ranking TOP 10 non-QB franchise building blocks.. we have #4 and #7

[jtomm]

Jun 16, 2023 

Bucky Brooks - NFL.com Analyst

To build a championship team in the NFL, coaches and executives must surround a franchise quarterback with blue-chip players at the other marquee positions.During my time in the league as a player and scout in the mid-1990s through 2010s, the premium spots were considered quarterback, left tackle, pass rusher, middle linebacker and cornerback. Despite the "3 yards and a cloud of dust" mentality that often dominated the league then, astute team-builders were stockpiling their rosters with impact playmakers who directly affected the passing game.

As a member of the Green Bay Packers in the mid-1990s, I watched Hall of Fame executive Ron Wolf put together a Super Bowl roster following a new-school premise with impact passing-game playmakers dotting the roster. The wily general manager acquired a future three-time MVP (Brett Favre) via trade and surrounded him with gold-jacket guys like Reggie White (pass rusher) and LeRoy Butler (safety), adding a few blue-chip players who earned all-star recognition. With Antonio Freeman (wide receiver), Keith Jackson (tight end), and Mark Chmura (tight end) thriving around Favre, the Packers made back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, winning it all in Super Bowl XXXI.

Fast-forward to 2023, when the seismic shift to a more pass-centric league has made Wolf's team-building approach look like a championship blueprint for the ages. In a recent edition of the Move The Sticks podcast, Daniel Jeremiah and I discussed the new team-building philosophy of putting together a roster that features "PPUs" (pass rushers, playmakers and unicorns) around a franchise quarterback.Although the premise does not differ much from the philosophy Wolf followed to build a champion, the emphasis on pass rushers, playmakers (wideouts and tight ends) and unicorns (hybrid second-level defenders with unique skills) appears to be the new way of the NFL world in 2023.

With that in mind, this was the perfect time to look at the non-quarterback franchise players I would love to build around for the next five years if I was in charge of a team. Given the five-year window that I am proposing, I decided to narrow my focus to players who are 26 and younger heading into the season.This age cut-off eliminated players like Myles Garrett (27 years old), T.J. Watt (28), Chris Jones (28), Laremy Tunsil (28), Budda Baker (27), Terry McLaurin (27), Deebo Samuel (27) and others. Still, the league is loaded with young talent capable of carrying a franchise. After spending some time studying film and taking a few notes, here are my top 10 non-quarterback franchise players to build around:

---  Rank 4  Sauce Gardner  New York Jets · CB · Age: 22

The second-year pro quickly seized the crown last season as the premier lockdown corner in the league. Gardner's length, athleticism and cover skills stymie wideouts at the line of scrimmage while also shrinking the strike zone for quarterbacks attempting to chalk up completions on downfield throws in his area. With the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year throwing a blanket on half of the field as the NFL's new CB1, coaches and executives should view the sophomore playmaker as an essential piece of a championship puzzle.

--- Rank 7  Quinnen Williams  New York Jets · DT · Age: 25

The monstrous defensive tackle has become one of the elite defenders in the game as the centerpiece of the Jets' defense and is due for a new contract before the season begins. Williams has collected 25 sacks since 2020, flashing heavy hands and elite first-step quickness. The 6-3 303-pounder is a rare athlete with an emerging set of skills as a destructive force at the line of scrimmage. As the focal point of a Jets defense that is trending upward, Williams has given the football world a sneak peek of his impact potential.

 >>  2023 NFL season: Ranking top 10 non-quarterback franchise building blocks

[Larz]

Bucky Brooks clearly didn’t hear about minicamp 

[Joe W. Namath]

Awesome!!!  This thread will be 2 pages max while the bash zach wislon thread will be 30 pages long.

[jtomm]

5 hours ago, Joe W. Namath said:

Awesome!!!  This thread will be 2 pages max while the bash zach wislon thread will be  ** 50 **  pages long.

 ^^  ** fixed **   😎

[Raideraholic]

The list is a joke as Maxx Crosby not on the list.   He’s Better than a lot of those defensive players on that list.   

[FidelioJet]

Surprised G Wills isn't on the list.  He must have been close.

[Jetsfan80]

33 minutes ago, Raideraholic said:

The list is a joke as Maxx Crosby not on the list.   He’s Better than a lot of those defensive players on that list.   

Probably because he recorded 12.5 sacks last year and yet the Raiders still only won 6 games with a veteran QB under center.  Not to mention the Raider defense allowed 350+ yards of offense in 12 of 17 games last season and finished 26th in the NFL in points per game allowed.  Hell, even the Texans put up 404 yards (296 via the pass) on you last season.

Win a playoff game for the first time since 2002 and maybe some of your beloved Raiders will become relevant some day.  

[Ghost420]

Yet Williams still isn't paid. 

