2023: The ‘I Trust You’ Draft

[McMicah]

This has been one of the strangest drafts in memory.

It feels like every pick was either a specialist/utility player or a long term investment with a ‘vision’ for the player.

We got a run stuffer, a blocking TE, a tweener K. Neal apprentice, a DE to DT convert, a OT to OG convert, a possible CB to S convert, Darren Sproles 2.0, and now I hear a FB in UDFA.

And yet, I trust this Front Office. They’ve earned trust this year. They’ve done well multiple years in a row and lead the league in draft pick snaps played. I don’t know if they got what they wanted. This felt super weird, but I’ll trust them….this time.

 

[gimmesix]

I think it started off with safe picks with potential.

It seems a sure bet that Mazi is going to be a strong run stuffer, but his athleticism gives him the potential to be more than that. Some said he was the top run stuffer in the draft.

Same with Schoonmaker as a blocker. It seems a safe bet that he'll be strong in that area, and he was regarded by some as the best blocking TE available. But his numbers show that he could be much more than that.

Don't know if that strategy applies to the rest.

 

[CowboyRoy]

This has been one of the strangest drafts in memory.

It feels like every pick was either a specialist/utility player or a long term investment with a ‘vision’ for the player.

We got a run stuffer, a blocking TE, a tweener K. Neal apprentice, a DE to DT convert, a OT to OG convert, a possible CB to S convert, Darren Sproles 2.0, and now I hear a FB in UDFA.

And yet, I trust this Front Office. They’ve earned trust this year. They’ve done well multiple years in a row and lead the league in draft pick snaps played. I don’t know if they got what they wanted. This felt super weird, but I’ll trust them….this time.

That vision thing your talking about? Thats your brain saying *** did they just do? And trying to make sense out of it.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I think it started off with safe picks with potential.

It seems a sure bet that Mazi is going to be a strong run stuffer, but his athleticism gives him the potential to be more than that. Some said he was the top run stuffer in the draft.

Same with Schoonmaker as a blocker. It seems a safe bet that he'll be strong in that area, and he was regarded by some as the best blocking TE available. But his numbers show that he could be much more than that.

Don't know if that strategy applies to the rest.

Im fine up to the 2nd round pick. Even can get on the LB. But the rest was just puzzling. Love Deuce.

I just dont see how they expect to put this Oline out there and expect to beat the best.

 

[beware_d-ware]

This was definitely a needs draft rather than a BPA draft.

Overshawn is the one guy of the group who excites me, cause he's just a Dan Quinn defender to a tee. Safety/LB hybrid who can pass rush, and he's a freak athlete. Dude can fit both the Barr and Kearse roles in our defense. He'll probably be a reserve this season, but it's not hard to see him finding a role down the line.

Mazi is your Day 1 starter in the Hankins role, but I just hate his projection. He might have the lowest sack+TFL production of any first round DT ever, I'll have to look it up. And for a guy with Paul Bunyan-esque tall tales about his athleticism, his Pro Day testing was really mediocre. No production, no measurables, at a cheap position to fill. Blech.

Schoonmaker was an obvious reach after Kincaid and LaPorta got sniped. I'll be honest, you can sell me on his speed. I've been beating the TE size+speed drum all offseason, and he has a high-caliber combination of both. But he's freaking 24 years old, and has almost no production to show for that time in school. Luke Musgrave caught a lot of crap for being inexperienced and high-risk, but Schoonmaker only caught 7 more career passes than him. And I'm not sold on Schoonmaker's blocking either, cause he was a 24 yo beating up on teenagers.

Fehoko is a classic tape over traits guy. But I don't see threshold traits. Hell, I don't even see the need either... you have Osa and Golston already in the tweener fold.

Deuce felt like we needed a RB, but we really, really didn't want to offend Zeke. I am a registered Deuce hater... no back with his size and speed has ever succeeded in the last 20 years. Dion Lewis was 20 pounds bigger. Sproles and Boston Scott were both a tenth of a second faster. We drafted a sub-threshold athlete with the hope that he's a 2-decade outlier.... or we just wanted a guy who clearly won't threaten Zeke's snaps.

 

[CowboyoWales]

This was definitely a needs draft rather than a BPA draft.

