49ers Insider on Jauan Jennings' Leverage Over Team
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USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Manti Te'o predicts big things for Tennessee Titans' Cam Ward
There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about how Cam Ward has been one of the least talked-about first overall draft picks in NFL history. Even on draft night, his selection felt like an afterthought and was overshadowed by talk of another quarterback who wasn't drafted until Day 3 of the draft. That has all begun to change, as analysts from major outlets begin to backtrack and play revisionist history with the offseason. Increasingly, networks are investing in Ward and his ability to lead a franchise. And they are applauding the Tennessee Titans for staying put in the draft and taking the young signal caller. The latest to join Good Morning Football and shower Ward with praise is former NFL linebacker Manti Te'o, who joined the show and made a bold prediction on the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. 'We're buying. [I am] buying that [Ward] is gonna win Offensive Rookie of the Year,' Te'o said. 'I really think that Cam Ward, going into this year, you need to have guys that you're going to throw the ball to, and he has really good guys. Guys that are underappreciated, in my opinion, with Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett, Treylon Burks, Chig Okonkwo, these are guys that can produce for you.' While there was still talk on the show about the perceived front-runner Ashton Jeanty, Te'o pointed out the success head coach Brian Callahan has had in his career, and how quarterbacks can succeed in his system. While that was not the case in 2024, one could argue that many of the struggles were tied to subpar play by the offensive line. Now with a rebuilt offensive line and some underrated playmakers around Ward, the offense should be better in 2025. If it is, then Ward could make Te'o's prediction a reality.
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Top 25 Player Profile, DL Zane Durant
Zane Durant may have gone under the radar at the start of his Penn State career. Now, he is quickly becoming a household name in State College. Earning a starting spot last year on the interior D-line, Durant stood out in a defense loaded with talent. If his 2025 is similar, he could be one NFL scouts will be clamoring over come next April. Here is how Zane Durant's 2025 campaign could look and what it could mean for his NFL draft prospects. 2024 in Review In a defense that included stars edge rushers Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant somehow stood out as a third option doing his work on the interior. The 6-1, 294 pounder had his best season yet, with 42 tackles, 22 of which were solo, 11 TFLs, three sacks and a pass breakup to boot. Most impressively, he earned the coaching staff's Defensive Player of the Game three separate times, something hard to do with two other stars to contend with. Most importantly though, he gave Penn State a fearsome presence to help shore up their run defense aboth Carter and Dennis-Sutton took care of business off the edge. In 2025, with no Abdul Carter, the pressure is on for Durant to wreak even more havoc up the middle. With the jaw-dropping traits requisite to match a player of DDS' caliber, look for Durant to be on the interior what Dennis-Sutton is on the edge. No Carter should be no problem with Durant at his all-time best. Biggest Question in 2025 What can Durant do for an encore? In a career year, he proved he could play off of two stars and benefit from their success. This year has a wholly different tenor to it however, without Carter's presence. Dani Dennis-Sutton will no double continue to be the star that he is, but can Durant follow suit? The traits: the first step quickness, the explosive movement in a more undersized frame, the impressive motor from the first to fourth quarter: are all there. He must show he can hold out on his own though. There's a reason why he hadn't been able to carve out an immediate role in this squad, and that's his lack of length and somewhat limited pass rush arsenal. Now that Carter's gone, he can't rely on pressure being generated from both sides. He must create his own. Whether or not he can do it remains to be seen, but will be a crucial factor in his growth as a player and how NFL scouts could view him. 2025 will be a success if... Durant simply complements Dennis-Sutton and ultimately proves that he can continuously generate pressure by himself. While he's not the No.1 guy in the front seven, expectations will almost certainly be heightened due to Carter's absence. Every Penn State fan knows what they are getting from Dennis-Sutton, but don't know if Durant can hold up on his own. He truly is a legitimate player with high upside once he gets to the NFL. How he handles a bigger role will be paramount. Most importantly, there may be sometimes where an opposing scheme is more tailored towards Durant's style of disruption. He must show that he can execute that sort of game plan while also being complementary to the depth around him. Overall, Durant does not have to be the second coming of Abdul Carter and he does not need to be. He is his own player with his own style. He must use that style effectively though to continue to have success and build his resume. 2025 will be a disappointment if... Zane Durant fails to have the same presence on the interior as he did last year, and Penn State gets outmatched in the run game because of it. The Big Ten is certainly tailored towards thriving passing attacks, but there are some squads who can gut you up the middle. Minnesota with Darius Taylor and Washington with both Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed come to mind. If Durant is not up to par, teams will take advantage of him more often. There will be many more situations where Durant is isolated in space and could be one of the first and last lines of defense. Thus, there are a number of opportunities that could see Durant have to be up to task. If he can't provide energy and efficiency stopping the run game, it could be a detriment to the whole squad and could lead to some shocking upset losses. It is critical that Durant is locked in, or else a potential strength for the Nittany Lions could become one of their biggest weaknesses. Realistic Outlook for 2025 I would not be surprised if Durant's stats jump even more off the page this season. In a role with a lot more freedom from the interior, look fro Durant to especially be the first line of defense in run support. Double digit TFLs yet again this year should be a solid goal to reach for Durant and he could easily get there. It's his draft stock that will be the most intriguing storyline of all. While he does not scream first round pick and maybe not even second, his undeniable attributes stand out on both tape and on the field. If he can continue to put up the elite numbers while honing his skills, then who knows how high Durant could go in next year's draft?
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Can Jayden Daniels' second act land the Commanders in the Super Bowl?
