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Author: JD Allen

  • 2025 SIS Sun Belt All-Conference Team

    2025 SIS Sun Belt All-Conference Team

    It’s finally time to release our SIS All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our team of selections for 2025, plus some honorable mentions.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced within this article here.

    These picks are meant to honor this season’s best-of-the-best in the Sun Belt.

    Offense

    Position Name School
    QB Brad Jackson Texas State
    RB Wayne Knight James Madison
    WR Camden Brown Georgia Southern
    WR Ted Hurst Georgia State
    TE Tyler Fortenberry Arkansas State
    FLEX Beau Sparks Texas State
    OT Dorion Strawn Texas State
    OT Johnnie Brown III Georgia Southern
    OG Emeka Obigbo Texas State
    OG Asher Hale South Alabama
    OC Ryan Joyce Old Dominion

    Texas State leads the SBC with four selections on the offensive side, headlined by quarterback Brad Jackson. His 114 Total Points easily led the conference and ranked 9th in the whole country. Jackson’s favorite target, Beau Sparks, earns a selection after leading the conference with 1,127 receiving yards.

    Their success would not have been possible without the efforts from tackle Dorion Strawn and guard Emeka Obigbo. Strawn not only led the conference, but the nation in Total Points for an offensive tackle with 40. Obigbo was our best interior lineman in the conference with 30 Total Points. 

    Georgia Southern WR Camden Brown topped our SBC wide receiver leaderboard with 29 Total Points. He led the conference with 14 touchdown catches and trailed only Sparks with 1,027 receiving yards. 

    Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Rondo Porter Appalachian State
    DT Cody Sigler Arkansas State
    EDGE J’Mond Tapp Southern Miss
    EDGE Xavier Holmes James Madison
    LB Trent Hendrick James Madison
    LB Noah Flemmings Louisiana-Monroe
    CB Jaquez White Troy
    CB Boogie Trotter Marshall
    S Jerome Carter Old Dominion
    S Devin Lafayette Troy
    FLEX Jacob Thomas James Madison

    On the defensive side, James Madison leads the way with three selections. Safety Jacob Thomas and linebacker Jacob Thomas led the defense with 43 and 38 Total Points, respectively. Edge rusher Xavier Holmes earns his selection after finishing 2nd in both overall Pass Rush Total Points and on a per snap basis. 

    Troy defensive backs Jacquez White and Devin Lafayette make the team after terrorizing opposing QBs all year. White made an impact against the pass and the run, leading all SBC cornerbacks with 21 Run Defense Total Points. Lafayette led the conference with 35 Pass Coverage Total Points, which ranked 2nd nationally. 

    Old Dominion safety Jerome Carter narrowly edged out White to lead all SBC defensive players with 52 Total Points. Marshall CB Boogie Trotter was a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball with 5 interceptions and 2 defensive TDs. 

    Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Tyler Robles Texas State
    P Evan Crenshaw Troy
    Returner Chauncy Cobb Arkansas State

    Texas State’s Tyler Robles was the most reliable kicker in the conference, converting on 90% of his field goal attempts, with 3 makes from 50+ yards.

    Troy’s Evan Crenshaw led  all SBC punters in average punt yards with 46.7 and pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line on 25 of his 56 punts. Twelve of those punts were inside the 10 yard line. 

    Arkansas State’s Chauncy Cobb earns our returner spot after returning 2 kickoffs for TDs, the only player with multiple return TDs in the Sun Belt.

    Honorable Mentions

    Name School
    WR Tre’ Brown III Old Dominion
    RB Kentrel Bullock South Alabama
    RB Lincoln Pare Texas State
    LB MJ Stroud Georgia Southern

    Old Dominion WR Tre’ Brown III narrowly missed out due to a strong WR group in the Sun Belt this season. Among SBC WRs, Brown III, true to his name, ranked 3rd with 26 Total Points. South Alabama RB Kentrel Bullock led all SBC RBs with 1,085 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs. Texas State’s Lincoln Pare earns honorable mention after ranking 3rd with 1,010 rushing yards and 2nd with 11 rushing TDs, among all Sun Belt RBs. Georgia Southern LB MJ Stroud led the conference with 14 tackles for loss.

  • Dissecting The Returns of Lamar Jackson & Joe Burrow

    Dissecting The Returns of Lamar Jackson & Joe Burrow

    The AFC North has been playing a game of musical chairs at quarterback this season outside of the Steelers who have maintained some stability. The Browns, Ravens, and Bengals have all started three different QBs due to injury and insufficient performance from their backups. This has set up a dramatic division race to end the season as Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow have returned from early season injuries.

    The Bengals and Ravens met on Thanksgiving night, and the Ravens squandered a prime opportunity to solidify their position and knock the Bengals out of the division race. Fortunately for the Ravens, they will have the chance to avenge their loss in two weeks in Cincinnati.

    Let’s take a look at how these top signal callers have fared in their returns.

    Lamar Jackson

    Lamar suffered a right hamstring strain in Week 4 against the Chiefs that caused him to miss three games. Unfortunately, Jackson continues to pop up on the weekly injury report since his return with knee, ankle, and toe designations. He does not look fully healthy and his performance is suffering because of it. 

    Part of what makes Jackson such a dynamic QB is his rushing ability, and that has suffered since the lower body injuries piled up. The table below shows the rushing stats for Jackson on designed QB runs (run plays that aren’t QB sneaks, kneels, or scrambles):

    Lamar Jackson on Designated QB Runs

    Pre-Injury Post-Injury
    Att/G 3.0 1.8
    Yds/Att 6.3 3.5
    BT+MT/Att 0.25 0.11
    Total Points 2 -2

    The Ravens are calling designed QB runs at a slightly lower rate and understandably so. Jackson’s efficiency in the run game has been almost cut in half and his inability to make defenders miss seems to be a driving factor. His effectiveness on scrambles has also taken a hit:

    Pre-Injury Post-Injury
    Att/G 2.3 2.8
    Yds/Att 10.0 5.4
    BT+MT/Att 0.33 0.29
    Total Points 9 3

    Jackson has had to scramble a bit more since his return, but without the same impact when healthy. It’s definitely a good thing that he hasn’t avoided scrambling altogether as it shows he still has faith in his legs, despite all the injuries. The threat of him being able to extend plays and scramble opens up things in the passing game. 

    However, Jackson has been struggling throwing the ball, as well. Among 36 QBs with 50 or more pass attempts since Week 9, Jackson ranks 2nd-worst in On-Target% at 61%. The only QB worse than him? JJ McCarthy. 

