- Pre draft they were Breece Hall was one of the guys they were inquiring about. Now they are apparently not interested. For me this speaks to what they think of Blue. I believe he is their guy. My guess is when they looked at the top 90, they were thinking 1) The OSU guys wouldnt make it to 44 2) There would be better players than HB's available at 76. The drop off in interest makes me think they had Blue somewhere in that top 90. Honestly, If Hall was available for a 5th, Id still do it
- Another positive to the Pickens trade is moving Tolbert down a notch. Tolbert as a #3 WR should be much more effective and efficient than him as a #2. Especially considering the attention Lamb and Pickens will get. His ability to play both slot and boundary gives our offense alot of flexibility. I think we can get a better version of what we got from Cedric Wilson in 2021 from Tolbert
- Post draft
@Cowboyny said Tyler Guyton was the key to the season. I believe both of our past 1st rounders are major keys to our success this year. With Guyton, if we arent able to protect the blindside, it would make our strength on the interior practically moot. Especially if we are hoping to compete with the top tier teams. Smiths continued improvement is very key to our run defense. Where he was the 2nd half of 2024 was good enough for us to stop teams with a middling run game, however quality running teams like Hoston, Philadelphia and Altalnta gashed us. If he can become at minimum Dj Jones that would go a long way
- CB is still a position that may cost us games. Even is Revel has a strong rookie year, you are likely looking at significant playing time from Elam or Carson. Bland is a much better boundry CB than a slot, so playing Elam to me is a last resort. Carson was a good prospect, but got picked on and gave up alot as a rookie. You hope for a year 2 bump, but that bumb making him a quality player is alot to ask. Mukuamu as a big slot may be your best option as a #3 CB until Diggs returns
-LB looks pretty dire to me. There isnt a player in the roster righ now we can look at and say " this is someone we know is giving us solid play". We just dont have any bankable players. We can probably count in progression from Liufau, but is any progression enough to make him a quality every down LB? Sanborn is an ok 2 down LB, but he is more a quality reserve type player. Murray has struggled everywhere he has been. It takes an awful lot of hopium to project anything meaningful from James this year. If we have another significant move up our sleeve, LB might be the place to make it.
