Defjamz26

100% He was supposed to be that Dude at LSU. Injuries got in the way and though. If he’s a mid round pick that’s fine by me. He’d be a steal in round 3. He can sit behind Buckner for a few years.

Issue with all those players is they are late round or undrafted guy. You don’t want to or need to roll with them. Part of this team issues is we’ve overly relied on late round and UDFA players to play significant rolls and start. Not many of those guys have worked out or proving much tbh. I know Flowers has a huge fanbase but he really hasn’t proven anything as a starting outside corner. We saw what relying on Rodney Thomas got us. “Regression”, which isn’t surprising for a 7th round player from Yale. I loved the way Jaylon Jones played this year, but as Zach Hicks said, you don’t have to rely on Jaylon Jones. He can be a good backup and you can go get a Terrion Arnold or Quinton Mitchell. Unless a guy just absolutely balls out, we need to stop being comfortable with low ceiling young players playing significant rolls. Not everyone is going to be the next EJ Speed or Grover Stewart.

All the character stuff is true. The game where he was crying in his mother’s arm, he also was interviewed after it and he said that all he wanted to do was go home and cuddle with his dogs and watch some shows. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/11/caleb-williams-usc-dogs-cuddle-relatable# The on field stuff is also kind of accurate. The thing is that he’s almost only great playing off script. He can’t play on script and he won’t be able to get away with some of the stuff he does at USC because the pass rush will get to him. You watch the Washington game and he’s got edge rushers slipping off of him while he scrambles and then he’s throwing a dot into the corner of the end zone. To me he has a lot of questions marks. I really think he needs to go to Denver with Sean Payton who will take him to task and make him play pro football.

Yeah that QB at NIU who kept throwing to him was awful. But he’s had 2 legitimate takeaways in other games. Either way I think his ability to jump routes will only get better at the next level.

So here’s who I see the Colts picking at 15 or later if they trade down. I doubt the combine will change this much 1. Brock Bowers, TE Georgia 2. Quinyon Mitchell, CB Toledo 3. Brian Thomas Jr., WR LSU 4. Jared Verse, DE Florida State 5. Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama Arnold will depend on how he measures and tests at the combine. From that list Who I want: Quinyon Mitchell I just feel like he’s a perfect Ballard corner who happens to be a perfect scheme fit for Bradley. However, he also showed at the Senior Bowl that he can play man which makes him scheme versatile should we eventually move on from Bradley. He also is a corner that can actually take the ball away, which we desperately need. Just Feel like he’s a safe prospect Who I don’t Want: Jared Verse I just don’t know if he’s any better than the guys we have. Everything about him screams an 8-10 sack a year guy, and we already saw that Paye and Dayo can do that. We need someone who can generate consistent pressure and be a 12+ sack a year guy. I wouldn’t hate the pick, but I wonder what his ceiling is. Who I expect us to Pick: Quinyon Mitchell He screams Ballard guy. Great character, will test like an elite athlete at the Combine, and is a great scheme fit. Checks the size box as well.

The real thing I’m expecting to see is Alec Pierce taking a leap with AR. Minshew cost Pierce at least 300 yards with all the times he either missed him running wide open or over/under threw him. We’ll see what Pittman does because whether it’s the tag or an actual deal, he’ll likely be here next season.

Mike Evans is another one. Had Baker Mayfield and still put up 1200 yards. On only 79 catches. Pittman is basically a big slot. In this scenario MHJ would undoubtedly be the X since he can beat press coverage and generate big plays down the field. If you draft a guy like Marv, it’s makes Pitt disposable since Downs can play the slot or Z, and Pierce is a pure Z. At that point it would be a waste to pay Pittman to not be the main target.

Pittman isn’t struggling to get the ball though. Thats my point. He’s always the most targeted receiver on the team. And given the fact that he’s not explosive, he’s not going to see a significant jump in YPR or total yards just because AR is healthy for a full season. His skillset as a WR isn’t one that needs elite QB play. An adequate or average QB will get the same production out of Pittman. Bad or below average QB play has more of an effect on explosive down the field receivers (Pierce, Hilton, etc…) I don’t want to go to far into it because I’ve had this convo in another topic, but I always compare Pitt to JuJu. Same school and same skillset. They’re almost the same exact player. Juju played with Rothlisberger and Pat Mahomes. He did not have a better season with Mahomes than he did with Big Ben. Now with Jones and Zappe he had his worst year as a pro but that goes to show you how bad they were. Way worse than Wentz and Ryan where Pittman still saw 1,000 and 900+ receiving yards. Also JuJu’s stats compared to Pittman are also why I don’t think he’s getting a huge pay day. If you look at his season numbers and the deals he got from the Chiefs and then the Pats, that’s honestly more around where Pitt should be. Thats why I think he’ll get tagged and one year deals. Max maybe a 2 year deal.

