2024 Comprehensive Draft Thread

[Koolblue13]

11 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

I too was a fan of Biadasz. I was surprised he lasted until  the end of the 4th and upset he landed in Dallas. While limited he has a lot of experience to the C position and probably would not be very expensive. Would be a great fit to team up with Strom behind him. 

 

I am a little surprised to see JPJ and Van Pran being listed as 3rd rounders. I see both of them gone before the 3rd round due to their position. I love the way JPJ has grown on a lot of posters, just hope that isn't the case anyplace but in Washington   That said, I'm more inclined to want a solid vet C already signed before the draft. I don't want to enter the draft needy and a lot of positions. My frustration have fun over in recent years with how we have been going into the drafts with so many needs. You just can't select the best players that way

I remember when I first found him, but I've seen hin start to rise in drafts. I think  SVP, JPJ and Beebe are all probably going to in the 20-40 range and some of the OTs are going to slide back after to the 40-60 range.

[Koolblue13]

He plays Guard, too. I love the idea of drafting JPJ with our first second, signing Biadiaz and starting JPJ at LG for two years.

[Anselmheifer]

36 minutes ago, mhd24 said:

 

The only OT I'd trade up for is Fuaga, but he'll be long gone.  Otherwise, I'm with you GC and let the draft come to us.  We'll get an option at IOL with our 2nd rounders.  Heck, I think getting Onwenwu in FA (to play RT), and shifting Wylie to G dramatically improves the OL.

Fuaga gets a lot of love on the board, but I don’t see JC Latham referenced nearly as much. What’s the feeling in the board about Latham Va Fuaga? 

[Going Commando]

17 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I love Fuaga and would trade both our 2nds to move into pick 15 range and grab him. I also like Mims and Latham and would trade a 2nd and 3rd to move into the 20 ish range to grab either.

 

Its time to start taking swings and going for elite blue chip talent.

 

I like Fuaga and Latham too, but I don't think they qualify as elite blue chip talent.  They're really good, but to me, the elite blue chippers are guys like Bowers, Verse, Turner, and Latu. Maybe Odunze.  Top ten players.  If one of those guys fall, I'm interested in trading up. But not really for anyone else.

 

If it's anyone, then Latu is the one who falls I think.  My guess is Bowers goes to San Diego or Tennessee, Verse goes to Atlanta, Odunze goes to Chicago, and Turner goes to Minnesota.  If Latu makes it to the late teens, he becomes very tempting as a trade up candidate.  Founding their rebuild on elite QB and Edge prospects is what Houston did, and IMO Maye and Latu would be us doing the same.

[skinny21]

There should be some intriguing OTs and WRs still available with our 2nd rounders, but at the same time, I could see that being the sweet spot for landing one of the top IOLs and ILBs.  Perhaps a trade back with our second 2nd rounder can still land us one of those 4 positions, or a TE or corner (PFF’s big board has 9 corners in the top 40).  Edge would be in play for me as well.

 

IMO, free agency might help inform our draft, but at the same time, it’s surprising how many positions I wouldn’t mind double dipping on - hitting it in FA and the draft - ILB, OT (need a RT, swing tackle and replacement for Leno), IOL (need LG, C and depth), Edge (need 2), corner (I’m not sold on St Juste or Forbes), TE (don’t think a FA “solves” the position).

[JamesMadisonSkins]

14 minutes ago, skinny21 said:

There should be some intriguing OTs and WRs still available with our 2nd rounders, but at the same time, I could see that being the sweet spot for landing one of the top IOLs and ILBs.  Perhaps a trade back with our second 2nd rounder can still land us one of those 4 positions, or a TE or corner (PFF’s big board has 9 corners in the top 40).  Edge would be in play for me as well.

 

IMO, free agency might help inform our draft, but at the same time, it’s surprising how many positions I wouldn’t mind double dipping on - hitting it in FA and the draft - ILB, OT (need a RT, swing tackle and replacement for Leno), IOL (need LG, C and depth), Edge (need 2), corner (I’m not sold on St Juste or Forbes), TE (don’t think a FA “solves” the position).

 

Like you said, FA probably drives quite a bit of it. And what defense are we going to be running? 3 LBs primarily? 2 like last year?

 

Because if we sign someone like Patrick Queen in Free Agency, him and Davis would be good to man the LB spots. We'd still need a solid 3rd, but with two high-end LBs there do you need another early-round pick? Maybe a 3rd or a 4th? 

I think a lot of what we'll "need" on defense will obv. depend on scheme and who our DC is. We could need 2-3 LBs at a minimum. 

 

Our defense is BARREN. But I think we could / should still focus on the offense in 2024, kick defense to 2025. But we still need bodies, and some decent players across the board. Will be curious how much we address the defense in FA. 