    The Ravens will need Jackson to step up his play at the end of the season if they want to win the AFC North. Their defense has struggled against the pass this season, ranking in the bottom half of our Total Points player value stat. Their inability to sack the QB has been a big issue, as they rank in the bottom 5 in both pressure rate and sack rate. The Ravens have not been able to rely on their defense like they have in the past.

    Joe Burrow

    Burrow made his return from a Grade 3 turf toe injury that required surgery and will look to build upon a huge Thanksgiving win to make an improbable comeback to win the division. Burrow wore a “hard plate” to protect his injured left toe, so it does seem like he is still battling the injury to some extent.

    Looking at the table below, we can compare Burrow’s Week 1 performance to his recent Thanksgiving performance: 

    Joe Burrow – 2025 Season

    Pre-Injury Post-Injury
    Dropbacks 28 48
    On-Target% 91% 79%
    Total Points/Play 0.19 0.17

    The Bengals didn’t limit Burrow at all in his return as he dropped back to pass 48 times in a game they won comfortably in the second half. His accuracy dropped a bit in his first game back, but his effectiveness only dropped marginally. He doesn’t appear to be having issues throwing to any one side of the field as the On-Target% remains similar to both directions. 

    Similar to the Ravens, the Bengals will need their star QB to carry the load as the Bengals defense against the pass has been putrid. They rank last in Total Points in pass coverage with 24. For comparison, the Commanders are the next worst with 45 Total Points. That’s a  concerning difference. They also have not been able to rush the passer at an effective rate, with pressure and sack rates right in line with the aforementioned Ravens. 

    It wasn’t a vintage Burrow performance by any means, but it was an encouraging first game back after missing a significant portion of the season. My colleague, Bryce Rossler, wrote an article last year about QB performance when returning from a significant injury. A key takeaway is that it takes about four games for a QB to return to his pre-injury form. Lamar Jackson doesn’t quite meet the threshold of missing at least four games that this article is based on, but I think it is still useful for what to expect for the rest of the season.

    AFC North Ramifications

    While talking about the AFC North division race, we’d be remiss not to mention the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a hot start to the season and a commanding lead in the division, they now sit tied with the Ravens at 6-6. Aaron Rodgers has gotten banged up recently dealing with a left wrist injury that caused him to miss a game before re-injuring it upon his return. They desperately need him to stay healthy to try and right the ship, which says something because he has been below-average on the whole this year. 

    This division race might come down to whichever QB can find their pre-injury form the fastest. Historical data says Jackson should have the advantage there, but lingering lower-body injuries may prevent us from seeing Jackson at his best the rest of this season. 

    Can Burrow, the two-time Comeback Player of the Year, lead the Bengals to an improbable division comeback? They will need Burrow to buck the four-game trend as they head to Buffalo this week before a rematch at home against Baltimore that may decide their fate.

  • Ravens, Bills, Packers Line Injuries Can Have A Major Impact

    Ravens, Bills, Packers Line Injuries Can Have A Major Impact

    Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire

    Injuries are an unfortunate part of football and can derail a team’s season before it even gets started. We’ve seen it over the years at quarterback with Joe Burrow and the Bengals. This year, we are also seeing teams suffer after losing key players in the trenches. 

    We’re going to take a look at three teams that entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations who have lost key players on the offensive or defensive lines. The Ravens and Bills have been without their top defensive tackles while the Packers have had to reshuffle their offensive line. 

    Ravens

    The Ravens were hit with a tsunami of injuries before Week 5, but they lost 2 key players on the DL in Nnamdi Madubuike and Kyle Van Noy at an inopportune time after Week 2. We’re going to ignore what happened in Week 5 as the Ravens were missing a majority of their best players on both sides of the ball. We’ll focus on Madubuike because he’s out for the season with a neck injury, while Van Noy was able to return in Week 5.

    Madubuike was on pace to have another great season in 2025. After 2 weeks, he ranked 3rd in Pass Rush Total Points and was above average in Rush Defense Total Points among defensive tackles. 

    The table below shows the impact of Madubuike on the Ravens defense through the first four games: 

    On Field Off Field
    EPA/60 Plays -6 16
    Pressure % 37% 25%
    AVG Rushing YBC 1.3 1.9

    The Ravens defense has been 22 points worse with Madubuike off the field (remember, EPA is from the offense’s perspective, so negative is good in this case). Their pressure rate has been cut by a third and the defense is allowing a little more than half a yard more before contact on run plays.

    Part of this is due to the fact that teams are calling more interior runs with Madubuike absent. The 2025 league average rushing YBC on inside and outside runs is 1.2 and 1.5, respectively. Madubuike’s impact is clear as they’ve gone from league average to well below league average on rushing YBC. 

    The table below clearly shows the impact of his absence on opposing offensive coordinators in terms of run direction.

    Opponent Run Direction with and without Madubuike in 2025

    On Field Off Field
    Inside 17% 48%
    Off Tackle 48% 37%
    Outside 35% 15%

    In the first two games, the Bills and Browns were trying to attack the edges in the run game to avoid the impact of Madubuike up the middle. The Lions and Chiefs didn’t have that problem and chose to test the depth of the Ravens interior, especially the Lions. Ravens DTs ranked 26th in Pass Rush and Rush Defense Total Points in the two games after Madubuike’s injury. 

    The Lions ran Duo 15 times against the Ravens for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. Duo is an interior run predicated on hard doubles on the defensive line that get pushed back into their linebackers to create rushing lanes. The Lions and OC John Morton called it over and over again as the Ravens had no answer while missing their defensive stalwart on the interior. 

    Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith lead the back 7 of that defense and both missed last week’s game. The Ravens are experiencing an injury crisis on the defensive side of the ball similar to what we saw with the Lions at the end of last season. They still have time to salvage the season, but they will need to get healthy to overcome the massive loss, literally and figuratively, of Madubuike in the middle of their defense. 

    Bills

    Another great AFC DT has missed time this year, Ed Oliver for the Bills. Oliver is hopeful to return this week after suffering an ankle injury in Week 1 that caused him to miss the last 4 games. 

    Unlike the Ravens, the Bills have had a relatively easy start to the season allowing them to start off 4-1 despite some key injuries on defense. However, the Bills have Super Bowl aspirations and they will need to address some issues if they want to achieve their goals. 

    The Bills’ run defense has been a problem to start the year. Through 5 weeks, it has given up 728 rushing yards at an average of 5.6 yards per carry, both ranked in the bottom 5. The Bills have been able to mitigate this problem so far with splash plays. They are tied for 10th with 17 tackles for loss and have recovered 2 fumbles. 

    Oliver is more of a threat as a pass rusher, but his loss exposes some lack of depth in terms of interior run defense. 

    Against the run, four other Bills defensive tackles have been 2 points below average in 2025 (per Total Points), while Oliver has been a smidge above average since the start of 2024. 

