The NFL 2023 Draft

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Rumblings of Atlanta having serious interest in Lamar Jackson.

I am surprised to have not at least heard the press discuss any potential swap for Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields. Chicago has more money than God. Fields slides into a Baltimore offense that could be a well-suited fit for him. At the very least, I am surprised ESPN hasn't at least spent 30 minutes discussing the "what ifs" on such a trade.

Obviously this is moot if Baltimore has no interest in Fields but it defers paying diva QB money for at least 2 seasons (at which point they'd have to make a decision on whether or not to pick up Fields' 5th year option).

Perhaps it could even be done without a swap of the 1st overall pick. For example, teams like Indy, Vegas, Atlanta or Carolina might be willing to move up. Whatever draft capital is acquired in a swap for the 1st pick can be redistributed in some form in a Jackson for Fields swap. Chicago gets a proven MVP + additional picks, Baltimore gets Fields + a top 10 pick + don't have to shell out diva QB contract.
 
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3 Point Stan said:
Rumblings of Atlanta having serious interest in Lamar Jackson.

I am surprised to have not at least heard the press discuss any potential swap for Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields. Chicago has more money than God. Fields slides into a Baltimore offense that could be a well-suited for him. At the very least, I am surprised ESPN hasn't at least spent 30 minutes discussing the "what ifs" on such a trade.

Obviously this is moot if Baltimore has no interest in Fields but it defers paying diva QB money for at least 2 seasons (at which point they'd have to make a decision on whether or not to pick up Fields' 5th year option).

Perhaps it could even be done without a swap of the 1st overall pick. For example, teams like Indy, Vegas, Atlanta or Carolina might be willing to move up. Whatever draft capital is acquired in a swap for the 1st pick can be redistributed in some form in a Jackson for Fields swap. Chicago gets a proven MVP + additional picks, Baltimore gets Fields + a top 10 pick + don't have to shell out diva QB contract.
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Baltimore should do that trade straight up. They get promising young QB still on his rookie deal and get something for a soon-to-be -overpaid injury prone running QB likely past his prime. If they can get Chicago to throw in pics then bonus, but I like ravens in that swap
 
chevss454 said:
Too bad he's so inconsistent in his decision-making.


View: https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1627678711075184642
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I watched him twice this year and on one of those occasions he looked like the best QB in this class. The other, he looked like
a scrub. Still, when a guy has the obvious physical traits that he does somebody is going to make him a mid-1st rounder at very least.

The guy that I wouldn't want to pull the trigger on is Bryce Young. He's probably the best all-around guy I've seen, but what if he's
5'10"? He is always listed as a top 4 guy, but I think he could easily slide due to his frame.

If he slid to us, I wouldn't want any part of him.

Every top guy has question marks, but the current wisdom is for 5 to go in the 1st. I suppose that is good for us.
 
Hawg73 said:
I watched him twice this year and on one of those occasions he looked like the best QB in this class. The other, he looked like
a scrub. Still, when a guy has the obvious physical traits that he does somebody is going to make him a mid-1st rounder at very least.

The guy that I wouldn't want to pull the trigger on is Bryce Young. He's probably the best all-around guy I've seen, but what if he's
5'10"? He is always listed as a top 4 guy, but I think he could easily slide due to his frame.

If he slid to us, I wouldn't want any part of him.

Every top guy has question marks, but the current wisdom is for 5 to go in the 1st. I suppose that is good for us.
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5'10" would send shockwaves through interested folks around the league. Kyler Murray = 5'10", 207.

My guess: 5'11", 188-190. 1" taller but 17 lbs lighter than Murray.
(He's listed at 6', 194 in Bama's football guide. and smaller is more likely bc that's what colleges do.)

Bryce Young has been a great college QB but for an NFL QB prospect getting #1 hype he's doesn't check enough boxes for me.
He's poised, he processes quickly, he throws with anticipation, he's good in the pocket and throws off-platform pretty well. In those respects, he compares well to other smaller QBs like Brees, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as NFL prospects. That's the good news. The bad news for Young is he doesn't have the arm strength or quick release that Mayfield, Wilson and Murray had coming out of college and he doesn't have the incredible accuracy Brees had. All 4 QBs came in weighing over 200 lbs, including Murray.

