Los Angeles defensive lineman Isaac Rochell credits teammate Joey Bosa as being the best passer rusher in the league.
Sheltering in place is a common theme for people around the world. The same goes for NFL players trying stay in shape and keep their sanity during a global pandemic. Sports Illustrated spoke with Chargers defensive lineman Isaac Rochell about what he’s doing to keep busy and stay in peak physical condition.
Rochell just finished his third year in the NFL and considers himself blessed to live in Southern California, a place he describes as “the nicest part of the country.” Living in California certainly has its benefits, especially when it comes to exercise. Rochell says he “can go across the street to the beach and do beach workouts … it’s almost a blessing in disguise because it’s forced us to get out on the beach and do some sand workouts we wouldn’t normally do.”
The 24-year-old lineman out of Notre Dame says the Chargers' defensive line is the best in the country. Rochell credits teammate Joey Bosa as being the best passer rusher in the league and added the team’s depth and versatility allows Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to get creative with that group’s usage.
As for his thoughts on former teammates like quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon, both of which signed with other teams this offseason, Rochelle admitted “it’s weird ... it’s definitely going to be an adjustment.”
While Gordon stayed in the AFC West by signing with the Broncos, Rochell has his sights on playing against the Chiefs. Not only is Kansas City a division rival, but they are also the reigning Super Bowl champions, something Rochell acknowledges “is in the back of your mind ... I’ll definitely be circling that game and be excited to go back out against them.”
Rochell started the community initiative
See You On Sunday two years ago in an effort to promote social media health and “being mindful of the effects social media can have on mental health.” His mission is simple, “to take Saturdays off social media and be intentional with your day.”Rochell admitted it’s hard to remove himself from social media, especially on Saturdays during Notre Dame games, but it’s been beneficial for his relations and “being more intent and spending time on the people I’m with and focusing on that time.”
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound lineman played in all 16 games the last two seasons and has seven sacks and 46 tackles in his career.
The most baffling question of the NFL offseason: Are the Los Angeles Chargers really set on using Tyrod Taylor as their starting QB?
Heading into 2020, there are a lot of teams who have played musical chairs with their starting quarterback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers let NFL passing yards leader Jameis Winston leave so that they could sign Tom Brady, the Carolina Panthers waived Cam Newton to sign Teddy Bridgewater and the Los Angeles Chargers let Philip Rivers go and sign a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts. The Chargers were the runner-up in the Tom Brady sweepstakes, but after losing out of him, they have decided to use Tyrod Taylor as their starter and draft a rookie early on in this year’s NFL Draft. Does this move make sense?
Interestingly, I think this is the correct move for the long-term success of the franchise. Bringing in a quarterback like Cam Newton or Jameis Winston would cost the team upwards of $25-30 million per season, which would take up a large amount of salary cap space. Tyrod Taylor is in the second year of a two-year deal that he signed for just $11 million last offseason. Additionally, if they draft a quarterback in the first-round of this year’s draft they will have that player secured for five years at a reasonable rookie contract.
Teams like the Rams and Chiefs have shown in recent years that one of the key ways to make a Super Bowl run is to have a relatively inexpensive quarterback on a rookie deal (such as Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes) and then spend the rest on the other needs of the team. Other teams, like the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals, have shown that overpaying for mediocre quarterback play (Matt Stafford and Andy Dalton, respectively) is a recipe for missing the playoffs.
To that end, the Chargers have had one of the better free agent signing periods. They have used their resources to solidify their defense by bringing in DT Linval Joseph from the Vikings and CB Chris Harris from the Broncos. They also spent a ton of money to fortify their offensive line by signing OT Bryan Bulaga from the Green Bay Packers. These three moves will arguably help their team more than the addition of one salary-cap eating quarterback.
Many fantasy experts are surprised that the team is willing to go into the 2020 season with Taylor as the starter, but the Chargers seem firm in their resolve. Taylor is a very smart player whose TD/INT ratio is one of the best in the league. In Taylor’s three main years as the starter for the Buffalo Bills, he threw 51 TD passes with only 16 INTs. Rivers alone had 20 interceptions just last season.
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn grew quite frustrated with Rivers’ mistakes by season’s end and admittedly thought about turning to Taylor during the season but felt that he could not do so with Rivers around. In 2020, look for Taylor to start at least the first eight games while the team grooms their rookie starter-to-be,
even if Taylor isn't ready to declare himself the starter yet. Taylor’s solid presence allows the team to take their time and make sure that the player is ready as opposed to just throwing him out and hoping for the best.As for who that player will be, I predict that it will either be Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama or Justin Herbert from Oregon. It is expected that the Bengals will take QB Joe Burrow with the first overall pick and Washington is expected to take Ohio State DE Chase Young with the second overall pick. The Lions pick third and it would behoove either Miami (who owns pick five) or Los Angeles (who owns pick six) to make a deal with either Detroit at pick three or the New York Giants at pick four to make sure they get their man. If the Chargers end up not getting either Tua or Herbert, they might be forced into re-evaluating their Taylor strategy.
