In what is seen as an overall weak class of defensive ends, Sintamuel Solomon made a major impact in the College All-Star game, nearly beating Bolaji Ajala for MVP honors. He consistently bullied offensive linemen and hurried all of the quarterbacks he faced. He was credited with multiple knockdowns and a few sacks. Solomon has solid size at 6'4" 318 and projects as a 3-4 defensive end. His strength is seen in stopping the run game, but this ferocious pass defending performance has some scouts salivating that he may become the next J.J. Watt. The former Miami Hurricane is currently projected to go late in the 1st round due to the general uncertainty regarding defensive end prospects this year.
Alabama stud running back Bolaji Ajala was already the favorite to be the highest running back taken in this year's draft. Then he turned in an MVP showcase that may seem him leap into the top 10. Bolaji was dominant in all phases of the College All-Star game, winning MVP honors after rushing for over 100 yards and multiple touchdown scores. Count Ross Tucker among those impressed with the upcoming rookie, as he tweeted his belief that the college superstar may go sooner than expected. Before this game Ajala had a draft projction of the middle of the 1st round, but was ranked as the best running back in the class. He may have outran the competition. The 5'9" back can do a bit of everything, and is seen as a tremendous fit for any team looking to run the west coast offense.
There were multiple standouts at this year's College All-Star game, but the prospect who may have done the most for his draft stock is Duke Cornerback Bobby McKinney. He was one of the better defensive backs on the field for either team, shutting down any receiver he was matched up against in man coverage. Adam Schefter reported via Twitter that several team scouts were seen speaking to McKinney after the game and his stellar performance. Pro Football Focus ranks him has the 4th best cornerback in the current draft class. He has a draft grade which sees him expected to go near the end of round 2 around pick 24. With this game the 22-year-old, 5'10" balanced cornerback may see his name called earlier in the round, with some reports suggesting he might've played his way into the first round.
Recent rumblings out of Arizona have suggested that superstar 31-year-old MLB Patrick Willis could be had for the right package. Deniki has cited a need to add to the overall group of talen that that Cardinals have, and the team is off to a slow 1-2 start on the year. Pro Football Focus ranks Willis highly with ratings of 92 block shedding, 87 zone coverage, 98 pursuit, 97 hit power, 95 tackling, 91 play recognition, 96 awareness, 92 acceleration, 90 speed, and 88 strength, with a 99 being the highest rating a player can achieve. Willis currently has 3 years remaining on his current deal including this season and the Cardinals would face $9MM in cap penalties if they were to trade or cut the star. Rumors have linked teams like the Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, and Philadelphia Eagles at varying points with different degrees of interest. It appears that the current favorites to land the star if he is ultimately traded are the Miami Dolphins. With young talent on offense that could be deemed expendable, and a nice MLB prospect in Osej Prewitt to potentially replace Willis, aside from draft picks, there may be fire where the smoke is the thickest.
The Buffalo Bills have not started off the year well. While they did just pick up their first win of the season against division rival New York Jets, its clear the team is struggling to come to grips with the early lack of dominance. After a blowout loss in last year's Wildcard Round to the Bengals, the Bills started 0-2. Even after the 24-21 win against the Jets, tension mounted as both coaches called each other out after the game. A simple comment about the Bills favoring a tightend route led the Bills' coach to go after Jets coach YD. Despite the win, the Bills were angry about the perceived overuse of slant routes and a tendency to attack the olbs. Buffalo needs to build off of this heated win and come together, or the tight early AFC East race may slip away despite the strong promise the team showed last season as a group on the rise.
Everyone expected the AFC South to be a tight race. Last season the Indianapolis Colts didn't even have a losing record but were the 4th place team. So far this year they've been among the best teams in football. Behind a top-10 scoring offense, the Colts have been lighting up opponents on the way to a 4-0 record to start the season. Despite trading premier playmaker Alshon Jeffery in the offseason, the passing game has been great. Terrelle Pryor has started the year with an improved 8:3 TD-INT ratio, while completing 71% of his passes for 921 yards. In addition to this, the read option offense is working. Pryor has 25 rushing attempts for 147 yards and additional touchdown to go with his 5.9 ypc. Alfred Morris has certainly been no slouch rushing either (72 attempts, 364 yards, 5.1 ypc, 4 tds) but it is clear that Pryor is the engine that is making this team work. Whether or not he will be able to hold up physically for the entire season and lead the Colts to the Division Title or a Wildcard berth is what the real question is.
In what is likely to be one of the biggest deals of the year, the New England Patriots have dealt all-pro running back LeSean McCoy to the Jacksonville Jaguars for last year's leading rusher Robert Turbin, cornerback project Chauncey Bennett, and the Jaguars' upcoming 1st and 2nd round picks in this year's draft. The Jaguars are taking a risk by trading the younger Turbin, but must believe heavily that his production was a result of a good runblocking o-line and good playcalling to take on an older running back. Shady should create instant offense by adding an element of agility and cutting that Turbin simply cannot match. The Patriots certainly did well for themselves in picking up Turbin and 2 picks, and Chauncey Bennett cannot be discounted either. While rival scouts have knocked his football sense, the raw physical tools exist for Bennett to become a monster with the right level of coaching. He is 25 years old with Pro Football Focus rating his agility a 98 out of a possible 99, with the speed to handle most vertical threats. It is unclear if he will be returning kicks for New England as well but should instantly see playing time on defense. The defending Super Bowl Champions have made their power play after a relatively quiet offseason that has led to a thus far average start in what is expected to once again be a very tight divisional race in the AFC South.
