2024 NFL Week 9 Predictions

Denver heads to Baltimmore. Find out how Lamar Jackson does versus the Denver Broncos.

Chris Ransom Last Updated: October 31, 2024.

Houston Texans 6-2-0	Versus	New York Jets 2-6-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I'll be introducing a brand new segment to Draft Utopia for the Thursday Night Games called Unfiltered Al. It's basically a parody of all the savage things that Al Michaels could say after blowing people out of the water with his comments on Amazon Prime last year.

Unfiltered Al: Welcome to Thursday Night Football. Houston heads to New York.

Kirk Herbstreet: C.J. Stroud VS Aaron Rodgers should be quite the game.

Unfiltered Al: That's right Kirk. C.J. Stroud lost to Zach Wilson in Met Life Stadium, he's hoping to put that loss to bed for good by defeating the New York Jets with their best quarterback on the road in primetime.

Kirk Herbstreet: New York needs this win more than Houston to save their season. Houston pretty much has the AFC South locked up even if they lose this game.

Unfiltered Al: We'll find out which quarterback gets the football after the coin toss. Kickoff will be back after this.

Why the Houston Texans Will Win: C.J. Stroud the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State ended up winning Offensive Rookie Of The Year and took the Houston Texans to the Divisional Round as a rookie. Houston has Laremy Tunsil at left tackle, Kenyon Green at left guard, Juice Scruggs a 2023 second round pick out of Penn State at center, Shaq Mason at right guard, and Tytus Howard at right tackle. Blake Fisher is the backup left tackle, Kendrick Green is the backup left guard, Jarrett Patterson is the backup center, and Charlie Heck is the backup right tackle. Unlike last year there is depth everywhere on the offensive line outside of right guard and also this offensive line is fully healthy which should frighten the rest of the league. Houston had some players out with injuries in weeks 5 and 6, but Houston had everyone on the offensive line at full health in week 7. Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard have done well most of the year, but the offensive tackle tandem struggled versus NFC North teams in weeks 3 and 7.

Houston has Nico Collins as their number one flanker receiver, Stefon Diggs as their number two secondary receiver, and Nathaniel "Tank" Dell as their slot receiver after Stroud told the Houston Texans to draft the Houston Cougars wide receiver as a receiving target. Houston took Tank Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Houston. Houston has John Metchie III currently the number four receiver on Houston's depth chart, Robert Woods is the number five wide receiverm, Steven Sims is the number six wide receiver. Xavier Hutchinson is the number seven wide receiver on this depth chart. Tank Dell will be back this week. Houston placed Nico Collins on injured reserve entering week 6. Houston went 1-1 without Nico Collins as Nico Collins is out for one more game.

Dalton Schultz is the starting tight end. Brevin Jordan has been the backup tight end in Quitoriano's absence before Houston cut Quitoriano. Brevin Jordan is out for the year. Cade Stover is now the backup tight end as he showed big time playmaking in the Hall Of Fame game after being a 2024 fourth round pick out of Ohio State after entering training camp as the fourth string tight end. Cade Stover's rapport with C.J. Stroud dating back to their time at Ohio State is incredible.

Joe Mixon is the starting running back. Dameon Pierce is the backup running back. Cam Akers has started the last two weeks and has emerged as a player that will probably be the Houston Texans third string running back when Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce return. Cam Akers will make his third straight NFL start in week 5. Dameon Pierce could be back in week 6, but it looks like Joe Mixon will be out another week. British Brooks is the starting fullback. Davis Mills and Case Keenum looked good as backups in the preseason, but both were going against second team players on the Chicago Bears in the Hall Of Fame game. Davis Mills is the current backup to C.J. Stroud while third stringer Case Keenum is on injured reserve.

Houston has Danielle Hunter starting at 4-3 right end, Folorunso Fatukasi starting at 4-3 defensive tackle, Mario Edwards Jr. starting at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Will Anderson Jr. their third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama starting at 4-3 left end. Jerry Hughes is the backup 4-3 right end until Dylan Horton gets back with Derek Barnett as the backup 4-3 left end. Denico Autry may start when he returns from his suspension if Mario Edwards Jr. struggles at 4-3 defensive tackle in absence. Tim Settle Jr., the former Buffalo Bills defensive tackle is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle. Jerry Hughes is still on injured reserve. Derek Barnett the backup 4-3 left end is also dealing with an injury.

Houston has Christian Harris a linebacker from Alabama at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Azeez Al-Shaair at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Henry To'oTo'o at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Christian Harris and Azeez Al-Shaair will be the only starters at linebacker in 4-2-5 nickel packages, but I'd start Henry To'oTo'o over Azeez Al-Shaair since I beleive Henry To'oTo'o has a higher ceiling. If any of those three linebackers get injured Houston won't have any depth with Henry To'oTo'o being the only depth Houston has at linebacker when the Houston Texans choose to operate a nickel defense. Christian Harris hasn't played at all in 2024. Azeez Al-Shaair is going to be out again, but Houston is getting Henry To'oTo'o back from concussion protocol.

Houston has Derek Stingley Jr. at field cornerback, Kamari Lassiter took the boundary cornerback job from free agent Jeffrey Okudah, Jalen Pitre will transition from free safety to nickel cornerback, Jeffrey Okudah is the dime cornerback. Jimmie Ward is starting at strong safety while Calen Bullock is starting at free safety as a 2024 third round pick out of USC. Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart remain backup safeties with Eric Murray as the backup free safety and M.J. Stewart as the backup strong safety. M.J. Stewart is out in week 1, so there won't be any depth behind Jimmie Ward if he goes down with an injury since Houston opted to move Jalen Pitre to nickel cornerback which was a position Pitre played situationally at Baylor despite mainly being a strong safety and free safety at Baylor. Jimmie Ward is out in week 4 and is game-time decision for week 5. He missed the Wednesday practice heading into week 6, but played that week. Kamari Lassiter could be back at cornerback in week 8. Jimmie Ward could miss the second week in a row and the fourth game in five weeks.

Houston has Ka'imi Fairbairn at kicker. Tommy Townsend the Kansas City Chiefs punter signed with the Houston Texans. Dameon Pierce is the kick returner and the punt returner despite seeing less carries in Houston's backfield with the arrival of Joe Mixon.

Why the New York Jets Will Win: New York got Aaron Rodgers to be their starting quarterback thanks to a pre draft trade with Aaron Rodgers leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. This time, the New York Jets hope Aaron Rodgers stays healthy at quarterback. The New York Jets have Tyron Smith at left tackle, John Simpson at left guard, Joe Tippman at center, Alijah Vera-Tucker at right guard, and Morgan Moses at right tackle. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, the New York Jets 2024 first roundp pick out of Penn State is the backup left tackle and Max Mitchell is the backup right tackle. Alijah Vera Tucker is out at right guard for the second week in a row.

The New York Jets Garrett Wilson as the flanker wide receiver, Davante Adams is the secondary wide receiver, and Allen Lazard is the slot receiver. Xavier Gipson is the number four wide receiver, Mike Williams is the number five wide receiver, and Malachi Corley, the New York Jets 2024 third round pick is the number six wide receiver on this depth chart. New York now has two number one wide receiver targets for Aaron Rodgers thanks to trading for Davante Adams.

Tyler Conklin is the starting tight end. Jeremy Ruckert last years third string tight end is now the backup tight end. The New York Jets feel weaker at tight end compared to last year, but I'm okay with Ruckert as a number two tight end.

New York has Breece Hall as their starting running back, Braelon Allen their 2024 fourth round pick as their backup running back, Isreal Abanikanda a 2023 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh is the third string running back. New York has a lot of depth at offensive tackle, wide receiver, tight end, and running back. Tyrod Taylor is a better backup quarterback than Zach Wilson, but if Aaron Rodgers goes down again the New York Jets are in trouble.

The New York Jets have Will McDonald IV a 2023 first round pick starting at 4-3 right end following his 3 sack game after Jermaine Johnson II, the New York Jets 2022 first round pick tore his achilles, Quinnen Williams as their starting 4-3 defensive tackle, Javon Kinlaw as their other starting 4-3 defensive tackle, and Hasson Reddick as their 4-3 left end. Michael Clemons a 2022 fourth round pick is now the situational pass rusher. Solomon Thomas is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Quinnen Williams, Leonard Taylor III is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Javon Kinlaw.

New York has Quincy Williams at 4-3 right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense and C.J. Mosley at 4-3 middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. I'm not sure whether Jamien Sherwood has started at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Zaire Barnes is both a backup outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense as well as a middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 defense. C.J. Mosley wll be out at 4-3 middle linebacker in week 8.

The New York Jets have Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner at field cornerback covering number one wide receivers. D.J. Reed is the boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers. Michael Carter II is back at nickel cornerback. Isaiah Oliver is the dime cornerback. Chuck Clark is the strong safety. Tony Adams is the free safety. I think Tony Adams is a player that the New York Jets should consider replacing after this season. D.J. Reed is expected to be back in week 8 after missing week 7 following his week 6 injury on Monday Night Football. All of the New York Jets top three safeties Chuck Clark, Tony Adams, and Ashtyn Davis are dealing with injuries.

Greg Zuerlein is the starting kicker, but he is getting placed on injured reserve for the next four games. Thomas Morstead is the punter. Xavier Gipson is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Prediction: New York is a 2.5 point favorite at -2.5. The over or under is 43 with 58% of the public betting on New York. The money line is +120 for Houston and -140 for New York. Take New York to win and to cover with the under at -140. Bet $160 on this game for New York and win up to $300 as long as the Jets win by 3 or more.

Final Score Jets 21 Texans 16

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Denver Broncos 4-3-0	Versus	Baltimore Ravens 5-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I'm going to try my best to update Tony Mario's 2024 NFL Power Rankings this week. He had the Baltimore Ravens at 2 in his power rankings prior to the loss to Cleveland. Find out where the Ravens rank this week entering week 9 and how far they moved down.

Why the Denver Broncos Will Win: Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix won the starting quarterback job as a rookie after being Denver's 2024 first round pick. Bo Nix has Garrett Bolles at left tackle, Ben Powers at left guard, Luke Wattenberg at center, Quinn Meinerz at right guard, and Mike McGlinchey the former San Francisco 49ers right tackle enters year two as Denver's starting right tackle. Denver's offensive line is better than you would think if their starters can stay healthy. Mike McGlinchey went on injured reserve in week 3 and Denver has gone 3-0 in their last three games with Alex Palczewski filling in for Mike McGlinchey at right tackle. Alex Palczewski missed week 6. Luke Wattenberg may be out at center in week 7. Both Mike McGlinchey and Alex Palczewski are questionable to play in week 7.

Courtland Sutton is the flanker wide receiver. Troy Franklin, Bo Nix's teammate at Oregon and Denver's 2024 fourth round pick is now the secondary wide receiver with Josh Reynolds on injured reserve. Devaughn Vale, Denver's 2024 seventh round pick out of Utah is the slot receiver. Marvin Mims Jr. is the number four wide receiver. Lil Jordan Humphrey is the number five wide receiver. A.T. Perry is the number six wide receiver if Denver activates him off of their practice squad. Josh Reynolds got placed on injured reserve before week 7 and is eligible to return in week 11.

Adam Trautman Sean Payton's former tight end in New Orleans is now re-united with Payton in Denver as the 2020 third round pick from Dayton enters a contract year. Greg Dulcich was the starting tight end late in the season and he is the backup tight end. Lukas Krull is the third string tight end.

Javonte Williams is the starting running back for the Denver Broncos back from his season ending injury in 2022. Jaleel McLaughlin is the backup running back. Audric Estime, Denver's 2024 fifth round pick out of Notre Dame is the third string running back.

Denver has John Franklin-Myers at 3-4 right end with D.J. Jones at 3-4 nose tackle. Zach Allen is the 3-4 left end. Denver's defensive line looks pretty good on paper with this trio.

Denver has Jonathon Cooper at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Alex Singleton at 3-4 middle linebacker, Cody Barton at 3-4 middle linebacker, and Baron Browning at at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jonah Ellis is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker after being Denver's 2024 third round pick. Nik Bonitto is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Denver has depth at edge rusher, but thanks to Drew Sanders season ending injury they will not have depth at 3-4 middle linebacker. Alex Singleton and Cody Barton can be solid inside linebackers if both stay healthy. Baron Browning is out in week 3, so it is uncertain whether Jonah Ellis or Nik Bonitto starts at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Alex Singleton tore his ACL at 3-4 middle linebacker and is out for the year and his backup Drew Sanders is also out.

Denver has Patrick Surtain II at field cornerback, Riley Moss is the boundry cornerback, Damarri Mathis is the nickel cornerback, Ja'Quaun McMillian is the dime cornerback, Levi Wallace is the quarter cornerback, and Kris Abrams-Draine their 2024 fifth round pick is the number six cornerback for depth. P.J. Locke is the starting strong safety and Brandon Jones is the starting free safety. J.L. Skinner looked good in the preseason and he might supplant P.J. Locke as the starting strong safety at some point this season. Denver's backup free safety Dellarin Turner-Yell is on the PUP list. P.J. Locke is out at strong safety and Dellarin Turner-Yell is out at free safety in week 9. J.L. Skinner or Devon Key will start at strong safety next to free safety Brandon Jones in week 9. Key is listed above Skinner on Denver's depth chart, but I like Skinner more personally.

Denver has Will Lutz at kicker and Riley Dixon at punter. Marvin Mims Jr. is the return specialist in addition to the slot receiver at both kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Baltimore Ravens Will Win: Lamar Jackson is coming off of his second MVP regular season as the Baltimore Ravens quarterback since being drafted with the last pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Lamar Jackson has Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, Andrew Vorhees at left guard, Tyler Linderbaum at center, Daniel Faalele moving from right tackle to right guard, and Patrick Mekari is starting at right tackle. Josh Jones is the backup left tackle and Roger Rosengarten is the backup right tackle. The addition of Josh Jones gives Baltimore even more depth at offensive tackle compared to the last two seasons.

Baltimore's top three wide receivers are Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and Diontae Johnson playing in the slot. Baltimore has Nelson Agholor, Tylan Wallace, Devontez Walker, and Deonte Hardy for depth at wide receivers. I like Baltimore's depth at wide receiver and trading for Diontae Johnson and using him as a slot receiver where he can push Rashod Bateman for the number two wide receiver job is the perfect role for him since he struggled as a number one wide receiver in both Pittsburgh and Carolina.

Mark Andrews is still one of the leagues best tight ends and he might supplant Travis Kelce as the leagues top tight end in 2024. Baltimore also has Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar giving Baltimore ridiculously good depth at tight end.

Baltimore has Derrick Henry as their starting running back, Justice Hill as their backup running back, Keaton Mitchell as the third string running back, Rasheen Ali is the fourth string running back when the top three running backs are healthy. Baltimore could have their top four running backs back in the backfield for the first time all year against Cleveland in week 8.

Baltimore has depth at running back, wide receiver, tight end, and offensive tackle if injuries occur at those positions. If anything happens to Lamar Jackson the Ravens are screwed. Same could be said with the Baltimore Ravens interior offensive line.

Baltimore has Justin Madubuike at 3-4 right end, Michael Pierce at 3-4 nose tackle, and Broderick Washington at 3-4 left end. Travis Jones is the backup 3-4 nose tackle.

Baltimore has Odafe Oweh at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Kyle Van Noy at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson are quite the tandem at 3-4 middle linebacker. David Ojabo is the backup 3-4 outside linebacker. Yannick Ngakoue is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Adisa Isaac is now the third string 3-4 outside linebacker when he comes back from injuries.

Marlon Humphrey is the field cornerback, Brandon Stephens is the boundary cornerback, and Nate Wiggins is the nickel cornerback. Arthur Maullet last years nickel cornerback is back at dime cornerback coming off of injured reserve this week. Ar'Darius Washington who played nickel cornerback in week 1 is now the quarter cornerback. T.J. Tampa, a 2024 fourth round pick out of Iowa State is currently the number six cornerback. Brandon Stephens and Nate Wiggins should play in week 8 as Stephens practiced and Wiggins didn't but resumed playing on Monday Night Football after he got injured. Marlon Humphrey could be out this week, but the rest of the Baltimore Ravens roster is healthy. Marlon Humphrey's knee injury is minor as it is a mild knee sprain, but he missed week 8 along with Nate Wiggins. Marlon Humphrey did practice on Wednesday entering week 9. Nate Wiggins played through his injury on Monday Night Football before missing week 8, but did not practice on Wednesday entering week 9. Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins both return in week 9 after missing week 8.

Baltimore has Kyle Hamilton at strong safety and Marcus Williams at free safety. Baltimore replaced Geno Stone with Eddie Jackson as their situational backup safety. All of Baltimore's defensive starters from last years team that returned are fully healthy. Baltimore's only injuries are at third string running back with Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali injured. Everyone else on the Baltimore Ravens is fully healthy entering week 9.

Baltimore has Justin Tucker at kicker and Jordan Stout at punter. Justice Hill is the projected kick returner on Baltimore with Tylan Wallace being the punt returner on the Baltimore Ravens.

Prediction: Baltimore is a 9.5 point favorite at -9.5. The over or under is 45.5 with 81% of the public betting on Baltimore. The money line is +375 for Denver and -500 for Baltimore. Take Baltimore to win and cover with the under at -500. Bet $600 on this game for Baltimore and win up to $1,100 as long as the Ravens win by 10 or more.

Final Score Ravens 23 Broncos 10

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Las Vegas Raiders 2-6-0	Versus	Cincinnati Bengals 3-5-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

We're back for the 2024 NFL Season. You can follow our weekly predictions crew. Jesse Lucas won the first year in 2014-2015. Jason Bantle and myself now have two championships after I won the NFL Pickem Champion Trophy for most accurate predictions against the spread in 2020-2021 and had the most accurate NFL predictions again in 2022-2023. Oren Shiri, Tanya Holmes, and Wes Langley have one pickem title too back in 2021-2022. Lisa Donovan got her first pickem Championship last year the best record in the country last year in 2023-2024 I'm hoping to pass the torch onto someone else if you can supplant Draft Utopia in 2024-2025. Send me your predictions on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to be eligible for prizes should you have a perfect week.

For the fourth year in a row Draft Utopia defeated the maintstream media in NFL Predictions. After I had the best record in 2020-2021 going 181-74-1, Wes Langley went 189-95-1 in 2021-2022. I went 190-92-3 in 2022-2023 allowing Draft Utopia to become the first sports website in the world to three peat in NFL predictions. Last year Lisa Donovan went 199-86 on the year before her and three other staff members left the site following this NFL Season. We still got seven of our eleven from last year trying to keep our run against the mainstream media for a potential fifth year in a row for the 2024 NFL Season.

Matt Bowen of ESPN went 15-1 in week 1 and that is the best start in week 1 since people starting keeping track of mainstream media predictions in 2014. Matt Bowen ended up going 7-9 in week 2 which puts Matt at 22-10 on the year. Matt Bowen went 9-5 in week 5, but maintains the best record in the country for the second week in a row and the sixth time in the first eighth weeks entering week 9 with 85 games correct on the year. Jason Bantle's grandmother has 84 games correct on the year.

Jason Bantle remains the leader in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. He's improved to being tied for third nationally at 82-41.

Andrew Kermish is 80-43 on the year. Andrew is tied for eighth nationally and in sole possession of second place in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings.

Wes Langley and I are 77-46 on the year. We're now tied for third in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings. Wes and myself are tied for eighteenth nationally.

Tracy Porter of Draft Utopia is tied for twenty ninth nationally at 73-50. Tracy is fifth in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings.

Joseph Potter is 68-55 on the year. Joey is tied for thirty fourth nationally and is sixth in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings.

Oren Shiri is 65-58 on the year. Oren is thirty fifth nationally and is now seventh which is now last place in the 2024 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings.

There's a lot fewer NFL picks records being posted this year as I only have 64 in my database and that includes Tony Mario's picks which aren't posted on the site he emails me his winners each week. If you want me to feature yours email me at chris@draftutopia.com, where I will respond and post your prediction records to the site.

