@Brook! Please let his thread remain in the main Jets forum for several days before moving it to the Draft Forum as I think it will have general interest, and has some educational components to it. The following article is awesome imo as it offers great insights into how NFL execs think regarding the draft, certain prospects and positions. It is way too long to copy in its entirety as the draft for each team is listed and there is a comment or two about each team's picks, as well as about the draft itself. I didn't include info on every team as some was not interesting or relevant to the Jets. I don't know if they're still running the special, but The Athletic is an excellent source for sports news and my subscription costs only $1 a month for 4 months, then it goes up. I'm going to include in this post/thread snippets from the article. Sorry, but if you want to read the whole article, you'll need to subscribe to The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2572409/202...cs-unfiltered-on-nfl-draft/?source=dailyemail Justin Fields better than Zach Wilson? Micah Parsons’ potential with Cowboys? Execs Unfiltered on NFL Draft Mike Sando 4h ago The 2021 NFL Draft answered some questions while raising others. Did the Philadelphia Eagles miss a chance to collect capital for a possible 2022 run at Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson or another top quarterback? How can the Dallas Cowboys maximize the multifaceted talents of first-round pick Micah Parsons? Could Justin Fields be a better prospect than Zach Wilson … and still face his share of struggles in Chicago? I’ve enlisted execs around the NFL to address these and many other questions pertaining to all 32 teams’ draft classes and maneuvering. You’re invited to listen in. Falcons If the Falcons were remiss in passing over Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields at No. 4, they weren’t alone. The market validated their decision to a point. “It’s not like other teams were clamoring to get to five, six, seven, eight, nine so they could get Fields,” an exec said. The Falcons’ pre-draft move to restructure Matt Ryan’s contract helped the team alleviate a salary-cap crisis. It also signaled commitment. “It’s one thing when you’re sitting up there saying, ‘Hey, we hope not to be picking this high and we just have to take a quarterback,’ ” an exec said. “I don’t know if that is true if you are getting the fourth quarterback in the class.” “Look, other teams in the top 10 decided to go with Jared Goff, Sam Darnold and Drew Lock instead of Fields, and none of those guys are Matt Ryan,” an exec said. “Fields could still be the best of all of them, but the way the world saw it means the Falcons probably did the right thing.” Pitts was close to a consensus best player available in the fourth slot. Before the draft, an exec from an AFC team called Pitts a “generational talent” who he hoped would land in the NFC. Ravens & Defense in general Execs lamented the overall depth, and especially the defensive depth, in this draft. Two years ago, teams selected five front-seven players among the first seven picks. This year, there were zero defensive players at any position selected among the top seven. There were five front-seven players selected among the top 27. Oweh, chosen 31st, was the eighth front-seven player taken. “You run a 3-4 defense, you better take those front-seven players early because those body types can be hard to find,” an exec said. The Ravens’ pre-draft trade with the Chiefs sent tackle Orlando Brown to Kansas City in a deal returning the 31st pick. The trade cost Baltimore its second-round pick (58th) while returning a third-rounder (94th) used for Georgia guard Ben Cleveland. The 66-slot drop in the order from 58 to 94 cost Baltimore a shot at seven other offensive linemen, but three of them were centers. Jalen Mayfield (Falcons), Brady Christensen (Panthers), Wyatt Davis (Vikings) and Spencer Brown (Bills) were the others. “To get a first-round pick for Orlando Brown was perfect for Baltimore,” an exec said. “I don’t think a lot of teams were beating down the door to trade for Orlando partly because he was a specific fit for Baltimore and their blocking scheme, which is pretty simple.” Panthers The Panthers could have added to their quarterback options by selecting Fields or Jones eighth. They also could have traded back with Chicago, picking up a 2022 first-round pick, plus additional mid-round picks. Instead, they stayed at 8 and selected cornerback Jaycee Horn. “I think Horn and (Patrick) Surtain will be good — they are long and they can press,” an exec said, “but I’m not sure either one will be great. This wasn’t a great year for defensive players.” For some, the Panthers’ decision to acquire Sam Darnold from the Jets was problematic. “You are not making much of an