’t come back until December so I’m going to try an experiment. I am going to draft an NFL player onto every NFL team. To make it a little more fun, the NBA team must draft from the football team that plays in the same area. Let’s move East to West geographically. Boston Celtics - Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots I would love to see how his impeccable technique, athletic ability, and instincts translate to the NBA game. Would he and Marcus Smart be the Spider-Man pointing meme the kids talk about? Brooklyn Nets - They decline to take anyone from the New York Jets. New York Knicks - Daniel Jones, New York Giants I bet Danny Dimes can ball. Did you see how fast he was? No turf to trip him up on the court. Plus if he hits threes like he throws interceptions, he’ll be Kyle Korver. Philadelphia 76ers - Richard Rodgers, Philadelphia Eagles See the intro paragraph. I had to use GPS to try to drive around him. Washington Wizards - Antonio Gibson? Chase Young? What The Wizards would actually do is petition the committee—me—to allow them to snag Calais Campbell from the Baltimore Ravens. He’s 6’ 8” and there aren’t a ton of big men in terms of height available in the NFL. Toronto Raptors - Trent Murphy, Buffalo Bills They have to go south of the border because I’m not spending election night googling Canadian Football League players. Murphy is 6’6” with a 36” vertical leap so they snag some size to back up Siakam and Ibaka. Charlotte Hornets - Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers This guy can do it all. Run, catch, play baseball, be in GQ. And a few basketball highlights do exist on the internet. Including a sick windmill. So that one is a no brainer. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1167763250050090 Miami Heat - Devante Parker, Miami Dolphins Size, speed, and quickness. I don’t know if he can shoot, but the Heat have enough of that. I almost went with Ryan Fitzpatrick here simply for the comedic visual of him hanging out with Kelly Olynyk. Orlando Magic - They asked to choose Tampa over Jacksonville. Mike Evans already excels at boxing out in the end zone. However, I have to go with Shaq Barrett. He is the best Shaq in the NFL. That counts for a lot in this fake, one person draft. Atlanta Hawks - Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons I saw a clip where Boogie Cousins told Andre Drummond that the nastiest dunk he’s ever seen was courtesy of Julio Jones in a high school game. I mean, Boogie’s seen some dunks. So I sat up in my chair at that. Cleveland Cavaliers - Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns When someone is as dominant as Garrett can be in a sport filled with other dominant players, I have to pick him. Even if he sucks, I’d love to see it. Plus, didn’t he dunk on Mason Rudolph’s head last season? Oh, I read that wrong? Detroit Pistons - Calvin “Megatron” Johnson, Detroit Lions Yes, I know he’s retired, but admit it, you agreed before you realized that. Indiana Pacers - Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts The way he sees the field and reacts has to translate to the some form of hardwood instincts, right? I’ve also seen a video of him putting his elbow in the rim Vince Carter style. Close call over Mo Alie-Cox who actually did play at VCU. Memphis Grizzlies - They get to draft from the Tennessee Titans. Gotta go with Derrick Henry. If for no other reason than to track how many times he gets called for traveling. Additionally, I would like to see if Ja Morant rode on his back to games. Chicago Bulls - Jimmy Graham, Chicago Bears Tony Gonzales, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham. That’s the lineage of actual basketball players who transitioned to tight end in the NFL. I’m sure Jimmy can still ball a little. Milwaukee Bucks - Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers I just have a hunch that this guy can shoot. He’s a good athlete and some of that legendary accuracy has to crossover. Just spot up and Giannis will find you. If that doesn’t work, he’ll be designated to specifically throw Kevin Love style full court outlet passes. Minnesota Timberwolves - Eric Kendricks, Minnesota Vikings 38 inch vert can compensate for a smaller frame. The one drawback is whether this is a real person or not. Did I make him up? I’m doing 30 of these, I wouldn’t put it past me. Houston Rockets - Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans That man is a wizard. I would love to see him on a good team. If it takes a totally fictitious draft that can’t ever happen to see it, I’ll take it. Let’s pair him with Westbrook and Harden (or Westbrook and Embiid???) and see what happens. Dallas Mavericks - Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas Cowboys His name sounds like it fits right in with Doncic and Porzingis. That’s all. Oklahoma City Thunder - You should have had Russell Wilson! Still, I suppose by the arbitrary rules I made, I have to give you someone. So you get Patrick Mahomes. He can do everything else so I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he averaged 25 points a game. Denver Nuggets - Jeff Driskel, Denver Broncos I watched him play QB at Florida before he transferred to Louisiana Lafayette. He was not a good college QB. The fact that he has a career in the NFL flabbergasts me. So now I want to see if he’s bad at basketball, but he could also have a career in the NBA. Utah Jazz - Darren Waller, “Las Vegas” Raiders An absolute athletic force. He would fit well on the front line with Gobert. Like a bigger George Niang. As I said, 30 of them, they’re not all going to be gems. Phoenix Suns - DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals This dude can catch anything thrown his way. Could that also include lobs from Ricky Rubio? Isn’t it kind of trippy to think that Hopkins is significantly smaller than Booker? The scale of basketball to football players remains such a trip. Sacramento Kings - Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals I’ve got the other California teams all earmarked. Thus I’m going to break my own rules and stretch geography. The Sacramento Kings can have any Cincinnati Bengals player. They’re basically equivalent franchises from a success standpoint. I feel like Joe Burrow would walk in the Kings locker room and think he was the best player there. Los Angeles Lakers - Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams He is built like a freaking tank. His quickness is off the charts. His strength is monumental. Could he be a shorter Charles Barkley? I would love to see grown men bounce right off him as they try to back him down. Los Angeles Clippers - Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers The teams I chose for their LA counterparts was very intentional, in case you were wondering. For this pick, I gravitated towards an athletic freak who can do almost anything on the field. His combine numbers are nuts. Just turn him loose and see what happens. Golden State Warriors - Mike McGlinchey, San Franscisco 49ers I chose a 6’8” 315 lbs offensive lineman because really, the Warriors have the guards pretty well covered with the Splash Brothers coming back. Not to mention, I haven’t picked an offensive lineman yet and I thought it would be fun. Portland Trailblazers - D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks Metcalf is the most physically dominant wide receiver in the league. His combine numbers are unreal. He looks like a Marvel super hero and plays like one too, with moments like his now famous chase down against the Cardinals… He’d be a good fit alongside the elite skills of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Whew! I did it! 30 NFL players for 30 NBA teams. The only team not mentioned was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Did you know that Pittsburgh has three of the four major sports and it’s the only city where they all have the same color scheme? I would love to hear your thoughts. Who did I miss or who would you choose? Have a great day.
Here's your CHIBears 2020 off-season tracker thread, which will feature ongoing updates of team activities, player transactions, training camp, and more. Feel free to drop any major news you come across here and we'll add it below. Latest Update: September 9
Placed K Eddy Pineiro on IR, Signed DE Mario Edwards.
Signed to Practice Squad: QB Tyler Bray, RB Artavis Pierce, WR Rodeny Adams, WR Thomas Ives, WR Reggie Davis, TE Jesper Horsted, OL Badara Traore, OL Sam Mustipher, OL Lachavious Simmons, OL Jamon Brown, DT Abdullah Anderson, DE LaCale London, LB Rashad Smith, S Stephen Denmark, S Xavier Crawford, K Cairo Santos.
Released/Waived: QB Tyler Bray, RB Napoleon Maxwell, RB Artavis Pierce, WR Rodeny Adams, WR Thomas Ives, WR Reggie Davis, WR Alex Wesley, WR Ahmad Wagner, TE Jesper Horsted, OL Corey Levin, OL Dieter Eiselen, OL Badara Traore, OL Sam Mustipher, OL Lachavious Simmons, DL Lee Autry, DT Trevon McSwain, DT Abdullah Anderson, DE LaCale London, OLB Isaiah Irving, LB Rashad Smith, LB Ledarius Mack, LB Keandre Jones, CB Kevin Toliver, DB Stephen Denmark, S Xavier Crawford, K Cairo Santos.
QB Tyler Bray RB Artavis Pierce WR Rodeny Adams, WR Thomas Ives, WR Reggie Davis TE Jesper Horsted OL Badara Traore, OL Sam Mustipher, OL Lachavious Simmons, OL Jamon Brown DT Abdullah Anderson, DE LaCale London LB Rashad Smith S Stephen Denmark, S Xavier Crawford K Cairo Santos .
CHICAGO FREE AGENTS
Player
Pos
FA
Signed by
Contract
OFFENSE
TJ Clemmings
OT
UFA
Rashaad Coward
OL
ERFA
Chicago
$675k/1Y
Chase Daniel
QB
UFA
Detroit
$13M/3Y
JP Holtz
TE
ERFA
Chicago
$675k/1Y
Ted Larsen
OL
UFA
Cornelius Lucas
OT
UFA
Washington
$5.3M/2Y
Bradley Sowell
TE
UFA
DEFENSE
Deon Bush
S
UFA
Chicago
$1.4M/1Y
HaHa Clinton-Dix
S
UFA
Dallas
$4M/1Y
DeAndre Houston-Carson
S
UFA
Chicago
$840k/1Y
Isaiah Irving
OLB
RFA
Chicago
$850k/1Y
Nick Kwiatkoski
ILB
UFA
Las Vegas
$21M/3Y
Aaron Lynch
OLB
UFA
Retired
Sherrick McManis
S
UFA
Chicago
$888k/1Y
Kevin Pierre-Louis
LB
UFA
Washington
$3.45M/1Y
Roy Robertson-Harris
DE
RFA
Chicago
$3.26M/1Y
Brent Urban
DE
UFA
Chicago
$1M/1Y
Nick Williams
DT
UFA
Detroit
$10M/2Y
SPECIAL TEAMS
Patrick Scales
LS
UFA
Chicago
$1M/1Y
PLAYER TRANSACTIONS
Player
Pos
Action
Notes
OFFENSE
Ben Braunecker
TE
Released
$800k Cleared
Tyler Bray
QB
Signed
$795/1Y
Trey Burton
TE
Released
$2.8M Cleared
Nick Foles
QB
Traded a
2020 4th
Ted Ginn Jr
WR
Signed
$888k/1Y
Jimmy Graham
TE
Signed
$16M/2Y
Demetrius Harris
TE
Signed
$1.65M/1Y
Germain Ifedi
OL
Signed
$888k/1Y
Kyle Long
G
Retired
$9.6M Cleared
Taylor Gabriel
WR
Released
$4.5M Cleared
Adam Shaheen
TE
Traded for
2021 7th
Jason Spriggs
T
Signed
$825/k1Y
Cody Whitehair
C
Restructured
$3.2M Cleared
DEFENSE
Prince Amukamara
CB
Released
$9M Cleared
Devante Bond
OLB
Signed
$735k/1Y
Artie Burns
CB
Signed
$1M/1Y
Leonard Floyd
OLB
Released
$13.2M Cleared
Tashaun Gipson
S
Signed
$1.05M/1Y
Eddie Goldman
NT
Opt-Out
$4.85M Credit
John Jenkins
DT
Signed
$800k1Y
Jordan Lucas
SS
Signed
$1M/1Y
Jordan Lucas
SS
Opt-Out
$1M Credit
Barkevious Mingo
OLB
Signed
$1.2M/1Y
Robert Quinn
OLB
Signed
$70M/5Y
Tre Roberson
CB
Signed
$1.3M/2Y
Josh Simmons
CB
Waived
Danny Trevathan
ILB
Extended
$24M/3Y
SPECIAL TEAMS
Cairo Santos
K
Signed
1Y
Estimated current cap space for 2020 per Spotrac: $17,982,831 Projected 2021 Compensatory Picks per OverTheCap:
6th Round for Nick Williams
6th Round for Chase Daniel
6th Round for HaHa Clinton-Dix
7th Round for Kevin Pierre-Louis
7th Round for Cornelius Lucas
.
