tukafan21

welp, Hunter's day is done

2 for 17 vs 2 for 15, but sure, that's having more of an impact... I guess Taking a victory lap over T-Mac not having a big game with how our OL and QB have played is basically the equivalent of doing the same thing for any of our WRs the first two games of our season this year with how Bryce was playing.

Sure, and it’s more fair to say now as it’s almost halftime than after one quarter when you said it, but you also insinuated it was because he was getting shutdown, which he’s not. The team is a mess, we’ve had one drive this quarter over 3 plays, it’s not because he’s getting locked down, we just can’t even get him targets with the OL playing like Swiss cheese right now.

What does any of that have anything to do with “T-Mac has done so far” like you said?!?! I’ve also been saying for weeks how horrible our QB and rest of the team has been playing, part of it is he has no time with how the OL has played.

Who is this Tetairoa McMillan you speak of? Never heard of him

Only you can say a WR has done nothing after 1 quarter, when their team has had the ball twice and only thrown the ball 6 times so far

Shut down? we’ve had two drives, a 3 and out and a TD, he’s had two targets, one he caught for a first down and the other was well over his head and stop what? Hunter is banged up, it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder if they won’t put him on T-Mac for that exact reason… any CB who isn’t fully healthy could get cooked by T-Mac, it’s not even a hunter tuing

Don’t think I’ve seen Hunter lined up on T-Mac yet, wonder if him being banged up is the reason. If he struggled badly against T-Mac today it could actually hurt his draft stock a bit

T-Mac vs Hunter on Fox, let’s get ready to rumble!!!!!!

I think the Patriots would love to get him and have a crazy CB pairing with him and Gonzalez, but I really can't see any way that a team takes Hunter #1 overall, as taking a CB at #1 is just nuts, especially when you already have one of the best young CBs in the game as is. As valuable as a true lockdown corner can be for a team, taking them 1st overall makes no sense, you trade back or take a position that impacts the game more, like DE or OT if there isn't a QB to take at #1 that year (and again, I don't think Hunter plays WR in the NFL, he's a better CB prospect and with his size, he's more likely to hold up on that side of the ball than on offense). 1996 was the last time a non QB, DE, or OT was taken first overall and it was a WR, which was also a year after an RB went first and a DT the year before that too. And in today's NFL, I think we'll see WRs be much more in play to go 1st overall in years there isn't a QB for the spot given how much they can change a team when you have a true elite WR. In fact, there hasn't been a DB drafted first overall in the history of the NFL going back to 1936. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we were to end up with the top pick and some QB doesn't end up proving they should be the pick (and so far none have), then I'm taking T-Mac 100 times out of 100 if we can't trade back, and even then I'm targeting him of course lol

No idea who this site is or if they’re any good, but just saw this scrolling through Twitter and found it kinda funny

Uh..... Best WR? But I thought you were taking Hunter over T-Mac as a WR too? lol Last I heard he was playing, I hope he does so T-Mac can catch another TD pass with Hunter defending him like he did last year

I'm an Arizona alum with a realistic shot of seeing our best player in school history get drafted by my NFL team as we're going to have a shot to take him and he fits a long term major need of ours that we haven't been able to solve, so yea, I'm gonna keep pushing it lol. But it's like you said, his size and speed/agility combination is just so rare on it's own, when you add the crazy catches he's able to make, he's going to be one the guys pushing to be considered a Top 5 WR in the league by his second contract. You just don't find those kind of guys very easily, in fact, I could make the argument that a WR like that is maybe the 2nd hardest thing to find in the league besides a QB. WRs drafted in the middle rounds don't become those type of WRs, but pass rushers, offensive lineman, DBs, all end up seeing 2nd-4th rounders end up as true stars. You find possession and deep threat WRs in those middle rounds, but not the true elite outside WRs like T-Mac is going to be in this league, and when they have his size, you don't find those guys anywhere outside of a Top 10 draft pick. You can find WRs like Hunter or Burden later in the 1st or even in the 2-4 round area of the draft, smaller but deadly fast/quick WRs, so I just can't see any argument for taking either over T-Mac for any team.

