2023 NFL Week 17 Predictions

Miami faces Baltimore in a week 17 matchup where the top seed in the AFC is on the line. Find out who we like to win.

Chris Ransom Last Updated: December 29, 2022.

New York Jets 6-9-0	Versus	Cleveland Browns 10-5-0

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. The New York Jets face the Cleveland Browns in the final game of the year on Amazon Prime.

Kirk Herbstreet: The Cleveland Browns really have an opportunity to get into the playoffs and establish themselves as the best team in the State of Ohio this year with Ohio State missing the College Football Playoff.

Unfiltered Al: Last time these teams met in Cleveland, it was Joe Flacco who led the New York Jets to a comeback win over the Cleveland Browns. Now Flacco has a chance to get the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs.

Kirk Herbstreet: Yeah, everything rides on Joe Flacco now. The Cleveland Browns can secure the third AFC Playoff spot with a win tonight.

Unfiltered Al: Joe Flacco's old team the Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins have the first two AFC Playoff spots locked up. Cleveland is the third team along with those two still alive for homefield in the AFC.

Kirk Herbstreet: Yeah, the Dolphins and Ravens also play on Sunday. On Monday I call the College Football Playoff game. Alabama plays Michigan and Texas plays Washington.

Unfiltered Al: Sounds more exciting than this game. We'll be back with kickoff after this

Why the New York Jets Will Win: New York has been knocked out of contention for a playoff spot along with Washington. Aaron Rodgers is rehabbing, but not starting again. Zach Wilson is in concussion protocol. Trevor Siemian is probably getting the start for New York.

The New York Jets have Duane Brown at left tackle, Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Joe Tippmann at center with the New York Jets 2023 second round pick out of Wisconsin at center, Xavier Newman is at right guard with Alijah Vera-Tucker out for the season at right guard, and Mekhi Becton at right tackle. Carter Warren is the backup left tackle, Wes Schwetzwer is the backup left guard, Connor McGovern is the backup center, Billy Turner is the backup right guard and Max Mitchell is the backup right tackle for the New York Jets on the offensive line. Duane Brown will be out at left tackle in week 17.

The New York Jets have last years Offensive Rookie Of The Year in Garrett Wilson entering his sophomore season as the flanker wide receiver. Allen Lazard is the secondary wide receiver after being the number one wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay a season ago. Mecole Hardman goes from being a number four wide receiver in Kansas City to a slot receiver on the New York Jets. Randall Cobb, another former Packer that played with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay is the number four wide receiver on this depth chart.

Tyler Conklin is the starting tight end. C.J. Uzomah is the backup tight end. Jeremy Ruckert is the third string tight end.

New York has two elite running backs in Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook. Cook is the better pass blocker than Hall, but Hall is younger, more explosive, and the better pass catcher out of the backfield. Breece Hall started and did well as a rookie before his season ending injury. Dalvin Cook will be the backup running back after being the starter for most of his career. Michael Carter, New York's 2021 third round pick was a good at everything in college, but couldn't maintain the starting running back job after Breece Hall got drafted. He couldn't even keep James Robinson from getting a bulk of carries once Hall got injured. That's why Michael Carter got demoted to third string running back heading into his third season. Isreal Abanikanda a 2023 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh is the fourth string running back, but he managed to steal some reps from Michael Carter.

The New York Jets have Jermaine Johnson II at 4-3 right end, John Franklin-Myers at 4-3 left end, Michael Clemons II a 2022 fourth round pick from Florida State as the backup 4-3 right end, and Bryce Huff is the backup 4-3 left end. Carl Lawson is the third string 4-3 right end. Will McDonald IV a 2023 first round pick from Iowa State is the third string 4-3 left end.

New York had the second best 4-3 defensive tackle behind Chris Jones in the NFL last year with Quinnen Williams who was the only defensive tackle besides Jones to have 10 or more sacks. Al Woods, beat out both Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas for the 4-3 defensive tackle job next to Quinnen Williams. Both Quinton Jefferson and Solomon Thomas are good backups at 4-3 defensive tackle. There's a lot of quality bodies on Robert Saleh's defensive line once again with even more depth than a season ago. New York promoted Tanzel Smart from the practice squad with Quinton Jefferson injured.

New York will start Jamien Sherwood at 4-3 right outside linebacker, C.J. Mosley at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Quincy Williams at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Quincy Williams will play outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense while C.J. Mosley will play middle linebacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense.

The New York Jets have the 2022 Defensive Rookie Of The Year 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. Bryce Hall is the dime cornerback in a contract year, but had a pick six in week 5. Jordan Whitehead is the starting strong safety with Tony Adams starting at free safety thanks to Chuck Clark's season ending injury. Ashtyn Davis is the backup strong safety and Adrian Amos is the backup free safety. D.J. Reed got a concussion in the Sunday Night game in week 4. Reed didn't practice on wednesday and was out in week 5. Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner got injured in week 5 against Denver and he is questionable for week 6 as he's also been dealing with an illness which kept him from running in practice. Both Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and D.J. Reed were full practices heading into week 8 following the New York Jets week 7 bye week and both of the New York Jets top two cornerbacks have played the last three weeks.

Greg Zuerlein is the starting kicker. Thomas Morstead is the punter. Mecole Hardman Jr. is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Cleveland Browns Will Win: Cleveland Browns 2023 fifth round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson won the backup quarterback job in training camp beating out Joshua Dobbs for the position in the preseason, but struggled in his week 4 start to the point where he got demoted to the third string quarterback role. Deshaun Watson is now out for the year, so Dorian Thompson-Robinson is now the starter. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is in concussion protocol, so Joe Flacco started in week 13. Joe Flacco got the start in week 14. Joe Flacco is starting the rest of the year according to Kevin Stefanski and with Dorian Thompson-Robinson now out for the season, there will be problems at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns if anything happens to Joe Flacco.

Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin, and Dawand Jones are all out for the season. Cleveland is gonna have Gerod Christian at left tackle, Joel Bitonio at left guard, Ethan Pocic at center, Wyatt Teller at right guard, and James Hudson at right tackle for the rest of the season.

Cleveland also has Gerod Christian as their backup left tackle, Luke Wypler as their backup left guard, Nick Harris as their backup center, Michael Dunn as their backup right guard, and James Hudson II as the backup right tackle. Cleveland has 10 quality players starters and backups on the offensive line. I think three of Cleveland's current backup offensive linemen could warrant opportunites as starters elsewhere with the backup offensive tackles being the weak link if anything happens to Jedrick Wills Jr. or Dawand Jones now that Jack Conklin is out for the year since James Hudson is expendable and would not be starting on any of the other thirty one NFL teams.

Cleveland had Gerod Christian at left tackle, Joel Bitonio at left guard, Ethan Pocic at center, Wyatt Teller at right guard, and Dawand Jones at right tackle. Jedrick Wills Jr. got injured in week 9 against Arizona and had a six week recovery timeline. He's already missed four of those six weeks in weeks 10, 11, 12, and 13. Jedrick Wills Jr. will be out again in week 14 and should be out in week 15. Dawand Jones was ruled out in week 14. Joel Bitonio got injured in week 15 and might be out in week 16.

Cleveland has Amari Cooper as their flanker wide receiver, Elijah Moore as their secondary wide receiver and Cedric Tillman, Cleveland's 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee will their slot receiver starting in week 9. Marques Goodwin is Cleveland's number four wide receiver with David Bell as the number five wide receiver barely making Cleveland's roster after a rough rookie season. David Bell has been ruled out in week 9 after not practicing all week.

Cleveland has David Njoku as their starting tight end, Jordan Akins as their backup tight end, and Harrison Bryant is now the third string tight end after once showing enough potential to be a backup to Njoku during his first two seasons. David Njoku did not practice for Cleveland on wednesday. Cleveland lost Nick Chubb for the year. Neither one of the Cleveland Browns backup running backs in Jerome Ford or Kareem Hunt practiced on wednesday.

Cleveland has Myles Garrett at 4-3 right end and Z'Darius Smith at 4-3 left end, but expect Jim Schwartz to put both Garrett and Smith against left tackles with the other edge rusher facing right tackles. Dalvin Tomlinson and Jordan Elliott are the starters at 4-3 defensive tackle. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is the situational pass rusher and backup to Myles Garrett and Z'Darius Smith, but he's out for the year. Alex Wright now takes over as the situational pass rusher on Cleveland. Isaiah McGuire, Cleveland's 2023 fourth round pick out of Missouri that Joey and I mentioned on the podcast will be the number five defensive end on Cleveland's depth chart until Wright returns from his injury. Isaiah Thomas Cleveland's 2022 seventh round pick out of Oklahoma originally got cut from the Browns, but Cleveland brought him back once placing Alex Wright. Now Isaiah Thomas is on the practice squad once again.

Cleveland has Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Anthony Walker Jr. at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Sione Takitaki at 4-3 let outside linebacker which is a good trio of starters to have when all three are fully healthy. Tony Fields II is a good backup 4-3 right outside linebacker to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Jordan Kunaszyk, Matthew Adams, and Mohamoud Diabate whose a good left outside linebacker, but has no business at middle linebacker are the backup linebackers on Cleveland with Diabate starting out as a third string middle linebacker rather than a third string left outside linebacker. I would take Diabate over Matthew Adams at the backup left outside linebacker spot, but no backup outside of Tony Fields II can step in and start for Cleveland if the injury bug hits the Browns at linebacker again like it did in 2022. Sione Takitaki did not practice on wednesday heading into week 8, but he did play. Anthony Walker Jr. missed week 12 against Denver before returning in week 13. Anthony Walker Jr. was ruled inactive in week 15, but he practiced in a limited capacity in week 16. Anthony Walker Jr. didn't practice leading up to week 17 and should be out for that game.

Cleveland has Denzel Ward at field cornerback, Martin Emerson Jr. at boundary cornerback, and Greg Newsome II at nickel cornerback after Emerson took the number two cornerback job from Cleveland's 2021 first round pick out of Northwestern. Cleveland played Greg Newsome II at boundary cornerback in week 6 while playing Martin Emerson Jr. at nickel cornerback, but Greg Newsome II didn't practice on Wednesday due to his injury. When Greg Newsome II left the game against Seattle with an injury in week 8, Cameron Mitchell got playing time at nickel cornerback in relief of Greg Newsome II while Martin Emerson Jr. played boundary cornerback. With Denzel Ward out, Greg Newsome II moves to field cornerback with Martin Emerson Jr. remaining at boundary cornerback. Cameron Mitchell moves from the bench to nickel cornerback as a rookie. Denzel Ward has missed the last two games, but there is optimism that Denzel Ward could be healthy enough to play in week 14 against Jacksonville, but was ruled inactive in warmups. Denzel Ward was cleared to play in week 15.

Grant Delpit is the starting strong safety and Juan Thornhill is the starting free safety. Grant Delpit is out for the regular season, but could return for the playoffs. Juan Thornhill didn't practice on Wednesday and missed week 15. Juan Thornhill could be out for a second week in a row. 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. Neither of Cleveland's backup safeties impress me. Cleveland priortized depth on the defensive line and getting four quality cornerbacks in coverage rather than adding depth at linebacker and safety. Cleveland's been able to stay healthy at linebacker and safety this year. That's the one thing that could keep the Browns from a playoff appearance in 2023, but as long as Cleveland stays healthy, the Browns may be a dark horse this season.

Cleveland has Dustin Hopkins at kicker after Cade York unraveled in the preseason and got cut by the Cleveland Browns. Dustin Hopkins suffered a season ending injury, but former Detroit Lions kicker Riley Patterson got signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad and will probably get promoted to the active roster. Cleveland lost Jakeem Grant at kick returner and punt returner to a season ending injury for the second year in a row in 2023. Pierre Strong Jr. is the kick returner while Elijah Moore is the punt returner on special teams.

Prediction: Cleveland is a 7.5 point favorite at -7.5. The over or under is 34.5 with 77% of the public betting on Cleveland. The money line is +260 for New York and -320 for Cleveland. Take Cleveland to win and cover with the under at -320. Bet $380 on this game for Cleveland and win up to $700 as long as the Browns win by 8 or more.

Final Score Browns 21 Jets 13

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Detroit Lions 11-4-0	Versus	Dallas Cowboys 10-5-0

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 39-24 since 2020.

Here is this weeks hot take from Hank Hill.

We're playing Detroit. Jimmy Johnson is getting inducted into the ring of honor. Go whoop some Detroit Lions ass. Dan Campbell was part of Detroit's 0-16 NFL team. It's time to remind Dan Campbell of that when we defeat the NFC North Champions and kick their ass.

Why the Detroit Lions Will Win: Quarterback Jared Goff has a stronger offensive line than last year. He's got Taylor Decker back at left tackle, Jonah Jackson at left guard, Frank Ragnow at center, Graham Glasgow at right guard, and Penei Sewell at right tackle. Graham Glasgow impressed Detroit enough to take the starting right guard spot from Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Detroit has had the offensive line back at full health for a few weeks following Frank Ragnow's return. Taylor Decker did not practice Wednesday after practicing on Tuesday meaning he could be questionable or a game time decision for Saturday.

Matt Nelson is the backup left tackle, Colby Sorsdal is the backup left guard, Graham Glasgow is the backup center, Halapoulivaati Vaitai is the backup right guard, and Matt Nelson is also the backup right tackle as Detroit's swing tackle. Teddy Bridgewater is the Detroit Lions backup quarterback now with third string quarterback Nate Sudfield out for the year and Detroit Lions 2023 third round pick Hendon Hooker is still on the NFL injured list and will miss the first four games of the season after helping the Tennessee Volunteers defeat Alabama during his senior season before tearing his ACL.

Jared Goff has Amon-Ra St. Brown as his flanker wide receiver, Jameson Williams is back from his suspension as the secondary wide receiver, and Donovan Peoples-Jones takes over for Marvin Jones Jr. at slot receiver after Marvin Jones Jr. opted to step away from the team for personal reasons. Detroit released Marvin Jones Jr. shortly after, but Donovan Peoples-Jones replaces him at slot receiver after Detroit acquired Donovan Peoples-Jones at the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline. Detroit has Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond for depth at wide receiver. Sam LaPorta the 2023 second round pick out of Iowa is the starting tight end, Brock Wright is the backup tight end, and James Mitchell is the third string tight end. James Mitchell is out with a hamstring injury, so Detroit will have to rely on Sam LaPorta who missed thursdays practice before returning on Friday and Brock Wright as their top two tight ends.

David Montgomery is the Detroit Lions starting running back, but Jahmyr Gibbs started in week 3 when Montgomery was out with an injury before Montgomery returned in week 4. Craig Reynolds is the third string running back behind Montgomery and Gibbs. Jason Cabinda is the starting fullback, but he's on injured reserve. Jason Cabinda did return to practice in a limited capacity despite still being on injured reserve, but he's desginated to be activated off of injured reserve.

Detroit will have Aidan Hutchinson at 4-3 right end and John Cominsky at 4-3 left end once again with both Hutchinson and Comisky fully healthy. Josh Paschal and Romeo Okwara are the backup 4-3 defensive ends with Okwara as a backup to Aidan Huchinson at 4-3 right end with Paschal as a rotational edge rusher complimenting Cominsky as a backup 4-3 left end. Charles Harris is a third string 4-3 defensive end.

Detroit didn't have a team practice on wednesday with all of their injuries. Alim McNeil and Isaiah Buggs are the two starting 4-3 defensive tackles. Alim McNeil got placed on injured reserve prior to week 14 meaning he's out a minumum one more week. Worst case scenario Alim McNeil remains on injured reserve for the regular season and comes back for the wild card game. Benito Jones has started at 4-3 defensive tackle in relief of Alim McNeil. Detroit also has Levi Onwuzurike and Broderic Martin Detroit's 2023 third round pick out of Western Kentucky as backup 4-3 defensive tackles until Alim McNeil returns. Alim McNeil got injured on Thanksgiving and he will be on injured reserve for one more week minimum and two more weeks maximum. The good news for Detroit Lions fans is he will be back for the playoffs.

Alex Anzalone is moving from 4-3 right outside linebacker to play the WILL on the weakside after playing 4-3 middle linebacker at the MIKE. Jack Campbell Detroit's 2023 first round pick out of Iowa will start at 4-3 middle linebacker at the MIKE. When Detroit runs 4-3 schemes Derrick Barnes will start at 4-3 left outside linebacker in the SAM. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is the backup 4-3 right outside linebacker to Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez is the backup 4-3 left outside linebacker to Derrick Barnes. If anything happens to Jack Campbell, Alex Anzalone will move back to middle linebacker allowing for Jalen Reeves-Maybin to start.

Detroit currently has Cameron Sutton at field cornerback, Jerry Jacobs at boundary cornerback, Brian Branch as their nickel cornerback, Will Harris at dime cornerback, and Chase Lucas who was on Detroit's practice squad is now the quarter cornerback. Detroit got Emmanuel Moseley back in week 5 who had a chance to compbete the boundary cornerback and be the number two cornerback prior to his injury in training camp, but Moseley suffered a season ending injury after returning in week 5 as his loss isn't that significant as I'd argue Moseley is the fourth best cornerback behind Sutton, Jacobs, and Branch even with every cornerback on this depth chart healthy. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was supposed to be out for the year at strong safety, but he's someone who could get activated off of injured reserve since he's practiced in a limited capacity. Like Jason Cabinda at fullback, C.J. Gardner-Johnson is designated to be activated off of injured reserve soon. Detroit has Tracy Walker at strong safety and Kerby Joseph at free safety until C.J. Gardner-Johnson returns. Once C.J. Gardner-Johnson returns, he will start at strong safety with Kerby Joseph at free safety with Tracy Walker as the backup safety for depth.

Michael Badgley is Detroit's kicker now as he replaces Riley Patterson. I don't agree with Detroit's decision to cut Riley Patterson to be honest. Jack Fox is punter. Kalif Raymond is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Why the Dallas Cowboys Will Win: Dak Prescott has Tyron Smith at left tackle, Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Zack Martin at right guard, and Terence Steele at right tackle. Tyler Smith was out at left guard, so Chuma Edoga started in relief of Smith at left guard. Dallas got Tyler Smith back in week 3 and lost Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, and Zack Martin for the game against Arizona. Biadasz and Martin returned in week 4 though. Tyron Smith was a full practice on thursday meaning this could be the first game since 2021 where the Dallas Cowboys have their offensive line at full health. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush and third string quarterback Trey Lance can play effectively in this offense if the offensive line stays healthy. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, you should want Dak Prescott playing every game during the regular season. Tyron Smith was ruled inactive in week 8 after Dallas had their offensive line at full health for two weeks in weeks 5 and 6 before the Dallas Cowboys bye week. Backup left tackle Chumga Edoga is also injured and is questionable in week 9 against the Eagles just like Tyron Smith. Tyron Smith ended up playing against Philadelphia and is even healthier in week 10. Tyron Smith has played the last few games since then. Tyron Smith and Zack Martin didn't practice this week entering week 16. Zack Martin played, but Tyron Smith missed the week 16 game agaisnt the Miami Dolphins. Tyron Smith stated his back feels much better this week after a week off, but hasn't practiced this week. Chuma Edoga is also dealing with a injury. If both Tyron Smith and Chuma Edoga are out, either Tyler Smith or Asim Richards, the Dallas Cowboys 2023 fifth round pick out of North Carolina will start at left tackle with the other starting at left guard against Detroit.

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. Michael Gallup is the slot receiver when Dallas runs three wide receiver sets. Jalen Tolbert has made a lot more progress after hardly seeing the field as a rookie with an impressive preseason making him the number four target. Jalen Brooks a 2023 seventh round pick out of South Carolina is the number five wide receiver. KaVontae Turpin is the number six wide receiver and he will be back after missing week 10. Dallas has six wide receivers on this depth chart with the upside to be good and has enough starters and backup options at wide receiver when Brian Schottenheimer calls three wide receiver sets as the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator. Tight end Jake Ferguson is now the starting tight end replacing Dalton Schultz who left in Free Agency after Ferguson did enough as a number two tight end during his rookie season. Luke Schoonmaker a 2023 second round pick out of Michigan won the backup tight end job. Peyton Hendershot was a reliable third string tight end last year and retains that role in Dallas.

Dallas has Tony Pollard as their starting running back after Pollard outperformed Ezekiel Elliott the last two seasons in a number two running back role. 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. Deuce Vaughn did not practice this week. Dallas also has Ronald Jones as a fourth string running back even though he's currently suspended. Dallas has incredible depth at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end which is why I feel like the sky is the limit for the Dallas Cowboys offense as long as the offensive line stays healthy.

Dallas is moving Micah Parsons from 4-3 right outside linebacker to a LEO role at 4-3 right end and DeMarcus Lawrence remains at 4-3 left end. Dallas now has two different sack artists at edge rusher. Dallas has Dorance Armstrong Jr. last years starter at 4-3 right end as the backup 4-3 right end in a role that suits him much better with Sam Williams a 2022 third round pick out of Ole Miss as the backup 4-3 left end to Demarcus Lawrence.

Dallas has Jonathan Hankins and Osa Odighizuwa as their starting 4-3 defensive tackles. Dallas also has Mazi Smith a 2023 first round pick out of Michigan and Chauncey Gholston a 2021 third round pick as the backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Neville Gallimore is now a third string 4-3 defensive tackle. Jonathan Hankins has missed the last two games with injuries. Mazi Smith ahs started next to Osa Odighizuwa following a injury to Jonathan Hankins in week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Jonathan Hankins missed week 15. Hankins could be out for a third week in a row.

Dallas is starting Markquese Bell at 4-3 right outside linebacker and right outside linebaacker in a 4-2-5 nickel defense thanks to DeMarvion Overshown their 2023 third round pick out of Texas suffered a season ending injury in training camp. Damone Clark their 2022 fifth round pick out of LSU at 4-3 middle linebacker and 4-2-5 middle linebacker in a nickel defense due to Leighton Vander Esch suffering a season ending injury.

Dallas has Trevon Diggs at field cornerback fresh off a contract extension. Dallas traded for Stephon Gilmore to be the boundary cornerback. Jourdan Lewis has recovered from his injury and depression after taking a personal leave from the team earlier this offseason meaning Lewis will be back at nickel cornerback. Dallas has Noah Igbinoghene at dime cornerback in dime packages with four cornerback sets. Noah Igbinoghene was a 2020 first round pick out of Auburn drafted by the Miami Dolphins that Dallas got by trading Kelvin Joseph their 2021 second round pick to the Miami Dolphins. DaRon Bland who played nickel cornerback down the stretch after Lewis got injured moves to quarter cornerback. Eric Scott Jr. a 2023 sixth round pick out of Southern Mississippi is the number six cornerback on the Dallas Cowboys depth chart.

With Trevon Diggs out for the year with a torn ACL DaRon Bland becomes the field cornerback after splitting nickel cornerback reps with Jourdan Lewis. Stephon Gilmore remains the boundary cornerback. Jourdan Lewis is now the nickel cornerback. Dallas has Noah Igbinoghene at dime cornerback in dime packages with four cornerback sets. Noah Igbinoghene was a 2020 first round pick out of Auburn drafted by the Miami Dolphins that Dallas got by trading Kelvin Joseph their 2021 second round pick to the Miami Dolphins. Nashon Wright is the quarter cornerback. Eric Scott Jr. a 2023 sixth round pick out of Southern Mississippi is the number six cornerback. Bland takes over where Diggs played and everything else remains the same.

Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are the starting safeties with both safeties having the versatility to play strong safety or free safety. Jayron Kearse remains the number three safety on this depth chart, but started with Donovan Wilson out due to an injury. Isreal Mukuamu a 2021 sixth round pick out of South Carolina is converted from cornerback to safety after playing cornerback in the SEC and remains the number four safety on this depth chart. Dallas also has Juanyeh Thomas as a third string strong safety and free safety that fully practiced this week.

Brandon Aubrey has been fantastic at kicker for Dallas this year. He hasn't missed a field goal attempt all season. Bryan Anger is the punter. KaVontae Turpin is the return specialist at kick returnter and punt returner for Dallas.

Prediction: Dallas is a 6 point favorite at -6. The over or under is 53.5 with 71% of the public betting on Dallas. The money line is +205 for Detroit and -250 for Dallas. Take Dallas to win and cover with the over at -250. Bet $350 on this game for Dallas and win up to $600 as long as the Cowboys win by 7 or more.

Final Score Cowboys 42 Lions 20

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Miami Dolphins 11-4-0	Versus	Baltimore Ravens 12-3-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

We're back for the 2023 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. Send me your predictions on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to be eligible for prizes should you have a perfect week. You can also email me your season picks by emailing me at chris@draftutopia.com.

For the third 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. Wes, myself, and the rest of our entire staff are back to make picks for the 2023 NFL Season.

Lisa Donovan is first in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 161-79 record after going 11-5 in week 16. Lisa has the top record in the country at this point with a four game lead over Emmy Bantle of Jason Bantle's Yahoo pool at 157-83. Lisa also leads the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings by 11 games.

I am second in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 150-90 record after going 11-5 in week 16. I am currently tied for eleventh overall in the country.

