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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Detroit Lions CB D.J. Reed has a message for Madden football rating team
Jahmyr Gibbs took a handoff from Jared Goff in the Detroit Lions' intrasquad scrimmage last week, bounced outside when Derrick Barnes lost contain of the edge and shot down the sideline for what looked like it might be a 52-yard touchdown. And then D.J. Reed entered the picture. Reed chased down Gibbs and shoved him out of bounds around the 30-yard line. Later, when the defense watched film of the play, one of Reed's teammates asked the question that was on everyone's mind: What was your 40-yard dash time? Reed ran a 4.51-second 40 at the NFL combine coming out of Kansas State in 2018. He said he did so on a sprained MCL, without much training, and he hasn't run one since — something he's still paying for in the eyes of fans and the makers of the Madden football video game who underestimate his speed. "Tell Madden," Reed said after practice Sunday in Allen Park. "Yeah, tell Madden to watch these practices. ... They had my speed at a 90, which is abysmal." A few days after chasing down Gibbs and his 4.36-second 40-yard dash, Reed ran stride for stride with receiver Jameson Williams, one of the fastest players in the NFL, on a handful of deep routes Sunday. Reed bottled up Williams in seven-on-seven and team drills, adding to what has been a very good training camp for him so far. WHAT I SAW: Lions observations: Tim Patrick, Gio Manu continue to struggle The Lions signed Reed to a three-year, $48 million contract this offseason and paired him with Terrion Arnold at cornerback in a secondary that new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said is "the strength of not only the defense, but that's one of the deepest spots on the team." Reed has missed practice time this summer with a tight hamstring, but has shined when he has been on the field. "I'm at a point in my career where I'm just grateful to still be playing football and I'm grateful to be playing football at a high level in a good environment — in a great environment," he said. "And the goal is to play for something, the goal is to win the Super Bowl. So for me, I'm just taking it day by day and I just want to get better every day." After playing primarily as a right cornerback with the New York Jets, Reed has played both sides in Detroit. He played as the boundary cornerback in practice Sunday, with Arnold out with a hamstring injury, and has been alternating sides with Arnold all summer. "So when we get in the season, if we want to match with receivers based on body sizes or whatever we can," Reed said. "And we've got practice at it." Reed, who became a new father at the start of training camp — he and his wife have three kids under 3 — and is over his hamstring injury, said playing for the Lions and in Kelvin Sheppard's defense should bring out the best in him this fall. "I definitely haven't showed my best film, so I'm definitely looking forward to putting it all together this year," he said. He said he's not worried about silencing the critics who doubt his speed or chalk his solid play with the Jets up to playing opposite Sauce Gardner (Detroit King) the past three years. He has a curiosity to see how high he can take his level of play. "That's the reason why I really want to play is just to see how far I could take it individually and ultimately to help our team win the Super Bowl," he said. Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@ Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: D.J. Reed has message for Madden football rating team
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
2025 fantasy football overall, positional, PPR rankings and more: Training camp update
The 2025 fantasy football season is quickly approaching, and with it comes not only our draft kit full of everything you need, but also updated rankings. Below you will find rankings for non-, half- and full-PPR, tiered position ranks for half-PPR (and for quarterbacks in non- and full-PPR), plus overall SuperFlex rankings. Yeah, it's a one-stop shop of fantasy football ranking goodness. Quick Notes: Overall, positional, half-, non- and full-PPR are all available. If you begin on a position other than quarterback, you must select non-PPR to see QB rankings. (Photo of Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown: Jeffrey Becker / Imagn Images)
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 Fantasy Football Rankings Tiers: Running Backs
