Beat: Lew Nichols had ‘legitimate’ roster case

R.I.P. to the Ben Sauls trade candidate era, which lasted about 50 minutes. Pittsburgh also waived DL Kyler Baugh, LB Mark Robinson, LB Julius Welschof, DB D’Shawn Jamison, DB Daryl Porter, OL Steve Jones, OL Aiden Williams, TE JJ Galbreath, RB Lew Nichols, WR Max Hurleman and WR Lance McCutcheon.

Released by the Browns in late June, Okorokwo is a fine situation pass-rusher and likely will help fill the void left by Josh Sweat in Philadelphia. Okoronkwo had 7.5 sacks in two years with the Browns after a stint with the Lovie Smith Texans in 2022 got him onto the grander NFL radar. Philadelphia also added DT Jacob Sykes and waived RB Lew Nichols and DE KJ Henry to make room for Sykes and Okoronkwo.

Graham suffered a torn triceps in the Eagles’ Week 12 win over the Rams and missed the remainder of the regular season. With a little less than two weeks to go before the Super Bowl, Graham will now have a chance to practice in hopes of suiting up for the Eagles as they aim to end the Chiefs’ hope of a three-peat. In addition to Graham, the Eagles also designated TE C.J. Uzomah for return and signed RB Lew Nichols to their practice squad.

Ngata and many others spent the 2023 season on the Eagles’ practice squad, so the team will keep them around for the offseason. The 6'3" Ngata was a five-star recruit when he committed to Clemson, but he has never quite been able to build on that early-career hype. He’ll have another offseason to try and figure it out. The other 19 players signed to reserve/future deals were: DT Thomas Booker, T Le’Raven Clark, WR Shaquan Davis, DT Noah Elliss, DB Mekhi Garner, DB Mario Goodrich, WR Jacob Harris, WR Griffin Hebert, DE Tarron Jackson, TE E.J. Jenkins, LB Terrell Lewis, DB Tristin McCollum, DB Tiawan Mullen, RB Lew Nichols, G Jason Poe, LB Brandon Smith, C Lecitus Smith, T Brett Toth, and WR Austin Watkins.

Nichols (5’10/222) didn’t earn a Combine invite and only participated in the bench press and vertical at CMU’s pro day. After breaking out with a 341-1,848-16 rushing line in 2021, Nichols’ production dropped to a disappointing 177-601-6 (3.4 YPC) last season – in part due to injury. While he has ideal size for an early-down back, Nichols lacks breakaway speed and is average at best in gaining yards after contact. Far from an elite pass-catcher, Nichols did total 70 receptions for 557 yards in his career but will lose work to better pass-catchers in Green Bay. Nichols’ ability to grind out the tough yards could be enough to earn him a few eventual carries if he makes the 53-man roster, but he doesn’t profile as a big part of the Pack’s future plans.

Nichols (5'10/190) finished out the regular season as the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and showed why he was just that in his team’s Sun Bowl victory Friday. Nichols carried the ball 30 times for 138 yards and one touchdown, making him the only player outside of quarterback Daniel Richardson to put up more than 100 offensive yards in the contest.

Nichols (5'10/190) is the nation’s leading rusher with 1,708 yards and has 15 touchdowns. He also caught 38 passes for 300 yards and two scores, displaying great versatility for the Chippewas, who won eight games for the third time in five seasons. Per Pro Football Focus, Nichols was the 18th highest-graded running back at 88.4, and forced 53 missed tackles on the season, which also ranks as the 18th most in the nation. His 24 breakaway runs (runs of 15+ yards) ranked second behind Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker.

Nichols (5'10"/190) has been a beast all year getting, a ridiculous workload, but his 44 carries was a season high, even for him. He was grinding and grinding and grinding, all the way to Central Michigan’s win. He’s averaged 200 yards in his last three games, and is now up over 1700 yards rushing. He added to his touchdown total (15 now) in the fourth quarter, putting the dagger into Eastern Michigan with a 33-yard touchdown, which was also his longest of the day. He shoved off a tackler and bounced it out to the left sideline before racing down the sideline. He’s put in the work, and Central Michigan is going bowling and also taking home the Michigan MAC Trophy.

Nichols (5'10/190) was spectacular once again, as he has been one of the unquestioned stars of this year’s MACtion games. Though he was dominant on a consistent basis all night long, his best run came on a sweep play to the left side where he burst through the hole and put a masterful juke on a converging cornerback to free up the redshirt sophomore sensation for a 66-yard touchdown run to put CMU up 28-10 in the second quarter. Nichols has now surpassed the 100-yard threshold in six of his last seven games while scoring at least two touchdowns in each of his last four contests. He will look to cap off a superb 2021 campaign next Friday night against Eastern Michigan.

Nichols (5'10"/190) was instrumental in getting CMU’s offense going, as they were down 14-0 in the first quarter before their redshirt freshman bell cow received nine consecutive touches, totaling 54 yards, before punching in a one-yard goal line plunge to bring them within one score. He was ridden hard and put away wet in the game, with HC Jim McElwain seemingly giving him the ball every play, with great success. His best play was on his third touchdown where he jump-cut to the right side before absolutely running over Kent State’s safety on his way to the end zone for a 12-yard score to put CMU up 47-30. The Chippewas travel to play Ball State next Wednesday.