Why the Las Vegas Raiders Will Win: The Las Vegas Raiders have Aiden O'Connell and Gardner Minshew II competing for the starting quarterback job. I don't trust either guy, but Gardner Minshew II won the starting quarterback job. Gardner Minshew II got benched against Denver and Aidan O'Connell will be the starting quarterback moving forward. Aidan O'Connell broke his thumb and now Desmond Ridder is the backup to Gardner Minshew II.

Las Vegas has Kolton Miller at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Andre James at center, Dylan Parham at right guard, and Thayer Munford Jr. at right tackle. Andrus Peat is the backup left tackle, Jackson Powers-Johnson is the backup interior offensive lineman at all three interior spots after being a 2024 second round pick, and DJ Glaze a 2024 third round pick is the backup right tackle. Thayer Munford Jr. missed the last two games, but he should be back at right tackle.

Las Vegas has weapons in the passing game. Jakobi Meyers is the flanker wide receiver. Tre Tucker, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 third round pick out of Cincinnati will be the secondary receiver. The Raiders need a slot receiver at the very worst even if they trust the tandem of Jakobi Meyers and Tre Tucker.

Brock Bowers, the Las Vegas Raiders 2024 first round pick is the number one tight end. Michael Mayer is the number two tight end in two tight end sets as well as the backup tight end after being my top ranked tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame as well as the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 second round pick. Harrison Bryant is the third string tight end. Michael Mayer will be out in week 4 which means Harrison Bryant will be the number two tight end. Michael Mayer will be eligible to return in week 11 following thier week 10 bye after being placed on injured reserve prior to week 6.

Zamir White is the starting running back. Alexander Mattison is the backup running back. Ameer Abdullah the backup running back two years ago returns as the third string running back.

I don't like the Raiders depth on the offensive line, but the Raiders starters on the offensive line are decent for once. Tight end and running back are the Raiders two deepest positions as I don't trust the depth that the Las Vegas Raiders have at wide receiver.

Las Vegas has Malcolm Koonce at 4-3 right end, Christian Wilkins at 4-3 defensive tackle, John Jenkins at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Maxx Crosby at 4-3 left end. Tyree Wilson is currently the backup 4-3 defensive end to both Malcolm Koonce and Maxx Crosby entering year two. Malcolm Koonce suffered a season ending injury in his contract year back in week 2. Tyree Wilson could be starting at 4-3 right end moving forward since Wilson was a 2023 first round pick.

Las Vegas has Divine Deablo at 4-3 right outside linebacker. Robert Spillaine is the starting 4-3 middle linebacker. Tommy Eichenberg a rookie middle linebacker and 2024 fifth round pick out of Ohio State is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker. Robert Spillane did not practice on Wednesday leading up to week 9 and Tommy Eichenberg is on injured reserve. The Las Vegas Raiders might be in trouble at middle linebacker in week 9.

Nate Hobbs did well as a number one cornerback during his rookie season despite being a 2021 fifth round pick out of Illinois getting the Raiders to the playoffs despite Jon Gruden being fired. Hobbs missed some games with injuries, but is still the field cornerback entering his contract year in 2024. Jack Jones is the boundary cornerback on the Las Vegas Raiders complimenting Nate Hobbs. Jakorian Bennett, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 fourth round pick out of Maryland is going to start at nickel cornerback right away as a rookie and maintains that role heading into his second season. Darnay Holmes is the dime cornerback and is now the number four cornerback on the Las Vegas Raiders depth chart. Decamrion Richardson a 2024 fourth round pick from Mississippi State is the quarter cornerback. Marcus Epps is the starting strong safety and Tre'von Moehrig the Las Vegas Raiders 2021 second round pick out of TCU enters year four as the starting free safety. Las Vegas doesn't have any depth at safety.

Daniel Carlson is a top 10 kicker, but not a top 5 kicker. Some guy I've never heard of named Tyreik McCalister is the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Cincinnati Bengals Will Win: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will have Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle, Cordell Volson at left guard, Ted Karras at center, Alex Cappa at right guard, and Amarius Mims at right tackle. Cincinnati's depth is horrible on the offensive line outside of Trent Brown as the backup right tackle. Amarius Mims is out in week 1, so Trent Brown will get the start at right tackle. Trent Brown started weeks 1, 2, and 3 before suffering a season ending injury, so now Amarius Mims will get his first start at right tackle in week 4. Amarius Mims did well in week 4 and has gained more experience. Orlando Brown Jr. got injured in week 8 and is likely out again in week 9.

Cincinnati has Ja'Marr Chase as their flanker wide receiver, Tee Higgins as their secondary wide receiver even though you can argue he's good enough to be a number one target when Chase is injured, and Andrei Iosivas is the slot receiver. Trenton Irwin remains the number four wide receiver job. Jermaine Burton is the number five wide receiver, but he's pushing both Iosivas and Irwin for the slot receiver job despite being a 2024 third round pick out of Alabama which is encouraging. Charlie Jones, Cincinnati's 2023 fourth round pick out of Purdue is the number six wide receiver. Tee Higgins was ruled out in week 8 and is likely out in week 9. Andre Iosivas will be the secondary wide receiver with Trenton Irwin or Jermaine Burton at slot receiver if Tee Higgins is ruled out again in week 9.

Mike Gesicki is the Cincinnati Bengals starting tight end. Drew Sample is the backup tight end. Tanner Hudson last years backup tight end is the third string tight end.

Cincinnati has Zack Moss as their starting running back, Chase Brown Cincinnati's 2023 fifth round pick out of Illinois entering year two as the backup running back, and Trayveon Williams their 2019 sixth round pick as the third string running back. Zack Moss is likely out in week 9. Cincinnati has depth everywhere except quarterback and as long as Joe Burrow is healthy the sky feels like the limit for the Cincinnati Bengals over the next five years.

Cincinnati has Trey Hendrickson at 4-3 right end and Sam Hubbard complimenting him at 4-3 left end. Sheldon Rankins and B.J. Hill compliment Hendrickson and Hubbard at 4-3 defensive tackle on the inside. Joseph Ossai is listed as the backup 4-3 right end with Myles Murphy probably taking over as the backup 4-3 left end now that he's no longer on injured reserve with Cam Sample out for the year.

Zach Carter, Cincinnati's 2022 third round pick out of Florida and Kris Jenkins Jr. a 2024 second round pick on Michigan's 15-0 are the two backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Jay Tuefele is a third string defensive tackle and so is McKinley Jackson, Cincinnati's 2024 third round pick out of Texas A&M. B.J. Hill will be returning from his injury which he suffered in week 1. Sheldon Rankins played the first two weeks before missing the last three weeks, but Rankins looks like he will be back in week 6.

Cincinnati has Germaine Pratt at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Logan Wilson at 4-3 middle linebacker with both guys locked up long-term which is outstanding news for the Bengals who run a combination of a 4-3 base defense, but mainly utilize a 4-2-5 nickel defense with Pratt being the starting outside linebacker and Wilson playing middle linebacker on the inside. Cincinnati can use Akeem Davis-Gaither as a 4-3 left outside linebacker, but he will probably be the main backup outside linebacker to Pratt. Cincinnati doesn't have the depth they used to at middle linebacker, so the Cincinnati Bengals are in trouble if Joe Burrow or Logan Wilson goes down.

Cincinnati has Cam Taylor-Britt at field cornerback, D.J. Turner took the boundary cornerback job as a rookie as Cincinnati now has their top two cornerbacks on rookie deals for the next two years, and Mike Hilton as their nickel cornerback. Daxton Hill, Cincinnati's 2022 first round pick is the dime cornerback who could move back to nickel cornerback next year when Mike Hilton becomes a UFA assuming Mike Hilton leaves. Josh Newton, Cincinnati's 2024 fifth round pick out of TCU is the quarter cornerback. Von Bell will start at strong safety with Geno Stone starting at free safety. Jordan Battle is the backup strong safety and Daijahn Anthony a 2024 seventh round pick beat out Tycen Anderson for the backup free safety job. Mike Hilton has played every game this season, but has missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Cincinnati has Evan McPhearson at kicker in the final year of his rookie deal at kicker and Brad Robbins from Michigan in the 2023 NFL Draft at punter. Trayveon Williams is the kick returner and Charlie Jones is the punt returner.

Prediction: Cincinnati is a 7 point favorite at -7. The over or under is 46.5 with 75% of the public betting on Cincinnati. The money line is +105 for Las Vegas and -125 for Cincinnati. Take Cincinnati to win and cover with the over at -115. Bet $185 on this game for Cincinnati and win up to $300 as long as the Bengals win by 8 or more.

Final Score Bengals 24 Raiders 16

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Dallas Cowboys 3-4-0	Versus	Atlanta Falcons 5-3-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Hank Hill from King of the Hill and assistant GM and Director Of College Scouting Dale Gribble finally got back to the playoffs since taking over for Lumberg in 2020. Dallas is 44-28 since 2020.

Here is this weeks hot take from Hank Hill.

Kick Atlanta's ass. We need to get back to .500 damn it.

Why the Dallas Cowboys Will Win: Dak Prescott has Tyler Guyton their 2024 first round pick out of Oklahoma at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Cooper Beebe, the Dallas Cowboys 2024 third round pick out of Kansas State at center, Zack Martin at right guard, and Terence Steele at right tackle. Dallas has great starters on the offensive line, but the depth isn't what it was last year. As long as Dallas stays healthy on the offensive line, this will be one of the toughest offenses to stop after Dak Prescott got $60-million a year for the next four years.

Having weapons like CeeDee Lamb as your flanker wide receiver and Brandin Cooks as your secondary wide receiver helps since Dak Prescott has two wide receivers who have experience as a number one wide receiver. Jalen Tolbert is the slot receiver when Dallas runs three wide receiver sets after being the number four wide receiver in his first two seasons. Jalen Brooks a 2023 seventh round pick out of South Carolina is the number five wide receiver is now the number four wide receiver. Ryan Flournoy a 2024 sixth round pick from Southeast Missouri State is the number five wide receiver. KaVontae Turpin is the number six wide receiver. Dallas has three wide receivers on this depth chart with the upside to be good and has enough starters as the backups are solid, but not spectacular meaning the backups can make plays, but they won't move the needle like hte top three wide receivers. Tight end Jake Ferguson is the starting tight end, Luke Schoonmaker a 2023 second round pick out of Michigan won the backup tight end job. Dallas does not have a good third string tight end which makes the decision to release Peyton Hendershot even more puzzling. Jake Ferguson got injured against the Cleveland Browns, but he will only be out one to two weeks. Luke Schoonmaker got his first NFL start this week in week 2 before Jake Ferguson returned.

Dallas placed Brandin Cooks on injured reserve prior to week 5 meaning Jalen Tolbert is now the number two wide receiver after being the slot receiver. Tolbert got a game-winning touchdown in his first start as a number two wide receiver. Dallas doesn't have a good slot receiver until Brandin Cooks returns which will be week 10 at the earliest.

Dallas has Ezekiel Elliott as their number one running back. Rico Dowdle is the backup running back. Dallas drafted Kansas State runing back Deuce Vaughn in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Kansas State. Dallas has depth at running back and wide receiver, but they are thinner at most positions offensively compared to last year.

Dallas has Micah Parsons at 4-3 right end, Mazi Smith at 4-3 defensive tackle, Osa Odighizuwa at 4-3 defensive tackle, and DeMarcus Lawrence at 4-3 left end. Marshawn Kneeland the Dallas Cowboys 2024 second round pick out of Western Michigan is the backup 4-3 right end with Sam Williams on injured reserve, Linval Joseph is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Mazi Smith, Jordan Phillips is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Osa Odighizuwa, and Chauncey Golston is the backup 4-3 left end to Demarcus Lawrence. Dallas has a lot of bodies and depth on the defensive line and could be better than last year. Micah Parsons could be back by week 8 after the Dallas Cowboys bye week. Demarcus Lawrence got placed on injured reserve prior to the week 5 game against Pittsburgh. Micah Parsons missed weeks 5, 6, 8 after the bye week, and now will be out in week 9.

Dallas is starting DeMarvion Overshown their 2023 third round pick out of Texasat 4-3 right outside linebacker and Eric Kendricks at 4-3 middle linebacker. Dallas will also have Damone Clark their 2022 fifth round pick out of LSU as a 4-3 left outside linebacker, but he will also be the backup right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Marist Liuafu the Dallas Cowboys 2024 third round pick out of Notre Dame is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker. DeMarvion Overshown got injured in week 4.

Dallas has Trevon Diggs at field cornerback. Dallas has DaRon Bland back at boundary cornerback. Jourdan Lewis is the nickel cornerback. Caelon Carson is the dime cornerback. Dallas has Andrew Booth Jr. as their quarter cornerback. Isreal Mukuamu is the number six cornerback. Dallas could get both DaRon Bland and Caelon Carson back at full health in week 6. Dallas will have all of their cornerbacks at full health for the first time all year following the bye week. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland did not practice despite Dallas designating DaRon Bland returning from injured reserve. DaRon Bland is out in week 9 despite being off of injured reserve.

Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are the starting safeties with both safeties having the versatility to play strong safety or free safety. Dallas doesn't have the safety depth they had last year.

Former Notre Dame center back Brandon Aubrey is now the Dallas Cowboys kicker. I actually found an archive of my Aubrey scouting report from the 2017 MLS Super Draft when Toronto F.C. took Brandon Aubrey in the first round of the 2017 MLS Draft. After Aubrey failed in the MLS, he went to the USFL and had success as a kicker there before receiving a contract to join the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Brandon Aubrey dominated in his first NFL season. Bryan Anger is the punter. KaVontae Turner the number six wide receiver on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart is the kick returner and punt returner for the Dallas Cowboys.

Why the Atlanta Falcons Will Win: Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins to a four year contract in Free Agency before drafting his successor Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington eighth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft to groom behind Kirk Cousins.

Kirk Cousins will have Jake Matthews at left tackle, Matthew Bergeron at left guard, Drew Dalman at center, Chris Lindstrom at right guard, and Kaleb McGary at right tackle, but Atlanta's got even less depth on this offensive line than a year ago after everyone stayed healthy in 2023 as Jovaughn Gwyn a 2023 seventh round pick is the only backup offensive linemen Atlanta drafted while their other four backups outside of Gwyan are all UDFA's with the only notable name among those four backups being Storm Norton. If Jake Matthews or Kaleb McGary gets injured, Storm Norton will be playing and the last time Storm Norton played, Jacksonville caused a storm in Sofi Stadium back in 2022 against the Los Angeles Chargers thanks to Storm Norton, the Norton Antivirus of offensive linemen in week 3 following the torn biceps by Rashawn Slater. Drew Dalman is set to return from his week 3 injury at center against the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be the first time since week 2 or 3 where Atlanta has their offensive line at full health for Kirk Cousins and he's gotten a lot better since then.

Atlanta has Drake London as their flanker wide receiver, Darnell Mooney who began his career as a number one wide receiver in Chicago before being supplanted by D.J. Moore last year is now a number two wide receiver as he compliments Drake London quite well. Rondale Moore was supposed to be Atlanta's slot receiver, but he suffered a season ending injury in training camp. I like Ray-Ray McCloud on special teams as a return specialist. He's a solid number six or number five wide receiver, but I don't see him thriving as a slot receiver.

Atlanta still has Kyle Pitts their 2021 first round pick drafted fourth overall out of Florida as the main starting tight end. Kyle Pitts can thrive as long as he's healthy. My issue with Atlanta is their depth at tight end was so much better a year ago with Jonnu Smith and MyCole Puritt were on this roster. Charlie Woerner, San Francisco's third string tight end last year doesn't move the needle for me as a pass catcher despite being an okay blocker in San Francisco. Woerner would start at tight end if Kyle Pitts gets injured.

Bijan Robinson is the starting running back and Tyler Allegeier is the backup running back. Both running backs are expected to see lots of carries with Allegier getting significant playing time despite being the second running back on Atlanta's depth chart. Avery Willaimson is the third string running back, and Jase McClellan Atlanta's 2024 sixth round pick out of Alabama is the fourth string running back. Atlanta feels just as deep at running back as a year ago despite the departure of Cordarrelle Patterson. Robert Burns the starting fullback on Atlanta is currently on the PUP list.

Atlanta has Grady Jarrett back at 3-4 right end following the departure of Calias Campbell, David Onyemata at 3-4 nose tackle, and Zach Harrison at 3-4 left end. Ta'Quan Graham enters year four as the backup 3-4 right end in the final year of his rookie deal. Eddie Goldman is the backup 3-4 nose tackle. Kentavius Street is the backup 3-4 left end. Ruke Orhorhoro is the third string 3-4 right end, and Brandon Dorlus is the third string 3-4 left end. Atlanta's three deepest positions are quarterback, running back, and the 3-4 defensive end spot at five technique.

Matthew Judon is the starting starting 3-4 right outside linebacker. Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen are good starting 3-4 middle linebackers. Lorenzo Carter is the starting 3-4 left outside linebacker after starting at 3-4 right outside linebacker in 2023. Nate Landman a UDFA whose shown some flashes in Atlanta after being a former Colorado middle linebacker and J.D. Bertrand Atlanta's 2024 fifth round pick out of Notre Dame are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Arnold Ebiketie is the backup 3-4 outside linebacker and situational pass rusher in Atlanta.

A.J. Terrell, Atlanta's field cornerback is the only healthy cornerback at the moment. Atlanta is starting Mike Hughes who was awful at nickel cornerback for Kansas City and just as awful at dime cornerback for Detroit at boundary cornerback against number two wide receivers. Dee Alford is the nickel cornerback job. Clark Phillips III who won the nickel cornerback job as a rookie before missing time with injuries early in the season, has been demoted to dime cornerback. Clark Phillips III has done well in training camp, but Hughes and Alford have done more to warrant playing time. I still think Clark Phillips III has a chance to beat out Dee Alford for the nickel cornerback job. Alford did intercept Cleveland back in 2022 when he was the nickel cornerback before getting demoted to dime cornerback after Atlanta drafted Clark Phillips III. Strong safety Justin Simmons and free safety Jesse Bates III give Atlanta one of the better safety tandems in the NFL. Atlanta also has Richie Grant for depth as a number three safety for depth.

Younghoe Koo is one of the best kickers in the NFL. Atlanta's kicker asserted himself as a top 5 kicker last season.

Prediction: Atlanta is a 2.5 point favorite at -2.5. The over or under is 52 with 59% of the public betting on Atlanta. The money line is +120 for Dallas and -140 for Atlanta. Take Atlanta to win and cover with the over at -140. Bet $160 on this game for Atlanta and win up to $300 as long as the Falcons win by 3 or more.

Final Score Falcons 30 Cowboys 23

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Miami Dolphins 2-5-0	Versus	Buffalo Bills 6-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Draft Utopia airs on Talkshoe. We have a show on as well as our usual weekend show on Talkshoe and Restream which livestreams what I do on Talkshoe to Youtube showcasing the visuals I use when breaking down things on my podcast. The Draft Utopia podcast is already underway with season 14 of Draft Utopia kicking off you can watch the videos in of season 14 and season 13 on Restream in the playlist below. I also added a playlist for the 2025 NFL Draft positional rankings.

Why the Miami Dolphins Will Win: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has Terron Armstead at left tackle, Robert Jones at left guard until Isaiah Wynn is cleared to return from his injury off of the PUP list, Aaron Brewer at center, Robert Jones at right guard, and Austin Jackson is the blindside at right tackle for left handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Miami has Patrick Paul a 2024 second round pick as the backup left tackle, Lester Cotton is the backup right guard, and Kendall Lamm is the backup right tackle. The one position Miami is kind of thin at is center, but as long as these starters remain healthy on the offensive line Miami will have one of the leagues best offenses. Tua Tagovailoa is finally back from his concussion in week 2.

Miami has Tyreek Hill as their flanker receiver and Jaylen Waddle as their secondary wide receiver even though Waddle showed ability to be a number one target before Miami traded for Tyreek Hill. Odell Beckham Jr. is the slot receiver, but he's still on the PUP list. Braxton Berrios last years slot receiver is now the number four wide receiver, but he's been the slot receiver in relief of Odell Beckham Jr.. Miami also has Malik Washington a 2024 sixth round pick out of Virginia is the number five wide receiver on this depth chart who might play slot receiver this week if Odell Beckham Jr. is out along with Braxton Berrios. River Cracraft, Tajh Washington, and Anthony Schwartz all begin the regular season on injured reserve which is why Miami didn't have to cut any of those backups yet.

