method man

If they don't ultimately get a LT in round 1, I don't see another way they solve it. If he stays, he is not going to be a reserve with his cap hit

I don't think he has the size to be a LG and he apparently was bad on the right side when Chicago tried him there earlier in his career. Assuming they don't go for a Day 1 starter LT in round 1, I'd be fine keeping Leno as the LT in 2024 for the final year of his deal and grooming a project like Amegadije or focusing on solving the need in 2025. n This is an excellent analysis of Leno

It is attractive but despite all the assets, I don’t think it is #1. You have subpar ownership and presumably Poles to deal with as well (outside of the Young trade, his drafts and FA signings have not been impressive). You are also not inheriting any blue chip players on that roster. (By blue chip, I mean All Pros)

Agreed. The fact Tua gets rid of the ball so quickly makes many of these OLs look a lot better than they actually are I don’t want him back. Why not spend $5m a year extra and go get the best safety in the NFL in Winfield Jr?

Keim disagrees with this on his pod. Ranking Chicago #1 is a joke. Their owner is a sweet old lady but the culture there is not about winning

Dan didn’t do that the past 15 years because he was cash poor. This offseason, my goal would be to maximize FA and draft resources into this offense so that Sam or whoever is set up with a great OL and plenty of weapons. A lot of dollars will also need to be spent on this defense. This team has zero blue chip players. The goal should be to procure as many as possible and true blue chip players cost $$$

80 mil in cap goes way faster than you’d think

This is solid analysis. Just note you can designate Wylie and Gates as post June cuts and split the dead cap between this year and 2025 if you choose to do so. I think you’ll gave to do it with one of them ultimately, likely Gates. Most fans want to cut Leno, move him to RT or make him a swing tackle (which would be idiotic given the cap hit). Most fail to realize he is an average LT. Struggles with some matchups and wins others. His PFF grade shows he wins a lot more often than he loses. The way Paulsen put it, Wylie loses 5 times a game. Leno loses a couple times a game (unless it is Thibodeaux). I have zero issues rocking with Leno at LT next year if it comes to it. The much bigger issues are LG, C and Wylie at RT. I also bet that Leno looks better next year if he plays next to a real NFL starter at LG

He probably plays next year but starts on PUP. You could sign Williams to a big 1 year deal. Stromberg gets to start first few games of the season. Williams takes over rest of the way. You see what you have in both and assess what to do. Could be best of both worlds

Given his rawness and lack of experience, he will probably fall to the late first or second. It’s why I don’t think we should be so set on a tackle with the first. One of these 9 or so first round caliber tackles will fall to our pick or within striking range of that second

The challenges with Fashanu are that he may be a guy 1) who just stinks his first year and 2) does not have an exit path to guard. On #1, if we look at the three most recent drafts, it feels like the majority of the top 10 pick tackles were unable to hit the ground running as pass protectors. Just from the last two drafts, none of the top 10 tackles have been good as pass protectors so far (Johnson, Wright, Ekwonu, Cross and Neal). In fact, outside of Cross who has been average at it, the others have been bad so far. If you aren’t very good as a pass protector, then you need to be able to contribute in the run game, which Fashanu does not do. On #2, due to the finesse heavy nature of his game, if Fashanu busts at tackle, he is probably going to be ineffective at guard so he lacks that floor and can’t take the path that Cosmi and Flowers recently have to become effectIve players. Many on this board overrate the impact that rookie OLs have on their teams. Yes, you have the exceptions who hit the ground running but for all of you penciling in Van Pran, Beebe etc as first year starters in addition to a rookie tackle, look at this past draft class to see how long the adjustment period to NFL football takes. Putting Howell on a OL with 2+ rookie OLs is a recipe for disaster in 2024. If you want to fix the line fast for 2024, it is more sensible to tap free agency as much as, if not more than, the draft and shop at Nordstrom, not Sears. To be clear, I am up for taking multiple OL in the draft but follow the Eagles’ model where their Day 2 picks in recent years have sat for a year and provided depth (ex Jurgens and Steen)

He can likely play center too. Played it as a freshman before moving to tackle

That doesn’t happen often in the NFL. @Daniel.redskins is right. Howell’s value is likely a 3rd or a 4th. Maybe a good FO can finagle a 2nd

I think we are going to see a correction in backup QB prices. No need to give someone like Jacoby $7M as a backup

This is going to be the deepest pool of backup QBs I can remember in a while. The infusion of this QB class is going to make a number of folks who are currently starting backups. Tannehill, Mac Jones and Jimmy G are just some of the QBs who will be backups next year

There have been multiple anonymous quotes from others in the league regarding this operation feeling disorganized

This is a historically deep OT class with 8-9 tackles getting first round consideration. Will be able to get one with our first second

With 8-9 tackles potentially receiving first round grades, I am confident that at least one guy who can start Day 1 will be there top of 2nd, say someone like a Guyton or Morgan who would go mid 1st in most drafts.

This makes sense. If Wright had fallen to us, they would have taken him over a corner. We also know they liked Dawand (he unfortunately didn’t reciprocate). If either had been taken, Wylie would be the LG

In your scenario, I would absolutely be pissed of they didn’t trade the pick because Fashanu is not worth the haul Daniels would bring

Connor Williams down with a major knee injury. Sad. Going to certainly impact the type of deal he gets

Payne’s pressure rate is apparently inline with his career norm according to Paulsen. His pressure to sack rate has fallen off a cliff. So there is an argument to be made it is more luck than effort Also didn’t he break a finger in Atlanta?

I know we had a top 10 D in 2 of Jack’s four years here but the way Sweat is thriving in Chicago shows how Jack really wasted the potential of the DLine here I agree. If we get the right DC, we may be able to field an average defense without a whole lot more. Look at what Flores is doing in Minnesota with a ton of players who came into the season unheralded

On Sam, look at the NFL.com scouting report on him two years ago. The strengths and weaknesses are totally on point. Never thought about Sam’s shorter arms hurting his launch angle. For context, Lamar and Mahomes are around the same height but their arm lengths are 3 inches longer than Sam’s We know he has improved his footwork and has a better idea of how to attack NFL defenses vs two years ago but I’d argue his weaknesses from the scouting report are still weaknesses.

A lot of good OL coaches will be collateral damage and will be available this offseason. The Bears’ and Chargers’ OL coaches seem to have both done a good job with the resources at their disposal