upgrade from (Teddy) Bridgewater to Darnold, yet you are going to invest that draft capital and money,” one exec lamented. “Build your team and survive.” Some would contend that is what the Panthers have done already. “Similar to what the Colts are doing, you have the offense established and you are bringing in a quarterback who is young and has some talent,” another exec said. “You have D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson and Christian McCaffrey and now they draft the tight end (Tommy Tremble). They are betting Darnold will be less of a game manager than Bridgewater. My only concern is whether Darnold still has the confidence he once had.” The Panthers recently exercised Darnold’s guaranteed fifth-year option for 2023. “They are going to say Sam Darnold is only 23 years old, so they are going to ride with him,” an exec said, “but I don’t know how they don’t go with Justin Fields at 8.” This exec also preferred Surtain to Horn among the corners, despite Horn bringing “more dog, more personality” to the position. “We will see if Chicago does what it needs to do with Fields, but I would have taken Fields even if I had Darnold,” a GM said. The Panthers traded down four times on their way to matching a franchise record with 11 total selections. Some evaluators thought the later rounds were especially weak, partly because the pandemic made it tougher for prospects to improve their draft stock, leading some to choose another year of college instead of landing in the later rounds this year. Carolina, Denver and the Jets each had six picks over the final three rounds, most in the league. Detroit and Seattle had only one, which was not an accident. “Free agency started in the fifth round,” an exec said. Others thought later picks were still worthwhile at certain positions. “I liked Carolina’s draft, especially their first round to fourth round,” an exec said. “The kid from Notre Dame (Tremble) is a really good player. Horn is a big press corner. (Second-round receiver) Terrace Marshall could be a big-play guy for them. As far as having extra picks, this year was a nightmare in undrafted free agency — too much money chasing too few players. As long as they didn’t miss out on the players they wanted when trading back, they might have just bought their free agents in the draft.” Bears Execs lauded the Bears’ selection of Justin Fields while doubting whether the coaching staff and organization could set up the Ohio State quarterback for success. Some who questioned the current staff also worried that a coaching change after another year or two could complicate a young quarterback’s development. “I had Fields ahead of Zach Wilson and Trey Lance,” an exec said. “The body of work was certainly better. Trey Lance requires a lot of development. The key for Fields will be putting some weapons around him and featuring his mobility. The guy is a running back with the skillset to play quarterback. You get the run game going, with his ability to execute play-action and hit the deep ball, and he is very intriguing.” Multiple execs said they thought the 2022 first-round pick Chicago sent to the Giants in trading up for Fields would become a top-10 selection. “I like Fields better than Mac Jones but feel Mac Jones is set up for better success in New England,” an exec said. “Chicago just lost their first-round pick from next year, they are not in a great cap situation, their offense kind of stinks, their run game stinks. I don’t know if they have a Greg Roman-type coach to maximize the skills of their quarterback.” There were also concerns that second-round pick Teven Jenkins would struggle if the Bears played him at left tackle, as anticipated. “I don’t feel great about them cutting their starting left tackle (Charles Leno) after drafting a quarterback,” an exec said. “I’ll applaud any team for trading up to get a quarterback, even if I don’t love the quarterback, but don’t do it and then immediately start breaking up what little foundation you have around him.” That foundation will be harder to fortify in the future. Chicago sent to the Giants the 20th pick, a fifth-round choice and its 2022 first- and fourth-round selections for the 12th pick, used to select Fields. That was more than the Jets paid in moving up from 23 to 14 for guard/tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, but less than the 49ers paid in moving from 12th to third for quarterback Trey Lance. “Fields is tough and has grit, and I think he will play through things and come out the other side,” an evaluator said, “but I don’t see the pocket awareness or instincts as consistently. When you don’t react as naturally, your talent has a harder time taking over. I do think he is eventually a starter, but what level of starter, we will find out. Chicago really didn’t have much choice, right?”
