NFL 2020: Draft

Rat Boy wrote:

on the left, someone taking a sh*t.

And he's not even the weirdest person in the picture.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

on the left, someone taking a sh*t.

And he's not even the weirdest person in the picture.

I was trying not to be judgmental about White Frozone or Potential Ax Murderer.

I can't wait for the plethora of house ranking articles tomorrow.

Welp, looking at my two teams...

I have to give the Niners some credit. They only lost two players of consequence this offseason, and they drafted their immediate replacements. And if they had targeted Lamb at 14, they would not have gotten a legit pass rushing DT at 31 (or 25), because there isn't one on the board. They're a deep team that has gotten a lot of contributors from low rounds, UDFA, and even the AAF (Brunskill likely to win a starting guard job this year) recently, so they figure there isn't a lot of open roster spots for rookies to win, hence trading up instead of collecting picks. They have some guys that Lynch called their "redshirt" class, guys like Jalen Hurd that they expect to make the roster this year.

The Jags have no such problem, they have needs and open roster spots from top to bottom, and I feel like they only got OK-ish value, and missed a layup with Wills on the board. Chaisson is interesting because he can play off-ball LB and not just edge, but again, not sure he's value at #20.

I was 100% sure Goodell said to keep the booze coming until I saw it written out that he said boos.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/NClKapu.jpg)

Ugh.

To move up to take Love the Packers gave up their 4th rounder.

Still disturbed by how excited LaFleur was also. Dude you might not even be around to see this guy take a snap, relax.

I was fine with them going defense if need be in the first round because of the depth at WR supposedly but ouch. They really have to now nail their 2nd and 3rd picks as then they are only drafting in the 5th at 175.

I decided to look up all this info and analysis this morning since I don't know most of the names, and what I discovered now has me boggled over the thinking of the front office.

I don't know much about the potential of Jalen Raegor or how he'd compare to CeeDee Lamb, though evidently there were hopes the Eagles would trade up in order to secure the latter. I think reading this thread and seeing for myself how some of these draft picks work out is enough to communicate that nothing is set in stone. It's possible CeeDee Lamb would never work out with Eagles. But it's also possible Raegor is a bust, as I'm learning is a habit with Eagles first round picks.

Which brings me to the real news for me. Evidently the front office was trying to dangle Rasul Douglas (makes sense) and Andre Dillard (wat) for a trade.

The reason Dillard has me thinking "wat" is that, when he had to stand in for Jason Peters at Left Tackle, he did a solid job. He was inexperienced, certainly, but he did decently enough. He had a rough time when he was next to Vaitai, but who wouldn't? I felt like Dillard was one of those rookie discoveries we had this year who had potential to be a good offensive lineman, which we clearly need to better build. The Eagles pocket keeps collapsing around Wentz. Even before Peters left on free agency he was getting injured and nearing retirement. Losing Lane Johnson to injury this season just showed how lacking we are in terms of back-ups (when Vaitai is the best player you can put in that position...). So... you're going to trade one of the few people capable of filling that spot?

There seems to be "organizational concerns" over him, which I take to mean issues of character or cultural compatibility with the locker room. I can understand that, but I'm gonna be honest: Eagles need good offensive linemen to keep that pocket sustained for more than a second more than they need another wide receiver, even after last year's series of problems. I can see wanting a specific kind of Wide Receiver, at least now that you've lost Agholor and whatever you wanted Agholor to be, but... dang man.

I've already seen defense of Raegor, however, that he did well the prior year but then was matched with a rookie quarterback, and justification for that impacting his numbers. I'll just have to wait and see, but I can't help but feel like there are some areas of the team that need improvement over others. Wide receivers won't have anything to catch at all if the pocket is constantly collapsing around Wentz the second the ball is in his hands.

Alright, Legion and co., now explain to me why I'm wrong.

As "boring" as the pick was, I can't be disappointed with the Patrick Queen pick. Sure he is a little on the light side, but his edge to edge speed will be a pretty good compliment to the extra size we put on at DL.

