It’s been a wild 12 months in NFL Land. Many stories have flown under the radar because of all of Covid, Deshaun Watson, Tompa Bay, etc. I want to touch on some of the more recent developments that I believe will become real storylines once the 2021 season starts.
Philadelphia Eagles signed Wake Forest passer Jamie Newman as an undrafted free agent. Newman was an early draft favorite entering the 2020 college football season before curiously opting out of the 2020 season after transferring to Georgia. The Eagles will want to see what they have in Jalen Hurts in ’21 season, but would be foolish not to give Newman some snaps in the preseason to see what he looks in some kind of competitive environment. Newman earned praise for his huge arm and mobility at Wake Forest.
Vikings draft Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond in 3rd round, may supplant veteran starter Kirk Cousins if Cousins experiences another rough stretch. The Vikings owe Kirk a substantial amount of money so cutting or trading him seems out of the question for two more season, but that’s what I thought about Carson Wentz and Philadelphia. The Vikings attempted to trade up, possibly for Justin Fields.
Carolina Panthers signed Northwestern standout linebacker Paddy Fisher. Fisher’s best performances came in his earlier years (2017, 2018). Fisher has ideal size (6’4″, 240) and was a 4 year starter at Northwestern. The undrafted free agent joins a young, aggressive panthers defense.
Balitimore signed undrafted free agent Kenji Bahar, 5 year quarterback out of FCS Monmouth University. Briefly watching some of his plays, Bahar has a big arm and can send the ball far with seemingly little effort. Bahar was clearly underrecruited at Monmouth. Ravens do a great job of sniffing out underrated talent every year. It’s not likely Bahar will see the field barring a Lamar Jackson injury, he may be worth a watch if he gets on the field in preseason. Bahar didn’t have the most complex defenses in the FCS, but showed solid fundamentals and a strong arm and if he can develop anywhere, would develop in Baltimore. Bahar has athleticism, but did most of his damage through the air.
Lovie Smith has returned to the NFL, as the defensive coordinator for the Texans. Lovie went 81-63 as the Bears head coach, including a super bowl berth with literal Human Garbage Rex Grossman. The Bears haven’t had a good coach since. Unless you want to include Matt “8-8” Nagy. If nothing else, Smith will maximize the remaining talent on the stripped Texans defense.
Unless something changes, New Orleans is plowing ahead with Jameis Winston as their presumptive starter for 2021. I believed Jameis would stop in town for New Orleans on his way to a new destination like Chicago or Jacksonville. The Saints were comfortable drafting other positions early in the draft and moving forward with Jameis and Hill. With Brees’ retirement, Winston is the next man up. New Orleans drafted Notre Dame Senior Ian Book in the fourth round, who will have an opportunity to show off his moves to Sean Payton and the Saints brass. Book had a solid if unspectacular career in South Bend, maybe New Orleans’ Jarrett Stidham. This will be the first time since 2005 that the Saints will open the regular season without Drew Brees as their starting QB.
The Eagles offensive line, once among the most dominant in the league has been an injured mess for the past two seasons. Philadelphia has had multiple holes in their roster, choosing to draft DeVonta Smith over RaShawn Slater in round one. Overall they drafted one interior offensive lineman (Landon Dickerson, Alabama C) and signed two UDFAs, Harry Crider (Indiana C), and Kayode Awosika (Buffalo OT) to compete for a role if they are injury plagued yet again. New head coach Nick Sirianni had an elite group of blockers as the offensive coordinator at Indianapolis and will likely need the same in Philadelphia to execute any kind of game plan.
Notable free agents include: OT Morgan Moses, CB Richard Sherman, FS Earl Thomas, DE/OLB Melvin Ingram, OT Mitchell Schwartz, C Austin Reiter, OLB Justin Houston.
It will be okay.
Song of the post is Adventure Club remix of MS MR’s “Hurricane”
Gridiron Seasonal 
