Mid-season player grades

[flyerhawk]

So rather than just keep talking about how wrong we all were, I figured I would start a conversation about how well each player is playing. I'll include their PFF grades in my grading even if they aren't always as useful as we would hope. Grade among their position in ().

QB -Geno Smith - PFF grade 88(2nd) - Not sure what else can be said about Geno. If the season were to end today there is a legitimate argument to be made that he should be given All-Pro consideration. This is arguably the biggest turnaround at the QB position in NFL history.

RB - Ken Walker - PFF grade 73(9th) - He has been wonderful. It's terrible that he got the starting gig because of Penny's injury but he's proving that people who claim that you should never draft a RB early are simply wrong. He's been a game changer

WR1 - DK Metcalf - 75.6(24th) - While he's not been as dominant as he can be, he tilts the defense. You simply cannot cheat your safeties too far to the line when he is on the field. If he can get healthy he could significantly up his game and make this offense even better.

WR2 - Tyler Lockett - 75.7(22nd) - Tyler has been struggling with injuries for much of the season but he has been impactful nonetheless. Unfortunate fumble and drop yesterday but he's still a great safety valve for Geno

WR3 - Assorted - Goodwin has played well the past 2 weeks. Eskridge has his moments. Hart has had a few moments. Seems like each week is a bit different.

TE - Dissly/Fant/Parkinson 73/63/66 - All 3 are contributing and their 13 offense has been a great wrinkle to the offense. None of them will get enough touches to get high marks or Pro Bowl consideration but each has had their key moments and no real huge gaffes.

LT - Charles Cross 60.6(59th of 76) - I think the PFF grade is off. Cross hasn't been elite but he's been getting better every week and has been, at the very least, a competent tackle all season. IMO, PFF grades on OL are always dubious

RT - Abe Lucas 65.3(47th of 79)- One offensive line analyst on Twitter said that Lucas has been the best rookie lineman in the NFL. I can't say whether that is true or not but he's definitely been very solid.

LG - Damien Lewis 61.9(35 of 79) - He's been hurt a bit but he seems to have settled into the role pretty well this year.

RG - Gabe Jackson/Phil Haynes 60.7/62.8(43rd/37th of 79) - Both have been competent. I don't watch OL play intently enough to measure their play.

C- Austin Blythe 49.5 (34 of 39) - Lowest rated starter on offense. He's not great but he's not been terrible either.



Defensive players in next post

 

[seattlefan75]

So rather than just keep talking about how wrong we all were, I figured I would start a conversation about how well each player is playing. I'll include their PFF grades in my grading even if they aren't always as useful as we would hope. Grade among their position in ().

QB -Geno Smith - PFF grade 88(2nd) - Not sure what else can be said about Geno. If the season were to end today there is a legitimate argument to be made that he should be given All-Pro consideration. This is arguably the biggest turnaround at the QB position in NFL history.

RB - Ken Walker - PFF grade 73(9th) - He has been wonderful. It's terrible that he got the starting gig because of Penny's injury but he's proving that people who claim that you should never draft a RB early are simply wrong. He's been a game changer

WR1 - DK Metcalf - 75.6(24th) - While he's not been as dominant as he can be, he tilts the defense. You simply cannot cheat your safeties too far to the line when he is on the field. If he can get healthy he could significantly up his game and make this offense even better.

WR2 - Tyler Lockett - 75.7(22nd) - Tyler has been struggling with injuries for much of the season but he has been impactful nonetheless. Unfortunate fumble and drop yesterday but he's still a great safety valve for Geno

WR3 - Assorted - Goodwin has played well the past 2 weeks. Eskridge has his moments. Hart has had a few moments. Seems like each week is a bit different.

TE - Dissly/Fant/Parkinson 73/63/66 - All 3 are contributing and their 13 offense has been a great wrinkle to the offense. None of them will get enough touches to get high marks or Pro Bowl consideration but each has had their key moments and no real huge gaffes.

LT - Charles Cross 60.6(59th of 76) - I think the PFF grade is off. Cross hasn't been elite but he's been getting better every week and has been, at the very least, a competent tackle all season. IMO, PFF grades on OL are always dubious

RT - Abe Lucas 65.3(47th of 79)- One offensive line analyst on Twitter said that Lucas has been the best rookie lineman in the NFL. I can't say whether that is true or not but he's definitely been very solid.

