HappyDays

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.

I wonder if Alec Anderson can play guard? Or is he center only? If he's a center only ideally I would love for Anderson to show out at center in the offseason and earn his way into a starting role, then leave McGovern at guard. I'm sure there will be a rookie with a chance to compete for the position too. I just don't want them preemptively giving McGovern the center job. Get the best three IOL on the field in their best possible positions whatever that looks like. I'm surprised how vocal the team is being about handing McGovern the center job.

Curtis Samuel is not the caliber of WR that blocks a 1st round pick. Come on. He has a $4M cap hit this year. $9M next year. That is low mid-tier WR money. He is an addition, not a final answer. 1,000 yard WRs don't grow on trees. Half of the 27 1,000 yard WRs last year were drafted in the 1st round, and another 4 were traded for 1st round picks by their original team. That's the investment you have to make to come away with a difference maker WR.

For real? In his first two seasons he's racked up nearly 1,800 receiving yards with absolute garbage throwing him the ball. In our offense that's a 1,000+ yard WR.

Same. I am all about BPA most years. This year with the strength of the class they have to do whatever it takes to make sure BPA is a WR.

The WR board will be dried up by #60. Look at any recent draft. There is always a big run on WRs from #33 to #50 or so. In this draft that will be even more true than usual. Either we take a WR in the 1st round or we're once again locked out of the options with legit #1 upside. We can take an EDGE or a DT any year. Taking a 1st round caliber WR at the bottom of the 1st round is not always an option. We have to take that opportunity when it's there. Some fans are just trying to talk themselves into something else in case Beane doesn't make the easy amd obvious choice. I'm holding steadfast. WR or bust.

If Diggs gets injured who are you putting outside full time?

This is the kind of report you tuck away on page 9 of an existing thread.

If the best player remaining on his board isn't a WR, Beane should trade down. Even Latu. I doubt he'll still be there but if he is, some team will want to jump up to get him. Trade back and then select a WR. NO excuse. Enough is enough. They have to make a serious investment at the position. We have one WR on the roster capable of playing outside full time and nobody with future #1 upside when Diggs inevitably leaves next year.

The DT market is as thin as could be right now. Who is even still out there?

There really is no excuse not to take a WR with our 1st pick. I'll be viscerally angry if Beane flubs it. I don't even mind if KC jumps us. There will be multiple 1st round WR talents available at #28.

Classic case of don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Taron and Milano are the only two players I look at on defense right now where I say there is effectively zero room for improvement, not without spending a premium asset on a non-premium position. I'm good paying those two their $10M and leaving them alone.

His role is much more difficult to fill than you make it out to be. He's basically playing hybrid LB/CB depending on the play call. He's constantly put in vulnerable situations because McDermott knows he can handle it. Once you remove him, you get the same problem we got when Tre White went down - McDermott has to compromise other parts of his defense to cover the area that the missing player is usually covering.

Clumsy football player. No way this guy will ever react fast enough to intercept the ball.

I mean we at least need a starting caliber safety, ideally two. Right now we have zero on the roster. The hope is that Blackmon's injury history means we get a young safety with high upside signed to a lowball deal, just like we did with Poyer and Hyde.