    The 4-1 Bills don’t need to panic like the 1-4 Ravens, but they will need to find answers to tighten up the run defense and they do have the luxury of time to find those answers, internally or externally. The last thing Buffalo needs come playoff time is a defense that can’t get off the field and leaves Josh Allen stranded on the sideline. 

    Packers

    To the offensive side, the honeymoon phase for the Packers after the Micah Parsons trade appears to be over. Despite hopes and talks of a perfect season, the Packers find themselves at 2-1-1 coming off a well-timed bye week, which is rare to say for a Week 5 bye. 

    The Packers have invested a lot of resources into their offensive line. They rewarded RT Zach Tom with a lucrative contract extension this offseason and also brought in LG Aaron Banks in free agency from San Francisco. 2024 1st-round pick Jordan Morgan and 2025 2nd-round pick Anthony Belton both entered the season as backups to solidify a strong unit on paper. Despite all the resources invested, they are struggling with injuries to Banks and Tom. Belton getting injured while filling in only complicated matters. 

    Offensive line depth in the NFL comes at a premium. Even the Packers struggle to replace their starters despite having young, early draft picks on their bench. The injuries have caused drastic changes to the Packers offense. The table below shows the effect of a depleted offensive line:

    Week 1 & 2 Week 3 & 4
    ADoT 12.8 (1st) 3.9 (31st)
    OL Blown Block% 1.5% (4th) 4.4% (19th)
    Sack% 3.5% (6th) 7.8% (23rd)
    OL Total Points per play 0.21 (6th) 0.11 (25th)

    The first thing that really popped out to me was the drastic decrease in throw depth along with an increase in sack percentage. The first two weeks of the season, Jordan Love and the Packers were pushing the ball downfield and avoiding sacks. The next two weeks with a depleted offensive line? The exact opposite. 

    This table shows how important the offensive line is in establishing an identity for your offense. In certain situations it can have a similar effect to losing your quarterback.

  • How Does Nic Scourton Fit With The Carolina Panthers?

    How Does Nic Scourton Fit With The Carolina Panthers?

    Photo: Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire

    The Panthers addressed a couple of needs on the first two days of the Draft. After selecting wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with their first pick, they doubled down at edge rusher in the second and third rounds with Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen, respectively. We will focus on Scourton in this article as he is a great fit to fill the void in their pass rush after they traded Brian Burns to the Big Apple. 

    What He Brings

    Our scouting report describes Scourton as a big, physical, explosive EDGE who should earn a starting job early on and could develop into a high-end player if he continues his trajectory. His explosive power and expansive pass rush repertoire are certainly strengths in his game. He also possesses a hair-on-fire mentality, but this can get him in trouble with his positioning in the run game. He has all the tools to be a reliable run defender on the edge if he can become more disciplined in his run fits. 

    After two productive years at Purdue including 8.5 sacks in 2023, he had a disappointing 2024 season at Texas A&M where his numbers fell in a new scheme and conference. The table below highlights these differences: 

    Nic Scourton – Last 2 Seasons

    2023 2024
    Sacks 8.5 5
    Pressures 40 27
    Pressure Percentage 18% 10%
    Pass Rush Total Points 21 10

    Despite a disappointing 2024 season, Scourton’s production in 2023 at Purdue gives us reason to believe that the Panthers can develop him at the next level. He is not just a pass rusher as he earned 18 and 12 Total Points against the run the past two seasons (click the link to learn more about Total Points, our all-encompassing player value stat). His ability to play the pass and run should earn him a starting role early on, as the Panthers desperately need talent off the edge. 

    The Need He Fills

    The Panthers pass rush was non-existent last season after the departure of Brian Burns and an early season injury to star DT Derrick Brown. The table below highlights the struggles of the Panthers pass rush last season: 

    Carolina Panthers

    2024 League Rank
    Sacks 32  T-29
    Pressures 153 Last
    Pressure Percentage 26% Last
    Pass Rush Total Points 21 Last

    It doesn’t paint a pretty picture. The Panthers need their young additions to inject some life into their pass rush. To be fair to last year’s group, it wasn’t pretty the year before either with Burns and Brown, as the team ranked last in 2023 with 27 sacks. 

    How Scourton Fits What Carolina Does

    Scourton played in college around 280 pounds before weighing in at the combine at 255. Our scouting report mentioned body composition work to help improve functional strength. It doesn’t seem like this was just for combine testing either as the Panthers roster lists him at 257 pounds. The weight loss should prepare him well for his new role with the Panthers as a stand-up EDGE. 

    Panthers EDGEs primarily play in a 2-point stance instead of putting their hand in the dirt. The aforementioned weight loss should help as he played exclusively with his hand in the dirt at Purdue and 71% of his snaps at Texas A&M. If he can maintain his strength, the weight loss could help him unlock some speed and bend to raise an already high ceiling even higher. 

    Scourton is a perfect fit for the Panthers and great value to address a need in the second round. They get a player who plays unbelievably hard and should see the field early and often while possessing a high ceiling. His drop in weight at the Combine was certainly unique, but a body transformation could unlock new parts of his game, as long as he can maintain his strength. 

    Bryce Young and the Panthers started to turn the corner at the end of last season. To build on that success and challenge Tampa Bay for the NFC South crown, they desperately need to find some pass rush success. Scourton might just be the guy to provide it.

  • How Does Colston Loveland Fit With The Chicago Bears? (Spoiler: Quite Well)

    How Does Colston Loveland Fit With The Chicago Bears? (Spoiler: Quite Well)

    Photo: Zacbon Durant/Icon Sportswire

    It is easy to see why Colston Loveland was the first draft pick of the Ben Johnson era in Chicago. He is a lengthy TE with enough athleticism to cause mismatches all over the field. Adding Loveland to a skill group of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and D’Andre Swift creates endless possibilities for Johnson to create advantageous looks for Caleb Williams. 

    What Loveland Brings

    Loveland possesses a lot of traits to excel in the NFL. Our NFL Draft scouting report describes him as an aggressive blocker and powerful receiver who seeks to win on every play. His experience in a pro-style offense makes it easy to see how he will translate to the next level. Recently, we compared Loveland to fellow 1st round TE Tyler Warren. At the end of the article, there is a great graphic showing the completeness of Loveland’s game not only as a receiver, but as a blocker, too.  

    Bears tight ends ranked 26th with 4 receiving Total Points* last season. To fit Ben Johnson’s style of offense, the Bears needed an injection of talent to the room. Cole Kmet is a fine blocker, but he has not become a presence in the passing game like expected.