DRAFT PICKS
Round
Pick
Overall
Player
Pos
School
1
[1]
19
2
11[1]
43
Cole Kmet
TE
Notre Dame
2
18
50
Jaylon Johnson
CB
Utah
3
[1]
81
4
[2]
125
4
[3][5]
140
5
[6]
155
Trevis Gipson
EDGE
Tulsa
5
17
163
Kindle Vindor
CB
Georgia Southern
5
[7]
173
Darnell Mooney
WR
Tulane
6
[7]
196
6
[4][7]
200
7
12[1]
226
Arlington Hambright
OL
CU
7
13[7]
227
Lachavious Simmons
OL
Tenn St
7
[7]
233
[1] - Chicago trades 2019 pick 1.24, 2019 pick 6.196, 2020 pick 1.19, 2020 pick 3.81 to Las Vegas for 2020 pick 2.43, conditional 2020 7th round pick 7.116, and OLB Khalil Mack [2] - Chicago trades 2019 picks 3.87 and 5.162 and a 2020 pick 4.125 to New England for 2019 picks 3.73 and 6.205 [3] - Compensatory Pick for Adrian Amos [4] - Chicago trades Jordan Howard to Philadelphia for conditional 2020 pick 6.200 [5] - Chicago trades compensatory 2020 pick 4.140 to Jacksonville for Nick Foles [6] - Chicago trades 2021 4th round pick to Minnesota for 2020 pick 5.155 [7] - Chicago trades 2020 picks 6.196, 6.200, and 7.233 to Philadelphia for 2020 picks 5.173 and 7.227
UDFAs Signed
OLB LaCale London, WIU
OL Dieter J. Eiselen, Yale
OT Badara Traore, LSU
LB Rashad Smith, FAU
RB Artavis Pierce, Ore St
DE Ledarius Mack, Buffalo
DL Trevon McSwain, Duke
WR Ahmad Wagner, Kentucky
RB Napoleon Maxwell, FIU
LB Keandre Jones, Maryland
DL Lee Autry, Miss St
.
Draftee Visits / Workouts / Interviews
Taken mostly from walterfootball.com SR - Senior Bowl meeting. EW - East-West Shrine meeting. COM - Combine meeting. INT - Interested. VINT - Very Interested. PRO - Pro Day or campus meeting/workout. LOC - Local visit. Prospect making a local visit. PRI - Private visit. Prospect making an official 30 visit. WOR - Private Workout. Members of an organization working out a player in private. STM - Some Type of Meeting. % - indicates more than one meeting at an event. ^ - has met with team at more than one event. # - indicates meeting set up outside of the 2020 Senior Bowl or the 2020 East-West Shrine Game OFFENSE Jet Anderson, RB, TCU (COM) Ben Bartch, G, St. John's (COM) Gabriel Davis, WR, Central Florida (COM) Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia (COM) Charlie Heck, OT, North Carolina (COM) Matt Hennessy, C, Temple (COM) Brycen Hopkins, TE, Purdue (COM Jason Huntley, RB, New Mexico State (PRO) Cordel Iwuagwu, OG, TCU (EW) Van Jefferson, WR, Florida (COM) Jauan Jennings, WR, Tennessee (SR) Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor (STM) Joe Reed, WR, Virginia (EW) Logan Stenberg, G, Kentucky (COM) Binjimen Victor, WR, Ohio State (EW) DEFENSE Bradley Anae, DE/3-4OLB, Utah (COM) Antoine Brooks Jr., S, Maryland (SR) K'Lavon Chaisson, DE/OLB, LSU (COM) Rodney Clemons, S, SMU (EW) Jeremiah Dinson, S, Auburn (EW) Trevis Gipson, DE, Tulsa (SR) A.J. Green, CB, Oklahoma State (SR) Michael Pinckney, OLB, Miami (EW) Curtis Weaver, EDGE, Boise St (WOR) Logan Wilson, ILB, Wyoming (SR) SPECIAL TEAMS Rodrigo Blankenship, K, Georgia (SR) Blake Ferguson, LS, LSU (SR) Braden Mann, P, Texas A&M (SR)
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Reminiscing on Eleven Years of Lifting, Part Two: The Intermediate Period
This will be a continuation of Personal Experiences Part One. Here, I’ll discuss the time period from 2011 to 2016, which roughly covers my progression from an early to a late intermediate. Though I wasn’t as hilariously dumb here as I was when I was a beginner, I still did plenty of stupid shit that I eventually learned from. I invite you to learn from my mistakes so that your own journeys are smoother. Take what you will at your own peril. I do not condone in any way, shape, or form the use of any performance-enhancing drugs and regret the decisions I made regarding those. If I knew what I know now, I would not have used them at all. Nothing in here should be construed as any sort of medical advice. As always, caveat emptor. Los Campeones Like The Gym, Los Campeones was an independent gym with a rich history. It was well-known as a bodybuilding gym, and in my time there it would produce numerous IFBB pros and a Mr. Olympia competitor. It was suited, both in equipment and in atmosphere, for any serious lifter, and for the past nine years I have trained there I have met and trained alongside high level competitors from every strength sport. This allowed me to gain insight into different training methodologies, to integrate new ideas into my understanding of lifting, and to refine and adapt my methods over time. Though I have primarily focused on powerlifting, the press, the front squat, and other “big lifts,” I have only benefitted from learning about and experimenting with methods used in bodybuilding, strongman, and weightlifting. It has also kept me humble. Even when I felt that I was starting to get “good,” there were always guys around me who were a lot better. I never had to worry about becoming the biggest fish in the pond. Lesson learned: If you can surround yourself with seasoned, accomplished lifters, even if they train for a different strength sport, do so. Don’t lift at a gym where you are the best. I was still plateauing in a big way, but the squat was the most infuriating. 405 kept eluding me even though I could do 385x5. I had been missing it for months at that point. It was absolutely a mental block. Finally, I got sick of that shit, borrowed a pair of knee wraps, had someone wrap me because I didn’t know how to, and got it. It was such a relief. Soon, I started making progress again, not only with the squat but with other lifts. Lesson learned: If you keep repeatedly missing a lift, particularly a “milestone” number, and it’s getting into your head, do what you need to do to make it for the first time. It doesn’t matter if it ends up being a high squat or a bouncy bench or a push press. Just get it. The California adventure Soon after I turned 21, I hit a quarter-life crisis. I was very burned out with school and I really wanted to spend some time living in a warmer climate. Like most people my age, I had been in the educational system my entire life and I needed to have a different experience. I asked myself, “what is the exact opposite of what I’m doing now?” The answer was sudden and simple: “Working on a farm.” I didn’t know shit about farming, but I went online and looked up organic farms in northern California. After making a few phone calls, I found one near Brentwood that was willing to take a laborer for a while. There was also a sports training facility within a twenty-minute drive that I figured would be sufficient for my lifting needs. I finished out my semester, took a leave of absence, and in October of 2011 packed what I could fit into my car and drove out West. All I wanted from life was to do work that was visceral rather than intellectual for once, to lift, and to grow as a person. The farm was a beautiful plot of land surrounded by eucalyptus trees that shaded it from the sun and the wind that blew down the highway. I moved into a trailer that was about 275 square feet. It was plenty. The water was heated by a propane tank, which meant that I had about three minutes of hot water at a time to shower. The trailer wasn’t connected to a sewer or a septic tank, so I used the porta-potty outside. There was another trailer next to mine, where a Mexican couple that worked on the farm lived. Roosters woke me in the morning, and every night I fell asleep to the sound of rustling leaves. I was the only white guy among the crew, and I quickly remembered and expanded upon all the Spanish I had learned in high school. The workers took me in and helped me out a lot, because, having had no exposure to manual labor, there was so much that I didn’t know how to do. I couldn’t even dig a hole in the ground correctly at first. For the six months that I was there, I lived a simple life. I worked, returned to the trailer to eat and rest, and then I went to the gym if it was a lifting day. With the time I had left in the day, I read and wrote, and sometimes I just sat in silence with my thoughts. Once or twice a week I went into town to do my shopping and laundry. Initially, lifting after working a physical job all day was very humbling. I had to really reduce my volume and often my intensity. Still, I hadn’t yet learned (and wouldn’t learn for a long time) to leave a shitty gym day at the gym. This would come to ultimately detract from my experience, but I can only understand that now, having finally learned that skill. Lesson learned: It’s OK and often necessary to let lifting take a backseat during a time of intense personal growth and new experience. If you can’t do that, you need to change your relationship with it. Lesson two: Adjust your training accordingly if you are doing a lot of other physical activity, especially as you’re acclimating. The gym I joined was called Trucks Training, and it was owned by a former NFL player. Most of the people there were high school and collegiate athletes. It was a good gym with a free weight area, a large turf room, and plenty of conditioning equipment. For the most part, I kept to myself, because I was in my head so much, but the training environment was good and energetic, and it was easy to feed off the atmosphere there even when I was tired from work. It took about a couple months to acclimate to the manual labor, and then my lifts started going up. The deadlift improved the most, which makes sense in retrospect, considering that the physical work probably strengthened my back. I learned the hook grip, and sometime in early 2012 pulled 500 for the first time. I will never forget that lift. I can’t remember my first 585 or 675, but I remember that 500. I think I hit my biggest vertical jump after it, too. This time, I strutted around the gym with slightly more respectable lats. My other lifts went up by about 20 pounds each, so that I had around a 425 squat, a 275 bench, and a 500 deadlift. I can’t remember exactly what I was pressing, but I think it was 210. I do remember push pressing 225 for a set of 5. Oddly enough, I can’t remember much about HOW I was training, only the results, and I no longer have my training logs. Most likely I was using a similar method as before-train a lift and relevant assistance work, with four training days a week on average. I was starting to play around with bands and chains but had no idea what I was doing and would eventually scrap that idea. On some of my off days, I went to the log pile on the property and pressed or threw whatever I could get my hands on. My weight was consistently between the mid 160s and 170. I wanted to get bigger, but I hadn’t yet discovered the necessary strategies for taking my caloric consumption to the next level. Around 4000-4500 calories a day was the most I could handle, which ended up being around maintenance given how much physical activity I was doing. However, I was in the best shape of my life then. I could not have been above 10% bodyfat and I felt fantastic. During this time, I distinctly remember that my “frame” got bigger. My shoulders got broader, my wrists got thicker, and I think I grew an inch. This isn’t unusual, but to see it happen to myself was cool. Six months flew by. Initially, I had planned to stay for a year or two, but I felt refreshed and ready to finish college. I had taken what I needed from the experience and my mind was no longer cluttered. Though I didn’t know exactly what I wanted out of life yet, I felt that I had acquired the necessary psychological tools to get whatever I would decide upon. I had planted trees in the rain, picked tomatoes from vines so thick you couldn’t see through them, utterly emptied my mind while stirring a vat of rainwater, sandstone, and cow shit with a shovel for days on end, listened to the wind in total darkness until I started to hallucinate words, had an intense, meaningful connection, and created my first written works that I was proud of. It was a complete experience; there’s no other way to describe it. I loaded my things into my beat-up old Camry, noticing that somehow I was coming back with less than I had arrived with, and took the long way home through southern California, the Southwest (where I had stopped in Las Vegas for half a day to train at Average Broz gym because I’d always wanted to meet Pat Mendes), and north through Texas, arriving back in Minnesota on my 22nd birthday in March. Lesson learned: Have a “complete” experience at least once in your life. It will be unforgettable, and you will carry it with you forever. A switch is flipped When I came back, I immediately did two things: I registered for summer semester classes and I signed up for Los Campeones again. My life quickly returned to its baseline of working and lifting, but I did have some other hobbies now. I still wrote, I spent time in nature, and I developed more of a social life. However, lifting was still what I thought about most. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I got that I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I became fixated on the idea of becoming brutally, inhumanly strong. It wasn’t enough for me to “be strong for my weight” anymore. When you start out weak, strength is the ultimate prize. When you get a taste of it, you want more. I have an addictive personality and I have always had tunnel-vision focus on whatever my main interest was at the time. It’s a volatile combination, especially if you don’t know how to check yourself and analyze whether the pursuit you’re focused on has destructive potential. I didn’t develop this ability until much later, and I thought it was totally normal for a pursuit to define me as a person and my life in entirety. Lesson learned eventually: You MUST exist outside of lifting or whatever other pursuit you’re intensely focused upon. My mind’s eye turned towards the missing link: getting bigger. I knew I would have to put on a significant amount of weight to hit truly big numbers. To get there, I needed new psychological skills. Now, as interesting as it would be to write about them in detail, I’m not going to do so, because using them ultimately contributed to me getting a distorted body image and health problems associated with gaining a lot of weight quickly, both of which took a long time to improve. Again, I accept responsibility for everything and understand that my tunnel vision focus had a lot to do with it, but I don’t want to open that can of worms and contribute to someone else having those same problems. If you choose to develop such skills, do so at your own risk. In any case, I started to put on weight extremely fast. Initially, my average was at least two pounds a week. I didn’t care that this was a total “dreamer bulk,” I just wanted to get fucking huge. This weight gain was linear except for occasional plateaus that never lasted more than two or three weeks. Within a few months I was past 200 lbs, and my lifts blew up. I hit a 500 squat, a 335 bench, and a 535 deadlift. My press was around 235 and I hit a 405 front squat. I trained with my usual approach of focusing on one lift per session and doing relevant assistance work. Also, I ran a modified version of Smolov for front squats, which led me to the squat PRs above. I did a couple meets during this time and totaled 1272 at 201, as well as a strongman show as a middleweight (where I placed very poorly because of my now shitty conditioning), after which I stopped competing. Meet prep always stressed me out and made lifting lose its “release” factor for me, which has always been a major reason I trained in the first place. Lesson learned: Linear progression gets a lot easier when you’re gaining weight. I was rapidly becoming a fat shit, but I didn’t care. Within about nine months of starting this, I weighed 220. I didn’t do cardio at all, other than walking around campus from class to class. I completely lost all the work capacity I had developed on the farm, and I looked like garbage. Going up stairs made me out of breath, and while I knew this shouldn’t have been happening, I didn’t do anything differently. I got so fat that I couldn’t even wear my belt anymore, and instead of buying another one I decided to go without. My lifts took a hit initially, but soon returned to where they were and kept climbing. With nothing to push against, I had to really improve my bracing. Soon, wearing a belt began to feel foreign, like I couldn’t fully expand my abdomen and breathe correctly, and I ditched it permanently. I graduated undergrad at age 23, weighing 230 at 5’7, with my best lifts being 525/350/565 as well as a 250 press and 435 front squat. The deadlift was conventional, and I wouldn’t switch to sumo for some time. Looking back at everything, I didn’t gain much strength from gaining those last 15-20 pounds. I just got fatter. Also, my technique on bench and deadlift was still terrible, but I didn’t know enough and had too much ego to deconstruct those lifts and make the necessary changes. This wouldn’t come until much later. Lesson learned: Don’t turn into a fat, prideful meathead who can barely climb a flight of stairs. Natty no more At this point, I felt that I had “maxed out my natural gains.” After all, I had lifted seriously for four years, I was decently strong, and I was big. I knew that I wasn’t going to put on more mass naturally, and my lifts were starting to stall again. The correct thing to do would have been to recomp from 30% bodyfat down to 15%, improve my technique, increase my work capacity, and do more bodybuilding stuff. But that would have taken a lot of time, planning, and effort, and a lot of guys I knew were getting into gear. I figured it was my turn. Over the next seven months, I ran my first two cycles. Both were only test, and they were spaced about two months apart. During the first one, I recomped a bit and put on about five more pounds, which brought me to my heaviest weight of 235. I didn’t get much stronger, though, and I didn’t hit any PRs. I hated how I felt on it, physically and mentally, but it didn’t matter, because I just wanted to keep pushing and exceeding my potential. The second time around, I added about 20 pounds to all my lifts. Again, I could tell that my physical and mental health were suffering, but I only cared about the numbers. That’s what happens when you lift from a place of self-loathing. You make yourself worthless in your mind’s eye so that the only way to redeem yourself, if only for a moment, is to add more weight to the bar. Lesson learned: Don’t be a fat, prideful meathead on steroids who lifts to suppress your existential dread and self-loathing. There are many paths to happiness. This isn’t one. Recalibrating myself and the home gym era Towards the end of that second cycle, I was exploring options for what compounds to use next when I got sick with the flu and couldn’t train for two weeks. This was the first time in over four years that I was forced to take time off. I had a lot of time to think, and I was uncomfortable with the thoughts that came to me. I felt that without training, I had ceased to exist. The erosion of myself outside of lifting was profound, and I couldn’t convince myself it was worth it. People around me were going to grad school or entering meaningful careers, traveling, experiencing life, and what was I doing? I was lifting and working a dead-end job. I hadn’t changed at all for years. I wasn’t even present in my own life. I realized I couldn’t keep stunting my personal growth, and I vowed to change my relationship with lifting. It couldn’t be my first priority anymore. I took a personal inventory, setting my ego aside to the best of my ability, and identified where I was lagging. The list was humbling. Most importantly, I understood that training the way I had been and basing all of my decisions on the impact they might have had on my lifting was completely incompatible with improving all the other domains of my life. I didn’t want to stop lifting, but I wanted it to add to my personal development and to be a healthy outlet. Soon, I managed to find a more satisfying job and I started to explore options for grad school. Physical therapy seemed to be a good fit, but I needed to get a few prerequisites out of the way first. I got to work on those and prepared to apply. In the meantime, I purchased a basic home gym setup-a bar, about 400 lbs of weights, and a rack from Sears-and put it all in my bedroom. I could literally roll out of bed and step inside the rack. Though I maintained my membership at Los Campeones, having this equipment around allowed me to have exactly the kinds of workouts I wanted to focus on at the time. My training sessions, for the most part, were done in under an hour. I focused on the press and the front squat primarily and did rows, pull ups, floor presses, and blast strap fall-outs as my assistance lifts. When I went to Los Campeones, which was about once a week, I would do a longer session, which was usually a deadlift workout, and I did a lot of assistance with equipment that I didn’t have access to at home. Gradually, my weight went down to just over 200, and I felt a lot better. I wasn’t out of breath anymore, I looked lean again, and I had more energy. Most importantly, I finally learned how to leave the gym at the gym. I could do a workout and not think about it after. For a while, I was just maintaining my strength, and I was fine with that. My press kept creeping up, which I attribute to finally solidifying my technique and introducing the volume and density method, and I hit a 265 single at 202 in my home gym. I made the switch to sumo for my main pulling style, and after several months passed the 600 mark, with 635 falling soon after. Here, I understood that I had plenty of “natty gains” left to make in all the lifts, as I hadn’t touched gear since that massive life realization. I met my current training partner and best friend at the gym during this time, which was by far the most important gain I’ve made. My back squat and bench didn’t move because I hardly trained them at all, but that was okay. I was happy that I had gotten healthier and was still able to progress some lifts. Lesson learned: Counterintuitively, changing from a meathead to a more “balanced” person can actually improve your lifting. A year and a half had passed like this. It was 2016, and life was good. I completed my prerequisites for physical therapy school, applied, got in, and would start in the fall. Best of all, the school I had gotten into was literally a three-minute drive from Los Campeones. For the first time, I could visualize my future with some clarity, and though I knew there was much challenge ahead, the end would be worth it. I had no idea exactly what was coming for me. To be continued...