Red flags for Young other than size are below average arm strength with average accuracy on throws around the field. He doesn't have Murray's claim to fame, quickness or top speed. So here I've compared him to 2 successful small QBs and 2 average small QBs. Young doesn't have the arm strength of Mayfield, Wilson or Murray and he doesn't have the special accuracy of Brees or the explosive running ability of Murray. That doesn't sound like a top 5 pick to me.
 
Zay Flowers has moved from +2300 to +750 on FanDuel to be the first WR taken. Moving up quickly and to think he was my sleeper for the Pats 6 weeks ago. :rolleyes:
 
chevss454 said:
5'10" would send shockwaves through interested folks around the league. Kyler Murray = 5'10", 207.

My guess: 5'11", 188-190. 1" taller but 17 lbs lighter than Murray.
(He's listed at 6', 194 in Bama's football guide. and smaller is more likely bc that's what colleges do.)

Bryce Young has been a great college QB but for an NFL QB prospect getting #1 hype he's doesn't check enough boxes for me.
He's poised, he processes quickly, he throws with anticipation, he's good in the pocket and throws off-platform pretty well. In those respects, he compares well to other smaller QBs like Brees, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as NFL prospects. That's the good news. The bad news for Young is he doesn't have the arm strength or quick release that Mayfield, Wilson and Murray had coming out of college and he doesn't have the incredible accuracy Brees had. All 4 QBs came in weighing over 200 lbs, including Murray.

Red flags for Young other than size are below average arm strength with average accuracy on throws around the field. He doesn't have Murray's claim to fame, quickness or top speed. So here I've compared him to 2 successful small QBs and 2 average small QBs. Young doesn't have the arm strength of Mayfield, Wilson or Murray and he doesn't have the special accuracy of Brees or the explosive running ability of Murray. That doesn't sound like a top 5 pick to me.
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This is very good & the only thing I would disagree about is his arm strength. I think below average is a bit harsh. I think he has a slightly above average arm. Not a cannon by any means but he doesn’t seem to have a problem pushing the ball down the field or throwing deep outs.

Al in all though I don’t think this is deep qb draft & they all have more bust potential than boom. And I know it’s a lot easier to say this guy is going to be a bust or that guy is going to be a bust because very few live up to the hype or whatever.
Next year there are two really good qb’s coming out in Caleb Williams & Drake Maye. I’m sure there will some tanking going on for those two.
 
OSUBuckeye said:
This is very good & the only thing I would disagree about is his arm strength. I think below average is a bit harsh. I think he has a slightly above average arm. Not a cannon by any means but he doesn’t seem to have a problem pushing the ball down the field or throwing deep outs.

Al in all though I don’t think this is deep qb draft & they all have more bust potential than boom. And I know it’s a lot easier to say this guy is going to be a bust or that guy is going to be a bust because very few live up to the hype or whatever.
Next year there are two really good qb’s coming out in Caleb Williams & Drake Maye. I’m sure there will some tanking going on for those two.
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I'll give you average but I can't go above that.
 
chevss454 said:
Zay Flowers has moved from +2300 to +750 on FanDuel to be the first WR taken. Moving up quickly and to think he was my sleeper for the Pats 6 weeks ago. :rolleyes:
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He's got that Edelman-level (possibly better) explosion out of his cuts and can certainly separate, which means he'd be a valuable asset here.

I just wish BC didn't have such an uncharacteristically poor OL this season because Flowers didn't have the benefit of a fully functional passing game. He
looks like a solid bet to be a really good pro and exactly how he would be utilized could be figured out going forward. Plus, he was doubled constantly
because the Eagles didn't have much going on. I'm not fully sold on his ability to make super-tough grabs in traffic, but it's hard to say given all the attention
he drew. My impression, having watched a fair bit of him over the last two seasons is that he drops some that he should not. I'll be curious to see what the
scouts say as the process moves forward. Call that an asterisk.

If we spent our 1st rounder on him, I think it would be a bold move, but one I could get fired up over. As long as we get a top tackle prospect at 46 or
engineer a move up using some extra picks. I'd settle for Flowers/Dawand Jones as our 1st two given where I'm at now and the rest would be gravy.
 
TommyD420 said:
I don't know how any rational person could look at the team last year and say WR is the #1 priority.
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Yes chasing yet another WR again after blowing a 2nd for Thornton and trading for Parker, while having the most expensive TE corps in the league, is something the crappy idiotic Matt Millen Detroit Lions would do.
 