Andrew Kermish is third in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 149-91 record after going 9-7 in week 16. Andrew is currently tied for thirteenth in the country.

Jason Bantle is fourth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 148-92 record on the year. Jason is currently tied for sixteenth in the country with four other people.

Wes Langley is fifth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings at 145-95. Wes is tied for twenty fourth in the country.

Brian Bayless is sixth in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 143-97 record. Brian Bayless is tied for twenty eighth in the country.

Tracy Porter and Tanya Holmes are tied for seventh in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 141-99 record. Both Tracy and Tanya are tied for thirty second in the country.

Joseph Potter is in ninth place in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings at 140-100 on the year. Joey is thirty sixth in the country.

Jesse Lucas is in tenth place in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 139-101 record entering week 17. Jesse is tied for thirty seventh in the country.

Oren Shiri is in eleventh place in the 2023 Draft Utopia NFL Pickem Standings with a 135-105 record. Oren is tied for forty first in the country entering week 17.

Why the Miami Dolphins Will Win: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has Terron Armstead at left tackle thanks to avoiding an injury scare, but Armstead got ruled out in week 1 with Kendall Lamb playing at left tackle and Isaiah Wynn at left guard. Connor Williams is back at center. Robert Hunt remains at right guard. Austin Jackson is the blindside at right tackle for left handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Miami has Kendall Lamb as their backup left tackle, Lester Cotton as their backup left guard, Liam Eichenberg as their backup center, Robert Jones as thier backup right guard, and Kendall Lamb can play backup right tackle as well. Connor Williams is out for the season at center, so I'm not exactly sure how Miami's offensive line will look in week 15 moving forward. Connor Williams is on injured reserve for three more weeks at center. Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson are both injured at right guard and right tackle and neither guy practiced on Wednesday or Thursday. Miami didn't have Connor Williams, Robert Hunt, and Austin Jackson in week 16. Terron Armstead didn't practice on Wednesday, but Austin Jackson returned to practice.

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. Braxton Berrios won the slot receiver job. Cedrick Wilson Jr. and River Cracraft are pushing each other for the number four wide receiver job. Erik Ezukanma a former Texas Tech wide receiver that I was high on rounds out this core of wide receivers on Miami's depth chart. While Miami is just as deep at wide receiver compared to last year, I think their worse at tight end with backup tight end Durham Smythe replacing Mike Gesicki, but Durham Smythe didn't practice leading up to week 9. Tyreek Hill missed week 15. Jaylen Waddle got injured in week 16 against Dallas and did not return to the game. Jaylen Waddle didn't practice on Wednesday heading into week 17.

Miami had Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane after Miami's 2023 third round pick out of Texas A&M had over 200 rushing yards against Denver back week in week 3. De'Von Achane will be back as Miami's starting running back this week with Raheem Mostert complimenting him. Jeffrey Wilson Jr. and Ronald Jones were on injured reserve for the first four games of the season. Raheem Mostert did not practice this week, but ended up playing. De'Von Achane did not practice on Wednesday due to a injury. Fullback Alec Ingold was good with the Las Vegas Raiders and has a chance to be great with this supporting cast in Miami.

Miami has Christian Wilkins at 3-4 right end, Raekwon Davis at 3-4 nose tackle, and Zach Seiler at 3-4 left end who jumped Emmanuel Ogbah on Miami's depth chart at 3-4 left end after finishing fourth in total tackles and first in the NFL in forced fumbles during Ogbah's season ending injury in 2022 before getting a team friendly extension after Christian Wilkins wouldn't re-sign with Miami. Miami has Bradley Chubb at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jaelen Phillips at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jerome Baker and David Long Jr. will play at 3-4 middle linebacker. Anderew Van Ginkel was the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker when Bradley Chubb and Jaelen Phillips were both fully healthy. Miami can use Emmanuel Ogbah as a situational edge rusher or a situational 5-technique player on the interior at both 3-4 left end and 3-4 left outside linebacker. Miami can also has Channing Tindall for depth at 3-4 middle linebacker. When Jaelen Phillips got injured in week 3, Andrew Van Ginkel played 3-4 left outside linebacker in week 4 before Emmanuel Ogbah came back from his injury and played that role in week 5. Jaelen Phillips was a full practice heading into week 7. Jaelen Phillips tore his ACL. Miami signed Jason Pierre-Paul to compliment Andrew Van Ginkel and Emmanuel Ogbah. Jerome Baker tore his MCL and should be back for the playoffs, but will be out for a few weeks and that's a big blow since he's Miami's best 3-4 middle linebacker.

Miami has Xavien Howard at field cornerback covering number one receivers. Jalen Ramsey is Miami's boundary cornerback. Kader Kohoo is Miami's nickel cornerback. Eli Apple is the dime cornerback. Cam Smith, Miami's 2023 second round pick is the quarter cornerback in five cornerback sets. Miami has Jevon Holland at strong safety and Brandon Jones at free safety with Brandon Jones clearing concussion protocol. Miami added DeShon Elliott for depth at free safety as Elliott will now backup up Jones which is funny because Jones backed up Elliott at Texas when both safeties were teammates in the Big 12 back in college. Miami had their defense at full health for one full game in week 12 before Jaelan Phillips tore his ACL.

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.

Why the Baltimore Ravens Will Win: Lamar Jackson has Ronnie Stanley at left tackle, John Simpson at left guard, Tyler Linderbaum at center, Kevin Zeitler at right guard, and Morgan Moses is starting at right tackle. Patrick Mekhari is the backup left tackle, Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu is the backup left guard, Ben Cleveland is the backup right guard, and Daniel Faalele is the backup right tackle with Baltimore having depth everywhere on their offensive line outside of center. John Simpson played right guard on the Raiders after playing left guard at Clemson. Honestly, there's a chance John Simpson can rebound at left guard in Baltimore an if he doesn't, Andrew Vorhees, Baltimore's 2023 seventh round pick out of USC will be ready to develop for training camp in 2024 once he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered when attempting to run the 40 yard dash at the 2023 NFL Combine. Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum missed weeks 2 and 3, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reported both offensive linemen were full practices against Cleveland. Linderbaum returned in week 4, but Stanley didn't. Ronnie Stanley fully practiced on Wednesday, so he should be back in week 5. Morgan Moses left week 4 against the Cleveland Browns with an injury and missed week 5, but he will be back at right tackle in week 6 giving Baltimore a fully healthy offensive line for the first time since week 1. Patrick Mekari got injured in week 5, but was a full practice so Baltimore will have all four offensive tackles fully healthy for the first time since week 1.

Baltimore has had a fully healthy offensive line for the last three weeks from weeks 6-8, but both left tackle Ronnie Stanley and right tackle Morgan Moses didn't practice on wednesday with both of Lamar Jackson's offensive tackles dealing with shoulder injuries. Ronnie Stanley was a full practice on Thursday and Friday, but Morgan Moses is out in week 9. Morgan Moses was a full practice in week 10 and is expected to play in week 10 after missing week 9 in Baltimore's blowout win over Seattle. Ronnie Stanley got injured in week 10 and has been ruled out in week 11. This means Patrick Mekari will start at left tackle this week. Baltimore has had their offensive line at full health since week 12. Kevin Zeitler did not practice on Wednesday heading into week 17.

Baltimore's top three wide receivers are Rashod Bateman Baltimore's 2021 first round pick out of Minnesota, Odell Beckham Jr. whose getting $18 million on a one year deal, and Zay Flowers Baltimore's 2023 first round pick out of Boston College as a slot receiver in three wide receiver sets. Nelson Agholor, Devin Duvernay, and Tylan Wallace Baltimore's 2021 fourth round pick did enough to beat out Laquon Treadwell and James Proche Baltimore's 2020 sixth round pick for the number six wide receiver job after a slow start his first two seasons as Wallace was considered a top 100 player in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State before falling to Baltimore in the fourth round. Rashod Bateman was a full practice in week 5 and Odell Beckham Jr. was a limited practice. Baltimore has Rashod Bateman, Odell Beckham Jr., and Zay Flowers all as full practices entering week 6 and has started all three the last three weeks. Odell Beckham Jr. has a shoulder injury which kept him from practicing on wednesday heading into week 9, but Odell Beckham Jr. ended up playing. Baltimore's top three wide receivers have been able to stay healthy mixing things up. Zay Flowers missed a practice on Wednesday heading into week 17 which is something to monitor heading into this week.

Mark Andrews dominated in week 4 against the Cleveland Browns, but he suffered a season ending injury in week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Baltimore has Isaiah Likely a top 5 tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Coastal Carolina who started for Baltimore in week 1 starting the rest of the year. Likely was considered a top 5 tight end in the 2022 NFL Draft with starter potential. Charlie Kolar, a tight end that Baltimore drafted out of Iowa State in the 2022 NFL Draft is healthy after missing his entire rookie season with an injury and is currently Baltimore's backup tight end following the injury of Mark Andrews.

Gus Edwards and Justice Hill as the top two running backs on this depth chart with Keaton Mitchell as the third string running back now thanks to the season ending injury to J.K. Dobbins. Baltimore started Keaton Mitchell in week 15, but used him sparingly. Keaton Mitchell tore his left achillis just like J.K. Dobbins. Baltimore has to rely on Gus Edwards and Justice Hill for the playoffs after being the first AFC to clinch their playoff spot. Justice Hill did everything well in college except for pass block, and he looked decent in pass protection in limited snaps against Jacksonville in week 15. Patrick Ricard is the starting fullback on the Balitmore Ravens and is one of the leagues better fullbacks.

Baltimore has depth at running back, fullback with Ben Mason on the practice squad as a backup fullback to Patrick Ricard, depth at wide receiver, and depth at tight end. Baltimore has way more depth at key positions compared to a season ago when dealing with injuries at playmaker. Tyler Huntley made a Pro Bowl with a lackluster supporting cast despite being Lamar Jackson's backup quarterback. Huntley may be able to start 1 or 2 games with this supporting cast, but if you are a Baltimore Ravens fan, you want Lamar Jackson starting all 17 games period. Baltimore does have Josh Johnson who played in this years NFC Championship blowout loss to Philadelphia as their third string quarterback, but he's mainly a practice squad guy who only gets promoted if something happens to Jackson or Huntley. Baltimore's offense is fully healthy outside of running back J.K. Dobbins despite dealing with a roller coaster of injuries early in the season.

Baltimore has Justin Madubuike at 3-4 right end after starting at 3-4 left end the last two years, Michael Pierce and Travis Jones are a potent combo 3-4 nose tackle with Pierce starting. Jadeveon Clowney starts at 3-4 left end, but acts as a third edge rusher on the interior.

Baltimore has Odafe Oweh at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Kyle Van Noy at 3-4 left outside linebacker until Tyus Bowser returns from his injury. Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen are quite the tandem at 3-4 middle linebacker. David Ojabo is the backup 3-4 outside linebacker once he returns from his injury. Malik Harrison and Trenton Simpson are the backup 3-4 middle linebackers..

Baltimore will have played Brandon Stephens at field cornerback and he did well against Calvin Ridley while moving Marlon Humphrey over to boundary cornerback putting Humprhey against number two receivers. That seemed to work like gangbusters when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars. Arthur Maulet a former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback for depth is Baltimore's new nickel cornerback. Baltimore also has Ronald Darby at dime cornerback and Rock Ya Sin is the quarter cornerback when all of their cornerbacks are healthy. Jalyn Armour Davis is the number six cornerback and he got injured. Damorious Williams is also injured after playing at nickel cornerback as a rookie. Baltimore has Kyle Hamilton at strong safety and Marcus Williams at free safety. Geno Stone is a great backup safety. Kyle Hamilton didn't practice on Wednesday after leaving week 16 with a injury after having 2 interceptions against San Francisco.

Justin Tucker is considered the leagues best kicker. Baltimore also has Jordan Stout at punter.

Prediction: Baltimore is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 47 with 63% of the public betting on Baltimore. The money line is +135 for Miami and -160 for Baltimore. Take Baltimore to win and cover with the under at -160. Bet $240 on this game for Baltimore and win up to $400 as long as the Ravens win by 5 or more.

Final Score Ravens 23 Dolphins 17

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

New England Patriots 4-11-0	Versus	Buffalo Bills 9-6-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

There's a few 2024 Senior Bowl invites. I'll post some of those. I'll also be posting invites to the 2024 East West Shrine Bowl after attending the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas.

#ShrineBowlBound ✅

OL Caedan Wallace (@caedanw) from @PennStateFball has officially accepted his invitation to play in the 2024 East-West @ShrineBowl!#WeAre | #ShrineBowlWhosNext😎 pic.twitter.com/K8SHfHvMvW
— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) December 18, 2023

Cadean Wallace, the Penn State right tackle is an excellent get for the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl. I had him in my offensive tackle rankings as the Penn State right tackle is someone who should get drafted.

#ShrineBowlBound ✅

EDGE Xavier Thomas (@atxlete) from @ClemsonFB has officially accepted his invitation to play in the 2024 East-West @ShrineBowl!#ALLIN | #ShrineBowlWhosNext😎 pic.twitter.com/w3aN6kah0i
— East-West Shrine Bowl (@ShrineBowl) December 15, 2023

Xavier Thomas was one of the top defensive recruits coming out of High School. He was a higher ranked recruit than Micah Parsons in High School at one point.

😎 OFFICIAL! Maplesville, AL native LB Nathaniel Watson @Nathaniel_ATH from @HailStateFB has accepted his invitation to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl! #HailState #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️@JimNagy_SB @PaniniAmerica #RatedRookie pic.twitter.com/iUxrDHYxYH
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) December 17, 2023

I'll have to study Nathaniel Watson more. He seems like a decent prospect.

🤘 It's OFFICIAL! WR Jordan Whittington @J_Whitt3 from @TexasFootball has accepted his invitation to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl! #HookEm #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️@JimNagy_SB @PaniniAmerica #RatedRookie pic.twitter.com/yyMHe5wXTe
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) December 21, 2023

Texas has three talented wide receivers. Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington.

OFFICIAL! OL Charles Turner III @turner_cha75 from @LSUfootball has accepted his invitation to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl! #GeauxTigers #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️@JimNagy_SB @PaniniAmerica #RatedRookie pic.twitter.com/sMQhGJrlPo
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) December 21, 2023

Charles Turner III is one of the top centers in the country. Charles Turner III was a player my friend Mitch Pabst told me about back in September. It's great to see he's playing in the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl.

Why the New England Patriots Will Win: New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones may no longer be the starter. Bailey Zappe got a majority of the first team reps on Wednesday with Malik Cunningham getting a majoirty of the second team reps. Will Grier is now ahead of Mac Jones on the depth chart too. Bailey Zappe got shutout at home against the Los Angeles Chargers. It is possible that New England benches Bailey Zappe for Malik Cunningham if Zappe gets shutout against Pittsburgh in week 14.

New England has started Trent Brown at left tackle, Cole Strange at left guard, David Andrews at center, Sidy Sow at right guard, and Michael Onwenu at right tackle the last two weeks following Riley Reiff's injury in week 7 and the New England Patriots offensive line looked a lot better the last two weeks compared to the first six weeks. It seems like that will be the starting offensive line going forward even if Riley Reiff returns from an injury.

New England has JuJu Smith-Schuster as their flanker wide receiver. DeVante Parker is the secondary wide receiver after getting a contract extension making $11 million per year following JuJu Smith-Schuster getting a three year contract in Free Agency, but got ruled out in week 1 before returning in week 2. Demario Douglas won back the slot receiver job, but got placed on injured reserve making him ineligble to play from weeks 13-16. Tyquan Thornton will be the slot receiver until Demario Douglas returns. Kayshon Boutte enters this week as the number four wide receiver with Jalen Reagor and Ty Montgomery II as the backup wide receivers. Matthew Slater is the number seven wide receiver on this depth chart with Tyquan Thornton back, as Bill Belichick called Matthew Slater the best return specialst he's ever coached. New England could have all of their receivers at full health for the first time since week 1. New England has Hunter Henry as their starting tight end and Mike Gesicki is the backup tight end. Both tight ends are capable of starting, but New England usually carries three or four tight ends compared to two tight ends.

New England has Rhamondre Stevenson as their number one running back. Ezekiel Elliott New England's number two running back will probably be the third down back since he's better in pass protection as well as the goal line running back. Backup quarterback Matt Corral walked out on Bill O'Brien, so Bailey Zappe is now the backup once again.

New England has Lawrence Guy Sr. at 4-3 right end when the Patriots run a 4-3 defense as well as 3-4 right end. Davon Godchaux will play 4-3 defensive tackle as well as 3-4 nose tackle in Bill Belichick's hybrid defense. Deatrich Wise Jr. will play 4-3 left end and 3-4 left end. Christian Barmore will play 4-3 defensive tackle in New England's hybrid defense while being used as a backup 3-4 right end. Keion White New England's 2023 second round pick out of Georgia Tech is the backup 3-4 left end, but he's inactive in week 7.

New England has Matthew Judon at 4-3 right outside linebacker and 3-4 right outside linebacker who should be an every down player regardless if New England is running 4-3, 3-4, or nickel. Ja'Whaun Bentley is the starting 4-3 middle linebacker as well as the 3-4 middle linebacker. Jahlani Tavai will play 4-3 left outside linebacker and 3-4 middle linebacker. Josh Uche will play next to Matthew Judon at 3-4 left outside linebacker in 3-4 schemes only. Matthew Judon and Josh Uche were the only edge rusher tandem to have 10 or more sacks in the NFL last year, so it's possible that this pass rusher tandem can carry the New England Patriots to wins this season. Matthew Judon got injured in week 4 against Dallas and is out until December. Mack Wilson and Marte Mapu, New England's 2023 third round pick out of Sacramento State are the two backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Josh Uche is a game-time decision for week 9.

New England Patriots 2023 first round pick Christian Gonzalez is out for the year, so J.C. Jackson who admitted he's not 100 percent is taking over for Gonzalez. Jonathan Jones took over as New England's field cornerback after both J.C. Jackson and Jack Jones violated a team curfew that Jackson advised the second year cornerback Jack Jones to go on. Jack Jones is still the boundary cornerback despite this. New England is gonna be rotating Myles Bryant, J.C. Jackson, and backup free safety Jalen Mills in this nickel cornerback spot with Christian Gonzalez suffering a season ending injury in week 4 after Marcus Jones suffered a season ending injury in week 2.

J.C. Jackson is New England's field cornerback for the rest of the 2023 NFL Season. Jonathan Jones will be the boundary cornerback in week 10. Marcus Jones last years nickel cornerback is out for the year and will not be back this year. Shaun Wade is currently the dime cornerback.

New England's top two cornerbacks were injured which is why New England traded for J.C. Jackson despite his legal problems with the Chargers. Jonathan Jones didn't practice on wednesday leading up to week 7 and Marcus Jones is still injured, so all of New England's top four cornerbacks could be out. Ameer Speed a 2023 sixth round pick out of Michigan State is also dealing with an injury. New England has Kyle Dugger at strong safety and Jabrill Peppers starting at free safety. Adrian Phillips is the backup strong safety and Jalen Mills is the backup free safety on this depth charts thanks to Devin McCourty officially retired from the New England Patriots after being the New England Patriots 2010 first round pick spending his entire NFL career in New England.

New England has Chad Ryland a 2023 fourth round pick out of Maryland 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. Marcus Jones is the kick returner and punt returner for the New England Patriots.

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, Connor McGovern at left guard, Mitch Morse at center, O'Cyrus Torrence at right guard. and Spencer Brown at right tackle. Spencer Brown looked worse in 2023 on Monday Night Football in week 1, but he's looked a lot better since then. Brown showed promise as a rookie, but had a sophomore slump in 2022 and kept missing assignments against second team defensive linemen on the New York Jets in week 1. He's improved throughout the season, but not enough to warrant a contract extension. Tommy Doyle, Buffalo's backup left tackle is on injured reserve, so Buffalo doesn't have any depth at left tackle if something happens to Dion Dawkins. David Edwards is a good backup left guard. Ryan Bates started at right guard last year, but will now be both the backup center and backup right guard. Germain Ifedi is now the backup right tackle to Spencer Brown.

Buffalo has Stefon Diggs as their flanker wide receiver. Gabriel Davis remains the number two wide receiver. Trent Sherfield won the slot receiver job. Khalil Shakir, last years slot receiver is now the number four wide receiver. Deonte Hardy is the number five wide receiver on this depth chart. It feels like Buffalo is thinner at wide receiver compared to a season ago. There's still a ton of depth at wide receiver in Buffalo.

Dawson Knox is still the starting tight end for Buffalo, but Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo's 2023 first round pick out of Utah may have a say in who is the starting tight end by 2024 or 2025 since Kincaid caught every target in week 1 against the New York Jets. Dawson Knox got placed on injured reserve prior to week 8 meaning he is out in weeks 8-11. Dawson Knox will be back in week 15.

Buffalo has James Cook as the starting running back taking over for Devin Singletary. Damien Harris is a good number two running back to compliment James Cook. Latavius Murray is the third string running back. Buffalo still has depth at running back. Reggie Gilliam is back as the starting fullback.

Buffalo gets Von Miller back at 4-3 right end whose been cleared to resume practice on wednesday as Von Miller was a full practice. Backup 4-3 right end Leonard Floyd was the 3-4 right outside linebacker on the Rams Super Bowl 56 team with Von Miller at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Floyd currently has 3.5 sacks in Buffalo's first three games and should move to 4-3 left end. Gregory Rosseau played 4-3 right end as a rookie and moved over to 4-3 left end as a sophomore in 2022, but Rosseau could be used as a situational pass rusher with Von Miller and Leonard Floyd as the two starters against Jacksonville. A.J. Epenesa is the backup 4-3 right end until Von Miller comes back from his injury. Shaq Lawson is the 4-3 left end. Buffalo had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback without Von Miller, but the Buffalo Bills still have a lot of quality players that can blitz off the edge even without a sack artist like Von Miller. A.J. Epenesa didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday after getting injured in week 14 against Kansas City.

Buffalo has Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips starting at 4-3 defensive tackle with Daquan Jones and Tim Settle as the backup 4-3 defensive tackles. Poona Ford and Linval Joseph are the third string are the third string 4-3 defensive tackles. Daquan Jones is still on injured reserve for one more week. Jordan Phillips is also questionable heading into week 11.

Buffalo has Dorian Williams 2023 third round pick at 4-3 right outside linebacker as well as 4-2-5 outside linebacker and Terrell Bernard at 4-3 middle linebacker as well as 4-2-5 middle linebacker. Dorian Williams will play outside linebacker with Terrell Bernard at middle linebacker on plays where Buffalo deploys a 4-2-5 nickel defense with Matt Milano now out for the season. A.J. Klein the starting 4-3 left outside linebacker and backup 4-2-5 outside linebacker is out for Buffalo in week 9 as is backup middle linebacker Baylon Spector.

Buffalo is moving Christian Benford to field cornerback covering number one wide receivers with Tre'Davious White out for the year, but it is worth pointing out that Benford missed week 5 meaning Buffalo didn't have either one of their top two cornerbacks against Jacksonville. Christian Benford is a full practice in week 6 and did play in week 6 against the New York Giants. Rasul Douglas, who Buffalo acquired at the trade deadline will play boundary cornerback. Taron Johnson at nickel cornerback covering slot receivers in nickel packages. Dane Jackson will play dime cornerback. Siran Neal is Buffalo's quarter cornerback. Kaiir Elam, Buffalo's 2022 first round pick has been inactive for a few games with Buffalo listening to offers for him, but now Buffalo put Kaiir Elam on injured reserve meaning he will be out from weeks 9-12 before he can try to work his way back in the lineup. Buffalo signed Josh Norman, but he's on the practice squad. Buffalo has Jordan Poyer at strong safety and Micah Hyde at free safety. Taylor Rapp is the backup strong safety while Damar Hamlin is the backup free safety. Damar Hamlin started at strong safety next to Micah Hyde in week 4 when Poyer was out. Jordan Poyer practiced on Wednesday and returned in week 5. Buffalo didn't have Christian Benford or Micah Hyde in week 10. Benford should be back in week 11, but Micah Hyde may be out which means Damar Hamiln could start at free safety. Micah Hyde didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday heading into week 15, so Damar Hamlin could get the start against Dallas.

Buffalo has Tyler Bass at kicker. Deonte Hardy is the kick returner and punt returner for the Buffalo Bills this season.

Prediction: Buffalo is a 12 point favorite at -12. The over or under is 41 with 91% of the public betting on Buffalo. The money line is +500 for New England and -700 for Buffalo. Take Buffalo to win and cover with the under at -700. Bet $800 on this game for Buffalo and win up to $1,500 as long as the Bills win by 13 or more.

Final Score Bills 38 Patriots 0

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Atlanta Falcons 7-8-0	Versus	Chicago Bears 6-9-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Draft Utopia airs on Talkshoe and Spotify now. We have a show on Spotify with Oren and myself that airs sometimes 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 the first batch episodes of season 13 on Talkshoe while our podcast on is also on Restream with the newest Restream episodes embedded to Youtube like the newest episode where Joey and I did the 2024 NFL Draft Simulator. I've also created a playlist just for NFL Draft content as well as a playlist for previously aired Draft Streams.

