Atlanta Falcons

How the NFL Draft shuffle affects the New York Jets

by

The New York Jets remained rooted in the second overall slot, but chaos erupted behind them on Friday. Where does that leave them?

Never mind the Super Bowl shuffle…the draft board boogie aired at full blast on Friday afternoon.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets respectively remain in the top two slots, but the landscape behind looks drastically different. At the cost of two future firsts, the San Francisco 49ers will now choose in the third slot. The Miami Dolphins, recipients of those Bay Area picks, dealt the No. 12 they gained to Philadelphia, officially situating themselves at sixth overall. 

How does this affect the Jets, still the ongoing holders of the No. 2 choice? ESM investigates…

No Way, Darnold

Many assume that the 49ers, like the Jets before them in 2018, are trading up to the third pick to select a quarterback. Trevor Lawrence remains the consensus top choice to Duval, while many believe the Jets will take BYU passer Zach Wilson after team brass attended his pro day on Friday.

Despite being firmly entrenched in the rookie passer discussion, San Francisco has no imminent plans to trade Jimmy Garoppolo, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. But this move more or less eliminates them from the Sam Darnold conversation. If the 49ers are apparently comfortable with a lingering quarterback controversy between Garopoolo and, say, Justin Fields, there’s no way they would add a third name to that list.

This week has been one of the roller-coaster variety for Darnold. Corey Davis mentioned that he was under the impression that Darnold would be his thrower come September in his first New York statements. But the New York prescience in Provo dictates that the Jets are still exploring other options. If the Jets are ready to officially close the book on Darold, likely only one potential destination remains: the Carolina Panthers. 

Tua Time

Miami owned the third pick through one of the earliest chapters of the downfall of the Houston Texans: the trade for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills. After Friday, the Dolphins have essentially turned Tunsil (who fell to their grasp at 13th overall in 2018 after the bizarre social media hacking) into six first-round picks over the next three drafts.

But the cold truth is that draft quantity means nothing without quality, and major questions surround a high-profile choice in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5 in 2020).

While many have pegged the Dolphins as a surprise playoff team this season after winning ten games, questions hovered around their quarterback position, especially after the Ryan Fitzpatrick safety net went to Washington. Trading out of the third slot essentially says they’re not looking for a quarterback. Even with the sixth choice, the best passers, including FCS stud Trey Lance, will probably be gone. With Atlanta rounding out the top four and possibly looking to prepare for the post-Matt Ryan era, we well could see quarterback taken with the first four picks.

From a New York standpoint, the upgrades to their front seven through Vinny Curry and Sheldon Rankins look even wiser right now. It’s possible they could use their latte first-round choice (the Seattle pick at No. 23) to further shore up their edge game, though cornerback options have also been analyzed.

Would the Jets be willing to trade too?

San Francisco elevator ride up the draft board ensures that they can get one of the three or four most-talked-about passing names in the draft. Could that inspire other teams to give the Jets a call in an attempt to find further passing stability?

Carolina’s passing conundrum is anything but solved in the eighth choice, their current depth chart topped by Teddy Bridgewater and P.J. Walker. Denver could be trying to put pressure on incumbent Drew Lock. Stifling the tough of such a deal is the fact that neither potential partner has much to offer in terms of future picks (the best in terms of a surplus amongst each of them is day three picks in 2021). Either way, this shift will possibly have other quarterback-hungry teams trying to work their way through, so Joe Douglas might have some extra calls to field as draft day in Cleveland approaches.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

Jets add veteran RB Tevin Coleman: How does he fit?

by
New York Jets potential free agency target Tevin Coleman.

The Jets have added another playmaker on the offensive side of the football. Joining La’Mical Perine, Ty Johnson, and Josh Adams in the backfield next season will be Tevin Coleman. Coleman joins the team on a one-year deal worth $2 million dollars. Coleman played for the Atlanta Falcons for four seasons before inking a deal with San Francisco just two years ago. Now, Coleman, after two seasons with the 49ers, reunites with Mike LaFleur in the Big Apple.

How Does Coleman Fit?

Tevin Coleman is going on 28 years old and joins a group of young backs. Coleman has started games in the past, most notably 14 in 2018. A season where Coleman also had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns. Coleman has had productive seasons in the past, and he joins an offense he has played and thrived in, in the past.

