kungfoodude

To be fair this is the same thing the people that were pounding the table for paying Burns a huge sum of money said. How has that worked out so far?

Because is he extremely undeveloped after 3 years in college in terms of his pass rush capability. Also, he is not the insane, freak athlete that someone like Shemar Stewart is. So he is going to need to be reliant on very good techniques that he doesn't yet possess and somehow hasn't developed through 3 years in college. So, let's say I am at least somewhat right on my evaluation, now you have an above average run blocking DE/EDGE with below average pass rushing ability. Well those guys aren't exactly rare in the NFL.

No, they make perfect sense if you read them. I am saying, Jamar Chase > Jadaveon Clowney. 100 out of 100 times this is true. Basically, you don't pass on elite talent(if available) for a desperate need of a far lower quality. This is why you see teams that have long term success often leaning BPA. They understand that having better quality players pretty unsurprisingly, leads to a better team. We are also in the unique position of having the NFL's worst roster. Turns out we basically need almost everything. So that actually does make BPA immensely easier.

In. I am looking to keep my winning streak alive.

Yeah, that is a pretty wild statement to make. I mean, I don't think Sanders has a high physical ceiling by any stretch but it's very clearly higher than Bryce's. I also think Sanders(remember big OG Bryce stan) is substantially more prepared and better at reading the field than Bryce was.

I think we are almost all universally very happy to see the Bryce 2.0 version we saw for the last part of the season but even as a former and ardent Bryce stan, he had a LOT to prove for me to want to lock him into a future mega-contract.

Hampton in 2nd round? Wing T?

I honestly have him quite a bit down my list on the DE/EDGE rankings. 1st rounder, yes, but I don't think he will ever be worthy of a top 10 pick. Now, all that being said, if you ignore projections/value/potential/etc, this guy defends the run very well. The thing we need the most overall help with and are historically bad at. That doesn't sway my opinion because I don't think you can justify passing on better and more valuable players to take him at 8, but I don't have a concern of him not being able to help us day one.

I mean, I am not saying that doesn't have value but it's often one of the premier points for busts in the NFL. Remember Sam Darnold or CJ Henderson? Well....that didn't pan out.

They also have the top pass rusher in the NFL. Either way, that argument holds very little water.

I don't think that college statistical production has been historically a high predictor of success for DL specifically. I would have to go look back at that data to be sure of that. Projections are extremely nuanced with a lot of factors, as you are well aware. For a guy with 40 games of college experience, I am always bothered by the "raw" and "undeveloped" labels. So, why haven't you developed, exactly? Especially when you are at a place that has top 5 resources when it comes specifically to developing players. Hence my question. What makes him pop more than some of these other prospects on film? I personally don't see it. I see a guy that is a quality edge setter that might eventually be a quality pass rusher. Say, a poor man's Jadaveon Clowney? Is that valueless? Absolutely not. Is that a top 10 talent, I don't think it is, even in a weak draft in terms of elite talent.

Yes but a top shelf WR is worth more than a rotational pass rusher. There is nuance to all of these evaluations. Let's hope we have more hits than misses. We can't really afford to have our many years of poor drafts continue.

I definitely agree on pass rusher being the most pressing need however I would also say important that we don't hamstring ourselves in terms chasing need when we have a roster as needy as we have. If BPA is a WR, so be it. If BPA is a pass rusher, so be it. So on and so forth. Let's just focus on getting quality football players that can make a distinct two deep impact. If this isn't the draft that we can land an elite pass rusher, we likely are looking at a top 10 pick again next season, so I would hate to get antsy, reach and end up with a bust we are saddled with for 3-4 seasons.

I love those guys and Grant I think is a far safer pick than Graham. But, all that being said, those should be trade down targets. Which, as I have said many times, I am hugely in favor of. This draft is so loaded with two deep/rotational contributors that we should be maximizing the top 90 picks we can get. If we could get, without trading substantial future draft capital, 5 picks in the top 90 I think we could position ourselves for a HELL of a draft.

Oh yeah, he will always be a beloved player in my eyes. I don't love his free agency moves overall but I think he makes calculated moves that are possible to pivot away from if we don't hit, which is honestly potentially the first guy at GM we have ever had that consistently does that. That's huge because even when his moves stumble we can recover. The Burns deal I think was cemented when Fitterer royally fuged that up. Dan's hands were ultimately tied by market forces and also the info that leaked. He was set up to fail in that situation.

Yeah, I am not sure about that. Bryce showed flashes of being the "super processor" I personally thought he was in the home stretch last season but I can't swear his ceiling is appreciably higher. I fuging hope so. fug my evaluation, we just deserve it as a franchise after all this BS we have delt with. I hope you are correct.

Barron is a good prospect but can you justify it if he ends up basically being a nickel? That seems like a luxury pick for us. Don't hate the player, hate the positional value at 8. Now a trade down option? I am all in.

I would hate Campbell as a top 10 pick in terms of positional value but generally do think he is probably one of the safest picks in the entire draft. In a draft that is pretty sketchy for elite talent, I would eventually be okay with this kind of guy even at 8.

Dan I am generally disappointed in overall. I think he is an averagish NFL pro personnel guy but leans heavily Fitterer in terms of college prospects. But, even IF he fails here, I am gonna always love him as a player. I hope our fanbase can be big enough to separate him the GM vs. him the Panthers great. That's tough for the Huddle as the place that shamefully bullied him as a player when he was here.

I generally disagree. I think people legimately underestimate the "NFL bubble" that Sanders developed in. But, I also said Bryce was the best prospect in his class so that didn't exactly pan out yet.

I would counter that guys like Carter who have popped in those same loaded defenses didn't need the qualifying statements about "being loaded." It's easy to see the potential, however his theoretical ceiling is definitely lower than a guy like Shemar Stewart. But that isn't the whole story, is it? Why do you think Williams will develop where other prospects will not? Especially when he has been largely a top tier edge setter and nothing close to that as a pass rusher in his college career? He has been VERY consistent in his three years in college.

I will take that bet.

I don't have much in the way of faith, to be honest. But.....I am glad to see they are operating at least like a real NFL franchise again. Low bar, yes, but we have been operating like a fuging minor league baseball team for most of Tepper's reign.

Agreed. I think he is a bigger, far more mentally prepared Bryce to some extent. I do think he ends up being the best QB of this class but I am unsure that will be more than just a league average starter.

TBH, I would be absolutely floored with a 7 win season. That sounds sarcastic but I do believe that is a very, very good result(there is some nuance, obviously). If we look moderately competent and also show improments on offense and defense, I think we all need to be happy as fans. I still think a lot of our fanbase is firmly head in the sand about how terrible this roster is/was. This is not a small undertaking. We need to asjust expectations accordingly or there will be much needless wailing and gnashing of teeth.