| |
|
| Thursday, July 1, 2021 |
| I'm not sure what's happening right now, but my calendar says it's July and my calendar almost never lies to me, so apparently today is the start of July, which is weird, because I feel like yesterday was April 12. |
| Not only is it July, but today also marks another important occasion: The 2021 NFL season will be kicking off EXACTLY 10 weeks from now, which basically means you have 10 weeks to nag your fantasy football commissioner to finally schedule a draft for this year. |
| Now that we're all allowed to go out in public again, I'm going to convince my commissioner that we should definitely hold the draft in Las Vegas and that he should pay for us all to stay in a nice hotel. I'm not sure why he would be willing to pay for it, but you have to shoot your shot when you can, right? |
| Alright, that's enough talk about fantasy football. No one wants to hear about my league 10 weeks before the start of the season, so let's get to the rundown. |
| As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To sign up, all you have to do is click here and then share the link. |
| 1. Today's show: Ranking the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL |
| |
| If you read this newsletter every day, you've probably noticed that we've been ranking every position group in the NFL over the past few weeks and then doing an episode of the podcast on each rankings. Today, we're covering the top 10 corners in the NFL and since we want to make sure you're taking our rankings seriously, we decided to bring on a former NFL defensive back to help rank the top corners. |
| For today's show, Will Brinson was joined by two-time Super Bowl winner Bryant McFadden, who spent seven years in the NFL with six of those coming with the Steelers. |
| In our written story for the website, Jalen Ramsey was ranked as the NFL's top corner, which McFadden agreed with. However, he wasn't completely on board with everything else. His list of top corners looks slightly different than the one we came up with, but I'll defer to him since he has two Super Bowl rings. |
| Here's a look at McFadden's top three corners in the NFL. |
1. Jalen Ramsey, Rams
2. Xavien Howard, Dolphins
3. Jaire Alexander, Packers |
| If you want to hear McFadden's entire top 10 list, you'll have to listen to today's episode. To check it out -- and to follow the podcast -- be sure to click here. |
| |
| 2. Davante Adams says it'd be a dream to play with Derek Carr |
| Although Aaron Rodgers is hogging all the headlines in Green Bay, the Packers could soon be dealing with some more drama and that's because Davante Adams' contract is set to expire at the end of the 2021 season. |
| The Packers obviously would like to re-sign Adams, but if Rodgers ends up leaving Green Bay, there's no guarantee that Adams is going to want to return. The other problem for the Packers is that Adams is already eyeing another team and that team is the Raiders. |
| During an interview with ABC 30 in Central California, Adams said that reuniting with Derek Carr would be a "dream." Adams and Carr were on the same team in college at Fresno State. |
| "I love Derek to death," Adams said. "We've got a great friendship and we still communicate really, really consistently. He's one of my best friends. Obviously, it would be a dream to be able to play with him, but I'm a Packer now. Until that point when we make that decision, I guess we just got to, we'll see what happens." |
| That sounds like a guy who has no idea what he's going to do. |
| The good news for the Packers is that Adams did say recently that he plans on staying in Green Bay, although he also said that the quarterback situation and his contract offer will play a big part in his decision. Basically, if Rodgers returns to Green Bay and the Packers make him the highest-paid receiver in the NFL, then you can count on Adams signing an extension with the only team he's ever played for. However, if one of those two things changes -- if Rodgers doesn't return or if the Packers aren't willing to give him the money he wants -- Adams could easily walk after the 2021 season (The Packers could also could franchise tag him after this year, but they currently have an ugly salary cap situation and it wouldn't be easy to make that work for 2022). |
| 3. Predicting every game on the Falcons' 2021 schedule |
| |
| Now that summer is here, that means the dead part of the NFL offseason is upon us and although things can get kind of boring during this period, we're going to keep things spicy around here by going through and predicting every game on each team's 2021 schedule. |
