Of the serious SB Contenders who had the best draft?

[GunnerBill]

24 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Shakir...he can play anywhere on the field according to his scouting report.

 

Hmm. Whether he can contribute substantially as an outside receiver in the NFL is a legit question. Personally I'm sceptical. Even Beane who has reason to be positive about him said last night "he can play some outside but if you want his main position then he is an inside guy"

Edited May 1, 2022 by GunnerBill

[Rochesterfan]

6 hours ago, chongli said:

Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports really liked the Ravens draft:

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2022-nfl-draft-winners-and-losers-jets-eagles-ravens-get-top-hauls-bumpy-road-for-baker-mayfield-patriots/

 

"The Ravens clearly had one of the best drafts, and it's because they took the best available player more often than not. Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton may be the best player in the draft, Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum is a legitimate first-round talent and David Ojabo is a first-rounder if he doesn't suffer a torn Achilles. Maybe he will miss his rookie season, but it's worth it if he's a star for many years to come.

 

It wasn't just the first few picks that the Ravens scored highly on. Fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele is a 6-foot-8 offensive tackle who could have a bright future in the league, cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis was an "A+" pick and then Baltimore took two tight ends in Charlie Kolar from Iowa State and Isaiah Likely from Coastal Carolina. That sounds like a weird strategy, but Likely is a versatile pass-catcher who probably will line up in several different spots."

 

The Ravens do this every year.  They do not over think the draft - they just grab the best player and worry about filling positions later.

 

This year they got excellent prospects across the draft and for the more limited number of picks they once again nailed the picks with elite players.

 

My issue with how Baltimore drafts is they are almost strictly BPA (Best Player) and do not fill holes.  That team is in huge need of talent at WR and has an abundance of TEs and RBs - they still drafted 2 more TEs and another RB.  The team is flush with talent, but the entire roster has 6 WRs and currently has 6 TEs.  The team also has 6 dedicated RBs and 2 full backs on the roster.

 

The Roster is so out of balance on offense it is scary and I get maybe you can spread a TE out and post him up, but with their off season they appear set on being a strictly multi-TE and RB scheme and we are going to run all day.  They will have no real ability to come back - which they already struggle with.

 

Now maybe the plan internally is to offer up Mark Andrews and/or Nick Boyle and try to get a WR in return from a team that is now flush with WR, but they created a hole at receiver and filled it with TE.  
 

They should get an A+ for the draft, but a D- on team building - which at the end of the day is what matters.

 

 

[Rochesterfan]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I didn't love the Chiefs opening night. I'm lower than most on McDuffie, though I do think he is a good scheme fit for Spags, and Karlaftis is an edge setter rather than a pass rusher to me. But after that? Man they crushed it. Even into the 7th last night where they took my guy Jaylen Watson who I flagged in the sleepers thread out of Washington State. He is probably a practice squad guy year 1 but if he is developed properly that kid has the raw ingredients to be a starter in this league. 

 

The NFL is obsessed with Quarterback, obviously, but when you pay those guys now it is essential that you continue to draft well. And the Chiefs have a very good general manager. That will help them stay competitive. 

 

I think you nailed it.  Listening to some “Draft Expert” guests on a national show on Thursday the host asked a very pointed question.  Name the 1 player that someone will pick in round 1 and the team will be disappointed due to them becoming just average.  It was basically - you guys are so nice and always point to upside - even when it doesn’t fit.  Who has limited upside going in round 1.

 

The guests were a bit uncomfortable, but finally one of them gave McDuffie as an answer because with short arms and reach he will miss some plays that others could make and will potentially make contact and draw flags.  He might fit well with some schemes, but if he will be overdrafted as an outside CB.

 

The second guy quickly went to Karlaftis - He got away with being the most physical player, but in the NFL his lack of moves will be an issue.

 

I thought it was funny that those were the 2 players the Chiefs went with in Round 1.  Both could end up excellent, but both were guys with high end issues also.