Jonnu Smith is Miami's starting tight end. Durham Smythe compliments him as the number two tight end. Miami could upgrade at tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft if both tight ends underachieve, but I doubt they do that with their current contracts.

Miami has Raheem Mostert as their starting running back, De'Von Achane, Miami's 2023 third round pick out of Texas A&M surprised me as a rookie and is the number two running back, and Jaylen Wright Miami's 2024 fourth round pick is the third string running back. Fullback Alec Ingold enters year two as the Miami Dolphins fullback.

Miami has Calias Campbell at 3-4 right end, Benito Jones at 3-4 nose tackle, and Zach Seiler at 3-4 left end. Miami's 3-4 defensive line is much weaker and has much less depth than a year ago. I still like Calias Campbell, but he's a downgrade over Christian Wilkins at this point despite his effectiveness and longevity.

Miami has Bradley Chubb at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Jordyn Brooks at 3-4 middle linebacker, David Long Jr. at 3-4 middle linebacker, and Jaelen Phillips at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Bradley Chubb is still on the PUP list after his late season injury last year. Chop Robinson beat out Emmanuel Ogbah for the starting 3-4 right outside linebacker job next to Jaelen Phillips until Bradley Chubb returns which is no surprise considering that Chop Robinson was the Miami Dolphins 2024 first round pick out of Penn State. Anthony Walker Jr. is the backup 3-4 middle linebacker and Emmanuel Ogbah is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jaelen Phillips is out for the year again at 3-4 left outside linebacker.

Miami has Jalen Ramsey at field cornerback covering number one receivers. Kendall Fuller replaced Xavien Howard, but will play boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers. Kader Kohoo is the nickel cornerback. Siran Neal is the dime cornerback. Cam Smith is the quarter cornerback, but he's on injured reserve. Jordan Poyer is now Miami's strong safety and Jevon Holland is Miami's free safety. Marcus Maye is the Miami Dolphins backup strong safety. Jalen Ramsey didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday leading up to Miami's week 1 game against Jacksonville. Jalen Ramsey did play in that game. Kendall Fuller might be out in week 4.

Miami has Jason Sanders at kicker and Jake Bailey at punter. Braxton Berrios is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner for the Miami Dolphins, but he's out for the year so that hampers Miami on special teams.

Why the Buffalo Bills Will Win: Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Josh Allen has a great offensive line with Dion Dawkins at left tackle, David Edwards at left guard, Connor McGovern at center, O'Cyrus Torrence at right guard. and Spencer Brown at right tackle. Buffalo and Tampa Bay were the only teams that weren't effected by injuries on the offensive line in 2023. Buffalo is moving Connor McGovern back to center where he played at Penn State after losing Mitch Morse Morse with David Edwards getting a second chance to start at left guard on a team friendly deal after being a backup to Connor McGovern at left guard in 2023. Sedrick Van Prann, a 2024 fifth round pick out of Georgia that I had a third round grade on is the backup center as center is the one position that Buffalo has depth at on this offensive line.

Buffalo has Amari Cooper as their flanker wide receiver, Keon Coleman Buffalo's 2024 second round pick as their secondary wide receiver, and Khalil Shakir as their slot receiver. Curtis Samuel is the number four wide receiver and Mack Hollins is the number five wide receiver. Buffalo has a much better wide receiver core with the addition of Amari Cooper.

Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo's 2023 first round pick out of Utah supplanted Dawson Knox as the starting tight end following the injury to Dawson Knox. Quintin Morris is still the third string tight end.

Buffalo has James Cook as the starting running back as he enters his second season as a full-time starting running back. Ray Davis, Buffalo's 2024 fourth round pick out of Kentucky seems to have the backup running back job secured after jumping Ty Johnson on the depth chart with a strong showing in training camp. Ty Johnson is the third string running back. Reggie Gilliam is back at fullback. Buffalo will have to win games with Josh Allen, their tight ends, and their backfield if the depth chart reports about Keon Coleman beginning the season on the second team are true. Ray Davis did well starting in relief for James Cook. Buffalo might have a more lethal one two punch in the backfield than originally anticipated. Reggie Gilliam is injured and out at fullback in week 9.

Buffalo has A.J. Epenesa at 4-3 right end, Ed Oliver at 4-3 defesive tackle, Daquan Jones at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Gregory Rosseau their 2021 first round pick as the starting 4-3 left end. Von Miller is the backup 4-3 right end with DeWayne Carter Buffalo's 2024 third round pick out of Duke as the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Ed Oliver, Austin Johnson the Los Angeles Chargers nose tackle as the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Daquan Jones. Dawaune Smoot signed a one year deal in Buffalo and is currently beating out Javon Solomon Buffalo's 2024 fifth round pick out of Troy for the backup 4-3 left end job behind Gregory Rosseau. Buffalo has Casey Toohill as their third string 4-3 right end and Javon Solomon as their third string 4-3 left end. Austin Johnson hasn't practiced the first two days heading into week 5. Von Miller is suspended the next two games games before he can return after week 8.

Buffalo has Dorian Williams at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Terrell Bernard at 4-3 middle linebacker on plays where Buffalo deploys a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Buffalo's best linebacker Matt Milano is out until December again. Terell Bernard has missed weeks 2, 3, and 4 now. Terrell Bernard is back. Terrell Bernard did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Baylon Spector the backup 4-3 middle linebackr might be starting again in relief of Bernard in week 8.

Buffalo has Christian Benford at field cornerback covering number one wide receivers, Rasul Douglas at boundary cornerback covering number two wide receivers, Taron Johnson is out this week so, Kaiir Elam, Buffalo's 2022 first round pick will be the nickel cornerback in relief of Taron Johnson as Taron Johnson has missed weeks 2, 3, and 4. Taron Johnson might be back in week 5. Kaiir Elam has done much better in training camp to the point where he's pushing both Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson for the boundary corneback job across from Benford. Buffalo has Taylor Rapp last years backup strong safety back on a team friendly deal as the starting strong safety replacing Jordan Poyer after showing he could start in relief of an injured Poyer. Damar Hamlin is projeced to start at free safety. Mike Edwards who did well as a backup strong safety on the Kansas City Chiefs the last two years is now the backup strong safety. Buffalo also drafted Cole Bishop the Utah free safety with their second draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft which is something I actually predicted correctly in my 2024 NFL Mock Draft as Cole Bishop is the backup free safety to Damar Hamlin. Taylor Rapp is still in concussion protocol, but it is uncertain whether backup strong safety Mike Edwards or backup free safety Cole Bishop gets the start in relief of Taylor Rapp if Rapp is out in week 5.

Buffalo has Tyler Bass at kicker. Tyler Bass is the only asset on Buffalo's special teams. I don't trust Sam Martin at punter or Brandon Codrington the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner.

Prediction: Buffalo is a 6 point favorite at -6. The over or under is 48.5 with 70% of the public betting on Buffalo. The money line is +105 for Miami and -125 for Buffalo. Take Buffalo to win and cover with the over at -115. Bet $175 on this game for Buffalo and win up to $300 as long as the Bills win by 7 or more.

Final Score Bills 35 Dolphins 14

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

New Orleans Saints 2-6-0	Versus	Carolina Panthers 1-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I got College Scoreboards from the Scorestream app as well as NFL scores. I just feel like posting ten different scoreboards before getting to the article will cause readers to lose interest. Scoreboards for the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC, and Mountain West are now up.

Why the New Orleans Saints Will Win: The New Orleans Saints have Derek Carr at quarterback. Jake Haener the 2023 Senior Bowl MVP who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints is the backup quarterback. Spencer Rattler the 2024 Senior Bowl MVP was drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of South Carolina is the third string quarterback. Derek Carr will be out multiple weeks. Jake Haener struggled in relief of Derek Carr. Spencer Rattler will start the next two games for the New Orleans Saints and could start longer than that if he does well. If he does poorly, Derek Carr will probably start when he returns from his injury. Derek Carr could return from his injury for the New Orleans Saints this week.

New Orleans has Taliese Fuaga at left tackle, Nick Saldiveri the 2023 fourth round pick out of Old Dominion took the starting left guard job from Lucas Patrick after Patrick got injured, Erik McCoy remains at center, Cesar Ruiz starts at right guard, and Trevor Penning at right tackle filling in for an injured Ryan Ramczyk. Cesar Ruiz is back at right guard and Lucas Patrick is back, but New Orleans added former New York Jets center Connor McGovern out of Missouri to fill in while Erik McCoy remains on injured reserve. Erik McCoy got placed on injured reseve prior to week 4, but is not back on New Orleans yet.

New Orleans has Chris Olave as their flanker wide receiver and Rashid Shaheed is the secondary wide receiver. New Orleans also has Cedrick Wilson Jr. as their slot receiver and Bub Means a 2024 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh as their number four wide receiver. Chris Olave should be cleared to play in week 8. Rashid Shaheed is out for the year after having surgery on his meniscus. Cutting A.T. Perry who signed with the Denver Broncos doesn't look so smart now.

New Orleans has Juwan Johnson as the starting tight end, Foster Moreau as the backup tight end, and Taysom Hill as their third string tight end. Foster Moreau did leave week 1 with an injury. New Orleans has Alvin Kamara as their starting running back, Jamaal Williams as their backup running back, and Kendre Miller as their third string running back.

New Orleans has Carl Granderson at 4-3 right end, Nathan Shepherd at 4-3 defensive tackle, Bryan Bresse, the New Orleans Saints 2023 first round pick out of Clemson now starts at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Cameron Jordan at 4-3 left end. New Orleans has Chase Young as their backup 4-3 right end, Khalen Saunders as the backup 4-3 defensive tackle, Khristian Boyd a 2024 sixth round pick is the other backup 4-3 defensive tackle, and Payton Turner a 2021 first round pick out of Houston is the backup 4-3 left end. Isaiah Foskey is the third string 4-3 right end and Tanoh Kpassagnon the current third string 4-3 left end is on the PUP list. John Ridgeway III is the third string 4-3 defensive tackle.

New Orleans has Willie Gay Jr. at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Demario Davis at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Pete Werner at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Jaylan Ford is the backup 4-3 right outside linebcker, D'Marco Jackson is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker. Not only does New Orleans have good starters at linebacker, the New Orleans Saints also have good depth at linebacker. Willie Gay Jr. did leave week 1 with an injury, so Pete Werner may end up starting at 4-3 right outside linebacker with Jaylan Ford starting at 4-3 left outside linebacker and Pete Werner playing right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 if Willie Gay Jr. cannot go in week 2.

New Orleans has Marshon Lattimore at field cornerback, Paulson Adebo at boundary cornerback, and Alontae Taylor at nickel cornerback. Kool-Aid McKinstry is the dime cornerback. Jordan Howden a 2023 fifth round pick is expected to start at strong safety with Marcus Maye no longer on he roster and Tyrann Mathieu will start at free safety. Will Harris is the backup strong safety and the backup free safety. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo both left the game injured in week 7. Marshon Lattimore missed week 8 while Paulson Adebo got placed on injured reserve prior to week 8. Marshon Lattimore has been ruled out for week 9 and so has Kool-Aid McKinstry whose been played field cornerback against Ladd McConkey in week 8. Alontae Taylor will be the field cornerback in week 9, but Rico Payton and Ugo Amadi two undrafted cornerbacks will be starting due to three of the New Orleans Saints top four cornerbacks being injured.

Blake Grupe is the starting kicker. Lou Hedley is the punter. Rashid Shaheed is the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Carolina Panthers Will Win: Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama got benched for backup Andy Dalton. Bryce Young is starting again. Bryce Young will have Ikem Ekwonu at left tackle a second year left tackle as well as Carolina's 2022 first round pick out of North Carolina State, Damien Lewis at left guard, Austin Corbett at center, Robert Hunt at right guard, and Taylor Moton at right tackle. Austin Corbett and Taylor Moton got injured in week 5, but both could be back in week 9. Ikem Ekwonu is out at left tackle in week 9.

Bryce Young has Xavier Legette a 2024 first round pick out of South Carolina as his flanker wide receiver, Jalen Coker an undrafted Free Agent out of Holy Cross that I had a third round grade on as his secondary wide receiver, and Adam Theilen is his slot receiver. Jonathan Mingo is still the number four wide receiver. Coker entered the year as the number five wide receiver on this depth chart, but after having 6 receptions, 78 receiving yards, and 1 receiving touchdown, he's jumped both Adam Thielen and Jonathan Mingo on hte Carolina Panthers depth chart. Carolina has less wide receiver depth thanks to trading Diontae Johnson away. Xavier Legette is questionable and Adam Thielen is doubtful in week 9.

Carolina has Ian Thomas last years backup tight end as the starting tight end. Tommy Tremble, Carolina's 2021 third round pick out of Notre Dame last years third string tight end is the backup tight end. Carolina drafted Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft as Sanders was my second best tight end behind Brock Bowers. I figured Ja'Tavion Sanders would be starting at tight end, but he's currently the third string tight end on Carolina. Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble were both out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday heading into week 1, and if both players get ruled out then Ja'Tavion Sanders would be thrown into the fire starting in week 1 despite being a fourth round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Tommy Tremble returned in week 3.

Carolina has Chubba Hubbard as their starting running back, Miles Sanders is the backup running back, Jonathon Brooks was their 2024 second round pick out of Texas and he's still on the NFL injured list. Jonathon Banks could be back as early as this week in week 4.

Carolina has Derrick Brown at 3-4 right end, Shy Tuttle at 3-4 nose tackle, and A'Shawn Robinson at 3-4 left end. Derrick Brown the best player on the Carolina Panthers defense will be out for a while as the 2020 first round pick out of Auburn got extended this offseason, but an injury will keep him out for the year while which will cripple Carolina's defense. Carolina has D.J. Wonnum replacing Brian Burns at 3-4 right outside linebacker once he gets back from the PUP list, Shaq Thompson at 3-4 middle linebacker, Josey Jewell at 3-4 middle linebacker, and Jadeveon Clowney at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Carolina's defensive line is better than last year, but their edge rusher play at 3-4 outside linebacker is worse with Brian Burns being traded to the New York Giants. Shaq Thompson and Josey Jewell are both dealing with injuries at 3-4 middle linebacker.

Carolina has Jaycee Horn at field cornerback, Michael Jackson at boundary cornerback, Troy Hill at nickel cornerback, Xavier Woods at strong safety, and Jordan Fuller at free safety. Carolina added Nick Scott as the backup strong safety. Jammie Robinson is the backup free safety. The cornerback depth Carolina has is not good if injuries occur. Both Jordan Fuller and Jammie Robinson are out at free safety in week 9.

Carolina has Eddy Pinero at kicker. Johnny Hekker is the punter. I feel like an upgrade over Raheem Blacksheer at return specialist could be made though.

Prediction: New Orleans is a 7 point favorite at -7. The over or under is 43.5 with 75% of the public betting on New Orleans. The money line is -350 for New Orleans and +260 for Carolina. I like Carolina to win and to cover with the under at +260. Bet $340 on this game for Carolina and win up to $600 as long as the Saints win by 6 or less.

Final Score Panthers 23 Saints 20

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Los Angeles Chargers 4-3-0	Versus	Cleveland Browns 2-6-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

You can check out US Football Tips our newest partner with us at Draft Utopia. Feel free to compare our point spreads to theirs. You can also go to Bet US and enter the promo code Draft Utopia as Draft Utopia has partnerships with both US Football Tips and Bet US.

Why the Los Angeles Chargers Will Win: Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has a good offensive line with Rashawn Slater at left tackle, Zion Johnson at left guard, Bradley Bozeman at center, Trey Pipkins III at right guard, and Joe Alt, the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft at right tackle. Los Angeles has Jordan McFadden as their backup left guard and Jamaree Salyer as the backup right guard. Los Angeles has a good starting lineup on the offensive line along wity quality backups at both guard spots. The lack of offensive tackle depth is still an issue, but as long as Slater and Alt are healthy this team will be tough to stop defensively as Justin Herbert will have a clean pocket. Both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt missed week 4 before the bye week. Slater was ruled out while Alt was questionable before being ruled out. Both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt practiced in a limited capacity. There's a chance the Los Angeles Chargers get both of their starting offensive tackles back in week 6 after Rashawn Slater had a pectoral injury and Joe Alt had a knee injury which kept both offensive tackles out in week 4 before having another week to rest during the Los Angeles Chargers bye week in week 5.

Los Angeles has Ladd McConkey thier 2024 second round pick out of Georgia at flanker wide receiver. Josh Palmer is the secondary wide receiver. D.J. Chark is the slot receiver. Quentin Johnston, the Los Angeles Chargers 2023 first round pick out of TCU won is the number four wide receiver on the Los Angeles Chargers depth chart. Derius Davis is the number five wide receiver. Simi Fehoko is the number six wide receiver rounding out the second string wide receivers and Brendan Rice a 2024 seventh round pick as well as the son of Jerry Rice is the number seven wide receiver on this depth chart. D.J. Chark and Quentin Johnston both return from injuries in week 9.

Los Angeles has Will Dissly as their starting tight end and Hayden Hurst as their backup tight end. Hayden Hurst could be back this week, so you could see more two tight end sets. The Los Angeles Chargers also have J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards as their top two running backs with both running backs capable of being a number one running back in this backfield. J.K. Dobbins is the starter and Gus Edwards is the backup, but both are getting treated like number one running backs in a run heavy ofense.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Otito Ogbonnia at 3-4 right end, Poona Ford at 3-4 nose tackle, and Morgan Fox at 3-4 left end. Justin Eboigbe a 2024 fourth round pick out of Alabama is the backup 3-4 defensive end and Teair Tartt is the backup 3-4 nose tackle.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Joey Bosa at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Denzel Perryman at 3-4 middle linebacker, Daiyan Henley at 3-4 middle linebacker, and Khalil Mack complimenting him at 3-4 left outside linebacker with both edges having the ability to win one-on-ones against left tackles or right tackles. Los Angeles has Bud Dupree as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker, Junior Colson a 2024 third round pick as one of their backup 3-4 middle linebackers with Troy Dye as the other backup 3-4 middle linebacker, and Tuli Tuipulotu as their backup 3-4 left outside linebacker to Khalil Mack after playing 3-4 left end at USC as well as edge rusher in a 3-4 defense on USC's defensive line leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft. Los Angeles has more depth on the front seven than a year ago. Joey Bosa missed week 4. Khalil Mack started at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Tuli Tuipulotu starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker in week 4. Joey Bosa missed weeks 4, 6, and 7. Joey Bosa looks like he will be back in week 8.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Asante Samuel Jr. at field cornerback, Kristian Fulton is the boundary cornerback, Ja'Sir Taylor is the nickel cornerback, Elijah Molden is the dime cornerback as Molden did get an interception in week 2, Cam Hart a 2024 fifth round pick out of Notre Dame is the quarter cornerback only seeing the field in five cornerback sets, and Tarheeb Still another 2024 fifth round pick out of Maryland is the number six cornerback. The Los Angeles Chargers have more cornerback depth compared to a year ago and Kristian Fulton has rebounded with the Los Angeles Chargers after struggling with the Tennessee Titans in 2023. Los Angeles has Derwin James at strong safety and Alohi Gilman at starting free safety. The Los Angeles Chargers will have their defense at full health this week.

If all of the Los Angeles Chargers top three cornerbacks are out in week 7 after multiple corners were out in week 6, Elijah Molden the Chargers number four cornerback and backup free safety would be covering Courtland Sutton in one on ones. Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still, the two rookie cornerbacks the Los Angeles Chargers drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft would be starting as rookies.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Cameron Dicker as the starting kicker and JK Scott as the starting punter. Derius Davis ended up as the return specialist as a rookie starting at both kick returner and punt returner which comes as no surprise to anyone who saw him in Mobile at the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl. The Los Angeles Chargers are the healthiest AFC team in week 9 with the Baltimore Ravens being a close second as the Los Angeles Chargers are fully healthy for the first time all season.

