Kirby Jackson

I read this article on Pop yesterday and absolutely loved it. Food and wine can link people from any background. It brings people closer. Just so interesting to see how the Spurs have managed to keep that family mentality in good times and in bad.

Yeah, he is the ultimate prospect. There aren’t holes in Devin White’s game.

Saints Steelers (or whomever)

I guess that I’m on the other end. I’ve seen a ton of him and the game that he played against Auburn in 2017 was arguably the best game that I’ve ever seen a defensive player play live. I have him well above Roquan and Edmunds in my projections. IMO, he will be the best ILB in the game in 3 years. His game has no holes on or off the field.

I think that a lot of us missed on his legs. I thought that he was mobile. It turns out he is an elite runner from the position and you are spot on as to the benefit. 3rd and 6 doesn’t need to be a throw into a keyhole. He can get out of the pocket, make a move and move the chains. Your analysis this time of year is invaluable around here and consistently good. Thank you for the effort and opinions. It makes us all more informed come 5 days from now!!

The only thing that I’ll say to that is that if those were your LBs you’d play less nickel. White is an absolute monster he’s going to be a great pro.

Yeah, I used to like his training camp updates. I almost always hate his drafts. I feel like he’s the last guy to the party on people. Things move quickly in the offseason and he’s always like a month behind. Matt Miller and DJ are always good. We have a lot of people here that are strong as well (especially when it comes to the Bills). I’d much, much, much rather hear from Bandit, Gunner, Hokie, etc... regarding the Bills than MJD.

Yeah, studying for his insurance license is going to work out well for him

I think that Gunner likes Deshaun Watson too

This is absolutely the best avenue for those of you looking. Typically roughly half (if not more) of the games are sold out prior to going on sale to the general public. You either need to buy through the ST pre-sale or a 3rd party if you want the opener or any other game with high demand. That pre-sale starts on April 29th.

Good stuff @Alphadawg7 outside of the Love pick I really like this. If you make that Devin Singletary it would be good.

I was thinking 3 but 2 is an option.

Also, we talk about it A LOT at this time of the year but Matt Miller is one of the best.

It is certainly a possibility. The Bills are in love. It’s just a matter of the cost .He was in again last week.

Yeah, a year ago Oliver was considered the next Donald. He played out of position for a year and put on a coat and his stock took a hit. He was an absolutely DOMINANT college player early in his career. He’s one of the best players in this draft and a future pro-bowler. He may be even better than that. Without getting carried away, I wouldn’t be shocked if he won a DPOY in his career. He can’t be blocked as a 3-technique.

Oliver makes tons of sense!! He’s a star that plays, arguably, the position of biggest need. His skill set is EXACTLY what they need. I’m thinking that he won’t make it to 9 but if he does it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he is the pick.

This year is an average draft IMO. It’s way better than the Eric Fisher draft for example. There are going to be some impact players in this class as pass rushers.

I’m planning on a few this year: Dallas, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

I don’t think it would direct a player anywhere but to the highest bidder (as it does now). It isn’t that the owners are worried about feelings it’s about a system that doesn’t achieve its initial goal. It won’t look the same way in the next CBA and the owner’s aren’t going to put up massive resistance. The players will never accept it in its current state and the owners aren’t going to pound the table for it. It’s flawed. You may be able to designate a player as exclusive to you but it absolutely, 100% will not be a 1 year deal that is the average of the top 5 highest paid players at a position. It may evolve to a multi-year deal, it may be the highest paid player at a position plus 5%, etc... The system as it is now is coming to an end.

Because it creates hard feelings. They like having it but they don’t like the ill will created. Bell is an extreme example but that could have been prevented. You may keep a guy a year, you may trade him or you may work out a long-term deal. It is just tough to start from “team had total control now let’s see if we can work something out?” When it started the top 5 money was thought to be a benefit to the players. With the rising cap it isn’t. There is no security and every single guy that is slapped with the tag can get more guaranteed money in FA. It puts star players vs. their teams and that’s not good for anyone.

It’s clearly broken IMO. It started as a way to reward top players and allow teams to keep them. With the escalating cap, no one is thrilled with a 1 year commitment. The players will fight (hard) for changes to it in the next CBA. The owners aren’t really thrilled with it at the moment either. Guys want long-term security. A 2 year commitment isn’t perfect but it is a much better option. Whenever a guy is tagged instantly creates a contentious negotiation. Another option is to drop the compensation on a non-exclusive tag to one 1st. There shouldn’t be a situation where the nastiest negotiations are with the players most important to your franchise. That’s counter-intuitive.

The easiest one is to make the franchise tag a 2 year commitment fully guaranteed. In year 3 they can do it again with a 3 year full guarantee. This will prevents teams from slapping tags on marginal players like Kyle Fuller, Grady Jarrett and LaMarcus Joyner. Teams with think twice about making that type of commitment. At the same time guys like Bell or Lawrence are more likely to sign the tag with the extra commitment. It is a WAY better option than the current method (which is clearly broken). We have players skipping an entire year!! That’s not good for anyone.

You do get the benefit of but shouldn’t be punished for developing superstars. That’s a benefit in the other sports. You can do things for your own that other teams can’t. That’s the general concept of the franchise tag but it’s broken. The goal was to let teams keep their stars. The league is already trying to do that. The method though is antiquated. They need to go back to the goal (allow teams to retain their own top talent) and find a method to make it work. There are a bunch of options that are better than that.

You are allowing for those teams with an elite talent (especially at QB) to not have to gut their team because of it. They are still in a bit of a tough situation but it buys them some breathing room. It really would only be triggered by the elite of the elite. Off the top of my head some guys that would be eligible: Brady, Luck, Wilson, Rodgers, Antonio Brown (before the move) or Ben, Julio, Watt, Von Miller, Rivers, AJ Green (maybe), It isn’t a big universe. The criteria would have to be defined and it isn’t a huge difference. That 2.5% number that I threw out equates to another $4.7M in cap space. So a team like the Seahawks would still be forced into a tough decision but have a little more wiggle room.