NFL Week 13 Practice Squad Power Rankings 2022: Salute to Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach, who continues to add depth

Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach is a lunatic. A brilliant lunatic, certified lunatic.

This guy traded TYREEK HILL in the offseason. Veach’s idea was to replace Hill’s production on the set and give money to others who would have gone only to Hill. But there’s no substitute for Hill’s speed, quickness and contested catch combination. Right?

To respond to this, Veach turns around in his leather office chair, a lit cigar between his teeth, mocking those who strongly criticized his Hill decision.

Because it worked for Kansas City! Patrick Mahomes is averaging more passing yards per game now than he ever did in a single season. The Chiefs are rolling offensively and haven’t lost since mid-October.

But I’m not really here to discuss Hill’s trade in depth. Enough has been done. To further prove that Veach is truly a mad scientist, I present to some of his current practice squad and in-season acquisition history. Under his leadership, let’s name some of the players the Chiefs signed or traded during the season: RB Le’Veon Bell, RB CJ Spiller, RB LeSean McCoy, WR Josh Gordon, CB Darrelle Revis, EDGE Melvin Ingram and l former first-round CBs Mike Hughes and Deandre Baker.

Veach can’t stop, won’t stop adding established veterans to the roster, and he upped the intensity this season by acquiring EDGE Carlos Dunlap and WR Kadarius Toney before the trade deadline. But, of course, he hadn’t finished. Ahead of the monstrous Week 13 showdown with the Bengals in Cincinnati, Veach signed RB Melvin Gordon, DT Brandon Williams and WR Bryan Edwards to the practice squad.

He plays Madden in Franchise mode, except it’s real life, and he runs the Chiefs.

Now normally I reserve the PSPR for players in their first, second or third season. To pay homage to Veach’s relentless aggression, I’m giving waivers to Williams and Edwards this week. Will they play against the Bengals? Probably not. Could they see the pitch in December or January. Don’t be shocked when this happens. And don’t be surprised when Gordon scores a playoff touchdown.

For consecutive weeks, no one was raised. I am not frustrated. Because I am fully aware that, just like an NFL season, nothing is easy at PSPR. Every elevation is hard earned. I like the challenge. It is very good. Before I begin, however, I have to shout out to former PSPR Zonovan Knight, the No. 124 overall prospect on my last Big Board before the 2022 draft, who unceremoniously and unjustifiably went undrafted, for his 109 scrimmage yards for the Jets in their Week 12 victory over Chicago. You made me damn proud, Zonovan.

However, feel free to contact me on Twitter @ChrisTrapasso to alert me if any members of the PSPR receive the glorious call this weekend.

Expanded 16-man practice squads are about the only good thing to come out of the pandemic, and they’re here to stay in the NFL. For this reason, I run the practice squad power rankings alongside the league. I write about 16 people every Friday, 10 officially on the leaderboard and six honorable mentions.

Here are the practice squad power rankings that are blooming this season and are beginning to cement their legacy in the hallowed halls of the internet football media industry.

10. Roderick Perry, DT, Browns

Outside of Myles Garrett, Cleveland’s defensive front — WOOF! Perry began his college career at South Carolina State — which sent a quality group of players to the NFL — before transferring to Illinois. Although he doesn’t have monster stats with the Illini, Perry’s play this summer was enough for him to make Cleveland’s practice squad as an undrafted free agent. At 6-foot-1 and around 300 pounds, he’s the penetrating guy the Browns need to generate some semblance of interior disruption for opposing quarterbacks.

9. Brandon Williams, TD, Chiefs

Williams spent time as arguably the best pure-nose tackle in the NFL, from around 2014 to 2017, when he devoured running backs on a weekly basis in the middle of the Ravens’ vaunted defensive line. The now 33-year-old faced two bouts of COVID in 2020 in Baltimore and has been in a part-time role in 2021. He’s a massive human weighing around 6-1 and 335 pounds.

With Christian Harris ill, the Texans should turn to Johnson, a former Texas A&M star brimming with athleticism. Check out his pro-day workout starting in 2021. He’s a physical monster, and the Texans are at that point in the season where young players should be burning out so team evaluators can decide who will be in the squad. coming.

Johnson is a larger-than-life blocker from Florida. Seems like this program sucks a lot of these guys, doesn’t it? Either way, the 6-foot-7, 330-pound with an insanely long reach was undrafted in 2019 despite having a quality final season with the Gators and has appeared on PSPR occasionally over the past few years. last years.