Why the Cleveland Browns Will Win: Jameis Winston has Jedrick Wills Jr. at left tackle, Joel Bitonio at left guard, Ethan Pocic at center, Wyatt Teller at right guard, and Jack Conklin at right tackle with Deshaun Watson tearing his ACL. Cleveland also has James Hudson II as their backup left tackle, Javion Cohen as the backup left guard, Nick Harris as their backup center, Zak Zinter as the backup right guard, and Dawand Jones as the backup right tackle. This could be the first game where the Cleveland Browns have their offensive line at full health, but there is also a chance Jedrick Wills Jr. at left tackle misses this game as he did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Jedrick Wills Jr. didn't play in week 8. Joel Bitonio didn't practice on Wednesday.

Cleveland has Jerry Jeudy as their flanker wide receiver, Elijah Moore as their secondary wide receiver and Cedric Tillman as their slot receiver at slot receiver. Jabari Thrash the Cleveland Browns 2024 fifth round pick is the number four wide receiver. Cleveland has David Njoku as their starting tight end and Jordan Akins as their backup tight end. David Njoku returned to practice in a limited practice and will be back in week 5. Cleveland has Nick Chubb as their starting running back, Jerome Ford has been the starting running back since Nick Chubb got injured in week 2 last year, Pierre Strong Jr. is the third string running back, but the backup until Nick Chubb returns, and D'Onta Foreman is the fourth string running back, but the third string running back until Nick Chubb returns. Pierre Strong Jr. is the fifth running back. All of Cleveland's five running backs practiced in a limited capacity, but Nick Chubb still hasn't been cleared to play in week 5 despite practicing with the Cleveland Browns this week. Nick Chubb did well in his first game back.

Cleveland has Myles Garrett at 4-3 right end, Dalvin Tomlinson at 4-3 defensive tackle, Shelby Harris at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Z'Darius Smith at 4-3 left end. Cleveland has Ogboninna Okoronwo as their backup 4-3 right end to Myles Garrett, Quinton Jefferson is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst III is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Shelby Harris, and Alex Wright is the backup 4-3 left end as well as the backup to Z'Darius Smith. Cleveland has a lot of bodies as well as depth on their defensive line. Myles Garrett did not practice on Wednesday neither did Alex Wright. Maurice Hurst is still on injured reserve and Alex Wright is now on injured reserve after getting injured in week 4.

Cleveland has Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Jordan Hicks at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Devin Bush at 4-3 left outside linebacker which is a good trio of starters to have when all three are fully healthy. Nathaniel Watson is the backup 4-3 left outside linebacker as Cleveland's 2024 sixth round pick. Cleveland doesn't have depth behind Jordan Hicks at middle linebacker if he goes down, but I'd imagine Devin Bush moves to middle linebacker and Nathaniel Watson plays at 4-3 left outside linebacker when Cleveland depoys a 4-3 defense. Jordan Hicks is on injured reserve now at 4-3 middle linebacker. Cleveland's run defense will be suspect until Hicks returns. Jordan Hicks may be back this week and until he returns the Cleveland Browns run defense will remain a bottom five run defense as Cleveland ranks twenty eighth in the league in run defense. Jordan Hicks did not practice heading into week 8. Both Jeremiah Owusu-Kramoah and Jordan Hicks are likely out in week 9.

Cleveland has Denzel Ward at field cornerback, Martin Emerson Jr. at boundary cornerback, and Greg Newsome II at nickel cornerback. Grant Delpit is the starting strong safety and Juan Thornhill is the starting free safety. I liked Cameron Mitchell coming out of Northwestern and he was a good addition in the 2023 NFL Draft as Mitchell did enough to win the dime cornerback job. Rodney McLeod is the backup strong safety and Ronnie Hickman is the backup free safety. D'Anthony Bell last years backup strong safety is now a third string safety. Juan Thornhill is back at free safety after going on injured reserve following their week 1 game. Cleveland had everyone outside of Jordan Hicks at full health entering week 8, but now both starting linebackers are likely out in week 9 and Denzel Ward is in concussion protocol after getting injured in week 8.

Cleveland has Dustin Hopkins at kicker after Cade York unraveled on the Cleveland Browns last year. I'm not sold on Corey Bojorquez at punter, but the Cleveland Browns like him. Cleveland has Pierre Strong Jr. as their kick returner.

Prediction: Los Angeles is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 43 with 59% of the public betting on Los Angeles. The money line is -125 for Los Angeles and +105 for Cleveland. Take Los Angeles to win and cover with the under at -125. Bet $175 on this game for Los Angeles and win up to $300 as long as the Chargers win by 4 or more.

Final Score Chargers 21 Browns 17

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Washington Commanders 6-2-0	Versus	New York Giants 2-6-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

You can go to Fanpicks and enter the Promo Code draftutopia to win $20 dollars. We also have a Draft Kings advertisement on our home page so you can go there to sign up for Fantasy Football as well.

Why the Washington Commanders Will Win: The Washington Commanders have Jayden Daniels starting at quarterback as the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of LSU will start at quarterback after winning last years Heisman Trophy. Washington has Brandon Coleman a 2024 third round pick out of TCU at left tackle, Nick Allegretti at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Sam Cosmi Washington's 2021 second round pick out of Texas is at right guard, and Andrew Wylie the right tackle. Washington doesn't have a lot of quality depth players on the offensive line. Nick Allegretti did not practice entering week 4. Jayden Daniels got injured in week 7, but started in week 8. Brandon Coleman and Cornellius Lucas were both injured at left tackle as Coleman missed week 8 while Lucas got injured during the game. Brandon Coleman got taken off of the injury report on Friday and is back at left tackle, but Cornellius Lucas will miss week 9.

Washington has Terry McLaurin as their flanker wide receiver, Dyami Brown secondary wide receiver, and Olamide Zaccheaus is the slot receiver. Washington has Luke McCaffrey their 2024 third round pick out of Rice as the number four wide receiver, Jamison Crowder as their number five wide receiver, and Noah Brown as their number six wide receiver. Byron Pringle is the number seven wide receiver. Washington is starting two wide receivers that were number four wide receivers last year.

Washington has Zach Ertz as their starting tight end, John Bates their 2021 draft pick out of Boise State is the backup tight end, and Ben Sinnott their 2024 second round pick out of Kansass State is the third string tight end. Washington also has Brian Robinson Jr. as their starting running back with Austin Ekeler as a solid backup running back as Ekeler will be the change of pace running back to Brian Robinson Jr. Washington's third string running back is weaker than last year as the Washington Comanders will rely heavily on Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler. Brian Robinson Jr. is questionable to play in week 9.

Washington has Dorance Armstong Jr. at 4-3 right end, Jer'Zhan Newton their 2024 second round pick starts at 4-3 defensive tackle replacing Jonathan Allen who suffered a season ending injury, Da'Ron Payne at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Clellin Ferrell at 4-3 left end. Sebastian Jean-Baptiste their 2024 seventh round pick is the backup 4-3 right end behind Dorance Armstrong Jr., Phidarian Mathis is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Da'Ron Payne as well as Jer'Zhan Newton thanks to Jonathan Allen suffering a season ending injury, and Dante Fowler Jr. is the backup 4-3 left end behind Clellin Ferrell.

Washington has Frankie Luvu as their 4-3 right outside linebacker, Bobby Wagner is the 4-3 middle linebacker, and Jamin Davis the Washington Commanders 2021 first round pick out of Kentucky is the 4-3 left outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense, but he's also the backup middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Washington has good starters at linebacker, but there's not a lot of depth at linebacker.

Washington has Benjamin St. Juste moving from nickel cornerback to field cornerback, Michael Davis is the boundary cornerback, Mike Saintristl their 2024 second round pick is the nickel cornerback. Emmanuel Forbes is the dime cornerback after being Washington's 2023 first round pick. Noah Igbinoghene is the quarter cornerback. Jeremy Chinn is the starting strong safety and Jartavius Martin now known as Quan Martin is the starting free safety. Darrick Forrest is the backup safety to both Chinn and Martin.

The Washington Commanders cut their kicker Cade York, but Austin Seibert was great at kicker in his debut in week 2 making seven field goals in one game. Byron Pringle is the kick returner and Jamison Crowder is the punt returner.

Why the New York Giants Will Win: New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones got the bag after his 2022 season where he guided the New York Giants to a playoff appearance with a win in the wild card round. The New York Giants have Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Jon Runyan Jr. at left guard, John Michael Schmitz a 2023 second round pick out of Minnesota starts at center as a rookie, Greg Van Roten is the starting right guard, and Jermaine Eluemunor is the starting right tackle. Joshua Ezeudu is the backup left tackle and Evan Neal is the backup right tackle. Andrew Thomas is out for the year. New York is deciding whether Joshua Ezeudu their 2022 third round pick or whether Evan Neal their 2022 first round pick will start at left tackle.

New York has Malik Nabers their 2024 first round pick out of LSU as their number one flanker wide receiver. Jalin Hyatt, a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee who won the Billetnikoff Award in 2022 is the number two receiver on this depth chart and the complimentary wide receiver. Wan'Dale Robinson is the slot receiver wide receiver. Darius Slayton is their number four wide receiver. Malik Nabers got injured near the end of the week 4 game and got ruled out with a concussion. Malik Nabers missed the last two weeks in concussion protocol, but he could be back in week 7.

The New York Giants have Daniel Bellinger as their starting tight end. Theo Johnson is their number two tight end.

Devin Singletary is New York's starting running back. Tyrone Tracy Jr. a 2024 fifth round pick out of Purdue is the backup running back. Eric Gray a 2023 fifth round pick out of Oklahoma is the third string running back. Tyrone Tracy jr. might start soon.

New York has Dexter Lawrence at 3-4 nose tackle and he's the only good player on this defensive line so he will get triple teammed like Aaron Donald did when he was on the Los Angeles Rams. I don't trust Rakeem Nunez-Roches at 3-4 left end and now he's starting at 3-4 right end. Dexter Lawrence didn't practice on Wednesday and might be out in week 7.

Kayvon Thibodeaux enters his third season in the NFL as the starting 3-4 right outside linebacker with Brian Burns complimenting him at 3-4 left linebacker. New York signed Bobby Okerke to a 4 year contract at 3-4 middle linebacker. Micah McFadden is starting next to him and McFadden is a guy with the floor to be a really good backup, but he's not an ideal starter at 3-4 middle linebacker. Carlos Basham is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker behind Kayvon Thibodeaux. Azeez Ojulari is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Kayvon Thibodeaux is on injured reserve.

Deonte Banks, the New York Giants 2023 first round pick out of Maryland won the field cornerback job as a rookie and maintained it. Adoree' Jackson is the boundary cornerback. Dru Phillips, the New York Giants 2024 third round pick out of Kentucky is the nickel cornerback. Tyler Nubin, the New York Gians 2024 second round pick out of Minnesota is the starting strong safety and Jason Pinnock is the starting free safety.

New York has Graham Gano as their starting kicker and Jamie Gillan as their starting putner. Gunner Olszewski is the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner. Graham Gano is still on injured reserve. Backup kicker Greg Joseph and starting punter Jamie Gillan are also out in week 9.

Prediction: Washington is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 43.5 with 62% of the public betting on Washington. The money line is -190 for Washington and +155 for New York. Take Washington to win and cover with the under at -190. Bet $210 on this game for Washington and win up to $400 as long as the Commanders win by 4 or more.

Final Score Commanders 20 Giants 14

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

New England Patriots 2-6-0	Versus	Tennessee Titans 1-6-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Looking at the 2025 Draft Classes in each sport there is a lot of intrigue. I'd argue the 2025 NBA Draft which would have had every player in the top 12 go ahead of last years first overall pick Zachary Rissacher in the 2024 NBA Draft headlined by Duke power forward Cooper Flagg is the strongest of the six after being the weakest of the six in 2024 when comparing that draft to the NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, and WNBA mock drafts. The 2025 NFL Draft is pretty strong at defensive end, running back, and defensive tackle as my two round 2025 NFL Mock Draft is up. My 2025 NHL Mock Draft is also up. My 2025 NBA Mock Draft is also up. My 2025 MLS Mock Draft is also up.

The 2025 MLB Draft has Ethan Holliday Jackson Holliday's younger brother is the top prospect as well as the top High School batter, Seth Hernandez is the top High School pitcher, Jace Laviolette a center fielder on Texas A&M is the top college batter, and Jamie Arnold the number one starter on Florida State is the top college pitcher with those four all projected to go in the top 8. The Chicago White Sox, the worst team in the MLB will not pick until 10 due to lottery rules for the 2025 MLB Draft.

Connecticut point guard Paige Buekers will headline the 2025 WNBA Draft with the Golden State Valkyries set to join the WNBA as an expansion team in 2025. I doubt Golden State will be a part of the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery and the bottom four teams in the regular season this year should be in the Paige Buekers lottery. The 2025 WNBA Lottery is in November before the the 2025 MLB Draft lottery in December, so a 2025 WNBA Mock Draft debut along with an updated 2025 MLS Mock with the 2025 MLS Super Draft slated for Friday December, 20, 2025 is something to keep an eye on.

Why the New England Patriots Will Win: The New England Patriots have three quarterbacks in Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, and Joe Milton who was drafted 190 picks after Drake Maye with the one hundred ninty third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. Jacoby Brissett won the starting job despite Drake Maye outplaying him in the preseason. Drake Maye will finally play and New England might play spoiler and win some games with Drake Maye. New England's offensive line is bad, but I'm convinced Drake Maye cannot be any worse than Jacoby Brissett regardless of how bad his supporting cast is. Drake Maye did much better than expected in his NFL debut. Drake Maye has done well the last three weeks, but he's questionable for week 9 after suffering a concussion in week 8. He got cleared to play in week 9.

Drake Maye will have Vederrian Lowe at left tackle thanks to Chukwuka Okorafor leaving the team, Michael Jordan at left guard, Ben Brown at center with David Andrews out for the year, Layden Robinson a 2024 fourth round pick at right guard, and Michael Onwenu at right tackle. New England does not have a good left tackle. Cole Strange the starting left guard is on the PUP list and may be out until week 8. Sidy Sow has started this year, but is now the backup guard. Caedan Wallace is the backup right tackle after being New England's 2024 third round pick. Vederrian Lowe and Caedan Wallace are injured at left tackle. Cole Strange is injured at left guard. David Andrews is injured at center and might be done for the year. Michael Onwenu's been at right tackle while Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson have started at guard. Jake Andrews the New England Patriots 2023 fourth round pick out of Troy is the backup center. Layden Robinson might be out at right guard this week.

New England's has Ja'Lynn Polk their 2024 second round pick as the flanker wide receiver, K.J. Osborn as the secondary wide receiver, and DeMario Douglas as their slot receiver. Javon Baker is now the number four wide receiver, Tyquan Thornton went from pushing Osborn as well as Douglas for the top target in week 1 to falling all the way down to fifth on the depth chart at wide receiver. Kayshon Boutte is the number six wide receiver. Ja'Lynn Polk was in concussion protocol in week 8, but he's been cleared to return for week 9.

Hunter Henry will remain the starting tight end. Austin Hooper is the backup tight end and Jaheim Bell a 2024 seventh round pick out of Florida State is the third string tight end.

New England has Rhamondre Stevenson as their number one running back. Antonio Gibson is the number two running back. I'm not big on JaMycal Hasty, but Hasty is the third string running back. Antonio Gibson started in week 5 as well as week 6. Rhamondre Stevenson missed the last two games at running back before returning in week 7.

The weapons are there for Drake Maye to succeed in 2025 and beyond as I believe Polk and Baker are the future number one and number two wide receivers on this depth chart. Until then, New England just needs to get through this years NFL Season unscathed by injuries. Drafting a left tackle like Will Campbell out of LSU or Kelvin Banks out of Texas will go a long way in protecting Drake Maye's blindside as Maye has gotten better in training camp, but still hasn't done enough to cement himself as the top quarterback on this depth chart.

New England has Christian Barmore at 3-4 right end, Davon Godchaux at 3-4 nose tacke, and Keion White at 3-4 left end. New England's best depth player on the defensive line is Deatrich Wise Jr. Christian Barmore is on the non football injury list and as long as he's out, New England's defensive line will struggle to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. Keion White has stepped up in his absence and New England's defensive line culd be scary good once Barmore comes back.

New England has Anfernee Jennings at 3-4 right outside linebacker who should be an every down player regardless if New England is running 4-3, 3-4, or a 3-3-5 nickel. Raekwon McMillan is the starting 4-3 middle linebacker as well as the 3-4 middle linebacker now that Ja'Whaun Bentley who had 100 total tackles for New England the past three seasons got ruled out for the year. Raekwon McMillan has a lower floor than Bentley, but a higher ceiling as well. Jahlani Tavai will play left outside linebacker and 3-4 middle linebacker regardless of whether New England is running a 4-3, 3-4, or 3-3-5 nickel. Sione Takitaki will play 3-4 left outside linebacker now that Josh Uche has been traded away.

New England has Christian Gonzalez their 2023 first round pick who should be the number one field cornerback. Jonathan Jones is the boundary cornerback next to Chrstian Gonzalez. Marcus Jones last years nickel cornerback will play nickel cornerback. Marcus Jones didn't practice on Wednesday heading into week 7 despite getting an interception against Houston in week 6. Kyle Dugger is starting at strong safety and Jabrill Peppers is starting at free safety. Jabrill Peppers got placed on the commissioners exempt list before week 6, so Jayln Hawkins will probably start at free safety after starting at strong safety in Kyle Dugger's absence.

Season ending injuries to Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez crippled this defense in 2023 before New England traded Judon to Atlanta for a 2024 third round pick. Christian Barmore is the only player injured on the defense right now, but he should be healthy for week 1. If New England's defense is fully healthy then this defense will be problematic for opposing NFL teams as this defense has the ability to limit what your offense does when the defense is fully healthy. With Christian Barmore out of the lineup, teams with fully healthy offensive lines should be able to give their quarterback a clean pocket.

New England has Joey Slye as the starting kicker and Bryce Baringer a 2023 sixth round pick out of Michigan State who was my top punter in the 2023 NFL Draft as the starting punter with those two entering year two as a starter. Marcus Jones is the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner for the New England Patriots.

Why the Tennessee Titans Will Win: Will Levis took over for Ryan Tannehill in the second half of last season as the starting quarterback as the 2023 second round pick out of Kentucky did well enough to remain the starting quarterback without getting benched. Tennessee added former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, who started in Pittsburgh's wild card loss to Buffalo as their backup. Mason Rudolph came in for an injured Will Levis in week 4 and won the game for the Tenenssee Titans. Will Levis started in week 6, but finally got benched for Mason Rudolph in week 7. There's no certainty as to whether Will Levis or Mason Rudolph starts, but Mason Rudolph will start again with Will Levis injured as Mason Rudolph makes his third NFL start this year.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph has JC Latham Tennessee's 2024 first round pick switching from right tackle at Alabama to left tackle after being drafted seventh overall, Peter Skoronski Tennessee's 2023 first round pick who was Northwestern's left tackle entering year two at left guard, Lloyd Cushenberry III at center, Dillon Radunz is the starting right guard, and Nicholas Petit-Friere will start at right tackle. Jaleyn Duncan is the backup left tackle, Dane Brunskil is the backup interior lineman at all three interior spots. Will Levis got injured and backup quarterback Mason Rudolph did a much better job leading the Tennessee Titans to their first win in week 4. One has to wonder if Mason Rudolph will be the Tennessee Titans starting quarterback moving forward.

Tennessee has Calvin Ridley as their flanker wide receiver, Tyler Boyd is their secondary wide receiver, Treylon Burks is their slot receiver, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is the number four wide receiver as well as Jha'Quan Jackson their 2024 sixth round pick out of Tulane as their number five wide receiver. Tennessee traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs which is why the wide receiver room looks different. Calvin Ridley might be out this week with an injury as he did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Treylon Burks is on injured reserve too. There's a chance Tennessee heads into week 8 with Tyler Boyd as their primary flanker wide receiver, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as the secondary wide receiver, and Jha'Quan Jackson as the slot receiver.

Tennessee has Chigoziem Okonwko as their starting tight end and Josh Whyle as the backup tight end. Tennessee has Tony Pollard as their starting running back and Tyjae Spears their 2023 third round pick out of Tulane entering year two as the backup running back. Tyjae Spears is out at running back for the third week in a row in missing weeks 7, 8, and 9. Tennesee has depth at wide receiver, but that feels like the only position the Tennessee Titans have depth at.

