NFL Draft Talk (Mainly Titans)

[KingTitan]

Not to make another thread, but I wanted to talk draft strategy, theories, approaches, etc. 

The college prospect thread seemed more dedicated to the players themselves. 

But if the talk of McCarthy really being a QB to trade up for is real, it could get really interesting.

I also saw this NFL Mock Draft 2024: Trading Up For QBs (thedraftnetwork.com)

Taliese Fuaga is the first OT taken.  I do love him as OT, but that was bucking conventional opinion. 

 

[Daniel]

11 minutes ago, KingTitan said:

Not to make another thread, but I wanted to talk draft strategy, theories, approaches, etc. 

The college prospect thread seemed more dedicated to the players themselves. 

But if the talk of McCarthy really being a QB to trade up for is real, it could get really interesting.

I also saw this NFL Mock Draft 2024: Trading Up For QBs (thedraftnetwork.com)

Taliese Fuaga is the first OT taken.  I do love him as OT, but that was bucking conventional opinion. 

 

Yeah, Fuaga keeps moving up.  There may be an idea that he can play on either side, and maybe he can.  But the tape I saw of him he didn't show that kind of movement really.  His game is all about power.  He does have crazy strength though.  And even against fast pass rushers like Latu, he was steadfast.  So maybe.  Combine ought to sort that out.

Darnell Wright went over every other tackle in last year's class but Paris Johnson, and he was a right only guy.  Fuaga is a better prospect than him, so maybe he could go over Alt.

I really hope McCarthy is as coveted as people are saying.  We're in misinformation season though, so it may be nothing.  But if he is, there are five teams I could see taking a QB between us and pick 14.  The idea of being able to move down like four spots and pick up something like a second rounder is really, really appealing.  Downside is that the Jets would all but certainly take an OT in that situation, so we're down a few options.  But if Fuaga has the quickness to play left tackle, and if he, Alt, and Fashanu are OTB at 7, then I'm fine moving that far down and taking whoever is left.

That extra draft capital could a CB, another OL, a real weapon TE, or a DL on top of the WR that's a foregone conclusion.  Or even allow us to gamble a bit on OT, and take Odunze if he's still there.  Two seconds that can be spent on the OL would make me OK missing on the top OTs.  We get like a Sedrick Van Pran and a Blake Fisher, then that still improves the OL immensely.  LT would still be a problem, but having 4/5 slots taken care of is pretty OK too.

[-Hope-]

yeah, if the buzz around tackles falling and QBs rising is anything more than smoke, that's great for us. try to swap with one of those teams from 11-13 and grab the best tackle remaining. but it's silly season now so no idea if any of this stuff is going to come to pass. the downgrading of fashanu right now is still baffling to me. lance zierlein had him going at *18* in his latest mock. like....what?

[KingTitan]

I know you've probably seen this vid.

But my eyes were instantly drawn to him at the 14/15 second mark.  oooooh wee. Lol

That screams zone blocking monster. 

I've settled (for now) in my mind and heart that Alt will be the pick if we stick at #7. The WR's in the 2nd round are going to be good if not above good. 

Like you, I'd love to be able to get a good CB in the 3rd or maybe even the LB out of Texas A&M Cooper. That seems like a good sweet spot to get a sure fire starter at a thin position for us. 
But yeah only 2 known for sure LT's in Fashnu and Alt. Then questions of whether others can flip to LT. 
Question also could be, do we think we can salavage Radunz or NPF enough to make them better than Daley/Dilliard at LT while drafting a high-quality RT or  overpay for an average LT in FA like KC has done. (Tyron Smith, Jonah Williams)

[KingTitan]

5 minutes ago, -Hope- said:

yeah, if the buzz around tackles falling and QBs rising is anything more than smoke, that's great for us. try to swap with one of those teams from 11-13 and grab the best tackle remaining. but it's silly season now so no idea if any of this stuff is going to come to pass. the downgrading of fashanu right now is still baffling to me. lance zierlein had him going at *18* in his latest mock. like....what?

I think maybe because he isn't plug and play makes him less attractive. He is draft play right away, few bumps and learning curves, which you can get later in the draft too. 
Alt is here is your jersey, you are the starter, I don't have to teach you nothing but the plays. 

[Daniel]

26 minutes ago, KingTitan said:

I know you've probably seen this vid.

But my eyes were instantly drawn to him at the 14/15 second mark.  oooooh wee. Lol

That screams zone blocking monster. 

I've settled (for now) in my mind and heart that Alt will be the pick if we stick at #7. The WR's in the 2nd round are going to be good if not above good. 

