LK League Notes Vol. 19

By: Lucas Kochevar

Jets fans, you can finally breathe. Aaron Rodgers finally addressed his future by stating he wants to go to the Jets. Nothing official has happened, but his time in Green Bay is over. The Packers seem to be happy to let him leave and move on with Jordan Love. Rodgers has largely been a headache for the Packers these past two off-seasons and now he'll move on to the Jets, who were missing a quarterback last year as Zach Wilson crumbled. It'll be intriguing to see how both teams play next year, but I'm sure the Jets will be a very popular pick by media pundits to make the Super Bowl. The quarterback landscape in the NFC looks very bare now that Rodgers is gone. It'll be intriguing to see how teams approach this since the NFC looks wide open now. Outside of this whole drama, free agency has been going on and several guys have chosen to leave their teams. In this LK League Notes, I'll pick out some big headline moves and my thoughts on the team moving forward into next months draft along with a 2023 college football look ahead. 

Big Names on the Move...

LT Orlando Brown Jr. to the Bengals
Brown went on the market after Kansas City promptly decided to move forward with RT Jawaan Taylor from the Jaguars. Brown has been insistent on playing left tackle in the league since he played for Baltimore during his first contract. The Bengals decided to roll the dice on Brown after another subpar year for their offensive line. Jonah Williams has been the starter at left tackle for the Bengals, but with this, Williams is likely on the move. Brown is a step up from Williams and will be tied to Cincinnati through his prime years since he's only 26. It's a win-now move for the Bengals, who famously don't hand out big contracts. They've lost a number of players on their defense, but I'll give them benefit of doubt that they can handle these loses since they haven't lost either of their coordinators. The Bengals championship window will remain open as long as they have Joe Burrow and if they can protect him, they'll have a great shot in the playoffs. I think the Bengals understand this, hence the big signing of Brown. A solid move for a contender in the AFC. 

DT Javon Hargrave signs with the 49ers
Another big fella jumps teams to a contender in the NFC. Hargrave was a force in the middle for the Eagles last season as Jordan Davis was learning the ropes and Fletcher Cox is getting up there in age. He played the best ball of his career in a contract year and looks to keep that success up with the 49ers. The 49ers invested draft capital in DT Javon Kinlaw a few years ago, but since he hasn't quite panned out yet, the 49ers were aggressive and signed Hargrave to pair with Kinlaw. It's a risky signing since Hargrave just turned 30, but with their scheme, they look to have him wreak havoc in the middle while Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead are on the outside. An already loaded San Francisco defense manages to get better to compete against the Eagles and more in the NFC. 

S Jessie Bates commits to the Falcons
One of the worst kept secrets during the buildup to free agency was the Bates and Falcons buzz as several players on the Falcons were posting about hanging out with Bates. Now that it's official, Bates is a big time acquisition by Atlanta as he can be a game changer on the back end for Atlanta. The Falcons haven't had a true playmaking safety since the Super Bowl year and Bates will provide that and much more at safety for Atlanta. The Falcons brought over Ryan Nielson from the Saints to be their new DC and he helped several players get paid during his tenure there such as Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams. Bates should plug in and play a big role to bring together the Atlanta secondary, similar to how he did in Cincinnati. The bar is very low for improvement with the Falcons defense, but I do think they can make a big improvement with Bates and the other free agents they brought in. 

A Look Ahead to the 2023 College Football Season

Its never too early to look ahead for college football. It truly is a year-long sport with all the recruiting, transfers, and the season full of games. For this, I want to highlight certain quarterbacks and sleepers to watch for. Of course, Georgia is the big team to highlight coming off back-to-back national titles. They're returning a number of players, including star tight end Brock Bowers. They aren't returning their starting quarterback, however, as he's finally moving on to the NFL. Redshirt junior Carson Beck is the early favorite for the job as he's patiently waiting for his chance, but don't count out underclassmen Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton. 

​The two big names at quarterback around the country are Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman trophy winner at USC, and Drake Maye, North Carolina standout. Around the SEC outside of Georgia, there will be new starters at Alabama and Tennessee. LSU and Arkansas manage to keep their guys in Jayden Daniels and K.J. Jefferson, both of them are solid dual-threat quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Kentucky brings in Devin Leary, a transfer from North Carolina State that I'm very high on as a pocket passer. South Carolina brings back Spencer Rattler, who had a strong end to last season. Outside of these guys, multiple teams will have question marks at quarterback. 

The Pac-12 will have an interesting group of guys at quarterback with many talented arms coming back. I think Washington is the most underrated team in the conference with Michael Penix Jr. at the helm. He had a tremendous year  and they're also returning their top receiver Romeo Odunze. Oregon has Bo Nix coming back and he was terrific for the Ducks last season. Washington State has a solid dual-threat guy in Cam Ward Jr. and Cam Rising is returning for Utah. A name that's drawing a lot of buzz is Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, who is the son of new head coach Deion Sanders. I'm a bit skeptical on him, but it'll definitely draw my eyes this year. 

A lot of the other conferences are a bit shaky at quarterback, but there are definitely some talented guys. Jordan Travis at Florida State is one of those talented guys and the Seminoles could win the ACC with him. I also like Taulia Tagovailoa at Maryland to put up some big time numbers. For me, there's a breakout guy with Tanner Mordecai at Wisconsin. The transfer from SMU was very good during his time with the Mustangs and will get a shot with new Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell. A few big name places that will bet on their young guys include Ohio State and Clemson. These are just a handful of names that the common fan can point out as noteworthy players for this upcoming year. Of course, I'm sure that there will be some under-the-radar guys that no one saw coming. 

Sources: Image via Chris Petersen, Getty Images