Techbert

Instant Reaction: 1. Okay. As I said, I have COVID, so I reserve the right to make changes to the above, but they had to be caused by delirium and not just bad judgment. 2. I just lost 9 guys to another NFL team. That means they picked over my waiver wire like no one else's business. (And technically Jalen Coker was on the 53 for a day, so he would have been claimed and then released per my simulation rules.) So I accumulated talent. IRL I would have tried to translate this to future draft capital, but I don't have a simulation that fits that right now. 3. I know I shed a couple of starters and kept a couple of untested UDFA's who will not contribute this year. 4. Zammit! (My current curse word of choice, in honor of Louis Rees-Zammit for whom I fought off Jax and kept on my international slot.) The New York Jets screwed me. They went out of their way to tell me and the world that they were done with Izzy Abanikanda. He was a pariah, a dead man walking most of last year and quite a bit of camp this year. So I planned a succession plan to replacement him. I'm talking a multi-year contact I would not have agreed to is they had not had not... I won't say it, nor will I say who I would have drafted differently in round 2 which would have set off a chain reaction I cannot even fathom. Anyway I think Izzy is a talented runner with elite size and speed and he can learn to block pass pro. And my draft turned out fine and if I counted on Abanikanda my draft would have been similarly fine but with different names. 5. Super happy with the guard situation. Two vets. Two young players being groomed. I am not happy I will lose Trey Smith, but I have a salary cap plan. They position will be in good hands. 6. I had decided to medically hide Pearsall before he was shot. 7. I still want to deal a backup quarterback, and pissed the NYG have decided to tank. But I cannot force a trade. 8. Overall, I believe this year I will be able to run for as many yards as I want, throw for enough yards, and my defense will hopefully play even better. (We will see how the veterans hold up and the young players continue to develop.) I have a succession plan in place for most of the postions and can fix the rest in next year's draft. I calculate I can survive the Trevor Lawrence salary jump. I feel pretty good and if enough of my players ball out this year I will start a fresh team next draft. 9. My most emotional cut this year? Alex Ward long-snapper. Love him. Almost cut the best long-snapper in the league just to keep him, but my insanity has boundaries.

I gotta do this. I have COVID, but I need to post my 53-man roster before kickoff, so here ya go. qb Trevor Lawrence JAX, Tyson Bagent CHI, Mac Jones JAX rb Saquon Barkley PHI, Devin Singletary BUF, Jordan Mason SF, Trey Benson AZ, Dylan Laube OAK wr Amari Cooper CLE, Tee Higgins CIN, Elijah Moore CLE, AT Perry NO te/fb Trey McBride AZ, Jared Wiley KC, Hunter Luepke DAL ot Jedrick Wills CLE, Terence Steele DAL, Josh Jones BAL, Frank Crum DEN og Trey Smith KC, Kevin Zeitler DET, Andrew Voorhees BAL, Mason McCormick PIT c Lloyd Cushenberry TEN, Jon Gaines AZ de/edge Trayvon Thibodeaux NYG, Trey Hendrickson CIN, Bryce Huff PHI, Calais Campbell MIA idl Sheldon Rankins CIN, Kobie Turner LAR, Bobby Brown LAR, Travis Jones BAL, Dewayne Carter BUF, Andrew Billings CHI lb Ivan Pace MIN, Willie Gay NO, Leo Chenal KC, Isaiah SImmons NYG Dcb L'Jarius Sneed TEN, Zyon McCollum TB, Dallis Flowers IND, Cory Trice PIT, Storm Duck MIA s Tyrann Mathieu NO, Jeremy Chinn WAS, Brian Branch DET, Markquese Bell DAL, Brenden Schooler NE, Tycen Anderson CIN st Tyler Bass k BUF, Matt Araiza p KC, Ross Matiscik JAX PUP/NFI/etc Ricky Pearsall wr SF Isaiah Wynn og MIA Uchenna Nwosu edge SEA Drew Sanders lb DEN Lost to another team: Jarrett Stidham qb DEN Izzy Abanikanda rb NYJ Stone Forsythe ot SEA Kamu Grugier-Hill lb MIN Byron Murphy scb MIN D'Anthony Bell s CLE Xavier Woods s CAR Sam Martin pBUF Alex Ward ds LAR

