Offseason Bingo

[Kaiser]

Le’Veon Bell as a $12+ million/year #2 or #3 RB? If you didn’t think I was joking you should have called me an idiot.

On top of all that, if Bell was a guy willing to share reps with Zeke he wouldn't have held out in the first place.

 

[glimmerman]

He’s injury prone so playing for a one year deal might have been all he would ever get. Now somebody might gamble and give him 3-5 years but I don’t think he’s worth 14.5...

Exactly. He isn’t worth 14.5 but could have made that. If he was injured after making that much then put that with his other earnings and I don’t feel bad for him financially.

 

[glimmerman]

Yeah, it will be interesting to see what kind of contract he gets. I'm guessing he will do okay, but $14.5 million was a lot to walk away from.

More than I will ever sniff unless I hit the lotto. I understand that the career is short for players but add 14.5 to his other earnings. Would have put him at around 20 million. Clearing half would be at least 10. If you can’t live in that then your living way above your means. Even if he got dinged someone would sign him for at least 10. If its career ending then live half way modest. Put half in a annuity at 5%. 200k a year and have 5 million in your bank account. Plus the CBA gives them great insurance for them and there family pretty much for life and on the cheap. And retirement.

 

[Hadenough]

Good job Kaiser! My fear is that Dallas wont draft a DT until the 6th round. Thats just their MO. Not sure what McCoy would want but its going to be lot and he has lot of miles on him carrying that Bucs defense.

 

[McKDaddy]

Question is how much Boy Genius II wants to use a FB.

In today's NFL, should you even have a dedicated FB? I'm not sure how i feel about that. Your thoughts?

I feel pretty strongly that we shouldn't have used a draft pick to trade for Olawale last year if you aren't going to use him pretty significantly. Not saying that he didn't play OK when in there but i just don't remember him as being utilized a high % or being a standout player.

If our O line were to come together so that Connor could be the multi-position swing guy, i say use him as extra blocker like Seattle was doing last year.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

Good job Kaiser! My fear is that Dallas wont draft a DT until the 6th round. Thats just their MO. Not sure what McCoy would want but its going to be lot and he has lot of miles on him carrying that Bucs defense.

Dallas will continue to devalue the DT position you can pretty much book it.

 

[Beaker42]

So lets play offseason roster bingo. These are the positions I think will be filled in a long, boring offseason:

RB2, RB3, FB, TE, WR, Swing Tackle, OT4, DT, and FS.

Other than Earl Thomas, I think the plan remains in place to develop inhouse players and build through the draft. We don’t have glaring holes to fill but we could end up signing salary cap cuts like Gerald McKoy that would be great value if the stars align.


RB2 and RB3: I don’t see FAs that stand out and think they have higher priorities in the draft than spending a pick in the 2nd – 4th on a RB. Rod Smith had a down year but he does all four things they need – run, catch, block and play ST. So I think he gets resigned until there is a salary cap cut we aren’t expecting. An explosive Darren Sproles type at RB3 would be great but Zeke does those things already and there are few of those RBs in each draft. I think a late draft pick is the RB3.

FB – plenty of options to upgrade from Olawale. Mike Burton, Anthony Sherman and Tre Maddon are all upgrades and two draft prospects are rated as 6th round picks.

TE – 2nd or 3rd round pick. It’s a super deep draft for TEs so there is no need to reach for one.

WR – I think the slot WR is Golden Tate or a guy like Randall Cobb. I think we draft a WR in the 4th or 5th round also because this draft is so deep, I really don’t see a draft pick taking Beasley’s spot as a rookie. DMN has Travis Benjamin as a salary cap casualty, I would love to see him, Austin and a draft choice competing for jobs with the current guys we have.

Swing Tackle – Likely that they resign Fleming but if not, the replacement is likely a veteran who is cut for cap reasons.

OT – Deep draft for OT, I think a 4th or 5th round pick is a development OT for this spot.


DT – I think this is our 2nd round pick and we go hard after a veteran like McCoy as well.

DE – we have DLaw, Gregory, Taco, Dorance Armstrong and Tyrone Crawford if needed. I don’t see spending money or picks on the position.

LB – This group is a total wildcard. IMO Damien Wilson leaves in FA, Chris Covington takes his starting spot and Sean Lee returns on a smaller contract. YMMV.

