So he played at 49ers mostly on edge and busted. Raiders moved him inside and he produced. What does that tell about Saleh for real?
He wasn’t a bust because he stunk. He was hurt for a majority of his career in SF. That’s also why he was brought in on the third week of free agency as depth.
It probably says more about the SF GM who drafted him. They drafted him as a DE and he couldn't/didn't perform well there. The Raiders tried him at DT and he found some success. I don't know the chronology of things there in SF, but maybe they were set with the 4 players they had at DT and needed Solomon at DE, the position he was drafted to play.
You’re acting like Vernon gholston never existed. He was dt in college, San Fran played him at edge, didn’t work, had had better production inside. I wouldn’t call him a bust. Disappointing, sure , but he can pants be contribute in a rotation. Played just 45% of the raiders snaps last year and had a decent stat line.
I did not realize Thomas 'numbers were so bad. A 28 run grade with a an average pass rush grade. Xfactor speculates he will get a hybrid role switching between DE on run downs and DT on rushing plays. My apologies for downgrading Rankins he looks much better in comparison to Thomas.
Not a super impressive signing but without the contract numbers its hard to evaluate. Raiders paid him 2.8 so I assume its in that range?
I liked Thomas a lot before that draft. He tested off the charts so it looked like he’d be able to play inside or outside. That wasn’t the case but he’s a good interior pass rusher. In addition to injuries, his sister (who he was very close with) committed suicide at a very young age and that affected his development as well.
Meh rotational interior DL. I’m surprised he signed here after he tore his acl at MetLife. I guess he just wants to play for Saleh
I like this signing because it solves a looming draft problem. Before this, we were thin enough on the interior that we needed another depth player. Unfortunately, the draft is very thin on interior DL in the later rounds, so if we wanted someone, we would probably need to use one of our 2nd round picks on someone like Devonte Wyatt or Boye Mafe. That would be unfortunate, for two reasons. First, our DL is strong enough it doesn't really need a 2nd round pick, so I don't think we'd get good value for that high of a pick. Second, we have other needs where the second round is very strong but the later rounds are thin. Cine, Brisker and Pitre could each be a good starting safety to complement Whitehead, and there are not many good options at safety in the lower rounds. There should be some decent DB options in the second round, and then the draft becomes very thin at DB. The 2nd also gives us a chance to get another solid receiver (I hope in addition to one at #10) in Datson, Pickens, or Watson. By the time we get to pick 69, all of those DB/S/WR selections will be gone and there's slim pickins after that. So, we really need to focus our 2nd round picks on the DB/S/WR positions. That doesn't leave us with any good options for shoring up the interior DL. Thomas should be decent depth at a minimum, with the potential to be even better than that. Good move.
I agree that this signing is great because it means that we don't have to take an NT in the 2nd round and can take a S like Cine or Brisker and a WR like Watson or Pickens (if they make it to the 2nd round). A couple of points about your other comments. First, Boye Mafe is an Edge, not an IDL player. Second, I think Travis Jones is whom the Jets would have targeted in the second round, and we definitely would have gotten value for him unless he wound up busting. He's a stud vs the run and is very good vs the pass as well. Here are links to his draft profile: https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/travis-jones https://www.nfl.com/prospects/travis-jones/32004a4f-4e76-8782-163c-8d9db29f5ca9 The Jets could still have interest in drafting an NT in the 3rd-5th rounds. Here are draft profiles on another NT in whom the Jets might have interest, Eyioma Uwazurike. https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/eyioma-uwazurike/8Rj5gFtAE0 https://www.nfl.com/prospects/eyioma-uwazurike/32005557-4118-9231-ead9-e9cc16e8088b
Definitely cannot play this guy on the interior on base D. He can't one gap well against the run, let alone 2 gap run stuff at his size. I think his role will be limited to subpackage interior pass rushing. maybe he'll provide some value on that. overall meh. Much rather have re-signed Fatukasi, than retaining Rankins and signing Thomas as neither is effective against the run. Also why have they not re-signed Phillips? Another better option.
Speak for yourself. Boye Mafe looks like he Is going to be a stud, I would be thrilled If we took him In the second round. He won't be an IDL either... Plenty of good edge prospects should be available In the second.. Boye Mafe could be there as well.
IIRC, half the 49ers team got badly injured against us week 2 at MetLife in 2020, and none worse than Solomon Thomas.
