Memento's First 2018 Offseason.

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Memento

Your (Somewhat) Friendly Neighborhood Authoress.
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Jemma
Okay, without further ado, here we go!

Cut: Tavon Austin.

(No explanation necessary.)

Re-sign:

Aaron Donald (six years)
Lamarcus Joyner (five years)
Nickell Robey-Coleman (five years)
Sammy Watkins (four years)
Jake McQuaide (two years)
Cornelius Lucas (one year)
Troy Hill (ERFA)
Malcolm Brown (ERFA)
Matt Longacre (RFA)

(All fairly obvious. Donald signs a deal that makes him the highest paid defensive player, and we also get Joyner and NRC to lock in the defense. Watkins gets a fair deal, McQuaide is essential in our special teams, Brown and Longacre are no-brainers, and Hill has earned a stay of execution for now.)

Free Agents

Star Lotulelei (five years, former Panther)
Weston Richburg (five years former Giant)
Kyle Fuller (one year, former Bear)

(Fuller gets a one-year prove-it deal. Lotulelei takes over the nose tackle spot, while Richburg takes over Sullivan for center.)

Trade:

Mark Barron, 2018 6th round pick (Lions) and 2018 7th round pick to the Cleveland Browns for 2018 2nd round pick (Eagles) and 4th round pick (Carolina).

(Barron fits the same role that he had on Gregg Williams' original defense. Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic, but Cleveland's cap room and Barron's play - in addition to them wanting to keep Jabrill Peppers at safety - makes it a good deal for them.)

Robert Quinn and 2018 6th round pick (ours) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 2018 2nd round pick and 2018 3rd round pick.

(Tampa Bay has absolutely nothing at defensive end. Enter Quinn, who immediately makes their pass rush better. In return, we get a couple of high picks to play with.)

Ethan Westbrooks to the Denver Broncos for a conditional 2019 third round pick (becomes a second if the Broncos make the playoffs while Westbrooks plays 75% of snaps.)

(With Lotulelei in the fold, we have no need for Westbrooks. Getting a pick for him before he hits free agency would be excellent.)

Draft:

1st round - Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame. 6'7", 310 lbs.

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(McGlinchey is my not-so-secret prospect crush. I think that he's a perfect fit for what we do and a perfect heir apparent to Andrew Whitworth. Does he make it this far? According to CBSsports, he does. He's a hell of a run-blocker. Needs a bit more work in pass-protection to be a blind-side tackle, but he's solid in that as well.)

2nd round (Buccaneers) - Dorance Armstrong Jr., OLB, Kansas. 6'4", 241 lbs.

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(As much as I hate to admit it, being a Mizzou fan and all...Armstrong is a very good prospect who would be great for what we're doing. He's got a lot of speed off the edge and he's a dominant pass-rusher at times. He's put up his stats with absolutely no help, and I drool at thinking what he can do with an NFL coach. Now excuse me while I go puke at the thought of pumping up a Jayhawk.)

2nd round (Eagles) - Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville. 5'11", 188 lbs.

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(Alexander has been a good cornerback for Louisville, but has had trouble with injuries, which puts him down a bit. He's a very solid man-coverage cornerback, and reminds me a bit of first-year-Giant Janoris Jenkins in that he's a ballhawk who won't sell out for a pick in favor of coverage.)

3rd round pick (Buccaneers) - Marcell Frazier, OLB, Missouri. 6'5", 260 lbs.

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(Now, it wouldn't be a Memento draft without a homer pick, but Frazier is not just a name. He's raw, but has a great first step and would definitely fit in Connor Barwin's old role. He's not the athlete Armstrong is, but he's good enough. The problem with Frazier is that he only has the speed rush at the moment, and he's never dropped back in coverage. But I feel that he, Ebukam, Armstrong, and Longacre could form one of the deadliest young outside linebacker groups in the NFL.)

3rd round pick - Josey Jewell, ILB, Iowa. 6'2". 230 lbs.

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(Jewell is exactly what this defense needs at the linebacker position: a tough, downhill run-stuffer who racks up stops. He's been injured this year, and he'll never be the athlete Barron or Ogletree are, but Jewell makes all kinds of plays on the football field.)

4th round pick - Martez Carter, RB, Grambling State. 5'9", 205 lbs.

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(A Tarik Cohen-type, Carter is deadly with the ball in his hands, and I have a feeling that he can take over Tavon Austin's role. He's lightning fast, cat-quick, and can catch the ball as naturally as any wide receiver. He's likely going to rise after the Senior Bowl, so getting him here would be a coup.)

4th round pick (Panthers) - Adonis Alexander, CB/FS, Virginia Tech. 6'3, 193 lbs.

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(This Alexander, on the other hand, reminds me of Tru coming out of Montana. He's tall and lanky, and might be more of a Cody Davis replacement than a cornerback. However, Alexander is a good man-coverage corner, and may end up surprising us.

6th round pick (Lions) - Bruce Hector, DE, South Florida. 6'2", 296 lbs

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(A similar prospect to Tanzel Smart, Hector averaged a tackle-for-a-loss per game, and he was easily the best defender on that South Florida team at times. Like Smart (and our very own Aaron Donald), Hector gets penetration due to his short and thick frame, a quick get-off, and good hand usage. I think he's going to rise very quickly after his workouts, so he will probably not be in the sixth round after this.)

Roster:

QB: Jared Goff, Sean Mannion.
RB/FB: Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown, Martez Carter, Sam Rogers.
WR: Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Pharoh Cooper, Josh Reynolds, Mike Thomas.
TE: Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, Temarrick Hemingway,
OL: Andrew Whitworth, Rodger Saffold, Weston Richburg, Jamon Brown, Rob Havenstein, Mike McGlinchey, Austin Blythe, Jake Eldrenkamp, Cornelius Lucas.
DL: Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Star Lotulelei, Bruce Hector, Tanzel Smart, Omarius Bryant, Morgan Fox.
LB: Samson Ebukam, Matt Longacre, Alec Ogletree, Josey Jewell, Dorance Armstrong, Marcell Frazier, Cory Littleton, Bryce Hager, Ejuan Price.
DB: Kayvon Webster, Jaire Alexander, Lamarcus Joyner, John Johnson, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Kyle Fuller, Adonis Alexander, Kevin Peterson, Troy Hill, Marqui Christian
ST: Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker, Jake McQuaide.

Thoughts, comments, critiques, all are welcome!
 

Riverumbbq

Angry Progressive
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May 26, 2013
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River
I've been waiting for you to show up here.

Love the two 2'nd round picks in Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Jaire Alexander, but will be surprised if we can get those picks in the draft via trade. Not a big fan of the free agent picks, but nice job overall. jmo.
 

PressureD41

Les Snead's Draft Advisor
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Jan 9, 2012
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Eddy
Like the draft, but getting 2-2nd's via trade isn't realistic imho... Be lucky to get a sniff for a 4th to be fair & honest..

Now if we could land both Star Lotulelei & Weston Richburg I would be super stoked. both high end players but again I think we will be lucky to add two "mid level" starters after we focus on resigning a boat load of our own players..

Cheers
 

jrry32

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Memento, the draft looks good, and FA is quite interesting. I love Richburg, but I wonder if Kromer values the Center position like we both might. Lotulelei depends on the price for me. The trades are a bit off imo. Barron isn't netting us that return, and neither is Westbrooks.