Sports

[gardenman]

It's been a weird year for the Bills. Maybe they're in on Aiyuk with a trade for the Niners? Josh Allen is looking like a one-man offense for the Bills right now. He needs someone to play with him on offense.

Xavier Worthy is going to be interesting to watch. A blazing-fast player, but iffy hands. He had concentration issues in college. Can he fix that? Eh, we'll see. Mahomes will be screaming at him to try and get him to focus.

The Cowboys drafting Tyler Guyton pretty much locks Tyler Smith in at guard as Guyton's not a guard. He's a pure tackle. That's not necessarily bad as Smith played well at guard, but Smith was drafted to be a tackle. I would have assumed the Cowboys would have gone with a more versatile guard/tackle prospect. They could then shift Smith to tackle if the kid had issues at tackle. If they move Smith outside now, they can't slide Guyton inside as a guard. Guyton would then become a backup tackle and you'd prefer to get more from a first-round pick. Guyton's raw, but has potential and seems coachable. There will be growing pains though and it's easier for a kid to play guard than tackle. Many teams opt to draft a more versatile kid and start him at guard then slide him out to tackle. That's what the Cowboys did with Smith last year. Now they're more or less forcing Smith to stay at guard.

Round two will be interesting. I would expect a team or two to try and move way up in round two to get a guy who's lingering after the first round. I don't see a name that I think is clearly a first-round guy lingering, but different teams have different values.

Cooper Dejean will be a guy to watch. He was a corner in college but might be a better fit at safety in the pros. You're projecting him as a safety as you haven't seen him do it much. Who takes the chance on him? And the safety position as a whole has been devalued in recent years. He could slip a ways. A tough time for him as many had projected him as a first-round guy. I could see him slide to round three or four before a team makes the move. Maybe a team loves him and is just waiting to pounce on him in round two. We'll have to see. A talented kid, but probably not a pro corner.

I don't think we'll see another QB get taken tonight. Six going last night kind of emptied the pool for now. The rest of the guys are more round five or six guys. Spencer Rattler might sneak in a bit before then. He was potentially the first overall pick a few years back at Oklahoma, then things fell apart. To say he hit a ceiling would be an understatement. Maybe someone still thinks he's got room to grow?

It'll be interesting to see which RB goes first. Jonathan Brooks is the best RB, but is recovering from a torn ACL and probably won't be up to full speed until 2025. He'll play in 2024, but won't be 100%. Blake Corum could sneak ahead of him. 

We'll start getting some answers tonight at seven. Round one moved pretty quickly and teams have less time for rounds two and three, so maybe not too late of a night?

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

With Ravens picking Wiggins the analysts were wondering if he's gonna be another Emanuel Forbes---too light---Forbes 6 ft 181.....Wiggins 6'1" 170....

It will be interesting to see what Washington's new coaches do with Forbes .....he might not make the final roster.....fans were so angry everyone wanted Christian Gonzalez who was available at the same spot, he had been playing well for the Patriots... He had---- an interception and 3 passes defended by 17 tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss and one QB hit but suffered a shoulder injury which ended his promising rookie season. 

There's Jerry making do with a guy who is not quite ready to start ...the rest of the NFC EAST loves Jerry Jones...

Anyone else think it odd that the Giants did NOT take a QB guess they weren't in love with any of the prospects.....they did get a WR which they did badly need!!!!

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Tom Pelissero on the Falcons drafting Penix. "This isn't a relationship that's gone south. This is cheating on your wife on the honeymoon."

Yeah. That's about right. Cousins has been in the building a few days now learning the system and finds his new team already drafting his replacement. "Wait? What?"

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@gardenman 

LOL at Tom Pelissero's comment   Now I can understand why Marcus Mariota walked out on the Falcons....sounds like the Falcons organization has some issues behind the scenes.....Cousins should have stayed with the Vikes!