After a promising season which saw the Texans capture the AFC South title, the Texans ultimately fell short to the division rival and eventual Super Bowl Champion Jacksonville Jaguars. Byron Maxwell has been scapegoated by some fans as a reason. The 28-year old corner turned in a solid season but ultimately didn't play up to par in the playoffs. With 2 years remaining on his current contract, the Texans are rumored to be open to moving Maxwell. At the current time it is believed that the New York Jets are among the inquiring teams for Maxwell's services.
Mitchell Schwartz, free agent RT out of Cal, has been the hot name thus far in free agency. With teams like the Eagles, Colts, Cardinals, and Broncos among the rumored near DOZEN teams interested in the tackle so far. So who is Schwartz, and why are so many interested? The 27-year old versatile tackle is a balanced breed with adequate strength and good acceleration, which makes him a fit at just about any position of the offensive line. Pro Football Focus lists his key blocking ratings as a 90 Pass Block, 86 Run Block, and 81 Impact Block out of a possible maximum of 99, though they list his development as "average". A lineman grading with a 90 is a stud, and anything above an 80 projects as a solid number for a starter. Schwartz is an upper-tier offensive lineman who could certainly be the anchor on either side for a team in need. Upwards of 7 confirmed teams have made formal offers, and as many as a dozen have been linked to the free agent at one time.
The AFC South as a whole had a much better season than one year ago. Unfortunately for the Colts, they were the lone team without a winning record, posting an 8-8 season for the year. As a result, Tuck is continuing the roster shakeup that he had started during the year. With the major trade bringing T.Y. Hilton back into the fold at the expense of star pass rusher Robert Quinn, more rumblings out of Indianapolis have suggested that star receiver Alshon Jeffery may be the name name to leave as the team's philosophy seems to be changing. Early rumors have linked division rival Jacksonville to the receiver despite the team's current standpat stance. Aside from Jacksonville it is believed that the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and potentially the St. Louis Rams may be among the interested teams for the receiver's services.
Mr_Ortiz_25 has made MEFL Fantasy history by becoming the first owner to have 2 ROBAR awards in his tenure as an owner. Originally winning the PS3 ROBAR for M25, the elder Ortiz has once again proven his worth to take the mantle of ROBAR Champion. While a winning record of 10-6 kept his Cowboys out of the playoffs by the bad luck of losing a tiebreaker with the New York Football Giants he still comes away with some hardware. Whether it be ease with scheduling, sim gameplay, or not being in the middle of an owner controversy, Mr_Ortiz_25 has exemplified the qualities needed in a ROBAR winning owner. Runner-ups for this season included Zeemen and Fjd42.
Fresh off the franchise's first ever Super Bowl win, it has been a relatively quiet offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stressing the importance of team chemistry, the Jags' Super Bowl winning group has been largely kept together. Frank_XD- has already gone on record to say the team may not add much in terms of roster additions, but the team has swung a trade with the Dallas Cowboys to add speedy running back David Wilson. One of the NFL's top rushing teams made a potentially shrewd move to keep stud Robert Turbin more fresh for the long haul of the grueling NFL season. If the Jaguars make it far again, don't discount this seemingly minor addition.
A string of recent trades have shown the Bears are tired of being out in the Divisional round and intend on taking the next steps towards title contention. Armed with a surplus of late picks and needing a few players who may qualify as "missing pieces" with upcoming contract situations to deal with for several key players, the Bears have added to their attacking defense. Following trades with the Bengals and Browns, the Bears have added Pro Bowl cornerback Aqib Talib and solid plug-in Earl Wolff to their already imposing secondary, and superstar Melvin Ingram to their hard-hitting linebacking group. It appears that the move to acquire Ingram will push Quinton Coples to the defensive line in more situations, and that the defensive philosophy may be shifting as a whole. The Bears are currently believed to be exploring a hybrid defense with all of their moving parts in the front seven. Don't be surprised if the Bears continue to add specialists this offseason.
With the Browns it is the same story as last season. They will go where their secondary takes them. If the Browns hope to repeat as Super Bowl Champions with new coach Mike Hawk, it will come down to the secondary play. The secondary is once again led by superstar cornerback Joe Haden. Running off of the momentum of 9 interceptions, Haden has been dominant once again, and will have to continue to keep the other AFC offenses in check if the Browns are to repeat. Can Haden lead the Browns once again?
While an easy case could be made that the key is all-world superstar Adrian Peterson, how far the Bills go will depend largely on the play of the quarterback. Highly heralded rookie Frankie Hood has missed significant time, but recovers from injury in time to face a top-10 Bengals defens to start the road to the Super Bowl. In 7 games this season, Hood threw for 1,125 yards and 10 touchdowns, but additionally threw 8 interceptions. There is enormous pressure on the rookie to up his game if the Bills have any hope in making a serious run.