OldTimer1960

I would strongly consider Devin White, Jawaan Taylor, Andre Dillard, Christian Wilkins and Hockenson. There is a lot of really good talent among that group.

They could "stay true to their board" AND trade down if they have a group of players rated equally - in that case they could try to trade down with the expectation that at least one of that group will still be available a handful of picks later.

Who will play OL besides Morse and Dawkins - the several FAs they signed are good fill-ins, but would still prefer some better pedigreed OL talent. Also, who is playing DT besides Star? DL is a need area if they want to be competitive this year.

My $.02 worth: Round 1 sit at 9 unless a very attractive trade down offer materializes and: take Oliver, fallback options: Sweat, Hockenson, Wilkins - I’d pass on OT here as at least one good option should be available in 2nd, however I couldn’t object to Taylor or Dillard here Round 2: their favorite OT among Risner, McGary, Howard, Ford -or- Tillery if they took Hockenson or OT in rd1 Round 3: best available TE or WR Round 4: if they really like someone who slipped out of the 3rd, try to move to the top of the round with both 4ths to get that player. Could be any position - seems every year there are one or two players sitting there that are surprisingly available as day 3 opens.

Me too - I could see packaging their 3rd and their own 4th to move back into the 2nd. Alternatively, I could see standing pat where they are, but trading both 4th round picks to get back into the bottom of the 3rd. I also think that there is value in having the ammo to get to the top of round 4 to get someone they might like that fell out of round 3. There always seems to be a bit of talent available at the start of day 3.

I don't think they have enough ammo to get 4 picks in the first 2 rounds unless they trade a player or 2020 picks. Their extra picks this year are in the late 4th, 5th and 7th rounds and those don't buy much when trying to move up in round 1 or two. Their 3rd and both 4th round picks *might* get them back into the late 2nd.

I think that Gary could be projected as an outstanding 3 technique DT. Tremendous athlete and size, strength, speed prospect who *may have* suffered from being used in multiple positions in college. I share concerns about production, but man he has talent AND size.

I can see why many think so highly of Oliver - his quickness is undeniable and he appears to play very hard. My concerns with Oliver are: 1. Height/length - he is not short, but below ideal height for the position and his arms are relatively short for the position as well 2. Weight - He is certainly strong, but he will be giving away 40 to 50 pounds to NFL offensive lineman. Can he thrive giving up that much mass and for how long? 3. Level of competition - Rice, Texas Southern, Tulsa, East Carolina, Navy, South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Memphis and Army were all on the schedule in 2018. On the flip-side, He didn’t have much talent around him on Houston to take opponent’s attention off him. None of the above means that he isn’t a very good prospect nor that he can’t find great success in the NFL, but they are (IMHO) legitimate areas of concern when comparing him against other prospects.

Sweat had 19 sacks the last 2 years against the best competition in college football (SEC) - on a team that wasn’t one of the better teams in that conference likely meaning he had fewer opportunities to rush the passer than, say, guys on Alabama and Clemson who were playing with the lead most of the time.

While I am not keen on drafting Metcalf either, I think it is unfair to say his route running is lazy. He is very young and missed time with injuries- he may develop into a better route runner. I don't think that there is any lack of effort in Metcalf. Donald is a true exception. Maybe Oliver is too, but pointing out 1 exception to a general rule doesn't invalidate the idea that there are very few 281 lb DTs in the NFL for a reason.

Back to Oliver, I can see the quickness and have no issue with his effort, but his arms are not very long and his height is below average and he is very underweight for even a 3T in the NFL. Now, other than arm length I could see him before being a better DE prospect than anyone outside of Bosa, Allen and maybe Sweat.

I think that we agree then, only difference of opinion is our perception of their trade up “capital”. I can get behind going after a player that they believe is much better than other remaining options, but I would have to think hard before giving up their 2nd ot 3rd round picks to move up into the back 25% of the first round. From my my vantage point, I’d reserve the extra picks in 4th, 5th and seventh for moving around back into late day 2 or for moving in the 4th/5th round area if they think there are one or two day 2 players that lingered into day 3. I think in the 1st and 2nd, where they ar3 picking, they will have multiple good prospects to select from, but on early day 3 (or late day2), there might be a small number of players that they like a lot more than the majority of the remaining players. Just my $.02 worth.

