NAS

4 minutes ago, Bear Hands said:

I believe he can be successful, his shiftiness, quickness/change of direction, and acceleration are really nice. However when he didn’t beat a man with his speed, he doesn’t shake off DBs - need to check back but think some were the Rutgers and OSU games - he gets thrown off by initial contact and McCarthy ends up needing to dance bc no one was getting open.

When they designed plays for him to get the ball quickly or behind a set, he lit it up. And when he can burn DBs at the jump, he lit it up. But you need to be able to win against NFL DBs on the outside, I don’t see that yet.

I just think he has more acclimation needed as a potential Z than others and will primarily be slot year 1.  He’s a joystick, that’s for sure. Also-So much was designed for him and the plays were setup in a way that I find it hard to have a true eval for certain traits. Just my 2 cents

You may be right, he may not be a year 1  starter on the outside, but I think the high potential is there and as a slot receiver he could be what Bryce didn't have last year.  I know Thielen was in the slot a  lot but he doesn't have the shiftiness or the speed to create immediate separation that we need. 

22 hours ago, Bear Hands said:

He falls more in the slot-only designation rather than the slot types that can also play flanker (McConkey, Pearsall). And in that slot-only designation, I'm taking Malik Washington and Corley over him.  But I do like the guy, he's got some fire in that role.  

Michigan just used him soooo much on quick outs and veers and was their slot motion man so a lot is yet to be seen.  However when he went deep, and didn't out pace coverage, he got swallowed by DBs.  Just doesn't have the man v man strength to beat NFL DBs so I don't think he'll be coveted in the 2nd by teams.      

I see him being successful but it's going to be a slot role in a well-oiled machine type offense.  My fit would be to compliment Jefferson and Addison in Minny.  

What I have seen is that he gets off the line of scrimmage and creates separation, catches the ball with his hands, and despite his smaller stature, has an impressive catching radius. Like Smitty, not afraid to go into traffic and attack the ball in the air.   His route running is among the best in this class.  He is shifty, can be a threat both in short quick outs (which is what bryce needs) as well as vertically.  I'm not sure where this "swallowed by the DBs" comes from, I didn't see it.  

Clowney is known to take his time making decisions like this so I'm not surprised he hasn't chosen us yet, it also means we're still in the running. 

Nothing will happen

I hope he wants to be closer to home, we need him too

Can he play special teams?

Every draft, there's a WR who was underrated.  Last year it was Puka Nacua. 

This year it's Roman Wilson - he will be a steal of the draft at wide receiver if he drops any lower than 2nd round.  

I'll come back to collect receipts in the fall

Maybe he can be had in later rounds but he will be one of the best receivers of this class

Is my pick at 33 or 39  reminds me of Agent 89

3 minutes ago, Hoenheim said:

Even Canales has already said he has the benefit of not being emotionally attached to any of these players and I think that includes Bryce.  Canales and Morgan are going to give him the best Oline and WR core they can muster, if Bryce falls on his face again it's open season at QB in 2025.

I hope you’re right but problem is Teppers are emotionally invested, hopefully they stay out of the way this time 

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

I am not going to say it again on here; we need to use Bryce's assets and not try to fit him into a system.  We need a system designed for him.  Bringing in the 2 guards is a start.  HOWEVER...

To me, the successful conversion of Bryce Young comes with a huge price tag.  If we turn it around and Bryce plays well because we have an offensive line that makes $90m, he is going to want $50m and the WRs will demand another $50m.  Not even mentioning RBs and TEs, but we will need $200m just for the offense at this rate.   I see this process as a long term bust--if it works, you are screwed because it requires a stud OL and stud WRs.  OTC Right now, before all free agents and draft picks are signed and a QB on a rookie deal posts the following: 

• Offense: $133,819,164
• Defense: $62,906,915
• Special: $6,431,168

If Bryce was a veteran on a second contract, you could add $40m to this figure.  We have no #1 WR and no stud TE. As you can see, the Offensive budget needs to be around $130m.  We are over that now--with QB on a rookie contract.

The only way to do this is by having 3 OL on a rookie contract at all times, and maybe only 2 WRs on second contracts. 

Good post but I will play a little devils advocate.

