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There's a good chunk of you who have no idea who is. The numbers show that this relatively unknown commodity truly is an elite corner. We can argue semantics as to whether he's a top-5 guy or not but from a fantasy perspective there is no debate, is fantasy death; an elite defensive back who is more of a shutdown corner than .For those of you who read headlines and then mayyyybe nine words of an article, go ahead and skip the rest, go down to the bottom, hit that comment button and insert your obligatory, "This guy is a expletive expletive expletive expletive idiot. Don't listen to him, do the exact opposite of what he says" smack talk.Feel better? Cool, let's move on.If you've never heard the name, you're certainly not alone. The lockdown DB for Carolina is far from a household name. Maybe part of it is that Norman was a fifth-round pick. Maybe part of it is that he went to a small school in Coastal Carolina. Maybe part of it is that despite playing in his fourth year, Norman wasn't a full-time, cover-your-best-guy starter until halfway through last season. I spoke to NFL Media's resident super scouts and about Norman. "He hasn't gotten nearly the attention he deserves," Jeremiah said. "But pretty soon Norman playing at this level won't be much of a secret anymore.""He is underrated," Brooks said. "Team observers have seen his growth over the past year and many believe he is capable of thriving as a CB1."It took Norman a while to get to get here, but now that he's grabbed the starting gig, he's kicking down the door, and putting a on number one receivers unfortunate enough to play the . The tombstones of fantasy funerals under Norman's watch is long and frightening: who had 1300-plus receiving yards last year had 38 yards versus Norman in week 10. could muster only 13 yards (albeit he added a touchdown). , just 45 yards. And even the great was limited to 59 and 58 yards respectively in two separate match-ups against Norman and his Panther teammates. The touchdown to Evans was the only one Norman has individually allowed last season or this season.Speaking of, this year it's been largely the same; fantasy flames have been snuffed out by the suffocating defense of Norman. The comparison weeks for some of the league's top young receiving talents are telling. In Week 1, the Jags' was matched up against Norman and was held to one catch on six targets for 27 yards. In Week 2, Robinson exploded for 155 yards and two touchdowns.In Week 2, standout balled to the tune of 98 yards and two touchdowns. In Week 2 versus Carolina, Nuk caught just five of the 11 balls thrown his way for a disappointing 53 yards. Unsurprisingly, Hopkins in Week 3 bounced back for 101 yards and a score."He's able to get up on guys and put his hands on them and his two-hand jam is about as good as it gets," Jeremiah said. "There was one play in that Houston game where he just jolted ."And Norman has a growing sample size proving his defensive prowe s. Going back to when reclaimed his starting job in Week 8, and if you include the postseason, Norman in 14 games has helped to limit opposing team's top wide receivers to 5.6 fantasy points per game.As a point of reference during that same time period (but also including the ) and the have allowed 6.9 fantasy points to opposing number one wideouts.Perhaps more revealing is that if you take away the and types, elite receivers have actually done pretty well versus Sherman and the Legion. had a 94-yard game in their first meeting and then followed up with a 75-yard, two-touchdown performance during the playoffs. Jr. was able to collect Anttoni Honka Jersey more than a 100 yards. and ama sed 71 and 116 yards in their respective games as No. 1 receivers versus Seattle. And had a nine-catch, 109-yard, one-touchdown game in the .Again, compare those numbers to what Norman and the have been doing to the top-flight receivers they've taken on. In regards to fantasy, it's not even close. And it's why today, right now, I'm wayyyyy more worried about my fantasy receiver seeing Carolina than seeing Seattle.And if you're wondering why I see so much Sherman in , just watch Norman play. He has an angry edge and gets physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage. And like the L.O.B's vocal leader in Sherman, the Carolina corner also has a penchant for talking trash.The ince sant jawing was so bad that back in his rookie year of 2012, there was from the for yapping too much.The on-field smack was on display again in Week 1 when Norman and picked off for a return score. As he was heading into the end zone Norman did a quick wave goodbye to Bortles and ; doing the bull