Assuming Taylor starts, this does not bode well for the fantasy stats of many of the Chargers’ skill players. Running back Austin Ekeler will get about 16-18 touches per game, and backup RB Justin Jackson should see about 10-12 carries as well. In the conservative offense that the Chargers are expected to run, WR Keenan Allen should see a decent number of targets, but I do worry about the targets of TE Hunter Henry and WR Mike Williams. In particular, Williams could struggle as he is the Chargers’ main downfield threat and Taylor does not like to take too many chances downfield.
In fantasy football terms, Ekeler is likely a late-first, early-second-round player, Keenan Allen is a lock for Round 3, but Hunter Henry and Mike Williams both should see their fantasy stock drop off. I expect that Henry could slide somewhere from Round 6 in 2019 to Round 8 or 9 in 2020 and Mike Williams could slide from Round 4 in 2019 to Round 6 in 2020.
Lynn and the Chargers front office are counting on this plan working to help change the team’s fortunes. While this is certainly possible, I would feel much better about the whole situation if they trade up for one of those early draft picks to make sure they get their quarterback of the future.
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Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis talks about how he and his family are dealing with quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic, the latest NFL free agency news, and donating to Feeding America.
Hall of Fame running back turned NFL Network analyst and
CBD beverage entrepreneur, Terrell Davis, is typically very busy, especially during the NFL season. But now that he, like most of the country, is practicing self-isolation due to the coronavirus pandemic, Davis finds himself with a lot more free time, which he happily welcomes.Davis, a father of three, told Sports Illustrated he is taking full advantage of the extra down time by spending it with his family.
"These are moments we otherwise wouldn't have gotten a chance to do." The former Broncos running back went on to say he is trying to "relish this moment because there is going to be a time when they get old and they move out and I won't have time to spend with them, so I'm trying to take advantage."
The two-time Super Bowl champion cited the importance of having a positive mindset to make the most out of a bad situation. He recently made a generous donation to Feeding America, which is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Davis' CBD beverage company, DEFY, sent $400,000 worth of product which included 50,000 bottles, to food banks in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Detroit.
The 1998 NFL MVP stressed the importance of giving back and trying to make a difference in a time of need. He said, "we want to encourage everyone out there to just give ... whatever you have, whether it's time, whether it's money, whether it's product because that's the only way we are going to get through this thing.
Davis also dived into NFL free agency and specifically discussed two superstar running backs, Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon, both of which signed on with new teams in 2020. The former Broncos running back likes the landing spot in Denver for Gordon.
"Melvin brings a different style of running back, he's a bigger back, he's more of a power back, with some finesse and some wiggle in his body."
When asked about the direction of running back contracts in the league, Davis admitted he "hates to see it," specifically pointing out Titans running back Derrick Henry, who was franchised tagged this year. Davis says the landscape in the NFL and the way general managers and coaches approach running back contracts dictates the philosophy of not investing big money in rushers.
Davis capped off the interview by discussing the Netflix documentary "Tiger King." As for his thoughts on Joe Exotic and his crew of zoo-workers, he said: "anybody in that industry that is willing to go in a cage or to be around exotic animals like that, you just can't have it all there ... those people are just not all there."
The league is expecting over 50 players to be involved with the draft via video, social media, etc.
The NFL is expected to involve 50-plus prospects in the 2020 draft, communicating virtually, "via video, social media, etc," according to NFL Network's
Tom Pelissero."The NFL has begun inviting top prospects to participate—virtually—in next month’s draft," Pelissero tweeted on Monday. "In all, 50+ are expected to be involved via video, social media, etc. No trip to Las Vegas, but players and families will receive a 'draft package' as well."
The league canceled the live portion of the draft earlier this month amid the coronavirus pandemic. The draft was originally slated to be held in Las Vegas on April 23-25, and it will still be held on the same dates despite the altered format.
"The decision reflects our foremost priority—the health and safety of all fans and citizens," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "While this outcome is disappointing both to the NFL and the Las Vegas community, we look forward to partnering with the Raiders, the City of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for a future NFL Draft as well as evaluating opportunities for other major NFL events in Las Vegas in the future, including the Super Bowl."
There are more than 729,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally across at least 171 countries.
