NFL 2022: The preseason pre-draft thread

TheGameguru wrote:

Maybe they bring in Carson Wentz…he’s also antivax. He does seem destined for the Texans though. His special brand of Jesus Crazy would fit right in there.

Aside from the 49ers playoff run, the highlight of my football season was the final episode of the Colts Hard Knocks In-Season, losing to the interim-led Jaguars. You could see on Frank Reich's face, him coming to terms with the fact that Wentz ain't it, while Trevor Lawrence was out there making all the throws Carson wasn't. After the whole year of Reich being Carson's hype man because they both love Jeebus, Reich not being willing to commit to Wentz as their QB in 2022 was just... *chef's kiss*

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/qFgC9ZU.png)

He's still bitter about that DAL-SF playoff game.

Aaron Rodgers is out there endorsing and participating in more medical quackery.

Carlbear, come get your Cal boy.

Pink Stripes wrote:

He's still bitter about that DAL-SF playoff game.

I am sure it is that and has nothing to do with Skip Bayless.

*Legion* wrote:

Aaron Rodgers is out there endorsing and participating in more medical quackery.

Carlbear, come get your Cal boy.

Butte Community College

PFF did an article of top second-year breakout candidates, and I was happy to see my two TL boys, Trevor Lawrence and Trey Lance, as the top 2 names on the list.

Jaycee Horn and JOK also make the list, for a couple of our other esteemed thread dwellers.

Rounding out the very end of the list is another Jaguar, Andre Cisco, aka the player Urban Meyer defensively claimed was getting more playing time after a game where he had 0 defensive snaps. Cisco put together a couple highly graded games at the end of the year after Meyer was booted and he actually got to get on the field.

Bucs pick up Devin White's 5th year option.

White was 80th out of 87 linebackers in PFF grading last year. Gotta keep that kind of production locked down.

Remember how the 2019 draft had two linebackers named Devin go in the top 10 picks? White was actually the better of the two last season, as Devin Bush graded out 82nd at the position.

Speaking of player signings, the Panthers gave a 3-year, $17M deal ($8M guaranteed) to below-average TE Ian Thomas, who's an improving-but-still-just OK blocker who managed to catch just 18 passes last season and 90 in four seasons.

Why Ian Thomas? Maybe it's to give the Panthers veteran stability. Or it's maybe because the first school to recruit Thomas out of community college was Temple, which was then coached by ...

... Matt Rhule.

And I thought 2 years, $6.6 million for Chris Manhertz was silly.

*Legion* wrote:

And I thought 2 years, $6.6 million for Chris Manhertz was silly.

Manhertz is a better blocker than Thomas. And Dan Arnold (2 yrs, $6M) is a better pass-catcher.

Those dudes were getting ~$3M a year to do one thing well. Thomas, meanwhile, will get twice that to do two things worse.

Meanwhile, Carolina also today fired its pro personnel director, who also happened to be Massah Jerruh Richardson's grandson.

When can we have that discussion about NFL relegation?

Enix wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

And I thought 2 years, $6.6 million for Chris Manhertz was silly.

Manhertz is a better blocker than Thomas. And Dan Arnold (2 yrs, $6M) is a better pass-catcher.

Those dudes were getting ~$3M a year to do one thing well. Thomas, meanwhile, will get twice that to do two things worse.

Well since grabbing Panthers is the only TE acquisition move the Baalke Jaguars know, I'm sure he'll be my problem in a year or two.

The QB draft class is absolutely wild.

Just like last year, there’s a consensus top 5 that could go in round 1.

Unlike last year, there’s no agreement on whether any of them even belong in round 1.

I’ve seen each of the 5 mocked as the top overall QB. I’ve seen each of the 5 mocked completely outside round 1.

In fact, almost no serious mock puts all 5 in round 1. There’s usually only about 2 or 3, but absolutely nobody agrees on who those 2 or 3 are.

Kenny Pickett is the #1 guy more commonly than the others, but PFF has Pickett as their #5 guy.

Some smart football people insist Desmond Ridder is the best of the group, but he’s probably the guy least often mocked in round 1.

My fil is a Pitt fan, and based on my local I watched a lot of UCinn. I think Riddler is a more solid prospect than Pickett, but I wouldn't mind letting some other team take one and my team taking the other later.

I have no opinions on Corral or Howell, and I don't think I have seen a snap of either player.

And I would avoid Willis, but that may be the whole anti-Liberty bias coming out.

If the Browns take one to scare Baker, I think Riddler can turn into something. Other than that I think if the Browns take any others they can be on the end of the bench texting Jordan Love for support.

The NFL calendar for the next couple of months:

March 1-7: NFL Scouting Combine (Indianapolis)

March 8: Deadline to designate franchise or transition players (by 4 p.m.)

