Derek Carr The Best Deep Passer When Under Pressure Last Year

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was excellent when throwing the ball deep last season, posting an impressive completion percentage over expectation of +14.5 percent and passer rating of 124.2 on deep throws. He also had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10:1. Carr led the league with 11 completions, 426 passing yards and six touchdowns on […]

Kyler Murray Can Beat Teams Deep

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray finished last year as one of only four quarterbacks with a completion percentage over expectation of +6 percent or better in each of the last two seasons, joining Deshaun Watson, Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson. Murray had a passer rating of 154.9 and 436 passing yards on deep targets off […]

Aaron Rodgers Remains A Great Downfield Passer

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led the league in deep passing yards with 1,219 last season, also recording the second-most deep pass attempts of any qualifying quarterback in the NFL with 74. The veteran signal-caller won the MVP in 2020 and continued to excel with wide receiver Davante Adams, who was one of the […]

Deshaun Watson Aired The Ball Out Often In 2020

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was a top-five deep passer last year in his first season without All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Watson is one of four quarterbacks to have a completion percentage over expectation of +6 percent or better on deep passes in each of the last two seasons. It helped that he was […]

Mike Soroka Officially Out For The Season

Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Mike Soroka (Achilles) will officially miss the rest of the season after having surgery to fix a torn right Achilles, according to manager Brian Snitker. The 23-year-old had a setback in his recovery and was scheduled to have a follow-up procedure in mid-May. Soroka, who was the team's Opening Day starter […]

C.J. Mosley Has A Big Chip On His Shoulder

New York Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley hasn't played a complete game with the team since signing a record-setting contract in March of 2019. Mosley opted out of last season due to COVID-19. "There's a little added chip [on his shoulder] because you've always got your fans that are going to heckle," Mosley said. "When I […]

Jared Veldheer Says He's Retiring

Veteran offensive lineman Jared Veldheer said on Thursday that he plans to retire from the NFL after he was suspended for six games by the league due to a Clomid prescription. The 33-year-old said he was taking the medication because of "abnormally low" testosterone, which he suggested was "caused from pituitary damage suffered from repeated […]

Mac Jones Impressing Teammates, Coaches

New England Patriots first-round quarterback Mac Jones, who was taken 15th overall in last month's draft, has made a favorable impression on his teammates and coaches during organized team activities. "He has a swag to him that I didn't know that he had at first," receiver Kendrick Bourne said. "He's out there confident, and that […]

Dak Prescott Looks To Be In Pre-Injury Form

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (ankle) was back on the field during organized team activities this week, and tight end Dalton Schultz said that the football is "coming out the same as it was before the injury." "From what I can tell, it looks like right where he picked back up off of. All looks […]

Penei Sewell Says Transition To Right Tackle Isn't Easy

Detroit Lions first-round offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who was the No. 7 overall pick of last month's draft, will move to right tackle in his first season in the NFL after playing left tackle in college at Oregon. "It is not that easy," Sewell said on Day 3 of organized team activities. "Man, it's a […]

Jordan Love Showing Improvement At OTAs

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones has noticed a difference in quarterback Jordan Love, who the organization traded up to select in the first round of the 2020 draft, during organized team activities this week. The Packers are still hoping they can convince Aaron Rodgers to play for them this year, but Love looks […]

Tony Gonsolin Needs More Rehab Starts

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he expects right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin (shoulder) to need two more rehab starts before he's activated from the injured list. The 27-year-old's first rehab start came last Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where Gonsolin threw 38 pitches over three shutout innings. The Dodgers want to stretch him […]

James Burgess Agrees With 49ers

Former Green Bay Packers linebacker James Burgess agreed to an undisclosed one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Burgess signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2016 after going undrafted out of Louisville, but he was released before the start of the season. He spent time on the […]

Corey Davis Suffers Minor Shoulder Strain

New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis (shoulder) suffered what is believed to be a minor shoulder strain at organized team activities on Thursday when he went up for a ball and landed on his shoulder, according to sources. Dr. James Andrews will look at some scans on Friday, but team doctors think Davis will […]

Baker Mayfield Effective On Deep Play-Action Passes

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't light it up on deep passes last season, but he was very effective when going deep on play-action passes. Mayfield recorded 426 deep passing yards on play-action passes in 2020, tying for second-most in the league. His 12 deep completions off play-action plays were the third-most in the league. […]

