Post by MGB01 on Feb 15, 2023 0:40:17 GMT -5
A quick overview of the key replacements on 12 of the 16 teams across the league, minus the four new/returning teams (played replaced in parentheses)
CAROLINA
OG: David Moore/Dalton Risner (Tyrell Crosby)
With Crosby, who moved inside in 2022, off to Columbus the Colonels moved Risner to left guard and second-year guard Moore won the competition on the right side.
OLB: Chase Winovich (Shaquil Barrett)
With Barrett starting the season on IR (and the very real likelihood he'll miss more than just the four games mandated by the IR stint), Winovich, who was dangled as trade bait after the Colonels signed Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, stays put and will remain as a starter.
S: Geno Stone (Kavon Frazier)
Frazier's retirement a few weeks after X-Bowl XXII didn't catch the Colonels flat-footed (even though it came after losing Alohi Gilman in the expansion draft) because they've had Stone for the last two years waiting for the opportunity.
CHICAGO
QB: Jack Coan (Nathan Peterman)
It was rather odd seeing Peterman, whose 2021 season (and presumed last chance as a starter) come to an end in week one in Chicago, spending the 2022 season as Gardner Minshew's backup. The rookie Coan, who started for Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Soldier Field in 2021, lit it up during the preseason and easily claimed the job.
RB: Brian Hill (James White)
Hill, the Enforcers' second round pick in 2017, returns to the Windy City to replace White, who had briefly signed with Washington before a nagging hip injury forced him to retire. Far from the only change at RB, Eno Benjamin and undrafted preseason star Kennedy Brooks will replace Corey Clement's snaps.
WR: Allen Lazard (Randall Cobb)
With Cobb moving south to Texas the Enforcers bring Lazard from San Francisco as well, and while Quintez Cephus will have a major role he's also coming off a foot injury, and having Lazard is better backup plan than trading draft capital for Antonio Callaway.
CB: Michael Ojemudia (Rashaan Melvin)
The Enforcers briefly entertained drafting Melvin's replacement before turning to their former second round pick, who had an interception in nickel duty last year.
DALLAS
RB: Phillip Lindsay (Samaje Perine)
This probably should have been done a year ago, as the Lonestars watched the Stampede beat them to the trading deadline for the former 1000-yard rusher. Lindsay will replace Perine as Javonte Williams' backup to rev up a woeful rushing attack that averaged just 3.0 yards per carry.
WR: Randall Cobb (Tommylee Lewis)
The Lonestars brought Cobb in with the idea of him as WR3 behind Donovan Peoples-Jones and Lewis, but with Lewis going on IR Cobb will start for at least first four games.
C Adam Redmond (Nick Harris)
The same went for Redmond, who was Kyle Fuller's backup in Tampa last year, now the former Cowboy will begin the year as the starter for the "other" team in Big D.
OLB: Austin Bryant (Ronnie Perkins)
Perkins may not get a chance to duplicate his eight-sack rookie year, as he could be out over half the season. So Bryant, like Winovich in Carolina, was in trade talks with no takers, will have a chance to reproduce his own eight-sack season of two years ago.
ILB: Brian Asamoah (Anthony Hitchens)
Hitchens remains one of the league's better off-ball linebackers, but his cap hit sent him to Seattle in the expansion draft, so Asamoah was drafted to make plenty of plays of his own.
CB: Kyler Gordon (Anthony Averett)
The Lonestars' secondary needed a makeover after giving up the most big plays through the air (20 yards or more) of any team in the league last year. Gordon can play both the outside and the slot, so if the plan is to mix up coverages (which would be preferrable in 2023), that's good news to hear.
S: Josh Metellus (Armani Watts)
What isn't good news however is that Watts, coming home to play for the Lonestars (he played in Forney in high school), will start the home team chapter of his career on IR. This time Metellus gets the nod over 2022 starter Steven Parker as Watts' replacement out of the gate.
KANSAS CITY
WR: Odell Beckham (Brice Butler)
Oh nothing to see here, except the Monarchs adding a Super Bowl champion to their high powered pass game. Don't worry about Butler either, he merely moves to WR4. And there's two speedsters at end of the group in KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Virgil who will hold down the return game. We think they'll be okay.
OT: Bernhard Raimann (Stanley Bryant)
Raimann could eventually make the switch to left tackle, but for right now he'll stick on the right side as he won the preseason battle with Isaiah Prince to replace the once-again Canada-bound Bryant.
OG: Royce Nemwan (Willie Beavers)
With Beavers on IR, Newman beat out John Simpson in a similar camp battle and will be the starter at left guard.
