cjwhiskers

Ballard in his presser insinuates it was for an offensive player.

I hear you but Richardson is getting at least 2 seasons from here. Not a chance we give up on him after 1 year of playing. Even if Flacco plays, he throws a far better ball than Gardner. I could us winning more games with Flacco then we did with Gardner. So I don’t think our pick next year is going to be very high regardless.

We are trading up.

Thank you for sharing the snippets and I appreciate the perspective. If one thing is clear, the reason trading back works is because the draft is an absolute crap shoot. That dynamic can support both arguments in my opinion. e.g. more picks = higher chance of getting a difference maker or selling picks isn't that big of a deal because what you're giving away may not be actually worth much anyway. It can play both ways. If the team has done their due diligence on a player and truthfully has confidence I'm all for going after him, even if it turns out they are wrong. I want to be clear and say I'm not recommending we give up the farm. Hypothetically if this team makes playoffs which would be the expectation, the pick we are selling (assuming it takes a 1 next year) isn't going to be very high to begin with. Ballard did it with JT...worked out pretty well. I know that wasn't a massive trade up but still the point is, they see a player they like and they go and get him. To your other point, I would not necessarily be opposed going after a proven play maker like Aiyuk either. Very Buckner esque trade. However, you're then passing up on the salary cap savings + unknown NFL potential for a proven commodity and draft capital. What's worth more is really dependent on who you ask clearly. It goes back to risk and not one size fits all. Both strategies can work and both require quite a bit of luck. Seeing where this team is at, where the NFL is going rules wise and the recent examples of QB's skyrocketting after getting a special playmaker, I just think that's what would be best at this time. Not for nothing, we've done the trade back thing time and time again and people still constantly complain about our roster not being good. It will be fun to see what Chris does next week and how much if at all he's influenced by Shane/Irsay/etc.

It's behind a pay wall =/. "Look" I'm not saying I don't want a "complete" team, I just strongly feel this team needs another offensive weapon and I'd prefer we spend that extra draft capital to make that happen. Whether that's Nabers, or MHJ I'm indifferent but I do think MHJ will have a lot of success for a long time in this league. I've always loved Ballard's strategy of acquiring picks and players. I've never criticized him for that and have celebrated it. This is the year to move up and get a play maker. We will not be picking this high next year regardless if it's Flacco or AR at QB. If there is a guy they really like, let's take the chance. They need to do whatever they possibly can to help AR be successful. In reality what will most likely happen is they stay put or trade back. They wait and see how AR does this year with the current roster and re-evaluate their go/no-go strategy for next season. I'm not completely opposed to this but I think they are good enough this year to be a playoff team as is. Add a weapon and you can create some magic.

If Nabers is there @ 9 you absolutely pull that trigger.

Ranked 28th? By what metrics, genuinely curious because that seems incredibly low. They were top 10-15 in most statistical categories... We have two young but promising corners, loading up on defense when you don't even know what you have in a quarterback just doesn't make sense to me. You do everything in your power to make that quarterback successful because that in itself gives you the BEST chance for success. You go as your quarterback does. Not you go as your corner does, or your safety or your edge rusher. I'm not saying defense isn't important but it's less important than putting pieces around AR and giving him the biggest chance to be successful. Look at the Jets...could've easily been the leagues top defense with the amount of play makers they have on their roster...Team didn't go anywhere because they couldn't score.

The large majority of defenses in the NFL can be considered “mediocre”. The Colts defense did plenty to keep the games winnable and that’s all you can ask of a defense in today’s NFL. Let me ask you, was it the Browns top defense that won the Super Bowl? Was it the Ravens? Was it the 49ers? You don’t need an elite defense. You need an elite offense that scores consistently and in clutch moments. Colts resigning all of their own defensive players back is really all you need to know about how this organization views their own defense.

Deficiencies on D? Give me a break. This defense is more than good enough in an offensive league to win games. Defense was not the Colts problem last year. The issue seems to be that you think the NFL still cares about defense and low scoring games. Offense need playmakers and the defense just needs to hang on. Getting a stud offensive play maker would easily move this teams needle far more than adding a stud defensive player. The most important position on this team is quarterback, agree? What do you do to help the most important position out? Surround him with talent at play making positions. Anyone who doesn’t look at the transformation of Jalen Hurts getting AJ Brown or Josh Allen getting Diggs or Burrow having Chase as a good comparison for AR needs to remember what’s important in todays NFL, scoring points.

I definitely don’t disagree with this but ultimately I think it comes down to your appetite for risk and both strategies can work effectively. I think this is the year to trade up. What we saw from this team last year was enough to tell me with competent QB play we can be a playoff team. Get him a weapon that has a proven college track record and is a lineage player who knows exactly what it takes to make it in the NFL.

I think 1st round picks are severely overrated. If you have very high confidence in a player then go up and get him. Especially if you think the team is good enough to be towards the bottom of the draft order the following year. If all it took was two 1s and a 2 to move up to get him pull that trigger all day everyday.

Darius Butler talking about it now. He's crushed and is struggling getting through it. Sounds like he received confirmation via some close friends/family. Definitely sounds like Vontae was struggling a bit based on some of the comments.

They just talked about it a bit on Pat's show. So sad to hear. Between how he retired, what we saw of him via Hard Knocks, I imagine this is unfortunately mental health related. He always struck me as a guy that was dealing with some demons and I hope he's at peace.

This is how I also feel. We see teams “over cap” constantly and teams like the Eagles make cap work time and time again. An extra few million isn’t going to make a difference. It’s all about the guarantee to shield yourself from future dead cap and the capital you’re giving up. I’d be happy with giving up a 2 or less.

Exactly what I wanted. A solid vet that can help bring AR along. Flacco is a Super Bowl winning QB and beloved by his teammates. I think outside of his ability to sling it, he can help AR a lot with the mental/leadership side of the game.