BarleyNY

It doesn’t get Lamar get a 100% guaranteed 5 year deal, but it still helps him. The line in the sand drawn by teams has been guaranteeing money beyond 3 seasons. Fully guaranteed 3 year Cousins deal? No problem. 3 of 5 (or 4) years guaranteed? Common practice. Hurts just got 70% of his money guaranteed on 5 new years. If you do the math, that’s 3.5 years of money fully guaranteed. Lamar’s problem is that he wants to be the guy who changes things and resets the market for guaranteed contracts. That is unlikely to be how things will change in the NFL. It’ll happen incrementally. Lamar would be better served fighting for a 5 year deal with 70-80% guaranteed now that we’ve seen Hurts move the needle. Just to clarify my position on the issue: The CBA and salary cap floor guarantees that as a group players get their share of revenue. I don’t think it helps the game to see a lot of fully guaranteed 5 year contracts. That said, I see why players want them. Beyond the guaranteed income, football is a much more violent sport than baseball and basketball - where fully guaranteed contracts are standard. I also see why an owner wouldn’t want to hand them out unless they were trying to entice a high end QB to play for them (see Browns/Watson). IMO QBs are so valuable that they will get fully guaranteed 5 year deals at some point. The owners will be best served to limit them to the truly elite QBs though. IMO they’ve relied on preceding contracts too much when negotiating new ones. Maybe guarantees will be the differentiator in the future. Edit: Contract details coming in. Hurts might not have the full guarantees initially reported.

That’s fair from a prospect valuation standpoint, but I think scarcity and need come into play. If the Bills want a WR who can play on the outside and will come in ready to run a full route tree in year one, then they don’t have a lot of options. They’ll have to make the move to be sure they get him. They put themselves into this position so it’s not an excuse for doing it, but I think it’s the reality of the situation. I can see them burning some draft capital to move up from 27 for Addison and then from 59 for a MLB. Edited to add: JSN could also be the target with Addison as smoke or another option.

Barley. I was a brewer (both home and professional) and certified beer judge. With the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida. @NewEra is on the clock for the Seattle Seahawks.

I looked at the first three rounds.

I will take any one of the leftover teams.

Agree on JSN. It would take a huge move up to get him, but I'm down for that. He brings something the Bills are lacking except for Diggs - receiving options that can separate early. The Bills have focused on players who can separate well, but Davis, Knox and Shakir don't have the short area quickness and burst to reliably do that. Maybe Harty is expected to do that this year. I don't know much about his game other than he is small and fast so I'm not sure it is straight line speed only or if he has agility too.

Thank you @Virgil !

I agree. @TOboy has a good point about DHop reworking his contract. That would have to be in place regardless. As for Oliver we’d be selling very low because teams would know we have to find a way to dump his salary. It just makes a lot more sense to finalize the deal before the draft. The Bills would be wise to have a deadline of early next week for a deal. Otherwise they have to plan their draft accordingly.

I've been thinking that Hopkins would get traded the week before the draft. Dunno about that though. Now my best guess is that Hopkins is making the Cards cut him by not working with teams on his current contract. That's probably the smartest move for him. Get on the open market and let teams bid on your services without having to factor in draft compensation. Still, if he knows where he wants to go and his agent knows his value a deal should get done.

With the 98th pick the Cleveland Browns select Blake Freeland, OT, BYU. LT is not a need this year, but will be in a year or two for the Browns. Wills is talented, but has not dedicated himself to his profession, He's not the kind of player you want to keep around for more than his 5th year option. That gives the incredibly athletic Freeland two years to build his playing strength and hone his craft. If he manages to do it in one, then Wills gets moved next offseason, but the plan is two. @RyanC883 is on the clock for the Falcons

I’d love to take a LB here, but Sewell seems to be a downhill run defender who doesn’t offer much in coverage. Just don’t see the appeal of that in today’s game.

Wish there was a LB I liked on that list. Gotta go Zavala over a safety. Should be some decent safety options later.

FYI: Jordan Addison, WR, and Keeanu Benton, DT, were the Bills first two picks.

The Browns are still interested in a trade up.

Also the Browns are interested in trading up with Miami or another team.

Good call. That looks correct to me.

Maybe the best course of action in those cases would be to transfer GM duties of those teams for the remainder of the draft - if we have people willing to take them. Stuff happens in life and no need for hard feelings, but we should keep things moving if possible. It’s already a lot of work for Virgil so I defer to him on what’s easiest/preferable.

New Oiltans GM this season - Ran Carthon. He might as well take a swing right out of the gate. If it doesn’t work, then he might still have time to take a second one.

JOK should bounce back this year. Woods was a disaster as a DC in every facet. His preference for light DTs resulted in a lot of injuries behind them. Schwartz won’t let that happen.

Yup. I’ll add that it is worth noting what KC had on offense when Mahomes was drafted. The OL included Eric Fisher, Mitch Morse, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Mitchell Schwartz. Offensive skill position players included Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Since Mahomes was drafted the Chefs have had 18 picks in the first three rounds. 12 defensive and 6 offensive players were taken. Some thoughts on this: - The defense had some studs, but was more in need of upgrades at the time. - QB, WR1, LT, C, RT and a stud TE were all under contract. Other than WR2/3 there were not a lot of glaring needs that would require high picks. - Why neglect to u clyde what KC spent to get Mahomes, who obviously is an offensive player? Two firsts and a third. That would make it 12 D to 9 O. Still slanted toward D, but not by as much.

No, none of his $19.45M salary is guaranteed. LINK Thats why the Cardinals have to get a deal done soon. They can’t risk him coming in to work out or practice. They could wind up on the hook for his whole salary if he gets injured.

DHop is getting traded or cut this year. I'm surprised he stayed away from the Cardinals offseason activities that started yesterday. I'd be there lifting heavy and going all out. Cut me or trade me - or risk having to pay me.

I was very surprised to see him still on the board.