Happy with the Thomas pick at Tackle for the Giants. I really wanted Chase (no chance) and Simmons (need a playmaker on D) but Thomas was a need position and will help strengthen the line considering the last 2 years top picks are QB and RB. Was a smart move.

Interesting move by the Cowboys taking a WR. That team is all about putting the points up so Lamb will definitely help there. Also not looking forward to facing Chase twice a year.

ccesarano wrote:

I decided to look up all this info and analysis this morning since I don't know most of the names, and what I discovered now has me boggled over the thinking of the front office.

I don't know much about the potential of Jalen Raegor or how he'd compare to CeeDee Lamb, though evidently there were hopes the Eagles would trade up in order to secure the latter. I think reading this thread and seeing for myself how some of these draft picks work out is enough to communicate that nothing is set in stone. It's possible CeeDee Lamb would never work out with Eagles. But it's also possible Raegor is a bust, as I'm learning is a habit with Eagles first round picks.

Which brings me to the real news for me. Evidently the front office was trying to dangle Rasul Douglas (makes sense) and Andre Dillard (wat) for a trade.

The reason Dillard has me thinking "wat" is that, when he had to stand in for Jason Peters at Left Tackle, he did a solid job. He was inexperienced, certainly, but he did decently enough. He had a rough time when he was next to Vaitai, but who wouldn't? I felt like Dillard was one of those rookie discoveries we had this year who had potential to be a good offensive lineman, which we clearly need to better build. The Eagles pocket keeps collapsing around Wentz. Even before Peters left on free agency he was getting injured and nearing retirement. Losing Lane Johnson to injury this season just showed how lacking we are in terms of back-ups (when Vaitai is the best player you can put in that position...). So... you're going to trade one of the few people capable of filling that spot?

There seems to be "organizational concerns" over him, which I take to mean issues of character or cultural compatibility with the locker room. I can understand that, but I'm gonna be honest: Eagles need good offensive linemen to keep that pocket sustained for more than a second more than they need another wide receiver, even after last year's series of problems. I can see wanting a specific kind of Wide Receiver, at least now that you've lost Agholor and whatever you wanted Agholor to be, but... dang man.

I've already seen defense of Raegor, however, that he did well the prior year but then was matched with a rookie quarterback, and justification for that impacting his numbers. I'll just have to wait and see, but I can't help but feel like there are some areas of the team that need improvement over others. Wide receivers won't have anything to catch at all if the pocket is constantly collapsing around Wentz the second the ball is in his hands.

Alright, Legion and co., now explain to me why I'm wrong.

He supposedly tracks the ball better than Aggie. So in theory he is an upgrade there. But so many of these picks are crapshoots at best so who knows.

ccesarano wrote:

Alright, Legion and co., now explain to me why I'm wrong.

I don't understand shopping Dillard, unless they were hoping to get a high enough return to dip into this tackle class.

As for Reagor, he definitely had more production in 2018, but also TCU plays in the Big 12, so that production comes with an asterisk to begin with. He did have a good game against Ohio State that year though, so that's something. It would have been nice to have seen him produce in a bowl game that year, but that was the infamous Cheez-It Bowl. He did get to light it up in their bowl game against Stanford in his freshman year, though.

I don't blame him for his targets (and thus overall production) being down in 2019, but the drops are on him. He has the speed and explosiveness to be a weapon, but he's got to get better at fending off press coverage, and the drops HAVE to stop. He was more of a "2nd rounder with upside" to me, but you can say that about most of the back end of the 1st round.

Mostly it was just amusing for a prospect with an Agholor pro comparison to be taken by Philadelphia.

CeeDee wants his girl to keep her hands off his phone.

Legion you doing a first round write-up? Saving something after the draft is done? I'll be honest, your write-ups and opinions are far more interesting than pretty much any of the professionals.

