The Daily Briefing Friday, May 27, 2022

AROUND THE NFL

There is a lot of pressure on FCS receiver WR CHRISTIAN WALKER to be a productive rookie, considering that he is the substitute for a “first round receiver” so desperately demanded by some Packers fans.  Matt Schneidman of The Athletic looks at the kid from Tampa’s Plant H.S.:

Christian Watson started riding dirt bikes when he was 4 years old. His grandfather rode them professionally, so it’s how they connected.

“Most kids aren’t doing that,” said Watson’s mother, Christa. “Most kids aren’t that coordinated. You don’t put a motor vehicle that can go 40 miles per hour in the hands of a 4-year-old unless they’re capable.”

Young Christian was more than capable.

His mom nicknamed him “Spiderman” because he climbed walls and doors and hung upside down off anything. In gym class push-up competitions, he did dozens more than the second-place finisher to ensure nobody came close to beating him. One of his youth football coaches, Danny Biglow, remembers him doing backflips for fun at 8 years old.

So it’s no surprise to those who’ve known him best that Watson floored the NFL with his dominance at the NFL Combine in March. At 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, he ran a blistering 4.36 40-yard dash and led all wide receivers with a broad jump of 11 feet, 4 inches.

“He’s got traits that few humans on the earth possess in terms of size, speed, athletic ability,” said Tre Watson, Christian’s older brother and a 2018 All-American linebacker at Maryland. “We kind of joke around and say it, but he really did walk out of the womb with 1 percent body fat and running a faster 40 than me.”

Watson isn’t just a combine darling, an athletic marvel and a mythical creature out of FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. The Packers traded up 19 spots to draft him for a reason. Fair or not, he’ll be associated with outgoing superstar Davante Adams. Green Bay dealt the NFL’s best receiver to the Raiders on March 18, replacing him in part with someone who received zero FBS offers out of high school and only recently entered the national spotlight.

Can Watson go from that to the next Packers star?

“The headline with Christian is his combine numbers,” said 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, Watson’s college teammate. “But he’s also a lot more than that.”

Even when Watson had his own room as a kid, he’d sleep in Tre’s bed so that when the brothers woke up, they could fight, wrestle and play video games.

“I’d beat him 100 times until he finally figured out a way to beat me,” Tre said, “and that’s just the way he’s always done everything.”

Christian always found a way to keep up, whether it was eventually beating his brother in “Halo 3” or “Call of Duty,” running 100s and 200s alongside his dad — Tim Watson, who now goes by Tazim Wajid Wajed, was a 1993 Packers draft pick as a defensive back, and he saw NFL playing time with the Chiefs, Giants and Eagles — or playing in Thanksgiving Day football games with kids three years older.

Tre was in the eighth grade, Christian in fifth, when the younger brother got a rare snap with the big boys. A kid broke out on what looked to be a 90-yard touchdown run until Christian, chasing from 20 yards behind, caught up and dragged him down to prevent the score, even sprinting past his older brother to make the tackle.

Christian earned the nickname “Scoot” at a young age. Biglow, who coached him at age 8, described him as a “lightning bolt.” He tried getting the ball in Watson’s hands at any cost, playing him at tailback and quarterback, because Watson was gone if he hit the open field. He once hurdled an opponent clean at full speed in middle school and never broke stride for a touchdown.

Christa spent twice as much in rent to live in the district that allowed Christian to play at Tampa powerhouse Plant High School because he wanted the challenge. There were 125 kids on the varsity team at Plant and another 110 on junior varsity. Whereas his brother played four years of varsity at nearby Tampa Catholic High School, Christian didn’t play varsity until his junior year.

“It wasn’t that he couldn’t play on varsity because he was a freshman or a sophomore,” Christa said. “It’s that you don’t — there are too many kids.”

When Watson finally did make the varsity team, he was a scrawny 5-foot-9 receiver who didn’t register on recruiting radars. Mom told coaches her son was legit, but he didn’t get the chance to show it for his first three years of high school. “They laughed in my face,” she said.

“When he was a junior, he was not a recruitable player and didn’t play for us,” said former Plant head coach Robert Weiner, now the quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo. “Was a really small kid … He was kind of a geeky little kid, like a 15-year-old can be.”

Between his junior and senior seasons, however, Watson sprouted four inches to 6-foot-1 and change, and he packed on 20 pounds to weigh almost 180 by the end of summer camp. In Plant’s first game against Venice High School, Watson ran a post route off of play-action against a single-high-safety look, won a jump ball over the safety and backpedaled into the end zone after the defender fell to the ground.

Watson averaged 17.1 yards per reception and caught eight touchdowns in his senior season. Weiner pitched Watson to Power 5 head coaches, but they weren’t sold.

“I had some major Division I players at that time, so I think they were writing down notes on all of those guys,” Weiner said. “And I think when I got to Christian, they were actually fake writing on the paper. They were pretending like they were listening to me and writing down information.”

