Week 10 NFL Practice Squad Power Ranking

Hello, friends. gentle piano plays . And welcome to Week 10 of the Practice Squad Power Rankings. gentle piano continues .This PSPR has become a tradition unlikely any other, a majestic voyage into the deepest depths of NFL rosters to choose members in hopes of witne sing triumph from some of them on a Sunday afternoon. From Duke Williams' miraculous ascension from the CFL to scoring a game-winning touchdown for the last season to aptly named Hercules Mata'afa registering seven quarterback pre sures the last two weeks for the , the PSPR is often the catapult from obscurity relative unknowns need to prove their value exceeds far beyond the practice field.We're in for a glorious week in the NFL with vs. , vs. , the Seahawks and Rams clashing for NFC West supremacy as part of a six-game masterpiece in the 4 p.m. ET time slot that's bound to spark fireworks acro s Joe Namath Jersey the NFL landscape.That's about as good as I can pay homage to the G.O.A.T. Jim Nantz during Masters week. And before you get strapped in for what will be an epic, life-defining weekend of sports with Tiger Woods trying to win his sixth green jacket and an outstanding slate in the NFL, let me provide all my egg salad-eating patrons with some PSPR updates and three new members.Somehow, I had mi sed three last-minute call-ups before Week 8, meaning the one-week call-up record is actually eight, not five as I happily takes a tiny bite of a cracker with pimento cheese . Before Week 9, four members received The Call. We're cruising along like Tiger on the back nine in '97 when he ultimately shot 30 en route to his earth-shattering 12-shot victory. For those keeping score at home, the PSPR tracker reads 26 call-ups, and we very well could see another wave of call-ups over the weekend. For those who mi sed it in the PSPR's 2020 debut, I'm only including practice squadders who are rookies, second-year players, or third-year players. That's it. And it aligns perfectly with my niche area of expertise because the 2018 draft cla s is the first Cooper Kupp Jersey I fully evaluated as CBS Sports' NFL Draft analyst.And as you'll see below, I couldn't resist ranking more players, given the increase in practice squad sizes this season. To run parallel with the league's figure, I hope to write about 16 individuals every Friday, 10 officially in the rankings and six honorable mentions.Oh what do you know -- Ballage got The Call in Week 9 and was a stud against the for Los Angeles. Another failed Adam Gase project who's found greener pastures elsewhere. He toted the rock 15 times, accumulated 69 yards on the ground with a score and snagged two targets for 15 yards. The guy is a big, freaky back who can play. Just like I told you a few weeks ago when he was the PSPR cover guy. Jackson has now appeared in each of the last three games for the Bills -- two on defense, one solely on special teams -- and has fared well. He should've been a PSPR member a lot earlier than this. After all, he was my No. 92 overall prospect in the 2020 cla s and my 16th cornerback. In Week 7, as a practice squad call-up against a beleaguered team, Jackson had two pa s breakups and an interception on a savvy zone sink near the sideline that fooled . Yes, I know. This is a bit of a cherry-pick. But Jackson was a favorite of mine as a prospect Johnny Hekker Jersey and crushed his time at the Senior Bowl. While not a freaky, super-fast athlete for the cornerback spot, he plays a tick faster due to his instincts and has high-level awarene s and ball skills when the pa s is arriving.In Week 9, Brooks received his first call-up of the season but only appeared on special teams. While has played well, with out for the season with a torn knee ligament, Brooks is the type of second-level defender Pittsburgh should consider calling up and inserting on defense. He looks the part of a trendy safety-linebacker hybrid at 5-11 and 220 pounds. He's not fast -- he ran 4.64 at the combine -- but his short-area quickne s and instincts were both outstanding on film at Maryland. Brooks overflowed the stat sheet in 2018 and 2019 with a combined 155 tackles, 18 tackles for lo s, 2.5 sacks, two picks, and eight pa s breakups. He's often the first to (correctly) react to where the offense plans to go with the football and will make plays in coverage at the short-to-intermediate level. And he's a sure tackler. Brooks has the athleticism to sift through the traffic to get to the ball carrier too.Mr. Butler is back on the Eagles practice squad after two weeks on the 53-man roster and just one target to show for it. He's a tight end now, so there should be better matchups for him against linebackers and safeties inside of ultra-twitchy Aaron Donald Jersey corners who can stay in his hip pocket. Philadelphia's getting healthier now at receiver and tight end, but I still believe Butler can make plays after the catch and when simply throws it up to him. Jones popped at the Senior Bowl, and I remember being impre sed watching him on the flight down to Mobile, Alabama. He finished as my No. 198 overall prospect in the 2020 cla s -- ironically one spot ahead of PSPR alum -- but went undrafted. At 6-1 and 316 pounds with a poor combine performance on his resume, Jones doesn't look like he'd fit in today's NFL. But there is plenty of power in his hands, and some first-step quickne s to threaten through one of the middle gaps.A contender for the best name for a defensive player in the NFL, Mata'afa was a fascinating prospect and is still an intriguing player residing on Minnesota's practice squad right now. Regardle s of where Minnesota aligns him before the snap, Mata'afa has the juice to threaten the foot quickne s of offensive linemen.Stone was a difficult evaluation this past draft season because his film showed a savvy zone-based defensive back with impre sive range and playmaking ability in coverage and as a box defender. Then, at 5-10 and 207 pounds at the combine, he had a dreadful performance acro s the board. His best percentile finish among safeties in officially recorded combine history was 27th, a 4.62 time in the 40-yard Austin Blythe Jersey dash. Unsurprisingly, Stone lasted until the seventh round. He's yet to see the field for Baltimore, but his name just like a good Ravens safety, doesn't it? Stone plays faster and more explosive than his combine indicates, anyway. Johnson has a fascinating story. It seems like he was in college for a decade because there was draft buzz for the 6-4, 230-pound wideout after the 2017 season -- his redshirt sophomore year -- when he caught 54 pa ses for 701 yards with a score. Unfortunately, his statistics dipped in each of the following two seasons but, after a transfer to Oregon, Johnson did have four touchdowns in his final collegiate campaign. He had a flair for the dramatic catch and had a three-cone drill of 6.94 seconds at his mammoth size. He could be a fun big slot receiver in New Orleans.After went No. 2 overall to the in 2018 another Saquan went No. 177 overall to the Saints. Hamp