Dr. Who

Adding Dahlin and Mittelstadt next year to the mix would supercharge the rebuild. Too bad draft lottery treats us like NFL refs treat Pats* opponents.

I don't think Cousins is particularly clutch and I doubt he will live up to the contract he will be given. That said, I would consider him at the right price. I just wouldn't give him 30 million a year. If he is subject to a bidding war, I definitely have a drop out point. Alex Smith is a bridge qb only. I wouldn't spend more than a third round pick to get him. My preference is to get a qb in the draft. If you hit, you have a cost controlled player at the most important and expensive position in football and can devote cap dollars towards multiple other positions in free agency. I think one could bring in DL and OL help in free agency. I like Mayfield a lot. He is the fella I would target in the draft. Darnold and Rosen will be too expensive to get, imo, and when all is said and done, I'm not convinced they will be better than Mayfield. Obviously, I don't believe he is Johnny Football 2.0. Mayfield is dedicated to playing qb. His teammates love him. He shows real leadership. I like his fire. The immaturity will naturally go away with time, imo. I think his playmaking ability will transfer to the NFL. Still, if you draft a qb high, you still need a veteran presence. Smith could play that role. If not, I'd see about the price on the Minnesota qbs or see if a savvy vet like McCown shakes loose.

I think he was, too. I like Doug Whaley. Scoffers can think what they like. EJ misfire hurt him a lot. (Yes, Nix, but he signed off on it and people blame him, regardless.) I think he would have picked Mahomes or Watson at #10 if he had power over the 2017 draft.

Maybe they're trying to see if Irsay is nuts enough to trade Andrew Luck.

If we are going qb in the draft, we need to trade up for Rosen, Darnold, or Mayfield. The first two may be prohibitively expensive.

Strong analysis. If we sign Star, I don't think you get Cousins, who is the best of the FA qbs, imo. Too expensive to get both. (I prefer Mayfield in the draft, I think I've said too often.) I really think Roquan Smith is going to be a great NFL lb. If we don't trade up for qb, I would consider a small trade up to secure Smith. Alex Smith is an okay bridge qb, but I'd like to draft a fella with potential to be a long-term answer as well. Bryce Love or Sony Michel at rb if they happen to drop to late third.

I'd be surprised if at least one of them isn't there at 21. I think both of them might be. I'd trade up for Mayfield, btw. I think the two firsts will do it, but combine, Senior Bowl, etc. will probably affect current assessments.

Leading question self-selects I guess. Lots of folks that like Rudolph chime in. I'm glad he led the sleigh and all that, but he's my least favorite of the top qbs.

I really think he will be better than Taylor, but RG3 is not outlandish. I do worry that Jackson is too slight.

Well, I can't say that is convincing analysis -- and I hate the Mayfield = Johnny Football 2.0 quip. Mayfield is much more dedicated to playing qb. His team respects him. He's a leader and I expect the immaturity will go away, whilst the playmaking will turn out to transfer to the NFL.

Lot of folks dismiss Jackson. I read some fella who said his ceiling was Tyrod Taylor . . . I am intrigued by him. He probably should have stayed at Louisville, imo. Might have gone top five with a good year of continued improvement. Still, if you're gambling on the position, he has a high ceiling.

Sigh. I'm not an expert. There are folks like Bandit and Gunner that seem to me to have a more professional criteria. I started watching Rudolph early this year because I wanted to identify who might be the third best qb after Rosen and Darnold. Imo, Rudolph has average arm strength. He looks the part, so you might think he has a cannon, but he doesn't. He benefits from playing in a conference that does not play good defense and he has a couple of future NFL wrs that do make him look good. Aside from that, however, I was often not impressed with his decision making. All that said, I like Mayfield who plays in the same conference. I would be surprised, in any event, if Rudolph is not available later in the draft, but qb stock does tend to rise -- or supposedly, it doesn't. GMs have their boards set, but the talking heads are guessing and late in the day, they get more info or something. If we take him, I will root avidly for him to succeed and be the next Jim Kelly.

Yes, or get players that make each other look good. Washington is a plausible first round pick. I don't think Rudolph should be.

I hate you all, j/k. No I'm not . . . no emoticon for unhappy bulldog.

The logic of simulations is often elusive, but I see I did not pay attention to the context of your comment.

I think he might be available in the second round.

R. Smith isn't lasting to #22. You make that trade with the Pats*, they would take Smith if he is on the board. Don't like Rudolph at all, really. Folks who like him see a much better player than I am seeing.

Some young qbs are question marks. Is Kizer going to turn into a starter quality qb? I dunno. Probably not, but maybe. Carr and Mariotta regressed this year, for whatever reason, but I wouldn't say they're not starters. I'm starting to wonder about Mariotta, however. Some teams actually were forced to start backups because of injury (Colts/Texans.) The Niners before the Garoppolo trade did not have a starter quality qb. I don't think Bortles is a good qb, but you could argue. Jets, Broncos, Cardinals don't have starter quality qbs. Trubisky did not play like a starter, but he's still young so he might improve to justify his draft status. Taylor is below a Dalton or a Tannehill, who I think are marginal starters, but better than backup. Cutler is probably done and not very good. Taylor is below Dalton and in the ballpark of Jets and Broncos qbs, though Josh McCown sees the field better and is a more reliable passer. (I never implied there were twenty backups starting. You mentioned bottom third of the league, did you not? Anyway, this year, Taylor is in the bottom nine, imo.)

I don't see the logical inference of the Aaron Rodgers point. Aaron Rodgers is a top three franchise qb. There's a wide gulf between Aaron Rodgers and, say, Andy Dalton. Dalton is a modestly talented qb, but I think legitimately a starter. Surely the concept here is not ridiculously abstruse?

I don't trust a process that consistently used Tolbert as a number two back. They made a lot of questionable personnel decisions on offense. You can find good rbs later in the draft. I keep pushing for Sony Michel, but he might go second round I suppose.

I think the Minnesota qbs are bridge qbs. Never saw much from Bridgewater and Keenum is having an outlier year, imo, with the benefit of an outstanding defense. Cousins will cost more than the level of play he will deliver. I hope we target a young qb in the draft.

I only watch him on PTI, but I think he's amusing.

Is there any reason he would not come back from his injury? And while Zay had his problems, it seems to me many wrs take a few years to really establish themselves. It's certainly too early to write him off. Overall, however, we need more playmakers. It would be nice to at least have one burner with decent hands at wr, for instance.

Worst ever in history is hyperbole or non-sense, but I still think Tyrod is a mediocre starter on a really good day and generally, yes, a pretty good backup. Bottom third of NFL qbs are starters because there aren't 32 starter quality qbs in the NFL. They should all be backups if it weren't for the dearth of quality at the position.

I liked him. There was a time when it was not irrational to think EJ needed more time to develop. When he had the time and had not significantly improved, almost everyone agreed and those who hoped for him were disappointed that such a fine fella just couldn't play NFL qb. Tyrod has had what, seven years?