The Jordan Brand and Travis Scott partnership continues to pay dividends. After releasing the acclaimed Jordan 4s, 33s, the reverse swooshed 1s and their low equivalent, Cactus Jack and His Airness are primed to launch another sure-fire heater next month.
Dressed in the same Olive as his Cactus Jack 33s, Travis’ Air Jordan 6 collab combines the cactus-esque colorway with one of the greatest Jordans ever made. Covered in the aforementioned Medium Olive, these kicks top it off with a translucent, glow-in-the-dark outsole and 3M detailing around the special stash pocket located at the ankle. Red Nike branding appears on the back of the left shoe whereas Cactus Jack branding shines on the right. The Air Jordan 6 is my favorite shoe of all-time so this pair is a must cop to me. Word on the street is that these are limited to around 60,000 pairs and will be priced at $250 when they drop on September 14th. Keep it locked for confirmation on these amazing kicks.
On feet Photos via @hanzuying. Top photo via @ylt_r3.
Le’Veon Bell, the man who dominated headlines without playing a single snap last season. He took holdouts to a new level when he decided to not play rather than sign the franchise tag tender that the Pittsburgh Steelers offered. After letting it be known for two straight seasons that he wanted a new deal, the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement and so Bell watched the 2018 NFL season play out from afar. However, his absence from the field would only last one year and he hopes to come back in a big way.
This offseason, the New York Jets decided to pony up the money that Bell was looking for. He signed a four-year contract worth $52.5 million with $27 million guaranteed. It slots second in contract value and per year pay out ($13.125 million a year) among all running backs. While it didn’t exactly meet his demands in Pittsburgh to be compensated like an elite running back AND a number two receiver, it still is one of the richest deals handed out to a running back in NFL history. The bright lights and extensive media attention that comes with playing in New York should be welcomed additions to a player like Bell.
With the Jets, the team put their money where their mouth is. After drafting Sam Darnold third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, the franchise feels like it has it’s quarterback of the present and the future locked in. We’ve seen teams spend elsewhere when they have their quarterback locked in on a rookie deal and that’s the template that New York is looking to follow. The team has also brought in veterans Ryan Khalil and Kelechi Osemele to bolster their offensive line. They also have Bell’s former teammate Kelvin Beachum coming into his third season with the Jets.
At 27 years old, Bell is in the prime of his career. Some could worry that the workload he shouldered in Pittsburgh—1,541 total touches in five seasons—means he’s closer to the end. Yet, after taking an entire season off Bell is more likely to be well-rested than rusty. For a Jets team that has been longing for an identity since the Darrelle Revis days, adding a back of Bell’s caliber gives them a pretty clear path forward. In five years, he completely changed what it meant to be an every-down back. Not only was Bell a terror when handed the ball off but he also was skilled enough to lineup on the perimeter and destroy linebackers and safeties in pass coverage.
Bell is preparing for a big year, he told reporters he’s willing to handle 500 touches this season if it means that New York wins the Super Bowl. Even if he’s at his 308 average, that’s 308 times all-Pro and future Hall of Fame candidate Le’Veon Bell is in possession of the ball rather than Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, or Elijah McGuire (no disrespect to them). Having a player of Bell’s caliber forces opposing defenses to treat this team a certain way. More eyes will be on him and more defenders will be used to slow him down. Bell doesn’t have to necessarily put up career numbers for this move to be a success. As long as his addition makes life easier for Darnold (and brings wins) the Jets and their fans will be ecstatic about his presence.
Lost in the discussion of contract negotiations and holdouts during training camp has been the persistent unhappiness of running back Duke Johnson Jr. The speedster has spent the first four seasons in the NFL trying to find his footing with the Cleveland Browns.
Taken in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Johnson Jr. has been more of an “offensive weapon” than a true running back. Besides his rookie year, he has never carried the ball over 100 times.
By his third season the team actually moved him to the slot as a full-time wide receiver in hopes of getting the most out of him on the field.
That experiment didn’t work out and Johnson Jr. returned to the running back group last season. However, with the emergence of Nick Chubb in the second half of the season and the team signing Kareem Hunt, Johnson Jr. felt that his role with the Browns was nonexistent.
He made his displeasure well known and has been asking to be moved since the beginning of offseason training activities (OTAs). Yet, Cleveland thought they could smooth things over and held onto him.
Until today. The Houston Texans agreed to send a conditional fourth-round pick—that becomes a third-round selection if Johnson Jr. plays 10 games with the Texans this season—in the 2020 NFL Draft. If the draft choice ends up becoming a third rounder it will be the highest draft compensation traded for a running back since Trent Richardson was dealt away for a first-round pick in 2013.
For Houston, Johnson Jr. immediately becomes the primary backup to Lamar Miller in the backfield. The Texans released D’Onta Foreman recently who was the previous backup and now they insert Johnson and. In his place.
Given the potential draft capital that they gave up for him it seems as if Houston has bigger plans for Johnson Jr. than just a change-of-pace or third-down receiving option out of the backfield. Bill O’Brien is from the Bill Belichick coaching tree so it’s easy to envision using Johnson Jr. in a similar way to how the New England Patriots have used players like James White, Dion Lewis, and Shane Vereen in recent seasons.
David Bakhtiari comes in at the #27 spot on our NFL SneakerReporter Top 30. The 6’4” 310 lbs. Offensive Tackle is simply the best the game has to offer heading into 2019. Bakhtiari was selected in the 4th round with the 109th overall pick by the Green Bay Packers. He has been a model of consistency and health, playing in all 16 regular season games in 4 of his first 6 years as a professional. The other two years he only missed 2 and 4 games with no concerning injuries. After injuries riddled him in his collegiate career at Colorado, he seems to be over such woes.