About a week from Cutdown Day. Let me share my expectations. Cutting to 53 will not be easy. Projected League Starters (38): qb - Lawrence rb - Barkley, Singletary wr - Cooper, Higgins, Moore te - McBride ot - Wills (I), Steele og - Smith, Zeitler, Wynn (I), Voorhees c - Cushenberry edge - Thibodeaux, Hendrickson, Nwosu, Huff idl - Rankins, Billings, Jones, Brown, Turner lb - Pace, Gay, Chenal cb - Snead, McCollum, Murphy s - Mattieu, Woods, Chinn, Branch st - Bass, Martin, Araiza, Matiscik, Ward Projected League Key Backups (18): qb - Bagent, Stidham rb - Benson (R), Mason, Laube (R), Luepke wr - Pearsall (R), Perry, Jones te - Wiley (R) ot - og - McCormick (R) c - Gaines edge - idl - Carter (R) lb - Sanders (I), Simmons (s/lb) cb - s - Schooler, Anderson (I), M Bell Projected League Bubble(6): rb - Miller ot - Jones lb - Grugier-Hill cb - Trice, Flowers s - D Bell Hey, It Might Happen (9): qb - Jones rb - Gore (R), Shirden (R), Rees-Zammit (R), Abanikanda te - Stoll NYG, Rogers PHI wr - Coker (R) cb - Duck (R)

Training Camp Update: (Because, why not?) You have to know how to listen to word out of camp, cuz people do one part hyping, one part quietly sitting on treasure, and one part giving earned praise. Up arrows: wr Pearsall, dt Carter, og McCormick, te Wiley, rb Laube Not worried: rb Benson Probable misses: ot Greenfield. Udfa watch: long way to go for any to make the roster and i may have multiple hits, but i think my best chance is ot Frank Crum DEN. I may have 0 starters from this class at thet start of the year, but I may have 5 or 6 starters at the beginning of next year.

Adrian Burk blew the play dead.

Zaps prolly (based on contract) sign Calais Campbell de MIA. He should help out in 3-man and certain 4-man fronts the Zaps use, as well as entertain younger players with stories of his hi-jinks with Methuselah and the gang.

DEFENSE What I had: Edges that can pressure the quarterback but could be stronger against the run. Enough tackles to provide quality and depth, including Kobie Turner. Enough linebacking, including Ivan Pace. A lot of money invested at corner. Veteran safeties that can play safety and a young Brian Branch and a bunch of young safeties who will either develop into safeties or stay as special teams specialists. What I needed: A few defenders added in a draft whose focus (and talent pool) was on offense. What I got: Big fan of Dewayne Carter's leadership, instincts, and toughness. Gabe Hall was the best player on a bad defense, and shined in all-star practices. Storm Duck has a world class name, and has a chance to be an outside corner, too. What will happen IRL: I expect Carter to rotate and get snaps behind two clear starters. I'd be happier if Gabe Hall was not in Philly, cuz they luv collecting defensive tackles. Duck may make the roster in Miami, and I expect him to develop on the practice squad otherwise.

(Because of the delay of real life, I am ignoring any news that comes out of OTA and early minicamp and stuff that revealed itself in May and early June. So some of this may be obsolete when it is posted. Pretend that I posted it back in late April, which is the intent.) IOL What I had: Trey Smith is what I want in an OG. Kevin Zeitler may have a year left in the tank. Isaiah Wynn was re-signed out of loyalty after coming back from injuries. Andrew Voorhees redshirt last year due to an ACL but was expected to be a Day 2 pick before injuries and has a clear shot at starting at guard. At center I gave Lloyd Cushenberry a ton of money to prove he had finally developed at the position. Jon Gaines also redshirted due to injuries last year and can play center or guard. What I needed: A developmental player at guard or center (or both) to replace aging players on the roster. What I got: Mason McCormick is tough and athletic and well-coached. The Steelers should love him. What will happen IRL: Mason sits for a year as a backup and starts at guard in 2025. He could play center but barring major injuries he won't. OT What I had: Jedrick Wills has fought injuries but hangs in there. Terence Steele returned from ACL last year and it affected his play. Needs to show full recover this year, but never was an athletic wonder. Stone Forsythe has actually developed right on track but there is no path to start that does not involve horrific injury above him. Josh Jones was signed by BAL primarily to be a safety option at guard but he sucks at guard and has to have something bad happen to a starting tackle for him to make the team. What I needed: A right tackle ready to take over for Steele if he falters, and/or ready to shoulder the load after Steele is done. What I got: I had Garret Greenfield in higher regard that the league, and he is an UDFA in Seattle competing with Stone among others. I made fun of Frank Crum and his flowing locks at the Combine, but he is a tough dude and a helluva athlete. What will happen IRL: Greenfield should get a practice squad ticket. Crum may actually make the Broncos and is the kind of guy you want on your practice squad if you have no room in your top 53. QB What I had: Trevor Lawrence. Mac Jones is trade bait. Jarrett Stidham is fighting off a rookie and a cast-off in Denver. I think Tyson Bagent played better in Chicago than Justin Fields, and apparently Chicago could see what I was talking about. What I needed: The season to start. What I got: A year off from picking a quarterback, or even scouting them. What will happen IRL: A healthy Trevor is a force.

