Shaq Lawson on roster bubble

[thebandit27]

27 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Did you have him above Roquan Smith?

Lorax was on WGR a few days after the draft and he mentioned that McDermott/Beane had Edmunds above Smith.  

 

I had Roquan ahead of him--he was 8th on my board and Edmunds was 10th.

 

Edmunds, however, had the highest "potential" grade of any player in this class on my board.

Edited June 25, 2018 by thebandit27

[Saxum]

On 6/23/2018 at 6:40 AM, ColdFront_USAF said:

There was another team that drafted a pass rusher in the first, 31st overall in 2010. They only used him in spot duty, only getting a few starts in his 3 seasons with that team. After not having a ton of success in spot duty, they traded him to another team for a JAG linebacker drafted a year after him. He immediately earned a starting spot, and signed a big contract in 2015, while the linebacker they traded for was sent packing after the 2013 season, and is now out of he league after spending time with several different teams. 

 

Sound familiar? It should. The Colts gave up on Jerry Hughes after 3 limited seasons, and the Bills have been reaping the benefits ever since. I'm not going to say Shaq will enjoy similar success. Only that you don't give up on a 1st round talent entering his 3rd season unless there are serious locker room/effort/injury concerns (the kind that don't heal and will effect his career outlook). As much as I've been disappointed with him so far, he's only been in the league for 2 years. Let's give the guy a chance before moving on. 

 

Difference was he was behind two very good DEs on a defense which did not rotate their lineman as much.

 

Can you says same thing for Lawson? 

He should get a chance of course but this is part of issue in NFL with guaranteed contracts - no guarantee players will perform.

[Doc]

6 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

Difference was he was behind two very good DEs on a defense which did not rotate their lineman as much.

 

Can you says same thing for Lawson? 

He should get a chance of course but this is part of issue in NFL with guaranteed contracts - no guarantee players will perform.

 

In Freeney's last year with the Colts (which was also Hughes' last year), he notched just 5 sacks and was then released.  Mathis had 8 sacks and to that point was averaging about 9 sacks a year.  He had his career year (19.5 sacks) the year after Hughes was traded. 

 

What does that mean for Lawson?  Who knows? 

[Augie]

I wish this had been a poll. YES, unless he’s traded. 

[Buffalo86]

When team after team passed on Lawson & he fell to us, it was obvious that Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan had just outsmarted the rest of the NFL

[blacklabel]

Yes, he will make it and will play an important role. And there's no way Beane would simply cut the kid. Not when he knows there would be a number of teams interested in a young DE who maybe just didn't land in the right situation.

 

But it seems clear that Shaq has gotten the message. I sense that he was the type of player who felt like he would be able to coast on his athleticism without putting in the extra effort needed in the NFL. Clearly, that mindset doesn't fly McDermott. 

 

I think the kid will turn the corner and show us something this season. 

[mschifano]

On 6/23/2018 at 9:39 AM, buffalobloodfloridahome said:

All the talk of him slimming down and getting quicker off the ball may of just been smoke for trade bait

 

Could be time will tell. I think u don’t move on from a DE that u have for 2 more years at a reasonable contract who could prove to be a monster in the rotation. 

[NewEra]

On 6/23/2018 at 7:29 AM, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

The one thing Lawson has going for him is a cheap contract.  Think he may have to outplay Hughes, they then keep Shaq and cut Hughes for $$ reasons.  I also do agree not likely at all he gets cut, but do see him getting traded.  Which may also play into the first part I stated, do we cut Hughes to save money or trade Shaq.  Think if it came down to those two options they trade him, assuming he doesn't light things up. 

If we trade Jerry,  I’ll be skeptical of the move.  He’s a very good pass rusher, by far our best imo.

[3rdand12]

1 hour ago, Buffalo86 said:

When team after team passed on Lawson & he fell to us, it was obvious that Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan had just outsmarted the rest of the NFL

might have outsmarted themselves as well 

33 minutes ago, NewEra said:

If we trade Jerry,  I’ll be skeptical of the move.  He’s a very good pass rusher, by far our best imo.

I would be disappointed if they moved on from either of them this season

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Buffalo86 said:

When team after team passed on Lawson & he fell to us, it was obvious that Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan had just outsmarted the rest of the NFL

 

Well....this could be said of every player. Every team passes over them until, you know, someone picks them.     ?

 

But it still doesn’t mean Rex isn’t a clown. 

[BADOLBILZ]

On 6/23/2018 at 4:54 PM, NewDayBills said:

Kansas City is really high on Ragland too, I'm not sure if that's just media propaganda but they think he has All Pro potential. I personally think Shaq should be kept on for a bit, Jerry Hughes is not getting any younger, Murphy/Lawson could be the future. 

 

All Pro?   I can buy the idea that they think he could make a pro bowl trip one day....... but the All Pro level for inside linebackers is really reserved for LB's that can also play the pass like a safety.   That will simply never happen for Ragnuts.   

[Doc]

4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

All Pro?   I can buy the idea that they think he could make a pro bowl trip one day....... but the All Pro level for inside linebackers is really reserved for LB's that can also play the pass like a safety.   That will simply never happen for Ragnuts.   

 

How many 3-4 ILB's get voted All-Pro anyway?

[ProcessYaDigg]

YES!!!!  He's not going anywhere yet.

[Sky Diver]

Strange that the Bills couldn't find a place on the roster for Ragland as a situational player.

 

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018/6/20/17481580/chiefs-pro-scouting-series-reggie-ragland

[Avisan]

1 hour ago, Sky Diver said:

Strange that the Bills couldn't find a place on the roster for Ragland as a situational player.

 

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018/6/20/17481580/chiefs-pro-scouting-series-reggie-ragland

Several of the trades and releases have made us a worse football team overall.  Hopefully the shift in scheme fit and culture starts paying off soon, but I doubt we'll be competing for anything this season.

[Sky Diver]

22 minutes ago, Avisan said:

Several of the trades and releases have made us a worse football team overall.  Hopefully the shift in scheme fit and culture starts paying off soon, but I doubt we'll be competing for anything this season.

 

I suspect that trading Ragland was more scheme than cultural fit. He's a good guy as far as I know. 

[Avisan]

9 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

I suspect that trading Ragland was more scheme than cultural fit. He's a good guy as far as I know. 

Yeah, definitely scheme.  Dude is a baller though, definitely think he could have had a place here.  Oh well.

[Sky Diver]

3 minutes ago, Avisan said:

Yeah, definitely scheme.  Dude is a baller though, definitely think he could have had a place here.  Oh well.

 

KC got a gift.

[BADOLBILZ]

19 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

 

Not sure...if I had to guess, I would say that it was a mixture of positional value taking precedence (vis a vis 4 QBs going in the top 10) and teams not being excited about drafting a 19-year old kid.

 

 

On the hoof.......probably the guy with the most potential in the entire draft.

 

It's hard to say for sure whether playing at MLB at VA Tech hurt his stock but I think it did.    If he had been coming off the edge and put up 6-7 sacks as a 19 year old he might have been the first position player drafted as an edge rusher in this particular draft.

 

But the uncertainty about just how good he can be at edge positions and some *probably* youth-related issues with reactions at the MLB position made him available to the Bills.    

 

Very excited about this dude.   He's got a chance to BECOME the unrealistic comparison for future players.

[KW95 - JA17]

Whether Hughes plays or not, won't change one thing.