NFL 2018 Offseason Thread (1 Viewer)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Nice Bills trade up here and hopefully take Allen!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Wow, excellent the Bills got their guy and now maybe Rosen goes to the Dolphins at 11, that would mean the AFC East got the three best QBs in the draft.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Wow, the Cardinals just traded up to get Rosen...

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I think the Saints probably traded up to get Davenport that would make some sense...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I haven't been watching the coverage -- decided to watch the Pittsburgh - Washington NHL playoff game instead, which was much more entertaining. However, I was checking the picks on my phone. As a Steelers fan, I fully endorse Cleveland's draft -- only the Browns could screw things up while having two of the first four picks.

The Jets brain trust must have peed their pants when both Cleveland and the Giants passed on the top QB's, leaving them to have their choice. Did they run up immediately after the Giants selected Barkley?

It looks like Denver, Indy and Chicago were winners, getting some top notch non-QB talent so far.

Well, I'm off until morning. I will check the rest of the first round picks out then.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Martavis Bryant is now a Raider.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I haven't been watching the coverage -- decided to watch the Pittsburgh - Washington NHL playoff game instead, which was much more entertaining. However, I was checking the picks on my phone. As a Steelers fan, I fully endorse Cleveland's draft -- only the Browns could screw things up while having two of the first four picks.

The Jets brain trust must have peed their pants when both Cleveland and the Giants passed on the top QB's, leaving them to have their choice. Did they run up immediately after the Giants selected Barkley?

It looks like Denver, Indy and Chicago were winners, getting some top notch non-QB talent so far.

Well, I'm off until morning. I will check the rest of the first round picks out then.

Basically, I think the Browns hate their fans. I mean I can't say Baker Mayfield won't be a good NFL QB but he sure looks like Johnny Football Part Deux.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Giants fans should be thrilled they got Barkley.

Most of them are and I'm fine with that choice as the Giants obviously weren't thrill with those quarterbacks.

 

[Malcolm R]

I kind of feel bad for the Cleveland fans. But I suppose it's best to keep all the clowns in the same circus.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Martavis Bryant is now a Raider.

Bryant has some talent, but has been a pain in the butt off the field. He's also a free agent after this season, and I doubt that the Steelers were going to resign him. I'm surprised, and thrilled, they got a 3rd round pick for him.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The Jets brain trust must have peed their pants when both Cleveland and the Giants passed on the top QB's, leaving them to have their choice. Did they run up immediately after the Giants selected Barkley?

They did not run right up as I think they had to sit there in astonishment at how that played out and collect themselves. The Jets had Darnold rated as the best QB BUT they thought they had no shot at him because if the Browns did not take him the Giants would...they thought they would get the number 2 guy on their board, Rosen. Then the Jets started making all kinds of noise they would take Mayfield at three instead. Everybody thought Mayfield would be there at three because the Giants did not like Mayfield at all and the Browns had been all about Darnold or Allen.

I don't know if the Jets really did love Mayfield or not or if that was just a game to make people think they liked a guy they really did not want to take. I know Rosen began to fall in some people's eyes because he had had a couple concussions in college and he will, like Rodgers, hold the ball too long sometimes looking to make a play. Rosen claims he only had one concussion and the other was not but they made him go through the protocol. Needless to say the kid is still an excellent player and checked out as perfectly healthy.

Go look at Rosen's highlights and the kid is sharp, reads the field well, and throws a really pretty ball. Second best arm in the draft behind Allen...and his arm is super human so not really fair to compare anybody to that. Rosen is a classic pocket passer that can make every throw and is the most accurate of the group of QBs coming out. The Cardinals got a steal landing him at 10 and obviously they wanted to get in front of the Dolphins to get him. I really wanted to see him go to the Dolphins so that Rosen, Allen, and Darnold would all be playing each other in the same division...plus Rosen would have been an upgrade, probably a big one, over Tannehill.

Oh well, the Cardinals got him and it was a good move for the Cardinals, Rosen goes to a better team than the Jets, and Gruden made a good move trading the pick to the Cardinals because the two guys Gruden really wanted to draft went to the two teams just ahead of him.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Most of them are and I'm fine with that choice as the Giants obviously weren't thrill with those quarterbacks.