LG - Damien Lewis 61.9(35 of 79) - He's been hurt a bit but he seems to have settled into the role pretty well this year.

RG - Gabe Jackson/Phil Haynes 60.7/62.8(43rd/37th of 79) - Both have been competent. I don't watch OL play intently enough to measure their play.

C- Austin Blythe 49.5 (34 of 39) - Lowest rated starter on offense. He's not great but he's not been terrible either.



Defensive players in next post

I dont get how the narrative with running backs is that they are phasing out, dont invest early in them and this is now a throwing league. literally the struggles of former great teams like the bengals, rams, and Bucs is that they can't run the ball they are bottom 3 in the league in running the ball.

 

[flyerhawk]

I dont get how the narrative with running backs is that they are phasing out, dont invest early in them and this is now a throwing league. literally the struggles of former great teams like the bengals, rams, and Bucs is that they can't run the ball they are bottom 3 in the league in running the ball.

Yeah. I do think that drafting a RB early in the 1st is problematic simply because of the risk of injury to RBs. But having an effective RB fundamentally changes an offense.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Good post, flyer.

Yah on the OL.... PFF grades OL pretty negatively when they have penalties... Cross/Lucas had several, but I'd say about half (like Woolen) have been extremely ticky tack or just flat out bullshit. The Saints officials IMO clearly had money on the game with what they were calling... I mean I get it, with rookies you're going to be a bit more flag happy (unless you're Sauce Gardner and playing for New York who is grabbing his way to ROY candidate lol....). And a couple sacks Cross/Lucas allowed were 100% on Geno. I've always been weary of PFFs OL grades.... but they're one of the few if not only sites that tries to at least grade O-Lineman (a position where official stats are not posted outside of games started/played).

My only disagreement is Eskridge. Has his moments? Yah... like 2. For a 2nd round pick, he should be a legit threat in the slot position with his speed and Waldron isn't even using him on the fly sweep which was supposed to be his moment... not sure if he can't learn the playbook or WTF is going on, but it's looking like a complete bust of a pick with every week. I understand he was injured most of last season, but Eskridge is 25 and will be 26 shortly after the season ends.... with that much experience you should be to some degree plug and play. I can be MUCH more lenient with Cross who is 21.... the fact Cross is actually holding his own (against pretty good DLineman so far as well) is incredible. And yes Seattle is using 3 TE sets at times, but they've pretty much left Cross/Lucas on an island this year... hasn't been a ton of help.

No surprise Lucas has a higher PFF grade... Lucas has like 3 more years of experience/age lol. Dying to see what Cross will look like at 24.... that's one of the reasons I LOVED the Cross pick. As ALWAYS pending health.... Seattle can have a future LT for at LEAST a decade at a HIGH level of athleticism due to his age.

 

[JMR]

I dont get how the narrative with running backs is that they are phasing out, dont invest early in them and this is now a throwing league. literally the struggles of former great teams like the bengals, rams, and Bucs is that they can't run the ball they are bottom 3 in the league in running the ball.

But not being able to run the ball isn't just about the RB. As well all know, the OL is very important and also difficult or at least resource-intensive to build. Having an impotent passing attack hinders the ground game too. And if your defense sucks, you just might not be able to keep running the ball anyway. Add in how the rules changes over the past 20-25 years have tilted the game toward the QB & offense, and we now have all sorts of factors that have helped devalue the RB position. It's not valueless, but it's also not where it was in the era of Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith, etc. And we haven't even talked about the relatively short lifespan of a RB in the NFL. An OT can play 10-15 years. QBs 15-20. The bang for buck on those top 10 type picks just isn't at RB these days.

 

[dkmightyhammer]

So rather than just keep talking about how wrong we all were, I figured I would start a conversation about how well each player is playing. I'll include their PFF grades in my grading even if they aren't always as useful as we would hope. Grade among their position in ().

QB -Geno Smith - PFF grade 88(2nd) - Not sure what else can be said about Geno. If the season were to end today there is a legitimate argument to be made that he should be given All-Pro consideration. This is arguably the biggest turnaround at the QB position in NFL history.

