AZ54

Gervon is perplexing because he has talent but is so slow off the snap he's usually the last man to move. Sometimes everyone else is already upright as he's just coming out of his stance. I don't know if that can be coached out of him but in the NFL giving up a first step like that is not going to end well especially on run downs.

https://saintswire.usatoday.com/2023/01/31/sean-payton-saints-broncos-trade-compensation/ According to Schefter, the Saints will receive the Broncos’ 2023 first-round pick (No. 30) and a 2024 second-round pick for Payton and New Orleans’ 2024 third-round selection

An athletic freak who could only muster 2.5 tackles for a loss, and 0.5 sacks in 14 games? In 3 seasons at Mich he's had a whopping 3 tackles for a loss, and that half sack is the grand total for his career. That's despite playing next to Hutchinson who was a top 10 pick. If that was the best he could do against college Olinemen how does that translate to more production against NFL Olinemen? I don't see much here against TCU. In fact his strength is his best asset and they easily moved him whenever he was doubled, even at the goal line. If you can't get pass rush at least hold your ground. My guess is he ends up as just a 2-down depth player in the NFL. There are also a ton of plays where he just stands around if the ball doesn't come right at him. I can't see how that style fits in with Eberflus' HITS ethos. I've said before there just doesn't seem to be much talent at DT in this draft. Hopefully we get some surprises out of the Senior Bowl, or maybe there are some lesser rated prospects who move up as learn more info. Even Jalen Carter and Bresee have significant questions surrounding their game. I'm all-in on using FA to fix DT this year. There are a lot more options in the top 100 at Edge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YwcDhTgQ-c

Possibly they could line them up in the same manner but he'll know Wash will use him the same way they have in the past. I don't know how he was utilized but if he wants to be a pure 3-tech on each down and get upfield he'll likely want to go elsewhere.

I can see Poles in a conference room with his staff.... We need a patsy or two to spread rumors about us trading Justin. Who in the media should we "leak" info to?

Maybe he should be? https://www.sbnation.com/2018/3/28/17132626/nfl-draft-2018-daron-payne-breakdown https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2769384-daron-payne-nfl-draft-2018-scouting-report-for-washington-redskins-pick "Da'Ron Payne is still developing as a pass-rusher but showed in the national title game that he can dominate interior linemen when allowed to penetrate. Payne has the strength, quickness and motor to attack when freed up but will also play smart team football."

Maybe these dates have been posted elsewhere but we are a little over a month out from knowing who is available in FA. Wash has less than $7mil in cap space available right now. Wentz will be gone and free up $26mil but do they try to pick up a vet like JimmyG or Carr, or even make a play for Lamar Jackson? I could see Baltimore letting Jackson go in a tag and trade scenario and then drafting Richardson. The DT franchise tag is forecasted to be $19mil. New coaches and GMs are in place. After the games tomorrow the rumor mill starts to slowly ramp up. I can't see Rivera being comfortable putting his future solely in the hands of Heinicke, who is a FA and would likely want something around $10mil if he's brought back to be a starter even on a 1yr deal. Keeping Payne, at least on a franchise tag, really limits their options. If they can't get a deal done then I expect they'll try to tag and trade him. This is where having a ton of cap space really benefits us as opposed to other teams. We will likely still have room to swing a deal late in FA whereas other teams with more limited budgets might have to spend for the better FAs early on rather than risk getting nothing. https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/2023/01/28/washington-commanders-head-coach-ron-rivera-new-oc-need-to-win-next-year/ https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10038729-nfl-offseason-schedule-2023-draft-free-agency-franchise-tag-dates-announced "Tuesday, February 21, marks the beginning of the franchise and transition tag window, which will end on Tuesday, March 7. The league year will begin on Wednesday, March 15, and that also marks the start of the free-agency signing period."

It's funny because there are pundits openly saying the Bears should draft a new QB and then trade Fields. Some fans are up in arms about that (think Swift) but for me any noise about us possibly taking a QB is ok as it can make other teams nervous about if there will be a QB left for them. In other words they really need to trade up and ideally remove any doubt about what the Bears might do out of the equation.

I'll take the HoF player. We can find starters in any draft or FA. HoF players should be the types who alter the game plan of the other team. That player could be lurking in 5-10 range like the CB Christian Gonzalez, DT Bresee, or Edge Tyree Wilson.

I want the player whose best years are ahead of him not behind him.

I don't want anyone on the team who would be happy getting benched. It might helpful having someone help him focus simply on himself, how to become as good as he can be and build self-confidence from that process, instead of worrying about or just expecting the end result (i.e. position title, money).

