More coaching staff news. The Philadelphia Eagles are bringing former assistant offensive line coach Greg Austin back to Philly, according to a report from Eliot Shorr-Parks. Austin could seemingly replace former Eagles run game specialist/assistant offensive line coach T.J. Paganetti, who recently left the Birds to join Kellen Moore’s New Orleans Saints coaching staff. Here’s a snapshot of Austin’s coaching experience: 2010-2012 — Oregon graduate assistant 2013-2015 — Philadelphia Eagles assistant offensive line coach 2016-2017 — UCF offensive line coach 2018-2021 — Nebraska offensive line coach 2022 — FIU offensive line coach/run game coordinator 2023 — Jacksonville Jaguars offensive quality control coach 2024 — Jacksonville Jaguars assistant offensive line coach As you can see, Austin followed Chip Kelly from Oregon to Philly in 2013. He overlapped with Eagles run game coordinator/offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland for three seasons before returning to the college football ranks. Austin then returned to the NFL to work on Doug Pederson’s coaching staff for two seasons. One would imagine Stoutland has a big say (and rightfully so) in picking the Eagles’ assistant offensive line coach. And so now he has Austin back as his assistant again.
Report: Eagles bring former assistant offensive line coach back to Philly
The Linc – Khalil Mack among potential Eagles free agent targets
Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 2/27/25. Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links … Three free agents who make sense for the Eagles, version 2.0 – PhillyVoiceKhalil Mack (34), EDGE, Chargers (6’3, 269). The Eagles have repeatedly been linked to Browns superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett, but if the cost to acquire him is too expensive, how about Khalil Mack? […] In 2024, Mack had the lowest sack total of his career, aside from his rookie season. He had just 6 sacks, a year after he had 17 sacks in 2023. He did add 2 sacks in the Chargers’ playoff loss to the Texans. There’s a feeling that he is in decline because of his comparatively poor statistical season. Eh. He still looks pretty explosive to me! […] Even after a down year, Mack won’t be cheap. Most projections have him making over $20 million per year. But maybe he’d take a discount to play for the Eagles? There are a few reasons why that wouldn’t be so crazy. What should the Eagles do at edge rusher? – BGNOUTLOOK: Josh Sweat is currently set to be a free agent when the new league year begins on March 12. The feeling here is that the relationship between him and the Eagles has been a divorce one year in the making. After taking a pay cut last offseason, I don’t think Sweat is very interested in giving the Eagles a hometown discount. The expectation here is that he’ll be looking to chase top dollar on the open market. Sweat has been a good player for the Eagles but he’s simply not someone they MUST keep when they have limited resources to work with. Hybrids and Tweeners – Iggles BlitzJonny does really good work. Make sure to follow him on Twitter and read the stuff he posts. I probably shouldn’t have read the piece because it just makes me love Baun even more. Such a good player. And a special dude. I haven’t wanted the Eagles to re-sign a player this badly since Reggie White back in 1993. Thankfully Norman Braman isn’t the owner this time and Rich Kotite isn’t the coach. People talk about how the Eagles don’t value off-ball LBs. They haven’t. That is a fair point. But Baun is different. He has the ability to play ILB, but also to move around in Fangio’s scheme. He will line up as an edge defender at times, giving offenses a different look. Baun is a good blitzer. He has good coverage ability. He’s not just a tackling machine, like so many LBs are. Baun is a tool for the defense. He allows Fangio to be creative. That gives him additional value and means he is likely a player the Eagles will want to play good money to. Jeff McLane says he is hearing that keeping Baun will be a priority for the Eagles. Bucky Brooks 2025 NFL mock draft 2.0: Jags scoop up Travis Hunter; three playoff teams add a receiver – NFL.com32) James Pearce Jr. The Eagles’ success with polarizing prospects ultimately could make Pearce a value pick at the end of Round 1. The Tennessee standout’s pass-rushing prowess would further enhance a unit that is loaded with young playmakers on the front. Jalen Hurts’ best highlights of 2024 – PE.comEnjoy nearly 20 minutes of the top plays from Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts’ phenomenal season. Inside Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s decision to promote Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator — and how he’ll keep the 2025 offense from growing stale – PHLYHow will the Eagles avoid the offense from becoming stale?: By Sirianni’s admission, the offense grew “stale” from 2022 to 2023. Sirianni values continuity, but he also emphasized the importance of the offense evolving this offseason. That was not the tune two years ago. Sirianni said meeting with different coaching staffs and studying the league for different projects will be an “important part of the offseason.” There will also be new members of the coaching staff from the outside who introduce new ideas. “We have a curious hungry group of coaches that constantly want to get better,” Sirianni said. “Even during the interview process, you write things down and say, ‘I want to get into that.’ I can’t tell you how many things we starred and said ‘let’s study this, let’s study that…’” Sirianni also mentioned how he kept notes from teams like the Packers and Rams this season, earmarking concepts he wants to study and introduce to the Eagles offense. “Can you do all of them? No. But you can really dive into that at this point to continue to evolve your offense, and that will be a big part of this offseason,” Sirianni said. Why Shane Steichen thinks Kevin Patullo will be good play-caller – NBCSPA big part of Kevin Patullo’s role after being promoted to Eagles offensive coordinator will be calling plays on game day. Former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen thinks Patullo has what it takes to be really good at it. “He’s very detailed in everything he did,” said Steichen, who will enter his third season as Colts head coach in 2025. “He was always on it. Anything I needed offensively he had it done. I think he’s got a real good feel for the game. Obviously, being around Chan Gailey a lot of his career, he was one of his mentors. “And then just being around him and the way he sees it. I think he’s going to have a really good feel calling the game.” 32 NFL players who need a change of scenery this offseason – ESPNDB James Bradberry IV. Bradberry, 31, has one year left on his three-year, $38 million contract but it would be no surprise if he and the Eagles parted ways. He lost the starting corner job following a down 2023 season and the subsequent drafting of rookie standouts Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. Seeing the writing on the wall,
Did Aaron Rodgers approach the New York Giants? That depends on who you ask
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images Giants only say they are “doing our homework” on the quarterback market While the NFL world is focused on the fascinating possibility of Matthew Stafford being traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the New York Giants, there is another big-name veteran quarterback available. Aaron Rodgers. Would the Giants, as a backup plan if they can’t land Stafford, be interested in signing the 41-year-old Rodgers after his failed two-year stint with the New York Jets? Rodgers may have interest in the Giants. Whether the Giants have reciprocal interest seems uncertain. A source told Big Blue View only that the Giants are “doing our homework on all options.” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that Rodgers had approached the Giants. “I’ve heard that Aaron Rodgers has reached out to the Giants and wants to play for the Giants. And I believe it. I don’t know if it is where it’s buttoned up, but I’ve heard it, and I believe it,” PFT’s Mike Florio said. Art Stapleton contradicted that report, saying he was told Rodgers had not contacted the Giants. Either way, Rodgers to the Giants seems a highly unlikely scenario.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25888039/1485498950.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Do trades for elite veteran quarterbacks work out?")
Do trades for elite veteran quarterbacks work out?
In my previous post, I looked at the recent (21st Century) history of teams trading up into the top three in the NFL Draft to acquire what they hoped would be their franchise quarterback. For the most part, it wasn’t pretty for the trading-up team. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, though, if you’re not in position to draft one in the first round. The New York Giants’ history of drafting quarterbacks is actually pretty amazing. I’ve been a Giants fan since 1960. Here is the entire list of college quarterbacks drafted by the Giants in Round 1 or 2 from then until the present (data from Pro Football Reference): 1979: Phil Simms 2004: Philip Rivers -> Eli Manning 2019: Daniel Jones If we expand the list to include Round 3, we can add Jeff Hostetler in 1984 and Davis Webb in 2017. That’s it. The Giants have rarely taken a serious crack at getting a starting quarterback in the draft in their history. Partly that is the product of a couple of successful drafts that put long-term starters in place (Simms, Manning), but a lot of it has to do with the Giants’ historical tendency to use other avenues for finding starting quarterbacks. They have only occasionally signed veteran free agent quarterbacks to either start long-term or serve as a bridge to a newly drafted quarterback. The most notable ones were Kerry Collins in 1999 and Kurt Warner in 2004. Mostly, though, the