Bear Hands

He's 25/26, plenty in the tank

I imagine we're around interview time right meow. Maybe negotiations as well.

Y'all should check this out when you can. Really fun. He's brings it more than I remembered as a blocker. Seems much more patient finding holes and is just sneaky with his cuts.

Wake Forest kid that played for Evero....I sense a possibility here

If CB emerges as the highest value for us, Tyrique Stevenson, Deonte Banks & Julius Brents are some names to keep in mind. Outside CBs, long, athletic. There's a lot more size and a lot to like in the CB group this year. A REALLY solid top-12ish group but then there's a pretty steep drop after late R2 graded talent.

EDGE is a definite spot for us to bolster, but with Burns, Luvu, Haynes, & Barno, I wonder if the better focus is a hand-in dirt chess piece on the line. Keeanu Benton, Mazi Smith or Karl Brooks seem like the type I could see as a big fit. I will say, this draft is not top heavy but it is deep as heck with EDGE, RB, & TE. This is one of the deeper EDGE classes in a minute so maybe we do take advantage. I could see us targeting a KJ Henry, Elijah McGuire, Byron Young, Tyler Lacy type with one of the 4ths. With this R2 consideration, there are 3 prospects that do make my eyebrow perk up: Felix, Ojulari, & Adebawore. They seem hard to pass on.

Nice post-- I quoted the 4 scenarios that I keep coming to. 1 & 2 I see as a pipe dream (which is why I'm wondering about a trade up to ~28) and your scenario 3 & 4 as the realistic options. Unless there's unforeseen circumstances, I see Bijan, S-N, Johnston, Addison, & Zay all going solidly in R1. 6 offensive skill dudes. With Mayer & Kincaid, highly highly likely R1, and can actually see Kincaid going first as high as GB at 15. 8 RB/TE/WRs in the first would be on par with most drafts. I just don't see Zay slipping past NYG, DAL, BUF, & CIN. That back of first is where you target if Zay or Dalton are available. Those are the two worth trading up for if there. Gibbs could be a wildcard to fall. If we're looking at pure talent, position aside, he's only behind Bijan and S-N in this class. He'll be instant impact in a huge way. And then with Downs, his size doesn't worry me. I look at him more like a Devonta Smith than a TY Hilton. He's a fighter and gets after it, contesting over 6'+ corners. Picking him seems like a prime opportunity. He can be pushed outside and play slot. You can slide him anywhere, not slot exclusive like a Tank Dell for example. The other thing in the back of my mind is if one of these top EDGE guys is there, and let's say only Musgrave, Charbonnet, & Rice are available, then it gets tricky. There is a big cliff right around our pick so it's an important thing for Fitt to navigate.

Yeah @rayzor I’m going with drunk

Sanders was the starting running back for the NFC Champions. I think we can manage just fine with him. We got him for a rather modest deal and long term. This is a good thing. Holy Moses.

Again, not a huge contact, like at all. It’s not even remotely bellcow tier. It’s Kareem Hunt type level pay for a team needed something, anything proven at a skill position. So yes, it makes sense to not over rely on unprovens but not overpay. We have no idea what went down w Foreman. If you’re gonna faux neck stick out contrarian, at least make it worthwhile.

His contract is if anything a pretty nice second contract for a 25 y/o coming off a 1200 yard season that was on a SB tier squad. His contract figures are on the same level as Kareem Hunt, James Conner, & Nyheim Hines. We did not pay him a significant amount, this is not some huge deal. We easily set ourselves up to find a pretty legit compliment like a Zach Charbonnet, McBride, or Roschon Johnson.

Regarding who we've got: They call him TMJ because he gives you jaw pain from having to clench your jaw in anticipation of him, doing anything...come on...we're waiting...

