Neil's NFL Daily: July 18, 2013

Here it is, the penultimate edition of what’s become one of our more popular series; grading the likely starting line-ups of each team for 2013. We’ll finish off with our last two franchises tomorrow but today we go “blue-chip” crazy as we take the number of players in that category to 50 and beyond. That’s just over 1.5 a team and on Monday we’ll examine this rare breed in more detail and get your feedback by way of a competition to win a free subscription.

For those new to the series and wanting to catch up, you can find the other teams covered to date with this handy set of links:

Charts by team:

ARZ | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET
GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ
OAK | PHI | PIT | STL | SD | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WAS

Thursday, July 18th

Seattle Seahawks (Click to enlarge) 

NOTES:

— The grades for both Rice and Tate may be high but I’m assuming Wilson will continue to grow and maximise the talents of these two fine players. Don’t forget, coming into last year people were looking at Rice as a potential bust with a lingering injury running deep into the preseason. If, as expected, the Seahawks pass more, it may leave the front office with a difficult decision on who to keep.

— One player who started poorly and then played outstanding football is Okung. He’s a hair away from “elite” but his penalty count (a ridiculous 14) held him back just enough.

— I know the player’s grade who will get everyone excited is Thomas. The truth is, though, we think — while he’s a decent enough player — bracketing him with the likes of Weddle, Byrd etc. is a long stretch. When I think of the position safety the first word that comes to mind is “safe” and missing 20 of 81 tackles (inc. playoffs) doesn’t give me a feeling of comfort.

— The grade for Bennett playing DT on passing downs is a bit of a projection. We are almost certain it will happen but maybe it won’t work. He’s certainly worth that rating as a pure DE though.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Click to enlarge) 

NOTES:

— This is a strange team that has many superior players but also a lot of holes. The weaknesses could be even worse if Clayborn doesn’t get back to his 2011 form and get some pressure on the QB.

— Davin Joseph may just be the most overrated player in the NFL. In four years he’s graded -4.6, -7.5, -25.0 and -2.2 and is coming back from injury. It’s the curse of the starting first round interior lineman again where nobody seems to have a clue how well these guys play so they base it on draft status.

— The “word on the street” is that Tom Crabtree has a shot to overtake Stocker at tight end, but that might not be too helpful even if it does happen. This could be a real area of concern with Freeman desperately needing an outlet valve underneath.

Other editions of Neil’s NFL Daily can be found HERE

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