Why the Atlanta Falcons Will Win: Taylor Heinicke 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 after Desmond Ridder got benched a second time following the 9-6 loss to Carolina. Atlanta could have Kaleb McGary back at right tackle after McGary missed the last two games.

Drake London is Atlanta's flanker wide receiver. Van Jefferson is the secondary wide receiver thanks to a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, but he dropped a fourth down pass against the Tennessee Titans in week 8. Mack Hollins is the slot receiver. Atlanta has Kyle Pitts starting at tight end with Jonnu Smith as the backup tight end. Atlanta has Bijan Robinson as their starting running back, Tyler Allgeier as their backup running back, and Cordarrelle Patterson as their third string running back. Drake London, Atlanta's best wide receiver is dealing with a groin injury which will keep him out in week 9. Drake London will be back in week 10 and has played the last few weeks.

Atlanta has Calias Campbell at 3-4 right end, David Onyemata at 3-4 nose tackle, and Grady Jarrett at 3-4 left end giving Atlanta one of their best 3-4 defensive lines in years. Grady Jarrett tore his ACL, so Kentavius Street is taking over at 3-4 left end after Atlanta gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 2024 sixth round pick for their third string defensive tackle. David Onyemata is out at 3-4 nose tackle meaning Atlanta won't have their best 3-4 nose tackle or their best 3-4 left end in week 15. David Onyemata could also be back in week 17 after missing the last two games.

Atlanta has Bud Dupree at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Arnold Ebiketie complimenting him at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Kaden Elliss and Troy Andersen will both start at 3-4 middle linebacker. Bud Dupree has 5 sacks at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Arnold Ebikete has 5.5 sacks which is an improvement over last year with Atlanta's pass rush, but it's not saying much. Bud Dupree is out in week 15 at 3-4 right outside linebacker. Bud Dupree may be back this week.

A.J. Terrell, Atlanta's field cornerback is the only healthy cornerback at the moment. Jeffrey Okudah who Atlanta traded for at boundary cornerback is expected to be back in week 3. Clark Phillips III is also expected to make his debut at nickel cornerback in week 5 after missing the first four weeks of the season and being a full practice. Clark Phillips III started three weeks in a row before being ruled inactive in week 8. Strong safety Richie Grant and free safety Jesse Bates III give Atlanta one of the better safety tandems in the NFL. A.J. Terrell got placed in concussion protocol in week 13 after getting injured against the New York Jets. Jeffrey Okudah and Clark Phillips III did a great job keeping Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard in check largely due to the incompetent play of Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian at quarterback. Baker can pick apart Atlanta if he avoids turnovers assuming A.J. Terrell is out. A.J. Terrell played in week 14 after missing week 13. Jeffrey Okudah was out in week 14, but he's a full practice on Wednesday leading up to week 15. Atlanta will have their secondary at full health in week 15.

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

Why the Chicago Bears Will Win: Justin Fields enters year three as the Chicago Bears starting quarterback, but he broke his thumb in week 6 and undrafted backup Tyson Bagent is now set to start his fourth consecutive game. Justin Fields is set to return at quarterback in week 11. Chicago has Braxton Jones at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Lucas Patrick at center, Nate Davis at right guard, and Darnell Wright at right tackle. Larry Borom is the backup left tackle and Teven Jenkins is the backup guard. It is also possible that Chicago has Braxton Jones at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Cody Whitehair at center, Nate Davis at right guard, and Darnell Wright at right tackle like CHicago planned back in the presason with Larry Borom as the swing tackle and Lucas Patrick as the backup center.

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. Darnell Mooney has been the Chicago Bears flanker receiver the last two years, but he moves to a secondary wide receiver role in his contract year. Tyler Scott is now the slot receiver on the Chicago Bears as the 2023 fourth round pick out of Cincinnati is known for his speed despite having an extremely limited route tree. Equanimeous St. Brown last years slot receiver is now a backup after struggling for a few weeks after taking the slot receiver job from Chase Claypool who Chicago traded to Miami. Velus Jones Jr., Chicago's 2022 third round pick out of Tennessee is the number five wide receiver with Trent Taylor as the sixth and final backup wide receiver. D.J. Moore didn't practice on Wednesday, but I'm not putting too much stock into that. Darnell Mooney suffered a concussion injury against the Arizona Cardinals and did not practice on Wednesday.

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 Green Bay Packers starting tight end Robert Tonyan Jr. as their backup tight end and Marcedes Lewis, Green Bay's backup tight end in 2022 is now the third string tight end on Chicago. Chicago has Khalil Herbert as their starting running back, Roschon Johnson as their backup running back after he jumped D'Onta Foreman on the depth chart, and D'Onta Foreman Carolina's starting running back after Christian McCaffrey got traded as the third string running back. Travis Homer also made Chicago's roster as a fourth string running back after previously playing with the Seattle Seahawks during his rookie deal, but he's also been ruled inactive. Chicago signed Darryington Evans as their backup running back after the injury bug hit Chicago. Chicago has Khari Blassinggame at fullback, but Blassingame is injured and out in week 10.

Chicago has Montez Sweat at 4-3 right end and Yannick Ngakoue complimenting him at 4-3 left end, but both guys are versatile enough to play edge rusher on either side. Yannick Ngakoue is out for the season. Demarcus Walker now takes over for Yannick Ngakoue at 4-3 left end. Justin Jones started all 17 games at 4-3 defensive tackle for Chicago in 2022 with Free Agent signing Andrew Billings who started 14 games with the Las Vegas Raiders complimenting him. Andrew Billings did well enough to get a two year extension next to Justin Jones.

Dominique Robinson a 2022 fifth round pick out of Miami Ohio is the number four defensive end with Montez Sweat on this roster. Rasheem Green is now a third string defensive end. Gervon Dexter Sr. Chicago's 2023 second round pick from the Baltimore Ravens in the Roquan Smith trade was a player that I had a first round grade on. Dexter may also have a higher ceiling than current starter Justin Jones. Zacch Pickens was the Chicago Bears 2023 third round pick to kick off the third round out of South Carolina and he's currently the backup to Andrew Billings despite handing Will Levis a sack in the preseason.

Chicago has T.J. Edwards, Philadelphia's 4-3 middle linebacker in 2022 moving to 4-3 right outside linebacker in 2023. Chicago also has Buffalo Bills middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds a top fifteen pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech as their new 4-3 middle linebacker. Tremaine Edmunds did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday after leaving Sunday Night Football with a concussion in week 8 missing week 9 as a result. Tremaine Edmunds is also out in week 10 and could be out in week 11. Jack Sanborn who showed promise taking over for Roquan Smith at 4-3 middle linebacker in 2022 moves to 4-3 left outside linebacker, but could play 4-3 middle linebacker this week with Tremaine Edmunds ruled out due to a concussion. The only backup linebacker that I like on Chicago is Noah Sewell, but at least Chicago has some depth at middle linebacker heading into the season as Sewell entered the preseason as the top linebacker in the NCAA a year ago before dropping to the fifth round after Penei Sewell's little brother was once considered a first round prospect. Both Tremaine Edmunds and Jack Sanborn are questionable with Noah Sewell as the only inactive for week 11.

Chicago has Jaylon Jones at field cornerback, Tyrique Stevenson at boundary cornerback, and Kyler Gordon is the nickel cornerback job. Chicago's 2023 second round pick out of Miami FL did enough this offseason to win the number two cornerback job right out the gate as a rookie over Kyler Gordon a 2022 second round pick out of Washington. Terrell Smith, Chicago's 2023 fifth round pick out of Minnesota is currently the dime cornerback and Smith did so well he took the number four cornerback job from Kindle Vildor who currently began training camp injured before getting cut from the team. I don't trust Chicago's depth at safety if something happens to Brisker or if Eddie Jackson gets a season ending injury like he did a season ago in 2022. Chicago is getting Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Eddie Jackson back fromm injuries in week 6. Chicago has had the same top three cornerbacks for three weeks now, but loses Terrell Smith their dime cornerback who will be out in week 9. Jaquan Brisker will be out at strong safety in week 9, but recovered enough to return at strong safety in week 10.

Chicago has Cairo Santos as their starting kicker. Trenton Gill, Chicago's 2022 seventh round pick out of North Carolina State is the starting punter. Tyler Scott is going to be Chicago's kick returner. Trent Taylor will be Chicago's punt returner. Chicago's special teams could be electric if Tyler Scott can recapture the glory days and magic that Devin Hester brought to the Chicago Bears as a kick returner.

Prediction: Chicago is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 38 with 64% of the public betting on Chicago. The money line is +160 for Atlanta and -200 for Chicago. Take Chicago to win and cover with the over at -200. Bet $300 on this game for Chicago and win up to $500 as long as the Bears win by 4 or more.

Final Score Bears 28 Falcons 13

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Tennessee Titans 5-10-0	Versus	Houston Texans 8-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

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Why the Tennessee Titans Will Win: Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill got injured in week 6. Malik Willis was awful in relief of Ryan Tannehill. Will Levis, the Tennessee Titans 2023 second round pick out of Kentucky threw 4 passing touchdowns and no interceptions in week 8 in his debut against Atlanta. Will Levis has been named the starting quarterback even with Ryan Tannehill back from his injury. Will Levis got injured in week 15, and Ryan Tannehill could be starting for Tennessee in week 15. Jaelyn Duncan at left tackle, Peter Skoronski at left guard, Aaron Brewer at center, Daniel Brunskull at right guard, and Chris Hubbard in week 12. If Tennessee starts this lineup or has Nicholas Petit-Friere at right tackle over Chris Hubbard, they may be able to win at home in week 12 since Jaelyn Duncan looks a lot better than Andre Dillard despite being a 2023 sixth round pick out of Maryland as he won some one-on-ones versus Brian Burns. Tennessee's offensive line has looked better with Jaelyn Duncan at left tackle and it wouldn't surprsie me if Ryan Tannehill had a resurgence game with this offensive line. Will Levis was a full practice on Wednesday and he should be back in week 17.

Tennessee has DeAndre Hopkins as their flanker wide receiver and Treylon Burks last years flanker receiver as their secondary wide receiver. DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL in third down conversions for a wide receiver with 8 so far ths season. Treylon Burks ended up missing week 4 and was the only injured Tennessee Titans player out in week 5. Treylon Burks has been ruled out once again for the third week in a row in week 6. Treylon Burks wasn't ruled inactive in week 8 and did play, but wasn't targeted by Will Levis. With DeAndre Hopkins listed as questionable, Burks could get a bigger volume in week 9. Treylon Burks suffered a concussion at the end of the Pittsburgh game. My guess is he's out in week 10, but gets cleared to play in week 11. Burks hasn't practiced for week 11 yet, so he could be out once again this week. Kyle Phillips the former UCLA wide receiver looked like he was building some chemistry with Will Levis. Tennessee will have all of their wide receivers at full health in week 17.

Tennessee has a tight end duo of Chigoziem Okonwko who began the season as the backup tight end to Austin Hooper as the starting tight end with Trevon Wesco as the backup tight end, Josh Whyle pushing Wesco for that number two tight end role, and Alize Mack as the number four tight end. Tennessee may bring a lot of 12 personnel with all of their depth at tight end. Tennessee has Derrick Henry as their starting running back and Tyjae Spears their 2023 third round pick out of Tulane won the backup running back job. Tennesee has depth in spades at running back and tight end. The Titans appear rather thin at wide receiver while the offensive line will struggle early in the season.

Tennessee has Jeffrey Simmons at 3-4 right end and Denico Autry at 3-4 left end. Tennesee replaced Bud Dupree with Arden Key at 3-4 right outside linebacker and has Harold Landry at 3-4 left outside linebacker even though both guys are versatile enough to play edge rusher on either side. Rashod Weaver who led the Titans in sacks during Landry's injury is a situational pass rusher while Caleb Murphy, a player I interviewed at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl who went undrafted out of Ferris State is the number four pass rusher on this depth chart. Both Weaver and Murphy were inactive in week 10, but both were not listed on the injury report heading into week 11. Tennessee should have the depth to get pressure on the opposing quarterback if Harold Landry can stay healthy in 2023. Jeffrey Simmons is expected to return from his injury in week 17.

Tennessee has Kristian Fulton at field cornerback back as a full practice in week 3 after missing week 2. Sean Murphy-Bunting remains at boundary cornerback after being the number two cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his rookie deal. Roger McCreary returned to the nickel cornerback role in week 3 and has maintained that role ever since, but Roger McCreary was ruled inactive in week 8 following the Tennessee Titans bye week and is out once again in week 9. Caleb Farley Tennessee's 2021 first round pick is on the PUP list and will not be in the lineup to start the season as Farley has missed the last five games after dealing with a family tragedy in the preseason. Tennessee has Amani Hooker at strong safety and Terrell Edmunds at free safety. Tennessee moved cornerback Elijah Molden their 2021 third round pick to backup strong safety as a backup to Amani Hooker and Molden has been ruled out since he's dealing with a hamstring injury. Tennessee has all of their starters on the secondary, but their depth players are out.

Tennessee traded for New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk whose now the starting kicker on the Tennessee Titans. Ryan Stonehouse is the punter. Kyle Phillips last years slot receiver to Robert Woods and Treylon Burks is the punt returner. I'm not sold on Julius Chestnut at kick returner. The bakup return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner is Tyjae Spears.

Why the Houston Texans Will Win: C.J. Stroud the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State is now the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. C.J. Stroud missed the last two weeks with a concussion, but should be back in week 17. C.J. Stroud was a limited practice on Wednesday. Houston started Laremy Tunsil at left tackle, Juice Scruggs at left guard fresh off of injured reserve once Tytus Howard was ruled out for the year at left guard following the injury to Kenyon Green, Michael Dieter at center, Shaq Mason at right guard, and George Fant at right tackle. George Fant has put together his best season at right tackle while Michael Dieter has improved with a career year at center. That's one reason why the Houston Texans are in contention this late in the season.

Houston has Josh Jones as a backup left tackle and Nick Broeker is the Houston Texans backup left guard. Jarrett Patterson will be Houston's backup center once he returns from injured reserve. Houston also has Charlie Heck as a backup right guard and a backup right tackle. Remember Houston's 2022 first round pick Kenyon Green suffered a season ending injury in training camp and Houston's 2019 first round pick Tytus Howard suffered a season ending injury in week 12 when Houston lost at NRG Stadium to Jacksonville. Laremy Tunsil played despite not practicing in week 15. Tunsil didn't practice on Wednesday.

Houston has Nico Collins as their number one flanker receiver, Robert Woods 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. Dell has asserted himself as a top two wide receiver on this depth chart, but Dell moves to the slot when Robert Woods or someone else comes in on three wide receiver sets. Tank Dell is considered the number one target in this offense as he leads Houston in receiving touchdowns. Dell didn't practice on Wednesday leading into week 13, but he practiced on Thursday. Dell played but suffered a season ending injury.

Noah Brown will take over as a starter for Houston replacing Tank Dell as he was pushing Robert Woods for slot receiver reps when Nico Collins and Tank Dell were Houston's top two targets.

John Metchie III is currently the number five receiver on Houston's depth chart and Xavier Hutchinson the Iowa State wide receiver that Houston drafted as the number six wide receiver. These two will have elevated roles with John Metchie III as the number four receiver and Xavier Hutchinson as the number five wide receiver with Tank Dell out for the rest of the regular season.

Dalton Schultz is the starting tight end with Dameon Pierce as the starting running back. Andrew Beck is the starting fullback. Teagan Quitoriano is the backup tight end to Dalton Schultz while Brevin Jordan is the Houston Texans third string tight end behind Schultz and Quitoriano. Brevin Jordan didn't practice on Wedensday. Dameon Pierce didn't practice on Wednesday despite playing. Pierce got injured in week 8 and missed week 9. Dameon Pierce missed week 10 and will be out in week 11. Devin Singletary is the backup running back to Dameon Pierce this season and he went off in week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Pierce returned in week 12 and resumed his role as the Houston's lead running back in week 13. There's a lot playmakers on this offense for the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Houston also has Davis Mills the starter for the last two seasons as the backup to Stroud with veteran Case Keenum as the third string quarterback if Stroud were to get injured.

Houston has Jonathan Greenard starting at 4-3 right end and Will Anderson Jr. their third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama starting at 4-3 left end. Jerry Hughes who led the Houston Texans in sacks last year is listed as a backup defensive end on Houston's current depth chart as a third edge rusher listed as the backup 4-3 left end to Jonathan Greenard. Derek Rivers somehow made this roster, but is the backup 4-3 right end to Will Anderson Jr. I doubt we see Derek Rivers unless multiple edge rushers on Houston go down with injuries. Will Anderson Jr. should be an everydown player while Greenard and Hughes rotate at the other edge spot across from the former Bronco Nagurski Award winner. Maliek Collins and Sheldon Rankins are the two starters at 4-3 defensive tackles for the Houston Texans, which is an improvement from last year, but I still feel like the Texans depth at defensive tackle could improve. Houston added Teair Tart the Tennessee Titans starting 3-4 nose tackle for depth at 4-3 defensive tackle. Will Anderson Jr. missed week 16 and he did not practice heading into Week 17. It is possible that Will Anderson Jr. is out for a second week in a row.

Houston has Christian Harris a linebacker from Alabama at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Henry To'oTo'o, Houston's 2023 fifth round pick out of Alabama at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Denzel Perryman at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Christian Harris and Denzel Perryman will be the only starters at linebacker in 4-2-5 nickel packages. Houston's got Blake Cashman as the backup outside linebacker in a 4-2-5 as well as as the backup middle linebacker in a 4-2-5, but he got suspended after Denzel Perryman got suspended which led to Henry To'oTo'o playing.

Houston has Derek Stingley Jr. at field cornerback, Steven Nelson at boundary cornerback, Tavierre Thomas at nickel cornerback after cutting Shaquill Griffin. This was the first time since week 2 where all of Houston's cornerbacks were fully healthy.

Jimmie Ward is back at strong safety for Houston with Jale Pitre back at free safety. Houston's backup safeties Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart look like shadows of thier former selves when starting for the Houston Texans this season, but both of those safeties are now back on the depth chart as backups where they belong. Houston had their best 11 starters on the field for the first time since week 2 in week 13 against Denver.

Houston's offense needs to score touchdowns while the defense limits touchdowns if the Houston Texans are going to win. Outside of kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn isn't a single player on special teams that I would extend at the moment.

Prediction: Houston is a 5 point favorite at -5. The over or under is 43.5 with 58% of the public betting on Houston. The money line is +160 for Tennessee and -190 for Houston. Take Houston to win and cover with the under at -190. Bet $210 on this game for Houston and win up to $300 as long as the Texans win by 6 or more.

Final Score Texans 24 Titans 16


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Las Vegas Raiders 7-8-0	Versus	Indianapolis Colts 8-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

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Why the Las Vegas Raiders Will Win: The Las Vegas Raiders were competitive in 2022 mainly due to quarterback Derek Carr, running back Josh Jacobs, wide receiver Davante Adams, and left tackle Kolton Miller. Those were the impact players and star players on this offense and it cannot be more blatantly obvious as to why that is the case.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis fired Las Vegas Raiders GM Dave Zeigler, and Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. Jimmy Garoppolo got benched for Aidan O'Connell. The Las Vegas Raiders 2023 fourth round pick will make his first NFL start against the New York Giants where he delivered after coming in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in week 4.

Las Vegas has Kolton Miller at left tackle, but that's the only bright spot on the offensive line. Dylan Parham, the Las Vegas Raiders 2022 third round pick did well as a run blocker, but gave up the second most quarterback hurries in the NFL as a rookie left guard. Parham has to improve as a pass blocker in year 2. Andre James gave up 24 quarterback hurries at center last year despite retaining the starting center job. Alex Bars gave up the tenth most quarterback hurries at right guard, but he got replaced by former Buffalo Bills backup Greg Van Roten who played 354 offensive snaps due to injuries while giving up 0 sacks in 2022 when filling in for Mitch Morse at center. Jermaine Elumenor wasn't bad as a right tackle in his second season with the Raiders as he finished in the top 32 among offensive tackles on Pro Football Focus after failing at offensive tackle with three different NFL teams prior to joining the Raiders, but I'm not entirely sold on him as a long-term bookend to Kolton Miller either while his backup Thayer Munford really impressed me in limited snaps at right tackle as a rookie coming out of Ohio State. Kolton Miller has been ruled out in week 10 against the New York Jets, so Aidan O'Connell will have less time than usual in week 10. Kolton Miller and Dylan Parham didn't practice Wednesday. Both the Raiders left tackle and left guard enter week 11 as gametime decisions.

The Raiders opted to remain patient with their current core of offensive linemen rather than reload with new blockers and frankly I don't agree with that decision. Jimmy Garoppolo has less mobility and durability than Derek Carr despite the fact that he was in the 2014 NFL Draft and currently has two more Super Bowl rings than Derek Carr which is why I see the Raiders struggling for the time being.

Las Vegas has weapons in the passing game to make up for a lackluster offensive line. Davante Adams is arguably a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL and is going to be the primary flanker wide receiver in Las Vegas once again. Adams missed practice on wednesday, but got upgraded to a limited practice on thursday which is good news for the Las Vegas Raiders. Jakobi Meyers is the secondary wide receiver after Josh McDaniels signed the former New England Patriots wide receiver in Free Agency. Hunter Renfrow who was the number two receiver when the Raiders made the playoffs two years ago after Jon Gruden got fired is the slot receiver. Tre Tucker, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 third round pick out of Cincinnati did well enough to get the Raiders to cut Phillip Dorsett from the active roster. DeAndre Carter was the number five wide receiver on the Los Angeles Chargers before a season ending injury and he's gonna play the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. Davante Adams did not practice

Antonio Pierce the new interim head coach already moved Michael Mayer ahead of Austin Hooper on the Las Vegas Raiders depth chart. Michael Mayer has been fantastic when seeing the field as a pass catcher so far with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Josh Jacobs led the NFL in rushing yards in 2022 despite having one of the worst offensive lines. Josh Jacobs got franchise tagged and finally ended his holdout. Backup running back Zamir White is the current starting running back until Josh Jacobs shows up. Ameer Abdullah last years backup running back is expected to be the third stringer behind Josh Jacobs and Zamir White. Brandon Bolden remained the fourth string running back. Jakob Johnson is the starting fullback.

Las Vegas has Malcolm Koonce at 4-3 right end and Maxx Crosby at 4-3 left end. Tyree Wilson is currently the backup 4-3 defesive end after being the Raiders 2023 first round pick. Bilal Nichols started all 17 games with the Las Vegas Raiders last year at 4-3 defensive tackle with Jerry Tillery starting next to him after the Chargers released Jerry Tillery.

Las Vegas let their best linebacker Denzel Perryman walk. Divine Deablo was a safety coming out of Virginia Tech, but he did well at outside linebacker regardless of whether the Raiders ran a 4-3 or nickel defense. Deablo looks promising, but this will be the year that determines whether he's an asset or a liability at 4-3 right outside linebacker. Robert Spillaine was a backup linebacker on Pittsburgh before Mike Tomlin benched 2019 first round pick Devin Bush. Robert Spillaine feels like a downgrade versus Denzel Perryman for this reason, but Spillane stepped up with two interceptions in week 5 on Monday Night Football. Divine Deablo missed week 8 against Detroit after getting injured against Chicago and is out in week 9. He might be back in week 10, but there is a possibility he remains injured as well. Robert Spillane is also questionable at middle linebacker, so if both of the Raiders starting linebackers are out, this could be a signature week for Saquon Barkley.

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. Las Vegas released Marcus Peters and Brandon Facyson is injured. Las Vegas signed former New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones to be the boundary cornerback. This leaves Amik Robertson as the nickel cornerback and Jakorian Bennett, the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 fourth round pick out of Maryland who started the year at nickel cornerback as the dime cornerback.

Marcus Epps is the starting strong safety on the Philadelphia Eagles is now a Raider. Tre'von Moehrig the Las Vegas Raiders 2021 second round pick out of TCU enters year three 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. DeAndre Carter was the kick returner and punt returner on the Los Angeles Chargers before his season ending injury and will have a similar role with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Why the Indianapolis Colts Will Win: Anthony Richardson got placed on injured reserve and agreed to get surgery on his arm, so he's out for the season. This means backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II will start for the rest of the season. Indianapolis has Bernard Raimann at left tackle, Quinton Nelson at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Will Fries at right guard, and Braden Smith potentially making his return at right tackle in week 10 after missing weeks 7-9. Blake Freeman started two games at left tackle when Bernard Raimann was injured in weeks 3 and 4, but now the Indianapolis Colts 2023 fourth round pick out of BYU will start at right tackle in week 7. Danny Pinter who was supposed to start at right guard and Jake Witt the backup left tackle from Northern Michigan are both currently on injured reserve with Pinter still on injured reserve and Witt out for the year. Braden Smith has been ruled out for Indianapolis, so Blake Freeman will get the start at right tackle in week 15.

