Avery Duncan Articles - Page 46

The NFL has changed. With the swapping of run-heavy offenses for pass orientated ones, teams look at younger back differently. No longer do veteran backs dominate the league like they once did. Though the mainstays will continue cashing out and thriving, teams are favoring young backs. The thought process behind it simple: good offensive lines […]

30 years after Bill Walsh walked away from the San Francisco 49ers, their offense continues to play in a similar, innovate way. A cavalier of offensive innovation in his time, Walsh was the godfather of the West Coast offense that changed the way the game is played. Now, in 2019, Kyle Shanahan, a partial descendant […]

Deion Jones’ broken foot suffered in Week 1 of last season was a debilitating loss for a then-playoff contender. Without the Pro-Bowl linebacker, the Atlanta Falcons defense faltered. In the nine games the team played without him, the defense allowed 32 points per game, compared to 22 when he played. Jones’ loss correlating with a […]

When the Detroit Lions released Eric Ebron last off-season, I doubt they expected to see him immediately flourish with the Indianapolis Colts. The No. 10 overall pick struggled during his time as the Lions’ tight end. His route-running, athleticism, and speed transferred from North Carolina to the NFL, but his drop issues and inconsistencies became […]

Fourteen months ago, the Minnesota Vikings made the power move of the off-season — swapping Case Keenum for Kirk Cousins on a record-breaking, fully guaranteed three-year $84 million deal. After adding on the signal-caller, expectations for the Vikings were a record high — they were, in the eyes of many, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. […]

In 2016, Alabama, as it often does, stole one of the best recruits in that year’s class. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Before landing in Tuscaloosa, Josh Jacobs was living with his dad moving from cars to motels. As a recruit, he was off the radar. That changed after uploading his tape to […]

The Seattle Seahawks are in a bit of a pickle. Albeit a good one. Last year, in the first round, the Seahawks drafted Rashaad Penny to be their lead-back of the future. But, by the end of the 2018 season, he wasn’t. That title belonged to Chris Carson; their seventh-round pick in 2017. Heading into […]

Early in the 2019 off-season, the Jacksonville Jaguars made the quarterback switch most, at that point, expected; swapping Blake Bortles for Nick Foles. By now, you know that story of Foles. But, if you don’t, let’s catch you up (if you do, skip to the third paragraph). In 2012, he was drafted by the Eagles […]

The Indianapolis Colts scored a home run with their selection of little-known Darius Leonard at pick No. 38 in the 2018 NFL Draft. In his first season of play, the linebacker shattered all expectations as he led the team in total tackles with 168 and recorded 12 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, two interceptions, four […]

When Odell Beckham Jr. was traded to the Cleveland Browns, many assumed that the 25-year-old Sterling Shepard would fill in his role as the New York Giants No. 1 receiver. When the team then gave Shepard a four-year $41 million extension, that was reaffirmed. But is he suited to live up to the lofty expectations […]

The Nashville crowd went crazy when their native Tennessee Titans took Jeffery Simmons at No. 19 overall. Although Simmons plays the less flashy interior defensive lineman position, the cheers were just. With the addition, the Titans appear to have one of the best, most complete defenses in the AFC, but the pairing wasn’t supposed to […]

In 2015, the Tennessee Titans selected Marcus Mariota at No. 2 overall to be their quarterback of the present and future. Now, just four years later, he’s entering the most important year of his career. As a quarterback playing on the final year of his rookie season, the Oregon product must show the Titans what […]

This is what Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had to say at the combine regarding D.J. Moore and his status as a top option: “How do you label a number one? Is it a vertical No. 1 threat, or is it a guy that works underneath the defense? For us, he has both skill […]

The Los Angeles Chargers were so close in 2018. Though they finished the season as a wildcard, the Bolts found a new form of electricity in the form of a well-rounded team and a few young studs. Led by Phillip Rivers and Derwin James, the Chargers were able to get their first playoff win in […]

On October 22nd, 2018, Jerry Jones and his Dallas Cowboys shocked the NFL world by trading a first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper. Many dubbed the Raiders as the immediate winners of the deal. At the time, Cooper’s career arch had turned from star to potential bust. But Dallas saw […]