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

Injuries could potentially be a problem in drafting Latu, but Ballard must have studied tapes and decided that the reward outdoes the risk. If he had any doubts, he would have gotten another player.

Latu is a very good edge and the Colts needed to fill that position. I'm fine with the draft pick. There is always some risk in the draft, so have to take chances to get the player you want. 

I don't understand the Buffalo Bills trading out of the first round. They gave the Chiefs a chance to get even better---why?  The Chiefs need to replace Rice if he he gets suspended, so Worthy isn't a surprise. I just don't know why the Bills were helping them. 

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@teganslaw @gardenman 

And they say politics makes strange bedfellows....apparently so does the NFL....I hope Andy Reid sends the Bills a thank you card....

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Yeah, Wiggins' frame is scary in any defense, and with a physical defense like the Ravens play... The kid is a great cover guy, but he's giving up a lot of muscle mass to pretty much every receiver in the league. You're either the hammer or the nail as a defender and he's going to always be the nail.

The Giants are pretty much stuck with Daniel Jones for 2024. He's coming off the injury so teams would be reluctant to trade for him. His cap hit is too high to just cut him loose. They more or less have to play him in 2024 and hope for the best. They're my pick as a bottom-five team in 2024, maybe the worst team in 2024, so they should have an opportunity to get a kid QB next year. I don't suspect the team psyche of the Giants is the best right now. Letting Saquon, your team captain and arguably best offensive player walk doesn't tend to go over well in a locker room. Their players loved Saquon. I don't think they'll be an especially high-scoring team in 2024. And their defense still needs a lot of parts. They're going to have issues. How confident are you if you're a Giants' player? Confidence matters a lot. More football gets played between the earholes of a helmet than people think and their collective heads aren't in a great spot. 

Contrast that to the Eagles. They brought in a lot of talented players. Kept their stars and are paying them fair money. Brought in very well-respected new coordinators to run the offense and defense. As team psyches go, it's probably hard to find a team in a better headspace than the Eagles right now. That can all change with injuries or some untimely losses, but for now, they're in a good place mentally.

[teganslaw]

I'm thinking there might be more surprises this evening. 

My city's nesting peregrine falcons seem to be kind of confused today. They don't understand why the Atlanta Falcons drafted a QB when the team has Kirk Cousins. I think they'll get over it, though, because they have to concentrate on supporting their three babies who hatched a week ago. I can watch them raising the hatchlings through the webcam. So cute! 

After thought: could it be that Atlanta thinks Cousins might re injure himself or not work out? They take Penix just in case something happens with Cousins. If so, they paid a boatload of money for not believing he's the one. 

[gardenman]

We're in the crazy part of the draft where teams have to decide if the best RB is more valuable than the tenth to twelfth offensive lineman. 

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

I'm thinking there might be more surprises this evening. 

My city's nesting peregrine falcons seem to be kind of confused today. They don't understand why the Atlanta Falcons drafted a QB when the team has Kirk Cousins. I think they'll get over it, though, because they have to concentrate on supporting their three babies who hatched a week ago. I can watch them raising the hatchlings through the webcam. So cute! 

After thought: could it be that Atlanta thinks Cousins might re injure himself or not work out? They take Penix just in case something happens with Cousins. If so, they paid a boatload of money for not believing he's the one. 

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@teganslaw 

I'll have to checkout the peregrine Falcons Webcam......

If the NFL FALCONS wanted a new backup for Cousins other than Taylor Heinicke, they sure overpaid for Penix when their team had other pressing needs!

[Spurt]

You Tube Tim has a couple of recommendations for Washington....

WR Keon Coleman Florida State

CB  TJ Tampa Iowa State 

Others say:

OT Kingsley Suamataia BYU -

CB "Kool-Aid" McKinstry Alabama

[Spurt]

Adam Peter's said they did try to trade up to get a linemen with the Steelers but they couldn't get a deal done.

Well there goes Tim's pick Coleman went to the Bills