Fun NextGen Stats From Week4

By Rhys Knott

It was a pretty pedestrian week for the boys and girls at NextGen this week. With teams who didn’t try anything too exciting coming out on top. Defences very much had the upper hand, so patience and playing error free football was the order of the week. 

A Confusing Falcons Backfield

Image Credit: Sporting News

NextGen Fastest Carries from Week 3

KaVontae Turpin hit 21.07 mph against the Patriots. Turpin’s 46-yard rush meant that a Dolphin wasn’t at the top of this week’s list. But don’t worry Miami fans, there’s one further down the list. Turpin has only had 14 touches of the ball in the Cowboys loaded offense, but he averages 8.4 yards per touch in 2023. 

There are two defenders in this week’s top 5! About time too. “Your Jacksonville Jaguars’” cornerback Darious Williams is joint second. His 61-yard interception return saw at Wembley (while I was eating chicken and chips on the concourse) saw him clock 20.66 mph. 

Permanent fantasy sleeper Kalif Raymond pops equaled Williams’ top speed. Raymond hit 20.66 mph on a 40-yard rushing play that helped the Lions demolish the Packers. Jameson Williams is back for the Lions this week, so Raymond might not see the field as much, but he certainly made the most of his chances. 

Sam Franklin is the second defensive back in the top 5 this week. The Panthers safety’s 99 interception return saw him clock 20.64 mph. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Vikings scraping a victory in Bank of America Stadium. 

Finally, there’s a Dolphin on this list, I know you must have been worried. Devon Achane is back at it. Even when the rest of the team don’t have much joy, he still lays down some highlights. This week he managed a 55-yard run which saw him clock 20.6 mph. 

NextGen Remarkable Rushes from Week 3

Unsurprisingly Devon Achane is on this list too, not only is he on it he’s top of it. With the very same 55-yard run. It was expected to go for just eight yards but Achane being Achane squeezed an extra 48 yards out of it. Offensive Rookie of the Year is a bit of a two-horse race at the moment. 

In the fist fight the Raiders and Chargers had in Vegas something remarkable happened. Chargers’ rookie running back Derius Davis did something nobody else could. He broke off a run of more than 23 yards. As The Offspring once sang “the kids are alright”? Davis’ 51-yard run was 44 yards further than expected. 

Isiah Pacheco might not be a rookie, but he is only 24. Pacheco returned to New Jersey and ran all over the Jets. On his way to racking up 115 yards on 20 carries he turned what should have been a nine-yard run into a 39-yard effort. 

Your man KaVonte Turpin is back again. His 46-yard rush was 37 yards longer than expected. 10cc were right, speed kills. 

An old favourite returns at number five after a couple of weeks away. Jets’ running back Breece Hall made a 9-yard rush against the Chiefs into a 43-yard carry. His 34 yards over expected was one yard more than Pierre Strong and Bijan Robinson could manage this week. 

 

NextGen Fastest Sacks in Week 4

Harrison Smith has had a quiet couple of seasons by his own high standards in Minnesota, but he’s back baby. In a week where only one defensive end features on the fastest sack list Smith leads the way. He got to Bryce Young on three separate occasions, his fastest only took 2.34 seconds. Peter King said Harrison had gone 21 games without a sack. This week he broke an NFL record, becoming the first player with three sacks, a forced fumble and 14 total tackles in the same game! 

Denver’s Nik Bonitto is joint second on the list. The Bears gave Sean Payton’s disastrous Broncos the confidence boost they craved in Week 4. Outside linebacker Bonitto ended the game with two and a half sacks and a forced fumble. When the Bears left him completely unblocked he got to Justin Fields in 2.5 seconds. 

Another Wembley another Jags defensive masterclass (sort of). Josh Allen is in the top 10 twice. Twice! The fastest of two sacks on Sunday also came in just 2.5 seconds. His other sack landed seventh on the list. 

I know what you’re thinking, it’s time for cornerback to appear on the fastest sack list, isn’t it? Well wait no more, Devon Witherspoon has answered your prayers. The Seahawks rookie who’s really more of a skinny linebacker than a cornerback joined the sack party at MetLife on Monday Night Football. He got to Daniel Jones in just 2.57 seconds. 

And finally, there’s a defensive lineman on this list. 35-year-old Houston Texan Jerry Hughes rounds out the top five with his sack of poor Kenny Pickett. He got to the quarterback in just 2.59 seconds for his first sack since Week 16 in 2022. 

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

5/5