RC's daily streaming notes on football, and other, things going on this week...
Just an open page for me to drop notes/ideas/things I'm hearing/seeing/working on or just caffeinated or lack of sleep thoughts on football items.
7/13 SUN
(8:13amET)
-- You likely already saw the news hit later yesterday that Quinshon Judkins got arrested for and held on domestic violence charges.
On the arrest (from a Reddit post, so take as you wish): The charges are “Actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other”, not the subsection of causing bodily harm which is “any pain, no matter how slight”, indicating this is about as light of physical contact alleged as possible, probably an allegation of pushing or grabbing wrists (from my experience as a defense attorney).
More Reddit comments of interest: Just to put a little water on the fire before people call for his head, Florida is a mandatory arrest state in terms of DV. It could have been a misunderstanding or he could’ve been the victim but when police are called to a DV call, someone leaves in handcuffs.
The Browns dealt with a similar situation with a rookie last year, if you can believe it/remember...and it turned out to be a quickly delivered 5 game suspension: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41555409/browns-mike-hall-suspended-5-games-violating-conduct-policy
Now, I’m getting some word (fresh to me) that Ole Miss wanted out of Quinshon Judkins because of his behavior and attitude...happily letting him go to the transfer portal (where he had the last laugh with a title at Ohio State). Apparently, this is within his character (allegedly). Soemthing a source told me today, for what it is worth.
The Browns are a great organization, top-to-bottom. What a great background research team they are.
Obviously, this Judkins thing could be nothing real and goes away quickly...as they tend to do.
If it is a major issue, and Judkins gets suspended or cut, etc., the FF impacts are, at first glance:
1) Jerome Ford becomes the assumed starter Week 1...the main snaps and touches for 2025 out of the gates.
2) Dylan Sampson’s profile rises...for the near-term, and for the long-term. I like him better than Judkins, as a scout, anyway.
3) If only Nick Chubb had not signed in Houston...
4) You might see them sign D’onta Foreman quickly to add depth if this looks like a real bad issue.
-- Kyle Juszczyk gives his Christian McCaffrey scouting report...
CMC is one of the most polarizing top players for FF 2025, this summer. He’s trading as an ADP #14-17 range overall player in redrafts -- a battle of people fear his injuries from 2024 are going to haunt him into 2025 and are staying away vs. the people who ‘believe’ he’s healed and a great value they smell.
I get both arguments...but ‘nobody knows’, really, about his issues lingering and if he’s lost his top speed (as some local reporters are suggesting). None of us in Fantasy-land knows if CMC is back to his old self. We need to see real game footage and/or GPS times...and we likely will get neither. But it’s doubtful CMC will play one snap in the preseason.
I don’t rule out CMC being a top 5 PPR player again but why take the chance with RBs like Derrick Henry and Bucky Irving trading 5-10+ ADP spots behind him. To me, De’Von Achane is CMC east/south and trades at a near identical overall ADP.
CMC drafters will either be a hero or have ruined a crucial pick in the 2nd-round of redrafts. My inclination is to let someone else be the hero (or goat). In the early rounds of the draft, there is no need to be that hero with all the other options available. People love a ‘deal’...and that’s his primary FF appeal. CMC back to normal, is a deal.
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: LA Rams.
Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Matt Stafford, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray
Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
LA Chargers, Denver, Baltimore, L.A. Rams, Kansas City
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*HOLY list (Draft Guide) update today.
*Devy 2026+ scouting series runs all month.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
*How to sign up for our Draft Guide package of reports: https://ffmetrics.com/draft-guide/draft-guide
*How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
*For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler. https://ffmetrics.com/5680-the-fastdraft-best-ball-and-specialized-tournament-style-fantasy-action-and-promo-code
7/12 SAT
(7:55amET)
-- The most inexplicable thing from yesterday or calendar year 2025: The Bears signed GM Ryan Poles to a three-year extension through 2029.
