We’ve passed the midpoint of preseason. The regular season is drawing near. It’s starting to feel like we know so much about each team … and at the same time, we know absolutely nothing. Who’s going to win the NFC North? How about the NFC West? Are the Patriots going to be kings of the AFC East — or will it be the Bills? The Ravens and Eagles are really back, aren’t they? Aren’t they?! Can the Bengals finally … not get in their own way? Let’s make sense of the league and the never-ending news cycle. This is Sound Smart, where I try to spin forward, dive deeper, think outside the box and read between the lines. The Philadelphia Eagles would’ve seen a flag on just about every play during their joint practices with the New England Patriots last week. Philly had as many as 13 men in the huddle. On purpose. On every play, receiver DeVonta Smith would stroll into the huddle (not wearing a helmet) and listen to the play call. Then he’d stand back with the backup quarterbacks to watch the play unfold. Smith, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, is getting every mental rep he can. “[It’s] helping my process every play — hearing a play call, hearing the words coming out of Jay’s [Jalen Hurts] mouth, and just overall … what I’m thinking of, what I see, and things like that,” Smith said Wednesday. It would’ve been hard enough to get promoted from WR2 to WR1 in the wake of the A.J. Brown trade. But Smith also has to learn a new offense under freshly-hired OC Sean Mannion — without taking many reps in the month of August. So that makes it all the more important to hear every play. It’s a new language. And given how much the Eagles will be counting on Smith, he has to make up for lost time. And then there’s the other extra guy who was in the huddle — admittedly less frequently. That was rookie receiver Makai Lemon, who is also nursing a hamstring injury. It’s a similar story. It’s hard enough to be a rookie, with the added pressure of being a first-rounder. But he is expected to contribute immediately as the team’s WR2. There are even more layers of complication for the newbie. “It’s a challenge because he’s not out there getting the actual reps,” Hurts said of Lemon last week. “But just being intentional with the walkthroughs, being intentional with the moments we have off the field and after practice.” For some teams, it can feel like training camp is dragging on forever. I’m not sure it’ll feel like that for the Eagles. It must feel more like they’re up against the clock, even with a few weeks until the first regular-season game against the Washington Commanders. The one advantage that the Eagles have is that — even without their top receivers in the lineup — their quarterback has been through this. Hurts has had a new offensive coordinator in all but one of his seven seasons in Philly. “I don’t know it any other way,” he said. The other advantage is that the Eagles have three-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley. He seems to be this offense’s identity — it starts with him. He’ll have a major role in the running game and passing game. And even though the Eagles’ passing attack struggled mightily with inefficiency and turnovers against the Patriots, Barkley didn’t have issues finding room to run. The more you listen to the way Barkley talks about Mannion, the more you can hear his confidence in this new system. “When you talk to the coaches, everybody keeps mentioning it. [It’s] the work that he’s putting in,” Barkley said of the new OC. “I don’t think there’s really anybody that can beat him into the building. I think he’s still the last one to leave the building. I think that’s pretty cool when you have a guy that’s that bought in.” I have a ruling on the Dexter Lawrence trade. I saw him intercept Bears QB Caleb Williams in joint practices — and I’ve seen enough. It’s a win for the Bengals. OK, I’m sort of kidding. But if you remember, I was a fan of the trade when the Bengals got the two-time All-Pro defensive tackle from the New York Giants in April. So now that Lawrence is proving to be a game-wrecker for Cincinnati, I will begin my first victory lap. The Bengals traded the 10th overall pick in a package that got them Lawrence. On the clock at No. 10, the Giants took tackle Francis Mauigoa. The players available included safety Caleb Downs and edge Rueben Bain, among others. They’re good players. They’re not likely to be as impactful as Lawrence in 2026. And that’s what really matters to the Bengals. Because QB Joe Burrow is tired of losing. He’s thinking about the Super Bowl. This year. “You know, I’m tired of saying, ‘Next year, next year, next year.’ This is it,” Burrow told reporters. “Life is too short to keep pushing things down the road, and I’m trying to instill some urgency and some intensity in everybody to go and be great every day and try to go make it happen.” Lawrence is helping carry out that vision. The Bengals need to keep investing in that vision. Fernando Mendoza’s second preseason game left me wanting more — not always in a good way. Before we dive in, I want to rewind to his first outing against the Arizona Cardinals. In that game, Mendoza looked … solid. Nothing exceptionally good or bad. But it was a performance he needed to build on, if he was going to put additional pressure on presumed starter Kirk Cousins. Because, to be clear, Mendoza looks solid on the whole. If the Raiders wanted to play him, they could. And he’d struggle and learn on the job. But that’s not what they want. They want him to be better than Cousins before he plays. And that’s just not where Mendoza is at — yet. In the first preseason game, he put together a nice drive, which included a chunk play to Malik Benson and an anticipation throw (which seemed to demonstrate pre-snap confidence in reading the defense) in the red zone for a 6-yard touchdown to receiver Jack Bech. Those were plays where Mendoza’s timing was ideal. But there were others when he was late to throw — when he waited too long and missed his window. That made perfect sense. He has taken more than twice as many snaps under center in just these two preseason games (13) than he did in his entire season at Indiana (6). This will take time. So back to his second preseason outing. You probably know by now that he threw an interception, which the Texans returned for a touchdown. It was a rookie mistake, with Mendoza looking off a throw that he could make and turning to the wrong checkdown at the wrong moment — too late. It’s a play he needs to throw away. Mendoza, again, looked a beat late on several plays. And then there was the stuff beyond his control. He took