Gridiron Seasonal

Cincinnati –  Joe Burrow

Washington – Chase Young

Detroit – CB Jeffrey Okudah. Quinn could also go with Auburn’s Derrick Brown or Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons.

NY Giants – OT Jedrick Willis. Joe Judge, Giants new head coach, told Dave Gettleman he wanted to run the ball and stop the run. LT Nate Solder has an out in his contract and has not played up to expectations. Willis was an excellent run blocker while also thriving in pass pro at Alabama.

Miami – QB Tua Tagovailoa. No reason not to move forward with Tagovailoa here. The Dolphins have plenty of holes, and an opportunity to draft a true franchise Quarterback in Tua.

LA Chargers – OL Andrew Thomas. Thomas represents a true upgrade for one of the league’s lowest performing offensive lines. Isaiah Simmons could go here, the Chargers need linebacker help.

Carolina – LB Isaiah Simmons. Simmons can help the Panthers replace the recently retired Luke Kuechly. Cam Newton still has one season left on his contract, the Panthers would be wise to keep him on until they know they have a suitable successor to the crown. Simmons is known as a jack of all trades, rushing the passing, dropping deep into coverage, stopping the run. His services will be appreciated in Charlotte.

Arizona – WR Jerry Jeudy. The top wide receiver prospect in the class, Larry Fitzgerald can mentor Jeudy to become Kyler’s new number one receiver.

Jacksonville – CB Kristian Fulton. Jacksonville’s defense struggled in 2019, they also traded away disgruntled starter Jalen Ramsey. Fulton should compete at CB1 right away. Fulton was an important part of a Tigers defense that controlled, Alabama, OU, and Clemson this season.

Cleveland – DE A.J. Epenesa. The Browns don’t currently have a GM. Epenesa’s a damn fine pass rusher.

NY Jets – WR Ceedee Lamb. Lamb is a burner and the Jets need weapons for Darnold.

Las Vegas – DE Curtis Weaver. Gruden is known for his hope-obliterating defense from his time in Tampa Bay. The 49ers did not shy away from overstuffing their pass-rusher cabinet and it worked out well for them. This feels like a Gruden pick to me.

Indianapolis – QB Justin Herbert. Herbert’s posted a top career at Oregon. He has a lot of measurables teams like; height, strong arm, mobility.

Tampa Bay – DL Derrick Brown. Brown played in a 3 man front at Auburn, and he’s the top interior defensive lineman in the class.

Denver – DB Grant Delpit. A top coverage safety, Delpit should help Denver adjust to an aging Kareem Jackson and Chris Harris.

Atlanta – OL Tristan Wirfs. Their third offensive linemen in two first rounds, Wirfs could move to guard or play tackle at the next level.

Dallas – WR Henry Ruggs. Amari Cooper may be on his way out. Ruggs showed rare speed at Alabama.

Miami (through Pitt) OL Alex Leatherwood. Tua’s blindside protector at Alabama. Leatherwood has franchise tackle potential.

Las Vegas (through Chi) WR Tee Higgins. Gruden and Mayock drafted a lot from the title game in ’18. Higgins is ultra efficient when he’s on the field and brings a huge wingspan. He can take over WR1 responsibilities from Tyrell Williams who’s more suited to be a WR2.

Jacksonville (through LA Rams) – OL Netane Muti. Doug Marrone remains the head coach at Jacksonville. They will rebuild their defense and recommit to running the ball.

Philadelphia – CB CJ Henderson – Henderson dominated in the few targets he received in 2019. The Eagles have absolutely no defensive backs it seems.

Buffalo – WR Laviska Shenault – Shenault moves the ball forward like Deebo Samuel. His skillset matches well with Josh Allen’s limitations as a passer.

New England – DT Javon Kinlaw – A true pocket disruptor, Belichick will find ways to use Javon Kinlaw in New England.

New Orleans – TE Jared Pinkney – The Saints need real weapons for Brees outside of Michael Thomas. Pinkney is a ‘Big WR’ tight end that Brees will appreciate having.

Minnesota – CB Bryce Hall – The Vikings still need help at defensive back. Hall has been a top cover corner, he just needs to stay healthy.

Miami (through Houston) – CB Trevon Diggs – Flores will want to flesh out the back end of his defense. Diggs handled bigger receivers well starting at Alabama.

Seattle – S Ashtyn Davis – Davis is a rangy safety at Cal who can help mend a hole-filled defense in Seattle. The folks at PFF compared him to Darnell Savage, who had a strong rookie season.

Baltimore – CB A.J. Terrell – The Ravens dominating offense made up for their uncharacteristically underwhelming defensive play this season. Peters had a great slate of games in 2019, but he’s been very up and down his whole career. Terrell started for Clemson and has great size.

The Houston/Buffalo game was much closer than I anticipated. Buffalo pressured Houston well and did a great job forcing over time. Brian Daboll does a great job of minimizing Allen’s weaknesses letting him throw the ball deep when John Brown and Co. got open. I think of Mike McCoy crafting an offense for Tim Tebow in Denver back in ’11 when watching Allen play. Josh Allen is having the season I kind of expected Lamar Jackson to have. Houston saw DeShaun Watson pull some absolute rabbits out of his hat against the second best (points allowed) defense in football. Watson was sacked SIX times, three by Jerry Hughes. The Texans go on the road to Arrowhead stadium and face the Chiefs next week.

Derrick Henry ran New England into the ground.

The New England Patriots only scored 13 points in a home game. The following names were on the Patriots roster in 2019: five time pro bowl wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, seven time pro bowler Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon (with an average yards per reception of over 17), tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (one of the top tight ends in free agency). The Patriots finished the season with Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett, and a pair of struggling rookies at wide receiver. The Nashville side of the story for this game revolved around Derrick Henry inflicting his will upon the New England defense. Henry accounted for over 200 yards from scrimmage for Tennessee. Tennessee travels to M&T Bank Stadium to challenge John Harbaugh, Lamar Jackson and the NFL-best Baltimore Ravens.

Vikings/Saints

The Vikings WON a football game against a winning team

The Vikings defense performed well at containing the Saints throughout the whole game. Vikings running back Dalvin Cook got going with 130 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The Saints lack of receiving weapons bit them in the butt. Alvin Kamara, who was heavily used in 2018, hasn’t been featured in the gameplan with either the same success, or to the same extent. The game boiled down to an overtime play where “anti”-clutch Kirk Cousins tossed a 3rd down ball to Kyle Rudolph who reached over his man and kept Minnesota alive past wild card weekend. Minnesota travels to Levi’s Stadium to play the number one seed 49ers (NFC). This Vikings team looked UNIMPRESSIVE during the regular season, a playoff win against a heavyweight like the Saints is a statement win for Zimmer’s program. Cousins didn’t play amazing, but he didn’t turn the ball over and literally threw the game winning touchdown.

Seahawks/Eagles

These two teams played earlier this year. The Eagles QB was healthy the whole game, and the score ended 17-9, Seahawks with the W. Today, Carson Wentz went down with injury, and the Seahawks won, 17-9. Seattle will now travel to Green Bay and face a relatively healthy roster with a MEAN defense.

UNSUNG HERO OF THE PLAYOFFS: BYU’s number 5 all time rusher, Taysom Hill threw a 50 yard pass, ran for 50 yards on 4 touches, and caught two passes for 25 yards including one for a touchdown. It took Drew Brees over seven completions to match Hill’s 50 yards passing.

Song of the day: Sugar, we’re going down swinging (’80s version) Fall Out Boy