NFLRT 4/5/2024

The questions and discussion…

1) Last week the NFL’s 32 owners approved one of the most dramatic rule changes in league history when they voted through new kickoff rules. 

What is your opinion of these changes to the kickoff in the NFL? Why?

The more that I let this move digest, the more that I think it’s going to be a fun change to the kickoff and bring some more activity. It’s going to look super weird for the first couple of weeks watching the formation.

Do I think that this is going to drive up kickoff returns back to what we used to see, or even more? No, not necessarily, but I do think that more are going to get returned. They’re going to try to get teams pinned deep in their own territory by kicking squibs to them. While teams cannot move outside of the kicker and returner, until the ball is caught, I think, with the new lineup positioning of the kicking team’s players, it’s going to trap the returning team with bad returns most of the time.

But, I think we will see an uptick in touchdown returns, which will be nice, because that part has been missing for several seasons, especially ever since Devin Hester retired. 

If it means more returns will occur on kickoffs then I am all for these changes to the kickoff rules.

Lately it seems all that happens on kickoffs is the ball goes into the end zone and the return team gets the ball o the 25 yard line. So if that’s what is going to happens 90% of the time if not more than why not just give the ball to the team on offense on the 25 and be done with it instead of wasting time retrieving the ball and having the refs do their mumbo jumbo and placing the ball o the 25.

So now with new rules if it means the ball will be in paly 90% of the time instead of going into the end zone and teams will be returning the ball more than yes let’s get it on.

2) Former NFL GM and present ESPN contributor Mike Tannenbaum recently came out and said he rates LSU’s Malik Nabers ahead of Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. in this season’s upcoming NFL draft on April 27.

What are your thoughts regarding Tanenbaum’s opinion of this draft’s wide receiver class and where the presumptive top two players rank? Why?

I’m not in agreement at all with this. While I do think that Malik Nabers is a great receiver prospect, he isn’t better than Marvin Harrison Jr.

I think a lot of writers and media people weren’t too fond of Harrison Jr not working out or doing drills at either the Pro Day or the NFL Combine. But with back-to-back seasons with 14 receiving touchdowns and over 1,200 receiving yards, especially last season with an off quarterback, I think it should solidify the legitimateness of Harrison Jr.

If you watch him on the field, he pulls away from the rest of the class in his rating. His dad ran a 4.33 40-yard dash when he was coming out of college. Harrison Jr is projected to have a similar 40-yard time but is four inches taller. He has amazing hands, body control, size and speed. He can run after the catch and is probably the most NFL-ready prospect in this entire draft. 

 Harrison Jr. opted to skip workouts at the NFL Combine as well as Ohio State’s pro day, and that gave Nabers the opportunity to steal the spotlight. And he kinda, sorta accomplished by having an excellent showing at LSU’s prod day he proved he’s the perfect physical specimen to play in  and possibly be a domain force in the NFL.  level. He measured 6-feet and 199 pounds, ran a 4.35 40-yard dash, had a 42-inch vertical, and registered a 10-foot-9 broad jump. For comparisons sake, All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase participated in his own LSU pro day and outperformed the eventual top-10 pick in all the other drills.

Harrison Jr. however was coming off another 14-touchdown season that included dominant performances against Penn State and Michigan .Add in the fact he nearly led Ohio St. to upsetting Georgia in the 2022 College Football Playoff, by catching two touchdowns and racking up106 yards to help the Buckeyes nearly pull off the upset.

To top his college ca3reer off, Harrison Jr. was the only non-quarterback invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony and finished fourth in the voting. 

Harrison is 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, is an outstanding route runner with exceptionally reliable hands, and has the pedigree of a Hall-of-Fame father, Marvin Harrison. His on-field performances earned him the right to opt out of workouts. But that decision could also impact his draft position and might be the rationale of why some “experts” are suddenly casting Nabers ahead of Harrison Jr. in their draft projections.

Simply put, Harrison Jr. is larger physically and is the better threat to score in the red zone, and overall is the more polished route runner.

While Nabers has maybe the better overall speed on the field and acceleration on his first step when he gets the ball and has the ability to take a three-yard screen pass and break it off for a 50-yard touchdown, it’s not like Harrison Jr. couldn’t do that also.

Harrison Jr., regardless of what certain people’s opinion may be is the top wideout in this year’s draft bar none.

3) Out or all the free agent running back moves this off-season which running back will have the most success? Why? 

While I think some people might discredit me on this one, I think Josh Jacobs is going to have the most success out of any running back that moved around this off-season.

While he’s still got years left and has been one of the best running backs in all of football, he had 1,000 yards rushing in his second NFL season. His third season was 800 yards. The next season? 1,600 yards. Then last season he had 800 rushing yards again.

Putting him in a better overall offense, and with his career projection, he should be in line for another 1,000 yard rushing season, be a big contributor through the passing game for Jordan Love and with a better offense moving through the air and opening up space for him running the ball. With this offense, his career trajectory, and what type of back he still is, he’s going to have amazing success in Green Bay, especially with AJ Dillion being the back to take up some bruising runs to ensure Josh Jacobs stays healthy for the entire season. 