I think what people realize is that he’s the best out of a group that hasn’t really had a lot of talent since he’s gotten here. The QB situation isn’t the issue. I think his production would be relatively the same. The issue is you’re almost stuck with him. Or think about like this. Where having a debate on what we should do with him right? Ask yourself this, if the Colts had the number 1 overall pick, are we even having this debate? Even if we traded down a few spots, there’s not a single person who wouldn’t draft MHJ and let Pittman walk. He’d walk and then maybe we would draft another possession type receiver on day 2, but you’d sleep comfortably at night knowing that your WR room was MHJ, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce. To have the Pittman conversation, you have to be honest about is he a guy that you’d upgrade for.

I agree with tagging him. You can’t just let him walk for nothing and not have a clear upgrade ready.

Defensive rookies also don’t seem to play a lot in general under Bradley. If not for the Rodgers situation, I don’t think he would’ve started Brents either.

Another LSU guy to keep an eye on is Maason Smith. He’s a DT who is listed at 6’6” and 315 lbs, and he looks close to that. He was a 5 star recruit. Had a great freshman season but then missed the 2022 season with injury. Barely played this year, and was a huge shock to people that he even came out. If you want to start looking at a future Buckner replacement, this is it.

I have 3 corners that fit what Ballard likes to a T: -Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo -TJ Tampa, Iowa State -Cam Hart, Notre Dame All are seniors too. Tampa wasn’t at the Senior Bowl for whatever reason. Hart is the only one that was a captain though. But they’re all long 6 ft+ corners with at least 31” arms. Tampa probably has 32-33” arms, as he’s built almost identical to Brents.

Lots of insightful comments about the secondary in here. Cant respond to everyone so I’ll just drop some quick thoughts: -I agree with @Superman on Bradley’s timeline. I can’t see him being around another 3 years. We can’t just draft for his scheme. We need corners than can play in man, off, and zone. Thats why I like Brents because I think he can do that -Is needing to pressure the passer more and needing better corners in general don’t have to be mutually exclusive. We need both. With corners we need high end guys with traits who can not just shut guys down but also take the ball away. Flowers, Jones, and even Rodgers if he would have stayed, likely arent ever going to be that caliber of player. -Personally at pick 15 I like Quinton Mitchell. He’s excels at playing 8-10 yards off the ball (A Bradley special), but we saw at the Senior Bowl that he can play man too. It’s also being reported that he’ll text at an elite level at the combine. Track background I believe. But he’s a corner that can play for Bradley or another defensive coordinator and shouldn’t have any issues transitioning. -While Ballard hasn’t ever taken a corner in the 1st, that doesn’t mean he won’t. In 2019 he trades out of the first, but Rock Ya-Sin was the 2nd pick of the 2nd round, so he wasn’t that far off. Ballard likes traits. These CBs that are in this draft are really explosive with good traits. -Ballard likes the trenches, but is Jared Verse going to improve your secondary play more than Nate Wiggins or Mitchell can? -For FS I’d go to FA. Our secondary lacks veteran IQ. Get someone who can make all the checks and calls and get everyone lined Up. Start cross at SS (assuming you let Blackmon walk) and draft another versatile safety on day 3.

Agree. With Bowers going before Odunze. But I believe both will be gone before our pick. The other thing I’m hearing is Odunze being WR2. Don’t think he lasts until our pick either. I think the Cardinals, Giants, Bears (at 9), Chargers, and Broncos are all threats to take a WR or TE.