CB – A big CB who is a Kris Richard project is drafted in the 5th round or later.

FS -

After our stiff’s drop of a sure TD against the Colts, I couldn’t care less if we EVER have a FB again.

 

[Kaiser]

Good job Kaiser! My fear is that Dallas wont draft a DT until the 6th round. Thats just their MO. Not sure what McCoy would want but its going to be lot and he has lot of miles on him carrying that Bucs defense.

I think they draft a DT in the 2nd or 3rd and sign a veteran, they lost the Rams playoff game mostly because Collins and Woods were injured or gassed for that game.

Another factor is that we don't have glaring holes to fill right now. Last year they had to come out of the draft with an OG so they locked in on Conner Williams when he started to fall. This year DT and TE are the only real positions where they have to draft a guy.

 

[Kaiser]

In today's NFL, should you even have a dedicated FB? I'm not sure how i feel about that.

Every year Keith Smith was on the roster I assumed they wouldn't carry a FB but they keep doing it. Maybe its different under Kellen Moore, but they always carried one for ST and a few plays here and there.

 

[Bobhaze]

2019 Roster:

QB – Dak, White
RB – Zeke, Rod Smith, #6 pick
FB – Free Agent
TE – Jarwin, Schultz, #3 pick
WR – Cooper, Gallup, Golden Tate, Tavon Austin, Noah Brown/Cedric Wilson/#4 Pick
OL – Smith, Williams, Fred, Martin, Collins, Looney, Fleming, #4 pick, Parker Ehlinger or Markus Martin


DE – DLaw, Gregory, Taco, Dorance Armstrong, Crawford
DT – Collins, Woods, McCoy, #2 pick, Ross/Reid/Datone Jones
LB – Jaylon, LVE, Sean Lee, Chris Covington, Joe Thomas, March-Lillard
CB – Jones, Awuzie, Brown, Lewis, #5 Pick
S – ET, Woods, Heath, Frazier

Good work here. The only areas I might be different on would be I don’t think they sign ET, I think Sean Lee may be gone, we won’t sign Golden Tate, and that we will probably have more new faces in the OL and LB groups.

 

[Kaiser]

Good work here. The only areas I might be different on would be I don’t think they sign ET, I think Sean Lee may be gone, we won’t sign Golden Tate, and that we will probably have more new faces in the OL and LB groups.

Yeah, the LB Corps could be a huge turnover or they could bring back the exact same guys. I do think Covington steps into the starting role for Wilson, I'm kind of surprised people didn't post about that.

With Sean Lee it really comes down to the medical reports, but IMO the fact he has been a team leader for so long tilts the decision toward bringing him back even if they have to keep him on his current contract. A restructure is more likely, with incentives built in.

 

[Hadenough]

I think they draft a DT in the 2nd or 3rd and sign a veteran, they lost the Rams playoff game mostly because Collins and Woods were injured or gassed for that game.

Another factor is that we don't have glaring holes to fill right now. Last year they had to come out of the draft with an OG so they locked in on Conner Williams when he started to fall. This year DT and TE are the only real positions where they have to draft a guy.

I would like to think that! It seems logical!

 

[Pantone282C]

2019 Roster:

QB – Dak, White
RB – Zeke, Rod Smith, #6 pick
FB – Free Agent
TE – Jarwin, Schultz, #3 pick
WR – Cooper, Gallup, Golden Tate, Tavon Austin, Noah Brown/Cedric Wilson/#4 Pick
OL – Smith, Williams, Fred, Martin, Collins, Looney, Fleming, #4 pick, Parker Ehlinger or Markus Martin


DE – DLaw, Gregory, Taco, Dorance Armstrong, Crawford
DT – Collins, Woods, McCoy, #2 pick, Ross/Reid/Datone Jones
LB – Jaylon, LVE, Sean Lee, Chris Covington, Joe Thomas, March-Lillard
CB – Jones, Awuzie, Brown, Lewis, #5 Pick
S – ET, Woods, Heath, Frazier

Mostly agree. We need OT before TE. Do you think we do another trade? If we don’t get ET, we need a trade, a different free agent, or a trade up in the draft.

 

[Kaiser]

Mostly agree. We need OT before TE. Do you think we do another trade?

I don't think we do any trades, the main thing is the development of young guys like Dak, Gallup, Williams, Gregory, Awuzie, etc.

