Hey there football fans, here are five things from yesterday that you need to know to start off your Tuesdays:
- PFF released the list of the top performers in our signature stats in the secondary. PFF signature stats help fans develop a much more clear sense how just how good players are, and this week PFF's John Kosko featured players in the secondary. Possibly the most interesting list is slot performance, where top CB Chris Harris Jr. makes an appearance, but is flanked by two lesser known cornerbacks.
- Washington did not manage to ink a long term deal with QB Kirk Cousins. Cousins wasn't the only player not to get a long term extension secured, as no franchise tagged player got a deal done today. Cousins will be the first quarterback to ever play back-to-back seasons under the franchise tag.
- Rookie RB Dalvin Cook could see as many as 300 touches in his first year with the Vikings. Even with other options on the team, a Vikings reporter couldn't rule out the possibility of a heavy work load for the young back. The last step in Cook becoming an every down back is his need to improve his pass protection skills, an area he came in ranked 38th out of 42 college backs last year (min. 100 pass blocking snaps).
- Pat Thorman brought you answers to more pressing fantasy questions. While PFF will eventually cover every division, yesterday Thorman covered the AFC North. An underrated story line in the north is whether the significant losses to the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line will torpedo an otherwise impressively talented offense.
- PFF began its fantasy football team power rankings. PFF's Tyler Loechner kicked off the series by focusing on teams 32 through 29. While it is unsurprising that many of the teams mentioned so far are also bad on the actual gridiron, there is one team that managed to go 8-8 last year yet still offer up very little fantasy value.