I think this lop sided investment is needed in order to get Bryce off the ground and properly evaluate him.  Once he can develop for 3-4 years, ideally he won’t need as much support and the front office can take a more balanced approach to where they spend their cap $$. 
 

We always complained that even with Can he was never properly built around on the OL and wide receivers. It’s time to at least put Bryce or the next QB in position to succeed 

Fitterer didn’t seem to ever have a strategy, just bargain shopped and would publicly convince himself that they are going to be amazing

Beggars can’t be choosers or something like that. Even if he can’t stay healthy he can add value to the offense, help open the field for others etc.  We can hope maybe his injury issues are behind him

Hell yeah

Dude knows how to get open. Only question is how Bryce will handle it if he starts calling him our for not gettIng him the ball

Dude played for the Chargers, who have the lamest least loyal fanbase in the NFL 

Pump the brakes, I like the moves but I’m gonna take it slooooowwww

14 minutes ago, BeenPounding said:

The beginning of this off season needs to be taken with grace.  What we are doing now should have been done when Rhule was hired.  When Wilks turned this team around using the power run game we learned a few things about the roster.

1.  It was not designed to win via the pass with either Baker or Sam D.  There was no true offensive identity.

2. The power running game worked because Wilks committed to it.  We tried to build off of the success of one coach by replacing him with another who had a completely different system and expecting to build upon that success by ... moving away from the offensive system that proved to be successful.

With the mistake of creating an "all star" coaching staff, it was apparent that the team needs to be blown up.  Burns showed last year that he may want to be called a dawg, he fights more like a cat.  He showed up, but didn't fully show up (or out).  Derek Brown on the other hand, for lack of a better term, kept pounding. Brown is the long term investment for this team at this time.

By trading Burns you were able to add nearly 4 players to the roster for the 24 million cap hit that was assigned to him.  You also get two draft picks.  While we can argue the value of those picks is the fault of the front office, it is really on Burns.  His insistence to use Sheena Quick as his own PR frim lowered his trade value here, and after 3 coaches and 5 losing seasons he wanted out.  That is not the type of player you commit 30M a year to.

We finally have a football guy doing football things behind the scenes and it is starting to show.  Everyone gets all warm and fuzzy in the off season, but at least we see a plan in effect here.  Build from the inside out.  We just went from 2-4 deep on the O-line to being possibly 6 deep.  Corbet's move to center is not all that big of a change.  This happens all the time.

Our biggest need is to draft at least average over the next three years.  We have had 29 picks since the 2020 draft. 13 are still on the roster.  That is all you need to know.  Why did we trade 3 first round picks under 26 years old?  We needed to repair 4 years of TERRIBLE drafting outside of the first round.

I truly believe we will be on the upswing.  I see us winning between 5-6 games, but being competitive in nearly all of them.  Last year we weren't remotely competitive at all.

Excellent post!

I like the roster building. Even if Bryce doesn’t take the next step (which we hope he will) we will be in a better position to draft next year and feel good about the future 

3 minutes ago, Jesse said:

He had a helluva year under McDonald and we desperately need another outside backer. I'd much rather have Clowney than Chase Young.

Agreed and he will surely want to play well coming home to the Carolinas 

Well done.  Thielen should be listed as a slot receiver, so the second receiver slot is still a need. Mingo still May develop but I think this is where we go with the 33rd pick and get a first round grade receiver  in a deep WR draft. 

Just now, Bear Hands said:

Just realized Miles Sanders is still here, right? Lol

If Dan can dump him off somewhere somehow he would deserve a statue

Best trade so far. Donta was going to get cut and we got Bryce an actual legitimate threat on the outside 

If it wasn’t for the crappy return on Brian Burns knowing last year we could have gotten two first for him, the FA has been more than solid so far.  We know it was Tepper meddling and refusing to trade Burns and also not willing to pay him $30MM a year. 

Burns was a sunk cost and Morgan had to get what he could, and nobody was willing to give a first rounder at this point. I do truly believe he got the best deal he could at this point in time.

I will choose to judge him on the other moves which have been solid, solidifying the guard positions, trading for a receiver and signing some good defenders.  

He will need to maximize the returns on draft picks.   Both second rounders will have to be legitimate starters when the season starts or it’s a bust. 

2 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

8 sacks sounds like a cheap Burns replacement. 

Moneyball