TomDiggs

Questions answered! Super happy! Future is bright. RPOs and some designed runs w AR and JT are gonna be fire!

let's goooooo I am all in! Welcome to the Alien!

Houston gave a lot 12 33 2024 1st 2024 3rd for 3rd pick pick 105

get the F out! said it right on tv! on the broadcast

they said it right on tv! are you not watching? not spoiler. said it right by schefter on the broadcast!

wowww houston loading up!

I admittedly like Stroud and don't love not getting him but the key is here who trades up in front of us and who do they take if so?

oh boy......down to 2 QBs left now

TV says Texans pick is in? They made it quickly

Being 45 mins from Baltimore, I can attest that Kiper hates hates hates the Colts and taking the BMore Colts from his hometown. He was a Calvert Hall HS alum So i always watch what he says to see how much he bashes the Colts. Doesn't matter what they do. Although Kiper lovvvvvvves Levis. So if the Colts pass on Levis for any other QB I expect him to be a jerk again lol

Let's goooooooo Enjoy Colts family! No matter who we grab, the future starts now!

I will be here! The Mrs graciously agreed to lay w our son tomorrow so I don't miss the pick live. Since I know my buddies will be blowing my phone up and ruining it for me on DVR lol So I will see you and the community here for sure!

A few recent ones: https://sports.yahoo.com/2023-nfl-mock-draft-80-one-final-attempt-to-forecast-the-most-mysterious-draft-in-years-191737348.html https://theathletic.com/4438654/2023/04/26/nfl-mock-draft-beat-writer-picks-2023/?access_token=1280926&redirected=1 https://www.nfl.com/news/charles-davis-2023-nfl-mock-draft-3-0-eagles-snag-top-three-player-at-no-10-pack https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/brinsons-final-2023-nfl-mock-draft-texans-select-will-levis-raiders-and-eagles-shock-with-top-10-picks/ https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2023-nfl-mock-draft-trevor-sikkema-final-mock-will-levis-texans That is at least 5 in the last 24 hours that all have the Colts/Texans/Titans landing 3 of the big 4. And there are a ton more out there that are older and not from the last 24 hours or so lol. I am secretly hoping it doesn't happen. It would be bad enough to potentially miss on the QB prospect, but to have to then face them for a decade would suck. Or maybe they all suck and all the AFC South is screwed as the Jags dominate for a decade lol

I will say this much: About 75% of all industry mock drafts i see have 3 of the big 4 going to Indy/Hou/Tenn So regardless of who we take, if these "experts" are even close to being right then we could be seeing 2 of the guys we do not get in our division for the foreseeable future lol Not sure if that is good or bad lol

In general I do agree w your take. But at the bare minimum there's at least leaks getting out (either on purpose in lying season or not lol) that Tenn is making calls trying to gauge prices to move up. Now realistically, any good GM should be preparing and doing that. But Tenn is being singled out. Probably because there is an appetite for folks to move down and right now not an appetitie by many to come up. That is why the observation by @Rhodelesstraveled was a pretty good catch. Tenn could be trying to do something. Whether it happens or not who the heck knows lol. Also:

Agreed on all accounts. And the Hooker/Geno comp was curious. I also found the Gabbert comp on Levis interesting. Most people would see that comp as a negative since Gabbert really never amounted to anything. But Gabbert as a prospect was super super intriguing. Just reading his old profile was fun: 7.50 grade. Perennial All-Pro. "...Has it all physically, but has a long way to go before he's ready to lead an NFL offense" "... he is a smart football player that seems to understand coverages and he has the arm strength to fit the ball into tight windows." "He is also very mobile and elusive in the pocket and shows the ability to make plays with his feet" "... tools will be too alluring for a team without a quarterback, and he will likely be a top-10 pick, maybe even the first QB off the board." "has prototypical size and excellent speed for the position" "Possesses a quick release and has the arm strength to make all the throws" "Well-balanced passer that rarely misses on short-to-intermediate throws" "Extremely mobile to extend plays and fast enough to move the chains" "Vocal leader and hard worker" "Trusts his arm too much and puts the ball in harm's way too often" "Does not show good touch on passes over the middle and needs to learn to take a little velocity off certain throws" "Struggles to throw an accurate deep ball" "Late feeling pressure at times which neutralizes his very good mobility" I bet a bunch of those are been spewed almost verbatim with Levis. Which, given Gabbert's lack of success, could be seen as being scary. But the actual evaluation comparisons at least show Levis has a lot in common with a guy who was once seen as an elite prospect worthy of annual All-Pro upside. And I do just focus on Levis here mainly because my long-standing wish list in order has always been Stroud, Richardson, Levis, Young in that order. And I had to do a lot lot lot of convincing myself that all would be OK if Levis was the guy lol. I think I am finally at a place where I am good w any of the top four. But I widely prefer the top 2 on my list. :-)

My "lazy" comment was less aimed at the things you brought up which are well thought out and more at people who only focus on the negative plays and completely ignore the fact that Levis' passing game strengths or heat maps seem to be polar to Wentz. Wentz always seemed to struggle in the short and intermediate ranges, especially middle of the field and then that is exactly (arguably the only places) where Levis excelled. 100% agreed on the white-knuckle moments and the "what am i getting this play?" stuff. He is consistently inconsistent. Which is far from ideal lol.

