My question for the blog is would you select Christian McCaffrey or Derek Barnett? (2017 draft) Would you select Josh Jacobs or Andre Dillard? (2019 draft)

Barnett is the last DE we selected in the 1st. He is still on the team but we still see it as a need and most were annoyed we brought him back.

Dillard was the last Oline we selected in the 1st. He was on the team for 4 years.

47 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

False

we dont have a qb thats good at it. Gainwellnis a fine receiver

He will improve with Bijan, maybe he didn't trust Gainwell enough. 

5 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

I don't know, he seems more comfortable when its front of him and he can read/react, he has great explosiveness & speed, excellent against the run, has pretty good instincts off the ball but seems to lose the ball when lined up on the outside pressing. Maybe better at safety then rather than slot. 

Safety, possibly. But I think that would be a salvage move if he fails at CB like Eric Rowe. I think he’s going to be limited to being an outside press-man. 

I am a firm believer in never drafting a RB in the 1st, but every rule has its exceptions.

If Bijan truly is a HOF caliber RB and all the top D-Line/CBs are gone, I wouldn’t be mad at it.

17 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

Kempski and Gowton both had Nolan Smith as the most likely Eagles first pick.

He’s the most exciting and interesting pick.

1 hour ago, T-1000 said:

I firmly believe the pick will be him or LVN and people's heads will explode, especially if it's Skoronski.

I’m fine if it’s him. If he turns out to be an all pro/pro bowl type player that’s a hit and 4/5th of our line is set for the foreseeable future. I don’t love van ness but I’d at least understand the reasoning behind it and why they took him. 

I’d always want a pick and having 10 is nice but this is a really bad draft having 10. Removing the QBs, i think there’s definitely a drop off after Carter, Anderson, Wilson, Witherspoon and Gonzalez. Which likely all 5 are gone by 10. I’d be fine with Johnson Jr, jones, skoronski, LVN, Nolan Smith cause imo 10-24 i think there’s a lot of guys higher and lower on other team’s boards to the point i think we see some surprises on draft night. That said id love to move down from 10 if all 5 of those guys gone and get some extra picks. Fran Duffy nailed it when he said the sweet spot in this draft is like 35-70 range. 

@bpac55 He's stealing your take now too

18 minutes ago, MillerTime said:

My question for the blog is would you select Christian McCaffrey or Derek Barnett? (2017 draft) Would you select Josh Jacobs or Andre Dillard? (2019 draft)

Barnett is the last DE we selected in the 1st. He is still on the team but we still see it as a need and most were annoyed we brought him back.

Dillard was the last Oline we selected in the 1st. He was on the team for 4 years.

That is sophistry. 
 

Jake Elliot was drafted in 2017, and is a better NFL player than Derek Barnett. That doesn’t mean that kickers are now viable 1st round picks.

The impact in upgrading from a good to a great RB is not close to the impact in upgrading from a good to a great pass rushing DT, or blindside tackle, or dominant edge player, etc.

That is what determines positional value: how much better do you get with that player as opposed to the alternative? Josh Jacobs isn’t a lot more valuable than Miles Sanders in our offense. But if Derek Barnett would have become the Josh Jacobs equivalent at DE, that would have been an amazing addition to this D.

6 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

I am a firm believer in never drafting a RB in the 1st, but every rule has its exceptions.

If Bijan truly is a HOF caliber RB and all the top D-Line/CBs are gone, I wouldn’t be mad at it.

Not at 10 though, a fringe pro bowl DT > an all pro RB. The impact just isn’t there

I wouldn’t be hugely against moving up from 30 if he’s oddly still around after the first 20 picks

1 minute ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Safety, possibly. But I think that would be a salvage move if he fails at CB like Eric Rowe. I think he’s going to be limited to being an outside press-man. 

I found this in regard to being a potential safety. 

https://nfldraftblitz.com/2023/03/14/2023-nfl-draft-scouting-report-s-kelee-ringo-georgia/

6 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

Not at 10 though, a fringe pro bowl DT > an all pro RB. The impact just isn’t there

I wouldn’t be hugely against moving up from 30 if he’s oddly still around after the first 20 picks

Who is the fringe pro bowl DT we are taking at 10 this year?

5 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

Who is the fringe pro bowl DT we are taking at 10 this year?

Just a hypothetical, as is the all-pro RB. Could be a DE or a tackle or a CB and the point is the same

16 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

@bpac55 He's stealing your take now too

That's a daaaaaangerous proposition, just like it was in 2018.

In 2018, coming off an elite SB offense, no one was willing to call our offense slow...but it kind of was.  Another year on Jeffery, dropping the token deep threat, and transitioning to 12 personnel made it a hell of a lot slower.

Heading into 2023, no one wants to call our offense slow...but it kind of is.  The token deep threat, Watkins, is hanging on by a thread.  Put some more wear/tear on Brown, replace Watkins with a 1st round TE you need to get on the field with 12 personnel...and this offense could get real congested real fast.

Everyone will love the pick FOUR years from now when Goedert is washed and we have a top starting TE in his prime on a second contract after doing little before the extension, but is that how we want to use the pick?

19 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

That is sophistry. 
 

Jake Elliot was drafted in 2017, and is a better NFL player than Derek Barnett. That doesn’t mean that kickers are now viable 1st round picks.

The impact in upgrading from a good to a great RB is not close to the impact in upgrading from a good to a great pass rushing DT, or blindside tackle, or dominant edge player, etc.