Giants have made trades to bring in established QBs to start. That list is much longer: Charlie Conerly in 1948, Y.A. Tittle in 1961, Earl Morrall in 1965, Fran Tarkenton in 1967, Norm Snead in 1972, and Craig Morton in 1974. Still, it’s been almost 60 years since the Giants took a big swing at a premier veteran quarterback in a trade (Tarkenton). Now, rumors are swirling that Matthew Stafford might agree to a trade if his contract is not renegotiated to be in line with those of other top starters, and that the Giants might be interested. Should the Giants do it? What does history have to say about whether trading for a franchise-caliber veteran QB is a good idea? Here are some notable examples in recent years, working backward in time: Aaron Rodgers (Packers -> Jets) Photo by Elsa/Getty Images Cost: Two second-round picks, sixth-round pick, first-round pick swap (13 <-> 15)Age when traded: 39 If you look up the phrase “unmitigated disaster,” this picture should accompany it as an illustration. It wasn’t Rodgers’ fault that he tore his Achilles tendon in his very first series as a Jet. And to his credit, he took a voluntary cut in pay to give the Jets room to sign other players. Statistically Rodgers had a pretty good 2024 season according to traditional metrics. In fact it was almost identical to his last season in Green Bay: Courtesy of Pro Football Focus Still, you can see that in both seasons, he performed at an above-average but not elite level – lower passing grade, fewer yards, fewer big-time throws, lower ADOT. Combined with all the drama off the field, not getting it done on the scoreboard made this a bad investment by the Jets, costing Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh their jobs. Russell Wilson (Seahawks -> Broncos) Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images Cost: Two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, plus Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, Drew Lock; Seattle also got a fourth-round pickAge when traded: 33 Speaking of disasters, Russell Wilson had a falling out with the Seahawks over their offensive philosophy and his supporting cast. He was traded to Denver, but under two different head coaches he was never able to recapture his early career magic. Wilson was released after two seasons and signed on the cheap by Pittsburgh, but he is once again a free agent. Courtesy of Pro Football Focus You can see that Wilson is still an above-average quarterback, but like Rodgers in Green Bay, his last season in Seattle he showed signs of decline, and that has carried over to his Denver and Pittsburgh tenures: fewer yards, TD passes, and big-time throws, and lower ADOT. Matt Ryan (Falcons -> Colts) Jenna Watson-Imagn Images Cost: Third-round pickAge when traded: 37 Indianapolis, forever in search of a QB since Andrew Luck’s premature retirement, took a low-risk gamble on aging Matt Ryan, giving up only a third-round pick to get him. Ryan was benched by mid-season, returned to starting, and then retired at the end of the year. Courtesy of Pro Football Focus Ryan was clearly washed by the time he got to Indianapolis, throwing almost as many INTs as TDs, with almost no big-time throws. You could see it coming, though, as two of his final three years as a Falcon were a notch below the quality he had shown previously. Again, fewer yards and a declining ADOT seem to be the smoking gun. Deshaun Watson (Texans -> Browns) Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Cost: Three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and two fourth-round picks; Cleveland also got a sixth-round pickAge when traded: 26 Possibly the worst quarterback trade of all time was Cleveland’s acquisition of Deshaun Watson from Houston. Never mind the 11-game suspension for charges that he was eventually cleared of and the awful completely guaranteed contract. The Browns gave up a king’s ransom in draft picks, and Watson has just been a bad QB since joining them in addition to not playing a full season of games in any of his three years there: Courtesy of Pro Football Focus The INTs are now as frequent as the TDs, the ADOT is down in two of his three years there, and only this year will the Browns finally have a pick again in the first round. Matthew Stafford/Jared Goff (Lions <-> Rams) Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Cost: Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pickAge when traded: 33 This is different from the others since it was
Highest-graded guards from the 2024 NFL season