The last running back to go this high in the draft was Reggie Bush in 2006. Barkley has a lot of talent, but the question will be how much that talent will help a team with a bad offensive line and a QB who looks like he's about done. The Giants are loaded with young talent at the skill positions -- Beckham, Engram, Sterling and now Barkley -- but are hurting everywhere else on offense.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The last running back to go this high in the draft was Reggie Bush in 2006. Barkley has a lot of talent, but the question will be how much that talent will help a team with a bad offensive line and a QB who looks like he's about done. The Giants are loaded with young talent at the skill positions -- Beckham, Engram, Sterling and now Barkley -- but are hurting everywhere else on offense.

TBH, I thought Reggie Bush was not long for the NFL due to his body type while Barkley is built like a bull with cheetah speed.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

but the question will be how much that talent will help a team with a bad offensive line and a QB who looks like he's about done.

Well, they did add Patriots lineman Nate Solder to their line and despite what any of the rest of us think all the Giants people on the radio yesterday were saying that they think Eli is still in his prime and they will be playing him a few more years. They claimed Gettleman had entirely crossed QB off his list of needs because he thinks Eli is great and he did not want Eli looking over his shoulder at his replacement. Gettleman felt, they say, that he thought if he drafted a QB it would be a circus in New York with fans and media screaming to play the rookie at the first sign Manning was having a bad game. He believes that Giants team is a Super Bowl caliber squad and their offense is going to be unstoppable with Manning, Beckham, and Barkley.

If that's what he thinks then taking Barkley made perfect sense. I don't believe that. Manning looked like crap last year, actually got benched, and he's always been a streaky player that makes lots of dumb decisions. He needed Coughlin to pull his head out of his rear end every season. With Coughlin long gone and improving the Jaguars and Manning 37 years old and declining...he is bound to be a disaster.

Hopefully for the Giants this kid Barkley is good enough to carry the team but that seems unlikely.

I think the Giants should have taken a QB because they can always draft RBs that are good but you are not going to sit at the number 2 spot in the draft with 3 good options for a potential franchise QB there for you. Now if Darnold, Rosen, or Allen are good players people will look back on this draft as a major mistake.

What if Barkley does potentially improve the offense and the Giants win 8 or 9 games this season? Then you are drafting again in the middle of the draft where you are not likely to find a franchise QB. And let's say Barkley plays the average amount of time a RB lasts in the NFL...at most 4 years...and he takes a heavy beating in this period of time...well, playing with Manning is not going to help Barkley for the next couple years. Then the Giants could spend a couple years or more searching for a franchise QB and if Barkley helps them to 8 or 9 win seasons in that period they will never be in a position to draft a franchise QB...without finding a way to trade up.

So, by the time they get the next "franchise QB" Barkley will likely be spent or his best 4 or 5 years behind him.

I get that some people think Barkley is the next "great" RB but looking at great RBs how many Super Bowls do great RBs get you? QBs however, play a large part in getting you to a Super Bowl. How many Super Bowls has Bell got the Steelers to? How many Super Bowls did a truly amazing back like Barry Sanders win for the Lions?

How many Super Bowls have the Patriots gone to and they place little value on RBs?

 

[DavidJ]

I liked the Lions draft pick. It wasn’t splashy and they sure didn’t get much airtime with the Dallas pick coming when it did, but I’m all for them strengthening the line. It wasn’t a WR or TE and I consider that a win.

I really thought the Patriots might grab Jackson with one their picks, but it’s hard fault them too much for the picks they made although the way they use running backs spending a first rounder on one is a bit surprising.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, the Seahawks have told the Cowboys they can have Earl Thomas for the Cowboys number 50 pick in the draft. The Cowboys are mulling it over because they feel Thomas may not be worth the 50th pick and having to sign him to a new contract.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I liked the Lions draft pick. It wasn’t splashy and they sure didn’t get much airtime with the Dallas pick coming when it did, but I’m all for them strengthening the line. It wasn’t a WR or TE and I consider that a win.

I really thought the Patriots might grab Jackson with one their picks, but it’s hard fault them too much for the picks they made although the way they use running backs spending a first rounder on one is a bit surprising.

I certainly think the Lions need offensive linemen so grabbing the best center in the draft is a solid if not flashy pick.