Indianapolis has Michael Pittman Jr. as their flanker wide receiver, Josh Downs as their secondary wide receiver, and Alec Pierce the Indianapolis Colts 2022 third round pick is now the slot receiver after Josh Downs supplanted him as the number two wide receiver on this depth chart. Isaiah McKenzie is the backup wide receiver. Josh Downs will be out in week 10. This means Alec Pierce will be the number two secondary wide receiver with Isaiah McKenzie playing slot receiver. Michael Pittman Jr. left the week 15 game injured with a concussion thanks to a cheap shot hit by Damontae Kazee. Michael Pittman Jr. was a limited practice on Wednesday, so it is possible he clears concusssion protocol by Sunday.

Kylen Granson is the starting tight end, Drew Ogletree is now the backup tight end, Moe Alie-Cox got demoted from starting tight end to third string tight end, Will Mallory, the Indianapolis Colts 2023 fifth round pick is the fourth string tight end with Jelani Woods on injured reserve. Indianpapolis has four quality tight ends without Woods.

Indianapolis has Jonathan Taylor as their starting running back and Zack Moss as their backup running back with both running backs being heavily involved in this offense. Deon Jackson last years third string running back got cut. Evan Hull, a 2023 fifth round draft pick out of Northwestern suffered a season ending injury. Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss can split carries with former Philadelphia Eagles running back Trey Sermon now the third string running back with Evan Hull out for the season. Obviously Jonathan Taylor will be the bell cow at some point since Indianapolis extended him paying Taylor $14 million a year for the next three years. Jonathan Taylor has been incredible the last few weeks, but he broke his thumb and could be out 3-6 weeks. Zack Moss left this game injured. Trey Sermon started the final quarter of the Indianapolis Colts week 15 contest. Jonathan Taylor was a full practice on Wednesday. It is looking like Jonathan Taylor is coming back and starting in week 16.

Indianapolis has Kwity Paye at 4-3 right end and Samson Ebukam joining him at 4-3 left end after Ebukam played with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022. DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart remain the starters at 4-3 defensive tackle. Tyquan Lewis is the backup 4-3 right end and Dayo Odeyingbo is the backup 4-3 left end with Taven Bryan is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle backing up Buckner. Buckner played in week 5, but Kwity Paye missed the last two games in weeks 4 and 5. Kwity Paye will be back on Sunday in week 6. Indianapolis had their defensive line at full health for two games in weeks 1 and 6, but now Grover Stewart got suspended for failing a drug test. This means Taven Bryan will be starting at 4-3 defensive tackle for the first time for the Indianapois Colts in 2023 against his former team the Cleveland Browns, which was the team Taven Bryan played for after his rookie deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Grover Stewart is only out for one more game before he's eligible to return from his suspension in week 11.

Indianapolis has E.J. Speed at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Zaire Franklin at 4-3 middle linebacker, and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Grant Stuard at 4-3 left outside linebacker the Mr. Irrelevant pick from the 2021 NFL Draft as their starters after releasing Shaquille Leonard. Indianapolis will start E.J. Speed at outside linebacker and Zaire Franklin at middle linebacker on 4-2-5 plays.

Indianapolis didn't have Julius Brents on their secondary got exposed as a result in week 2. Brents came back in week 3 when Indianapolis defeated Baltimore with Gardner Minshew II filling in for Anthony Richardson. Dallis Flowers was the boundary cornerback, but he got ruled out for the year with Darrell Baker Jr. starting in relief of Dallis Flowers. Kenny Moore is a servicable nickel cornerback. Jaylon Jones, the Indianapolis Colts 2023 seventh round pick is now the dime cornerback even though a case can be made to start him across from Brents. Indianapolis is starting Julian Blackmon at strong safety and Rodney Thomas II at free safety while leaving Nick Cross on the bench. The safety duo of Julian Blackmon and Rodney Thomas II has worked out well for Indianapolis as both safeties had an interception against New England in week 10 prior to the bye week. Julius Brents did not practice heading into week 8 and missed week 8. Julius Brents has missed weeks 8-13 as the Indianapolis Colts number one cornerback with Dallis Flowers out for the year. This is the biggest reason, I've picked against the Colts. If Brents returns this week in week 14, that could sway me to pick Indianapolis on the road against the Bengals. Julius Brents was a full practice on Wednesday leading up to this game. If Brents is back, the Colts have a chance to win against Pittsburgh.

Matt Gay looks solid at kicker too. He could potentially win some games for the Indianapolis Colts down the stretch.

Prediction: Indianapolis is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 44 with 60% of the public betting on Indianapolis. The money line is +135 for Las Vegas and -165 for Indianapolis. Take Indianapolis to win and cover with the under at -165. Bet $235 on this game for Indianapolis and win up to $400 as long as the Colts win by 4 or more.

Final Score Colts 23 Raiders 19

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Chris Ransom's Pick

Carolina Panthers 2-13-0	Versus	Jacksonville Jaguars 8-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

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Why the Carolina Panthers Will Win: Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama 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. Carolina's starting left guard Brady Christensen and backup left guard Chandler Zavala their 2023 fourth round pick out of North Carolina State are both injured. Bradley Bozeman remains at center. Austin Corbett could be back at right guard this week, but if he's not Cade Mayes will play right guard. Carolina could be getting both Chandler Zavala and Austin Corbett back for week 8 after those two guards missed week 6. Taylor Moton is Carolina's right tackle. Carolina's backup guards could be out this week. Bryce Young missed week 3 against Seattle with Andy Dalton starting on the road in Seattle. Bryce Young started in week 2 against New Orleans on Monday Night Football, Young missed week 3 against Seattle, but has remained the starter ever since.

Bryce Young has Adam Theilen as his number one flanker receiver. D.J. Chark entered the year as the number one receiver, but he's now the secondary wide receiver. D.J. Chark has been ruled out in week 11. Jonathan Mingo is the slot receiver, but will most likely be the number two secondary wide receiver in 2024 once D.J. Chark's contract expires. Terrace Marshall Jr. was the number two receiver on Carolina last year next to D.J. Moore, but he's currently the number four receiver on the Carolina Panthers depth chart, but with Chark out he gets bumped up to slot receiver. Laviska Shenault Jr. is the number five receiver when the other four targets are healthy, but could be the number two target if both Thielen and Terrace Marshall Jr. get ruled out on Sunday. Ihmir Smith-Marssette, a wide receiver that the Super Bowl 57 Champion Kansas City Chiefs cut in training camp is the number six wide receiver on Carolina's roster. With D.J. Chark missing practice, Jonathan Mingo would be promoted to the secondary wide receiver role while Terrace Marshall Jr. has to play slot receiver situaionally. Laviska Shenault Jr. is also dealing with an injury that kept him out in week 9. Laviska Shenault Jr. is exepected to be out in week 10. Laviska Shenault Jr. got placed on injured reserve and will be out in weeks 13-16.

Hayden Hurst the former Cincinnati Bengals starting tight end is the new number one tight end, but last years starting tight end Ian Thomas will be used in two tight end sets. Tommy Tremble, Carolina's 2021 third round pick out of Notre Dame is the third string tight end after being the backup tight end to Ian Thomas the last two seasons. Hayden Hurst did not practice on Wednesday and may be out with a concussion. Hayden Hurst missed weeks 12 and 13. He's out once again in week 14. Hayden Hurst was not on the inactive list, so he returns for Carolina in week 15 after missing the last three games. Carolina is starting Chuba Hubbard over Miles Sanders in week 9 at running back as Hubbard has outperformed Sanders throughout the year after Carolina gave Miles Sanders a big contract. Carolina has their offense at full health.

Carolina is switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. Brian Burns has experience at 3-4 right outside linebacker and with Justin Houston cut Yetur Gross-Matos is starting again. Deion Jones took over for Shaq Thompson after Thompson sufferred a season ending injury in week 2. Frankie Luvu missed week 6, but he dominated in his first game back in week 8. Carolina will not have Brian Burns or Justin Houston in week 11 which means that Chandler Wooten the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and Yetur Gross-Matos the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker will start in week 10. D.J. Johnson Carolina's 2023 third round pick out of Oregon is the third string 3-4 right outside linebacker job behind Brian Burns and Chandler Wooten. D.J. Johnson who got abused by Dawand Jones in the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl should be getting limited playing time as a situational pass rusher in week 10 with both of Carolina's top two edge rushers injured. Derrick Brown will move from 4-3 defensive tackle to 3-4 right end with Shy Tuttle complimenting him at 3-4 left end. Carolina is suspect at nose tackle with Brown transitioning to 5-technique.

Carolina has Donte Jackson at field cornerback and Jaycee Horn at boundary cornerback. Jeremy Chinn is now at nickel corner for the third time since week 13. C.J. Henderson was also healthy enough to play dime cornerback. This means Troy Hill will be Carolina's quarter cornerback with David Long Jr. playing a reserve cornerback backup nickel cornerback role. Von Bell is starting at strong safety and Xavier Woods is starting at free safety. Jammie Robinson, Carolina's 2023 fifth round pick is the backup strong safety while Sam Franklin is the backup free safety. In week 14 I said this is Carolina's first game since week 1 when the secondary is fully healthy. Carolina enters week 15 with a pretty healthy defense outside of the season ending injury to Shaq Thompson against New Orleans in week 2. Jaycee Horn may be out this week with a toe injury and if that is the case, Jacksonville should get another win.

Why the Jacksonville Jaguars Will Win: Trevor Lawrence got placed in concussion protocol after the week 15 home game against the Baltimore Ravens. He has been ruled out. C.J. Beathard will get the start at quarterback in week 17 as Trevor Lawrence will miss his first NFL start. C.J. Beathard has Walker Little at left tackle, Ezra Cleveland at left guard in a contract year, Luke Fortner at center, Brandon Scherff at right guard, and Anton Harrison Jacksonville's 2023 first round pick at right tackle. Jacksonville lost starting left tackle Cam Robinson in week 12 against the Houston Texans whosse now out 3-6 weeks following the injury. Trevor Lawrence, Walker Little, and Christian Kirk all got injured at quarterback, left tackle, and wide receiver in the Monday Night game. Jacksonville's offensive line was at full health in week 15.

This means last years starting left guard Tyler Shatley is now the backup center. Cooper Hodges, the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh round pick out of Appalachian State that I liked made the final roster and is the number four offensive tackle on this depth chart behind Cam Robinson, Walker Little, and Anton Harrison for the time being. When Robinson and Harrison are both healthy, Little will kick inside to left guard, but that won't be happening until Cam Robinson returns for the 2024 NFL Playoffs most likely.

Jacksonville has Calvin Ridley as their flanker wide receiver, Christian Kirk as their secondary wide receiver even though you can argue he's good enough to be a number one target since he was the Jacksonville Jaguars number one target in 2022, and Zay Jones should be back in week 10. Jacksonville will not have Christian Kirk or Zay Jones in week 16 and will be dependant on Calvin Ridley.

Jacksonville's wide receiver depth outside of their top three is lackluster unless you think Jamal Agnew is a solid number four option, but Parker Washington Jacksonville's 2023 sixth round pick out of Penn State can learn under him for a year and take over in 2024 unless Agnew agrees to a team friendly deal. I like Agnew on special teams, but he's someone you can upgrade from at wide receiver. Parker Washington couldn't beat out two undrafted guys for a backup wide receiver gig. That's why I say the Jacksonville Jaguars are much thinner at wide receiver compared to 2022 when eleven different wide receivers were on this teams active roster and practice squad combined. Jacksonville's wide receiver depth is thinner than most realize with Jacksonville cutting the bulk of their backup options at wide receiver from the active roster.

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 just had a ridiculous amount of talent at running back in the preseason with Travis Etienne as the starting running back, Tank Bigsby as the number two running back, JaMycal Hasty last years numbe two running back as the third string running back. D'Ernest Johnson the third string running back on the Cleveland Browns last season is the fourth string running back. Jacksonville has numerous rushers that can carry the rock wtih Doug Pederson modeling Jacksonville in similar fashion as his previous employer the Philadelphia Eagles. Travis Etienne is questionable in week 13, but he's expected to play in week 13.

Jacksonville has Folorunso Fatukasi at 3-4 right end, DaVon Hamilton at 3-4 nose tackle, and Roy Robertson-Harris at 3-4 left end. Jacksonville has good starters on the defensive line, but I'm not sure the depth is there. DaVon Hamilton was on injured reserve from weeks 1-5, but Hamilton got taken off of injured reserve on thursday for good and got limited reps in practice on Friday. Hamilton could play in week 6, but that appears to be a long-shot. DaVon Hamilton returned in week 8, but missed week 11. DaVon Hamilton played in week 12 and was not on the injury report heading into wek 13.

Jacksonville has Josh Allen at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Travon Walker at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd are the starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. Jacksonville has Yasir Abdullah as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and K'Lavon Chaisson as their backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Chad Muma and Shaq Quarterman are the backup 3-4 middle linebackers thanks to Ventrell Miller, Jacksonville's 2023 fourth round pick out of Florida having a season ending injury. Miller should be ready to take over for Quarterman after this season when Quarterman's contract expires. Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville's 2022 first round pick out of Utah is inactive for the game in London in week 4 because he had thumb surgery earlier this week leading up to week 4. Devin Lloyd could return this week.

Jacksonville has Tyson Campbell at field cornerback, Damarious Williams at boundary cornerback, Tre Herndon at nickel cornerback, and Montaric Brown at dime cornerback. Rayshawn Jenkins remains at strong safety with Andre Cisco at free safety. Andrew Wingard and Daniel Thomas are solid backup safeties for depth. I'm not too thrilled with the Jaguars cornerback depth, but as long as Damarious Williams and Tre Herndon play like they did down the stretch last year, cornerback shouldn't be an issue. Jacksonville got Tyson Campbell back in week 10, but he's out in week 11. The trio of Damarious Williams, Trey Herndon, and Montaric Brown has been effective when Tyson Campbell is out of the lineup. Tyson Campbell was ruled inactive for week 15 as he's missed three weeks in a row now. Andre Cisco who got injured in week 14 is out in week 15. Rayshawn Jenkins, who got injured in week 14 will play in week 15. Tre Herndon has a concussion and missed week 15.

Jacksonville will have Damarious Wiliams at field cornerback. Montaric Brown will play boundary cornerback. Rayshawn Jenkins will play strong safety and Andrew Wingard will play free safety. These are not ideal injuries for this secondary, but Jacksonville can make this work.

Jacksonville replaced Riley Patterson with Brandon McManus at kicker which I think was an excellent decision by the Jaguars at kicker. Logan Cooke doesn't excite me as a punter, but Jamal Agnew is a heck of a return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner. Jamal Agnew is also out for Jacksonville. Parker Washington the Penn State wide receiver that Jacksonville drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft is the backup return specialist to Jamal Agnew could make his first start on special teams in week 11.

Prediction: Jacksonville is a 7 point favorite at -7. The over or under is 37.5 with 81% of the public betting on Jacksonville. The money line is +235 for Carolina and -290 for Jacksonville. I like Carolina to win and to cover with the under at +235. Bet $265 on this game for Carolina and win up to $500 as long as the Jaguars win by 6 or less.

Final Score Panthers 13 Jaguars 10

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Los Angeles Rams 8-7-0	Versus	New York Giants 5-10-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Jake Ellenbogen is one of the better Rams insiders on Youtube. We had him on the podcast. In one of his latest videos Jake discusses the Los Angeles Rams chances of winning out following a week 14 loss to Baltimore. The Rams took care of business against the Washington Commanders and kick off week 16.

Why the Los Angeles Rams Will Win: Matthew Stafford is back from his injury and should be healthier in 2023. Los Angeles has Alaric Jackson left tackle who kept Myles Garrett in check while also keeping Garrett from having any tackles for the first time in his career, Steve Avila their 2023 second round pick out of TCU at left guard, Brian Allen at center, Tremayne Anchrum won the right guard job, and Rob Havenstein is starting at right tackle. Joseph Noteboom lost the left tackle job to Alaric Jackson following his injury. Zachary Thomas a 2022 sixth round pick out of San Diego State got cut by the Chicago Bears and picked up by the Los Angeles Rams as the backup left guard. Coleman Shelton is the backup center after starting some down the stretch. Kevin Dotson is the backup right guard, but Dotson feels like the one backup who could end up starting if Tremayne Anchrum slips up. Warren McClendon Jr. the starting right tackle at Georgia last year was the Los Angeles Rams 2023 fifth round pick. The Rams offensive line was healthy for the first month of the season. Los Angeles has a fully healthy offensive line once again despite allowing 9 quarterback pressures to Cleveland in a week 13 win. Los Angeles lost in overtime in week 14. Rob Havenstein didn't practice on Wednesday heading into week 15. Rob Havenstein should play this week. Joseph Noteboom is expected to be out in week 15.

Los Angeles has Cooper Kupp as their flanker number one wide receiver. Puka Nacua is the secondary wide receiver. Tutu Atwell will be the slot receiver. Ben Skowronek was huge in Super Bowl 56 and will be the number four wide receiver. Demarcus Robinson who was a backup wide receiver on the Baltimore Ravens as a number four wide receiver is now the number five wide receiver rounds out the depth chart at wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams.

The Los Angeles Rams have amazing depth at tight end too. Tyler Higbee is still the starting tight end on this team and has maintained his job as the starting tight end all the way back to 2017 after being drafted out of Western Kentucky in the 2016 NFL Draft. Brycen Hopkins is the backup tight end to Higbee as the 2020 third round pick out of Purdue that I interviewed at the 2020 Reese's Senior Bowl enters his contract year. Hunter Long a 2021 third round pick out of Boston College was acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the trade that sent the Los Angeles Rams best cornerback Jalen Ramsey to Miami. Tyler Davis a 2023 fifth round pick out of Clemson is the fourth string tight end that rounds out this depth chart.

Los Angeles has Kyren Williams as their starting running back. Ronnie Rivers is the backup running back. Both Kyre Williams and Ronnie Rivers are injured. Zach Evans, the Los Angeles Rams 2023 sixth round pick out of Ole Miss still made this roster initially as the fourth string running back and he's now the starting runnng back after the Rams traded Cam Akers. Darrell Henderson Jr. who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams out of Memphis ended up starting in week 8 versus Pittsburgh over Zach Evans. Darrell Henderson Jr. got sent down to the Rams practice squad. Kyren Williams is going to be back this week at 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. This year the injuries are piling up at running back. 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.

Los Angeles has Aaron Donald back at 3-4 right end. Bobby Brown III a 2021 fourth round pick out of Texas A&M as the starting nose tackle had had his moments. Kobie Turner a 2023 third round pick out of Wake Forest that was at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl will be starting next to Aaron Donald at 3-4 left end. Larrell Murchison is the backup 3-4 right end to Aaron Donald Earnest Brown IV is a backup 3-4 left end. Aaron Donald is incredible and the Rams have a good supporting cast around him on the defensive line.

Los Angeles will have Michael Hoecht at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Byron Young a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Hoecht had 5 quarterback hurries against Arizona in week 6 and Byron Young has continued to get better each week. Ernest Jones a 2021 third round pick out of South Carolina and Christian Rozeboom are the two starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. The one depth player I like is Nick Hampton a 2023 fifth round pick out of Appalachian State the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker while Ochaun Mathis is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Ernest Jones didn't practice on Wednesday leading up to week 9.

Los Angeles has Decobie Durant at field cornerback, Ahkello Witherspoon at boundary cornerback, Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson a 2023 sixth round pick out of TCU at nickel cornerback, and Derion Kendrick at dime cornerback. Duke Shelley is the quarter cornerback and can ball out at times. Shaun Jolly is the number six cornerback and was once considered the number one cornerback on Appalachian State.

John Johnson III will start at strong safety with Jordan Fuller at free safety. It's possible that Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast two safeties that the Rams drafted in the sixth and seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft see more playing time this year. Lake was a player I really liked as a backup coming out of UCLA while Yeast has been making a lot of noise for the Rams during the preseason.

Los Angeles cut Brett Maher at kicker right before the Rams play Maher's former team the Dallas Cowboys. Los Angeles signed Mason Crosby at kicker, but eneded up cutting him.

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. Daniel Jones didn't practice on Wednesday due to a neck injury that he suffered in week 5 against Miami. Daniel Jones missed week 6 and has been a limited practice in week 7. New York Giants backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor will make his first start with the New York Giants against his former team the Buffalo Bills. Tyrod Taylor won a game against the Washington Commanders. Daniel Jones could be back this week at quarterback, but he's been ruled out again so Tyrod Taylor will get the start. Tyrod Taylor got injured, so third string quarterback Tommy Devito came in. Daniel Jones tore his ACL in week 9, so Tommy Devito is considered the starting quarterback now. Tyrod Taylor is expected to be activated off of injured reserve and could be back this week following the two consecutive wins by Tommy Devito. Tommy Devito beat Green Bay coming off the bye week in week 14, so I expect him to remain the starting quarterback.

The New York Giants could have their offensive line back at full health this week. Imagine Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Justin Pugh at left guard, John Michael Schmitz at center, Mark Glowinski at right guard, and Evan Neal at right tackle. New York can upgrade at guard in the offseason, but Pugh and Glowinski will do at guard for now. Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal missed week 8 despite being limited practices and are limited practices once again heading into week 9. Both Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal returned from injuries in week 9

Wan'Dale Robinson is the flanker wide receiver, but Robinson is injured after being the number one target for Daniel Jones in the Monday Night game. Isaiah Hodgins is the secondary wide receiver with Darius Slayton as the slot wide receiver. Parris Campbell is your number four wide receiver. Jalin Hyatt, a 2023 third round pick out of Tennessee who won the Billetnikoff Award in 2022 is the number five receiver on this depth chart, but could be the number one target by the end of the season. Sterling Shephard is the number five six receiver. The New York Giants have a lot of wide receiver depth for quarterback Daniel Jones, but not a true number one superstar for their franchise quarterback who got a four year extension.

The New York Giants traded for Darren Waller whose now the starting tight end, but Daniel Waller is expected to be out in week 9 as Darren Waller got placed on injured reserve prior to week 9 being ruled out for weeks 9-12. Daniel Bellinger started as a rookie, but is now the number two tight end. Darren Waller didn't practice on Wednesday heading into week 6, but did end up playing. With Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger at tight end, New York has multiple tight ends they can get the ball to.

Saquon Barkley returned in week 5. Saquon Barkley is someone who will have to step up in week 6 if Daniel Jones is out. Saquon Barkley could have a big game with his offensive line returning to full health this week.

New York has A'Shawn Robinson at 3-4 right end and Dexter Lawrence at 3-4 nose tackle, and Rakeem Nunez-Roches at 3-4 left end. Teams with good guard tandems will be able to expose the New York Giants now that Leonard Williams is no longer with the New York Giants.

Kayvon Thibodeaux enters his sophomore season in the NFL as the starting 3-4 right outside linebacker with Azeez Ojulari complimenting him at 3-4 left linebacker, but Azeez Ojulari missed the first three weeks before making his season debut in week 4. Azeez Ojulari played in week 13.

Carlos Basham is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker and Jihad Ward is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Carlos Basham started the first three weeks when Ojulari was out of the lineup. Jihad Ward started in week 6 against the Buffalo Bills and will probably start the next three games.

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. Isaiah Simmons is the backup 3-4 middle linebacker ot Micah McFadden even though you can make a case for Simmons starting over McFadden. One more thing to take into account is that Jarrad Davis is on injured reserve and is out for the first four games.

The New York Giants aren't just starting one rookie cornerback. The New York Giants are starting two rookie cornerbacks. Deonte Banks, the New York Giants 2023 first round pick out of Maryland won the field cornerback job. The bigger surprise is Tre Hawkins a 2023 sixth round pick that played at Old Dominion won the boundary cornerback job. Tre Hawkins played cornerback, strong safety, and free safety before wowing NFL teams with his 40 time. Tre Hawkins is great in zone coverage, but his man coverage and press coverage is gonna have to improve based on what he did at Old Dominion. In Tre's defense, he beat out Adoree Jackson for the number two cornerback job. Adoree Jackson was New York's number one cornerback last year, but now he's the nickel cornerback. Darnay Holmes last years nickel cornerback got demoted to dime cornerback in a contract year. Cor'Dale Flott is the quarter cornerback. Jason Pinnock is starting at strong safety while Xavier McKinney who played strong safety last year is moving to free safety in a contract year. Dane Belton is the main backup safety as the 2022 fourth round pick out of Iowa enters his second season.

New York has Graham Gano as their starting kicker, but Graham Gano got placed on injured reserve on Friday after being a limited practice on Wednesday and Thursday heading into week 9 because the Giants found out Graham Gano needed surgery. Replacing Graham Gano is former Cleveland Browns kicker Cade York. New York also added Randy Bullock, but he's injured. Mason Crosby started at kicker for the New York Giants in week 16. Eric Gray Jr., the New York Giants 2023 fifth round pick out of Oklahoma is currently the fourth string running back on this depth chart because of his pedestrian pass blocking, but he's also fast and catches the ball out of the backfield when you watch him at Oklahoma. Giving someone like Eric Gray Jr. the punt returner job is an interesting decision. If he can generate some explosion on punt returns he could create a big play.