A nice write-up with quotes and evaluations from 8 offensive coaches after dissecting the top QB prospects. I think they said 4 OCs, 2 Pass Game coordinators and 2 QB coaches. Gives the ups and down and what actual coaches are seeing and saying instead of the everyday fan and twitter analyst types https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/04/25/2023-nfl-draft-quarterback-prospects-nfl-coaches#gid=ci02bd9f76b0002406&pid=bryce-young The "ceiling comparisons" were pretty fun to see. Though I admit the Levis/Wentz comparison is interesting because most lazy analysts are using that take as a negative instead of as a positive where Wentz was a top-2 pick and, in the MVP running at his highest. Everyone instead chooses to remember him at his lowest. Young- Shorter, more improvisational Drew Brees Stroud- Shorter, quicker Matt Ryan Richardson- Raw Josh Allen Levis- Carson Wentz Hooker- Geno Smith

I actually think people saying this draft isn't "deep" are a bit off-base. This drop is not top-heavy. But it is actually deep at certain positions. Namely, Cornerback, Tight End, and even Edge are fairly deep in this draft. There is some decent Running back depth and OL depth too. Just a bit more bare than usual in the blue-chip category. It is a good draft to be picking top-5 in that you can get one of the few 1st round graded guys and then (in general) be picking towards the top of the subsequent rounds to take advantage of the depth and a prospect or two that falls. It would be nicer if there were more sure-fire, elite prospects up top, But it is not a draft void of talent. Some of the teams that are loaded in the middle rounds (think 49ers with 6 picks between 99 and 173) can still do some damage.

I wish more people thought like this. Couldn't agree more! If Bryce Young were a generational QB, Chicago trades Fields in an instant and they get a 1 or more for him since he has shown glimpses of what he can be. That's the benefit of taking the high upside guy now. See what he can show. See how you fare w him. If you pick high because he struggled but he also showed some glimpses then you might have a chance to draft the generational guy and trade the QB that showed the glimpses. Or at least if you think that drafted QB is the guy, you can get a Harrison Jr high up in the draft to further enhance his chances of success and all.

I actually welcome those that disagree and give me a rosier perspective than i have. so thank you for that. I just see us not being a QB away yet. We might be if everyone keeps progressing and performing. But sheesh. Our oline was bad bad bad. Kelly was one of the worst Centers in the league. Our RGs were atrocious. Nelson had a bad year by his standards. Our OTs were the best along our OL and if that interior OL doesn't shape up under Sparano, Jr then any QB put back there is in for a world of hurt. Our TEs are young w upside but unproven. Our WRs were some of the worst in the NFL at separation/getting open last year. (https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/nfl-receiver-rankings/) Pittman was #32 out of 110. Pierce was #102 out of 110. Campbell was #105 out of 110. So that new QB (whoever it is) needs a world of help by these guys progressing or our leadership getting them better supporting cast offensively. And then defensively, we lost Bobby O, have questions about if Shaq can get back healthy, currently have not re-signed nor replaced our most stable S in McLeod, traded away our best CB in Gilmore and have not added any depth at all in the secondary. The back end of the defense is definitely 100% not as good as last year as of right now. So, i would argue our defense took a hit, our offense did not sign anyone of substance yet (beyond McKenzie who hopefully can help in that getting open category since he was 43rd of 110 last year) and our ST might be better w Matt Gay coming on board and Sanchez hopefully coming back, but we also have to see how we adjust to Mason as the ST coach versus losing Bubba. So, for me, I want to be an optimist. Badly. But I am also much more a realist than an idealist and i could see this team taking another year or two before truly being a contender. And i am all for that and supportive of that as our guys develop (hopefully). I hope you and others prove me entirely wrong and we are competitive right away.