Weiner vowed Watson would be a great college player and even an eventual NFL draft pick. He told the coaches that nobody was on Watson, that they could have a steal if they took a chance on him. No FBS school thought he was worth that chance.

Said Watson: “I tell myself all the time all I need is one opportunity.”

Almost everyone at North Dakota State has a different answer when asked about the most athletic thing they’ve seen Watson do.

Lance says it’s a two-play sequence against Montana State in 2019 when Watson scored on a 75-yard fade down the left sideline, then took a jet sweep 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the next series.

NDSU wideout Phoenix Sproles remembers Watson jumping over a South Dakota defender in 2019. “I think he was in the air for at least 10 yards,” Sproles said. “I could’ve sworn it.”

Bison head coach Matt Entz recalls two big catches against Missouri State in 2021, one to convert a third down in the fourth quarter and one a touchdown on the final drive to seal a win.

NDSU receivers coach Noah Pauley first recounts Watson catching a fade in the end zone while touching one foot down against Northern Iowa in 2019. There’s also the play Watson laid three blocks to spring a 75-yard touchdown run against Albany. “That’s my favorite play of all time of Christian Watson right there,” Pauley said.

Watson still did backflips for fun in college. He would even do them after finishing a grueling leg day workout. He also would challenge teammates to races after leg day or after conditioning workouts.

“Like after winning in all the conditioning reps, he’ll go and race people, and he’ll just burn people down the sidelines,” Sproles said. “I haven’t even raced him. I know better. I’m a fast guy, but Christian, at 6-4, 208, that’s different.”

Of his own race with Watson, NDSU teammate Zach Mathis added: “Not even close.”

Watson’s numbers didn’t pop in college compared to some other FBS receivers, which can be partially explained by the Bison’s heavy emphasis on the run. But the Packers couldn’t ignore him on tape. Of his 180 career rushing, receiving and return attempts, 57 went for at least 20 yards. He averaged 20.38 yards per catch in college and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. He’s proficient in blocking, too — he had to be in the Bison offense or else he would’ve been on the bench.

Those coaches who laughed at Christian’s mother when she vouched for her son? Christa estimates having 10 text messages from them saying she was right all along. When Watson took over the combine, some of the college coaches that ignored Weiner’s pitch of Watson in high school called back to express regret. People are coming around on the kid with no FBS offers now that one of the sport’s most iconic franchises showed how badly they wanted him.

“What I’m most looking forward to is everyone else finding out what we already know,” Watson’s dad said. “I still don’t think people realize what Christian is.”

Watson isn’t expected to be Adams, at least not right away, but there’s certainly pressure accompanying his Green Bay arrival. After the draft, Adams actually commented on a slideshow of Watson posted by the Packers’ Instagram account, “Kid gon be the truth.”

He’s a second-round receiver for a franchise that has drafted stars like Adams, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb and James Jones in the same vicinity. But unlike them, he might be WR1 as a rookie. First-year receivers haven’t exactly thrived under four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, if only because they haven’t had to. Nelson had Jennings above him on the depth chart. Adams had Nelson above him.

Watson might have to occupy the depth chart’s top spot, if only because Allen Lazard, Cobb and Sammy Watkins have provided little indication they can be a bona fide top guy.

When Rodgers texted Watson shortly after the Packers selected him, he told the 22-year-old to be ready to work.

Rodgers can simply glance at a receiver a certain way on the line of scrimmage, and it’s the receiver’s job to know that means to make a certain route adjustment. Meshing with a quarterback as cerebral as Rodgers requires time, and Watson may not have a lot of that before he needs to be the top target in games that count.

Still, those who’ve witnessed Watson’s rise from up close don’t doubt he’ll be able to jell with the future Hall of Famer in no time.

“Just as freaky as Christian is athletically, cognitively he’s the same way,” Tre said. “If he wasn’t a football player, he was going to be an engineering major.”

During receiver meetings in college, Watson knew what running backs, offensive linemen and defenders were supposed to do on each play. He’d call out plays on film that teammates hadn’t even seen yet.

“He was a guy that could take something from the meeting room and immediately apply it on the football field,” Pauley said. “He didn’t have to run it 10 different times to get it right.”

It’s that kind of quick recall Watson will need to earn both Rodgers’ trust and snaps as a rookie, the former perhaps dictating the latter. He has a familiar face in Green Bay to aid his transition, as Pauley is one of 12 coaches spending time with the Packers this offseason as part of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

In brief offseason workouts against phantom defenses, Watson has already flashed traits the Packers became enamored with. It’s anybody’s guess what he’ll become, but he’s off to a promising start.

“His combination of size and speed is great,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He’s a big guy. He can move. He’s going to be a problem once he figures things out.”

Added Cobb: “He has the total package. Just being around him for the past week and seeing some of the things he can do, he has all the tools. He’s very gifted.”

Watson has been asked plenty about his father since being drafted by the same team as him, but his mother wants this to be about Christian. He dropped the No. 33 that his dad outfitted him in — that’s also the number Tre wore — because Christian wanted his own identity.