Complete incompetence rewarded. Why was Chicago in a rush to extend Poles...after another embarrassing season? The Bears had every reason and right to wait for a few weeks into the season, at least, to see if Caleb was gonna work out -- because if Caleb doesn’t work -- Poles would’ve NOT drafted C.J. Stroud so he could run with Justin Fields (and Matt Eberflus) and then when those decision were epic failures the Poles did NOT draft Jayden Daniels or Bo Nix...he drafted Caleb Williams. If Caleb Williams fails (as Daniels and Nix keep ascending), Ryan Poles will become/go on to be one of the monumental failures of a GM in the history of the sport.
...and the Bears just gave that a contract extension upfront...without seeing if Caleb really is gonna work (which I think he probably won’t...and will never be as good as Daniels-Nix...or better than Penix-JJM).
Unreal.
-- A quote from a Raiders podcast, via a raidersbeat.com article...
“I felt like the Raiders could have done a better job getting him more involved [last year],” Bonsignore said on Raider Nation Radio’s JT The Brick Show. “And you fast forward to this year, and you look at what happened in OTAs, and you look at what happened in mini-camp, and the times that we were out there, I think it was five, six total practices that the media was allowed to watch. It was really conspicuous how much Michael Mayer was involved in the passing game.”
“They really made it a priority, it felt, to get him involved, to throw him the ball. And I think that’s something that needs to continue. I can definitely see a scenario where Michael Mayer might be that number three, along with maybe a Jack Bech.”
RC Note: It’s notable info on/for Mayer, for whatever it is FF-worth...but also...
It can’t be ideal for Brock Bowers upside. Not that BB is going to die just because Mayer is on the field some -- but it’s just a minor tweak or issue where in the McBride-Kittle-Bowers debate, should Bowers be #3 of the group...whereas he is usually a consensus #1...is Bowers thus overvalued a bit in that top tier TE consideration?
And very subtly the observer noted Jack Bech...not Donte Thornton as the other ‘#3’ consideration with Mayer (Jakobi, Bowers 1-2 is what I assume he assumes). That Bech note falls in line with info I am getting as well...that the Thornton hype is a little overblown.
Also, I have made an executive decision...I’m displaying/spelling Donte Thornton’s name without an apostrophe. It is officially Dont’e...but when you type d-o-n-t then try to do the ‘ next, the word processor autocorrects it to Don’t’e, wanting Dont to be Don’t, and I don’t want to set up a rule to correct/hold off on Don’t corrections and lose my processor trying to make sure all the Dont’s might be Don’t’s. Sorry, Donte.
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: LA Chargers.
Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray
Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
LA Chargers, Denver, Baltimore, Kansas City
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP.
*Draft Guide rankings will update late this week.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
*How to sign up for our Draft Guide package of reports: https://ffmetrics.com/draft-guide/draft-guide
*How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
*For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler. https://ffmetrics.com/5680-the-fastdraft-best-ball-and-specialized-tournament-style-fantasy-action-and-promo-code
7/11 FRI
(5:49amET)
-- NBC Headline: Najee Harris’ agent Doug Hendrickson said that Harris “sustained a superficial eye injury” during “a fireworks mishap” on the 4th of July, “but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
RC Note: There was a buzz over the weekend that Najee may have seriously injured his eye...and today we got some corroboration that something did happen, from his agent, but first reports seem to brush off anything serious.
The agent said Najee will be ready for the NFL season -- but who knows what information or angle the agent is going off of. It could be grounds for a ‘cut’ of Najee without having to pay him his guaranteed 1-year deal, just speculating...so, it behooves the agent to be ‘positive’ right now.
We’re gonna find out more info soon...in 6 days, as the Chargers training camp is one of the early ones -- July 16th, because they play in the HOF game 7/31...three weeks from today. Let’s see if the Chargers ‘quietly’ add an RB to the roster in the next few days...
-- So, I watched Episode 1/Season 2 of Netflix’s documentary ‘Quarterback’...and I have my review.
For me, I decided to quit watching the show/series about halfway into episode one...but then I thought I should finish it for a proper review...so, I let it roll on as I worked on other things and I was only half paying attention to the fact that it rolled into episode two...and when I realized that, I threw in the towel/stopped watching altogether.