[Darnold Schwarzenegger]

36 minutes ago, Raideraholic said:

The list is a joke as Maxx Crosby not on the list.   He’s Better than a lot of those defensive players on that list.   

Maxx crosby is a good player. But what defensive player on that list is he better than? 

[Larz]

1 hour ago, Raideraholic said:

The list is a joke as Maxx Crosby not on the list.   He’s Better than a lot of those defensive players on that list.   

It’s a top 10 not top 250

[rangerous]

Not sure if anyone noticed that becton was picked before wirfs so the jets could easily have 3 of the top ten non QBs. I’m sure the joe Douglas bathers will be quick to point this out.  

[OilfieldJet]

Good article, especially in the off season. I’n like Phil, enjoying how good this team feels right now. Yes, it’s on paper, yes, it’s the Jets, yes our GM has a really poor record, but….it feels good, like a song ranked #76, but with a bullet. (Not loaded in a gun of course)

[Jet Nut]

19 hours ago, Larz said:

Bucky Brooks clearly didn’t hear about minicamp 

Or that Woody, JD & Saleh aren’t all in

[Jet Nut]

14 hours ago, Raideraholic said:

The list is a joke as Maxx Crosby not on the list.   He’s Better than a lot of those defensive players on that list.   

I’m thinking you’re surprised all of the top 25 spots didn’t go to Raiders

[Bronx]

Thinking outside the box here, Jeremy Ruckert will be one of ours for the next several seasons. 

[Bobby816]

For sure have a lot of young talent on this team. GW likely on this list after this season as well. Maybe even Hall. (Imagine having 4 guys on this list, which could have been if Hall was healthy all year and GW had better QB play). AVT still not getting love I see. They have Wirfs and Sewell on the list. But for me AVT showed he's quite possibly the most versatile OL in the league when healthy. And at a high level no matter where he's playing. Have a feeling it was bc he got injured as well.

 

Meaning a healthy Jets roster, we quite possibly have 5 guys that should be in the top 15 in terms of young building blocks (Sauce, Q, GW, Hall, AVT).

[Matt39]

Hopefully Gardener isn’t getting too into his press clippings 

[The Crusher]

14 hours ago, FidelioJet said:

Surprised G Wills isn't on the list.  He must have been close.

Thank you Zach Wilson, thank you?

[Raideraholic]

15 hours ago, Darnold Schwarzenegger said:

Maxx crosby is a good player. But what defensive player on that list is he better than? 

All of them. Draft was held he would go before all them maybe not Nick Bosa .  Yes he would go before q Williams who played 

one year in contract year.   Fact     Having a premier pass rusher De is higher priority than Dt.

[Raideraholic]

2 hours ago, Jet Nut said:

I’m thinking you’re surprised all of the top 25 spots didn’t go to Raiders

No Max Crosby only one deserving on that list right now.   But Divine Deablo - olb,( missed half the year due to injury)  and Nate Hobbs played as well as any Cb his first five games till he broke his hand( missed a lot of time that when came back wasn’t the same player) both after this year won’t be surprised if both on that list . Tyre Wilson - will definitely be on the list.    Safety Trevon Moehrig could make it on that list too. ( going on his third year but first playing in the same system )
 

people are sleeping on this young Raider defense.    Raiders went from a cover three defense Gus Bradley in 2021 to more a man to man defense under P Graham.    All they’re starting man to man Cb ( N Hobbs, Roc yasin, and Anthony Averett missed a lot of time to injury.   ( any team loses their top three cb’s your defense going to struggle)    There big Fa Dt Bill Nicholas hurt his knee in training camp and played with all year ( never got what they expected).     
 

You look at defense line they can play 3-4 or 4-3 defense pretty easy.   3-4.    De bill Nicholas/ Bryon Young ( Alabama) Dt N Farrell ( last year draft choice) / Jade NestaSilveria ( draft choice) De Tyree Wilson ( Jerry Tillery) 

olb Max Crosby , Chandler Jones ( lost 15 pounds); Ilb R Spillane and ilb Divine Deablo   Safety Fs Trevon Moehrig and Ss Marcus Epps Cb Marcus Peters will be Raider done deal just and Nate Hobbs will be number 1 Cb  Nickel Tyler Hall - was the third rated nickel Cb last year- played little less than half the season .  Jakorian Bennett fourth rounder could win nickel Cb job. 
 

Raiders have a lot of  man to man cb .top six I expect 1 Nate Hobbs 2. Marcus Peters 3 Jakorian Bennett 4, Tyler Hall 5 Duke Shelley 6. Sam Webb division 11 player who played a lot has chance to win starting job,  7 b Facyson  ( could keep 7). David Long jr( Rams) and Amik Robertson would be out.  Four safeties they keep if raiders keep  7 cbs -would be T Moehrig , M Epps, Chris Smith Georgia , and Isaiah Pala-mao( will play a lot)  M peters can play safety match up on top Tes .

