Sports

[gardenman]

Team rosters are more or less assembled now after free agency and the draft. Most teams are at or near the ninety man off-season roster limit. There will be some shuffling here and there, but by and large, what you have now is what you'll be starting the season with.

A Budda Baker and a few others who have demanded a trade could move. Saquon Barkley and his contract situation might change. Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, and Dak Prescott should get contract extensions. The Niners should do a deal with Nick Bosa. He'll be a free agent in 2024 if they don't extend him. 

NFL front offices typically shut down in early July, so they'll be busy sorting out contracts, getting the kids signed, getting veteran players extended, now that the player acquisition phase of the season is winding down.

Rookie camps fire up this week with coaches getting their first real chance to see what they got from the draft and the undrafted free agents. There will be plenty of surprises both good and bad.

We're entering the doldrums of the NFL off-season now with most of the player movement now behind us. The schedule release will be the next "event" in May. OTAs give the coaches some feel for where things stand, but they'll learn a lot more once camps start in July. There are more than a few coaches who entered free agency and the draft with a wish list for their GM only to find that their wishes were ignored. Now they have to figure out a way to take what they've got and win games.

Reality starts to set in come May. The hope of a white knight player arriving to lift the team fades. Rookies who teams had hoped could step in to fill a void come up short. Hook them up to a lie detector and most coaches/GMs could tell you within a game or two where they'll finish this year. They know how things stand. They understand reality. The planning for next off-season already starts as wish lists of pending free agents and draftable players start to get made.

Some teams find they got more than expected from free agency and the draft and their dreams of success start to look less like a dream and more like a real possibility. "You know what? We could be really good this year!"

[Spurt]

Some info on other Washington Draft selections---

Martin----CB/S--main player targeted by team---he's is versatile can play Buffalo Nickel, can play FS, smart and he plays physical, he's explosive....good athlete, good recognition, creates turnovers, good communication skills....sometimes bites on routes...could release Kendall Fuller to save $$$

really like the Ricky Stromberg pick, Center/G---good run blocker, fired up-loved the visit with Washington, spent long time with coaches.....

Braeden Daniels--G/TSounds like a bust already----sloppy footwork, inconsistent play, very raw most likely would switch from guard to tackle ---developmental project 😠

EJ Henry Edge---heard good things--- good quick step, quick feet, good hands....high character guy, leader, team captain, ......with contract questions looming on Chase and Montez could be a need.....

Chris Rodriguez Jr-RB---decisive  runner, good blocker....Coach EB liked him, productive in SEC which is a good sign, good at pass protecting, good hands check downs and screens, needs to work on route running, 

Andre Jones Edge---good length, long arms, good athlete, little bit older prospect--mature

One mantra or the BUZZ WORD the media hears Washington keeps bringing up is FLEXIBILITY....which can be good particularly with oline players, but which I worry about are these players---JACK OF ALL TRADES AND MASTER OF NONE.....

2nd yr in a row Washington didnt get a LB they need!

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

If you have the right o-line coach, a guy like Braeden Daniels could become a solid starter. The Eagles with Jeff Stoutland don't look as much at where a guy is now, but where his ceiling might be. Footwork can be fixed. Sloppiness can be drilled out. He's got good size, could use more weight, but is an athlete. If you find a kid who had inadequate coaching in college, and coach him up, you can polish a guy into a solid player.

Talk of moving him from guard to tackle is a bit backwards. Playing tackle is vastly harder than playing guard. You typically move a college tackle to guard to ease him into the NFL even if you're eventually planning on him being a tackle. Now, his weight might be the reason they're not putting him at guard. NFL defensive tackles tend to be bigger and stronger and offensive guards are more in the 315-330 lb range these days. Daniels at 290+ might just get pushed around a bit by NFL DTs. So moving him outside until he bulks up a bit might be a wise step.

2024 mock drafts are already out and a few have Washington taking USC's QB Caleb Williams. The NFC is going to have to start finding QBs somewhere. The AFC is dominating at the position these days.

[gardenman]

Speaking of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Cards are nicely positioned for 2024. They have their own first and Houston's. Neither the Cards nor the Texans figure to be very good in 2023, so those are likely both top five picks. They could be one and two. They also have their second and three thirds. Early power rankings have the Texans and Cards at 31 and 32. If that holds true, the Cards will be nicely positioned for a rebuild. Six of the top hundred kids could be heading their way in 2024.

Tampa and Washington figure to be in the running for a top draft pick also depending on how their QB gambles go. The Falcons and Titans could be pretty bad also. The Titans are going to keep drafting QBs until they find one who can play. The Colts will be interesting to watch. I don't think they'll trust Richardson enough to start and with Minshew and Foles in reserve they may not need him to start right away. A lot will depend on their schedule. Find a string of lesser opponents and slide the kid in. Let him beat up some lesser teams and build some confidence. You don't want his first start on the road against the Bengals or Ravens. It's great if he beats them, but a beat down by them could be bad. 