Interesting note in his write up on Bowers, which is something I noted in another topic: “Bowers is an undersized tight end with elite speed, strength and playmaking ability. He lined up all over the field at Georgia -- in-line, on the wing, split out and even at running back. He is very sudden in his release, and he uses his upper-body strength to chuck defenders when pressed at the line of scrimmage. He catches a lot of quick-hitters in the flat and he’s a maniac on screens. He attacks the ball in the air and is quick to transition up the field. He has the speed to pull away, but his greatest asset is his tackle-breaking power. He runs through contact without gearing down. He is an effective run blocker when he can get his hands on opponents, but he will get pressed out by longer-armed edge rushers. Overall, Bowers reminds me a lot of George Kittle, and I see him having a similar impact in the NFL.” A few places have mentioned Bowers’ size. He’s not the big hulking 6’4” TE that a lot of people are accustomed to seeing. He’s probably around 6’3” and closer to 230 currently than 240. But Kittle is also only 6’3” so that comp matches, but Kittle was also 247 at the Combine. Also I’m right with DJ on McKinstry. Something that he mentioned that I saw as well was how he got beat up repeatedly by A.D. Mitchell. Long speed is a big question mark for him.

I honestly have had Nabers as WR1 for most of the last few months. Marv is just bigger. Since Odunze is getting WR2 love, if he falls to 9 (which is where he usually does), I’d get on the phone with Ryan Poles. Nabers is even better than Jamar Chase, who is who he often gets comped too. My comp would be Antonio Brown but he’s even faster and more explosive.

What I’ve heard from guys like DJ, Bucky and Zerlein is that not getting a combine invite is an indication of what NFL teams think of players. So to me that says they’re both late day 3 players if not UDFAs. Boyd is the one I really don’t get though. He looked great at the shrine bowl.

It’s possible since that would mean if another team makes him an offer that they want to match, he’d be stuck since no team is giving two 1st round picks for Pittman. But that would be in the Colts favor. What they could also do is tag him on the exclusive tag and basically let him find a trade partner. If a team has a deal for him the Colts could easily work out trade compensation. Ballard likes his picks, so he’d move Pittman for a 2nd I think. Or a swap like I outlined earlier. I know it’s the what Pittman wants, but idk if just letting him test FA and potentially losing him with no compensation is the route to go.

Well the tag deadline is before the start of FA, so ideally you’d want to tag him first before he can get a better offer. Although the legal tampering period starts in a week or so, so he’ll have a good idea of where his market value is. Maybe they put him on the non-exclusive tag to be safe.

But even so, Russ was a day 2 QB. Foles was the backup QB but let’s not forget that it was Wentz’s (also a 1st round QB) MVP caliber season pre-injury that got them there. So really only one other day 3 QB besides Brady has won a SB in the last decade and half. But when I say Brady is invalid, that’s what I mean. Not that he wasn’t a 1st round draft pick, but that he was a day 3 QB. There isn’t any other day 3 QB drafted in the modern era of the draft that has done anything remotely close to what he’s done in this league. Typically you can’t win Superbowl’s with day 3 QBs because they are trailers, not tractors. A more dynamic QB would have won the game for San Fran. The Rams proved this. They lost the SB with Goff and then traded him for Stafford, and then won the SB. Also remember that in the regular season, the 49ers got absolutely dismantled by the Ravens. QB play matters. 49ers aren’t winning anything until they get a game changer at QB as opposed to the game mangers they keep trotting out.

I get why they would want to tag him. I think they want to see if they can draft and develop a WR1 or get a TE like Bowers who would take their offense to the next level. Also would give them the option to trade him if they find what they’re looking for. For example, if the Bears decide they want a veteran receiver you can call them at pick 9 and offer them Pittman and a draft pick to move up to 9 to go get your guy. Also they could tag him and just end up signing him later.

Brady is a unicorn though. He’s invalid in most arguments because there hasn’t been a QB like that since. But that’s still my takeaway. The 49ers have lost twice in the Superbowl under Shanahan. Their QBs each time were Jimmy Garropolo and Matt Brock Purdy. Both times they lost to Patrick Mahomes. We’re on the right path as we have a QB who is dynamic and has superstar potential.

Honestly I think we ended up better off. Brent’s is a baller and from what I saw, I think Jaylon Jones is better than Rogers and Flowers. We need another elite corner.

The biggest takeaway is that QB is the most import position. One team had a 1st round QB that they traded into the top 10 to get. The other had a 7th round pick. Tractors and trailers. Your QB needs to be a tractor for you to win the big one.