Chris Simms' All-22 Team for NFL Week 4
Start with Roy Williams' soft hands.
Add Brandon Marshall's size and pure physical ability.
Sprinkle in some of Joey Galloway's breakaway speed.
I had never seen a receiver like Kenny Britt before. It's like he was cooked up in a kitchen using traits from my all-time favorite targets. And you know what freaks me out? Guys like him are now the rule and not the exception.
Every NFL team has at least one star receiver. An All-22 Team record four of them ended up on this week's list. I played quarterback during the wrong era, you guys.
More freaks populate this list than ever before. Keep an eye on all of them. Household names or not, they'll turn some heads in Week 5 and beyond.
QB: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
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Russell Wilson could have slapped on another knee brace and sprained another ankle.
His mobility didn't matter. The Seahawks star reminded us that he can shred defenses like all-star quarterbacks can—from the pocket.
That's the spot from which Wilson hit career passing highs after Week 8 last season. And that's where he picked apart a Jets defense that couldn't keep up with his ability to read their coverage and deliver strikes.
He posted a perfect passer rating in the first half. He had only one incompletion until the middle of the third quarter. Wilson just needs a semi-clean pocket to play at a top-five level. I'll never question that again.
QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
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Matt Ryan had a flawless day against the Panthers in Week 4. And I'm not even talking about the deep-ball accuracy he showcased with stud receiver Julio Jones.
His intermediate stuff was second to none. Ryan led Jones perfectly on three or four slant routes—nothing was too far in front or behind. No. 11 might have picked up an extra 75 receiving yards because of it. Ryan's athleticism—particularly on moving pockets and quarterback scrambles—sealed up his spot on this list.
So much for my preseason concerns about his arm strength and decision-making. They're officially put to rest.
RB: Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
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Isaiah Crowell should aim higher with his next preseason prediction.
He's up to 394 rushing yards after running roughshod on the Redskins defense. That puts him on pace for 1,576—way over the 1,000-yard goal he set this summer.
Even Crowell couldn't predict this breakout year, though. He's the focal point of head coach Hue Jackson's offense for all of the reasons that popped on tape: explosive through-the-hole acceleration, long breakaway speed and physical finishing.
Washington tried arm-tackling him, and it didn't work. Cleveland's longest four offensive plays were all Crowell runs.
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RB: Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Le'Veon Bell wasted no time getting reacquainted with the Steelers offense.
He faked a carry on the game's first play. He lined up at wide receiver for the next eight. It was a genius plan to get Bell back in the flow of a game—and it didn't take long to show dividends.
Bell reminds me of a more in-control LeSean McCoy. He'll hold back until Maurkice Pouncey or David DeCastro develops a block. Then…boom. Chiefs defenders on roller skates right by him.
Few guys could be that good and that aware after three weeks off. Bell is one in a million.
WR: Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
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He's Julio Jones. Need I say more?
Only five other players in NFL history have ever had a 300-yard receiving game. He's excellent at the long and short stuff. He looks even better when teams man him up with rookies in single coverage like Carolina did in Week 4.
Just a dominant day.
WR: Will Fuller, Houston Texans
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DeAndre Hopkins might be catching passes in another team's colors next season.
Why? Because Hopkins is already second fiddle in his own offense. Houston's true No. 1 wideout is now rookie Will Fuller. The transition took only four games.
Fuller is the receiver handling all of head coach Bill O'Brien's speed work. He rips through tacklers on bubble screens. He gallops behind coverage for touchdowns. He does his best DeSean Jackson impression on 67-yard punt returns.
Hopkins is still scary. Ask the Tennessee Titans who they'll account for the next time they face Houston, though. They'll say it's Fuller.
WR: Eddie Royal, Chicago Bears
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Death. Taxes. And Eddie Royal receptions.
Not much is certain in this life but those three things. My former teammate was up to his old tricks last weekend, and the Lions couldn't stop him.
His speedy 64-yard catch and run was one thing. His four-yard scramble-drill score was another. Defenders see Royal's 5'10" frame and just assume he's not tough or strong. Ask Nevin Lawson if he still feels that way when Royal ripped the ball away from him at the goal line.