Prediction: Los Angeles is a 5.5 point favorite at -5.5. The over or under is 43.5 with 83% of the public betting on Los Angeles. The money line is -290 for Los Angeles and +235 for New York. I like Los Angeles to win and New York to cover with the under at +235. Bet $265 on this game for New York and win up to $500 as long as the Rams win by 5 or less.

Final Score Rams 17 Giants 16

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Arizona Cardinals 3-12-0	Versus	Philadelphia Eagles 11-4-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I got game a playlist for Ohio State VS Notre Dame now up on Youtube embedded below. I still got other games Notre Dame VS Duke, Oklahoma VS Texas, Oregon VS Washington, Penn State VS Ohio State, Oregon VS Utah, LSU VS Alabama, Ole Miss VS Georgia Appalachain State VS James Mdison, and Ohio State VS Michigan on my Rumble. I'll add Army VS Navy and some Conference Championship games soon.

I posted a film cut of Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry VS Texas.

Why the Arizona Cardinals Will Win: Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray won his first start in first game back making up to four progressions out of six while also taking more accountability being critical of himself in the narrow victory. He showed the ability to make up to five progressions in the loss to Houston as well as reading all six progressions on a play against the Los Angeles Rams despite losing.

Arizona has D.J. Humphries at left tackle who is one of the ten best left tackles in the league. The fact that Arizona extended Humphries after extending Kyler Murray tells me he's gonna remain a Cardinal for the forseeable future. D.J. Humphries missed week 10, but he could be back at left tackle in week 11.

Elijah Wilkinson won Atlanta's starting left guard last year after beating out Jalen Mayfield in training camp for the left guard job in 2022 is now the Arizona Cardinals starting left guard. Elijah Wilkinson did miss week 7 at left guard and got placed on injured reserve prior to week 8 meaning he will be out in weeks 8-11. Elijah Wilkinson may be eligible to return at left guard for Arizona in week 12.

Pat Elflein and Jon Gaines II would have challenged Hjalte Froholdt to be Arizona's starting center after Rodney Hudson retired, but both Elflein and Gaines II suffered season ending injuris in training camp. Jon Gaines II, Arizona's 2023 fourth round pick out of UCLA should be Arizona's starting center in 2024 if he recovers from his injury unless Arizona drafts a center in the 2024 NFL Draft. Hjalte Froholdt who was awful with the Cleveland Browns is the Arizona Cardinals starting center replacing Rodney Hudson who retired with Arizona's other two centers Pat Elflein and Jon Gaines II out for the season.

Will Hernandez is Arizona's starting right guard. Paris Johnson Jr. who Kyler Murray wanted at right tackle got drafted sixth overall out of Ohio State.

Paris Johnson Jr. was my top ranked offensive tackle in the 2023 NFL Draft and with D.J. Humphries, Paris Johnson Jr. can be a bookend rather than someone who plays left tackle. D.J. Humprhies got ejected against Seattle in week 7, Kelvin Beachum was still recovering from an injury, but was a full practice and returned to this lineup as Arizona's swing tackle in week 8. Josh Jones got traded to Houston after entering the season as Arizona's backup left tackle to D.J. Humphries.

Arizona has Marquis Brown the first receiver drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft as their number one flanker receiver after releasing DeAndre Hopkins. My top three receivers that year were N'Keal Harry, Anthony Johnson, and Dillon Mitchell. Deebo Samuel was my number four receiver that year with A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf as my number five and six options and spoiler alert these were the three best wide receivers in 2019 unless you want to make a case for Terry McLaurin as I did worse than the teams that drafted receivers in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft in terms of talent evaluations.

I wasn't high on Marques Brown at all he was pure speed for me, but he played with Kyler Murray at Oklahoma so he clicks with Murray from a team chemistry standpoint, but with Murray out of the lineup you can't expect much from Marques Brown. I don't consider Marquis Brown a number one wide receiver even though he is currently Arizona's top receiver on the Cardinals depth chart. Marques Brown didn't practice on wednesday. Michael Wilson is the number two receiver on this depth chart as Michael Wilson did enough to go from being a 2023 third round pick to the number two receiver on this depth chart, but he's missed the last two games with injuries. Rondale Moore, Arizona's 2021 second round pick is the slot receiver. Zach Pascal the number four wide receiver on the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 57 team with Arizona Cardinals is now the number four wide receiver on this depth chart. With Michael Wilson and Zach Pascal out the past two weeks, Greg Dortch has been Arizona's number two wide receiver.

Trey McBride didn't practice on wednesday heading into week 13 and Arizona is waiving Zach Ertz. Geoff Swaim who started 29 of his 57 career starts over the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans is the third string tight end. Michael Wilson's Stanford wide receiver teammate Elijah Higgins got claimed by Arizona off of waivers after being released by the Miami Dolphins. What's even more fascinating is that Elijah Higgins is the fourth string tight end on Arizona's depth chart, but gets moved up to third string with Zach Ertz on injured reserve for at least two more weeks as Ertz got placed on injured reserve in week 8 after Arizona's week 7 game against Seattle meaning Ertz is out for one more week before he's eligible to return. Arizona has a lot of depth at tight end.

Arizona has James Conner as their starting running back. Emari Demercado took the backup running back job from Keontay Ingram. Arizona has a good starting running back room with James Conner, but the depth on their roster is questionable.

Arizona has Kevin Strong at 3-4 right end, Leki Fotu at 3-4 nose taackle, and Jonathan Ledbetter at 3-4 left end. Arizona Cardinals 2023 sixth round pick Dante Stills is the backup 3-4 right end, but he's versatile enough to play 3-4 defensive end on either side. Dante Stills is the best player on Arizona's defensive line right now as the sixth round pick out of West Virginia, a player I had in my top 100 is tied with Kevin Strong for 2.5 sacks on Arizona's defensive line which is the most among defensive linemen on the Arizona Cardinals in 2023.

Arizona has Kyzir White at 3-4 middle linebacker and Zaven Collins at 3-4 left outside linebacker. I don't understand starting Dennis Gareck over BJ Ojulari your 2023 second round pick out of LSU or Cameron Thomas your 2022 third round pick out of San Diego State who excelled last year as a rookie at times. BJ Ojulari had 2 sacks os a situational pass rusher last week in week 10 filling in for Zaven Collins on third down situations.

Arizona's benching Ke'Trel Clark a 2023 sixth round pick out of Louisville for Antonio Hamilton Sr. one week after promoting Clark to the number one field cornerback role. Arizona cleared their 2023 third round pick Garrett Williams to play and he took the number two boundary cornerback job from Marco Wilson. Ke'Trel Clark is now the nickel cornerback. Starling Thomas IV is now the dime cornerback. Budda Baker is back at strong safety and Jalen Thompson is back at free safety.

Matt Prater is Arizona's kicker. Greg Dortch who started a few games at wide receiver for Arizona last year isn't just the number five receiver on this depth chart. Dortch also happens to be the leader to win the return specialist job on both kickoff returns and punt returns.

Why the Philadelphia Eagles Will Win: Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Philadelphia has Jordan Mailata at left tackle, Landon Dickerson at left guard, Jason Kelce at center, Cam Jurgens at right guard, and Lane Johnson at right tackle. Philadelphia got Cam Jurgens back at right guard in week 10 after Tyler Steen did a solid job in relief of Jurgens in week 9.

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. Quez Watkins will be back at slot receiver. Olamide Zaccheaus is the number four receiver on this depth chart. Julio Jones is the number five wide receiver. Dallas Goedert remains a top 10 tight end in the NFL making him another asset in the passing game for quarterback Jalen Hurts, but Dallas Goedert missed week 9 and he's been out on Monday Night following the bye week in week 11. Dallas Goedert missed week 12. Dallas Goedert is expected to be out in week 13.

Philadelphia has four different running backs. Those four running backs are D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott. Philadelphia may be deeper at running back this season despite losing last years starting running back Miles Sanders. Boston Scott is the only running back that is injured.

Philadelphia has Josh Sweat at 4-3 right end, Fletcher Cox at 4-3 defensive tackle, Jordan Davis their 2022 first round pick at 4-3 defensive tackle, and Brandon Graham at 4-3 left end. Philadelphia has Derek Barnett as their backup 4-3 right end. Jalen Carter their 2023 first round pick out of Georgia is the backup 4-3 defensive tackle, but should rotate with Cox and Davis. Milton Williams, Philadelphia's 2021 third round pick is now the number four defensive tackle on this depth chart. Tarron Jackson is the backup 4-3 left end. Marlon Tuiolotu is still the third string 4-3 defensive tackle. There's been speculation that Philadelphia's new defensive coordinator may bring some 5-2-4 packages with three defensive tackles on the defensive line with Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter all playing along with some speculation about a 5-1-5 nickel defense that allows Philadelphia to bring five defensive linemen while also keeping five defensive backs for a nickel defense. If the execution of Sean Desai's playcalling is sound thanks to the departure of Jonathan Gannon, then this Philadelphia Eagles defense has a chance to be more lethal compared to a season ago.

Philadelphia didn't have Fletcher Cox in week 5, but will get Cox back for week 6 after Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter started next to each other. Jordan Davis will get another start with Jalen Carter being ruled out in week 6 against the New York Jets. Jalen Carter will be back in week 7. Jalen Carter missed week 8 along with Jordan Davis, but both guys look like they will be healthy in week 9. Fletcher Cox got injured in week 12 against Buffalo. Fletcher Cox is expected to be out in week 13.

Philadelphia has Zach Cunningham replacing Kyzir White at 4-3 right outside linebacker which I honestly have mixed feelings about since Zach Cunningham did not practice this week. Nakobe Dean is starting at 4-3 middle linebacker now that T.J. Edwards is gone and he got placed on the injured reserve list in week 2. Nakobe Dean was a full practice heading into week 6, so Nakobe Dean will start his first game since week 1, but Nakobe Dean got placed on injured reserve for the second time all season. Zach Cunningham may be out this week. Haason Reddick is the starring 4-3 left outside linebacker. Edwards and Reddick will be the two starters when Philadelphia deploys a 4-2-5 nickel package. Nolan Smith, Philadelphia's second 2023 first round pick is a depth player at outside linebacker. Christian Ellis is the other backup outside linebacker. Nicholas Morrow is a backup 4-3 right outside linebacker and Shaun Bradley, Philadelphia's backup 4-3 middle linebacker could be back this week with Dean on injured reserve. Shaquille Leonard signed with Philadelphia on a one year deal after getting released by the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year.

Philadelphia has Darius Slay at field cornerback who looked incredible against New England, and he is out in week 6 after starting the first five weeks. James Bradberry missed the first two weeks before returning at boundary cornerback in week 3 and Philadelphia's defense has looked a lot better with Bradberry next to Slay in weeks 3-5. Josh Jobe started next to James Bradberry the first two weeks and then became a regular starter at nickel cornerback once Avonte Maddox was ruled out for the season. Josh Jobe will go back to boundary cornerback in week 6. Kelee Ringo will play at nickel cornerback this week with both Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox injured at cornerback. Darius Slay has been back for multiple weeks now.

Philadelphia replaced strong safety Marcus Epps and free safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Philadelphia has Kevin Byard at strong safety and Reed Blankenship at free safety now. Justin Evans is the backup strong safety and Sydney Brown Philadelphia's 2023 third round pick out of Illinois is the backup free safety to Reed Blankenship. This could be the first week all season where the Philadelphia Eagles have zero injuries on the defensive side of the ball.

Philadelphia has Jake Elliott at kicker and Boston Scott as their kick returner. Olamide Zaccheaus is the punt returner for Philadelphia. I didn't see a punter on the Eagles depth chart, so it's possible for kicker Jake Elliott to play both kicker and punter.

Prediction: Philadelphia is a 10.5 point favorite at -10.5. The over or under is 43.5 with 82% of the public betting on Philadelphia. The money line is +110 for Arizona and -550 for Philadelphia. Take Philadelphia to win and cover with the under at -550. Bet $650 on this game for Philadelphia and win up to 1,200 as long as the Eagles win by 11 or more.

Final Score Eagles 42 Cardinals 10

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

New Orleans Saints 7-8-0	Versus	Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

I'm going to try my best to update Tony Mario's 2023 NFL Power Rankings. San Francisco, Baltimore, Detroit, Kansas City, and Miami are in his top 5 at the moment. Dallas came in at 6, Philadelphia 7, and Buffalo at 8. I think we'll get a much better picture of where NFL teams are in the power rankings after this week.

Why the New Orleans Saints Will Win: New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is in concussion protocol and with New Orleans benching Trevor Penning their 2022 first round pick, things don't look great for New Orleans at the moment.

New Orleans changed things up in week 12. New Orleans moved Andrus Peat to left tackle, James Hurst is now the starting left guard, Erik McCoy is now the center, Cesar Ruiz is the right guard, and Ryan Ramczyk is the right tackle. New Orleans benched their 2022 first round pick Trevor Penning at left tackle. New Orleans needs to get a quality blindside for Derek Carr. I don't think New Orleans will be in position to compete for a Super Bowl until Super Bowl 60 at the earliest even if they manage to win the NFC South this year.

New Orleans has Trevor Penning as the backup left tackle. James Hurst will now be the backup left guard as well as the backup right tackle will only play if Andrus Peat or Ryan Ramczyk gets injured in 2023. Max Garcia, a former center on the Arizona Cardinals who backed up Rodney Hudson before starting down the stretch is the backup center. Nick Saldiveri the New Orleans Saints 2023 fourth round pick from Old Dominion is both the backup right guard and backup right tackle. Ryan Ramczyk missed week 15 and hasn't practiced the first two days of the week. He should be out once again in week 16.

New Orleans top three receivers Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed are all expected to be out in week 13. Chris Olave cleared concussion protocol, but Thomas remains on injured reserve while Shaheed was ruled inactive in week 13. A.T. Perry, the New Orleans Saints 2023 sixth round pick out of Wake Forest that impressed me at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl took over for Michael Thomas once he went on injured reserve and gets the start across fro Chris Olave. Lynn Bowden Jr. a former Penn State wide receiver than went undrafted will play at slot receiver in three receiver sets until Rashid Shaheed returns. Starting tight end Juwan Johnson is back. Foster Moreau should be the backup tight end with Taysom Hill as the third string tight end, and Jimmy Graham as the fourth string tight end in week 13. New Orleans may not have Chris Olave or Michael Thomas in week 15. Chris Olave will be back after missing the last two weeks, but Michael Thomas will remain on injured reserve following his four week stint on injured reserve from weeks 12-15. New Orleans kept Michael Thomas on injured reserve in week 16. Michael Thomas will likely be out in week 17.

New Orleans had Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and Kendre Miller at full health all season for the first time in week 7 against Jacksonville. New Orleans should be more effective on offense in the running game on offense moving forward.

New Orleans has Carl Granderson at 4-3 right end and Cameron Jordan at 4-3 left end. Isaiah Foskey, the New Orleans Saints 2023 second round pick out of Notre Dame beat out Payton Turner the New Orleans Saints 2021 first round pick for the backup 4-3 right end job. Tanoh Kpassagnon is the backup 4-3 left end behind Cameron Jordan, while Payton Turner has been relegated to third string. Khalen Sanders the backup defensive tackle on the Kansas City Chiefs and Nathan Shepherd the backup defensive tackle on the New York Jets both have had potential to start for years since both FCS players came out of college for their respective NFL Drafts in 2018 and 2019, but the New Orleans Saints upgraded at defensive tackle by gambling on both players because I wasn't sold on the other players that New Orleans had at defensive tackle last year. New Orleans also has 2023 first round pick Bryan Bresse for depth after spending a first round pick on the former Clemson defensive tackle with the pick that New Orleans acquired when trading former head coach Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos. Cameron Jordan could be back this week. Isaiah Foskey the backup 4-3 right end and Payton Turner the third string 4-3 defensive end have both been ruled out in week 16.

New Orleans has Pete Werner at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Demario Davis at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Zack Baun at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Nephi Sewell is the backup 4-3 right outside linebacker and D'Marco Jackson is the backup 4-3 middle linebacker, when the Saints run a nickel defense Baun will be the backup outside linebacker while Jackson remains the backup middle linebacker. Pete Werner missed week 13 against Detroit. His backup Nephi Sewell couldn't do anything against his brother Penei Sewell. Pete Werner might be back this week.

New Orleans has Marshon Lattimore at field corneback, Paulson Adebo at boundary cornerback, and Alontae Taylor at nickel cornerback. Marshon Lattimore got injured in week 10 and he's going to be a game-time decision for week 12. Marcus Maye is the starting strong safety and Tyrann Mathieu is the starting free safety. New Orleans didn't have Marshon Lattimore in week 12 with Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo having to cover Atlanta's wide receivers in week 12. Marshon Lattimore is now on injured reserve, but I'm not sure if he's out from weeks 12-15 or weeks 13-16. Marshon Lattimore is expected to miss week 17. Marcus Maye missed week 13 at strong safety. Marcus Maye got placed on injured reserve prior to week 14. Jordan Howden, the New Orleans Saints 2023 fifth round pick out of Minnesota is taking over for Marcus Maye as the starting safety across from Tyrann Mathieu. Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye remain on injured reserve. Lonnie Johnson the backup safety is out. New Orleans is going from having co defensive coordinators in 2022 to hiring former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods as their new defensive coordinator in 2023. Dennis Allen is calling the plays instead of Joe Woods.

New Orleans has Blake Grupe at kicker. Blake Grupe has done well in New Orleans for an undrafted kicker.

Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Will Win: Baker Mayfield is replacing Tom Brady who is considered the greatest quarterback of All Time for winning seven Super Bowls all as a starting quarterback with six in New England and one more in Tampa Bay now that Tom Brady retired. Tristian Wirfs is moving from right tackle to left tackle, Matt Feiler is at left guard, Robert Hainsley gets a second year to start at center thanks to a career ending injury for Ryan Jensen after Jensen missed all of the 2022 NFL season, Cody Mauch is at right guard after being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2023 second round pick out of North Dakota State, and Luke Goedeke is moving from left guard to the right tackle position he played at Central Michigan. Tampa Bay has literally zero depth on the offensive line if injuries occur now to make matters worse following the news that Ryan Jensen wouldn't be out for all of 2023, but that he'd never play a down in the NFL again on top of that. Tampa Bay didn't have Matt Feiler at left guard in week 8 and he didn't practice this week. Aaron Stinnie started at left guard in week 8. Matt Feiler is back, but Luke Godeke did not practice on Wednesday heading into week 11.

Tristan Wirfs had an ankle injury in week 13, but returned to the game. Tampa Bay should have Tristan Wirfs at left tackle, Matt Feiler at left guard, Robert Hainsley at center, Cody Mauch at right guard, and Luke Goedeke at right tackle. This offensive line should be able to buy Baker Mayfield more time.

Tampa Bay has Mike Evans as their flanker wide receiver, Chris Godwin is their secondary wide receiver, and Russell Gage is Tampa Bay's slot receiver. The bad news for Tampa Bay is that Russell Gage is out for the season, so Tampa Bay's 2023 sixth round pick Trey Palmer out of Nebraska is now Tampa Bay's slot receiver for this season. Rakim Jarrett made Tampa Bay's roster as an undrafted Free Agent out of Maryland, but he's also now the number four wide receiver on this depth chart. If anything happens to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, or Trey Palmer, you should see Rakim Jarrett this season. Chris Godwin did not practice on Wednesday heading into week 15, but did end up being cleared to play in week 15.

Cade Otton Tampa Bay's 2022 fourth round pick at tight end is now Tampa Bay's starting tight end with Ko Kieft another tight end Ko Kieft a 2022 sixth round pick out of Minnesota as the backup tight end to Otton. Kieft played in all 17 games as a rookie starting 12 as a number two tight end when Tom Brady had two tight end sets. David Wells is the third string tight end. Payne Durham the Purdue tight end that Tampa Bay drafted in the fifth round of 2023 NFL Draft is the fourth string tight end despite being the front runner to be the third string tight end with both tight ends on Tampa Bay's final 53-man roster.

Tampa Bay has Rachaad White as their starting running back, Chase Edmonds as their backup running back, Ke'Shawn Vaughn from the 2020 NFL Draft is their third string running back in a contract year as a third string running back, and Sean Tucker Tampa Bay's undrafted Free Agent is currently the fourth string running back despite being medically cleared by doctors to practice with the team prior to Tampa Bay's first preseason game. Sean Tucker made Tampa Bay's final roster and impressed in the preseason, but is still the fourth string running back at the moment.

Tampa Bay has Logan Hall at 3-4 right end, Vita Vea at 3-4 nose tackle who played with Gaines at Washington, and Calijah Kancey at 3-4 left end. Tampa Bay also has Greg Gaines as their backup 3-4 right end as well as their backup 3-4 nose tackle and William Gholston as their backup 3-4 left end. Vita Vea is expected to be back in week 9 after missing week 8. Logan Hall could be out at 3-4 right end in week 9 meaning Greg Gaines will start at 3-4 right end in week 9 after starting at nose tackle in week 8 with William Gholston as the main backup defensive linemen. Vita Vea missed week 14 and he did not practice on Wednesday leading up to week 15. Vita Vea was ruled active for week 15 at the last minute.

Tampa Bay has Shaquill Barrett at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Yaya Diaby at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Tampa Bay also has Lavonte David and Devin White at 3-4 middle linebacker. Anthony Nelson is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker Joe Tryon is the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Tampa Bay has K.J. Britt a 2021 fifth round pick out of Auburn and SirVocea Dennis a 2023 fifth round pick out of Pittsburgh as their backup 3-4 middle linebackers. Lavonte David and Devin White missed week 13. K.J. Britt got injured in week 13 and SirVocea Dennis was also inactive in week 13. Tampa Bay is super depleted at 3-4 middle linebacker at the moment. Tampa Bay gave up two rushing touchdowns to Carolina without any of their 3-4 inside linebackers and still won. Tampa Bay could be getting every inside linebacker back except Devin White. Devin White missed weeks 13 and 14. Devin White is out in week 15 with Lavonte David and K.J. Britt starting at 3-4 middle linebacker for Green Bay. Devin White is expected to be back at 3-4 middle linebacker in week 15.

Tampa Bay has Carlton Davis at field cornerback, Jamel Dean playing boundary cornerback against number two receivers for the first time in his career after being a nickel cornerback, and Zyon McCollum as their nickel cornerback whenever Tampa Bay decides to pivot from a 3-4 base defense to a 3-3-5 nickel defense. Both Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean could be out in week 15. Ryan Neal is starting at strong safety and Antoine Winfield Jr. is starting at free safety. Ryan Neal got injured in week 14 and did not return to the game. He missed practice on Wednesday and he may be out in week 15. Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean got injured in week 9 against Houston and that is a large reason why C.J. Stroud had a career high 470 passing yards. Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean will be back in week 11 from their injuries at cornerback, but unfortunately Ryan Neal is out at strong safety. Jamel Dean got injured in week 11, but the good news for Tampa Bay is he's week to week avoiding injured reserve. Carlton Davis got ruled inactive as did strong safety Ryan Neal for week 15. Carlton Davis was a limited practice this week and I do expect him to be back in week 16. Ryan Neal could be back this week as well.

Tampa Bay has Chase McLaughlin at kicker. He's done well despite being in a contract year at kicker.

Prediction: Tampa Bay is a 3 point favorite at -3. The over or under is 42 with 58% of the public betting on Tampa Bay. The money line is +130 for New Orleans and -160 for Tampa Bay. I like New Orleans to win and to cover with the under at +130. Bet $170 on this game for New Orleans and win up to $300 as long as the Buccaneers win by 2 or less.

Final Score Saints 21 Buccaneers 20

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

San Francisco 49ers 11-4-0	Versus	Washington Commanders 4-11-0

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, Pac 12, and SEC are now up.

Why the San Francisco 49ers Will Win: Brock Purdy has a terrific offensive line with Trent Williams at left tackle, Aaron Banks left guard, Jake Brendel at center, Spencer Burford at right guard, and Colton McKivitz taking over for Mike McGlinchey at right tackle after learning under McGlinchey as his backup for three years. Brock Purdy needs to stay healthy because Sam Darnold is the backup. Jaylon Moore was suprisingly effective at times when filling in for Trent Williams as a backup left tackle over the last two years during the regular season, but struggled this year before Trent Williams returned in week 10 following San Francisco's week 9 bye week. Nick Zakelj will be the backup left guard to Aaron Brooks. Jon Feliciano can be a backup on the interior offensive line at both center and right guard. Matt Pryor, who was god awful with the Colts last year is the backup right tackle to Colton McKivitz which has to be somewhat concerning after Mike McGlinchey left San Francisco.

San Francisco has Deebo Samuel as their flanker receiver, Brandon Aiyuk as their secondary receiver, and Jauan Jennings as their slot receiver. Danny Gray the number four wide receiver is still on the PUP list. San Francisco has Ronnie Bell their 2023 seventh round pick out of Michigan as the number four wide receiver, but he will probably be fifth on the depth chart once Gray returns. Ray-Ray McCloud is the sixth and final wide receiver on the 53 man depth chart, but he's the number five receiver for now until Gray comes back. San Francisco didn't have Brandon Aiyuk in week 3, but got him back in week 4. Deebo Samuel got injured in week 6, but has been ruled out the next two weeks. Deebo Samuel was a full practice on Wednesday and Thursday, so he will be back this week.

