If the Browns don’t fuck it up, this could be their most important draft ever. Shit, they have 6 picks in the first 65. That’s unheard of. Two firsts, and THREE second rounders? Yeesh. That’s a haul.
I agree about Barkley, but he and Chubb are likely the most ready out of the top ten picks to make an immediate impact. While Fournette didn’t have a great YPC last season, he was still an important cog in the Jags offense (especially since Bortles sucks) and got a lot of carries when healthy.
I think we might see a lot of trading around in this draft as a lot of teams have “extra” picks this year.
Ben Albright just tweeted “It’s Darnold” and then deleted it with no explanation.
Of course we don’t know the question. It could’ve been “who do you think has the biggest package?”, maybe meant for a DM.
I used to get all hyped up for the draft and watch game footage and all that but meh. I’ll watch some footage after the picks have been made.
Don’t want Allen. Kinda maybe want Mayfield. Not sure on Darnold.
Also think Barkley is probably significantly overrated (again, not after watching game film, just numbers) - I’m sure he’s the best RB of this draft, but if you’re going top 5 as a running back you should be a twice a decade type talent and I don’t think it’s there. Chubb also seems like a guy whose value is inflated by a bad DE crop at the top. In a year with a few good DE prospects he might go in the middle of the first.
I originally said 20 because that was the range I was picturing, but then I realized the Lions were there and they ain’t taking a QB. The Bungles on the other hand…
I’m not a huge believer in college stats as an indicator of success in the NFL, and history backs that up. The main problem with Jackson, he can’t make 50% of NFL throws.
“While Jackson may not have a cannon for an arm, he’s put plenty of NFL-caliber throws on tape.”
"While he has plenty of NFL throws on tape, it’s his down-to-down accuracy that presents a problem. The PFF team has charted every throw multiple times, including a pass that focused on actual ball location, receiver separation, throw type and more among NFL and draft-eligible quarterbacks. "
Barkley is special and I think he’s 10-20% better as a prospect than Zeke or Gurley. Still, the Browns would be insane to take him first if there’s a QB they like even a little bit, you don’t settle with QBs. If you really think there’s 2 or 3 QBs who are interchangeable, you haven’t done enough homework or you’re incapable of making decisions.
I’m skeptical that the Giants are targeting Barkley and if they really don’t value a QB they are most likely to trade back with a team that does than take Barkley. I think a Broncos-Giants deal could be pretty likely if the Browns pass on the guy Elway likes.
One scenario that could cause chaos is if the Jets grab Barkley. Everyone assumes they moved up to grab a QB, but what if their guy(s) go in the first 2 picks? What if they have targeted Barkley all along and the logic was to get ahead of the Browns at #4?
Let’s say the Browns grab Allen at #1 and the Giants take Chubb followed by the Jets taking Barkley. Who will pay the premium to come up ahead of the Broncos? Anyone?
“Jackson ranked third in “perfect” accuracy throws, but last in overall accuracy.”
“It was particularly alarming that Jackson ranked at the bottom when it comes to ball location on “open” throws and he struggled on throws in the 10-30-yard range.”
And that’s when being compared to a blind squirrel like Allen. When Allen is well ahead of you in accuracy you have serious problems. When I look at Jackson’s cut ups I see one glaring trend, his successful throws are all over the middle, anything outside the hashes is a thrill ride. I pity the team that tries to polish this turd.
I don’t think there’s any scenario under which the Jets don’t take a QB with their first pick. Frankly, the Giants should too but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dave “I invented NFL football” Gettleman makes some wacky pick either.
The Jets need a QB worse than my Bengals need a new head coach. They’ve got nobody there right now.
I’m intrigued by the speculation that Cleveland will draft QB’s at both #1 *and *#4, and hope one of them works out. Picking one per year hasn’t done the trick, so why not?
They just signed McCown, last year’s starter who wasn’t awful, to a $10M contract. They aren’t in a more dire situation than any of the other teams. Them moving up to #3 targeting exclusively a QB doesn’t make a lot of sense unless they view 3 QBs as equal, which I explained earlier is fucking insane.
Haven’t seen this speculation, but I wouldn’t kill them for it. You gotta have a QB in Cleveland or else you might as well just fold up shop at this point.