I want to be on record that I never thought using #8 for a QB was a bad use of the pick. Team weakness. Most important position on the team. Bringing in an aging quarterback. Not saying I liked (or disliked) the Penix pick, but I liked using it on a quarterback. Sue me. PIT drafted 99 interior offensive linemen. No one howled about that.

I took this as evidence that Deebo is Dead 49er Walking. Like, the day after June 1.

Interrupting the draft review to mention Zaps sign Zay Jones wr Az 1 yr $4.25m. Will secure the x position while protecting if some young wr's do not pan out.

Rice seemed to me to be very herky-jerky in his movements. I have a preference for efficient athletes who ironically do not always look fast. They stay healthier for longer, on average, and can learn better techniques faster.

For my Fake Team: Ricky Pearsall wr will get about 40% of the offensive snaps, of which half will be pretending to be Aiyuk or Samuels. Trey Benson rb will be Conners primary backup, until injuries either move him up or shut him down. DeWayne Carter dt gets in the Bills rotation. Mason McCormick og gets praise in training camp and then buried in the depth chart. Jared Wiley te also gets praise in training camp and then also gets buried. Dylan Laube rb will get some return work and might win the 3rd down back competition. UDFA Jalen Coker wr makes the team.

TE/FB What I had: If you have not been paying attention, Trey McBride has become a star. Jack Stoll can block. Armani Rogers can get hurt. Hunter Luepke can play special teams. What I needed: A second receiving tight end that will not embarrass himself throwing a block. What I got: Jared Wiley is a big boy with surprisingly easy movement. McCallan Castles will start on special teams but may grow into something from there. What will happen IRL: Wiley has to get past real competition just to back up Kelce. I did not celebrate when KC picked him. Philly likes to keep tight ends on the roster, which gives Castles a slim chance.

RB What I had: Saquon Barkley was signed to be my bellcow. Same in Philly. He should be in his prime, but for rb the sun can set quickly. Devin Singletary was signed to spot Saquon and catch passes with a very team-friendly contract. The NYG supposedly signed him to be their #1 back but that seems a bit optimistic. For both the Zaps and the Giants, Devin signed to be with Brian Dabol again. Jordan Mason has averaged over 5 ypc in each of his two seasons but he is buried deep in SF, and the coaches do not see any reason to give him carries. Pity. Makes it hard for me to simulate using him. Izzy Abanikanda should be an exciting young back, but the NYJ have clearly drafted over him. I don't know why but I have to be ready for him to get cut. What I needed: An insurance policy for Barkley if he gets hurt, and a bright talent for the inevitable ahead. An insurance policy if Singletary and/or Abanikanda are not there. What I got: Trey Benson learned to trust his speed this season, and it make a world of difference. The only thing he needs to improve to be an every down back is his pass pro. Dylan Laube is from a small school and needs to add strength, but he is already a good receiver and pass blocker. I think a few training tables will make all the difference in his contact balance. I expect him to see the field on third downs as is. Frank Gore is not his daddy, but he has decent nimbleness and acceptable speed and we will give him a chance to show what he has. Jaden Shirden is a fast little bug and can make the team if he wins a return role. Same with Turbo Miller, who is short but not light. I don't know what I have with Louis Rees-Zammit but he is big and I hope his poor testing is due to unfamiliarity with the tests. Either way, I can salt him away for a while under the international umbrella and dream. What will happen IRL: Benson will back up James Conner and get carries, and step in if something happens to Conner. If all goes to plan, Benson will take over after Conner's contract expires next year. If Laube has a pulse he should make the team and if he follows what the team trainer tells him he should beat out his 30-year-old competition for 3rd down back and it would not shock me if he beats out Zamir White and Alexander Mattison and actually starts for the Raiders. I expect Gore to be a practice squad dude. I hope Shirden or Miller win a return role. Again, I have no idea about Rees-Zammit but I like his name.