I think Whitehair is a decision made late in the offseason. Most likely we'll wait to see if a young player like Carter can take over, or possibly even a 2023 draft pick That could also involve a FA we bring in late (someone else's camp cut since we are first on the waiver wire).

BTW there is no reason a trade down inside the top 5 can't also include a 1st Rd pick in 2024.

It is early in the process so for now I prefer to trade down but stay in top 5. As more info comes in I'm warming up to trading back further. For example I'm warming up to the idea of drafting Tyree Wilson over Anderson. That idea involves a double trade down scenario. It would be interesting to repeat this poll after the combine.

Good article and some good signs of maturity even if he might not be fully there yet. He acknowledges the need to improve his strength and conditioning to avoid injury. Hopefully he's bought into these coaches and puts in the work this offseason. https://sports.yahoo.com/teven-jenkins-found-peace-wake-154000188.html?src=rss

I'm with you here. Purdy's struggles in the redzone last week will only be magnified on the road. Hurts has the Oline to handle SF edge rushers, and the speed to make them pay if they can't. From what I've seen Hurts is also more composed in the pocket than Dak, at least the version of Dak we saw last week. Philly by 7. Cincy beats KC on the road. I don't care about Mahomes having a full practice this week there is no pass rush to avoid. His magic is largely dependent on his ability to buy time outside the pocket. That won't stop the KC offense, and he should be able to move around and even get outside the pocket a bit, but his clock is going to working a tick faster than he wants it to. He needs to avoid forcing things when plays breakdown.

A first pass at positional strength in the draft. I'm sure nuances could be debated but I doubt they are far off the collective on this. The good news for us is that Edge is 1, and DT 2. WR is 3rd but it's more depth in the middle 2nd/3rd Rd versus top talent. In 4th is OT with 13 prospects in the top 150. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10062861-ranking-each-positional-group-in-the-2023-nfl-draft-from-worst-to-first

He rose above a lot of 1st Rd picks to get this recognition. https://www.chicagobears.com/news/braxton-jones-named-to-pfwa-all-rookie-team

I'm patiently waiting to see his 10yd split when he runs the forty. Von Miller is my comp just due to similarities in stature. However I think Anderson is more stout at the point of attack. In his highlights there are multiple examples of him shedding a block left or right to stop a run. For reference Nick Bosa 1.62, Joey Bosa 1.69. Von Miller 1.62. Nick has bulked up since his draft days so he's not there now but the difference between him and his brother on the field is noticeable.

That makes sense just based on position value.

He's definitely better than Levis right now. Is his ceiling higher? It'll be interesting to see how the various teams evaluate them.

I'm not that interested in a 5'10-5'11" QB. Maybe I'm wrong and Young measures in at 6' even but until then I'm skeptical. I've watched Kyler Murray struggle in the pocket quite often here in AZ and he has elite escapability that Young does not have, even though he is a very good athlete. I think Murray's arm is better than Young's too but Young has a better mind for the game. If I had to choose between these two QBs I'm taking Young. He could turn out to be the next Drew Brees but it also took Brees 4 seasons to become the HoF player we know. Fans don't even have that kind of patience with Fields. Levis interests me because his release and accuracy are pretty good but he can't read an entire field. Fields can already get to 2nd/3rd/4th reads albeit a bit too slow. Fields has elite escapability that Levis doesn't have. I see no reason to start over from scratch. Stroud does interest me. Watching how he handled the playoff game as his best targets went down and he still kept his team in the game. While he's considered a pocket QB he showed some pretty good mobility and throws while on the run. Only the coaches know the work ethic and what Fields did both in the offseason to improve his mechanics as well as in-season to improve play recognition. With that I'm on Poles side in that someone would have to clearly show they are hands down above Fields in talent. It might not work out but we will use all these extra picks if we can trade down to build the rest of the team. If in the end we have to add a QB we figure it out. I think even then Justin can reach middle ground among NFL QBs which would be enough to win much like the 49ers are doing right now with Brock Purdy.

Likely down but I don't know the history of playoff scores. I just think that's simply because a little more talent resides on the defensive side of the ball this year. For SF and Dallas it is their strength. Eagles have a good D but also played a flawed Giants offense. I wouldn't say it's because the D are more amped up than the O. If any NFL player isn't amped up for a playoff game they don't belong on the field. OTOH you have a rookie QB in SF who did nothing in the redzone. That doesn't explain Buffalo's 10pts and I don't think anyone is worried about facing the Bengals defense. It felt like they didn't even go down swinging. That loss will burn all offseason. Do players study and prepare better before a playoff game vs a game against the 3 win Bears? Of course they do.

Jerry has to be wondering if he has the right QB. There are a lot of championship caliber pieces on that roster.