Pre-Senior Bowl Mock

[howru8888]

I’m good with Brian Thomas at 9 if MHJ, Nabers, Odunze and Bowers all gone and you can’t move down. Don’t need Olt. line is fine except at Center. 

[refundmytickets]

44 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

If we drafted 3 OTs in 3 years what a departure from previous GMs.

And I wouldn't be against it.

If you give most QBs time they will pick defenses apart. Doesn't matter who the receivers are. You can only cover guys for so long.

Makes your run and play-action game much more credible as well.

[AZBearsFan]

4 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

I am just hopefully this doesn't happen if we get stuck at #9 but I really do see us being in a great position to trade back...

The more QBs who look good in the pre-draft process the better...someone is getting Christian Pondered this year.

I’m kind of looking at it the other way. Picking at 9 we would almost never have a shot at either Fashanu or Alt. Both are virtual top 5 locks in most drafts. Looking across the league there seems to be a far better chance you find an absolute dude at WR outside the top 10 picks than an absolute dude at OT.

Bleacher Report comps Fashanu to D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Alt to a bigger, stronger Jake Matthews. I am a huuuuuuge fan of Nabers, Odunze and Bowers, but if we chose Alt or Fashanu over any of them I will be 100% on board with that. If we go the route of keeping Fields vs. drafting Williams, there’s a pretty decent chance we get one of the OL and one of the receivers. 

[HuskieBear]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I’m kind of looking at it the other way. Picking at 9 we would almost never have a shot at either Fashanu or Alt. Both are virtual top 5 locks in most drafts. Looking across the league there seems to be a far better chance you find an absolute dude at WR outside the top 10 picks than an absolute dude at OT.

Bleacher Report comps Fashanu to D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Alt to a bigger, stronger Jake Matthews. I am a huuuuuuge fan of Nabers, Odunze and Bowers, but if we chose Alt or Fashanu over any of them I will be 100% on board with that. If we go the route of keeping Fields vs. drafting Williams, there’s a pretty decent chance we get one of the OL and one of the receivers. 

I'm really coming around to the idea of an Edge at 9 (or with slight trade down). like you said, there's a better chance of getting the stud WR after top 10, and a guy like turner would normally never drop to 9 (he still might not) - Saban said he was a more football savvy will anderson - who made the pro bowl (alternate) this year as a rookie. Turner across from Sweat would really help our pass rush, and bringing washington over from buffalo would really help with his development. 

[Madmike90]

9 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

I’m kind of looking at it the other way. Picking at 9 we would almost never have a shot at either Fashanu or Alt. Both are virtual top 5 locks in most drafts. Looking across the league there seems to be a far better chance you find an absolute dude at WR outside the top 10 picks than an absolute dude at OT.

Bleacher Report comps Fashanu to D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Alt to a bigger, stronger Jake Matthews. I am a huuuuuuge fan of Nabers, Odunze and Bowers, but if we chose Alt or Fashanu over any of them I will be 100% on board with that. If we go the route of keeping Fields vs. drafting Williams, there’s a pretty decent chance we get one of the OL and one of the receivers. 

I guess this comes down to how we view Braxton Jones differently…I think he is a good level starter in this scheme at LT and we would benefit from having a better #2 receiving option…you think upgrading at LT would be better…truth is either can work for a team…

Side note but I am starting to wonder if Odunze might be the odd man out…I think he could be more of a top 15 talent than top 10…I think the gap between him and Brian Thomas Jr is getting smaller & smaller every time I watch the two of them…especially where I think they could be in 3 years time if they hit their ceiling.

[refundmytickets]

23 minutes ago, Madmike90 said:

I guess this comes down to how we view Braxton Jones differently…I think he is a good level starter in this scheme at LT and we would benefit from having a better #2 receiving option…you think upgrading at LT would be better…truth is either can work for a team…

Braxton can compete with Davis and Jenkins while also providing depth. An abundance of quality OL is a good problem to have.

[AZBearsFan]

6 minutes ago, Madmike90 said:

I guess this comes down to how we view Braxton Jones differently…I think he is a good level starter in this scheme at LT and we would benefit from having a better #2 receiving option…you think upgrading at LT would be better…truth is either can work for a team…

Side note but I am starting to wonder if Odunze might be the odd man out…I think he could be more of a top 15 talent than top 10…I think the gap between him and Brian Thomas Jr is getting smaller & smaller every time I watch the two of them…especially where I think they could be in 3 years time if they hit their ceiling.

I don’t disagree that Jones is an adequate starter at LT - I just think Alt and Fashanu will be top tier LTs within a few years, and I don’t see that level in Jones’ future. You can add a WR2 in most drafts in the top 2 rounds. In just the past 2 drafts alone the top 2 rounds excluding the top 15 picks have produced Jahan Dotson (16), JSN (20), Zay Flowers (22), Jordan Addison (23), Christian Watson (34), Jayden Reed (50), George Pickens (52) and Rashee Rice (55) all of whom are a capable WR2 or better already. Short term options for non-WR1 receivers are always there in FA as well. But, landing a 21-year old franchise LT outside the top 15 is far more difficult. It’s not impossible, but it’s far less common. Hopefully this year is the last time we’re picking that high for a long time. We’ve been getting by with “good enough” on the OL for far too long IMO. I’d like to not have to think about drafting a starting tackle for like the next 8 years, and while I think Jones is adequate I think we’ll always be looking into upgrades too. We may have an uncommon chance to add an absolute stud at a premium position that we may not again for a really long time, and I’d hate to miss that. 

Beyond all of that, in this scenario the immediate need is for a WR3 for me because I’m comfortable with Boyd as WR2. I also like Thomas a lot and he’d be a guy I’m targeting if we do trade down in R1. I just didn’t do that here. 