Bakhtiari captured the starting job right as he entered the league as a rookie. Left tackle is arguably the most important position on the offensive line, and having your Quarterback be Aaron Rodgers severely escalates the stakes. Bakhtiari has been very solid throughout the duration of his short career so far. As a rookie in 2013, Bakhtiari only surrendered 10 accepted penalties all year. He also helped Eddie Lacy rush for 1,178 Yards and capture NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The Packers finished in the Top 10 in Passing and Rushing in 2013 for the first time in a decade.
The next few years became more of the same, as Bahktiari continued to dominate in his position. Bakhtiari started every game in 2014, helping the Packers finish 1st in the league in scoring at 30.4 Pts/game. He was also the leader of an offensive line that gave up just nine sacks in the final eight games of the 2014 season, the second lowest over that span. Bakhtiari was in complete control of Rodgers blind side all of 2014, which assisted heavily in Rodgers capturing MVP honors that season.
Bakhtiari started all 16 games again in 2016 and collected his first AP All-Pro selection (first team). He became the first Green Bay Tackle to receive this honor since Forrest Gregg in 1967, playing for Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Bakhtiari wasn’t done in 2016, as he earned his first trip to the NFL Pro Bowl, having being named a first alternate and replacing the injured Jason Peters of Philadelphia. In the 28 games Bakhtiari played between 2017-2018, he only committed 7 accepted penalties.
Last year, Bakhtiari joined Forrest Gregg as the only two Green Bay Packers Tackles to earn Associated Press All-Pro Honors in consecutive seasons. It is without a doubt that David Bakhtiari is one of the top offensive linemen in the NFL today. Out of all offensive linemen, Bakhtiari claims the top spot in our SneakerReporter Top 30 Rankings as we count down the days to the 2019 season. With new coaching in place, the Green Bay offense looks to surge to new heights in big thanks to the protection of David Bakhtiari.
At age 31, Calais Campbell changed teams for the first time in his NFL career. Prior to the 2017 season, Campbell had spent the first nine years with the Arizona Cardinals, making back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2014 and 2015. Yet, when free agency came around the price tag was too rich for them (their highest bid reached $9 million a year) and Campbell signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars for four-years, $60 million ($30 million guaranteed). The signing immediately paid dividends. Not only did the Jaguars house the best defense in the league during the 2017 season but Campbell set career-highs in sacks (14.5), quarterback hits (30), and forced fumbles (three).
In year two of Campbell’s big deal, things weren’t the same. Jacksonville’s defensive dominance dipped. The team went from leading at halftime on the road in the AFC Championship game the prior season to missing the playoffs and picking in the top 10 of the 2019 NFL Draft. The massive lineman still managed to be selected to the Pro Bowl and collected double-digit sacks (10.5) for only the second-straight season. He also totaled the most tackles combined (72) and solo (53) of his career to date. Though the team wasn’t able to repeat it’s successes in the win and loss column, it could be argued that Campbell is coming off of his best season.
Despite the 5-11 letdown of last year, there weren’t many big changes made to the roster this offseason–especially on the defensive end. Jacksonville made noise early in the spring of 2019 when they added quarterback Nick Foles in free agency. Blake Bortles was serviceable but never was able to take that next step to make the team consistent contenders. Given that the bulk of the Jaguars’ defense remained, getting a reliable quarterback was huge for this team. Campbell and co. now feel like they have an offense that can occasionally win them games instead of relying on the defense to stifle all opponents.
Campbell will be 33 years old when the 2019 NFL season kicks off. In NFL years, he is certainly not considered a young man anymore. With two of his best seasons coming recently there’s hope that Campbell can remain one of the top defensive linemen in the league for another year. At 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, Campbell is one of the biggest players in the entire league. He might not have the same burst that saw him run a 4.85 40-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Combine but he still presents a combination of speed and power that makes him a tough block for opposing offenses.
In Jacksonville, the team feels like they have the necessary talent on both sides of the ball that will take them to Super Bowl LIV in Miami, FL. Campbell attended the University of Miami but left before the Hurricanes transitioned to playing their regular-season games at Hard Rock Stadium (host stadium of Super Bowl LIV). In order to make this homecoming come to fruition, the Jaguars are going to need their defense to once again be one of the best units in all of football. That starts with Campbell, despite the talent at the next two levels (Myles Jack, Josh Allen, Jalen Ramsey, and A.J. Bouye), IG Campbell and the rest of the defensive line can’t contain the run and put pressure on the quarterback then everyone else’s job becomes that much harder.
The series that gave us ‘Lemon Pepper Wet,’ ‘Florida Man,’ ‘Teddy Perkins,’ and so much is coming back. FX has renewed Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” for a fourth season before production has begun on the previously announced Season 3 Variety reports.
The announcement was made last Tuesday by FX’s president of entertainment, Eric Schrier, during the network’s presentation at the Television Critics Association summer press tour giving praise to the show’s executive producers.
“What more can be said about Atlanta than the critical acclaim and accolades that Donald, Paul, Dianne, Stephen and Hiro have earned for two exceptional seasons of what is clearly one of the best shows on television,” Schrier told the audience. “This group of collaborators and cast have created one of the most original, innovative stories of this generation and we are proud to be their partners.”
Since the show premiered in 2016, Atlanta has received much acclaim winning five Emmys and two Golden Globes throughout its two seasons. In addition to being a critical success, the series is also a fan favorite. Given the production start date, Season 3 will likely premiere in late 2019 or early 2020, in keeping with the gap between the first two seasons.
As a result, there is a possibility that FX is stocking up on episode in case Glover gets caught up in another project. So viewers might not have to go through another drought between seasons three and four, which will please fans of the show.