[bicketybam]

Who else is sh*tting bricks thinking about that nasty Raiders defense? Me neither.

[Darnold Schwarzenegger]

1 hour ago, Raideraholic said:

All of them. Draft was held he would go before all them maybe not Nick Bosa .  Yes he would go before q Williams who played 

one year in contract year.   Fact     Having a premier pass rusher De is higher priority than Dt.

I’ll give you that Crosby is probably better than the safety’s listed. 
 

Crosby had 1/2 a sack more than Q. I think getting sacks from the dt position is harder than getting it from the edge. Thus making quinnen more valuable. But I’m sure you will disagree.

[Jetsfan80]

38 minutes ago, Raideraholic said:

No Max Crosby only one deserving on that list right now.   But Divine Deablo - olb,( missed half the year due to injury)  and Nate Hobbs played as well as any Cb his first five games till he broke his hand( missed a lot of time that when came back wasn’t the same player) both after this year won’t be surprised if both on that list . Tyre Wilson - will definitely be on the list.    Safety Trevon Moehrig could make it on that list too. ( going on his third year but first playing in the same system )
 

people are sleeping on this young Raider defense.    Raiders went from a cover three defense Gus Bradley in 2021 to more a man to man defense under P Graham.    All they’re starting man to man Cb ( N Hobbs, Roc yasin, and Anthony Averett missed a lot of time to injury.   ( any team loses their top three cb’s your defense going to struggle)    There big Fa Dt Bill Nicholas hurt his knee in training camp and played with all year ( never got what they expected).     
 

You look at defense line they can play 3-4 or 4-3 defense pretty easy.   3-4.    De bill Nicholas/ Bryon Young ( Alabama) Dt N Farrell ( last year draft choice) / Jade NestaSilveria ( draft choice) De Tyree Wilson ( Jerry Tillery) 

olb Max Crosby , Chandler Jones ( lost 15 pounds); Ilb R Spillane and ilb Divine Deablo   Safety Fs Trevon Moehrig and Ss Marcus Epps Cb Marcus Peters will be Raider done deal just and Nate Hobbs will be number 1 Cb  Nickel Tyler Hall - was the third rated nickel Cb last year- played little less than half the season .  Jakorian Bennett fourth rounder could win nickel Cb job. 
 

Raiders have a lot of  man to man cb .top six I expect 1 Nate Hobbs 2. Marcus Peters 3 Jakorian Bennett 4, Tyler Hall 5 Duke Shelley 6. Sam Webb division 11 player who played a lot has chance to win starting job,  7 b Facyson  ( could keep 7). David Long jr( Rams) and Amik Robertson would be out.  Four safeties they keep if raiders keep  7 cbs -would be T Moehrig , M Epps, Chris Smith Georgia , and Isaiah Pala-mao( will play a lot)  M peters can play safety match up on top Tes .

 

[Jet Nut]

1 hour ago, Raideraholic said:

No Max Crosby only one deserving on that list right now.   But Divine Deablo - olb,( missed half the year due to injury)  and Nate Hobbs played as well as any Cb his first five games till he broke his hand( missed a lot of time that when came back wasn’t the same player) both after this year won’t be surprised if both on that list . Tyre Wilson - will definitely be on the list.    Safety Trevon Moehrig could make it on that list too. ( going on his third year but first playing in the same system )
 

people are sleeping on this young Raider defense.    Raiders went from a cover three defense Gus Bradley in 2021 to more a man to man defense under P Graham.    All they’re starting man to man Cb ( N Hobbs, Roc yasin, and Anthony Averett missed a lot of time to injury.   ( any team loses their top three cb’s your defense going to struggle)    There big Fa Dt Bill Nicholas hurt his knee in training camp and played with all year ( never got what they expected).     
 

You look at defense line they can play 3-4 or 4-3 defense pretty easy.   3-4.    De bill Nicholas/ Bryon Young ( Alabama) Dt N Farrell ( last year draft choice) / Jade NestaSilveria ( draft choice) De Tyree Wilson ( Jerry Tillery) 

olb Max Crosby , Chandler Jones ( lost 15 pounds); Ilb R Spillane and ilb Divine Deablo   Safety Fs Trevon Moehrig and Ss Marcus Epps Cb Marcus Peters will be Raider done deal just and Nate Hobbs will be number 1 Cb  Nickel Tyler Hall - was the third rated nickel Cb last year- played little less than half the season .  Jakorian Bennett fourth rounder could win nickel Cb job. 
 