With the teeth of draft season just around the corner, it's a good time to get the Shuffle Up series going. This week, I'll offer my player tiers for the four major positions in fantasy football. Consider them as you get ready for your own drafts, or self-scout the teams you've already assembled. We handled the quarterbacks on Monday, and today we take on the running backs. The wideouts and tight ends will follow later this week. What matters is how the players relate to one another, where the talent clusters and where it drops off. Players at the same salary are considered even. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Running back remains the most important of the four major positions in fantasy, the area we desperately want to get correct. Last year saw a shockingly low injury rate at this position, something that's unlikely to repeat. No matter how you address this spot at the front of your draft — Zero RB, Hero RB, Robust RB — you'll probably be sure to proactively draft a bunch of high-upside runners for your bench, hoping to get lucky here and there. Just one good break at running back can make a fantasy season. Tier 1: The Big Tickets $44 Bijan Robinson $43 Jahmyr Gibbs $42 Saquon Barkley $41 Derrick Henry $40 Ashton Jeanty $37 Christian McCaffrey $37 Jonathan Taylor $34 Josh Jacobs $33 Bucky Irving $33 Chase Brown $32 Kyren Williams $32 James Cook It took new Atlanta OC Zac Robinson some time to find his way last year, and Bijan Robinson was affected — he was merely the RB21 after four weeks. After that, Robinson averaged 20.1 points per week and was the overall RB2. Robinson offers everything we want in an early fantasy draft pick — upside, floor, low mileage (it's his third season, his age-23 season) and an offense that's presumably on the improvement path, with Michael Penix Jr. likely an upgrade over the late-career version of Kirk Cousins. Bijan to the moon. Barkley's season had "outlier" stamped all over it, with 15 touchdowns coming from an astounding average of 29.4 yards. The Eagles didn't give Barkley a single touchdown from the 1-yard line — that's Jalen Hurts territory — and Barkley remarkably kept hitting those glorious home runs. But 5.8 YPCs are always poor bets to repeat (De'Von Achane waves hello) and Barkley might have trouble staying healthy after handling a ridiculous 482 touches last year. Pricing in some regression is the prudent play, and let's not forget that Barkley missed multiple games in each of the five seasons preceding his move to Philadelphia. McCaffrey is the most ticklish boom-bust pick on the board, capable of elevating a fantasy roster to glory (think 2019 and 2023) and capable of ruining a season before September is over (think last year). McCaffrey has just two full seasons out of his last five, and he's moving into his ninth professional year — there's some mileage here. Of course, McCaffrey's value has always been significantly tied to his pass-catching chops, which enables him to be tackled by lighter defenders and avoid some of the attrition you face running inside. The 49ers' offensive line is probably average at best, but the Kyle Shanahan schemes are always a plus. Do you feel lucky? Taylor's value probably gets a boost with Daniel Jones the presumed Week 1 QB starter — whatever you think of Jones, he's more of a professional quarterback than Anthony Richardson Sr. right now, and Jones is also less likely to take rushing yardage off the table. Taylor was humming after his return from ankle problems last year, settling in as the RB7 from Week 8 to the finish of the year. The Colts have moved away from him as a receiver in recent years, which is why Taylor now commonly lands in the second round. But this looks like a safe area to park your investment. Tier 2: Legitimate Building Blocks $31 De'Von Achane $26 Kenneth Walker III $25 Breece Hall $25 Chuba Hubbard $24 James Conner $23 Omarion Hampton $23 Joe Mixon $21 Alvin Kamara $20 David Montgomery Walker is in a prove-it year, but he's proving it for a new coaching staff that inherited him. Zach Charbonnet performed better than Walker in several key metrics last year, and it's also possible the Seahawks might have a goal-line package for mobile rookie QB Jalen Milroe. Walker has also been a high-attrition back for most of his career, missing 10 games in three pro seasons. He's not a target of mine. Hampton was always the likely bet to take over the LAC backfield, but the Najee Harris eye