A lot has been said how weak this draft class is compared to 21’, and even 23’ lately.
I would say 2021 was a really strange class for 3 major reasons….
An unprecedented amount of off-season QB drama starting with the Rodgers rumors, Stafford trade, Watson frenzy (pre off the field mess), and suddenly everyone was “QB CRAZY!!!” The Panthers were trading decent draft capital for a guy the Jets were running away from, the 49ers traded a ton to start moving on from Jimmy G, the Bears barely finished the Mitch T rebuild before trading a haul to start the J Fields experiment, and the Falcons even looked into eating a billion in dead cap to get rid of Matt Ryan…. Colts made a decent sized investment in Wentz, and the Broncos tried to get into the mix, but somehow came away with Teddy 2 Gloves…
Last year a great number of guys sat out due to covid- Parsons, Chase, Sewell, Farley, Trey Lance Tryon, Levi O, Slater, and quite a few others didn’t play their final years…. Look what playing did for E Neal who put some bad tape out there this year. Rattler imploded. Howell regressed if anything.
Whenever a bunch of QBs go early, it pushes elite positional athletes to near and even outside #10.
In a draft do over… this draft changes massively.
There are some freaks in 22’. If Burks plays for OSU or Bama- he has 1700 yards. Hamilton is Sean Taylor size and speed. Thibz could be Chandler Jones and Hutch could be TJ Watt…
I’m just terrified the draft is going to unfold FAR differently than many in here expect.
I know Kiper, McShay, and Danny J are far from perfect in their mocks…. HOWEVER they collectively missed 16 regarding who would go in round 1…. Kiper and McShay missed 5 each and Dan J missed 6…
All missed JOK, E Moore, Barmore, 2 missed Eichenberg, 2 missed Asante Jr, and 2 missed T Moebrig, and 1 missed Dillon Randunz
They collectively made 96 player predictions for the 32 slots in rounds 1, and were about 84% accurate.
The lowest any of their predicted 1st rounders fell was Jeremiah with Randunz at 53…. They rest were all gone by 47!!!
I bring this up because their recent mocks along with some other sites I like have J Williams, D London, N Dean, D Lloyd, Sauce Gardner all going pretty damn high…. Where I would expect them to go frankly.
I think WRs of not will be mostly gone by Rams pick, and definitely gone by round 2 pick
I really like the TJ Watt comp to Hutch. He feels more fluid and less brute force than Nick Bosa, is t quite as imposing as Joey, and I’d say moves a lot like Watt. His pre-snap reads, passion, motor etc have me loving him.
I honestly can’t figure out Thibz…. He’s bigger than Von, looks faster than most guys his size… I read D aware somewhere, but wish I could see more production to feel comfortable in his as the face of our D.
Hamilton- he reminds me of Eric Berrys play, though his 6’4” frame screams S Taylor. He’s nowhere near the animal Taylor was (rip).
Stingley scares me- don’t have a comp, haven’t gotten to see him healthy much, that statement alone is a hard pass.
Jameson Williams- faster Calvin Ridley. Somehow just takes the top off over and over again.
I’d view him as a great student with a high ceiling. He is as raw as they come, and sits for at least a year (if not 2). Everyone’s hi lights look great. I wouldn’t want him for the YPC. Leadership at the most important position on the field, is what does it for me. Big arm that can make all the throws. If he can run, that’s just gravy.
Who needs Edge more than us?
If there’s an OT worth pick 2, Jacksonville will take him at pick 1.
That means there has to be a QB worth pick 2 in order to receive a trade offer. There isn’t any other scenario where a trade presents itself. Who’s that QB?
Every year teams fall in love with a player and are willing to move up and take him.
I think HOU could be the first landing spot for a QB and a team who likes a particular QB might be willing to leapfrog HOU to take him. Personally I like Corral the best.
As for OT I think there’s a good chance Jax takes an OT but I also think there’s 3 OT’s that are capable of going in the top 5. So even if Jax did take one I still think a team could trade up to get their guy. There’s a few teams in the top 10 who need OL help.
I don’t think a trade down is impossible this year.
If there’s 3 OT’s that could go in the top 10, then why a need to trade up to 2? I don’t see it.
The top 2 positions on most big boards are the 2 Edge rushers.
.< in Jim Harbaugh voice >. Whoooooooo needs Edge better than us?
If the OT is better than Edge, Jax takes him.
If the Edge is trade-worthy, we take him.
Someone would have to be infatuated with Pickett or Corral to make the move. I’d say the Lions would have to have a lower grade on the Edge guys than most assume, too.
The gap between the top 2 Edge guys and the next crop would have to be low enough for the Lions to accept the lesser player. Either that or the team trading would have to overspend. It’s the tier conversation that Quinn got into a couple years ago. If there are 3 players in tier 1 this year and you’re taking me out of that tier with your offer, either the compensation has to be worth it or the step to tier 2 not real steep.
I’ve been thinking about this question, and IMO, I’d argue that the biggest thing to know about this draft class (like last year’s) is that it’s going to be harder to evaluate than typical. For any players who were underclassmen last year and played through the screwed up COVID season, they basically missed a year of development, even if they played. And this year got crazy at times too. So I think what you ultimately end up with is guys that might be a little more raw than they’d be otherwise. Which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re less talented, just that they may need a little more time, and the talent may be harder to spot than in classes filled with players who have multiple full regular seasons under their belts.
The upshot, for me at least, is I expect there to be good under-the-radar talent throughout the draft, just waiting for a good GM to snag them at a bargain. I think and hope we have a good GM, and I think we will find some good players. And I think 5 years or so from now, this draft class will outperform expectations and NOT go down in the books as an unusually weak one.
Loved the whole post. I think these more ambiguous, covid drafts favor a guy like Holmes too. Love your thinking, my bro. Hope this all proves to be true.a
I tend to agree draft right now is not outstanding with lets say studs,
I think if your a sharp GM an scouts you can find the future studs ,
I normally am not trade down guy but this year i would look at a move an stay in top 5 or 6.