Browns “Really good player (JOK), but nobody really knew where to play him,” an exec said. “Is he a linebacker? Is he a strong safety? Not every team had a place for him to play. It’s not to the same extent as the guy the Browns took out of Michigan (2017 first-rounder Jabrill Peppers), but it was a factor in him falling.” Few NFL linebackers weigh less than the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Owusu-Koramoah. The Falcons’ Foye Oluokun and the Chargers Kyzir White are a couple starters listed below 220. “It’s not like he’s a finesse undersized backer,” an evaluator said. “He’s actually pretty physical. He will throw his body around. You wouldn’t sense that he’s 215 pounds when he plays. He’s definitely going to be a sideline-to-sideline guy and you know, they got faster.” All agree that Owusu-Koramoah was talented enough to be a first-round selection, but his size and a reported heart condition (downplayed by the Browns) worked against him. The Browns could have stayed at 59 and selected Pete Werner, the linebacker New Orleans took at 60. Nick Bolton went to Kansas City at 58. “There’s no way Cleveland thought he was going to be there,” an exec said of Owusu-Koramoah. “We were looking at him on our board, too, and we were like, ‘Holy shit, OK, we have to start discussing this guy.’ Then, he went.” First-round cornerback Greg Newsome was the choice for Cleveland with the 26th pick over Eric Stokes, who went to Green Bay at 29, and Tyson Campbell, who landed in Jacksonville at 33. “Stokes is the better athlete, but he still has a developmental component as a former running back still figuring it out,” an exec said. “Newsome is cleaner from instincts, the ability to play zone and man, where Stokes could be a better man guy right off the bat. The concern on Newsome is the speed didn’t show up all the time. He was a little handsy downfield tracking the ball, but the big thing was, he missed games.” Broncos It’s obvious Denver did not have Fields or Jones rated high enough to select them ninth, even though it’s also apparent to some on the outside that Lock isn’t the answer. “They are building their team to stop Kansas City,” an exec said. “They went run game on offense, defend the pass on defense. And that is probably the best way they can win with limited quarterback play.” Texans The two first-round picks Houston’s previous leadership traded to Miami in the Laremy Tunsil deal were used to draft one quarterback to Green Bay (Jordan Love) and another to San Francisco (Trey Lance). That might sting less if Deshaun Watson were prepping for another season in Houston instead of fighting civil lawsuits, facing a likely suspension and angling for a trade. Jaguars “This is their best offseason since expansion when they drafted Tony Boselli and signed Mark Brunell,” an evaluator said. “This is huge. I think Lawrence is going to be a very good quarterback. If he is a trascendent quarterback, then the rest of the division is screwed.” The possibilities seemed to captivate team owner Shad Khan, who stages games in London annually and mused in comments to NBC that Lawrence might become a bigger international star than Michael Jordan. “What a ridiculous statement,” an exec said. New coach Urban Meyer said the Giants “broke my heart” by selecting receiver Kadarius Toney at 20, five spots before Jacksonville selected Etienne, the running back and Lawrence’s former teammate at Clemson. Raiders Multiple negative reviews from execs on the Raiders’ draft and process led me to place one final call in search of someone enamored with what the team accomplished. The effort proved unsuccessful. “The Raiders continue to have some of the most baffling drafts I have ever seen,” this exec said. “The guy they took at 17, (Alex) Leatherwood, is no different than them taking Clelin Ferrell (fourth in 2019) and the corner from Ohio State (Damon Arnette at 19 last year). If you have a head coach making that decision or guys who don’t know the league, you misrepresent the value.” The criticisms have less to do with the players than how early the players were selected. Execs saw the Raiders as a team with an obvious need, an empowered head coach in Jon Gruden and an empowered offensive line coach in Tom Cable, prime conditions for overdrafting a tackle at 17. “You can like players, but you’re not capitalizing on value when you take them above their grade,” this exec said. “Then they take three safeties. Well, safety is very much an affordable position in free agency. It is about understanding the process and the strategy of building a roster more than just acquiring talent.” Dolphins A big debate entering the draft was whether the Dolphins were wise in trading up from 12 to 6 in a pre-draft deal with Philadelphia, not long after dropping from 3 to 12 in a deal with San Francisco. Did the Dolphins really need to regain six spots in the order to get the player they wanted? The move cost Miami a 2022 first-round pick, but the Dolphins still own an additional 