HappyDays

I was one that wanted McDermott gone this offseason but it's time to move on. He's our coach this year love it or hate it. I'll criticize him plenty in September and beyond, I just don't have it in me to care what he says in response to vapid questions at press conferences in March.

I'll have to see what the contract looks like. If they're giving him like $10M per year I'll say they overpaid him, but I doubt he'll get that much at this stage of his career. I see him being the WR version of Jadveon Clowney for the rest of his career, hopping from team to team on mid-tier 1 year deals. So if they're giving him say $8M this year what are they missing out on instead? Wilkins and Hunt were walking no matter what. The 2nd tier FA market was pretty light at their positions of need, while the WR market was flush with talent. So why not build strength on strength, if that's where the market value lies?

This is a positive, not a negative. I never understood this mindset. If OBJ is their 3rd best WR I hesitate to even call that a good problem to have because it isn't a problem. Loading up on offensive talent has been by far the most common way teams have made championship runs in recent years, so I'm never going to criticize a team that already has a lot of offensive talent for adding more talent on top. Not that this move makes me worried about the Dolphins. They have holes all over the defense. And they are still stuck with Tua. At this point I'm just wondering if they're actually going to commit to him long term... Fingers crossed that they do.

I know my opinion of him is in the minority. I just don't think his package of skills comes together to create a true #1 WR in the NFL. As an explosive role player I absolutely think he has a place in the league. But that projection isn't a 1st round caliber talent for me. However if he quickly develops his route tree I will be wrong about him.

I would even consider him a lesser prospect than Metcalf. I loved Metcalf and would have been equally happy with him or Oliver at #9. Metcalf had downfield traits AND alpha traits. That's what separates him from BTJ for me. BTJ seemingly just has an elite release and very good vertical speed. But if he can't win contested catches or highpoint the ball or bully through contact, how useful will such a limited route tree be? Metcalf had the same one-trick pony profile but I felt that his physical abilities complemented that one trick a lot better. BTJ has size but he doesn't really use it, and his hands and YAC ability are average at best.

Diggs is the only WR on the roster that can be a full time outside WR. Whether they are looking for his replacement or not, finding an outside WR is an absolute must early in this draft. Short term need, long term need, positional value, draft class positional strength. All of the ingredients are there. Beane just needs to do the easy thing and capitalize on it.

I don't know much about the player, but I'm glad they are waiting until the end of the second wave of FA to sign depth DL players like this, instead of their previous MO of agreeing to terms with players like Tim Settle on day one of the legal tampering period. This year Beane still made that mistake with a couple players that were on our roster in 2023, but finally stopped himself from making that mistake with other teams' UFAs. Baby steps.

A lot of the talk around Coleman reminds me of the talk around Josh Allen before his draft. It isn't people watching him play and then criticizing him, it's people throwing around opaque stats without context and counting that as scouting (not saying you are doing this). Stats have their place in the discussion but when people say stuff like "he has one of the lowest contested catch rate in the class" that tells me there is something inherently wrong with that stat, not with Coleman. Everybody who watches his tape agrees he is a contested catch monster. As far as separation from his defender that is never going to be his top tier skill, but boxing out defenders and separating at the catch point is arguably just as valuable, and there is more upside to his route running than many people give him credit for IMO.

Ah you are correct, I misremembered. He must have been their #2 center, and they were down to their #3 when we played them.

He was the starting center for the Chargers when we played them last year. I remember thinking how lucky we were to play against their 3rd center in our matchup, and then our interior DL did basically nothing. So maybe our coaches were impressed and figured he was worth a shot as a camp body if nothing else.

Uh, no. The restructure they did opened up cap space both this year and 2025, and specifically was done in a way that increased Allen's salary. https://overthecap.com/inside-josh-allens-restructured-contract-with-the-bills I would guess we end up extending him in the 2026 offseason, or 2027 at the latest. We'll keep kicking his salary cap hits down the road until he retires and then take our medicine for 1-2 seasons.

Way too much analysis about the last drive of the Chiefs game. I know we had a chance at the end but it wasn't truly a close game. Only Hardman's hilariously stupid fumble kept us in it. Just like the 2022 divisional round where we were only in it at the end because Butker missed a FG and an XP earlier. And the only reason we even took advantage of these unlikely opportunities in each game is because Allen himself made several miraculous improbable plays of his own. We honestly haven't come close to beating the Chiefs in the playoffs. It's been a total rout on everything but the scoreboard the last two times. The only difference between those games and the blowout 2021 AFCCG loss is circumstance, not performance. Personally I would rather not rely on several different unlikely events happening in the game and Allen simultaneously creating several miracles. I would rather the coaches and other players just do their jobs better. Mahomes doesn't have to create miracles to beat us. He just has to play a pretty good game. Any analysis outside of that is pissing into the wind IMO. Fun barstool argument but it misses the real point.

