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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

Peter Schrager's mock draft has the Eagles trading back to fifteen and letting the Patriots get DeVonta Smith, and the Eagles pick o-lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker from USC. Uh, no. I don't see that. People remember the Eagles had o-line problems last year, but what they forget is that the starters and backups were good. It was when you got third, fourth, and in some cases fifth deep that things fell apart. If your ones and twos are good (when healthy) then you don't draft a kid in the first round to be the third-string o-lineman.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

I saw a mock draft from CBS Sports today that shows the Eagles trading with Carolina to get the #8 pick and then drafting WR Jaylen Waddle.😉

 

As to the Vera-Tucker pick mentioned above by @gardenman, I have seen Vera-Tucker  going as high as #13 to the Chargers, so if the Eagles trade back to #15 with that intent, they might miss out!😉

 

And as to Alex Smith, I admire him so much and wish him the very best in his retirement. What an inspiration he has been in the way he fought back through 17 operations...and then proved to himself and to everyone else that he could get out onto the field again. That took such courage and determination. Hopefully he will continue in the NFL in some capacity. Some have said he could become a member of Urban Meyer's staff in JAX.😊

 

 

 

 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!


@gardenman wrote:

Peter Schrager's mock draft has the Eagles trading back to fifteen and letting the Patriots get DeVonta Smith, and the Eagles pick o-lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker from USC. Uh, no. I don't see that. People remember the Eagles had o-line problems last year, but what they forget is that the starters and backups were good. It was when you got third, fourth, and in some cases fifth deep that things fell apart. If your ones and twos are good (when healthy) then you don't draft a kid in the first round to be the third-string o-lineman.


@gardenman 

 

Peter's mock had the WFT taking a RB, Travis Etienne, Clemson....I dont really see that in the FIRST round....🤔???????

 

This is what Peter had to say ----First-round running backs might be a dying breed, but I love this addition to Scott Turner's offense. Etienne is electric between the tackles and in the open field as a ball carrier, but also adds value in the passing game. Washington still needs another playmaker or two on offense to be a threat in the NFC.

 
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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

@Spurt 

 

Etienne wouldn't be a bad pick. The WFT cut loose Bryce Love. I guess he never fully recovered from his knee issues. Kind of a pity as the kid had all of the potential in the world. They opened up a roster spot for a running back by cutting him loose.

 

The WFT only have four backs on the roster right now. McKissic is mostly a pass-catching back with 80 receptions last year. He did average 4.3 yards per carry but only had 85 carries. Peyton Barber has been around a while and not set the league on fire. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry last year and only caught four passes. (Why is he still on the roster with those numbers?) Gibson has potential, but is he special? He averaged 4.7 yards per carry last year, which is pretty good. He only caught 36 passes. Lamar Miller has hung around the league forever. He only played in one game for the Bears last year and had no carries but caught two balls for a total of six yards. 

 

It's not an especially impressive group of backs the WFT have right now. Travis Etienne or Najee Harris would almost certainly climb right to the top of the depth chart if drafted by the WFT. It's a position I'd certainly expect them to address at some point in the draft. The first round? Why not if one of the upper-tier guys is there? A game-changing back can be a powerful weapon. With Fitzpatrick as the QB, you probably want to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. An Etienne or Harris could be a good addition. You don't want Fitzpatrick out there throwing on every down. That's a recipe for disaster.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

[ Edited ]

@gardenman wrote:

@Spurt 

 

Etienne wouldn't be a bad pick. The WFT cut loose Bryce Love. I guess he never fully recovered from his knee issues. Kind of a pity as the kid had all of the potential in the world. They opened up a roster spot for a running back by cutting him loose.

 

The WFT only have four backs on the roster right now. McKissic is mostly a pass-catching back with 80 receptions last year. He did average 4.3 yards per carry but only had 85 carries. Peyton Barber has been around a while and not set the league on fire. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry last year and only caught four passes. (Why is he still on the roster with those numbers?) Gibson has potential, but is he special? He averaged 4.7 yards per carry last year, which is pretty good. He only caught 36 passes. Lamar Miller has hung around the league forever. He only played in one game for the Bears last year and had no carries but caught two balls for a total of six yards. 

