🏈 The Touchdown Collective: Trying to take down Megatron
Puka Nacua, George Pickens and Cam Jordan all feature to keep you ahead of the game, one play at a time
In today’s Touchdown Collective there’s a big prediction in Press Coverage, news from around the league in Read Option and Cam Ward shows off in Get to the Post.
📰 Press Coverage
LA Rams
Calvin Johnson says the player with the best chance to beat his all-time receiving yards in a single season record is Puka Nacua.
“He’s still got Matthew [Stafford] so I think he’s got a shot,” Johnson said, via the Detroit Free Press. “If he stays healthy, that dude’s a killer out there. He’s a definite No.1. Who else? Help me out.”
‘Megatron’ also says it’s a matter of when, not if, his record will be broken, especially with the NFL heading towards 18 games in the regular season. But he will be happy for whoever breaks it - and would be happier still if it is his old Detroit Lions team-mate Stafford who is part of the deal.
“That would be kind of dope,” Johnson added. “I’d have to go to that game if he did that, cause I like Puka. He’s getting some crap out of his system that’s just a young guy, just learning, but I think he’s an awesome, dynamic receiver.”
LA Chargers
It’s fair to say that Ladd McConkey is ready for the season to start so he can play in Mike McDaniel’s new Chargers offense.
“Just watching practice, watching the scheme I’m like, ‘I can’t wait to get out there.’ Hit some of those motions and some of those shifts,” McConkey said yesterday.
McConkey has a small hamstring issue at the moment but is confident he’ll be at full speed by training camp.
“We’re in May and June, there’s no reason to rush it back and really push it then have another setback and bleed into training camp,” McConkey said. “Met with the doctors, no real concern, it’s just let’s get this thing healthy, get it strong.”
“Plan is when we roll into training camp we’re 100 per cent ready to go,” he added. “I have full faith in that.”
Dallas Cowboys
George Pickens says he will continue to focus on football and not an extension to his current deal after attending the first day of mandatory minicamp with the Cowboys.
“I want to bring a Super Bowl to a group of guys that never had that feeling,” Pickens said. “That’s really the most important part of me. I’m here to definitely help the team. [I’m not thinking about] the tag and all that. It’s football first. You know what I mean?”
And there will be no holdout for a new deal as Pickens added: “Uh, no, I’m definitely here now. Like I said, the group of guys that’s with the Cowboys kind of prevents you [from holding out]. If you know guys, and are going to guys’ houses, you’re talking. I talk to Dak Prescott.
“I’m still throwing with Dak. He’s definitely gonna make you not want to hold out.”
Detroit Lions
Isaac TeSlaa continues to impress Lions head coach Dan Campbell as he heads into his second season in the NFL.
TeSlaa had just 16 catches on 27 targets for the whole of last year, starting just three games. His six TDs across the season, though, put him in the same bracket as DK Metcalf, Jaylen Waddle, Tucker Kraft and Emeka Egbuka for getting into the endzone, highlighting his importance for the Lions.
Only Amon-Ra St Brown (11) and Jameson Williams (7) had more scores than TeSlaa last season.
“He is just steady, he’s steady, he is consistent for a young guy, he doesn’t get frazzled,” Campbell said. “I mean this as a compliment, what he’s done out here in the spring, Phase II, OTAs and all of that, it has just been very – there’s been nothing like flashy about it and that is a good thing.
“I mean he is just consistent and where we expected him to be at this point this time for Year 2 is exactly where we want him and I would say probably even a little bit more, you are impressed, he feels like a veteran right now.”
New Orleans Saints
Cam Jordan signed a new one-year deal yesterday which means he will lace them up for a 16th season in New Orleans, making him the longest-tenured player in franchise history ahead of Drew Brees (15).
Jordan said: “I’m going to treat it like it’s my final season, because I believe between God and my wife, that’s the only two people that could get me back through.
“I definitely am going to take to this like every game is my last to ever play, and I’m going to be overly appreciative of all my team-mates. I’ve got phenomenal team-mates. All my team-mates have been so locked in with me.”
See some more from Jordan in Get to the Post below.
↔️ Read option
ESPN report that the family of former 👷♂️49ers, ⚔️Raiders and ✮Cowboys defensive lineman Aldon Smith have decided to send his brain to medical experts at the Boston University CTE Center to see whether CTE played a role in his death over the weekend. He was just 36.
QB Michael Penix Jr has not yet been cleared to participate in 11-on-11 drills, per head coach Kevin Stefanski. Penix has participated in the ⚫️Falcons’ off-season workout schedule on a limited basis and Stefanski added that he is “exactly” where he needs to be in his rehab.
The 🐴Broncos have excused Jonathon Cooper from their mandatory minicamp practices this week after he was arrested twice in a week on multiple domestic violence charges, including one felony, report The Denver Post.
FOX4 News (below) have a video of 🤴Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice leaving jail after serving a 30-day sentence for violating his probation. Rice left without speaking to reporters.
The 🔴Cardinals are one of the favourites to be interested in a move for Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby, who will enter the NFL supplemental draft. An explainer from azcentral.com details all you need to know about the process and how it works.
Former 🐻Bears GM Ryan Pace is close to rejoining the NFC North as an adviser to the 🟣Vikings, according to ESPN sources.
The 🤴Chiefs acquired a sixth-round pick in the 2027 Draft from the ⚫️Falcons yesterday in exchange for offensive tackle Wanya Morris and a seventh-round selection.
↗ Get to the Post
Bo Nix back in the saddle…
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
😮💨😮💨😮💨
Cam Jordan is all business…
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
📩 Who am I? I’m Michael Ham, the Daily Star Sunday and Sunday Express Sports Editor – and an avid NFL fan. I have over 20 years of experience in sports news journalism and I’m the writer behind The Touchdown Collective.
🙌 Thanks for reading The Touchdown Collective! I will continue breaking down the NFL next time. In the meantime you can share this great find with your friends and family, simply click on the link below and follow the instructions so they can join too. Thanks, it means a lot.
The Touchdown Collective: Your go-to NFL source to
stay one step ahead of the game
I love the idea that the single-season receiving record could both be set and broken by receivers catching passes from Matthew Stafford. It would be another reminder of just how talented he has been as a QB.