Memento's Late Octoberfest Mock Offseason. Spoiler: It's Crazy.

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Memento

Your (Somewhat) Friendly Neighborhood Authoress.
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
16,878
Name
Jemma
Well, I'm happy to say that I am just as crazy as I normally am on the offseason, if not crazier. Here's what I would do in my own offseason:

Re-sign:

Jalen Ramsey - 5 years, 84 million overall.
Cooper Kupp - 5 years, 45 million overall.
John Johnson III - 4 years, 32 million overall.
Cory Littleton - 4 years, 28 million overall.
John Kelly - ERFA
Johnny Mundt - ERFA
Jake Gervase - ERFA
Coleman Shelton - ERFA
Josh Carraway - ERFA
Jachai Polite - Practice Squad
John Wolford - Practice Squad
Kendall Blanton - Practice Squad
Chandler Brewer - Practice Squad
Landis Durham - Practice Squad
Nsimba Webster - Practice Squad
Marquise Copeland - Practice Squad

(I know it sounds like a lot...but I want to extend the key players to our team. That unfortunately means trades and cuts, but that's how we're going to survive for the future anyway: by trading players for picks and cutting the ones we can't deal. The ERFAs and practice squad are obvious candidates.)

Release:

Andrew Whitworth
Dante Fowler
Michael Brockers
Aqib Talib
Austin Blythe
Greg Zuerlein
Blake Bortles
Clay Matthews
Bryce Hager
Jojo Natson
Marqui Christian
Mike Thomas
Morgan Fox
Jamil Demby

(Whitworth is likely to retire after this year, and if he doesn't, he'll likely be on another team. Fowler has played his way into an extension, but I'm not comfortable paying him 10 million+ a year with our stable of outside rushers. Brockers and Talib, as much as I like them - or in Talib's case, grown to like him - cost too much to pay. Blythe may not get a starting job, but he'll be a useful backup for someone. Bortles will likely try to get paid, and Matthews is a likely cut. You may be shocked and outraged that Zuerlein is on the list, but he gets paid a ton as a kicker already. Someone's going to give him a mega contract...which I don't want to give him when he's been missing a fair bit of kicks, and aside from that, could garner yet another compensatory pick. Hager, Natson, Christian, Thomas, Fox, and Demby are probably going to be special teams players at best, so we don't need to pay them.)

Free Agency:

None.

(I do have a plan.)

Trades (a.k.a., The Plan):

Brandin Cooks to the Denver Broncos for 2020 second round pick and 2021 fifth round pick.)

(Denver is in the weird position of both winning now (with a coach on the hot seat and a veteran roster) and rebuilding (with the trade of Emmanuel Sanders). Cooks is both young enough to stick around and old enough to help immediately.)

Nickell Robey-Coleman to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 2020 fourth round pick.

(Tampa has quite a few good young outside corners. However, they lack experience and a nickelback. NRC fills that void.

Troy Hill to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2021 fourth round pick.

(Philly needs solid corners. Darby is likely departing in free agency, and their other corners are lacking in overall talent. Troy Hill nets us a future pick.)

Malcolm Brown to the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2020 fifth round pick.

(I don't know about you, but Austin Ekeler inspires no confidence as a starting running back, and Gordon is likely gone. Insert Malcolm Brown.)

Rob Havenstein to the New York Jets for a 2020 third round pick.

(New York literally has no offensive tackles except for Chuma Edoga and Conor McDermott next year. Havenstein may cost a lot in dead cap, but the Jets could really use him.)

Josh Reynolds to the Cincinnati Bengals for a 2020 fourth round pick and a 2020 sixth.

(Cincy will need a good young receiver after A.J. Green leaves, and Reynolds has familiarity with Taylor. I don't think he gets higher than a fourth, but stranger things have happened, right?)

Tyler Higbee to the Washington Redskins for a 2020 fifth and 2021 fourth.

(Washington's top tight end this year is Jeremy Sprinkle, who has less than 200 yards. Reed will likely never play at a high level again, and will be cut after this year. Higbee is a good tight end who is getting phased out by Everett.)

Draft:

2nd (Broncos) - Marvin Wilson, DE, Florida State.

(A powerful five-star five-technique defensive end, Wilson is huge at 6'5", 315 lbs., and has powerful hands and easy movement for a man as big as he is. He needs practice with his pass-rushing technique, but otherwise, Wilson's an easy pick at this spot.)

2nd (Rams) - Trey Adams, OT, Washington.

(Adams will fall because of durability concerns; he's had an ACL tear and back surgery in his college career. But when healthy, he's a top ten prospect who reminds me of a high-character Taylor Lewan, and Adams has the pass protection and nastiness necessary for left tackle.)

3rd (Jets) - Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Missouri.

(I've mentioned how Okwuegbunam is my favorite tight end prospect. He's slipped a bit in draft rankings because he's been inconsistent from game to game, needs to improve his blocking, and has been phased out of gameplans at times. No, he's there because he's a 6'5", 255 lbs. target for Jared Goff. He'll be a solid replacement for Higbee and, eventually, Everett.)

3rd (Rams) - Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville.

(Becton is a mountain of a man at 6'7", 340 lbs., but don't be fooled; he's nimble and quick for his size. Reminds me of Cordy Glenn, and he'll likely man the right tackle spot for the next four years. He's the Havenstein replacement.)

3rd (compensatory) - Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR, Liberty.