I'm not sure the Rams will be as bad as many think. If Cooper Kupp stays healthy (a big if) and Stafford's elbow doesn't fall off, they'll be able to score. And they've still got a pretty good defense. The NFC West isn't all that scary looking these days. Was last year's Geno Smith the real Geno Smith or a fluke? Bear in mind the Seahawks didn't have him penciled in as the starter this time last year. The Cards may not have Kyler Murray until late, if at all.  The Niners seem to have given up on Trey Lance and are counting on Purdy whose elbow is still healing. If Geno regresses to his norm and Purdy reminds everyone why he was the last player drafted, the NFC West could be a mess.

There are some very, very good players coming out in the 2024 draft and teams that get off to a bad start may start thinking about tanking early to get a star. The 2023 draft wasn't filled with upper-tier guys. The 2024 draft could have ten or more "generational" type talents. If a team gets off to a bad start, say 0-3, then rolling over and playing dead might start to look like a good idea. Teams like the Texans that traded away their 2024 first may start to regret that move.

[teganslaw]

CBJulius Brents is getting posiitve reviews on Stampede Blue. He will fit with the Colts' defensive scheme and could possibly move to the safety position if needed. I didn't know much about Brents, but am liking what I read about him. Good choice trading places to get Brents. 

Tom Grossi has a new video out: how the Cowboys feel about the Eagles draft. Gardenman, this is a good video for you to watch if you have a chance. It's about 4 minutes long. 

[gardenman]

Today, May second, is the deadline for teams to pick up the fifth year option on 2020 draft picks. The team with the most at stake are the Packers with Jordan Love. The other QBs in that class (Herbert, Burrow, Tua) all had their options picked up. Love's fifth year option cost is a tick over $20 million. If they don't use the option, he's a free agent in 2024. They could franchise tag him in 2024 but with QB salaries now topping $50 million a year, the top five average would be more than double the fifth year option cost.

The Giants cost themselves a lot of money by not using the option on Daniel Jones. If the Packers think there's a reasonable chance Jordan Love is good, they should pick up the option.

With roster building now largely done, GMs can turn their attention to extending the QBs from the class of 2020. The Hurts/Lamar Jackson deals are the new floors for contracts. Herbert, Burrow, Tua, Dak, and Love all figure to want something in that neighborhood. Whoever gets their guy signed first will likely end up paying the least. Jordan Love is the wildcard. He'll want that kind of money, but has he earned it yet? It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw 

Here's Washington's UDFAs----STILL NO LB!!!! 🙄 How many CBs, WRs do they need for training camp fodder...SMH!

OL Mason Brooks looks like a poor man's Cody Mauch with front teeth...LOL sounds pretty good though....looks like someone coach's can work with......

MASON BROOKS

CODY MAUCH

[gardenman]

And right on cue, the Packers and Jordan Love worked out a one year contract extension for $22.5 million. This is a "good faith" move by the Packers. They're trying to show him they're being fair and giving him $2+ million more than he'd get on the fifth year option. Of course, if they'd used the fifth year option on him it would all be guaranteed while only $13.5 million of this deal is fully guaranteed. It's kind of a win-win. Love gets a bit more now. If he's not "the guy" and the Packers wave bye-bye next year, they're only out $13.5 million instead of the full $20+ million on the fifth year option.

Love can still reach free agency in 2025 and cash in big time if he is "the guy." A very tactical contract extension. "Look! We're giving you $2+ million more than we had to!" While potentially saving themselves seven-ish million should he flop and they cut him.

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

A lot of teams are moving away from traditional linebackers. Five man defensive fronts with five DBs and a single linebacker aren't uncommon these days. One of the DBs will often be a linebacker-like safety playing close to the line, but modern defenses have evolved in weird ways. Linebackers are becoming an endangered species. Teams often play a 3-4 front but the two outside linebackers are actually defensive ends and one or both of the inside linebackers is often a hybrid safety/linebacker.

[Spurt]

---

@teganslaw wrote:

CBJulius Brents is getting posiitve reviews on Stampede Blue. He will fit with the Colts' defensive scheme and could possibly move to the safety position if needed. I didn't know much about Brents, but am liking what I read about him. Good choice trading places to get Brents. 

Tom Grossi has a new video out: how the Cowboys feel about the Eagles draft. Gardenman, this is a good video for you to watch if you have a chance. It's about 4 minutes long. 

---

@teganslaw 

That Tom Grossi thing was so funny 

@gardenman @teganslaw 

You Tube Micah Parsons is sick over Jalen Carter pick,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kav4I50ino4

and if that wasnt bad enough the Eagles AJ Brown comes on to troll Micah....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-sOpDQ7u4w