| There are 32 teams and we'll be doing one team per day until we make it through every team. Today, we're' going to finish our run through the NFC South by predicting the Falcons' final record. |
| Our Patrik Walker went through Atlanta's entire schedule and picked out all the games the Falcons are going to win and all the games they're going to lose. Unfortunately for new coach Arthur Smith, Walker has him going through a rough first year with the team where it blows a 28-3 lead in ever game. Just kidding, the Falcons don't blow a 28-3 lead in every game, but their final record isn't pretty. |
| Here's a look at how Walker sees the Falcons doing in three key games, along with the final record he sees them ending up with: |
| Week 1: Philadelphia at Atlanta. "Even without Julio Jones, this is a game the Falcons can win. The Eagles are still trying to figure out their secondary and that's where Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts can shine, along with Russell Gage and Hayden Hurst. As long as Matt Ryan keeps the pressure on and avoids it himself, it's a win in the home opener." Prediction: Falcons 35-20 over Eagles. Week 10: Atlanta at Dallas. "With former Falcons head coach and current Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn looking for some revenge -- he knows Matt Ryan's every nuance -- the Falcons are really up against it when they try to battle an improved Dallas defense and an offense that again features Dak Prescott as QB1." Prediction: Cowboys 41-23 over Falcons. Week 15: Atlanta at San Francisco. "Traveling cross-country is brutal in and of itself, but to do so for a matchup with the 49ers is simply not fun. Be it Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance as starter in Week 15, Kyle Shanahan is the coach and George Kittle is the tight end and the defense is returning from injury as one of the best in the NFL." Prediction: 49ers 30-14 over Falcons. |
| Overall, Walker is predicting that the Falcons will end the season with a record of 6-11 and if they do end up being that bad, it wouldn't be surprising if they start the process of looking for a new quarterback. |
| One interesting thing about Walker's prediction is that he has the Falcons falling apart down the stretch. After getting off to a 3-2 start, he has the Falcons finishing the season 3-9 over their final 12 games. If you want to see Patrik's prediction for each game, be sure to click here so you can check out his entire story. |
| Coming tomorrow, we'll be heading to the NFC North, which is our final division. |
| On a somewhat related note, can someone please tell the Packers to take care of this Rodgers thing so we know whether or not he'll be on the team when we make our season-long prediction for Green Bay? |
| |
| 4. Ranking the top 10 linebackers |
| As you may or may not have noticed, we love to rank things here at CBSSports.com and because of that, we thought we would spend the next few weeks ranking every position group heading into the 2021 season. |
| From running backs to receivers to quarterbacks to kickers, we're going to be ranking everyone and since there's a zero percent chance that you're going to agree with each ranking, I'm going to be sharing the Twitter handle of each author so you can argue with them about their ranking on social media. |
| Today, we're going to be ranking the top 10 linebackers heading into the 2021 season. This list was put together by Jordan Dajani and if you'd like to tell him how perfect it is, or if you'd like to argue with him, you can do that by clicking here. One interesting about this list is that it's loaded with NFC players: There are only two AFC players in the top 10. |
| Top 10 linebackers |
1. Bobby Wagner, Seahawks
2. Fred Warner, 49ers
3. Eric Kendricks, Vikings
4. Darius Leonard, Colts
5. Lavonte David, Buccaneers
6. Devin White, Buccaneers
7. Roquan Smith, Bears
8. Demario Davis, Saints
9. Deion Jones, Falcons
10. Tremaine Edmunds, Bills |
| If you want a detailed explanation of the ranking, be sure to click here so you can check out Dajani entire story. Dajani also went on yesterday's episode of the Pick Six Podcast to discuss his list and if you want to check that out, you can click here. |
5. Looking at five notable free agents who are still available and where they might sign
|
| Free agency has been going on for more than three months now and although it seems like every good player has been signed, that's not actually the case. With training camp right around the corner, there are still a few notable players who are available and our Tyler Sullivan decided to list the top five along with a place that would be a good landing spot for each player. |