 

The rest of the draft was nice, but I think you fundamentally see this team change their offensive philosophy this year.  Mahomes is no longer the far and away best QB in the division and without Hill and an older Kelce - it is not the high flying offense of the last few years. They have a big offensive line and I expect they will start shifting to more runs and protecting the ball - especially with some of the DEs.

 

I think they will continue to be good, but they are not going to be the same team as the last few years and may struggle with that change.

 

 

 

[78thealltimegreat]

The Ravens had a terrific draft. They just have the worst group of receivers In the league. 

The Cowboys had a really good draft but to call them a contender means Mike McCarthy knows what he’s doing. 

 

The Chiefs had a nice one too just not sold on Trent Mcduffie watched a ton of Pac 12 last year and he never really did anything to standout. 

[LEBills]

6 hours ago, gobills404 said:

Hurts to say it but the chiefs by far. All of their picks (except for cook) were slam dunks imo. Hopefully I end looking like an idiot for saying that.

The ont thing about that is they had so many chances to have a good draft because they traded away their all-pro receiver. So not sure how much of a net gain it was for them.

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

The Ravens do this every year.  They do not over think the draft - they just grab the best player and worry about filling positions later.

 

This year they got excellent prospects across the draft and for the more limited number of picks they once again nailed the picks with elite players.

 

My issue with how Baltimore drafts is they are almost strictly BPA (Best Player) and do not fill holes.  That team is in huge need of talent at WR and has an abundance of TEs and RBs - they still drafted 2 more TEs and another RB.  The team is flush with talent, but the entire roster has 6 WRs and currently has 6 TEs.  The team also has 6 dedicated RBs and 2 full backs on the roster.

 

The Roster is so out of balance on offense it is scary and I get maybe you can spread a TE out and post him up, but with their off season they appear set on being a strictly multi-TE and RB scheme and we are going to run all day.  They will have no real ability to come back - which they already struggle with.

 

Now maybe the plan internally is to offer up Mark Andrews and/or Nick Boyle and try to get a WR in return from a team that is now flush with WR, but they created a hole at receiver and filled it with TE.  
 

They should get an A+ for the draft, but a D- on team building - which at the end of the day is what matters.

 

 

 

Nobody is afraid of the Ravens and their pop gun offense...

 

They are killing themselves because of their insistence on running an 8th grade offense centered around running Lamar Jackson and basically having 0 weapons on the outside now that Brown is gone.

 

I could see them finishing 3rd in the division even if Jackson is healthy all year. There is a reason why he doesn't want to talk contract with Baltimore and I don't think they helped themselves in that regard with trading Brown, although when looked at I'm a vacuum, I would have traded Brown for a first too...but the problem doing that is you have nothing to replace him with. 

 

I don't think they are going to be very good this year.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Big Turk

[SoCal Deek]

Somebody mentioned the Colts and I had to look it up having not remembered hearing their name throughout the entire draft…go figure.

 

So then I looked at the AFC East, knowing the Bills have to get through there before going anywhere, and wow what an odd draft. In a nutshell, the Dolphins had virtually no picks, the Patriots drafted half of college football from the Sixth Round and below, and the Jets pushed back from the table after Round 4. Only the Bills had what most pundits would consider a ‘normal’ draft. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by SoCal Deek

[Big Turk]

8 hours ago, BuffaloBillsGospel2014 said:

 

The Ravens... They didn't make the playoffs because Lamar got injured but he's healthy again, they get all their injured players back, also added Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Lindenbaum, David Ojabo, Charlie Kolar, Jordan Stout and Isiah Likely in the draft

 

They aren't even close to a super bowl contender and have no WRs. They are going to struggle on offense. 3rd in the AFC North.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Big Turk

[GunnerBill]

5 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Nobody is afraid of the Ravens and their pop gun offense...

 

They are killing themselves because of their insistence on running an 8th grade offense centered around running Lamar Jackson and basically having 0 weapons on the outside now that Brown is gone.