Tennessee has Jeffrey Simmons at 3-4 right end, T'Vondre Sweat, Tennessee's 2024 second round pick out of Texas will start at 3-4 nose tackle, and Sebastian Joseph-Day will start at 3-4 left end replacing Denico Autry. Tennessee also has Keondre Coburn for depth at nose tackle as Coburn mentored Sweat at Texas when Sweat was a freshman.

Tennesee has Harold Landry at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Arden Key at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Rashad Weaver is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker with Arden Key back. Caleb Murphy is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Kenneth Murray will start at 3-4 middle linebacker and call the plays on defense with Jerome Baker complimenting him. Jack Gibbens and Cedric Gray, Tennessee's 2024 fourth round pick out of North Carolina are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Tennessee has quite a bit of depth at 3-4 outside linebacker and 3-4 middle linebacker when everyone is fully healthy.

Tennessee has Chidobe Awuzie at field cornerback, L'Jarius Sneed at boundary cornerback, and nickel cornerback Roger McCreary enters his third season at nickel cornerback. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. a 2024 fifth round pick out of Louisville is the dime cornerback. Chidobe Awuzie got placed on injured reserve in week 4. In week 4, Tennessee started Jarvis Brownelee Jr. their 2024 fifth round pick at field cornerback, left L'Jarius Sneed at boundary cornerback and left Roger McCreary at nickel cornerback. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. will start as the number one cornerback on the Tennessee Titans for the next three weeks and could become a permanent starter in this secondary depending on how he does with Chidobe Awuzie's injury history as Jarvis Brownlee Jr. has done a good job in relief of Chidobe Awuzie. L'Jarius Sneed could be out at boundary cornerback in week 8 and Chidboe Awuzie is expected to be out again. Roger McCreary will start with Jarvis Brownlee Jr., but that third cornerback will get exposed until Awuzie or Sneed returns.

Tennessee has Amani Hooker at strong safety and Quandre Diggs at free safety. Tennessee also has Jamal Adams as the backup strong safety and Mike Brown as the backup free safety.

Tennessee has depth at nose tackle, 3-4 outside linebacker, 3-4 middle linebacker, cornerback and safety. Tennessee doesn't have depth at five technique if Jeffrey Simmons or Sebastian Joseph-Day get injured at 3-4 defensive end.

Tennessee has Nick Folk at kicker and Ryan Stonehouse is back at punter. Tyjae Spears is expected to be the kick returner while Jha'Quan Jackson is expected to be the punt returner.

Prediction: Tennessee is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 40 with 74% of the public betting on Tennessee. The money line is +130 for New England and -155 for Tennessee. I like New England to win and to cover with the under at +130. Bet $170 on this game for New England and win up to $300 as long as the Titans win by 2 or less.

Final Score Patriots 20 Titans 19

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Jacksonville Jaguars 2-6-0	Versus	Philadelphia Eagles 5-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I started a new show called Under The Bleachers with William Yannish and Brandice Bell. Here's a playlist of all the episodes.

I started a new show called Utopia Football Insider with Oren Shiri. Here's a playlist of all the episodes.

Why the Jacksonville Jaguars Will Win: Trevor Lawrence got extended at quarterback. Jacksonville has Walker Little at left tackle, Ezra Cleveland at left guard, Mitch Morse at center, Brandon Scherff at right guard, and Anton Harrison at right tackle. Javon Foster is the backup left tackle after starting the season as the backup right tackle, Cooper Hodges is the backup left guard, Luke Fortner is the backup center, Blake Hance is the backup right guard, and Cole Van Lanen is the backup right tackle now that Cam Robinson is no longer on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ezra Cleveland and Brandon Scherff both got injured in week 8. Ezra Cleveland has been ruled out for week 9, but Brandon Scherff is questionable. Cooper Hodges will get his first career NFL start at left guard this week in week 9.

Jacksonville has Gabriel Davis as their flanker wide receiver, Brian Thomas Jr. as their secondary wide receiver as a 2024 first round pick out of LSU, and Parker Washington as the slot receiver after Christian Kirk broke his collarbone ansd suffered a season ending injury. Devin Duvernay is also on injured reserve with Christian Kirk. Jacksonville is going to be dependent on Gabriel Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. at wide receiver without Christian Kirk or Devin Duvernay with their number five wide receiver having to play slot receiver now.

Evan Engram is Jacksonville's number one tight end with Luke Farrell as their number two tight end. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville's 2023 second round pick is the third string tight end which makes sense since Strange ranked twenty out of twenty on my tight end rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft. Engram's self esteem and confidence skyrocketted in Jacksonville which led to his extension.

Jacksonville has Travis Etienne as the starting running back, Tank Bigsby as the number two running back whose shown he can start, D'Ernest Johnson is the third string running back , and Keilan Robinson a 2024 fifth round pick is the fourth string running back. Travis Etienne had a hamstring injury in week 6 and even though he had limited participation he may be doubtful for week 7. Travis Etienne missed the last two weeks, but he will be back for week 9. Tank Bigsby has jumped Travis Etienne as the starting running back on Jacksonville's depth chart.

The only position where I'm comfortable with the backups from a depth perspective on the Jacksonville Jaguars offense is the offensive line. If something happens to Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Gabriel Davis, Brian Thomas Jr., Christian Kirk, or Evan Engram then Jacksonville is in trouble. Mac Jones did sign with Jacksonville to be a backup to Trevor Lawrence, but I'm not sold on him as he peaked after his rookie season.

Jacksonville has Josh Hines-Allen at 4-3 right end, DaVon Hamilton at 4-3 defensive tackle, Arik Armstead at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Travon Walker at 4-3 left end. Roy Robertson-Harris is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle, Jeremiah Ledbetter is the other backup 4-3 defensive tackle, Maason Smith a 2024 second round pick out of LSU is the number five 4-3 defensive tackle, and Jordan Jefferson his LSU teammate that Jacksonville drafted in the fourth round is the number six 4-3 defensive tackle playing with Maason Smith on the third string defensive tackle pairing. Jacksonville doesn't have much depth at 4-3 defensive end, but has depth in spades at 4-3 defensive tackle.

Jacksonville has Foyesade Oluokun at 4-3 right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense and Devin Lloyd at 4-3 middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Chad Muma is starting at 4-3 left outside linebacker, but will also play backup middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 defense. Jacksonville also has Yasir Abdullah as the backup outside linebacker at both right and left outside linebacker. Foyesade Oluokun practiced in a limited capacity. Vontrell Miller has done well enough to push Devin Lloyd ahd Chad Muma for starting middle linebacker reps. Jacksonville has a lot of depth on their front 7 when everyone is healthy. This is the healthiest Jacksonville's front 7 has been since week 1.

Jacksonville has Tyson Campbell at field cornerback who they recently extended, Ronald Darby at boundary cornerback, former Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage is the new nickel cornerback, Montaric Brown is the dime cornerback, Jarrian Jones a 2024 third round pick out of Florida State and De'Ante Prince a 2024 fifth round pick out of Ole Miss are competing for the quarter cornerback job. Antonio Johnson will be the new starting strong safety with Andre Cisco at free safety. Andrew Wingard is the backup free safety and Daniel Thomas who signed a team friendly extension is the backup strong safety. This will be the first week since week 1 where the Jacksonville Jaguars defense is at full health

Jacksonville replaced Cam Little at kicker which I think was an excellent decision by the Jaguars at kicker. Logan Cooke doesn't excite me as a punter yet he's back. Devin Duvernay replaces Jamal Agnew as both a kick returner and a punt returner. With Duvernay injured, Tank Bigsby is the kick returner and Parker Washington is the punt returner.

Why the Philadelphia Eagles Will Win: Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Philadelphia has Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Cam Jurgens at center, Mekhi Becton at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Philadelphia also has Trevor Keegan as a backup left guard, Matt Hennessy as a backup center, Tyler Steen as a backup right guard. Lane Johnson missed week 4, but he was a full practice following Philadelphia's bye week. Jordan Mailata was ruled out against the New York Giants in week 7, but I've heard Mailata may be out until November 14th. Mekhi Becton hasn't practiced this week at right guard either.

Philadelphia has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith two wide receivers that are capable of being number one options at wide receiver. Smith played flanker receiver as a rookie, but became the secondary wide receiver once Philadelphia traded for A.J. Brown in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Jahan Dotson is the slot receiver. Johnny Wilson, Philadelphia's rookie wide receivers drafted in the sixth round is the number four wide receiver. Ainis Smith, Philadelphia's 2024 fifth round pick is the number five wide receiver. Philadelphia has all of their wide receivers at full health following the bye week.

Dallas Goedert remains a top 10 tight end in the NFL making him another asset in the passing game for quarterback Jalen Hurts. Grant Calcentera remains the backup tight end to Dallas Goedert. Dallas Goedert will miss his third game in a row as he's been out in weeks 7, 8, and 9 now.

Philadelphia has Saquon Barkley as their starting running back, Kenneth Gainwell as their backup running back, and Will Shipley the former Clemson running back from the 2024 NFL Draft as the third string running back. Philadelphia is deep at a lot of positions offensively and will be a force in the NFC as long as Jalen Hurts is healthy at quarterback, Jordan Mailata is healthy at left tackle, and Lane Johnson is healthy at right tackle. They have depth to reload if others on this offense outside of those three get injured, but those three must play all 17 games for Philadelphia to go on another run to a Super Bowl. I also believe offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will do well as the Philadelphia Eagles new offensive coordinator.

Philadelphia is moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Jalen Carter is going to start at 3-4 right end, Jordan Davis will start at 3-4 nose tackle, and Milton Williams will start at 3-4 left end in a contract year. Byron Young who got cut by the Raiders is the backup 3-4 right end which is a scheme he's better suited in while Moro Ojomo is the backup 3-4 left end.

Philadelphia has Josh Sweat at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Zach Baun starting at 3-4 middle linebacker after playing outside linebacker at Wisconsin and on the New Orleans Saints, Nakobe Dean starting at the other 3-4 middle linebacker spot, and Bryce Huff starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Philadelphia has Nolan Smith one of their two 2023 first round picks after Jalen Carter as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker. Oren Burks and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Brandon Graham is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Patrick Johnson is the third string 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jalyx Hunt, Philadelphia's 2024 third round pick out of Houston Christian is the third string 3-4 left outside linebacker.

Philadelphia has Darius Slay at field cornerback, Quinyon Mitchell is the boundary cornerback, and Cooper DeJean is Philadelphia's nickel cornerback as he looks as good as advertised. Isaiah Rodgers is the dime cornerback, Avonte Maddox is the quarter cornerback, and Kelee Ringo is the number six cornerback. Darius Slay will miss week 9.

Philadelphia brought back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to start at strong safety and Reed Blankenship will start at free safety. James Bradberry is the backup strong safety. Sydney Brown their 2023 third round pick out of Illinois is the backup free safety.

Philadelphia has Jake Elliott at kicker. Jake Elliott is the only asset Philadelphia has on special teams, but having a top five kicker is crucial when you need points.

Prediction: Philadelphia is a 7.5 point favorite at -7.5. The over or under is 45.5 with 75% of the public betting on Philadelphia. The money line is +280 for Jacksonville and -350 for Philadelphia. I like Jacksonville to win and to cover with the under at +280. Bet $320 on this game for Jacksonville and win up to $600 as long as the Eagles win by 7 or less.

Final Score Jaguars 24 Eagles 17

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Chicago Bears 5-3-0	Versus	Arizona Cardinals 4-4-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I will be doing a 12 team College Football Breakdown of myy top 12 teams in College Football Each Week. This will be replacing the Bill Clinton College Football Playoff Selection Special that I've done for many years meaning you will get an authentic take from yours truely. I will also rank my projected SEC, Big 10, ACC, and Big 12 Champions in the top 4 overall since that's how the final College Football Playoff will be formatted with teams 5-11 also being power 4 teams as well as one group of five team.

Oregon

Oregon has one of the most complete offenses in the country. Dillon Gabriel is the starting quarterback, Evan Stewart as well as Tez Johnson are the top two wide receivers, Terrance Ferguson is the starting tight end, Josh Connerly is the blindside at left tackle, and Ajani Cornelius is the bookend offensive tackle at right tackle. Oregon clobbered Oregon State in the Civil War. Oregon defeated Ohio State 32-31 making them the new number two team in the country.

Miami FL

The Miami Hurricanes are my ACC winner. I think with the additions of Cam Ward at quarterback and Damien Martinez at running back, the U finds a way to climb back into relevancy after attacking the transfer portal. Xavier Restrepo is a good wide receiver that Ward can depend on. Miami FL's offensive line has Jalen Rivers at left tackle, Zach Carpenter at center, Anez Cooper Jr. at right guard, and Francis Mauigoa a potential 2026 first round pick at right tackle. They have the number seven offensive line with four returning starters up front and number twelve defensive line in the country according to Phil Steele. Miami barely beat Virginia Tech and California, but the best team in the ACC is 5-0 on the year.

Iowa State

Iowa State is the highest ranked Big 12 Team in the top 25. Iowa State's win over Iowa gives them the landslide edge over BYU with both teams tied for the best record in the Big 12 as unbeaten teams.

Texas A&M

Number one ranked Texas lost to Georgia. The only two SEC teams without a loss are LSU and Texas A&M. I think Georgia is the best overall SEC team, but until they are the undisputed leader in the SEC, I will give any SEC team that is undefeated in conference play priority over them at this point. LSU and Texas A&M are the only two undefeated teams in SEC Conference play with no zero loss teams in the SEC and those play each other this weekend.

Penn State

Penn State has Drew Allar back at quarterback, Nicholas Singleton back at running back, Tyler Warren back at tight end, Sal Wormley back at right guard, and Abdul Carter back at right outside linebacker. Penn State also added Julian Fleming Ohio State's slot receiver in the transfer portal. Penn State's toughest game is a home game against Ohio State as they do not play Oregon or Michigan. Penn State is the one of three undefeated teams left in the Big 10.

BYU

BYU leads the Big 12. BYU is the only undefeated Big 12 team that is 4-0 in conference play. BYU barely defeated Oklahoma State 35-31.

Indiana

Indiana is the fourth unbeaten team in the Big 10. They are the only Big 10 team 4-0 against the Big 10 so far in 2024. This makes Indiana my 7 seed in the 12 team playoff with only 11 undefeated FBS teams left.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is 6-0 for the first time since 1991. When Pittsburgh won the ACC two years ago they lost to both Western Michigan and Miami FL at home. Their redshirt freshman quarterback was a four star recruit from Alabama and he looks more promising than Kenny Pickett so far. At the same token Pittsburgh has an easy strength of schedule.

Army

Army is one of the 12 undefeated teams left in the FBS. Them and their rival Navy are the only two unbeatens in the AAC. Army is 7-0 and now twenty third in the top 25.

Georgia

Georiga on paper is the best SEC team. They also currently rank second in the AP Poll. Liberty lost to winless Kennesaw State on Wednesday which forced me to update this top 12 early as there are now only ten undefeated teams in the FBS.

Previously Ranked: 11th

Ohio State

Ohio State has a ton of talent returning and they might be a more complete team than Georgia. Georgia has Carson Beck at quarterback while Ohio State has former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard coming in from the transfer portal to replace Kyle McCord whose now at Syracuse. Lots of seniors returned to Ohio State and this is the preseason number two team in the country as well as the consensus favorite to win the Big 10. Ohio State only lost to Oregon by 1 point. This is still the best one loss team in the country.

Previously Ranked: 12th

Texas

Texas only lost one game to Georgia. They are in my top 25 this week.

Previously Ranked: Not Ranked

Why the Chicago Bears Will Win: Caleb Williams the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft takes over as the starting quarterback. Chicago has Braxton Jones their 2022 fifth round pick out of Southern Utah who won the left tackle job as a rookie entering year three at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton is the Chicago Bears starting center, Nate Davis enters year two as the Chicago Bears starting right guard, and Darnell Wright rounds out this offensive line after the Chicago Bears drafted the Tennessee right tackle tenth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Chicago has Kiran Amegadjie their 2024 third round pick as the backup left tackle and Ryan Bates as the backup center. Both Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie are out at left tackle in week 9 with injuries. Larry Borom the backup right tackle may be designated for return, but he's still technically on injured reserve.

Chicago has D.J. Moore as their number one flanker wide receiver after trading the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft away to Carolina for D.J. Moore. Rome Oduzne, who was also drafted in the top 10 along with Caleb Williams is the number two wide receiver. Keenan Allen the Los Angeles Chargers number one wide receiver joins Chicago and is now the slot receiver. Tyler Scott is the number four wide receiver. Velus Jones Jr. got demoted to the number five wide receiver spot after losing the number four role to Tyler Scott last year. DeAndre Carter is the number six wide receiver. Dante Pettis the number seven wide receiver is on injured reserve. Keenan Allen was out in week 2 and is out once again in week 3. Keenan Allen is expected to return in week 4 and this will mark the first game since week 1 where the Chicago Bears will have everyone at full health since week 1.

Chicago has a special tight end in Cole Kmet who got a contract extension after being a 2020 second round pick out of Notre Dame. Chicago also added Gerald Everett the number two tight end to Tyler Higbee on the Los Angeles Rams as well as the Los Angeles Chargers starting tight end last year as their backup tight end, and Marcedes Lewis came back for one more year as a third string tight end. Chicago has D'Andre Swift as their starting running back, Khalil Herbert as the backup running back, and Roschon Johnson the backup to Bijan Robinson at Texas as the third string running back.

I love Chicago's depth at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end as Tyson Bagent the backup quarterback to Caleb Williams looked good in the preseason despite not having a high ceiling and a good floor.

Chicago has Montez Sweat at 4-3 right end and Demarcus Walker complimenting him at 4-3 left end, but both guys are versatile enough to play edge rusher on either side. Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter are both starting at 4-3 defensive tackle. Austin Booker a 2024 fifth round pick is the backup 4-3 right end. Zacch Pickens was the Chicago Bears 2023 third round pick to kick off the third round out of South Carolina and he's entering year two as a backup to Andrew Billings. When Billings fatigues, Pickens can be used as a situational defensive tackle. Darrell Taylor, a former Seattle Seahawks pass rusher is the backup 4-3 left end. Zacch Pickens will be out again in week 6, so Chicago will not have depth at defensive tackle despite every starter on the defensive line being fully healthy. Montez Sweat is questionable in week 10.

Chicago has T.J. Edwards entering year two at 4-3 right outside linebacker as well as right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Chicago Tremaine Edmunds as their new 4-3 middle linebacker as he will also play middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Jack Sanborn will play 4-3 left outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme, but when Chicago runs a 4-2-5 nickel defense, he will be a backup to Tremaine Edmunds at middle linebacer.

Chicago has Jaylon Jones at field cornerback, Tyrique Stevenson at boundary cornerback, and Kyler Gordon is currently holding the nickel cornerback job. Terrell Smith, Chicago's 2023 fifth round pick out of Minnesota is currently the dime cornerback. Jaylon Jones returns as the quarter cornerback with all of Chicago's top five cornerbacks from last year returning. Tyrique Stevenson got benched for his stunt at the end of the week 8 game. Jaylon Jones will play field cornerback as usual, Kyler Gordon moves to boundary cornerback, Terrell Smith plays nickel cornerback, and Tyrique Stevenson is only used as a dime cornerback in week 9.

Jaquan Brisker is the starting strong safety. Kevin Byard is the starting free safety. Chicago added Jonathan Owens for depth at safety as Owens is the backup free safety. Elijah Hicks is the backup strong safety. Jaquan Brisker missed weeks 6, 8, and 9 with his concussion even after a week 7 bye week.

Chicago has Cairo Santos as their starting kicker and Tory Taylor as their starting punter. Velus Jones Jr. will be the kick returner and DeAndre Carter will be the punt returner.