That is what determines positional value: how much better do you get with that player as opposed to the alternative? Josh Jacob’s isn’t a lot more valuable than Miles Sanders in our offense. But if Derek Barnett would have become the Josh Jacob’s equivalent at DE, that would have been an amazing addition to this D.

Well I’m talking 1st round prospects in their draft class.

To me the draft should be BPA despite position value. That philosophy creates bust potential as we have seen with Barnett, Dillard, Reagor, Algholor, etc. 

 

 

Just now, Aerolithe_Lion said:

Just a hypothetical, as is the all-pro RB. Could be a DE or a tackle or a CB and the point is the same

I get it but this draft specifically, I'm not enamored with the top ten. Van Ness over Bijan? Man that would be tough to take. Nolan Smith doesn't have the productivity but I would be fine there if they did go this route. But I wouldn't expect much from year one at all. Meanwhile we will be watching weekend highlights of Bijan. I do like Bigsby, if Bijan is just not going to be realistic then you need to get someone higher end. Bigsby would be my choice.

9 minutes ago, MillerTime said:

Well I’m talking 1st round prospects in their draft class.

To me the draft should be BPA despite position value. That philosophy creates bust potential as we have seen with Barnett, Dillard, Reagor, Algholor, etc. 

 

All philosophies have bust potential. Trent Richardson was drafted higher than Bijan will, and it was considered appropriate for his draft grade. Leonard Fournette was considered a top 5 pick due to being a generational RB talent. 
 

You don’t have to reach to select one position over another. Dillard wasn’t a reach, Barnett wasn’t a reach. They were players taken in the appropriate spot for their value, but they simply didn’t work out. There is no promise Bijan will be some miracle player, odds are more likely he won’t.
 

You cant draft by ignoring positional value, because collecting the most talented players isn’t your objective in the draft; It’s making the team better. Offensive and defensive lineman are dramatically more valuable in making the team better than RB would be. 

19 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

I get it but this draft specifically, I'm not enamored with the top ten. Van Ness over Bijan? Man that would be tough to take. Nolan Smith doesn't have the productivity but I would be fine there if they did go this route. But I wouldn't expect much from year one at all. Meanwhile we will be watching weekend highlights of Bijan. I do like Bigsby, if Bijan is just not going to be realistic then you need to get someone higher end. Bigsby would be my choice.

I’ll say something we all think about each other, but people are usually unwilling to admit it: I’m no prospect guru, even the guys people think are faux experts like Mel Kiper have probably forgotten more about evaluating talent than I’ll ever know in my lifetime.

So is Nolan or Van Ness or Kancey or whoever a viable top 10 pick? I can’t say. My opinion is we have a rare chance to get generational talent this high, rather than wait to accept whatever falls to us. So sell the farm for Will Anderson if he drops to 5, stay at 10 for Carter depending on how Howie evaluates the red flags, or best option move down and make this draft stronger than the limited picks we currently have. Anything else will get a golf clap and a hope it works out 

29 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

He and Witt are my 2 biggest wants later in the draft. 

2 hours ago, austinfan said:

RB is probably a bad use of the pick, but if you were going to take a RB, Robinson is about as good as it gets b/c he's a perfect fit in this offense.

He's the complete package, size, speed, vision, elusiveness, power, receiving, blocking. Maybe not elite in any one aspect of his game, but an elite package overall.

I'm a Longhorn fan, and there's no hype, Texas has struggled on the offensive line since forever, yet he was dominant game in and game out.

Good to see you; I was sure you’d migrated to the new board with DUM and 4X4

 

4 minutes ago, Dwide Schrude said:

 

Bummer about McDonald's age, but I love it. 2 impact players for the defense to move forward with at spots where they are really old.

 

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

Bummer about McDonald's age, but I love it. 2 impact players for the defense to move forward with at spots where they are really old.

 

Yeah this is a perfectly fine 1st round scenario for us

54 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

That is sophistry. 
 

Jake Elliot was drafted in 2017, and is a better NFL player than Derek Barnett. That doesn’t mean that kickers are now viable 1st round picks.

The impact in upgrading from a good to a great RB is not close to the impact in upgrading from a good to a great pass rushing DT, or blindside tackle, or dominant edge player, etc.

That is what determines positional value: how much better do you get with that player as opposed to the alternative? Josh Jacobs isn’t a lot more valuable than Miles Sanders in our offense. But if Derek Barnett would have become the Josh Jacobs equivalent at DE, that would have been an amazing addition to this D.

BUT… he didn’t, and the biggest impact Andre Dillard will have for us is the comp pick value that will probably be cancelled out and mean nothing.

Josh Jacobs would have been a huge upgrade over Miles Sanders, and I was a fan of Miles… Christian McCaffery and Josh Jacobs would have both been more impactful in the past Super Bowl than Miles Sanders was… game changing impact. Dillard and Barnett did nothing.

Do we need an injection of youth on the DLine? Yes, we do. We added a couple impactful plugins mid season last year. There are pieces to be added to our rotation in many different ways.

If you want to be cheap at RB… drafting a stud and having them on a rookie contract makes sense. Right now we have our fingers crossed that Penny can stay healthy or Trey Sermon doesn’t suck.

1 minute ago, Dwide Schrude said:

Yeah this is a perfectly fine 1st round scenario for us

On the other hand, I still suspect that pick 30 will be Tuli