Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own rap music.
Since its creation in 2018, tens of thousands of student-athletes have used the portal. According to NPR, the NIL rule in 2022 has increased the applicant pool even more in the past two years.
Football is one of the sports for which the portal has gained the most attention. BGSU football has used it to turn their program around.
Falcon Football and Blane Cleaver
After spending three years at Army West Point, Blane Cleaver, senior tight end for the Falcons, became one of the many BGSU football transfers this past offseason.
Blane Cleaver, BGSU Falcons senior tight end
“I decided to step away (because) the balance between trying to play division one football with academics and the military was pretty challenging; and I just wanted a fresh start,” said Cleaver.
He got that fresh start with the Falcons after entering a chaotic April transfer portal process.
“I talked to between 20-30 schools,” he said. “I had calls, texts, (and) voicemails from the moment I woke up to dinner time.”
He eventually narrowed it down to three schools. He made his final decision after coming to Bowling Green for a visit.
“When I got to campus, I really liked everything I saw,” said Cleaver.
He believes the transfer portal is a huge positive for mid-sized schools like BGSU.
“If someone’s at Ohio State and they’re not playing, it’s very easy for them to take a step back to a bit of a smaller school, or guys at an FCS can take that step up and make an impact as well,” he said.
BGSU football has seen both cases recently impact their team. Former Indiana quarterback, Connor Bazelak, is now BGSU’s starting quarterback. Former Samford cornerback, Jordan Oladokun, is one of BGSU’s top defenders.
Falcon Hockey and Owen Ozar
Owen Ozar, senior forward for BGSU Hockey
BGSU hockey has also been impacted by the transfer portal recently, getting Owen Ozar, a senior forward from Denver, in the last offseason.
“I chose to come to Bowling Green because they showed that they had a lot of interest in me,” said Ozar.
He had a similar reason for transferring as Cleaver but went through a much quicker transfer portal process.
“I decided to tell the (Denver) coaches that I was going to try to go to a different school because I wanted to play more,” he said. “After that exit meeting, within a day or two, I was in the transfer portal. Then, two or three days after that, I committed to Bowling Green.”
Ozar also believes the transfer portal has been a positive for BGSU hockey in recent years.
“Last year, we picked up two fifth-years that ended up being some of our top goal scorers. This year, we picked up a lot of good players as well, like Jackson Niedermayer from Arizona State,” he said.
Unlike football, small schools like Denver compete for national championships in hockey. Ozar believes that these are the teams mid-sized schools like BGSU can target.
“There are a lot of good hockey players on those teams that just don’t get the opportunity. I think schools like Bowling Green can take those players and use them to their advantage,” said Ozar.
A BGSU Student Perspective
While student-athletes largely see the transfer portal in a positive light, the public opinion is more of a mixed bag.
Josh Lalik, BGSU freshman SM student
Josh Lalik, a BGSU freshman sport management student, believes there are both pros and cons of the transfer portal.
“I think it’s overall been a positive, but there have definitely been negative impacts,” said Lalik. “A Group of Five guy like Grayson McCall could have a great season and move on to bigger and better things.”
The McCall example Lalik gives put Coastal Carolina football at a major disadvantage. Their star player left, and they could do nothing about it.
Another major negative of the transfer portal is that it is extremely risky. Some athletes get stuck in a situation where they do not end up landing at a new school at all.
Conclusion
Like most other trends in sports, the NCAA transfer portal will continuously evolve. There are some negatives, but the overall sentiment from the athletes themselves is that it is a positive for collegiate athletics.
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own rap music.
November 9, 2024
The culture of the 2020’s NCAA has been dominated by the creation and use of the transfer portal, million-dollar N.I.L deals, and conference realignment, and it is hurting the M.A.C’s ability to compete…..or is it?
NCAA Transfer Portal
The first element of the 2020’s NCAA is the transfer portal, which allows college athletes to choose wherever they want to go in the NCAA if they don’t like or want to be at the first school they picked. This has affected every team and every conference in the NCAA, as THOUSANDS of athletes a year enter the portal, including an all-time high of 20,911 athletes in 2022, and that’s just in Division 1!
The transfer portal has created “super-teams” within the Power 4 conferences but has left smaller conferences, like the M.A.C, constantly searching for players. Although MAC schools occasionally get Power 4 players in the portal, such as Bowling Green landing former Arizona State shooting guard Braelon Green, it is ultimately a much rarer feat than if the school was in a Power-4 conference to start.
Braelon Green (left) blocking a Utah player’s shot while on Arizona State
What often happens instead is M.A.C schools pick up other mid-tier conference players or Division 2/JUCO players in the portal who are looking for a better opportunity, which makes the program weaker overall while increasing the talent level of top-tier programs. This creates a constantly growing talent gap between the mid-tier conferences like the M.A.C and the Power 4 conferences.
On top of the N.I.L and transfer portal creating talent gaps in college athletics, there is a physical gap occurring with conference realignment. This is perhaps the biggest current threat to the M.A.C as they could easily see their conference get torn apart like Conference USA, the American, or even the Power 4 ACC. What would be even worse is if the M.A.C eventually disbands with all of their schools going elsewhere. If it happened to the once powerful PAC-12, why couldn’t it happen to the M.A.C, one of the smallest and weakest financial conferences in America.
Map of conference realignment
M.A.C Football Fighting Back
With all of this being said, the M.A.C is refusing to give up. In fact, they are thriving in many ways. They are currently the ONLY Division 1 conference to not significantly alter the teams in their conference. So far, they have not lost a single team to another conference and have in fact added former FBS-Independent UMASS to their conference starting in the 2025-2026 season. This silver lining should give the M.A.C hope that they can in fact compete with other conferences going forward.
Northern Illinois coach, Thomas Hammock, crying tears of joy after beating #10 ranked Notre Dame
As for the talent gap that continues to grow, this may just be a phenomenon that makes sense on paper but isn’t true in real life. Despite the transfer portal and N.I.L deals making M.A.C teams theoretically weaker, it sure hasn’t seemed like this is the case in the 2024-2025 football season. Northern Illinois, that was picked to finish tied for 3rd in the M.A.C, beat #10 Notre Dame in South Bend in week 2 of the season. This made national headlines and eventually ended up with Northern Illinois ranked in the top 25 for a few weeks. Bowling Green State University (currently tied with Ohio, Miami (OH), and Western Michigan for first place in the M.A.C.), took #8 Penn State and #24 Texas A&M down to the wire, losing both games by only one score, and leading most of both contests as well.
Pros from the M.A.C
Maybe the most important evidence that the M.A.C is not close to being finished is that with all of the disadvantages that they seem to face, they are still producing high-quality professional players and graduates in a multitude of sports.
Yankees INF/OF, Jon Berti, making a throw from third base
In the MLB, Bowling Green alumni, Jon Berti, a versatile utilityman, went to the 2024 World Series with the New York Yankees. He also held the stolen base crown with the Miami Marlins in 2022 by stealing 41 bags. He did so in 102 games, the fewest games a stolen base leader has had in MLB History!
Pacers forward/center, Enrique Freeman (far right), celebrating after a play
In the NBA, Ryan Rollins (Toledo) is a third-string guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green) is a 10-year NBA veteran and third-string center for the Washington Wizards, and Enrique Freeman (Akron) is a backup rookie forward/center for the Indiana Pacers.
Overall, I believe the M.A.C will continue to fight against the transfer portal and N.I.L phenomenon’s if they stick together and don’t abandon the conference in realignment. The widespread success of M.A.C football this year and of M.A.C players in pro sports is also a good sign that the M.A.C will continue to fight against the odds and hopefully stay strong together.
Sam Darnold sitting on the bench as a former backup quarterback for the Carolina Panthers
By: Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
October 11, 2024
The “Franchise Quarterback” Dilemma
The NFL quarterback is one of the most important and high-pressure positions in all of sports. Football games revolve around quarterbacks and their ability to make plays. From something as simple as a running back handoff to something as difficult as an 80-yard ‘Hail Mary,’ quarterbacks are involved in every single play.
Because of this level of importance, NFL GMs are hard-pressed by ownership to constantly be on the lookout for their next “franchise QB” who will lead them to the Super Bowl. This quarterback carousel can sometimes lead to teams getting QB’s that will last for decades and lead their team to success. Some of these would include Tom Brady with the Patriots, Ben Roethlisberger with the Steelers, Eli Manning with the Giants, and Pat Mahomes with the Chiefs. However, more often than not, a dilemma arises when the “franchise QB” that they thought they had is nowhere to be found. When this realization sets in after a few seasons, the team often moves on from their original candidate in one of two ways.
One proven way that teams move on is by adding other promising QB’s via trade or free agency, but a more recent trend that has been occurring is drafting QB’s out of college in the NFL Draft. This is mostly a hit-or-miss strategy that can lead to success stories like Jayden Daniels and C.J Stroud, but it can also result in complete busts like Trey Lance and Josh Rosen.
Former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick, QB, Josh Rosen, throwing on the 49’ers practice squad.
While it is important for NFL GMs to be constantly improving their rosters, I argue that teams give up on these young quarterbacks too early. Some of them are given just two or three years to develop and then are discarded when they are just hitting their stride in their low to mid-20’s.
I believe this theory is becoming more and more evident as three recent QB’s who their original franchises gave up on have taken the NFL by storm over the past few years. As you will soon read, the lesson GMs should be taking away from these three success stories is DON’T quit on your young drafted quarterbacks too soon.
Geno Smith
After a great 26-13 4-year career at West Virginia, Smith declared for the 2013 NFL Draft where he was the second QB off the board, picked in the second round by the New York Jets. Despite falling out of the first round, Smith was one of the most highly anticipated rookies coming out of the class.
Geno Smith playing with his former team, the New York Jets
He played 4 years with the Jets and had some success with the team. His rookie season he had a poor TD/INT ratio but led the Jets to an 8-8 record, which was an improvement from the Jets’ previous season. Despite this beginning success, Smith was benched on-and-off during the following year after some turnover struggles and replaced by Michael Vick.
Smith’s next two seasons in New York were riddled with multiple injuries and he barely played because of them. However, when he did play, he had success in New York during these two seasons and was only 26 by the end of the season when the Jets eventually let him go.
Smith spent a year with the Giants and a year with the Chargers, both as a backup, learning from Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers. This experience of gaining veteran knowledge allowed him to fully hit his prime when he entered the Seahawks organization in 2019.
Geno Smith with his current team, the Seattle Seahawks
Originally picked up as a backup for Seattle, he earned the starting job in 2021 when Russell Wilson got injured and he completely shocked the NFL with a yearly performance better than that of his rookie season 8 years prior with New York. The following year, after Wilson was traded to Denver, Smith improved so much that he became a pro bowler, won the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year award, and even took Seattle to a playoff game.
In 2023, Smith showed no signs of slowing down. He was selected to his second Pro Bowl in a row with Seattle and was in the MVP race for much of the season. So far in 2024, Smith has continued his success by leading Seattle to a current first-place tie with San Francisco in the NFC West.
Although the Jets didn’t give up on Smith as early as some of the other QB’s on this list, he was, in my opinion, not given a fair chance with New York. New York hasn’t had a consistent quarterback since Mark Sanchez and getting rid of Smith didn’t help them at all. I believe that had they kept him for a few more years, he would have been able to give them production and success similar to the years he has spent as a starter with Seattle.
Baker Mayfield
Mayfield, the Cleveland Browns overall draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2018, is another QB who has proven his original team gave up on him too early. Unlike Smith, Mayfield was the clear #1 QB in his draft class coming out of college, leading Oklahoma to an outstanding 33-6 record during his time with the Sooners. He was also the 2017 Heisman winner.
Mayfield won the starting quarterback job during week 2 of his 2018 rookie campaign. While he only led the Browns to a 7-8-1 start, it was at least better than their previous season when they went 0-16! Many Browns fans felt like they had finally found their quarterback of the future and that Mayfield would eventually lead Cleveland to a resurgence in the AFC North. Mayfield also came in second place in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 to former Giants RB Saquon Barkley.
