This popped up and thought it was a good topic. The player that comes to mind for me is very obvious but not pictured above. And he would weaken a NFC contender
Thoughts?
I like how this question says not a QB...I know that upset a lot of people otherwise we were going to have a bunch of QB names lol.
Its a lot harder question than I thought initially. I guess Aaron Donald would have to be the guy. After that I'd want Von Miller or Khalil Mack. I'll lead towards Khalil Mack.
It depends, "what do steal mean?"
The ramifications of adding the player is significant to the question.
If money was not an issue, then:
Aaron Donald
Khalil Mack
If money is taken into account then it's probably a player from the 2018 or 2019 draft.
- Best position value probably DL (Ed Oliver, Quinnen Williams, Nick Bosa, Bradley Chubb).
- D.James would be fun but elite SS not as valuable as elite DL.
- OT allows trading La'el for a pick and cap space. Could play LT when Tyron misses games.
- TE Hockenson would be interesting.
Reasoning and Details
Realistically they wouldn't pay both Khalil Mack and DLaw. I would take Mack over DLaw and be fine paying the difference but if they can't realistically keep both then replacing DL with KM wouldn't be as big of and impact as adding a player that does not push another top player off the roster.
They could pay Donald and it would only push Crawford off the roster. They still need a young player like Hill because Donald would not play 100% of snaps.
Derwin James is affordable (4 years, 12M plus 5th year option). He has 4 years to free agency. He plays SS and fills a need; however, SS does not he the same value as some other positions.
A DL from the 2019 draft top 10 like Ed Oliver or Bosa would come with the full 5 years on their rookie deal but they are unproven at this point.
The TE Hockenson would be interesting but other positions cost more in free agency and TEs rarely go top 5 in the draft like DL, CB, etc..9
Offense vs Defense
Having an overwhelming offense might be better than just filling a weak link (Safety) on defense.
If there was a young Erik Williams available I would take that option especially if it was a player that could move to LT if Tyron is out with injury.
OT Ryan Ramczyk
3 years remaining of 5 year rookie deal.
Played LT when All Pro Armstead was injured.
Played RT otherwise.
All Pro in 2018.
All Rookie team in 2017.
With Ramczyk they could trade La'el Collins and free up his 6.5M salary to spend on another position.
WR
They could play 3 WR sets full time like the Rams. Julio Jones with 1 of Jones, Cooper or Gallup playing the slot because slot WR would be a full time position.
Like the Khalil Mack example realistically it would be too expensive to pay Jones and Cooper. JuJu Smith Schuster would be nice but he only has 2 years remaining on his rookie deal.