C: Luke Wattenberg (Rodney Hudson)
The best camp battle was in the middle to replace the all-world Hudson with the Monarchs' second of two fourth round picks coming out on top.
DT: Jordan Elliott (Geno Atkins)
The Monarchs finally said goodbye to their longtime all-XFL DT Atkins but aren't in the least in a hole with their 2020 second round pick who can rush the passer and has the athleticism to stand up against the run.
CB: Tariq Woolen (DeVante Bausby)
As for the first of the two, the converted receiver, who many compare to Richard Sherman, has all sorts of tools and played some snaps in the Monarchs' first preseason game where they allowed just 131 yards passing and picked off two passes from San Francisco quarterbacks.
S: Tashaun Gipson (Eric Reid)
Gipson will play the nickel safety/LB hybrid role that belonged to Reid the past four seasons, adding to the unfairness.
S: Jaquan Brisker (Armani Watts)
This is getting ridiculous, the Monarchs could have two top 5 rookies in their own secondary.
LS: Cal Adomitis (Colin Holba)
Even long snappers are crucial to replace after Holba's post-X-Bowl retirement, but this time the Monarchs patiently waited until the, well actually beyond, the draft as they signed Adomitis as a undrafted free agent.
LOS ANGELES
QB: Desmond Ridder (Josh Johnson)
Johnson had plenty of highlights during his three years in Los Angeles but it was clearly time to move on, and while it's a good bet Ridder won't be as dominant as he was in his one half of preseason action against Birmingham, where he threw for 271 yards and four touchdown passes, it's clear not only do the Xtreme have QBOTF, they have their QBOTN (N=Now).
WR: Khalil Shakir (Nelson Spruce)
While much of it was related to their issues at QB, Antonio Callaway was their leading receiver going into week 17, he had been traded nearly six weeks earlier. With the home run threat of Shakir on board, this won't be an issue and will allow Spruce and Dillon Mitchell to return to their normal roles.
OG: Logan Stenberg (Spencer Drango)
The Xtreme were originally thought to move Damien Lewis to left guard and acquire a right guard through either free agency or the draft. Instead Stenberg will get the first shot at the job, though he actually played four games at right guard in 2022 with Lewis injured.
OLB: Drake Jackson (Josh Sweat)
Sweat played through injury in 2022 before taking off in pursuit of a Super Bowl, so the Xtreme's top pick was made obvious with Jackson, who had 12.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in 28 games at USC.
CB: Coby Bryant (Taron Johnson)
Sweat wasn't the only loss to the NFL as Johnson left right after the season too. So the Xtreme also dialed up his replacement in the draft too, and the Xtreme's efforts here should be much less susceptible to claims of cheap PR than the Enforcers were in 2019 when they drafted Michael Jordan.
NEW YORK
QB: Cole Kelley (Kurt Benkert)
While he replaces Benkert on the depth chart as the Hitmen's third QB for now don't be surprised to see him pass Matt Barkley up sooner than later. Not only was his ceiling the highest of any QB in the draft (and he wasn't even taken among the 128 selections), he proved it with a solid preseason.
RB: Kenneth Walker (Le'Veon Bell)
Truth be told, after the year the Hitmen had at this position you could put anybody in Bell's spot that the big-play back from Michigan State (preceded by Wake Forest) will be replacing.
TE: Cole Turner (David Wells)
Turner beat out Wells for the backup job and the man who had 19 touchdowns in his last 20 games at Nevada since switching to tight end will back up Pat Freiermuth and pair with him in two-TE sets.
OG: Nate Davis (Joe Dahl)
OT: Conor McDermott (Davis)
Davis will move inside to replace Dahl while McDermott, who enters his sixth year having been mostly a swing tackle and a sixth lineman in short-yardage situations, is on track for the first opening day start of his career.
CB: Grant Haley (Nickell Robey-Coleman)
CB: Tre Brown/Jaylen Watson (SaQwan Edwards)
Apparently the Hitmen didn't have enough fun rebuilding their secondary over the offseason last year so they've entertained doing so again, this time though just at CB. Haley did end up starting for most of the year due to injuries to both vets. Brown, who ended the season on IR himself, continues a battle with rookie Watson for the other spot since camp and preseason obviously weren't enough.
S: Percy Butler (Will Parks)
While the draft may produce a rookie starter at one corner it will at free safety with Butler supplanting Parks in a surprise move.
