Ladies and Gentlemen….FOOTBALL. IS. BACK!
Tonight was the official, unofficial kickoff for the 2023 NFL Season. With the start of the preseason, the regular season is right around the corner, and we could not be more excited! We know the Hall of Fame game is usually not the most exciting game, along with most of the preseason, but it’s a great time to watch rookies and roster hopefuls give it all they got. Here are just a few of our takeaways from the Hall Of Fame Game
FIRST AND FOREMOST, FOOTBALL IS BACK!
Zach Wilson… Improving???
When the offseason started back in February it felt like most of the football community thought the Jets would deal the “young, immature” QB Wilson. However, the Jets trusted their gut and kept Wilson to develop behind one of the league’s best in Aaron Rodgers.
Wilson still has a ways to go, but in his minimal time in tonight’s game, Wilson in our eyes showed some improvement. He looks more comfortable sitting in the pocket, and isn’t as antsy to scramble out. We didn’t see as much of his one read and scramble tactic from the last couple seasons. You could see him going through his reads before scrambling out of the pocket. Wilson has the arm strength to be a pocket passer if he can learn to get through his reads more effectively, and not panic. He also has the athleticism to get himself out of trouble and make plays with his legs when needed.
Wilson needs to just continue to spend time around and learn from Rodgers because when Rodgers decides it’s time to retire Wilson will more than likely get another shot at starting.
Kellen Mond… What’s Going On?
Former Texas A&M Standout QB Kellen Mond is now on his second team since entering the league in 2021. The Vikings, who took Mond in the 3rd round, waived him last August at the end of the preseason. Cleveland picked him up and he has been with the team since.
Mond is a QB that we’ve been holding out hope for, but the more time that goes by the less likely it seems Mond is going to be able to hang in the NFL. The Browns brought in veteran Josh Dobbs in March to backup Deshaun Watson, and also drafted UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the 5th round. It seems likely that Mond will be playing in the XFL or USFL next Spring.
To be fair to Mond though, his coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t help him with play calling at all tonight. It felt like it was screen after screen after screen. It feels like every year the announcers hit home that the preseason is a time to evaluate these players fighting for starting spots and roster spots. How are you giving Mond a fair evaluation by screening the Jets to death in the preseason?
Izzy Abanikanda
Izzy was the Jets 5th round pick in this year’s draft. Izzy is an explosive back out of Pitt, who we were much higher on than most. Seeing “5th round pick” next to his name still doesn’t feel right to us. Izzy was our RB3 who we had a 2nd round grade on.
Despite not getting a ton of work tonight, Izzy looked good when he was in and even scored a TD. Back in April, we were really upset to see that Izzy was drafted by the Jets even more upset than the fact that he slipped to the 5th. The Jets have a loaded RB room with Breece Hall, Michael Carter, and Bam Knight. Not to mention it sounds like NY is the favorite to land Dalvin Cook. With or without Cook, it just feels like Izzy is going to end up a forgotten man and is going to be a waste of explosive talent.
Jermaine Johnson II starting the HOF game?
2022 1st round pick, DE Jermaine Johnson, who’s heading into his second season was spotted starting at DE tonight. Starters do not typically play in the HOF Game. We are a bit unsure why they have their young DE playing. He did not stay in too long, but our first thought wondered whether his development isn’t going as the Jets had hoped so far. Johnson’s development will be a Jets storyline to monitor this upcoming season.
Is the wrong Cleveland RB(Not named Nick Chubb) getting the 2023 hype?
After four years of being able to say they have the best RB duo in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns let Kareem Hunt walk in FA. The name being hyped up to replace Hunt as Chubb’s backup/counterpart is Jerome Ford, who was the team’s 2022 5th round pick. There’s been a lot of positive news about Ford coming out of OTA’s and training camp.
We agree that Ford makes the most sense to backup Chubb as a runner and take some carries in 2023, but after watching the HOF Game a name that isn’t getting nearly enough love is Demetric Felton. Felton was the Browns 6th round pick in 2021 out of UCLA. A player who’s kind of been buried on the depth chart due to some injury but mostly a stacked room, Felton could be a breakout candidate this season. Despite having arguably the best RB in the league in Nick Chubb, it feels like with Watson at the helm of this offense it is inevitably going to become more pass heavy. Felton has a shiftiness about him and an ability to be a receiving back that neither Chubb or Ford really have. Look for Felton to make an impact in some capacity this season.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
WOW! This kid put on one heck of a show at the HOF Game. He was definitely the Player of the Game… far and beyond. He finished the night 8/11, 82 yards, TD while adding 36 yards on 6 carries and one heck of a block that paved the way for Felton’s rushing TD.
DTR, the Browns 5th round pick, shined tonight showing a little bit of everything: ability as a passer and runner and an unbelievable amount of effort. One of our bigger notes on DTR after breaking down his film in the spring was that he needed to develop as a passer a little bit more as a result of some mechanical inconsistencies. We definitely saw improvement in mechanics tonight, but he has time to get it right and consistent. The thing we loved most about his performance tonight was the absolute refusal to be average and make average plays.
On his runs he wasn’t trying to run anyone over or invite contact, he would run toward the sideline to be safe and have a way out, but just because he was at the sideline didn’t mean he gave up. He stayed in bounds literally as long as he could. He tip-toed the sideline a few times, but also just simple things like if he saw he could get an extra couple yards before the defender in front of him would get to him then he would get those yards. It’s hard to actually describe the type of player he is… He’s a fighter, he wants as much as he can squeeze out of every play while also being extremely conscious of himself and his health/safety.
For us though, and we wrote this in our DTR Prospect Profile, his willingness to block(and not a typical QB block) and be a team first player and lay it out on the line for his teammates is unmatched. Like we touched on above, on the Felton rushing TD you can see DTR run to get out in front of Felton and lay a massive block on what we believe was CB or S filling the alley. Without DTR’s block, Felton doesn’t score.
We know Watson has one of the loftiest QB contracts in all of football right now, and he’s going to start, but we hated the Watson contract. Also, we believe that not only is DTR going to beat out Josh Dobbs for QB2 duties; we actually believe that Watson will struggle and we will see DTR start at some point later in the season. For a franchise that’s been a poverty franchise for soooo long, DTR is the type of leader and starting QB this team has needed at the QB spot for YEARS! When the Browns drafted him back in April we were pretty upset because we knew what DTR was capable of and didn’t believe Cleveland gave him an opportunity to start and show it. However, the more we think about it, we wouldn’t be surprised if Watson struggled and DTR got time earlier than we originally anticipated.
Due to Brock Purdy’s success this past season all anyone in the draft community talked about was “Who could be the 2023 Brock Purdy?” We have a couple names in mind like Stetson Bennett and Clayton Tune, but legitimately if given a shot we believe DTR is this year’s Purdy.
Just like everyone in the football community, we are going to have takes we are way off on and we are going to have really good takes. We personally like to pat ourselves on the back when we are right, and DTR just feels like one we are right about. We had DTR as our QB4 with a 2nd Round grade. We understand this is only one preseason performance to judge off of but we have a good feeling about this kid. DTR is a player we are going to keep a close eye on through the years and hope we are right.
Something always happens at the HOF Game
Lol. Someone call the Harbaugh brothers and find out how to turn the lights back on. The HOF Game is a great tradition to kick off what is always a special weekend in Canton for the new HOF inductees. However, it just feels like there’s always something that messes with the game. This year the lights went out, last year there were storms, and years ago they had the paint issue that made the field “like an ice rink”. It’s always interesting to see what strange things happen at this game.