George Kittle is San Francisco's starting tight end. Kittle is still a top 5 tight end in the NFL. Cameron Latu, San Francisco's 2023 third round pick out of Alabama is on injured reserve which is the biggest reason he's still on this roster because he was rumored to be in jeopardy of getting cut as a rookie despite the fact that Latu was my number two tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft back in January prior to the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl.

San Francisco has Christian McCaffrey as their starting running back whose considered the best running back when fully healthy after dominating in 2022 following his trade from Carolina to San Francisco. Elijah Mitchell is their backup running back after starting some as a rookie in 2021. Jordan Mason is the third string running back and Tyrion Davis-Price is the fourth string running back. San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk is the best fullback in the NFL. San Francisco has the best running back, fullback, and depth of any team in the NFL. Christian McCaffrey got injured in week 6 and is a game-time decision in week 7.

San Francisco 49ers 4-3 right end Nick Bosa wants to be the leagues highest paid defensive player. Nick Bosa, the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Ohio State won 2022 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year, and wants more money than Aaron Donald. Nick Bosa got paid on Thursday. Nick Bosa will start at 4-3 right end with Chase Young at 4-3 left end after San Francisco traded for Chase Young at the 2023 NFL Trade Deadline. Clellin Ferrell is the backup 4-3 right end with Drake Jackson as the backup 4-3 left end. Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead are the starters at 4-3 defensive tackle for San Francisco. Javon Kinlaw, San Francisco's 2020 first round pick who started for three years after replacing DeForest Buckner out of South Carolina is now a backup defensive tackle. Kevin Givens one of San Francisco's backup defensive tackles last year is remains the number four defensive tackle on this depth chart.

San Francisco has Dre Greenlaw at 4-3 right outside linebacker and Fred Warner at 4-3 middle linebacker. These two start in these respective roles regardless of whether San Francisco runs a 4-3 base defense or a 4-2-5 nickel defense. Oren Burks will start at 4-3 left outside linebacker, but will be the backup 4-3 outside linebacker in 4-2-5 packages. Dee Winters, San Francisco's 2023 sixth round pick out of TCU that I had a third round grade on actually won a backup linebacker job where he will be a backup to Greenlaw in 4-3 packages and a backup to Warner at middle linebacker in 4-2-5 packages. Jalen Graham, San Francisco's 2023 seventh round pick out of Purdue will be the backup 4-3 left outside linebacker to Oren Burks and would only play situationally on 4-3 plays if something happened to Burks. Both Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner got injured against Minnesota in week 7.

San Francisco has Charvarius Ward at field cornerback, Deommodore Lenoir at boundary cornerback, and Ambry Thomas, San Francisco's 2021 third round pick at nickel cornerback. Isaiah Oliver got demoted to dime cornerback after Ambry Thomas did well in his first NFL start of the year at nickel cornerback. The good news for San Francisco is their top three cornerbacks are fully healthy right now. Ji'Ayir Brown, San Francisco's 2023 third round pick is starting in relief of Talona Hufanga at strong safety with Tashaun Gipson returning at free safety for his second season in San Francisco thanks to Talona Hufanga tearing his ACL.

San Francisco has Jake Moody their 2023 third round pick out of Michigan starting at kicker with his competition Zane Gonzalez still on the injured reserve list. Zane Gonzalez had two straight season ending injuries in Carolina, so its kind of baffling that San Francisco traded for him. Mitch Wishnowsky is San Francisco's punter after being a 2019 fourth round pick after the former Utah punter won the Ray Guy Award in 2018. Ray-Ray McCloud remains the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner for San Francisco.

Why the Washington Commanders Will Win: The Washington Commanders have Sam Howell starting with Jacoby Brissett is the backup. Sam Howell got benched for Jacoby Brissett. Washington has Charles Leno Jr. at left tackle, Saadiq Charles Washington's 2020 fourth round pick out of LSU at left guard thanks to Washington releasing Andrew Norwell to save cap space, Nick Gates the New York Giants backup center is now the starting center on the Washington Commanders, Sam Cosmi Washington's 2021 second round pick out of Texas is moving from right tackle to left guard after playing left tackle at Texas, and Andrew Wylie the right tackle from the Super Bowl 57 Kansas City Chiefs takes over at right tackle being re-united with his offensive coordinator in Kansas City with Eric Bienemy. Ricky Stromberg, Washington's 2023 third round pick started at left guard in week 7 with Saadiq Charles injured. Charles didn't practice on Wednesday, so the former Arkansas center is in line to make his second consecutive NFL start at left guard. Ricky Stromberg the backup left guard and backup center got injured in week 7 after coming in for Saadiq Charles in Washington's week 6 win. Charles Leno Jr. may be out at left tackle in week 16.

Chris Paul, Washington's 2022 seventh round pick out of Tulsa gave up zero sacks against Philadelphia in his first career NFL start in week 8 as the third string left guard. Tyler Larsen also started over Nick Gates as the backup center and didn't give up a sack as the backup center in week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. One Washington Commanders fan tweeted that Chris Paul and Tyler Larsen aren't giving back the starting spots at left guard and center once key players at those positions return from injuries.

Washington has Terry McLaurin as their flanker wide receiver, Jahan Dotson is their secondary wide receiver after being a first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Curtis Samuel is the slot receiver. Washington has nice wide receiver depth with Dyami Brown as their number four receiver, Byron Pringle as their number five receiver, and Dax Milne as their number six receiver. Washington's backups could fill in for Curtis Samuel in the slot if he goes down, but the Washington Commanders will be in trouble if anything happens to Terry McLaurin or Jahan Dotson this season. Curtis Samuel missed week 7 with Dyami Brown stepping in. Curtis Samuel missed week 8 and Dyami Brown was awful in relief of Samuel. Neither Byron Pringle who was part of Eric Bienemy's offense in Kansas City or Dax Milne who pounced at the opportunity Zach Wilson's ex after Wilson was accused of cheating on his girlfriend with his moms friend did enough to supplant Dyami Brown of the number four wide receiver job and these backups are playing poorly enough to make Washington miss Curtis Samuel, but not awful enough to make Washington fans in the NFL miss Dan Snyder. Curtis Samuel did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday entering week 9 after missing week 8 and has already been ruled out for week 9 against the New England Patriots. Curtis Samuel could be back in week 10.

Washington has Logan Thomas as their starting tight end, John Bates their 2021 draft pick out of Boise State is the backup tight end, and Cole Turner Washington's 2022 fifth round pick at Nevada is the third string tight end. Logan Thomas missed the last two games, but he's back from an injury. Washington also has Brian Robinson Jr. as their starting running back with Antonio Gibson as a solid backup running back. Chris Rodriguez Jr. Washington's 2023 sixth round pick out of Kentucky is the third string runing back. Washington Commanders fullback Alex Armah is out in week 11.

Washington will now probably start Casey Toohill at 4-3 right end and K.J. Henry their 2023 third round pick out of Clemson at 4-3 left end after trading Montez Sweat and Chase Young away. Jonathan Allen their 2017 first round pick, and DaRon Payne their 2018 first round pick are the two 4-3 defensive tackles.

Washington has 2021 first round pick Jamin Davis at outside linebacker in their 4-2-5 defense. Cody Barton replaces Cole Holcomb at middle linebacker after a career high 136 total tackles in his contract in Seattle after being the Seattle Seahawks 2019 third round pick. Jamin Davis may be out for the year which means Washington is going to have problems defending the run.

Washington has Kendall Fuller as their field cornerback after Fuller rebounded in 2022 following a rough 2021 season where Washington was dead last in pass defense. Emmanuel Forbes, Washington's 2023 first round pick is the boundary cornerback once again. Benjamin St. Juste is the nickel cornerback. Washington has Jartavius Martin as their dime cornerback the cornerback/safety out of Illinois that played nickel cornerback, strong safety, and free safety with their 2023 second round pick. Danny Johnson is the quarter cornerback. Emmanuel Forbes got injured and missed practice on Wednesday.

Kamren Curl is back at strong safety with Darrick Forrest back at free safety. Percy Butler is the backup free safety to Darrick Forrest who did well in the season opener against Jacksonville last year while Curl did well in this years season opener against Arizona. Kendall Fuller didn't practice on wednesday and may be out on Sunday. Washington would play Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St. Juste on the outside with Jartavius Martin their 2023 second round pick out of Illinois, who had the highest Pro Football Focus grade on defense in week 6 against Atlanta after Fuller got injured.

Joey Slye is the starting kicker with Antonio Gibson as the kick returner and Jamison Crowder as the punt returner. Washington could improve at punter, but it's a punter which is the least important position on the positional value pyramid so who cares.

Prediction: San Francisco is a 13.5 point favorite at -13.5. The over or under is 49.5 with 85% of the public betting on San Francisco. The money line is -900 for San Francisco and +600 for Washington. Take San Francisco to win and cover with the under at -900. Bet $1,100 on this game for San Francisco and win up to $2,000 as long as the 49ers win by 14 or more.

Final Score 49ers 35 Commanders 14

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Pittsburgh Steelers 8-7-0	Versus	Seattle Seahawks 8-7-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Mock Drafts for 2024 are now up on Draft Utopia. You can click the links to my 2024 NFL Mock Draft, my 2024 NHL Mock Draft, my 2024 NBA Mock Draft, and well as my 2024 MLS Mock Draft which is three rounds. I'll add the third round closer to the 2024 MLS Super Draft on December, 19, 2023 with a 2024 MLB Mock Draft around the holliday season either around Christmas or the New Year once the 2024 MLB Draft Lottery is decided. Wes Langley also posted his mock, which I've linked as well. Click the links to read my mocks or this mock Wes Langley's 2024 NFL Mock Draft as well as his Wes Langley's 2024 NBA Mock Draft that Wes posted. Brian Bayless who correctly predicted 15/30 first round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft supplanting my six year run as most accurate NBA Mock from 2017-2022 posted his first Brian Bayless's 2024 NBA Mock Draft.

The 2024 MLS Draft was on Tuesday. You can go to 2024 MLS Draft Results by clicking on 2024 MLS Draft Results to read about the 2024 MLS Super Draft.

Why the Pittsburgh Steelers Will Win: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is out the next two to four weeks. Mitchell Trubisky got benched in week 15 with Mason Rudolph coming in. Mason Rudolph will start in week 16 and as crazy as this sounds, I liked Mason Rudolph coming out of college more than I liked Jake Browning. Mason Rudolph will start in week 17 even though Kenny Pickett is healthy enough to play by practicing in a limited capacity. Pittsburgh fixed their offensive line and will have Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, Isaac Seumalo at left guard, Mason Cole at center, James Daniels at right guard, and Broderick Jones, Pittsburgh's 2023 first round pick at right tackle. Isaac Seumalo missed weeks 14 and 15. He didn't pratice on Wednesday entering week 17.

Spencer Anderson is the backup left guard and backup center to start the season thanks to Pittsburgh trading away backup left guard Kevin Dotson to the Los Angeles Rams and third string offensive lineman Kendrick Green to the Houston Texans, Nate Herbig is the backup right guard. Chukwuma Okorafor is now the backup right tackle.

Kenny Pickett has George Pickens as their flanker receiver thanks to Diontae Johnson's injury, but I've preferred Pickens over Johnson the last two years. Diontae Johnson is back from his injury, but is now the secondary wide receiver instead of being the number one target. Allen Robinson, who Pittsburgh traded for now goes from secondary wide receiver to slot receiver with Diontae Johnson back. Pittsburgh has Calvin Austin III as their number four wide receiver. Miles Boykin is the backup wide receiver on this depth chart. Pittsburgh will have all six wide receivers at full health for the first time since week 1 in week 7 following Pittsburgh's bye week.

Pittsburgh has Pat Freiermuth as their starting tight end and Darnell Washington as their third string tight end. Darnell Washington ended the draft process as my second best tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft. Connor Heyward is Pittsburgh's starting fullback, yet he's also listed as a tight end on Pittsburgh's depth chart when Pittsburgh doesn't want to deploy a fullback. Pat Freiermuth didn't practice leading up to week 5, so Darnell Washington made his first NFL start. Pat Freiermuth got placed on injured reserve prior to week 7 meaning Darnell Washington will start the next four games. Darnell Washington has a window of opportunity to assert himself as a regular and so far through two starts in week 5 and week 7, hasn't ceased that moment yet.

Pittsburgh has Najee Harris as the starting running back and Jaylen Warren as the backup running back. Jaylen Warren has outplayed Najee Harris despite getting fewer touches. Najee Harris did not practice on Wednesday.

Kenny Pickett has potential to be a good starter, but I don't see him as a guy who can be a Pro Bowl quarterback. Some people in Pittsburgh may feel that way about Pickett, but it's understandble why the Steelers feel that way after passing on Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Dan Marino in 1983. Kenny Pickett's arm strength is better than Mac Jones was coming out of Alabama. Pittsburgh has their deepest team on offense since the Steelers went to their three Super Bowls in Super Bowl 40, Super Bowl 43, and Super Bowl 45. The problem is Kenny Pickett didn't enter the NFL having the same impact as Ben Roethlisberger, who set the bar sky high going undefeated as a rookie before losing to New England in the AFC Title game before helping the Steelers win Super Bowl 40 as the six seed the following year.

Pittsburgh activated Cameron Heyward off of injured reserve at 3-4 right end, so he will be starting for Pittsburgh in week 9 at 3-4 right end for the first time since week 1. Keeanu Benton, Pittsburgh's 2023 second round pick out of Wisconsin has continued to dominate at 3-4 nose tackle as a rookie giving Pittsburgh their best nose tackle since Casey Hampton coming out of Texas. Larry Ogunjobi remains the starting 3-4 left end. Isaiah Loudermilk is the backup 3-4 right end. Montravius Adams who started at nose tackle last season, has been demoted to second string after Pittsburgh's 2023 second round pick out of Wisconsin wowed the organization and won the starting 3-4 nose tackle job. DeMarvin Leal is the backup 3-4 left end to Larry Ogunjobi. Pittsburgh has a ton of depth on their defensive line this season. Pittsburgh will have one of the leagues best defensive lines as long as Cameron Heyward remains healthy leading this core of defensive linemen. Montravius Adams missed the last two games, but should be back as a backup 3-4 nose tackle to Keeanu Benton in week 13.

Pittsburgh has a top 5 edge rusher duo in the league with Alex Highsmith at 3-4 right outside linebacker and T.J. Watt at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Highsmith led the Steelers in sacks in 2022 after T.J. Watt got injured with Watt winning 2021 NFL Defensive Player Of The Year prior to his injury in 2022. Highsmith is making $17.01 million a year while Watt is making over $28 million a season with Pittsburgh's two starting edge rushers making over $45-million dollars combined. Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts both looked good enough to replace Myles Jack and Robert Spillane at 3-4 middle linebacker in Pittsburgh's preseason win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pittsburgh has Nick Herbig a sack artist at Wisconsin and the younger brother to Nate Herbig as their backup 3-4 right outside linebacker after being Pittsburgh's 2023 fourth round pick out of Wisconsin. Pittsburgh also added Markus Golden the starting pass rusher on the Arizona Cardinals as the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker to T.J. Watt. T.J. Watt got injured against Arizona, but got cleared to return to the game. Expect Pittsburgh to use all of their edge rushers at 3-4 outside linebacker against New England on a short week.

Pittsburgh's top 3 3-4 middle linebackers Cole Holcolmb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander are all injured. Pittsburgh is extremely depleted at 3-4 middle linebacker.

Joey Porter Jr., Pittsburgh's 2023 second round pick has emerged as the number one field cornerback as the rookie from my old High School North Allegheny has dominated in year one with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There's a reason Joey Porter's son is the field cornerback on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Patrick Peterson is the boundary cornerback. Levi Wallace is the nickel cornerback. Chandon Sullivan is the dime cornerback and Pittsburgh and James Pierre is the quarter cornerback.

Corey Trice, Pittsburgh's 2023 seventh round who some mocked in the top 100 suffering a season ending injury. Joey Porter Jr. probably has the highest ceiling of all the cornerbacks on Pittsburgh's depth chart.

Pittsburgh has Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Miles Killebrew competing for the starting strong safety job next to Pro Bowl free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh now has Miles Killebrew at strong safety and Minkah Fitzpatrick at free safety with Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal as the backup safeties. Pittsburgh has good depth at safety once again. Minkah Fitzpatrick got injured in week 8 against Jacksonville and has missed weeks 9-12 even though the Steelers opted not to put him on injured reserve. Minkah Fitzpatrick returned in week 13, but he either broke his hand in his first game back from injury or is playing with a broken hand since he's still on the injury report. Minkah Fitzpatrick left the week 15 game injured against the Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh's safety play was just as awful against the Colts without Minkah in the lineup. Minkah is out in week 16 and Damontae Kazee has been suspended for the rest of the regular season. Miles Killebrew and Keanu Neal are the starting safeties for Pittsburgh. Minkah Fitzpatrick is still out of the lineup for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh has Chris Boswell at kicker and Pressley Harvin III the 2020 Ray Guy Award winner as their 2021 seventh round pick. Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh's 2022 fourth round pick is expected to play kick returner and punt returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023 after missing his rookie season with a season ending injury simply due to Pittsburgh's depth at wide receiver.

Why the Seattle Seahawks Will Win: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith missed the last two games with injuries, but he was a full practice on Wednesday and looks like he might be back at quarterback. Geno Smith has 2022 first round pick Charles Cross at left tackle. Damien Lewis starts at left guard, Evan Brown starts at center, and Phil Haynes starts at right guard. Abraham Lucas Seattle's 2022 third round pick out of Washington State starts at right tackle. Seattle will have their offensive line at full health once Phil Haynes returns from injured reserve after being on injured reserve from weeks 13-16.

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. D.K. Metcalf and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are both dealing with injuries. If those two play, this offense will click. Jake Bobo an undrafted Free Agent from the 2023 NFL Draft out of UCLA will fill in at slot receiver if Jaxon Smith-Njigba is ruled inactive in week 3. D.K. Metcalf played every game in the first four weeks, but did not practice in week 6 on Wednesday or Thursday with a rib injury following Seattle's bye week. Metcalf was off the injury report meaning he has been cleared to play for week 6, but D.K. Metcalf was ruled out in week 7. The good news for Seattle is that D.K. Metcalf was a full practice in week 8 meaning he should be back ready to fire up this offense. Seattle has all of their wide receivers off of the injury report in week 9 and as long as it stays that way, this offense will be effective enough to get the job done unless you have an amazing depth chart defensively, a good defensive coordinator, or home field with the crowd on your side. Tyler Lockett did not practice heading into week 11 which is something to keep an eye on as this could be Seattle's first game all season with a fully healthy roster.

Seattle has Will Dissly as their starting tight end. Noah Fant is the backup tight end. Colby Parkinson, Seattle's 2020 fourth round pick out of Stanford isn't bad for a third string tight end. Parkinson does enter a contract year though, so he needs to show something in the limited opportunities he receives if he wants to get paid after this season.

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. DeeJay Dallas a 2020 fourth round pick out of Miami FL enters a contract year. Kenny McIntosh, Seattle's 2023 seventh round pick out of Georgia made Seattle's 53 man roster as a fourth string running back and will probably get promoted to third string running back next season. Seattle also has Nick Bellore starting at fullback. Kenneth Walker III didn't practice on wednesday and backup running back Zach Charbonnet was limited in practice. Worst case scenario is DeeJay Dallas is starting at running back and best case scenario is Kenneth Walker III can go. Kenneth Walker III missed week 12 against San Francisco and he's inactive in week 13. Kenneth Walker III did not practice on Wednesday heading into week 17.

Seattle signed Dre'Mont Jones, the Denver Broncos 3-4 right end to be the new starting 3-4 right end in Seattle. Jarran Reed is back in Seattle where he began his career as Jarran Reed will start at 3-4 nose tackle for this season after having a one year stint as a 4-3 defensive tackle in Kansas City and another one year stint in Green Bay at 3-4 left end. Leonard Williams will take over at 3-4 left end replacing Mario Edwards Jr. as a regular starter after being the 3-4 right end on the New York Giants. His production can be underwhelming on a 4-3 defense, but he can do just enough to contribute at a high level at times when placed in a 3-4 defense. Seattle also has Cameron Young a 2023 fourth round pick out of Mississippi State as the backup 3-4 nose tackle and Mike Morris a 2023 fifth round pick out of Michigan as a backup 3-4 right end and Mario Edwards Jr. is the backup 3-4 left end. Dre'Mont Jones did not practice on Wednesday heading into week 17.

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. Derick Hall a 2023 second round pick out of Auburn that Seattle had a first round grade on is the backup to Uchenna Nwosu. Darnell Taylor, Seattle's 2020 second round pick started next to Uchenna Nwosu for a majority of games last year going up against left tackles while Nwosu faced right tackles. Now Nwosu is facing left tackles while Taylor is now a rotational player in a contract year after Boye Mafe developed during his rookie season. Frank Clark also signed with Seattle passing his physical after failing his physical with the Kansas City Chiefs. Seattle has Jordyn Brooks their 2020 first round pick and Bobby Wagner as their starting 3-4 middle linebackers. The backup 3-4 middle linebackers on this roster are Devin Bush who lost his starting job in Pittsburgh and Drake Thomas who probably wouldn't be on my 53 man roster. Essentially, Seattle has great depth at 3-4 outside linebacker, yet very little depth at 3-4 middle linebacker in the event something happens to Brooks or Wagner. Jordyn Brooks didn't practice on Wednesday heading into week 17.

Seattle has Michael Jackson back at field cornerback with Jackson moonwalking against number one receivers in coverage for the second year in a row. 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 got injured in week 2 and missed the last two weeks, but he is playing in week 6. Devon Witherspoon dominated in week 4 at boundary cornerback, but will move back to nickel cornerback after being drafted fifth overall out of Illinois in the 2023 NFL Draft. Coby Bryant last years nickel cornerback who will play dime cornerback when Witherspoon returns will start for Seattle to open up the season. Kyu Blu Kely will play quarter cornerback in quarters packages once Witherspoon returns from his injury after the Baltimore Ravens cut the former Stanford cornerback drafted in 2023 NFL Draft. Tre Brown will be the number six cornerback on this depth chart once he returns from his injury. Artie Burns is the number seven cornerback on Seattle.

Seattle will have Jamal Adams at strong safety and Quandre Diggs at free safety when both safeties are fully healthy. Seattle replaced Ryan Neal who was incredible in relief of Jamal Adams with Julian Love who is the backup strong safety to Adams after being a free safety on Notre Dame and the New York Giants during his rookie deal with Julian Love filling in for an injured Jamal Adams in the first three weeks of the season, but Jamal Adams is expected to be back in week 4. This leaves Jerrick Reed II, a 2023 sixth round pick out of New Mexico who impressed me on film as the backup free safety to Quandre Diggs. Seattle has good depth at safety and unless multiple safeties are injured depth will not be an issue at safety. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Seattle will be alright at safety as long as two of the teams four safeties remain healthy each week. Jamal Adams came back last week and week 6 will be the first week where everyone on this secondary is fully healthy. Jamal Adams missed week 15. Jamal Adams is out in week 16.

Seattle has an under the radar top 10 kicker in Jason Myers at kicker. Michael Dickson isn't a bad punter. DeeJay Dallas isn't just Seattle's third string running back, he's also the return specialist at both kick returner and punt returner this season. Jerrick Reed the other return specialist on Seattle tore his ACL.

Prediction: Seattle is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 41 with 61% of the public betting on Seattle. The money line is +150 for Pittsburgh and -185 for Seattle. Take Seattle to win and cover with the under at -185. Bet $215 on this game for Seattle and win up to $400 as long as the Seahawks win by 4 or more.

Final Score Seahawks 20 Steelers 16

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Los Angeles Chargers 5-10-0	Versus	Denver Broncos 7-8-0

Chris Ransom's Pick

Speaking of Bill Clinton. Every week leading up to the College Football Playoff we will have Bill Clinton's College Football Playoff where Bill Clinton ranks the top 4 teams in College Football. This will also be the final year of this segment with the new 12 team playoff coming next season.

Bill Clinton's College Football Playoff Selection Special

Michigan

Michigan has supplanted Ohio State as the team in the Big 10. Michigan rocks the maize and blue like Monica Lewinsky.

Washington

Nothing like watching huskies panting. Michael Penix Jr. has the big Penix energy that you want.

Texas

Texas won the Big 12 after beating this years SEC Champions in week 2. Hook Em Horns.

Alabama

The Pimp Daddy does it once again. Nick Saban beat number one Georgia to win the SEC. Alabama is in the playoffs.

Why the Los Angeles Chargers Will Win: Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert got injured in week 14 and is out in week 15. Easton Stick will get the start. Easton Stick has a good offensive line with Rashawn Slater at left tackle, Zion Johnson at left guard, Cory Linsley at center, Jamaree Salyer at right guard, and Trey Pipkins III at right tackle. Los Angeles has Jordan McFadden as their backup left guard and Will Clapp as their backup center. Los Angeles needs Slater and Pipkins III to stay healthy. Trey Pipkins III did good in 2022, but struggled in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams second team defense as the Chargers played Pipkins in the entire first half. There's no depth at offensive tackle if Slater or Pipkins get injured, but Will Clapp looked good in week 8 against the Chicago Bears. This Los Angeles Chargers offensive line looked good in pass protection in week 3 against Minnesota, in week 8 against Chicago, and in week 10 in the Los Angeles Chargers loss to Detroit.

