transplantbillsfan Posted February 5 Posted February 5 (edited) I have no idea if this was addressed by anyone in the Jim Leonhard PC, but I would think it deserves a thread of it's own... kind of a big deal to me. Mookie Hawkins directly asked Leonhard about the possibility of moving Taron to Safety in his new scheme. Leonhard didn't say he was absolutely going to do it, but he talked more about Taron than maybe any other defensive player on the team. (Yes he talked about Benford and Bishop, but his talk of Benford was pretty vague and he didn't seem like he was super familiar with him, yet. He talked a bit about Bishop, but it was almost all about him as a prospect coming in and his growth in his first couple years). With Taron, Leonhard not only seemed pretty familiar with him as a player, but he even said the 2 of them had a conversation about his direction moving forward and Johnson was excited about it. I thought it was maybe the most interesting piece of the PC considering how much of a down year Taron had this year and what seemed like a fairly solid idea on Leonhard's part in terms of having him on the team and using him. So... would Taron benefit from switching to Safety? Would the team benefit from that switch? Obviously the combine was a long time ago, but he's basically the same size/athleticism as Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde coming out if you look. This could potentially cover our starting Safety position (maybe even keep Rapp for depth as a 3rd Safety unless we get rid of him and keep Lewis?) and put Jordan Hancock permanently at the slot...? (Edit) Here is the actual question followed by Leonhard's answer: Question: "Coach where would you see a guy like Taron Johnson fit into your scheme. Normally, in the previous regime he was more of the will linebacker playing big nickel at times. Will he be more of a traditional Safety in your scheme? Answer: "Those are the great conversations we're having and it's a position that schematically was different in what we did in Denver and here. We know he's a great player. Extremely productive. Great leader. So, finding out the perfect role for a player like that is very high on our priority list... what exactly is it going to look like is yet to be determined a little bit, but I love the player, I love the personality. Had a great conversation with him. He's excited for the change. Not knowing what it is, he knows we're going to communicate with him and find out what's right because he's been an extremely productive player in the NFL and it's trying to find out the best match of maybe some of the things I've done in the past and what they did really well to feature a player like that." Edited February 6 by transplantbillsfan 8 1 6 Quote
Process Posted February 5 Posted February 5 I'd only be interested if he was willing to take a pay cut. Otherwise cut him and realize the cap savings. 3 2 10 Quote
LEBills Posted February 5 Posted February 5 2 minutes ago, Process said: I'd only be interested if he was willing to take a pay cut. Otherwise cut him and realize the cap savings. Unfortunately, it is minimal savings unless you designate him as a June 1st cut and push the dead cap into 2027. Getting the most out of him, whether as NCB or Safety will be important as that would be one less hole in our defense. 1 8 Quote
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted February 5 Posted February 5 If you're talking about a "center fielder" FS that's actually something I've mused about in the past. Hyde was in kind of a same position when he moved over and he was darned good at it. We are sadly seeing the last of TJ. I'd love some continuity as we draft more DBs 1 2 Quote
transplantbillsfan Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 13 minutes ago, Process said: I'd only be interested if he was willing to take a pay cut. Otherwise cut him and realize the cap savings. Why? His cap hit is $6m something. That's like the 28th highest paid Safety. Next year (last year of his extension) it's $8m something, which would be like 23rd this year. Leonhard seemed pretty excited about Taron's use in this defense. If he views him as a perfect switch to Safety to maximize his ability, I would guess he'd view him as better than the 28th Safety in the NFL. 5 Quote
streetkings01 Posted February 5 Posted February 5 Have any nickle corners converted to safety successfully? Quote
eball Posted February 5 Posted February 5 Thanks for posting this. I was listening to the PC but missed Mookie’s question so I didn’t know which player he was talking about. I agree with your impression that Leonhard sounded excited about using him. Quote
Simon Posted February 5 Posted February 5 There was a little bit of conversation re: that in the Fronts thread. I'd been meaning to start a thread about it and am glad you made one. It's an interesting and viable conversation, imo. 2 Quote
dave mcbride Posted February 5 Posted February 5 This makes pretty good sense to me. It's a natural transition. Quote
billsbackto81 Posted February 5 Posted February 5 3 minutes ago, streetkings01 said: Have any nickle corners converted to safety successfully? Nickel in particular? Not sure, but: Rod Woodson Champ Bailey Charles Woodson Ronde Barber Devin McCourty 1 Quote
Brianmoorman4jesus Posted February 5 Posted February 5 I’d have done that years ago. For all the love the guy got he’s been horrendous for almost 2 full years. On top of being hurt every other snap. He needed to be moved to Safety 2 seasons ago. Now idk if I even want to try. The guy is washed 2 1 1 Quote
WhitewalkerInPhilly Posted February 5 Posted February 5 4 minutes ago, Simon said: There was a little bit of conversation re: that in the Fronts thread. I'd been meaning to start a thread about it and am glad you made one. It's an interesting and viable conversation, imo. It's a legit question. He has the instincts and ball skills. 2 Quote
JohnNord Posted February 5 Posted February 5 19 minutes ago, Process said: I'd only be interested if he was willing to take a pay cut. Otherwise cut him and realize the cap savings. Yeah this all sounds good until you realize - oh wait if they play him at safety we’re stuck with his cap hit. Quote
BullBuchanan Posted February 5 Posted February 5 Hard pass unless he's a backup safety at vet minimum. Johnson has played ONE full season in his career, and even when not inactive, he seems to play with nagging injuries. 1 Quote
Process Posted February 5 Posted February 5 13 minutes ago, transplantbillsfan said: Why? His cap hit is $6m something. That's like the 28th highest paid Safety. Next year (last year of his extension) it's $8m something, which would be like 23rd this year. Leonhard seemed pretty excited about Taron's use in this defense. If he views him as a perfect switch to Safety to maximize his ability, I would guess he'd view him as better than the 28th Safety in the NFL. Don't we save around $9M in cap this year by cutting him? Quote
Simon Posted February 5 Posted February 5 3 minutes ago, JohnNord said: Yeah this all sounds good until you realize - oh wait if they play him at safety we’re stuck with his cap hit. 2 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said: Hard pass unless he's a backup safety at vet minimum. Johnson has played ONE full season in his career, and even when not inactive, he seems to play with nagging injuries. And there goes an interesting thread. Again 2 1 1 Quote
MJS Posted February 5 Posted February 5 Fans go to players converting to other positions way more than it actually happens in the NFL. When it does happen, it is usually because a player is struggling and there is a hope to salvage the player at another position. Usually, they suck at that position as well. Yes, occasionally it does work out, but it's not anything that I would ever predict as a fan because it isn't common. We'll see, but all these talks of positional conversions usually amount to nothing. Quote
GolfandBills Posted February 5 Posted February 5 If they view Bishop as the free safety then yeah it makes a little sense. No way Johnson can play deep in single high looks 7 minutes ago, Process said: Don't we save around $9M in cap this year by cutting him? No. It’s like 2 million 1 1 Quote
Robert Paulson Posted February 5 Posted February 5 25 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said: If you're talking about a "center fielder" FS that's actually something I've mused about in the past. Hyde was in kind of a same position when he moved over and he was darned good at it. We are sadly seeing the last of TJ. I'd love some continuity as we draft more DBs Agreed. He has lost 3 steps not a step. If he is the free safety we can expect many 60 yard tuddies against him. He may be staying on the roster as 3rd or 4th safety/ nickel corner in a break glass mode but his best days are behind him. He shouldn't be on the field anymore. Love the guy but father time is undefeated. 1 Quote
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