glazeduck

There's absolutely nothing to be learned from this. Zach has played extremely well in Taylor's absence, but: Is only playing BECAUSE of that absence, and he was terrible here. Zach is on another team because he wasn't good enough to stay on our team. This isn't Wyatt Teller 2.0.

It's exactly this. Culture fit, lack of rap sheet, leadership qualities, intelligence, intangibles are all important parts of the process, but they very VERY rarely elevate a below-average athlete to being more than just an average player, at best. Not at all to defend or excuse his actions, but Jefferey Simmons vs. Ed Oliver is another example. Obviously Ed has turned out better than the Boogie situation thus far -- and again, Simmons is a POS -- but he's unequivocally the better and more impactful player. When the goal is to find the best football players, sometimes you need to take chances on talent...

With our glut of WRs and need at LB, I'm wondering if Shaq Thompson might be an option. He's obviously at the end of his career and the Panthers aren't winning anything this year. There's the obvious Carolina Joke/tie-in/McBeane connection, but they need WR talent almost as bad as we need off-ball LBs to support Bryce Young. Shakir and a 4th or 5th feels like a no brainer to both sides, to me...

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but to pretend like Dalvin Cook and Jonathan Taylor are apples:apples is laughable...

Has anyone pointed out (we're now well clear of 300 pages...) that us getting Hopkins would bring all of the previously stated benefits (and risks) but also keep all of our most significant Super Bowl competition from getting them? Of course he comes without risks. Justin Jefferson isn't getting cut tomorrow, nor is TJ Watt. At some point we're going to have to take a risk on a big move. Hopkins' performance last year suggests that he can maintain a high level of play for at least the next year or two, we should all be incredibly excited to even be in the discussion for this kind of move, let alone the odds-on favorites.

Regarding trading up/down or not... I think you HAVE to get another player you think can be a difference maker at a position of need... We need interior OLmen, LB and DL and there's a number still available at each position. If that means moving up because they fly off the board? Go do it. If they slide because other positions get drafted to where you can move back and still get one of those guys? Even better. But you cannot trade down to recoup a worse pick just to do that. In my eyes there's about 10 guys that we need to make sure we get at least one of. THAT'S the priority...

Just say no to Hyatt (okay, maybe in the 3rd...)

Agreed. The problem is the chance he falls all the way to us is virtually 0. We'd have to trade up, at least slightly, to get him. And then the calculus isn't just drafting a 1st rd RB when you've spent a 2nd the year prior and a 3rd the previous 2 years before that... it's also trading sparse draft capital during your championship window... Unless there's a Laremy Tunsil type situation this evening with him or we're able to turn an unneeded player into whatever it takes to move up, I don't see us moving up for Bijan being all that likely...

It's not a super hot take, but Jalin Hyatt -- unless he falls into an absolutely perfect position -- will be a massive bust.

If the Hopkins option doesn't win in a landslide we need to start a Gofundme for some lobotomies...

Chip left before Royce but he recruited him and they ran the same offense, so I don't think it's unfair. As for Freeman specifically, the dude broke every single one of Reggie Bush's HS records, was an animal in college and looked every bit like he should've been at least a solid contributor in the pros. I guess what you call what he is vs. should've been is both a sea of grey and somewhat unimportant, but suffice it to say that he, along with every other back that's come out of that audience, did not perform well at the NFL level, regardless of expected outcomes. (And this is coming from a HUGE Royce fan, fwiw...)

Take a look at my profile name dude, I'm very familiar with Chip Kelly and his RBs. You're leaving out Royce Freeman (massive bust), DeAnthony Thomas and 2 seasons of Josh Kelley at UCLA. The larger point is his scheme opens massive lanes for RBs that don't always require NFL-level eyes or agility. Do you read/listen to Rotoviz stuff? Dave Caban has done a lot of work on explosive plays and added explosive receptions to his model and it makes Evans look reeeeally enticing for his projected draft capital... Hopefully his phych evals and personality checks cleared cuz there's a potential beast in there...

Charbonnet is an interesting e v a l. He's got a phenomenal build, and for it tested pretty well. I got to see him live last year and he certainly looks the part. The thing I keep coming back to is Chip Kelly RBs. Yes, it's helmet scouting, but Chip RBs haven't faired well in the NFL and Charbonnet transferred from Michigan for a reason. For the draft price it will take to get him (agree on the late 2/early 3 grade) I would probably pass on him/rather we spend the pick elsewhere and take a guy like Evans or Kendre Miller later in the draft, but can definitely see a scenario where he becomes a bellcow back in this league. Can also see him being a massive bust...

He's definitely going higher than we'll want to draft a dude, I think 3rd rd is his floor. Which is too bad, because for awhile his stock was getting undervalued...

This is a weird take... his dad is an assistant coach and his uncle is Dre Bly -- I can't say I know why he's not taking visits, but it's probable that teams have a pretty good idea of what he's about, how he handles his businsess, etc. That said, he's not my favorite wr prospect (or 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th or 5th or 6th...)

I always love comps but some of these are insultingly lazy...

As usual, you and I are pretty well aligned, I was just "defending" Mingo based on the available poll options. It's gross as all getout, but fills a need at a spot I think we need to address. As I said in my original post, we'd be incredibly dumb to not flip a 4 or a 5 for Tillman or Simpson. Of your list, I really like Phillips and would be fine with Johnson as well.

Certainly the highest ceiling of the group, but dude has almost zero floor. Obviously we all hope it doesn't shake out this way, but I think we HAVE to find a contributor at that spot... MIngo's far from perfect, but provides matchup options as a jumbo slot and could potentially be arbitrage for Gabe as well.

Kayshon Boutte -- warts and all -- probably deserves as much, if not more of a consideration than Musgrave in this situation.

Musgrave would be a catastrophically bad pick for Buffalo... All options are poo-poo, and its brutal that Tillman went two picks ahead and Simpson went 4 -- either of those guys would be worth a minor trade up for over this mess, but had to go with Mingo of the options listed...

This makes a lot of sense. Athletically, he's somewhat similar to Hardman, but seems like a much more mature, driven, "has the dawg in him" type football player. Feels like a good fit for them. The question is what KC would have to give up to go get him...

You're not wrong, if people disliked Edmonds, they'll run Noah out of town with torches and pitchforks before season's end. Kid should legitimately look at switching to EDGE... This poll and thread makes me sad.

Not being hyperbolic here when I say that drafting him might've been a tipping point for this franchise (in the wrong direction)...

Contracts get bought out all the time. And I don't think the suggestion is that he's going to be able to pull kids Oregon wouldn't have otherwise, but the difference in recruiting between not having an OC and having a superstar OC (or one you could at least sell as such) is massive.

FWIW, the line of thinking is that he WOULD leave right away, since recruiting is heating up right now.