Chris Lindstrom and Quinn Meinerz headline PFF’s highest-graded guards from this past season, playoffs included. Highest-graded guards from the 2024 NFL season 2Y9AAA9 Atlanta Falcons guard Chris Lindstrom (63) lines up during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. The Falcons defeated the Buccaneers 36-30 in overtime. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik) By Jim Wyman Posted Feb 27, 2025 8:45 am EST Chris Lindstrom remains elite: The Falcons’ star guard was the NFL’s only player at the position to earn a 90.0-plus PFF run-blocking grade in 2024. A surprise at No. 5: Few would have predicted the Raiders’ Jordan Meredith to play so well in his first season of significant action, but he did just that. 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team. Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes The Philadephia Eagles’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 put a bow on the 2024 NFL season — and PFF’s grades. Here were the top 10 guards across the regular season and postseason. Lindstrom has quickly developed into arguably the best guard in the NFL, as this is his third consecutive season ranking as the position’s highest-graded player. He is at his best in run blocking, where his 94.6 PFF grade was a career high and he was the only guard in the league to reach a 90.0 mark. Oddly enough, his pass blocking wasn’t nearly as impressive. His 68.0 PFF grade in that department ranked second lowest among players on this list. Still, Lindstrom allowed only one sack on 627 pass-blocking snaps. 2. Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos (86.9) After playing his college ball at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, Meinerz has seamlessly transitioned into an NFL stalwart as the 99th overall pick in 2021. This past season was his second straight with a top-three finish among guards in PFF overall grade. In 2024, Meinerz was the only guard to earn a PFF grade of at least 80.0 in both run blocking (85.2) and pass blocking (81.4). His PFF pass-blocking grade trailed only Elgton Jenkins by 0.2 grading points, as he allowed just 12 pressures on the season. 3. Kevin Zeitler, Detroit Lions (86.8) The oldest player on this list (he turns 35 in a few weeks), Zeitler excelled in his first year in Detroit. His 86.8 PFF overall grade was his best performance since he put up an 89.1 number in 2014, while his 87.2 PFF run-blocking grade was a career high. As a pass blocker, Zeitler had an up-and-down year. While he did allow a career-high five sacks, they came on just 18 pressures, which tied for the 19th-fewest among 79 qualifying guards. Zeitler is an impending free agent this offseason, ranking 32nd overall in PFF’s free agent rankings, and could be a real asset to whichever team brings him in. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock contract projections and more in our free agency rankings! Nelson is no stranger to ranking among the game’s best guards, and 2024 was no different. He was solid across the board, both as a run blocker (81.7 PFF grade, tied for fourth best) and a pass blocker (79.7, fourth best). Nelson hadn’t been his dominant self over the past few seasons, as his PFF grades were slightly above average. His 81.3 PFF overall grade in 2024 was his best since putting up an 87.5 figure in 2020. Nelson doesn’t turn 29 for another few weeks, so this bounce-back campaign should have Colts fans optimistic about the former sixth-overall pick’s return to dominance. 5. Jordan Meredith, Las Vegas Raiders (80.8) If you polled experts ahead of the season, likely few, if any, would have included Meredith. Not appearing in a game until Week 6, Meredith played by far the fewest snaps among players on this list but made the absolute most of them. He didn’t allow any sacks and let his quarterback hit the ground only once to the tune of just nine pressures on 399 pass-blocking snaps. This was Meredith’s first season playing more than 100 snaps since being an undrafted free agent in 2021. If 2024 was any indication, he should see a significant increase in his role going forward. 6. Dominick Puni, San Francisco 49ers (80.5) A rookie third-rounder out of Kansas, Puni brought positional flexibility to San Francisco, and the 49ers ultimately decided to play him at guard. He hit the ground running, shoring up what had been a weakness for the team over the past few seasons. Puni didn’t allow a sack until Week 12 and was a mauler in the run game, as his 81.5 PFF run-blocking grade ranked sixth among guards. 7. Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs (80.0) Thuney spent a large chunk of his season at left tackle, having played 389 of his 1,288 snaps there, the postseason included. However, he mostly played guard, so he qualifies here. His performance as a tackle caused him to drop in the rankings, as he carried a 65.7 PFF overall grade with a 62.7 PFF pass-blocking grade and a 62.1 PFF run-blocking grade at the position. At left guard, his usual spot, he boasted an 84.6 PFF overall grade, which would have moved him into fourth place on this list. His 90.4 PFF pass-blocking grade as a guard led the position by a significant margin. 8. Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia Eagles (78.6) Dickerson was primarily a center in college at Alabama but has fit into the Eagles’ left guard spot very nicely. His 79.4 PFF run-blocking grade ranked seventh at the position, and he played the third-most snaps of any player in the league. Dickerson was particularly dominant in the Eagles’ divisional-round win over the Rams, putting up a 94.0 PFF overall grade while opening up plenty of lanes for Saquon Barkley’s 200-yard rushing performance with a 91.7 PFF run-blocking grade against a tough Rams defensive line. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock
Random Ramsdom: Embrace being the talk of the NFL
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 2/27/25 Good morning any and all fans of the Los Angeles Rams! Turf Show Times has been covering the Matthew Stafford rumors and news as best it can, but the hits just keep on coming. Though it may be nauseating, allow me to offer this perspective: Enjoy the Rams being relevant. Embrace the moment. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs came close to winning their third in a row, the combine is going on and the biggest stories lately are what is going to happen to Matthew Stafford? Compared to there being no news and having nothing to write or talk about, this isn’t so bad! Of course, some silence will be needed, but for now I say enjoy the noise! The slow news days will be there again. Please comment on whatever you want, thanks for checking out Turf Show Times and have a great Thursday! Friday is coming. 5 potential trade destinations for Rams’ Matthew Stafford (sports.yahoo) “As scouting combine week progresses, The Athletic reported Wednesday that Stafford is drawing interest from multiple teams, with the Rams allowing his camp to seek possible offers. Stafford, 37, is entering the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal and could look for one more lucrative contract before he hangs up his cleats. After winning the Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021 in his first season after being traded by the Detroit Lions, Stafford hasn’t had a deep run since. The Rams lost to the Lions in the 2024 wild card round before falling to the eventual champions Philadelphia Eagles in the 2025 divisional round.” Blake CoRAM. @blake_corum | #NFLCombine starts Thursday on NFL Network pic.twitter.com/CfGuAhc1ag — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 26, 2025 Sources: Rams allowing guard Jonah Jackson to find trade (espn) “I really appreciate Jonah on how he handled [the situation],” McVay said. “A starting-level player … there are a lot of teams that would love to have Jonah Jackson at guard. … He put the team first in terms of just showing up, going to work and being a really good ‘scout teamer.’” According to OvertheCap.com, the Rams would take an $11.3 million dead money hit if they trade Jackson before June 1. He is scheduled to have a $9 million base salary in 2025.” Sources tell the Daily News that Aaron Rodgers prefers to play for the #Rams and that the outgoing Jets QB would bring Davante Adams with him once the Jets receiver becomes a free agent. That can only happen if Matthew Stafford gets traded. Enter #Giants GM Joe Schoen, who plans… pic.twitter.com/CN6LMRYT7Z — Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) February 25, 2025 Aaron Rodgers Rumors: Jets QB Prefers to Play for Rams, Would Want Davante Adams in LA (bleacherreport) “The Rams are reportedly planning to rework Stafford’s contract after a 2024 renegotiation left the quarterback without significant guaranteed money for 2025. Any potential interest in Rodgers would hinge on the Rams deciding to scrap negotiations and move on from Stafford before next season. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue recently reported that Rams representatives are expected to meet with Stafford’s agent at the NFL Scouting Combine, which begins on Thursday in Indianapolis.” Sharing our history through a Canvas of Culture. #BlackHistoryMonth x #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/3YaMsj9q02 — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 26, 2025
Can you guess this Bengals running back in today’s in-5 trivia game?
Think you can figure out which Bengals player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey there, Bengals fans! You’ve probably seen the SB Nation in-5 trivia game, and we now have a Bengals version. Here at Cincy Jungle, you’ll get a daily Bengals version of this game. We’ll be coming up with the names and clues to past and present players you’ll have to guess the name of in five tries. You can still play the SB Nation version. You just need to go to sbnation.com, where it lives on the front page daily. You can play the game below and share your results in the comments or on social media. Please share any and all feedback about the game, both good and bad. You can post feedback in the comments, but we also have a Google Form. We’re past the beta stage of the game, but it’s still a work in progress. See the Cincy Jungle in-5 game instructions below the game. Cincy Jungle in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Bengals player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Who Dey!