Coleman will be both a good veteran presence in a locker room of young backs by showing them how the system works, but he will also be a weapon on the field. Last season, in the Shanahan offense, Coleman was unable to get going with only 28 carries for 53 yards, totaling up only 1.9 yards per attempt.

Despite those career worsts last season, in his first season with San Fran, Coleman had 137 carries for 544 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also added 180 yards and 3 touchdowns, receiving on 21 receptions. That level of production is something the Jets hope he can get back to in this upcoming season. Ultimately, Coleman will not be a bell-cow back, but in a running back room that is relatively inexperienced, Coleman provides stability.

Not only that, but if the Jets do opt to draft another back into the fold as a bell cow, Coleman can be a great complementary back. Overall the addition is not going to be as headline-grabbing as a trade for a premier back or an attempt to sign someone along the lines of a Leonard Fournette or James Conner, but the move is a low-risk high reward add for Douglas as he looks to fill out the offense with more pieces after a disastrous 2020.

For Atlanta Falcons’ Johnathan Cyprien, Helping at Risk Youth is a Reward

by
Johnathan Cyprien

On the field, Atlanta Falcons’ Johnathan Cyprien is a strong safety and off the field, he is just as strong when it comes to donating his time!

Often times you can find Cyprien helping others, something it is clear he loves to do. Through his foundation the Cyp Squad At Risk Youth foundation, Cyprien has done some amazing work benefiting kids who are underprivileged.

When Cyprien had time off, he used it to spread joy to others by joining with a youth football league in Nashville.  He also hosts a free football camp for kids ages 7 to 17 and joins in on his teammate’s camps as well to help out and teach essential skills.  To benefit charity, Cyprien also hosted a Pro Bowl watch party complete with a fun meet and greet and awesome NFL memorabilia.

To inspire the Police Athletic League, Cyprien attended their charity golf event and surprised them with a signed jersey for their youth teaching center.  Knowing just how vital and pivotal education is, Cyprien read books to kids to help forge their love of learning.  His tremendous charitable work earned him the key to North Miami Beach.  When it came time for the annual Music City Bowl, he gifted kids of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America tickets to the event.  When back to school time comes, Cyprien provides backpacks filled with all of the necessary school supplies.  Cyprien has also sponsored and granted wishes for numerous kids in need, putting a smile on everyone involved faces.

When the Coronavirus pandemic struck, Cyprien posted a message of inspiration on Instagram saying that we must all stay safe, stay home, and stay strong.  Like he always does, he encouraged us to stay positive and make the best of it and better ourselves and others along the way, which is exactly what he did.  Knowing how difficult it is to get groceries at this time due to store policies, procedures, and safety measure and precautions as well as lack of availability, Cyprien decided to partner with Joshua’s Heart, which aims to eradicate food insecurity and alleviate poverty and hunger for those in need, to provide 400 families in the city of North Miami Beach, Florida.  A kind gesture like that can go a long way for those who need it most.  Cyprien also partnered with Camarbre, a lifestyle brand to sell masks with proceeds benefiting his foundation.  To purchase one go to https://www.camarbre.com/face-mask

Recently, Cyprien donned a shirt adorned with the powerful, yet simple words “Love Everybody”, a message we should all live by and enact in our daily lives! Johnathan Cyprien often proclaims “God blessed me, so I can bless others” and boy does he embody that mantra to the fullest!

5 NFL Teams that Could Surprise Fans This Season

by
New York Giants, Darius Slayton, Saquon Barkley

The Kansas City Chiefs won their first Superbowl in 50 years this past February. The team was lead to victory by their former MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes led the Chiefs to overcome a 10 point deficit in the fourth quarter of the game. While the Chiefs are expected to make another strong run for a championship title, there are a few teams that have had their potential flying quietly under the radar. Here are five teams that could surprise people with a strong season this fall. 

