Navy_football

Curious... why?

If they do draft a Ladd McConkey, then I'm onboard with that.

I don't know why people think Ladd or Mitchell would be redundant to Thielen and Johnson. Ladd and Mitchell are 4.3 guys. Johnson was a 4.5 guy coming out of college and Thielen is probably a 4.6/4.7 guy at this point. They are not the same type of athletes.

I keep seeing WR as a need for them, and I just don't agree. They have great WRs. They just can't keep their QB upright or on the field because their oline is below NFL average.

If BY regresses this season, I think there's a VERY good chance they begin looking for his replacement in 2025. If he maintains, they'll likely try backups more during the season just to see what they have at other positions. I doubt either happens though. BY will be fine and show a lot of improvement next season. Now 2025 is the year he needs to break out. If this offense isn't drastically improved in 2025, then he could become a trading chip as they look for his replacement in earnest.

Suck one more year AND draft Jalen Carter

Watching Oregon play Washington now. JPJ is really starting to grow on me. Oregon could have run up the middle the entire game if they wanted to. And that's no exaggeration.

Fair. Hopefully that's worked out this season. Every passing game needs at least a threat of a deep ball.

Honestly, the oline upgrades are the biggest improvements to the WR corps. How many times was the QB hit at release and/or didn't have time to throw when he saw guys open? Inside pressure is kryptonite to every QB in the pocket.

I legit think Goodell had to take some powerful drugs after Latham snatched him up like a rag doll. I guess he didn't get the memo about his back.

Man if they mess around and draft Ladd at 39, I'm driving down to Carolina for every home game. I'll gladly give them my money and my time. I just really want to see the Panthers finally embrace the change in the NFL. O line and playmaking WRs are extremely important in today's NFL.

Come on LG. I could pull a bunch of those for every QB in the NFL. Even the second QB picked in last year's draft. Rookie of the year. Pro bowler. Second coming... Bryce's problem is that he didn't throw enough of those. He definitely needs to take more shots downfield.

Well now... that changes everything. Maybe Derrick Brown? Luvu? That's all I got. But new GM, new HC, new OC, new cap wizard. Things can change for the best.

Right. But there's football and there's real life. I can love a person as a football player, and hate him as a human being - and vice versa.

For the record, I really wanted Ladd McConkey. I think he's a Thielen 3.0. Not 2.0, but 3.0. But I can see their reasoning for going with XL. Schematically it makes more sense. But you WILL have to replace what Thielen and Johnson do too. And that day will likely come sooner rather than later. It's a true testament to Thielen's toughness that he caught 100 balls for 1000 yards at his age with no real threats to open things underneath for him. But you can't think he won't get injured at his age at that tick. Father time always wins.

Doesn't that fear of getting beat on 1v1s on the outside make the defense play different. As much as I've heard huddlers say defenders weren't afraid of BY's arm, I think it was more of the WRs speed, tracking, and ability to win at the point. If he goes out there and snags a jump ball or two 40+ yards downfield, you'll magically see defenses respect BY's too weak arm a little more. That'll open things up underneath where the route runners and TEs usually live.

Strato, does everything have to come back to Bryce Young and how he limits the offense? So who was the big, speedy, jump ball WR last season for Bryce to throw to? Who was the guy that could go get the ball if you just threw it up for grabs? Who was the 50/50 receiver?

Offensively. Hopefully that is changing as the NFL is changing their focus to scoring vs hard hits. Defensively, the Panthers have had a ton of guys reach their potential. Some haven't of course. But a lot have exceeded expectations.

Or he'll make a ridiculous catch high pointing the ball, and all of a sudden there are Moss and Metcalf expectations. He's gonna look good in practice going against our DBs. Assuming Horn will be injured.

He really is. I mean that's Bryce Young level bad situation.

First of all, Tepper has too much money to be confronting people like that. It's just too dangerous now a days. Folks are crazy! But I like his attitude of not taking ish from anybody and talking to people man to man. It's obvious that he doesn't come from money. He's a self made billionare and that's pretty rare. Probably a real straight shooter and I respect the heck out of that!

So... you don't agree?

Yeah, I don't think the trade up was worth it. I mean aren't you paying him more on his rookie contract because he was drafted in the 1st round vs the 2nd? Will the fifth year option will cover the difference in net present value? I think XL will be more exciting than Ladd or AD. At this point, I don't want exciting. I want consistency at the position. We'll see. Probably the better deep ball and jump ball option of the 3.

Just have realistic expectations for XL. Ladd and Mitchell will look better out the gate, but he does have the higher ceiling. He should have the better highlight reel as a rookie, but Ladd will have the stats. We'll see in 2-3 years if he was the right choice.

Ladd and AD are still available? Hmmm...