(The Brandin Cooks replacement is as far from Cooks as you can get in terms of strengths, and he's the guy I want the most if we do take a wideout. AGG is a 6'4", 220 lbs. target in the mold of Kenny Golladay: big, physical, excellent catcher, average long speed and quickness, and subtle route-running nuances. Can he improve on the route running? I think so. Stick him with Kupp and Woods, and he'll learn in a hurry. The knock on him? He plays at Liberty, and has admittedly struggled against FBS teams doubling him. That could also be because of poor quarterback/o-line play, so we'll find out.)

3rd (compensatory) - Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State.

(Aiyuk is one of the most well-rounded wide receivers in this class. He's cat-quick when he gets the ball in his hands, shifty with stop-and-go acceleration and speed, runs routes extremely well, and is an excellent punt returner to boot. I watched a lot of him in 2019, and he seriously gives me faster Robert Woods vibes in his care in the craft of being an all-around receiver.)

4th (Bengals) - Luq Barcoo, CB, San Diego State.

(Barcoo is amongst the FBS leaders in interceptions with five, and has been named to the Thorpe semifinalists. The reason he falls here is because he's got a rail-thin frame at 6'1", 170 lbs. He seriously needs to bulk up and get stronger, and I don't know if he can. He's physical enough, but maybe not enough for the NFL But he's a sticky man corner who should be solid enough on the other side.)

4th (Buccaneers) - Deommodore Lenoir, CB/S, Oregon.

(Lenoir, on the other hand, is thickly built at 5'11", 207 lbs., which makes me think that maybe he can play dime safety. He's a sure tackler, has decent ball skills - though he doesn't have an interception this year - and he plays physical press coverage. @RamFan503 could probably tell you personal feelings about this pick.)

4th (Rams) - Calvin Throckmorton, OL, Oregon.

(Throckmorton is an incredibly versatile offensive lineman. He's more talented and healthy than Barrett Jones, so he'd make a good pick in the mid rounds. Not the most flexible athlete, but he's certainly good enough as a potential backup for all five spots.)

5th (Washington) -Tipa Galea'i, OLB, Utah State.

(Galea'i is one of the fastest edge rushers out there. He has amazing bend and speed. There are a few reasons why he's here, though. For one, he has character concerns after being caught assaulting two students at TCU, which led to his dismissal. For another, he lacks another plan aside from a speed rush. Finally, at 6'5", 230 lbs., he's not the biggest edge rusher. But we're lacking that one speed rusher, except for maybe Polite. So Galea'i is perfect for being a designated pass rusher.)

5th (Chargers) - Trey Ragas, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette.

(One of three draftable running backs for UL-L, Ragas led the FBS in yards after contact in 2018 with 852, according to PFF. He also currently leads the FBS in average yards after contact with 6.47, forces a missed tackle almost 60 percent of the time, is an excellent third down back who can receive and block. If not for injuries, level of competition, and lack of long-speed, he'd be much higher.)

5th (Ravens) - Kyle Dugger, S/ILB, Lenoir-Rhyne.

(Dugger is yet another physical freak and doesn't belong at the D2 level. He runs a legit 4.43 (in front of scouts), and he's just so fast and physical that you can't help but fall in love with him. He could also be a fit at inside linebacker, but I'm gonna give the kid a chance to play nickel safety if he wants to. He'll also be an amazing special teams player.)

6th (Bengals) - Rodrigo Blankenship, K, Georgia.

(The best kicker in the country by far. Told y'all I had a plan.)

6th (Rams) - McTelvin Agim, DE, Arkansas.

(Agim is a bit of a tweener, even though he's around 300 lbs. right now, as he used to be around 270 lbs. He's an excellent pass rusher, and pretty good against the run, but I don't know if he's a 3-4 linebacker or a 4-3 end. We'll probably find out more at the East/West Shrine/Senior Bowl. He'll still make an excellent rotation piece.)

7th (Rams) - Cale Garrett, ILB, Missouri.

(Garrett only falls here because of a pectoral injury that cost him the rest of the season but he's a fantastic ILB prospect who really played his best ball as a senior. The 6'3", 235 lbs. isn't the heaviest, but he tackles well, can cover, can occasionally rush the passer, and his football IQ is Laurinaitis-like. He'll be excellent on special teams, but not only that, he could easily find a role if someone goes down.)

I'm not gonna do the roster yet, but I do want to know the thoughts of everyone. So...thoughts?
 

spamlord

Rookie
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
Messages
111
Nice job. I'll bet that was some work to do.

I keep NRC, Higbee, and Zuerlein because I don't like the guys replacing them in your draft. I think Aiyuk goes late 1st or 2nd; and Albert O is a bit overrated. Saw Adams pass blocking vs Oregon and thought he struggled. Becton and Throckmorton are okay, but there are guys I like better at those slots (Van Lenen, Ezra Cleveland or Gewhite Stallworth).

The picks I like are Galea'i , Ragas and Agim--just the type of picks I see us doing--super productive college players that can be had later in the draft. I need to Watch Wilson some more--seeing him mocked pretty highly.
 

Elmgrovegnome

Legend
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
21,603
That’s a lot to fathom. In general it looks like you downgraded a few positions, and rolled the dice on a few more. Replacing productive and proven players by trading them and then risking that the players you want will be available to replace them is a high risk maneuver, and even if you get the players that you want then you hope that they are as good or better than what you traded.