Mr. Scot

From Albert Breer's latest MMQB... The Niners have close ties to the Jets staff. Lynch and Jets GM Joe Douglas are friendly, and of course Shanahan is new Jets coach Robert Saleh’s old boss. The Niners did have some internal discussion on Sam Darnold. And in the process of vetting they figured that the Jets weren’t moving the second pick. Could their mind be changed by a significant offer? Possibly, but it might need to be something ridiculous. So what about us? Well, here's what Breer thinks... As for where Darnold could wind up next? I’d keep an eye on Carolina and Pittsburgh. Darnold would represent a worthy, and affordable, dart to throw at the quarterback board if the Panthers are convinced the quarterbacks they’d want will be gone by the time they pick at eight (and Atlanta having the fourth pick doesn’t help them). And then there's this from Peter King (FMIA) 6) I doubt it will happen, but what if the Jets stick with Sam Darnold and auction the second pick? First: I hear Joe Douglas is standing firm and is not interested in trading the second pick. But I believe there could be one team left that is interested in moving up, even at a ridiculous cost. That is Carolina, picking eighth in the first round. The Jets have the second pick, and odds are good that they stay right there and pick BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. So the table has been set now. For someone to move up to get the second pick, even from six picks down, it would cost first-round picks this year plus in 2022 and 2023. Would Carolina be willing to do that? I bet the Panthers, who seem lukewarm on incumbent Teddy Bridgewater and who have an ultra-aggressive owner in David Tepper, would think hard about it. Such a trade with the Panthers would leave the Jets inebriated on first-round draft choices: two this year, three in 2022, two in 2023. I don’t see Douglas doing it, but he just might be tempted.

Also from Breer (same article)... As for where Darnold could wind up next? I’d keep an eye on Carolina and Pittsburgh. Darnold would represent a worthy, and affordable, dart to throw at the quarterback board if the Panthers are convinced the quarterbacks they’d want will be gone by the time they pick at wight (and Atlanta having the fourth pick doesn’t help them). As for the Steelers, if the price is right they could see some similarities in how Darnold plays to how their own quarterback did in his early 20s, and throw Darnold in there to compete with Dwayne Haskins to be Ben Roethlisberger’s heir. Washington and Denver have also come up as possible landing spots, though I know each had some misgivings on his tape.

Breer (MMQB) on Garoppolo... And yes, the Patriots did inquire about Garoppolo earlier in the offseason. The Niners told them he wasn’t available. He still really isn’t. Why? It’s in the last bulletpoint. San Francisco believes it has a championship roster, and trading Garoppolo now would be entrusting those aspirations to a player it has, at this point, only seen on tape. The Niners don’t know for sure how the kid will come along, how he’ll learn, how soon he’ll be ready to start, etc. Remember, Shanahan sat Garoppolo for a month after trading for him in 2017 so he could learn the offense. And that was with a player who’d been in the NFL for almost four years. The quarterbacks the Niners are scouting now don’t even have that much collegeexperience (Fields started 22 games at Ohio State, while Jones and Lance started 17 apiece at Bama and North Dakota State.). That said, I’d say Garoppolo’s availability is subject to change. My guess is, at this point, it’d take the Niners getting a first-round pick for them to even start in on trade talks and move off the course they’ve set. Now, if a veteran they can trust as a bridge quarterback becomes available, that could well shift their thinking. Or if we get to summer, and the rookie is way ahead of schedule, and/or a Sam Bradford-in-2018 situation arises elsewhere, that could change things, too. But for right now, Garoppolo is the Niners’ starter.

Regarding Darnold...

Because someone else might not. It's kind of like saying "We'll wait until closer to the draft to call Miami about trading up to number three." "Wait, what's that you're hearing?"

(I was tempted to use 'Will Grier' as a thread title since that seems to be a trend now, but thought better of it) Word today that Patriot insiders are saying the team has decided not to pursue a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. Reasons cited include everything from the 49ers stated desire to keep him (which pretty much nobody believes) to the team having spent too much money elsewhere. With the 49ers trading up, each of the top three teams in the Draft now has a previous starter that looks to be on the block. Gardner Minshew (Jaguars) Sam Darnold (Jets) and Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers). So if the Panthers were to decide on a veteran trade, which of these three would you make a case for? (no, Deshaun Watson isn't an option; don't bother going there)

Not really. Preseason is a glorified practice. The starters play a little and then guys trying to make the team play the rest. The league's been pushing for 18 games while at the same time saying they care about player safety. If that doesn't say "full of sh-t" I don't know what does.

Kamara isn't alone. Most players hate the idea. Hell, I hate the idea too.

Twenty lawsuits have been filed to date. There are potentially four more yet to come.

I've said before I think Minshew's ceiling is "good Jake Delhomme".

PJ Walker already is a bust, and the race thing is just stupid.

I've seen him play against one NFL team. I also saw him play against the Lions.

I saw a time machine advertised on eBay if you're interested.

By a GM who I was repeatedly told by some was actually good at his job (logic based primarily on those two picks).

B-A-N-A-N-A... Sh-t! Wrong metaphor (damn song stuck in my head now)

I don't hate the idea of getting Sam Darnold, as long as it's at the right price. I wouldn't say it thrills me either. He doesn't seem like a franchise quarterback to me, but he might be a better bridge than Bridgewater until we can get one.

Both. It is fair to point out that the hiring of one led to the hiring of the other.

The Panthers history with quarterbacks is...complicated, starting at the very beginning. Story was that Bill Polian, Mike Mccormack, Dom Capers and the Panthers personnel people had a plan built around drafting Kerry Collins. But when draft day came around, the war room suddenly got word that the Houston Oilers had flipped the script and were taking Collins. Polian said everyone basically panicked because they thought their schemes were about to get ruined and they'd have to go with Plan B. Turned out to be fake though. The Oilers went in another direction and the Panthers landed Collins. Good thing, because it sure would have been lousy to have missed out on Kerry Collins and had to settle for Steve McNair instead. (whew, sure dodged that one, right?)

I didn't necessarily expect us to be active in free agency either. Ya never know.

Getting a quality backup is cool. It's nowhere near the same as getting a franchise quarterback though.

I have positive feelings about Rhule, but I wouldn't say I'm sold on him just yet; one big reason being there's a different measure of success for him now. As a college coach, Rhule took struggling programs and built them into overachievering programs, but not championship programs. And as you mentioned, not necessarily programs that could beat more established ones. Turning a bad team into a fairly good team is enough to get you celebrated at that level, but this is the pros. Nobody gives you a trophy for overachieving in the NFL. You either win championships or you eventually lose your job. Obviously, I hope he proves to be capable of that, but we don't know just yet.

I honestly think he just saw the next player on the draft board that the scouting and personnel department had put together. Heck, they didn't even play him until Drew Bledsoe got hurt. Scott Pioli was asked about it years afterward and denied that it was genius. He said something along the lines of "hell, if we were geniuses, we'd have taken him long before the sixth round." I agree wholeheartedly.

Or just some extremely bad takes...

This may be the dumbest thing ever written on this board.

Or just get really, really lucky. I know a lot of people think getting Brady in the 6th was a sign of genius, but I don't.