| Top five remaining free agents (potential landing spot) |
| Richard Sherman: Cowboys. "The Cowboys present an interesting landing spot as well. Dallas has invested in the secondary over the last two seasons with second-round picks Kelvin Joseph (2021) and Trevon Diggs (2020), but they could use a veteran piece like Sherman to help mold the still-developing unit over the next season or so." Le'Veon Bell: Saints. "Bell wouldn't be the top dog in that backfield as Alvin Kamara would be the starter, but there could be snaps to be attained, especially if he can prove to be a better option than Latavius Murray. With Drew Brees retired and either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill about to take the reins as New Orleans' newest starter, Sean Payton could use all the offensive weapons he can get his hands on to help whomever is under center." Todd Gurley: Chargers. "By signing with the Chargers, Gurley would have something of a homecoming after playing in Los Angeles -- albeit for the Rams -- for four seasons of his career and could be a welcome addition to the Chargers backfield." Golden Tate: Patriots. "Tate recently listed his top three landing spots and although the Patriots didn't make the cut, we're going off-script with our selection of New England. It's no secret that Bill Belichick's skill-position players didn't leave much to be desired last season and they made a push to fix that by making a big splash early in free agency this offseason. While those additions should help, Tate could be another savvy addition to bring in and contend for a roster spot." Melvin Ingram: Rams. "Rams superstar Aaron Donald seems to like this possible marriage. Ingram could be looked at as a low-risk, high-upside addition that could evolve into a strong rotational piece within their pass-rushing unit." |
| If you want an in-depth explanation on why these pairings would potentially work, be sure to click here. |
| |
| 6. Rapid-fire roundup |
| |
| It was a busy weekend in the NFL and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. |
| 49ers unveil new throwback uniforms. While you were sleeping last night, the 49ers unveiled the new throwback uniforms that they'll be wearing this year. The throwback will be similar to the throwback that they wore during the NFL's 75th anniversary season in 1994. Back then, the team wore a throwback of a jersey they originally wore in 1955, which means this year's uniform is a throwback to a throwback since it's throwing back to 1994 which is throwing back to 1955. I hope that all made sense. If you want to see the uniforms and would like to know when they'll be wearing them, be sure to click here . Mike Ditka thinks the Bears should start Justin Fields. If Ditka was still coaching he Bears, his plan at quarterback would be pretty simple: He'd start Fields right away. That was one of many things that Ditka talked about during a recent interview with us and you can check out the entire thing by clicking here. Doug Pederson still wants to coach. If your favorite team fires its coach after the upcoming season, you might want to tell them to give Pederson a call. The Super Bowl-winning coach, who won a Lombardi Trophy with the Eagles, made it clear this week that he wants to return to coaching at some point in the very near future. Rams star likely to retire after 2021 season. After spending 15 years in the NFL, it sounds like Andrew Whitworth is about ready to hang up his cleats for good. During an interview this week, the Rams' left tackle said the he's probably going to retire following the 2021 season . Since signing with the Rams in 2017, Whitworth has started a total of 56 games. He had basically been an ironman over the past 12 years -- missing only three games total since 2009 -- but he missed seven games due to injury last year and at age 39, he's likely not completely sure how much more punishment his body can handle. Larry Fitzgerald might actually win a championship. During his 17 seasons with the Cardinals, the free agent receiver never won a Super Bowl, but he might win a title this month. Fitzgerald is a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns, who just advanced to the NBA Finals after beating the Clippers on Wednesday. |
| |
| | | | | New 49ers Jerseys | | Be the Commish or Join a League | Introducing new 75th Anniversary jerseys for the San Francisco 49ers. Game, Vapor Limited, and Vapor Elite jersey styles for players including Kittle, Bosa, Garoppolo, Samuel, and Warner.
Shop Now
| | Fantasy football season is here! Create a customizable, premium league today with CBS Sports Commissioner or join a public league and start drafting this week.
Play Now
|
|
| |
| |