Christa drove him to camps and showcases throughout his childhood, and she says she didn’t travel all those miles only for Christian to share the spotlight with someone else. He’s carved his own path — and even called his own shot.

He played in a youth football championship game at age 7 in Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers, and his mom remembers him saying that day that he wanted to play there in the NFL. He’ll get to, now 16 years older, when the Packers play the Buccaneers in Week 3 just four miles from where he attended high school.

He’ll be a celebrity that day in his hometown, but he’s already a celebrity in Green Bay, where fans met him at the airport with autograph and picture requests when he first landed in Green Bay. The spotlight is all his now, and it’s bright. The pressure is on to become the Packers’ next star wide receiver, but Watson has proven there’s no reason to overlook him any longer.

“You tell your kids they can be anything they want to,” Christa Watson said. “They work really hard to be that. They look at you with their little face at 4 years old and tell you, ‘This is what I wanna be.’

“And now they are.”

MINNESOTA

One reason to think the Vikings will be better in 2022 is the possibility of having TE IRV SMITH, Jr. for the full season.  Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com:

On a recent spring day, Irv Smith Jr. walked purposefully to the line of scrimmage. He took his place next to Minnesota Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw and waited for the snap. Then he jogged a few steps forward, turned into the flat and hauled in a toss from quarterback Kirk Cousins.

It was a small but significant step for Smith, a rising star who missed the entire 2021 season because of a right knee injury and still has not been cleared for full participation in OTA workouts. This drill was conducted at half speed, designed to sharpen understanding of the team’s new offensive playbook, and Smith’s presence provided a brief preview of what Vikings fans and fantasy players alike are hoping to see from him when the regular season begins.

“For Irv, this whole spring is a great example of a player figuring out where he is coming off his injury,” said coach Kevin O’Connell, “and also understanding that we can really get a lot out of every day knowing that he is preparing himself for when he is 100% ready to go.”

Smith is nine months out from suffering meniscus damage during the Vikings’ final preseason game of 2021, and the organizational goal is to have him ready for full participation at the start of training camp in late July. O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have expressed confidence that he will be ready, both in their public statements as well as their actions, having allowed 2021 starter Tyler Conklin to depart via free agency and adding only lightly to the position during the offseason.

Any objective reading of their tight end depth chart would show Smith clearly at the top, with free-agent acquisition Johnny Mundt next in line. And after waiting until the seventh round of the draft to take a tight end (South Carolina’s Nick Muse), the Vikings have made clear they are counting on Smith to be their primary tight end this season.

“Absolutely,” O’Connell said. “I’ve said this before, going back and watching some of his tape even before the injury, I know there was a lot of folks excited about him last fall before that injury happened. Some of the success he’s had — both with how we’re going to use him and ultimately where he is at in his career — he’s ready to absorb all of this and be in a position to go play fast, go play with a bunch of confidence that he’s going to be a major part of what we do. It’s just making sure we’re doing it in a really responsible way as he continues to progress back.”

Smith, a second-round pick in 2019, caught a modest total of 66 passes in his first two seasons. The excitement about his return is largely based on the highlight-reel training camp he put together in 2021 before the injury. In an offense that also includes wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen and running back Dalvin Cook — and a new scheme that O’Connell promises will balance the run and pass — it’s fair to wonder just how active Smith will be in the Vikings’ passing game.

History provides no dramatic insights. O’Connell was an NFL assistant coach for seven seasons before the Vikings hired him in January. Three of those teams — the 2015 Browns, along with Washington in 2017 and 2018 — finished among the NFL’s top 10 in targets for tight ends. Two of them — 2019 Washington and 2021 Rams — were among the bottom five. But O’Connell has pledged to build his scheme in Minnesota around the skill players he has, and he knew one key fact before he took the job: Cousins has historically thrown a lot to tight ends.

O’Connell and Cousins worked together in 2017 in Washington, when O’Connell was the Commanders’ quarterbacks coach and Cousins their quarterback. Cousins targeted tight ends 127 times that season, the ninth-most in the NFL.

Since he became a full-time NFL starter in 2015, Cousins ranks No. 4 among NFL quarterbacks in tight end targets (810) and touchdowns thrown to tight ends (49).

O’Connell has made clear that playing time and opportunities for targets will depend in part on blocking skills. And while it hasn’t been discussed much amid excitement about his potential impact on the passing game, Smith performed well in the run game during his first two seasons. In fact, he ranked No. 1 among tight ends in ESPN’s run block win rate metric (84.1%) in 2019.

He didn’t get enough snaps to qualify for the leaderboard in 2020, but ranked No. 7 (79.6%) among those who were on the field for at least 500 snaps.

“No matter how much [the tight end position has] evolved,” O’Connell said, “I still think the element of being a three-down tight end and having a role in the run game, being able to protect when we want to max protect and kind of have those guys in there … that’s ultimately where I think the position is still and will be.”

