The Miami Dolphins were in a tough situation last week. Franchise quarterback Ryan Tannehill partially tore his ACL, and recently decided to undergo surgery, ending his 2017 season. Despite having a capable backup like Matt Moore, the Dolphins decided to fill the need left by Tannehill’s injury externally, signing Jay Cutler out of retirement and…
Every spring, NFL teams meet with prospects for the upcoming draft in the months leading up to the draft itself. There are many opportunities for players and teams to meet with one another, including all-star games, pro days, the NFL Scouting Combine, workouts, and private visits. Each type of meeting has different rules that govern…
Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith is the most physically talented tackle in football, and showcases his dominance through elite athleticism, play strength, discipline, and overall technique. Marrying his rare physical traits with an increasingly improving skill set has resulted in the mastering of the position when he’s been healthy. Despite struggles with a bulging…
I evaluated Pat Elflein for the 2017 Inside the Pylon Draft Guide. I broke the former Buckeye down by watching a series of six games. A five-game minimum is typically the benchmark I like to hit when fully evaluating a player. This allows for exposure to the player dealing with the pain and various ailments…
The Cleveland Browns made the right decision staying with Myles Garrett and not taking Mitchell Trubisky. In the end, I believe the Trubisky hype was all media-driven and that the Browns were locked in the entire time, which is what I maintained throughout the process. Cleveland allowing teams to come up around them for Deshaun…
Series Introduction: A scheme fit is when a player’s traits and abilities line up with a certain coach’s style and scheme. Imagine if every NFL team could draft a player that fit perfectly into their scheme. That would benefit both the teams and the players simultaneously, as general managers and coaches wouldn’t be putting a…
You can count on one hand now the days remaining until day 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft. Over these next few days, teams will be finalizing their strategies and big boards if they haven’t already. Who do these teams want on day 1? Are they looking to draft the best player available (BPA)? Or are…
As the confetti is cleaned up from the turf in Houston, and the 2016-2017 NFL season is finally put to bed, the football world now turns its eyes onto the upcoming NFL draft. While many football fans begin to focus on the draft around this time of the year, the NFL draft has become a 24/7,…
The 2016 NFL regular season has come to a close and the Chicago Bears finished with a very disappointing 3-13 record, which is the franchise’s worst record for a 16-game season. However, there was a bright spot during an otherwise dark season, and that was the performance of fifth-round rookie running back Jordan Howard out…
For the first time in three months the Dallas Cowboys lost a game a week ago, creating a potential quarterback controversy between Dak Prescott and Tony Romo. At least that’s what Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and Head Coach Jason Garrett are being asked about. To which they both essentially responded there isn’t one. A rational…
Author’s Note: The title of this piece has been changed. This is not a list of my top candidate’s for the position of GM, but reflective of research into GM hiring dating back to 2006 and the clusters of candidates that Owners seemingly gravitate towards. As of this publication, all 32 General Managers are still…
Part of the fun of watching a football game is second-guessing the play calling. From the comfort of their couches (or Twitter), fans will criticize an offensive coordinator for running too much or too little, not helping a struggling lineman enough, not using a dangerous weapon, or any number of other sins. One curious play…
We produce a lot of content at Inside the Pylon: articles, features, videos, and podcasts. In the course of generating all that content, we sometimes say things that turn out to be wrong, sometimes incredibly so. So far in 2016, these are the things I personally have been the most wrong about: 5 – I…
Different than defensive holding or pass interference, the penalty constitutes contact initiated beyond five yards from the line of scrimmage while the quarterback (or any player who receives the snap) is still in the pocket. Per the NFL Rulebook, contact is legal within five yards of the line of scrimmage, as long as the it…
A street free agent is a non-college eligible player not currently signed to an NFL contract. They may be available because they were released from their previous team (or did not play the previous league year), and either cleared waivers or did not qualify for the waiver system. Street free agents are free to meet…
Predicting the outcomes is not easy, and if it was then no one watch the games. Entering the season, not many expected the Vikings to be the last team standing undefeated, yet here they are. Justin Twell examines some of the play designs that have led to the Minnesota Vikings offensive success through the team’s first…