NFL 2021: The offseason and draft thread

*Legion* wrote:

You know, I've never much liked Urban Meyer, though as someone that doesn't follow college football closely (aside from draft prospect cut-ups), I don't fully remember why. But his "I've known Doyle for 20 years, he's vetted by me" crap has given me a solid reason to dislike him.

Ditto with the situation with Zach Smith. Smith, if you've forgotten, was the Ohio State assistant who had been (allegedly!) beating the hell out of his wife for years. Meyer and Smith go way way back: Smith played for Meyer at Bowling Green, and Meyer hired him as a coach after that. Smith is also the grandson of Meyer's mentor, former OSU coach Earl Bruce.

You think he would have learned his lesson after OSU actually suspended him for three games back in '18. Guess not.

*Legion* wrote:

Oh speaking of Coughlin and the NFLPA letter, Secret Base just did a "Collapse" video on the Jaguars that includes it:

Man, blows my mind they took Fournette with 4th overall pick. Awful, awful, awful and I liked him and his play. But 4th overall? That's a Jets-like move.

garion333 wrote:

Man, blows my mind they took Fournette with 4th overall pick. Awful, awful, awful and I liked him and his play. But 4th overall? That's a Jets-like move.

I went back to our threads to look at what I said at the time, and it was: "taking a power back in the top 5 in a PolianBall league, but it's a great prospect at a big need."

Which, yep. Good prospect and they obviously needed to get the ball out of Bortles' hands. And as a rookie, he was a big part of making that 2017 run happen in the first place.

Still, if they had drafted a RB at the top of round 2, they would have likely taken either Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, or Alvin Kamara, the next 3 RBs taken after round 2 started (Cook and Mixon went early/mid round 2, Kamara near the top of round 3). And then Kareem Hunt was the next back taken after Kamara. Certainly some names of guys that could have provided immediate impact as well, assuming Cook doesn't have the knee injury happen if he's in a different situation.

That said, if they had selected Christian McCaffrey instead of Fournette, we maybe are letting the whole RB at #4 thing slide still. Of course, McCaffrey's receiving skill would make that pick easier to justify in the modern NFL, you're basically getting a mini slot WR and RB combined.

Also, looking at the old thread reminded me that this was the draft I was trying to watch from a damn plane. Work travel on the holiest of holy days sucks.

*Legion* wrote:
garion333 wrote:

Man, blows my mind they took Fournette with 4th overall pick. Awful, awful, awful and I liked him and his play. But 4th overall? That's a Jets-like move.

I went back to our threads to look at what I said at the time, and it was: "taking a power back in the top 5 in a PolianBall league, but it's a great prospect at a big need."

Which, yep. Good prospect and they obviously needed to get the ball out of Bortles' hands. And as a rookie, he was a big part of making that 2017 run happen in the first place.

Still, if they had drafted a RB at the top of round 2, they would have likely taken either Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, or Alvin Kamara, the next 3 RBs taken after round 2 started.

Of course, if they had selected Christian McCaffrey instead of Fournette, we maybe are letting the whole RB at #4 thing slide still.

McCaffrey is at least dynamic as a RB and WR. You would never mistake Fournette for that, the really fast FB he is.

There's few good reasons to take a RB top 10 or even 20 anymore.

*Legion* wrote:

I went back to our threads to look at what I said at the time,

People around here do this far more than they admit.

The fact the Jaguars drafted a back #4, alienated him, cut him, and he eventually helped lead a team in the same state to a title is so, so Jaguars.

Chris Doyle is now an ex-Jaguar, resigning from the team.

Which doesn't erase hiring him in the first place. Meyer still firmly in my sh*t-list for this one.

Browns are interested in JJ Watt. I can't see him going to Cleveland but Watt + Myles Garrett would be awfully interesting.

How about the Watt bros playing together in Pittsburgh? Even more terrifying.

Baltimore, GB, TB and Chicago? Wow. Terrifying thoughts for many. I doubt Chicago since they have no starting QB, but could definitely see TB (assuming they have the $$) and I think GB is my favorite spot. (Outside of Baltimore, but I doubt they can afford him.)

garion333 wrote:

Browns are interested in JJ Watt. I can't see him going to Cleveland but Watt + Myles Garrett would be awfully interesting.

How about the Watt bros playing together in Pittsburgh? Even more terrifying.

Baltimore, GB, TB and Chicago? Wow. Terrifying thoughts for many. I doubt Chicago since they have no starting QB, but could definitely see TB (assuming they have the $$) and I think GB is my favorite spot. (Outside of Baltimore, but I doubt they can afford him.)

I like the dream of JJ Watt. I don't like the reality of him being 31 and the injuries he's gone through.

If he wants to come to the Packers on a cheap deal sure why not but even then the injury* means you have dedicated a roster spot to someone who might not be on the field.

If I was him also I doubt he's seeking out to play on some charity level contract.

Cash in man. If it's the Browns who give him silly money and you are on a team that is playoff feasible I think that's the best fit.

NFL Rumors: Trevor Lawrence to Have Surgery Tuesday; Likely Out 5-6 Months

Legion, I am sorry.

And I would love to have Watt next to Garrett and would hate to see him twice a year next to his brother. Four Watts are too many Watts.

Meh, we knew this a week ago, that's why he held his workout early. It's labrum repair on his non-throwing shoulder, so nobody is all that concerned. Mostly it means he won't be able to throw until training camp, so he'll miss doing physical work at rookie minicamps.