a sack that wasn’t his fault, with pressure coming up the middle instantaneously. He took pressure much quicker than expected on a screen pass, which ruined the timing of the play, which could have gone for 50 yards — but ended up with nine. I still like Mendoza. I still think he’ll start at some point this season. And while the Raiders would love for him to show progress (which he has!), they also have made it clear they’d prefer to keep him on the bench for as long as possible. His interception was the perfect excuse to do just that. He can make these rookie mistakes in practice, where he can do them behind closed doors — and without external scrutiny. If that’s what they really want, that’s what they can now do. Eli Manning famously rejected the San Diego Chargers leading into the 2004 NFL Draft. Peyton Manning famously returned to Tennessee and college football rather than land with Bill Parcells’ Jets in 1997. Would their nephew, Texas QB Arch Manning, do something similar ahead of the 2027 NFL Draft? There are a few strong candidates to lock up the No. 1 overall pick in 2027. The Jets and Cardinals make sense. But after the Cleveland Browns named Deshaun Watson as QB1, no other team is in a better position to get the top pick. Cleveland’s quarterback situation would be considered untenable for any other organization. The Browns have a plan, which is that they’ll explore Watson (and probably QB Shedeur Sanders, too) in 2026 and likely draft their next franchise QB in the upcoming class, which is supposed to boast several elite prospects. It’s actually not that bad of a plan. Objectively, no one wants to play Watson. Sanders has yet to live up to his “LEGENDARY” brand name. But if there was any season to tank, this would be it, with a swath of outstanding QB prospects eligible for next year’s draft. Unless … well, the plan could backfire. If the Browns pick at No. 1, then it’s possible that a handful of the elite prospects won’t want to land in Cleveland. And if one guy stays in school, that could lead others to follow suit. The biggest flight risk might be the top projected prospect, Manning. He might be the highest-profile prospect since Peyton. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Archie [Manning] and [Arch’s dad] Cooper [Manning],” draft analyst Todd McShay said on the “Brandon Walker College Football Show.” “I’ve spent a lot of time in Thibodaux, Louisiana, talking to the Manning family. The 2027 draft is not — by any stretch — a guarantee that Arch is going to be in it.” Oregon Ducks QB Donte Moore, in play to be the No. 1 prospect, is only a redshirt junior. Same with South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers, who could play his way into first-overall contention. The good news is that there are others: Notre Dame’s C.J. Carr, Ohio Sate’s Julian Sayin and USC’s Jayden Maiava. The Browns should end up with a good QB if they’re picking at No. 1. But it’s worth considering whether they might repel the best of the best. If Manning stays in school, he’ll see the Jets, Cardinals and Browns draft QBs in Round 1. So that means avoiding some of the historically awful franchises for a QB. It’s a long way away. But it already makes sense. The good news for Stroud is that he entered the NFL as a serviceable quarterback. The bad news for Stroud is that, in 2026, he’s roughly as serviceable. As the Texans and Stroud begin negotiations on what the QB is worth, they are apparently not particularly close, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. And I can imagine why. Stroud is the same guy who gave Caleb Williams advice after a game, with the Texans QB speaking down to Williams, like Stroud had years of NFL experience — like he was an accomplished vet. The moment lacked self-awareness. And now Stroud probably wants to get paid like an accomplished vet. Maybe those demands, again, lack self-awareness. In all likelihood, the Texans will have to pay Stroud. But not before making him prove himself — and get that nasty taste of the team’s last playoff run out of the Texans’ mouths. 1. I think I’m worried about Titans QB Cam Ward again. Last week, I felt like I was being a little melodramatic about Ward’s calamitous first preseason outing. Because it’s only preseason, right? But yet again this week, Ward looked like one of the worst QB1s who played. Last week’s excuse was that the sample size was too small. But that sample is getting bigger and nothing has changed. I’m still worried. 2. I think this throw from Rams QB Stetson Bennett was utter nonsense. How did he do it? 3. I think a few rookie receivers are coming back down to earth. There were a few names during the early weeks of training camp who seemed to be the next Randy Moss: Chiefs receiver Cyrus Allen, Browns receiver Denzel Boston, Saints receiver Jordyn Tyson. Allen literally seemed like the second coming of Tyreek Hill — but then he was WR5 in the preseason game this weekend, going in after Tyquan Thornton and Jaylen Royals. Boston had all the hype before the team got into pads, but I’ve seen his name fade since then. And Tyson, who was a human highlight reel at Saints camp, suffered a serious hamstring injury that’s going to mean he misses some time. 4. I think a few rookie receivers are not coming back down to earth. All you fantasy folks out there, keep an eye out for receivers Ja’Kobi Lane (Ravens), De’Zhaun Stribling (49ers) and Caleb Douglas (Dolphins). I also like Allen a lot, even with this rearrangement of the depth chart. He might not be Hill 2.0, but he’s still probably going to be good. 5. I think I’m relieved Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty is OK. He went down in practice on Sunday with an ankle injury, but he appears to be OK per multiple reports. He will likely miss some of the regular season. But man, it would’ve been truly awful to see him miss the season before it began, particularly after such a disappointing rookie year behind a crappy offensive line. 6. I think Ben Johnson loves keeping Caleb Williams humble. There was a throw that made the rounds on social media from the Chicago Bears QB. Williams targeted tight end Colston Loveland on a seam route near the end zone, and the QB put the ball in a hard-to-reach spot. Who was at fault? Should Loveland have caught it? Johnson cleared up any confusion: “I probably would go somewhere else with the ball on that one.” Loveland should never have been the target. Receiver Kaden Davis was wide open underneath. This is the philosophical battle between Johnson and Williams: Take the killshot or take the easy ones.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
