Looks like we landed at least 4 starting caliber players from the 2014 draft class

[R0CKnR0LLA]

Benjamin is going to be a perennial 1000+ yard 10+ TD receiver

 

Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell are both beasts and are going to lock down our OG spots for years to come. I mean just look at this fuging shtt

 

 

Bene, can't say enough about this kid. Graded out as the 2nd best DB in the league early on before he was hurt. Now coming back he's played spectacular against one of the best QBs in the game. Not only was his coverage tremendous, he forced one of our only two turnovers with an INT and almost nabbed a second. Oh and he also lead the team in tackles. For a 5th rounder this guy may be one of the biggest steals out of the entire draft.

 

While the guys listed above have already proven themselves as starter material there's still Kony Ealy and Tre Boston that could potentially factor in. At the very worst they'll be quality rotational/depth players. The only flop we had was our 6th rounder and he was cut because he got injured, it happens.

 

It's a great haul for only having 6 picks. We also landed 3 starters last year (Star, Short and Klein) with only 5 picks. We only have one more season of cap hell and then a huge amount of money (~80 million) opens up. If we use that money wisely and continue drafting like this (and hopefully upgrade the coaching staff) then this team is going to be a real force.

 

Despite some of the horrendous lopsided losses this year I'm very optimistic for the future. We are in MUCH better shape moving forward than any other team in the NFC South. In a couple years I can see our division turning into something like the AFC South or AFC East where we easily lock up the division title every season while the other 3 teams are fighting just to stay out of last place.

 

[Dex]

Philly Brown tho.

[RelaxImaPro]

Yeah, just said something similar in another thread yet not as detailed.  It's another reason why I think people calling for Gettleman's head are being extremely fuging irrational and not looking at the big picture.

 

Seriously.  Look at his drafts the past two years (including the UDFAs: Melvin White, Robert Lester, Andrew Norwell, Philly Brown, etc.).  We've consistently gotten solid contribution from the lower rounds of the draft with limited picks while maintaining getting some beasts in the 1st round.  The man has an eye for talent, and when he has his pick of the litter (as opposed to scraping the FA bin due to being cap strapped) he's shown he knows what the fug he's doing.

 

If he keeps up this level of drafting and UDFA contributors, he could literally sign whoever he wants in the offseason once we finally get some money.  He's also shown the balls to make the tough business decisions as opposed to setting the team back for the future.  It might piss us off as fans for the time being, but it's the best for the future.

 

Shula and potentially Ron still got to go tho

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Feel better about this team's future than I have in years in large part due to our draft picks these last few years.

Will make a big difference when 4 or 5 draft picks contribute as opposed to 1 or 2 as in days past.

[Herbert is Sorry]

Feeling much better about our Oline because of Norwell and Turner. I think the will be very good consistent players here for a long time. Just need to shed bell. Philly Brown can be great andcI think Bene has probowl written all over his future.

[The Huddler]

Ealy will grow and develop. Haven't heard much at all from any rookie DEs this season

[top dawg]

Well, I guess that optimism is warranted after a blowout win.

 

Keep in mind that neither Norwell or Philly Brown were drafted.  It's not a stretch to say that at 4-8-1 that we missed out on some talent this year.  It's not all candy and roses.  G-man needs to draft better in 2015, otherwise we will be fuged next year.

[WhoAmI?]

I don't think people really know just how rare it is for a team to find undrafted FA's and practice squad players to contribute, yet Dave finds them like it's the norm. Rookie GM's will always make their mistakes (hell, even established GM's do), but Dave has proven to be a damn good talent evaluator and I can't wait to see what coach he hand picks for us next year.

 

The people giving up on him only after 1.5 seasons are stupid. I still back him no matter how much I disagreed with his past offseason moves. Next year will tell me a lot however.

[Ruff]

I think Norwell is going to be a starter in this league for a long time. Philly I'm still not sold on, nor am I sold on Trai Turner (as much as I am Norwell).

Bene is going to be really nice. Has the ball hawking skills of a guy like Asante Samuel, which is awesome, but without safety help, he's going to be a big risk/big reward type player.

[KendrickPanther]

I've been content with Ealy. He didn't surprise me in a good way or bad way. I was a little disappointed in Trai Turner this year but the guy is very very young for an NFL player. 

 

Kelvin Is tough. Who is going to show up? He's incredibly inconsistent. Can we count on him at the end of the game in a season with high expectations? Can he deliver every week? I'm not sure.

 

Either way he is a terrific weapon for Cam but we may need someone more consistent to be No.1.

[top dawg]

Benjamin is starting material, as well as Benwikere from the relatively small work that we've seen.  The other draft picks may not even start on most teams.

 

 

As for the UDFAs, Norwell is nice, but we really need to see more. Brown may be a nice role player, but I really don't think that he should start.  He is also small and seems to be injury prone. 

 

 

[KillerKat]

You're right except Norwell isn't included in the draft class. He was a free agent pickup. Just like when a team cuts a player and we sign him.

[top dawg]

I don't think people really know just how rare it is for a team to find undrafted FA's and practice squad players to contribute, yet Dave finds them like it's the norm. Rookie GM's will always make their mistakes (hell, even established GM's do), but Dave has proven to be a damn good talent evaluator and I can't wait to see what coach he hand picks for us next year.

 

The people giving up on him only after 1.5 seasons are stupid. I still back him no matter how much I disagreed with his past offseason moves. Next year will tell me a lot however.

 

The Super Bowl champions had (have) more than a few UDFAs that contribute.  It may be difficult to find contributing UDFAs, but I don't think that it's as difficult as you are suggesting.  

 

I can think of a few this year on different teams, like Isaiah Crowell, Brandon Oliver, Allen Hurns, and Jonotthan Harrison.

 

G-man has done an OK job so far, but he has to do better than he did this past draft in order to keep the ship moving in the right direction.   

 

We can't rely on UDFAs.

[Ruff]

We also have to look at it from the perspective of the situation the players being drafted are put into. We're not a very deep team, so any guy who comes in off the street is going to have a chance to play, not all lower round picks, and UDFAs, have that luxury.

Then, if they play even at a mediocre level, it looks like an immense upgrade. I don't like the idea of going into the next Draft saying, yeah, we had those UDFAs that played well, let's go with them... When there's a clear upgrade available.