MrEpsYtown

Just watch some all 22 film of him and you will forget that he is 290. The dude is a technician who plays with great leverage and has a very nasty streak. Excellent in pass pro, can really move and is great in the screen game.

I don’t think they will draft Linderbaum, but I think they should if he is there. Linderbaum is essentially a polished, slighty bigger Jason Kelce, who cane into the league at 280. I really want to see what Linderbaum benches at the combine, and his other measurables. I am not sure if he can play guard, but I do know that Mitch Morse can. Maybe a move to guard might actually protect Morse as he wont have 340 lb NTs right on his head. But I am not worried about Linderbaum. He plays with leverage, and while he could stand to add 10-15 pounds to his frame, I think he is going to be an all pro center right away. Former Iowa guy James Daniels came in a little undersized and didn't really take off until he added that nulk. I think the thing with Humphrey was that there was no combine, people saw a kind of sloppy body guy with a neck beard who snaps left handed, with inconsistent game film. He doesn’t pass the eye test in that way, so I think he is a bit of a unicorn. I fon’t think people thought he was going to be the elite athlete that he is. I don’t think center was on our radar, but I would feel worse if I were say the Eagles or Packers…teams who drafted centers before Humphrey.

I agree with this. And the more former quarterbacks you can have on a roster, the better. This is the same reason I liked the Kyle Shurmur hire labeled nepotism. Who better to break down film as a defensive quality control coach than a former quarterback who played for the Chiefs and the Bengals?

Don't forget about Reggie Ragland!

I am a big "never draft so and so position in the top 15" guy. But at 25 all bets are off and think you just take BPA, guys who drop because people reached on upside guys and quarterbacks. It is how guys like TJ Watt, Ray Lewis etc etc go at the end of the first round. But my rule is, never draft a linemen, other than a true LT in the top 15-20, unless they are Quentin Nelson elite. And I am a line guy.

My major point here is that they should have drafted Nick Bosa. And then Deebo Samuel in the 2nd, and they could have gotten by with any serviceable quarterback, like SF and Jimmy G. They would likely have a better record if they did not take Murray that year. And good points. Giants should have totally drafted Herbert and just traded Jones for whatever. Ham sandwich. Those people who wanted to keep Tyrod also wanted to keep Anthony Lynn for continuity sake. Which is crazy. Why would people want continuity from a crap regime?

Should have just played baseball. Maybe they should have drafted Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel and stuck with Rosen. But, Kingsbury wanted his guy, and it may bury the regime.

Seems like he takes a long time. Any thoughts Gunner? I would be all for drafting a guy like this.

The Bengals fixing their o-line. That is their clear flaw. Say they sign Terron Armstead, move Jonah Williams to LG and sign Brandon Scherff. Then draft Tyler Linderbaum. They have the cap space to make that type of thing happen. If they get the o line fixed, they will be a pain for a awhile.

I will say that Ford seems like a straight bust. Good pick at the time, good evaluation, hasn’t panned out. Pre-draft he seemed like a pretty good bet to, at the very least become a competent starter at guard. He had some interesting traits, but a lot of flaws in his game, especially when he had to play against good players in college. These flaws have kind of shown out here, and he regressed, so I blame Bobby Johnson. I really like the transition to high RAS guys. Bates, Doyle, Brown etc. I hope that trend continues this year and they go after guys like Austin Corbett, Connor Williams, James Daniels. RAS isn’t like the bible. Orlando Brown had horrible scores and he is a very good tackle. Gerard DeBeer had a very high score, hasn’t done anything. But I think you want to have gives who are athletic you can mold.