The Bears are smart to incorporate this guy with all of the passing-game adversity they've faced. He's a quarterback's best friend—trust me.
WR: Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
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Derek Carr to Michael Crabtree is the NFL's alley-oop.
It's pretty to watch. It's impossible to defend. And it always results in points—as it did three times against the Ravens on Sunday.
His sticky hands are eclipsed only by his ability to use them in space.
Take his final touchdown as proof. Crabtree blew by Shareece Wright, braced for an oncoming safety and stuck his arms out. Carr hit No. 15 in the back of the end zone just inches away from either defender.
Put Crabtree in the end zone and watch him work. It's always a thing of beauty.
OL: Ronald Leary, Dallas Cowboys
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Any team would be lucky to have Ronald Leary on its starting offensive line.
The Cowboys are somehow even luckier. They refused to part with the Pro Bowl-caliber guard this offseason, and that non-move has paid off big time.
La'el Collins' toe injury forced Leary back into game action in Week 3. This past week, he helped pave a pressure-free day for Dak Prescott and a huge rushing stat line for Ezekiel Elliott (138 yards, 1 TD). Talk about a seamless switch.
Credit Leary for staying prepared and ready. It's not easy to be a backup when your skill level screams starter.
OL: Alex Mack, Atlanta Falcons
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Alex Mack isn't just the perfect philosophical fit for Atlanta. He's also a perfect statistical one.
No other NFL center can block two defenders with as much ease as Mack does. He's the anchor that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan needs for all of his long-developing runs and passes.
Consider what Mack did Sunday as his best work yet. He stalemated monsters such as Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei across from him. He then moved onto the second level and trapped Luke Kuechly or Thomas Davis.
In short: Having Mack at center is like having a sixth offensive lineman.
TE: Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
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Memo to Kirk Cousins: Just throw it up to Jordan Reed inside the 20-yard line.
Washington's red-zone offense should be as simple as that. The 245-pound Florida product is a mismatch machine wherever he lines up. Cousins needs to find him as often as he did in Week 4.
What makes Reed such a scoring threat? His 6'2" size threatens defenses with Cousins' favorite back-corner fade. But Reed is more shifty than strong. Washington asks him to run routes like Julian Edelman, not Rob Gronkowski.
Reed's two-touchdown day against Cleveland proves how nimble he is. Not many players join him in that category.
DL: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
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I'm not quick to place any defender in Warren Sapp territory. My former Buccaneers teammate was that good.
But even I can see that Aaron Donald might be better.
No one—not Sapp, not anyone—sheds interior blockers with more ease. Donald abused the weak interior of Arizona's offensive line. I wrote his name down immediately when he burst off the line in the third quarter for what felt like a two-second strip sack.
Enjoy this guy, Rams fans. He's one of a handful who can make this list every week.
DL: Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Chiefs left guard Zach Fulton should be thrilled about his performance against Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football because it could have been far worse.
Cam Heyward tallied three sacks against the reserve guard, but he was two or three steps away from six.
Neither Fulton nor any Chiefs blocker had any answer for No. 97. He unleashed a vicious swim move in the first half that was simply unblockable. Heyward also tipped a screen pass that caused an interception.
DL: Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals
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Is Carlos Dunlap one of the top defensive linemen in football? Consider last Thursday night's contest as his answer.
Big No. 96's two sacks only serve to set the table for what he did to Miami's offensive output. He threw in two tipped passes for good measure. Both came on third downs and ended Dolphins drives.
You also might have noticed his hustle. Dunlap sprinted 11 yards downfield to wrangle Jay Ajayi and over 30 yards to tackle Jarvis Landry in the fourth.
He dominated a staple of the Dolphins passing game to top it all off. Nearly every Ryan Tannehill bootleg rolled right into the oncoming train that is Dunlap.
DL: Dante Fowler Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
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Quarterbacks be warned: Dante Fowler Jr. is finally hitting his stride.
His first step off the ball in London was something scary. It gave him the edge over Colts right ends and tackles on nearly every passing down.
He was lethal in the stunt game, too. Some of his directional blitzes reminded me of a young Khalil Mack. That's always good company to be in.