2023 first-rounder from the 49ers. “You have to go through the totality of the trade,” an exec said. “They did not give up a first. They still walked away from the draft with an extra first. Did they have to trade back up weeks before the draft? No, I do not think they needed to. They would have gotten better value if they waited. But, bottom line is, they came away with four really good players in the first two rounds, and they still picked up a future one.” We now know what the tradeoffs were for Miami and Philadelphia. It’s a relatively clean theoretical comparison because both teams were intent upon selecting wide receivers with those picks. The Dolphins preferred one Alabama receiver (Jaylen Waddle) to another (DeVonta Smith) and were willing to pay a premium for the difference. That is a simple way to analyze Miami’s strategy, as the Eagles would land Smith at 10 after trading up two spots at the cost of a third-rounder. Let’s say the Dolphins were determined to land one of the draft’s top wideouts. If you were the Dolphins, would you rather lose a 2021 third-round pick to jump from 12 to 10 for Smith, or would you rather lose a 2022 first-rounder and 33 spots in the middle rounds of the current draft for the ability to land Waddle at six? That was one potential tradeoff for the Dolphins. But it could be a mirage. “A team like Miami does not sit there and say, ‘OK, let’s trade back to 12, we are good with these three receivers and whichever one falls to us, we are happy,’ ” an evaluator said. “The reality is, that high in the draft, yes, they are all good players, but teams have one guy they really like. When you have more than one guy, you have no guy and you make bad decisions. Being happy with six or seven guys in a slot works later in the draft.” There was some thought Miami positioned itself at 6 partly because there was additional upside in case Florida tight end Kyle Pitts slipped past Atlanta and Cincinnati. “They knew they were going to get a very good player at 6,” an exec said. “They know they picked up a future one. What’s wrong with that? It’s better than sitting at 12 and Pitts happens to be there at 6 or nobody lets you get up and the two players you really coveted offensively, you can’t get either one of them, but you have two future ones. Who gives a shit then? I don’t think you can be critical of their draft at all.” At worst, the Dolphins sacrificed a future first-round pick on a 5-foot-10, 182-pound player at a position that is relatively easy to fill but also easy to misevaluate. “Are they better off with Waddle at six, or the trade with the Bears where they get the Bears’ one next year?” an exec said. “You would have your own one, another from Chicago and another from San Francisco, plus San Francisco’s one in 2023, and if your young quarterback faltered, you’d have the ammo to be in the mix for Rodgers, Wilson, Watson or whoever else might be available.” Had the Dolphins traded back to 20 in a deal with Chicago, they would have been in Kadarius Toney territory from a wide receiver standpoint. “You take a wideout at 6, that is Julio Jones-ish,” an exec said. “They get a small-body wideout at six, and I think it’s risky. From their standpoint, it’s like, ‘Well, we went from 3 to 6 and we got X, Y and Z,’ but the price from 3 to 6 should be more than a 2023 one and whatever else they got. Is Jalen Waddle worth two ones? Maybe, but shit, if you are them, you might be able to have Julio for a two. I presume their thinking was that someone would trade in ahead of them for a QB and maybe they get Chase or Pitts.”
Patriots The Mac Jones selection invites questions. Do the Patriots have the talent to support him? Without Tom Brady, are they just another team that overspent in free agency on its way to disappointment? And, of course, when will New England name Jones its starter? “I don’t think Mac Jones sees the field for a while,” an evaluator said. “I’ll have a better feel when we see the schedule, when the bye falls, when their division games are, when the Tampa game is, those things. Is he starting by November? No, he’s not. Because Cam (Newton) wasn’t bad early in the year and they really should have won more of those games, and he just wasn’t the same after getting COVID. I think Cam is going to be entrenched there for a little bit.” Another exec thought Jones would be in the lineup around Week 6. The question is unanswerable this early. “You put the guys around him, let him distribute, yes, Mac Jones can be good, because he was really accurate,” another exec said. “He probably didn’t get enough credit for how he threw the ball, how accurate he was. He put it on those guys where they could run after the catch. There was no adjusting to the ball or anything like that. The guy was super accurate and rarely made a bad decision. If last year is any indication, Cam is on the downard slant. I think they’ll pile it on Mac Jones, and he is going to be able to handle it.” How well the Patriots can pass-protect will be a key