This position is not high on my list of priorities, but My list: 1. Trubisky if we can. That would be my #1 choice 2. Kyle Allen - Highly athletic guy with upside. Washington brought him in to be a long term back up to Dwayne Haskins. Allen is a good guy to have around Josh as they train together in the offseason so they speak the same language. Kyle is an RFA who maybe Washington tenders, but it won’t be a high tender. Probably not going to get a chance to start anywhere. 3. Jacoby Brissett - I know some people really don’t like him for some reason, but he is familiar with the offense and has proven he can win NFL games. Smart guy, good size, good athlete. I am guessing he tries to go to a place where he has a chance to compete. 4. Blaine Gabbert - I know, I know. He’s a good dude who has been around forever but somehow just 32 years old. He has seen a lot of things and has been an understudy to Brady for the last two years. Extremely intelligent player who essentially had the Sam Darnold career, start too early and had 8 OCs in 8 years. Maybe he gets a shot to start in Tampa, but to me he is ideal backup material. Gabbert was also in the same QB room with Jordan Palmer for awhile in Jacksonville. After that it’s probably Dalton or Colt McCoy. If I were a betting man, I’d say Kyle Allen gets here somehow on like a 3 year deal to be Josh’s backup.

Here’s my 2020 Captain Hindsight draft: 2- Antonio Gibson or Jeremy Chinn or Logan Wilson (I'm probably taking Gibson) 3- Cameron Dantzler CB very good corner 4- Gabe Davis - great pick 5- Darnell Mooney WR 4.38 6- Bass - sticking with it 6- Kamren Curl - S Beast 7- James Robinson RB Only sticking with two of our picks here. I think this draft was a huge whiff. I get that AJ still has potebtial, but we passed on some true talent to take him and the Moss pick felt very forced, as well as the QB pick.

I actually like Tommy Doyle as a possible guard if they can’t sign an Austin Corbett type. Yeah i know he’s tall, but it doesn’t matter if you have a 6-5 QB. Doyle has explosive measurables and athleticism and seemed to be coming around as a blocker. I don’t know that you can get an offensive linemen at 25 with more upside aside from Linderbaum.

I feel like they need to hit on free agency. This roster needs complimentary veteran players to help put them over the top. I am not sure if rookies at the back end of each round will really move the needle. Maybe Jordan Davis, or a corner, or a DE like Cameron Thomas. but somewhere they need to find IOL, a corner, a punter, and pass rush. They should also try to package some of their nine picks to target guys and come away with 5 good draft picks.

It is much better than the 2020 draft where we snagged Gabe Davis and a kicker. To me that draft is extremely underwhelming. Unless you count Diggs ofcourse. The 2021 draft gave us an immediate starter at DE and at RT. Plus, I like Doyle more than most as well as Basham. Basham needed to play more. Plus Jack Anderson wound up playing a bit for the Eagles, starting a game, and Wildgoose played in a bunch of games for the Jets. But both drafts have been rather disappointing considering some of the players who were on the board when we made picks.

I will say this, we have nine draft picks and I am not sure you can find 9 guys who make this roster. Grabbing a once in a lifetime type of punter makes sense, especially with championship aspirations. The thing is, when our offense did sputter, it usually resulted in a short field for the opposing offense. This dude can flip field position which makes your offense and defense better. Plus he is a lefty which they clearly like. I think there is a good chance he goes in the third, 5th the latest. JMO

Any free agents/trade targets there we need to know about? Kirk? Mack? Bryant Johnson?

I know it’s obvious but the level of disappointment there is very high. AJ has really done nothing. I wish he could play against Austin Jackson every game, becuase he has his number for some reason. The sliver of hope I have for AJ is that it took him a while to become a starter at Iowa. Which is crazy considering he was a 5 star recruit. Maybe he just takes a long time to get going and adjust. But, unless he foes it this year, he will be a free agent before long. But, he really hadn’t played much and I think we need to transition to a place where some of those Hughes/Addison snaps transition to the younger guys. I think the upside Rousseau carries is so much higher than anybody on the roster. I really love Cameron Thomas in the draft. Outside of a maybe trade for Mack, I am not sure if there are really upgrades out there. The guys we have just have to get better.

After the Kromer thing, I am going Austin Corbett. He becomes a starting guard and Williams becomes a valuable backup or is gone. You can afford to sign Corbett and re-sign RFA Bates. Here is the thing about Corbett, his career was in the toilet until Kromer pushed the Rams to grab him from the Browns. And that was when he resurrected his career. Kromer essentially saved it. I don’t think Corbett is a guy who will just go to the highest bidder and sign with the Jets. He’s a guy who has been in a crap situation and knows what it is like to be on that side. So I think he will value fit to a certain extent. I am not sure if the Rams will be able to re-sign him and so the next best place would be Buffalo with Kromer. Corbett is another former college left tackle who converted to the interior and seems like he has found his fit at right guard. He is a realistic target, who won’t be a massive massive cost, and fits a need and the scheme, and offers versatility. Plus he’s a former walk on and a high school wrestler.