The second act of Jayden Daniels' NFL career will come with high expectations – for himself and the Washington Commanders. In 2024, the Commanders made the NFC championship game, with their rookie quarterback as the main reason. For a franchise devoid of success for more than two decades and a carousel at quarterback, Daniels was more than a revelation. He took on a mystic presence. He was a savior. Now the Commanders will enter the 2025 season considered Super Bowl contenders (fair or not) and Daniels will be on MVP shortlists. An ESPN poll that took the temperature of NFL executives and coaches left Daniels as the No. 5-ranked quarterback in the league. Ahead of him were the powerful AFC quartet of quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. 'I gotta go out there and prove myself each and every day, no matter if it was last season, this season, 10, 20 years down the road,' Daniels said in May, 'you have to prove yourself each and every season. 'Outside noise doesn't matter,' he continued, 'have to go there and keep proving yourself.' MORE: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson and the Super Bowl: 'It's on his heart. It's on his mind.' Taken second overall in the new Commanders regime by general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn, Daniels carried over his production from Louisiana State to the pros. He rushed for the most yards ever by a rookie quarterback (891). The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner completed 69% of his passes and threw 25 touchdowns – five of which came in the final 30 seconds of regulation or overtime – to nine interceptions. He easily won Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Off the field, Daniels was instrumental in catalyzing the culture change Quinn instilled from the top of the organization down. 'He's an amazing teammate. The amount of work that he puts in that goes unseen here to get ready to play, to learn it, to teach others to, you know, connect the guys … there is no flinch in Jayden Daniels,' Quinn said in May. 'He's as focused and relentless as you could about getting better. And so that's why I said for us around here, like, man, we appreciate that and there's a lot of things that, he and the rest of us are really digging in hard on to say, 'All right, can we get this better?'' Jayden Daniels' 2025 NFL season goals? From learning to mastery Throughout Daniels' first full offseason as a pro, the coaching staff and the quarterback concentrated on taking aspects of his game from 'really good' to 'elite' with the goal of being 'the best at this concept,' Quinn said. The freedom an offseason provides was new to Daniels. Some of that was difficult to navigate, Daniels said, but he leaned on his support system. 'It was fun just to sit back and reflect and figure out how I'm going to move throughout this offseason and move forward,' Daniels said. For offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, that meant receiving plenty of texts and calls from Daniels, who is a football junkie. Kingsbury didn't have to give him any homework. 'His mind is never very far away from the game, so if he sees something or has a thought, he likes to reach out and talk through it,' Kingsbury said in May. 'And so that relationship has really grown, I think kind of figuring out where we want to continue to get better at. 'That's all he kind of thinks about is how he can get better and watches a ton of film, watches a ton of football overall. And so, that organically really takes care of itself in a way when you have a guy who wants to be that great.' A potential head-coach candidate once again, Kingsbury, quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough were all retained by the Commanders this offseason with the goal of providing a stable 'ecosystem,' in the words of Peters, for Daniels. MORE: Washington Commanders reveal alternate uniforms that nod to their Super Bowl glory 'It's huge,' Kingsbury said of the continuity at Daniels' disposal. 'I think you look traditionally through the NFL, the guys who've had a ton of success have been able to stay in those long-term, all-time greats and just the comfort level and then you being able to take the ownership of it and understand it inside and out, where now you're correcting people, you don't even need the coaches. And he's kind of getting to that point.' Going into Year 2, Kingsbury said, Daniels shifted from learning to mastery of the scheme. Daniels said 'transparency' between he and Kingsbury has improved; he relays what he likes, Kingsbury offers his viewpoints and they agree on the middle ground. 'Just watching him move around, he's not thinking as much, he's playing fast and letting his natural gifts kind of take over and that's what we want to see,' Kingsbury said. 'So, I expect him to take a big jump.' The spotlight will only increase. The Commanders are scheduled to play in 10 standalone windows this season, starting Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers on "Thursday Night Football." Commanders have 'massive opportunity' with Jayden Daniels on rookie contract Throughout last season, Daniels faced questions regarding his durability. The 6-foot-4 passer is listed at a generous 210 pounds. Big hits he took in the first month of the season didn't assuage those concerns. Daniels suffered a rib injury against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 20 following a long run that affected him for the better part of a month. Neither the Commanders nor Daniels had any specific weight goals or bulking desires for the offseason. Quinn said he's where he expects Daniels to be on the scale, but that working out more has naturally made him leaner. 'He knows what he has to do to protect himself and where he feels comfortable playing,' Kingsbury said. 'But the arm strength, it looks better and you can tell he's stronger, there's no doubt.' While Daniels improved himself, Peters improved the roster. He brought back key veterans who bonded with Daniels in tight end Zach Ertz, linebacker Bobby Wagner and backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. He traded for wideout Deebo Samuel, formerly with the San Francisco 49ers, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders used their first-round draft pick on offensive lineman Josh Conerly. 'We have a massive opportunity, and you know, none of us are taking that lightly,' Commanders owner Josh Harris said regarding Daniels' rookie contract in February after the team's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC title game. But Daniels' favorite target, wide receiver Terry McLaurin, and the front office are locked into a contract standoff that has devolved from standard to bitter. In Quinn's mind, whoever Daniels is working with on the field has the benefit of working with a leader who understands the larger goal. 'I know he's worked hard through the offseason, but he's just in command of the things that he wanted to work,' Quinn said. 'He and his teammates, they've really put in a lot of work together. 'You can sense when people are going for it and you know, he's certainly one that is.'