P: Trenton Gill (Justin Vogel)
Gill will not only replace Vogel, now in St. Louis, at punter he'll also replace Matt McCrane on kickoffs after the Hitmen released him at the end of preseason.
CAROLINA
OG: David Moore/Dalton Risner (Tyrell Crosby)
With Crosby, who moved inside in 2022, off to Columbus the Colonels moved Risner to left guard and second-year guard Moore won the competition on the right side.
OLB: Chase Winovich (Shaquil Barrett)
With Barrett starting the season on IR (and the very real likelihood he'll miss more than just the four games mandated by the IR stint), Winovich, who was dangled as trade bait after the Colonels signed Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, stays put and will remain as a starter.
S: Geno Stone (Kavon Frazier)
Frazier's retirement a few weeks after X-Bowl XXII didn't catch the Colonels flat-footed (even though it came after losing Alohi Gilman in the expansion draft) because they've had Stone for the last two years waiting for the opportunity.
CHICAGO
QB: Jack Coan (Nathan Peterman)
It was rather odd seeing Peterman, whose 2021 season (and presumed last chance as a starter) come to an end in week one in Chicago, spending the 2022 season as Gardner Minshew's backup. The rookie Coan, who started for Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Soldier Field in 2021, lit it up during the preseason and easily claimed the job.
RB: Brian Hill (James White)
Hill, the Enforcers' second round pick in 2017, returns to the Windy City to replace White, who had briefly signed with Washington before a nagging hip injury forced him to retire. Far from the only change at RB, Eno Benjamin and undrafted preseason star Kennedy Brooks will replace Corey Clement's snaps.
WR: Allen Lazard (Randall Cobb)
With Cobb moving south to Texas the Enforcers bring Lazard from San Francisco as well, and while Quintez Cephus will have a major role he's also coming off a foot injury, and having Lazard is better backup plan than trading draft capital for Antonio Callaway.
CB: Michael Ojemudia (Rashaan Melvin)
The Enforcers briefly entertained drafting Melvin's replacement before turning to their former second round pick, who had an interception in nickel duty last year.
DALLAS
RB: Phillip Lindsay (Samaje Perine)
This probably should have been done a year ago, as the Lonestars watched the Stampede beat them to the trading deadline for the former 1000-yard rusher. Lindsay will replace Perine as Javonte Williams' backup to rev up a woeful rushing attack that averaged just 3.0 yards per carry.
WR: Randall Cobb (Tommylee Lewis)
The Lonestars brought Cobb in with the idea of him as WR3 behind Donovan Peoples-Jones and Lewis, but with Lewis going on IR Cobb will start for at least first four games.
C Adam Redmond (Nick Harris)
The same went for Redmond, who was Kyle Fuller's backup in Tampa last year, now the former Cowboy will begin the year as the starter for the "other" team in Big D.
OLB: Austin Bryant (Ronnie Perkins)
Perkins may not get a chance to duplicate his eight-sack rookie year, as he could be out over half the season. So Bryant, like Winovich in Carolina, was in trade talks with no takers, will have a chance to reproduce his own eight-sack season of two years ago.
ILB: Brian Asamoah (Anthony Hitchens)
Hitchens remains one of the league's better off-ball linebackers, but his cap hit sent him to Seattle in the expansion draft, so Asamoah was drafted to make plenty of plays of his own.
CB: Kyler Gordon (Anthony Averett)
The Lonestars' secondary needed a makeover after giving up the most big plays through the air (20 yards or more) of any team in the league last year. Gordon can play both the outside and the slot, so if the plan is to mix up coverages (which would be preferrable in 2023), that's good news to hear.
S: Josh Metellus (Armani Watts)
What isn't good news however is that Watts, coming home to play for the Lonestars (he played in Forney in high school), will start the home team chapter of his career on IR. This time Metellus gets the nod over 2022 starter Steven Parker as Watts' replacement out of the gate.
KANSAS CITY
WR: Odell Beckham (Brice Butler)
Oh nothing to see here, except the Monarchs adding a Super Bowl champion to their high powered pass game. Don't worry about Butler either, he merely moves to WR4. And there's two speedsters at end of the group in KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Virgil who will hold down the return game. We think they'll be okay.
OT: Bernhard Raimann (Stanley Bryant)
Raimann could eventually make the switch to left tackle, but for right now he'll stick on the right side as he won the preseason battle with Isaiah Prince to replace the once-again Canada-bound Bryant.
OG: Royce Nemwan (Willie Beavers)
With Beavers on IR, Newman beat out John Simpson in a similar camp battle and will be the starter at left guard.