Easton Stick is the backup after being a third string to Herbert and Chase Daniel for a few years while the Chargers 2023 seventh round pick Max Duggan is now the third string quarterback. Stick and Duggan are solid backups, but neither guy has the ceiling Herbert has and to say otherwise would be nonsense.

Los Angeles has Keenan Allen at flanker wide receiver and Josh Palmer as the secondary wide receiver. Keenan Allen left week 10 with an injury. Josh Palmer is still on injured reserver for two more weeks as he got injured in week 8 and got placed on injured reserve prior to week 9. Quentin Johnston the rookie first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of TCU is now the number one wide receiver with injuries to Keenan Allen, Mike Williams tearing his ACL, and Josh Palmer being injured. For now Derius Davis, Quentin Johnston's TCU teammate from the 2023 NFL Draft is the number two wide receiver if Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer cannot go. Jalen Guyton is the slot receiver with him back from an injury. Keenan Allen played against Green Bay in week 11 and Baltimore in week 12. He did not practice on Wednesday leading up to week 13. Keenan Allen is out in week 15. Easton Stick won't have Keenan Allen or Mike Williams which will make his job even harder.

Los Angeles has Gerald Everett as their starting tight end and Donald Parham Jr. as their backup tight end. Los Angeles cut their third string tight end. Donald Parham Jr. was more involved in the Chargers offense the last two weeks while Gerald Everett didn't practice on wednesday heading into week 8. Gerald Everett was inactive in week 8, but Gerald Everett was a full practice on Thursday and Friday. Gerald Everett returned in week 12. Donald Parham Jr. played in week 11.

The Los Angeles Chargers also have Austin Ekeler a their starting running back, Joshua Kelley as their backup running back, and Isaiah Spiller as their third string running back. Austin Ekeler missed weeks 2-4, but should be back in week 6 following the bye week. Joshua Kelley will be the backup running back and Isaiah Spiller will be the third string running back for the first time since week 1.

The Los Angeles Chargers run a 2-4-5 under Brandon Staley. This is a nickel defense that has five defensive backs while also having four linebacker with only two defensive linemen. Brandon Staley is the only head coach in the NFL that runs this defensive scheme. Sebastian Joseph-Day is back at 3-4 right end for both the 2-4-5 and the 3-4 defense despite dealing with a quad injury that is limiting him in practice. Austin Joseph the starting 3-4 nose tackle, but Otito Ogbonnia the backup 3-4 nose tackle could end up starting at 3-4 left end until Morgan Fox returns from an injury.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Joey Bosa at 3-4 right outside 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. Eric Kendricks and Kenneth Murray are the starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. Eric Kendricks and his backup Daiyan Henley, the Chargers 2023 third round pick out of Washington State returned from injured reserve in week 8 after missing weeks 4-7. Kendricks did not practice on Wednesday after missing week 2. Los Angeles has Chris Rumph II as their backup 3-4 right outside 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. Amen Ogbongbemiga and Nick Niemann are the backup 3-4 middle linebackers. The Los Angeles Chargers have more depth than usual at both outside and inside linebacker to compliment their starters despite still having injuries on the defensive line. Joey Bosa missed week 4, and it sounds like Bosa could be out in week 6 as well following the Chargers bye week since he did not practice. Joey Bosa came back in week 6 against Dallas. Eric Kendricks got upgraded to a limited practice, so he could be back against the New York Jets in week 9 and should be back by week 10 at the latest. Joey Bosa rested on Wednesday and didn't practice due to an illness on Thursday. Joey Bosa was a full practice on Friday meaning he will play, but he got injured against Green Bay in week 11 before getting placed on injured reserve. Los Angeles now has Khalil Mack at 3-4 right outside linebacker and Tuli Tuipulotu at 3-4 left outside linebacker until Joey Bosa returns.

The Los Angeles Chargers tried Asante Samuel Jr. at field cornerback against D.J. Moore in week 8 and he had success transitioning from the outside to inside at field cornerback where his father played when Asante Samuel was on the New England Patriots. Michael Davis is the boundary cornerback and remains against number two wide receivers. Los Angeles has Derwin James at strong safety, but his status remains unknown after leaving last weeks game with an injury against the Minnesota Vikings. After free safety Nasir Adderley retired, Alohi Gilman entered training camp as the starting free safety, but he got injured before being cleared to return as the Los Angeles Chargers 2020 sixth round pick is starting at free safety in a contract year. JT Woods the Los Angeles Chargers 2022 third round pick who played with Jalen Pitre at Baylor isn't ready to start with a Chargers writer on Fansided describing their safety situation worrisome. Woods wasn't bad for a backup, but he wasn't a guy I viewed with starter potential, but now the Chargers will give JT Woods one more year to develop on his rookie deal before starting him in year three of his rookie deal. Alohi Gillman missed week 7, but returned to full health in week 8.

The Los Angeles Chargers have Cameron Dicker as the starting kicker and JK Scott as the starting punter. Derius Davis ended up winning the return specialist which comes as no surprise to anyone who saw him in Mobile this January.

Why the Denver Broncos Will Win: Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson got benched for the final two games. Jarrett Stidham will now be the starter. Jarrett Stidham has Garrett Bolles at left tackle, Ben Powers the former Baltimore Ravens left guard as the Denver Broncos new left guard, Lloyd Cushenberry III gets a second chance as the starting center which he's taken advantage of in his contract year, Quinn Meinerz is a stable piece at right guard, and Mike McGlinchey the former San Francisco 49ers right tackle is now Denver's starting right tackle. That's what is so compelling about this years Denver Broncos team. Luke Wattenberg is the backup left guard and Alex Forsyth is the backup center.

Wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton are both capable of being Russell Wilson's number one target at the flanker receiver. Both receivers are top targets. Jerry Jeudy didn't practice on Wednesday. Denver drafted Marvin Mims Jr. out of Oklahoma and he's won the slot receiver job thanks to Denver's starting slot receiver Tim Patrick suffering a season ending injury in training camp which landed him on injured reserve for the entire season. Denver also cut K.J. Hamler from their active roster, so Brandon Johnson an undrafted wide receiver from Central Florida that spent last season on Denver's practice squad as rookie will have to start if Jeudy misses week 1 since Denver only has four receivers on the depth chart when taking Tim Patrick's injury along with Hamler being cut from this roster into consideration. 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 barely beat out Trautman for the starting tight end job. Dulcich has been on injured reserve for a few weeks now.

Javonte Williams is the starting running back for the Denver Broncos back from his season ending injury in 2022. Samaje Perine the backup running back on the Cincinnati Bengals last year is the backup running back on Denver and Perine could break out if Williams gets injured again since Denver lacks a third string running back. Michael Burton, the starting fullback on the Kansas City Chiefs last year is now the fullback on the Denver Broncos. Javonte Williams got injured in week 4 against Chicago and missed week 5.

Denver now has Zach Allen at 3-4 right end with D.J. Jones at 3-4 nose tackle. Jonathan Harris is the 3-4 left end. I like Allen and Jones, but Harris could be a weak link on this defensive line for some of the leagues best guard tandems to exploit.

Denver cut their starting 3-4 right outside linebacker in Randy Gregory as well as their 3-4 left outside linebacker Frank Clark. Denver now has Nik Bonitto starting at 3-4 right outside linebacker with 5.5 sacks and Jonathan Cooper is now starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker with 4 sacks. Baron Browning their 2021 second round pick is off the PUP list and was a full practice on wednesday meaning he will get playing time in week 7. Alex Singleton was a top 10 linebacker on Pro Football Focus and he's back at 3-4 middle linebacker. Josey Jewell is also back at 3-4 middle linebacker. Both inside linebackers were missing tackles left and right against Miami. Drew Sanders their rookie linebacker out of Arkansas as the backup 3-4 middle linebacker and is on the bench where he belongs. Nik Bonitto did not practice on Tuesday or Wednesday leading up to this game, so there is a good chance he's out.

Denver has Patrick Surtain II at field cornerback and he's one player in the 2021 NFL Draft that's guaranteed a fifth year option after this season. Damarri Mathis surprised everyone when he took control of the boundary cornerback job as a 2022 fourth round pick out of Pittsburgh. K'Wuan Williams entered training camp as the nickel cornerback, but got placed on the PUP list and has been on IR ever since. Kareem Jackson will most likely start for an injured Caden Sterns who may be done for the season. Delarrin Turner-Yell has gotten more looks at strong safety through rotating with Kareem Jackson. Justin Simmons practiced in week 3 after missing week 2. He was a limited practice on Wednesday. Denver has JL Skinner, their 2023 sixth round pick out of Boise State back as their backup free safety. Denver will have Eddie Jackson and Justin Simmons starting at safety in week 7.

Denver replaced Brandon McManus with Will Lutz. I feel like downgraded here, but at least Sean Payton has a kicker he is familiar with.

Prediction: Denver is a 3.5 point favorite at -3.5. The over or under is 47.5 with 62% of the public betting on Denver. The money line is +195 for Los Angeles and -250 for Denver. Take Denver to win and cover with the under at -250. Bet $350 on this game for Denver and win up to $600 as long as the Broncos win by 4 or more.

Final Score Broncos 17 Chargers 13

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Cincinnati Bengals 8-7-0	Versus	Kansas City Chiefs 9-6-0

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.

H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes 10-6

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1
Bantle Bowl VII (2021)

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

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5
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.

Manager:
Heath Berman

Rival: Riley Stokosa

All Time Winning Percentage: .494 126-129 is H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes All Time Record from 2008-2023 with 126 wins in 255 total games played gives H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes a .494 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Heath drafted Jalen Hurts in the first round and Stefon Diggs in the second round retaining his two best players from his 2022 team that made the BFFL Playoffs after winning Bantle Bowl VII in 2021. Having wide receivers like Davante Adams, D.J. Moore, and Deebo Samuel as a flex to compliment Diggs makes Heath team potentent offensively. Heath also used a twelfth round keeper on Drake London. Joe Mixon, Rachaad White, and Rhamondre Stevenson are a solid trio of running backs with Mixon being the only running back that is considered a bell cow among those three. Chigoziem Okonkwo is Heath's starting tight end. Daniel Jones, Kyler Murray, and Sam Howell are all potential QB2 options that Heath can rotate in various weeks.

Projected Record: 10-6 H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes lost in week 15. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes is the 2 seed in the 2023 BFFL Playoffs. H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes won in the first round of

Previously Ranked: 2nd

Hallsmahomsey 9-7

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 1
Bantle Bowl IX (2023)

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-1
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.

Manager:
Riley Stokosa

Rival: Heath Berman

All Time Winning Percentage: .516 47-44 is Hallsmahomsey's All Time Record from 2018-2023 with 47 wins in 91 total games played gives Hallsmahomsey a .516 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Riley took Patrick Mahomes second overall in a very wise decision after I didn't use a keeper on Mahomes. Amon Ra-St. Brown the Detroit Lions wide receiver is a good number one option for Mahomes with rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson as his QB2, but now Richardson is out for the year.

Projected Record: 9-7 Hallsmahomsey is 9-7. Hallsmahomsey won the Contenders Division and defeate Taco Corp in the first Semifinal. Hallsmahomsey plays H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes, the team they defeated in the final week of the regular season in Bantle Bowl IX.

Previously Ranked: 4th

Taco Corp 10-6

Bantle Bowl Championships:
0

Bantle Bowl Appearances:
0

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

Manager:
Selvan Thamilavel

Rival: Jimmy Dicken

All Time Winning Percentage: .366 49-85 is Taco Corp's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 49 wins in 134 total games played gives Taco Corp a .366 All Time Winning Percentage. This low winning percentage is largely due to having the leagues only winless season going 0-14 in 2019. Selvan won the consolation bracket two years later in 2021 before getting a third place finish last season.

Team Summary: Selvan chose to keep Saquon Barkley at running back and Justin Fields at quarterback. Selvan spent his first pick on Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to pair with Justin Fields in Superflex. Last year, Selvan took Kenneth Walker III in the eleventh round and could have kept him over Fields, but opted for Fields as a Chicago Bears fan. He also traded his first round pick for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill who should be a top 5 wide receiver in 2023 as long as Tua Tagovailoa is healthy. Jahmyr Gibbs, Zamir White, and Khalil Herbert are the replacement options to Kenneth Walker III. Calvin Ridley is a great WR2 to yreek Hill. Jared Goff is a nice backup quarterback option for a seventh round pick while eighth round pick David Njoku is a top 10 tight end. A tight end has never caught 40 or more receptions with Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Njoku has to buck this trend if Selvan wants to make it back to the playoffs in 2023 after making the playoffs for the first time a season ago. Selvan drafted Jahmyr Gibbs at running back, Quinton Johnston of the Los Angeles Chargers at wide receiver, Tank Dell the Houston Texans 2023 third round pick, and Sam LaPorta the Detroit Lions 2023 second round pick as potential rookie keepers to stash if any of those three break out.

Projected Record: 10-6 Taco Corp went 10-5 during the regular season. Taco Corp lost to Hallsmahomsey as the top seed in the 2023 BFFL Playoffs.

Previously Ranked: 1st
The Chosen One's 9-7

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: Chris Ransom Jason and Chris have met in three playoff matchups including two championship games where each owner won once.

All Time Winning Percentage: .588 201-140-1 is The Chosen One's All Time Record from 2003-2023 with 201 wins in 342 total games with The Chosen One's having a .58 All Time winning percentage.

Team Summary: The Chosen One's opted to load up on running backs by using a first round keeper on Christian McCaffrey. Trading their fourth round keeper Tyreek Hill to get Austin Ekeler with the sixth pick in the first round. That decision has paid off with Christian McCaffrey and Austin Ekeler making the big plays and dominating in week 1. Then Jason drafted Bijan Robinson in the second round, but later traded him to get Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the first round since Jason is a Bengals fan in real life.

Other notable players on The Chosen Ones include Minnesota Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner as his backup running back, and Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. Jason also drafted three rookies to stash including Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison, and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Jason drafted four rookies if you count the fact that he drafted Bijan before trading his draft rights along with his keeper rights away for Joe Burrow. Jason added Deshaun Watson to replace Bryce Young after Young's bad start as his backup to Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa. He also now has Tee Higgins thanks to trading Adam Thielen away.

Projected Record: 9-7 The Chosen One's end the year at 9-7. They lost to H.B.'s Vinegar Strokes. The CHosen One's play Taco Corp in the third place game.

Previously Ranked: 3rd

Threat Level Midnight 10-6

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: .622 97-59 is Threat Level Midnight's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 97 wins in 156 total games played gives Threat Level Midnight a .622 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Mitch loaded up with weapons like A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, and Dameon Pierce in the first four rounds before taking Aaron Rodgers in the fifth round. After drafting Terry McLaurin in the sixth round and Dallas Goedert in the seventh round, Mitch added Derek Carr as his QB2 in superflex. If Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr bounce back on their new NFL teams after the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets while Carr dominates in New Orleans, then Threat Level Midnight has a chance to play dark horse in 2023.

Projected Record: 10-6 Threat Level Midnight is 10-6. They are the top seed in the consolation pool. Threat Level Midnight plays my team for bragging rights in the consolation pool.

Gangster Squad 8-8

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.

Manager:
Chris Ransom

Rival: Jason Bantle Your reigning Bantle Bowl Champions flipped a coin to decide whether H.B. Vinegar's Strokes would remain our rival or whether The Chosen Ones would be our rival fo this season. The coin landed on heads making Jason our rival for this upcoming season.

All Time Winning Percentage: .615 88-55 is Gangster Squad's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 88 wins in 143 total games played gives Gangster Squad a .615 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: The league is going to have new keeper rules this season. For example if you draft the offensive rookie of the year in the final round of the draft in round seventeen, you can use a keeper on that player from 2024 to 2032 if you use a 17th, 15th, 13th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st round keeper on the player you drafted in consecutive years meaning you could keep the player you drafted in 2023 from this season all the way up to the end of the 2032-2033 NFL Season. I decided to use keepers on Josh Allen by giving up my first round pick and my backup quarterback Trevor Lawrence which only cost me an eighth round pick after going all in to get Mahomes to pair with Allen in our superflex league last year which allows you to play two quarterbacks. This resulted in my first championship thanks to Josh Jacobs and Nick Chubb's contributions in the backfield along with Mark Andrews at tight end. Want an outlier? I waited till the eighth round to pick my first wide receiver a year ago.

Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, and Justin Tucker are six players from last years Championship team that are back. I could have chosen to keep Mahomes over Josh Allen, but I think Allen's supporting cast on the offensive line is stronger at the moment despite the fact that Mahomes has far more playmakers to distribute the ball to. My Bills friend Thomas and my Fantasy Football consultant both advised me to keep Mahomes over Allen and I went against their advice just for the hell of it. If Trevor Lawrence takes the league by storm in 2023, it would only cost me a sixth round keeper to reclaim Lawernce in 2024, a fourth round keeper in 2025, and a second round keeper in 2026. I'm leaning towards keeping Lawrence in 2024, but haven't made that decision official yet since the 2023 BFFL Season hasn't played out yet.

My strategy was pretty simple. Get the most top 50 players that weren't keepers in the first five rounds of the 2023 BFFL Draft and get the most picks in the late rounds after drafting a defense and kicker much earlier than usual, so I can maximize my odds at getting a player that I can stash for years to come since I won't be able to keep Josh Allen in 2024 unless I end up with the leagues worst record which I currenlty have.

I had Allen and Lawrence in my top ten as Superflex players and decided to part ways with Patrick Mahomes since I feel like Allen will outperform Mahomes in 2023. Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Stephon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Nick Chubb were all in my top 10 and all five players were in play at 14. Ultimately, I decided to trade down to 18 hoping to get Diggs or Lamb. The original plan was to get CeeDee Lamb at 18 and trade up for Stephon Diggs at 19. When I traded 14 Dak Prescott got picked with Diggs going a pick later. I traded up a spot from 18 to 17 to get Lamb after Diggs was since I think Diggs or Lamb will be WR1 in the NFL this season with those two finishing ahead of Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase. Nick Chubb the tenth best player on my board was still available at 19 and wanting to get two top 10 players to pair with Allen and Lawrence in a superflex league is paramount if you want to make a run at repeating like myself.

New additions to my roster include Miles Sanders as my RB2 for the Carolina Panthers since I picked Carolina to win the NFC South and George Kittle whose been the best tight end in the NFC the last five years. I drafted the Buffalo Bills defense. Some of the rookies I stashed included Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers in round 12, Deuce Vaughn the Dallas Cowboys rookie running back in round 16, Luke Musgrave Green Bay Packers starting tight end in round 17 as my backup to Kittle, and Jalin Hyatt the New York Giants rookie wide receiver in round 17.

I've set my lineup for the season, but I drafted a running back who went down for the year in week 2 and a running back who lost his starting job.

Projected Record: 8-8 My team started 2-6 and now we've won four in a row to get to 6-6. I lost to fall to 6-7, but won to improve to 7-7. My team finished 7-8 and winning the consolation bracket is the only way to keep my consolation pool alive. I won the first round of the consolation bracket.

The Avengers 7-9

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: Andrew Kermish

All Time Winning Percentage: .450 143-173-2 is The Avengers' All Time Record from 2003-2023 with 143 wins in 318 total games played gives The Avengers a .450 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: The Avengers used a first round keeper on Travis Kelce. Gary used his second round pick on Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp who looks like he might have a hamstring injury. Javonte Williams in round 10 was a massive steal at running back while Jordan Love in the fifth round was considered a reach. Gary Bantle is a Green Bay Packers fan which is why his team is stashed with Packers.

Projected Record: 7-9 The Avengers are 7-9. The Avengers lost to my team in the consolation bracket. The Avengers will pick fourth overall in the 2024 BFFL Draft. The Avengers will probably use a fifth round keeper on Jordan Love and a eighth round keeper on Matthew Stafford. Doing this allows The Avengers to reload at skill positions in the early rounds of the 2024 BFFL Draft.

Millenial Menace 6-10

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: .500 32-32 is Millenial Menace's All Time Record from 2020-2023 with 32 wins in 64 total games played gives Millenial Menace a .500 All Time Winning Percentage in 2023.

Team Summary: Millenial Menace used a first round keeper on Jonathan Taylor. Millenial Menace used their second round pick on Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson has to play a full season for this team to win the Contenders Division, especially with Jonathan Taylor missing the first four games of the season. J'Maarr Chase at wide receiver remains a keeper on Millenial Menace only costing a fifth round pick after George drafted Chase in the seventh round when Chase dominated as a rookie before using a seventh round keeper on Chase in 2022. George can use a third round keeper on Chase in 2024 and a first round keeper on Chase in 2025 holding the Bengals best wide receiver hostage in Fantasy for two more seasons. Yahoo called ninth round selection Evan Engram, the Jacksonville Jaguars tight end the best value pick by Millenial Menace. Russell Wilson is the QB2 in Super Flex to Lamar Jackson and was labeled George's worst pick by Yahoo.

Projected Record: 6-10 Millenial Menace went 6-9 in the regular season. They lost the consolation game and will pick third in the 2024 BFFL Draft. Millenial Menace will probably use a second round keeper on Lamar Jackson and a third round keeper on Ja'Marr Chase if I had to guess.

Fields Of Dreams 6-9

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
Fields Of Dreams named after Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields 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: .476 59-65 is Fields Of Dreams's All Time Record from 2013-2022 while leaving from 2019-2021 before returning in 2022 with 59 wins in 124 total games played gives Fields Of Dreams a .476 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: For the second year in a row, Fields Of Dreams had a top two draft pick and instead of keeping that pick and the player he drafted, he traded the player he drafted away. Fields Of Dreams will have Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Josh Allen, Travis Kelce, and either CeeDee Lamb or Nick Chubb, potentially both if I don't use a 2024 keeper on either player next season.

Projected Record: 6-9 Fields Of Dreams ends the year at 6-9. Field Of Dreams can use a second round keeper on Bijan Robinson and a fifteenth round keeper on De'Von Achane in the 2024 BFFL Draft by keeping the backfield in tact only to reload at other positions.

Car RamRod 4-10

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: Gary Bantle

All Time Winning Percentage: .351 46-85 is Car Ramrod's All Time Record from 2015-2023 with 46 wins in 131 total games played gives Car RamRod a .351 All Time Winning Percentage.

Team Summary: Car RamRod took Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in round 1, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in round 2, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews in round 3, and Kenneth Walker III in round 4. Deshaun Watson was his Superflex quarterback, but Andrew dropped him due to his injury history before replacing him with Bryce Young.

Projected Record: 4-11 Car RamRod ended the year 4-11. Car RamRod can use a second round keeper on Dak Prescott and a eighth round keeper on DeVonta Smith if Car RamRod chooses to keep DeVonta Smith for one more year.

Why the Cincinnati Bengals Will Win: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is now out for the season. Backup quarterback Jake Browning takes over for the Cincinnati Bengals. Jake Browning has Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle, Cordell Volson at left guard, Ted Karras at center, Alex Cappa at right guard, and Jonah Williams at right tackle. D'Ante Smith Cincinnati's 2021 fourth round pick out of East Carolina is the backup left tackle to Orlando Brown Jr. with Jackson Carman as the swing tackle and backup right tackle to Jonah Williams. Max Scharping and Cody Ford are the backup guards at the moment with Trey Hill remaining the backup center to Ted Karras. Cincinnati needs their starters on the offensive line to stay healthy. Orlando Brown Jr. got upgraded to a limited practice following the Cincinnati Bengals bye week after a week 6 contest. The depth at offensive tackle and center isn't bad, but it's not great either.

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 Tyler Boyd at slot receiver. Trenton Irwin won the number four wide receiver job. Charlie Jones, Cincinnati's 2023 fourth round pick out of Purdue beat out Trent Taylor to win the number five wide receiver job after a strong preseson as Jones was a top 100 prospect. Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati's 2023 sixth round pick out of Princeton is the number six receiver on this depth chart. Cincinnati has more depth at wide receiver compared to a season ago with the current foundation of starting receivers and backup wide receivers in place. Tee Higgins missed week 5. Tyler Boyd was be the number two receiver in week 10 with Higgins out and Trenton Irwin would play slot receiver. Tee Higgins is expected to be out in week 10 after having his best game of the season in week 9. Charlie Jones is also on this depth chart. Cincinnati will have all of their receivers in week 13 despite not having Joe Burrow at quarterback. Ja'Marr Chase got ruled out in week 16. Pittsburgh didn't have to deal with Tee Higgins in the first meeting and now will not have to deal with Chase in the rematch.