Not only that but it's another LSU tiger lol

Jason Avant is MIA

If this dude played a full season in a Reich offense, it's easily a 1000+ year. But that injury history... https://www.draftsharks.com/fantasy/injury-history/dj-chark/9975

I suppose he could work as a rotational DE in Evero's scheme, but I'm unsure how his above-avg run defense holds up in a 3-4 vs. 4-3. Think he's just out of place but I've been wrong before

Fair assessment for the most part. YGM seems a bit like an odd man out IMO. Do wonder if we've tried to send him elsewhere this offseason.

I live in Illinois so already deal with it quite heavily haha. It's all a balance of being where you want to be, comfortably/within your means, and building towards a future. Now city preference wise, to each their own.

Not expecting them to

That's my guess as well. If I was a FA, NYC would be hard to turn down. I'd be scoping out West Village condos pronto.

Thanks. I'm not entirely on board but appreciate the added perspective. I do think Tillman offers a lot more than some of the other bigger guys in those mid rounds. I look and compare him to Hutchinson and Perry, and do view him as a notch up. He's got some X potential that many others in the class simply don't have.

Yeah I wouldn't want to feel like we're forcing it entirely, hence why I'm proposing the trade up idea. Campbell could very well be available. Others being Ojulari, Felix, and that Northwestern kid. The EDGE class is really appealing.

Yeah that is what I've been noticing, even in respect to who we land via FA. There's a few smaller guys with outside potential in the vein of a Lockett or D Smith, but a lot of slot types and specific player types that need to be paired with a larger receiving room. I guess it's a good thing we've got TMJ at 6'3 but he needs to start producing.

I'd like to think so, just running through some scenarios, and it's the remaining few from that top ~30ish could dwindle fast. Particularly at the WR spot. On the flipside, if we can't quite land the guy we want, I could actually see a slight trade down, where we could still land let's say Musgrave or LaPorta, then we gain another top-100 pick. That type of move could get us in position to select a few WRs in R3-4. Then the combos in that realm start to look something like a LaPorta, Cedric Tillman, Jayden Reed type grouping. Ideally, I'd love Downs or Hyatt to just be there to take.

Pending a WR signing (or two), I think it's fair to say we've set ourselves up to get, not BPA, but the BOSPA, come April. Although I'll admit this EDGE class is tantalizing. (Cue the new term) So then, let's take a gander... Consensus-ish Big Board (My estimated rankings based on The Athletic, Ringer, and a few other spots) green means trending up. 10. Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR ^ 12. Quentin Johnston WR 14. Michael Mayer TE 17. Jordan Addison WR 23. Jahmyr Gibbs RB ^ 25. Dalton Kincaid TE ^ 26. Zay Flowers WR ^ 30. Darnell Washington TE ^ 33. Jalin Hyatt WR 40. Josh Downs WR 48. Luke Musgrave TE 52. Sam LaPorta TE ^ 58. Zach Charbonnet Takeaways: No doubt team boards will vary, but I see a pretty damn substantial cliff after LaPorta. Rashee Rice & Tillman are good but a major tier down. Same goes with the TE and RB groups in my opinion. Guys like Tyler Scott, Kraft, Achane, Spears, Schoonmaker could be great, but simply aren't in that higher tier. I know we already gave a lot away, I'm trying to stay realistic. However, if we want to land a top weapon in this class, I think it could be in our benefit to move up a tad. I'm not saying jump to 20 for a boatload, but if receivers are getting selected in the 20s, which I can see happening easy, then I say let's get aggressive again. So my question RE: Rankings, -- Is it worth holding on, or would it be in our favor to use something like a 4th (this year or future), or maybe a 4th+6th type combo to slide up a bit in our favor? I think 3rds are too high with capital given away for our shiny QB1, but it we want an effective weapon, do you want to swing high, or take a group of guys a bit lower tier in this draft? After 39, 93 is our next selection. That's 1.5 rounds right there. For me, it is starting to look quite appealing to grab a top guy somehow given who we've brought in. A really solid foundation sans WR seems to have melded together. Creating a young trio like Stroud, Sanders, & Flowers could have so much freaking potential. Thoughts?