C: Luke Wattenberg (Rodney Hudson)
The best camp battle was in the middle to replace the all-world Hudson with the Monarchs' second of two fourth round picks coming out on top.
DT: Jordan Elliott (Geno Atkins)
The Monarchs finally said goodbye to their longtime all-XFL DT Atkins but aren't in the least in a hole with their 2020 second round pick who can rush the passer and has the athleticism to stand up against the run.
CB: Tariq Woolen (DeVante Bausby)
As for the first of the two, the converted receiver, who many compare to Richard Sherman, has all sorts of tools and played some snaps in the Monarchs' first preseason game where they allowed just 131 yards passing and picked off two passes from San Francisco quarterbacks.
S: Tashaun Gipson (Eric Reid)
Gipson will play the nickel safety/LB hybrid role that belonged to Reid the past four seasons, adding to the unfairness.
S: Jaquan Brisker (Armani Watts)
This is getting ridiculous, the Monarchs could have two top 5 rookies in their own secondary.
LS: Cal Adomitis (Colin Holba)
Even long snappers are crucial to replace after Holba's post-X-Bowl retirement, but this time the Monarchs patiently waited until the, well actually beyond, the draft as they signed Adomitis as a undrafted free agent.
LOS ANGELES
QB: Desmond Ridder (Josh Johnson)
Johnson had plenty of highlights during his three years in Los Angeles but it was clearly time to move on, and while it's a good bet Ridder won't be as dominant as he was in his one half of preseason action against Birmingham, where he threw for 271 yards and four touchdown passes, it's clear not only do the Xtreme have QBOTF, they have their QBOTN (N=Now).
WR: Khalil Shakir (Nelson Spruce)
While much of it was related to their issues at QB, Antonio Callaway was their leading receiver going into week 17, he had been traded nearly six weeks earlier. With the home run threat of Shakir on board, this won't be an issue and will allow Spruce and Dillon Mitchell to return to their normal roles.
OG: Logan Stenberg (Spencer Drango)
The Xtreme were originally thought to move Damien Lewis to left guard and acquire a right guard through either free agency or the draft. Instead Stenberg will get the first shot at the job, though he actually played four games at right guard in 2022 with Lewis injured.
OLB: Drake Jackson (Josh Sweat)
Sweat played through injury in 2022 before taking off in pursuit of a Super Bowl, so the Xtreme's top pick was made obvious with Jackson, who had 12.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in 28 games at USC.
CB: Coby Bryant (Taron Johnson)
Sweat wasn't the only loss to the NFL as Johnson left right after the season too. So the Xtreme also dialed up his replacement in the draft too, and the Xtreme's efforts here should be much less susceptible to claims of cheap PR than the Enforcers were in 2019 when they drafted Michael Jordan.
NEW YORK
QB: Cole Kelley (Kurt Benkert)
While he replaces Benkert on the depth chart as the Hitmen's third QB for now don't be surprised to see him pass Matt Barkley up sooner than later. Not only was his ceiling the highest of any QB in the draft (and he wasn't even taken among the 128 selections), he proved it with a solid preseason.
RB: Kenneth Walker (Le'Veon Bell)
Truth be told, after the year the Hitmen had at this position you could put anybody in Bell's spot that the big-play back from Michigan State (preceded by Wake Forest) will be replacing.
TE: Cole Turner (David Wells)
Turner beat out Wells for the backup job and the man who had 19 touchdowns in his last 20 games at Nevada since switching to tight end will back up Pat Freiermuth and pair with him in two-TE sets.
OG: Nate Davis (Joe Dahl)
OT: Conor McDermott (Davis)
Davis will move inside to replace Dahl while McDermott, who enters his sixth year having been mostly a swing tackle and a sixth lineman in short-yardage situations, is on track for the first opening day start of his career.
CB: Grant Haley (Nickell Robey-Coleman)
CB: Tre Brown/Jaylen Watson (SaQwan Edwards)
Apparently the Hitmen didn't have enough fun rebuilding their secondary over the offseason last year so they've entertained doing so again, this time though just at CB. Haley did end up starting for most of the year due to injuries to both vets. Brown, who ended the season on IR himself, continues a battle with rookie Watson for the other spot since camp and preseason obviously weren't enough.
S: Percy Butler (Will Parks)
While the draft may produce a rookie starter at one corner it will at free safety with Butler supplanting Parks in a surprise move.
P: Trenton Gill (Justin Vogel)
Gill will not only replace Vogel, now in St. Louis, at punter he'll also replace Matt McCrane on kickoffs after the Hitmen released him at the end of preseason.