Bear Hands

Rookie WRs have been making instant impacts for the past 5-6 years, trending away from that former idea. I mean, look just in the past 2 years, I count at least 13+ easy who went in and immediately made an impact. Zay Flowers, Tank Dell, Rashee Rice, Puca Nacua, Jordan Addison, Jayden Reed, Josh Downs, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Christian Watson, Drake London, George Pickens, JSN...Wicks & Demario Douglas even turned it on.

Aiyuk is one of the most well rounded WRs you'll find and one of the best route runners in the entire league. One of my favorite players. That being said, I highly doubt we end up with him, but one can hope.

Yeah he’s had more than a few that were spot on. Not saying we should 100% take his thoughts to the bank but they’re worth sharing. Plus it’s Steve Smith—all in good fun to get some prospect talk going.

Notable Comments: His big faves in this class: Ja'Lynn Polk - Washington - HUGE fan. Malachi Corley. His "Steal of the draft" Worthy & Mitchell - Both Texas boys are body catchers... Note that Worthy reminds him of a taller Tank Dell. But definitely lukewarm on them Spoke highly of McConkey at UGA Troy Franklin - He got an "okay/meh" hand waive but gave him a Jordan Addison comp Jha'Quan Jackson out of Tulane - He's a fan. Needs to look at him more, but likes what he's seen.

If Burns doesn't want to come back here (which is obviously the case IMO), you're looking at either the tag or letting him walk and getting whatever comp may be awarded in 2025. For all of our opinions, he's rated the #1 overall Free Agent by The Athletic and will be sought after, regardless of what we think of his effort or 2023 play. You risk the tag and see who calls. Interestingly enough, I think the teams who own the picks that equal his value are the likeliest destinations: 27-30: Cardinals, Bills, Lions, & Ravens. Just get one of those picks and call it a day.

It kept feeling stranger every year. The Horn pick felt so unneeded at the time. It wasn't on many/to any radars until DB rumors came in about him and Surtain within the final few weeks leading into that draft. It was even more notably obvious when we were all looking at that 2022 class ahead of the draft and saw this massive 131-pick gap between pick #6 (Cross dammit) and the next. Then we trade up again losing a crap ton of capital for Bryce - when we could've sat and probably got Richardson at 9. We had so much to gain yet bled through all that we had like monopoly money. Dan better do a lot damn better.

I really don't see a landing spot for him. There's only a few teams where it could work - ATL & LV. Vikings may be a long shot if Cousins goes elsewhere.

Imagine the capital we could have had with three simple plays we didn't make: 1- Take the reported offers for 1-8 in 2021 - could've still landed Slater, Parsons or Darrisaw and gained a 1st or 2nd 2- Played hardball for CMC and got more for him. I mean, (2) 2nds and a 3rd should've been the minimum target. Or at the least, you know, get a known asset packaged with in return for the best dual threat in the league. 3- (2) 1sts for Burns This crap operation could have had 2 firsts in 2022, 5 in the top-60 in 2023, AND 2 firsts this year EASILY if they played their cards right, never traded DJ Moore, and would probably be looking for a QB in the this draft.

It's a FUN WR class. You get a bit of everything in it. The UVA kid in the mock is interesting but I'm unsure about an exclusive slot at 33. He only lined up wide for 6.4% of his snaps. Also one of the oldest WRs in the class. Still, could be pretty damn good. Great burst. Troy Franklin - stud. Jamari Thrash - stud. Some more fun ones: Javon Baker down at UCF - dawg mentality, big play threat, he's a good one. Ladd McConkey - Technician that can do it all. St. Brown meets Lav Coles. A bit of Cobb in there too. The WAS kids in Polk & McMillan - Big McMillan fan but tricky eval bc Penix usually launched it up to him open downfield. He clears the line and gets great separation. Jha'quan Jackson outta Tulane is a fave of mine - was Tyjae Spears best bud and he has a lot to like. Good mentality, part of a really successful team for a few seasons as the primary WR that beat Caleb in last year's crazy Cotton bowl. Some hype at the Senior Bowl. Deep Sleeper: Hayden Hatten

I said elsewhere, both him and Thrash outta Louisville impressed.

No sweat. I’m more alluding to the fact that the best option already passed us by haha

I don’t like these options.

Brugler who typically has a good pulse on the scouting community has reported buzz around Corley as high as a Day 2 pick. Factor in the senior bowl work he put in, I highly doubt he's a 5th rounder. Great prospect.

Luckily, I can see that aligning this year with guys like Troy Franklin, Adonai Mitchell, & McConkey being right around the 33rd pick value wise. Guys like Latu or Darius Robinson on Defense would be legit. Jordan Morgan, Powers-Johnson, or Suamatai on the OL as well. I'd be very interested to see how scouts stack those types & the WRs up against each other grade wise.