    * Total Points is our all-encompassing player value metric that attempts to capture everything that happens during a play. You can read about it here or watch a short video about it here.

     How He Fits With What Ben Johnson Did In Detroit

    The Lions added a dynamic, young TE in Sam Laporta before Johnson’s first full season as offensive coordinator. Loveland offers more of a natural downfield receiving threat while being less dynamic with the ball in his hands. The Loveland/Kmet duo is similar to the Laporta/Brock Wright pairing Johnson had in Detroit. Kmet, akin to Wright, is a better blocker while Loveland, akin to Laporta, brings the mismatch and receiving ability. 

    Johnson utilized 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) at a high rate in Detroit, even doubling down on it last season to quite a bit of success. The table below highlights the usage and impact of 2 TE sets in Johnson’s offenses, compared to what the Bears put out there:

    2023 Lions 2024 Lions 2024 Bears
    12 Personnel% 22% (13th) 38% (2nd) 19% (20th)
    12 Personnel Success Rate 52% (2nd) 49% (6th) 36% (32nd)

    The Bears were a disaster in 12 personnel last year, ranking last in success rate. That is an area where Johnson clearly wanted to address as 12P was a staple of his offenses in Detroit. Pairing Loveland and Cole Kmet together will allow Johnson to deploy each player to his strengths.

    Kmet established himself as a top blocking TE last season, finishing fifth at the position with 12 Blocking Total Points. This will take the pressure off Loveland and he can add strength and grow as a blocker, all while allowing Johnson to get creative with formations to attack defenses based on how they counter. He can line up both tight ends attached to the line of scrimmage and pound the rock against nickel defenses or split Loveland out wide against base defenses to create a mismatch against a linebacker or safety. The possibilities are endless for an offensive mastermind like Johnson. 

    Johnson and the Lions had a lot of success throwing over the middle of the field, partly due to Jared Goff’s skills. Johnson will tweak his offense to fit Caleb Williams’ skills and preferences, but we can expect Johnson to continue finding creative ways to access the middle of the field. 

    The table below shows the stats for Goff and Williams when throwing between the numbers during the 2024 season:

    Throwing Between The Numbers

    Jared Goff Caleb Williams
    Attempts 336 269
    On-Target% 81% 77%
    IQR* 114.0 96.4
    Success% 62% 55%
    Total Points per att 0.23 0.23

    * IQR (Independent Quarterback Rating) is an adjusted version of the traditional Passer Rating that emphasizes competitive throws and removes factors outside the passer’s control, like dropped passes.

    As you can see, Goff did a lot more damage over the middle than Williams, but on a per-play basis Williams held his own when you focus on his contributions. The addition of Loveland should help as his frame offers a big, reliable target over the middle. On in-breaking routes (digs, posts, slants, crossing routes), his yards per route run (YPRR) was 3.5 in 2024, compared to 2.9 on all routes. Laporta had a 2.6 YPRR along with 11 Total Points on these in-breaking routes in his rookie season with Johnson. Expect Loveland to have a similar impact in his rookie season.

    Another area where Loveland’s addition should elevate their offense is his ability to help Williams on broken plays. Loveland accumulated 4 Total Points on broken plays in 2023 with JJ McCarthy as his QB. This is an area where Williams struggled last year despite his success off-script in college. Williams ranked 8th in broken play attempts last year but 18th in Total Points per play, suggesting there is ample room for growth. 

    Summing it up

    Loveland to the Bears is a perfect match. His skillset will allow him to play early while landing in a situation where he can improve on his weaknesses without them getting exposed. Kmet and his blocking skills will allow Loveland to add strength before he becomes the main guy at the point of attack. Johnson’s creativity will generate Loveland free releases and leverage advantages while he refines his separation abilities. 

    The Bears not only added a top talent in the draft, but at a position that will allow Ben Johnson to use 12P to the extent he did in Detroit. The Bears have brought in plenty of reinforcements to help Williams reach his full potential. Securing Loveland after fortifying the interior offensive line in free agency is the cherry on top.

  • How Nakobe Dean’s Absence Will Impact the Rams-Eagles Game

    How Nakobe Dean’s Absence Will Impact the Rams-Eagles Game

    Photo: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire

    Winning the Super Bowl is one of the hardest achievements in sport, if not the hardest. With the recent addition of a 17th regular season game, teams will have to play 20 or 21 games to earn the right to hoist up the Lombardi Trophy. 

    Nobody is ever at 100 percent come playoff time due to the sheer physical nature of the NFL. In the playoffs, the margins are as slim as ever and injuries can derail a team’s dreams. We saw it this past weekend when the Packers were decimated with in-game injuries on offense at wide receiver and offensive line. That’s definitely not the only reason why they lost, but it never felt like the Packers could make a late game comeback that shorthanded. 

    However, the most impactful injury from that game was when Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean tore his patellar tendon late in the 2nd quarter that will sideline him for the rest of the playoffs, and potentially, part of the 2025 season. 

    Dean had a breakout 2024 season in his first season under defensive coordinator Vic Fangio where he beat out veteran free-agent Devin White for the starting Mike LB position. Dean finished the season ranked as the 7th-best LB in Run Defense Total Points with 20. Among all LBs with 50 tackles, he ranked 4th in Run Defense Total Points Per Play.

    Against the Rams in Week 12, he was a force to be reckoned with, registering 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 fumble recovery in a performance that generated 3 Total Points. 

    It’s hard to draw conclusions from a one-game sample size, however, against the Packers, the Eagles were clearly better at stopping the run before Dean exited the game. The table below shows the rushing splits for when Dean was on and off the field:

    Packers Offense With Nakobe Dean …

    On-Field Off-Field
    Attempts 12 11
    Yards/Attempt 3.8 5.6
    Yards After Contact/Attempt 3.1 5.2

    Despite facing a similar amount of rushes, the Packers were able to find more success on the ground with Dean sidelined. Now, some of this could be attributed to game flow, however, I don’t think that’s the only reason. 

    Take for instance, Josh Jacobs’ 31-yard run to end the 3rd quarter on an outside zone run concept. On this play, Dean’s replacement, Oren Burks, gets caught overpursuing, allowing Jacobs to cut back. Burks is able to track back before Jacobs ultimately breaks his attempted tackle before bulldozing through another couple defenders before getting brought down at the 1. 

    Now, that is just one individual play that included an incredible individual effort by Jacobs. However, Sean McVay, one of the league’s best game-planners and play-designers is going to try and exploit the absence of Dean in a number of ways. 

    McVay loves to use motion and play action as the Rams rank 2nd and 10th in motion and play action usage, respectively. Utilizing motion and play-action puts a lot of stress on opposing defenses, especially LBs, as McVay crafts unique ways to create leverage advantages for his blockers. 