Why the Arizona Cardinals Will Win: Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray seems to have matured this offsesason and it is refreshing to see him take responsibility. Arizona has Paris Johnson Jr. at left tackle after playing right tackle as a rookie, Evan Brown, the Seattle Seahawks center is Arizona's new starting left guard, Hjalte Froholdt is Arizona's starting center, Will Hernandez is back at right guard, and Jonah Williams signed with Arizona on a one year deal as a bookend to Paris Johnson Jr. after making the transition from left tackle to right tackle with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023. Arizona has Kelvin Beachum as their backup left tackle who will now be the main swing tackle with Arizona's backup right tackle on injured reserve the first four weeks, Isaiah Adams Arizona's 2024 third round pick is the backup left guard, Trystan Colon is the backup center, Jon Gaines II is the backup right guard, and Christian Jones is the backup right tackle once he returns from injured . Arizona has Will Hernandez on injured reserve at right guard and Jonah Williams at right tackle after Jonah Williams got injured in week 1. Kelvin Beachum has filled in for Jonah Williams at right tackle even though Christian Jones might be a better starter down the road.

Arizona got a true number one flanker wide receiver for Kyler Murray in Marvin Harrison Jr. who was the best receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft. Michael Wilson is the number two secondary wide receiver. Greg Dortch dominated training camp to the point where he's supplanted Zay Jones as Arizona's slot receiver. Zay Jones is now the number four wide receiver. Zach Pascal was a number four wide receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 57 team that Jonathan Gannon was a defensive coordinator on, but he's a number five wide receiver on this roster. Former Colorado wide receiver Xavier Weaver, who I had a fifth round grade on, made Arizona's final 53 man roster as an undrafted rookie and begins the season as the number six wide receiver on this depth chart. Xavier Weaver remains that role, but Arizona has a ton of depth in terms of wide receiver.

Trey McBride, Arizona's 2022 second round pick out of Colorado State took the starting tight end job from Zach Ertz in the second half of the2023 season after seeing limited action as a rookie when Ertz got injured in 2022. Elijah Higgins who showed promise down the stretch as a number two tight end is the backup tight end. Tip Reiman a 2024 third round pick out of Illinois is the third string tight end.

James Conner remains the starting running back. Trey Benson, Arizona's 2024 third round pick is a good backup for James Conner in Arizona. Arizona will rely heavily on those two in the running game. Arizona has the best wide receiver depth, tight end depth, offensive tackle depth, and guard depth that Kyler Murray has ever had in his career. Arizona doesn't have a number three running back or a quality center as I'm not sold on Froholdt or Colon.

Arizona has Justin Jones starting at 3-4 right end, Roy Lopez starting at 3-4 nose tackle, and Bilal Nichols who played with Justin Jones in Chicago as their starting 3-4 left end. Dante Stills who led Arizona's defensive line in sacks as a rookie is the backup 3-4 right end. Khyris Tonga who entered the season as the favorite to start at nose tackle is now on Arizona's second team as the backup 3-4 nose tackle following the emergence of Roy Lopez and Darius Robinson, Arizona's second 2024 first round pick is the backup 3-4 left end. Arizona will have a lot of depth on this defensive line when everyone is fully healthy, but Darius Robinson will begin the first four weeks on injured reserve. Khyris Tonga the backup 3-4 nose tackle on the Arizona Cardinals is out with an injury in week 4.

Arizona doesn't have B.J. Ojulari or Dennis Gardeck at 3-4 right outside linebacker. This means any team with a decent quarterback and left tackle has the chance to steal a win from the Arizona Carinals. Zaven Collins Arizona's 2021 first round pick out of Tulsa will play 3-4 left outside linebacker. Kyzir White and Mack Wilson Sr. are the two starting 3-4 middle linebackers.

Arizona Cardinals 2024 second round pick out of Rutgers, Max Melton is covering Marvin Harrison Jr. in practice and actually breaking up passes Kyler Murray is throwing Marvin Harrison Jr.'s way which means he's taken the number one field cornerback job from veteran free agent Sean Murphy-Bunting whose been a number two cornerback his entire career even dating back to Central Michigan as now Sean Murphy-Bunting can be a boundary cornerback against number two wide receivers while also mentoring rookie Max Melton on how to be the best number one cornerback he can possibly be. Garrett Williams, the Arizona Cardinals 2023 third round pick out of Syracuse is the projected nickel cornerback. This cornerback room is going to be better than I initially projected them to be if Max Melton is the field cornerback covering number one wide receivers. Jalen Thompson is back at strong safety with Budda Baker back at free safety, but both safeties are versatile enough to play both safety roles. As long as these five defensive backs stay healthy, Arizona's secondary may force some turnovers to bail out Kyler Murray when he has Call Of Duty flashbacks during NFL games. Garrett Williams is out and Sean Murphy-Bunting is questionable.

Matt Prater is Arizona's kicker. DeeJay Dallas is the kick returner and Greg Dortch is expected to go from return specialist on both kickoffs and punts to just returning punt returns this upcoming season.

Prediction: Arizona is a 1 point favorite at -1. The over or under is 44.5 with 53% of the public betting on Arizona. The money line is and +105 for Chicago and -125 for Arizona. Take Arizona to win and cover with the over at -125. Bet $175 on this game for Arizona and win up to $300 as long as the Cardinals win by 2 or more.

Final Score Cardinals 24 Bears 21

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Detroit Lions 6-1-0	Versus	Green Bay Packers 6-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I did a Lions VS Packers week 9 preview with Mary from the Mac And Cheese Podcast. I will be doing a few shows on her channel in the coming weeks, so stay tuned or those.

Why the Detroit Lions Will Win: Detroit Lions starting quarterback Jared Goff has a strong offensive line once again He's got Taylor Decker back at left tackle, Graham Glasgow at left guard, Frank Ragnow at center, Kevin Zeitler at right guard, and Penei Sewell at right tackle. Dan Skipper is the backup left tackle and Colby Sorsdal is the backup right tackle. Detroit has good starters on the offensive line, but the depth you'd like to see isn't there. Detroit Lions 2023 third round pick Hendon Hooker is the backup to Jared Goff after redshirting as a rookie quarterback.

Jared Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown as his number one flanker wide receiver, Jameson Williams is the secondary wide receiver, Kalif Raymond is the slot receiver. Jameson Williams missed week 8 and is suspended for one more week. Sam LaPorta had a great rookie season last year and managed to emerge as a top 10 starting tight end. Brock Wright is the number two tight end. Jahmyr Gibbs is expected to be the number one running back with David Montgomery complimenting Gibbs. Last year David Montgomery started with Jahmyr Gibbs complimenting him with Gibbs being eased in. Detroit has two number one running backs in their backfield. Craig Reynolds is the third string running back and Detroit Lions 2024 fourth round pick Sione Vaki a safety at Utah is the fourth string running back.

Detroit will have Aidan Hutchinson at 4-3 right end, D.J. Reader at 4-3 defensive tackle, Alim McNeil at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Marcus Davenport at 4-3 left end as their starters on the defensive line. James Houston IV is the backup 4-3 right end with John Cominsky on injured reserve, Levi Onwuzirike is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to D.J. Reader, Mekhi Wingo is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Alim McNeil, and Josh Pascal is the backup 4-3 left end to Marcus Davenport with John Cominsky on injured reserve. Both Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport are out for the year at 4-3 right end and 4-3 left end. John Cominsky the backup 4-3 defensive end is injured too, so Detroit will have to start their number four and number five defensive ends until John Cominsky returns. Josh Pascal, Detroit's 2022 second round pick that was drafted in the same year as Aidan Hutchinson will start at 4-3 right end. Josh Pascal, Detroit's 2022 second round pick that was drafted in the same year as Aidan Hutchinson will start at 4-3 right end. James Houston IV Detroit's 2022 sixth round pick is starting at 4-3 left end.

Alex Anzalone is moving from 4-3 right outside linebacker, Jack Campbell Detroit's 2023 first round pick out of Iowa will start at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Derrick Barnes at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Malcolm Rodriguez is the backup 4-3 right outside linebacker as well as the backup right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Derrick Barnes is the backup to Jack Campbell in a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is the backup 4-3 left outside linebacker as well as a third string right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense.

Detroit currently has Carlton Davis at field cornerback, Terrion Arnold their 2024 first round pick out of Alabama is at boundary cornerback, Brian Branch as their nickel cornerback, Amik Robertson is the dime cornerback, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. their 2024 second round pick is the quarter cornerback. Ifeatu Melifonwu is the strong safety and Kerby Joseph is the starting free safety. There's some speculation that Brian Branch moves from nickel cornerback to strong safety with Amik Robertson starting at nickel corenrback, but Robertson isn't that good, so I'll believe it when I see it.

Jake Bates is Detroit's kicker. Jack Fox is punter. Craig Reynolds is the kick returner and Kalif Raymond is the punt returner.

Why the Green Bay Packers Will Win: Jordan Love became the highest paid quarterback after going 9-8 and taking Green Bay to the Divisional Round of the NFC Playoffs last year after Green Bay's 2020 first round pick finally replaced Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay has Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jordan Morgan at right guard, and Zach Tom at right tackle. Green Bay also has Andre Dillard as the backup left tackle, Jacob Monk as the backup center, and Sean Rhyan as the backup right guard with better depth on their interior offensive line for quarterback Jordan Love.

Christian Watson, Green Bay's 2022 second round pick out of North Dakota State finished his rookie season strong after missing the early portion of the season with injuries and enters year three as the flanker receiver and number one target. Romeo Doubs Green Bay's 2022 fourth round pick out of Nevada is the secondary wide receiver, but will be Green Bay's number one receiver unless he gets ruled out too after being listed as questionable for week 1. Jayden Reed Green Bay's 2023 second round pick supplanted Romeo Doubs as the number two secondary wide receiver on this depth chart after winning the slot receiver job as a rookie. Dontayvion Wicks is the number four wide receiver on the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay has Luke Musgrave their 2023 second round pick out of Oregon State as the starting tight end. Tucker Kraft was a starting tight end on South Dakota State before the Packers picked him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Green Bay has a good starter and backup tight end on rookie deals for three more years and both tight ends can perform like number one tight ends when fully healthy. Luke Musgrave got placed on injured reserve heading into week 6 and is out for two more weeks.

Green Bay has Josh Jacobs as their starting running back and Marshawn Lloyd is the backup running back, and A.J. Dillon is the third string running back, but he will begin the season on injured reserve. Marshawn Lloyd the backup was inactive in week 1. Emmanuel Wilson who was supposed to be the third string running back got promoted to backup running back at the last minute. Green Bay has depth at running back, wide receiver, tight end.

Green Bay is moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. Preston Smith will start at 4-3 right end, Kenny Clark will start at 4-3 defensive tackle, T.J. Slaton will start at 4-3 defensive tackle beating out DeVonte Wyatt for one of the starting defensive tackle spots, and Rashan Gary is the starting 4-3 left end. Lukas Van Ness is the backup 4-3 right end as the backup to Preston Smith, Devonte Wyatt one of Green Bay's two 2022 first round picks out of Georgia is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to Kenny Clark, Karl Brooks is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle to T.J. Slaton, and Kingsley Enagbare is the backup 4-3 left end is the backup to Rashan Gary. Colby Wooden is Green Bay's third string 4-3 defensive tackle despite being drafted two rounds ahead of Brooks in 2023. Kenny Clark has not practiced this week.

Green Bay has Quay Walker as their 4-3 right outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense with Isaiah McDuffie projected to start at 4-3 middle linebacker. Ty'Ron Hopper a rookie drafted in the third round is the backup to Quay Walker and Edgerin Cooper is the backup to Isaiah McDuffie right now, but something tells me Edgerin Cooper is starting for Green Bay by next season at the very latest with McDuffie in a contract year on the final year of his rookie deal. Quay Walker is in concussion protocol, but there's a chance he's cleared by Sunday.

Green Bay has Jaire Alexander as their field cornerback as the Green Bay Packers 2018 first round pick out of Louisville is still the teams top cornerback. Eric Stokes is the boundary cornerback after being Green Bay's 2021 first round pick. Keisean Nixon is Green Bay's nickel cornerback. Carrington Valentine is the dime cornerback and Corey Ballentine is the quarter cornerback. Green Bay has Xavier McKinney at strong safety and Javon Bullard at free safety. Jaire Alexander missed week 4. He might be back in week 5, but he could also be out this week. Jaire Alexander played in week 5. Evan Williams has looked like a starting safety despite playing situationally.

Brandon McManus is the new stating kicker. Keisean Nixon Green Bay's nickel cornerback is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Prediction: Detroit is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 48.5 with 59% of the public betting on Detroit. The money line is -170 for Detroit and +145 for Green Bay. I like Green Bay to win and to cover with the under at +145. Bet $155 on this game for Green Bay and win up to $300 as long as the Lions win by 2 points or less.

Final Score Packers 28 Lions 20

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Los Angeles Rams 3-4-0	Versus	Seattle Seahawks 4-4-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Jake Ellenbogen is one of the better Rams insiders on Youtube. We had him on the podcast last year. He discussed the takeaway from week 8.

Why the Los Angeles Rams Will Win: Matthew Stafford is back from his injury and should be healthier in 2023. Los Angeles has Joseph Noteboom at left tackle, Steve Avila their 2023 second round pick out of TCU is the left guard, Jonah Jackson is the starting center, Kevin Dotson is the right guard, and Rob Havenstein is starting at right tackle. Alaric Jackson is the backup left tackle and he got suspended to start the year. Connor McDermott the backup left guard is on injured reserve to begin the year. Beaux Limmer a 2024 sixth round pick out of Arkansas is the backup center. Logan Bruss is the backup right guard. Warren McClendon Jr. the starting right tackle at Georgia last year was the Los Angeles Rams 2023 fifth round pick is the backup right tackle. The Los Angeles Rams have better starters and still have quality depth on the offensive line even though the depth doesn't feel as strong as last year. I do think the Rams have better starters on the offensive line though. Los Angeles doesn't have Joseph Noteboom at left tackle, Steve Avila at left guard, or Rob Havenstein at right tackle due to injury heading into week 2. Los Angeles got Rob Havenstein back at right tackle in week 2, but lost center Jonah Jackson whose now on injured reserve. Alaric Jackson missed week one, but returned to the starting lineup in week 2 just like Rob Havenstein. KT Leveston and Connor McDermott are both on injured reserve. If either Alaric Jackson or Rob Havenstein get injured, the backup left tackle would be Gerod Christian and the backup right tackle would be Warren McClendon Jr. who started in week 1 in relief of Havenstein. Beaux Limmer will make his first career NFL start at center against the San Francisco 49ers in week 3.

Joseph Noteboom missed week 8, but he will be back in week 9. Los Angeles will have Joseph Noteboom at left tackle, Logan Bruss at lefft guard, Beaux Limmer at center whose not given up a sack yet as a 2024 sixth round pick out of Arkansas, Kevin Dotson at right guard, and Rob Havenstein at right tackle. Los Angeles could get Steve Avila at left guard and Jonah Jackson at center next week in week 10.

Los Angeles has Cooper Kupp as their flanker number one wide receiver, Puka Nacua is the secondary wide receiver, but showed he could be a number one primary receiver as a rookie when Cooper Kupp was injured, and Demarcus Robinson is the slot receiver. Tutu Atwell is the number four wide receiver, Tyler Johnson is the number five wide receiver, and Jordan Whittington a 2024 sixth round pick out of Texas is the number six wide receiver beating out Ben Skowronek for that final roster spot at wide receiver. Puka Nacua got placed on injured reserve meaning Demarcus Robinson and Tutu Atwell will be starting next to Cooper Kupp. Cooper Kupp will make his first start since he got injured in week 8 and Puka Nacua might too.

The Los Angeles Rams have amazing depth at tight end too. Tyler Higbee is on the PUP list to begin the year. Colby Parkinson who was brought in to be the number two tight end to Higbee will be the number one tight end in week 1. Davis Allen the third string tight end is the backup tight end until Tyler Higbee returns. Hunter Long the fourth string tight end is the third string tight end until Tyler Higbee returns.

Los Angeles has Kyren Williams as their starting running back with Blake Corum their 2024 third round pick out of Michigan as the number two running back. Ronnie Rivers is the third string running back. Cody Schraeder is the fourth string running back.

The Rams have a lot more depth at running back, wide receiver, tight end, and offensive line compared to a season ago when injuries began to pile up. As long as everyone on this offense is fully healthy, Stetson Bennett might be able to come in and make an impact if something happens to Matthew Stafford. For now, quarterback Matthew Stafford and Super Bowl 56 MVP Cooper Kupp at wide receiver are still the core pieces on this offense with young emerging talents like Puca Nacua and Kyren Williams estabilishing themselves as stars on this offense as well.

Los Angeles has Braden Fiske their 2024 second round pick taking over for Aaron Donald at 3-4 right end. Bobby Brown III a 2021 fourth round pick out of Texas A&M as the starting nose tackle, and Kobie Turner a 2023 third round pick out of Wake Forest was one of the best rookies at 3-4 left end. Neville Gallimore replaces Larrell Murchison as the backup 3-4 right end to Braden Fiske. Tyler Davis their 2024 sixth round pick out of Clemson is the backup nose tackle, and Desjuan Johnson, Mr. Irrelevant in the 2023 NFL Draft is the backup 3-4 left end. Los Angeles still has a lot of depth on this defensive line despite Aaron Donald retiring.

Los Angeles will have Jared Verse at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Byron Young a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Omar Speights who went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft is one of the undrafted rookies to win a starting job as he will start at 3-4 middle linebacker and Christian Rozeboom are the two starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. Nick Hampton a 2023 fifth round pick out of Appalachian State is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and Michael Hoecht last years 3-4 right outside linebacker is now the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. The Rams don't have great depth at 3-4 middle linebacker if anything happens to Omar Speights or Christian Rozeboom as that is one area of the defense that will need to be upgraded if both guys underperform and this is a weak inside linebacker draft in 2025. Los Angeles signed Tony Fields II to their roster after the Cleveland Browns demoted him to the practice squad.

Los Angeles has Tre'Davious White at field cornerback, Darious Williams at boundary cornerback, and Decobie Durant at nickel cornerback. Quentin Lake is the dime cornerback. There's no depth at cornerback outside of Lake due to Derrion Kendrick going on season ending injured resrve along with Tre'Vious Hodges-Tomlinson. Russ Yeast also got cut by the Los Angeles Rams. Darious Williams going on injured reserve for the first four weeks. Kamren Curl is the starting strong safety and John Johnson III is the starting free safety. Kamren Kinchens one of their two 2024 third round picks out of Miami FL is the backup safety. John Johnson III has been out with an injury since week 2 and Kamren Kinchens has gained invaluable experience starting at free safety as a rookie.

Joshua Karty is the starting kicker as the Los Angeles Rams got my top kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft. Ethan Evans enters his second year as the starting punter after being a 2023 seventh round pick. Tutu Atwell is the kick returner and Kyren Williams is the starting punt returner.

Why the Seattle Seahawks Will Win: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has every starter in 2022 back with Charles Cross at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at at left guard, Connor Williams at center, Anthony Bradford Jr. at right guard, and George Fant at right tackle with Abraham Lucas the starting right tackle on the PUP list. Anthony Bradford is the backup left guard after being a 2023 fourth round pick. Stone Forsyth is the backup left tackle, Sataoa Laumea Seattle's 2024 fifth round pick out of Utah is the backup left guard, Olusegun Oluwaitimi, Seattle's 2023 fifth round pick out of Michigan won the Rimmington Award is the backup center, Christian Haynes Seattle's 2024 third round pick out of Connecticut is the backup right guard, and Michael Jurrell Seattle's 2024 sixth round pick is the backup right tackle until Abraham Lucas returns from the PUP list. George Fant got injured at right tackle. All three of Seattle's right tackles are injured heading into week 2. George Fant could come off of injured reserve in week 6, but Seattle may bring him back in week 7. I'm guessing Abraham Lucas will be activated off of the PUP list sometime in week 7 and make a return in week 9 or week 11 after Seattle's week 10 bye week.

Seattle has D.K. Metcalf at flanker wide receiver, Tyler Lockett is their secondary wide receiver, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle's 2023 first round pick out of Ohio State will be the slot receiver. JaJake Bobo, Dareke Young, and Lavisaka Shenault Jr. are the backup wide receivers. Unlike last year, all of Seattle's wide receivers are fully healthy.

Seattle has Noah Fant as their starting tight end. With Will Dissly gone, Seattle's depth at tight end is much weaker compared to previous years if anything ends up happening to Noah Fant.