The Tampa Bay Buccanneers and their fans are no stronger to pessimistic storylines. But, that’s in well-reason for that — the team has had plenty of stars, but they haven’t made the playoffs since 2007. But, in 2019, that very well could change. Despite Tampa Bay’s considerable roster holes, they come into the NFL’s 100th […]

The Denver Broncos have been subject to plenty of change in the 2019 offseason. Their groups of quarterbacks once led by Case Keenum have been replaced by Joe Flacco and rookie Drew Lock. Outside of the quarterback position, the team dropped players including Brandon Marshall and Darian Stewart for Kareem Jackson, Bryce Callahan, and Ju’Waun […]

The Houston Texans have taken leaps-and-bounds to become a legitimate playoff contender. They have an elite defense led by J.J. Watt, and on the other side of the ball sits one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the NFL. But, despite their abundance of star power, the team has failed to win a post-season […]

For the second straight year, a prospect named Josh Allen was selected at No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft. Unlike last year’s Josh Allen, a quarterback, this year’s Josh Allen will make his money taking down shot-callers in the backfield. The Jacksonville Jaguars seemingly lucked into the Kentucky pass rusher when he unexpectedly fell […]

After a disappointing home AFC Championship loss, general manager Brett Veach and the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t rest on their laurels. Instead of relying on Patrick Mahomes to carry the team to victory weekly, the team opted to fix their “broken” defense. The first move to do so was firing defensive coordinator Bob Sutton and […]

The phrase “Detroit Lions can’t run the ball” has been used, abused, but not misused. From 2014 to 2017, the Lions ranked in the bottom-five in total rushing yards each year. In that same four-season span, their rushing attack averaged 1,322 yards per season — for context, that number would rank last in the NFL […]

Under coach Matt Nagy, and led by Khalil Mack, the Chicago Bears took massive strides in 2018. The team won the NFC North and went to the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Yet, the season didn’t entirely end the way they wanted; infamously, they lost their wild card game thanks to a missed […]

A 4.37 second 40-yard-dash, a 40.5-inch vertical, 27 bench-press-reps, a 134-inch broad jump, and a historical lineage of NFL players propped now Seattle Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf into the limelight. But, it wasn’t enough to overlook his issues pertaining to his lack of agility, route-tree, and injury history. From expected first-round pick to the No. […]

The Baltimore Ravens made progress in 2018. Head coach John Harbaugh changed the team’s offensive mindset from stalling, play-action dependent to a two-headed lethal rushing attack. While the offense went through a makeover, the defense continued to play Ravens’ physical, fast, and calculated football. In the offseason, the team continued the overhaul of their offensive […]

Sometimes, the winner of the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award is an improbable one. Washington’s Dwayne Haskins isn’t that. Though he slipped to Dan Snyder’s lap at No. 15 overall and was the third quarterback selected in the most recent draft, the Ohio State product is one of the front-runners to win the […]

It wasn’t long ago when the Philadelphia Eagles’ receiving corps was a negative for the team. Back in Carson Wentz’s rookie season (2016), many viewed his pass-catchers as a catalyst to his mid-season regression. In ’16, his leading pass-catchers (WR’s, TE’s) were; Zach Ertz (816 yards, 4 TD’s, 73.6% catch rate), Jordan Mathews (804, 3, […]

Heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, cornerback Josh Jackson was a highly coveted prospect with first-round upside. Luckily, for general manager Brian Gutekunst and Co., they watched Jackson fall to No. 45 overall, in turn, making him a Green Bay Packer. In Jackson’s rookie season, he proved draft pundits right. He played in all sixteen […]

As is the nature of the offseason, NFL players will lose their jobs on their respective teams due to the NFL Draft, free agency, and trade market. The Oakland Raiders are no exception to this. In 2019, they’ve molded their roster in the eyes of head coach Jon Gruden; it’s a radical difference than before. […]

Many amongst Bills Mafia were surprised that Ed Oliver, a player many considered to be a top-five pick, fell to the team at No. 9 overall. After dominating AAC competition at the University of Houston for three seasons after ranking as their best recruit ever as a five-star, the defensive lineman found himself in Western […]