Contenders forming + Backup/Rotational guys to watch this season

Some players that shouldn't see too much action, but I want to see + looking at 2 new big contenders in the NFL

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Sep 03, 2020

The season is fast approaching, fantasy teams are being drafted, it feels like football season… except for ticket sales. You can buy a cardboard cutout for yourself though! For real, this offseason has easily been the weirdest and maybe the most eventful in a very long time. No team has been the bigger beneficiary of this offseason than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Starting last season with their front office purge, they were able to bring Bruce Arians, one of the best HCs in the NFL back on as head coach. They hoped that Arians, known as a QB whisperer, would be able to fix the talented but mistake-prone Jameis Winston, which he could not, even with Winston throwing 30 TDs; he also threw 30 picks. But this offseason has marked a change in Tampa’s fortunes, and there was no bigger acquisition than: you know, only the greatest quarterback in history. Tampa Bay somehow snatched Tom Brady from his 20 year home in New England, and when they did that, eyebrows were raised. However, Brady is not the same player he once was, although still very good, and so expectations were tempered. But then the draft, and subsequent moves were made, and Tampa Bay’s offense now looks like this:

Tom Brady
Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones Jr., LeSean McCoy, Ke’Shawn Vaughn
Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, OJ Howard
Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tyler Johnson
Tristan Wirfs, Ali Marpet, Donovan Smith, Alex Cappa, Ryan Jensen

Yeah. That is one hell of an offense, better than the now infamous 2007 Patriots that featured Brady and Randy Moss. Yes, they just added Leonard Fournette on a 1 year deal, and while Fournette has disappointed, he is a 1100+ yard rusher. Add in Bruce Arians, a legendary offensive play-caller, and they are cooking with hot grease over there in the Sunshine State. Tampa Bay is easily a contender, especially when you factor in their elite defense featuring an incredible front seven consisting of:

Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, William Gholston
Shaquil Barrett (NFL sack leader), Jason Pierre-Paul
Devin White, LaVonte David

That is an incredible front seven to go along with an average back-end, but regardless, Tampa has the makings of a new NFC contender.

Another contender that has recently formed: The Buffalo Bills - They got to the divisional round last year where they were taken down by eventual Super Bowl champ Mahomes and company. But Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have put together a masterful rebuild of this troubled franchise, creating one of the best defenses in the league. Tre’Davious White, Ed Oliver, Tremaine Edmunds are all young stars, especially White who was all-pro. Add in the best safety duo in the league, with Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde and Buffalo has a top 3 defense in the league, with SF and BAL also in the mix. Then on offense, giving your young QB in Josh Allen his first true #1 WR, in Stefon Diggs to an already explosive offense.

Around the NFL

Mohamed Sanu was released by the Patriots. Could we see a Shanahan reunion? Doubt. Ravens likely have already called up Sanu.
Leonard Fournette signed a 1 year, incentive-laden deal worth $3,500,000 at maximum value. A great bargain for a 1200+ yard rusher. Tampa gets stronger.
The Broncos sent Boston College product Isaac Yiadom (63 tackles, 7 PBUs) to the Giants for a 7th round pick. Decent bargain for both sides, as the Giants get a corner who can play in the absence of DeAndre Baker, whose status is still up in the air, to say the least. Baker is expecting to be released by the Giants.
Dwayne Haskins has won the starting job in Washington, Ron Rivera announced today. Nice positive for a team buried in negatives.
More starting QB news: Tyrod Taylor has seized the job over rookie Justin Herbert. This was kind of known already, but still good to see for the journeyman QB.
After a massive bombshell where the Saints shopped Alvin Kamara, it looks like the situation is solved with Kamara back at practice, and sources indicating that they are much closer on a deal.

The Niners had Kittle participate today in some limited drills. A ton of good injury news for the now-closed practices, Aiyuk and Deebo are both expected back next week, as is Richie James, a surprise return considering he was expected to be more long-term. Ben Garland is expected back as well. Shanahan also said he does not expect Dee Ford or Nick Bosa to miss Week 1, and along with K’Waun Williams returning a couple days back, a lot of good news for the 49ers injury concerns.

With the season fast approaching, I wanted to review some players that are flying under the radar/depth players that I think will be fun to watch this season.

Ronald Blair, DE

Blair tore his ACL in November 2019, so he’s not someone that will or should be rushed back unnecessarily. But Shanahan is hoping that he will be available week 1, and reports are that he’s been ahead of schedule on his recovery. The Niners should be ok if Blair has to start the season on the PUP list, as they have Dion Jordan and Kerry Hyder. For a while, I’ve said that while Blair is not someone you want starting, he is the perfect rotational edge rusher. He’s not expensive, has great work ethic, is versatile, and produces in his limited snaps. If he is healthy enough, I’d love to see his return.

Tarvarius Moore, FS

There’s a good chance the Niners could play more 3 safety looks this year, especially Week 1 against the Cardinals. Moore will likely be the beneficiary of that. Despite being in the league for two years, he’s only had one year at his natural position, safety. So he’s really only going into his second year of playing safety at the NFL level. He played 23% of snaps but played well in his 3 starts and ended the season strong with an interception in the Super Bowl. With any injury in the secondary, it is very likely that Moore will take over the free safety spot and Ward will cover the missing spot.

Charlie Woerner, TE/FB

Much of the focus for the backup tight end spot is around veteran Jordan Reed. I like Reed, and recognize that San Francisco needs proven pass catchers, but I’m very worried about his concussion history. Woerner doesn’t have the receiving resume that Reed does, and he spent most of his time at Georgia blocking, where he really excelled. In camp, Woerner has earned time with the ones and twos, and even got Kittle to say that Woerner was further along as a rookie than he was. Of course, comments like this aren’t a be-all-end-all. But given that Kittle has a strong rookie year and Woerner looks like a great fit, I’m excited to watch him develop.

Apologies for the late and short article today, but I have some big ones coming up in the next couple days that should be really good reads. Check out Part 2 of our NFC West preview, this part is about the Los Angeles Rams, we released this article in the morning.

Leave a like and comment to support us if you like the article and our content, or if you have criticism, or simply for discussion. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of an in-depth look into Jimmy Garoppolo, where we look at what his issues were last season. Take a look at our latest roster projection, and a in-depth look into the Kittle vs. Kelce argument.

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