injury clears the path somewhat. Hampton is five years younger than Harris and more athletic — Hampton posted a number of shiny measurables at the combine. He also showed the ability to play in all situations at North Carolina, including passing packages. Hampton has risen to RB21 in recent Yahoo drafts and could easily be a third-round staple when we move into the second part of August. Hall should be a player on the escalator and he's merely entering his age-24 season. The Jets will be a run-first offense from the jump. But New York is also going to employ multiple backs in every game plan, and then there's the presence of new QB Justin Fields, a threat to run for 1,000 yards of his own. If Hall is going to meet his expectant ADP, he needs to be active in the passing game — and Fields generally has not been a good quarterback for pass-catching backs. Tier 3: Talk Them Up, Talk Them Down $17 TreVeyon Henderson $16 RJ Harvey $16 Kaleb Johnson $15 D'Andre Swift $15 Tony Pollard $15 Aaron Jones Sr. $13 Isiah Pacheco $12 Brian Robinson Jr. $11 Travis Etienne Jr. $11 Tyrone Tracy Jr. $10 Jordan Mason Jones isn't a bad player, but it was interesting to see Minnesota add Mason to the backfield — Mason is about five years younger and he's 15 pounds heavier than Jones. It's possible Mason could become the short-yardage specialist here, and he looked like a potential feature back during his San Francisco days. Mason isn't a cheap lottery ticket — his Yahoo ADP is just outside the top 100 — but he's still someone I view as a proactive pick. Minnesota's depth is short behind this duo, so Mason will probably have a tangible role on opening day. The buzz on Harvey became a little more muted after the addition of J.K. Dobbins, but keep in mind Dobbins has been an ordinary pass-catcher all through his pro career. Dobbins has also had trouble staying on the field, playing just 37 games over five seasons. Sean Payton has always been fine with backfield platoons, but one of the backs has a realistic shot to handle 60% or more of the work. I'll keep betting on Harvey, the younger player with the higher upside. Tier 4: Some Plausible Upside $9 Jaylen Warren $9 Quinshon Judkins $9 Javonte Williams $8 Cam Skattebo $8 Najee Harris $8 J.K. Dobbins $7 Rhamondre Stevenson $7 Zach Charbonnet $6 Tank Bigsby $6 Rachaad White $6 Bhayshul Tuten $5 Tyjae Spears $5 Isaac Guerendo $5 Trey Benson $5 Ray Davis $5 Tyler Allgeier $5 Jerome Ford $5 Braelon Allen $4 MarShawn Lloyd $4 Nick Chubb $4 Jaydon Blue Liam Coen loved to throw to his backs in Tampa Bay, and Tuten was a handy receiver at Virginia Tech. The Jaguars have plenty of competition at the position, but it's possible they've soured on Travis Etienne Jr., and Tank Bigsby hasn't shown receiving chops in the NFL. Tuten isn't someone we'll draft as an initial fantasy starter, but see the long-term potential here. Although Davis is about 30 pounds heavier than teammate James Cook, don't overlook what Davis can do in the passing game. Davis was a reliable pass-catcher during his itinerant college days, and he secured 17-of-19 opportunities last year, making a juicy 9.9 yards per target. We've already had a look at what Davis might do in a featured role — he picked up a midseason start last year and rolled for 152 total yards. With Cook undersized and unhappy about his contract, Davis is one of the more interesting speculative plays on the board. Tier 5: Bargain Bin $3 Jaylen Wright $3 Austin Ekeler $3 Rico Dowdle $3 Blake Corum $3 Roschon Johnson $3 Dylan Sampson $3 Will Shipley $2 Kendre Miller $2 Kareem Hunt $1 DJ Giddens $1 Devin Neal $1 Jarquez Hunter $1 Audric Estime $1 Jaleel McLaughlin $1 Kyle Monangai $1 Elijah Mitchell $1 Justice Hill $1 Keaton Mitchell $1 Antonio Gibson $1 Devin Singletary $1 Miles Sanders $1 Kenneth Gainwell $1 Raheem Mostert $1 Jordan James $1 Sean Tucker $1 Chris Rodriguez Jr. $1 Emanuel Wilson
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bears have one big problem in replicating Ben Johnson's offensive success with Lions