Despite a regression in Cleveland’s 6-10 2019 season, Mayfield finally led the Dawg Pound back to the postseason with an 11-5 regular season record in 2020. In the postseason, he led the Browns to a Wild Card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, their biggest rival, and barely lost to the eventual AFC champions, the Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs.
Baker Mayfield scrambles with the ball with his original team, the Cleveland Browns
The playoff excitement unfortunately didn’t last long for Cleveland, as they once again fell short of the postseason with an 8-9 record the following 2021 season. Because of injuries and the 3-win regression in 2021, Mayfield was let go to make room for their eventual trade pick-up from Houston, Deshaun Watson, after the conclusion of the 2021 season.
This decision seemed legitimate at the time, but looking back on it, it was an enormous mistake by the Browns. Mayfield gave the Browns a playoff berth and win in just his third year with the team, something that the Browns hadn’t done as a franchise since 2002! I believe they could have given him at least another year to develop. Also, when you look at the fact that Mayfield went through 4 different coaches and 4 different offensive coordinators in his age 23-26 seasons, it’s no wonder he struggled a little each year.
Once Mayfield got to Tampa Bay in 2023, he proved to Cleveland and to the NFL that the Browns quit on him too early. He made a Pro Bowl in his first year with the team, won the NFC South, won a playoff game against the Eagles, and almost won a second playoff game against Detroit which would have sent them to the NFC Championship.
Mayfield was supposed to be a transitional quarterback for Tampa Bay but he has now become part of their future plans as he signed a three-year contract extension in the 2024 offseason, and he currently has Tampa Bay in a tie with Atlanta for first place in the NFC South.
Baker Mayfield throwing the ball with his current team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On the other hand, Cleveland is a mediocre 19-20 since Mayfield’s departure.
Sam Darnold
Sam Darnold throwing the ball for his current team, the Minnesota Vikings
Like Mayfield, Darnold was supposed to be a guy for Minnesota that they could play as a bridge-type quarterback while they wait for rookie J.J McCarthy to come back from injury next season. However, Darnold has risen to the occasion and has completely taken the NFL by storm.
Despite being in his 7th season and in the same draft class as Mayfield, Darnold is actually only in his age-27 season, making him 6 months younger than Joe Burrow. Darnold, from USC, was the third overall pick by the Jets in the 2018 draft. His college statistics for the most part were some of the best in the country, but his interceptions were a cause for concern with some scouts.
Darnold’s turnover problems continued into the NFL and essentially plagued him throughout his 3 seasons as a Jet. Darnold then bounced around the league, playing with Carolina and San Francisco before eventually landing with the Vikings this past offseason.
Darnold’s rise as one of the league’s best gunslingers has been nothing short of extraordinary and he is yet another reason why teams that draft young QB’s should let them develop instead of quitting on their talent too early.
Bryce Young and the Future of QB’s
Now that I’ve examined the three quarterbacks above whose teams have given up on them prematurely, I want to talk about someone whose team, I believe, is giving up on him too early, and that player is Bryce Young.
Bryce Young holding up his draft day jersey at the 2023 NFL Draft
Carolina was a pit stop for both Darnold and Mayfield above, and even though it wasn’t the place that originally gave up on both of the quarterbacks, the Panthers didn’t even consider bringing them on as future pieces and simply shipped them off as soon as the next year’s draft came along.
The Panthers could have had two of the NFL’s best players at the moment, but instead are stuck with an aging Andy Dalton as the QB and a rightfully upset Bryce Young as the backup. I think they would be making a colossal mistake by trading Young at the end of the season if they don’t let him play out the rest of the year to prove himself. Carolina is likely to miss the playoffs, so they have nothing to lose by playing Young the rest of the year to see if he improves. If they do trade him in his young age-23 season, they could just be the next victim of this “quitting on quarterbacks” trend a few years down the road with Young starring for another team like Mayfield and Darnold are doing right now.
As for the future of the quarterback position, I think we will continue to see teams draft franchise QB prospects in the NFL Draft and then move on from them in a few years if they don’t produce Mahomes-level results by age 25, 26, or 27. This is an easy trap to fall into in a league that is always in a win-now type of mindset. And while some of these players will truly become busts (Josh Rosen, Trey Lance, Mac Jones etc.), others (Darnold, Mayfield, Smith) may hit their primes just a few years later and prove to their former teams that they quit on them prematurely.
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
April 24th, 2024
Overview
The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Michigan this year from April 25th through April 27th at the Hart Plaza. The event will feature Detroit-style concession stands, Motown music, youth activities, and a Play 60 Zone. Like recent drafts before it, the 2024 NFL Draft should be watched nationwide with considerably high ratings as NFL fans everywhere aren’t only excited to see who their team will pick but also what the rest of the league will do to improve their rosters.
As I did last year, in this mock draft I will predict who each first-round pick will be. I will also provide analysis and statistics as to why each player was selected at the spot they were taken and why it made sense for that specific team to draft that player into their organization. This mock draft won’t include any draft day trades and will be using rosters updated as of April 23rd.
Without further ado, the Chicago Bears are on the clock!
1. Chicago Bears
top team needs: QB, OT, DE
QB Caleb Williams USC
Chicago finished last year with a 7-10 record but ended up getting the top pick in this year’s draft from Carolina due to the DJ Moore trade last year. Along with Moore, the Bears also picked up WR Keenan Allen in a trade with the LA Chargers this offseason, further bolstering their weapons for a future QB. After trading QB Justin Fields to the Steelers, the Bears will certainly be picking a QB with this 1st overall pick, and USC QB Caleb Williams is a clear frontrunner. Williams had a 3,633 yard, 42 total TD stat line in 2023 and an even better 4,537 yard 52 total TD stat line in his 2022 Heisman season. Williams’s arm strength and accuracy should make an immediate impact in Chicago’s rapid rebuild next season, but will he be enough to silence the Justin Fields loyalists?
2. Washington Commanders
top team needs: QB, OT, DE
QB Jayden Daniels LSU
One of the quickest risers up draft boards, LSU’s Jayden Daniels is easily the most versatile and athletic QB in this year’s draft class. Daniels was an Arizona State transfer before going to LSU and he ended up playing 5 years of collegiate football, giving him valuable experience. Last year was by far his best season, throwing for over 3,800 yards and rushing for over 1,000. He also had a spectacular TD/INT ratio, getting 50 total TD’s while only throwing 4 interceptions. Daniels should immediately improve Washington’s offense that has no #1 option at QB after sending Sam Howell to the Seahawks.
3. New England Patriots
top team needs: QB, OT, WR
QB Drake Maye North Carolina
It is highly likely that there will be three QB’s drafted with the top three picks in this year’s draft. This would be only the 4th draft in NFL history that this would occur, only after the 1971, 1999, and 2021 drafts. Like the Bears and Commanders, the Patriots traded away their previous young QB (Mac Jones). Jones will land as a backup QB to fellow 2021 draft class pick Trevor Lawrence while the Patriots are left with no true option at QB. After a failure to make a move for either Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson in the offseason, it is evident the Patriots will take a QB at 3. The question is whether they will take JJ McCarthy or Drake Maye at this spot if the top 2 picks are as I predicted. Despite New England being known to pick Michigan QB’s, I’m giving Maye the slight edge over McCarthy in that he is bigger, stronger, slightly more agile, and has been able to showcase his arm talent more at the college level. While not his fault, McCarthy played in a run-heavy offense. Maye’s UNC offense on the other hand ran through him and he rose to the occasion; amassing over 3,600 yards and 33 TD’s.
4. Arizona Cardinals
top team needs: WR, DE, CB
WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Ohio State
The Cardinals badly need a wide receiver in their struggling offense. Their current depth chart has no true #1 wide-out as they have Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, and Chris Moore listed as their current presumptive starters. Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State is heads and shoulders above the rest of the 2024 wide receivers as a draft prospect and the Cardinals shouldn’t even hesitate on picking him here. Harrison Jr. was a 2023 Heisman finalist and put up back-to-back 1,200+ yard seasons while also getting 14 TD’s in each season! That type of production is unheard of through a 12 game schedule and the Cardinals would be getting a potential future superstar if they were to select him.
5. Los Angeles Chargers
top team needs: WR, DE, OT
WR Rome Odunze Washington
Although the Cardinals got the first and best WR off the board in Harrison Jr, the Chargers are by far the team that needed a WR the most out of this draft. LA is losing both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the offseason and will go into this draft with arguably the worst WR room in the league. I believe it will be between Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers with this pick but I went with Odunze, the Washington prospect, because he’s a taller, slightly faster option for Herbert to throw to over the top. While maybe not as good a route runner as Nabers, Odunze still put up a 1,640-yard, 13-TD season at Washington last year and will make a much-needed immediate impact in LA for Justin Herbert’s offense.
6. New York Giants
top team needs: OT, QB, WR
OT Joe Alt Notre Dame
The Giants have the first “big decision” in this year’s draft. While the pick selections are up for debate in the top 5 picks the position should be pretty set in stone. However, when it comes to the Giants at 6, the rest of the draft could be determined by which route they decide to go. The two main options are to take a QB as Daniel Jones’ contract will run out or take an O-Lineman to help rebuild one of the league’s worst protecting units to help Jones. Although I could see them going either way with this, I think they will more likely pick the first offensive lineman off the board here. They paid Jones so much money and still have faith in him as an organization that he can win in the future. Alt will be an enormous (literally) help for the Giants to protect Jones. He is 6 ft 8, 315 pounds, and is extremely agile and quick on his feet. Although Alt is the big name O-Lineman in this draft, there are about 5-7 at the position that are of his caliber; this draft class is loaded with talented offensive lineman.
7. TennesseeTitans
top team needs: OT, CB, WR
OT JC Latham Alabama
Speaking of offensive lineman, JC Latham becomes the first Crimson Tide player to come off the board in Nick Saban’s final year. Latham will immediately improve the worst-graded offensive line in the league with his 6 ft 6, 360-pound frame. He could easily slide in as the week 1 left tackle to protect Will Levis. The other direction Tennessee could go with this pick would be at CB, but at this high, I don’t think a CB in this draft is that talented to be justifying drafting them in the top 10. While Latham isn’t the flashiest brand-name player in the draft, I think 5-10 years down the road Tennessee fans could look back at the draft and be extremely happy with this pick.
8. Atlanta Falcons
top team needs: DE, LB, OT
DE Dallas Turner Alabama
After signing Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney, and Ray-Ray McCloud in the offseason, Atlanta is quietly becoming a top offense in the NFC South. Their biggest struggles will be on the defensive side of the football, particularly in the fact that they have one of the weakest front 7 in the NFL. To combat this, Dallas Turner could make a mini-Alabama run in the draft here and help Atlanta out with his versatility to play both the defensive end and linebacker position. Turner is a fierce competitor who had a whopping 53 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 10 sacks last season as a junior. Turner is neck and neck with Verse and Latu as the top front- 7 player in the draft but Turner’s high ability to sack the QB will be enough to sway Atlanta to select him over the others.
9. Chicago Bears
top team needs: OT, DE, G/C
OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu Penn State
At 6 ft 6, 320 lbs, Fashanu is slightly smaller than Alt and Latham, but strong in his own right. The Bears drafted RT Darnell Wright out of Tennessee with the 10th overall pick last year and he has solidified the right side of the line. However, in order to help the future QB on both sides, the Bears will need a LT of the future as Braxton Jones is seen as more of a temporary placeholder until his contract expires to free agency. Fashanu could be a great value pick at #9 for this future LT spot and he has all the intangible skills to succeed for Chicago.
10. New York Jets
top team needs: OT, TE, QB
TE Brock Bowers Georgia
The Jets need another offensive weapon for Aaron Rodgers next season. They just got Mike Williams from the Chargers and have a plethora of running backs who can catch well, but the receiving core is still mediocre with just Garrett Wilson and Williams on the outside. Multi-talented, two-time national champion TE, Brock Bowers, would fit perfectly with this offensive makeup. Bowers would be able to help on inside, crossing, outside, and deep routes, and would be able to help protect Rodgers as a blocker as well, something that current TE Tyler Conklin has struggled with as part of his game. Bowers brings to the table three straight 700 + yard seasons as a TE and 31 total career TD’s in college.
