Good morning football fans! Here are the five things you need to know coming out of Thursday to get your morning started right:
- PFF Analyst Zoltan Buday gave a look at the best players in the game that are over 30 years of age, starting with offense. Tom Brady headlines the team, with the best single season of quarterback play PFF has ever graded at the ripe old age of 39, beating out Aaron Rodgers among others, but he isn’t alone in standout play despite advancing years, with several other players on the team not just north of 30, but north of 35.
- The start of real football activities means the start of unfortunate injuries, and the Baltimore Ravens lost one of their most promising young players Thursday, with CB Tavon Young tearing his ACL in practice. Young had the third-highest coverage grade among rookie cornerbacks in his first season, allowing the second-best yards per coverage snap on the field, and his loss will be a significant setback for the Ravens.
- RB Christine Michael continues his tour of NFL teams, being signed this time by the Indianapolis Colts. Michael played for both the Seahawks and Packers in 2016, and gained a career-high 641 rushing yards, 447 of which came after contact thanks to breaking 35 tackles on 164 attempts. Michael has always had rushing talent, but consistently fails to find a long-term home in the league.
- The Eagles cut LB Steven Daniels just a few weeks after signing him off waivers from the Washington Redskins. Daniels missed his rookie season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, but was subsequently cut loose by Washington and now Philadelphia. In college he was a dominant run stuffer at linebacker, but his measurables are not prototypical NFL levels at linebacker, and it looks like the NFL is turning its back on him before he has stepped foot on the field.
- The first three weeks of the 2015 season, Lance Dunbar, then of the Cowboys, was the league's top receiving running back. Then came an ACL tear, a recovery, a reduced role behind Ezekiel Elliott, and free agency. Now, Dunbar is on the Rams, slated to be the pass-catching alternative to Todd Gurley, and PFF Fantasy editor Daniel Kelley says he's a sneaky sleeper candidate in fantasy leagues in 2017.