 

It's not an especially impressive group of backs the WFT have right now. Travis Etienne or Najee Harris would almost certainly climb right to the top of the depth chart if drafted by the WFT. It's a position I'd certainly expect them to address at some point in the draft. The first round? Why not if one of the upper-tier guys is there? A game-changing back can be a powerful weapon. With Fitzpatrick as the QB, you probably want to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. An Etienne or Harris could be a good addition. You don't want Fitzpatrick out there throwing on every down. That's a recipe for disaster.


@gardenman 

 

While I agree my team could probably use a RB, I just wouldnt make it the #1 priority in this draft....OL, TE, LB, CB...WR more pressing needs

 

Smoke screen or is Stephen Jones hinting the Cowboys may trade up to get Pitts by saying, "Kyle Pitts is a unique player who doesn't come around every year...."  Hmmmmm??????.... I think it would be a big mistake to give away lots of draft picks to move up to get Pitts and ignoring the mess that is their defense..... Quinn cant work miracles with little talent on the D side....
  

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

There seems to be lots more chatter of teams moving around this year than we've seen in most years. The top three seem locked in for now, but pretty much every team behind them is talking about moving up or down in the draft. The Dolphins are broadly hinting at moving out of six and down in the order or possibly up to four. It's going to be an interesting draft.

 

Lots of teams may be looking to pile up more picks for next year as the 2022 draft class is expected to be very deep with players who sat out last year added to the normal class for 2022. The QB spot seems a bit slim next year, but other spots should have a plethora of players.

 

The Eagles will likely have three first-round picks next year and if the projections are correct they may be able to get three guys who would be top ten picks in a typical draft. That could help the rebuild in a hurry. 

 

The mock draft mania seems to be winding down a bit. Mock drafts are still saying some teams I don't see targeting wide receivers early (Giants and Cowboys) taking a wide receiver early. Both teams are three deep with solid starters at wide receiver so I'm not sure why they'd invest in one high up in the draft when they have other needs. We'll have to see what happens there.

 

There's still lots of chatter of the Cowboys moving up in the draft. Maybe JJ really does love Pitts and is going to go get him no matter what. He'll likely have to move up to four or five to get him and that could be expensive.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

@gardenman @teganslaw @teganslaw 

 

Kiper has these picks for my WFT ---

LB Jamin Davis, Kentucky

QB Davis Mills, Stanford ?!?!?!?!?!?

 

Todd, Todd, Todd has----

OT James Hudson

WR Shi Smith S.Carolina....

 

 

 

 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!


@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman wrote:

@Spurt 

 

Etienne wouldn't be a bad pick. The WFT cut loose Bryce Love. I guess he never fully recovered from his knee issues. Kind of a pity as the kid had all of the potential in the world. They opened up a roster spot for a running back by cutting him loose.

 

The WFT only have four backs on the roster right now. McKissic is mostly a pass-catching back with 80 receptions last year. He did average 4.3 yards per carry but only had 85 carries. Peyton Barber has been around a while and not set the league on fire. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry last year and only caught four passes. (Why is he still on the roster with those numbers?) Gibson has potential, but is he special? He averaged 4.7 yards per carry last year, which is pretty good. He only caught 36 passes. Lamar Miller has hung around the league forever. He only played in one game for the Bears last year and had no carries but caught two balls for a total of six yards. 

 

It's not an especially impressive group of backs the WFT have right now. Travis Etienne or Najee Harris would almost certainly climb right to the top of the depth chart if drafted by the WFT. It's a position I'd certainly expect them to address at some point in the draft. The first round? Why not if one of the upper-tier guys is there? A game-changing back can be a powerful weapon. With Fitzpatrick as the QB, you probably want to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. An Etienne or Harris could be a good addition. You don't want Fitzpatrick out there throwing on every down. That's a recipe for disaster.