Edited January 25 by JamesMadisonSkins

[Going Commando]

3 minutes ago, Anselmheifer said:

Fuaga gets a lot of love on the board, but I don’t see JC Latham referenced nearly as much. What’s the feeling in the board about Latham Va Fuaga? 

 

Fuaga is a better athlete and better player.  Latham is pretty heavy footed and lacking quick twitch speed, I don't think he's ever going to have much range as a run blocker, and Fuaga is the most dominant run blocker in the class by a mile.  But Latham is ultra smooth in pass pro and has elite size and strength.  He's a brick wall, and has a case for second best pass blocker in the class after Fashanu.  He deserves to go in like the teens, and I would actually put him as my OL3 ahead of Alt.  I'd have Fuaga as OL1 and Fashanu as OL 2.

[Chump Bailey]

29 minutes ago, Anselmheifer said:

Fuaga gets a lot of love on the board, but I don’t see JC Latham referenced nearly as much. What’s the feeling in the board about Latham Va Fuaga? 

 

Fuaga's higher ranked and the better player to my eyes. It's not a wide gulf between them for me, but there is indeed one. I'd really like to see Fuago and Cosmi on the right side of our OL. 

[mhd24]

16 minutes ago, Going Commando said:

 

Fuaga is a better athlete and better player.  Latham is pretty heavy footed and lacking quick twitch speed, I don't think he's ever going to have much range as a run blocker, and Fuaga is the most dominant run blocker in the class by a mile.  But Latham is ultra smooth in pass pro and has elite size and strength.  He's a brick wall, and has a case for second best pass blocker in the class after Fashanu.  He deserves to go in like the teens, and I would actually put him as my OL3 ahead of Alt.  I'd have Fuaga as OL1 and Fashanu as OL 2.

 

You think Fashanu can play tackle, or is he destined to be AVT 2.0 and transition to guard?

[RWJ]

2 hours ago, Going Commando said:

 

Our need at OT isn't desperate.  IOL is where our need is desperate.  Leno and Wylie are very underrated by this fan base.  And there are 10 OTs in this class good enough to go top 50.  Do you think one in three picks before 36 will be OT?  I definitely don't.  OT is the deepest position first and second round position this year, we'll be fine letting the draft come to us.

I'd hope so, GC.  Would love to see Jordan Morgan fall to us at #36.  One can hope.    

[Koolblue13]

There really isn't a blue chip OT. Maybe Alt, Fashanu, Fauga, Latham, but none of them are blue chip.

 

We won't have a shot at them anyway, so grabbing a guy like Paul, who is a physical specimen in the 3rd I think is a must do, even if we're not going to start him. Be cool to have actual brother on the OL, too.

 

Another day 3 OT I like 

 

[Chump Bailey]

Auburn OLB/ILB Eugene Asante is a name to keep tabs on IMO. 

[skinny21]

58 minutes ago, JamesMadisonSkins said:

 

Like you said, FA probably drives quite a bit of it. And what defense are we going to be running? 3 LBs primarily? 2 like last year?

 

Because if we sign someone like Patrick Queen in Free Agency, him and Davis would be good to man the LB spots. We'd still need a solid 3rd, but with two high-end LBs there do you need another early-round pick? Maybe a 3rd or a 4th? 

I think a lot of what we'll "need" on defense will obv. depend on scheme and who our DC is. We could need 2-3 LBs at a minimum. 

 

Our defense is BARREN. But I think we could / should still focus on the offense in 2024, kick defense to 2025. But we still need bodies, and some decent players across the board. Will be curious how much we address the defense in FA. 

Yeah, I didn’t put a reasoning to ILB because it’s a special case.  If we land a top ILB in FA, I agree that I’d likely veer away from using a 2nd there.  Davis going into his 4th year though, along with the potential to play with 3 backers (as you noted), I’m still looking at linebacker from the 3rd on.  I’ll add that adding a FA corner or TE wouldn’t prevent me from hitting those spots again in the draft.

 

I too would prioritize offense, but again, it depends on FA.  As of now, FA could solidify our defense (mostly), fix our oline (mostly), and/or add a couple quality pass catchers.  Or a blend of those.  I assume we’ll add at least a capable corner and edge rusher.  If we go hard after one side of the ball or the other in FA, I’m good with going heavier to the other side of the ball in the draft.

 

I’m generally a proponent of addressing holes so you can let the draft come to you, but in our case, I think I prefer a few high end FAs and some bandaids/stopgaps/prove-it deals.  Especially since (as I said) several positions, if we address them in FA with quality signings, shouldn’t inherently preclude us from still drafting a guy.