He's projected as a late day 3 pick. He apparently was a standout at the Shrine Bowl, maybe @GunnerBill noticed him. He was not invited to the Combine so makes sense we are bringing him in to work him out for ourselves. This may also signal a philosophical change, a willingness to let our depth DTs be late round rookies instead of overpriced free agents. Or it could mean nothing! That's draft season for you.

Most important thing about this signing is that we are now spending roughly $38M on the entire secondary (post-6/1 when Tre's cap hit is reduced), and that will likely be closer to $34M or so when Taron Johnson's extension is officially reported. This represents a welcome and major redistribution of resources from our secondary to more important positions on the roster.

Except he can't be on the field on run downs, so 🤷

Someone posted a video from Cover 1 earlier in the thread showing all his sacks from last year. Honestly none of the sacks look like it was because of his own ability. It was all bad/unaware QBs drifting into him for no apparent reason. So I guess that means he can set his edge which is fine, but as far as working into the pocket and creating a sack I didn't see any of that.

I think we'll be okay. It's just the safety position. I know we were spoiled for years by Hyde and Poyer but most defenses these days get by with mediocre safeties. Edwards was basically a starter for a championship defense last season. I would rather have Edwards and Rapp at safety than say Simmons and Poyer for example. The latter pair is obviously much more talented but redistributing resources spent on the roster to more important positions is a still a more valuable outcome IMO. Last year I was certain that we didn't have even a replacement level MLB on the roster and it turned out fine. This will turn out fine too, I think. As long as Beane doesn't use it as an excuse to reach for a safety in round 1 or 2.

We won't be reaching if we take a WR at 28. That's the opportunity a deep class provides you... Not an opportunity to wait until after the best prospects are gone.

It goes without saying that there will be difference makers at every position found beyond the 1st round. But it also goes without saying that the chances are much greater in the 1st round. Half of the 1,000+ yard WRs last year were drafted in the 1st round. Half of the top 10 WRs in receiving yards were drafted in the 1st round. Out of 28 WRs with 1,000+ yards last season only 10 were drafted beyond the 2nd round. So yes it is possible but you're decreasing your chances exponentially with each round that you wait. I am fine if Beane trades back out of the 1st, in fact I have advocated for it. I would be wary of going past #36. But I am confident a 1st round caliber WR will still be available in that range.

We don't need a "quality player" at WR. There are plenty of those available all the time. We need a difference maker. I think this is where the entire disconnect lies. A certain percentage of the fanbase thinks that the "need" at WR is just getting a starting caliber body, which is why that side of the fanbase is using Curtis Samuel and 2nd-3rd round prospects as an excuse to draft some other position high. But that's not the need. We need a difference maker who can play outside who has true #1 upside, and unlike a lot of years we have a real chance to draft that caliber of WR near the end of the 1st round because of the overall strength of the draft class. Passing up that opportunity to draft another small 3T would be a franchise shattering decision and I'm shocked that anybody in the fanbase would even preemptively defend it.

No. Some fans are misunderstanding what "deep" means. It means that at every single pick we make there will likely be an available WR whose talent matches the value of that pick. It doesn't mean 1st round talents will be available late in the 2nd round, etc. If we want a 1st round talent we still have to draft them in the 1st round. Knowing that 3rd round WR talents will be available at our 3rd round pick (which isn't always the case) isn't an excuse to skip out on the top end talent. If anything it's an excuse to double dip at the position by the end of day two.

No it isn't. By our 2nd round pick we'll be choosing from the likes of Malachi Corley and Brenden Rice. Fine players that would be decent picks at that spot. But not likely difference makers. Do the easy thing and take a WR first. It is by far the most likely choice to have a meaningful impact on the team. Harrison Phillips was drafted higher than any WR under this regime. Think about that.

Exactly. I for one am sick of watching our #1 WR get bullied against physical coverage in the playoffs. I want my #1 WR dishing out the bullying.

Maybe. Talented knuckleheads have a long history of flaming out of the league before their time.