11. Minnesota Vikings
top team needs: QB, CB, DT
QB J.J McCarthy Michigan
The first of two picks in this year’s draft for Minnesota, the Vikings will be picking McCarthy as the 4th QB taken off the board. Minnesota had a very disappointing 2023 season finishing tied with the Bears in the division after winning the NFC North the previous year. As disappointing as the regular season was, the offseason may be looking even worse for Vikings fans right now as Kirk Cousins is now an Atlanta Falcon. On the bright side, Minnesota signed Aaron Jones to be the next starting RB and the WR duo of Jefferson and Addison is one of the best in the league. McCarthy will be able to help with this offense as he could either start over the newly acquired QB Sam Darnold or start on the bench and become the starter of the future. While the defense needs help in all three levels, a top 4 QB is urgent for Minnesota with a poor current QB room. McCarthy brings agility, underrated arm strength, and arguably the best accuracy in this 2024 draft class as he only threw 11 interceptions COMBINED in his three-year career at Michigan. This lack of turnovers will pay dividends in the NFL and will likely be the reason McCarthy goes in the top 5 QB’s drafted.
12. Denver Broncos
top team needs: QB, DE, DT
DE Jared Verse Florida State
There may not be a team (besides the Panthers) in a worse draft position than the Denver Broncos. Denver was essentially forced to let go of QB Russell Wilson so they will no longer be able to say “Broncos country, let’s ride.” Wilson’s absence means the QB room currently includes Jarrett Stidham as the QB1 and Zach Wilson as QB2. The dilemma for Denver is that by picking #12 they will most certainly have the #5 QB in the draft class if they were to select one. Denver also needs help pretty much everywhere in the front 7 on defense as well. Weighing these options, I believe that come draft night Denver will trade down in the draft and gain additional assets as opposed to staying and reaching for a QB at 12, such as Michael Penix Jr or Bo Nix. However, since I’m not doing trades in this mock draft, I believe Denver could also pick a talented Defensive end to help out with their atrocious run defense, and that player would be Jared Verse. Verse’s determination and work ethic are unmatched in this draft class as he skyrocketed from the University of Albany to Florida State in just 2 years. Verse put up monster numbers once he was in the ACC, getting 9 sacks each of the last two seasons, with 88 tackles combined between the two years. Verse will have a big impact on Denver’s run defense scheme.
13. Las Vegas Raiders
top team needs: CB, DT, QB
CB Quinyon Mitchell Toledo
Another team potentially vying for a QB, Las Vegas has officially moved on from Jimmy G and straight into Aidan O’Connell. Poor DaVante Adams isn’t even playing with his Fresno State teammate Derek Carr anymore and instead has locked himself into a situation with a rocky QB battle. While many Raiders’ fans want the organization to look for a new franchise QB, O’Connell didn’t do too badly last year in the short sample size, and it is believed that he will continue to be tested this upcoming year, especially because they pick down at #13. With this being said, the Raiders need major help in their secondary (as they often do) and will do so by picking the speedy CB out of Toledo, Quinyon Mitchell. In a class loaded with CB talent, Mitchell stands out in that he ran a 4.33 40-yd dash while having exceptional route coverage skills to back up the speed. The concern with Mitchell is the lesser MAC competition, but the on-field skill should speak for itself and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he was the first CB off the board.
14. New Orleans Saints
top team needs: WR, DE, OT
WR Malik Nabers LSU
The Saints need another weapon for Derek Carr to throw to as their offense became stagnant down the stretch of the season, causing them to have a mediocre 9-8 record and to miss the playoffs. Nabers would be a steal in the middle picks and he would compliment Chris Olave perfectly in this spread-out New Orleans offense. Nabers had back-to-back 1,000 + yard seasons in 2022-2023 and had 14 TD’s in 2023 as well. His collegiate production will hopefully translate to the NFL as a lanky red zone target for Carr to throw the ball up to in contested tight window situations.
15. Indianapolis Colts
top team needs: DE, CB, WR
CB Nate Wiggins Clemson
The Colts were one of the most surprising teams last season because they finished with a winning record without their top draft pick QB Anthony Richardson. Eager to build upon this success, Colts fans may want them to double down on offense here and build more of a receiving core. If Nabers doesn’t go a pick earlier I think Indianapolis would pick him here, but there is an enormous drop off from the top 3 WR’s in this class and the Colts still need another CB badly. Wiggins is the only CB to run a faster 40 yd dash time than the aforementioned Quinyon Mithcell at 4.28. This pick would help solidify two quality starters in the Colts secondary and allow them to build a back end of the defense based on speed and aggressiveness to match the powerful front 7 they already have in place.
16. Seattle Seahawks
top team needs: DE, DL, G/C
DT Byron Murphy II Texas
Byron Murphy II is one of the most fun-to-watch defensive players in this draft and his attitude perfectly encapsulates what the Seahawks have branded their defensive style as. At 300 pounds, he is big enough to take on NFL offensive linemen, but he is only 6 ft so he will definitely be playing on the interior in the NFL. That means this pick makes even more sense for the Seahawks since they have only 1 nose tackle on their entire active roster as it is currently constructed. If he is still available when Seattle picks, I would be shocked to see them pass him by (although this is what I said about Jalen Carter last year and they let him slip to Philadelphia, so what do I know?).
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
top team needs: WR, OT, DE
OT Taliese Fuaga Oregon State
Jacksonville will be picking the 4th offensive tackle of the draft with this pick in Taliese Fuaga. Fuaga is 6 ft 6, 325 lbs, and has just over a 5-second 40-yard dash. One of the quickest o-lineman prospects, he will be able to efficiently protect Lawrence’s right side while Cam Robinson continues to protect his blind side. Last year’s first-round pick, RT Anton Harrison, struggled at times last season and could get moved into his natural position of interior guard. Adding Fuaga as an extra offensive line piece to a decent line already would give Lawrence and the Jags a huge advantage against other teams in the AFC South.
18. Cincinnati Bengals
top team needs: OT, DT, CB
DT Jer’Zhan Newton Illinois
Newton will be filling a much-needed hole in the Bengals defense at nose tackle. A Sheldon Rankins – BJ Hill duo is probably not sending fear into many opposing QB’s eyes as their speed and agility just are not there. Newton would be able to improve this core defensive tackle group with his ability to sack the QB at a high clip. Newton collected 18 total sacks over 4 years at Illinois and he also had 112 total tackles. I foresee Newton in a rotation with Rankins as the starting nose tackle opposite BJ Hill.
19. Los Angeles Rams
top team needs: CB, G/C, OT
CB Cooper DeJean Iowa
Coming off a surprising wild card playoff appearance in a supposed rebuild year, Sean McVay and the Rams are right back in the NFC hunt. The biggest issue last year in the regular season and in their playoff loss to Detroit was their secondary’s route coverage ability. Highly talented CB Cooper DeJean out of Iowa would help the Rams with this problem as a week 1 slot cover nickle-back type of starting CB.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers
top team needs: CB, OT, G/C
OT Troy Fautanu Washington
The o-lineman trend continues with the Steelers as Fautanu will become the 5th offensive tackle already picked up off the board. The Steelers have a need at CB opposite last year’s draft pick Joey Porter Jr. This is especially true after trading Cam Sutton to the Lions last year (who I will be talking about later). Despite these secondary struggles, I think the left tackle position is the most urgent. Dan Moore Jr. just hasn’t been cutting it when protecting Kenny Pickett, and now that Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will need a better option to protect for long scramble packages and designed runs. Fautanu presents a better option as he did just the thing for Michael Penix Jr’s designed runs and QB scrambles on deep fade routes.
21. Miami Dolphins
top team needs: OT, DE, G/C
DE Laiatu Latu UCLA
The Dolphins were one of the NFL’s hottest teams in the first three quarters of the season. However, once the calendar hit December, the usual winter curse plagued Miami. The Dolphins ended the season horrifically, especially with their run defense, and ended up not winning the division and losing 26-7 to the Chiefs, while their run defense struggled once more. Latu will be a quality addition to the defensive line and will hopefully for Miami fans get to Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers. Latu’s a big, strong, 6 ft 5, 265-pound man whose strength and speed allowed him to get double-digit sacks in each of the last two seasons, including 13 last year.
22. Philadelphia Eagles
top team needs: DE, CB, S,
DE Chop Robinson Penn State
Fletcher Cox’s absence in the front 7 of the Eagles’ defense will be sorely missed for Philadelphia. This, along with the fact that Brandon Graham will probably be next to go means that it’s time to find the next generation of defensive lineman for Philadelphia. The first d-lineman for the Eagles should be picked in the first round because they got CJ Gardner – Johnson and Darius Slay back for the secondary. Chop Robinson is an intriguing Penn State prospect that has experience and a versatile run/pass defensive coverage skillset to match perfectly with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter’s lack of experience. I think Robinson will be a big steal for Philadelphia this low in the draft.
23. Minnesota Vikings
top team needs: QB, CB, DT
CB Terrion Arnold Alabama
Since I have Minnesota taking a QB with their first pick, I believe that they will go on the opposite end of the spectrum with their second pick to address their many needs in the secondary, particularly at CB. With Mitchell, Wiggins, and DeJean off the board, Terrion Arnold becomes one of the next logical players to choose. While Arnold isn’t quite as fast as the previous three defensive backs already off the board, he was just as productive in the college game with a 5-interception, 63-tackle 2023 campaign.
24. Dallas Cowboys
top team needs: RB, G/C, DT
RB Jonathon Brooks Texas
Dallas came up short in the playoffs again and they have one glaring positional weakness heading into this year’s offseason: running back. Their current #1 RB on the depth chart is Rico Dowdle, with 5 ft 6 Deuce Vaughn as his backup. I know it’s the first round and teams don’t usually pick RB’s that high, but Dallas NEEDS the best RB they can find from this draft. That RB is fittingly enough a Texas player, Jonathon Brooks, who had a massive 2023 season. Brooks had over 1,100 rushing yards, 286 receiving yards, and 11 total touchdowns. His ability to be a power runner while also being able to catch the ball out of the backfield will be invaluable to the Cowboys now that Pollard is with the Titans.
25. Green Bay Packers
top team needs: CB, S, G/C
S Tyler Nubin Minnesota
It was another disappointing end to the season for the Packers in 2023 that came at the face of a familiar foe, the 49’ers. However, last year felt different for Green Bay fans. They were surprised at the success QB Jordan Love had and the young team as a whole improved as the season went on. Fans went into the offseason hopeful and ownership delivered more hope with a Josh Jacobs signing. The biggest holes left in this quick rebuild are at safety and left tackle. I think Green Bay will end up going the safety route however as they would now be picking the 6th left tackle off the board, whereas they could get the best safety now and a decent offensive lineman later. Additionally, current left tackle Rasheed Walker is only 24 years old and could get another year or two to see if he improves. Minnesota prospect Tyler Nubin is the safety I think Green Bay lands. Nubin is worlds ahead of any other safety in this draft class with 13 interceptions over 5 years in college, 204 total tackles, 11 pass deflections, and 3 forced fumbles. The turnovers are especially what I think will stand out to the Packers as their secondary has been towards the bottom of the league in this category in recent years.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
top team needs: DE, QB, CB
DE Chris Braswell Alabama
I think Tampa Bay will aim to get either Penix Jr or Nix in round 2 as a future QB to backup Baker Mayfield, but for now Mayfield has been doing fine, and he led them to a playoff win last season. Where Tampa Bay needs the most help is in their defensive line depth. Chris Braswell, yet another Alabama player, will definitely be able to make an impact with the Bucs out of the gate as he played every year in college at a high level. Braswell totaled 76 tackles in his 3 years, 4 forced fumbles, and 11 sacks (including 8 of them in the last year). Braswell is a threat to opposing offenses because he can be set up for Tampa Bay on the edge of the d-line or as an outside linebacker as well.