Smith spoke with a group of reporters last week, his smile stretching ear-to-ear. The joy he felt amid his initial return clearly had not dissipated. Cook walked over, grabbed him around the shoulder and said: “Welcome back. We’ve got to have him.”

Smith dropped his head and laughed.

“I had a great camp [last year],” he said later, “and was looking forward to the season. But that momentum and everything hasn’t slowed down. I’m very confident once I [fully] get back on the field, I’m going to be 100%, and we’re going to keep building on that.”

NEW ORLEANS

A positive report on QB JAMEIS WINSTON from Jameis Winston.  Charean Williams ofProFootballTalk.com:

Less than seven months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Jameis Winston is back on the practice field. He isn’t going full speed with everything yet, but it’s a good sign for the Saints quarterback in his bid to be fully healthy for Week 1.

Winston said his top priority now is strengthening the area around his meniscus.

 “Drops are at full speed right now,” Winston said, via John DeShazier of the team website. “Still progressing into running. But I’m more just taking advantage of every opportunity I can get. I’m happy I can take full-speed reps with passing, not rolling out and stuff yet. (But) everything is going great.”

Winston has a brace on his knee, of course, and will wear it all season.

“I think everyone does that after an ACL, especially at the quarterback position,” Winston said. “There’s nothing limiting. There’s nothing that really bothers you from that perspective. So, I’m commanding the brace now.”

Winston, 28, threw 14 touchdowns, three interceptions, and the Saints had a 5-2 record in Winston’s seven starts. He injured his knee in an Oct. 31 game against the Bucs, which required season-ending surgery.

He spent the rest of the season rehabbing and began to feel a return to normalcy early in the offseason.

“I felt in three months that I was back to this point,” Winston said. “But I’m always embracing the process, always trying to find new ways. It’s actually a blessing in disguise, being able to strengthen other muscles – my hip flexors, my glutes, my quads and hamstrings. Just kind of revamping my whole body and just making sure everything is tight-knit and ready to go.”

– – –

And it looks like Winston will have a healthy and happy WR MICHAEL THOMAS come the start of the season.  Mike Triplett of ESPN.com:

Receiver Michael Thomas is not yet participating in New Orleans Saints OTAs. But he is expected back from his ankle injury in time for training camp, according to coach Dennis Allen, and he is present and rehabbing with the team during the voluntary workout period.

Meanwhile, quarterback Jameis Winston is already back on the practice field just seven months after he tore his ACL, as both offensive pillars work their way back from major injuries.

Thomas, 29, missed the entire 2021 season with the ankle injury after he delayed his first surgery to repair multiple ligaments until June — then suffered a setback in November that required a follow-up procedure. The NFL’s 2019 Offensive Player of the Year has not been fully healthy since he initially suffered the ankle injury in Week 1 of the 2020 season and missed a total of nine games that season.

“I think he’s doing well in his rehab. He’s not ready yet. But he’s here, he’s rehabbing, he’s getting himself better. And we’re certainly anxious to get him out here,” Allen said. “I know that he’s working his tail off to get himself back. And we feel good about where he’s at right now.”

When asked whether Thomas will be ready for training camp, Allen said, “That’s certainly our plan.”

“If I had a crystal ball and could tell you all these things, I’d probably be making a lot more money and doing something different,” Allen said. “But, yeah, our hope is that he’s gonna be ready to go for training camp. So that’s what we’re pushing for.”

Thomas’ presence at OTAs is notable because there was a lack of communication between player and team last spring — and then friction between the two sides after he opted to wait until June to have surgery.

But that tension appeared to have been defused early last season. And Allen has spoken positively about Thomas’ recovery and attitude throughout this offseason, saying that getting him back along with rookie receiver Chris Olave is like adding two first-round draft choices at the position.

KANSAS CITY

RB LeSean McCoy offered some insight, harsh insight, into Chiefs RB Coach Eric Bienemy.  Michael David Smith at ProFootballTalk.com:

Former Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy had some harsh comments about Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy recently, but head coach Andy Reid said those comments say more about McCoy than Bieniemy.

McCoy said on the I Am Athlete podcast that Bieniemy talks to players in a fashion that many players take issue with, and McCoy suggested that his inability to relate to people is the primary reason Bieniemy hasn’t been hired as a head coach.

Reid, however, said that if McCoy didn’t like what Bieniemy was saying to him during their time together in Kansas City, it’s because Bieniemy was honest with McCoy about where he was lacking, and McCoy didn’t want to accept that he was on the down side of his career when he arrived in Kansas City.

“Sometimes it’s hard on a veteran player,” Reid said. “Maybe their performance level isn’t what it used to be, and it’s hard to take sometimes. But [Bieniemy is] going to push you to try to maximize what you’ve got. That’s one of his strengths. . . . He’ll come in and shoot you straight. Sometimes you want to hear it. Sometimes you don’t.”

Reid said he enjoyed coaching McCoy but thinks that McCoy, who was 31 during his season in Kansas City, struggled to accept he wasn’t the elite running back he once had been.