I believe Saquon Barkley with the Eagles will outshine every other free agent running who changed team in the upcoming seson.

First, he comes to an Eagles offense with Jaen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Dallas Goedert already in house which is a level of talent the Giants never had.  

Second, the Eagles signed Barkley because they believe he is generational talent who still has his best years ahead of him as a multipurpose running back.

Third, the Eagles coaches intend to utilize by featuring his multipurpose talent in their offense as a runner and a receiver a lot more predominantly than the Giants’ coaches ever did when they had Barkley on their team.

And all that tells me that Barkley has finally found himself in position to be on a team that recognizes his talent and will use that talent in their offense allowing Barkley to finally show the world how great of a running back he is and he will explode in the 2024 season and wind up leading all running backs in all-purpose yards by a large margin.

4) On Sunday (3/31) an ESPN report said that the Dallas Cowboys and free agent running back Ezekiel Elliot have a mutual interest in a reunion. Elliott, who turns 29 on July 22, played last season after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots worth $3 million. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Cowboys before being released last March when the Cowboys then essentially replaced him with Tony Pollard who they selected  in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL. Pollard has since left the Cowboys this off-season as a free agent and signed with the Tennessee Titans.

What is your take on this entire situation with the Cowboys and their running backs in the present, past and possible future? Why?

The entire running back situation for the Dallas Cowboys has just been questionable for the past multiple seasons.

They had a lot of success with Ezekiel Elliott as their main running back. Then they got Tony Pollard who was a nice off-pace back, but the Cowboys never knew how to use the duo correctly.

Then Elliott gets an injury and that opens the door for Tony Pollard to get a lot of the carries and rushing for over 1000 yards in 2022. With the success that Tony Pollard had, and the consensus being that Pollard can be the top back for the Cowboys, they let Elliott go in free agency.

After the season Elliott had for the Patriots last season, the Cowboys weren’t wrong in letting him go. However, Pollard did have 1,000 rushing yards last season, but that was an overall disappointment compared to his lofty expectations.

However, instead of running it back with Pollard and loading up the roster, they lost some offensive linemen including their center and guard, they also lost their running back leaving Dallas with a glaring hole and no back-up plan. What’s going on in Dallas right now is head-scratching. The Cowboys could grab Elliott, but they have to go to the draft and get a running back. They’ve mishandled this running back room now and need to fix it immediately, especially if they expect to make a Super Bowl run again this season. 

I have no idea whatsoever what Jerry Jones… the Cowboys… are doing with the running back situation in Dallas.

They had a great running back in Elliot who excelled for them for years but he gets injured and Tony Pollard shines in his place as the featured back, so they let Elliot go.

Then this off-season instead of making sure they lock up Pollard to be their RB long term they allow him to leave as a free agent.

Now they are  rumored to be about to resign Elliot.

Go figure is all I can say.

If someone figures out what Jones as the guy who makes the decisions for the Cowboys is up to then, please, let us all in on the secret.

5) Kind of staying with the Cowboys…

Where will QB Dak Prescott be playing when the 2025/2026 season begins? Why?

Speaking of Super Bowl expectations, Dak Prescott has been the key contributor to the Cowboys’ regular season success of the past several seasons. He was a top MVP candidate last season, is known for a lot of yards, has some weapons still around him, but will now be playing for a new contract with rumors of him not receiving an extension for this season and the Cowboys retracting from “win now” mode into a more of a restructuring mode.

I don’t think the Cowboys can afford to lose him to another team, especially with a quarterback of his caliber that would never hit free agency, might actually hit free agency. I think he’s going to stay in Dallas. he’s going to get a massive deal, and the Cowboys have to keep him around. There’s no other options that I could think of that would make sense for Dallas not to keep him, even if they can’t find success in the postseason. At least he’s getting them consistently to the postseason to give them an opportunity.

But how much of these past post-season failed trips are solely on Dak Prescott? After having a very solid defense last season, they went to the post-season and allowed Jordan Love to light them up, giving up 272 yards through the air (151 to Romeo Doubs) and three passing touchdowns, while allowing Green Bay to run for 143 yards on their way to posting 48 points and out of reach of a late game, fourth quarter comeback. Dak Prescott, however, had 403 passing yards (6.7 yards per attempt, compared to Jordan Love’s 13 yards per attempt) with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Tony Pollard only had 56 rushing yards. It’s hard allowing 48 points and trying to overcome that with 60 passing attempts. He’ll still be in Dallas next season, and the season after, and probably for the rest of the most of his career. Dallas can’t afford to lose him, and I don’t think Prescott wants to leave.  

See my answer to question four… I have the feeling that Jerry Jones is about to screw up his QB position the same way he has screwed up his running back position

It won’t surprise me at all if Dak Prescott is playing with another team after this season has concluded. The only way I think that he won’t be is if the Cowboys somehow not only make the playoffs but at the minimum get to the Super Bowl. Other than that I think Jones will play hard ball with the contract situation with Prescott and he will refuse to sign and instead go into free agency and wind up elsewhere.