    McVay and the Rams utilize a zone-heavy running scheme to set up easy rushing lanes off of the leverage advantage mentioned above. The table below shows the EPA Per Play for the Rams offense and Eagles defense when running or facing zone runs this season: 

    On Zone Runs

    Rams Offense Eagles Defense
    Zone Run EPA/Play -0.05 (12th) -0.04 (22nd)

    This is where McVay and the Rams will have their best chance to take advantage of Dean’s absence. Zone-running schemes are built around setting up cut-back lanes to take advantage of over-pursuing LBs. Sound familiar to the Jacobs play above? 

    McVay will look to cause confusion pre-snap against the Eagles defense as the players in the  Eagles back 7 will need to be on point with their communication. That is a lot more difficult when the heart and soul of the middle of your defense is sitting on the sidelines. 

    Luckily for the Eagles, Burks should have some familiarity with facing McVay’s Rams as he was a member of the 49ers for the past two seasons. He’s also all too familiar with replacing an impact LB in the playoffs, as he filled in for Dre Greenlaw in last year’s Super Bowl after Greenlaw suffered a freak Achilles injury running on to the field. That was another reminder of how one injury can change a playoff game and leave a franchise and its fanbase asking “What if?”

    Burks is accustomed to this situation and was also able to get some much-needed experience as he started the final two games of the season with Dean sidelined with an abdominal injury. He also was the one to force the fumble on the opening kickoff that totally flipped the script of the Wild Card game. 

    The Eagles will need to rely on Zack Baun, another breakout LB that earned All-Pro honors in his first year with the Eagles. He’ll be tasked with the responsibilities of relaying play-calls and handling all communications, although he does have experience this year, as he wears the green dot during dime packages when Dean would get subbed off. 

    Replacing Dean’s play on the field will be difficult enough, but replacing the intangibles that he brings day-in and day-out as a leader of the defense will be even more paramount as they try and make a run to the Super Bowl.

  • We’ve Seen This Before From Kliff Kingsbury

    We’ve Seen This Before From Kliff Kingsbury

    Photo: Andy Lewis, Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire

    With the constant influx of athletic quarterbacks into the NFL, offensive coaches have slowly incorporated more QB designed runs into their schemes. We’ve seen these concepts plenty in college football with the likes of Urban Meyer, Chip Kelly, and Rich Rodriguez starting the revolution of the spread option offense. 

    It is fitting that Kliff Kingsbury, who spent time in college before coaching the Cardinals and Commanders, has created an offensive scheme that utilizes plenty of Air Raid and Spread Option principles. It’s also fitting that Kingsbury has been tasked with developing two Heisman winning quarterbacks who possess the athleticism to be a successful rusher in the NFL, but who have had to manage in-season injuries that limit how much they can use that athleticism.

    In this article, we are going to look at how Kingsbury has utilized the running ability of Jayden Daniels and Kyler Murray before and after lingering in-season injuries. 

    Daniels and the Commanders offense were off to a roaring start before Daniels suffered a rib injury in Week 7 against the Panthers that forced him to leave the game. The Commanders were 5-2 and ended that game having scored 30 points or more in four of five games. Since Week 8, the Commanders are 3-3 and have scored 30 points just once, in their Week 13 game against the Titans.

    The table below shows team rushing stats for the Commanders before and after Daniels suffered his rib injury: 

    Pre-Rib Injury Post-Rib Injury
    Rush Attempts / Game 32 32
    Rush Yards / Game 165 147
    EPA/Rush 0.16 0.06
    Total Points / Rush 0.19 0.05

    The Commanders rushing offense has been less effective since Daniels was injured. Although the EPA per Rush has decreased by a tenth of a point since the injury, the Commanders have still been successful running the football compared to the rest of the league. From Week 8 on, the Commanders are tied for third with the Giants in EPA per Rush. 

    However, there is more to this story. The table below shows rushing stats for Jayden Daniels on designed QB runs. For the purpose of this article, we are not going to include QB sneaks and kneels. 

    Pre-Rib Injury Post-Rib Injury
    Designed Runs / Game 4.2 2.8
    Rush Yards / Game 18 14
    EPA/Rush 0.16 0.02
    Total Points / Rush 0.22 0.03

    The Commanders have run Daniels less frequently since the injury. His effectiveness has also dropped off. Now, when we look at his rushing stats in the Red Zone only, a clearer picture starts to emerge:

    Pre-Rib Injury Post-Rib Injury
    Designed Runs 13 5
    Touchdowns 4 1
    EPA/Rush 0.15 -0.07
    Total Points / Rush 0.29 -0.27

    This paints a clear picture of where the Daniels injury has impacted the Commanders rushing offense the most: in the red zone. His ability to run the Read Option in the red zone puts a lot of pressure on the defense. Kingsbury is running his quarterback less in general, but especially in key situations in tight quarters, and he’s done worse with those attempts (albeit in a small sample). 

    Defenses can pick up on this trend, as well. To make a baseball analogy, using the quarterback in the option run game is like having a great changeup to complement your fastball. It is pretty much impossible to sit on a great fastball and changeup, similar to defending the option in football. If you can eliminate one of the options pre-snap or pre-pitch, you have a much greater chance of success. This is where Kingsbury has run into problems during his tenure as a playcaller not only in Washington, but Arizona as well. 

    Kingsbury has caught a lot of flak for his offenses struggling in the second half of the season since his days in Arizona with Kyler Murray. There does appear to be some truth to that logic, although he has had unfortunate injury luck at quarterback dating back to the 2020 season.

    The 2020 Cardinals started the season 5-3 before a Kyler Murray shoulder injury in Week 9 that lingered for the rest of the season. The 2021 Cardinals started 7-1 before Murray suffered a sprained ankle that caused him to miss 3 games and limped to the end of the season with a 11-6 record and a playoff berth. The two tables below highlight the similarities between the 2020 Cardinals and 2024 Commanders offenses pre- and post-injury for their franchise quarterback. 

    2020 Cardinals Pre-QB Injury Post-QB Injury
    Rush Attempts / Game 32 28
    Rush Yards / Game 163 117
    Rush Touchdowns / Game 1.75 1.13
    EPA/Rush 0.16 -0.04
    Total Points / Rush 0.07 -0.05

    2024 Commanders Pre-QB Injury Post-QB Injury
    Rush Attempts / Game 32 32
    Rush Yards / Game 165 147
    Rush Touchdowns / Game 2.0 1.3
    EPA/Rush 0.16 0.06
    Total Points / Rush 0.19 0.05

    The numbers are astonishingly similar, especially pre-injury for both seasons. As you can see, Kingsbury has tweaked his offense to his personnel in Washington to form one of the most potent rushing attacks in the NFL this season. 