“I’m a big LeSean fan,” Reid said. “In my eyes, he’s a future Hall of Fame running back. If you look at it statistically, he’s tremendous. But he wasn’t the youngest pup in the kennel here. He was on the back side and sometimes that’s hard to take.”

Reid said he thinks Bieniemy relates well to players and will be a good NFL head coach some day.

“You see the love that the players have for him. He’s got all these guys standing up for him and saying positive things,” Reid said. “He’s a heck of a football coach and I’m disappointed that he hasn’t had a chance and optimistic that he’s going to have one in the future.”

LAS VEGAS

So how did QB Colin Kaepernick do in his workout with the Raiders?  Well, we know he doesn’t have a contract at the moment, but is that based on performance or a difference in his contractual worth?  Charean Williams of ESPN.com:

Colin Kaepernick worked out for the Raiders on Wednesday, the first private workout he has had for an NFL team since becoming a free agent in March 2017.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports the “workout was largely considered a positive.”

During his media session Thursday, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels wouldn’t talk about Kaepernick’s workout.

“We will only talk about the people that are on our team,” McDaniels said Thursday. “Dave (Ziegler) and his staff have worked out tons of guys this spring. We really don’t make comments about the evaluations that we made or what they looked like, what they didn’t look like, strengths and weaknesses, those kinds of thing. They are obviously kind of private for us as we look at things to try to make decisions to make the team better. If players are added to the team, then obviously we’ll talk about them at that point.

“I respect the question 100 percent. I understand, but that’s kind of what we’ll stick to.”

The Raiders have Derek Carr, Nick Mullens, Jarrett Stidham and Chase Garbers on the roster at the position, but they obviously are intrigued by Kaepernick and perhaps seeking competition behind Carr.

“We’re encouraging the competition right now,” McDaniels said. “I think our football understands that competition is the way for each player to improve.”

Kaepernick last played in 2016. The 49ers cut him in March 2017, and other than a visit with the Seahawks five years ago, no other team had expressed any interest in Kaepernick until this week.

“We brought in tons of people for workouts,” McDaniels said. “If there’s an opportunity to improve the team, we said it from Day 1 that we would look at every opportunity. He’s not the first player that we’ve looked at and not the last one. There are going to be a lot of people who are going to come in and out of this building and have an opportunity to make an impression.”

Two other teams had interest in Kaepernick before his workout with the Raiders, so if they don’t offer him a contract, maybe the Raiders’ workout opens the door for another team to give him a chance.

BALTIMORE

Add QB LAMER JACKSON to the list of QBs who have not appeared at their team’s OTAs. Nick Shook of NFL.com:

Lamar Jackson is not at Baltimore’s organized team activities — at least not yet.

That has some folks all worked up. How could a franchise quarterback not be at OTAs with his teammates?!

Entering a contract year, Jackson has chosen to begin OTAs by continuing his training on his own, and he’s far from alone to do so in the history of the NFL. He’s also heard enough of the criticism pertaining to his decision, responding Friday with a declaration he will attend OTAs at some point.

Jackson, of course, has proven his worthiness with his in-season performance, winning NFL MVP honors in 2019, earning two trips to the Pro Bowl and leading Baltimore to three playoff appearances in four seasons. He’s become the focal point around which Baltimore has built its offense, and a healthy return will bring a fresh set of expectations for the Ravens in 2022.

More importantly, an unsettled contract situation also carries some concern. Jackson has yet to engage the Ravens in meaningful discussions on an extension, likely contributing to his decision to delay his arrival for Baltimore’s voluntary portion of its offseason activities.

This lack of discussion should be more worrisome than Jackson not being in attendance in late May. As tight end Mark Andrews said earlier this week, the Ravens “know how hard he’s working.” But without the security of an extension, the Ravens can’t yet confidently believe they’ll have Jackson for the long run, even if a life without the star QB isn’t fathomable at this point.

As a professional athlete, Jackson is expected to prepared physically and mentally for the upcoming season. And as he tweeted Friday, he’s preparing accordingly — it’s just not happening in Owings Mills, Maryland.

PITTSBURGH

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic on the continued aspirations of EDGE T.J. WATT:

T.J. Watt still hasn’t watched the non-sack of Tyler Huntley. You know, the one that was ruled an aborted play during the regular-season finale a year ago against the Ravens, which ultimately cost him the chance to break Michael Strahan’s two-decades-old NFL single-season sack record.

It’s not that Watt can’t bear to watch it. It just doesn’t interest him because he’s much more concerned about his future than his past, even though he was a judgment call away from doing something that no player in the history of the NFL has done before.

“Trust me, more people bring that up to me than I ever think about it,” Watt said. “I have a very short memory when it comes to things like that. I feel that I have so much more to give to the game. I am definitely not satisfied. I am trying to continue to grow and be one of the best who ever played this game.”