I’m with the OP, I am leery of both Metcalf (production and injuries) and Oliver (under-sized). I’m not saying that I would hate either, just that I am more worried about those two than the seeming majority of TBD who love these two. Other potential 1st round picks that I’d shy away from: Rashan Gary: With his physical abilities, why was he not dominant? Some suggestions that he played all season with an injured shoulder might allow a team to justify his lower than expected production. Brian Burns: To his credit, he put on at least 20 lbs of muscle in the last 3 months, weighing nearly 250 at the combine. But, can anyone look at his games from 2018 and really believe that he weighed more than 225-230? If he really put on 20lbs of muscle in less than 3 months, then 1 - can he really maintain that weight through a season? 2 - Did he have steroid help to put on that much muscle? Can anyone really put on that much muscle in 2.5 months naturally?

You're right, I've only seen highlights of him but he was tremendous. I forgot to include him.

??? You would not draft a “potential Pro Bowler” at pick 9? What are you expecting- a first ballot HOFer?

Then what picks would you suggest that they use to make a bigger move? Yes, they have 3 extra picks this year, but those extra picks are: late 4th, early 5th and a 7th. That won’t buy much of a big move. As I said in the post that you replied to, their 2nd + 3rd might get them into the back end of round 1 and adding in both 4ths would only move them a little further into the first.

I'm not against them trading up, but their 2nd and 3rd only gets them into the very back of the 1st and adding both 4ths doesn't move them much further up. i think that they'll sit tight in round 1 and 2 but might try to package both 4ths into another late 3rd or maybe try to trade up to the top of the 4th two grad the best guy remaining on day 4.

Watching the NFL for 50 years, in my opinion: 1. Barry Sanders - unequivocally the best that I've ever seen 2. Earl Campbell- nobody could tackle this beast and he was very fast as well. 3. OJ Simpson - simply unstoppable on a one dimensional team (no passing game)

Many day 3 picks. They only have 2 picks on day 2 - 1 each in 2nd and 3rd.

Not Singletary with his 4.7 40. Note that I didn’t say he can’t play, but he is small, not fast and played at a low level of competition. I can’t see how he could go before the 3rd and he may be available later. Again, it’s not that I don’t like him because I do, but his lack of size, speed and low level of competition likely pushes his draft stock down.

Why? I submit because blocking certainly can help the run game, which in turn can help open up the pass game. Further, pass blocking by the TE can help provide more time for the QB to find those smaller WRs Right, remember that OC Daboll had Gronk - who was both a very good blocker and receiving threat - in NE. Think he might want a similar player as a min cog in Buffalo...

If you are saying that you favor a guy with high upside, I can understand. However, based on history it isn't anywhere near a given that a guy at pick 9 will be "multiple time Pro Bowler/All Pro guy". I like Hockenson - love his attitude, effort, desire, blocking and he is a good receiver (maybe not great, but good). Oliver, on the other hand- I won't be disappointed if they take him, but his lack of size and relative lack of productivity concern me. My concern with Oliver isn't really anything to do with his attitude or "jacket-gate", when I watch game tape of him he clearly plays with good effort and his quickness is really outstanding. That being said, he looks very small out there even against college competition and while I recognize that he was consistently double-teamed I didn't feel like he was a dominating player in the games that I watched.

I still could see them consider a LB early- Devin White at 9 isn’t out of the question, though I think they will lean DL there. Easily could see LB in round 2 or 3.

I am on board with trade ups and trade downs. I think that if they believe in their evaluations, it is wise to consider either option. I don’t think that it will make sense to trade up in round 1, but I could see it being plausible in subsequent rounds. To to be clear, the extra picks that they have are not high value picks in terms of “draft capital”. They have an extra 4th and an extra 5th and something else in round 6 or 7. The extra 4th plus their 4th would maybe net them a late 3rd - possibly of value if they like someone after their pick in round 3. Likewise, their extra 5th plus their own could get them into the backend of the 4th if that makes sense at the time.

I am not 100% sold on Oliver. His size bothers me and so far I've watched two full games of his from last season and I didn't see a dominant player. His quickness was evident and he was doubled nearly every play, but I did not see - in those two games - someone that I'd HAVE to take at 9 if he is available. I think that he belongs in the conversation at 9, but he shouldn't be the only guy in that conversation.