    Kingsbury’s rushing offense has not cratered like it has in the 2020 and 2021 seasons after Murray was injured. Part of that should be attributed to personnel differences, but another part of it should be attributed to schematic changes.

    Kingsbury has adapted from a zone-run heavy run scheme in Arizona to a more balanced approach to gap and zone run schemes in 2024 with Washington. He is calling gap scheme running plays 47% of the time this year, compared to 28% and 38% in 2021 and 2022, respectively. In terms of running the ball, not much else has changed. He still runs an up-tempo, shotgun heavy offense that uses motions at a lower rate than most of the league, where his offenses have always ranked in the bottom 5 in motion percentage.  

    Some of this is unfortunate injury luck, some of this is also just the reality of consistently running your quarterback in the NFL. In 2020 Kyler Murray had 73 designed runs and in 2024 Jayden Daniels is currently at 47 with four games left to play. 

    Murray’s 68 runs are tied for 6th most for a quarterback in a season since 2020, while Daniels comes in tied for 16th. Ahead of these players on that list include the likes of Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Cam Newton. Besides Lamar, the three other quarterbacks have a much better body composition to sustain hits throughout the season compared to Murray and Daniels. Even then, there were discussions held within each franchise to lessen the workload for their franchise quarterback to make sure they were fully healthy going into the playoffs. 

    This is the conundrum that Kingsbury seems to keep getting stuck in, year in and year out. His offenses seem to peak too early in the regular season before waning off come crunch time. It could be the case of getting figured out by defensive coordinators or it could also be because of lingering injuries to his quarterbacks that affect how he calls plays. More than likely, both are true, but either way, Kingsbury needs to find an answer to this problem, especially if he is interviewing for head coaching positions in the off-season. 

    Luckily for the Commanders, the bye week came much later and that might just be a blessing in disguise. In future seasons, Kingsbury will need to find the perfect balance between keeping his quarterback fresh for the playoffs and finding success during the regular season or his offenses will continue to limp into the playoffs, literally and figuratively, alongside their quarterback.

  • How the Eagles and Texans Have Coped Without Their Star Receivers

    How the Eagles and Texans Have Coped Without Their Star Receivers

    The 2024 NFL Season has not been kind to leading wide receivers from last season, as many have had unfortunate injury luck. The table below shows the 10 leading WRs in Receiving Total Points in 2023. Six of the 10 have missed at least one game due to injury this season. That number could rise to seven with CeeDee Lamb’s status in question this week due to a shoulder injury suffered during last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. 

    2023 Total Points
    Amon-Ra St. Brown 42
    Puka Nacua* 38
    Brandon Aiyuk* 36
    CeeDee Lamb 36
    Nico Collins* 36
    DK Metcalf* 34
    Tyreek Hill 34
    A.J. Brown* 33
    Deebo Samuel* 33
    DJ Moore 33

    * Missed at least one game due to injury

    These injuries have opened the door for a new wave of wide receivers to top our 2024 Total Points leaderboard. Now, this list isn’t perfect as some teams have had byes, and some haven’t, but here is the current 2024 leaderboard: 

    2024 Total Points
    Chris Godwin* 20
    Nico Collins* 19
    Khalil Shakir 18
    A.J. Brown* 16
    Zay Flowers 16
    Ja’Marr Chase 14
    Josh Downs 14
    Jauan Jennings* 13
    Jalen Tolbert 13
    Justin Jefferson 13

    * Missed at least one game due to injury

    There are some familiar faces in Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase and we also see an influx of youth, with guys like Khalil Shakir and Zay Flowers in the top five. I can’t help but notice that there are still have four players that have missed games due to injury in the top 10, and specifically three in the top five. Chris Godwin was having a fantastic season before suffering a gruesome season-ending ankle injury on Monday Night Football against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7.

    This article will focus on A.J. Brown and Nico Collins, two dominant WRs who cracked the top five despite only playing in five games this season, including games they left due to injury. 

    Brown and Collins are prototypical “X” WRs in the NFL who are often able to physically overmatch opposing defensive backs due to sheer size and athleticism. These types of receivers do not grow on trees, which is why both of these guys were paid big money by their respective teams. Brown and Collins earn every penny they make as this chart showing Passing EPA Per 60 Plays splits with each player on and off the field shows: 

    On-Field Off-Field Difference
    A.J. Brown 16 -3 +19
    Nico Collins 12 -6 +18

    To no surprise, the Eagles and Texans passing offenses have been 19 and 18 EPA per 60 plays better with Brown and Collins on the field, respectively. That’s more than a touchdown per game on average. 

    Let’s take a deeper dive into how these offenses coped without their star wide receiver. 

    Philadelphia Eagles

    A portion of the Eagles fanbase wanted Head Coach Nick Sirianni to also lose his job and despite a 6-2 start to this season, it still seems like some fans still want him gone. However, they have won their last four games after starting the season 2-2. It’s no coincidence that coincides with the return of A.J. Brown from injury. They are 5-0 in games he plays and 1-2 in games that he has not played. Brown has been top 10 in Total Points among wide receivers every season since being traded during the 2022 NFL Draft from the Titans to the Eagles. That trend should continue if he’s healthy.

    It doesn’t appear like the Eagles made any drastic schematic changes to account for Brown being out of the lineup. As I mentioned earlier, a player of Brown’s size and caliber is irreplaceable. Just ask Titans fans. This led to a drop in efficiency while Brown was out, as we can see below: 

    Eagles with A.J. Brown

    On-Field Off-Field
    Completion Percentage 70.5% 69.1%
    Catchable Percentage 86.5% 87.4%
    ADot 8.3 8.0
    Yards Per Attempt 9.6 7.0
    Yards Per Dropback 7.9 6.1
    Touchdown Percentage 6.7% 2.7%
    Interception Percentage 1.9% 1.8%

    The sample size for the on-off splits for dropbacks and pass attempts are very close to 50/50 giving us a great sample to pull from. The drop in EPA for the passing game doesn’t seem to be because of Hurts playing poorly without Brown, as his completion percentage, catchable percentage, and interception percentage are all pretty similar. The marginal decrease in ADoT with Brown off the field shows that Hurts was still willing to push the ball down the field despite being without his top receiver. So why did yards per attempt and yards per dropback decrease significantly? 

    The Eagles missed the yards after catch ability that A.J. Brown brings to the table with his size and speed. The Eagles average 2.1 yards more after the catch with Brown on the field this season. Last year, Brown ranked 4th in yards after contact and 11th in yards after catch overall. This is what makes a player like Brown special and tough to replace. 