Watt became one of two players in NFL history (Reggie White) to have 20-plus sacks in 14 or fewer games since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. He also became the 12th player to have at least 20 sacks in a single season. Watt joined White as the only two players in NFL history with four consecutive 13-plus-sack seasons. His 72 sacks in five years tie him for 93rd on the all-time list. With another 20-sack season, he would move to 51st.

Watt had all the stats: 64 tackles, 60 pressures, a ridiculous 16.3 percent pressure rate, 13 run stuffs, seven passes defensed, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in 65 percent of the total defensive snaps. But the most telling is that in the games in which Watt played a full 60 minutes, the Steelers went 9-3.

In the games in which he left early or did not play, they went 0-4-1.

– – –

New GM Omar Khan is fine with the Steelers traditional contract negotiation policies, which aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Omar Khan has worked on the contracts for a lot of extensions during his time with the Steelers, but he’s in the lead chair for the first time now that he’s been hired as the team’s new General Manager.

There are a couple of players in line for extensions before the start of the 2022 season. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Diontae Johnson are both in the final year of their deals and Johnson’s been away from OTAs, but Khan wasn’t asked about specifically about either player’s situation at a Friday press conference. He did speak generally about the team’s approach.

 “Those discussions are always going to be, you know, we’re going to get in a room and decide what the best timing is for that,” Khan said. “And those big decisions are always going to be Steeler decisions.”

The Steelers have long set a Week 1 deadline for contract talks to wrap up or be tabled until after the season. Khan said that policy will remain in place, but was not asked about whether the team would guarantee money beyond the first year of a deal. They traditionally didn’t do that, but linebacker T.J. Watt‘s contract broke that mold.

Once the team does sit down with Fitzpatrick and Johnson, we’ll see if that was a one-time aberration or not.

THIS AND THAT

2019 PAYDAY

It’s time for the Class of 2019 to get paid and Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus looks at the candidates for the biggest contracts:

Which players from the Class of 2019 could sign massive deals before the season begins, and which might benefit from waiting until 2023 for an extension? Pro Football Focus projects what the 10 biggest deals from the class could look like, from Murray’s $250-plus million deal to large payouts for the wide receivers.

The projected contracts are ranked by guaranteed money, starting with Murray:

1. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

No. 1 overall pick

Contract projection: Six years, $280 million ($46.67 million per year), $155 million total guaranteed

Murray and his camp put pressure on the Cardinals to get an extension done just weeks after the Super Bowl in late February, wasting absolutely no time before bringing extension talks to the public. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen — the only first-round quarterback from the 2018 draft who got an extension done last offseason — signed his pact on August 6, 2021, so there’s still plenty of time to work out a new deal for Murray.

Because Murray earned two Pro Bowl nods in his first three seasons, his $29.7 million fifth-year option for 2023 is the largest in NFL history — and he surely wants a multi-year extension that reflects the strong start to his career.

In the meantime, the Cardinals made an aggressive move on Day 1 of the 2022 draft to acquire wide receiver Marquise Brown from the Baltimore Ravens — a college teammate of Murray’s at Oklahoma — to be the top receiving option while DeAndre Hopkins serves a six-game suspension.

Murray has earned the highest PFF grade on throws of 20-plus yards in the NFL over the last two seasons with a 98.8 mark, and the Brown addition will go a long way in continuing that trend. All signs point to a deal eventually getting done, even as Murray drives a hard bargain at the negotiating table while looking for a deal that reflects the new quarterback market, where Aaron Rodgers is now the top earner at just over $50 million per year.

2. Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers

No. 2 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $150 million ($30M per year), $105 million total guaranteed

Bosa has been one of the league’s best edge defenders from Day 1 of his career, even while missing the majority of the 2020 season with a torn ACL. Since 2019, Bosa’s 18.9% PFF pass rush win rate ranks seventh, and his 16% pressure percentage ranks third among edge defenders.

He was the 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year, and — more importantly for contract purposes — made two Pro Bowls in his first three seasons. As a result, Bosa’s 2023 fifth-year option carries an increased value of $17,869,000. His brother, Los Angeles Chargers star Joey Bosa, reset the position market with his five-year, $135 million contract in 2020. Nick will almost certainly do the same. He has a good shot to become the first non-quarterback in NFL history to earn $30 million annually, and deserves every penny.

3. Brian Burns, DE, Carolina Panthers

No. 16 overall pick

 Contract projection: Five years, $120 million ($24M per year), $95 million total guaranteed

Burns was productive at Florida State and was a favorite of many analysts prior to the 2019 draft, but he fell to the No. 16 overall pick because of questions surrounding his size and ability to defend against the run. Through three seasons these concerns appear to have some merit, as Burns has struggled against the run and as a tackler. However, that is not what gets an edge rusher paid in this league — getting after the quarterback does, and that’s where Burns excels.

Burns’ 107 quarterback pressures over the last two seasons rank 11th among edge defenders, his 83.8 pass-rush grade ranks 16th, and his 18 sacks are tied for 12th with Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge defender Shaquil Barrett.