He's a FA after the season so no, I wouldn't trade for him and I don't see the Steelers trading him anyways unless he asks for one with Russ taking over. The rest of this season needs Dalton peppering Legette with targets, need to help build him up as much as possible this year. I'm not against bringing him as a Free Agent on hopefully a 1 year deal and trading Bryce for literally whatever is offered for him. Then draft T-Mac with our First as both him and Legette are guys who are big bodied who can catch short passes over the middle and run with it as well as good deep ball guys, particularly T-Mac with his height and leaping ability. That would pair really well with someone like Fields who might not be the most accurate or great at going through progressions, as it would be a lot of quick easy passes or shots down field instead of precision timed route trees which he can struggle with. Pair that passing game with the dynamic Brooks as well as Fields rushing threat, and that could be a dangerous offense from day 1. And if Fields bombs and it doesn't work, we'll still likely end up with a Top 10 pick and can draft the QB of the future in a strong QB draft.

I've watched plenty of Hunter, I'm an Arizona alum so have seen plenty of him last year and this year with them being in our conference. That's why I'm so steadfast in saying he's a much better CB prospect than a WR at the next level, as I've seen more than enough of his games to make that judgement in my opinion. I also watched when Hunter covered T-Mac last year when we played and he torched him for over 100 yards and scored a TD on him. Which to be honest, is part of the reason I'm so adamant about T-Mac over Hunter, they've played before and Hunter couldn't come close to covering him, that's not insignificant. Also if you want a culture setter, you should read up more on T-Mac and our QB, they're the literal definition of culture setters. Our HC left for Washington and the assumption was that T-Mac and our QB would follow them, along with the majority of our good players. But almost the entire team ended up staying, 100% because of the two of them, the entire team followed their lead and stayed. Not to mention they both turned down NIL money this year so it could go to other teammates to help keep them happy and to get more guys to stay at Arizona instead of transferring out, THAT is the type of guy I want on my team. And while WRs in general are able to be found, not ones with his size and agility. That's what I keep going back to and why I want him so badly. If he was a plodding big WR, it would be different, but he's not that at all, he really has a very unique blend of size and agility that is very rare to find. And you saying "find me another Hunter" is exactly my point. There isn't another Hunter in college, he's a literal unicorn because of his 2 way play. But like I keep saying, that has literally zero bearing on his NFL draft prospects as he'll be on one side or the other. Even being a top end CB prospect, he's not a unicorn that we haven't seen before, there's basically the same type of elite CB prospect (or two) in near every draft.

And posts like this are exactly why I keep screaming into the void, because it's just flat out wrong. Yes, Hunter is a generational player, it is clear as day, no question about it, period. But he is a generational COLLEGIATE talent, NOT a generational NFL prospect, there is a very very very big difference. The level he's playing at on both sides of the ball has never been seen before, but it's also not something that has a single ounce of impact on his NFL prospects. The Golden Calf of Bristol was a generational collegiate talent, Cam Newton was a generational collegiate talent, only one of them was an elite NFL prospect, you can be one without being the other. Hell, I'm not even saying T-Mac is a better NFL prospect than Hunter is a CB prospect. I'm not saying he isn't either, I'm just not an NFL draft expert enough to differentiate elite players at different positions to determine who is the better prospect in general. But we have Horn already and you can find solid starting CB's in free agency or even later rounds of the draft. You can't find 6'5", 215 lbs WRs with the hands, speed, and agility that T-Mac has, he's darn near a unicorn, there are only a handful of WR's in the league with a similar combination of what he brings. Combine that with our best WR under contract for next season being Legette and how long we've tried and failed to find a true outside #1 WR, he's the CLEAR pick for our team over any CB. I'd also take a true elite pass rushing prospect over Hunter if one separates himself as being that kind of elite prospect as well, as it's more of a need for our team than a CB is at this current moment. But even then, I'd still take T-Mac over that type of player as well, I'm that convinced that he's going to be a Top 5 type of WR in the league for the next decade. I said this in a previous thread, we've had a lot of great players in my time as a Wildcat, some have panned out, others I felt strongly about ended up as busts (Kadeem Carey was one I thought would be a star and just wasn't close). But there have only been 2 that I've felt this way about, that they were can't miss sure fire NFL superstars who will end up in Canton. T-Mac and Gronkowski, and I'd say I was pretty right on the other, I can't say T-Mac will end up as the best WR of all time like Gronk did at TE of course, that would be crazy to say, but I feel the same way about him coming out of school as I did Gronk.