Like you, I'd love to be able to get a good CB in the 3rd or maybe even the LB out of Texas A&M Cooper. That seems like a good sweet spot to get a sure fire starter at a thin position for us. 
But yeah only 2 known for sure LT's in Fashnu and Alt. Then questions of whether others can flip to LT. 
Question also could be, do we think we can salavage Radunz or NPF enough to make them better than Daley/Dilliard at LT while drafting a high-quality RT or  overpay for an average LT in FA like KC has done. (Tyron Smith, Jonah Williams)

Yeah, this is the tape that made me so impressed by his punches.  Like 75% of these reps, it's over on his initial punch because he just rocks the defender back and out of the play.

As for the bold, I think that's absolutely fine if we stock up with a lot more draft capital.  If we can spend two high picks on the OL, and with such a deep RT class, we can absolutely have the rest of the OL locked down, with Brunskill filling in at either C or RG, depending on who we can get.  In my example above, we have Skor (LG), SVP (C), Brunskill (RG), and Fisher (RT).  I like that as a lineup.  Skor should be a plus guard next year, Brunskill is fine, and the other two are very talented rookies under a good OL coach.

Even if we still have awful LT play, one of NPF, Radunz, or Duncan should be able to improve enough to be at least better than what we had from the group last year.  It might still be bad, and LT might still be our biggest need, but if you have the rest of the OL locked down, there are a lot of ways to minimize the impact of one weak spot.

31 minutes ago, -Hope- said:

yeah, if the buzz around tackles falling and QBs rising is anything more than smoke, that's great for us. try to swap with one of those teams from 11-13 and grab the best tackle remaining. but it's silly season now so no idea if any of this stuff is going to come to pass. the downgrading of fashanu right now is still baffling to me. lance zierlein had him going at *18* in his latest mock. like....what?

I have been significantly lower on Fashanu than the hype since last year, but agreed.  He's got some bad tape (Ohio St), but his tape against Illinois is excellent.  He's got plenty to work on, sure, but the talent is extraordinary.  And he's not Guyton raw.  He's just got a bit to work on.

But god I hope it's real.  I'm all in on Alt being a true blue chip tackle, and have been for a while, but being able to trade down and still get Fashanu is a dream scenario.  Callahan will fix him in no time IMO, and his ceiling is higher than Alt's, if only a little.

[Dr.Doom52]

Thanks for making this new thread explicitly for our draft!! 

I love the idea of a trade back, what compensation would we get to go back to say 11-13 range. I go to the PFF simulator and it's all over the map. 

I know it's going to be tough but this has to be a patient off season, improve the roster with the draft and some reasonable FA additions, but starting 25-28 that has to be our real window to get to the top. Can't break the bank for this offseason and put ourselves back in cap trouble when Levis(assuming he works out) comes up for a new contract. 

Trade back to 11-14 is preferred, second option is BPA at position of need...literally anything but QB, because this is a foundational piece, not a "put us over the top" luxury pick. And for god's sake no freaking projects with great upside!!! We need 3 day one starters in this draft!

Edited February 12 by Dr.Doom52

[-Hope-]

2 hours ago, Daniel said:

I have been significantly lower on Fashanu than the hype since last year, but agreed.  He's got some bad tape (Ohio St), but his tape against Illinois is excellent.  He's got plenty to work on, sure, but the talent is extraordinary.  And he's not Guyton raw.  He's just got a bit to work on.

But god I hope it's real.  I'm all in on Alt being a true blue chip tackle, and have been for a while, but being able to trade down and still get Fashanu is a dream scenario.  Callahan will fix him in no time IMO, and his ceiling is higher than Alt's, if only a little.

i really don't see how fashanu slides any further than OT3. fuaga i can perhaps see, but the idea of taking latham over him is nuts to me. zierlein had fuaga going OT1 which is absolutely wild to me in its own right.

[Andrei01]

On 2/12/2024 at 4:54 PM, KingTitan said:

Not to make another thread, but I wanted to talk draft strategy, theories, approaches, etc. 

The college prospect thread seemed more dedicated to the players themselves. 

But if the talk of McCarthy really being a QB to trade up for is real, it could get really interesting.

I also saw this NFL Mock Draft 2024: Trading Up For QBs (thedraftnetwork.com)

Taliese Fuaga is the first OT taken.  I do love him as OT, but that was bucking conventional opinion. 

 

The only reason Fuaga is the first OT taken in that mock is because Giants need a RT, not a LT, Fuaga is a RT prospect so I guess the author thought it makes more sense. 

I personally don't think he's necessarily RT1. I like most of his game, but then there's plays in which I think he might look much better as a guard. I view him mostly as I view Graham Barton. They're pretty good prospects with some good traits, just not sure they're playing the positions they should be playing.

I am considerably higher on Latham than most people (at least on this forum) are, and then there's Mims, who may or may not make sense on the left side as well and who is a little tough to project based on limited experience.