27. Arizona Cardinals
top team needs: WR, DE, CB
DE Austin Booker Kansas
Like Minnesota earlier, I think Arizona will elect to go with the offense’s biggest need first and then turn to the defenses. For the Cardinals, the defensive line pass rush is by far their biggest need. I picked them to get Will Anderson Jr. last year before there was the draft trade that gave the Texans the 3rd pick and Arizona this one because they needed defensive line help last year as well. Since it went un-addressed, it is important they get someone they can count on right away. I believe Booker can be that person for Arizona. Booker is 6 ft 6, 245 pounds. He is extremely agile laterally and he had a massive 56 tackle, 8 sack, 2 forced fumble stat line last year.
28. Buffalo Bills
top team needs: WR, CB, S
WR Brian Thomas Jr. LSU
Although all levels of the secondary, the interior defensive line and the interior offensive line are points of weakness with the Bills, it is their usual strong suit – wide receiver – that needs the most immediate attention. Stefon Diggs is now in Houston and Gabe Davis is in Jacksonville. With the top 3 WR’s gone so far, Buffalo needs to get someone at the end of the first round that other people may be sleeping on that they see #1 WR potential out of. For me, Malik Nabers’ LSU counterpart Brian Thomas Jr. is this “sleeper pick” that I would take if I was Buffalo’s GM. Despite playing second fiddle to Nabers, Thomas Jr still had a 68 reception, 1,177 receiving yard season with 17 touchdowns, the most by a WR in this mock draft. At 6 ft 4, Thomas Jr. will be a huge red zone presence for Buffalo for the upcoming future.
29. Detroit Lions
top team needs:CB,DT,G/C
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry Alabama
The second Alabama CB on this list, Kool-Aid McKinstry, will provide much-needed help at the CB spot for the Lions next year. I would be shocked if Detroit doesn’t pick a CB with their first-round pick considering Sutton and CJ Gardner-Johnson are gone now. McKinstry is a little slower laterally than some other CB’s higher up in this draft board, but he is still a terrific coverage guy, and he rarely gets stuck in one spot on a route. The Lions need a young and talented CB like McKinstry because their secondary has been slow in recent years and is just now reviving back up.
30. Baltimore Ravens
top team needs: LB, DT, OT
LB Junior Colson Michigan
Wow, talk about an offseason! It was a crushing loss to Kansas City in last year’s AFC Championship game for the Ravens, but to everyone’s surprise, they went out and got Derrick Henry from Tennessee for the next year. While Henry was a major addition to the team, Patrick Queen was a major subtraction to the linebacker core. Junior Colson is my pick for Baltimore because he is the top-rated true linebacker in the draft and because of the Harbaugh connection between brothers Jim and John that has brought many Michigan players to Baltimore in the past.
31. San Francisco 49’ers
top team needs: OT, DT, WR
DT Braden Fiske Florida State
San Francisco still has one of the deepest rosters in the league, but they do have a few glaring weaknesses that they need to address through the draft. If Aiyuk leaves, they will definitely need another WR, they need an offensive tackle to eventually replace future hall-of-famer Trent Williams, and they need to replace Arik Armstead in the interior of the defensive line. I think the interior defensive line is the most important to address first for the 49’ers because they run their heavy number of blitz packages through the nose tackles. Braden Fiske is someone whose energy level and attention to detail match what the 49’ers culture of accountability tries to teach its players. Fiske will be able to bring more pressure to the QB than the current Arik Armstead replacements would. He has 191 collegiate career tackles and 19.5 career sacks.
32. Kansas City Chiefs
top team needs: WR, OT, S
WR Ladd McConkey Georgia
Chiefs fans and the media are going crazy on the rumor that Kansas City wants to end round 1 by picking Xavier Worthy of Texas as a “Tyreek Hill part 2” with his world record 40-time. However, I don’t see Worthy helping the Chiefs’ real problem. Their problem is that the wide receivers that they do have can’t catch the ball and/or run routes correctly. Ladd McConkey fits this mold more. McConkey went to Georgia where his coach was always making sure he ran routes and caught properly, so he’d be perfect for Patrick Mahomes to throw to in the open field.
Caption: New San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman swinging
By Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
March 15, 2024
10. Detroit Tigers (B+)
Major Additions
SP Kenta Maeda
OF Mark Cahna
SP Jack Flaherty
RP Shelby Miller
RP Andrew Chafin
Starting off the top 10 is the Detroit Tigers, who did something that they haven’t done in a while, they had by far the best offseason of any AL Central team. The Royals and White Sox overhauled much of their rosters to build for the future, the Guardians made minimal changes to a mediocre roster, and the 2023 divisional champion Twins lost major pieces from their playoff team. Detroit added 4 quality veteran pitchers to an extremely young but talented staff. They took Maeda from Minnesota who will likely slide in behind Tarik Skubal as the number 2 guy in the rotation. They also signed Jack Flaherty from Baltimore. Flaherty will likely be the 3rd or 4th starting pitcher in the rotation; he has major upside as he was an all-star and consistent Cy Young candidate just a few years ago with St Louis before his rough 2023 campaign with the Orioles. If Flaherty can return to his previous form he will be a steal to a much improved Detroit rotation from 2023. Both Chafin and Miller will provide veteran leadership in a young bullpen that includes breakout stars from last season, set-up man Jason Foley, and closer Alex Lange. This will help them contend with the Twins’ and Guardians’ bullpens that have been some of the best in the league the last couple of years. Cahna is also a decent signing from Milwaukee who will likely play left field as a need fit opposite young outfield stars Riley Greene and Parker Meadows. Detroit will also likely bring up Colt Keith and Jace Jung, two top 100 MLB prospects, to bolster their weaker infield offense. The downside to the Tigers’ offseason is that they lost their ace Eduardo Rodriguez to Arizona, but it was unlikely he would resign after he declined his player option last season.
9. San Diego Padres (B+)
Major Additions
SP Dylan Cease
SP Michael King
C Kyle Higashioka
CP Woo-Suk Go
SP Randy Vasquez
RP Johny Brito
After paying massive contracts to a ton of players last season, San Diego has decided to use the Golden State Warriors’ strategy of moving on from a few stars in hopes of contending now while simultaneously building for the future. San Diego was involved in the biggest off-season trade as they sent OF Juan Soto and OF Trent Grisham to the Yankees in return for three quality young pitchers and catcher Kyle Higashioka. Although they lost two stars in the trade, Michael King and Randy Vasquez should make for a good 4 and 5 combo in the back end of their rotation, and Johnny Brito is one of the most promising young relief pitching prospects in the game. Higashioka is also a calculated signing as he becomes a bridge and mentor for 17-year-old catching phenom Ethan Salas who is quickly making his way through San Diego’s farm system. San Diego also lost Hader to the Astros and Lugo to the Royals but signed Korean pitcher Woo-Suk Go which will significantly help their bullpen. Ace pitcher Blake Snell is also gone to free agency but the Padres signed ex-White Sox ace Dylan Cease at the end of the offseason which will be a top-tier replacement in what will be a monster three-star rotation of Darvish, Musgrove, and Cease. If San Diego did not lose so many stars they would easily be in the top 3 off-seasons on this list.
8. Chicago Cubs (B+)
Major Additions
SP Shota Imanaga
RP Hector Neris
The Cubs’ main priority this offseason was to resign Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger. They did half of this goal by signing Bellinger last week. Bellinger pulled an inverse of Tim Anderson and had a career renaissance last year by having the 7th best average in MLB (.307), hitting 26 homers, and having 97 RBI’s. He hadn’t hit over .300 since his 47 home run 2019 MVP campaign. In fact, in the three seasons since his MVP season, he didn’t even hit over .240. This shocking resurgence with the Cubs should make Chicago fans excited for a potential repeat performance this year. On the other hand, ace pitcher Marcus Stroman has left for the Big Apple, but the Cubs pivoted in a big way by adding the 3rd best Japanese free-agent pitcher, Shota Imanaga who played for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. For the last 8 seasons he had over 1,000 strikeouts with a 3.18 ERA in that span. He should easily slot in as the opening day ace and will be a pivotal player in how this offseason is viewed by the end of the year.
7. Washington Nationals (A-)
Major Additions
OF Jesse Winker
1B/OF Joey Gallo
OF Eddie Rosario
3B Nick Senzel
CP Dylan Floro
The most underrated off-season has to be the Washington Nationals, who lost nobody and added a ton of talent. Washington won’t be able to contend this year, but don’t be surprised if in the next few seasons they become a sleeper team in the NL East. After winning the World Series in 2019, Washington shipped most of their expensive stars to other teams and they have been at the bottom of the National League for the past few seasons. However, they have done a great job drafting and will now likely bring up to the majors 2 top 15 prospects, outfielders Dylan Crews and James Wood. Along with these rookies, they added high-quality offensive talent this offseason with power hitters like Joey Gallo and Eddie Rosario as well as consistent contact hitter Jesse Winker. Nick Senzel will also slide in nicely at third base which has been their weakest position the past few seasons. Adding Dylan Floro from Miami also gives the Nationals another option for closer, which has been a very inconsistent role the past few years as well.
6. Seattle Mariners (A-)
Major Additions
2B Jorge Polanco
OF Mitch Haniger
C/DH Mitch Garver
1B/OF Luke Raley
3B Luis Urias
Seattle went all-in on offense and it could pay dividends for them in a division that had generally weak offseason transactions. Seattle was just 2 games behind the Astros and World Series Champion Rangers for first in the AL West but didn’t even make the playoffs, falling one game short of the Blue Jays for the final Wild Card spot. To get over this small hurdle they added talent throughout their lineup to combat their many free agent losses. Seattle lost two of their biggest power hitters in Eugenio Suarez and Teoscar Hernandez, so they resigned former Mariner Mitch Haniger from the Giants to be a power-hitting outfielder and signed rising star Luke Raley from Tampa to help the infield offense. Jorge Polanco is also a huge signing for Seattle because it will give them more consistent contact in a lineup that had the most strikeouts in the league last season and will also give them a good defensive middle infield opposite J.P Crawford. I could see Seattle in the top 3 or 4 of this list if they would have signed a pitcher as they lost Robbie Ray in the Mitch Haniger trade.
5. San Francisco Giants (A-)
Major Additions
3B Matt Chapman
CP Jordan Hicks
SP Robbie Ray
OF Jung-Hoo Lee
OF/DH Jorge Soler
After years of barely missing out on stars like Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, San Francisco finally hit on big-name free agents. 3B Matt Chapman was one of the biggest offensive signings of the offseason and paired with Miami pickup Jorge Soler in the middle of this order is going to be a scary sight for opposing pitchers and could leave a lot of balls in the bay. The Giants also signed Japanese star Jung-Hoo Lee who they are hoping will become their everyday Center Fielder for years to come. Lee is one of the youngest Japanese free agents this season at 25 and he has the 5-tool ability to become their franchise player. Robbie Ray and triple-digit hitting Jordan Hicks are also massive signings for San Francisco as they try to compete with the Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks, who all have phenomenal rotations. Despite these big moves, the Giants also lost quite a lot compared to the Dodgers and Diamondbacks as they lost 5 of their 6 starting pitchers in the offseason to free agency and trades. Simply adding Robbie Ray won’t fix their pitching depth issue.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks (A)
Major Additions
SP Eduardo Rodriguez
3B Eugenio Suarez
OF Joc Pederson
Fresh off an insanely surprising National League Championship, the Diamondbacks went into the offseason with a few goals. First of all, they wanted to re-sign many of their players from their World Series roster, which they did. Second, they wanted to improve upon their offense in free agency, which they did by adding Suarez and Pederson. And lastly, they wanted to add another starting pitcher to compete with the top-tier NL West pitching staffs, which they did by getting ex-Detroit ace Eduardo Rodriguez. Completing all three of these lofty goals earns Arizona the first straight A on this list. So why aren’t the Diamondbacks in the top 3? Because the teams in the top 3 had one move each that defined the 2024 offseason.