Interesting exercise presented here that compares WRs coming out the in the draft for 2021-2023.
Note that Josh Downs, a perfect slot guy for the Pats, ranks 4th in this year's draft and not far behind Chris Olave and Devonta Smith in last year's draft.


View: https://twitter.com/FF_MarvinE/status/1626587895242051586
 
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The draft board will move a ton over the next 2 months, but one of the things I'm realizing as I review draft stuff is where value seems to be consolidating. Right now I see the range roughly from picks 20-25 through 35-40, maybe through the Patriots pick at 46 as the extreme back end of that range, as hugely valuable.

I'm starting to see tiers now.

There's a pretty short list of guys I would take at 14. I think 8, and that number may drop as I take closer looks at them. 2 because they're amazing players, and game changers who would also fit here: DT Jalen Carter and Edge Myles Murphy. Then the top 3 OTs (Jones, Johnson, and Skoronski) and the top 3 CBs (Gonzalez, Porter, and Witherspoon).

But if I'm being honest, at this point I think Dewand Jones is my favorite OT in the class. I think he could make the transition to LT, but I'd rather have him absolutely dominate at RT and have him and Onwenu absolutely wearing out that side of the DL together for the next decade. On a critical 4th quarter 3rd & 2, I want everyone in the stadium to know what is about to happen, and no one able to do anything about it.

And further, I don't see a huge gap between the top 3 CBs and a pretty big group just below them. All of the CBs have some downside and question marks this year, and some of my favorites for the Patriots are in the next few groups. For both the OT and CB positions, I'd love to go quantity/depth rather than trying for the 1st round "can't-miss." There are only 3 real "can't-miss" guys in this draft: Carter and Myles, plus Will Anderson, but he doesn't play a position the Patriots use.

For WR and TE as well, the top few guys just aren't CLEARLY a cut above the guys in the tiers below them. The top 1-2 RB and LB seem to be clearly a cut above, but the nature of the position pushes those guys to the bottom of the first round anyway.
 
Guys that I could see BB surprising us by grabbing:
DE Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech - has that rare combination of build and athleticism that BB looks for in his bigs, and is an edge rusher that could actually hold an edge as well...with some work on technique.
LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson - if Belichick(s) and Mayo trust his FB smarts, this kid is the essence of positionless football on defense. Speed edge, off-ball, coverage, taking on OL, even essentially safety.
CB Eli Ricks, Alabama - big and physical, while still twitchy and fluid. Fundamentally sound. His style (not level, at least yet) of play reminds me a bit of Ty Law...if Ty Law had been 6'2".
S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame - I'm interested to see his combine. Speed seems adequate, but I'm interested in his shuttles and acceleration. Absolute football brainiac, a coach on the field, and his love for the game is obvious in every movement.
 
Karen Guregian asked Daniel Jeremiah
"Who are 5 draft prospects that look like Patriot-type players?"

He answered Peter Skoronski, Devon Witherspoon, Keion White, Van Ness, and Cody Mauch.

I think he's right about these 5 players. I think DJ has come to learn what the Pats and Belichick are all about. The first 4 were pretty well known and Mauch became known at the Senior Bowl if he wasn't known before that. Mauch reminds me of Logan Mankins in many ways. He's got that streak going through him.
 
chevss454 said:
Karen Guregian asked Daniel Jeremiah
"Who are 5 draft prospects that look like Patriot-type players?"

He answered Peter Skoronski, Devon Witherspoon, Keion White, Van Ness, and Cody Mauch.

I think he's right about these 5 players. I think DJ has come to learn what the Pats and Belichick are all about. The first 4 were pretty well known and Mauch became known at the Senior Bowl if he wasn't known before that. Mauch reminds me of Logan Mankins in many ways. He's got that streak going through him.
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I don't think he's right about Van Ness. Van Ness is not very experienced, dominated in college with physical strength rather than technique, doesn't have elite speed or burst, hasn't shown coachability in consistently playing tall and getting wiped out by cut blocks. "Hercules" has succeeded by being a bully, not a professional.

I don't really know White. I agree with the other 3, though I'm struggling to put Skoronski on a level with Paris and the Joneses.
 
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