Jun 3, 2021
Maybe a few years ago, someone like Jamie Collins would’ve felt compelled to be at his team’s offseason program. He’s 31, will turn 32 during the 2021 season, is making $9 million this year coming off a 5–11 campaign and is working with a new coach and GM.
But things across the NFL are changing. And they’re changing fast. So Collins, expecting the birth of his second son in the coming days, isn’t in Detroit right now. Instead, he’s in Charlotte, staying close to his girlfriend, so he can be there when the baby comes and be around for the start of the kid’s life.
For those of you who are new here, we do a "Hierarchy/Obituary" post every week during the season, in which we kill off teams that have reached the point where they have almost no chance to make the playoffs. We then write their obituary and never speak of them in the Hierarchy again. Anyway, it's my hackneyed sell-out spin on the more traditional "power rankings." Got it? Cool. Let's do a post-draft edition.
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Ohio State’s running back coach Tony Alford has coached running backs for 23 years. He’s been everywhere from Mount Union to Iowa State to Notre Dame. Alford has been with the Buckeyes since 2015. He also played for Colorado State in the late 80s, where Alford was a Doak Walker Award nominee.
If there’s someone who knows a thing or two about running backs, it’s Coach Alford. I spoke to Alford for just under a half-hour, where he provided insight about 49ers running back Trey Sermon that we couldn’t get anywhere else. Alford recruited Sermon out of high school and once again when he decided to transfer from Oklahoma.
Fort Worth Weekly
Cowboys 2021 Draft Grades
In this year’s NFL draft, the Cowboys consistently saw coveted players go off the board just before they could pick them. Did the silver and blue deftly adjust or just hit the panic button? Our crack analysts slap some grades on Jerry and Co.’s efforts.
By BO JACKSBORO AND TROY FAKEMAN -
Fakeman’s Hot Takes
If there’s one thing to take away from the Cowboys’ 11-pick haul in this year’s class, it’s that the purported focus on “the right kind of guy” left The Star with Jason Garrett. (That the likes of Zeke Elliott, Greg Hardy, David Irving, and Randy Gregory don or donned stars on their helmets during his tenure might prove the mantra was mere lip service, anyway.) Jerry no doubt sensing his number of remaining years shrinking and throwing caution to the proverbial nor’easter to “win now” added plenty of questionable character to top the war room’s seemingly knee-jerk boom-or-bust selections
From tiny Tiffin University to the Dallas Cowboys: An unprecedented run
Westlakeâs JaQuan Hardy taking his talents to Big D JaQuan Hardy (Source: Tiffin University) By Tony Zarrella | May 5, 2021 at 12:25 PM EDT - Updated May 5 at 12:26 PM
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - When I talked with JaQuan Hardy, the former Westlake star running back, before the Draft, he told me he would celebrate after the Draft by working out.
Turns out, he didnât even wait for it to be over.
âDay 3 (of the NFL Draft) was a long day, obviously for me,â Hardy told me. âGoing through the first pick, which was 106, so after every team passed on me I would do 30 pushups, so I ended up doing over 1,600 pushups. So after that, I was like âalright, my arms are crampingâ.â