What Rookies Make the Final 53?

[MKnight82]

From our draft class this year which do you think will make the Final 53?  

 

Round 1 - DE Johnathan Allen - He's guaranteed to be on the roster unless he gets injured and goes on IR.

Round 2 - LB  Ryan Anderson - Also guaranteed a spot.  

Round 3 - CB Fabian Moreau - Interesting that he was not on the PUP list.  We'll have to carry him on the active roster now whether he's healthy or not.  

Round 4 - S Montae Nicholson - I don't see this guy contributing at all this year, except maybe on ST.  He was a 4th round pick though so I expect him to make the team.  

Round 4 - RB Samaje Perine - I'd say he's pretty much guaranteed a roster spot as well.  

Round 5 - TE Jeremy Sprinkle - Ok now's where it gets interesting.  Sprinkle needs to show that he can block at the NFL level to make the team.  If not he could head to the PS.

Round 6 - C Chase Roullier - Since we don't really have a true Center on the roster I think its unlikely Roullier doesn't make the team.  Especially if he proves he can backup at RG too.

Round 6 - WR Robert Davis - We usually carry 6 WRs.  Terrelle Pryor, Josh Doctson and Jamison Crowder are all guaranteed spots.  The coaching staff for some reason loves Ryan Grant.  The 5th and 6th spot WRs are probably going to have to play STs.  Maurice Harris was on the team last year so he probably has a leg up on the 5 spot.  I'm not sure Brian Quick plays ST, so if Robert Davis can prove his worth on ST he might make it as the 6th WR.  

Round 7 - S/LB Josh Harvey-Clemons - I'm not sure what position he'll be playing, probably MLB like Cravens last year.  We have a bunch of MLBs that'll be ahead of him on the depth chart.  Likely PS.  

Round 7 - CB Joshua Holsey - We'll probably carry 5, and Moreau not being on the PUP hurts his chances.  Norman, Breeland, Fuller, & Moreau are all guaranteed spots.  He'd have to beat out Dunbar for the #5 spot unless there's an injury.  Likely PS candidate IMO.  

 

So other than our two 7th round picks I like the chances the other 8 have of making the final roster.  

 

[turtle28]

Top 7 make it, the final 3 end up in the practice squad.

[Woz]

The WR competition for the 4th, 5th, and possible 6th spot will be interesting, especially if they throw away Ryan Grant and Brian Quick like they should.

[turtle28]

I'm not sure why we should sleep on Grant and Quick. They're not starting worthy but they can play special teams. That means something.  Special teams gets overlooked and some are sleeping on the importance of special teams. 

We've already seen Maurice Harris go out with a knee sprain which is expected to keep him out a month, maybe longer. Kendall Thompson is returning off a knee injury and Robert Davis is completely raw. 

I don't think Grant or Quick are locks to make the roster but given the knee injuries to Harris & Thompson and the rawness of Davis; Grant and Quick have the inside track.

The WR, RB & TE positions are a cloudy mess right now for the last few roster spots but it will be good competition this camp and preseason.

[Woz]

23 hours ago, turtle28 said:

I'm not sure why we should sleep on Grant and Quick. They're not starting worthy but they can play special teams. That means something.  Special teams gets overlooked and some are sleeping on the importance of special teams. 

First off, they can, but do they? Did Brian Quick play on teams in St. Louis?

Secondly (at let me take a bit of a detour here), Kirk threw 606 passes and the team ran 379 attempts. So, 985 offensive plays. Let's call it an even 1000.
Dustin Hopkins attempted 42 field goals last year and 92 kickoffs. Tress Way punted 49 times and passed once. That works out to 184 special teams snaps, so let's call it 200.

If you are keeping a guy primarily for his special teams play, it better be spectacular play since you are using a roster spot on a guy for 16.7% of the plays (200/1200) the team will encounter in a given year. This is why some argue for cutting Niles Paul. I don't necessarily agree because A) he can play TE relatively well, and B) he is the special teams captain so you have to figure the other guys believe him to be pretty damn good at it. At the same time, I could completely understand if Paul doesn't make the roster in September since there's a lot of competition at TE.

Sure, if you are having to make a decision between two guys and one plays teams and one doesn't, you might give the nod to the guy who plays on team. But I don't think it should be the primary qualification. The other younger guys can also probably play teams; in fact, I suspect they're more focused on teams since that is going to be the easier path for them to make the roster.

23 hours ago, turtle28 said:

We've already seen Maurice Harris go out with a knee sprain which is expected to keep him out a month, maybe longer. Kendall Thompson is returning off a knee injury and Robert Davis is completely raw. 

I don't think Grant or Quick are locks to make the roster but given the knee injuries to Harris & Thompson and the rawness of Davis; Grant and Quick have the inside track.

Winning by attrition. Yay. It doesn't mean they're worthy of a spot, just that they are likely to end up with one.

You like to take up for players others write off, turtle. I get that. At the same time, these guys aren't really worthy of your time and effort. If they make the roster, don't expect much of anything from them.

Honestly, I'd rather go with the raw rookie who has upside as opposed to the meh veterans who don't.

[turtle28]

I don't expect much from them because I expect our starters and Crowder to be good to great. All I'm saying is at the moment they seem better than the other options and I'm pretty sure Brian Quick played special teams in St Louis and if he didn't, he's going to have to in order to make our team. If he doesn't play special teams I find it hard for him to make the team because obviously Grant does, Harris does and I think that Robert Davis was drafted because they thought at worse he could be a special teams guy as a young player.