I would actually be completely okay with taking 2 QBs. The media would laugh at us, but missing on a high QB pick isn’t just a wasted pick - it’s an opportunity cost as you waste 2-3 years figuring out he’s not the guy. If you take two, and either work out, it’s absolutely worth it. Hell, if they both work out you could recoup your investment.
And the Jets are taking a QB, I think. No non-QB is worth trading up to #3 for. Maybe they think everyone else undervalues what they think is the best QB and they’re confident they’ll get him at #3 (and if their target is mayfield they may be right). Maybe they tried to trade to #1 or #2 and failed, and so they’re doing the best they can. Either way I don’t see them making that trade for, who, Barkley?
Most good QBs have early success. The old idea of a developmental model of expecting a guy to have to develop for a long time before he’s any good doesn’t apply that often anymore. So I think one will tend to show more promise early on, and you’d focus on him. Or if you take a project like Allen (which I assume this strategy is about) then he’s going to be the guy with the slower timetable, which you expect anyway.
It’s true that you’ve only got so many starter reps, but people think a guy like Allen would be sitting behind the starter for a while anyway.
I agree that you shouldn’t trade up this much for anything but a QB…but moving up to #3 really undermines it. Gambling that your guy will be there at #3 is an insane risk. The only other rationale I can conjure is that they think Barkley is a generational talent, and most of the hype says that’s becoming the consensus. He’ll certainly sell jerseys in NY and might get the Jets on the backpage for a change. It makes a little more sense if the Jets have a QB they love and they also love Barkley enough to trade up, meaning it’s close to a coin flip with Chubb being the worst case scenario. Still crazy though.
Totally agree…yet I still have him as my #2 by a fair margin, which tells you everything you need to know about my thoughts on this class.
I think this is absolutely right. Having 1 guy is easier to manage than having 2, but having 2 now will be faster than having 1 now and another in 4 years.
As a Texans fan, it’s ‘refreshing’ to not care much about the first two rounds of the Draft. That said, any potential OTs lurking in Rounds 3 or lower, or maybe the bottom part of Round 2? Because I’m not sold at all on a tackle combo of Julien Davenport and Seantrel Henderson.
EDIT: I see Jordan Mailata getting mentioned. Which would work, if he knew how to play OT. The Texans already drafted a developmental guy in Davenport for that position. Still, in the 7th, why not?
Not waffling. I like him. But I also recognize that there are many reasons to be wary of him.
Manziel was a backyard QB. He’d flinch at pressure, go on the run, and either take off and run, or heave it up and hope Mike Evans makes him look good. Mayfield’s not that. He’s better under pressure, he keeps his eyes downfield when scrambling, and he’s accurate. Sure he’ll have the same problems adjusting from an air raid college offense to a big boy NFL offense, but that’s true of every QB in the draft.
Manziel comparisons are fair only when considering whether or not Mayfield is a head case like Johnny Football. He’s certainly immature, loud, and super-confident like Johnny, but I don’t know that Mayfield has a drinking problem like Johnny, that he’s unwilling and likely unable to actually learn an NFL playbook like Johnny, or that he’s hated by his coaches and teammates like Johnny. If you’re taking Mayfield at #1, you better do your homework on that stuff. It’s not really something that shows up on tape or in the stats.
McCown being “not awful” is damning with faint praise. The guy is below average, one step away from “he sucks”. He’s slightly better than Ryan Fitzpatrick without the Harvard degree.
How does it undermine it when the jury is out on whether the Giants will even take a QB at all? There’s speculation all over the place that they will take Barkley or even Chubb. If they don’t, picking #3 for a QB is golden, especially if the Browns fuck it up and draft Allen. Even if the Browns don’t do that and the Giants DO take the next QB, there’s still 2-3 quality guys to choose from that are likely going to be an improvement over McCown at some point.
67.5% Comp, ~3000 yards, 18/7 TD/INT, 94.5 Rating in '17. He had 109 and 93.3 Ratings in '13 and '15 in part-time duty, all on dismal offenses mostly with no-name WRs (the Bears were solid in '13).
Teams have started the season with way worse.
They have no idea who the Browns or Giants are taking. It’s a totally unnecessary gamble. It might work out, but who the fuck knows. It sure as shit isn’t a strategy.