“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
-Nelson Mandela
If Chase does end up sticking it out what does that alignment look like as far as who is on the outside vs slot? Also what differences are you expecting in scheme/overall volume without Joe Brady pulling the strings? @TheSFGiantsGuy
Let me preface this by saying that this question was asked before Chase officially opted-out. Now that we are armed with that info, we can better speculate. I see Terrace Marshall purely as an outside receiver. Chase had the unique ability to play all of the positions, and they purposefully put him in advantageous positions and created mismatches for him. To be fair, his immense talent created a bunch of mismatches for his supporting cast as well. Racey McMath is the guy that I think looks like an outside guy as well, but it seems that they could put him inside as well. If they elect to keep both of those trees outside, then they could use Trey Palmer in the slot or perhaps looks to their freshmen phenoms, Arik Gilbert and Kayshon Boutte. Gilbert is the otherworldly mismatch TE and Boutte is a silky skeeter that appears tailor-made for slot work. Koy Moore is the less-heralded guy, but he’s drawn rave reviews out of camp so far.
There were five main components that made this the best offense in college football history last season:
- Joe Burrow
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Joe Brady
- Offensive Line
Most of those five elements are extinct this season.
It’s highly unlikely that Myles Brennan will come close to replicating what Joe Burrow did. I like Brennan, as does the staff, but JB was extraordinary last year in his Heisman campaign.
LSU will always have some of the nation’s most talented backs. However, CEH was a special talent. He was made to play in the Joe Brady offense that they installed last season. There isn’t a player with his pass-catching abilities on the roster, but they have a talented trio that will likely have a decent year.
Chase is gone; we needn’t go into that any further.
Brady is gone. This is where things get interesting. There were mixed reports about what his role, as well as Steve Ensminger’s, was last year. Steve is back in town, and one would think he runs the same offense as last year, but 99.9% of LSU’s football history has been filled with stone-age-offense. Adding a former NFL guy, Scott Linehan, as the PGC doesn’t inspire great confidence in me. I generally associate the NFL with an antiquated offense.
The whole two-deep on the OL just had the Rona. Beyond that, which I believe won’t be too harmful, they lose a ton of great players from last year’s line that was a huge asset for them and their record-setting-offense.
I think that the offense will look comparable to last season, at least in terms of philosophy, but I have serious doubts about their ability to come close to matching last year’s historic numbers.
Is the Memphis RB situation an “avoid” in upcoming drafts in your opinion? @CavenderCorey
Let’s use a real-life example from tomorrow’s DraftKings’ DFS slate:
Kylan Watkins ($6,300)
Rodrigues Clark ($5,200)
Asa Martin ($4,000)
On a micro-level, I used Clark in all of my lineups. On a macro-level, I ranked Clark the highest of his running mates, and I consider him a top 25 option at his position this season. I wouldn’t be shocked if any of the guys separate from the pack, and I expect all three have solid seasons. There is a chance that two of them could be fantasy-relevant. I can’t advocate for taking any of these guys in the top five in a seasonal draft like I could with Kenny G, but this is still going to be a good offense that I’m looking forward to watching tomorrow!
If you assume Minshew plays really well and the Jags get a top 2 pick do they take Lawrence or Fields and if they do how many weeks until they start? @ern19677
How about this? In terms of players that are officially in the 2021 NFL Draft, Jamie Newman is QB1! Will he remain in the top spot? Nope. The fact is that Lawrence, Fields, and Lance all have eligibility remaining, and we aren’t certain that any or all of them will declare. Will they? Larence and Fields should, but don’t overestimate the way that Dabo has the fellas drinking the juice! As of my writing this, Jacksonville’s fire sale is well underway. They just cut Fournette and traded Ronnie Harrison for peanuts. It appears they are taking their cues from their neighbors to the south, the Miami Dolphins, on how to start a true rebuild.
I assume that even if Minshew plays well, they are going to try to make the splash with Lawrence or Fields. Could they parlay Minshew’s success into a mid-season trade this year? Sure. That’s an option. They have him for so cheap; they can keep him and have one of the league’s best backups, which is what I would advise them to do. One thing about rebuilds is that one of the main drivers of that choice is fan buy-in. While Minshew may be a late-round-pick, he carries serious cache with his fanbase and the broader NFL. He is a rare personality and could be a rare sixth-round pick at QB that could have a legitimate NFL career. Assuming they take Fields or Lawrence in the top three and assuming they are in good health (unlike Tua’s situation) then I would guess they start week one in 2021.
What are some college offenses that you think are underrated? Either with current devy talent or just overall college production? I’m more interested in the former but both could be an interesting discussion @devydeets
I’ll focus on Devy. With your handle, how could I do anything else?
Arizona State
Arkansas
Boise State
Georgia Tech
Houston
Indiana
Iowa State
North Carolina
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
Part of my evolution in the devy space has been the revelation that very few players actually obtain fantasy-relevance at the NFL level. That being said, all of these ten teams have a guy, or two, or three, or more that excites me.
Arizona State has Jayden Daniels, who is well known, but they brought in one of the best freshmen skill groups that I’ve ever seen by a PAC-12 school. They’ve earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to wide receiver development and deployment in recent years.
Arkansas has a couple of gifted QBs in Franks and Jefferson. Rakeem Boyd is a potential third-round pick in 2021. Their receivers are amongst the most underrated in the nation, headlined by one of my personal favorites, Treylon Burks. Last but not least, the younger brother of Hunter Henry, Hudson, could be a breakout TE in 2020.
Boise State has a talented RB in George Holani and an extremely exciting and versatile WR Khalil Shakir.
Georgia Tech has one of the most underrated RB trios on the nation in Mason, Griffin, and Gibbs. Ahmarean Brown was their record-setting freshman WR that could evolve into the type of slot WR that the NFL loves.
Houston has some deep sleepers in QB Clayton Tune, WR Marquez Stevenson, and WR Keith Corbin. I could see Stevenson and Corbin being popular with NFL scouts in 2021.
The Hoosiers boast one of my favorite QBs in Michael Penix. Stevie Scott remains underrated as a running back, and Whop Philyor is probably limited to a fun college receiver, but this program is well-coached and ascending.
Iowa State has three top options at their positions in Brock Purdy, Breece Hall, and Charlie Kolar. In addition to that, well-known trio, Tarique Milton, Sean Shaw, Joe Scates, Darien Porter, Xavier Hutchinson, and TJ Tampa comprise one of the most underrated and diverse WR rooms in college football.
UNC is a program that is as hot as any in college football. This staff can recruit, and they are stockpiling skill talent. Aside from well-known players like Sam Howell and Dyami Brown, Dazz Newsome has the potential as an NFL slot, as does Josh Downs in several years. That isn’t the end of talented backs and receivers on campus. This looks to be an emerging hotbed of devy talent.
We know all about Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace at Oklahoma State, but QB Spencer Sanders and WR Langston Anderson have high upsides.
Texas Tech enjoys two of my favorite cheap devy options in QB Alan Bowman and RB SaRodorick Thompson. Being that this is Texas tech, they’ve got a bevy of talented pass catchers as well.
