Week 1 is less than 100 days away, and organized team activities are whetting our appetite for the 2017 NFL season.
These spring workouts have revealed a few things that help bring the upcoming year into focus.
Jets need Josh McCown
It could be a while before Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg are ready to start at quarterback for the Jets. Josh McCown, who turns 38 on July 4, will have to babysit the position until one of them can fill it, if that ever happens.
Not a great day for Petty. Totally meaningless OTA No. 4 QB power rankings? 15-5-9 #Jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) May 30, 2017
McCown wears No. 15, Hackenberg wears No. 5 and Petty wears No. 9.
Petty, a fourth-round draft pick in 2015, went 1-3 as a starter last year and threw three touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He was knocked out of two of those four starts with injuries.
Hackenberg, a second-round pick last year, didn’t play a snap in his rookie season. His progress during offseason work has been inconsistent.
It’s only the spring. Petty and Hackenberg still have time to earn the Week 1 starting job. But with McCown around, neither will be forced into the fire too soon.
Jets made right move avoiding quarterback in draft
If the Jets do have to turn to a 38-year-old to open the season as the starting quarterback, there might be some who say that they should have just drafted a quarterback with the No. 6 pick.
Instead, they used their first-round pick on safety Jamal Adams and their second-round pick on another safety, Marcus Maye.
A month later, this happened:
Calvin Pryor working on the JV field. Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye the starting safeties. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) May 30, 2017
Then on Thursday, this happened:
Jets are trading former first-round pick Calvin Pryor to the Browns, sources say. Shot for the safety to restart his career.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 1, 2017
Former Jets linebacker Demario Davis is going back to the Jets in the deal, according to Garafolo of the NFL Network.
While teams that drafted quarterbacks are grooming them for the future, the Jets are comfortable enough with their top two picks to make them starters and send one of the incumbents packing. If they still need a quarterback next year, they’ll pick from a stronger class.
Jaguars are taking OTAs seriously
Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith wasn’t happy Tuesday with his team’s performance at organized team activities.
“I just think as a team, we should be further than we are,” Smith told The Florida Times-Union.
Smith isn’t the only once who’s concerned. Veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis had to give the offense a pep talk during one practice and new coach Doug Marrone expressed his dissatisfaction with the first week of OTA workouts.
On the surface, this lack of progress points to another long year in Jacksonville. Looking at it another way, it shows a sense of urgency. The Jaguars haven’t won more than five games since 2010. Two coaching regimes have come and gone during that time. Now, under Marrone and Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars seem to realize that every practice, with or without pads, is critical if they want to achieve respectability.
Chargers offensive line could keep Philip Rivers young
The last time Philip Rivers was sacked less than 30 times in a season was 2009. He was taken down just 25 times and the Chargers went 13-3.
They haven’t finished better than 9-7 since then.
Rivers likely will have three new starters protecting him in 2017, and one of the remaining starters is changing positions. So far Rivers likes what he sees from one of the new starters and one of the old starers.
Left tackle Russell Okung, signed to a four-year, $53 million contract, has been working next to left guard Matt Slauson, who was the Chargers’ center last season.
The 35-year-old Rivers told the team website that the two of them have been “fun to watch” in practice.
Okung made the Pro Bowl in 2012 with the Seahawks and was part of their 2013 championship team. He signed with the Broncos in 2016 and had an off year. The Broncos released him and the Chargers picked him up. He’s still only 29 and in a best-case scenario could be a reliable protector of Rivers’ blind side in the latter stages of the quarterback’s career.
There’s no guarantee that better protection will add up to double-digit wins for the Chargers, but amid the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, their rise has to begin with the dirty work in the trenches.
Brock Osweiler could be the Browns’ Week 1 starter
Brock Osweiler provided a few belly laughs when he said the film shows that he’s a legitimate NFL starting quarterback.
Hue Jackson’s words hold a little more weight.
The Browns coach said Osweiler has been “outstanding” at OTAs, according to Pro Football Talk. Being outstanding at this time of year doesn’t mean a whole lot, but it sounds like Jackson has seen enough to seriously consider Osweiler as the Week 1 starter. It doesn’t take a Bernie Kosar to beat out Cody Kessler, Kevin Hogan and rookie DeShone Kizer, and even if Osweiler does win the job, a weekly quarterback controversy wouldn’t be surprising.
