05-02-2020, 02:38 PM
Overrated by fans: Trey Hopkins
I think we've been so starved for a good center that we'll accept slightly below average as if he's an all pro. With an overall rating of 62.4 from PFF this year, Hopkins is the definition of "he's fine."
That's not to say he's bad. As you'll see in the tweet used in the next player's description, he had pretty decent PFF stats to end the year, but I wouldn't call him a strong starter like some fans would.
Underrated by fans: Michael Jordan
Hear me out, because I know his PFF grade is worse than Hopkins' haha. The first thing to note is that he was a rookie, so struggles were expected for him. The key to look at is how much he improves over the year. His overall PFF grade for 2019 was 43.7, which is horrendous, but according to this tweet, he improved on that number in the 2nd half of the season, when he came back for Weeks 13 through 17.
Compare that to his PFF ratings through the end of October (around the time he was initially benched) below:
Maybe my expectations are super low, but scoring a 74.2 in pass blocking and a 50.7 in run blocking in the 2nd half after having a set of 38.2 and 37.3 ratings in the first half of the season shows significant growth. Not to mention he is only 22 and I see a player who is solidly placed to have a great sophomore season. A lot of people say we needed a starting guard and a starting tackle from the draft and, while I think RT we could stand to upgrade Hart, I was less sure on the guard, especially after we missed out on the day 2 wave of guards. If we could have gotten Ruiz or Hunt in the 2nd, I'd have loved that because they'd find a place and upgrade one of the three spots on the interior, but I don't think drafting a strict guard in the 4th or 5th round would have been a good idea. XSF and Jordan are a competent, if unspectacular, guard combo (similar to Hopkins, in a way), but neither of them is a leaking sieve that urgently needs to be replaced. Any 4th or 5th round guard this year would have had similar struggles that Jordan had last year, so there's very little chance they would have replaced Jordan, who himself was a 4th round guard (who we thought pretty highly of last off season).
Underrated by the Media: Tyler Boyd
Every time they mention the weapons Joe Burrow will have at his disposal, Boyd is either at the end of the list or not included at all.
Boyd is very similar to Justin Jefferson, Burrow's favorite target in college, and Boyd will be Burrow's favorite safety valve and first down maker. He should be at the front of that list, not the end (or not on it).
Overrated by the Media: No one
Every single player on this team, the media thinks is worse than they actually are.
I think we've been so starved for a good center that we'll accept slightly below average as if he's an all pro. With an overall rating of 62.4 from PFF this year, Hopkins is the definition of "he's fine."
That's not to say he's bad. As you'll see in the tweet used in the next player's description, he had pretty decent PFF stats to end the year, but I wouldn't call him a strong starter like some fans would.
Underrated by fans: Michael Jordan
Hear me out, because I know his PFF grade is worse than Hopkins' haha. The first thing to note is that he was a rookie, so struggles were expected for him. The key to look at is how much he improves over the year. His overall PFF grade for 2019 was 43.7, which is horrendous, but according to this tweet, he improved on that number in the 2nd half of the season, when he came back for Weeks 13 through 17.
Second half of 2019 pass block (PFF)
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 30, 2020
Fred Johnson - 78.4
Xavier Sua-Filo - 77.7
Bobby Hart - 77.2
Michael Jordan - 74.2
Trey Hopkins - 70.2
Billy Price - 37.4
Second half run block (PFF)
B.Price - 62.2
F.Johnson - 57.8
XSF - 52
M.Jordan - 50.7
T.Hopkins - 47.5
B.Hart - 42
Compare that to his PFF ratings through the end of October (around the time he was initially benched) below:
Now that we have pretty equal snaps between Price and Michael Jordan...
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) October 28, 2019
Price: 288 snaps, 2 penalties, 16 pressures, 1 sack, 35.6 overall grade, 22.0 Pass pro and 45.1 Run block
Jordan: 275 snaps, 3 penalties, 14 pressures, 5 sacks, 32.9 overall, 38.2 Pass pro, 37.3 Run block
Maybe my expectations are super low, but scoring a 74.2 in pass blocking and a 50.7 in run blocking in the 2nd half after having a set of 38.2 and 37.3 ratings in the first half of the season shows significant growth. Not to mention he is only 22 and I see a player who is solidly placed to have a great sophomore season. A lot of people say we needed a starting guard and a starting tackle from the draft and, while I think RT we could stand to upgrade Hart, I was less sure on the guard, especially after we missed out on the day 2 wave of guards. If we could have gotten Ruiz or Hunt in the 2nd, I'd have loved that because they'd find a place and upgrade one of the three spots on the interior, but I don't think drafting a strict guard in the 4th or 5th round would have been a good idea. XSF and Jordan are a competent, if unspectacular, guard combo (similar to Hopkins, in a way), but neither of them is a leaking sieve that urgently needs to be replaced. Any 4th or 5th round guard this year would have had similar struggles that Jordan had last year, so there's very little chance they would have replaced Jordan, who himself was a 4th round guard (who we thought pretty highly of last off season).
Underrated by the Media: Tyler Boyd
Every time they mention the weapons Joe Burrow will have at his disposal, Boyd is either at the end of the list or not included at all.
Boyd is very similar to Justin Jefferson, Burrow's favorite target in college, and Boyd will be Burrow's favorite safety valve and first down maker. He should be at the front of that list, not the end (or not on it).
Overrated by the Media: No one
Every single player on this team, the media thinks is worse than they actually are.
![[Image: oN5QAdY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/oN5QAdY.png)