Thoughts about last night's draft (through the first 13-14 picks or so):

* I would have rather the Panthers taken Isaiah Simmons, but Derrick Brown is a fine addition -- a big body and a great human being, by all accounts. A columnist for the Charlotte paper called it "safe ... sound ... and sane." I agree.

* That said, the same columnist (here) ripped the pick because it's the exact kind of old-school pick you'd expect Marty Hurney to make: "Nothing says old-school football-style football like a defensive tackle, a run-stopper in a league where games are decided by the passing game. The Panthers’ best player on offense is a running back. They’re building to win Super Bowl XVII. They’re going to party like it’s 1983."

(Super Bowl XVII, btw, was the one in which John Riggins tore out the heart of the Dolphins and stomped on it a few times. I'm still shook by that game.)

* Even worse (and the column above gets into it), I'm starting to think Matt Rhule isn't some innovative genius -- scoring 50+ points per game in the Big 12 ain't no big feat, right? -- but just some guy in the right place at the right time. Not only did Carolina re-up CMC and burn their first-round pick on a D-lineman, Rhule has hired a lot of his old buddies, and he now has FIVE dudes on the roster who played for him at Temple. That's five too many.

* I had the draft on in the background as I was playing WoW, and tbh, I realized I don't miss sports as much as I thought I did. The ghost of Harry Connick Jr. singing the national anthem? Ten minutes of excited jabber about Joe Burrow? Booger and Michael Irvin? Roger Goodell in his basement talking about the NFL family? Meh, no. Wake me when the season starts.

He was more of a "2nd rounder with upside" to me, but you can say that about most of the back end of the 1st round.

I don't think he would have lasted to 53 where the Eagles were at in the 2nd round.. its such a need position that they didnt have much choice other than trading down a few spots to perhaps pick up another 4th and then taking him

Enix wrote:

* I had the draft on in the background as I was playing WoW, and tbh, I realized I don't miss sports as much as I thought I did. The ghost of Harry Connick Jr. singing the national anthem? Ten minutes of excited jabber about Joe Burrow? Booger and Michael Irvin? Roger Goodell in his basement talking about the NFL family? Meh, no. Wake me when the season starts.

This is what I realized when I moved to Japan and was cut off from sports other than the occasional hockey game. Football, more than the others, is even worse since the action is good but everything between snaps (and there's an absolutely insufferable amount of delays there) is terrible.

Vector wrote:
Enix wrote:

* I had the draft on in the background as I was playing WoW, and tbh, I realized I don't miss sports as much as I thought I did. The ghost of Harry Connick Jr. singing the national anthem? Ten minutes of excited jabber about Joe Burrow? Booger and Michael Irvin? Roger Goodell in his basement talking about the NFL family? Meh, no. Wake me when the season starts.

This is what I realized when I moved to Japan and was cut off from sports other than the occasional hockey game. Football, more than the others, is even worse since the action is good but everything between snaps (and there's an absolutely insufferable amount of delays there) is terrible.

I know this makes me less of a sports fan than acceptable, but I generally found that going fishing on sunday and watching the "full game" on youtube afterwards was a much more enjoyable way to watch the game.

TheGameguru wrote:
He was more of a "2nd rounder with upside" to me, but you can say that about most of the back end of the 1st round.

I don't think he would have lasted to 53 where the Eagles were at in the 2nd round.. its such a need position that they didnt have much choice other than trading down a few spots to perhaps pick up another 4th and then taking him

No, he would not have. His window was probably early 2nd, so if they absolutely had to have him specifically, it was either trade up in the 2nd, trade down in the 1st, or arguably reach early and take him in the 1st, as they did.

I think both this pick and the Niners' pick of Aiyuk tells us something. Or, more specifically, the fact that both teams were clearly aggressive at targeting these guys while guys like Tee Higgins, Denzel Mims, Laviska Shenault, and Michael Pittman Jr. remain on the board.