Now I know what you’re thinking – the Eagles don’t need offensive line reinforcements. Well, while that’s undeniably true when it comes to the starting unit, Johnson can be the go-to extra blocker for entering the field in big-pack situations.

I watched Emezie so much in college. Why this? Because he started showing up early at NC State, on those Wolfpack teams led by Ryan Finley, Jakobi Meyers, Nyheim Hines, Kelvin Harmon and Jaylen Samuels. As a freshman, Emezie had 13 receptions for 163 scoring yards. After that, the 6-3, 220-pounder had over 45 receptions and 575 yards in four straight seasons, while catching 18 touchdowns.

Peevy doesn’t offer as much positional flexibility as some of the other Titans defensive linemen, but he’s the same size as Denico Autry and has some high-end traits. At 6ft 5in and around 310lbs, the former big rookie has 35.5in arms – ridiculously long – and has slowly but surely improved in each of his five seasons with the Aggies as a tamper. capable of impressive pass-rush flashes.

Hand is a restless inside-outside corner who started his career in the NFC North with the Vikings. As a rookie, on less than 16% of snaps in 2020, the former Temple standout proved the NFL’s bright lights weren’t too much for him as he recorded a pick and three pass breakups . Chicago faces injuries to safety Jaquan Brisker and second-round rookie Kyler Gordon at cornerback. Now is the time to give Hand an opportunity.

Johnson was the Deebo Samuel of the FBS while at North Dakota State. He was a weapon under and in the jet-sweep game due to his immense YAC ability and made routine hitches on the football field. Johnson had back-to-back 1,200+ yard seasons and scored 17 touchdowns in 2018. Geno Smith has been terrific this season but could use another bouncing rebound to link up with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in Seattle.

Thompkins had five catches for 53 yards – including two contested wins! — in the 2022 preseason. He’s also the Tom Brady type, in that he was a 0-star rookie when he joined the Utah State program in 2018. Brady enjoys the underdog of an underdog, and that is precisely what Thompkins is. Finally, Tampa Bay could use more juice at receiver, especially given how pedestrian the offense has been lately. He has a speed of 4.44, a vertical of 38.5 inches and a jump spread of 132 inches on his professional day.

1. Bryan Edwards, WR, Chiefs

Edwards is classic “what if?” Case. What if he hadn’t broken his foot while preparing for the 2019 combine? At what height would he have been chosen? Despite the illness, he was still No. 81 overall in April after a dazzling four-year career in South Carolina. And although he didn’t have the opportunities normally afforded a first- or second-round pick, Edwards proved he could play in the NFL. Last season on the Raiders, he had 34 receptions for 571 yards (16.8 yards per catch) with three scores. Now, of course, the Chiefs are humming offensively and, on the surface, don’t need receiver backup. But remember, Mecole Hardman is still on IR and JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a concussion a few weeks ago. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Edwards can be a useful outside weapon for Mahomes.

Honorable mention

Tyler Goodson, RB, Packers

When the Packers are doing well, they are very hard to stop. To keep Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon — the latter hasn’t been too effective this season — fresh, call Goodson, who was born to run in Mike LaFleur’s outside zone system and has some serious juice. It ran 4.42 at the combine.

Nazeeh Johnson, DB, Chiefs

Johnson was a stat sheet filler at Marshall with 302 tackles, seven picks and 19 pass breakups in five seasons. It can handle the nickel corner spot. Free security. Strong security. He tackles well and plays with authority with every snap.

Prince Emili, DT, Saints

Earlier this season while with the Bills, Emili had an assist that led to an interception by Jordan Poyer in Buffalo’s huge win over the Ravens. The Penn grade is a wiry, no-holds-barred rusher — the exact type of player New Orleans could use on their defense right now.

Jaret Patterson, RB, Commanders

No idea is a bad idea when it comes to fixing the racing game. Now, of course, a running back himself can’t single-handedly fix an NFL team’s rushing offense. But it won’t hurt to incorporate the ultra-sweet little Patterson into that offense, although Brian Robinson Jr.’s inspiring return to the lineup certainly helped energize the running game.

Curtis Brooks, DT, Colts

Brooks was a late bloomer in Cincinnati, but boasts the most dynamic three-pass technique in the 2022 class. I mean that. In just 304 quick passes, Brooks registered 43 pressures, thanks to an impressive mix of speed, leverage and power at the point of attack.