After playing in the 250-255 range as a rookie in 2011, Kelvin Sheppard has slimmed down to 240 pounds this offseason in attempt to play on every down  and stay in for sub packages in his 2^nd season in the league. Sheppard weighed in at 244 at The Combine before the 2011 NFL Draft and played most of last season overweight after being drafted in the 3rd round in the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU.

Sheppard played very well as a rookie in 2011, ranking 19^th among middle linebackers against the run on ProFootballFocus, but was one of the worst middle linebackers in coverage (38^th out of 50). Now that he’s back in shape, he could emerge as one of the better young linebackers in the league in 2012. He had 70 tackles, including 59 his last 9 games, in a situational role in 2011 and could easily have 100-120 tackles or more in 2012.

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2011 defensive player of the year Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles last month, an injury that normally ends a season. However, Suggs said today that he’ll be back in November at “the latest” and that he’s going to “shock a lot of people” when he comes out of the tunnel. Suggs has been incredibly optimistic to this point, but so far in his recovery, there is nothing to back up the optimistic. Achilles injuries almost always end seasons and while Suggs is an exceptional physical specimen, my point is still on him missing the entire season. A November return would be a mere 6 month recovery.

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Mikel Leshoure was noticeably absent from Detroit Lions OTAs today and, according to the Oakland Press, the absence was due to a sore right ankle. It’s not anything major, but this is the last thing the Lions want to hear. Leshoure was their 2^nd round pick in 2011, but didn’t play a snap last season due to a torn Achilles. Achilles injuries can lead to other types of lower leg injuries due to compensation. They may rest Leshoure for the rest of the OTAs just to be safe. The Lions still have a very uncertain situation at running back. Jahvid Best, who is supposed to split carries with Leshoure, is still not cleared to practice after concussions ended his 2011 season.

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A source tells foxsports.com that the Cowboys have not just denied the Lions and Colts, but 4 teams total who have called about Mike Jenkins. Jenkins is disgruntled because the Cowboys added two new starting cornerbacks this offseason, Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne, and Jenkins is now 4^th on the depth chart behind those two and Orlando Scandrick, who remains in the slot as a nickel cornerback.

The Cowboys have said publicly on several occasions that they are not interested in moving Jenkins, this coming from both Head Coach Jason Garrett as Owner/GM Jerry Jones. Nonetheless, there is still some speculation that Jenkins could be moved in Training Camp. All that is just speculation and the signs do point to the Cowboys keeping Jenkins for now. We’ll just have to see what happens in the future.

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A day after Justin Blackmon was arrested for aggravated DUI for driving with a blood alcohol content of .24, 3 times the legal limit, the fallout is continuing. Adam Schefter says that not only is he going to be subject to league discipline, at least a 1-2 game suspension, this could affect the currently unsigned Blackmon’s contract. The Jaguars have the right to put a clause in his contract which gets them out of it if Blackmon is arrested again and they also have the right to postpone some or all of his signing bonus and give him little to no guaranteed money. Blackmon pleaded not guilty to the charges today. It’s unclear if he’ll face any jail time as this is his 2^nd offense, but the Florida Times-Union says it’s “unlikely.”

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The Redskins’ decision to take Kirk Cousins in the 4^th round, even though they had already traded up to get a quarterback, Robert Griffin, in the 1^st round, was one met with public scrutiny. Many argued that Griffin’s confidence would be shaken by the Redskins adding another quarterback that early. However, those critics might be shut up by today’s story that Griffin knew the Redskins were planning on taking another quarterback.

Griffin said in an interview with the Washington Post today that they told him after day 1 that they were going to take another quarterback and that he knows there is no competition for the starting job and that Cousins will be nothing but a backup. Cousins is only a threat to backup Rex Grossman if anyone. Those two will duke it out for the primary backup job with the veteran Grossman having the edge. Griffin will be the unquestioned week 1 starter.

The only criticism you can make of that pick is that the Redskins might have been better served getting Griffin a complimentary player rather than a backup, especially since they gave up their 2^nd round pick and their 1^st round picks in 2013 and 2014 to get him. Cousins might have been so good of a value in the 4^th round that even that argument is invalid, especially if the Redskins are able to flip him in a trade for a higher draft pick in the future. Cousins was projected by many to go in the 2^nd or 3^rd round.