RB - Ken Walker - PFF grade 73(9th) - He has been wonderful. It's terrible that he got the starting gig because of Penny's injury but he's proving that people who claim that you should never draft a RB early are simply wrong. He's been a game changer

WR1 - DK Metcalf - 75.6(24th) - While he's not been as dominant as he can be, he tilts the defense. You simply cannot cheat your safeties too far to the line when he is on the field. If he can get healthy he could significantly up his game and make this offense even better.

WR2 - Tyler Lockett - 75.7(22nd) - Tyler has been struggling with injuries for much of the season but he has been impactful nonetheless. Unfortunate fumble and drop yesterday but he's still a great safety valve for Geno

WR3 - Assorted - Goodwin has played well the past 2 weeks. Eskridge has his moments. Hart has had a few moments. Seems like each week is a bit different.

TE - Dissly/Fant/Parkinson 73/63/66 - All 3 are contributing and their 13 offense has been a great wrinkle to the offense. None of them will get enough touches to get high marks or Pro Bowl consideration but each has had their key moments and no real huge gaffes.

LT - Charles Cross 60.6(59th of 76) - I think the PFF grade is off. Cross hasn't been elite but he's been getting better every week and has been, at the very least, a competent tackle all season. IMO, PFF grades on OL are always dubious

RT - Abe Lucas 65.3(47th of 79)- One offensive line analyst on Twitter said that Lucas has been the best rookie lineman in the NFL. I can't say whether that is true or not but he's definitely been very solid.

LG - Damien Lewis 61.9(35 of 79) - He's been hurt a bit but he seems to have settled into the role pretty well this year.

RG - Gabe Jackson/Phil Haynes 60.7/62.8(43rd/37th of 79) - Both have been competent. I don't watch OL play intently enough to measure their play.

C- Austin Blythe 49.5 (34 of 39) - Lowest rated starter on offense. He's not great but he's not been terrible either.



Defensive players in next post

Nice job.

I'll add that Meyers is leading the league in scoring. Nwosu is tied for 6th in sacks, Woolen is tied for 2nd in INTs. And Jordan Brooks leads the league in in both solo tackles and total tackles.

 

[flyerhawk]

Nice job.

I'll add that Meyers is leading the league in scoring. Nwosu is tied for 6th in sacks, Woolen is tied for 2nd in INTs. And Jordan Brooks leads the league in in both solo tackles and total tackles.

Yeah I didn't get to the defense yet. I'm in Europe right so I don't have the time to do those ratings. I will though.

 

[MrS]

538 has lockett as the 3rd best WR in the league

The Best NFL Receivers, According To ESPN Analytics

Receiver ratings from ESPN Analytics use player-tracking data to evaluate every route a pass catcher runs and scores his performance in three phases of the game.

projects.fivethirtyeight.com

 

[Anointed One]

Nice job.

I'll add that Meyers is leading the league in scoring. Nwosu is tied for 6th in sacks, Woolen is tied for 2nd in INTs. And Jordan Brooks leads the league in in both solo tackles and total tackles.

Yes... I also believe that Nwosu leads the NFL in QB pressures as well... J. Brooks has been flying under the radar... Outside the first couple of games I feel he's been playing very good this year... It was the system the first few games that made players look worse than they were... Once the adjusted the scheme, they have looked much better all the way around... J. Brooks is a very solid LB for us but Cody Barton on the other hand? Doesn't matter what scheme is in place, he's just not starting material in this league...

 

[flyerhawk]

Yes... I also believe that Nwosu leads the NFL in QB pressures as well... J. Brooks has been flying under the radar... Outside the first couple of games I feel he's been playing very good this year... It was the system the first few games that made players look worse than they were... Once the adjusted the scheme, they have looked much better all the way around... J. Brooks is a very solid LB for us but Cody Barton on the other hand? Doesn't matter what scheme is in place, he's just not starting material in this league...

Barton's snap of rush defense have dramatically declined. He had 44 in week 5. He has 44 in the last 4 weeks combined. Putting him in better situations has helped the team. He's not going to ever be a great LB. But keeping him out of the run defense has helped a lot.