Nick Martin signed by the Saints. (link)
by G.K.Chesterton (2022-07-26 18:08:07)

Javon McKinley signed by the Steelers. (link)
by G.K.Chesterton  (2022-08-01 13:51:05)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


So they have Claypool, Boykin and McKinley all on same
by Raoul  (2022-08-02 11:14:47)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

roster for Steelers. Interesting. Hopefully two can make it.

I assume this goes with Steelers desire to run the FB and those guys all are big and Boykin for sure showed in Baltimore he will be an excellent blocking WR. He's just not been that productive of a receiver.


FO: Julian Okwara 11th on list of 2022 NFL prospects
by G.K.Chesterton  (2022-07-31 13:11:46)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

(Article is currently ESPN+-paywalled but eventually should appear for free at the FootballOutsiders.com website.)

Every year, Football Outsiders puts together a list of the NFL's best and brightest young players ... who have barely played. About 80% of draft-day discussions are about first-round picks, and 10% are about the players who should have been first-round picks but instead went in the second round. Particularly if they were quarterbacks.

This list is about that last 10%. It's a stab in the dark at players who might just come out of the woodwork and surprise you this year.

This is a list of players who have a real chance to make an impact in the NFL despite their lack of draft stock and the fact that they weren't immediate NFL starters.

Previous editions of the list have hyped George Kittle, Cooper Kupp, Mark Andrews and J.C. Jackson before they blew up. Last year's list led off with Damien Harris, who scored 15 touchdowns during the 2021 season. It had Logan Wilson, who eventually started in the Super Bowl. It also had some solid starters and, well, some misses.

This is the 16th anniversary of the list. We're still relying on the same things we always have: scouting, statistics, measurables, context, ceiling, expected role and what we hear from other sources. Here's our full criteria for the top 25:

Drafted in the third round or later, or signed as an undrafted free agent.

Entered the NFL between 2019 and 2021.

Fewer than 500 career offensive or defensive snaps (except running backs, who are allowed just 300 offensive snaps).

Have not signed a contract extension (players who have bounced around the league looking for the right spot, however, still qualify for the list).

Age 26 or younger as of Sept. 1, 2022.


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11. Julian Okwara, LB, Detroit Lions

Age 24 | Drafted: 2020, pick 67 | 431 defensive snaps

A player who returns from last year's list, Okwara was a highly effective situational pass-rusher for the Lions last year. He led all edge-rusher prospects in 2020's draft with an explosion index of 1.4 per our SackSEER system. Coming off a broken leg in 2019, he missed the combine and then Notre Dame's pro day was cancelled, so those numbers have to be taken with a bit of a grain of salt because we are using hand-timed numbers from Okwara's own personal pro day. Okwara ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash there, and said he ran a 4.53 before the injury. He had eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in 13 games in his junior year.

Okwara finished second on the Lions in hurries (12) and sacks (five) in 2022 despite playing only 362 snaps. The average number of rushers on his pressures was just 4.3, so Okwara was winning one-on-one often in those situations.

Detroit has promised more of a hybrid role for Okwara this offseason after drafting Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal early. They want him to play Sam linebacker on run downs and rush the passer as part of a third-down package. We're not sure if he can hold up to all the modern linebacker responsibilities, but we're already believers that he can get after the quarterback at a high level.