Seattle has Kenneth Walker III as their starting running back after Michigan State's former running back dominated as a rookie with Seattle in 2022. Zach Charbonnet a 2023 second round pick out of UCLA is now the backup running back. Kenny McIntosh, Seattle's 2023 seventh round pick out of Georgia is the third string running back after being the fourth string running back as a rookie. Kenneth Walker III returned to the lineup in week 4 after missing weeks 2 and 3.

Seattle has Dre'Mont Jones at starting 3-4 right end, Jarran Reed at 3-4 nose tackle, and Leonard Williams at 3-4 left end. Seattle also has Jonathan Hankins and Byron Murphy their 2024 first round pick for depth on the defensive line. Byron Murphy is out with an injury.

Seattle has Uchenna Nwosu at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Boye Mafe complimenting him at 3-4 left outside linebacker as these two guys are the starting edge rushers in Seattle for the 2023 season. Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson are the starting 3-4 middle linebackers. Uchenna Nwosu has been ruled out in week 1. Both Uchenna Nwosu and Boye Mafe have not practiced this week. Jerome Baker hasn't practiced this week either at 3-4 middle linebacker. Tyrel Dodson may be out too as he got downgraded from full participation on Thursday to limited participation on Friday leading up to week 4. Uchenna Nwosu missed weeks 1-4 before returning in week 5, but now he's on injured reserve again. Derrick Hall did well in relief of Boye Mafe, but Boye Mafe is a game-time decision for week 6.

Seattle has Devon Witherspoon back at field cornerback. Tariq Wolen dominated number two wide receivers at boundary cornerback during his rookie season out of UTSA going even as far as to be a finalist for Defensive Rookie Of The Year after being a 2022 fifth round pick. Tre Brown is the nickel cornerback. Nehemiah Prichett their 2024 fifth round pick is the dime cornerback. Tariq Woolen is out in week 6 and this makes things so much easier for San Francisco because now they just have to throw away from Devon Witherspoon by targeting Tre Brown and Nehemiah Pirchett. Tariq Woolen is on injured reserve which is a much bigger blow than most realize because now Nehemiah Prichett or Tre Brown has to play. Teams can just throw away from Devon Witherspoon and carve these cornerbacks.

Seattle will have Rayshawn Jenkins at strong safety and Julian Love at free safety when both safeties are fully healthy. Seattle's depth at safety feels a lot weaker after losing starting strong safety Jamal Adams and starting free safety Quandre Diggs. Rayshawn Jenkins is on injured reserve too.

Seattle has an under the radar top 10 kicker in Jason Myers at kicker. Michael Dickson isn't a bad punter. Laviska Shenault Jr. is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Prediction: Los Angeles is a 1.5 point favorite at -1.5. The over or under is 48.5 with 59% of the public betting on Los Angeles. The money line is -125 for Los Angeles and +105 for Seattle. Take Los Angeles to win and cover with the over at -125. Bet $175 on this game for Los Angeles and win up to $300 as long as the Rams win by 2 or more.

Final Score Rams 30 Seahawks 27

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Indianapolis Colts 4-4-0	Versus	Minnesota Vikings 5-2-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

All ten teams in the BFFL League have team logos. I'll use this section to rank where the 10 teams stand on Yahoo.

Millenial Menace 7-1

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances:
0

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-1
Millenial Menace actually had the leagues best regular season record in 2021 and was the one seed. Unfortunately, Millenial Menace lost to eventual league champion H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes as the top seed back in 2021.

Manager:
George Pabst

Rival: Mitch Pabst

All Time Winning Percentage: .534 39-34 is Millenial Menace's All Time Record from 2020-2024 with 39 wins in 73 total games played gives Millenial Menace a .534 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Millenial Menace drafted Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry with their first two picks. George used a third round keeper on Ja'Marr Chase and a fifteenth round keeper on Nico Collins. George is stacked at wide receiver, but is relying on fourth round pick Matthew Stafford and sixth round pick Baker Mayfield as his two quarterbacks.

Projected Record: 13-2 Millenial Menace is projected to go 13-2 and get the top playoff spot after winning weeks 1, 2, 5, and 6 as an underdog. Millenial Menace ranks first in wins, first in points scored, and his projected record improves to first at the end of the season.

Threat Level Midnight 5-3

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3
Bantle Bowl III (2017), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), and Bantle Bowl V (2019)

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 3
Bantle Bowl III (2017), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), and Bantle Bowl V (2019)

BFFL Playoff Record: 6-2
Threat Level Midnight formerly known as Breez Nuts was the only team to three peat in the BFFL over the past eight years. This team was known as Breez Nuts when Drew Brees played for the New Orleans Saints, but was later renamed Threat Level Midnight after Drew Brees retired. This team is 6-0 in their last six playoff contests despite being absent from the playoffs since 2019. The 2017 Breez Nuts Team and the 2022 Gangster Squad teams are the only teams to win the Bantle Bowl and be crowned league champion after finishing with the leagues best regular season record. Breez Nuts went 12-2 in 2018 getting the 2 seed after being swept by my team during the regular season, yet still ended up defeating my team in the playoffs and a 13-1 Chosen One's Team that had the leagues best record in 2018. Breez Nuts would defeat The Chosen One's in a 2019 rematch of Bantle Bowl IV during Bantle Bowl V to three peat after The Chosen One's upset top seed H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes while Breez Nuts handed my team its fourth playoff loss to the eventual league champion in five years.

Manager:
Mitch Pabst

Rival: George Pabst

All Time Winning Percentage: .618 102-63 is Threat Level Midnight's All Time Record from 2015-2024 with 102 wins in 165 total games played gives Threat Level Midnight a .618 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Mitch loaded up with weapons like Christian McCaffrey at running back, Garrett Wilson at wide receiver, Puka Nacua at wide receiver, Travis Kelce at tight end, Amari Cooper at wide receiver, and Aaron Jones at running back. Mitch drafted Aaron Rodgers as his second quarterback in the seventh round while getting Terry McLaurin as a flex player. Mitch used a ninth round keeper on Alvin Kamara another potential flex option and a twlelfth round keeper on C.J. Stroud whose his first and main quarterback. His other picks included Devin Singletary, Tony Polard, Jameson Williams, Taysom Hill, Bo Nix in the fifteenth round as a third quarterback for depth during bye weeks. Jake Moody the San Francisco 49ers kicker is his kicker and the New York Jets defense are the defense Mitch drafted.

Projected Record: 11-4 Threat Level Midnight had the best draft according to Mitch's simulator and Yahoo. They are projected to finish 11-4 after losing as favorites in week 1 and week 7. Christian McCaffrey got placed on injured reserve prior to week 2, but Threat Level Midnight is 5-0 since McCaffrey got placed on injured reserve. Threat Level Midnight is the projected 2 seed in the 2024 BFFL Playoffs.

H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes 5-3

Bantle Bowl Championships: 2
Bantle Bowl VII (2021) and Bantle Bowl IX (2023)

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2
Bantle Bowl VII (2021) and Bantle Bowl IX (2023)

BFFL Playoff Record: 4-5
Both of H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes two playoff wins came during their championship season in 2021 which was a year where I missed the playoffs. He defeated George Pabst as the fourth and final seed before defeating The Avengers in the Championship round back in 2021. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes went 12-2 back in 2019 and had the leagues best regular season record that year before losing to The Chosen One's in the playoffs two years prior to winning Bantle Bowl VII. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes saw both Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson go down with injuries when attempting to repeat in 2022 before losing to eventual league champion Gangster Squad my team. This year H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes were healthier as far as injuries went knocking out The Chosen One's getting his first playoff win over long time friend and league commissioner Jason Bantle in the BFFL Playoffs. He also defeated Riley in last years Championship to secure a second Bantle Bowl in three years. My playoff win over Heath two years ago is the one thing that kept Heath from three peating.

Manager:
Heath Berman

Rival: Chris Ransom

All Time Winning Percentage: .500 132-132 is H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes All Time Record from 2008-2024 with 132 wins in 264 total games played gives H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes a .500 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Heath drafted New York Jets running back Breece Hall, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Los Angeles Rams widde receiver Cooper Kupp, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Wtson, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, and Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb in the first eight rounds. Heath used a ninth round keeper on Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Muray and a tenth round keeper on Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London. Heath also has Jordan Addison, Jonathon Brooks, Austin Ekeler, Curtis Samuel, and Rico Dowdle for depth. Ka'imi Fairbairn is his kicker and the Seattle Seahawks defense is his defense. Heath's starting lineup might be the best outside of Mitch's team if his quarterback trio of Daniels, Watson, plus Murray steps up. His depth players aren't great, but his starting lineup of playmakers if fantastic enough to warrant respect. My guess is if Heath will replace his depth players with the waiver wire if those players underperform.

Projected Record: 9-6 H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes are projected to go 9-6 after losing as favorites in week 6. They entered the year as the projected two seed in the 2024 BFFL Playoffs. Heath enters week 7 ranked fourth in wins, second in points scored, and fifth in projected record at the end of the year. H.B's Vinegar Strokes would edge out the Avengers for the last wild card if both teams go 9-6.

Previously Ranked: 4th

The Avengers 5-3

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2
Bantle Bowl III (2017) and Bantle Bowl VII (2021)

BFFL Playoff Record: 2-2
The Avengers went 12-3 securing the 2 seed in 2017 and then went 10-5 getting the 3 seed in 2021. The Avengers are 2-0 in the Semfiinals, but 0-2 in Bantle Bowls.

Manager:
Gary Bantle

Rival: Jason Bantle

All Time Winning Percentage: .451 148-176-2 is The Avengers' All Time Record from 2003-2024 with 148 wins in 328 total games played gives The Avengers a .451 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: The Avengers used their first round pick on Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams was their second round pick. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans was The Avengers third round pick. Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs was The Avenger's fourth round pick. Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love was Gary's fifth round keeper. Gary also used a sixteenth round keeper on Jayden Reed. Gary drafted Stefon Diggs in the sixth round before taking Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram to be his starting tight end.

Projected Record: 8-7 The Avengers were projected to go 7-8 at the beginning of the year. They won as underdogs twice before losing as a favorite in week 9. This makes their current projected record 8-7.

Previously Ranked: 3rd

The Chosen One's 5-3

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3
BFFL League Champion (2010), Bantle Bowl II (2016) and Bantle Bowl VI (2020)

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 6
BFFL Finalist (2010), Bantle Bowl I (2015), Bantle Bowl II (2016), Bantle Bowl IV (2018), Bantle Bowl V (2019), Bantle Bowl VI (2020), and Bantle Bowl VIII (2022)

BFFL Playoff Record: 9-6
The Chosen One's, also the commissioners team are the most consistent team in the league making the playoffs seven out of eight years while also appearing as a finalist in six of the leagues last eight Bantle Bowls. The Chosen One's won the league as a 4 seed in 2016 and he won the league again four years later in 2020. The Chosen One's best regular season came in 2018 where the team had a 13-1 regular season before losing to a 12-2 Breez Nuts team in Bantle Bowl IV. This is also one of the shrewdest and most aggressive teams in Free Agency on the waiver wire. This is a team that made the most draft day trades in 2020 and 2021 while making the second most draft day trades in 2022 and currently trails me by 2 or 3 trades in our ongoing 2023 BFFL Draft.

Manager:
Jason Bantle

Rival: Gary Bantle Jason's rival will be Gary Bantle. Jason will have the advantage in this matchup, but this is the best team Gary has drafted in a while, so do not be surprised if Gary splits with Jason despite the fact hat Jason is favored in both games.

All Time Winning Percentage: .587 206-143-1 is The Chosen One's All Time Record from 2003-2024 with 206 wins in 351 total games with The Chosen One's having a .587 All Time winning percentage.

Team Summary: The Chosen One's drafted Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the first round. Jason drafted two running backs afterwards in Saquon Barkley and De'Von Achane. Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams was the first wide receiver Jason drafted in the fourth round. Jaylen Waddle was the second wide receiver Jason drafted. Balitmore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is the starting tight end. Jason used keepers on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. at wide receiver in the ninth round and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in the twelfth round.

Projected Record: 8-7 The Chosen One's are projected to go 8-7 after winning as underdogs in week 7. They won as slight favorites in week 8. The head-to-head loss with Gary is why they remain at 5 in this weeks power rankings.

Gangster Squad 3-5

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1
Bantle Bowl VIII (2022)

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2
Bantle Bowl VI (2020) and (2022)

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5
All five of Gangster squads playoff losses in the BFFL came to the eventual league champion when getting eliminated in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020 despite making the BFFL Playoffs in six out of eight seasons since I started calling the BFFL Championship game the Bantle Bowl before buying the eventual league champion the first Bantle Bowl trophy when working part time at T.J. Maxx. Gangster Squad missed the playoffs twice in 2017 with a fifth place finish at 7-7 and in 2021 with a sixth place finish at 8-7. Gangster Squad is the only team in the BFFL to have 0 losing seasons in the past 8 years since I started tracking the teams on the site. Gangster Squad once formerly known as Hobo Jungle went 2-2 in third place games from 2015-2019, so if we take those third place games into account Gangster Squad is actually 5-7 All Time in the playoffs, but I'm not counting a third place game as a playoff game for me since there's nothing on the line except for a bronze participation trophy courtesy of Yahoo Sports. Gangster Squad didn't win their first playoff game 2020 when when his 8-6 squad defeated a 13-1 team with the leagues best record if you decide to exclude the third place victories back in 2015 and 2016 back when my team was the one seed and had the top regular season record in the two years I finished third place. Two years later, Gangster Squad became the 2022 league champions by winning Bantle Bowl VIII in a rematch of Bantle Bowl VI where I had the best regular season record for the third time in eight years before securing my first league title. I went 9-8 and failed to repeat, but I'm the only owner without a losing record over the past nine years.

Manager:
Chris Ransom

Rival: Heath Berman Heath is my rival again. This will be the first season with one division of ten teams so there won't be two separate divisions.

All Time Winning Percentage: .608 93-60 is Gangster Squad's All Time Record from 2015-2024 with 93 wins in 153 total games played gives Gangster Squad a .608 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: I drafted Patrick Mahomes with the first pick before trading CeeDee Lamb to draft Lamar Jackson at 6. I also got Travis Etienne at running back. My wide receivers include D.J. Moore, Zay Flowers my twelfth round keeper, Tee Higgins, George Pickens, and Jerry Jeudy. I also have Trey McBride as my starting tight end. Harrison Butker is my kicker and the Baltimore Ravens defense is my deense. I got David Njoku as my second tight end for depth. Running back two might be my weakness, but I like my options with David Montgomery and Javonte Williams. Trey Benson was my final pick in the seventeenth round.

Projected Record: 10-5 My team is projected to finish 10-5 even after starting 2-5. We handled business in week 8. The schedule from weeks 9-13 might be one of the easier schedules in the league. This team ranks fourth in the league in scoring and despite a sloppy start, Gangster Squad is only two games back of the wild card.

Previously Ranked: 7th

Taco Corp 3-5

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances:
0

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-2
Selvan is 1-2 in the playoffs, but he's 3-2 if you count their third place win over H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes last year and his third place win this past season. I'll leave that record up for debate between Selvan and our readers.

Manager:
Selvan Thamilavel

Rival: Jimmy Dicken

All Time Winning Percentage: .342 52-91 is Taco Corp's All Time Record from 2015-2024 with 52 wins in 152 total games played gives Taco Corp a .342 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Selvan chose to draft Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in the first round before taking Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in the second round. Selvan used his third round keeper on Jahmyr Gibbs. Deebo Samuel was Selvan's fourth round pick. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook was Selvan's fifthr ound pick. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was Selvan's sixth round pick. Rhamondre Stevenson was the third running back Selvan drafted in the seventh round, Ladd McConkey is the number three wide receiver on Selvan's depth chart. Daniel Jones in the eighth round is the backup quarterback. Selvan also took Keenan Allen in the ninth round and then took Zack Moss after trading up with me. Selvan used his fourteenth round keeper on Sam Laporta and did not draft a second tight end.

Projected Record: 9-6 Taco Corp should go 9-6 after winning as underdogs in week 6. Taco Corp could be competing with H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes, The Avengers, The Chosen One's, Car RamRod, and myself for the last wild card.

Previously Ranked: 8th

Car RamRod 3-5

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances:
0

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-0
Andrew might the only owner without a playoff appearance, but I seriously believe he will break that drought in the BFFL this season since he's had a strong 2023 Draft. He also has his own Fantasy league which I take part in, but don't feature on the site. I did feature the league draft for his league on Restream which is on the Draft Utopia Youtube channel by the way. Andrew also helps with NFL Predictions, the Draft Utopia podcast when available, and also helps me run my Fantasy Hockey league on Yahoo.

Manager:
Andrew Kermish

Rival: Riley Stokosa

All Time Winning Percentage: .353 49-90 is Gravity Suck's All Time Record from 2015-2024 with 49 wins in 139 total games played gives Car RamRod a .353 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Gravity Sucks took Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in the first round before taking Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff in the second round. Gravity Sucks selected New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave in the third round. Gravity Sucks selected their third quarterback Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence in the fourth round. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was Gravity Sucks fifth round pick. Kenneth Walker III was the first running back Gravity sucks drafted in the sixth round. Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was the seventh round pick for Gravity Sucks. DeVonta Smith was one of the keepers that Gravity Sucks used.

Projected Record: 5-10 Gravity Sucks is projected to finish 5-10. That's what gives Andrew a shot at the consolation bracket.

Previously Ranked: 6th

One In A Williams 3-5

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1
Bantle Bowl I (2015)

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2
Bantle Bowl I (2015), Bantle Bowl II (2016)

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-1
One In A Williams was named Jimmy after the manager of this team when Jimmy won Bantle Bowl I back in 2015.

Rival: Jimmy Dicken

Rival: Selvan Thamilavel

All Time Winning Percentage: .470 62-70 is One In A Williams All Time Record from 2013-2024 while leaving from 2019-2021 before returning in 2022 with 62 wins in 132 total games played gives One In A Williams a .470 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Jimmy used a second round keeper on Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. He also acquired Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in a trade I made. Caleb Williams is Jimmy's starting quarterback.

Projected Record: 3-12 One In A Williams is the worst projected record in the BFFL in 2024. I have them winning one game on the season based on Yahoo projections for each team, but they won two games as underdogs making them 3-5 on the year.
Tua's My Njigba 1-7

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 1
Bantle Bowl IX (2023)

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-2
Hallsmahomsey formerly known as TaylorDactals formerly known as RES Express, Done, and Kerryon My Wayward Son went 13-1 back in 2020 after this team replaced former 2014 league champion Anti-Bantle. Kerryon My Wayward Son ran into my 8-6 team with Tom Brady, Dalvin Cook, and Stefon Diggs back in 2020 and the rest is history as my team got its first playoff win over this team. Kerryon My Wayward Son changed their team name to TaylorDactals in 2021 after drafting Jonathan Taylor with their first round pick. Halls Mahomsey made Bantle Bowl IX before losing to H.B's Vinegar Strokes.

Manager:
Riley Stokosa

Rival: Andrew Kermish

All Time Winning Percentage: .485 48-51 is Hallsmahomsey's All Time Record from 2018-2024 with 48 wins in 99 total games played gives Tua's My Njigba a .485 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Riley took Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor with his first round pick. Riley drafted Anthony Richardson in the second round. Riley used his third round keeper on Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Riley drafted Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth round. Christian Kirk was the first wide receiver Riley drafted this year if you exclude his third round keeper. Zamir White his sixth round pick will be the number two running back, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba will be the number three wide receiver. Riley also drafted Rome Oduzne in the eighth round on Dalton Schultz in the ninth round at tight end. Riley also used a sixteenth round keeper on Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.

Projected Record: 2-13 Tua's My Njigba is projected to go 2-13 after losing week 1 as favorites. That's why this team could make a drop. Tua's My Njigba is tenth in the standings and is the only one win team left in the league.

Why the Indianapolis Colts Will Win: Anthony Richardson the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Florida started the year before a season ending injury shut him down early in 2023. I feel like Anthony Richardson is poised to rebound in 2024 and as long as he's healthy the Indianapolis Colts have a shot to make things interesting in the AFC South Division. Indianapolis also signed Joe Flacco to be his backup this season. Joe Flacco came in for an injured Anthony Richardson in week 4 and the Indianapolis Colts still won largely due to the play of running back Jonathan Taylor. Joe Flacco started two games. Anthony Richardson is starting again. Indianapolis benched Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco despite Anthony Richardson having 12 total touchdowns to only 11 interceptions.

