TheLeviathan

This draft is really hard to predict because the RB class is so good it might cause a lot of weirdness. Post combine here are the guys I think are realistic targets that could be there: DT Kenneth Grant - a dancing bear. Dude is so good with his hands, he can move well. He's a beast. This is your zero or 1 tech nose tackle guy. DT - Walter Nolen. He's more likely to line up as your 5 tech or 3 tech in a pass rush. But when you watch this guy, his drive is upfield. He's got a motor on him and just pushes and pushes to collapse the pocket. OL - Grey Zabel - Moves well. Good base. Good use of hands. Not a dominant guy but he's feisty. Can play anywhere but probably best as a guard. DT - Derrick Harmon - Dude just beats people. He reminds me of Ndamukong Suh. CB - Maxwell Hairston - This dude is long and his burst/speed is stupid. Great zone corner but also good in man2man because he's smart. Willing tackler. CB - Trey Amos - More of your man2man guy. Not as wirey or athletic, but he's got some dog in him. I remaind a huge fan of Cam Skattebo. RJ Harvey is another one I really like. Kaleb Johnson is going to be good. Damien Martinez is getting slept on by some rankings. Personally, I'd prefer to take a safety later in the draft, not in the first. I love the TEs in this draft. Would be happy to snag one at that position group too. Jason Taylor's kid and Luke Lachey are both nice players. Some quality linebackers might fall in this draft too. Jay HIggins is nice. Cody Lindenberg staying home would be awesome.

Last year really sucked out a lot of my willpower to watch them play. Like, I'm an adult with kids. Watching baseball requires me to make an effort. Most nights, it felt like my effort was not rewarded with the quality of baseball I was watching. It's hard to shake that feeling.

I don't mind the value, don't like the pick. Kenneth Grant, Kaleb Johnson, and Tyler Booker all there instead. Hairston or Amos at CB too. It might be a trade we do, but we better walk away with better players if we do.

Also, the more I think about it.....I think they're waiting on backup QB precisely because of the comp formula. If they wait until the second Tuesday after the draft, then anyone they sign has no impact on their comp picks. Since anyone with an AAV of 4M or more qualifies....I think they're waiting on purpose. Right now they'd have a 3rd from Darnold and a 4th from Bynum. That seems worth waiting for.

Cam Robinson gets us a 5th, maybe a 4th round comp pick.

https://theonion.com/numerous-teams-express-interest-in-aaron-rodgers-playing-elsewhere/

I guess I don't understand the last few pages. Everyone deals with injuries and everyone has to fill out their roster with players outside their organization. The Dodgers have had a stupidly good farm pipeline but have also gone outside their organization (frequently!) to backfill positions their farm didn't give them. This idea you can be purely homegrown for all scenarios is just as silly as expecting the team to dump the injury prone stars for pennies. It doesn't feel like either "side" of this conversation is giving the concerns of the other side a fair hearing. The conclusion seems pretty simple to me, though not particularly attractive: unfortunate luck makes our roster construction what it is. But it is what it is. The alternatives are worse. Buxton and Lewis getting hurt all the time is a real strain on roster construction. It forces you to invest assets into players who you can't plan on playing full time but also have to be good enough to play full time in all likelihood. That's a tough needle to thread. But dumping them is worse. So here we are. Is there a magical way out of that? Probably not. Does it change the problem? Not really. It's frustrating as a fan. (And probably as a front office) The loud implication lately is that the Twins have just failed to wave their Wand of Magical Prospect Farming and therefore failed to have a ready-made dude at AAA for all positions. I'm being ridiculous, but that seems to be the counter-argument lately and it's just not grounded in reality at all. I'd love it if it were true, but I'd also love it if Royce Lewis was a bionic human who was impervious to all harm. I have just as much chance of Robo-Royce as the Twins do of having a viable Plan B at AAA for all contingencies. Hopefully the pitching pipeline creates some trade possibilities going forward, but that has it's own risks and flaws. It is what it is guys, unlucky and unfortunate as it may be.

Agreed. I think, since he was released, he wouldn't be part of the formula. So if they actually want him (I hope not - and I'd love to add some profanity to that to make it clear just how strongly I feel!) they could sign him any time. Here is the comp formula update if anyone cares.

Totally agree....and yet something about this is weird. Why not sign a backup by now? Why would Rodgers not sign on to play in Pittsburgh? (Clearly the best option available to him) This all feels like leverage but why are the Vikings connected to it at all? Like I said...weird. I don't like it. Sign Drew Lock and end this please Kwesi.

Agreed, but the longer we go without a backup the weirder this Rodgers thing is.

Sorta depends how far you trade back, no? If you slide back somewhere in the 27-32 range and snag another top 100 pick, it's worth it I think.

Paid Gesicki quite a bit too. It's a lot of money into skill positions.

Some people are gifted with amazing genetics to play baseball....but without the equally amazing genetics to withstand it.

The pitching pipeline appears to be up and running. We also appear to be primed to waste this pitching staff with our lack of offense.

Right, plus @Mike Sixel I think "need" is a bit strong on those positions. Brandel is a fine guard. Metellus/Smith/Jackson is fine at safety. DT group is solid. Top three corners are good. Could they add to those position groups? Certainly. But let's also be blunt....that 5th rounder 30 spots higher wasn't going to make or break any of those groups. Nor is next year's 6th. Whereas Mason quite clearly is a massive upgrade over Chandler at 4M. 4M ain't buying you much of an upgrade anywhere other than RB.

They got Mason for Ingram and moving back 27 picks. That's a great deal. He's your "plow into the end zone" guy we've been wanting!

This is how the Philadelphia Eagles built the roster they did, including on their offensive line. Ditto the Chiefs and Bills and especially the Ravens. You invest in talent - talent that might take a year or two to establish or coach up, but talent. They have him for 5 years, if they get even three good to great years out of it....that's a successful pick. And if it's successful, you give him his second contract that runs through his absolute prime years.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitNo02.htm This is Turner's path. Don't give up on him....he's incredibly young.

Pretty good chance Cam Robinson gets them another one that roughly cancels out what they traded for him.

They were on the hook to pay him almost 7M either way. Hopefully they gave him a raise and cleared any further dead money off the books.

Either the Falcons are waiting for desperation to set in (smart play) or they aren't going to move him. (dumb play) Honestly not sure what the hell they are doing with Kirk.

Nope, year three. I think if you draft the right receivers you don't have to think that way. Addison stepped right in as a rookie, fwiw. Hockenson's health is a major concern of mine. If this year is another banged up/mid production year....I'm ready to move on. This should be a monster year given it's a first year starting QB. (Hell, I'd advocate for trading him and taking a TE from this class. After DT and RB, TE is the third best position group IMO)

Addison still has three more seasons with the 5th year option. With Hockenson back there is no need to blow high picks at WR IMO. Now.....next year if you trade Addison? Sure. I agree they aren't likely to blow the cap on two massive receiver contracts, but this isn't the year to do that.

5th round receivers aren't exactly non-factors. Wicks, Nucua, Iosivas, Shakir, Demario Douglas, Mooney, Renfroe, Slayton have all been taken 5th or later in the last five years. Like all 5th round picks, your odds are low, but that's the time to swing. Why waste a high pick on a dude who would be (at best) the 4th guy getting targets?

We can do BPA but I still hope that's a DT. Use a 5th on a WR would be my pref.