dance, feeling the flow, working it.Norman was promptly fined $9,000 for his antics.And to be 100 percent honest, the only reason I know so much about the guy now is because he somehow found me on Twitter and trash talked me a bit, eight hours after he found out I was live tweeting, not about him, but about . u should be. Serves u right. *Joshua R. Norman (@J_No24) The totally random interaction put him on my radar and as I started to piece together his story and background, his stats and game tape jumped out at me. Because trash talk aside, the skills on the field are for real."He's got such great eyes, being able to go from quarterback to receiver," Jeremiah said. "That's what good corners are able to do. And Josh has such quick feet. Very efficient in terms of his feet. When he drives on the ball, there's no wasted movement""Norman has great instincts and ball skills; he also tackles well and has a versatile skill set for both man and zone," Brooks said. "He's always had the tools to be a good player but he has been more consistent the past year or so."Neither Jeremiah or Brooks would go so far as to say Norman was a top-5 corner in this league, although Jeremiah did say "If he's not a top-5 guy, he's definitely knocking on the door.""He's not as consistent or as polished as other elite corners," Brooks said. "He will give up a play here and there when he gambles and gue ses.""He doesn't nece sarily have the ball production as the elite guys, but he's pretty darn good in every area," Jeremiah said.But after looking at the numbers, and this ridiculous full-stretch, game-ending interception in week 3, I'm not so sure I agree. Josh Norman to ses his hat into theick of the Year" discu sion.Just, wow. NFL (@NFL) Take a look at the side bar. It shows stats for pa ses defended, interceptions, return touchdowns and forced fumbles from 2014. As you can tell, the list is stacked with widely-recognized, highly-regarded corners in this league. The men on that list are at or near the top in those respective categories. Sherman and Peterson are a bit of an anomaly in terms of pa ses defended because quarterbacks famously avoid them at all costs. But regardle s, the ball skills are obviously there for both men. If you think those numbers are good, and they are, then you should be interested to know that Norman stacks up quite nicely against that group. Norman, over his last 14 games previously noted, has 16 pa ses defensed, four interceptions (one returned for score) and two forced fumbles.His numbers look A LOT like those po se sed by , and . All had at least 16 pa ses defensed, at least three interceptions and at least one forced fumble. Pretty good company.At least according to the numbers, the guy is an elite corner, po sibly a top-5 guy at his position. And from a fantasy perspective, you need to start viewing Norman as a terrifying matchup; giving him the kind of fantasy reverence we commonly give to corners like Sherman, and the rest of those guys on the list above. Disagree? Well the beautiful thing is that Norman will prove himself one way or another over the next five games, as he is set to take on a series of top-end receivers. Norman will be squaring off against , , Jordan Mathews, and in consecutive weeks. As Bart Scott would say: can't wait.Now you know about . So Josh, please stop tweeting at me. James Koh is an anchor/reporter for NFL Network and the host of NFL LIVE & the NFL LIVE podcast. Follow him on Twitter Scott Morrow Jersey

Every week Committee Meetings breaks down some top storylines from the league's most head-scratching backfield committees in hopes of gaining some clarity for fantasy owners. If you're wondering about a backfield that's not discu sed below, feel free to Tweet @m_franciscovich for some additional advice.For all intents and purposes, Week 2 was the week of rookie running backs. broke out; impre sed for the second straight week; ran like ; got into the end zone prior to an injury; vultured another touchdown from Shady; split an almost even Dougie Hamilton Jersey workload with ; started for the . All of these rookies are part of committees on their respective teams and for the most part, had productive fantasy outings this past week. (I say for the most part because Abdullah didn't have a good game against the ) Five of the aforementioned seven rookie runners posted greater than nine fantasy points on the day. Let's take a closer look at each rookie's Week 2 production and their team's committee situation. Matt Jones breaks out| | // Through two games, Washington is leading the NFL in rushing yards per game (171.5) - a true testament to all of the offseason chatter that there was a concerted effort to bolster