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons had a worrisome start to their 2019 season. Through their first eight games before their bye week, the team had only won one game. Atlanta had appeared to be heading for a top pick in the draft. Some fans had lost hope on the remainder of the season. However, after the bye week, the team came back with a new identity. The Falcons won six of their last eight games including wins against playoff-caliber teams such as the Saints and the 49ers. Atlanta finished their year on an impressive four-game winning streak, leaving their fans with high hopes for the next season. The team followed up their strong end of season performance by adding running back Todd Gurley in the offseason and drafting one of the classes best corners in A.J. Terrell out of Clemson. The Falcons improved on both sides of the ball and are definitely a team to look out for in 2020. 

Denver Broncos

Late last season the Broncos handed over their offense to their rookie quarterback Drew Lock. Denver drafted Lock in the second round last year and knew he would eventually take over as the teams starting QB. It wasn’t until Week 13 when Lock finally got his chance as the starter. Lock definitely didn’t disappoint as he performed very well and helped the team win four of their final five games since he took over. Denver continued to support Lock this offseason by adding more weapons on the offensive side of the ball. The team signed running back Melvin Gordon to play alongside running back Phillip Lindsay. The Broncos also added two more weapons on the outside. Denver drafted wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler in the first two rounds. Not only did the team add two fantastic receivers in the draft, but they already have Courtland Sutton who had a breakout season last fall. The team has set Drew Lock up for success after surrounding him with tons of talent. The ceiling is high for the Denver offense in 2020 as they’ll look to compete with the best of the best this year. 

New York Giants

The Giants made plenty of big moves this offseason, including major changes to their coaching staff. New York hired former Patriots special teams and wide receivers coach, Joe Judge to be the next head coach of the team. Judge has since come in and made significant changes to the teams coaching staff. He brought in former head coaches such as Jason Garrett and Freddie Kitchens to coach alongside him. Despite the team having a poor performance last season, there were some bright spots that displayed their potential. Last offseason the team drafted quarterback Daniel Jones sixth overall and the pick came with lots of controversies. Jones took over as the starter in the third week of the season replacing the franchise’s great Eli Manning. Jones performed well despite having trouble with turnovers. He displayed flashes of qualities of a franchise leading quarterback. The Giants added some key players in free agency such as cornerback James Bradberry and linebacker Blake Martinez. New York continued their offseason by drafting one of the top offensive tackles in the draft in April. With a revamped defense and offensive line, the Giants will look to surprise people this season. 

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals made one of the biggest moves this offseason by trading for superstar wide our DeAndre Hopkins. Arizona fans were provided with much hope after watching their number one overall pick last April be named the NFL offensive rookie of the year. Kyler Murray provided a spark to the Cardinals offense that turned him into one of the most electric players in the league. However, the team did not stop after trading for a superstar. They followed it up with a fantastic draft. The team selected do-it-all player Isaiah Simmons from Clemson. Simmons was considered by many the most talented player in the entire draft. Arizona had been lucky enough for Simmons to still be on the board by the eighth overall pick and there was so chance the Cardinals would let him getaway. The team also took another top offensive tackle in Josh Jones in the third round of the draft. The Cardinals could quite possibly become a must-watch team this upcoming season. 

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins struggled badly at the start of last season. It seemed for sure that the team would end up with the first overall pick and likely not win a game all season. However, head coach Brian Flores kept his team fighting as they put on impressive performances against competitive teams late in the year. Despite having such a young and inexperienced roster, Miami was able to win a couple of games including beating their rival Patriots on the road in December. Miami landed arguably the top free agent corner in Byron Jones, giving them possibly the best cornerback duo in the entire league. The Dolphins also drafted what they consider to be their future franchise quarterback in this April’s draft with the fifth overall pick. Dolphins fans are extremely excited about their future as they believe their rebuild has been executed perfectly so far. The Dolphins will definitely be a sleeper team to watch this fall.

New York Jets: Grades and Analysis Against the Atlanta Falcons

by
New York Jets, Luke Falk

The New York Jets come out of Atlanta with their first win of the preseason, and they showed a lot of promise across the board. Here is my analysis of the game and some team grades.

Sam Darnold is looking good

Sam Darnold is looking like the real deal. After completing 5 out of 7 passes for 46 yards, the Jets signal-caller looks like he has total command of the offense. Darnold showed grace under pressure by keeping himself composed while evading defenders in the pocket. Darnold also showed his ability to perfectly place the ball by throwing behind Robby Anderson on a go route and almost completing a beautiful dime on the move to Quincy Enunwa in the endzone.