OT is mostly about whether you resing FLeming IMO, they overpaid for him after the Chaz Green and Byron Bell debacles in 2017. He seemed to play OK but the question is whether you can get a better player for Swing Tackle for the same money.

I do think we need a TE and this is a deep draft, I think the perfect scenario is a guy like Irv Smith drops to us at 58 but even if we wait for the 3rd round there should be a good developmemtal player to take there. Also I don't even count on Rico Gathers being on the roster next year, but if things click for him he is the starter and everything else is a moot point.

 

[buybuydandavis]

In today's NFL, should you even have a dedicated FB? I'm not sure how i feel about that. Your thoughts?

I feel pretty strongly that we shouldn't have used a draft pick to trade for Olawale last year if you aren't going to use him pretty significantly. Not saying that he didn't play OK when in there but i just don't remember him as being utilized a high % or being a standout player.

If our O line were to come together so that Connor could be the multi-position swing guy, i say use him as extra blocker like Seattle was doing last year.

I was psyched about Olawale. A FB who is also a well rounded threat to run, catch, and pass block. With our JV squad at TE last year, he made a whole lot of sense to me. I wanted 20 personnel to be our base.

And then they didn't use him much at all. It didn't make sense to give a pick for him, unless they just concluded that he stunk when he got here.

Keeping a FB on the roster is dependent on how much you use him. If it's just as a short yardage blocker, bring in another olineman. If you're using him as an offensive weapon, then maybe you need a fullback.

Collins seems like a possible short yardage FB to me. Very good making contact in space. Let Williams take his place at RT on those plays. We've turned LBs into FBs in an offseason. I've gotta think that Collins has a big head start on a lot of the lead blocking skills a FB needs.

Collins has always been a weird one. Doesn't seem right at either G or T. What he really seems like is a gigantic FB. He's best on the move making contact.

If we actually played matchup football against teams, we'd do like Seattle and use an extra olineman when a team has weak depth on their dline. But, "we do what we do".

And if we're just talking short yardage, how hard is it for Collins or Williams to learn how to run a 3 yard out? Or a stick? Is it that complicated to catch a 3 yard pass? Probably a lot easier than turning Rico into a short yardage blocker.

 

[Pantone282C]

I don't think we do any trades, the main thing is the development of young guys like Dak, Gallup, Williams, Gregory, Awuzie, etc.

OT is mostly about whether you resing FLeming IMO, they overpaid for him after the Chaz Green and Byron Bell debacles in 2017. He seemed to play OK but the question is whether you can get a better player for Swing Tackle for the same money.

I do think we need a TE and this is a deep draft, I think the perfect scenario is a guy like Irv Smith drops to us at 58 but even if we wait for the 3rd round there should be a good developmemtal player to take there. Also I don't even count on Rico Gathers being on the roster next year, but if things click for him he is the starter and everything else is a moot point.

Probably so about swing tackle for the money. I suppose we can't count on Looney at guard because he is money as backup center. Rico has to better than he was. Would like to see him develop in the AAF or the upcoming XFL, but no guarantee we would get him back and I hate to see wasted reps when Jarwin and Schultz need more game time. Of course, Ehinger and Martin need a look. I think our roster is better than past years, but we need a good free agent or two and some draftees - at least we have a comp pick.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

On top of all that, if Bell was a guy willing to share reps with Zeke he wouldn't have held out in the first place.

Didn't he hold out because he did not want to play under the franchise tag?

 

[McKDaddy]

Collins has always been a weird one. Doesn't seem right at either G or T. What he really seems like is a gigantic FB. He's best on the move making contact.

He was not a very good G … but with experience under his belt … who knows what he would be like now. As a T, for me its all about his weight. If you watch when he is playing well, he has slimmed down and gets much better initial movement. When he doesn't do well, you see that he has put on weight. For sure, he needs to find a spot where he can be consistently above average. Both he & Connor are good on the move. I was thinking Connor's build would give him an advantage as the xtra blocker.

And if we're just talking short yardage, how hard is it for Collins or Williams to learn how to run a 3 yard out? Or a stick? Is it that complicated to catch a 3 yard pass? Probably a lot easier than turning Rico into a short yardage blocker.

Agreed.

 

[Them]

Gonna be a long off-season!...