The Browns took Osweiler off the Texans’ hands so they could get their second-round draft pick, but Osweiler could turn out to be more than just a thrown-in.
Tony Jefferson looks like good fit for Ravens and AFC North
For the second year in a row, the Ravens made the safety position a priority in free agency.
A year after signing Eric Weddle, the Ravens inked former Cardinal Tony Jefferson.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh told ESPN.com that he likes what he sees from that safety tandem. The 32-year-old Weddle has made four Pro Bowls and the 25-year-old Jefferson broke up five passes and forced two fumbles in his first year as a starter. He brings a physical style of play that’s ideally suited for those epic AFC North battles against the Bengals and Steelers.
The Ravens missed the playoffs for the second year in a row last year, but it wasn’t because of their defense. They ranked in the top 10 against the pass, against the run and overall. It looks like Jefferson will only make this defense better.
Robert Nkemdiche might not be a bust
The Cardinals got very little out of Robert Nkemdiche in his rookie season. The defensive end appeared in just five games after he was taken with the No. 29 pick in the 2016 draft.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians called Nkemdiche’s work ethic into question, and Nkemdiche got the message.
According to the Cardinals’ website, Nkemdiche has been a regular in the Cardinals’ weight room throughout the offseason.
The Cardinals lost five defensive players who started at least 12 games last season in free agency. That includes Calais Campbell, who had eight sacks last season. That’s two more sacks than Nkemdiche had in three years at Mississippi. Nkemdiche was drafted more for his physical tools than his college production. He was labeled a boom-or-bust prospect and after last year’s disappointing season the Cardinals need more of the former out of him in 2017.
Redskins might not miss DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon
Who knows if Kirk Cousins will get a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline.
He did get Terrelle Pryor, who could help fill the void left by Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson.
The Redskins signed Pryor as a free agent after he caught 77 passes for 1,007 yards for the Browns last year. He’s also started 10 games as a quarterback in his career, so Cousins can talk shop with him in a way that he can’t with other receivers.
Cousins on former QB Terrelle Pryor: "He KNOWS where the ball should go. I've never had a conversation with a receiver like I have with him"
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) May 24, 2017
Second-year receiver Josh Doctson also has made strides at OTAs. The 22nd overall pick of the 2016 draft, Doctson suffered an Achilles injury and played in just two games last season. If he makes an impact this year, he’d almost be a bonus draft pick.
If Cousins doesn’t get his long-term deal, he just might have the tools to increase his market value even more for 2018.
Vikings’ 2016 draft class might not be so bad
The Vikings didn’t get much from their top two draft picks last season.
Not counting special teams, both wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and cornerback Mackensie Alexander played less than 10 percent of the Vikings’ snaps.
Both seem poised for a big second-year leap.
“He’s had a great, in my opinion, five-and-a-half weeks,” Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur told ESPN regarding Treadwell. “He came back and he was really on point with what he’s supposed to be doing mentally.”
Alexander’s biggest problem as a rookie seemed to be his work ethic, but Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said that he’s matured to the point where he’s mentoring the rookies at organized team activities.
The Vikings need Treadwell and Alexander to play up to their draft stock because a first- and second-round washout in the same draft can hurt a team down the road.
Victor Cruz signing could be Bears’ best offseason move
The Bears have left a lot of people scratching their heads this offseason.
They signed Mike Glennon to a three-year, $45 million contract, then traded up to draft Mitchell Trubisky with the second pick. They overpaid for Markus Wheaton and Dion Sims, who combined to catch 30 passes last season for the Steelers and Dolphins, respectively.
The Bears finally wised up, at least financially, by signing Victor Cruz to a one-year, $2 million contract.
Cameron Meredith steps in as the No. 1 receiver with Alshon Jeffery in Philadelphia. He led the team with 66 receptions last season. Kendall Wright was signed from Tennessee, but his reception total has gone down every year since he caught 94 passes in 2013. He caught just 29 passes last season.
The Bears’ biggest question mark at wide receiver is Kevin White. Injuries have limited him to four games since he was drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2015. White has been participating in OTAs, and perhaps Cruz’s veteran leadership can help him develop. The 30-year-old Cruz told the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s ready to embrace a leadership role.
It might be asking a lot for Cruz to catch 70 or 80 passes at this stage of his career, but he knows what it takes to come back from a devastating knee injury and get back on the field. Perhaps he can offer some nuggets of wisdom that will help the Bears go from 3-13 to a playoff contender.
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