Pursuing FA and Draft wisely

[AFA2017]

We have 3 big needs during FA and Draft time. ( Offensive Line, Corner backs, Wide Receivers). We have not one capable #1 OT,OG, C, #1WR, #2 WR, #1 CB, #2 CB, #3 CB. We cannot use FA or Draft on all Offensive linemen.. We cannot compete this year or next year. We had a helluva time competing against less then average teams while getting completely blown out by Playoff caliber teams. when it comes to the Draft, do we reach, Draft for need or BPA.

 

[butterscotch]

It comes down to one score during many games.....who wins is up to that little extra...….I think a Kicker is real important.

Build that line get an edge rusher, Get a number one WR & a number 2...… along with a CB.....then lets see what we have next year

 

[hatnlvr]

I'm interested to see what Douglas approach is going to be, but I've always found that the best method is always BPA.

Reaching for positions of need usually never work out well and quite honestly it's sooooo tough to trade down, but if your position of need doesn't warrant your draft position then collecting additional assets is always smart (if possible).

 

[TonyFtLaud]

The strengths of this draft are WR, RB, DT and OT.
I think some of the top OT tackles are going to drop and a few less regarded prospects will find their draft stock rising. Leatherwood for example was projected 3-4th round but has begun rising already.
The fan consensus seems to be overwhelmingly OT at 11 no matter what, but Douglas can not afford to pass on an elite player at WR, CB, OLB for a lesser O Line player. Especially with all the holes on this roster.

 

[hatnlvr]

Agreed! The team has a ton of needs and it's just unrealistic to try to draft and entire starting 5 O Line (you need vets in there for experience and the unit needs time to jell and work well together).

Edge rusher has to be high on the list as well, Williams did a fantastic job of creating pressure but at the end of the day you have to be able to create pressure rushing 4 (you just can't keep blitzing and leaving the backside wide open). Our crappy coverage in part wasn't helped by blitzing Safety's & Corner's on a regular basis.

 

[SackExchange]

The strengths of this draft are WR, RB, DT and OT.
I think some of the top OT tackles are going to drop and a few less regarded prospects will find their draft stock rising. Leatherwood for example was projected 3-4th round but has begun rising already.
The fan consensus seems to be overwhelmingly OT at 11 no matter what, but Douglas can not afford to pass on an elite player at WR, CB, OLB for a lesser O Line player. Especially with all the holes on this roster.

I would say there are at least 3 or 4 legit OT prospects worth taking at #11 if there. Thomas, Jackson, Wirfs, and like you said, Leatherwood has earned his way into the conversation. Even Wills from Alabama and Becton from Louisville are possible top half of the first round talents.

 

[beresford]

It's a market and O linemen are worth whatever draft capital the rest of the NFL are prepared to expend. Assuming that you don't think this a below-average year for linemen you can't just pass on them for a flashy WR and think you will pick up your hogs in the third round, because they will be gone before then and the remaining guys will be the same as we have now. Preoccupation with BPA and extracting the last bit of book value will lead to ten more years of futility.

 

[TonyFtLaud]

I would say there are at least 3 or 4 legit OT prospects worth taking at #11 if there. Thomas, Jackson, Wirfs, and like you said, Leatherwood has earned his way into the conversation. Even Wills from Alabama and Becton from Louisville are possible top half of the first round talents.

Do you see Whiffs transitioning to LT or staying at RT.
I believe Thomas and Whirfs will be gone by 11. Especially if Chase Young goes back to school. I'm hearing alot locally that the Dolphins are concerned with Tuas injury history so that opens another potential slot for one of the lineman. (Not saying dolphins necessarily draft o line but, them taking a top talent vs Tua could lead to another team grabbing one.
Alot of the OTs have flaws, like every prospect. How far superior over their careers do you see say #s 3-4 vs 5-6.

 

[SackExchange]

Do you see Whiffs transitioning to LT or staying at RT.
I believe Thomas and Whirfs will be gone by 11. Especially if Chase Young goes back to school. I'm hearing alot locally that the Dolphins are concerned with Tuas injury history so that opens another potential slot for one of the lineman. (Not saying dolphins necessarily draft o line but, them taking a top talent vs Tua could lead to another team grabbing one.
Alot of the OTs have flaws, like every prospect. How far superior over their careers do you see say #s 3-4 vs 5-6.

My guess is that if they go Wirfs, they don't go Conklin and instead make it a point to bring back Beachum, perhaps even grooming Edoga for LT. Not sure I see Wirfs necessarily as only a RT in the NFL, as he has shown an ability to play both and likely enough athleticism. But LT is such a specific position, you almost want to ensure you have someone who is a true natural LT.

 

[gmf1369]

Wirfs has the physical talent to play left tackle, he could better off at right tackle...

NFL Player comparison: Austin Howard

 

[AFA2017]

I truly believe that 2-3 teams will be drafting Offensive Linemen in the top 10 picks. There still will be good players still available. If Douglas can judge talent and pick his OL in Rd #2 and Rd #3 while not using a dart board as Macc did, we may be okay.Maybe we can trade back and pick up additional picks in Rd #3 or #4 while picking up a Center, WR or maybe an ER or CB as a trade back pick.

 

[cheaterhater]

look. our defense did pretty well with a bunch of nothing. our offense mostly stunk. Building the line make Sam better. It makes Bell better and it makes our receivers better. It will also make the defense better because they will be on the field less. O line has to be priority 1. CB is priority 2. I'm not as high on spending high picks on receivers and I would reach a little to get a lineman even though I would normally believe in BPA

 

[Gramoah]

look. our defense did pretty well with a bunch of nothing. our offense mostly stunk. Building the line make Sam better. It makes Bell better and it makes our receivers better. It will also make the defense better because they will be on the field less. O line has to be priority 1. CB is priority 2. I'm not as high on spending high picks on receivers and I would reach a little to get a lineman even though I would normally believe in BPA

Scary, CH, you are starting to sound like me. Maybe you are older than I think. BPA needs to go out the door this time around and maybe even next year too. The only way I would pick BPA is if it also happened to be a position of need. We just don't need more 300 pound defensive linemen or even that coveted edge rusher as much as we need guys that can help the offense score points. The winner of the game is the one that scores the most points and that should be the offense primarily and the defense secondarily. How many times did we get into the red zone this year and fail to score ? Yep. guess I'm going to agree with you on this.

 

[cheaterhater]

Scary, CH, you are starting to sound like me. Maybe you are older than I think. BPA needs to go out the door this time around and maybe even next year too. The only way I would pick BPA is if it also happened to be a position of need. We just don't need more 300 pound defensive linemen or even that coveted edge rusher as much as we need guys that can help the offense score points. The winner of the game is the one that scores the most points and that should be the offense primarily and the defense secondarily. How many times did we get into the red zone this year and fail to score ? Yep. guess I'm going to agree with you on this.

every once in a while I write a post that's not meant to be funny. This was one. I'm not as old as you but old enough and beat up enough to feel as old as you. But I'm 54 next month even though some of my jokes may be left over from junior high

 

[Gramoah]

every once in a while I write a post that's not meant to be funny. This was one. I'm not as old as you but old enough and beat up enough to feel as old as you. But I'm 54 next month even though some of my jokes may be left over from junior high

Interesting. My birthday is next month also.