Meyer and Baalke will use that as an excuse to choose someone else.

*Legion* wrote:

Meh, we knew this a week ago, that's why he held his workout early. It's labrum repair on his non-throwing shoulder, so nobody is all that concerned. Mostly it means he won't be able to throw until training camp, so he'll miss doing physical work at rookie minicamps.

Oy, I had a torn labrum in my non-throwing shoulder when I was younger, and eventually got it repaired (in 2001 IIRC) when I re-injured it playing hockey. That was possibly the most painful experience in my life. Not the injury and not the surgery, but the diagnosis.

Spoiler:

The doctor prescribed an MRI with contrast in order to diagnose the injury. This involved having the dye injected directly into my shoulder joint, through my armpit. I thought that the nurse was being dramatic when she suggested she should hold my hand before the injection.

That said, the surgery worked well and I got back to hockey in six months or so.

Vector wrote:

Meyer and Baalke will use that as an excuse to choose someone else.

Thanks for doing my job, Vector.

So, no football this weekend. Feels odd.

garion333 wrote:

So, no football this weekend. Feels odd.

Just drink, yell at the TV, and get depressed. #worksforme

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
garion333 wrote:

So, no football this weekend. Feels odd.

Just drink, yell at the TV, and get depressed. #worksforme

I thought that said to get dressed. I was confused.

CBS Sports has a story that the Bucs nearly cut Leonard Fournette late in the season. He was griping about not being the starter over Ronald Jones, and Arians basically told him to accept it or be cut, which clearly would have changed lots of things.

Even with the playoff performance, that sort of head case crap isn't something likely to stick around, so I think it's safe to say the Bucs won't be signing Fournette. What dysfunctional franchise needs a lead back? WFT, maybe?

Fournette being a pain? Where have I heard this one before?

*Legion* wrote:

Fournette being a pain? Where have I heard this one before?

Did you have your ears plugged with both of your wins?

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

Fournette being a pain? Where have I heard this one before?

Did you have your ears plugged with both of your wins?

I'd been wondering how bad it currently is to be a Jaguars fan, and it's apparently "dissed by a Browns fan bad".

Whoa, Vincent Jackson was found dead in a hotel. Age 38.

No word on what that as about... Crazy.

At that age and in a hotel with no trauma... it has to be drugs right? What else could it be.

Possibly? I don't ever recall him having any drug issues while playing, was always very publicly supporting military families, visiting troops, and having families to games. Always seemed a really good guy, don't recall there being any real red flags. Bummer, he was as far as I knew a well-liked guy.

Larry Johnson is an idiot that needs to keep his mouth shut.

This is of course the man so obnoxious as to get Dick Vermeil of all people to say he needs to "take the diapers off".

The five year old girl Britt Reid put in a coma is out of her coma, but still in the hospital.

garion333 wrote:

Browns are interested in JJ Watt. I can't see him going to Cleveland but Watt + Myles Garrett would be awfully interesting.

Supposedly Watt is interested in the Browns. Or at least their cap space.

How about the Watt bros playing together in Pittsburgh? Even more terrifying.

Pittsburgh is the current betting favorite, but the salary cap makes that a lot harder a destination.

It's really going to be interesting to see how contracts are structured this year. Teams that are inside their "window" often structure deals with small cap hits in year 1, but I think league-wide we're going to see some heavy backloading, using guaranteed salary in future years as a way of structuring bonus money to land on specific future year caps.

I also wonder if this is going to be a buyer's market. There are 4 teams who have over $60 million of free cap space (Jaguars, Colts, Jets, Patriots), and then the numbers drop sharply (5th most cap space is Washington with $38 mil and change, and by the time you get to the end of the top 10, you're down to $21 mil with Cleveland).

Those 4 teams have a unique advantage of being flush at a time the rest of the league needs to tighten belts, and I imagine there's going to be a bounty of bargain free agents with which to rebuild a roster.

Of course, only 1 of those teams has a QB plan pretty much set in stone, though we can pretty safely bet the Jets' plan is to draft a QB at #2 unless they find a way to acquire a veteran they like. Indy and NE's situations are much more fluid on that front.

Can we not sign the perpetually injured old guy who will demand too much money?

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Can we not sign the perpetually injured old guy who will demand too much money?

Nope. Welcome to being a competitive team. You're now in the market for higher risk assets that can provide immediate impact. Patient, long-view team building is over for you! You've only got 2 more years of Baker below market value. Time to buy, buy, buy!

*Legion* wrote:
UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Can we not sign the perpetually injured old guy who will demand too much money?

Nope. Welcome to being a competitive team. You're now in the market for higher risk assets that can provide immediate impact. Patient, long-view team building is over for you! You've only got 2 more years of Baker below market value. Time to buy, buy, buy!

Particularly after a season when signing old guys with a history of injury, being disurptive, or being walking buckets of garbage paid off in terms of a Super Bowl title; Brady, Gronk, Fournette, and *heavy sigh* Antonio Brown clearly paid huge dividends, and that kind of immediate impact is going to make GMs drool. It's a copycat league, so this is going to be a year old guys might get themselves a bit of a bump while everybody tries to win the Offseason Super Bowl. I mean, last year was the first time the team that won the Offseason Super Bowl actually won the real one, but that doesn't mean loads of other teams will try.