variable for any quarterback “The biggest thing is, can he withstand getting hit and what is he like once he takes some hits?” an exec said, “but as far as getting the ball out early and winning pre-snap, he is as good as anybody.” The conventional ground game could be critical for Jones, according to an evaluator who watched him closely at Alabama. This evaluator pointed to the difference between Ryan Tannehill in Miami and Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee to illustrate how orientation around the ground game can make a difference — and how it needs to make the difference if Jones is going to replicate his college success. “What did Alabama do better than anybody in the country? Run the ball,” this evaluator said. “Is he going to have the same luxury in the NFL where the field is wide open to him and his team has mismatches across the board? For him to replicate the success he’s had at the college level, it’s going to take a similar situation.” Saints “We didn’t have (Payton) Turner in the first, but I can see why they took him,” an exec said. “They tried to trade up for a corner and couldn’t do it. They have good ends, but one is getting older, so they slide Turner in there and he becomes that third end.” Giants It’s remarkable, in retrospect, that the 49ers succeeded in keeping the NFL guessing on their intentions with the third pick, while everyone just knew the Giants were going to select Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith at 11 until the Eagles jumped over them into the 10th spot in a trade with the fellow division-rival Cowboys. Having Philly jump in front of them to select the player they wanted could have been an embarrassing development for the Giants until GM Dave Gettleman did something he’d never done before: trade back. “Anyone is willing to give you a future one, you better really know about the guy you are going to take if you’re going to turn it down,” an exec said. “That is hard to pass up.” Moving from 11 to 20 and selecting a receiver (Kadarius Toney) while pocketing Chicago’s 2022 first-round pick, 2021 fifth and 2022 fourth vaulted the defiantly old-school Gettleman into a new world. “They got a one and they got Toney, that is fine,” another exec said. “Those two will track. Would you rather have Toney and next year’s one or DeVonta Smith? Time will tell on that.” Multiple execs said they thought the pick from Chicago could be in the top 10, welcome currency for the Giants if they find themselves in the quarterback market. Jets PICK PLAYER SCHOOL 1 (2) QB Zach Wilson BYU 1 (14) OG Alijah Vera-Tucker USC 2 (34) WR Elijah Moore Ole Miss 4 (107) RB Michael Carter North Carolina 5 (146) S Jamien Sherwood Auburn 5 (154) S Michael Carter II Duke 5 (175) CB Jason Pinnock Pittsburgh 6 (186) S Hamsah Nasirildeen Florida State 6 (200) CB Brandin Echols Kentucky 6 (207) DT Jonathan Marshall Arkansas Without question, this draft is going to remake and upgrade the Jets, especially on offense. That might say as much about what the organization put on the field previously as it says about the new draft choices. The Jets are the only team in the league with zero Pro Bowlers on offense over the past five seasons. “They were so bad, you could almost put the salary-cap guy out there himself and it might be an upgrade,” an exec said. It hasn’t come to that for the Jets. Quarterback Zach Wilson, guard/tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker and receiver Elijah Moore are going to play right away, and play lots. “They had a good rounds 1-4 for sure,” an exec said. “I like the fit for Wilson in that offense. He just is small. I don’t care what he measured, he is not a big-boned guy and he has missed games, and that makes me a little nervous. But his ability to throw, his arm strength and his quick release and athletic ability and all that, I mean, I see all that.” The Jets drafted Vera-Tucker after trading up from 23 to 14. The move was similar in scale and price to the 2007 trade the Jets made in climbing from 25 to 14 for cornerback Darrelle Revis. The Revis trade-up ranks among the great moves in franchise history. Landing an offensive lineman can never be as sexy, but it’s tough finding evaluators with anything negative to say about Vera-Tucker. The questions pertain mostly to where on the line he’ll be most effective. “They could have had (Christian) Darrisaw at 23, but Vera-Tucker is a cleaner prospect who is more versatile,” an exec said. “You’re trying to protect your young quarterback? Yes, I support it. And Vera-Tucker would have been gone by 23. The trade-up for Vera-Tucker cost the Jets 23, 66 and 86. They received 14 and 143 in return. The Revis trade-up cost the Jets 25, 59 and 164. They received 14 and 191 in return. “Vera-Tucker is a good pick, and Moore should be good from Ole Miss — real quick, real fast, very good hands, good run after the catch, ran in the 4.3s,” an evaluator said. “The running back from North Carolina (Michael Carter) is a good player, too.”
