ColtStrong2013

So do some on this board...

It’s a full day event and commitment. By the time you are home, the energy has sucked the life out of you, and you have to get things together for Monday morning. We drive 4 hours every game day round trip and it’s a lot.

Exactly... and if he doesn’t get it, what message does that send to the locker room? Ballard practices what he preaches. You take care of the guys you draft that perform.

Risk taking usually doesn’t equate to a winning formula in much at all. Risk taking in the stock market is the worst investment strategy you can have. Investing consistently in the ebb and flow for the long run is where the sure money is. Football is no different. Chris Ballard is not going to take risks in the draft that he puts so much weight into. He knows where he’s at with JB. He is doing his homework on quarterbacks, which is obvious by Frank Reich and Ed Dodd’s following them during senior bowl. If he takes one this draft, it won’t be a gamble or an act of desperation. It will be a well thought out and properly researched decision, and a piece of a long term strategy. If Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano were given the kind of time they had without a hot seat, this tandem of Ballard and Reich will get every bit of the same. Grigson fell off the cliff after his firing. Pagano took some time to work back in. If we fire Ballard and Reich at the end of 2020 season, they will both be in similar positions elsewhere within a week... and no one qualified interested in replacing them. We better hang onto them and trust them to get us back into shape... not sure anyone else will be able to.

you said Viniateri was who you would trade.. I said that would cost us in value versus gaining in a trade... meaning: we would be more likely to have to pay someone to accept his trade than someone pay us for him. Understand? example: Chris Ballard to Bengals: we’ll trade you 13, 34, 2021 1st, 2nd, 2021 1st and Viniateri for that #1 pick (Joe Burrow) Bengals: Drop Viniateri and you have a deal... otherwise, go ahead and throw your 3rd round pick in there.

That would cost us on the value chart instead of gaining...

Vegas has something for everyone. The bellagio buffet and seeing shows are the sole reasons we go out every few years.

which is why I said I would take Q elevating a sub par oline over Thomas. But if it were an average or better than average line without Nelson, I would take Thomas elevating a subpar receiving core. With all due respect to Mahomes, we really don’t know what kind of quarterback he is without Kelce, Hill and Watkins... Which is pretty great group of weapons.

Twin of which Nelson?

If having a subpar o-line is the tradeoff, I’d take Nelson elevating a top 10 o-line in place of Thomas resulting in a subpar receiving core . I think Mahomes would elevate the offense behind a good offensive line. But if it’s an average or better o-line and Thomas and Mahomes have time to connect, there is no stopping that offense.

Patrick Mahomes Michael Thomas Nick Bosa 24, 26, and 22 years old and will all be at the top of their positions, which happen to be the most important in today’s game, for the next 8 to 15 years... Those 3 with a supporting cast around them and solid drafting over the course of their careers would be hard to beat. Many championships.

exactly. There’s a TON of offseason left to see how these qb’s fluctuate in the draft talk. Combine, senior bowl, pro day workouts. Some will fall, even rank. Some will shoot up fast. It’s a process.

That’s why Ballard’s evaluating him heavily. He’s preparing to put a grade on him and a spot where he is comfortable drafting him (and he’ll do the same with several others). I think he (reportedly) started with him knowing he would be within range and because he would be at the senior bowl which Ballard has been outspoken about his love for. Executives and scouts have practically free access all week during the senior bowl which this front office puts an extremely high importance on.