3. Baltimore Orioles (A)
Major Additions
SP Corbin Burnes
CP Craig Kimbrel
Baltimore made an enormous splash this offseason on February 1st when they traded for former Cy Young Award-winning ace Corbin Burnes. After years of building up their farm system but having subpar MLB seasons, all the player development paid off last year when a young homegrown core lineup of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Ryan Mountcastle led Baltimore to an AL East title and an overall 1 seed. Baltimore has even more top prospects coming through the system in the near future like Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, and Colton Cowser, but these are position players. Burnes should be a solidified number 1 for Baltimore to help balance their team out and adding Craig Kimbrel as a closer will give Baltimore a complete team with very few holes for the upcoming season.
2. New York Yankees (A)
Major Additions
OF Juan Soto
SP Marcus Stroman
OF Trent Grisham
OF Alex Verdugo
It’s no surprise that New York used their outrageously high payroll and marketability to attract free agents and trade pieces this offseason, but it’s who they got and for what cost that ranks them this high on the list. First, they landed the top offensive player on the trade market in Juan Soto while only giving up a few young pitchers that haven’t performed remarkably well for the Yankees. In the same trade, they got Trent Grisham and then later got Alex Verdugo from the arch-rival Red Sox. All of these signings will pair well with Aaron Judge and should create the top outfield/DH quartet in baseball. Because New York gave up 3 pitchers in the Soto/Grisham trade as well as Luis Severino, they needed a bona fide number 2 pitcher to go behind Gerrit Cole who will be out one to two months with a right elbow injury. They found their guy in Marcus Stroman who had a career year in Chicago last season. All in all, the Yankees had the best off-season in the American League, in my opinion, and should compete with Baltimore for an AL East crown this season, but it still was not enough to nab the top spot on this list.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (A+)
Advanced
Major Additions
SP/DH Shohei Ohtani
SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
SP Tyler Glasnow
OF/DH Teoscar Hernandez
SP James Paxton
OF Manuel Margot
This wasn’t really a question. The top offseason belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it’s not even remotely close. The Dodgers won the Ohtani sweepstakes and didn’t have to give up anything to get him through free agency. While this alone might have put them at #1 on this list, they also signed Japanese all-star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a long-term deal. Yamamoto would be an ace on half the teams in MLB, and coupling him with Ohtani is just unfair. If this wasn’t enough, the Dodgers then got more pitching by acquiring James Paxton from Boston. After that, they executed a massive trade to get another top-tier pitcher from Tampa Bay: Tyler Glasnow, while also adding Manuel Margot from Tampa to gain outfield depth. Even with Ohtani not being able to pitch this season as he recovers from an elbow injury, the starting pitching staff will include a plethora of options including Yamamoto, Glasnow, Paxton, Bobby Miller, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw. Additionally, after losing J.D Martinez and Kiki Hernandez to free agency, they shored up the outfield by adding power-hitting Teoscar Hernandez from Seattle. This offseason is a classic example of the rich getting richer, much richer in the Dodgers case. However, baseball is a 162-game season and anything can happen in the playoffs. Dodgers fans have become way too familiar with this in the recent seasons since their 2020 World Series Championship. We’ll see if these blockbuster moves finally push the Dodgers over the championship hump.
Which team do you think had the best off-season, and which moves will help teams contend for the 2024 World Series title?
Caption: New Houston Astros closer Josh Hader pitching
By Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
March 15, 2024
20. Milwaukee Brewers (C)
Major Additions
1B Rhys Hoskins
RP DL Hall
C Gary Sanchez
SP Jakob Junis
INF Joey Ortiz
On one hand, the Brewers acquired a few good players on the free agent market this offseason to help their offensive struggles. On the other hand, they lost their top three rotation pieces and 4 of their best offensive weapons, which I think results in an overall net loss. Ace pitcher Corbin Burnes is now an Oriole, Brandon Woodruff is a free agent, and Adrian Houser signed with the Mets. These are obviously huge losses but Milwaukee couldn’t avoid them leaving and they ended up getting a decent haul back with Jakob Junis from San Francisco and reliever DL Hall from Baltimore. Offensively, they lost Carlos Santana and Rowdy Tellez but picked up Rhys Hoskins from Philadelphia which will be a significant defensive and more consistent offensive upgrade at first base. Mark Cahna is now a Detroit Tiger and Jesse Winker is now with the Washington Nationals so the Brewers’ outfield is also depleted. To combat this, the top prospect in their organization, Jackson Chourio, will likely slide into the outfield at some point during the season. Overall, the Brewers will likely take a huge step back this year after winning the division last season but can easily get back on top in a year or two with the additions and prospects that they’ve acquired.
19. Texas Rangers (C)
Major Additions
RP Kirby Yates
RP David Robertson
Fresh off their first-ever World Series title, Texas loses some significant players from their roster including catcher Mitch Garver, starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, and relievers Will Smith and Aroldis Chapman. The Rangers did a great job at replacing their relief pitching losses by getting Kirby Yates from the Braves and David Robertson from the Marlins. They have top pitching prospects Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, and Brock Porter in their farm system but they are far away from being ready for MLB, and adding another starting pitcher to their veteran pitching staff this offseason would have been helpful with Montgomery gone.
18. Oakland A’s (C)
Major Additions
SP Ross Stripling
SP Alex Wood
INF Abraham Toro
OF Miguel Andujar
The A’s were definitely the worst team last year but they made minor improvements with their pickups in the offseason. They are still very much in a rebuild and can’t afford big free agents so the Toro and Andujar signings were about the best they could do for offense. Both players are relatively consistent hitters who could also give a little pop to the top of the A’s lineup. While Wood and Stripling aren’t household names, they will be much more reliable 3rd and 4th starters than Trevor May and James Kaprielian were. The A’s also didn’t lose many players and slide towards the middle of the rankings with a solid C because the players they got won’t help them get significantly better right away.
17. Cincinnati Reds (C+)
Major Additions
3B Jeimer Candelario
SP/RP Nick Martinez
RP Emilio Pagan
RP Frankie Montas
Similar to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati is notorious for spending very little money on free agents in the offseason. This season was a little different as they paid for 4 major additions to the team. The young Reds pitching staff and talented prospects in the Reds infield will be bolstered by veteran corner infielder Jeimer Candelario and the relief pitching staff will get huge boosts from Martinez, Pagan, and Montas. In my opinion, the biggest fault for this Reds’ offseason was that they overpaid for the quality of the players they were getting instead of making one huge free-agent splash that could have helped them more in the future seasons.
16. Kansas City Royals (C+)
Major Additions
CP Will Smith
RP Seth Lugo
2B Adam Frazier
SP Michael Wacha
OF Hunter Renfroe
MI Garrett Hampson
SP Chris Stratton
The Royals have had one of the sneakiest good off-seasons. They lost franchise legend Zack Greinke to free agency but he is the only starter who has been removed. Meanwhile, on the additions side they have significantly improved their poor pitching staff with veteran starters Michael Wacha and Chris Stratton and top tier relievers Seth Lugo and Will Smith. Adam Frazier will also pair well defensively with Bobby Witt Jr. in the middle infield and Garrett Hampson is another defensive presence that could add infield depth. Lastly, Hunter Renfroe will help provide some pop in the middle of the lineup. Going forward, the Royals will have to figure out a way to blend these off-season veteran additions with the young prospects that they’ve acquired over the past few seasons.
15. St. Louis Cardinals (B-)
Major Additions
SP Sonny Gray
SP Lance Lynn
SP Kyle Gibson
SS Brandon Crawford
RP Andrew Kittredge
St Louis had one of the worst pitching staffs in the league last season and they made it a top priority in the offseason to improve it. Adding Gray from Minnesota, Gibson from Baltimore, and Lynn from Los Angeles (Dodgers) gives them a much improved starting rotation along with Miles Mikolas and Drew Rom. They have also gained a quality relief pitcher from the Rays in Andrew Kittredge and a veteran presence for the young offense to turn to in 3-time World Series champion shortstop Brandon Crawford. The Cardinals only lost Adam Wainwright to retirement and Tyler O’Neill to Boston this offseason. Wainwright was 40-years-old and would likely not have been as productive anymore; and as good as O’Neill can be, he was slumping last year and had a horrible relationship with the St Louis front office. While the pitching staff is way better now, another problem is that they are all over 34 years old, making another pitching rebuild inevitable in the near future for St. Louis.
14. Atlanta Braves (B-)
Major Additions
SP Chris Sale
OF Jarred Kelenic
RP Reynaldo Lopez
The Braves have one of the best rosters in MLB so there’s not much else they needed to get this off-season, but they are betting on players who had unique situations last year. First, they got Boston’s starting pitcher Chris Sale who was one of the best pitchers in the league throughout the mid-2010s but has been battling numerous arm injuries over the past 3 seasons with Chicago and Boston. He is reported to be fully healthy for the first time since 2020 and will be needed as a 5th starter with Michael Soroka now on the White Sox. Second, they are taking a flyer on former top Mariners’ prospect, outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who will replace Eddie Rosario in the outfield depth chart. Atlanta hopes he begins to fulfill his original hype as a prospect. The flame-throwing Reynaldo Lopez will also be sufficient in replacing Kirby Yates at the back end of the bullpen. The Braves had a solid offseason but can’t move into the top 10 on this list without a major star signing like some of the other National League playoff teams did.
13. Boston Red Sox (B-)
Major Additions
SP Lucas Giolito
OF Tyler O’Neill
2B Vaughn Grissom
CP Liam Hendricks
The Red Sox made some major moves this offseason to help better their position in the gauntlet of the AL East. First, they signed former White Sox/Angels starting pitcher Lucas Giolito who would likely have been their number 1 or 2 pitcher until having Tommy John this past week. They lost Sale and James Paxton but Giolito would be much better at this stage of his career than both of them. Boston also gained the second-best relief pitcher on the free agent market in Liam Hendricks which means they will likely cut Kenley Jansen which could potentially open them up to signing Jordan Montgomery or Blake Snell as another free agent bonus to their pitching staff. Boston also lost DH Justin Turner and outfielders, Alex Verdugo and Adam Duvall. To combat this loss they signed Tyler O’Neill from the aforementioned Cardinals. O’Neill has struggled hitting for average the last couple of seasons but this could be a product of the poor relationship with the St Louis management and the clear lack of effort that O’Neill gave as a result, similar to the James Harden situation. If Boston can get him to play like he did in 2021 when he hit .286 with 35 home runs and 80 RBI’s, then they will have yet another power bat in a lineup with an already powerful top half. The weakest spot for Boston last season was 2nd base where Emmanuel Valdez played a mediocre defense and a sub-par offense. With Trevor Story moving to shortstop after the Xander Bogaerts’ trade to San Diego, former Brave Vaughn Grissom will likely slide into the second base spot. Grissom is only 23 and has a lot of upside to be an everyday player for the Red Sox in the future. Overall, Boston had an above-average offseason but didn’t hit on a huge free agent like the top two AL East teams did.
12. Houston Astros (B)
Major Additions
CP Josh Hader
Houston didn’t make many moves this offseason, but the one they did was giant as they signed the most dominant closer in MLB, Josh Hader, to a 5-year deal. Hader actually started his career with the Houston minor league system but never reached the majors with them before being traded to the Brewers for a package deal that included former all-star outfielder Carlos Gomez. The Brewers clearly won the trade as Gomez declined while Hader quickly became one of the most intimidating pitchers in all of baseball to face over the next 7 seasons in Milwaukee. Even after losing Hector Neris to Chicago, Houston should now have one of the best relief staffs by adding Hader to a bullpen with another all-star, Ryan Pressly. Houston is still outside of the top 10 in terms of their offseason however because they lost Michael Brantley to retirement and will now have a major hole that they did not address in the outfield.
