CFZ Playmakers and Road-Graders

[Coogiguy03]

This draft is deep with TEs. Michael Mayer from Notre Dame will almost certainly be gone by 26. He’s a stud.

But on Day 2 in rounds 2-3, there are several guys I think could be playmakers. The Georgia TE Darnell Washington is 6-7 and a great athlete. He was used mostly as a blocker in college but his skill set is big. He may be rising to first round level but should be there for us. Tucker Kraft from S. Dakota reminds some people of Dallas Goeddert. Hes probably a 2nd or 3rd round guy. Dalton Kincaid of Utah is also a Day 2 guy who is interesting.

Lots of good TEs in this draft.

Can't wait, would you be mad if we took one at 26

 

[McKDaddy]

I don’t understand all the buzz about the dire need for a TE.

Ferguson and Hendershot looked about as good as they could have as rookies. We aren’t going to build on that?

I think they certainly are part of your plans .... but this year's TE group supposedly has some high level blockers who are also playmakers. If one of those is BPA when you are on the clock, it would seem to help both your run & passing game. That's why I would be interested. Washington 83.75-inch wingspan is the largest ever for a tight end at the combine. You can't teach that kind of catch radius.

 

[fivetwos]

My take on those guys is they are good and worth having. Very glad they are here, and they have real value. But big time Playmakers? Not so much.

Yep, that’s fair, and I’m a fan of the 12 personnel.

They simply need playmakers. If that happens to come from a first round TE, then so be it.

Can’t be a run blocking liability though.

 

[Verdict]

Weapon doesn't just mean a trade at wr or obj and that's it, we need MORE than just that!!!!


Defense Micah needs help, and the help isn't from LAWRENCE where it should be. He does his thing, but it's not consistent enough to affect the game

Tank was such a waste of cap space. All bark and not near enough bite.

 

[75boyz]

Yes we need both types of players.
for sure that big run stuffing DT, but can also rush the passer. Can't have 2 one dimensional DT's. That show the offense what we are expecting, unless it is very obvious, such as a 3rd and long. Then addd another pass rusher, or a LB that is good in coverage.

Get back to road graders and maulers on the OL. If this happens then playmakers will emerge on offense.

Good post, totally agree.
Especially offensively for me anyway.
Excellent to outstanding oline road graders make skill position guys better than they are most all of the time.
It's what this team was in 2016.
A QB and RB whose performance should have been credited to that oline.

I'm all in on trying to return to this type of offense as it is the only kind that this QB can succeed with.

Count me in on roster building by focusing on acquiring a deep and talented oline group.

Start there and everything else falls into place.

Well, there's still the QB decisionmaking mountain to climb but at least it's the best solution to be hoped for imo.

 

[Bobhaze]

Can't wait, would you be mad if we took one at 26

Depends on who it is.

 

[Bobhaze]

Tank was such a waste of cap space. All bark and not near enough bite.

Well D-Law has not provided the sacks we wanted but he is probably the best DL we have against the run. Hes one of the best run stuffing DEs in the NFL. Not saying he’s been worth every penny, but calling him a waste of cap space is too harsh IMO. Everyone tends to judge DLaw on sacks alone. But that’s not all his value.

 

[charron]

Yes, I think a big play TE would be an excellent addition. Schultz is ok but I wouldn’t call him a playmaker. Ferguson and Hendershot are both good to have but not anything to worry defenses.

There are some really top shelf TEs in this draft. Wouldn’t surprise or disappoint me if we took one early.

Almost no TE would worry a defense here untill they change how the position is used. I'm all for drafting a TE, WR, RB as long as the coaches actually use that player and not wait 3 years to get them involved.

 

[Bobhaze]

Almost no TE would worry a defense here untill they change how the position is used. I'm all for drafting a TE, WR, RB as long as the coaches actually use that player and not wait 3 years to get them involved.

Agreed. And hopefully our new offensive brain trust can somehow figure out how to get all our playmakers on the field at the same time.

 

[75boyz]

Agreed. And hopefully our new offensive brain trust can somehow figure out how to get all our playmakers on the field at the same time.

Public reports of run first/more run and then all the hoopla surrounding pass catchers.
Seems to be contradictory to me but what do I know.

Or maybe just the perfect balance of both run and pass?
Uh...

Yeah, probably not.

Something's gotta give if ya ask me.
jmo

 

[gtb1943]

Well D-Law has not provided the sacks we wanted but he is probably the best DL we have against the run. Hes one of the best run stuffing DEs in the NFL. Not saying he’s been worth every penny, but calling him a waste of cap space is too harsh IMO. Everyone tends to judge DLaw on sacks alone. But that’s not all his value.

Watching the way fields humiliated Tank I am not so sure he is all that great a run stuffer

 

[charron]

Public reports of run first/more run and then all the hoopla surrounding pass catchers.
Seems to be contradictory to me but what do I know.

Or maybe just the perfect balance of both run and pass?
Uh...

Yeah, probably not.

Something's gotta give if ya ask me.
jmo

I do not believe they can run more unless they become more efficient at it. If one of their RB's who gets 50% of the carries is still only getting 3 yards a clip then it's really hard to continue to run. This is where I thought Moore needed help, designing effective run plays.

 

[75boyz]

I do not believe they can run more unless they become more efficient at it. If one of their RB's who gets 50% of the carries is still only getting 3 yards a clip then it's really hard to continue to run. This is where I thought Moore needed help, designing effective run plays.

Yeah, I'm with ya. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest McCarthy fan to begin with.
I will truly have to see to believe his new emphasis on an effective and like you said, efficient run game.