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer has made it clear that getting a long-term deal done with Burns is a top priority.

4. Jeffery Simmons, DT, Tennessee Titans

No. 19 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $110 million ($22M per year), $70 million total guaranteed

Simmons may not have been a household name prior to the 2021 season, but he definitely should be now after a dominant campaign that extended into the Titans’ brief playoff appearance, where he sacked Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow three times in a narrow 19-16 defeat. Simmons tore his ACL just two months prior to the 2019 draft, but has already demonstrated why he remained a top-20 draft selection with rare strength and explosiveness off the line.

A handful of interior defenders — the Giants’ Leonard Williams, Colts’ DeForest Buckner and Chiefs’ Chris Jones — are new members of the $20 million per year club, but none have been able to match the great Aaron Donald’s $22.5 million per year deal signed in 2018. Donald is looking for an extension this offseason that, even at 31 years old, could best his own record.

Therefore, Simmons could wait until this deal gets done before resuming negotiations under a new position market shortly before the 2022 season gets underway.

Simmons is one of just seven interior defenders with more than 100 quarterback pressures over the last two seasons, landing at sixth with 103. The current five highest-paid interior defenders in the NFL — along with Cameron Heyward, whose deal ranks ninth and was signed when he was 31 years old — round out the group. There is no reason Simmons won’t join this group of elite interior pass-rushers from a financial standpoint as well.

5. Quinnen Williams, DT, New York Jets

No. 3 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $102.5 million ($20.5 million per year), $65 million total guaranteed

Williams didn’t get off to the blazing fast start that many anticipated after a remarkable final college season at Alabama, but he has shown plenty of flashes through three seasons. The Jets should remain optimistic that he can become one of the best players at his position in due time, particularly as an interior pass-rusher.

Over the last two seasons, Williams’ 73 quarterback pressures are a top-20 mark among interior defenders, and his 77.1 pass-rush grade ranks 15th. Now entering his second season under head coach Robert Saleh with more talent along the defensive line around him — such as edge defenders Carl Lawson and rookie Jermaine Johnson II — Williams could have a breakout campaign in his fourth season.

Free-agent addition cornerback D.J. Reed and 2022 fourth overall pick cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner also figure to keep the ball in opposing quarterbacks’ hands longer after the snap, which could help Williams get home more frequently.

All of that said, this deal may not come until after the 2022 season, which gives Williams a great opportunity to boost his value as much as possible before cashing in.

6. DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks

No. 64 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $130 million ($26M per year), $60 million total guaranteed

Arguably the most physically imposing wide receiver from the 2019 class, Metcalf has had a historic start to his career. His 3,170 receiving yards through three seasons rank as a top-20 mark all-time. This feat was accomplished while playing opposite Tyler Lockett, who signed a four-year, $69 million extension before the 2021 season.

Metcalf’s unique combination of size and speed will always carry a ton of value in the NFL, as he can take the top off the defense in addition to racking up yards after the catch on quick outs and screen passes. When Metcalf isn’t hauling in catch after catch, he is going toe-to-toe with Olympic sprinters, running a 10.36-second 100-meter dash at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds in a USA Track and Field event.

With Russell Wilson under center, Metcalf’s 1,130 receiving yards on 20-plus-yard throws ranked fifth among wide receivers while his 11 deep touchdowns were the second-most in the league. The Seahawks may have no choice but to have two top-paid wide receivers to help whichever quarterback ultimately starts for them in Week 1.

7. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

No. 36 overall pick

Contract projection: Four years, $100 million ($25 million per year), $57.5 million total guaranteed

Now moving to the other side of the ball for the 49ers. With negotiations seemingly back on track after a trade request before the draft, Samuel should cash in with a monster deal in a wide receiver market that has exploded this offseason.

Samuel was a major reason the 49ers reached Super Bowl LIV in his rookie campaign, leading the team in pretty much every receiving category while his 2.04 yards per route run was a top-15 mark among wide receivers. Samuel may have been even more important for the 49ers this past postseason, as his 87.6 receiving grade ranked third among all receivers, while his 77.4 rushing grade ranked second.

Samuel’s unique “wide back” role earned him 88 carries in 2021, and is something that will impact negotiations and his financial future. Agent Tory Dandy negotiated the same contracts (three years, $60 million) for clients Mike Williams and Chris Godwin.

8. Devin White, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

No. 5 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $105 million ($21M per year), $55 million total guaranteed

This extension may have to wait until the 2023 offseason as Tampa Bay goes all-in on another Super Bowl quest with Tom Brady. But the Buccaneers have shown a willingness to get extensions done early with players like interior defender Vita Vea. With Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith potentially set to become the first off-ball linebacker to eclipse the $20 million per year mark later this offseason, the Buccaneers could once again lock in a franchise cornerstone early.

White’s rare physical ability at off-ball linebacker makes him an impact player in many different facets, and he is well out in front of his peers when it comes to rushing the passer.