11. New York Mets (B)
Major Additions
SP Sean Manaea
SP Luis Severino
INF Joey Wendle
OF Harrison Bader
SP Adrian Houser
The Mets had the weaker of the two off-seasons in New York, but it may be a good thing that they for once did not spend a ton of money on free agents. That strategy did not work out at all last season as they massively underachieved, finishing in 4th in the NL East. Trading much of their pitching staff at the trade deadline last year, the Mets did not lose anyone of significance in this year’s off-season. To round out the starting rotation they got Manaea from San Francisco, Severino from the Yankees, and Houser from Milwaukee. These are all solid signings who only raise real concerns regarding their frequent injuries. The Mets also mildly improved their offense by adding infield and outfield depth in Joey Wendle and Harrison Bader.
Caption: New Miami Marlins Shortstop Tim Anderson fielding a ground ball
By Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
March 15, 2024
It has been an extremely eventful offseason in Major League Baseball (MLB). A multitude of superstar free agents have been on the move, previously mediocre teams have made trades that have suddenly turned them into contenders, and an abnormally high number of prospects will reach the big leagues as rookies after Spring Training. To break down the 2024 MLB offseason, I have graded each team’s moves and ranked the team’s off-seasons based on how much I think their decisions will positively or negatively impact them.
Spring training games started a few weeks ago on February 22nd and will go on for a week and a half until March 26th. Some of the biggest free agents remaining include starting pitchers Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove who could help many of the teams that are currently lower on this list in their off-season moves. Once opening day hits on March 28th, we will begin to see just how each team’s off-season moves will truly help them.
30.Los Angeles Angels (F)
Major Additions
OF Aaron Hicks
1B Evan White
RP Jose Cisnero
This was one of the easiest teams to rank on this list as the Angels had a franchise-altering off-season after losing two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani to the cross-town Dodgers. While remaining in the Ohtani sweepstakes for a brief moment in the offseason, it soon became clear that the Angels weren’t going to be able to compete with the Dodgers. Losing Ohtani means that the Angels have lost arguably the most globally recognizable player in baseball. Potentially even worse, it also means that they have wasted an enormous opportunity by not making the playoffs a single time while having two of the greatest baseball players of all time on their roster (Ohtani and Trout).
29. Miami Marlins (D-)
Major Additions
SS Tim Anderson
UTIL Vidal Brujan
After being a surprising team and sneaking into the playoffs last year, the Marlins’ off-season was surprisingly lackluster to say the least. While the rest of the National League East made a plethora of trades and free agent signings, Miami only added Shortstop Tim Anderson from the White Sox, and Vidal Brujan, a utilityman and base stealing threat from Tampa Bay, who will likely be used off the bench. Anderson is the more interesting of the two additions as he will slide in as the everyday starter immediately and will be looking to bounce back from his horrendous 2023 campaign in which he batted a mediocre .245, had just 1 home run, and had a minuscule 25 rbi’s from the leadoff spot in Chicago’s batting order. What’s unique about Anderson is that he batted over .300 in 4 consecutive seasons for Chicago from 2019-2022 before last year, so if Miami can get that type of production from him then their offseason could prove this ranking wrong. However, Anderson’s unpredictable performance coupled with the fact that Miami also lost pivotal pieces from last year’s playoff team, including Jorge Soler, Joey Wendle, and Yuli Gurriel, makes me question why they didn’t try to get another piece or two to help bolster their roster and build more upon last year’s surprising success.
28. Colorado Rockies (D-)
Major Additions
SP Cal Quantrill
C Jacob Stallings
If it weren’t for the Oakland Athletics playing so poorly that fans thought a historic loss record could potentially be broken, then the Rockies would have surely been the worst team in baseball last year. In the 2000’s, Colorado had stars like Ubaldo Jimenez, Troy Tulowitzki, and Todd Helton. Then, in the 2010’s, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story took them back to the playoffs. But the present-day Rockies are severely lacking any real star power, with 32-year-old Kris Bryant being their most recognizable player. Although they are in a rebuild, their farm system isn’t helping the problem either, as they have been consistently ranked in the bottom 5 in the league for the past few seasons. With that being said, while Colorado didn’t lose anybody big from their roster like a few other teams this low on the list, they also barely did anything to improve it either. Their only moves came in first signing Cal Quantrill from Cleveland, who could potentially become their ace. They also signed 2021 Gold Glove Winner Jacob Stallings from Miami, who had a good year last year with the Marlins. However, adding a catcher was confusing in my opinion as out of anybody in Colorado’s lineup, 2023 all-star game MVP, catcher Elias Diaz was by far the most productive. Unfortunately for Colorado, the other 4 NL West teams’ off-seasons rank in the top 10 on this list.
27. Minnesota Twins (D)
Major Additions
SP Anthony DeSclafini
DH Carlos Santana
Last season’s American League Central champions lost a lot of players this offseason and didn’t add much in return. Two of their top pitchers, Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda are now gone, one of them (Maeda) within their own division. To compensate, the Twins nabbed DeSclafini from the Giants. Desclafini’s career has fallen off significantly since leaving Cincinnati and he isn’t nearly a quality replacement for both Maeda and Gray at the top end of their rotation. To make matters worse, Jorge Polanco is on Seattle now leaving a gaping hole across from Correa at second base. The Polanco loss is extremely important because Correa, Royce Lewis, and Byron Buxton are now Minnesota’s most productive bats, and all three of them are severely injury prone. The only notable offensive player the Twins signed this offseason was about as far away from a young second baseman as humanly possible: 37-year-old DH Carlos Santana.
26. Tampa Bay Rays (D)
Major Additions
SP Ryan Pepiot
RP Tyler Alexander
INF Jose Caballero
The Rays’ ability to win with the lowest payroll in the league will be put to the test this season as they are yet another case of losing a lot and gaining little in return. Tampa Bay got hit hard by big-city market teams, losing their ace, Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot to the L.A. Dodgers, and closer Andrew Kittredge to St Louis. Like the Twins, the Rays also lost someone important to last year’s playoff run to Seattle, power hitting first baseman Luke Raley. Tampa’s offense and pitching will be taking a hit with these losses. The Pepiot signing as part of the Glasnow trade should help build a deeper pitching staff but not necessarily a top-15 staff in the league. Caballero is also an interesting prospect from Seattle’s system and he will most likely be used in a platoon at shortstop with veteran Amed Rosario now that Wander Franco is gone. Caballero will have to improve hitting wise though if he expects to make up for the massive Margot and Raley losses to the Tampa lineup.
25. Toronto Blue Jays (D)
Major Additions
1B Joey Votto
OF Kevin Kiermaier
UTIL Isiah Kiner-Falefa
DH Daniel Vogelbach
3B/DH Justin Turner
In my opinion, while not the worst offseason on this list, Toronto made the most perplexing moves. Besides adding Kevin Kiermaier, the Blue Jays went all-in on offense and power this offseason. They got Canadian-born Joey Votto as a free agent from the Reds, Vogelbach from the Mets, and Justin Turner from the Red Sox. Although they will definitely hit some home runs, all of these free agents are very similar players playing similar positions. The Blue Jays also lost some of their best players, including star 3B Matt Chapman, pitchers Hyun Jin Ryu and Jordan Hicks, and 2B Whit Merrifield. Toronto didn’t address any of the holes left by the offensive players they lost and instead picked players at the same positions as Vladimir Guerrero. They also didn’t improve their starting or relief pitching staffs.
24. Cleveland Guardians (D+)
Major Additions
RP Scott Barlow
C Austin Hedges
Cleveland addressed a major need in the back half of their bullpen by adding former Royals closer Scott Barlow to presumably be their set up man, which will give them one of the best 8th-9th inning combos in baseball with Barlow-Clase. Hedges is also a nice piece as a veteran catcher for this Guardians lineup. Despite these nice moves, Cleveland didn’t make any significant trades or free agent signings that will make their offense or starting pitching better, which were by far their two biggest needs last season. If Cleveland would have gotten at least one big name free agent then they could easily be considered a favorite to win the Central with the Twins having such a poor offseason and the division being the definitively worst in MLB. However, their offense will most likely stay stagnant with the current lineup which will not help them against the Tigers’ young up-and-coming pitching staff.
23. Pittsburgh Pirates (D+)
Major Additions
CP Aroldis Chapman
C Yasmani Grandal
1B/DH Rowdy Tellez
SP Martin Perez
SP Marco Gonzales
The Pirates have one of the best farm systems in MLB but hate to spend money. So what did they do? They signed 5 veterans to relatively short and cheap deals to help the upcoming youth. These deals strengthen their immediate future, but similar to Cleveland, I wish they would have done more this offseason to help them realistically compete in a wide-open NL Central race. I legitimately think anyone could win that division and the Pirates didn’t do nearly enough to help them compete in the long term. Gonzales and Perez will be top-end rotation guys which will make for a mediocre rotation at best. Tellez and Grandal will hit home runs but won’t do much in terms of hitting consistently for average.
22. Chicago White Sox (C-)
Major Additions
SP Chris Flexen
SP Eric Fedde
C Max Stassi
SP Michael Soroka
INF Nicky Lopez
SS Paul DeJong
OF Kevin Pillar
The White Sox went into almost a complete roster overhaul this offseason. They lost inconsistent shortstop Tim Anderson to Miami and replaced him with ex-Cardinal Paul DeJong. They also lost two of their best relievers, Liam Hendriks and Bryan Shaw but didn’t gain any better relievers back. They added Soroka from the Braves, Flexen from the Rockies and Fedde from the Nationals to their starting pitching staff, but lost better starters in Aaron Bummer, Mike Clevinger, and perennial all-star ace Dylan Cease. Overall, the White Sox management clearly sees a new vision and a complete rebuild in the future, but it’ll just take a while for them to get their team back into contention in the AL Central.
21. Philadelphia Phillies (C-)
Major Additions
2B Whit Merrifield
Philadelphia has had major playoff success in 2022 and 2023 and after probably the most boring offseason on this list, they have essentially kept the same team this year. They first locked down their ace pitcher Aaron Nola by resigning him for a 7-year deal. Then, they got professional contact hitter Whit Merrifield to help at a variety of positions. The main reason the Phillies rank so low is because they failed to sign Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto who they were heavily linked to in free agent discussions. They also lost both first baseman Rhys Hoskins and closer Craig Kimbrel. Because of this, Bryce Harper will most likely have to play first base again since they didn’t sign a new player at that position. This will severely weaken their outfield depth and defense with Schwarber and Castellanos on the corners. The Kimbrel loss is also big as the rest of their bullpen is relatively weak and was not addressed this offseason.
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
February 6, 2024
Overview
The 2023-2024 NFL season has been one filled with many intriguing storylines and surprises. Many teams that were predicted to be good this season have fallen short with season-ending quarterback injuries (Jets, Vikings, Bengals). Other teams had surprise playoff success with emerging stars, such as the Rams with rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua and the Texans with rookie quarterback C.J Stroud. Heading into the playoffs this season it felt like many teams had a realistic shot to make a deep run or possibly win it all.
AFC Playoff Storyline
In the AFC, two contenders with promising regular seasons, the Dolphins and Browns, collapsed in their losses in the AFC playoffs. Both games were similar, the Browns and Dolphins kept it close in the first halves, but then couldn’t stop the opposing offenses from scoring in the second half. With the Bills convincingly beating the 7-seeded Steelers, and the Ravens having a bye for being the top seed, the divisional round was set with the 4 AFC divisional winners.
In the NFC, two teams that had a chance in the playoffs but had disappointing ends to their seasons were the NFC East playoff representatives, the Eagles, and the Cowboys. The Eagles started the season with a hot 10-1 record before losing to the eventual NFC champion 49’ers. After that 42-19 loss, the Eagles ended the season losing 6 of their last 7, including a 32-9 upset blowout loss to Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers in the first round. Meanwhile, the Cowboys won 7 of their last 9 games before losing to the 7-seeded Packers in the first round, 48-32.
With these two contenders eliminated, the Detroit Lions continued their improbable season with victories over the Rams and Buccaneers to reach the NFC Championship game. However, the 1-seeded 49’ers ended up rising to the occasion with two huge second halves in their come-from-behind wins against both young teams that overachieved expectations this season, the Packers and Lions.
