RedBeardedSavage

Agree with this. If we stay at three, I don’t think we’re taking an offensive lineman until round three. If we trade down in the first, I’d love to take a tackle and a center in the first three rounds.

This. Bell and Osemele will help. CJ Mosley will help. If Crowder can stay healthy, he’s a decent weapon. But really, our biggest get was a competent coaching staff. We’re halfway into March, so it’s really early for this, but I think we’re in that 6-8 win range... Maybe more like 9-10 wins if Sam plays like week 16 2018 Sam.

I know we’ve needed a true pass rusher since Abraham left. I know Allen, Bosa and even QW from inside could really help this D. But all I want is to bring in as much offensive talent as possible. I’m good with the scattershot approach, and we need more picks for that. Trade down

Lucky. Get used by Cousins? turned out to be a blessing Trade up blind to three and have the #1 QB on our boards fall into our laps? This is the defining moment of his tenure As illustrated by the OP, he’s a sh*t GM. I think he’ll be here year at least through next offseason, which is a shame - but I actually like this coaching staff he’s put together here... maybe, just maybe, he drafts well this year and we reassess his legacy. Could just be post Bell euphoria...

After the Osemele trade, I’d said I’d be ecstatic if we landed Paradis and Bell. I’d have traded Mosley for Paradis, but ok, Mosley is a good player that can make our rush defense stout and come up with the occasional big play. The Bell acquisition is great. Solid job so far, Macc. We’ll see what ya do with the remainder of our cap and in the draft.

This is the key. It’s not about Bell bringing us glory. It’s not about whether, generally speaking, giving a second contract to a RB is wise. It’s about Darnold. We get Bell and Darnolds odds of becoming an elite franchise quarterback increase. Coleman doesn’t move the needle.

I've been of the opinion that QW is better than a blue-chip prospect but liked this post a lot. Make some good points and has me reevaluating my thoughts. Good stuff.

Quinnen Williams. Right now, we're probably best served by sliding down and taking 2 of the 3 of these guys in the late 1/early 2: Andre Dillard, Paris Campbell, Chris Lindstrom. But I think QW will be a star. A lot depends on how we help Sam in free agency. The more improvement I see on offense before the draft, the less I feel obligated to force offensive players in the draft.

He's probably on PED's. Maybe I'm being too presumptive, but I think most of the NFL is on PED's. Most importantly, Metcalf has a checkered injury history and doesn't have the production considering his physical gifts. It's not that I couldn't see him being a true #1, it's that his likelihood to bust is too high. A lot of Jets fan will be angry, but I think the safest player is QW @ 3. I'd prefer to trade down and come away with say, Paris Campbell and Chris Lindstrom, but we might be stuck at 3.

Slightly prefer QW. I worry about Bosa's health. The elder Bosa misses games regularly. Younger Bosa already possesses a checkered injury history. If we can't trade down, I think I'd prefer QW.

I’d like to see him produce for one more year (and stay out of trouble) before he gets a serious contract, but I’d take a second rounder if someone signs him. Sound move.

We agree on everything but Bell. Your reservations about him, both as an aging RB getting a contract and his expected effort level once paid, are more than fair. My main issue with your assessment is that I don’t see where we’ll be limited by signing Bell. There’s nobody I’m worried about RE-signing currently. It’s likely none of those elite pass rushers being tossed around here will actually hit the open market. What are we saving this money for? Your assessment of his character might be valid and the general philosophy of not paying a RB a second contract, I agree with - albeit in a vacuum. If we’re confident as an organization that Bell’s gonna come in and work hard, then he will make Darnold’s life a lot easier - and that’s the long term plan here. I’m not worried about who we have on the edge on defense over the next two years, or who’s playing corner over that time. I’d be happy to be that team that’s lopsided offensively until Darnold is 25, then we can start building a balanced team. Bring in people now, even at a premium, to grow our investment during its most precarious time. It will come down to the what we learn about Bell’s character; not the price, in my opinion.

Why not choose to suffer that reality on the defensive side of the ball with low cost players and allocate the premium money for offensive talent like Bell and Paradis? Even if it cost us half of our cap space to fill out the team and re-sign the players we want to keep (the two Andersons, Daryl Roberts, Andre Roberts), which is probably an overestimation, we’re still left with more than enough to sign Bell and Paradis with space left over. If it’s $50 million to fill out the team and $30 million to land both Bell and Paradis, we’re still in good shape. We need to help Sam immediately, even if it means overpaying those two. Besides, I don’t see how it’s mortgaging the future, it’s paying a premium we can afford.

We can afford to pay a premium because of our cap space and we should embrace paying that premium because signing Bell will give Darnold an elite player that’s better than good at every phase of his job to rely upon. I don’t expect Bell to be as productive here as he was on the Steelers; we don’t have their line or their receivers. But seeing as we’ve got a 100 million dollars and a 21 year old franchise quarterback, the entire goal of this organization should be to put players around Darnold that will help him succeed.

Agree with this part. The next two months should be about avoiding disaster. They’ve already taken a risk pairing Gase with Williams, then there was that whole issue with Williams’ son and then the hiring of Vitt. I could be wrong about any of that being an issue but, from the outside, it looks like a powder keg. And then my next biggest concern is how we approach free agency. Signing a bunch of high priced vets in a weak free agency year could be a disaster. I hope we’re smart enough to realize that only one of those top pass rushers (if they become available), Paradis or Bell is worth big money. I hope we’re smart enough (and fortunate enough) to trade down in the draft too.