DCOrange

We literally have 1 decent RB right now. I don't know why anyone would expect our RB group to be ranked highly. As currently constructed, we'd be relying on a guy that was a healthy scratch the majority of the season and another who was a practice squad member (and possibly only on the practice squad because he didn't count). The fact that we're ahead of 6 teams at RB is pretty good considering we only have one guy. I'm not sure we should really care what Mike Clay thinks, but assuming we should, we should at least wait until rosters have settled. Our RB rating will almost certainly increase significantly by the time the season (hopefully) begins.

If we're going to use Football Outsiders' numbers, DVOA probably makes more sense. DYAR will likely prop up 1st rounders because teams that take a RB in the 1st round will feel obligated to use them as more of a bellcow so they'll naturally have more touches and fare better in terms of DYAR. DVOA is focused on the value each RB gives on a per touch basis (also probably more important in our case due to the fact that Singletary didn't become a starter until well into the season). Singletary ranks 13th in terms of DVOA. It seems possible to me we already have our top 10 guy. And in terms of DVOA, 4 of the top 10 from last year were drafted in the first 2 rounds. 5 were drafted in the 5th round or later.

I think the two that probably best fit the idea of producing behind poor OLines would be Cam Akers and Ke'Shawn Vaughn.

Do we have any reason to think this is actually the case? I'm not saying it isn't but this seems to just be an assumption. If Wade is on the active roster, that would be a pleasant surprise. Dillon was pretty much never used in the passing game in college and when he was, he dropped passes at an alarming rate. He also just doesn't look comfortable running routes; it's not impossible that he ends up being an okay receiver in the NFL but everything we've seen from him to this point would suggest he will be a liability in that regard. And we can playaction with other RBs. We don't want defenses to be able to stack the line, especially with Allen's inability up until now to hurt them over the top.

Yep, this is one of the reasons why I don't want any part of AJ Dillon personally. Him being in the game will tell teams what we're doing (and also probably force us into formations that invite the defense to stack the line as well).

I would definitely prefer to just stay at 54 rather than trading up for a RB, especially considering we're very likely to end up with one of the top 4 being there at 54 or at worst getting Moss/Akers in the 3rd.

He was PFF’s #1 WR in the league this past season and I think he’s been top 15-20 each other year as well. They’ve always been extremely high on him (and deservedly so, he’s an incredible talent).

I tend to think Herbert and Love will go Day 1 as well, but I personally wouldn't touch Herbert at 6. I don't think Love would be a bad choice, but in their case I think I would personally just take the tackle they want and see what happens with the QBs. IMO, the best case scenario at QB and worst case scenario are both pretty much the same thing...Tyrod being their starter for at least most of next season. Question is how much they value getting Love or Eason or Hurts for example in the room with Tyrod this year versus just drafting one of the QBs in next year's class. I certainly won't blame them for just taking their QB at 6; it just isn't what I would do in their shoes and my guess is that they'll either trade up for Tua or pass on QB at 6. Might also depend on how invested they are in Lynn. If they still view him as the long-term coach there, I wouldn't be surprised if Lynn likes Hurts a lot and I would guess he doesn't value Eason nearly as much as other teams might.

I think they very well could go tackle there. I'm really curious to see what they end up doing. Certainly wouldn't be shocked by a move up for Tua, but they could also just go tackle at 6 and then move up into the late 1st or wait until their 2nd rounder to get a young QB if they want. If they came out of the draft with the tackle of their choice + Jordan Love for example, I think that would be a major win for them.

I get why people didn't like Tyrod as a QB while he was here. He obviously had a pretty low ceiling as a passer. But comments like this always crack me up. Tyrod ranked among the highest in the league each year in terms of how often he pushed the ball down the field. Allen has been worse in that regard (not to mention just far worse in terms of actual success throwing down the field). The idea that Tyrod only checked it down was a myth. He had plenty of issues as a passer but that wasn't one of them.