March 16: Free agency starts! (and so does the 2022 trading period)

March 27-30: League meeting

April 28-30: NFL Draft (Vegas)

Also, offseason workouts can start April 4 (for teams w new coaches) and April 18 (everyone else).

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

I have no opinions on Corral or Howell, and I don't think I have seen a snap of either player.

If the Browns take one to scare Baker, I think Riddler can turn into something. Other than that I think if the Browns take any others they can be on the end of the bench texting Jordan Love for support.

The only opinion on Corral you need is he + Elijah Moore couldn't beat a Cal team that went 4-5 in the Pac-12, in Oxford.

I need some clarification on the Beat/Couldn't Beat Cal scouting method.

First of all, is beating Cal considered better than neutral, or is it equal to the neutral point? As in, is beating Cal a positive, or just the absence of a negative? Do we grade a player who beat Cal above a player who never played against Cal?

Secondly, what happens when a player has played against Cal more than once? If the player beat Cal once and then lost to Cal once, is that a push, or does losing to Cal at all weigh more than victories against Cal? What if they beat Cal twice but lost to Cal once?

I don't want to bleed this into the college football thread, but based on some of the pundits that hang out there, I've been lead to believe that the JV team from a 0-win vanderbilt team would go undefeated in the Pac-12.

So in the case of a QB, the fact that a mighty SEC QB couldn't beat a middle of the road pac-12 team at home WITH one of the best rookie WRs in the NFL last year (not named Chase) means they can't be good.

So I would say "able to beat Cal" should be a minimum requirement for an NFL QB. It's like running a 5.5 in the 40. If you can't do that, maybe you shouldn't be in the NFL. In fact there are so many NFL quarterbacks that have beaten Cal, why would you pick one that hadn't?

Example of QBs who beat Cal:
Andrew Luck
Colin Kaepernick
Justin Herbert

Example of QBs who didn't beat Cal:
Matt Corral
Zach Wilson (he didn't actually play the game that BYU lost, but he was on the team)
JT Daniels (of National Champion Georgia)

God, how many articles are there going to be about Pickett's Trumpian hands?

iaintgotnopants wrote:

God, how many articles are there going to be about Pickett's Trumpian hands?

A lot. 8.5 inches is a 0th percentile measurement.

MockDraftable.com's database (which is pretty complete from about 2010 on forward) only has one past QB prospect with a smaller hand measurement.

Well, if Jimmy G can be believed, there are certain fringe benefits to having large hands.

*Legion* wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

God, how many articles are there going to be about Pickett's Trumpian hands?

A lot. 8.5 inches is a 0th percentile measurement.

MockDraftable.com's database (which is pretty complete from about 2010 on forward) only has one past QB prospect with a smaller hand measurement.

My hands are 9 inches Matt Rhule draft me I'm ready

Mine are just shy of 10".

I'm certain I could get up to 10" with Brandon Allen's hand massages...

Please, we don't mention quarterbacks and massages in these parts.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

Please, we don't mention quarterbacks and massages in these parts.

Somebody's still nervous about what Cleveland's gonna do, I see.

Miami says "the door is shut" on Deshaun Watson joining the Dolphins. Something that I'm pretty sure is Mike McDaniel's doing.

But speaking of QB trades, PFF seems to think Russell Wilson to the Eagles is a strong possibility. They keep putting that in their mock drafts. Seattle says they're "not shopping" Wilson, but admits they are fielding phone calls.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

My hands are 9 inches Matt Rhule draft me I'm ready

Did you go to Temple? Or Baylor? Did he recruit you out of high school? Sorry, MMD, but those seem to be Carolina's three top (and maybe only) criteria for drafting and signing players.

No, I don't know where HEY DARNOLD fits on that rubric. Maybe Rhule liked what he saw on an elevator ride?

That said, the Panthers seem ready to let Haason Reddick and his 11 sacks walk. Now that they paid TE Ian Thomas $3.3 million for each of the misdemeanor charges he's facing, Reddick is suddenly too expensive. Go figure.

The Cowboys planning on releasing Amari Cooper because he’s underperforming his contract is another level of Jerruh.

Honestly, I kind of get it from their perspective. CeeDee Lamb is the clear #1 WR there, and Cedrick Wilson was good enough last year that I can understand them wanting to have him play the #2 spot for a lot cheaper than Cooper, with the other Cooper (Rush, that is) sticking around for the slot job. And possibly they retain Michael Gallup and let him have his injury bounce-back season with them?

WR is definitely a position they're not hurting at, and Cooper is certainly eating up a lot more money than his production in that crowded position group.

I'd have to think, though, they could get trade value for Cooper, especially if they were willing to retain some of his 2022 salary.

staygold wrote:

The Cowboys planning on releasing Amari Cooper because he’s underperforming his contract is another level of Jerruh.

Do I have a situation where he can play...