Week 13 NFL Practice Squad Power Rankings 2020 New addition has front row seat to Browns blocking brilliance
If done anything retro is cool. Retro Starter jackets, retro Jordans, retro sungla ses -- you name it, if it's retro, it pops. And the have gone completely retro with their offense this season. Like 1994 retro.I just wrote about this phenomenon that has Cleveland 8-3 for the first time since that season 26 years ago, and for as much as their head coach Kevin Stefanski, a thunderous , and a more careful have been vital to the team's succe s, we at the Practice Squad Power Rankings feel inclined to pay our respects to the Browns blocking unit.Cleveland's offensive line is mashing people. Into dust.And, no, none of the Browns starting five trench warriors are former PSPR members or even started on a practice squad anywhere in the NFL. But it's easy to lose sight of the positive impact a good offensive line has on a team today given the ubiquity of fantasy football. And PSPR readers are enlightened fans, so I know you won't let that happen. Particularly not when road-grading is occurring in a Rust Belt city like Cleveland.However, the segue from my love of offensive line play and what's going on with the Browns to the PSPR is this -- the newest PSPR member is an offensive tackle in Cleveland -- Alex Taylor. The 6-foot-8, 308-pound blocker from South Carolina State stood taller than everyone at the Senior Bowl in January, and he cruised to smooth pa s-protection sets all week. He had an impre sive combine but still went undrafted, probably because of the level of competition he faced in college and the fact that he needed to add at least 10 or 15 pounds to his frame before he could withstand NFL power.But, boy is he ever getting a
NFL Kansas City Chiefs Jersey front row seat to five blockers who pack of punch on every play in Cleveland this year. And learning from Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin can't be hurting his development. Unle s someone up front goes down, I don't nece sarily expect Taylor to receive The Call in 2020, but he's a long-term project with legitimate All-Pro upside because of how long and athletically fluid he is. Remember his name. It is worth nothing -- Taylor is one of the protected practice squadders in Cleveland before the team's colo sal showdown with the Titans.We hit a snag -- no call ups yet heading into Week 13. For those keeping score at home, the PSPR tracker still reads 33 call-ups, and we very well could see another wave of call-ups over the weekend. This year, I'm only including practice squadders who are rookies, second-year players, or third-year players. That's it. And it aligns perfectly with my niche area of expertise because the 2018 draft cla s is the first I fully evaluated as
Cameron Erving Jersey CBS Sports' NFL Draft analyst.And as you'll see below, I couldn't resist ranking more players, given the increase in practice squad sizes this season. To run parallel with the league's figure, I hope to write about 16 individuals every Friday, 10 officially in the rankings and six honorable mentions.Last week's PSPR cover guy may take another week or two to learn the nuances of the Chiefs' scheme, but he's as talented as anyone in Kansas City's cornerback room and will be fresh for the latter part of the regular season and playoffs, a nice boost for the Steve Spagnuolo's defense if the coordinator decides he needs it. The Jets should completely be in play-young-players mode, and Scott is only in his third season. He really hasn't gotten a chance to play much in the regular season either. Originally a fourth-round pick by the , he e sentially had a redshirt year to get stronger as a rookie, then in Year 2 led the Ravens in receiving during the preseason. Scott is nearly 6-5 and 218 pounds and excels when he needs to extend to make a catch outside his frame.Coatney was the other Ole Mi s defensive tackle on the draft radar a season ago -- the initial one behind Miami's . Coatney was a late add to the Senior Bowl and impre sed me in one-on-one drills with his low-center-of-gravity push and pop on contact because of his quick first step. He looks stockier than 6-3 and 308 pounds and isn't anything close to a rare athlete for the position. But I believe he can generate some disruption if given an opportunity on San Francisco's defensive line.Mr. Butler is back on the Eagles practice squad after two weeks on the 53-man roster and just one target to show for it. He's a tight end now, so there should be better matchups for him against linebackers and safeties inside of ultra-twitchy corners who can stay in his hip pocket. Philadelphia's getting healthier now at receiver and tight end, but I still believe Butler can make plays after the catch and when simply throws it up to him. Clapp was my after a long and reliable career at LSU with the Tigers. A mostly poor combine led to a drop to the seventh round. His film was clean as a while. I gave New Orleans an "A" for grabbing him as offensive line depth at No. 245 overall, writing the following in my live draft grades: "Very experienced, more of a technician than spectacular athlete. Sturdy against bull rushes. Can be susceptible to counters. Accurate at the second level."Football talent runs in Taylor's family. One of his uncles is former NFL defensive back Pierson Prioleau. Another is Joe Hamilton, former Davey O'Brien award winning quarterback at Georgia Tech who was picked in the seventh round of the 2000 draft. In a strange genetic twist, Hamilton is only 5-10.After went No. 2 overall to the in 2018 another Saquan went No. 177 overall to the Saints. Hampton enjoyed a productive career as a do-everything safety at Rutgers that largely went unnoticed because it coincided with the program's entry into the Big 10.