Yeah Adams and Watt were the two I disagree with. Still obviously great players so no big deal but I personally would take White ahead of them.

I would tend to lean towards one of the safeties as well. Ultimately depends who is there but safety seems like a good match of BPA, system value, and need. I think Dugger is probably the one they’re hoping for as well but it’s a really deep safety class so tough to say which guys will be there at 54.

I can’t remember for sure but I feel like someone around here mentioned Matt Miller saying we liked him awhile back. Might be where WGR was getting that from.

Just FWIW, I probably won't be doing an entire big board but I'll happily discuss different position groups in the different threads that pop up. I generally just focus on a couple positions each year rather than trying to create an overall big board like Gunner does for example.

I voted for Mims. I don't think he's worth a 1st round choice like a lot of people seem to think, but he definitely has a ton of potential and would also bring size to the WR group that we don't have right now. I don't feel very strongly in either direction about Cleveland or Greenard. Taylor is a good prospect, but if Mims is actually on the board at 54, I would go with him and just get the RB later on.

I think we're better off counting on him as being a practice squad player and if he happens to become more than that, it's an added bonus. I certainly wouldn't be counting on him to be the 1b to Singletary's 1a or even counting on him to be a backup.

I don't really agree with the bolded at all but I do think it's very likely we draft a RB. There are a lot of options in free agency still though. Anyone from the first two groups in particular would be a worthwhile addition IMO. If we went with someone like Freeman, Miller, or Hyde, we're probably fine with them, Singletary, and Yeldon. I think one of the 3rd down backs = still drafting a RB. But either way, plenty of options out there still and we should definitely be bringing one of them in IMO. "Traditional" RBs: Devonta Freeman Lamar Miller Carlos Hyde Isaiah Crowell Spencer Ware Alfred Blue LeSean McCoy (probably the weakest of these options not to mention the complications after having cut him already) 3rd Down Back: Chris Thompson Theo Riddick Bilal Powell Ty Montgomery Buck Allen CJ Prosise Devontae Booker Corey Clement Weaker Flyer Types: Ameer Abdullah Dwayne Washington DeAndre Washington Jonathan Williams Wendell Smallwood

I would probably pass on drafting a QB this year. Someone like James Morgan or Nate Stanley might be worth considering at the end of the draft if they’re available but overall I don’t really like the developmental prospects this year.

RB stands out as the only immediate need. Feels like we’ll probably address that before the draft like we’ve done with every other position.

This would be a dream come true for me. Trading up for Bartch resulted in a gap between picks that Beane probably wouldn't be able to stomach, but it's hard to argue with any draft that sees Delpit and Claypool falling to us in Rounds 2 and 3 IMO and Bartch is a potentially very good tackle too. I do wish I could have gotten a RB before Anderson, but I like him and RB is probably the easiest position for us to address outside of the draft if we want to anyways.

Nice. He was legitimately great the one year he played here. Obviously would love to have him get back to that level of play again.

That seems like an extremely optimistic projection to me. Aside from PFF, I haven't personally seen anyone that's particularly high on him. I know Lance Zierlein, Todd McShay, and Matt Miller for example expect him to go undrafted. PFF has him as a 2nd round prospect though.

I was going to mention in my first reply that I might lean towards Jennings in the 6th over Hodgins as well. Like Hodgins, he struggles big time to separate; he's an absolute load to tackle after the catch though which might give him a better chance at surviving in the NFL than Hodgins.

You can see flashes of his potential on tape, but the optimist would say he's a late bloomer that didn't really start putting it all together until the offseason (Senior Bowl, Combine, etc.) The skeptic would say to trust the years of tape over the couple of reps you get of 1 on 1 coverage in the Senior Bowl where the DBs are at a massive disadvantage.

Yeah, he seems like the kind of guy that in past years would have ended up in New England and just killed you underneath. Not sure if they go with a different approach now that Brady is gone but we'll see.