Eagles In an alternate universe, the Eagles would have resisted trading up two spots to select DeVonta Smith, who some see as the best receiver in this draft. Philly instead would have traded the 12th pick to Chicago for the Bears’ 2022 first-rounder, plus a couple mid-round picks. The Eagles in this alternate universe would enter next offseason with their own first-round selection, one from Chicago, another acquired from Miami for moving back from six to 12 and one from Indy, contingent on Carson Wentz meeting playing time thresholds. “They would have had four first-round picks next year and could have gotten Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson,” an exec said. “I mean, I can’t think of a team that has ever had four first-round picks in one year. They literally would be in the driver’s seat to get the first overall pick if a quarterback is there or get one of these veterans who will be available next year. Who could offer something better than four ones?” There were so many interesting alternative scenarios. Had Philly stayed at six, the team could have selected quarterback Justin Fields, who went 11th to Chicago. The team also could have selected another Alabama receiver, Jaylen Waddle, who wound up going to Miami in Philly’s original sixth slot. The top two corners (Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain II) were also available at six, as was the top offensive tackle in Penei Sewell. The number of attractive options at six is large enough for critics to look back three years from now and pick an alternate scenario that panned out as well or better than the path Philly ultimately chose. But the Eagles could not select all the possible scenarios. They had to choose one, and in landing Smith at 10 for the price of a 2021 third-rounder sent to Dallas in the move up from 12, the team held onto the 2022 first-rounder acquired from Miami in the trade-down from six, while gaining 33 spots in the middle rounds. “I thought DeVonta Smith was better than Jaylen Waddle,” an exec said. “I thought he was the best player in the draft next to Trevor Lawrence.” This Eagles draft will be remembered at least partly for the cringe-worthy moment in the third round when cameras caught veteran evaluator Tom Donahoe reacting negatively to GM Howie Roseman’s celebratory fist-bump offering after the team selected defensive tackle Milton Williams. Roseman had traded back before making the pick, causing Philly to miss out on a player Donahoe preferred. “That was classic,” a scouting friend of Donahoe said. “Tom is a no-nonsense guy. I don’t think he loved the pick or what they did, and he doesn’t want to do the fist bump, anyway. There is nothing worse to me as an old guy than the post-pick celebration. You are high-fiving like you nailed the pick, but how many times does the guy bust in two years? I am with Donahoe. I am anti-celebration. Let’s see how these guys do.” 49ers The mystery San Francisco spun over its intentions with the third pick created great intrigue heading into the draft, and there are still fascinating questions. For instance, if the 49ers had not selected Trey Lance at No. 3, which team would have chosen the North Dakota State quarterback, and in what slot? What about the price San Francisco paid for trading up nine spots, relative to the price Chicago paid in moving up nine for Fields? “You can’t pick the Alabama guy, Mac Jones, and have it turn out to be Daniel Jones,” an exec said. “You have to pick the guy that looks the part and has big-time upside. Lance is starting exactly where the Buffalo guy (Josh Allen) started. High grit, high want-to, works at it, loves the game, all those things that make you feel good about him developing.” The cost of the 49ers moving up was first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, plus a 2022 third-rounder. Chicago moved from 20 to 11 for Fields at the price of 2022 first- and fourth-rounders, plus a 2021 fifth, after knowing two important facts: Lance was not available, and no team valued Fields enough to pick him in the top 10. The price Chicago paid, while much less than what the 49ers spent to ascend much higher, was more than the Jets paid in jumping from 23 to 14 for an offensive lineman. “I would bet on Trey Lance,” a former GM said. “I don’t know how fast it is going to happen, a high-character guy with talent going to an excellent system and an excellent coach.” One evaluator thought Lance faced an easier learning curve than Fields based on what each must improve. “The things to fix with Lance are easier than the things to fix with Fields,” this evaluator said. “Most of that has to do with instincts, the quickness and consistency of their reactions.” The 49ers appear likely to keep Jimmy Garoppolo for one season on the thinking they’re a championship contender if he’s healthy. San Francisco has exceeded six victories in a season once over the past six seasons, going 13-3 and reaching the Super Bowl in the one season Garoppolo started more than five games. “The only strange thing to me about the Niners is, if you’re keeping Garoppolo and if you are paying him $25 million, you lose whatever benefit there is of having a quarterback on a rookie contract,” an exec said. “I would have traded Garoppolo and just cleared the books, saved the money, gone into free agency with more resources.” The 49ers seemed to revel in keeping the masses off-balance regarding their preference for Lance, with team owner Jed York even tweeting in jest before the draft about a power outage preventing him from revealing who the team planned to select. It was very 49er-like. Dissents on Lance sounded more like dissents on the 49ers’ seeming need to appear smarter than everyone else. “San Francisco is one of those teams that does a great job creating a narrative, and they get treated kindly,” an exec said. “Other teams with better records over the past four years get crushed. Look at some of their early picks. What makes you think Trey Lance is the right pick if you follow the record of their early picks?” Kyle Shanahan’s presence is what. “Trey Lance is this ball of clay and the only thing is whether he can process at the next level because he just doesn’t have the experience,” an exec said. “But all the talent is there, the mental part seems to be there, the personality seems to be there. All the pieces are there. He is developmental, so it makes sense to keep Jimmy for now.”
