The Javon Kinlaw Discussion

[TheProcess]

3 hours ago, MHS831 said:

This.   Well put.  If people are all torn up about 2020 needs--a season that may or may not be played (who knows) then I ask you to consider two facts about the game:

1.  Rookies, nearly all of them, are raw and learning.  Most are liabilities if they are forced into starting roles as rookies.  At the positions we have needs, not many "ball out" as rookies.  It may look good on paper, but you have to think longer term than 16 games at the end of the current year.  Start thinking of the draft as addressing needs or upgrading the 2021 roster--that is when these rookies will be playing their brand of professional football.   Fortunately, we have veterans in front of DT and OT now--not the best---but able bodies to carry any rookie into his sophomore NFL season.

2.  Teams struggle to find 3 kinds of players in the draft--these players are the most coveted, the most aligned with winning. 1) Quarterback.  2) Edge pass rushers such as defensive ends or 3-4 OLBs, and 3) pass protectors.  The most important pass protector is a LT.  The second most important pass protector is a RT.  The reason you need them?  They keep your only hope for winning a super bowl, the QB--your biggest investment, healthy. 

So having said that, let's look at our 2021 situation at those three positions.  It makes no sense to prioritize other positions if these three are not set.

1. Quarterback:  Bridgewater will be on the second year of a 3-year contract.  If he has done well, we have 2 years of stability at QB.  If not, we are drafting a QB.

2. Edge rushers:  We have Burns.  We have Weatherly.  We have Haynes and Miller.  Not exactly scary, but if Burns steps up in year 2, we could be OK.   Not happy, but we have role players and Burns' potential.

3. LT:  Okung will be 32 and his contract will expire.  Unlikely to return.  Greg Little has had a year to learn and thicken his skull-the fact that Okung was brought in is hardly and endorsement for Little.  Do they really assume he will be ready in 2021?  I do not buy it.  We are in position to draft a starting LT in the best T draft in recent memory.  Do we draft a DT and ignore 2021 altogether, hoping that Little will be ready or that we can find a LT in the draft or free agency?  That kind of thinking is how we have operated since Gross retired.

RT:  Moton's contract expires.  Moton has been  slightly above average to good, not great.  What if he pulls a Bradberry and wants top 5 money?  He would have the Panthers over a barrel if they have no plan B.  Frankly, I read an article when he was drafted that said, "Moton will be a serviceable tackle, but he would be a standout G."  I never forgot it.  How good would the OL be if we moved Moton inside to LG and drafted Wills or Wirfs?  

If we draft Wirfs or Wills, and take a player like Galimore or Blacklock in the second, is that not the smartest move?  Brown can play various techniques, and that makes him valuable, but he is not going to play every defensive snap in a rotation--maybe 50% of them.  A T plays them all.  I want my best players on the field all the time.  If the defense is on the field for 45% of a football game, and the player you draft is on the field for 50% of those snaps, our first round pick would be playing about 22.5% of the game, compared to an OT playing 45% of the game.

 

 

Good post, good breakdown

[Wolfcop]

Jourdan said we will take Kinlaw. She has nailed it a few times before.