I’ll give my QB-by-QB reaction/review of what I saw in 1.5 episodes, but first...overall -- this just isn’t for me. It was more of a split screen of going through the season, at a 30,000-foot level interspersed with then cutting to snippets of their personal life...and none of it was all that interesting. I know how last season went for them, so the quick recaps of Week 1-2 or so, not needed. What I really wanted to do is learn more about them off the field, and what I got was kinda puffery, brief moments of ‘why am I watching this?’...it’s kinda bad reality TV; edited/sanitized to make them look OK/definitely make sure not to make them look bad.
I was drifting off quickly into episode one, either messing on my phone or working on something on one computer screen with the show playing on another and me listening and occasionally looking over. I just didn’t get anything out of it that I felt like I could use to my football advantage (FF or betting). If anyone of you goes through it in its entirety and you think I need to see something that gives all of us an advantage, let me know...because I am not going to watch the rest of it.
I am going to go through a QB-by-QB reaction, of what I did see, with my least favorite story/QB first leading up to my favorite...
4) Kirk Cousins = I didn’t feel bad for him with the Achilles injury rehab, from a ‘TV character sense, even though they were trying to induce that. Cousins just wasn’t likeable here. Kinda fake/plastic guy. If I kept watching the series, I’d be counting down to see him get benched...and not feel bad about it...as a viewer.
3) Joe Burrow = I wanted to love him from this, but the way they portray him is kind of bland...with some focus on his fashion side, which doesn’t land for me. Didn’t endear me to his story. He said nothing captivating the whole time.
2) Jared Goff = The one QB who I ‘felt’ something for...he was earnest, he was serious and honest about the way the Rams did him with the trade...but more so he was genuinely gracious and thankful for the Lions embracing him, and we got to see some of that from back when the trade happened. There were some actual real emotional moments from Goff, unlike the ‘sanitized for my protection’ version we got to see of the other guys, that they heavily edited for me to watch.
A bunch of credit to Goff, but a lot of credit to the Lions -- who traded for Goff, when EVERYONE in football analysis just ‘knew’ Goff sucked and needed to be replaced. Funny how they didn’t do a whole episode on how stupid the NFL media was about all this... In hindsight, the Rams should not have made that trade -- they should’ve grown with Goff and thrived with Goff. Who is to say Goff might have won a title for LAR last year or the year prior? A blackeye for Sean McVay...but we got no talking to task or McVay side of things, or anything really controversial here.
The off-field stuff we got to see with Goff...pretty boring. The on-field stuff, which was focused on beating the Rams in the playoffs the year prior then beating the Rams to start the 2024 season was sweet revenge that I was onboard for the whole ride/time. Good to see Goff’s reaction in-game and in the locker room...and the city’s embrace of Goff.
1) Jared Goff’s wife = My favorite thing of the whole show, by far. What a delightful young lady. I had a preconceived notion of her as a swimsuit model, but she couldn’t have been any nicer. And then ‘darn the luck’ they had to do a cutaway to her onsite at a Sports Illustrated shoot for a reaction to when she found out that Goff/the Lions finally won a game in his first season (when they started 0-10-1).
Two very nice, likeable people (The Goff’s)...at least from what we were able to see. Jared had a better camera presence and communication/story than the other QBs...and when they showed the QBs with their significant other, The Goff’s duo shined there too.
One last thing I learned from the show -- I learned to be an NFL QB, you must say the F-word as much as possible...except Kirk Cousins went with more ‘gosh darn its’. I leave the show asking myself...can any of these guys come up with something for a expression of emotion or rallying cry besides screaming ‘Let’s F****** Goooo’. How played out is that? And with this show, I got to see these unique, intelligent multi-millionaires basically have those three words for almost all their communications. Can someone come up with another rally cry/inspirational statement...LFG doesn’t have to be retired, but can we mix it up a little bit? Are there no other words or phrases we can use?
...wait, what’s that? Russell Wilson is calling? ‘Let’s Ride!’...ehhh, maybe LFG is the best thing we got as Americans. Maybe quarterbacks are not our best-and-brightest for human words or phraseology...
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: Las Vegas.