I know we have seen a lot of people talk about Ballard and another good amount talk about Steichen and his influence. But there are other tell-tales on guys that should have a big say in the process. JBC as the OC and Cam Turner as the QB coach are also going to be paramount in developing the kid we draft. I know people see the work JBC did with Stafford and can draw the dotted lines to Levis since he has been compared to Stafford repeatedly. I would go a step further (part of my wishful thinking w me admitting I prefer Richardson if Stroud doesn't land in our lap).... Steichen often cites Norv Turner as a big influence on him. Heck he now employees a Norv family member as his QB coach. Norv was a big Cam Newton fan. Wen Norv was his OC he started out saying "To me, Cam is one of the three or four—if not the hardest—guys to defend in the league," he said. "Coaches spend extra time when they play against Cam Newton because he can beat you in so many different ways. Our intention is to expand on those things that he can do well and things he may not have been exposed to yet." (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2777300-norv-turner-cam-newton-might-be-nfls-hardest-player-to-defend-against) Then when Belichick was poking around Cam, he hit up Norv for his take on him and Norv endorsed Cam again (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2898105-bill-belichick-called-norv-turner-for-reference-on-cam-newton-earlier-this-year) All I am getting about there is that there are coaches on the squad that could very easily see Richardson as Cam 2.0 and see the merits in that. Cam was never an elite completion percentage guy in the league and it didn't matter with how he could influence the game. So in my humble opinion, this QB pick is not going to come down to Ballard or Steichen or who either or both want. I genuinely think it is going to come down to who the staff thinks they can make the best versions of themselves and how likely they think it is they can do that and how high that ceiling is if and when they do. To me, that is the reason there is all the smoke around Richardson and Levis both even though they both have some glaring issues and even though some scouts have claimed they see them as late 1st or even day 2 type picks. I am genuinely excited in thinking the staff we have on offense has truly a great likelihood of grooming and cultivating the draft pick and giving us the best version of whoever we draft. The last thing i will add: Our fan base (myself included) really need to stop thinking of this team as being "on the cusp" or thinking about when we had 7 pro bowlers a little over a year ago and need to stop thinking that we have these vets that can't be a part of a rebuild, etc. Make no mistake, this team is rebuilding on the fly and this team is not as close as we want to believe we are. We are closer to being a genuine bottom-10 team than we are being a playoff team. But that can easily change in 2 years or so if we get this right. 14 of our top-20 paid guys cap-wise are age 28 or younger. Over half of them are 27 or younger as well. This team is not pressed to win right away. We have a few key vets that if we are not going places we could do a solid to move in-season or after the year if they want it (ala Gilmore's request). But in general this team can win soon if the QB develops but really needs to develop that guy and take the lumps it will take and exercise patience to reach the heights we want to in time.

I could be completely in the minority here, but I genuinely believe he declared at the absolute perfect time for him. If he goes back and doesn't progress a lot or regresses at all (ala Levis, regardless of reasons why) then his stock would drop considerably. Then you factor in what the QB class could look like in the 2024 Draft (C.Williams, Maye, Pratt, Nix, Penix, Travis, etc), Richardson could lose a lot of money going back and not really taking off. Then everyone and their brother knew, knew, knew that he was going to light up the combine. and when he did all the pundits changed their tune on him. he went from a mid-first round pick in that 15-20 range to top-5 overnight and has stayed there. That is not to say the scouts think like the fans and media. But all it takes is one team to bet on the upside. Kid almost had to come out this year w this set of circumstances and with the number of teams in the top-10 who could use a QB with elite traits and upside. Even if it is upside he may never reach. I still would love to swing for the fences with him. Hit a home run or go down swinging and come back w your next at bat and try to hit big again until you do. But it will be fun to see what direction we go in a week or so :-)

I really, truly do not want to think of what it would be like if Leonard never returns to form. He had the makings and trajectory of an all-time great and 100% deserved the contract he received at the time he received it. Especially w future cap increases on the horizon and how little he was paid in his early years. All of that being said, if he does not return to form this year, it is entirely feasible and arguably prudent to consider moving on from him after 2023. If he is cut after the 2023 season, he has $8M in dead cap and would be a $12M+ savings when cut. Even more-so if he is cut after 2024, he would then have only $4M in dead cap and would be a $19.5M savings when cut. My point is that if he comes back to form, in the current market he is probably worth what he is being paid. But if he doesn't come back as he once was, the team could move on pretty easily. I will say this though....we really have not seen the Colts move on from seemingly overpaid guys the way I thought we could. They seem to culturally value paying guys what they agreed to unless they were total no-brainer cuts like Matt Ryan was. Guys like Kelly, MAC, and even Kenny Moore (after last season's less than shining performance) were all retained when there was a solid argument that could be made to let them go. So I am not convinced the Colts would move on from a team Captain and heart of their D unless Leonard couldn't get on the field at all or when he did he had a meltdown seasonal performance like Matt Ryan did. Here's hoping he gets back to old form and that it happens early this coming season.

Depends what is meant by "win" ? If "winning" is Lamar getting his fully guaranteed deal and the Ravens caving or even if Lamar winning is him matching Watson's guaranteed money on a longer contract that is not fully guaranteed, then I would say there is like a 1% chance or less that Lamar wins. So in that regard the Ravens win. In order for the Ravens to truly win though, they need to sign Lamar long term. Anything less sets that franchise back a ton. So my gut says "win-win" with the Ravens and Lamar eventually working off of Hurts' deal and signing something similar. Maybe something that makes Lamar on paper the highest paid QB for Avg Annual Salary and something that guarantees him the second most money in history behind only Watson. That would still be a win for the Ravens keeping him in the "traditional" type of QB contract and it also would be a win for Lamar securing top-2 type of money for a guy who has been hurt to finish the last couple of years.