@gardenman 

 

While I agree my team could probably use a RB, I just wouldnt make it the #1 priority in this draft....OL, TE, LB, CB...WR more pressing needs

 

Smoke screen or is Stephen Jones hinting the Cowboys may trade up to get Pitts by saying, "Kyle Pitts is a unique player who doesn't come around every year...."  Hmmmmm??????.... I think it would be a big mistake to give away lots of draft picks to move up to get Pitts and ignoring the mess that is their defense..... Quinn cant work miracles with little talent on the D side....
  


@Spurt 

 

When a team drafts nineteenth you're often stuck choosing between the fifth or sixth best offensive lineman/wide receiver or the best running back. There are typically two, three four guys at each position who are clearly better than the rest. After that, there's typically a bundle of guys who are equally good/risky. If you have a comparable grade on linemen/WRs from six to twenty, you can let one of those guys go for later and grab a top-rated running back. When you look at the WFT backs, there are maybe two backs who are quality players in Gibson and McKissic and McKissic is primarily a pass catcher. Can you get a good running back in a later round? Sure. Would he be as good as a Harris or Etienne? Probably not. Would the WR or OL taken nineteenth be as good as a guy taken later? Probably.

 

That Dallas defense is very thin right now. Dan Quinn made his name with a very talented defensive roster. When he's coached less talented defenses, they haven't been nearly as good. I'm not sure how good of a coach Dan Quinn truly is. I have a suspicion he was in the right place at the right time and has lived off of that since then. This Dallas defense is arguably the least talented collection of players he's had to work with. I'm not sure he's the "right" coach for the Cowboys. He was another "name" coach, but he built his name in Seattle with the Legion of Boom who were superbly talented players. It's often easy to fall into the trap of the coach made the players great, but in most cases, the coach just didn't screw things up. I don't see Dan Quinn being an upper-echelon defensive coordinator. We'll find out this year if I'm right or not.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!


@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman @teganslaw @teganslaw 

 

Kiper has these picks for my WFT ---

LB Jamin Davis, Kentucky

QB Davis Mills, Stanford ?!?!?!?!?!?

 

Todd, Todd, Todd has----

OT James Hudson

WR Shi Smith S.Carolina....

 

 

 

 


Davis Mills is a fast-climbing name. Teams tend to view Stanford kids as being smarter and more NFL-ready. Some have him going at fifteen to the Patriots if they can't move up higher. Others have him going twentieth to the Bears. I'm guessing he's interviewed very, very well. I've seen several reports that say he'll likely outperform several of the top five guys. He's been impressing the teams that have interviewed him. If nothing else, he's likely to be a guy taken late in the first by a team wanting a QB with that fifth-year option. Given the WFT situation at QB, he might not be a bad option. It looks like we'll hear Davis Mills' name on Thursday night in the first round. It could be at fifteen, nineteen, twenty, or later, but his name is likely to be called.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for April 2021!!!

The Eagles are having a press briefing at 11:20 today (why 11:20?) where the head coach (Nick Sirianni) GM (Howie Roseman) and player personnel guy (Andy Weidl) will avoid answering questions from the media on their plans for the draft.

 

We'll learn that they may move up or down depending on how things look. We'll learn that there are lots of really good players in the top twelve and also farther down. We'll hear that they may draft a QB, LB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DL, S, or CB in the first round. (Probably not a kicker or punter, but it'll depend on their board at the time.) We may learn if the Eagles plan on using a fullback. We haven't had one in years. But we may not even learn that. 

 

Anything specific the Eagles do say is likely a red herring designed to throw off the other teams drafting around them. These kinds of media events are largely just for show as no one learns anything, but of course, I'll be watching. If they express concern about Devonta Smith's size, you'll know they want him and are trying to scare off rivals. If they never mention Jaylen Waddle's name, it could be a sign they want him. You learn more at these events by listening to what they're not saying than by listening to what they are saying. If they say they're happy with the cornerbacks they now have, you'll know a CB is high on their list of priorities.

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