    The Eagles need Brown to stay healthy and available as they battle the Commanders for first place in the NFC East. He picked up a minor knee injury in this past week’s game against the Jaguars and is now listed as questionable for this week’s game against the Cowboys. 

    Houston Texans

    No one has to have been more thrilled with the arrival of C.J. Stroud in Houston last year than Nico Collins. He has emerged as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL in the past year and a half and was handsomely compensated for his performance with a contract of 20-plus million dollars per year this past offseason.

    It’s been a rough showing for Stroud and the Texans passing offense with the absence of Nico Collins combined with Stefon Diggs being lost for the season after being injured in Week 8. It hasn’t been particularly pretty either and there is blame to be passed around to all of this offense. 

    Stroud has been under constant pressure all year. He ranks 2nd in pressure rate and 7th in sack rate among passers with at least 100 attempts. Since Collins went out in Week 6, he has been pressured 66 times and taken 16 sacks, both of which lead the league. 

    Stroud’s sacks-per-pressure rate increased by about six percentage points during this timespan showing that he misses his go-to-guy when he’s under pressure. Stroud’s Passing EPA stats were good when he was facing all that pressure with Nico on the field, but since then his performance under pressure has dropped off a cliff. Stroud’s play has seemed to dip the last four weeks as we can see in the table below: 

    Texans with Nico Collins

    On-Field Off-Field
    Completion Percentage 69.7% 57.7%
    Catchable Percentage 81.2% 74.1%
    ADoT 7.7 8.1
    Yards Per Attempt 8.4 6.2
    Yards Per Dropback 7.1 5.0
    Touchdown Percentage 4.9% 2.4%
    Interception Percentage 1.4% 1.2%

    Unlike Jalen Hurts, Stroud’s completion percentage and catchable percentage have dropped a pretty significant amount with Collins off the field. Stroud’s ADoT marginally increases compared to marginal decrease we had for Hurts, signaling that Stroud has even been more willing to push the ball down the field without his star man. Similar to the Eagles, part of it was because of a disastrous performance in Week 9 without Collins and Diggs in which Stroud had a -12 passing EPA. That ranked 2nd-worst that week behind Jameis Winston. 

    The Texans entered the season with Super Bowl aspirations after an exciting, successful first season with C.J. Stroud along with some exciting offseason acquisitions in Stefon Diggs and Joe Mixon. The Diggs acquisition had gone well enough before the season-ending injury, but his absence only exacerbates the need for Collins to return to the lineup. Even with his return, if the Texans can’t find a way to protect Stroud, Collins and Stroud can only do so much to paper over the glaring weakness of their offensive line. 

    Opposing defenses seem to be taking notice of these problems and are exploiting them with Collins out of the lineup: 

    Defenses vs Texans

    Collins On-Field Collins Off-Field
    Man Coverage 14% 29%
    Zone Coverage 72% 60%
    Blitz Percentage 25% 30%
    Avg Defenders in Box 6 7

    As you can see, defenses are playing man coverage twice as often with Collins off the field while blitzing at a five percent higher rate. Teams also seem less afraid of being beaten over the top and are willing to add an extra defender in the box to stop the run.

    There is optimism that Collins could return to the field soon and the Texans could definitely use him this week in prime time on Sunday Night Football as they take on the NFC’s best in the Lions and their man-coverage heavy defense. If Collins can’t go on Sunday, you can bet Aaron Glenn and the Lions defense will play lots of man-coverage while sending lots of pressure, daring a Texans receiver to win a one-on-one battle.

    If Collins can play, that task is easier said than done.

    Conclusion

    Both of these offenses have suffered without their star WRs. The Eagles missed the playmaking ability of Brown after the catch and the Texans, well, they just miss Collins in general. Houston is suffering all-around because of his absence. Defenses were already exploiting a weak Texans offensive line, but now are also tightening up in coverage as teams no longer fear a passing attack without Collins and Diggs. 

    The main difference between these two offenses? The offensive line, without a doubt. The Eagles boast one of the best offensive lines in football while the Texans might have one of the worst. That clearly makes a big difference.

  • Which NFL Teams Have Been Most/Least Impacted By Injuries?

    Which NFL Teams Have Been Most/Least Impacted By Injuries?

    Photo: Steven King/Icon Sportswire

    Click here to read an updated version of this article.

    Let’s get right to the point: This article will take a look at which teams have lost the most Total Points due to injuries during the 2024 season.

    Injuries Games Missed Total Points Lost
    Browns 11 26 33
    Buccaneers 11 23 32
    Rams 6 15 24
    49ers 6 9 20
    Buccaneers DBs 3 7 20
    Dolphins 8 14 18

    As you can see, the top 5 teams in Total Points Lost due to in-season injuries were all playoff teams last season, with the Browns and the Buccaneers leading the way. The Bucs secondary comes in at fifth overall as they’ve been without their newly-paid safety, Antoine Winfield Jr.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    The Bucs sit atop of the NFC South at 3-1 despite being ravaged by injury to start the season. Injuries to Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey have impacted their defensive front, but the back-end losses of Winfield and Bryce Hall might sting more.

    Among all safeties in 2023, Winfield led the league in Total Points along with being the best in run support. Now, he’s played in only one game in 2024, but there appears to be a schematic change to account for the absences of Winfield (and Hall).

    Antoine Winfield Jr. On/Off Splits, 2024

    On Field Off Field
    Man Coverage 24% 9%
    Zone Coverage 52% 80%
    Blitz 45% 30%
    Avg Pass Rushers 5 4
    Avg Defenders in Box 6 7

    Despite adding an extra man to the box, the Bucs are still feeling the loss of Winfield in the run game as their run defense has dropped 6 EPA per 60 plays with him sidelined due to injury.

    In the pass game, they’ve actually been pretty successful, leaning more heavily into single-high looks despite missing their top back-end weapon. Excluding screen plays, the Bucs have run single-high coverages on 51% of pass plays in Weeks 2 through 4, compared to just 27% in Week 1 against the Commanders.

    Bucs fans should be hoping that Winfield’s eventual return from his foot injury will yield better results against the run and build on their recent success against the pass.

    Cleveland Browns

    The Browns are banged up at seemingly every position group, affecting both the offense and defense equally, with 16 Total Points lost on each side of the ball. This doesn’t even account for superstar DE Myles Garrett playing through injury or Nick Chubb, as he was injured last season and does not count in this dataset.

    Total Points Lost Position Group Ranking
    Secondary 8 5
    Front 7 8 3
    Offensive Line 8 2
    Skill Players 8 4

    The Browns rank top 5 in Total Points lost due to in-season injury in every position group, excluding quarterbacks. The Browns need key players OT Jack Conklin and TE David Njoku to return along with some of the several key players they have on Injured Reserve, such as S Juan Thornhill, OG Wyatt Teller, and LB Tony Fields II, to try and salvage their season before it spirals out of control after a 1-3 start.