Joe Burrow
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Geno Smith, Kyler Murray
Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
Denver, Baltimore, Kansas City
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*The receiver group ‘tournament’ has begun and runs for a week+. A full division per day then the playoffs and the finale/Super Bowl.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP.
*Draft Guide rankings have been updated for the week. Next update after July 4th, like the MON-TUE after the weekend.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
*How to sign up for our Draft Guide package of reports: https://ffmetrics.com/draft-guide/draft-guide
*How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
*For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler. https://ffmetrics.com/5680-the-fastdraft-best-ball-and-specialized-tournament-style-fantasy-action-and-promo-code
7/10 THU
-- Yesterday’s news that one of the top NFL OTs, Tristan Wirfs (TB), underwent a minor knee surgery...and that rehab will keep him out for some part of the beginning of the season. This is a massive blow for the Bucs start to the season...and affects some FF projections for Baker and Bucky on down the line. You cannot lose arguably the best/2nd-best player on the team at the 2nd-most critical position to a football team and not have it have some effect to start the season.
...and then you hope it doesn’t affect Wirfs for too long into the season.
...but stem cell treatments are miracles, so there is hope for a faster recovery than history would say...but we won’t know until he’s back, whenever he’s back.
The Tampa FF-impacts will be seen on next week’s projections. This week’s versions are pre-Wirfs injury.
The next ‘Faux’ computer simulated season (2.0) is gonna be wild...Wirfs, Ragnow retirement, Rodgers, Ramsey-Minkah all happening since the first run.
-- The Terry McLaurin negotiations...
The market keeps going crazy for basic ‘good’ WRs (Aiyuk, DKM, Godwin, etc.), so Terry wants his payday just like the other guys that he is arguably as good as or better than.
Washington is now ‘well run’, so I’m sure they are trying to smartly get the best deal possible.
So, we have a typical NFL negotiation happening.
And there is no reason or pressure to wrap things up by today or tomorrow. Washington can wait for weeks until the training camps start, and even through the preseason. McLaurin is a veteran player and will be fine if he misses camp time...it actually helps Washington get the younger guys 1st-team reps, the ones who need it.
McLaurin is in no hurry to accept anything. The season isn’t close to beginning, and if he drags his feet a little...he can miss some of the boring/grueling training camp and then stand/work off to the side once he does report, if no new deal in place (so he gets credit for reporting, and not ‘fined’).
The media is trying to make this a thing, but there is no way Washington and McLaurin won’t come to a deal ahead of the regular season start. If the Commanders were rebuilding right now, then McLaurin would’ve probably been traded by now. But they are contenders, and McLaurin has been a loyal employee for years and various Commander regimes...Washington will have to pay more than they’d like, because they don’t have the upper hand in this situation.
McLaurin and Deebo will be the 1-2 WR punch for the passing game, and if Noah Brown can’t play the next few months -- then it’s Luke McCaffrey v. Jaylin Lane for the #3 WR spot...with the edge to LMC.
-- This was an odd story...I’ll just leave it to your reaction. For me, I cannot fathom falling for something like this, but I don’t imagine anyone does when it happens to them.
But when you read the details of what he had to do...who would not be suspicious and contact someone at the bank in some capacity?
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: Kansas City.
Joe Burrow
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Kyler Murray
Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
Denver, Baltimore, Kansas City
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*The receiver group ‘tournament’ has begun and runs for a week+. A full division per day then the playoffs and the finale/Super Bowl.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP.
*Draft Guide rankings have been updated for the week. Next update after July 4th, like the MON-TUE after the weekend.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
*How to sign up for our Draft Guide package of reports: https://ffmetrics.com/draft-guide/draft-guide
*How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
*For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler.
7/9 WED
(7:39amET)
-- Yesterday, Netflix debuted the 2nd-season of their football documentary series ‘Quarterback’. This year’s group is Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, and Kirk Cousins.