the team's offensive line play. Granted, it's only two games, but both and rookie rank in the top 10 in total rushing yards among running backs with 180 and 151 respectively. The big story here is Jones, who from scrimmage on 22 touches against one of the leagues tougher defenses in the , something ' head coach Jeff Fisher . Behind the excellent play of his offensive line, the rookie ran with explosive speed and punishing power on his way to a 24.6 fantasy point day. On third downs in this game, Jones had three carries for 26 yards, while Morris' only third down attempt went for negative yardage. In the red zone, each back had four rush attempts, but Jones was far and away more productive with his opportunities, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and scoring once inside the 20-yard line. owners must take notice immediately, as Jones likely won't last on the waiver wire for long. While there will likely be room for both Morris and Jones to be relevant in fantasy, this could be a weekly head-scratcher as far as which back to start, especially if you own both of them. Melvin Gordon ran like Melvin Gordon| | // owners got to see the they thought they were investing in on draft day against the in Week 2. The Wisconsin product averaged 5.5 yards per carry and totaled 88 yards on the day, which included pickups of 26 yards on his first carry of the game as well as runs of 27 and 20 yards. According to Pro Football Focus, Gordon also had 57 yards after contact against Cincinnati, more than all but three other running backs in the NFL in Week 2. But the stuck to their guns and used exclusively on third downs and in the red zone, two situations in which Gordon didn't touch the ball once. While neither running back scored in this game, it was good to see Gordon collect 70 percent of the backfield's rushing yards himself compared to Woodhead's 29 percent. Last week, Gordon accounted for just 54 percent of the ' running back yardage while Woodhead totaled 44 percent, so consider this a major step in the right direction.Looking ahead to Week 3, Gordon and the take on the , a team that two weeks ago allowed to run wild for 168 yards, but bottled up and the for just 16 rushing yards on 11 attempts last week. Johnson splits workload with Crowell | // One week after the Cleveland backfield embarra sed itself with a total of 46 combined rushing yards on 20 attempts, and rookie of the coaching staff with a much better outing. The duo averaged a combined 4.3 yards per carry. Interestingly, it was a fairly even split in terms of carries with Crowell seeing 15 to Johnson's 12, but neither back was targeted even once in the pa sing game. Still, the Crow had his best fantasy day dating back to Week 12 of last season (88 rush yards, 2 TDs) with 72 yards and a score against the . He also got all of the red zone touches (two) as his score came on an 11-yard run in the first half. Johnson's 3.6 yards per carry was le s than inspiring and in order for the rookie to have fantasy value, he needs to be used as a pa s-catcher. But his 12 rush attempts might be a sign that the want to get him more involved going forward.Freeman, Coleman get into end zone | * | // The ' backfield duo of and combined for a meager 2.7 yards per carry average, totaling just 57 rushing yards on 21 total attempts against the . Fortunately for fantasy owners, both backs managed to score touchdowns in Week 2. Coleman left the game early though, and it was that he suffered a cracked rib and would likely mi s a few weeks as he recovers. This leaves the door wide open for Freeman to step up, and a chance for fantasy owners to capitalize on the situation. Another name to watch out for is , an undrafted rookie who got some good run in the preseason with both Coleman and Freeman sidelined with hamstring injuries. He's worth a prospective look in deeper leagues.The take on the in Week 3. Dallas, excluding Sunday's debacle involving the backfield, make for a middle-of-the-pack matchup against opposing running backs, so Freeman should be at least be worth a look as a flex play with Coleman out.David Johnson makes a statement | | * // With on the shelf for several weeks with a knee injury, fantasy owners were clamoring to see more from rookie runner after his first career touch as a pro -- a 55-yard touchdown reception in Week 1. Welp, they got what they wanted right off the bat as Johnson returned the ' opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. It was truly an amazing return, one that I personally . He also scored on a 13-yard run midway through the third quarter in which he picked up a couple of key blocks, made one defender mi s and speedily glided into the end zone