a look at our 19 udfas

[shaqattaq]

1 hour ago, Navy_football said:

Yep. And I hate that we'll go with a default starter at Safety and possibly at ILB. I would have much rather doubled down on Safeties in the 4th and had a plan going forward. Feels like they're just hoping it works itself out. 

I'm actually a fan of drafting a RB in the 4th. I'm not schooled enough on day 3 RB's to argue whether there was a better option available, but I like what I've seen about Etienne so far. I think he beats out Blackshear for RB3, but is mainly a safety net for 2026.

Chuba is locked in long term on his hard-earned big boy contract.

Dowdle is coming off a 1,000 yard season and will be looking to prove it wasn't a fluke. It it was, he's a RB2 somewhere (maybe here??). It it wasn't a fluke, he'll get a big-boy contract elsewhere.

Brookes... Who TF knows?!?! Even if he does come back, he's 2 years removed from play time. Etienne and he can fight for RB2, the other defaults to RB3. Both will be playing on cheap rookie contracts.

Blackshear is meh.

Edited 3 hours ago by shaqattaq

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, Navy_football said:

Yep. And I hate that we'll go with a default starter at Safety and possibly at ILB. I would have much rather doubled down on Safeties in the 4th and had a plan going forward. Feels like they're just hoping it works itself out. 

And, honestly, there's only so much you can attempt to do in the draft. And every draft pick is a roll of the dice.

But that's where grabbing a ton of UDFAs, and targeting the best, makes a big difference. Sure, their individual chances of getting a hit here is less, but that shotgun pattern might just hit something. 

Right now, we need bulk, partly to rebuild and partly to dilute the deep level of stank that has developed on this team in the last six years. If we're going to rebuild a culture built around culture, accountability and winning, then these UDFAs we bring in each season have to be the wash water that gets out that leftover dirt. 

Canales seems to be a smart, culture-first, build up the good ones kind of guy. I like that and I hope he can keep it going here. But he was working against a locker room that had been taught to lose and taught to distrust or ignore coaches. He's got his work cut out for him, still. He does seem to have it moving in the right direction and that's something I was pretty amazed with by the end of last season.