Who really wanted Young?

[AU-panther]

I'm not talking about which of us (the fans) wanted Young, but which of the front office?

Seems like now people are trying to run with narrative that Tepper was the reason, but after the draft all we heard about was it was some magical moment where Fitt and Frank waited to the last minute to tell each other who they liked it and was Young and they both thought that way from the start.

I will say that i do believe any time you have the #1 pick, and especially if you are using it on a QB, that the owner has to sign off and has final say.  That really isn't unusual, but I don't buy this idea that he is doing the scouting and totally overriding an entire staff if there is a huge difference of opinion.  

If the HC and GM and scouting department all say Stroud is a lot better prospect, I don't see an owner overriding that, too easy for him to look bad.  Now if the front office views them pretty similar then yes maybe an owner makes that call.   

What if Fitt liked Young more and Frank liked Stroud more?   Maybe at that point an owner makes the call.  

I don't know if any of us know for sure at this point.  I do think though if we continue to lose more games you might see more finger pointing.

 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

Unless we have someone here who sat in the meetings we honestly just don't know. It's all speculation and trying to sift through PR spin. Because no matter who the pick was the public narrative was always going to be that it was a consensus pick that everyone in the building was completely in love with.

[mav1234]

I tend to think it was BY all along. While he wasn't at the top of everyone's board, it did seem that he was atop most. Stroud at #1 speculation peaked mid draft and we basically heard pretty quick he wasn't our preference.  A lot of us hoped it was rumor at the time, but I think BY was widespread considered the #1 choice from the moment the trade was made.

[ForJimmy]

I mean it’s rumored/leaked that Tepper wanted Fields, but we didn’t draft him. I can see him being more direct since we moved up to acquire this QB and I could see Reich/Fitt leaning Young based on what they heard from Tepper. I just don’t think Tepper forced their hands but again it’s all guesses and speculations.

[Waldo]

Sounds like we will know more but not everything yet. I think a forced hand is still on the table but not guaranteed. Maybe the employees caved or Scott was also in on it so Frank caved. No idea but I am sure interested in finding out.

[MGH1989]

First, let’s not act like taking Bryce was some crazy reach. By and large he was the best QB based on the NFL community and draft analysts. So based on that alone he was a worthy pick absent how Stroud has performed. That’s not to say Bryce is or was a lock to be a franchise QB, no one is.

There are a lot of conflict ideas out there. The idea that they favored Stroud appears to be based on old reporting prior to the draft, in the middle of lying season. Also people assuming Frank wanted a big QB based on his track record, which is also based on faulty logic when most QBs are big.

At this point it doesn’t matter. Bryce is our guy.

 

 

[PantherBoy95]

I always hated that they were saying publicly "we haven't really talked about who it will be much."
Arguably the most important pick in Franchise History...and you're waiting until the last minute to make sure you're on the same page sounds like a recipe for disaster. Though I'd hope that's not how it truly went lol

[top dawg]

1 minute ago, MGH1989 said:

First, let’s not act like taking Bryce was some crazy reach. By and large he was the best QB based on the NFL community and draft analysts. So based on that alone he was a worthy pick absent how Stroud has performed. That’s not to say Bryce is or was a lock to be a franchise QB, no one is.

There are a lot of conflict ideas out there. The idea that they favored Stroud appears to be based on old reporting prior to the draft, in the middle of lying season. Also people assuming Frank wanted a big QB based on his track record, which is also based on faulty logic when most QBs are big.

At this point it doesn’t matter. Bryce is our guy.

 

 

Let's not act like Bryce isn't abnormally small for a QB. He's historically small. 

Perhaps the "big QB" thing meant "just not a little guy" as opposed to Cam Newton, Big Ben, or Josh Allen.

I'd say that ~6'2" and 220 isn't necessarily a big QB, but a normal one within an NFL context.

https://hortonbarbell.com/average-height-and-weight-of-nfl-quarterbacks/

[t96]

No one has a fuging clue. My guess is that McCown and Reich preferred Stroud but also really liked Bryce. Fitts preferred Bryce (Russell Wilson's Seattle success comes to mind for reasons why) and we all can tell Tepper has been slobbering over Bryce with the analytics, S2 test, etc. Reich doesn't seem like the type of guy to me to adamantly fight with the GM and owner on who to pick when he still liked Bryce too, and McCown has the least pull as the QB coach (although considering he was getting HC interviews immediately after retiring maybe he shouldn't...). No clue at all on the scouts, but I bet they were somewhat divided and saw pros/cons to both and just laid out what they saw, maybe shared their opinion on who to take, but I don't think our scouting staff had any sort of consensus.

 

The draft isn't an exact science and looking back with the benefit of hindsight makes extremely tough decisions seem like they should have been easy. Stroud had concerns in the draft aside from the S2, Bryce had concerns aside from size, both had a ton of pros coming out of college. There's still so much time for things to shake out, obviously Stroud is doing way better right now but as some Dolphins fans were saying, who right now would take Herbert over Tua when it seemed obvious early that Herbert was a stud and Tua a bust? 

 

The thing is though, Bryce and the choice of him over Stroud is FAR from our biggest issue. The trade is an issue. The rest of the roster pretty much top to bottom is an issue. Tepper meddling is an issue. We could've taken Stroud and I think we'd still be 0-5 if all else stayed the same.

[ForJimmy]

7 minutes ago, top dawg said:

Let's not act like Bryce isn't abnormally small for a QB. He's historically small. 

Perhaps the "big QB" thing meant "just not a little guy" as opposed to Cam Newton, Big Ben, or Josh Allen.

I'd say that ~6'2" and 220 isn't necessarily a big QB, but a normal one within an NFL context.

https://hortonbarbell.com/average-height-and-weight-of-nfl-quarterbacks/

I don’t think anyone is debating his size. That was his only negative, but it’s a pretty big negative red flag. It’s also why the pick was for sale. There was no Luck, Lawrence, Caleb in this past draft. They all had weaknesses. 

[Mr. Scot]

Influence vs direct orders, but the results are the same...

[top dawg]

2 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

I don’t think anyone is debating his size. That was his only negative, but it’s a pretty big negative red flag. It’s also why the pick was for sale. There was no Luck, Lawrence, Caleb in this past draft. They all had weaknesses. 

I agree, but what I'm saying is that Bryce's size was a hard sell to many, despite being a former Heisman winner, national champion, and otherworldly processor. 

[CPF4LIFE]

 

 

[Martin]

I’ve yet to hear that Frank wasn’t happy with the pick. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is reporting it as being, at worst, a 1a vs. 1b situation. 
 

So feeling sorry for Frank because he got Bryce? Not buying it. Frank has months to create a playbook to maximize Bryce’s skill set and have failed doing so, on top of general coaching blunders. At this point Frank looks like a bad hire.