Overshawn is the one guy of the group who excites me, cause he's just a Dan Quinn defender to a tee. Safety/LB hybrid who can pass rush, and he's a freak athlete. Dude can fit both the Barr and Kearse roles in our defense. He'll probably be a reserve this season, but it's not hard to see him finding a role down the line.

Mazi is your Day 1 starter in the Hankins role, but I just hate his projection. He might have the lowest sack+TFL production of any first round DT ever, I'll have to look it up. And for a guy with Paul Bunyan-esque tall tales about his athleticism, his Pro Day testing was really mediocre. No production, no measurables, at a cheap position to fill. Blech.

Schoonmaker was an obvious reach after Kincaid and LaPorta got sniped. I'll be honest, you can sell me on his speed. I've been beating the TE size+speed drum all offseason, and he has a high-caliber combination of both. But he's freaking 24 years old, and has almost no production to show for that time in school. Luke Musgrave caught a lot of crap for being inexperienced and high-risk, but Schoonmaker only caught 7 more career passes than him. And I'm not sold on Schoonmaker's blocking either, cause he was a 24 yo beating up on teenagers.

Mazi's a 'sack facilitator', how many dt's is he going to take on, leaving space for Osa and pass-rushers?
Decent argument on Schoonmaker's age, though may be tempered as the whole class is older (due to Covid), I would think/hope they went over the individual opponents as well as technique.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Deuce felt like we needed a RB, but we really, really didn't want to offend Zeke. I am a registered Deuce hater... no back with his size and speed has ever succeeded in the last 20 years. Dion Lewis was 20 pounds bigger. Sproles and Boston Scott were both a tenth of a second faster. We drafted a sub-threshold athlete with the hope that he's a 2-decade outlier.... or we just wanted a guy who clearly won't threaten Zeke's snaps.

Ask @NeathBlue to tell you about 'Ickle' Shane Williams and how a short, not exceptionally quick, rugby winger was used to devastating and prolonged world wide success by finding ways to utilize his dancing feet.

 

[cnuball21]

Reminds me of the special teams draft…woof.

 

[McMicah]

That vision thing your talking about? Thats your brain saying *** did they just do? And trying to make sense out of it.

Oh trust me. That thought has crossed my mind multiple times

 

[Pass2Run]

This has been one of the strangest drafts in memory.

It feels like every pick was either a specialist/utility player or a long term investment with a ‘vision’ for the player.

We got a run stuffer, a blocking TE, a tweener K. Neal apprentice, a DE to DT convert, a OT to OG convert, a possible CB to S convert, Darren Sproles 2.0, and now I hear a FB in UDFA.

And yet, I trust this Front Office. They’ve earned trust this year. They’ve done well multiple years in a row and lead the league in draft pick snaps played. I don’t know if they got what they wanted. This felt super weird, but I’ll trust them….this time.

They are on the ground working while media and fans get YouTube highlights.

 

[Rayman70]

was a weak draft in general. We had one rd 1 worthy QB and DT that was elite. Getting Mazi where we did was a steal. Bryce Young was the lone QB. Weakest draft in memory.

 

[Rockport]

This was definitely a needs draft rather than a BPA draft.

Overshawn is the one guy of the group who excites me, cause he's just a Dan Quinn defender to a tee. Safety/LB hybrid who can pass rush, and he's a freak athlete. Dude can fit both the Barr and Kearse roles in our defense. He'll probably be a reserve this season, but it's not hard to see him finding a role down the line.

Mazi is your Day 1 starter in the Hankins role, but I just hate his projection. He might have the lowest sack+TFL production of any first round DT ever, I'll have to look it up. And for a guy with Paul Bunyan-esque tall tales about his athleticism, his Pro Day testing was really mediocre. No production, no measurables, at a cheap position to fill. Blech.

Schoonmaker was an obvious reach after Kincaid and LaPorta got sniped. I'll be honest, you can sell me on his speed. I've been beating the TE size+speed drum all offseason, and he has a high-caliber combination of both. But he's freaking 24 years old, and has almost no production to show for that time in school. Luke Musgrave caught a lot of crap for being inexperienced and high-risk, but Schoonmaker only caught 7 more career passes than him. And I'm not sold on Schoonmaker's blocking either, cause he was a 24 yo beating up on teenagers.

Fehoko is a classic tape over traits guy. But I don't see threshold traits. Hell, I don't even see the need either... you have Osa and Golston already in the tweener fold.