u/letmeassumeurgender's 1rd with trades and a 1st pick twist
I have one big twist in my mock. Just kind of a for fun, quarantine fueled, project a blend of weird twists but mostly what I would do. Also, my first mock so I'd love to hear where I'm way off. Edit: missed the bills trading the vikings their 1st. Need a vikes fan to tell me who they would want there. Edit 2: adjusted CIN-CAR trade to remove cin 2nd Also important note this mocks motivation is WHAT IF the Bengals don’t see Burrow as their FQB. (CAR sends C. McCafferey + Pick 7 + 2021 1st to CIN for Pick 1)
Carolina Panthers – Joe Burreaux QB LSU
Panthers jump up to grab their OC’s man as they look to continue what was fairytale level of performance at LSU. In the process all they have to do is give up a RB (albeit a MVP caliber one) before his next contract. A tough pill to swallow for a team losing its two faces (Cam) this offseason, but imo the right move. They lose a first next year but gain the first pick of the second round this year. The new regime starts out bold. The Bengals fans leave equally disappointed, but add an exciting piece that the fanbase needs and honestly deserves. Of course the real motivation here is not acquiring Mixon a running mate. The Bengals had entirely too long to overthink Burrow and fear the single year of success. Questioning everything from talent around him to arm strength and even age, they opt for the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes the guy they’ve really been drooling over since last year. They pick up a mid-range 1st next year as tank insurance.
Washington Redskin Potatoes – Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama
Yeah, Chase Young is cool, but… take it from the OSU alum who ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte before turning around and seeing the man in the campus Starbucks line behind you was Chase Young. Yeah they called my name out and screamed Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte for Cole, to which I put my head down in shame shuffled pass the behemoth of a man to grab my drink and go. Oh, I’m also a Browns fan. I remember when we only won one game and earned the right to Myles “The Assailant” Garrett. We grabbed a DE who is pretty freaking awesome (No, you can’t have him) and proceeded to win 0 games. Then Baker and all of sudden people spoke the dreaded p word. The QB position matters infinitely more. I remember screaming at Buffalo Wild Wing’s DON’T TAKE WATSON TAKE GARRETT to the screen. Yeah, they should’ve taken Watson. Anyways, Tua. He can play, he’s shown that. Maybe they can shake a 2nd out of the Pats for Haskins?
Detroit Lions – Chase Young DE tOSU
Matt Patricia really struggles to make this pick. Chase Young has everything… almost. He just lacks that pedigree that the Lions are looking for. Sure OSU is an okay school and has produced a few okay DE’s, but Chase Young has never played for the Patriots, regardless they suck it up and take him. He truly is the best player available and fits the need well. Since the draft will be silent because of Covid-19 you won’t hear any Lions fans cheering when the redskins draft Tua, but there will be some rocking living rooms in Detroit as the TTUN fans take Chase Young to the dark side. (LAC send Pick 6 + Pick 37 to NYG for Pick 4)
Los Angeles Chargers – Justin Herbert QB Oregon
Apparently the Chargers like Herbert. The current plan in my estimation is Tyrod for 2.5 weeks and then Herbert leads them to a TNF second half comeback vs. the Jets. Sounds oddly familiar for some reason. Not much explaining to do here. They have to jump Miami to ensure they get their guy. The Chargers need a QB much more than they need Isiah Simmons despite how freaking awesome that D would be. ;) Giants take the slight overpay and move back what amounts to one pick since they know exactly who the Chargers are taking. (ARI sends Pick 8 + 2021 2nd to MIA for Pick 5)
Arizona Cardinals – Jedrick Wills OT Alabama
Arizona knows they need to give Kyler a bit more time to throw to that one guy they tricked BoB into trading away. They jump over the Giants to get the best lineman in this draft. Not only is Wills the best lineman in this class, he is also very young. The only somewhat negative you can say about the kid is that he is a RT (even though he could probably learn LT). That will be just fine for AZ. Miami is reeling at this point. They take future assets as it looks like the plan is being pushed back a year. Unfortunately after FA and Flores being the worst coach (for a tank) I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure this team is bad enough to compete for Trevor or Justin.
New York Giants – Andrew Thomas OT Georgia
I hate this pick. As a Browns fan I despise this pick. As much as I’d love to see Gettleman go BPA and take Okudah or Simmons, he knows what he has in Daniel Jones. He also knows his job depends on Daniel considering that was HIS GUY. As a result this move is all about setting Daniel up for success with some quality protection. I really, really hope he fools himself into thinking Becton is the choice, but he won’t. This is the right move.
Cincinnati Bengals – Tristan Wirfs OT Iowa
The Bengals need O-line help. They are doing things in reverse order from the Giants. The goal here is ensure the line can protect their guy immediately and avoid dropping a prized pony into a bad spot for the first time in their career. I’m looking at you Clemson and OSU lineman. We’ve seen what bad lines can do to young QB’s who have always had good ones *cough* Baker *cough* The Bengals avoid letting those bad habits develop for their Star next year. For bonus, it gives the team an insane rushing attack with a good line, McCafferey, and Mixon. (NYJ send Pick 11 and a 2021 2nd to MIA for pick 8)
New York Jets – Mekhi Becton OT Louisville
After seeing three tackles go already, the Jets get desperate to jump the Browns and get some much needed line help for Darnold. They overpay slightly, but they know it’s the only shot to get a tackle as Becton is the only blue chipper left. An absolute beast of potential. Hope it works out for the Jets. I think Jets fans should be cautiously optimistic here. The Dolphins will eventually pick a player I promise, but at this point the GM has walked backwards into a surplus of assets. The Dolphins are smart enough to realize they can get a free second and still get one of Okudah, Simmons, Jeudy or Lamb.
London Jaguars – Jeffrey Okudah CB tOSU
And with the quickest selection in NFL draft history the Jags take their heir to Ramsey. Can’t get any easier than this. With the defensive exodus the Jags need to bring in some more players on that side of the ball. Okudah is BPA which I think the Jags will stick to fairly strictly. If not they could grab a Jeudy/Lamb and try to build around some mania.
Cleveland Browns – Isaiah Simmons LB Clemson
This is generally the pick for those few freaks at browns who think the Browns should do something other than get a tackle. Now that makes sense. The Browns need S/LB help more than anything besides OT of course. Here comes a beast of a player who falls into their lap. Rejoice Browns fans! Right? No, I said this about the Peppers pick the SS/LB hybrid this high is a huge waste of an asset. Granted Simmons is a much better player than the spicy boy was. I guess the Browns can hope for a Derwin James here, and I hope that I get a raise tomorrow for doing such a good job staying at home. Personally I wanted Okudah a lot more even think the Browns have two great/good young CBs. I just see a ceiling of Ramsey+Bouye+Chris Harris Jr. out of Okudah+Williams+Ward. Sour grapes because 9 is the absolute floor for Okudah. Anyways back to this Browns’ nightmare draft.
Miami Dolphins – Jerry Jeudy WR Alabama
The Dolphins picked a player! They get their guy out of Bama. Oh wait, they get their other guy out of Bama. Jeudy will serve to be a fantastic partner for Parker who decided he wanted to not be bad recently. Again this team is about to add some real weapons/depth and get its next QB off to a running start. (I know it’s not Tua but Jeudy and 2 2nds next year is pretty cool)
Las Vegas Raiders – CeeDee Lamb WR Oklahoma
Are Raiders fans sick of seeing this pick? Or do they just get a little more excited each time they realize this is DEFINITELY going to happen. The Raiders can’t roll out their team with no WR1 (or really even WR2) again. Thanks AB. Gruden will love this dude. He is a beast of a weapon and should make Carr look like a player who belongs starting in the NFL again. Need I say more? Get excited Raiders fans.
San Francisco 49ers – Henry Ruggs III WR Alabama
This team is obviously not far off at all. It kinda makes me mad that they are picking here after the newfound disgust I have for them after that embarrassment of a game vs. the Browns. Did you know you can re-watch that game for free right now? YOU CAN. I think I’d sooner buy that produce that was definitely touched by at least 100 people in the grocery store before me. Anyways they have a nice little luxury pick here. What team doesn’t want an explosive weapon to open up their offense to another degree? Think of all the speed on this team and think of how tough it’d be to stop the run and protect the middle from Kittle with this freaking little bugger on the outside zooming past everyone? Gross. Don’t think Tyreek and Chiefs here, think Brown and the Ravens. I think that’s a bit closer, regardless great pick.
Tampa Bay Super Bowl Championeers – Joshua Jones OT Houston
Tom Brady is old. Tom Brady is not going to avoid pressure all that well. Jones is an accomplished blocker especially in pass sets. Let’s be honest, we know they want to throw the ball this year. They won’t do anything dumb like draft a RB here. They can just sign Gordon or if the sun decides to shine on Cleveland sign Hunt away from us for a second. Brady will need the time to throw to his mouth-watering duo of WRs and Joshua will help them get that. Also side note, Bucs what’re you doing?! sign back Perriman! (DAL sends Pick 17 and 2021 3rd to DEN for pick 15)
Dallas Cowboys – CJ Henderson CB Florida
Cowboys hop Atlanta for who they believe is the best DB available. CB is more valuable than safety. Also I don’t think they will go Chaisson. I think the draft community thinks a bit too much of him. Now back to Henderson. I’ve seen a lot of people who really don’t want to see him go to their team. Not sure why. Love the kid, great man coverage abilities. I view him similar to a Greedy Williams with less red flags.
Atlanta Falcons – Kristian Fulton CB LSU
Such an all-around player. The Falcons do get hopped for a CB but I’m sure they can live with an extremely consistent player. He just doesn’t scream all-pro potential but it’s the middle of the first you’re looking for starters who can reach a pro bowl or two and this kid is that. Falcons need to get better on the back end if they want to compete in their division, which I can’t wait to watch.