This too If you take a CB in the Top 5, they HAVE to be a home run pick and be a decade long lock down corner. That's why I've said I'd take T-Mac #1 over Hunter on either side of the ball, without a second thought. If someone wants to argue a pass rusher I don't know as much about, like the kid from I think Tennessee, then okay, I can't really argue that because we need a pass rusher and I know nothing about him. But I know how long we've tried to find a true #1 WR and how rare it is to find someone with the size and talent of T-Mac and I think passing on him at any draft slot would be a mistake.

Show me one time that I specifically said YOU have said he'll play both sides of the ball in the NFL. I keep saying that "people" as in the general term, keep talking about taking him in the draft and then gushing about his two way ability in college, which by the way is 100% something you have done on many occasions by the way. And I just keep reiterating that people (again, the general term, not talking about any one person in particular) need to stop talking about his 2 way ability when talking about him as a draft prospect, it's completely irrelevant. If you want to gush about his college play and/or Heisman chances, then sure, go ahead, that is 100% warranted and I've said as much many times, as he is a generational collegiate talent, no question about that. You have also said on numerous occasions that you'd take him over T-Mac for either side of the ball, which again, I keep giving extremely valid reasons why that would be a terrible decision if he's going to be a WR. In fact, the only time I specifically mentioned you in this discussion was in regards to my post NOT being about bashing Hunter the college player or general draft prospect, since you are the person who has numerous times "called me out" for bashing him and saying you don't understand why I would do that. The only confusion is that you seem to confuse the difference between bashing a player and giving pros/cons as to their NFL prospects at a specific position. Saying someone is a likely Top 10 pick on one side of the ball and still a 1st rounder on the other side, but the 2nd or 3rd best prospect at one of those positions is anything but bashing, it's giving supreme credit to the player, but acknowledging some issues for him at the next level on one of those sides of the ball.

Oh I think you'd be doing your team a disservice if you drafted him as a CB and then never use him on offense. But you're using him in one of 3 ways, jet sweeps, bubble screens, and go routes, and doing so at the very most 10 times a game if absolutely needed in a close game, but more than likely no more than 5 and some games not at all when he's shadowing an elite WR and you don't want to risk injury or fatigue on gadget plays. Basically just put the ball in his hands and see if his athleticism can break a big play. You're not going to have him running any kind of route tree because any time he spends working on that is time not spend working on his true CB position. Any other route requires hours upon hours of practicing with your QB to get timing down, asking someone to go out there and run a nuanced pattern without proper practice is just asking for interceptions to be thrown.

Well there's a few issues with this..... First is that he's still saying he is going to be a full time 2 way player in the NFL, if he is still adamant about that come pre-draft interviews, then he's 100% off my draft board at either position. As to me, that screams he's not serious about being as good of a player as he can be, that he's more about style than substance. Those are the things that may seem minor, but they can tell you all you need to know about a player and his true motivation, that would be a massive red flag to me if he's still insisting on that come pre-draft process. Second, unless he tells every team that he doesn't care and they can choose which side of the ball he will play at, which seems extremely unlikely, then yes, he will 100% decide what position he plays in the NFL. This isn't the case of a great college QB who probably can't play the position in the NFL and a team drafts him in the 5th round saying they drafted him as a WR. And that's for a few reasons. 1. You don't want him to start his career being upset because a team is forcing him to play on the side of the ball he doesn't want to play on. Remember, career length and possible contracts are 100% factors in his case, as he has a much higher contract potential as a WR, but given his body type, he has a much better chance at having a longer and healthier career as a CB. You can't leave that decision up to the team, it's got to be his choice given the money these guys stand to make these days. 2. Whatever position he starts his career off at, is the side of the ball he'll play his whole career unless he is looking like a bust there. Not even a bad agent is allowing whichever team that drafts him to dictate his career path in that way. Case and point would be Devin Hester, the Bears drafted him to be a DB who returned kicks and might get a few offensive snaps. But it was clear to them after his rookie season that he just wasn't going to be a great DB so they switched him to being a WR. That's a whole lot easier to do and sell to the fan base than a Top 10 pick who would be looking like a bust who needed to change positions. 3. Since he won't be a 2 way player in the NFL, he'll need to train one side of the ball to prepare for the draft and his rookie season, which begins just days after the draft with rookie mini camp. He can't waste those 4-5 months doing generic training that isn't specific to a position, and doing both sides of the ball just wouldn't be a good use of his time. Which if he did do that, it leads me back to my first point about him, it would show that he'd rather be known for being the first full time 2 way player in the NFL in decades than being a possibly elite player in the league. Now, maybe he'll publicly say he's open to playing either position so he can sound like a "team player", but in reality, his agent and/or himself, will be telling teams what position he will be playing, and if they don't want him at that position, they won't be drafting him as that would be a real bad way to start off with a early draft pick.