The Patriots were blowing smoke with Jackson. He actually does not at all fit what they do on offense so that was a typical move to try to get somebody ahead of them to draft him so other players would fall to them. It should have been a clue when the Pats took an OL and RB and passed on him twice that they were not really interested but they did get Baltimore to trade back up into the first round to snag him. Baltimore really liked Jackson and they seem about done with Flacco, my guess is they will move on from him after this season. I think bringing in RG3 was a sign that the Ravens are looking to redesign their offense and Jackson is very RG3 like in his style of play. So, while RG3 may not be a great QB he is a good guy for Jackson to learn from...obviously Flacco and Jackson could not be more different as players so RG3 is probably meant to be a tutor to Jackson while Flacco plays his last season in Baltimore and probably gets shipped off to be an interim QB for another team searching for a young QB. Of course the Ravens now will have to redesign their offense for the RG3/Jackson style player because you are not going to have Flacco do that stuff the guy is a statue.

The Browns basically did the same thing if you look at how they approached choosing QBs. They grabbed Tyrod Taylor who is pretty much exactly the same player as Mayfield. Same build, same skill set, same style. So, the Browns can immediately begin installing an offense designed around Mayfield because Taylor plays exactly like him and is physically the same guy. So, that's good for Mayfield as he will get to watch and learn from a player that is exactly like him, the offense he is going to run. Plus that should make the transition easier for the entire offense because not much will change whenever Mayfield takes over because he is not going to run anything different than how they do it with Taylor.

In this way it is a perfect match of QBs for the Browns and supposedly Hue Jackson's favorite QB in this draft was Lamar Jackson and Hue wanted to draft either Barkley or Chubb at one and then trade back out of 4 with somebody like Buffalo and take Jackson later in the round at QB. Jackson, Mayfield, and Taylor are all the same style and type of player so we can see what Jackson wants to do with that Browns offense...and remember the Browns brought in RG3 to try to rehab his career and Hue said he loved what RG3 was doing.

Hue Jackson wants a mobile duel threat QB and wants to design an offense around that.

I have to be totally honest here...this idea sucks and Jackson has won 1 game in two seasons as a head coach and the last thing I would be doing is listening to how Hue Jackson wants to design this offense. Now if the Browns only win one game this season or wow, maybe they will get to two or three wins and Dorsey gets smart and fires Jackson...well...now you have saddled your next head coach with a jackass offense and QBs built around Hue's crap scheme. So, the Browns get to just keep rebuilding forever.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I liked both the Giants and Raiders drafts. The former was pretty much what I expected them to do and the latter was a high risk/high reward type of draft so I hope Gruden gets lucky.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I liked both the Giants and Raiders drafts. The former was pretty much what I expected them to do and the latter was a high risk/high reward type of draft so I hope Gruden gets lucky.

A bonus in Gruden's first round pick is he stole the tackle the Patriots really wanted. That was the guy the Patriots had targeted with their first pick. He was expected to fall into the 20s in round one and the Patriots thought they were all set to land him. Gruden badly wanted the linebacker Smith, who was not expected to fall to the Raiders, or Mike McGlinchey the tackle out of Notre Dame...who was likely to fall to the Raiders at 10 but the 49ers grabbed him. This is why it made sense for Gruden to trade back because both the players at the top of his board were gone and apparently he still wanted a tackle but 10 would have been too high to take Miller. I thought he did well to trade back but stay in front of the Patriots because Miller was their guy, they wanted him to replace Solder. The truth is Miller may end up being the best tackle in this draft because he is a real athletic guy so I think Gruden did a good job with that and got his "grinder."

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I liked both the Giants and Raiders drafts. The former was pretty much what I expected them to do and the latter was a high risk/high reward type of draft so I hope Gruden gets lucky.

I know there are concerns about his heart condition, but Oakland getting Maurice Hurst from Michigan in the 5th round could be the steal of the draft. He has first round talent. Hurst has started four years at Michigan with the same condition, so it was an easy gamble in the 5th round.

I'm lukewarm on the Steelers draft. They really need help on defense, and got some at safety with their first round pick. However, they didn't address the hole left at linebacker by Ryan Shazier's career-ending injury. I did like their 2nd round pick -- WR Washington from Oklahoma State. He should fill the hole left by the trade of Bryant to the Raiders. I'm not too sure about QB Mason Rudolph in the 3rd round, though. He seems like a Landry Jones clone, and that's not worked out well for Pittsburgh. Some mock drafts had him going in the late first round, though, so at least he was more of a value pick in the 3rd round. I would have rather seen them take more help for the defense there, though.

BTW, it was heartwarming to see Shazier actually walk onto the stage to announce the Steelers first round draft pick. He still has a long round to a full recovery, but I didn't expect to be seeing him walking this soon.