HappyDays

In 2018 we weren't in our Super Bowl window. No way we can go into this draft desperate for a MLB. If the board doesn't fall the right way, we're screwed.

We are dangerously close to having Bernard as our starting MLB this year. Please figure something out. I don't want them to be desperate on draft weekend.

Turns out Joe Buscaglia reported the wrong cap hits. $1.25m more each year than originally reported. Whatever.

Only $3.6m against the cap this year. I hope this doesn't cost us a 3rd round comp pick but I'm very happy with that number.

Yeah, a lot of grace shown as he seeks new employment from another team. If only he hadn't aired the team's dirty laundry on Ty Dunne's podcast over the past couple seasons I could take his parting message more seriously. I think the locker room gains more than it loses with McKenzie off the team. Maybe not a popular opinion but I for one was sick of his antics.

Might go down as the clumsiest athlete ever to earn several million dollars. An inspiration to millions of teenagers tripping over their own feet.

Turns out 2 years $12 million is what he got, so there you go. It was the best the market had to offer him.

Really? I think he's a well below average receiving back. He had the 3rd highest drop percentage of qualifying RBs last year at 11.5%. His acceleration is poor which means he's not a great check down option since it takes him too long to get going. For a pass-heavy offense this is in fact probably the biggest reason he isn't worth a 2nd contract.

Because we're incredibly tight against the cap and still have several holes. Who is filling in for Von Miller while he recovers? Who is our MLB? Who is next in line behind Oliver and Jones? Who is first in if Diggs or Davis go down? Every one of these needs is harder to fill in the draft than a RB that can run against light boxes. We can make do with Hines (who already carries a big cap hit in his own right) and Cook and a rookie. Let our 2nd round pick from last year be the #1 RB. If he can't be, it was a bad pick. In lieu of the run game I'm hoping our plan this year is to get the RBs and Knox and Harty more involved in the quick passing game.

I think Singletary is a fine RB but he has no special traits. That's not a RB you give a 2nd contract to, not when your cap space is as tight as ours is. He's consistent but I wish he had even league average burst. Our offense lacked explosion the past two years. In that context I can't justify paying one of the least explosive RBs in the league.

In theory I love the idea of Henry in this offense but I don't think we can afford him. Too many other needs and too much money invested in Hines to put more than $5 million into another RB.

Cook, Hines, and draft one on day three. I'm good with that.

I can't even begin to express how excited I would be if we added Jeudy. Adding him plus Deonte Harty immediately gives our offense explosiveness and versatility at every level of the field. The stuff of nightmares for defensive coordinators. Our OL would still be a bit of a concern but with that many weapons on the field we would manage.

This is a bad answer, but I don't really care. I would trade our hole at #2 WR for a hole at DT in a heartbeat. I'm looking over the list of available DTs right now and I'll admit I'm not knowledgeable enough to say who's worth a starting role. But I'd rather figure that out than rely on Gabe Davis. And I just used Oliver as an example. I'd like to think our 1st alone would be enough to get it done. A 1st plus Oliver is as far as I'd be willing to go if it came to it.

Alright Brandon, what are we waiting for? Pick 27 plus Ed Oliver. Get it done.

I'm not "chasing comp picks." If signing Poyer instead of him signing elsewhere means that we lose a 3rd round comp pick, that means we basically gave up a 3rd rounder for him. I know it's not really that simple but that's the possible outcome here. If it came down to it I would rather have the cap space and the 3rd rounder in 2024 than just Poyer. I say that as a huge fan of his. But football is a business and shrewdness often wins in the end.

He won't just run jet sweeps and return kicks. He is going to be a legitimate WR in this offense. I think he'll probably end up being our starting slot WR over Shakir, or maybe in a time share with him. McKenzie is likely going to be cut. I do wonder if keeping Hines even with a pay cut was the right move. His role now seems redundant. But that doesn't take anything away from Harty's value.

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

One thing that kind of sucks about Poyer coming back is we are now unlikely to get a 3rd round comp pick for Edmunds. I'm not sure Poyer is worth whatever cap space he'll take up plus a 3rd round pick, versus just starting Benford at his spot. I'm not as excited about this re-signing as I want to be.

First thing I'll say is that a lot of people you quoted there are clearly responding to the initial eye-popping numbers that were reported. We now know those numbers were agent-driven. If these posters knew he was only going to count $3.7 million against the cap I wonder if that would affect their opinion. More importantly, one thing not mentioned in any of the negative posts is his play. It's the same negative mentioned over and over - his injury history. Everyone seems to agree that they liked him a lot as a player. The big IF is his health. Beane is taking a swing with this signing. There's a chance he blows up and we get a highly productive slot receiver with explosive traits at an insanely good value. There's a chance he suffers a lower leg injury early in the season and never finds a consistent rhythm in the offense. The upside is high production at a low cost, the downside is a waste of $3.7 million against the cap this year and $1.4 million dead cap in 2024. I'm good with that risk/reward trade off.

I guess I don't factor in small money re-signings. But that's the point. We haven't really done much at all in free agency. Our two biggest new contracts are just a $3.7 million and a $4 million cap hit in 2023. I always thought that we would end up with enough cap space to make one splash move on offense and fill in our other holes with small to moderate sized deals. As of right now that's still what I expect. The only glaring hole still on the roster is MLB.

All of our free agent spending so far has been on offense, not counting Poyer. We just haven't made any splash moves yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed we still make a big move for a receiver (Jeudy, Hopkins, or OBJ, in that order of preference). Or failing that I would still take Seumalo as a big upgrade at guard and then let Bates and McGovern battle it out for the other spot. We still have enough cap space to make an impact offensive signing at some position IMO.

Chiefs fans are delusional about Orlando Brown. A Chiefs fan that likes to troll on here said the Chiefs had "one of the worst starting tackle duos in the NFL." No clue what they're watching. He's a great player. What happens sometimes is Mahomes drifts back in the pocket which makes it harder for his tackles to wash their pass rusher out of the play. And I guess Chiefs fans blame Orlando Brown for that? Anyways, Burrow won't have this problem. The Bengals may have just a turned a weakness of their offense into a strength.

Not at all. I would have been happy with Isaac Seumalo. As it stands we'll probably just have to go OL heavy in the draft.