Kirk Cousins Is Steady When Looking Downfield

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins improved his completion percentage over expectation (+9.1 percent) last year after posting a completion percentage over expectation of +6.4 percent in 2019. His passer rating on deep balls dropped slightly from 121.5 to 114.6 and his touchdown-to interception ratio went from 9:1 to 8:2, but Cousins has remained very steady […]

Russell Wilson Continues To Excel On Deep Passes

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson led the league in deep passing touchdowns with 13 last year. Four of those touchdowns came on the run, too, which was also an NFL-best. The veteran signal-caller has been the best downfield passer in the league since the inception of the Next Gen Stats era in 2016, leading the […]

Brandon Marshall Works Out For 49ers

Former Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall worked out for the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, according to a source. Marshall was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round in 2012 out of Nevada, but he made his mark in the NFL in his six seasons with the Denver Broncos from 2013 to 2018. […]

Kavon Frazier Signs With Bengals

Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins safety Kavon Frazier signed an undisclosed deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. Frazier was initially a sixth-round selection by the Cowboys out of Central Michigan in 2016, and he spent the first four seasons of his career in Dallas before joining the Dolphins for 15 games (no starts) […]

Justin Herbert Didn't Crumble Under Pressure On Deep Passes

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, also tied Baker Mayfield's rookie record for deep touchdown passes with 11. Herbert also had 415 passing yards and five touchdowns on deep passes when under pressure, both most in the NFL. He had five touchdowns on deep passes from […]

Josh Allen Improved On Deep Passes Last Year

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen improved his deep passing numbers last year with the help of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, finishing with the second-most deep completions to wide open receivers (10). Allen went from a -10.1 percent completion percentage over expectation in 2019 to +7.1 percent in 2020, the second-largest jump in the league behind […]

Robert Tonyan Was Incredibly Efficient In 2020

Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan caught 52 passes on 59 targets last season, posting the highest catch-rate difference among all pass-catchers by a wide margin. Tonyan's 16.7 percent difference was the best in 2020 and the second-best in the history of the Next Gen Stats era, dating back to the start of 2016. […]

Stefon Diggs Was Unstoppable Last Season

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs led the league in receiving yards (1,535) last year in his first season with the team. Diggs' 166 targets produced a league-high 127 receptions, and he was the only receiver to catch passes at a rate that was 11.7 percent higher than expectation. He had the most receiving yards […]

Chris Godwin Saw Less Attention From Defenders Last Year

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin saw press coverage on just 10.5 percent of routes run in 2020, the fifth-lowest rate among receivers running at least 300 routes in the NFL. That was thanks to the presence of Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski and eventually Antonio Brown last year. Once known for being primarily a […]

Todd Gurley II Visiting With Lions

Free-agent running back Todd Gurley II is visiting with the Detroit Lions on Thursday, according to a source. If he were to sign with Detroit, Gurley would be reunited with quarterback Jared Goff and join the backfield with another former Georgia standout in D'Andre Swift. Gurley, a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro with […]

Davante Adams Is Extremely Versatile

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams averaged 3.1 receiving yards per route run last year, the most in the NFL with a minimum of 150 routes. Adams set a single-season high for percentage of routes run out of the slot at 29.9 percent. When in the slot, he caught 83.6 percent of his targets […]

Out Routes Helped Corey Davis Break Out In 2020

New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis broke out in the final year of his rookie contract with the Tennessee Titans in 2020, racking up single-season highs in touchdowns (five) and receiving yards (984). Davis had a catch-rate difference of +9.7 percent last year, the fourth-highest rate among receivers. He had 218 yards on out […]

Falcons Have Offer Of First-Rounder For Julio Jones

The Atlanta Falcons have discussed an offer of a future first-round draft pick in exchange for All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones, according to sources. The Falcons are asking teams that are inquiring about Jones for a first-round pick. Atlanta has had talks with the Tennessee Titans, but a source described the Titans chances of landing […]

Tua Tagovailoa Healthy, More Comfortable Heading Into Year 2

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa admitted that he "didn't know the playbook really, really good" during his rookie season. "Last year, for me, I wasn't as comfortable just in general," Tagovailoa said. "I wasn't comfortable calling plays." He also said his strength and conditioning process has changed significantly this year because of the improvements he's […]

Lamar Jackson Says He'd Love To Be In Baltimore Forever

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is in line for one of the next big contracts in the NFL, said on Wednesday that he "would love to be here forever." "I love Baltimore, I love the whole organization, I love everybody in the building. Hopefully we'll be making something happen pretty soon." Jackson is under […]