Irv Smith Jr. takes over at tight end replacing Hayden Hurst in 2023 who replaced C.J. Uzomah in 2022, but he's out in week 3 meaning that the Cincinnati Bengals have to depend on their wide receivers and running backs to win this game. Cincinnati has Joe Mixon as their starting running back, but none of the other three running backs in Trayveon Williams their 2019 sixth round pick, Chase Brown Cincinnati's 2023 fifth round pick out of Illinois, or Chris Evans a 2021 sixth round pick out of Michigan has ceased control of the number two running back job after the departure of Samaje Perine heading into training camp. Trayveon Williams, Cincinnati's 2019 sixth round pick out of Texas A&M won the backup running back job with Chase Brown as a third string running back, and Chris Evans a former Michigan running back whose been the third string running back for two seasons getting demoted to fourth string. The amazing thing is Evans still made Cincinnati's final roster. I can see Joe Mixon's backups having 100 total yard games on the ground and through the air if Cincinnati's best five starters are on Cincinnati's offensive line this season.

Cincinnati has Trey Hendrickson at 4-3 right end and Sam Hubbard complimenting him at 4-3 left end. DJ Reader and B.J. Hill compliment Hendrickson and Hubbard at 4-3 defensive tackle on the inside. DJ Reader suffered a quad injury that rules him out for the year. Now Cincinnati will have either have Zach Carter, Cincinnati's 2022 third round pick out of Florida whose listed on the depth chart as the backup to DJ Reader or Josh Tupou whose played more frequently as a situational defensive tackle with Reader out for the year.

Joseph Ossai is listed as the backup 4-3 right end with Cam Sample listed as the backup 4-3 left end, but Ossai has been ruled out. That means Myles Murphy, Cincinnati's 2023 first round pick out of Clemson will be the backup 4-3 right end to Trey Hendrickson with Joseph Ossai being ruled out for that game. Jay Tufele, Jacksonville's 2021 fourth round pick that I once had a second to third round grade on did well enough to make the Cincinnati Bengals final 53 man roster and is now the number four defensive tackle on this depth chart with DJ Reader out for the year.

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 with Markus Bailey being the main backup linebacker to Logan Wilson at middle linebacker. Akeem Davis-Gaither is the only player that did not practice this week who is dealing with an injury. Akeem Davis-Gaither starts when the Benals call 4-3 plays. Cincinnati has been calling more 4-2-5 nickel than 4-3 base as of late which is why I'm not putting as much stock into that injury.

Cincinnati has Cam Taylor-Britt at field cornerback. D.J. Turner plays boundary cornerback. Mike Hilton is Cincinnati's nickel cornerback and he's excelled in that role even dating back to his days in Pittsburgh before Cincinnati signed him. Chidobe Awuzie is the dime cornerback. D.J. Turner was Michigan's worst cornerback despite covering number one receivers who had his number like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Quentin Johnston, but he's looked good in Cincinnati so far when filling in situationally. Running a 4.29 40 time helped his draft stock as Cincinnati gambled on Turner in the second round. Jalen Davis is the quarter cornerback, but he saw some snaps in week 5 when Chidobe Awuzie was injured as Awuzie is a game time decision for week 6. D.J. Ivey Cincinnati's 2023 seventh round pick out of Miami FL is the reserve cornerback. Cincinnati has excellent cornerback depth when all six cornerbacks are healthy. Cam Taylor-Britt is out in week 13, so Chidobe Awuzie will play field cornerback in week 13. Cam Taylor-Britt returned in week 14.

Cincinnati had their secondary at full health entering week 15. D.J. Reader got injured and is out for the year. Cam Taylor-Britt is the field cornerback, Chidobe Awuzie is the boundary cornerback, and Mike Hilton is the nickel cornerback in the wake of D.J. Reader having a quad injury which is season ending.

Nick Scott will start at strong safety with Daxton Hill starting at free safety. Cincinnati has Jordan Battle as the backup strong safety to Nick Scott and while Tycen Andersen the 2022 fifth round pick out of Toledo won the backup free safety job with two interceptions against Green Bay in the preseason opener.

Cincinnati has Evan McPhearson at kicker and Drue Chrisman at punter with Brad Robbins from Michigan in the 2023 NFL Draft pushing Chrisman for the punter job. Charlie Jones Cincinnati's 2023 fourth round pick out of Purdue beat out Chris Evans for the return specialist gig after playing return specialist on Purdue last season. Chris Evans is the backup kick returner while Trenton Irwin is the backup punt returner giving Cincinnati quite a bit of depth in terms of return specialists.

Why the Kansas City Chiefs Will Win: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has Donovan Smith at left tackle, Joe Thuney at left guard, Creed Humprhey at center, Trey Smith at right guard, and Jawaan Taylor starting at right tackle. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL right now and Blaine Gabbert will now backup the two time Super Bowl MVP thanks to backup quarterback Chad Henne retiring as Kansas City cut both their third string and fourth string quarterbacks. As long as Mahomes is healthy the sky is the limit for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Outside of Donovan Smith at left tackle, I trust the rest of the offensive linemen in these roles. The crazy thing is Donovan Smith balled out in the first two preseason games against New Orleans and Arizona despite facing lackluster competition. Donovan Smith did not play in the Chiefs preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns. Prince Tega Wanaogho played right tackle in the second half of Kansas City's regular season game against Jacksonville and enters this year as the backup left tackle as well as the OT3 on Kansas City's depth chart. Lucas Niang who once started at right tackle for Kansas City as a rookie before injuries is the backup right tackle to Jawaan Taylor. Kansas City also has their 2023 third round pick Wanya Morris out of Oklahoma whose amazing in pass protection, but is a massive project as a run blocker as the number five offensive tackle on this depth chart. Kansas City has just as much offensive tackle depth as a season ago. Kansas City ruled Lucas Niang and Wanya Morris as inactives in week 1. Wanya Morris got the start with Donovan Smith injured in week 14 and Wanya Morris is the best left tackle on the Kansas City Chiefs moving forward. He might be able to replace Donovan Smith next season.

Kansas City has Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as their top three wide receivers. Backup receiver options include Kadarius Toney, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, and Ritchie James are the backup receivers with Justyn Ross on the commissioners exempt list. Rice is now in the flanker receiver role that K'Darius Toney was in when Toney entered the season as Kansas City's number one wide receiver as Kansas City's 2023 second round pick out of SMU looks like a bargain right now.

Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL as well as the main receiving target option on this offense despite being a tight end. He's also dating Taylor Swift, but I'd rather preview the game even though I am happy for Travis.

Travis Kelce got ruled out for the opener, but he is returned for Patrick Mahomes twenty eighth birthday in Jacksonville in week 2. Kelce has started the past three games at tight end. Noah Gray has two years of experience as a number two tight end and is currently on the third year of his four year rookie contract. Blake Bell is the third string tight end. Matt Bushman got called up from the practice squad to be the third string tight end after Kelce's injury, but will probably get sent back down to the practice squad.

Kansas City's playmakers were awful in week 1 without Travis Kelce. Kansas City won six in a row since Kelce returned before losing to Denver in week 8.

Isiah Pacheco is the starting running back. Kansas City has Jerick McKinnon as the backup running back and Clyde Edwards-Helaire as their third string running back. Deneric Prince one of the top UDFA's out of Tulsa did manage to impress me at the 2023 East West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas, but he didn't make Kansas City's final roster. He does happen to be stashed on the Chiefs practice squad as an option at running back if injuries occur. Jerick McKinnon didn't practice on Wednesday, so I expect Pacheco to get his normal role with Clyde Edwards-Helaire getting the touches McKinnon would get if he's ruled inactive in week 9. Jerick McKinnon got placed on injured reserve, so he will be out until at least the AFC Divisional Round, and may be out until the AFC Title Game. Isiah Pacheco is back.

Kansas City has Mike Danna at 4-3 right end. George Karlaftis Kansas City's 2022 first round pick from Purdue enters year two at 4-3 left end. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas City's 2023 first round pick is the backup 4-3 right end and Charles Omenihu is the backup 4-3 left end.

Kansas City has Chris Jones and Derrick Nnadi the two starting 4-3 defensive tackles with guys like Tershawn Wharton, Keondre Coburn their 2023 sixth round pick out of Texas, Matt Dickerson, or Neil Farrell Jr. who the Chiefs acquired in a inner division trade with the Las Vegas Raiders as backup 4-3 defensive tackles for depth.

Kansas City has Willie Gay Jr. at 4-3 right outside linebacker, Nick Bolton at 4-3 middle linebacker, and Leo Chenal at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Kansas City has three quality starters at linebacker that can defend the run and drop back into coverage. When Kansas City runs 4-2-5 nickel Willie Gay Jr. will be the starting outside linebacker with Nick Bolton as the middle linebacker. Leo Chenal would be the backup outside linebacker to Willie Gay Jr. while former Los Angeles Chargers starter Drue Tranquill will serve as a backup to Nick Bolton. Nick Bolton missed the last three games due to an injury in weeks 2-4, but he's been cleared to play for week 5. Nick Bolton played in weeks 1, 5, and 6 before getting placed on injured reserve after getting injured again in week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Willie Gay Jr. didn't practice on wednesday and if he cannot go, Leo Chenal would be starting at outside linebacker with Drue Tranquill at middle linebacker in week 9. Nick Bolton is practicing again and the Chiefs have 21 days to activate him off of injured reserve. Drue Tranquill entered concussion protocol. I think Kansas City could get Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill both back by week 15, but there's a chance neither middle linebacker is available in week 14.

Kansas City has Trent McDuffie at field cornerback, L'Jarius Sneed at boundary cornerback, Justin Reid at strong safety, and Bryan Cook their 2022 second round pick taking over for Juan Thornhill at free safety. If there is a weakness on this defense, it may be Cook since I had a fifth round grade on him projecting him as an NFL backup. Jaylen Watson is playing at nickel cornerback, Joshua Williams is playing at dime cornerback, and Darius Rush the rookie cornerback out of South Carolina as a quarter cornerback give the Kansas City Chiefs the depth at cornerback to limit opposing wide receivers from making big plays as Rush had a top 100 grade in the late third to early fourth round before being waived by the Indianapolis Colts. Kansas City also has Nic Jones their 2023 seventh round pick out of Ball State who impressed me on tape and the interview process before making the Chiefs 53 man roster. Mike Edwards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety from last year is the backup strong safety to Justin Reid with 2023 fourth round pick Chamarri Conner moving over from cornerback to free safety. Kansas City listed Darius Rush, and Nic Jones as inactives at cornerback relying on their top 4 cornerbacks from last years Super Bowl 57 roster.

Bryan Cook got carted off against Green Bay, but his ankle wasn't broken with X-Rays coming back negative. My guess is he misses the rest of the regular season, but comes back for this years playoffs.

Kansas City has Harrison Butker at kicker. Kansas City also has Tommy Tonwsend at punter. Ritchie James is the return specialist at kick returner and punt returner.

Prediction: Kansas City is a 7 point favorite at -7. The over or under is 44.5 with 76% of the public betting on Kansas City. The money line is and +300 for Cincinnati and -400 for Kansas City. Take Kansas City win and to cover with the under at -400. Bet $500 on this game for Kansas City and win up to $900 as long as the Chiefs win by 8 or more.

Final Score Chiefs 31 Bengals 13

Who Everyone Else Picked


Tanya Holmes	Oren Shiri	Jesse Lucas	Jason Bantle	Joseph Potter	Andrew Kermish	Lisa Donovan	Tracy Porter	Wes Langley	Brian Bayless

Green Bay Packers 7-8-0	Versus	Minnesota Vikings 7-8-0

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 Minnesota.

Pompieni: Welcome to Monday Night Football on Sunday Night. Bob Pompieni along with Mark Madden and Andrew Filiponi covering ESPN Monday Night Football on KDKA from Minnesota. Green Bay heads to Minnesota in week 17.

Madden: Jordan Love will get even with Minnesota. He got even with Detroit after losing to the Detroit Lions at home. Minnesota defeated Green Bay on the road in Kirk Cousins final game of the season before his season ending injury.

Filiponi: Minnesota doesn't have T.J. Hockenson at tight end now that he tore his ACL and PCL. Give me Green Bay.

Walsh: I also like the Packers. Green Bay has a chance to control their own destiny.

Pompieni: Tonight's game is brought to you by Little Ceasar's. The official pizza that Justin Jefferson promotes.

Madden: No tonights game is brought to you by the New Year's Eve Countdown in New York City. Get ready to have a ball leading up to 2024.

Pompieni: Alright tonights game is brought to you by Little Ceasar's and the New Year's Eve Countdown. We'll back with kickoff after this.

Why the Green Bay Packers Will Win: Jordan Love takes over for Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Green Bay has David Bahktiari at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jon Runyan Jr. at right guard, and Zach Tom at right tackle. Green Bay placed David Bahktiari on injured reserve prior to week 4, but it was later revealed that David Bahktiari is out for the season. Elgton Jenkins and Jon Runyan Jr. returned as the starting guards on both sides of the offensive line in week 7.

Green Bay will have Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jon Runayn Jr. at right guard, and Zach Tom at right tackle on the offensive line for the rest of the season. This offensive line has done alright without David Bahktiari even though an argument can be made for upgrading Rasheed Walker.

All three of the Green Bay Packers 2022 draft picks at wide receiver are the top three wide receivers on this depth chart. 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 two as the flanker receiver and number one target, but he missed the first three weeks despite being a full practice last week. Watson has been limited in practice this week, but hasn't been cleared to play yet. Romeo Doubs Green Bay's 2022 fourth round pick out of Nevada is the secondary wide receiver. Jayden Reed Green Bay's 2023 second round pick out of Michigan State beat out Samari Toure for the slot receiver job in the preseason. Christian Watson got injured in week 9 with one person saying he might be out for up to six weeks, but Watson was a full practice on wednesday and thursday increasing the chance he plays. Christian Watson was out in week 14 and week 15. Christian Watson did not practice heading into week 16 and is still out at wide receiver. Christian Watson is likely to miss a third straight game.

Dontayvion Wicks another rookie from the 2023 NFL Draft began the year as the number five receiver on the depth chart, but jumped Samri Toure to be the number four wide receiver. Samari Toure Green Bay's 2022 seventh round pick out of Nebraska that Jason Bantle mocked to Green Bay in the third round of his 2022 NFL Mock Draft has made strides in year two and almost won the slot receiver job, so he began the year as the number four receiver before being demoted to the number five wide receiver. Samari Toure is out in week 15.

Green Bay will have Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed as their top two wide receivers in week 15. Dontayvion Wicks will be the slot receiver for the second week in a row after Christian Watson missed week 14.

Green Bay has Luke Musgrave their 2023 second round pick out of Oregon State as the starting tight end. Luke Musgrave got injured against Denver. Luke Musgrave got placed on injured reserve prior to the Thanksgiving game in week 12 making him out for weeks 12-15. Tucker Kraft was a starting tight end on South Dakota State before the Packers picked him in the third round of this years NFL Draft. Tucker Kraft managed to beat out Tyler Davis for the backup tight end job which led to Tyler Davis getting cut by the Green Bay Packers. Tukcer Kraft has done well in relief of Luke Musgrave. Luke Musgrave is back in week 16.

Green Bay still has Aaron Jones as their starting running back and A.J. Dillon as the backup running back. Aaron Jones missed week 2 after getting injured in week 1, and Jones is out once again in week 3. Aaron Jones returned in week 7, but didn't practice on wednesday heading into week 8. Aaron Jones might finally get back into the thick of things in week 9 with this being his third game back from an injury. Both Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon didn't practice heading into week 13. Green Bay may not have Aaron Jones or A.J. Dillon at running back in week 15. Aaron Jones came back in week 15, but A.J. Dillon was out. It's possible both running backs are back in week 16. I don't like Green Bay's third string running back, but Josiah Deguara is a decent fullback option if Green Bay opts to use the former Cincinnati fullback at his natural position rather than an extra tight end.

Green Bay is moving Kenny Clark from nose tackle to 3-4 right end, Devonte Wyatt one of Green Bay's two 2022 first round picks out of Georgia is at 3-4 left end, and Terdarrelle Slaton is the starting the nose tackle Florida drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft is starting at 3-4 nose tackle after developing under Kenny Clark as a backup for two years, but he's now known as T.J. Slaton. Ourlads reported this back in May, but now the Green Bay Packers team website confirmed this on their updated depth chart. Colby Wooden will be the backup 3-4 right end to Kenny Clark with the rookie out of Auburn learning under Kenny Clark and Karl Brooks the Bowling Green defensive tackle playing 3-4 left end as a backup to Devonte Wyatt. Green Bay doesn't have a backup 3-4 nose tackle to T.J. Slaton, but could always move Kenny Clark back to his natural position if an injury occurred. Doing this would mean that Green Bay would have to start Karl Brooks or Colby Wooden if something were to happen to Slaton.

Green Bay has Preston Smith starting at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Rashan Gary starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Green Bay has D'Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker as their two starters at 3-4 middle linebacker. There's a chance D'Vondre Campbell could be back this week in week 8. Lukas Van Ness, Green Bay's 2023 first round pick is still a situational edge rusher this season. D'Vondre Campbell returned in week 8 while Green Bay also gave Rashan Gary a four year extension. Quay Walker missed week 10, but he was a limited practice. There's a chance he comes back in week 11.

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, but after playing in the first two weeks, he will miss his first game of the regular season in week 3. Jaire Alexander also missed week 4 along with Eric Stokes, but Jaire Alexander returned for Monday Night football in week 5. Jaire Alexander got injured again in week 8 and was out in week 9. Jaire Alexander did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday heading into week 10. Eric Stokes is out for two more weeks in weeks 10 and 11 after getting injured four plays into his first game back against Denver. Green Bay Packers 2023 seventh round pick Carrington Valentine was a guy that I liked coming out of Kentucky and the reason Green Bay traded Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills for a 2024 third round pick was because he really impressed Green Bay as a rookie. Green Bay traded Rasul Douglas to Buffalo for a 2024 third round pick. Keisean Nixon, Green Bay's dime cornerback when all three cornerbacks are healthy is currently Green Bay's number one corner if Alexander and Stokes are both out in week 10. Carrington Valetine is the boundary cornerback. Robert Rochelle is the nickel cornerback on the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay could have Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes back in week 12 on Thanksgiving, but I won't be surprised if those two cornerbacks return in week 13 with Keisan Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and Robert Rochelle holding things down for the time being. Jaire Alexander is out in week 14, so Green Bay will have backup cornerbacks in week 14. Green Bay will have Eric Stokes back at cornerback in week 15, but not Jaire Alexander. Green Bay will have Eric Stokes at field cornerback, Keisean Nixon at boundary cornerback, and Carrington Valentine at nickel cornerback in week 15. Jaire Alexander was a limited practice for the second week in a row and remains questionable for week 16.

Green Bay has Rudy Ford at strong safety replacing Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage at free safety. Darnell Savage went on injured reserve after getting injured in week 7. He will be out from weeks 8-11. Rudy Ford is out in week 11 at strong safety while Darnell Savage is on injured reserve at free safety for one more week. Green Bay could get Darnell Savage back in week 12, but it seems more likely that Savage makes his return in week 13. Jonathan Owens is the backup strong safety with Anthony Johnson Jr. as the backup at free safety. Darnell Savage is inactive once again in week 15. Darnell Savage looks to be out once again at free safety.

Anders Carlson the younger brother of Daniel Carlson replaces Mason Crosby as Green Bay drafted Auburn's kicker in the 2023 NFL Draft. Pat O'Donnell is the punter. I'm curious who plays kick returner and punt returner for Green Bay in week 15 with Eric Stokes back in the lineup.

Why the Minnesota Vikings Will Win: Minnesota lost Kirk Cousins for the year. Minnesota benched Joshua Dobbs for Nick Mullens in week 14. Nick Mullens got benched for Jaren Hall. Jaren Hall is starting for Minnesota in week 17. Jaren Hall has Christian Darrisaw at left tackle, Dalton Risner 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. Brian O'Neill sufferred a season ending injury against the Las Vegas Raiders in week 14.

Justin Jefferson got injured in weeek 5 against Kansas City after Minnesota fell to 1-4 and is finally returning in week 14 with Minnesota. Jordan Addison is going to be the secondary wide receiver with K.J. Osborn as the slot receiver once Justin Jefferson returns. The crazy thing is Minnesota is still in the thick of the NFC Playoff race. Justn Jefferson got injured in week 14, but fully practiced on Wednesday and should play in week 15.

T.J. Hockenson tore his ACL and PCL, so he's out for the year. Josh Oliver is the backup tight end, but will now start. Johnny Mundt who was the number two tight end to T.J. Hockenson last year is now the number two tight end with T.J. Hockenson out for the year. Minnesota has last years backup running back Alexander Mattison as their starting running back. Cam Akers who Minnesota traded for tore his ACL. Ty Chandler started last week with Alexander Mattison and Cam Akers injured. Ty Chandler got a rushing touchdown against New Orleans in week 10. Alexander Mattison is going to be back at running back in week 11. Alexander Mattison did not practice on Wednesday leading up to week 15. C.J. Ham remains the starting fullback in Minnesota.

Minnesota has depth at quarterback, running back, and tight end. However Minneosta still lacks depth on the offensive line outside of left guard and lacks depth at wide receiver if an injury occurs to Jefferson, Addison, or Osborn.

Minnesota has Jonathan Bullard at 3-4 right end, Harrison Phillips at 3-4 nose tackle, and Jaquelin Roy at 3-4 left end. Minnesota benched Khyris Tonga at 3-4 nose tackle while moving Harrison Phillips to nose tackle. Dean Lowry is out, so Jacquelin Roy, the Minnesota Vikings 2023 third round pick out of LSU will start at 3-4 right end this weekend with Dean Lowry out.

Minnesota has Marcus Davenport replacing Z'Darius Smith at 3-4 right outside linebacker with Davenport as a game time decision for Thursday in week 2. Davenport missed weeks 2 and 3 while not practicing on wednesday leading into week 4. Danielle Hunter is still starting at 3-4 left outside linebacker. Jordan Hicks and Ivan Pace Jr. an undrafted player from the 2023 NFL Draft are the starting at 3-4 middle linebackers with Ivan Pace Jr. having a pass rushing grade of 90 on Pro Football Focus. Troy Dye and Brian Asamoah II are the backups. D.J. Wonnum is the backup 3-4 right outside linebacker with Patrick Jones II as the backup 3-4 left outside linebacker. Marcus Davenport returned in week 5. Marcus Davenport played for two weeks, but will now be placed on injured reserve from weeks 7-10. Minnesota made ends meet without Davenport against San Francisco. Marcus Davenport may return in week 14 as well as Justin Jefferson.

Byron Murphy Jr. replaces Patrick Peterson as the Minnesota Vikings main field cornerback and Mekhi Blackmon Minnesota's 2023 third round pick out of USC is the number two boundary cornerback. Minnesota has Akayleb Evans their 2022 fourth round pick out of Missouri at nickel cornerback, but he may be out in week 11 with a concussion. Andrew Booth Jr. their 2022 second round pick that I had a first round grade on out of Clemson as the dime cornerback, but could play nickel if Akayleb Evans is injured. Jay Ward Jr., Minnesota's 2023 fourth round pick out of LSU is the quarter cornerback. `Byron Murphy didn't practice on Wednesday and if he is out that means all three of Minnesota's corners will be rookies or sophomores. Mekhi Blackmon's college tape was good. Evans surprsied me as a rookie when he got the opportunity to play. He looked good in trainining camp and the preseason. Now he's reverted to the player I expected him to be. Booth amazed me in college, but has been a disappointment in the NFL so far. Minnesota has Camryn Bynum at strong safety and Harrison Smith at free safety. Minnesota has Lewis Cine as the backup strong safety after the 2022 first round pick suffered a season ending injury as a rookie and Josh Metellus is the backup free safety. It feels like Metellus has started more than Bynum this season which feels weird to say, but the Vikings played Metellus situationally at both nickel cornerback and safety against Green Bay in week 8.

Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph is a top 10 kicker. Minnesota has question marks at punter, kick returner, and punt returner on special teams heading into the season. If all of Minnesota's players who are limited in practice get cleared to play this week, than Minnesota will have their roster at full health for week 5 for the first time since week 1 and I cannot stress how huge that is for Minnesota with every other team in the NFC North having one of their twenty two starters injured at the moment.

Prediction: Minnesota is a 2 point favorite at -2. The over or under is 46.5 with 56% of the public betting on Minnesota. The money line is +115 for Green Bay and -135 for Minnesota. I like Green Bay to win and to cover with the over at +115. Bet $185 on this game for Green Bay and win up to $300 as long as the Vikings win by 1 point or less.

Final Score Packers 31 Vikings 21

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2023 NFL Week 17 Predictions

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Chris Ransom's Pick

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Chris Ransom's Pick

Chris Ransom's Pick

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Chris Ransom's Pick

Chris Ransom's Pick

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Bill Clinton's College Football Playoff Selection Special

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Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 1

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-1

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 1-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 6

BFFL Playoff Record: 9-6

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 3

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 3

BFFL Playoff Record: 6-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-5

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 2-2

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-1

Manager:

Bantle Bowl Championships: 1

Bantle Bowl Appearances: 2

BFFL Playoff Record: 3-1

Bantle Bowl Championships:

Bantle Bowl Appearances:

BFFL Playoff Record: 0-0

Manager:

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Chris Ransom's Pick

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