If Darnold continues to show this kind of quality, then Jets will finally have the franchise QB they’ve been looking for, for the past 50 years.

Front seven is deadly

The New York Jets front seven has been dominant allowing 124 rushing yards combined in the first two preseason games. This unit has the potential to be good with C.J. Mosely operating the ship. Henry Anderson was lights out, putting a lot of pressure on Matt Ryan. Quinnen Williams was also showing up tonight being a disruptive force down the middle, specifically on third down.

The New York Jets have something special going on in the front seven. It’ll be up to the secondary to complete the defense and make it a top unit.

Secondary getting torched

The Jets secondary, specifically their cornerbacks, are getting manhandled every down. The secondary couldn’t stop a person with paraplegia if there were one on the field. To make matters worse, the football gods handed out their weekly slap to the face to Jet fans by injuring some of the no names in the already thin secondary. The Jets secondary situation is in DEFCON 1; Joe Douglas needs to make a move now if not, the results could be disastrous.

Still, don’t have a kicker

Taylor Bertolet is the only kicker on the Jets roster right now, and the Jets should seriously consider adding some competition. Bertolet wasn’t awful, but he also wasn’t that good. Bertolet had a rocky start after missing an extra point to start the game but redeemed himself by hitting a 49-yard field goal. Bertolet did have a small sample size tonight and should be given another shot, but I don’t think any Jet fan is comfortable with him being the only kicker on the roster.

Offensive Grade: B

The offense tonight was good all around no matter who was on the field. The biggest issue was the fact that O-line looked inconsistent throughout the whole game. Another issue I had was that the running game was nonexistent after Ty Montgomery left the field. Other than those two problems, I think they looked solid.

Defensive Grade: B-

This grade is most reflective on the front seven; however, as the game progressed, the secondary did look a little better. The New York Jets still have work to do on the defensive side of the ball, but tonight they looked alright.

Special Teams Grade: B

The only reason this grade isn’t an A or an A- is because of the missed extra points by Bertolet. Other than Bertolet’s mistakes, they were average group tonight.

Overall Grade: B

 

 

New York Jets: Preseason Preview Atlanta Falcons vs New York Jets

by
New York Jets

The New York Jets play the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night this week and it will be a critical moment for some players to showcase their talent on a roster that lacks depth. We’ll see the starters play about a quarter Thursday night and continue to show their potential. Some things to keep an eye on for this game will be the starters in the secondary, new kicker Taylor Bertolet and a couple young emerging receivers.

What will the secondary look like?

The New York Jets secondary has been decimated by injuries over the past week with Trumaine Johnson and Kyron Brown both falling to hamstring injuries. The starting cornerbacks for Thursday will most likely be Darryl Roberts and Arthur Maulet. The Jets are thin at corner after releasing Derrick Jones earlier this week. It’s gotten so bad that Jamal Adams has offered to play both corner and safety for the team. The Jets have a couple more weeks until the regular season but who knows how much longer they can go without having any depth at corner.

Give us more

Sam Darnold is like a drug, his presence on the field is so addictive to Jets fans that we can’t get enough. When Sam Darnold is on the field it feels like the past 50 years of incompetence and ineptitude get erased. Darnold is the savior of the team. On Thursday night Jet fans will get a bigger dose of Darnold in the new offense and we all can’t wait.

Who is Taylor Bertolet?

The New York Jets new kicker Taylor Bertolet was signed shortly after Chandler Catanzaro announced his retirement Sunday morning. Taylor Bertolet played for Texas A&M where he set the record for most PATs in a season. Bertolet was on the roster last preseason until he lost his position to Jason Meyers. As of right now, Bertolet is the only kicker on the roster, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Jets bring in an experienced veteran to compete with him.

Stars in the making?

New York Jets wide receivers Deontay Burnett and Greg Dortch both flashed potential against the Giants with the latter scoring a touchdown. Everyone knows Deontay Burnett from his time in USC acting as Sam Darnold’s safety blanket but not many know of Dortch. The rookie receiver from Wake Forest came onto the scene as being the potential replacement for kick returner after Andre Roberts left, but his string of good practices and games might land him a bigger role on offense. If both receivers continue to shine, the New York Jets will have a much deeper receiver room than previously thought.