The 2020 and 2021 NFL draft classes introduced young, elite, and diverse talent at the tackle position. In 2021, second-year Tristan Wirfs and rookie Rashawn Slater were selected as NFL All-Pros, while Penei Sewell was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. This piece is less about ranking these players than evaluating what has led to […]
NFL Insiders on How J.C. Jackson Will Impact Winning in Los Angeles
At the franchise tag deadline, we explored why the Patriots let J.C. Jackson walk into the open market. This week on The 33rd Team’s Wednesday Huddle, Coach Brian Stewart and former first-round pick Kyle Wilson went in-depth to analyze everything Jackson brings to Brandon Staley’s Chargers defense. Production Since J.C. Jackson entered the league in […]
John Pagano’s Six Keys to Playing Nickel Cornerback in the NFL
In our first Understanding An Undervalued Position article, we used former first round pick Kyle Wilson’s experience and the NFL’s evolving personnel tendencies and current contract data to explore the increasing value of nickel cornerbacks in today’s NFL. This article goes deeper; using Coach John Pagano’s keys to playing nickel cornerback: processing, physicality, and coverage, […]
Dream Fits For Projected First Round Cornerbacks
This story is written by former first round NFL cornerback Kyle Wilson and current Wake Forest cornerback Isaiah Wingfield. Find their previous collaborative article here: Are Nickel Cornerbacks Worthy of First Round Picks? In a cornerback class with so much scheme versatility, there are still dream fits that would put our projected first round corners […]
Understanding an Undervalued Position: Are Nickel Cornerbacks Worthy of First Round Picks?
In 2010, the Jets drafted Kyle Wilson, cornerback out of Boise State, with the 29th pick of the first round. With Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie already on the roster, Wilson was the third first-rounder in the Jets’ corner room and the talent needed at nickel for their aggressive 46, man-heavy scheme. Kyle Wilson Breaks […]
Why the Patriots Did Not Tag J.C. Jackson
Many teams would be willing to break the bank to keep two shutdown corners on their roster – after starting the 2021 season with the duo of former DPOY Stephon Gilmore and All-Pro J.C. Jackson, the New England Patriots enter the 2022 season with neither. An undrafted free agent in 2018, Jackson signed a three-year […]
