Ravens rookie's starting spot may be in jeopardy as star defender nears return
The Baltimore Ravens are expecting to see many key contributors return after their Week 7 bye. They desperately need the help, and the potential returns of Lamar Jackson, Roquan Smith, Patrick Ricard, and Chidobe Awuzie should be extremely beneficial as they hope to get back into the playoff picture.
In Smith’s case, his return to action could change the landscape of the defensive unit. Not only will Baltimore see their leader back in the middle of their defense, but the starting linebacker duo could switch up.
Prior to Smith’s hamstring injury, he and rookie Teddye Buchanan controlled the middle of the field for multiple weeks. Buchanan took the starting job from third-year pro Trenton Simpson in Baltimore’s Week 2 matchup with the Cleveland Browns and never looked back. However, now, his starting role alongside Smith could be in question.
Ravens’ starting linebackers could be shaken up with Roquan Smith’s return
Head Coach John Harbaugh provided a confident update that Smith should be back on the field in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears. While his running mate was Buchanan for three weeks before getting injured in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, the defense clearly was not in sync.
While Smith has been out, Buchanan has struggled, while Simpson has impressed. Buchanan has posted a 49.4 overall grade, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), while Simpson has turned in an impressive 75.6 grade.
Buchanan is still making a case to hold onto the starting job. He has posted tackling grades of 84.5 and 81.8 in the past two weeks, per PFF, and is leading the team in tackles with 49. For a group that has struggled with missed tackles, those are encouraging numbers to see. He has shown major red flags, though. He has struggled with consistency in filling running lanes and providing strong pass coverage.
He seems to always be in the correct spot, but tends to be a step slow and take himself out of plays by playing hesitantly. These are some of the flaws that teams typically see from rookies, but with Simpson’s reemergence, it will be hard to keep the rookie on the field in a starting capacity.
Simpson has had two strong showings in his last two outings. He had a 65.8 PFF grade in Week 5 and a 72.7 grade in Week 6. The 24-year-old also racked up 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks in those two games.
The obvious move could be to move Simpson to outside linebacker, especially in the wake of the Tavius Robinson injury. Baltimore’s defense is hurting for pass rush production, but they also love versatility. Keeping Simpson as a starter next to Smith heading into Week 8 could provide that pass rush, while also utilizing his production in other areas of the game.
Buchanan certainly still deserves a large snap count, but it is becoming hard to ignore that he is being outplayed by Simpson.
ikings WR Justin Jefferson takes full responsibility for his drop—his shocking words will leave you rethinking his mindset
The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 28-22. The slim margin of defeat makes Justin Jefferson’s dropped touchdown reception against Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean stand out, and the All-Pro wide receiver is certainly taking it to heart.
Jefferson finished the game with five receptions for 79 yards. He was officially held out of the end zone following strong comments regarding that aspect of his game before the contest.
After the loss, Jefferson did not mince words about that battle with DeJean.
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson Delivers Blunt Take on Eagles CB Cooper DeJean
DeJean drew attention for his, as Pro Football Focus suggested on X after the play, lockdown coverage on Jefferson on the play during a drive that eventually saw the Vikings settle for a field goal.
Asked if he believed his “drop” was actually DeJean breaking up the pass, Jefferson said, “nah.”
“All respect to him, but that, that’s a catch any day of the week,” Jefferson told reporters on October 19. “I just gotta be more focused into pulling the ball into me and towards instead of just laying the ball out there and letting him just knock the ball out my hand. So, I would say that’s more on me than on him.”
DeJean celebrated the incompletion, as DBs are wont to do. However, it was Jefferson who was touting his abilities and, really, his mindset before the game.
“To be honest, wherever that ball touched my hand, I’m trying to get in that [end]zone,” Jefferson told Vikings legend Randy Moss on “Sunday NFL Countdown” on October 19. “So, it can be in the red zone, it can be from 50, or it might go 97 [yards] again. Who knows?”
Jefferson’s longest reception of the day went for 40 yards on a catch-and-run.
Justin Jefferson Points Out Red Zone Issues
Jefferson said that the Vikings’ struggles in the red zone were due to “just hurting ourselves and just causing us to go backwards instead of forward. We just got to execute our plays to the fullest and just take one play at a time. And when the opportunity comes, make those plays.”
The Vikings were 1-for-6 on the day in the red zone, including Jefferson’s drop.
“One of those red zone drives is – that’s me, dropping a touchdown, and not really pulling the ball all the way in. And I’m always critical on myself,” Jefferson said. “And always, especially when my opportunities are very, very slim. So, those are opportunities, I got to make the most of them.”
Making the most of their opportunities was a theme for the Vikings during Jefferson’s postgame availability.
Justin Jefferson Remains Confident in Vikings
Asked if the Vikings were trying to “figure it out” during the game, Jefferson said. “Yeah and no.”
“Honestly, it’s just executing those plays, those one or two plays, every drive that kind of hurts us and put us in bad positions. But I don’t feel like we’re still trying to ‘find out’ or still trying to ‘figure out what’s going on,’” Jefferson said.
“We understand what’s going on. We have the players out there that make the plays and do what we need to do to go down and score; we just need to finish those drives, especially games like this. We’re competing against a team that just won a Super Bowl. So, plays like that and making the most of those opportunities is the things that count.”
Jefferson and the Vikings will look to regroup in Week 8. They will visit the Los Angeles Chargers on a short week for “Thursday Night Football.”