 

I could see them finishing 3rd in the division even if Jackson is healthy all year. There is a reason why he doesn't want to talk contract with Baltimore and I don't think they helped themselves in that regard with trading Brown, although when looked at I'm a vacuum, I would have traded Brown for a first too...but the problem doing that is you have nothing to replace him with. 

 

I don't think they are going to be very good this year.

 

Are they still coached by John Harbaugh? Yea? They'll be competitive. I get the point about their receivers but they throw to receiver less anyway. They have talent and depth almost everywhere else. 

[Ya Digg?]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

Are they still coached by John Harbaugh? Yea? They'll be competitive. I get the point about their receivers but they throw to receiver less anyway. They have talent and depth almost everywhere else. 

If they are up by more than 1 score in the second half of a game they will be rough to beat, but if they fall behind by that same amount they have little

chance of coming back. With the way that teams can score now I don’t think that’s a great recipe for success 

[BillsFan130]

3 hours ago, Zerovoltz said:

 

This used to be the case.  In some ways it still is....but if you draft well, you can put guys on the field sooner and get a pretty good idea in a short time what you have.

 

I know...KC Fan....but Nick Bolton, Creed Humphrey and Tre Smith...all drafted last year...all started...all were good.  Without Smith and Humphrey...KC would not have been able to sustain a division winning record last year...they nailed the draft...so it can happen.

 

I like the Chiefs draft, but I'll wait and see how it looks on the field before I really have a strong opinion about it.  I certainly wouldn't have thought KC nailed it as well as they did last year a day after the draft was over.

For sure.

 

Their draft from last year is definitely looking really solid already 

[machine gun kelly]

8 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

The boring answer is it's impossible to tell. we won't know for 3 years as the draft is basically a lottery.

 

But I get it as everyone wants to project winners/losers now as it's more fun to talk about.

 

 

I couldn’t agree more.  Polian on NFLR made the point yesterday morning how little mock draft people know in terms of why real people draft who.  
 

I like on NFLR they do a three years later review a draft.  

[Big Turk]

9 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Are they still coached by John Harbaugh? Yea? They'll be competitive. I get the point about their receivers but they throw to receiver less anyway. They have talent and depth almost everywhere else. 

 

They are but at some point you have to score points.  Teams can basically ignore their WR's and focus all their attention on Andrews and the run game.  

Edited May 1, 2022 by Big Turk

[Seoulofstone]

35 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

Nobody is afraid of the Ravens and their pop gun offense...

 

They are killing themselves because of their insistence on running an 8th grade offense centered around running Lamar Jackson and basically having 0 weapons on the outside now that Brown is gone.

 

I could see them finishing 3rd in the division even if Jackson is healthy all year. There is a reason why he doesn't want to talk contract with Baltimore and I don't think they helped themselves in that regard with trading Brown, although when looked at I'm a vacuum, I would have traded Brown for a first too...but the problem doing that is you have nothing to replace him with. 

 

I don't think they are going to be very good this year.

Ravens are built to play tough nosed football. Just because they are ground and pound rather than aerial doesn’t mean they won’t be a difficult match up. Especially in wintry conditions. Lots of injuries last year. My question is how they will look without Wink as DC. But Kyle Hamilton could be a big asset if he lives up to his hype. They also seem to develop and use players well, compared to say the Jets and Jags who constantly pick at the top but don’t get the production or development,

 

All of the AFC North are interesting since we play them this year. The Browns beat us last time but who knows about when Watson will be available? The Steelers will be dismissed but whoever plays for Ben can’t be worse, and they beat us last year. It’s a competitive division.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Seoulofstone

[Ross Murdock]

9 hours ago, chongli said:

Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports really liked the Ravens draft:

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2022-nfl-draft-winners-and-losers-jets-eagles-ravens-get-top-hauls-bumpy-road-for-baker-mayfield-patriots/

 

"The Ravens clearly had one of the best drafts, and it's because they took the best available player more often than not. Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton may be the best player in the draft, Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum is a legitimate first-round talent and David Ojabo is a first-rounder if he doesn't suffer a torn Achilles. Maybe he will miss his rookie season, but it's worth it if he's a star for many years to come.