2025 NFL Draft prospect profile – Kyle Kennard, EDGE, South Carolina
Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images Could Kennard replace Azeez Ojulari? The 2025 NFL Draft is deep and talented at several high-leverage positions, and the EDGE position one of the deepest and most talented. That’s good news for the New York Giants, who might well find themselves in need of a new edge defender in 2025. Former second round pick Azeez Ojulari is a menace off the edge when healthy, unfortunately he’s had a problem staying healthy since being drafted. While Ojulari played in all 17 games as a rookie, he’s only played in 29 of 51 possible games since 2022. Combine that with his pending free agency, and it would make sense for the Giants to look elsewhere. South Carolina edge defender Kyle Kennard seems to be flying below the radar despite a breakout 2024 season which saw him lead the SEC in sacks. Kennard offers similar size as Ojulari, as well as similar speed off the edge. Could he take Ojulari’s place on the Giants’ defense? Prospect: Kyle Kennard (5)Games Watched: vs. LSU (2024), vs. Ole Miss (2024), vs. Missouri (2024), vs. Clemson (2024) Measurables Height: 6-foot 3 3⁄4 inchesWeight: 248 poundsArm length: 33 3/8 inchesHand size: 9 3/8 inches Strengths Best traits Explosiveness Fluidity Speed off the edge Pass rush Versatility South Carolina’s Kyle Kennard is a good-sized modern edge defender who uses an explosive first step to consistently disrupt in the backfield. Kennard showed a great ability to time (or anticipate) the snap off the ball, and was often one of the very first players moving on either side of the line of scrimmage. As mentioned, he has a very impressive first step, firing out of this stance low and hard with no wasted energy or motion. Kennard is often in the backfield as though he was shot out of a cannon. His combination of snap anticipation and a lightning-fast get-off put extreme stress on the opposing blockers, and he drew multiple holding penalties in the tape viewed. Kennard has a fluid lower body with flexible ankles, which allow him to carry his speed around the edge, as well as make very sudden inside moves to exploit blockers who over-set to the outside. In that, he shows clear evidence that he knows how to rush with a plan, setting up blockers over the course of several snaps to create opportunities for himself. Kennard has a varied set of pass rush moves, primarily using a club-rip with a speed-to-power counter. He does a good job of using his hands to keep his chest plate clean, while using his own hands to control blockers as he turns the corner. Kennard can occasionally over-run the quarterback, but he generally did a good job of finishing by bringing the ball carrier down. He led the SEC with 11.5 sacks in 2024, in addition to 16.0 tackles for a loss. Weaknesses Worst traits Run defense Play strength While Kennard is able to translate his explosive get-off into power, he isn’t a power rusher. His worst reps come when blockers are ready for his speed off the edge and he isn’t able to win through technique. In those instances, he’s forced to rely on main strength and he struggles to get free or make an impact in the backfield. Kennard has enough play strength to set an edge in the run game, but he is clearly better when attacking into the backfield than when trying to play off of blockers. South Carolina frequently took him off the field in short yardage or obvious running situations, which could be seen as a commentary on his run defense. He also doesn’t show elite long speed when pursuing from the back side. Kennard can show some brief hesitation before pursuing the ball carrier, which can allow ball carriers to get further upfield than they otherwise might, or outrun him altogether. Finally, his ability to effectively drop into coverage is currently unknown. He wasn’t asked to play coverage in the tape viewed Game Tape (Kennard is the South Carolina edge defender wearing number 5 and a sleeve on his right arm) Projection Kyle Kennard projects as a high-volume pass rusher to start his career, with the potential to grow into an every-down player before his rookie contract is up. Teams may view Kennard as a pass rush specialist to start, but his disruptiveness is useful on most downs and distances. He has upside as a run defender, though it’s predicated on stopping the run before it gets to the line of scrimmage or – failing that – forcing a cutback to his waiting teammates. Kennard might need to get stronger before teams are willing to trust him in short-yardage or goal line situations. He has experience lining up as both a defensive end and a stand-up rusher, which should give him broad appeal to most teams around the NFL. He should be able to find a role in almost any defense in the League, and could be tough to keep off the field. Does he fit the Giants?Yes Final Word: An early second round value
Can you guess this Vikings quarterback in today’s in-5 trivia game?
Think you can figure out which Vikings player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Hey Vikings fans! We’re back for another day of the Daily Norseman in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. Today’s Daily Norseman in-5 game If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Wednesday, February 26Tuesday, February 25Monday, February 24 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Behind the Daily Norseman in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Vikings player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!
NFL Combine preview: 7 safeties the Lions should watch
What’s new at Pride of Detroit Direct? If you want more Lions coverage, our newsletter is the answer for you. There, we have weekly columns, deep analytical dives, and exclusive podcasts to offer comprehensive coverage of free agency, the draft, and everything in between as we prepare of a momentous 2025 Detroit Lions season.