Raiders have a lot of  man to man cb .top six I expect 1 Nate Hobbs 2. Marcus Peters 3 Jakorian Bennett 4, Tyler Hall 5 Duke Shelley 6. Sam Webb division 11 player who played a lot has chance to win starting job,  7 b Facyson  ( could keep 7). David Long jr( Rams) and Amik Robertson would be out.  Four safeties they keep if raiders keep  7 cbs -would be T Moehrig , M Epps, Chris Smith Georgia , and Isaiah Pala-mao( will play a lot)  M peters can play safety match up on top Tes .

So you’ll lose 17-3

[Raideraholic]

On 6/20/2023 at 10:37 AM, Darnold Schwarzenegger said:

I’ll give you that Crosby is probably better than the safety’s listed. 
 

Crosby had 1/2 a sack more than Q. I think getting sacks from the dt position is harder than getting it from the edge. Thus making quinnen more valuable. But I’m sure you will disagree.

Top pass rushing De is higher priority than a Dt, Cb .     Q Williams12  only year he did crap wasn’t even as good as M Crosby 12.5 sacks .    No you ever hear the shortest distance between two points is straight line.   Q Williams in contract year finally did something in the league,   He wasn’t as good as Crosby last year, and he hasn’t  been better than him throughout their careers in the league.       FACTS .  Pay him his money q Williams and he will be next Muhammad Wilkerson.  Play for contract and did crap after he got paid.

[Raideraholic]

On 6/20/2023 at 11:18 AM, Jet Nut said:

So you’ll lose 17-3

Again we are ranking the top players and none of those Jets can hold max Crosby jock strap.     Just like B Hall can’t hold Josh Jacobs jock strap either .

[Raideraholic]

Let’s See all premier positions . Best Pass Rusher - Max Crosby 1 Best left tackle - Kolton Miller , Best Wr - Devante Adams best Rb Josh Jacobs.     Maybe Te M Mayer - time will tell 

[Jetsfan80]

Just now, Raideraholic said:

Let’s See all premier positions . Best Pass Rusher - Max Crosby 1 Best left tackle - Kolton Miller , Best Wr - Devante Adams best Rb Josh Jacobs.     Maybe Te M Mayer - time will tell 

All these amazing players the Raiders have every year yet no playoff wins since 2002.  Crazy!

[Jet Nut]

3 hours ago, Raideraholic said:

Again we are ranking the top players and none of those Jets can hold max Crosby jock strap.     Just like B Hall can’t hold Josh Jacobs jock strap either .

I know.  Every day I watch NFLN and ESPN, read on the internet that the Raiders are one of the most talented teams in the NFL and along with the Jets one of the 6 or so teams favored to play in the SB.  Must be because you think Crosby makes a team a favorite or that Hall can’t hold a candle to a Raider.

Shocking 

[Greenseed4]

Who is the Raiders back up QB?

 

(Cause, GUESS why I’m asking)

[Barry McCockinner]

1 minute ago, Greenseed4 said:

Who is the Raiders back up QB?

 

(Cause, GUESS why I’m asking)

cause you didn't sign up for mafia? 

[#27TheDominator]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:50 AM, Joe W. Namath said:

Awesome!!!  This thread will be 2 pages max while the bash zach wislon thread will be 30 pages long.

Well, if you find a way to bash Zach Wilson in here I am sure it will thrive.  You're off to a nice start bringing him up. 

[#27TheDominator]

6 hours ago, Raideraholic said:

Again we are ranking the top players and none of those Jets can hold max Crosby jock strap.     Just like B Hall can’t hold Josh Jacobs jock strap either .

Good thing they are playing football instead of carrying jockstraps!

[Raideraholic]

On 6/20/2023 at 10:29 AM, bicketybam said:

Who else is sh*tting bricks thinking about that nasty Raiders defense? Me neither.

Best young players not team defense, the stats say I’m right, and it’s not even close. MAXX Crosby is better than Q Williams and Sauce Gardner.  Pass rushing defense de is more important than Cb or Dt. ( Qb , either Lt , or Pass rushing De)    Again last year was last year.    This is new year with new players .  Tyree Wilson and MAXX Crosby coming off the corner going too scary for any offense. Chandler Jones dropped 15 pounds will play standup outside Lb .     Those three guys will all be on the field together.     
Injuries can derail any unit.  The Raiders defense lost a lot of key players, and playing a total different scheme just takes time to get comfortable.       Let’s see where both units finish this year . ( your defense was so great when you needed stop against the lions they couldn’t get it.    THe jets offense was so bad why would opposing teams even take a chance on offense .  Well you see the offense you will face this year- let’s see how good that Jet defense is.

[Raideraholic]

2 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

Good thing they are playing football instead of carrying jockstraps!

Go ahead make your case that Q Williams is better than MAXX Crosby.  The stats say you don’t have a case .  But I would love to hear you try.