I honestly don't know what is so confusing, it's really not that hard Generational collegiate talent - Yes Great to Elite CB prospect - Yes Great to Elite WR prospect - No Very good to Great WR prospect - Yes Full time 2-Way NFL Player - NOT IN A FREAKING MILLION YEARS The majority of people on this board who talk about drafting Hunter talk about his 2 way play or him as a WR. Well, one of those things just isn't happening so people need to stop talking about it when discussing his draft prospects. If you want to talk about his college impact and Heisman hype, then sure, talk about his 2 way play until you're blue in the face, that's totally fair and valid. The other I just very strongly disagree with, at least in comparison to the other WR option at the top of the draft, they're not equal WR prospects, T-Mac has a significantly higher upside as an NFL WR and there shouldn't even be a discussion at who to take if we want a WR and both are available at the pick. So I don't get frustrated at people bringing him up, I get frustrated at people bringing him up to only talk about him as a 2 way player and/or WR at the next level, because he just flat out is NOT an elite prospect for either of those things. And I've told you this before, if you can't understand the difference between those things, then it's a you problem, not a me problem, sorry.

Ugh, here we go again. People need to stop falling for the Heisman/College hype and thinking he'll have the same type of impact in the NFL, because he won't (and side note, he's probably not even the Heisman favorite anymore, the kid from Boise State is going to put up numbers that are too good to not give him the award). Let's get this out of the way first, he will NOT be a full time 2 way player in the NFL, it's just not possible. He can either be a full time WR or a full time CB who then gets maybe 5-10 snaps on offense a game to see if he can break off a big play. Once you remove the two way factor from him, he's just a great CB prospect and a very good WR prospect, but he's not a generational prospect on either side of the ball on it's own. If he decides to be a full time CB, I'm not against drafting him because it's a need. But if he decides to be a WR, there is no circumstance where he can be taken over T-Mac. He'll be more of a slot WR in the NFL due to his size, particularly his slim frame. T-Mac on the other hand is a true elite outside WR prospect, and those just don't grow on trees, there's only a small handful of players in the NFL with his size, hands, and speed/agility combination. To me, that's the differentiator when comparing Hunter to T-Mac as a WR. If he was a plodding big WR, like Kelvin Benjamin was, it obviously changes things, but he's not, he has more than enough speed and agility to his game that when combined with his 6'5" frame, it's a no brainer for me, he's going to be WR #1 on every team's board. For Hunter, there is nothing wrong with being a true generational collegiate talent and just a very good to great NFL prospect, and being able to separate the two when evaluating him for the NFL is very important. I'm not bashing him (looking at you Cam), but I'm just being realistic about what he will be in the NFL, which is a potential Top 10 CB, but not a Top 10 WR, but like one of the best #2 guys in the NFL or a mid to low end #1

Tepper can't fire Canales after this year, he has no choice but to give him at least 2 full seasons after firing coaches mid season each of the last 2. If he fires Canales after 1 year, we won't get any qualified HC candidate interest in the job. Honestly, anyone with legitimate current HC aspirations wouldn't be interested after that. It's yet another reason I'm already willing to punt on next season and just play for the #1 pick. Then you bring in a new HC with the #1 pick for a QB to help bring in someone good and you let them do whatever they want to do with the pick and roster, what we should have done many times over the years.

That's not a crazy thought, it's just a bad one, Jones is a replacement level starter in this league, he's never going to be a guy you contend with, not worth going that route again. My crazy thought would be to draft T-Mac in the 1st to give us a stud outside WR and then call up the Lions and trade for Hooker. They took him before Goff really showed he's their QB for the forceable future and I could see them being open to trading Hooker. I was intrigued with him before we made the trade up to #1 and he's probably gotten some great coaching from Ben Johnson as well, I'd be very interested in trading for him to start him all year. It either works out and we have our new starting QB moving forward or it blows up in our faces and we end up with a Top 5 pick in a QB loaded draft.

Just saw The Athletic's latest mock has T-Mac going #6 and then we take Burden at #7 I honestly think I'd cry if he gets taken one pick before us and then we also end up taking a WR as well, worst case scenario. And I thought I was mad when Sewell got taken by the Lions one pick before us a few years back, this would dwarf that feeling if it happened, haha