Was Neal playing nickel linebacker in place of Matt Milano that game? Maybe that’s what he is, and Bryan Scott type guy. Maybe our Nickel should be him and Milano and T.E. Can hit the bench.

Also, that punter is not going in the seventh round. I think he goes in the 4th. I know that sounds crazy, but there are a bunch of bad teams with a lot of early picks who will take a flyer early on a guy who punts 80 yards.

We definitely need better offensive linemen, but it does not matter where they are drafted. Unless you are getting a slam dunk elite player, like Ronnie Stanley, Trent Williams, Quentin Nelson, Brandon Scherff, can’t miss guys, there are so many terrible linemen who are just totally over-drafted. The Andre Dillards, Mike Williams of old, guys who had flaws in their games but fit a need. That is bad drafting imo. Look at free agency this year. UDFAs like Andrew Norwell are out there. Heck Laken Tomlinson and Austin Corbett are former failed high picks who were acquired for peanuts and found their game, just like Wyatt Teller. The Eagles spent a first round pick on a terrible Andre Dillard, and their starting left tackle, who is turning into one of the best in the league, is a former rugby player drafted in the seventh round. Just find good players who fit what you want to accomplish. I also think it is important to consider RAS and draft elite, projectable athletes, guys like Spencer Brown (3rd) and Tommy Doyle(5th), Ryan Bates (UDFA traded for Eli Harold.)

I don’t think the rotation is the issue, it’s the quality of the players. Ed Oliver should not come off the field. But outside of that, who really deserves more snaps? Maybe Rousseau? I think it is a philosophical thing, I guess the idea is having fresh guys wearing out the offensive line. I don’t think it has really worked, but until we have better defensive linemen, I think it is hard to really say. Also, what makes a difference for the Rams is they move guys around and give exotic looks. If you can get Donald on the opposing teams worst linemen, that makes sense. Out scheme is quite stringent and a little vanilla. We are going to be in a 4-2-5 alignment, with contain defensive ends, and really never twist etc. As the year went on, we saw less and less of the double A gap mug defense, and that is the only alignment that really gives us an exotic package. When your players are meh, it makes sense to rotate them and keep them fresh, but there is something to be said for the idea you mention, that this doesn’t allow guys to really get into the flow of the game.

That would bring the whole McKissic joke here full circle. But I do prefer McKinnon simply because of his pure speed and I think he is a better player overall, though he has had that one major ACL injury. But I’d be ok with McKissic as well.

I have made no secret of the fact that I really want a Jerick McKinnon. The reason being is that he is a very good runner and receiver. The Bills like to go five wide quite a bit, if they get a friendly box, they bring the back in and run the football. Shades of the Patriots and James White. I really like the strategy, but with Singletary and Moss, they are meh receivers. That allows teams to cover him with a linebacker. A guy like McKinnon gives you a very deadly 5 set as he is effective as a runner and receiver. We play so much 1 back, 1 tight end, 3 receivers…11 personnel. A back that is also a deadly receiver makes this something almost indefensible when you factor in Josh Allen’s running ability. You can’t spy etc. All that said, McCaffrey is the elite version of what I am talking about. Probably the only guy better is Kamara. I wouldn’t be against McCaffrey for that cost. That cost seems unrealistic to me though. I would think Carolina asks for Matt Rhule guy Dion Dawkins, which I would not do. I don’t see why they would want Beasley. The injury situation worries me, but McCaffrey will stay fresh if he plays with a guy like Josh. And his role does not entirely remove Singletary from the equation, which also keeps him fresh. All that said, would I rather sign McKinnon and Christian Kirk and keep my picks? Probably. But McCaffrey is an elite player, there is no doubt. I think you have to kick the tires when an elite player becomes available and you have to be smart about how much you are willing to give up.