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Giants’ free agent acquisition Martellus Bennett raised some eyebrows when he weighed in at 291 pounds last week at Giants OTAs, despite being in the 265-270 range his whole career in Dallas. Bennett today spoke out on the matter by saying that the weight gain was by design. Bennett continued by saying that his pants size actually went down and that he is one of the top 5 strongest players on the team.

Given that tight ends coach Mike Pope said that Bennett is probably too heavy for his legs, it’s doubtful that this weight gain was by team design and if it was by design at all, it was by his own design and not the Giants’. 291 is way too heavy for a tight end, regardless of whether it was muscle weight or not, especially one like Bennett who is supposed to provide something in the passing game this season. Unless the Giants are planning on him playing on offensive line, it’s doubtful this was by team design.

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The San Francisco 49ers franchise tagged Dashon Goldson earlier this offseason after he made the Pro Bowl for the 1^st time in his career last season, assuring him 6.2 million in 2012. Goldson has yet to sign the tender nor has he attended 49ers’ voluntary OTAs. In fact, he reportedly has no “immediate plans” to even come to the Bay Area. Goldson is said to be seeking Eric Weddle type money. Weddle, one of the league’s premier safeties, got 40 million over 5 years last offseason from the San Diego Chargers.

According to CSN Bay Area, the 49ers are “probably” unwilling to give Goldson more than 7 million per year. That shows that the two sides are not as far apart as it initially appeared. They may not want to pay him more than 7 million per year, but may budge if Goldson does the same. The two sides could easily meet somewhere in the middle of 35 and 40 million between now and the middle of July, the deadline for Goldson to sign his tender.

This is surprising given how the 49ers have played hardball with Goldson in the past. They refused to give him a long term deal last offseason, letting him seek one elsewhere before eventually returning to the 49ers for just 2 million over 1 year. Goldson did make the Pro Bowl last year on the strength of 6 interceptions, but he was one of the more frequently burned safeties in coverage last year, giving up more receiving yards than every safety in the league with the exception of 3. His high amount of interceptions had a lot to do with the 49ers’ strong front 7. Any deal paying him 7-8 million per year would be too much for him, especially since he really only has had one good season in his career.

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According to running backs coach David Walker, Donald Brown is penciled in as the Colts’ starting running back this season, with the key part being penciled in. Walker admits that there will be a competition for the job and that both Delone Carter and Vick Ballard will be candidates to be their week 1 starter at running back.

Brown deserves the first crack at the job and probably will get it because he’s the most experienced and a former 1^st round pick. However, he has been very disappointing to this point in his career so it’s unlikely he’ll keep the job all season. The Colts had uncertainty at the running back position all last year with Brown, Carter, and the now departed Joseph Addai all finishing with more than 100 carries. We could see a similar situation in 2012 with Brown, Carter, and 5^th round rookie Ballard. It’s a nightmare for fantasy football players.

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Roddy White has caught 100+ passes in each of the last 2 seasons and 80+ passes in each of the last 5. However, today he admitted that new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter plans to lean less on White in 2012, in favor of other players like Harry Douglas and Julio Jones. Players rarely admit things like this, but when they do, you have to take notice.

White was actually the league’s most targeted wide receiver last year, but he was pretty inefficient, averaging just 7.4 yards per target. Meanwhile, Julio Jones averaged 10.5 yards per target. Jones had a strong rookie season with 54 catches for 959 yards and 8 touchdowns, despite missing 3 games and being limited in many others with injuries. His play in his final 5 games showed the type of player he can be when healthy as he caught 24 passes for 461 yards and 5 touchdowns. With a full offseason, better health, and more targets, Jones could emerge as one of the league’s premier wide receivers this season.

A projection of the offense featuring Jones more and White less in 2012 was the reasoning behind Julio Jones coming in 4^th on my fantasy football wide receiver board and White 19^th, essentially putting him low enough to make sure that he’s someone else’s problem in his age 31 season. White’s admission today just solidifies that.

As for the Falcons’ offense as a whole, White’s projected statistical decline is not necessarily a bad thing. Jones is the more talented receiver and the offense was more efficient in 2011 when Jones was the target rather than White. Matt Ryan could produce career high numbers in 2012. In fact, that’s a big part of the reason why Matt Ryan is 7th on my fantasy football quarterback board. It also helps that Atlanta’s running game is on the decline with Michael Turner aging and that new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter plans to use more no huddle this season. The Falcons could pass more than they ever have in the Matt Ryan era this year.

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