The 49’ers winning the NFC means a 2020 Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs. Two of the biggest storylines of the season (Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship and Brock Purdy’s continued underdog story) will be going head-to-head in the media world. On the field, the matchup should be even more intriguing with each team having many strengths and weaknesses that I discuss next.
AFC Champion: Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City quarterback, Patrick Mahomes
Strengths
The Chiefs are going into this Super Bowl with a newfound confidence that they haven’t had all season. Their offense has been rolling in these playoffs, scoring an improved 23.3 PPG, but it’s their defense that has been their biggest strength in the playoffs and throughout the year. In the playoffs, the defense has given up just 13.3 PPG and only 4 touchdowns in three games. The front seven of Kansas City’s defense has been specifically good at pass rushes, which is what they must continue to be good at in the Super Bowl if they want to have success against Brock Purdy and his plethora of skill players.
Patrick Mahomes is obviously another strength for the Chiefs; not only because of his accuracy and ability to make clutch plays, but also because of the Super Bowl experience that he has under his belt. Mahomes’ connection to Travis Kelce will also be a strength for the Chiefs. Kelce and Mahomes have tremendous chemistry and have now connected for more playoff touchdowns than any other duo in NFL history, including 49’ers’ greats Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.
Weaknesses
On the other hand, Kansas City dropped to the third seed this season for a few reasons, which will be the same weaknesses that they need to address and overcome in this Super Bowl matchup: dropped passes from wide receivers and penalties. The dropped passes by the wide receivers have been an enormous problem this season for the Chiefs. It hasn’t been just one receiver either that has been responsible for this problem but almost the entire depth chart besides rookie Rashee Rice. Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore, and even Travis Kelce have had problems hanging on to the football this year. This problem has resulted in a league- high 44 dropped passes compared to their opponent, the 49’ers, who coincidentally have the league’s fewest dropped passes with 9.
The penalties are also a big problem that the Chiefs need to control in the Super Bowl. Usually a very disciplined team under head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs rank 2nd, only behind Dallas, in offensive holding calls, and 8th in pass interference penalties. These are two big areas that they need to clean up before going up against an already potent defensive line and wide receiving core.
The rushing attack of San Francisco will also be a challenge for Kansas City as McCaffrey was the league’s leading rusher this season, and as mentioned earlier, is also a lethal weapon to catch the ball out of the backfield. Head coach Kyle Shanahan’s run-pass-option style of offense has also benefitted the run game behind blockers, all-pro Left tackle Trent Williams, and receivers Jauan Jennings and George Kittle.
Lastly, the pass rush of the 49’ers’ front seven has been one of the best in the league all season. Bosa and Young have teamed up to make a dynamic duo setting the edge, while Hargrave and Armstead have returned from injury good as new and have stepped up in the playoffs by stuffing the run game. This is going to be a key component in the Super Bowl matchup as the Chief’s ability to balance the offense with running back Isiah Pacheco has been one of the reasons their offense has sprung back to life over the last month and a half. Along with this pro-bowl caliber D-Line, linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner have had fantastic seasons both in pass coverage and rushing the quarterback, and both will be needed in this matchup to spy on Patrick Mahomes’ running ability.
Weaknesses
Despite the abundance of weapons San Francisco has, they have two main weaknesses that could prove to be their downfall if they don’t fix them before the Super Bowl. Their first weakness is their reduced production in the secondary, particularly from the safety position. With second-year pro-bowl Strong Safety Talanoa Hufanga out for the season, the 49’ers have had to come up with mix-match solutions all year. Rookie Ji-Ayir Brown, Isiah Oliver, Ambry Thomas, and even formerly retired Logan Ryan have stepped in to fill the role. What has resulted from this has been inconsistent play over the middle of the field and plenty of big yardage catches in zone coverage. This was particularly the case in the last two wins against the Lions and Packers where Jared Goff and Jordan Love exposed the 49’ers secondary for easy touchdowns in the first halves. If the 49’ers don’t fix this problem it will be difficult to beat the Chiefs who have been exposing defenses over the middle of the field with Kelce and Rice.
The second major weakness of the 49’ers is their kicking game. Rookie kicker Jake Moody has had an up-and-down season with an 84% regular season field goal percentage, which ranks 24th in the NFL. He also has a missed field goal in each postseason game. Overall, the inconsistency and inexperience compared to their past kicker, veteran Robbie Gould, and Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker, is an issue if they have to rely on kicking down the stretch of the Super Bowl.
Conclusion
In my opinion, because the 49’ers and Chiefs both have balanced and deep rosters on both sides of the ball, this Super Bowl will come down to which team makes the fewest mistakes with their biggest weaknesses. If Mahomes and the Chiefs can expose the 49’ers secondary and limit their dropped passes then I believe they can definitely win this game. However, the 49’ers could just as easily win if they tighten up their zone coverage over the middle of the field and take advantage of Chiefs’ penalties which have been a problem for them all season.
Caption: USC QB Caleb Williams winning the 2022 Heisman Trophy.
By Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.
November 18, 2023
Background Info on The Current Heisman Race
Last college football season, I did a breakdown towards the end of the year on the major Heisman candidates and predicted that USC QB Caleb Williams would be the winner. Williams ended up winning the Heisman, despite losing to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. Heading into the 2023-2024 season he was the betting favorite to repeat as the Heisman winner. However, despite his impressive 2023 individual statistics, Williams’ ability to repeat as Heisman winner has vanished quickly as his team has accumulated 4 losses. With Williams out of the picture, new candidates have emerged and there should be a tight race down the stretch between the four major candidates. With two games remaining, there is plenty of time for candidates to make up or lose ground in the race. Below, I’ll break down how each of the 4 candidates have performed so far this season, what their biggest weaknesses are, and what they each need to do to win this year’s Heisman award.
Jayden Daniels has proven to be one of the most electrifying players to watch in college football this season. LSU’s captain is in his second year with the program after transferring from Arizona State in 2022 and he is posting massive career highs and improvements this season compared to last year. His passer rating is up 55 points from 2022, giving him a career high, and ranking him 1st in the FBS in passer rating. He also currently has career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, and completion percentage. Daniels ranks 1st in the FBS in passing touchdowns and total touchdowns, is 7th in the FBS in completion percentage, and is 3rd in the FBS in passing yards, making him one of only two players (along with Bo Nix) in the FBS to be ranked in the top 10 in all of these categories. Daniels is also the most prolific running quarterback on this list as well, giving him an extra edge over his opposing candidates in that regard.
Overall, Daniels probably has the most impressive statistics on this list, and his remaining schedule is the easiest out of the 4 candidates, as he is the only person who doesn’t have to play a ranked team down the stretch. However, Daniels’ biggest weakness is that LSU has 3 losses and has absolutely no shot of making the CFP, whereas the other three candidates are all undefeated or have 1 loss and are ranked in the top 10. To win the Heisman, Daniels will have to have monster statistical games in his last two contests. I believe he can pull this off as he threw for over 600 yards against Florida last week and could have similar impressive statistics the next two weeks to win the committee over.
McCarthy has taken a huge leap forward in his junior year as a leader and as a player. The Michigan captain has to deal with UM scandals in recruiting violations and sign stealing that have currently sidelined head coach Jim Harbaugh for a total of 6 games, and will keep him from coaching against Maryland and Ohio State. Despite this drama, McCarthy has pushed through to give one of the most impressive season performances in college football. He ranks 2nd in completion percentage and 3rd in passer rating, along with only throwing 3 interceptions all season (all of which came against Bowling Green). McCarthy has also led Michigan to an undefeated record and a crucial top 10 matchup victory over Penn State.
McCarthy’s biggest weakness is that Michigan’s run game with RB Blake Corum is being used more this year than it has ever been since McCarthy took over the starting QB role. For example, against Penn State, Michigan ran the ball a total of 46 times, including 19 straight times in the second half. McCarthy didn’t complete a single pass in the entire second half as the run game was working extremely effectively. While McCarthy has proven to be an accurate and powerful thrower, the rushing attack has limited some of his stats, ranking him just 44th in passing yards and 33rd in passing touchdowns. In my opinion, McCarthy can overcome these low stats to win the Heisman, but will need to win the last two games and be the difference maker in the game against Ohio State.
Nix’s biggest and only weakness in his candidacy is his week 6 loss to Penix. While the 5 candidates on this list can all win the Heisman, Nix has a clear-cut path if he can win the last two games and beat Penix in the Pac 12 championship game.
Despite his many pros, Penix also has a few weaknesses. First, he is the worst rushing QB on this list by a long shot, carrying the ball only 20 yards all season, for a total of -27 yards! Also, Penix has the most interceptions out of the QB’s on this list, with 7, which has caused Washington’s games to be a lot closer than Oregon’s or Michigan’s, where their QB’s turn the ball over much less often. Overall, Penix controls his own Heisman destiny. If he can win the last two contests against 10th ranked Oregon State and last place Washington State, and then beat Nix and Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship, he will most likely win the Heisman.
Final Thoughts and 2023 Heisman Prediction
Overall, this year’s Heisman race has been an intriguing one and it will be interesting to see what the committee values on December 9th when they give out the award. Recent history has suggested that a QB will win the award, so despite Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr and Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon having phenomenal seasons I don’t think they realistically have a chance to win. With the 4 QB’s I highlighted above, each has compelling cases that could turn into a Heisman run.
If the committee values winning, Michigan QB J.J McCarthy could end up as the champion. He has become a proven winner and has impressive accuracy and passing rating statistics this season. If he were to beat Ohio State and Penix and Nix both had unimpressive performances in the Pac-12 title game, then I could see him as the winner. However, his low usage down the stretch of the season has decreased his statistics in which others on this list thrive and is the reason why I think he will end up in 4th place.
As for LSU QB Jayden Daniels, his current statistics have him as arguably the most impressive player in the nation this season. His ability to throw the ball into tight windows and to throw for over 450 yards any given night is something that is unique to this year’s list of candidates. However, he has a slim chance to win as his team has 3 losses and the committee has shown to value winning as an important part of winning the Heisman as a QB in recent years. In fact, the last QB to win the award with more than 3 losses was Lamar Jackson in 2016 when Louisville went 8-5. Similar to Lamar’s insane rushing statistics that season, If Daniels can compile two more games of impressive passing yards, he may be able to leapfrog Nix and Penix. However, I ultimately think his 3-loss record will put him into 3rd place in the final Heisman voting.
Ultimately, the biggest Heisman-related storyline down the stretch of the season will be the Pac-12 title game with Oregon and Washington. Unless Oregon State beats both Oregon and Washington, then Nix will have a rematch against Penix with huge playoff and Heisman implications. In my opinion, because of the impressive statistics and ability to win so many ranked games this season by both Nix and Penix, whoever wins that Pac-12 Championship game will be the Heisman winner. Both Nix and Penix have many strengths but Penix’s weakness to be turnover prone is what I think will propel Oregon to victory and Bo Nix to become the 2023 Heisman winner.
Caption: Unanticipated Storylines after Week 2 of NFL 2023 play.
By Sam Morris
Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sport Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he volunteers in the strategic communications department at BGSU at various sporting events and he also performs, writes, and produces his own rap music.
September 23, 2023
Although the 2023-2024 NFL season is still very young, there have been many intriguing and shocking storylines in just the first two weeks. In this article, I will be summarizing and analyzing these storylines as they currently stand through these first two weeks and will predict how these storylines might develop as the season goes on. I will follow-up on this article and its predictions at the end of the regular season to describe how these early storylines developed throughout the year and how they affected the teams’ seasons that were involved. These storylines will be ranked by me below from 5 to 1 in terms of how surprising I feel the storyline is.
5. Sam Howell’s Success
Caption: Commanders tab Sam Howell as starting QB for 2023 NFL Season.