Teams are targeting home-run speed and agility. Those other guys I named? Higgins, Shenault, and Pittman are mid-4.5 guys, bigger bodies but less twitchy. Mims is much faster than those guys, 4.38 40, but he's straight-line fast and not quick and explosive.

Pair that with the fact that Ruggs was the first WR off the board. Teams are going hard after the Kansas City model of WR, and the bigger body guys are sliding down the board.

*Legion* wrote:

CeeDee wants his girl to keep her hands off his phone.

Best part about it is she used to date Trae Young when he was at Oklahoma.

*Legion* wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Alright, Legion and co., now explain to me why I'm wrong.

I don't understand shopping Dillard, unless they were hoping to get a high enough return to dip into this tackle class.

That's be my guess. Trade a chip who you no longer need.

Vector wrote:
Enix wrote:

* I had the draft on in the background as I was playing WoW, and tbh, I realized I don't miss sports as much as I thought I did. The ghost of Harry Connick Jr. singing the national anthem? Ten minutes of excited jabber about Joe Burrow? Booger and Michael Irvin? Roger Goodell in his basement talking about the NFL family? Meh, no. Wake me when the season starts.

This is what I realized when I moved to Japan and was cut off from sports other than the occasional hockey game. Football, more than the others, is even worse since the action is good but everything between snaps (and there's an absolutely insufferable amount of delays there) is terrible.

Yup yup. I'm happy with highlights, mostly. Baseball wouldn't be a bad thing to have had this whole time. Something to leave on the TV and occasionally go "huh" to.

Vector wrote:

Legion you doing a first round write-up? Saving something after the draft is done? I'll be honest, your write-ups and opinions are far more interesting than pretty much any of the professionals.

I probably won't do anything comprehensive, a lot of what I would write is already in posts here. But I might write up a "Thoughts" post after tonight's picks.

So does Green Bay look to trade Rodgers for a receiver?

As a Panther fan pointed out on Twitter a moment ago, the Derrick Brown pick makes more sense when you realize that Carolina had only two other interior D-linemen on the roster -- the great but injured-last-season Kawann Short and something named "Woodrow Hamilton."

Carolina has six LBs (but no Luuuuuuke, boo) and three EDGE guys (DE/LB hybrids left over from last year's dumb decision to convert to a 3-4; that includes Brian Burns and a couple of other recent draft picks who have barely played). Carolina's apparently going back to a 4-3, so those edge guys better like special teams or they'll be at home on the couch w the rest of us.

On to Round 2, where the brave teams pick kickers and the Panthers make some really dumb picks.

Paleocon wrote:

So does Green Bay look to trade Rodgers for a receiver?

If they want to start a riot sure.

I get trying to find the future heir. Rodgers was already suspect last year on some throws that were clearly not WR problems.

Maybe one year too early. As Legion mentioned they were close last year.

Moving up was head scratching as they then just lost ammo to plug holes which there are.

Assuming a pick in the 20-30 range next year I'm 100% fine if they traded next year's #1 to get an early second round now. Why not? If there's a day 1 impact ILB or WR shoot.

There are definitely WRs for Green Bay to target in round 2. There's probably about 6 or so that could go in the round. Even if they just stay put at the end of the round, there's likely someone worth targeting.

Alright round 2, let's do this.

Josh Jones and Denzel Mims would look nice in Jag uniforms.

Also, we have a FRESNO STATE prospect on the board! Guard Netane Muti is the beastly-yet-injury-prone answer to your team's interior offensive line problems!

*Legion* wrote:

There are definitely WRs for Green Bay to target in round 2. There's probably about 6 or so that could go in the round. Even if they just stay put at the end of the round, there's likely someone worth targeting.

Oh there is but.... If there's a run on WRs they might look a bit silly.

*Legion* wrote:

There's probably about 6 or so that could go in the round.

Two in the first 2 picks. Wonder if I under-estimated.

That's the second dad that look like he could be a draft pick, too.