 

It wasn't just the first few picks that the Ravens scored highly on. Fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele is a 6-foot-8 offensive tackle who could have a bright future in the league, cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis was an "A+" pick and then Baltimore took two tight ends in Charlie Kolar from Iowa State and Isaiah Likely from Coastal Carolina. That sounds like a weird strategy, but Likely is a versatile pass-catcher who probably will line up in several different spots."

I have to agree. In fact it's odd that the Ravens are seldom mentioned lately about being a true SB contender. I believe they are right up there with the Bills - Chiefs - Bengals - Rams - Packers. They helped their D tremendously in the draft, have a great coach, and solid weapons in including the QB. They'll be trouble for sure.    

[ChasBB]

10 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

To me in order and the picks I liked

 

 

1. Chiefs:  McDuffie (21), Karlaftis (30), Moore (54), Cook S (62) Chenal (103), Kinnard OL (145)

 

The Tyreek Hill trade was a brilliant move by the Chiefs - that's how to maintain a strong roster and be relevant every season - move a guy who still has 1 or 2 years left in his "prime" and stack some high draft picks ... AND ... on top of it all, ship Buffalo's personal nemesis to a team in our division - geez.  Anyhow, I hope Beane can pull some kind of a trade of a guy maybe he doesn't see as being a Buffalo Bill a year or two out and move that player while there is still perceived value and stack some high-round future picks.  The Patriots traded away still-performing players often (maybe too often) and stacked picks, as well.

Edited May 1, 2022 by ChasBB
spelling and grammar

[MJS]

6 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

Exactly. They are less scary on offense than they were before. That's just not going to get it done in the AFC.

 

The Ravens are always competitive and well coached, but I don't think they did anything to put themselves over the top. That's the problem.

[somnus00]

6 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

They did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

They're starting a new 4 TE offense. One in line. One in the slot and 2 out wide. No one runs routes outside of the hash marks. Then Lamar just runs with the ball. 

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

 

Nobody is afraid of the Ravens and their pop gun offense...

 

They are killing themselves because of their insistence on running an 8th grade offense centered around running Lamar Jackson and basically having 0 weapons on the outside now that Brown is gone.

 

I could see them finishing 3rd in the division even if Jackson is healthy all year. There is a reason why he doesn't want to talk contract with Baltimore and I don't think they helped themselves in that regard with trading Brown, although when looked at I'm a vacuum, I would have traded Brown for a first too...but the problem doing that is you have nothing to replace him with. 

 

I don't think they are going to be very good this year.

 

I hear what you are saying, but they still drafted the absolute best players each time.  
 

They have had the same Pop Gun offense every year, but until they were completely derailed by injuries last year - they have found ways to win.  They have one of the best HCs in the game and are built differently from almost every other team. 
 

I think they are better than Cleveland and Pittsburgh by a bit and will be a tough out for Cincinnati.

 

I agree they have no WRs - they just have no qualms about trading as needed and they adjust the offense to fit the players.

 

 

[Ross Murdock]

20 minutes ago, somnus00 said:

hey did nothing to address WR though after trading Brown away.  They got great value picks throughout but Bateman is now their #1 WR.  They seem content on running the ball and relying on a strong defense.  Just a strange way to build a roster in today's pass happy NFL.

Having a solid running game and strong D can still rule in today's NFL I'm just being a bit of the contrarian here regarding the Ravens love, I have no skin in their game, but they have had 2 straight years of ridiculous injury hell. Their D (When healthy) is very physical, And Jackson can still wreak havoc. At this point I fear the Raven more than the Chiefs or Bengals who I believe have regressed a bit. (Still have serious doubts frankly that the Bengals are all that great) The Ravens will win the AFC North. Their schedule isn't all that rough either.