And did you see this tipped ball? Jacksonville needs more Fowler Jr. every Sunday.
LB: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
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No defender had a bigger game in Week 4 than Oakland's star did against the Ravens.
Khalil Mack delivered two ass-whuppings to both Baltimore tackles. Neither one could solve the latest trick in his repertoire—a spin move that would make Dwight Freeney proud.
Joe Flacco couldn't stand still. He had to move off his spot or pay dearly. It's safe to say Mack is back to normal.
LB: C.J. Mosley, Baltimore Ravens
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C.J. Mosley, Baltimore's franchise inside linebacker, accomplished two things against the Raiders that really impressed me.
First, he willingly plugged wide-open holes created by Oakland's power running game. It forced Latavius Murray, Jalen Richard and a stable of Raiders backs into unsuccessful carry after unsuccessful carry.
Second, he single-handedly froze Derek Carr's checkdown game. The Raiders love to throw to running backs over the middle, but when they did… boom. Mosley was there to ensure minimal gain.
LB: Zach Brown, Buffalo Bills
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Meet the NFL's leading tackler after four games.
It wasn't long ago that the NFL placed the dreaded "soft" label on Zach Brown. Buffalo picked the young linebacker up off the scrap heap when the Titans let him walk.
What a bargain that turned out to be. Brown has the kind of freedom and space to seek ball-carriers under Rex Ryan's watch that Tennessee never gave him.
The end result? An 18-tackle day up in New England that featured two forced fumbles and a complete shutdown of LeGarrette Blount.
DB: Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos
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Throw any grades and figures you get from other sites in the trash.
I don't care what they say about Aqib Talib. He's not close to a decline in play after Sunday's two-interception outing in Tampa Bay.
Talib's feel for the game is what separates him. He picked up on something familiar and left Vincent Jackson all alone on the third play of the game. But he guessed right; Jameis Winston's pass went right to him instead of Adam Humphries over the middle.
Talib baited Jackson in the second quarter, too. He sat in off coverage and predicted a curl route. Correct yet again.
The only thing he did wrong? Not taking one or both throws back to the house.
DB: Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles Rams
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I liken Trumaine Johnson (6'2") to a taller Cortland Finnegan.
Both played under Jeff Fisher. Both excel in physical man coverage. And both have a knack for playing the ball in the air.
So Johnson's game is a natural counter to Arizona's offense. Whether he faced speedy John Brown or tough Larry Fitzgerald, passes weren't getting over his head.
Carson Palmer tested him in the end zone, and that failed as well. Johnson warrants a team throwing the opposite way from here on out.
DB: Robert Alford, Atlanta Falcons
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Atlanta has pursued capable cornerbacks to close out a game for years.
Robert Alford, 27, fits the bill. He's no superstar, but the young cornerback is a good all-around player who came through when his defense needed him.
He also helped shut down the Panthers' passing game. Consider that their leading receivers were a tight end and a running back. Kelvin Benjamin was relatively quiet on Alford's end, too.
DB: Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
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Richard Sherman sits on a coverage island as much as any corner in football.
It makes for some tough battles, like the ones he lost to Brandon Marshall early on at MetLife Stadium. More often than not, however, Sherman wins the war.
He put his Stanford education to use in the second half. Marshall’s success came via plenty of back-shoulder throws. Sherman crunched the numbers and broke that pattern in the second half.
His solution? He planted his foot in the ground and turned on those throws before Marshall could. Pick and pick.
Full All-22 Team for Week 5
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QB: Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
RB: Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland Browns
RB: Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
WR: Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
WR: Will Fuller, Houston Texans
WR: Eddie Royal, Chicago Bears
WR: Michael Crabtree, Oakland Raiders
TE: Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins
OL: Ronald Leary, Dallas Cowboys
OL: Alex Mack, Atlanta Falcons
DL: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
DL: Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
DL: Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals
DL: Dante Fowler Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
LB: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
LB: C.J. Mosley, Baltimore Ravens
LB: Zach Brown, Buffalo Bills
DB: Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos
DB: Trumaine Johnson, Los Angeles Rams
DB: Robert Alford, Atlanta Falcons
DB: Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
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