Here’s the trailer: https://youtu.be/00JaPxoZxiY?si=HZDE_pXiIJ7CWpv5
I did not watch the debut season last year...it didn’t really call out to me...I only have so much time in a day to consume football and non-football stuff outside of what I need/want to watch for sure for work. But I think I am going to try and watch at least the first episode of this one, to see if I like it...I’ll try one because I love Burrow, I am interested to learn more about Goff’s WR/TE relationships (if they even give us any insight), and the whole Kirk Cousins thing is an interesting soap opera.
If I watch episode 1, and subsequent episodes -- I will write a review/pass on any relevant betting or FF stuff here. Otherwise, this is a PSA that season two has just dropped.
-- Headline item in the news: Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Dallas Cowboys running back Miles Sanders split first-team work during mandatory minicamp with backfield mate Javonte Williams.
I am not moved by this information.
No team signs two recently productive, veteran RBs (cheap) but then drafts two RBs on day three...and then jams the rookies into the early OTA starting role. Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah will get their shot to make a run at a starting role come the preseason...whether they capitalize it for Week 1, we’ll see. Dallas didn’t draft Blue/Mafah because they are locked in with Javonte-Sanders.
I would not lock in/assume Williams-Sanders as starters...and even if they do begin as the starters, it could only take a week or two before they get replaced. It happens that way in-season with ‘weak’ RBs often.
This RB race has a ways to go, in Dallas.
Miles Sanders has a terrible contract...a contract that says ‘he’s a nobody’, and can be cut quite easily with a pocket change lost of guarantees.
Javonte Williams has a better contract, but it is also easily cuttable if needed/wanted. Dallas only gave him $1M signing bonus/guaranteed.
Sanders feels like the one who will get cut, but we got a-ways to go in this. Mafah getting cut and then hoped to be put on the practice squad would be the second-most likely outcome from August as the lone RB pre-53-man roster move. Blue is a lock to make the team. Javonte likely makes the team and is the veteran presence, ceremonial starter. What it looks like Week 1 and Week 4 is going to be very different, I suspect.
-- I thought this was a fun little stat to look at (below/attached), and all of the names are ones you might expect to be their team’s #1...but there is one on there that stands out from the rest as a bit of an odd-ball.
...unless you were with us last season when I kept saying this receiver was secretly/not so secretly his QBs favorite target...that the tape just screamed it.
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-safety-blanket-wide-receivers-highest-target-rates-pressure?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider_scoop&_kx=nZzGUmQqKGAgupUcdTUr6u8i0RU4NTLFuxBwXedA1Uc.U7MhhG
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: Jacksonville.
Joe Burrow
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Kyler Murray
Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
Denver, Baltimore
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*The receiver group ‘tournament’ has begun and runs for a week+. A full division per day then the playoffs and the finale/Super Bowl.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP.
*Draft Guide rankings have been updated for the week. Next update after July 4th, like the MON-TUE after the weekend.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler.
7/8 TUE
(7:59amET)
-- I’m making my way back to homebase from some summer travels for fun and some meetings this past week. An overload of windshield time is about to end, and the NFL training camps will soon open up, and before you know it -- real football will be back! This summer has gone by in a blink...but I think I am ready for cool fall temperatures. It’s been a sauna outside everywhere I’ve gone recently.
FFM items ahead this week:
Draft Guide rankings update tonight.
Oronde Gadsden scouting report midday today.
Dynasty rankings update Wednesday.
Dynasty Rookie Draft rankings update Thursday.
I’m finishing a REWIND study that is very important; to be released sometime this week...a bit of a big shift in my thesis/scouting...it’s not Drake Maye, I tabled that one to get to this particular one/player coming. It’s a surprise...and important.
Starting work on the mega-mock (re)draft on Wednesday...to be published...?? Published when it’s done, and I’m not sure when ‘done’ is -- because it’s a monster one to start the mock draft, pre-training camp season. But ASAP
-- Here’s some typical feelings/sentiment from Miami reporters/fans on the Ramsey-Minkah trade.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/bad-odor-jalen-ramsey-behavior-032501184.html?guccounter=1
There are all kinds of ‘Ramsey is a problem’ reports hitting...that he was late to practice and unfocused, etc. And the Miami reporters/fans are celebrating the fact that they ‘got rid’ of this ‘problem’.