Denver Broncos – Jalen Reagor WR TCU
I’d wager a guess the Broncos wanted Ruggs fairly badly. I still think they go with WR and Reagor is a solid player. It is interesting to think how we might view the two prospects if we could see Ruggs in TCU’s situation and Reagor in Alabama’s system. I think we’d all be a bit higher on Reagor. This pick still scares me with all the unknown. The Broncos are undaunted and roll the dice on a talented player.
Miami Dolphins – Xavier McKinney S Alabama
Remember when the Dolphins traded Minkah away? Their pass defense remembers. Miami gets a second versatile defender to add to an interesting secondary. Xavier is a safety, not exactly a value position but I’d be surprised to see them add more to the D-line this early in the draft after that FA class. The O-line pool is looking a bit dry, and I don’t think theyre bold enough to double dip on WR here. McKinney will do whatever Flores tasks him to do and he will do it well. I love the player just not the positional value.
Las Vegas Raiders – Derrick Brown DI Auburn
I’m sure Gruden is loving the way the draft is falling for him this year. Maybe they will surprise us with their picks like last year. But in this scenario they don’t do anything weird. They grab the best player available stopping his slide. How did he end up all the way down here? Well every year it seems like there is always that one player right? I have it being Derrick Brown. Great player excellent at what he does well, but how high is too high to pick a run stuffing D lineman? Raiders need someone to help stop the bleeding on D and I think a player like Brown does just that. Huge win here for the Raiders.
Jacksonville Jaguars – Javon Kinlaw DI South Carolina
Oh wow this idiot knows DTs exist after all. Yes, yes, Kinlaw comes off the board here. A player who should be exciting to watch. A great penetrator and PFF darling. I think that he fits exactly the kind of player that Jacksonville has sought after in the past. He should be very exciting to watch on that retooling D-line. Leaving with Kinlaw and Okudah should really reinvigorate that shell of a great defense.
Philadelphia Eagles – Grant Delpit S LSU
I can’t believe they let Jenkins walk. That is just madness to me. They need to plug that hole or Philly risks a second secondary situation. I would’ve like to go receiver here but I just don’t think they will. I think a tackle is within reason here too should they see potential in one of the guys left. Back to Delpit. A great center fielder who is falling victim to early peak to his hype. It seems to be the trend to crap on him, and I really don’t see why. Sure not a great tackler, but the value he brings is in instincts and coverage. The kid I think will end up providing some value similar to Malik Hooker.
Buffalo Bills – K’Lavon Chaisson EDGE LSU
Tools guy. Tons of burst/athleticism. Some games he played better than others but that tends to be the story of the EDGE position. The Bills D gets a bit scarier and I think an interesting combo with some of the athletic monsters on that team. I don’t think there is much do here on offense I just don’t really like any running backs this high but I think a star back would be good for them. I like the fit here though. Buffalo adds some speed.
New England Patriots – Zach Baun LB Wisconsin
I’m not really sure I love Baun, but for some reason, this just feels correct. He feels like a Patirot or a Steeler. The versatility is great and I think he has a large amount of potential. I can see Bill saying this is my guy. We know the magic he can work with linebackers. Not a sexy pick but helping retool the D and keep it close-ish to the level it was last year.
New Orleans Saints – Laviska Shenault WR Colorado
Versatile weapon. I also don’t really love him but some people really do. Maybe they are more creative than I am. So is Sean Payton. I would rather go CB here with Gladney, but I think the Saints are a bit too desperate for some help for cantguardmike. Sorry fantasy owners Shenault is here to diversify that offense.
Minnesota Vikings – Denzel Mims WR Baylor
One receiver out another receiver in. I really like the fit here too. Great foot speed despite the limited route tree at Baylor. He is also a great contested catch player which happens to be similar to what just left that offense. I think they have obvious needs at corner here, however I think they need to keep the weapons multiple or that O is gonna come to a screeching halt if too much focus comes down on Cook.
Miami Dolphins – Patrick Queen LB LSU
A player I’m a bit too high on I think. I really love the kid but there are so many concerns I have too. Huge boom or bust player but I think this is exactly the type of Defense he needs to get to. I also think he is the player that’s going to make this D special. It will take more pieces still but his impact will be felt. The speed he presents will be crazy. The kid will be everywhere, well everywhere he thinks he should be. Still a bit or a lot raw, just have to bear with him. (KC sends Pick 32 and a 2020 3rd for SEA Pick 27)
Kansas City Chiefs – Kenneth Murray LB Oklahoma
The Chiefs do the AFCN a HUGE favor and leap the Ravens for Kenneth. The Chiefs don’t really have too many needs but that D needs to continue to improve. Murray will help with athleticism. A player who is so explosive and seems like what the Chiefs are doing on offense. I like the addition of him to their current unit and think he should breathe life into that D as such a different level of energy player. The Seahawks and trading down. Just had to do it. They have some obscure player they want and we all know we won’t be taken in the next few picks.
Baltimore Ravens – A.J. Epenesa
Quite honestly I think he would be a bust anywhere else, but I think he will be regarded the same way Judon is soon. Just a technician who seems like a poor man’s Joey Bosa. The scheme there is what really won for Judon according to PFF. All that being said this man is in line to receive the keys to the kingdom in the sense like Judon he is gonna go off in terms of production even if his talent doesn’t match. Now I think a player like Chaisson would be disgustingly good in this role Epenesa will do the job too. I’m just happy they didn’t get Chaisson, Queen, or Murray.
Tennessee Titans – Marlon Davidson DL Auburn
Just gets it done on the line. Hard to say where he will play but with some vets leaving this line inside and out I think he slots in to both spots with a defensive head coach who is minded to maximize his potential. This dude is a dude. An absolute man. And I think that kind of think will appeal to Vrabel quite a bit. He is a people mover even if not a real pass rusher, Landry can fill that role.
Green Bay Packers – Justin Jefferson WR LSU
I think Green Bay gets their guy. Rodgers just needs some more weapons and I think they’re getting a huge steal. Talk about a great fit for a player moving from Burreaux magic to Rodgers magic. He has a nack for just getting open in and out of phase. Draft this kid in fantasy if he goes here.
San Francisco 49ers – A.J. Terrell CB Clemson
A longer corner. A fluid athlete. A succession plan and copy-cat for Richard Sherman. If the 9ers can get Sherman to rub off on this kid I think they’re getting great value. This team is in position and shows shown a tendency to build on strengths. Looking at you Bosa. I think they will look to the future with this pick.
Seattle Seahawks – John Molchon G Boise State
Oh Yeah? Like you freaking know who the hell the Seahawks are gonna pick. I’m completely kidding about this pick though. I would probably take Yetur Gross-Matos here and try and get some actual rush from that line. Bank on his development and go for BPA/ highest potential available. That feels a bit too obvious for the Seahawks doesn’t it though? So yeah the center from SMU or something.
The most wonderful time of the year has arrived: Bowl Season! With games everywhere from Boise to the Bahamas, we are in for 18 days of greatness. There will be offensive shootouts, upsets, and defensive slugfests all around, but which games should you watch. Easy: All of them. But if you don't have time for that, I've ranked all the Bowl games by which ones you should watch, starting with... 39) Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs Nevada - 1/3, 3:30, ESPN: Ah, every team's preseason dream: a trip to Boise in the middle of winter. Most of Nevada's wins have been close, and a loss to UNLV is never a good sign, as that's how they ended their season. Ohio dominated their final 2 opponents to hit 6 wins, and have had a very good rushing offense. The Bobcats are no stranger to the bowl scene, and they'll win on the blue turf. 38) Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl: Utah State vs Kent State - 12/20, 7:30, ESPN2: Can we give some props to the Golden Flashes? They weren't expected to do anything this year, but they pulled off 3 straight upsets to finish 6-6. One may argue they have the momentum entering this matchup, but Utah State has the much better roster. Jordan Love needs to go out on a high note to improve his draft stock, and I think he'll light up this defense in a big win for the Aggies. 37) SoFi Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii vs BYU - 12/24, 8:00, ESPN: While Hawaii made it to the Mountain West championship, they didn't really do great against good teams. With the exception of an ugly 14-11 win over San Diego State, their best win is likely at home vs Arizona in week 0. BYU has been up and down all year, but I give them the edge here. These teams played in 2017 and 2018, and BYU won by double digits both years, and I see no reason why they can't do that again here. 36) FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl: Liberty vs Georgia Southern - 12/21, 2:30, CBS Sports Network: Congratulations to Liberty on making their first bowl game in school history! They finished up at 7-5, but didn't look good against good teams and even lost to Rutgers. Their defense has been very mediocre, and that'll hurt them here. Southern's triple-option offense will run through the Flames just like it did most of the season, and they'll take the win here. 35) Quick Lane Bowl: Pittsburgh vs Eastern Michigan - 12/26, 8:00, ESPN: Everybody in the city of Pittsburgh is disappointed in the Panthers this year. Just 2 weeks ago, they looked to have a solid shot at something like the Pinstripe Bowl, but lost their last 2 and are stuck in Detroit. There's a chance they might not care about this one and EMU could catch them sleeping, but the seniors will want to take the trophy back to Pitt, which they will in a double digit win. 34) Lendingtree Bowl: Louisiana vs Miami (OH) - 1/6, 7:30, ESPN: Both of these teams made their conference championship games, but the Cajuns are the clear favorites here. They don't have a single bad loss this season, only losing to Mississippi State and Appalachian State (twice). QB Levi Lewis has been great through the air and on the ground for Louisiana, and Miami simply doesn't have the firepower to keep up. While this may be a blowout, enjoy this one. It's the last one on the schedule. 33) NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl: Wyoming vs Georgia State - 12/31, 4:30, CBS Sports Network: Both of these teams limped into bowl season losing 3 of their last 4, but let's compare the losses. Georgia State has a very questionable loss to ULM, while Wyoming's worst loss in that span was to Utah State. Their defense has been great all year, especially against the run, where Georgia State thrives. If they can't solve that defense, they're screwed. Wyoming wins. 32) Ticketsmarter Birmingham Bowl: Boston College vs Cincinnati: Boston College picked up an upset win over Pitt to end their regular season and hit 6 wins. Now, they get a very tough opponents in Cincy. They've already beaten some very good teams, and seem like a much stronger team than BC. Sure, they ended the regular season with 2 straight losses against Memphis, but 11 wins would be huge for this school. They'll hit that mark in style. 31) New Mexico Bowl: Central Michigan vs San Diego State - 12/21, 2:00, ESPN: This game has one of the lowest over unders of the bowl season, and it's not hard to see why. The Aztecs have been a defensive team all season, finishing 9-3 while only allowing 12 points a game. Their offense hasn't done much, scoring 19 a game, but it's been enough to win. The Chips were a great story this year, going from 1 win to a division title, but they haven't faced anything like this defense all year, so I'll take SDSU. 30) Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl: Central Florida vs Marshall - 12/23, 2:30, ESPN: Both of these teams enter bowl season hot, having each won 5 of their last 6. However, UCF has a clear advantage here. Their offense has put up tons of points all year, and this is a near home game for them. Marshall has been solid on offense, but it won't be nearly enough. UCF wants to show they are still relevant nationally, and will cover the 17 point spread in a big win. 29) Walk-On's Independence Bowl: Louisiana Tech vs Miami - 12/26, 4:00, ESPN: I do not see how the Hurricanes are favored in this matchup. They had about the worst finish you could ask for, losing to FIU and Duke, have always struggled in bowl games, and this is a de facto home game for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs have had a very good offense, and will be very motivated to hit 10 wins against an ACC team. They'll definitely cover the spread, and I'm taking them to win outright. 28) Capital One Orange Bowl: Florida vs Virginia - 12/30, 8:00, ESPN: The Gators enter this one on a roll, winning their final 3 games a combined 119-23. Virginia hasn't really proven themselves much, just doing what they needed to and getting through the terrible ACC Coastal. Nearly everyone has been unable to figure out the Florida defense, and Bryce Perkins will need a heck of a game to pull the upset here. I don't think he has what it takes. 