[Madmike90]

1 hour ago, refundmytickets said:

Braxton can compete with Davis and Jenkins while also providing depth. An abundance of quality OL is a good problem to have.

Braxton is not a guard IMO…you expose his weakness and make take away his strengths inside.

[Madmike90]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I don’t disagree that Jones is an adequate starter at LT - I just think Alt and Fashanu will be top tier LTs within a few years, and I don’t see that level in Jones’ future. You can add a WR2 in most drafts in the top 2 rounds. In just the past 2 drafts alone the top 2 rounds excluding the top 15 picks have produced Jahan Dotson (16), JSN (20), Zay Flowers (22), Jordan Addison (23), Christian Watson (34), Jayden Reed (50), George Pickens (52) and Rashee Rice (55) all of whom are a capable WR2 or better already. Short term options for non-WR1 receivers are always there in FA as well. But, landing a 21-year old franchise LT outside the top 15 is far more difficult. It’s not impossible, but it’s far less common. Hopefully this year is the last time we’re picking that high for a long time. We’ve been getting by with “good enough” on the OL for far too long IMO. I’d like to not have to think about drafting a starting tackle for like the next 8 years, and while I think Jones is adequate I think we’ll always be looking into upgrades too. We may have an uncommon chance to add an absolute stud at a premium position that we may not again for a really long time, and I’d hate to miss that. 

Beyond all of that, in this scenario the immediate need is for a WR3 for me because I’m comfortable with Boyd as WR2. I also like Thomas a lot and he’d be a guy I’m targeting if we do trade down in R1. I just didn’t do that here. 

I just don’t feel this scheme has ever required a top tier LT…especially given how much teams move around their best pass rusher the need to be really good everywhere tops having one elite LT IMO…now of course I am never going to turn down a great offensive linemen…for me everything is about building in the trenches…I just feel we would get more out of Braxton & a top WR prospect than a rookie LT and a solid WR prospect…

Each approach can work as we have seen with the Bengals & Lions when it came to Chase & Sewell.

[AZBearsFan]

14 minutes ago, Madmike90 said:

I just don’t feel this scheme has ever required a top tier LT…especially given how much teams move around their best pass rusher the need to be really good everywhere tops having one elite LT IMO…now of course I am never going to turn down a great offensive linemen…for me everything is about building in the trenches…I just feel we would get more out of Braxton & a top WR prospect than a rookie LT and a solid WR prospect…

Each approach can work as we have seen with the Bengals & Lions when it came to Chase & Sewell.

I don’t think there’s a wrong way to do it per se. In this scenario absent a trade we only had one of those options though (Bowers was gone, and I see MHJ/Nabers/Odunze and then a decent gap before Coleman and Thomas, then another one before Mitchell and Legette, etc.).

We can get an elite prospect at 9 somewhere, so if we stay there I want to make sure that happens. Give me the best talent wherever that may be and we can figure it out from there. In the Sewell/Chase situation, both were elite prospects so it was matter of preference and what else they could get to fill the other hole. An elite LT and an elite WR both set a QB up for more success. For me Alt was well ahead of what was left at WR at 9 in this scenario. I’m not sure yet what I’d do if we got to 9 and one of those receivers (incl. Bowers) and either/or Alt/Fashanu are both there. FA would certainly be a factor though. 

[Madmike90]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

I don’t think there’s a wrong way to do it per se. In this scenario absent a trade we only had one of those options though (Bowers was gone, and I see MHJ/Nabers/Odunze and then a decent gap before Coleman and Thomas, then another one before Mitchell and Legette, etc.).

We can get an elite prospect at 9 somewhere, so if we stay there I want to make sure that happens. Give me the best talent wherever that may be and we can figure it out from there. In the Sewell/Chase situation, both were elite prospects so it was matter of preference and what else they could get to fill the other hole. An elite LT and an elite WR both set a QB up for more success. For me Alt was well ahead of what was left at WR at 9 in this scenario. I’m not sure yet what I’d do if we got to 9 and one of those receivers (incl. Bowers) and either/or Alt/Fashanu are both there. FA would certainly be a factor though. 

That I completely agree with...

Guess it's just how we see the top of the board going for other team that differs as I have the Chargers & Titans scooping up Fashanu & Alt.

[Madmike90]

 

@AZBearsFan we might all see it the same way hahaha

[HuskieBear]

1 hour ago, Madmike90 said:

 

@AZBearsFan we might all see it the same way hahaha

another reason i'm on board going edge at 9. depending on how the board falls, we could have our pick of the best defensive player in the draft and if we gain a top 50 pick for JF, there is likely going to be another player at another position of need available then

[Madmike90]

8 minutes ago, HuskieBear said:

another reason i'm on board going edge at 9. depending on how the board falls, we could have our pick of the best defensive player in the draft and if we gain a top 50 pick for JF, there is likely going to be another player at another position of need available then

I can see that thinking for sure...I guess I just hope we no longer need an edge since the FA class is really strong this offseason...hopefully we bring in two new edge players early in FA.

[AZBearsFan]

6 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

That I completely agree with...

Guess it's just how we see the top of the board going for other team that differs as I have the Chargers & Titans scooping up Fashanu & Alt.

FA pending obviously, but I think the Titans for sure (in my mock I had them taking Fashanu, who I have slightly ahead of Alt). I think the Chargers more 50/50 since they may lose Allen to cap issues and Williams is coming off an ACL. Bowers makes a ton of sense to me there given Harbaugh’s style of play. I don’t think any of the top 4 take an OT, and both ATL and NYG have both OTs locked in already IMO.