    Los Angeles Rams

    The Rams have embodied the “Next Man Up” philosophy this year offensively as their WR and OL rooms have been without several key players. They have adjusted their offensive scheme by running the ball more, with their last two games at a near 50/50 Run/Pass split. The emphasis in the run game has paid off dividends, as we can see in the table below:

    Weeks 1 & 2 Weeks 3 & 4
    Passing EPA/Play -0.19 -0.02
    League Passing EPA/Play -0.05 -0.01
    Rushing EPA/Play -0.03 0.17
    League Rushing EPA/Play -0.04 -0.04

    Granted, they played about one good half of football the first two weeks, but their overall offensive numbers have improved since they’ve had to play without Kupp and Nacua. Credit needs to be given to the Rams offensive coaching staff and QB Matthew Stafford, as he ranks 9th in Total Points among QBs this year despite a weakened supporting cast due to injury. The Rams seem to have figured out something that is working for them while shorthanded and they get a much-needed bye week in Week 6 to get healthy.

    Healthiest teams so far

     These teams have lost the least Total Points due to in-season injury in 2024.

    Total Points Lost
    Chiefs 0.2
    Ravens 1.1
    Broncos 2.2
    Cowboys 2.3
    Titans 3.8

    The Chiefs and Cowboys show up on this list, but both of these teams lost key players to injury on Sunday in WR Rashee Rice and ED Micah Parsons. Parsons suffered a high ankle sprain and does not expect to be out as long as Rice, but both will be sorely missed, as Parsons ranked 5th last year in Pass Rush Total Points and Rice was a top-20 receiver by Total Points per route so far this year.

    The Cowboys travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday night before four straight games against NFC foes in the Lions, 49ers, Falcons, and Eagles. Cowboys’ fans will be hoping Parsons can return during that key stretch that could have playoff seeding implications.

  • 2023 Big Ten SIS All-Conference Teams

    2023 Big Ten SIS All-Conference Teams

    Photo: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire

    It’s finally time to release our SIS All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our team of selections for 2023, plus some honorable mentions.

    You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced here.

    These picks are meant to honor this season’s best-of-the-best in the Big Ten.

    Offense

    Position Name School
    QB J.J. McCarthy Michigan
    RB Kyle Monangai Rutgers
    WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State
    WR Isaiah Williams Illinois
    TE Cade Stover Ohio State
    FLEX Darius Taylor Minnesota
    OT Delmar Glaze Maryland
    OT Riley Mahlman Wisconsin
    OG Trevor Keegan Michigan
    OG Donovan Jackson Ohio State
    OC Drake Nugent Michigan

    Michigan leads the way with 3 selections off its national championship season. QB JJ McCarthy led the conference in Total Points with 143, ranked 8th nationally. OG Trevor Keegan and OC Drake Nugent highlight another mauling Michigan offensive line, leading the conference with 26 and 25 Total Points in the run game, respectively.

    Bruising Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai comfortably tops a strong RB group with 55 Total Points, ranked 2nd nationally. Breakout true freshman, Minnesota RB Darius Taylor, earns a flex spot after producing 36 Total Points and leading the conference in Points Earned per Play. Both running backs will be back to terrorize the new look Big Ten.

    Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr was easily the best WR in the Big 10, leading the conference in Total Points (44), receiving yards (1,211), and touchdowns (14).

    Defense

    Position Name School
    DT Kris Jenkins Michigan
    DT Nash Hutmacher Nebraska
    EDGE Adisa Isaac Penn State
    EDGE Kydran Jenkins Purdue
    LB Abdul Carter Penn State
    LB Jay Higgins Iowa
    CB Ricardo Hallman Wisconsin
    CB Mike Sainristil Michigan
    S Dillon Thieneman Purdue
    S Hunter Wohler Wisconsin
    FLEX Sebastian Castro Iowa

    Ballhawking CBs Ricardo Hallman and Mike Sanristil head up our secondary after leading the nation with 7 and 6 interceptions, respectively. Hallman had a monster year, leading the nation in Coverage Total Points with 75. Following the trend of ballhawking DBs, Purdue S Dillon Thieneman also makes the team after grabbing 6 interceptions.

    Iowa LB Jay Higgins leads our LB corps after leading all Big Ten LBs in Total Points in coverage (14) and against the run (27).

    Penn State EDGE Adisa Isaac gets a nod after leading the conference in Pass Rush Total Points with 25, tallying 7.5 sacks, tied for 2nd in the Big 10. Purdue EDGE Kydran Jenkins takes the second spot after posting 7.5 sacks and 24 Total Points against the run, ranked 2nd in the Big Ten among edge rushers.

    Specialists

    Position Name School
    K Dragan Kesich Minnesota
    P Tory Taylor Iowa
    Returner Daequan Hardy Penn State

    Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich earned the kicker spot after an impressive season making 23-of-27 field goals, 8-of-10 on kicks of 40+ yards, and 3-of-4 on 50+ yard kicks.

    Fan favorite Iowa punter Tory Taylor easily gets the nod after leading the conference in Net Average Punt Yards (45.3) and Punts Inside the 20 (32). He also finished 2nd in Punts inside the 10 with 11.

    Penn State’s Daequan Hardy earned the returner job after leading the conference in average punt return yards (19.9), punt return yards (338) and punt return touchdowns (3).

    Honorable Mentions

    Name School
    RB Blake Corum Michigan
    TE Colston Loveland Michigan
    OL Josh Simmons Ohio State
    OL Zak Zinter Michigan
    OL Zach Carpenter Indiana
    DT Tyleik Williams Ohio State
    DT Jer’Zhan Newton Illinois
    ED Nic Scourton Purdue
    ED Derrick Moore Michigan
    CB Cooper DeJean Iowa
    S Tyler Nubin Minnesota
    RET Jaylin Lucas Indiana

    Michigan RB Blake Corum makes the list on the back of his 27 rushing touchdowns, breaking the season and career rushing touchdown records at Michigan. Paving the way for Corum all year was OL Zak Zinter. He made the list after producing 18 Total Points in the run game, 2nd among all Big Ten guards.

    Playmaking CB Cooper DeJean earns Honorable Mention with 37 Total Points in coverage along with a punt return touchdown. Disruptive Illinois DT Jer’Zhan Newton cracks the list after leading all Big 10 defensive tackles in sacks with 7.5.

    Check out this year’s NFL Draft site to see how we feel some of these players project to the NFL.

    Total Points, stats, and ranks as of 3/11/2023