in the blink of an eye. Because David is as a pro, the opted to distribute 20 rush attempts to veteran throughout the game. Chris danced his way to a 3.6 yards per carry average in the game, le s than half of David's 8.4 yards per carry on just five attempts. Coach Bruce Arians acknowledged this, but said that Chris although David "will have a vital role every week." From a fantasy perspective, David is the Cadinals running back to own, but until Arians and the Arizona coaching staff commit to the rookie as their lead runner, it will be difficult to endorse him as a fantasy starter in standard leagues due to volume concerns. If you're feeling lucky though, Johnson might have more homerun potential than any other rookie runner in the league and should remain a great value in DFS play. Johnson and Johnson match up against a defense that surrendered three rushing touchdowns and nearly 100 yards to last week.Williams steals another TD from McCoy | | // For the second straight game, had a couple of touchdowns vultured away from him - one by rookie running back and one by quarterback . McCoy produced as both a runner and a pa s-catcher as he collected 116 yards on 18 touches in a game against the and was on the field for 68 percent of Buffalo's offensive plays compared to the 32 percent that Williams saw. McCoy is the clear leader of this backfield, but fantasy owners who drafted him thinking that Shady would be the sole ball-carrier for the were mistaken. Through two games, Shady has zero touchdowns on 40 touches compared to two scores for Williams on 13 touches. It's clearly a committee backfield in Buffalo and Williams has solidified himself a role as the team's change-of-pace power runner behind McCoy. Williams turned just eight touches into 9.7 fantasy points in this contest and was rotated in behind McCoy beginning early in the first quarter. To make matters worse, during a red zone opportunity late in the fourth quarter, the had Shady lined up as a wide receiver in a five-wide set, but Taylor saw an opening and ended up running it in himself instead of throwing the ball. owners who drafted McCoy need to seriously consider picking up Williams as a clear-cut handcuff and a guy who, as the season goes on, could get more and more playing time as he develops as an NFL back. Of course the threat of Taylor as a running quarterback will always be a headache in red zone situations, too.Lions RBs struggle, Abdullah draws start | | // darling and rookie runner got the starting nod for the in Week 2, something we've been prognosticating for quite some time. But in a game where Detroit was playing catchupearly on, the backfield was extremely unproductive on the ground, rushing for just 16 total yards on 11 combined carries. Because Detroit was behind, pa s-catching back actually out-snapped Abdullah buy a count of 35 to 31. Veteran , whose days seem numbered as a relevant fantasy option saw just 18 offensive snaps. Don't get distracted by the ' backfield's failure to produce here. Instead, focus on the fact that Abdullah was the team's starting running back over Bell. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, and perhaps, in a few weeks, fantasy owners can feel confident slotting him into their lineups without fear. Matt Franciscovich is an a sociate fantasy editor at NFL.com. He's been listening to the latest Tame Impala record at least twice a day in recent weeks. Hit him up on Twitter __ for music recommendations and fantasy advice. Nick Desimone Jersey

If there's one area of the ' 2024 roster that is unquestionably rock-solid, it's the defensive line, which figures to be the team's strength this coming season.Maxx Crosby was typically the lone bright spot for a few years, but Malcolm Koonce stepped up to complement him in 2023 with a breakout campaign. In 2024, Las Vegas made a huge (literally and figuratively) addition in Christian Wilkins to shore up the middle, and Tyree Wilson came on strong at the end of last season.So, when released his defensive line rankings ahead of the 2024 campaign, we were interested to see where he put the Raiders. We were content to see Pat Verbeek Jersey Monson placed the Raiders' unit at No. 9 on the list, but the group could've been higher. First, Monson's thoughts:The Raiders are another team that found its superstar a while ago and has been slow to build around them.Maxx Crosbyhas been one of the best in football and now has help around him for the first time.Christian Wilkinswas the teams big offseason addition (literally and figuratively), while edge rusherMalcolm Kooncewas so impre sive last season that he may insure againstTyree Wilsonif he doesnt develop in year two.This is the most formidable Raiders defensive line in a while.A few of the teams ahead of the Raiders in Monson's rankings are maybe two deep in terms of true impact players. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is three deep, and quite po sibly four if Wilson emerges in his second season. That fact should have Las Vegas landing at least a few spots higher.Whatever the case may be, this Raiders defensive line is going to be fun to watch in 2024 and will undoubtedly play a huge role in what should be a very good defense. Vladimir Konstantinov Jersey