That being said, my philosophy has always been go talent first and need later on, so if they like one of the RT prospects over one of the LTs, by all means go for it. Same goes for whether they like one of the WRs better than any of the tackles, and as far as I'm concerned, if they go against all expectations and draft defense instead. Drafting top 10 (you can argue 1st round, really, but especially top 10) should be all about trying to find the best talent available at a premier position, figure out the rest with Day 2 and 3 picks/FA. If there's a pass rusher they believe to be an All-Pro prospect while the top OT is a starting-level player on their board, draft the pass rusher.

Having said all that, I mentioned before that while Alt might be the safest pick at OT, I don't necessarily believe he's a true blue-chip prospect at the position. 

[KingTitan]

11 minutes ago, Andrei01 said:

The only reason Fuaga is the first OT taken in that mock is because Giants need a RT, not a LT, Fuaga is a RT prospect so I guess the author thought it makes more sense. 

I personally don't think he's necessarily RT1. I like most of his game, but then there's plays in which I think he might look much better as a guard. I view him mostly as I view Graham Barton. They're pretty good prospects with some good traits, just not sure they're playing the positions they should be playing.

I am considerably higher on Latham than most people (at least on this forum) are, and then there's Mims, who may or may not make sense on the left side as well and who is a little tough to project based on limited experience.

That being said, my philosophy has always been go talent first and need later on, so if they like one of the RT prospects over one of the LTs, by all means go for it. Same goes for whether they like one of the WRs better than any of the tackles, and as far as I'm concerned, if they go against all expectations and draft defense instead. Drafting top 10 (you can argue 1st round, really, but especially top 10) should be all about trying to find the best talent available at a premier position, figure out the rest with Day 2 and 3 picks/FA. If there's a pass rusher they believe to be an All-Pro prospect while the top OT is a starting-level player on their board, draft the pass rusher.

Having said all that, I mentioned before that while Alt might be the safest pick at OT, I don't necessarily believe he's a true blue-chip prospect at the position. 

To me. Latham look like the guy we would have drafted if Vrabel was here and he just looks like an OG to me. I Think he'd make a superstar OG. 

[Andrei01]

13 minutes ago, KingTitan said:

To me. Latham look like the guy we would have drafted if Vrabel was here and he just looks like an OG to me. I Think he'd make a superstar OG. 

I know he's like 360 lbs so physically, yes, he looks like a guard, but his lateral movement footwork and quickness are underrated, to me, which is why I think he's a much, much more solid T prospect than he's being given credit for. 

[KingTitan]

I'd like to trade down a few spots for someone that really wants one of the top OTs.  Recoup a 3rd round pick. 

Select someone like Lathun or Mims. Also seeing how the LT from Washington measured in with OT arms makes him intriguing. Then come back in the 2nd grab the best WR left. 

Come back in the 3rd get one of the good CBs. Or even get another OL. 

[seminoles1]

34 minutes ago, KingTitan said:

I'd like to trade down a few spots for someone that really wants one of the top OTs.  Recoup a 3rd round pick. 

Select someone like Lathun or Mims. Also seeing how the LT from Washington measured in with OT arms makes him intriguing. Then come back in the 2nd grab the best WR left. 

Come back in the 3rd get one of the good CBs. Or even get another OL. 

If we can sign Tyron Smith or Charles Leno, Jr. then I am all on board with this.

[KingTitan]

1 minute ago, seminoles1 said:

If we can sign Tyron Smith or Charles Leno, Jr. then I am all on board with this.

Yeah I'm assuming we sign an very serviceable OT in free agency. 

[Daniel]

All these supposedly athletic OTs not being that athletic might make one of them actually slip to the Titans.

First round locks seem like

QB: Williams, Maye, Daniels
WR: MHJ, Nabers, Odunze, Mitchell, Thomas (probably Franklin and Worthy too)
TE: Bowers
OT: Alt, Fahsanu, Fuaga, Mims, Fautanu (probably Guyton too)
IOL: JPJ, Barton
Edge: Verse, Turner, Latu, Robinson
DL: Murphy, Newton
CB: Mitchell, Arnold, Wiggins (probably DeJean  too)

That's 29.  So 9 more come off the board before our next pick.  If I had to guess, it'd be Koolaid McKinstry, Keon Coleman, Darius Robinson, JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Kris Jenkins are the next ones that are the most likely to go.

That leaves Jordan Morgan, Patrick Paul, Blake Fisher, Kingsley Suimataia, Zach Frazier, and Cooper Beebe as the OLs likely to be available that are being slotted in that range.

For WRs, that's Ladd McConkey, Xavier Legette, Malachai Corley, Jermaine Burton, Roman Wilson, Ricky Pearsall, Javon Baker, Ja'Tavion Sanders, Jaheim Bell, and Theo Johnson as passing weapons likely to be available.

A couple of standouts, but if they're gone, I think it makes a ton of sense to trade down in the second and take who's left.  Won't recoup as much value, but even getting like an extra fifth to move down allows us to take one of these RBs or another OL or WR late.  The class is so deep at both positions.