 

[TexasBoys2288]

If I had to sum up what this team’s biggest roster needs are this off-season I would say it’s simply two types of players- playmakers and road-graders. Here’s my definition of those two terms:

• Playmaker: In football terms, a playmaker is simply a skill position guy that can make big plays in big moments more than just occasionally. On offense, they can be a threat to score at any moment, and on defense they can make a huge disruptive play like a turnover or sack at any moment.
• Road-grader: in football, a road-grader is simply lineman on either side of the ball that can control the line of scrimmage. They are big and physical. On offense, they open holes in the running game and pass block effectively. On defense they control and disrupt the running game and can cause the pocket to collapse.

When I rewatched the 49er playoff loss recently, what jumped out to me about our offense was that we only had two playmakers on offense- Tony Pollard and Cedee Lamb, and Pollard was injured by half. Obviously Dak did not play well but when I looked at what the niner D was defending, they didn’t have much to worry about with Pollard gone.

On defense, Micah Parsons is our only consistent playmaker. Road-graders? IMO we don’t have any on the DL, and we have two on the OL: Zack Martin and Tyler Smith. Tyron Smith used to be but he’s never available and Terrance Steele was getting there until his injury.

Going into draft and Free Agency, this team must find a couple of playmakers on offense and at least one big additional road-grader on defense. If we had a defensive lineman who could disrupt the running game and occasionally collapse the pocket from the middle, this defense goes up to the next level. And it was already pretty salty.

I like that, Playmakers and Road-Graders. Too bad we can have 5 of each on both sides of the ball, that would make a dynasty.

 

[btcutter]

Weapon doesn't just mean a trade at wr or obj and that's it, we need MORE than just that!!!!


Defense Micah needs help, and the help isn't from LAWRENCE where it should be. He does his thing, but it's not consistent enough to affect the game

Sam Williams NEEDS to take the next step!

I am a bit shocked that we are not resigning Wilson. I thought he's becoming a playmaker the last two years. He should be able take over Kearse spot at some point.

 

[btcutter]

Well D-Law has not provided the sacks we wanted but he is probably the best DL we have against the run. Hes one of the best run stuffing DEs in the NFL. Not saying he’s been worth every penny, but calling him a waste of cap space is too harsh IMO. Everyone tends to judge DLaw on sacks alone. But that’s not all his value.

Totally agree. He's made some major stopped in goal line stands, 4th down stops. Could he have more sacks...sure. But he's not Parsons.

 

[CowboyRoy]

If I had to sum up what this team’s biggest roster needs are this off-season I would say it’s simply two types of players- playmakers and road-graders. Here’s my definition of those two terms:

• Playmaker: In football terms, a playmaker is simply a skill position guy that can make big plays in big moments more than just occasionally. On offense, they can be a threat to score at any moment, and on defense they can make a huge disruptive play like a turnover or sack at any moment.
• Road-grader: in football, a road-grader is simply lineman on either side of the ball that can control the line of scrimmage. They are big and physical. On offense, they open holes in the running game and pass block effectively. On defense they control and disrupt the running game and can cause the pocket to collapse.

When I rewatched the 49er playoff loss recently, what jumped out to me about our offense was that we only had two playmakers on offense- Tony Pollard and Cedee Lamb, and Pollard was injured by half. Obviously Dak did not play well but when I looked at what the niner D was defending, they didn’t have much to worry about with Pollard gone.

On defense, Micah Parsons is our only consistent playmaker. Road-graders? IMO we don’t have any on the DL, and we have two on the OL: Zack Martin and Tyler Smith. Tyron Smith used to be but he’s never available and Terrance Steele was getting there until his injury.

Going into draft and Free Agency, this team must find a couple of playmakers on offense and at least one big additional road-grader on defense. If we had a defensive lineman who could disrupt the running game and occasionally collapse the pocket from the middle, this defense goes up to the next level. And it was already pretty salty.

Nice to see someone understand some football. The moment Pollard went down this offense was toast. Without Pollard they had no respect for the run game and simply went into a nickel D and flooded the zone. They were sitting back. And with Zeke running and falling down it was basically 2nd and long or 3rd and long nearly every time.

IMO what this team needs is to get the Oline back to top 5 territory. This will give Dak the time he needs to throw and give the RB's the holes they need to dominate games. Everything else is secondary. Getting better passing and running weapons will mean little if the Oline doesnt improve drastically.

I would love to see them dump Tyron and use the #1 pick on the best OT or Guard in the draft.

Steele, Martin, Biadasz, #1 pick, Tyler would go a long way towards getting this Oline back to the top of the league.

Then use a 3rd or 4th on another back to pair with Pollard.

Thoughts?

 

[CowboyRoy]

I know it will never happen, but my dream is still for a stud, road-grader DT. I really believe that it will vastly improve our run defense.

I would be all for that as well.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Nice post. Do you think it’s a possibility that a TE can be a playmaker or even a road-grader on offense that would satisfy one of the needs you outlined? Seems to be some chatter about them wanting to find a TE as a premium investment.

We have two good young TE's from last years draft.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Yes, I think a big play TE would be an excellent addition. Schultz is ok but I wouldn’t call him a playmaker. Ferguson and Hendershot are both good to have but not anything to worry defenses.

There are some really top shelf TEs in this draft. Wouldn’t surprise or disappoint me if we took one early.

So many busts at TE get drafted in the NFL. Too risky of a position to waste 1st rounder on a TE for my blood. Now if you could guarantee me that the guy would become a pro bowler, possibly. Just dont see using a first on a TE. 2nd rounder maybe?