The NFL playoffs presents a number of compelling matchups. But few carry quite the allure of Giants vs. Vikings.FOLLOW LIVE: For starters, the wild-card duel features two of the best young players in the game: New York tailback Saquon Barkley and Minnesota wideout Julien Gauthier Jersey Justin Jefferson.There aren't many players like Barkley and Jefferson. But they aren't the only talents slated to take the field on Sunday. Between Daniel Jones, Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, Dexter Lawrence and others, the stars will be out in full force come Wild Card weekend.MORE:Here's everything you need to know to broadcast Giants-Vikings without cable.Date:Sunday, Jan. 15Time:4:30 p.m. ETGiants vs. Vikings will kick on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4:30 p.m. ET from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.TV channels:Fox(U.S.) | TSN4/CTV (Canada)Live stream:Fox Sports Go,(U.S.) |(Canada)Giants vs. Vikings will air on Fox, with Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Erin Andrews (sideline reporter) and Tom Rinaldi (sideline reporter) featuring on the broadcast.Viewers who want to stream the wild-card matchup can find it on Fox Sports Go as well as fuboTV,.Canadian viewers can follow the action on TSN4 or CTV, or stream the game on, which features every NFL game.In addition to the options listed above, here are other streaming options for Giants vs. Vikings.Streaming optionCable subscription needed?Free?CostFree trial?NFL AppYesYesYahoo! Sports AppYesYesNFL+NoNo$9.99/monthYesDirecTV StreamNoNo$49.99/monthYesNoNo$69.99/monthYesHulu Plus Live TVNoNo$69.99/monthYesSling TVNoNo$35/monthYesYouTube TVNoNo$54.99/monthYesWild-card roundSaturday, Jan. 14MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelSeahawks vs. 49ers4:30 p.m.FoxChargers vs. Jaguars8:15 p.m.NBCSunday, Jan. 15MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelDolphins vs. Bills1 p.m.CBSGiants vs. Vikings4:30 p.m.FoxRavens vs. Bengals8:15 p.m.NBCMonday, Jan. 16MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelCowboys vs. Buccaneers8:15 p.m.ESPN/ABCDivisional roundSaturday, Jan. 21MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelAFC Divisional RoundTBATBANFC Divisional RoundTBATBASunday, Jan. 22MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelAFC Divisional RoundTBATBANFC Divisional RoundTBATBAConference championshipsSunday, Jan. 29MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelNFC Championship Game3:05 p.m.FoxAFC Championship Game6:40 p.m.CBSSuper Bowl 57Sunday, Feb. 12MatchupStart time (ET)TV channelSuper Bowl 576:30 p.m.Fox Alex Jefferies Jersey

You can put away those questions about retiring. When asked by the at the league's inaugural NFL Busine s Academy through Michigan's Alexander Radulov Jersey Ro s School of Busine s whether he plans to play for the in 2016, Peppers replied: "Oh, yeah. Yes."The 36-year-old pa s rusher enters the final year of his three-year deal with the , but plans on playing several more seasons. "I'm just saying that I'm 36, so, in the next four years, somewhere in there, I should be done," Peppers said. Peppers believes his and he never intended to retire. "I think somebody kind of took (my comments after the season) out of context," Peppers said. "They asked me after the game what did I think about next year, and I was just saying that pretty much everybody has decisions to make and that type of thing. But as far as I know, I think I'm going to be playing next year, unle s something happens that I don't know about. And that's po sible." That "something" could be the po sibly asking him to take a pay cut or perhaps bartering an extension to lower his $10.5 million salary-cap hit. With and set to be free agents, the need to hang on to Peppers. Even in his mid-30s, Peppers can still get after the quarterback. The pa s rusher compiled 10.5 sacks and showed no signs of slowing down. Entering his 15th season, Peppers is tied for ninth on the all-time sacks list with 136 -- most by any active player. He's just six sacks away from sliding past for fifth all-time and 15 sacks from fourth place. Florian Xhekaj Jersey