I have been a realistic Stafford supporter. I’ve never thought of him as a great qb but a very good one and at worst above average…until this year.
I think he has never been pushed to be better. For some the love of the game or just an inherent passion for the game can drive a lot of players. But I’ve seen enough and as of today I am in the camp of drafting a 1st round QB.
People would say that’s an irresponsible move but I am reminded of Matt Hasselback ( second round) and Aaron Rodgers pushing yet sitting behind Favre. I think Favre didn’t necessarily need a push but drafting QBs early helped the program out in a lot of ways. Hasselback was moved to Seattle I believe and the pack were rewarded and Rodgers well is superior to Favre and it never set the program behind while Aaron sat behind Brett for I believe what 4 years? Maybe 3?
Point is it needs to happen this draft IMO and if the pick is Hasselback or Rodgers it would push Stafford and make this team better whether via future trade of picked QB or a step above as Rodgers was for the Pack being patient and not afraid to pull the trigger on taking a QB early when they had other pressing needs.
Unless you’re trading up to get one of the top two maybe three, because they will be gone even with us drafting as high as we will, there’s no way in the world I passed up elite defensive help just to grab a quarterback in the first. This class is very weak minus a couple guys so you can get the pressure you want by taking one in a second or third but helping your team out not only now but in the future by getting that elite player in the first. I do agree that we need to do something to get Stafford’s head out of his ass and push him a little. As of today I feel pretty silly with the extent that I have defended this guy over the years. right now my turkey dinner taste a lot like Crow, still rooting for him and still hoping for the best but no longer expecting it
I’m not so sure a trade up will have to happen. We could easily be a top 5 pick and I wouldn’t be surprised if this team just gives up . They already shown signs of it.
Stafford needs better players around him, He isn’t perfect but generally a top 10 QB. You put the kind of pressure he’s been under for the past few weeks and any QB would fail. Competition wouldn’t do a dam thing.
Quality QB’s are found in rounds 3-4 fairly often.
Wilson and Prescott are just two of the more recent examples.
I’d love to see us grab a guy in round 4 that’s experienced in the RPO’s and read options. He could do 4 things for us.
Apply pressure to Stafford as he learns the Back Up role.
Help our defense get prepared for the RPO offenses that are more and more popular.
Spell Stafford and allow us to implement a RPO’s into our playbook. Similar to what BAL was doing with Lamar Jackson.
Give us a quality Back-up. I firmly believe the Lions lack a good backup QB.
If we had a 3rd round QB who is a running threat. We could line him up at RB and teams would really struggle to defend the play action - RPO offense. It would stop teams from blitzing us so often.
I like Stafford but I must admit I feel we’re behind the NFL trend with him. We need a more mobile option learning behind him.