Cam Newton says that he's going to come up with a new touchdown celebration. My goodness. This is news? It must be June.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier beat Steelers receivers Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Sammie Coates. That's ridiculous speed for a 6'1" 230 lb linebacker. Shazier just has to stay healthy.
Denver Broncos decision-maker John Elway has received a decent amount of praise for the manner in which he's handled his team's offseason. Very few people really know what's gone down behind the closed doors of the Broncos offices. In my opinion, his offseason looked more chaotic than organized. It doesn't seem like anything has gone to plan. Maybe, it all works out great but Elway sure took a circuitous route to get there.
There's another Belichick coaching in New England. Steve Belichick is coaching the Patriots safeties. You can bet that he's paid his dues. And will continue to do so.
I really like the potential of the Minnesota Vikings relatively unknown receiver group.
Stefon Diggs
Laquon Treadwell
Jarius Wright
Charles Johnson
Cordarrelle Patterson
Adam Thielen
Moritz Boehringer
Isaac Fruechte
Terrell Sinkfield
Marken Michel
Troy Stoudemire
This position group was considered by most to be a weak spot heading into this offseason. Much of that had to do with the underwhelming 2015 seasons of Charles Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson. For Patterson it was the second consecutive underwhelming season. It's only OTAs but Johnson looks more like the player that opened eyes in 2014 and Patterson is finally running routes and being where he's supposed to be at the end of them. Johnson was slowed by a rib injury last season so his rebound shouldn't be much of a surprise. Patterson's performance is the surprise. He's one of the most explosive football players in the entire league but it he's really just skated by on his natural gifts. He's never had to work before he arrived in the NFL so he hasn't worked since he's arrived. He's always worked to be in shape but he's never worked at being a receiver. In the NFL, players have to work at their craft no matter how physically gifted they are. A receiver that isn't where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there does his quarterback no favors. It seems that Patterson finally gets that. If Johnson stays healthy and Patterson truly gets "it" as an NFL receiver the Vikings might have a versatile, explosive group. Diggs was terrific as a rookie last season. Treadwell was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft to provide a big-bodied, dominant presence, and Jarius Wright just makes big plays. Adam Thielen is a special teams dynamo and a productive receiver. I'd be hard pressed to find another team that runs this deep at receiver. It will be tough for any of the other receivers to crack the top six. Even the physically gifted, German-import Moritz Boehringer. He's so intriguing that the Vikings have to find a way to sneak him onto the practice squad. A few months ago the Vikings needed receivers. Now they might have a surplus.
I think that defensive end Chandler Jones could be real scary in the Arizona Cardinals defense.
Congratulations to San Diego Chargers receiver Keenan Allen on his much-deserved contract extension. He was so much fun to watch at Cal. He was a first-round talent with second-round speed. That allowed the Chargers to steal him in the third round. If he can stay on the field, and he didn't last year, he can be one of the elite receivers in the league.
Only five first round picks remain unsigned.
Joey Bosa, DE, San Diego Chargers
Darron Lee, LB, New York Jets
Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans
Kenny Clark, DT, Green Bay Packers
Josh Garnett, G, San Francisco 49ers
It wasn't all that long ago that only five first round picks would be signed by the middle of June. The rookie salary structure was the best thing to come out of the 2011 CBA.
It's ridiculous that the NFL is forcing the Patriots to wear numbered jerseys at offseason practices and training camp. The Patriots have been going through practices without numbered jerseys for a couple of years now. Bill Belichick picked up the idea from former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll. Belichick felt that it enhanced communication between players. The NFL felt that it might help the sneaky Patriots coach. So, they had to put in this new rule requiring all players wear their assigned jersey numbers. That way they can better monitor compliance with rules regarding player practices. Basically, the league wants to easily be able to tell whether injured players are practicing. I actually think that this rule was implemented mostly to make things easier for them and partly because they simply can. Is Belichick really trying to skirt some practice eligibility rule by not having his players wear unnumbered jerseys? If he was so sneaky as to try and do that why wouldn't he just switch jerseys on his players?
I've never seen the media so concerned about the attendance of the Super Bowl celebratory functions. Who's going to be at the White House? Who's going to attend the ring ceremony? This might be the slow time of the NFL calendar but there are far more interesting things to cover. As near as I could tell, the media were the only ones that cared whether Brock Osweiler was going to skip practices with his new team to spend a few minutes with his old team.
I thank every NFL team that passed on Mike Zimmer as their head coach.
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