27) Camellia Bowl: FIU vs Arkansas State - 12/21, 5:30, ESPN: In the 5 years this bowl has existed, the largest margin of victory was 5 points. Don't be surprised if we have another close one this year. FIU was able to get a statement win over Miami, but lost in OT to finish the regular season. Arkansas State has been in it's fair share of shootouts, as their defense isn't that great. They've especially struggled against the run, where FIU thrives. I'm gonna take the Golden Panthers in a nailbiter. 26) Redbox Bowl: California vs Illinois: 12/30, 4:00, Fox: This game last year featured a whopping 13 total points. We might not eclipse that this year. Cal got to a bowl game entirety thanks to their defense, as they've been strong, especially against the run. Meanwhile, Illinois lost 2 straight to end the year, but it's been awhile since they've gone to a bowl, so they'll be fired up. They already have a win over Wisconsin this year, and they'll end the year with another win. 25) Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Miss vs Tulane - 1/4, 11:30 AM, ESPN: One of the last bowl games of the year should give us some points. Both teams scuffled to end the year, losing their final 2 each. Tulane has struggled since hitting 6 wins, losing 4 out of 5 to end the regular season. The schedule was brutal though, and this school doesn't get many bowls, so this is big. They have a great rushing attack, but Southern Miss's strength is its run D. It won't be enough, as Tulane will take the win. 24) Servpro First Responder Bowl: Western Kentucky vs Western Michigan - 12/30, 12:30, ESPN: Considering last year's matchup was cancelled after only 1 quarter due to lightning, this game will be better by default. But this is one of the sneakier games of the bowl season. WKU rebounded very nicely from a season opening loss to Central Arkansas, and have a very solid defense. WMU has a very strong offense, led by RB LeVante Bellamy, the MAC offensive player of the year. He'll run to a very close win. 23) Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman: North Carolina vs Temple - 12/27, Noon, ESPN: Mack Brown had a successful first season back at UNC, making a bowl game in style after crushing NC State to end the year. Temple has a very good defense, only once allowing over 28 points a game. They were great at the very end of the year, only allowing 14.5 PPG over their final 4. Momentum does a lot in this sport, and it will lead the Owls to a win. 22) Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs Charlotte - 12/20, 2:00, ESPN: The first game of bowl season has a very solid amount of shootout potential. Charlotte has won 5 straight, and is making a bowl for the first time in school history after being 2-5 at one point. Buffalo is also strong, having won 4 of 5 to enter bowl season. This will all come down to Charlotte's defense. If they can make some stops and perform like they did against Marshall, they'll win this one. I believe they will. 21) Belk Bowl: Virginia Tech vs Kentucky - 12/31, Noon, ESPN: Kentucky easily has one of the best non-triple option run games in America, putting up 274 rushing yards a game. Virginia Tech's defense has been very solid this year though, and they'll wanna go out on a high note in Bud Foster's last game as DC. This game has been known to put up some shootouts, but we should have more defense than offense overall this year. That will lead the Hokies to a win. 20) New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs Wake Forest - 12/27, 3:20, ESPN: This should be one of the more defensive games of the bowl season, but it should be very close. Sparty has been one of the ugliest teams in America this year, but their D got them to a bowl. Wake, meanwhile, was ranked earlier this season, but struggled late, losing 3 of 4 to end the year. Offense has been their strong suit, as QB Jamie Newman was very solid all year. It should come down to the wire, but I'll take the Demon Deacons. 19) R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Appalachian State vs UAB - 12/21, 9:00, ESPN: Motivation will be the key to this game for App State. After having an amazing year, beating 2 Power 5 teams and only losing once, all they get is to take on an 8-4 C-USA team. No offense to the Blazers, but after a season like that, you'd much rather face a tougher opponent. Plus, their head coach already left for Mizzou. If they want to win, they will. If they just don't care, UAB will hang around. App State will find a way to win. 18) TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Indiana vs Tennessee - 1/2, 7:00, ESPN: Remember how we all thought Tennessee was a laughing stock? Ah, those were good times. But they've now won 5 straight entering bowl season, and QB Jarrett Guarantano has been great. Indiana also finished on a high note, picking up an emotional win over Purdue in double OT to end the regular season. Both teams thrive defensively, especially against the run. Indiana was the better team most of the year though, and they will be better here. 17) Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Florida State vs Arizona State - 12/31, 2:00, CBS: Arizona State has been an up and down team all season, with a win over Oregon being the high point on the road to 7-5. Herm's team has thrived on defense, and can force turnovers well. FSU beat Alabama State to get to 6-5 before getting pummeled by Florida to end the year. Mike Norvell is coming in next year to try and revitalize this program, but he isn't coaching this game. Sun Devils win. 16) Allstate Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs Baylor - 1/1, 8:45, ESPN: Georgia got completely dismantled by LSU in a game they had to win to make the Playoff. Baylor did the exact same thing, except they lost to Oklahoma. Baylor actually kept that game close, taking it to OT, but they just couldn't pull out the win. They'll still be motivated for this one, as this is the biggest game in years for the Bears. Georgia might not be as motivated, and that's where they will fall. Baylor will pull off the upset to cap a Cinderella season. 15) San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl: USC vs Iowa - 12/27, 8:00, Fox Sports 1: This is the closet matchup of the Bowl Season according to ESPN'S FPI, giving USC as 50.2% chance to win. Kedon Slovis was very good for USC near the end of the year, but they haven't seen a defense like this. The Hawkeyes are a fantastic team on the defense, and although he doesn't light up the stat line, QB Nathan Stanley knows how to win. Although USC should have the home-field advantage, I'll take Iowa. 14) AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Navy vs Kansas State - 12/31, 3:45, ESPN: This could be a tough matchup for Kansas State, as their pass defense is superb, but the run D is a little sketchy. And no matter how good your run defense is, the triple option is something that is a huge test. The only positive is that they have plenty of time to prepare, but the offense will need to make some plays in order to snag the win. I don't think they'll be able to, as Navy hits 11 wins. 13) Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Mississippi State vs Louisville - 12/30, 4:00, ESPN: Although Mississippi State is a 4 point favorite, I'm sniffing the upset here. The game will be decided by Louisville's rush defense. They've struggled all year, especially against Kentucky to end the regular season. Mississippi State loves to ground and pound it, and that's likely what they'll do here. Louisville will have plenty of time to prepare for that though, and they'll force enough mistakes to pick up a win. 12) Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl: SMU vs FAU: 12/21, 3:30, ABC: Here's the top Group of 5 matchup of the bowl season. It will be a shootout all the way to the end. The 2 QBs in this game have combined for 59 passing touchdowns and only 15 interceptions, and the running games have been good as well. Both teams already have 10 wins, but FAU lost coach Lane Kiffin for this one, as he went to Ole Miss. They do have the home field advantage, but I'm gonna go with SMU in a game where you should take the over. 11) Camping World Bowl: Notre Dame vs Iowa State - 12/28, Noon, ABC: This may seem like a mismatch on paper, but the Cyclones should be able to hang around here. Brock Purdy has been very good this year, and the pass defense has kept quite a few Big 12 offenses at bay. This is arguably their biggest test though. Notre Dame has a very good offense, but their defense is hit or miss. The defense can dominate like it did against Duke or BC, but struggle like against Michigan. They'll struggle a bit here, but have enough for a win. 10) Outback Bowl: Minnesota vs Auburn - 1/1, Noon, ESPN: Talk about a dream season for Minnesota. Sure, they lost 2 of their last 3, but a home win over Penn State and a 10-2 record is a great season for the Gophers. They're still missing the cherry on top though, and that could come here. Auburn picked up a huge Iron Bowl win over Bama, and is coming in with plenty of momentum. Bo Nix has been great, and the offense has been very good on the ground and in the air. It will carry them to win #10. 9) Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Texas A&M - 12/27, 6:45, ESPN: Welcome to the Chuba Hubbard show. As Oklahoma State will likely be missing star wide Receiver Tylan Wallace, Hubbard will see a huge role here. It will be a huge challenge as well. A&M's run defense has been very good, only allowing 120 yards per game. Motivation will be another factor here, as both teams ended the regular season with tough losses. I'm taking the Pokes, as Hubbard goes off in what could be his final college game. 8) Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Memphis vs Penn State - 12/28, Noon, ESPN: Penn State's defense has been magnificent all season, and they have one last chance to show it off against a high-flying Memphis offense. Question is: Will they want to? Motivation might not be there, as most PSU fans don't seem to care about this matchup, and would've much preferred the Rose Bowl. Memphis will be without HC Mike Norvell, but I think they will have plenty left in the tank and end the season with a win. 7) Valero Alamo Bowl: Utah vs Texas - 12/31, 7:30, ESPN: Utah was one win away from the Playoff, before they had a total stinker against Oregon, losing 37-15. You could use stinker to describe the entire season for Texas as well, as they were supposed to do big things, but ended 7-5. Sam Ehlinger has been their bright spot, as he had a very good season. However, it likely won't be enough against this defense, which is the 2nd toughest he's faced all year. Utes rebound with a win. 6) Cheez-it Bowl: Air Force vs Washington State - 12/27, 10:15, ESPN: This will be Ana amazing game. Air Force's triple option has been great this season, and should eat up the Cougars defense. Washington State has been crushing opposing defenses with the Air Raid, and QB Anthony Gordon should add to his great stats here. The Cheez-it Bowl was arguably the best bowl game last year, and it has a very good chance to do so again here, this time with a shootout. Air Force wins it 45-42 in an absolute thriller. 5) Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl: Boise State vs Washington - 12/21, 7:30, ABC: This one will be plenty of fun. Chris Petersen's last game as Huskies head coach come against his former team, and he will definitely want to send out his program with a bowl win. Jacob Eason will want to have a big performance to improve his draft stock as well, and Boise has a solid defense, so a good game here would sure give it a boost. Boise is a very good team in all aspects, but I don't think they have what it takes here. Gimme the Huskies. 4) VRBO Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs Alabama - 1/1, 1:00, ABC: Be ready for a defensive struggle between these teams, as both QBs will struggle against these great defenses. Michigan has had an up and down year, but a win over Bama, no matter what bowl it's in, is always big. If Nick Saban can get his players motivated to get one last win, the Tide will crush them. If not, Michigan will hang around til the end. I think Saban has what it takes, and Alabama picks up a win. 3) Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual: Oregon vs Wisconsin - 1/1, 5:00, ESPN: Whenever Wisconsin played someone not named Ohio State this year, they usually dominated. Johnathan Taylor has been very good again this year, and the defense is no joke. Oregon has been a very good team, and is riding high after their big win over the Utes. Justin Herbert will want to end his college career on a high note, and a 2 minute drill to win it would be perfect. He'll do just that in an Oregon win. 2) Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: Oklahoma vs LSU - 12/28, 4:00, ESPN: If Oklahoma hangs around for 3 quarters, this game easily gets the #1 spot. However, most don't think they will, and I am one of those. This LSU team is just too good all around, and can beat anyone, even some NFL teams. Joe Burrow ran away with the Heisman, and this defense deserves much more credit than it's getting. Jalen Hurts is a great quarterback, but I just don't think he's enough. Geaux Tigers. 1) PlayStation Fiesta Bowl: Clemson vs Ohio State - 12/28, 8:00, ESPN: This one should be close all the way to the final second, maybe even later. Both of these teams thrive on defense, each allowing fewer than 250 yards per game. It will come down to which QB can make the plays when they need to. Justin Fields has been in more close games than Trevor Lawrence this year, and I think that is what will make the difference here in an Ohio State win.
Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives. PREVIOUS YEARS ARCHIVE:1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 Hi. Hope everyone had a good few weeks. I went to Wrestlemania. Like everybody else, I have a lot of thoughts on the whole weekend but this isn't really the place. But I do have a message to a specific person. You probably won't read this, the odds of you being a Redditor and seeing this post are slim. But who knows, maybe? Anyway....to the guy in the parking garage at the Superdome after WM who shouted "fucking stupid kid!" at your son because he accidentally tripped and fell down while he struggled to carry a souvenir chair that was damn near bigger than him....fuck you. You're a shit father. Anyway, you all know the drill, M/W/F unless real life gets in the way. Let's see if I can remember how to do this.
Dave opens the issue with a quick blurb that apparently came in just before this issue went to press, saying that Mankind beat the Rock for the WWF title on Raw that was taped on the 29th and will be airing on Jan. 4th. Apparently it's a short-term title change and Rock will win it back at the Rumble. WWF apparently wanted to counter WCW's big Georgia Dome Nitro that will be happening on the same night. Surely this won't become a big famous story next week or anything...
Okay, the issue officially starts with an in-depth look at where all the major promotions stand going into 1999. WWF has been dominating the ratings war for the last half of the year and they finished off 1998 with 14 consecutive legit sellouts. They've done an incredible job of creating new stars and hooking viewers with soap opera storylines. Coming off losing both Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, they managed to make megastars out of Austin and Rock, turned DX into legit main eventers, and struck gold with Kane. Dave expects this to be the year that WWF widens the gap in the war with WCW.
WCW, on the other hand, fell hard in 1998 by continuing to rely on old stars and not creating any new ones aside from Goldberg and even he's been floundering the last few months because WCW can't seem to figure out how to book him anymore. They have some of the best young talent in the world, but they're all miserable and are stuck under a glass ceiling below all the 40-and-over top stars. Dave says it looks like Guerrero, Mysterio, Malenko, and Benoit will probably be staying with WCW (more on that later), but Chris Jericho is still holding out and Dave won't be surprised to see him make the jump to WWF when his contract expires this year. But WCW does have that new deal with NBC that should give the company a significant boost in exposure and might help them regain some traction against WWF. Bischoff held a meeting backstage and said the company has a few other deals in the works but didn't want to reveal them all yet for fear of them leaking out, but he did mention a Saturday morning cartoon show and that the NBC deal was for 6 network specials during the year. He also said that there are 2 movies in the works. Dave says if all that's true, it should be pretty big for WCW and would pose a challenge for WWF unless they can get their own network special to compete. But he also says all the exposure in the world won't matter if WCW's product continues to suck the way it has for the last year.
ECW has grown by leaps and bounds. A year ago, they had only done a few shows that drew 2000 people. Nowadays, that's not unusual for them to draw on a regular basis. PPV buyrates are still steady even though most of the PPVs have sucked. But that's not exclusive to ECW. He talks about how both WWF and WCW have been having mostly shitty PPVs all year too. In WCW's case, it's shitty main events, often with Hogan. In WWF's case, it's the opposite, with overlong and boring undercards, occasionally saved by good or memorable main events. But anyway, ECW is looking good right now on the surface.
In Japan, business is down for a few reasons (stale booking, less TV exposure, economic downturn, etc.) AJPW had a profitable year mostly due to all the money they made on their first Tokyo Dome show, plus Vader showing up near the end of the year gave the company a shot in the arm.
NJPW is a whole other story. For years, they were the model of a successful promotion and during the first half of the 90s, they were by far the most successful wrestling promotion of all time and were doing attendance and gate numbers that WWF could only dream of. But it's gotten stale in the last couple of years and business is dropping like a rock. The upcoming Jan. 4 Tokyo Dome show is only a few days away and is selling slower than any of the other ones ever have. They still don't really have anything exciting planned for it. They have another one booked in April and have no plans for that either. After NJPW top star Shinya Hashimoto publicly criticized the company, he was suspended (more on that in a bit). The only other top stars are Masa Chono, who's dealing with serious neck issues, and Keiji Muto, who is 36 and working with barely functioning knees. Dave predicts a rough year ahead for NJPW.
Shinya Hashimoto criticized NJPW in an interview for their plans to hold an IWGP contender tournament in February, saying it dilutes the prestige of the G-1 tournament. NJPW had warned talent not to publicly criticize the booking of the company after Kensuke Sasaki recently complained about them bringing in Atsushi Onita for the Tokyo Dome show. That resulted in Sasaki being booked against Onita at the show, where he's almost certainly going to have to do the job to him. With Hashimoto being scheduled to be in the main event, NJPW announced that they are suspending him effective immediately after the Dome show.
Other stuff to look out for in 1999: wrestling is still dealing with a serious drug issue and nobody seems willing to address it. With wrestling now being more popular than it's ever been, the business is just one significant death away from a major scandal. There's also potential labor issues. Even though guys like Sting and Scott Hall are making upwards of $1 million per year, Dave argues that they're actually underpaid. When compared to the money WWF and WCW bring in, if you compare the salaries that wrestlers make to the salaries of other athletes in the NFL or NBA, wrestlers should be earning way more than they are. In short, McMahon and Bischoff have successfully managed to keep screwing over their stars. Plus, most of them are still expected to cover their road expenses, which add up significantly and of course, they don't have health insurance. If the business continues to grow and keeps making more money but wrestler salaries don't keep pace, it might become an issue where guys start talking about unionizing. Of course, there's also the issue of top stars trying to avoid working full schedules. You shouldn't be able to demand top money and then only work part time. Dave compares it to Michael Jordan signing a new contract with the Bulls but demanding that he only has to play in 25 games.
Starrcade 98 is in the books and although it wasn't the worst show ever, it was yet again another bad WCW PPV in a long line of them. The show was built around 2 matches: Kevin Nash ending Goldberg's streak and Ric Flair fighting Eric Bischoff. 6 out of 9 matches ended with outside interference, there were a million ref bumps, and it just got old by the end of the show.
Other notes from the show: it opened with a couple of really great matches with Billy Kidman having a star-making performance but the crowd just didn't seem to care. Ric Flair had to bounce around and sell for Eric Bischoff and then ended up losing the match due to outside interference, because apparently Ric Flair is willing to lose any match. And of course, Kevin Nash beat Goldberg in the main event to win the title and end his streak. They announced Goldberg's record at 173-0, apparently forgetting that just 2 weeks ago, he had a match on Nitro end in a no contest draw, so if anything, it should be 173-0-1. Anyway, there were some vocal anti-Goldberg fans but he was still far more over than Nash was with the crowd, who got a massive "Nash sucks!" chant at one point. And it ended with Scott Hall hitting Goldberg with the cattle prod and Nash winning. The crowd was mostly booing this as the show went off the air.
Dave gives a long career recap for Jaguar Yokota, who announced her retirement and was regarded as one of the best female wrestlers in history. She was one of the biggest stars for All Japan Women during the 1980s when they were at their height and became a bit of a pop culture icon in Japan as well. She initially retired in 1986 and became a trainer, and is responsible for training many of the best women's wrestlers ever (Manami Toyota, Kyoko Inoue, etc.) Then she came out of retirement for a few years before announcing now that she was retiring again (she eventually came out of retirement again in 2004 and still wrestles a pretty full schedule to this day. Also, Dave mentions that she made news when she posed nude a couple of years ago and, well, google is your friend if you're curious). Dave ends it by saying that during her time, she was not only the best female wrestler but probably better than almost every male wrestler at the time also.