Funny thing to post because these were points raised by posters that were absolutely shit on. Seems as though the average Jets fan isn't too far off with their questions as it relates to NFL executives.
That's funny you said that because as I was reading it, I was thinking the exact same thing. Also, the article keeps mentioning an exec said this and exec said that, but we have no idea who these unnamed sources are. The article writer could have made the whole thing up by just reading our opinions here. Today's journalists are so lazy that I seriously doubt this guy contacted every one of those execs to basically say the same exact things we've been saying here. You, me, & NCJetsFan could have written the same article, except maybe our grammar would not be as good.
it's the athletic who is usually pretty legit for their stuff and execs who say stuff like that have to be unnamed and journalists have to respect it. i'm sure some exec said it but that doesn't mean much, everyone has different philosophies for building a team. 2 nfl execs said russell wilson was too small to play QB and look how that turned out. same goes for drew brees. the same exec will pass on brees for brock oswieler. doesn't mean they are right though. the draft is a crapshoot and a lot of "flags" are nothing in the long wrong. it all comes down to how they can adjust from the college game to the NFL and nobody can predict that.
This is so dumb. No wonder most of these guys are not at their jobs for long. Many valid arguments can be made for Falcons doing the right thing passing on Fields. The usual NFL group think is not one of them.
Yeah well, the "respected" NY Times and Wa Post were caught fabricating stories from "unnamed sources." If the source is unnamed, you have to question it. Nothing in the article is new. You could have written it.
I appreciate the article, NC. Thanks. Regarding some of the content, referring to Fields as a "running back who can play QB" is downright absurd and insulting to Fields as a player. I was a Wilson guy, but calling Fields a "RB who can play QB" smacks of the old school, narrow-minded view of black QBs, ESP considering the fact that one of Fields strength is pushing the ball down the field with his arm. He is a very accurate passer, esp with his deep ball, so I think you can pretty much discount anything that one scout//gm/executive or whoever the heck he was, had to say. Fields may or may not pan out, but referring to him as a RB who can play QB is every bit as insulting to him as saying Zach Wilson is a Lou Pearlman boy band frontman who can also play QB. In other words, it is a cheapshot dressed up as a (backhanded) compliment.
He’s not even the smallest QB in the division. Personally, I’d be more concerned about Trevor “bean pole” Lawrence 1lb lighter than Zach at his pro day but 3 inches taller. In reality, I’m not worried about either. If Kyler Murray can do it, anyone can
Kyler Murry might be short, but he is STOUT dude....his is a little athletic, QB playing bowling ball. He doesn't wear hipster skinny jeans like TL and Zach. No way Murray could fit those thick thighs and booty of his into a pair of skinny jeans.
Ahh. You judge a QB by how good he looks in jeans, gotcha. Do you think T Law can fit into skinny jeans? Chris Simms references ass and thighs a lot but still has him as the #1 QB in the draft.
I have no beef with you KingRoach.....no beef. and in response to your question, TLaw can pull off the skinny jeans look, because of those long, flowing, luxurious locks of pretty boy hair he has.