Joe Flacco has Bernard Raimann at left tackle, Quinton Nelson at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Dalton Tucker an undrafted Free Agent at right guard replacing Will Fries whose out for the year despite Tan Bortolini finishing in the top five among centers as a rookie Ryan Kelly was out at center, and Braden Smith at right tackle. Matt Goncalves a 2024 third round pick out of Pittsburgh is the backup left tackle, Danny Pinter is the backup left guard, center, as well as the backup right guard, and Blake Freeland one of their draft picks out of BYU is the backup right tackle. Jake Witt a 2023 seventh round pick out of Northern Michigan is the third string left tackle. Indianapolis didn't have Ryan Kelly in week 4. The Colts offensive line has been healthy the since week 7 outside of Will Fries getting a season ending injury at right guard. Bernard Raimann got ruled out in week 9. Matt Goncalves the Indianapolis Colts 2024 third round pick will make his first NFL start at left tackle, Quinton Nelson will play left guard, Ryan Kelly will play center, Dalton Tucker an undrafted Free Agent plays right guard, and Braden Smith will play right tackle. Jake Witt becomes the backup left tackle until Bernard Raimann returns.

Indianapolis has Michael Pittman Jr. as their flanker wide receiver, Josh Downs as their secondary wide receiver when fully healthy, and Alec Pierce as their slot receiver. Adonai Mitchell the Indianapolis Colts 2024 second round pick out of Texas is the number four wide receiver. Ashton Dulin who scored a 54 yard receiving touchdown in week 1 is the number five wide receiver on this depth chart. Anthony Gould a 2024 fifth round pick out of Oregon State is the number six wide receiver, but he feels like nothing more than a career backup.

Kyler Granson is the starting tight end. Mo Alie-Cox is the backup string tight end. Drew Ogletree is the third stright tight end thanks to Jelani Woods going on injured reserve for the second year in a row after staying healthy and starting in the second half of his rookie year. Indianapolis remains stacked at tight end.

Indianapolis has Jonathan Taylor as their starting running back, but the Colts are in trouble if he goes down again. Trey Sermon a fourth string running back on the Philadelphia Eagles last year is the backup running back. Evan Hull a 2023 fifth round pick out of Northwestern whose better in pass protection than Sermon is struggling to jump Sermon on the depth chart after missing most of his rookie season with a season ending injury so far in his second NFL season. Indianapolis had Zack Moss last year which is why they were able to stay competitive at times even without Jonathan Taylor and I'm not sure that's the case again in 2024 if Jonathan Taylor goes down as Taylor is the most important player on this offense with a lack of quality depth options behind him. Jonathan Taylor has missed weeks 5-7 after helping the Indianapolis Colts win in week 3 and week 4. Jonathan Taylor is practicing again heading into week 8, so there's a good chance he returns from his injury.

Indianapolis has Laiatu Latu their 2024 first round pick out of UCLA at 4-3 right end, DeForest Buckner at 4-3 defensive tackle, Grover Stewart back at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Kwity Paye their 2021 first round pick at 4-3 left end. Dayo Odeyingbo a 2021 second round pick out of Vanderbilt is the backup 4-3 right end with Samson Ekubam tearing his ACL, Raekwon Davis will be the backup number three 4-3 defensive tackle, Adetomiwa Adebawaroe a defensive lineman out of Northwestern that I loved in the 2023 NFL Draft is the number four 4-3 defensive tackle. DeForest Buckner got plced on injured reserve leading up to week 3 and will be out for one more week. Samson Ekubam is out for the year on injured reserve and so is Tyquan Lewis. Indianapolis is getting DeForest Buckner back in week 8. Indianapolis will have their defensive line at full health for the first time since week 1.

Indianapolis has E.J. Speed at 4-3 right outside linebacker in their 4-2-5 nickel defense and Zaire Franklin at 4-3 middle linebacker in their 4-2-5 nickel defense. I'm not sold on Jaylon Carlies as a linebacker since he played safety at Missouri.

Indianapolis will have Julius Brents their 2023 second round pick out of Kansas State as their number one field cornerback. Jaylon Jones a 2023 seventh round pick out of Texas A&M is the boundary cornerback. Kenny Moore II last years nickel cornerback remaining at nickel. Julius Brents is having season ending knee surgery at field cornerback which could hurt the Indianapolis Colts. Kenny Moore II got injured in week 3 and missed the last two weeks, but Kenny Moore II retured in week 5.

Indianapolis is starting Julian Blackmon at strong safety. Ronnie Harrison Jr., Nick Cross, Trevor Denbow, and Rodney Thomas II have all struggled to win the free safety job with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley stating he has no idea who will start at free safety across from Blackmon. Daniel Scott who got injured as a rookie is still on injured reserve entering year two. Indianapolis wisely opted to name Nick Cross the starting free safety across from Blackmon as Nick Cross was a 2022 third round pick out of Maryland. Julian Blackmon is starting at strong safety and Nick Cross is starting at free safety.

Matt Gay is the Indianapolis Colts starting kicker. Some guy named Rigoberto Sanchez who I never heard of is the Indianapolis Colts punter. Anthony Gould will be both the kick returner and punt returner for the Indianapolis Colts on special teams. Matt Gay didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday, but he showed up on Friday.

Why the Minnesota Vikings Will Win: Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Sam Darnold has Cam Robinson at left tackle atfter Christian Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL in week 8, Blake Brandel at left guard, Garrett Bradbury at center, Ed Ingram at right guard and Brian O'Neill at right tackle. This is an effective offensive line when fully healthy, but the Vikings do not have any depth behind these five starters. That's why Minnesota traded for Cam Robinson after their 2021 first round pick Christian Darrisaw got paid. Minnesota drafted Oklahoma left tackle Walter Rouse in the sixth round for depth at left tackle, but he struggled in his NFL debut. J.J. McCarthy suffered a season ending injury in practice as Minnesota's 2024 first round pick and will not play this season after getting season ending knee surgery.

Justin Jefferson is a number one flanker receiver for Minnesota, but he's also the best wide receiver in the NFL. Jordan Addison is going to start out as the secondary wide receiver on this depth chart as he returns in week 4 with Jalen Nailor remaining at slot receiver. T.J. Hockenson is Minnesota's starting tight end and he will make his season debut. Johnny Mundt and Josh Oliver will split reps as the number two tight end with the other guy being the third string tight end. Minnesota has Aaron Jones as their starting running back and Ty Chandler as the backup running back.

Minnesota has Jerry Tillery at 3-4 right end, Harrison Phillips at 3-4 nose tackle, and Jonathan Bullard at 3-4 left end. Minnesota has some depth at 3-4 defensive end with Jonathan Bullard as their backup 3-4 defensive end to Dean Lowry and Jacquelin Roy won Minnesota's backup 3-4 nose tackle job after being the Minnesota Vikings 2023 third round pick out of LSU.

Minnesota has Andrew Van Ginkel at 3-4 right outside linebacker, Blake Cashman at 3-4 middle linebacker, Ivan Pace Jr. at 3-4 middle linebacker, and Jonathan Greenard at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Dallas Turner, Minnesota's other 2024 first round pick is the backup 3-4 right outside linbeacker, Brian Asamoah II is the backup 3-4 middle linebacker, and Patrick Jones II is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Ivan Pace Jr. is out at 3-4 middle linebacker in week 3 and once again in week 4, so Brian Asamoah II will take his place as the other starting 3-4 middle linebacker next to Brian Cashman. Dallas Turner could be back this week in a depth role.

Byron Murphy Jr. is the field cornerback and Stephon Gilmore is number two boundary cornerback this season with Mekhi Blackmon tearing his ACL. Minnesota has Shaq Griffin at nickel cornerback after he beat out last years nickel cornerback Akayleb Evans their 2022 fourth round pick out of Missouri for that job in training camp. Akayleb Evans is dealing with an injury. Khyree Jackson died and Minnesota traded Andrew Booth Jr. away. Minnesota has Camryn Bynum at strong safety and Harrison Smith at free safety. Minnesota has Josh Mettellus as their backup safety.

Minnesota Vikings kicker Will Reichard has done well at kicker. Minnesota has question marks at punter, kick returner, and punt returner on special teams heading into the season.

Prediction: Minnesota is a 5.5 point favorite at -5.5. The over or under is 46.5 with 67% of the public betting on Minnesota. The money line is +195 for Indianapolis and -250 for Minnesota. Take Minnesota to win and cover with the under at -250. Bet $350 on this game for Minnesota and win up to $600 as long as the Vikings win by 6 or more.

Final Score Vikings 27 Colts 19

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4-4-0	Versus	Kansas City Chiefs 7-0-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I just cannot stand ESPN's Monday Night Football Coverage. Monday Night Football On KDKA is back with Bob Pompieni, Mark Madden, Andrew Filiponi, and newcommer Rich Walsh. Tonight the gang is in Kansas City.

Pompieni: Welcome to Monday Night Football. Bob Pompieni along with Mark Madden, Andrew Filiponi, and Rich Walsh covering ESPN Monday Night Football on KDKA from Kansas City. Mark what are your thoughts on this game?

Madden: I'm glad Baker Mayfield has escaped the cesspool that is Cleveland. I'll still never forgive him for what he did to Ben Roethlisberger in the wild card game. Come to think of it these were the last two quarterbacks to hand Big Ben a playoff loss, so fuck them both. I hope this is a defensive game.

Filiponi: Remember when Baker Mayfield beat Patrick Mahomes 66-59. That game was a shootout. I hope we get a game like that on Monday Night football.

Walsh: Yeah the Chiefs got this. Kansas City should improve to 8-0 this week.

Pompieni: I thought about taking Tampa Bay in the upset. Too many injuries. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce should handle business.

Madden: Kansas City also has a favorable strength of schedule. They have the fourth easiest schedule left.

Pompieni: Tonight's game is brought to you by the Kansas City Current. The official NWSL team that Patrick Mahomes is part owner of.

Madden: No tonights game is sponsored by the Kansas Jayhawks football program who will be playing at Arrowhead Stadium. Let's party with the K.C. Wolf.

Pompieni: We will party with the K.C. Wolf after the game. You have to see these ads for the Kansas City Current and the Kansas Jayhawks before you watch the game as those commercials take place before kickoff.

Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Will Win: Baker Mayfield did well in his first year as a starting quarterback, but I'm not sure he does as well without his offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Baker Mayfield has Tristian Wirfs at left tackle, Ben Bredeson at left guard, Graham Barton their 2024 first round pick is the starting center, Cody Mauch is at right guard after being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2023 second round pick out of North Dakota State entering his second year, and Luke Goedeke is entering his third season as well as his second season at right tackle. Royce Newman the backup left guard and Robert Hainsley the backup center are the only quality backups on the offensive line.

Tampa Bay has Mike Evans as their flanker wide receiver, Chris Godwin is their secondary wide receiver, and Jalen McMillan their 2024 third round pick as the slot receiver. Trey Palmer, Tampa Bay's 2023 sixth round pick out of Nebraska was the slot receiver last year as a rookie, but is now the number four wide receiver this year. Sterling Shepard is the number five wide receiver on this depth chart. Rakim Jarrett is the number six wide receiver. Tampa Bay feels deeper at wide receiver than last year. Mike Evans will be out until week 12 and Chris Godwin is out for the season Tampa Bay will have Jalen McMillan as the flanker number one wide receiver, Trey Palmer as the secondary wide receiver, Sterling Sheppard as the slot receiver, and Rakim Jarrett is the number four wide receiver for two more games until their week 11 bye week since they had those four in week 8 against Atlanta.

Cade Otton Tampa Bay's 2022 fourth round pick at tight end enters his second season as Tampa Bay's starting tight end. Payne Durham their 2023 fifth round pick is the backup tight end. Ko Kieft a 2022 sixth round pick out of Minnesota is the third string tight end. Devin Culp their 2024 seventh roun pick out of Washington is the fourth string tight end. Tampa Bay has incredible tight end depth as they look stronger in terms of depth than last year despite not having a star tight end. Payne Durham the backup tight end is injured and out in week 7 Third string tight end Ko Kieft becomes the backup tight end and fourth string tight end Devin Culp becomes the third string tight end in week 7.

Tampa Bay has Rachaad White as their starting running back, Bucky Irving their 2024 fourth round pick out of Oregon is their backup running back, and Sean Tucker last years fourth string running back is now the third string running back. Bucky Irving hasn't practiced this week, but he didn't leave the Monday Night Football game with the injury.

Tampa Bay has Logan Hall at 3-4 right end, Vita Vea at 3-4 nose tackle, and Calijah Kancey at 3-4 left end. Greg Gaines is the backup 3-4 nose tackle and William Gholston as their backup 3-4 left end. Tampa Bay will have their defensive line at full health for the first time all season in week 6. Greg Gaines is out in week 9 after having a fully healthy defensive line the last three weeks.

Tampa Bay has Yaya Diaby at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Joe Tryon at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Tampa Bay also has Lavonte David and K.J. Britt at 3-4 middle linebacker. Anthony Nelson is the backup 3-4 right outsie linebacker, SirVocea Dennis a 2023 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh as their backup 3-4 middle linebacker, and Chris Braswell a 2024 second round pick out of Alabama is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Tampa Bay has quite a bit of depth on the front 7 despite Shaquille Barrett leaving the team and retiring shortly afterwards. Lavonte David missed week 8, but he will play in week 9.

Tampa Bay has Zyon McCollum at field cornerback, Jamel Dean at boundary cornerback, and Tykee Smith their 2024 third round pick out of Georgia as a nickel cornerback. Jordan Whitehead is starting at strong safety and Antoine Winfield Jr. is starting at free safety. Antoine Winfield Jr. missed weeks 2-5, but will finally be back in week 6. This will be the first game all season where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense is fully healthy. Jamel Dean got injured in the first quarter of the week 6 game, and he did not practice leading into week 7. Jamel Dean got placed on injured reserve prior to week 7 and Tykee Smith is in concussion protocol.

Chase McLaughlin is the starting kicker. Bucky Irving is the kick returner for Tampa Bay as a rookie. Trey Palmer is the punt returner for Tampa Bay, so he will still have a pivotal role on this team despite being demoted from the slot receiver to the number four wide receiver.

Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has Wanya Morris at left tackle, Joe Thuney at left guard, Creed Humprhey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor starting at right tackle. Kingsley Suamatia Kansas City's 2024 second round pick is now the backup left tackle after starting the first two games before getting benched, Hunter Nourzad is the backup center, C.J. Hanson is the backup right guard, and Ethan Driskell an undrafted Free Agent out of Marshall beat out Lucas Niang for the backup right tackle spot which caused Lucas Niang the Kansas City Chiefs 2020 third round pick to get demoted to the practice squad. Kansas City has depth everywhere on their offensive line outside of left guard. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL right now with two regular season MVP's and three Super Bowl MVP's. Carson Wentz is the backup quarterback to Patrick Mahomes.

Kansas City has DeAndre Hopkins as their flanker wide receiver and Xavier Worthy as their secondary wide receiver with their 2024 first round pick as the number two wide receiver with Marquis Brown and Rashee Rice out for the year. Kansas City has Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman splitting reps at slot receiver with Skyy Moore now going on injured reserve. JuJu Smith-Schuster could be out in week 9. Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL as well as the main receiving option on this offense . Noah Gray is the backup tight end. Jared Wiley last years starting tight end at TCU is the Kansas City Chiefs third string tight end. Peyton Hendershot, the Dallas Cowboys third string tight end last year is now the fourth string tight end on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Isiah Pacheco is the starting running back, but he's on injured reserve. Clyde Edwards-Helaire is the backup running back, but is being placed on the non football injured list for the first four games. Carson Steele, an undrafted Free Agent out of UCLA is the third string running back, but will be the backup running back in the first four games. Samaje Perine is the fourth string running back, but will be the third string running back in the first four games. Kareem Hunt has been starting at running back and Carson Steele has been the backup.

Kansas City has Mike Danna at 4-3 right end and George Karlaftis at 4-3 left end. Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the backup 4-3 right end and Josh Uche is the backup 4-3 left end. Kansas City had Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi the two starting 4-3 defensive tackles. Mike Pennel and Tershawn Wharton are back as backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Kansas City has more depth at defensive end after trading for Josh Uche, who was a pass rusher on the New England Patriots who had 10 sacks in 2022 during the third year of his rookie deal after being a second round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Mike Danna is out this week. Felix Anudike-Uzomah will start in relief of Danna in week 9.

Kansas City has Drue Tranquill at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Nick Bolton at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Leo Chenal at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Kansas City still has depth on the defensive line, but their lack of depth at linebacker compared to the last two years does concern me to a point.

Kansas City has Trent McDuffie at field cornerback for the third year in a row. Last year both Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson played nickel cornerback next to Trent McDuffie and L'Jarius Sneed, but with Sneed being traded to Tennessee, there are other cornerbacks like Nazeeh Johnson at boundary cornerback, Chamarri Conner at nickel cornerback, Joshua Williams is the dime cornerback, and Jaylen Watson at quarter cornerback. Jaylen Watson was the main boundary cornerback in week 1, but he got placed on injured reserve. Justin Reid remains at strong safety, and Bryan Cook is the starting free safety. I'm not sold on Jaden Hicks, Kansas City's 2024 fourth round pick whose the number three safety on the depth chart. I'm not sure if Kansas City has a number two cornerback now and Kansas City lacks the safety depth you'd like to see.

Kansas City has Harrison Butker at kicker. Kansas City also has Matt Ariaza at punter. Mecole Hardman will be the kick returner and Xavier Worthy will be the punt returner.

Prediction: Kansas City is a 8.5 point favorite at -8.5. The over or under is 46 with 76% of the public betting on Kansas City. The money line is +350 for Tampa Bay and -450 for Kansas City. I like Kansas City to win and Tampa Bay to cover with the over at +350. Bet $450 on this game for Tampa Bay and win up to $800 as long as the Chiefs win by 8 or less.

Final Score Chiefs 70 Buccaneers 63

Who Everyone Else Picked


Oren Shiri	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley

Click the links for access to your favorite NFL Teams.

AFC

AFC North


Baltimore Ravens	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns	Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC South


Houston Texans	Indianapolis Colts	Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee Titans

AFC East


Buffalo Bills	Miami Dolphins	New England Patriots	New York Jets

AFC West


Denver Broncos	Kansas City Chiefs	Las Vegas Raiders	Los Angeles Chargers

NFC

NFC North


Chicago Bears	Detroit Lions	Green Bay Packers	Minnesota Vikings

NFC South


Atlanta Falcons	Carolina Panthers	New Orleans Saints	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC East


Dallas Cowboys	New York Giants	Philadelphia Eagles	Washington Commanders

NFC West


Arizona Cardinals	Los Angeles Rams	San Francisco 49ers	Seattle Seahawks

NFL Draft Process

Bowl Game Recaps
Recap Of The BCS Playoffs
Underclassmen Tracker
Senior Bowl Invite List
Senior Bowl Day 1 Recaps
Senior Bowl Day 2 Recaps
Senior Bowl Day 3 Recaps
Senior Bowl Day 4 Recaps
Senior Bowl Day 5 Recaps
Senior Bowl Game Recap
NFL Combine Day 1 Recap
NFL Combine Day 2 Recap
NFL Combine Day 3 Recap
NFL Combine Day 4 Recap
NFL Pro Day Recaps

NFL Draft Positional Rankings

Quarterback Rankings
Running Back Rankings
Wide Receiver Rankings
Tight End Rankings
Offensive Tackle Rankings
Guard Rankings
Center Rankings
Defensive End Rankings
Defensive Tackle Rankings
Outside Linebacker Rankings
Middle Linebacker Rankings
Cornerback Rankings
Safety Rankings
Kicker Rankings
Punter Rankings

Draft Utopia

Comment Box is loading comments...

Tweets by @DraftUtopia

2024 NFL Week 9 Predictions

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-1

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 3

BFFL Playoff Record: 6-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 2

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 4-5

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 2-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 6

BFFL Playoff Record: 9-6

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-0

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-1

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 1

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-2

Manager:

Who Everyone Else Picked

Chris Ransom's Pick

Who Everyone Else Picked

AFC

AFC North

AFC South

AFC East

AFC West

NFC

NFC North

NFC South

NFC East

NFC West