There's some rumors about the physical health of Giant Baba. AJPW announced that he will be missing the upcoming January tour. Baba was recently hospitalized and said to be suffering from a bad cold, but AJPW's statement said that he is now out of the hospital and recovering at home.
The plan for NJPW's Jan. 4 Tokyo Dome show is for Keiji Muto to win the IGWP title from Scott Norton. Eric Bischoff isn't happy about it, since Norton is a WCW guy, but he doesn't really get a lot of say in the matter so NJPW basically told him to go drink a tall glass of shut the fuck up and deal with it.
The New York Post ran a story on legendary wrestler Wahoo McDaniel, saying that he is on kidney dialysis and is awaiting a transplant as well as diabetes issues (yeah, he ends up dying from kidney issues in 2002).
The actual charges against New Jack in the Mass Transit case are "felonious assault and battery with a deadly weapon." A jury trial will begin in April. New Jack faces a maximum of 11 years in prison if convicted.
WCW's deal with NBC is for 6 shows throughout the year, although if ratings aren't good, NBC can cancel at any time. NBC wants all the shows to take place in Las Vegas and they also want its own network stars to appear for cross-promotional purposes. The first two dates are scheduled for 2/14 and 3/28 which not-so-coincidentally are the same dates of WWF's next 2 PPVs (St. Valentine's Day Massacre and Wrestlemania) so they'll be going head-to-head against those. Both of those shows cause travel problems for WCW though because they take place on Sunday nights and they already have Nitro scheduled in Tampa and Toronto the following nights, so everyone will have to perform and then fly across the country to get to the next show. And in the important bit of news that no one realizes yet: this is all because of the ongoing NBA lockout. WCW shows on NBC are taking the place of previously scheduled prime-time NBA games. So if the lockout gets settled and the NBA season resumes, then those dates may be changed (which is exactly what happened and is part--but not all--of why this WCW/NBC deal died. But we'll get there). For what it's worth, NBC reportedly had talked with WWF about this deal also but the talks went nowhere because NBC didn't want anything to do with the WWF's raunchy product and WWF evidently wasn't willing to tone down. In Bischoff's meeting with the locker room, he once again expressed his belief that WWF's current direction is only helping in the short term but will work against them in the long haul.
Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero haven't yet signed new contract extensions but have all pretty much agreed to new terms and should be signing soon. They're all for $1.35 million total over 3 years ($400,000 the first year, $450,000 the next, $500,000 the last). WWF was interested in all 3 of them, especially Benoit, but the WCW guaranteed money was too much to turn down. It's believed that Bischoff will probably push all 3 of them pretty hard because he has to justify paying them that much. Rey Mysterio is also expected to re-sign soon although he's been offered significantly less than the other 3 (but still more than what WWF will pay him).
Nitro notes: Dave thinks Raven should give up wrestling and pursue an acting career because he's that good. Larry Zbyszko dubbed Norman Smiley's dance "the big wiggle." Nash cut a promo and was booed out of the building and drowned out by Goldberg chants. And Randy Savage made his return, "with his new hair and new body and new girlfriend with her Pamela Lee hair and body."
Goldberg has a role in the upcoming Jean Claude Van Damme movie Universal Soldier II. In an interesting note, Sable auditioned for a role in the movie but they picked ESPN fitness expert Kiana Tom for the role instead.
The plan right now appears to be that Kevin Nash will hand Hulk Hogan the WCW title at next week's Nitro. The idea is to essentially reboot the NWO angle and go back to what worked in 1996 when it first started: a small, but strong NWO (Hogan, Nash, Hall, Scott Steiner and Lex Luger) against a strong WCW, led by the Horsemen and Goldberg.
The latest on Shawn Michaels' back injury is that doctors have told him that he needs surgery to fuse the discs in his back. He's scheduled the surgery in a couple of weeks and there's no way he'll be working Wrestlemania and it's questionable now if he'll ever wrestle again, or even if he does, how limited he will be.
Plans for a Bart Gunn vs. Tank Abbott Brawl For All match have fallen through because Abbott was asking for $55,000 to do it and WWF felt that was way too much. They've tossed around the idea of doing Bart Gunn against Kimo Leopoldo also. They'd also love to do Gunn vs. Butterbean, but he's still in high demand as a boxer and it's hard to fit in his schedule but they do still have a contract with Butterbean to work one more show that they never used (they always wanted to do him vs. Marc Mero but it never happened). There's also been talk of Gunn vs. Ken Shamrock or Steve Blackman, but they don't want to risk either of those men getting injured in a shoot fight.
At recent house shows, they did an arm wrestling angle with Vince McMahon arm wrestling Mankind. At the first show, the gimmick was whoever won would get to kiss Debra. McMahon won and then refused to kiss Debra, acting like he was too good for it. The next night, they did the same angle, except this time it was Sable. McMahon won and this time, he did kiss Sable.
They shot 2 covers for Sable's upcoming Playboy. One is just her in her black leather outfit. The other is her nude from the waist down and using the Women's title to cover herself. No word which one they'll use (they ended up using the first one, but the other picture was used as the cover of a Raw magazine
Don Callis (Jackyl) has a weekly column in the Winnipeg Sun and had this to say in this week's issue:
Professional sports agents have injected themselves into big-time pro wrestling and as a result the wrestling industry is being dragged kicking and screaming into the real world of pro sports. Why kicking and screaming? Because none of the promoters want to deal with anyone who has not been brainwashed by the fantasy world of the business, much less a hard-nosed agent who is a tough negotiator. Most promoters see themselves as intellectual superiors to the talent and have personal relationships built up which work in their favor during negotiations. Wrestlers, on the whole, are dreamers, who want to believe in themselves, and will sometimes sell their souls for a dream or a promise by a promoter, which, of course, does not make for shrewd negotiating. At the end of the day, if it's not in writing then the promise is not worth the breath it took to make it. Promoters by and large have had an easy time with negotiations because of these reasons, until recently. With professional wrestling attaining levels of success and mainstream marketability unequalled in the history of the business, agents who heretofore might not have touched a client involved in wrestling, are not making above making money for both themselves and the wrestlers and the promoters hate it. In fact, all WWF talent recently received a memo congratulating us on how good business has been, etc. etc. but buried in the memo was a cryptic remark about how lamentable it is that some of the talent were enlisting the help of agents, because it robs the poor wrestler of the chance to learn how to handle his own business. Right. And having a doctor operate on you is deeply disturbing because it robs the patient of the opportunity to perform surgery on himself. Governor-elect Jesse Ventura may have been the first to use an agent for wrestling, and that decision no doubt contributed to his current lack of a good relationship with the WWF. Ventura's agent, lawyer Barry Bloom, currently represents, among others, X-Pac and Kevin Nash. Bloom has been successful due to the fact that unlike most lawyers, he understands the wrestling business, much to the chagrin of promoters for all three big wrestling companies. In the recent documentary Wrestling With Shadows, Bret Hart stated that the WWF treated their talent like circus animals. Apparently some of the animals are getting smart.
As you might expect, this column didn't exactly endear Callis to the company and word is the two sides are already negotiating his release from his contract.
WWF is hoping for The Giant to debut in mid-February in time to get him an angle for Wrestlemania. There's concern about his conditioning and attitude though. They wanted him to lose weight and he lost about 30 pounds and then almost immediately gained it back. The WWF schedule is significantly harder than WCW's so they're worried about whether he has the discipline for the job.
Lots of letters about how great Wrestling With Shadows is again, and one guy who writes in with his elaborate theory on why he still thinks it was all a work, which Dave just pokes a million holes in again. Bottom line: not a work. Stop it with that nonsense.
WEDNESDAY:Sam Muchnick passes away, Observer Awards, and not much else (it's a weird issue, you'll see).
Read below for picks on every Week 4 game, separated into three confidence categories and listed in rough order of confidence. Lines are the best currently available in Las Vegas on the chosen side. Week 3 NFL picks for the Sun’s handicapping contest College football by the odds: Vegas picks and preview of Week 4 Vegas pick’em: NFL Week 3 winners against the spread NFL Expert Picks - Super Bowl Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Wild Card Divisional Round Conference ... I’m due for a rebound with my NFL picks — straight up, not against the spread. This, after going 8-8 in Week 1, then 14-2 in Week 2 and 7-8-1 last week. In aggregate, I’m still over 60% in 2020. 2020 Westgate Las Vegas NFL SuperContest Player Picks and Standings ... 2020 WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERCONTEST WEEK 4: 09/29/20 - 10/06/20 : ... AND PRO HOOPS PLUS THE BIG PIG GAME FOR SUN SAT NOTES NEED TO CHECK WHEN I GET TO THE ROOM BUT I THINK OK STILL HOME on Sun, Feb 2021 by Timmy1961. Super bowl on Sun, ... Lines are the best currently available in Las Vegas on the chosen sides. Plays (6-4-1) Philadelphia Eagles plus-4.5 at Green Bay Packers Speaking of ‘capping the coaches, the week starts with a ... NFL Open Line. One of the best features on the NFL Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. Check below for picks and analysis of every Week 4 game on the board. Picks are separated into three confidence categories, with the lines the best currently available in Las Vegas on the chosen side.
Buffalo Bills at Las Vegas Raiders Prediction NFL Week 4 ...
Vegas Insider experts Kevin Rogers and Holden Kushner give NFL predictions for the Sunday Night showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49... ☝️Get today’s Daily Best Play for just $1.99! ⬇️ https://www.patreon.com/join/brockpage/checkout?rid=2608940 ️Extra Daily Pick + MORE: https://www.patreon ... The Raiders host the Bills in week four of the 2020-2021 NFL season. Like, share, and subscribe to the youtube for all the sports updates from sports choice ... Vegas Insider experts Kevin Rogers and Mark Franco give NFL predictions for the Monday Night showdown between the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. Roge... The Covers Team is due for a strong week after a slow start to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperContests. Check out our favorite picks for Week 5 of the NFL season. NFL Week 4 is here! Todd and Payne from BetTheBoardPodcast.com are back to break down the biggest games from a point spread perspective including a BEST BET....