Harrison Butker Jersey He had 13 pa s breakups, three picks and 64 tackles in his final season with the Scarlet Knights before rocking at the 2019 Senior Bowl en route to winning Player of the Week down in Mobile, Alabama. Then, at the combine, he ran 4.48 at just over 6-1 and 207 pounds. He deserves a shot on the Jets defense down the stretch. Zeke Elliott should be a little healthier now, and proved he can shoulder the load in Dallas' lead back isn't 100%, but I'm throwing Olonilua here because he's a large, athletic back who deserves some burn down the stretch for the Cowboys. At 6-3 and 232 pounds, he had a vertical in the 70th percentile and a broad jump in the 80th percentile at the combine. While never a star at TCU, he demonstrated the ability to make defenders mi s well for a big back when he wasn't running through them. I'd like to see him be the hammer to lighten the workload for Elliott over the next two months.Daniels was 6-3 and 311 at the combine and didn't test well, but on film, I saw a high-motor, towering presence with pop in his hands. He routinely could chase down runs from the backfield and win on occasions with first step in pa s-rushing situations. The 49ers have low-key sturdy defensive line -- even without -- but if they need a reinforcement who can play one-technique and the three, Daniels is their guy.I remember watching Love late in the 2018 pre-draft proce s and loving what I saw. The summary of my evaluation of him was "strong, well-built defensive end with good suddenne s but not the ability to sustain speed chasing from the backside. Uses his relatively heavy hands well as a pa s-rusher and when shedding against the run." And Love had seven pre sures in three preseason games in Buffalo last year. Buffalo has a collection of edge rushers in front of him who play in a heavy rotation, but if there's ever a need at the position, Love can produce in a limited role. , OG, The Buccaneers just aren't the same when isn't on the field. The veteran guard is one of the better players at his position and Tampa's depth behind him has been disastrous in relief appearances this season. I'm not insinuating Molchon absolutely would be better than the previous Marpet replacements, but it might be worth it giving him a shot at this point. , S, Clemons was a late watch for me and instantly found himself inside my Top 175. Talk about coverage range and ball skill as a safety, Clemons has both, and they were on full display in a very productive career at SMU. After three interceptions and 18 pa s breakups in his first three years with the Mustangs, Clemons hauled in four picks and defended nine pa ses as a senior. In my notes I wrote
Patrick Mahomes Jersey "keenly aware of route concepts and where the next progre sion may be, so he routinely finds the football." , WR, BillsWilliams was signed by the Bills in early January of 2019 to one of those futures contracts that are almost always overlooked and lead nowhere. But the physical rebounder made the team, scored a game-winning touchdown in a vital win over the in Tenne see and had four catches for 49 yards in Buffalo's playoff defeat at the hands of the . He can play and saw his first action -- albeit very limited -- in Buffalo's Week 7 win over the Jets
Armani Watts Jersey . But no targets. , CB, Motley was my No. 249 prospect on my 2020 Big Board, and while I obviously didn't love him as a prospect, I felt he deserved to be included in my Top 250. Truthfully, he was a very difficult evaluation. All Motley did was make plays on an otherwise brutal Oklahoma defense in his career with the Sooners. He registered 33 pa s breakups over his last three seasons in Norman and snagged six picks. In 2019, he forced five fumbles. Incredible. But he's small and tested very poorly at the Oklahoma Pro Day. I don't know if he has the physical tools to contribute on a steady basis in the NFL. But I know Motley's instincts and ball skills can translate. , C, TexansI remember watching Cabral at Arizona State and being enamored with how well he moved at the guard position. Now he's a center, which makes perfect sense. Houston's playing better football now and just brought in the undrafted free agent last week. If there are any dings up front, the rookie has the athleticism to be a productive stand-in.Prince Tega-Wanogho, OL, EgalesEarly in the 2020 pre-draft proce s, there was an early-round buzz for Wanogho. Injuries led to a precipitous fall to the sixth round, but the tools are there for the Nigeria-born former Auburn star to ultimately be the bookend tackle to in Philadelphia, a club that's been outstanding at the tackle positions for a while now. Wanogho plays with requisite knee bend, so he's not easily fork-lifted by smaller rushers, and he's explosive off the snap and in the screen game. With better punch timing and added weight, he can be a consistent pa s-protecting tackle in the NFL. This season, he'd mostly be useful getting to the second level in the run game.
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