My thoughts, and discussions with people I trust on this is -- Ramsey was lax, he’s always been...but he’s so good it doesn’t matter as long as he’s focused come game time...but reports of Ramsey’s issues are falling in line with a bunch of issues with Miami players the past few years...which SHOULD be sending warning alarms off on the common denominator of the issues = head coach Mike McDaniel.
Not everyone can lead an organization, be a leader of men. Doesn’t mean he can’t be an offensive genius or a likeable dude, etc., but his head coaching ability is, and has been, called into question by many people the past season or two, and the list is growing...especially issues with his coaching and management (D-C hiring and management of) on the defensive side of the ball. They used to complain that Buddy Ryan only cared about his defense and kind of ignored his offense...and it was kinda true. What if Mike McDaniel is the opposite version of that? He wouldn’t be the first. Most coaches gravitate towards ‘their’ side of the ball that they are familiar/comfortable with.
Mike Tomlin and Mike McDaniel really have what each other needs...if you paired them two together, put Tomlin as the HC and defensive counsel and leave Mike McDaniel alone to deal with the offense, but have Tomlin there to step on toes with any offensive players getting out of line -- it would be sweet music together, potentially.
But taking them separately, Tomlin is offensively-blind, with the worst offenses and O-Cs in the league for years...and has the worst O-C in the game yet again. Over to Miami, Vic Fangio could leave Mike McDaniel fast enough...and went right over to the Eagles, turned the defense immediately, and won a Super Bowl. Why did Fangio fail in Miami? Very likely, because of McDaniel’s culture or lack thereof in some way.
In the battle of ‘headache’ or ‘lax’ defenders traded in the MIA-PIT deal...how much you wanna bet Ramsey turns things around under Tomlin...and Minkah continues to decline in Miami?
-- Three TE stories I found interesting yesterday...
1) Jonnu Smith’s journey, in his own words.
2) The last time I remember Travis Kelce pointing out a TE at the TE U. (event), which he has done several times over the years, but this one memorable one (to me) a few years ago, it was a guy that I thought...he’s (Kelce) just being nice, that guy’s not that good...and that TE was Jake Ferguson. Kelce was right.
But he (Kelce) also pointed out Daniel Bellinger along with Ferguson their rookie year. Bellinger I thought would make it, and Ferguson would be ‘meh’. It’s been the opposite, so far.
Here’s one of Kelce’s pointed out guys at TE U in 2025...
3) When Sean Payton says:
(clip from the article below) “Hey, you ever heard of Jimmy Graham?” Payton asked Lohner, (as his Uncle Mike recalled). “We’re going to make you the next Jimmy Graham.” I think we should probably pay attention?
Both Ross and I have done some minor scouting work on enver 7th-round draft pick Caleb Lohner, and we don’t really ‘see’ the ‘next Jimmy Graham’ here...BUT this is a developmental thing, so he could really pop with training perhaps (3+ years college hoops, 1 year college football) and we could change our tune fast. We’ll see how he looks in the preseason.
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/07/07/caleb-lohner-broncos-tight-end-jimmy-graham/amp/
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: Indianapolis.
Joe Burrow
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Kyler Murray
Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco, Daniel Jones
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
Denver, Baltimore
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona
Carolina, Indianapolis, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*The receiver group ‘tournament’ has begun and runs for a week+. A full division per day then the playoffs and the finale/Super Bowl.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP. Almost done an Oronde Gadsden report.
*Draft Guide rankings have been updated for the week. Next update after July 4th, like the MON-TUE after the weekend.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report to be published ASAP.
=====================
How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
For those into Best Ball and Unique FF tourney action...It’s FastDraft, from our friends at PlayerProfiler.
7/7 MON
(6:48amET)
-- A new week...post-July 4th holiday week...I’m headed home from a long weekend of being lazy, hanging with my friend for a boys weekend...and watching baseball/betting on baseball and eating a ton of calories. It’s getting close to the time for no more trips, no more friends, no more sleep...report for football service for a 6-month ‘tour of duty’ of all football, all the time.
