Memento said:
You're right; Zach Ertz isn't even close to Billy Bajema. He's not a blocking tight end at all. I think he's an early second round prospect, though, not a top twenty-five player. And when you can find steals like Fauria, Toilolo, Escobar, Kelce, and Otten in the third or fourth round, I don't know if we should take a tight end like Eifert or Ertz in the first or second rounds.
Well, aside from Fauria that is.
I'm not really advocating a TE in the 1st or 2nd round. I'd be fine waiting until the 5th round for a guy like Michael Williams. I'm not really sold that Schotty wants to run a NE type offense. But I am big fans of Escobar and Otten.(like Kelce too)
Ertz isn't a blocking TE...but he can block.(not sure if you agree or disagree, just thought I'd say that)
I'd actually prefer to trade out of that pick and get more picks to use; we still have a lot of holes, and I have faith in Snead, Fisher, and the scouts to find great players in the later rounds.
I think everyone wants to trade down. Depends on the offer and on the players available when you're picking. Gotta have someone worth trading up for...and you gotta make sure that they're worth trading down from if you know what I mean.
As for Warmack? I don't get the hype. Larry Warford, in comparison, did much more than Warmack with much less help. Warford is bigger and more athletic for his size, and you don't have to spend a first round pick on him. DeCastro was supposedly one of the safest prospects in the 2012 draft. People compared him to Alan Faneca. And yes, offensive guards, even the great ones, tend to struggle mightily in their first year, and it takes a while for them to reach their fullest potential. Faneca is one example I can give you. Ben Grubbs is another. The only rookie guard who played at a high level for the entire year last year was Amini Silatolu.
Completely disagree. Warford is a nice prospect but he did not do more than Warmack. Warford is bigger but it doesn't really matter to me. You're talking 6'3" 340 vs. 6'3" 320. It's just not a big deal to me, both guys are big and quite strong. I'd disagree with Warford being more athletic too. They're similar in terms of burst but I trust Warmack more pulling...which isn't a big strength of either player. However, Warford strikes me as more of a RG type while Warmack is a LG through and through. Warmack is much further along in terms of development as a pass blocker and I don't know if Warford will ever reach his level. Warmack's pass blocking skills are incredibly impressive...his hand use, IQ and ability to counter are as good as it gets.
As for Guards struggling mightily, I disagree again. It's one of the easiest positions to draft a guy and plug him into. As for Silatolu, he actually was very up and down. Kevin Zeitler was easily the best OG this year...he played very well. And aside from him, recently, there has been Stefen Wisniewski, Mike Iupati, Andy Levitre and Ben Grubbs(I strongly disagree that he struggled). And that's not counting guys who were drafted in the 3rd round or later who made strong early impacts like Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans. Guard is a position where guys typically come in, start right away and play well off the bat...and then really become great in their 2nd and 3rd years. It's a position where you'll see quick return on investment. Obviously, you have some guys who don't pan out like Danny Watkins(thus far) and Chilo Rachal but for the most part, it's a very safe pick that will play right away.
Lane Johnson would be a great choice...in the second. But taking a project offensive tackle with a first round pick is something that I don't want to go through a third time (see Barron, Alex and Smith, Jason), and taking offensive tackles in the first round is something that Jeff Fisher has never done in his entire head coaching career. If we're taking Johnson, it'll be with our second round pick, not the sixteenth overall pick.
Sometimes taking risks is necessary. Johnson has top 5 talent at the position but is raw. Alex Barron didn't care about football and that was the risk you assumed in drafting him...it was why he fell so far. Jason Smith was raw but at the same time, he didn't have the right type of attitude, physicality and had terrible footwork in pass pro. He also wasn't a high IQ player. I can't speak to Johnson's IQ(although he did play QB at his JC) but his footwork is superior to Smith's, he has the right attitude on the field and appears to love physicality and contact. I'm very high on this kid. It's a worthwhile risk...especially with a great OL Coach. It's the late first round, you're not going to have a top 5 pick fall...gotta take shots where you can. I don't believe in playing it safe, I believe in trusting your instincts and picking players you believe will be great.
I'm not saying you're wrong; you've clearly done a lot of research and put a lot of thought into your picks, and I'd love to have some of the guys you're mocking to us. And nobody can accurately predict the draft, especially me. :lmao: I just wouldn't like to take them with first round picks is all, and I prefer to get players who I don't feel are reaches.
Just my honest opinion.
Hey, that's why the message board is here. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
But I've always felt the concept of a reach is overblown. For me, it's draft the guys that you believe will be great wherever you can. Basically, find a way to draft as many players as possible that you believe will become excellent pros...media rankings be darned. Seattle is a team who has done this and they've done quite well for themselves of late. Green Bay is also a team who has done this.(Seattle's GM worked under Ted Thompson)
I think it's the right way to go about drafting.