Sam Howell, a second year QB for the Commanders was selected in the 5th round out of UNC last year. Howell only played 1 game last season as Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinecke split most of the season as starters and he was looked at as more of a bridge QB for the franchise to pick someone in the top of the loaded QB 2024 Draft Class next year. However, the Commanders’ front office and coaching staff felt that Howell didn’t get a chance to prove himself last year and deserved at least another year to become the Commanders QB of the future. The decision to pass up on selecting a QB in the 2023 NFL Draft was in spite of fan pressure to select one of the top 4 QBs with their 16th pick.
Come draft day, with QB Will Levis still on the board, the Commanders selected Emmanuel Forbes, a CB out of Mississippi State instead. Because of this decision, Sam Howell has been under constant media attention during the offseason as a deciding factor for the Commanders’ regular season success. Despite many doubters, Ron Rivera and new OC Eric Bienemy strongly believe in Howell and gave him high praise throughout training camp, OTAs, and during the Commanders’ undefeated preseason.
In the first two weeks, Howell has proven the doubters wrong and has not only brought the Commanders to an early 2-0 record but has been a large reason why they have won both games. He’s in the top half of the league in passing yards with 501 (11th in NFL), total touchdowns, with 4 (11th in NFL), and in completion percentage by completing 65.7% of his throws (16th in NFL).
As of right now, Howell is certainly making his case to stay as the starter next season, however his talent and skill will truly be tested in the coming weeks. There’s no doubt that the Commanders’ schedule will get much harder than the Cardinals and Broncos as they play the Bills, the reigning NFC Champion Eagles twice, as well as arguably the best two NFC teams, the Cowboys and 49’ers. In my opinion, as good a start as this has been for Howell, I think he will start to be overmatched by the elite defenses they have to play. He could become a good QB in the future, but at this stage of his young career I would be truly shocked if he led the Commanders to a winning record this season. I’m predicting a decent season for Howell but anticipate that he will slow down as the season progresses, leading Washington to a 4th place NFC East finish.
4. NFC South’s Undefeated Teams
Caption: NFC South predictors did not anticipate 2-0 starts for Saints, Bucs, and Falcons.
Heading into the 2023-2024 season, many experts predicted the NFC South to be the worst division in football. Early into the season, the NFC South has instead looked like one of the best divisions, having a combined record of 6-2, which is second only behind the NFC East’s 7-1. The only team not currently undefeated in the NFC South is the Carolina Panthers, who have lost games to their NFC rivals, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.
The Saints offense on the other hand, has been below average. Although Derek Carr has given the Saints a veteran presence at QB and has led some game winning drives, he also has a 1:2 TD:INT ratio (28th in NFL) and a 47.5 QBR (21st in NFL). Despite Carr’s slow start, I expect him to bounce back in the upcoming weeks, especially once Kamara comes back from suspension and Jamaal Williams returns from injury, to give the New Orleans’ offense a more balanced attack.
Tampa Bay is possibly the biggest 2-0 surprise in the division. They’ve defeated the Bears by 10 and the Vikings by 3 while overperforming on both sides of the ball. Their secondary, despite being relatively inexperienced, has forced 5 turnovers (2nd in NFL), and offensively, the Buccaneers passing attack has been a force to be reckoned with. Mike Evans continues to prove why he will go down as one of the most consistent receivers in NFL history, as he is currently 4th in the league in receiving yards. The guy throwing Evans the ball has also been the best QB in the division through the first two weeks. Baker Mayfield has bounced around the league the past two seasons, going from the Panthers to the Rams, and now to the Buccaneers.
We saw a resurgence in Mayfield at the end of last season, when he was fighting for playing time in Los Angeles, and this new confidence has continued to grow through the first two games in South Florida. Mayfield ranks top 10 in the league in QBR, passing TDs, and completion percentage, all while committing zero turnovers. Although it is early, Tampa Bay is playing with a balanced, team-oriented energy, that isn’t relying on one superstar to get the job done. Their chemistry and competitiveness should be a great sign for Buccaneers’ fans as they transition into playing tougher opponents.
Overall, my prediction for these three 2-0 teams is that none of them will be true Super Bowl contenders simply because they each have major holes in one part of their roster (Atlanta’s inexperienced defense, New Orleans’ offensive line, and Tampa Bay’s rushing attack). I do think that each of these three teams will overperform their preseason expectations and that it will be a battle for the NFC South crown until the end of the year. I think the Saints will barely edge past the Buccaneers and Falcons because I think they have the most experienced and deepest roster in the division.
3. Vikings, Chargers, and Bengals Going Winless
Caption: Joe Burrow’s Bengals and and Justin Herbert’s Chargers have 0-2 records.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, three teams have started off the season 0-2 who all made the playoffs last season; the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, and Cincinnati Bengals. The Vikings had a lot of skeptics heading into the season as to whether or not they would repeat as NFC North champions. This was mostly because the Detroit Lions were one of the most hyped teams the entire offseason, but also because they lost all three preseason games, and they won most of their games by one score last season.
All these fears have come true through the first two games for Minnesota fans. Not only have the Lions looked like the favorites early on, but Minnesota has flipped the script and lost both games by one score. The Vikings’ offense has become one-sided and predictable with Dalvin Cook out of the picture. Nobody can seem to stop the passing attack, with Jefferson leading the league in receiving yards and Cousins being top 5 in the league in completion percentage, TD:INT ratio, and QBR. But this isn’t enough to win them games when they have 69 total rushing yards as a team (Last in the NFL), only 2 rushing first downs, and a leading rusher who isn’t even in the top 50 for rushing yards. The defense also has major holes at cornerback and on defensive line.
Overall, if the Vikings want to repeat as NFC North champs, they need to figure out a way to get the run game going and also need to be able to stop the run on defense. In my opinion, I don’t see both of those things happening unless they trade for some major pieces on defense, and I am predicting the Vikings will fall short in the division and will not make the playoffs.
Although it is surprising for the Chargers to be 0-2, this is less shocking than the Vikings and Bengals because of the quality of their opponents (Dolphins and Titans). Even with these opponents, the Chargers have played really well on offense, losing 34-36 against the Dolphins and 24-27 to Tennessee in OT. Herbert and Ekeler have looked fantastic so far and Quentin Johnston has looked like a solid draft choice.
What Is really concerning for LA, especially with them being in the Chiefs’ division, is that they can’t execute in close games, and that their defense has been horrible. The late game execution was a big problem for the Chargers in their loss to the Jaguars in the playoffs and it has carried over to this season, as they have scored just 10 points in the 4th quarter through the first two games combined. The defense has also given up the 3rd most points in the NFL, just ahead of the Bears and Giants.
In order for the Chargers to reach the playoffs they need to fix both major issues quickly. In my opinion, I think the defense will begin to improve throughout the year and Herbert will be able to lead the Chargers to a 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs.
Lastly, the Bengals are trying to copy their team from last year and have once again started the year off 0-2. Last year, Burrow bounced back and took them to the playoffs and eventually the AFC Championship, where they barely lost to the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. As the new highest played player in football, Burrow is attempting to lead them back to the playoffs this year, but right now it is not looking good. Burrow has struggled mightily thus far, ranking 30th in passing yards, throwing for just 2 touchdowns while throwing 2 interceptions, and ranking 22nd in QBR. Against the Browns, the Bengals’ offense tallied just 3 points as their offensive line caved in and defense was shredded by Nick Chubb and the rushing attack. The Ravens had a similar game plan with Lamar Jackson. If the Bengals want to make the playoffs they need to fix this run defense quickly and also need Burrow to get back on track.
Good news for Cincinnati is that the rest of the division is currently extremely low on depth. Baltimore, despite being 2-0 have a whopping 17 players injured, including stars, C Tyler Linderbaum and RB J.K Dobbins, while the Browns have lost 2 of their starters in the secondary as well as RB Nick Chubb for the season. Because of these injuries and my faith that Burrow will be able to regain his productivity, I am predicting that the Bengals make the playoffs. However, I do think the Ravens will win the division and that the Bengals will be the 5 seed in the AFC.
2. Puka Nacua
Caption: Rookie Puka Nacua has record 15-catch performance in LA Rams’ loss to 49ers
Where in the world did this guy come from? Puka Nacua, a WR out of BYU, was selected in the 5th round by the Rams in this year’s draft and he has not looked like a 5th round caliber player. So far, Nacua has 25 receptions for 266 receiving yards, along with 111 yards after the catch. These statistics have given him some historic NFL records. His 25 receptions is a new NFL record for a rookie through his first two games, his 15 receptions against San Francisco is the most receptions ever by a rookie in a single game, and he is the first player with at least 10 receptions and 100 yards in each of his first two games. He also has the most yards after the catch in the league as well as the second most receiving yards in the league, behind Justin Jefferson.
Nacua not only is having a great start to the year individually, but he has also propelled the Rams’ receiving core. His play has spaced out the field for Tutu Atwell and Ben Skowronek to be more productive, while giving Stafford a legitimate #1 WR while Kupp is dealing with injuries. When Kupp comes back, sometime around week 5, the Rams will have a scary 1-2 receiver punch, with a veteran QB, a talented young RB in Kyren Williams, and a defense anchored by Aaron Donald and Byron Young. Although the Rams are a young team that was predicted by many to be at the bottom of the NFC, I think they were overlooked and will shock some people throughout the year.
I am predicting Nacua to continue to be a great receiver after the catch and in open space this season. I think he will finish second in the rookie of the year voting to Bijan Robinson. As for the Rams, I see them hovering around .500 this year and just missing the playoffs by a game or two. If Nacua continues putting up these top 5 WR in the league type numbers though, I could easily see them sneaking in as a 7 seed.
1. Season-Ending MNF Injuries
Caption: Aaron Rodgers (Jets), Nick Chubb (Browns), and Cooper Cupp (Rams) injured
Despite there being many intriguing and shocking storylines so far, the Monday Night Football Injuries to Aaron Rodgers and Nick Chubb have by far been the most league altering. New York Jets fans spent the entire offseason waiting for Rodgers to save their team and for them to finally end the longest active playoff drought in the NFL. However, just one play into the Jets first drive, Rodgers dropped back and was sacked for a loss by the Bills LB, Leonard Floyd. On impact with the turf, Rodgers tore his achilles tendon and was later ruled out for the season.
This monumental loss leaves the Jets in disarray as backup QB Zack Wilson has arguably been one of the biggest draft busts in recent memory. Although Wilson led the Jets to a comeback victory Monday Night against Buffalo, he was absolutely decimated by the Cowboys’ defense in week 2. The Jets still have one of the best defenses and wide receivers in the NFL but without a quality QB, their Super Bowl hopes have been destroyed and I am predicting them to miss the playoffs this season. Since Rodgers is on a 3-year deal, he will likely return to the Jets next season, but all the hype and Super Bowl dreams will be delayed. Once Rodgers is healthy, the biggest worry for Jets’ fans will be if he can ever perform at an elite level again, which will depend on how well his achilles heals.
One week later, again on Monday Night Football, Nick Chubb, Cleveland’s superstar running back, suffered a season-ending knee injury. Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick hit him low, causing his leg to twist sideways into the turf. The injury was so severe and gruesome looking that it wasn’t even shown on the broadcast. Browns’ fans watched as Chubb broke down in tears as he was getting carted off the field. Chubb had previously torn three ligaments in his knee causing him to miss the remainder of that season as well, so his career being shortened by this new injury is even more likely.
I personally know many Browns fans who have experienced a wave of emotions over the last two weeks as their team handily beat the Bengals but now sit at 1-1 with their best player on the sideline. Chubb’s absence is catastrophic for the Browns as he is essentially who their entire offense is based upon. Watson will have to be exceptional this year for them to make the playoffs, which I believe they will not.
Overall, these MNF injuries have sparked two additional storylines, the pressure by the players’ union to get rid of artificial turf and the increasing pressure to pay running backs more money, as they are extremely valuable to their teams.
To wrap up this article, it is safe to say that the NFL has brought us an exciting and shocking first two weekends of football. With 15 weeks remaining, it will be interesting to see which of these storylines becomes the most impactful, which will ultimately become flukes, and which will remain a steady topic discussed throughout the year.
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