My 2 cents on the matter - We have to find a way to invest in capable weapons that can make game-breaking plays. We just don't have it. This team doesn't have the ability to score at will. So, I think you need to prioritize it. BUT - For pick 33, you can't force it. If you have a RB/WR/TE graded the same as, let's say a DB, DL or OL, you go with that offensive skill guy. Take a weighted approach when it comes to drafting. If there's a guy in your mid-1st block available at EDGE or OL for example, no doubt take him over WR6-7. But if they're teetering around the same grade, you lean offensive skill position. And in FA, you basically see if you can be the winning bid for Michael Pittman or Hollywood Brown. Mike Evans doesn't fit our window at the spot he's at career wise and I don't see Higgins happening. That's the notable market aside trade targets. No to Gabe Davis and the rest of the FA class and we don't need to overpay another RB.

Figure to get a new discussion going now that we're fresh into the offseason. The question: Is the lack of offensive playmaking a big enough need to supersede BPA? Context: Looking at any good offense that doesn't have a playmaking QB (Mahomes, Allen, Lamar), they have THAT guy at minimum. CMC, Tyreek, Jefferson, Gibbs/St Brown, Lamb...you get the picture. We have nothing. Thielen and Mingo may be the only carryovers at WR, and Hubbard is the only potential carryover at RB. Nothing really at TE (although I still like Tremble as a long term TE2) Is this void critical enough to prioritize over the rest? Or should we exercise patience with building an offense and find the best player we can, position regardless? This idea can also extend outside the draft in respect to priority FA/trade targets. And with the uncertainty with Bryce-- is getting a legit weapon critical to his success or do you risk prioritizing BPA, hoping he elevates above-average talent for another season? Can we rebuild by finding the best foundation pieces possible or prioritize offensive weapons? I can see how it could feasibly be a combination of both, but if you had to choose, going into 2024 -- where do you lean?

Another way to attack it is landing BPA at 33, so maybe a OL and then go 2 WR in 3-4 like McMillan and then a Corley/Trash type. We can go BPA at every pick but the non-existent playmaking is a big enough need requiring prioritization.

The ones that stand out to me are below--these dudes don't seem to require much acclimation, have good to excellent route running skills and should translate quickly: Troy Franklin - Been a stan, will remain a stan. He's what the offense has been missing. Adonai Mitchell - Excellent route runner and sure-handed. And at 6'4, he's not some project bigger type, he's a legit potential X receiver that can even take on slot roles at times. Jalen McMillan - Route running technician, sure-handed, and has great burst. I felt that he popped over Polk alongside Odunze in WAS. A very good combo of fluid and agile. He just has a presence and burst that you love to see. Jamari Thrash - Fast off the line, gets separation very quickly. Reliable, good downfield tracking, can be used all over. Could be an ideal asset with very little acclimation. Malachi Corley - Him and Thrash will gain more and more traction as we approach the draft. YAC machine, seemed to REALLY impress scouts at the senior bowl. Fun dude to watch on highlights. Really has a knack for getting upfield, RB mentality when he has the ball. Super dynamic. Let's get some of these dudes.

I really enjoyed watching him in college, was one of my fave WRs during the season. He’s got the true game breaking style we desperately need. Adonai Mitchell is the savier route runner but less of the home run hitter. Those are the two I like at 33. McMillan and a few others a bit later in a double dip would be awesome with an OL in between would be my ideal scenario.

Depends if you think one draft removed is a while

Chief’s defense and their DBs in particular were a huge reason for their playoff run. Just excellent play there. And Mahomes of course is in a tier of his own.

I agree to not overreact but we absolutely need to target better depth and a potential upgrade at C and LT. Bozeman is a huge question mark. He was average for BAL. Good then great down the stretch for Wilks and then awful last year. And it’s not all scheming or the players next to him injured or underperforming..he straight up got bullied at times last year. Icky regressed enough that I’d like to see some considerations had with him ant G… and if we have the talent and depth at both G spots, then LT becomes a need again.

Yep. Due to trades giving up more capital. Most GM's practice keeping an even balance of capital, even in the event of trade ups. For example, many big trades, you'll see the team giving away a top pick dish out a 6th or 7th (or two) to the one moving up. We just had this myopic mindset and didn't bother trying to truly gain capital, only recoup at like two points with CMC and Robbie -- and didn't even play that hard of ball it seems. Fitt is gone, hope Morgan is better with this and learned something from Schneider and Beane.

Warner said "Tails again"

Purdy and CMC have their moment to become immortal.