Since 2019, White’s 76 quarterback pressures and 13 sacks are the most of any off-ball linebacker, and he also ranks tied for sixth with 36 tackles for loss or no gain over the three-year span.

White does over-pursue, miss the occasional tackle and has struggled in coverage for stretches of his career, but the Buccaneers seem optimistic they can clean up the holes in his game — especially while working alongside one of the best coverage linebackers of this decade in Lavonte David.

White will be just 24 years old for the entirety of his fourth NFL season in 2022 — younger than a handful of players in this year’s draft class — so there’s a lot of room for improvement. That is a scary thought considering the difference-maker he already is through his first three years in the league.

9. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders

No. 76 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $115 million ($23M per year), $53 million total guaranteed

While the Commanders’ decision to trade for quarterback Carson Wentz was met with a lot of criticism, he will undoubtedly be the best quarterback McLaurin has worked with so far in the NFL. And that’s worrisome for opposing teams considering how productive McLaurin has been to start his career.

Since 2019, McLaurin has garnered 139 targets where the pass was deemed inaccurate per PFF charting — the third-most in the NFL over the span — and his 22 explosive receptions of 15-plus yards on such passes ranks second. His 17 contested catches on such passes ranked No. 1 in the NFL.

Despite his surroundings, McLaurin’s 86.6 receiving grade since 2019 ranks 13th among all wide receivers over the span and trails only A.J. Brown from the 2019 draft class. Off the field, McLaurin is heralded as one of the leaders of this Commanders team and is a fan favorite. Washington appears willing to play hardball with McLaurin on a long-term deal after signing free agent Curtis Samuel in 2021 and using its first-round pick in this year’s draft on Penn State product Jahan Dotson. But choosing to go this route certainly wouldn’t play well with fans or in the locker room.

Washington should commit big-time money to a player who may only get better with stronger play at the quarterback position.

10. Rashan Gary, OLB, Green Bay Packers

No. 12 overall pick

Contract projection: Five years, $130 million ($26M per year), $45 million total guaranteed (Note: the Packers typically don’t guarantee any money outside of signing bonuses for non-quarterbacks).

Gary has a case for being the breakout player of the 2021 season, as his staggering 81 quarterback pressures in 2021 ranked second among edge defenders. When accounting for snaps played, Gary’s 18.4% pressure percentage narrowly outpaced Maxx Crosby for the top mark of the season.

Crosby, a fellow member of the 2019 draft, would have made this list if he hadn’t already signed a four-year, $94 million extension in March with the Raiders that made him the fifth-highest paid player at the position. Working against Crosby was the fact he was a fourth-round pick, but Gary has no such issue.

Gary had a slower start to his career as he transitioned from a defensive end at Michigan that usually had his hand in the dirt to a stand-up, outside linebacker in Green Bay. His ascendancy as he reworked his body composition and pass-rush arsenal should serve as the blueprint for 2022 No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker, who faces a very similar transition at the next level.

Gary has put everything together from a skill standpoint, and the sky is truly the limit. He has yet to play 700 snaps in a season, as he started his career working behind Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, but with Za’Darius now on the Minnesota Vikings, Gary should be the focal point of the Packers’ front seven.

Green Bay just made cornerback Jaire Alexander the highest-paid player at his position, inking him to a four-year, $84 million extension as he entered his fifth-year option season.

The Packers may elect to wait on Gary as well, but with the money cleared up from trading Davante Adams, they could explore a multi-year deal before Gary repeats his 2021 performance and asks for the moon in negotiations.

More notable 2019 picks who just missed this list:

Jaguars DE Josh Allen

Commanders DE Montez Sweat

Steelers WR Diontae Johnson

Cardinals WR Marquise Brown

Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins

BROADCAST NEWS

Pat McAfee may get his version of the “Manning Cast” on Amazon Thursday.  Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com:

Amazon Prime Video is targeting Pat McAfee to create an alternate “McAfee-Cast” to rival Peyton and Eli Manning’s “ManningCast,” sources tell Front Office Sports.

The 35-year-old former Indianapolis Colts punter is one of the busiest talents in sports media, hosting his eponymous weekday show on SiriusXM and YouTube and performing as both a wrestler and color commentator in the WWE.

There’s no deal yet with Amazon. It remains to be seen if McAfee could fit a weekly TNF assignment in with his other gigs.

But a TNF MegaCast would fit what McAfee’s looking for, said sources. 

McAfee, who stepped into the ring as a special guest at WrestleMania 38, could shoot a free-wheeling “McAfee-Cast” from his home base in Indianapolis, without traveling to the site of TNF games.

He’d be the unquestioned star — without having to play the kooky sideline reporter in support of TNF’s lead broadcast team of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.

So-called “MegaCasts” are all the rage with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and ESPN winning a Sports Emmy this week for their alternate broadcast of “Monday Night Football.”

Turner Sports used its popular “Inside the NBA” team of Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson to offer an alternate telecast of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.