 

There are so many options with our cap space (and the available FAs), draft picks, and considering we need significant help on both O and D, that it’s making it more difficult for us to come up with a preferred plan (for me anyways).  FO is going to have a chance to earn their money for sure and I think it’ll be fascinating to see their approach.

[Chump Bailey]

4 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

There really isn't a blue chip OT. Maybe Alt, Fashanu, Fauga, Latham, but none of them are blue chip.

 

We won't have a shot at them anyway, so grabbing a guy like Paul, who is a physical specimen in the 3rd I think is a must do, even if we're not going to start him. Be cool to have actual brother on the OL, too.

 

Another day 3 OT I like 

 

 

I love Matt. Seriously doubt he lasts to Day 3, however. 

[FrFan]

Day 2 pick : https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2024/01/19/malachi-corley-scouting-report-nfl-draft-2024

 

 

 

[Warhead36]

This might sound weird/overly paranoid but...what is the deal with Fauga's age? Like, I literally can not find it anywhere. You can easily find Joe Alt's age, and Ola Fashanu's age, and so on and so forth, but Fauga's age is like completely wiped off the internet. Its probably not a big deal and he's probably like 22 since he was in college for four years, but the kid's a Samoan and there's a chance he's actually like 26 which completely kills his value.

[Koolblue13]

8 minutes ago, Chump Bailey said:

 

I love Matt. Seriously doubt he lasts to Day 3, however. 

It'll be interesting. Last year most of the premier OL talent was gone by the 2nd pick in round 3 and not a single OL went again, until late 3rd. pick 65 to 92 and 95 (strom)

 

The tier 1 and 2 guys will go by the end of round two, then the rest will slide to day three mostly. 

 

Not sure where guys like Kiran, Paul, Gobcalves etc go, but I think back of the third, early 4rth like last year is completely realistic. 

 

I think late second and most of the third round is going to be a TE run, LBer run, WR and RBs. The buld of DL will slip in there too.

 

Not to doubt the importance of the position, but if you're looking at OT8 vs CB3 or LB1, or even IOL1 or 2, you aren't taking OT8.

[Chump Bailey]

59 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

Not sure where guys like Kiran, Paul, Gobcalves etc go, but I think back of the third, early 4rth like last year is completely realistic. 

 

You're correct friend. I get my rounds mixed up even after all this time  while I personally think Matt is round 2-3 material, he seems consistently ranked in the 4th-5th rounds. 

Edited January 25 by Chump Bailey

[Koolblue13]

9 minutes ago, Chump Bailey said:

 

You're correct friend. I get my rounds mixed up even after all this time  while I personally think Matt is round 2-3 material, he seems consistently ranked in the 4th-5th rounds. 

The draft is wonky. Look at Wrights slide last year. Lael Collins went in the 7th or undrafted. This year a guy like Mims could slide to day three because of medicals and then have a healthy 12 year career, while Alt never gets up to NFL speed.

 

But I do think some of these tackles are dropping to 3/4/5 round territory.

[Chump Bailey]

BTW, West Virginia has some good looking prospects in the NFL pike: RB CJ Donaldson Jr. & LB Tyrin Bradley are impressive. They stood out to me watching their FS Marcis Floyd who is also good to my eyes.

[Est.1974]

In reality isn't this OL class overrated ? I reckon with our second round picks we can get stud first round tier prospects , just not OL players…..

[Warhead36]

52 minutes ago, Est.1974 said:

In reality isn't this OL class overrated ? I reckon with our second round picks we can get stud first round tier prospects , just not OL players…..

The OT class is deep but there is no sure fire super stud at the top. But there could be like ten guys who get first round grades. We could probably get a good one at 36.

[Est.1974]

Just now, Warhead36 said:

The OT class is deep but there is no sure fire super stud at the top. But there could be like ten guys who get first round grades. We could probably get a good one at 36.

IMO once you go QB in the first you simply stack up on the best talent at your pick. If we take WR and Edge in the second round so be it. BPA.

[Warhead36]

5 minutes ago, Est.1974 said:

IMO once you go QB in the first you simply stack up on the best talent at your pick. If we take WR and Edge in the second round so be it. BPA.

I'm good with BPA but I'd like to go all in on offense this year. Get the QB and his important pieces right away and start letting them grow together.

[Ball Security]

3 hours ago, Koolblue13 said:

The draft is wonky. Look at Wrights slide last year. Lael Collins went in the 7th or undrafted. This year a guy like Mims could slide to day three because of medicals and then have a healthy 12 year career, while Alt never gets up to NFL speed.

 

But I do think some of these tackles are dropping to 3/4/5 round territory.

Collins was weird circumstances. His girlfriend was murdered days before the draft and there was uncertainty about how it happened and who was involved. Once it got to day 3, his agent asked teams not to draft him.