Deuce felt like we needed a RB, but we really, really didn't want to offend Zeke. I am a registered Deuce hater... no back with his size and speed has ever succeeded in the last 20 years. Dion Lewis was 20 pounds bigger. Sproles and Boston Scott were both a tenth of a second faster. We drafted a sub-threshold athlete with the hope that he's a 2-decade outlier.... or we just wanted a guy who clearly won't threaten Zeke's snaps.

Mazi played in a 3-4 defense. DT’s don’t get a lot of sacks playing the 3-4.

 

[Rayman70]

Reminds me of the special teams draft…woof.

its similar. Getting Deuce/Mazi might have salvaged it.

 

[Stash]

This has been one of the strangest drafts in memory.

It feels like every pick was either a specialist/utility player or a long term investment with a ‘vision’ for the player.

We got a run stuffer, a blocking TE, a tweener K. Neal apprentice, a DE to DT convert, a OT to OG convert, a possible CB to S convert, Darren Sproles 2.0, and now I hear a FB in UDFA.

And yet, I trust this Front Office. They’ve earned trust this year. They’ve done well multiple years in a row and lead the league in draft pick snaps played. I don’t know if they got what they wanted. This felt super weird, but I’ll trust them….this time.

This is a great description of exactly how I feel as well. They certainly didn’t go the ways that I expected them to, but their past track record buys them the benefit of the doubt from me.

 

[J-man]

The biggest issue I have with who they drafted is Schoonmaker. Not that I think he can't be a decent player, but that they should have taken Torrence there. That would have solidified the o-line.

 

[Risen Star]

And yet, I trust this Front Office.

27 straight years of failure.

What's not to trust?

 

[Stash]

The biggest issue I have with who they drafted is Schoonmaker. Not that I think he can't be a decent player, but that they should have taken Torrence there. That would have solidified the o-line.

I agree. It almost feels to me like they have an intentional aversion to true guards playing guard for them. The team seems to always want some tackle-to-guard conversion project instead. And they often end up with a player without the power to hold his ground inside.

That’s the worst thing that a quarterback could have to deal with. And it hampers your running game as well, particularly in short yardage and goal line.

 

[beware_d-ware]

.

I agree. It almost feels to me like they have an intentional aversion to true guards playing guard for them. The team seems to always want some tackle-to-guard conversion project instead. And they often end up with a player without the power to hold his ground inside.

That’s the worst thing that a quarterback could have to deal with. And it hampers your running game as well, particularly in short yardage and goal line.

The Ted Thompson and McCarthy Packers drafted virtually nothing but college tackles for years and years. Aaron Rodgers had outstanding offensive lines throughout the 2010s, and they were assembled almost entirely out of college tackles. Lots of them were cheap mid rounders too.

GB's thinking was that tackles are usually the best pure athletes on the OL, and at a smaller program, that's nearly a lock.. So if you want NFL-caliber feet, that's where you're going to find them.

 

[Stash]

.


The Ted Thompson and McCarthy Packers drafted virtually nothing but college tackles for years and years. Aaron Rodgers had outstanding offensive lines throughout the 2010s, and they were assembled almost entirely out of college tackles. Lots of them were cheap mid rounders too.

GB's thinking was that tackles are usually the best pure athletes on the OL, and at a smaller program, that's nearly a lock.. So if you want NFL-caliber feet, that's where you're going to find them.

I can definitely see that point, in some cases. And I know that Ted Thompson ran the Packers drafts, not McCarthy.

But I also know that Green Bay seldom had dominant running games. Conversely, the Cowboys best running teams had pure, maulers at guard. True guards.

 

[Stash]

.


The Ted Thompson and McCarthy Packers drafted virtually nothing but college tackles for years and years. Aaron Rodgers had outstanding offensive lines throughout the 2010s, and they were assembled almost entirely out of college tackles. Lots of them were cheap mid rounders too.

GB's thinking was that tackles are usually the best pure athletes on the OL, and at a smaller program, that's nearly a lock.. So if you want NFL-caliber feet, that's where you're going to find them.

I think a nice potential compromise player might be free agent Isaiah Wynn. He’s talented, but oft-injured and would bring a nice combination of talent, experience, and flexibility having played multiple positions on the offensive line.

Based on his injury history, it would need to be a performance-based, incentive-laden type of contract. But Wynn has the ability to play both left tackle and left guard.