The Chicago Bears are facing a big problem. They brought in exciting offensive mind Ben Johnson as their new head coach after he called the shots for the Detroit Lions' explosive offense. On paper, that's wonderful. But in practice, the Bears are missing something: Sonic and Knuckles. Those are the nicknames of Lions RBs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. They were key cogs in everything Johnson did in Detroit. In Chicago, his running backs aren't Gibbs or Montgomery. "The Bears had one of the least effective run games in 2024, ranking 31st in both rushing yards per game (79.0) and yards per rush (3.7) on designed run plays (excluding scrambles and kneel downs)," writes ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "Chicago didn't add at running back until the seventh round when it drafted Rutgers' Kyle Monangai, and whether the Bears have enough firepower in the backfield to emulate the success of the Lions' top-6 rushing attack depends on the roles D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson carve out." MORE: Micah Parsons risks temporary retirement, frozen contract if he leaves training camp Swift is 26 years old and coming off his worst NFL season. He averaged only 3.8 yards per carry. He did overlap with Johnson in his past with the Lions, so maybe that'll help. Johnson is entering his third NFL season. As a rookie, he put up 4.3 yards per carry. But in his second year, that dropped to an abysmal 2.7 yards per attempt. The Bears will need bouncebacks, for sure. Johnson won't be able to maximize this offense without the RBs stepping up. MORE NFL NEWS: Chiefs enter training camp with a big Travis Kelce worry Jaguars' Travis Hunter plans begin to take shape Trey Hendrickson explains why he's in Florida and not Cincinnati Raiders' 325-pound rookie is the scariest Wildcat quarterback ever Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders could be subject to a 'second draft' Jason Kelce teases a historic NFL comeback
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Predicting the Lions RB3 battle, is it time to move towards the future for Detroit?
Predicting the Lions RB3 battle, is it time to move towards the future for Detroit? originally appeared on A to Z Sports. The Detroit Lions will begin training camp in less than two weeks when rookies report on July 16. Until then, we're going to be making predictions on the biggest camp battles of the summer. Craig Reynolds vs Sione Vaki vs Kye Robichaux vs Anthony Tyus The Lions are set at running back in terms of who the starters are today. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are the best running back duo in the league. But there's still a big battle for that third spot, and that third spot could be a big deal in the future. Let's talk about the combatants. Craig Reynolds The incumbent at RB3. Reynolds has been with the Lions for a while now. This will be his fifth season on the team. We've always seen Reynolds participate for the Lions, and 2023 was a nice season, but 2024 was the least he had gotten on the field during his time with the Lions, in which he was healthy. Advertisement At 29 years old, Reynolds is getting a little older and he's only on a one-year deal. Eventually, the Lions will look to the future, but will that be this year? Sione Vaki Part of the reason that Reynolds didn't get as many looks in 2024 is that Vaki took some of those looks in his rookie year. The Lions moved up in the 2024 NFL Draft to get the then-safety and turn him into a running back based on the little bit of running back he had played at Utah. It made sense that they wanted to give him some time to learn the position in the NFL, but in my opinion, he's not meant to just be a depth guy. I think the Lions look at Vaki as the heir to David Montgomery's throne when Montgomery moves on. Which might not be far away when you look at how his contract is structured. Kye Robichaux An undrafted rookie with a long shot to make the 53-man roster, but that does not mean that Robichaux can't have a big time camp and preseason and land a spot on the practice squad. It can happen. Anthony Tyus Now this guy is interesting for sure. He didn't get a lot of playing time when he was at Northwestern, but at Ohio last year, he led the MAC with 1,215 yards and had nine touchdowns too. He can run the ball pretty well. Like Robichaux, it is a long shot to get over Reynolds or Vaki, but he can fight for a practice squad spot too. Who's getting the job? I have to go with Sione Vaki, and it's because he's the future for the Lions at the position, and it's time to start moving that way. It doesn't mean that Craig Reynolds gets cut or something like that, but it does mean that he's going to take a backseat to the younger player. Advertisement Related: Predicting the Lions' backup quarterback battle, including the addition of a third man View the original article to see embedded media. This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
