So what is your draft strategy after today?

[CPcavedweller]

4 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Taking any potential options off the board is the dumbest poo in the world. Sometimes you're on the clock and don't see great value on the board and if the phone is ringing with offers that you see more value in than the talent available then you're crazy to just pick a player because that what we do here in this organization!

The Bears traded back, and I have a feeling it's going to work out for them just fine. 

[JawnyBlaze]

Not much different tbh. If Graham is there he’s still a good pick. Brown/Brown/Graham in 3-4 looks with Wharton on a frequent rotation.  LDE/Brown/Brown/Graham or LDE/Brown/Graham/D Brown on 4-3 looks.  Clowney can be that LDE for now.  We don’t have much in the way of pass rushers for either set as of now, nor LBs. 

I still see McMillen as a strong option if he’s there, I’d probably rather that than dropping $35mil a year and draft picks on trading for a #1 WR. I like XL, I have faith he’ll develop, but giving him a strong running mate would boost that development (Thielen has been great but he’s not the best complement to XL nor a long term solution.)

Im not crazy about the CBs in this draft. I’d only want Johnson or someone if we trade down quite a bit. 

Still not completely sold on Walker but if they take him I’ll get on board. Same with any of the pass rushers. 

We still need a good Safety but I doubt any are worth a top half 1st rd pick. 2nd round on I hope we take one. 

[Jon Snow]

4 minutes ago, JawnyBlaze said:

Not much different tbh. If Graham is there he’s still a good pick. Brown/Brown/Graham in 3-4 looks with Wharton on a frequent rotation.  LDE/Brown/Brown/Graham or LDE/Brown/Graham/D Brown on 4-3 looks.  Clowney can be that LDE for now.  We don’t have much in the way of pass rushers for either set as of now, nor LBs. 

I still see McMillen as a strong option if he’s there, I’d probably rather that than dropping $35mil a year and draft picks on trading for a #1 WR. I like XL, I have faith he’ll develop, but giving him a strong running mate would boost that development (Thielen has been great but he’s not the best complement to XL nor a long term solution.)

Im not crazy about the CBs in this draft. I’d only want Johnson or someone if we trade down quite a bit. 

Still not completely sold on Walker but if they take him I’ll get on board. Same with any of the pass rushers. 

We still need a good Safety but I doubt any are worth a top half 1st rd pick. 2nd round on I hope we take one. 

Sums up how I feel about this draft.

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, Panthero said:

Id like for nothing more than us to take him at 8 and he's a stud. But the miss rate is so high on TE. That worries me. But a true number 1 target would be awesome.

Every pick is a hope. Every pick.

[mrcompletely11]

3 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Every pick is a hope. Every pick.

Thats a rather odd draft philosophy

[LinvilleGorge]

1 hour ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Thats a rather odd draft philosophy

It's the truth though. There's no such thing as a sure thing in the draft. Great prospects bust and largely overlooked prospects become diamonds in the rough every year.

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

It's the truth though. There's no such thing as a sure thing in the draft. Great prospects bust and largely overlooked prospects become diamonds in the rough every year.

Thats where due diligence, analytics, interviews etc come into play.  You do your best to work the odds so you dont have a bust, especially in the early rounds.  Treating every player the same across the board is not a smart drafting strategy.   And for the 100x the odds are astronomical that a first round tight end is worth it.

[PNW_PantherMan]

2 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Thats where due diligence, analytics, interviews etc come into play.  You do your best to work the odds so you dont have a bust, especially in the early rounds.  Treating every player the same across the board is not a smart drafting strategy.   And for the 100x the odds are astronomical that a first round tight end is worth it.

It's still a crap shoot.  You can do as much analytics as you want and take the safest guy imaginable.  He could still be dog poo and some dude everyone passed on is a star.

[LinvilleGorge]

14 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

Thats where due diligence, analytics, interviews etc come into play.  You do your best to work the odds so you dont have a bust, especially in the early rounds.  Treating every player the same across the board is not a smart drafting strategy.   And for the 100x the odds are astronomical that a first round tight end is worth it.

You're not treating them the same. No one values a mid-round pick the same as a top 10 pick but the reality is that they're all unknown quantities. They've never played a down in the NFL and all you can do is try to project how they will translate to a higher level of competition. You can convince yourself otherwise all you want but that's the reality.

[SmokinwithWilly]

3 hours ago, AceBoogie said:

You can have your strategy and I can have mine bro. Respect your opinion and I never said you don’t pick up the phone if someone calls. But initiating a trade back indicates lack of preparation. Especially in the first round. 

I think there's quite the difference between initiating the phone call vs receiving it. Making the call indicates a position of weakness, fielding it indicates a position of strength. If someone is willing to drop a small fortune in your lap, you have to consider taking it, especially with as many holes as this team has. 

[WhoKnows]

13 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

You're not treating them the same. No one values a mid-round pick the same as a top 10 pick but the reality is that they're all unknown quantities. They've never played a down in the NFL and all you can do is try to project how they will translate to a higher level of competition. You can convince yourself otherwise all you want but that's the reality.

You guys are both right. The problem is that when you have a bad drafting GM/scouts, the “hope” is more of a guess than a surprise bust. Was it a surprise when Brooks got hurt again? Was it a surprise that XL didn’t adjust faster than expected and was still raw at his age? Better teams reduce hope so if someone busts, it is a legit surprise. Bad teams (like us) are just guessing and tend to just focus on the positives and ignore the risks that make a bust not surprising.

Let’s see if 2025 turns the corner in the draft. I’m still not optimistic because for all intents it seems to be the same team as the last GM.

[Panthering]

I think the strategy now is to either draft the best pass rusher available or flip to the other side and get Bryce a weapon like TMac or Warren. We are still a bit infatuated with athletic traits over football skills so a good chance that it's TMac. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

56 minutes ago, WhoKnows said:

You guys are both right. The problem is that when you have a bad drafting GM/scouts, the “hope” is more of a guess than a surprise bust. Was it a surprise when Brooks got hurt again? Was it a surprise that XL didn’t adjust faster than expected and was still raw at his age? Better teams reduce hope so if someone busts, it is a legit surprise. Bad teams (like us) are just guessing and tend to just focus on the positives and ignore the risks that make a bust not surprising.

Let’s see if 2025 turns the corner in the draft. I’m still not optimistic because for all intents it seems to be the same team as the last GM.

I think our GMs have gotten caught up in the hype instead of the basics. XL coming out of college didn't have great hands. First and foremost, you gotta be able to catch the ball. Brooks is coming off an ACL tear and we're drafting him to play on turf, which has a proven higher track record of injury. To me, that's just a bad move. Can they tackle? Can they block? How fast do can they recognize a play? Can they catch? These are just basics that we've seem to have gotten away from in the pursuit of developmental players with RAS scores we like. 

[Swaggasaurus]

Draft Warren, Tet, or a OLB. Draft Carson Schwesinger and Danny Stutsman. Try to draft Anthony Belton. Go win some games.