t96

Just remembered... the Dolphins have a lefty QB. Why would they value a LT so much as to give Armstead that massive deal? Are they confident he’ll seamlessly slide to RT? Or just need OL that bad they don’t care about investing a ton in a non-blindside tackle?

Lot of different opinions in the room, more film to be watched and a ton of meetings to be had. I'm sure guys like Rhule and Fitterer have their own preferences right now but the team as a whole isn't ready yet to rank them, pretty standard stuff for a month before the draft. And often times teams are torn on players, this isn't an exact science. Their opinions could change many times in the next month right up until the pick is actually made.

Completely agree with the first part of your post. He is not a starter in this league, at all. But he did play well in Henry's absence last year and unless we draft a RB I don't see anyone beating him out as a backup and short yardage/goal line back here.

My only hope/goal for this season at this point is to finish above .500 and make the playoffs, I think avoiding .500 or worse would be a huge step in the right direction even if it's just 42-40. Then to win the play-in games and get in the playoffs. Atlanta and likely Toronto are opponents we should be able to beat even if it's on the road. If we can get a top 8 seed going in great then we get a few chances. But that seems unlikely at this point so will need 2 win two "playoff games" against relatively poorer competition. As long as we make it in the real playoffs I'll be thrilled with this season all things considered, even if we get swept (I doubt we don't win at least a game against anyone with LaMelo, but still). Gotta instill some confidence in this team and a winning culture to carry going forward. Anything less than a winning record and playoff appearance will be a disappointment to me, given how promising last season was and how we should be much better than last year overall (young players developing, other additions).

I don't really buy this sudden change of heart at the very end. I think all along he had certain things he wanted and most teams (including us) had the ability to give them to him and he would've gone to whichever team best met those conditions. Everything along the way was just a part of negotiations. The Browns wound up being the team to give him what he wanted in the end.

I think if we sign Brown or Armstead for LT then it'll be pretty clear we're going QB. If not then I think LT is more likely.

Probably true, and I'd let the other teams make that mistake then. Reaching for Pickett just isn't a good idea for this team. We could get a similar caliber QB in the mid/late 1st round next season easily. Either nab the BPA (likely a LT) at 6 or trade down and get back some of that day 2 capital we've thrown away recently. But yeah there's a good chance we do take Pickett at 6. I'd be excited and hopeful about having him but would not be happy about the value there ultimately. Edit: then again I will also point out that I absolutely HATED the idea of considering Justin Herbert a few years ago and thought he was only worth a late 1st rounder at most. Obviously we know how that has turned out, so my opinion doesn't mean all that much...

I was talking about the Falcons. Mariota is a good bridge QB

Oh but he can, he just needs to elevate himself to league darling like tom brady then he can deflate it at will with just moderate punishment while keeping all his rings.

I bet they take Willis or one of the other more "project" QBs this draft and then sit him for 1-2 years.

If so then please let it be in the teens or 20s with us picking up some day 2 draft capital. Pickett at 6 would be a mistake.

Yeah and that's a completely fine price for a QB of Mayfield's caliber. He's a solid starter. Darnold is massively overpaid because he sucks and isn't even an above average backup level QB in this league. I get the hesitations with Mayfield, he's absolutely not without flaws and isn't a true franchise QB. If we were to add him I'd still be looking for a QB this draft/next draft. But he would be a MASSIVE upgrade on what we have right now and would be worth trading a 4th for easily.

He's in the last year of his rookie deal, contract isn't an issue

Agree, nothing more than that though. We'd be a playoff team this year with Baker

McCaffrey is definitely a top 5-10 rusher in the league not even taking into account his receiving ability but yeah in order to keep him healthy and because he is an elite receiver too I'd make this shift for sure. Give him 5-10 carries per game and 10+ targets per game. Not sure McAdoo is the right coordinator for this though.

"Who’s this 99 guy on the Rams? I’m hearing he might be a problem for us." Obvious sarcasm in that quote, no?

Positional value though, it's easy to get a franchise long snapper undrafted. yes it's a 6th rounder, not a big deal at all, but still better to use it on a position where there could be great reward. We wound up waiving the dude anyways and going with Jansen. No team picked him up off our PS, as expected.

Pickett is basically Mac Jones 2.0. A little less polished but a bit more upside with a slightly stronger arm and significantly more mobility. Basically, not a guy who is an ideal franchise QB and if you go with him he's probably good enough that you are winning games and with a good all around team getting in the playoffs, but I don't see him leading a team to a Super Bowl victory.

I still can't believe we drafted a long snapper with a 6th round pick.

Obviously they won't trade him here but if he was ultimately released I'd love to sign him as a stopgap. We'd be a playoff team with our improved line and Ryan. Could even still draft Pickett or Willis or whoever and sit them for 1-2+ years.

If only Darnold would request a trade and be willing to take a massive pay cut to accommodate it...

He was good his rookie year, not great but good. After that pure trash the rest of his career.

That’s true of any position though, to varying degrees. If it were that easy for centers every team would do that and no center would ever get paid more than close to league minimum. Even as a backup rotational interior lineman who also plays guard that’s a cheap deal. Wonder if he just really wanted to play in Carolina for some reason

I don’t really buy that. C may be less valued than other positions but an above average starter there for $2.8M is easy to pay for any team. There are 22 centers league wide making more than that, the top 4 being $12-14M...

Anyone have any idea why they let him walk and why his market wasn’t so great with other teams? Based on his grades and what Ravens fans say he seems like a well above average C... why did we get him so cheap?