The summer, as always, is going by in a blink...and as much as I like this little lull in the football news/activity in July -- I can feel the training camps time is getting ready, the preseason games about to begin, Fantasy redraft season is about to pop. Honestly, July is a fun breather...but I am starting to get the itch for football to get back going...and I am ready for the horribly hot and humid period of the South to depart and the perfect fall temps to arrive.
It won’t be long now.
This week, among all the other items -- a mega mock draft piece I’ll work on all week...like a 3-4 mock drafts in-one report with commentary on my picks/rounds from various spots each round, which will kick off mock draft season the rest of the next 2 months to get us as ready as we can for redrafts and best ball, etc.
That opening mock piece is a doozie...5-7-8K+ words. I hope it can be done this week/end.
Here’s three quick news item/outside articles that may be of interest:
-- Dumb...misdemeanors...not suspension level...not smart...but his position doesn’t warrant any particular genius:
-- A nice, fluff ESPN story on Marvin Mims...
-- A little Theo Johnson update of interest for some...
-- Item/visual stat that I thought was interesting...
https://x.com/sharpfootball/status/1941907295509606779?s=43
More interesting, as always, in a bizarre, clinical analysis of societal psychology way...are the X account morons who make comments underneath an X post.
No one is like ‘congrats to Jalen’ or ‘wow, that’s impressive’ or ‘what a statistical deviation’...instead it devolves into the typical chaos and negativity...comment-fighting about how Josh Allen isn’t good at goal line work because of this stat, and Jalen Hurts secretly sucks, and how Hurts is a jerk for killing Saquon (2024) and D’Andre Swift’s (2023) FF value by stealing TDs, and how Lamar Jackson isn’t on the list, so he sucks.
Less than 30 days until the opening preseason game...football is almost back. Also coming back, all the online critics/fight-pickers/know-it-alls of everything mob. My first thought is -- ‘I can’t take another year of these idiots’, my second thought is -- they deserve for all of us to take their money in FF and betting player props, etc.
It’s almost that time...
-- QB hierarchy (daily)...
(Same intro daily): I got into a conversation with Ross J. the other day about who were the top QBs in the NFL, and where did Patrick Mahomes rank among them...which got me to thinking about the QB group as a whole, for just 2025 -- if I had just this one season as an NFL head coach and I could have any ONE QB, who would it be? So, I am going to go in team alphabetical order each day and just simply put that day’s QB into the list/rank...so I can focus on just that QB and compare him to the other options. It will be a vertical list, and quickly/also a horizontal one putting them in ‘tiers’.
One QB a day, as we play this out for a month...just for fun.
Today’s add: Houston.
Joe Burrow
Josh Allen
Lamar Jackson
Jared Goff, Dak Prescott
Bo Nix, C.J. Stroud, Michael Penix
Jordan Love, Kyler Murray
Caleb Williams
Joe Flacco
Bryce Young
-- (Same intro daily): I wanted to add another little ranking thing, for fun, before training camps begin -- my NFL team power ratings. Who I think has the best roster/team/coaches/GM...who I think the best TEAM in the league is, right now, for 2025.
We will run this ranking parallel with the QB hierarchy, going in alphabetical order/daily:
Buffalo, Detroit
Denver, Baltimore
Houston, Green Bay, Cincinnati, Dallas, Atlanta, Arizona,
Carolina, Chicago
Cleveland
-- Coming up on FFM today/this week...
*Devy 2026+ scouting series began yesterday and runs all month.
*The receiver group ‘tournament’ has begun and runs for a week+. A full division per day then the playoffs and the finale/Super Bowl.
*Next scouting report will publish ASAP. Almost done an Oronde Gadsden report.
*Draft Guide rankings have been updated for the week. Next update after July 4th, like the MON-TUE after the weekend.
*Next DRD top 300 rankings update will be Thursday/s all summer.
**Special reports that pop up will be published randomly all this week.
**Working on my next REWIND report...probably on Drake Maye.
=====================
How to get the free FFM App and FAQs on how to use: https://ffmetrics.com/5663-how-to-get-the-free-ffm-app
