KSpan

Indeed. No idea what I was looking at there. 237 is ILB weight.

Not at 220 lbs he won't, and they won't put weight on him if they need the speed.

And Tepper somehow magically figured it out with this round of hires, eh? We all certainly hope so.

This thread reminds me of when everyone was raving about Fitterer making all those draft trades his first year as GM.

The point is that workhorse backs are no longer a thing in the NFL. Loads are split and risks are hedged accordingly since each team carries a number of backs that all play. That said, it is certainly better to have good backs than bad. I know nothing about this player and do feel Carolina has bigger needs but perhaps he truly is BPA.

No worries. We already knew what dumbasses Fitterer, Tepper, and the FO were even before the trade went down. The trade itself just cemented it and this is further confirmation.

Until proven otherwise that definitely doesn't apply when David Tepper is involved, which is my whole point. All attribution should be reserved until the rubber meets the road and real football is on the field.

I really can't stand his 'youth pastor' vibe as some have put it and don't want to hold his confidence against him since what else is he really going to be, but I'm just a fan and admittedly quite cynical about the team, so my opinion on him at this point is irrelevant. Bottom line is he could turn out great and only time will tell, so I'm just waiting for actual football to be played. FWIW I didn't immediately hate the Canles hiring like I did the Reich and Rhule hires... those were dumpster fires so easily predictable that is was kind of aggravating. No disagreement that every new coach has their lumps to take and things to learn, just saying that there is little to nothing to go on with respect to his acumen as HC. I find his disposition annoying but as I noted above, that's more to do with me and the only thing that ultimately matters is the results.

Canales is smart based on what exactly? He talks a smooth game but dude has one year as a coordinator, and it's not like the moves made this offseason required any kind of high intelligence to predict. He could turn out to be good but the story has yet to be written on him as a head coach and any related aspects.

Sure he will. It's a soft, underthrown mid-deepish lob. That's a Bryce specialty.

Drastic improvement vs last year would be just having a below average WR room, let alone anything higher than that. Improving this position is the easiest layup any competent FO will ever have, and they sure as hell better be drastically improved.

I honestly forgot the draft was even going on yesterday until I saw the news this morning.

A 1st rd receiver with 25 catches for 450 yards with no real competition for playtime is absolutely a disappointment in today's NFL if the offense is producing. However, if the offense is crap again for whatever reason, then something like that may be a deceptive statline.

You are the one that talked about drafting for 4-5 years, and nowhere did I say anything about drafting at 'full potential' - that is definitely not a player worth spending a 1st on (Teddy as one example). Talking about drafting for development typically means that a player has a significant weakness hindering their game and keeping them from contributing at their draft position, not that a strong player isn't yet at their ceiling, so perhaps that's not what you meant. In your hypothetical of course you take a player with a higher ceiling if their ability is about the same as another with lower potential. However, you need immediate contribution form a 1st round pick and not 'drafting for 4-5 years'. Regarding naming a player, I couldn't care less about college football and honestly couldn't even name a single player available in the entire draft; it's easy to understand the draft strategy concepts but it's not my job to select players. That's the team's job, and if they feel that a guy with one year of production and 80% of his college career with nothing produced at his position (looking at stats alone) is what they want then we'll find out pretty quick if they will be sinking or swimming.

DK was taken at the tail end of the 2nd round and with other proven receivers still on the roster. Different risk profile.

It can happen, but it doesn't seem to very often. At least not to the level of performance that one expects from a 1st rounder.

Just like with Rhule and Reich, my measure of success this year is steady improvement throughout (Rhule and Reich both failed). Don't care about wins and losses - does the team and individual players look better week after week? That is the indicator that this staff has potential.

Maybe. The whole 'wait till they get on the field' attitude goes both ways. Dude did zilch as a receiver for 80% of his college career and Bryce is a big question mark. Lot of moving parts in this scenario and just as much to be skeptical about as not.

In today's NFL you don't draft in the first and second rounds for development. That's a recipe for failure. Maybe you miss on players, but those guys have to come in and make an impact from day 1. Doesn't mean they won't still improve, but if they aren't able to contribute right away then that hurts a team in most cases. That said, I agree with you that no one here has really developed in many years. Perhaps that changes with this staff.

It's perfectly fine to consider their college performances all together - they're all young players who showed varying strengths in limited years/roles. How does that translate to the NFL? Dunno, but there are absolutely similarities that can be discussed. We only know for sure that TMJ is not NFL material and Mingo did not look good last year, not individually or in the context of the terrible offense. With respect to XL, as I said before I don't follow college football so have no real opinion, but just looking at stats alone he did absolutely nothing as a receiver for 4 years and then boomed. That could indicate sudden development or it could indicate flash in the pan. No disagreement that only time will tell.

TMJ really didn't though. He was the third receiver on that stellar group and has 1600 yds in 3 years; Mingo's one year was more yards than TMJ's best year. TMJ being a stupid pick as well doesn't make Mingo better and Carolina just spent another high pick on another 1-year wonder college WR, though XL's peak appears much higher than those 2. We aren't really on a different page here. I'm just expecting nothing NFL-worthy from Mingo.

Mingo was a JAG in college with one arguably decent, not even particularly good, year, and Carolina spent a high 2nd on him. It's an entirely different scenario than Bryce in terms of college stats, though I think Mingo sucks and Bryce's ceiling isn't much higher. But this is the XL thread. Back on topic.

And being optimistic 'just because it's the pick' is a crystal ball as well. Every opinion is just an opinion at this point, full stop. If someone doesn't like the pick, the basis for that dislike is not automatically less valid.

I have no opinion since I couldn't care less about college football and know zilch about any player in the draft this year, but why does someone have to 'support the team and the player'? If they think it's a crap pick, call it like you see it. This team and David Tepper get no benefit of any doubt at this point.

That comment was seriously one of the dumbest things I've heard come out of an NFL owner's/executive's mouth.