Tom’s Draft Media Brainworms 2024 Mock Draft

[ElBarrioJets]

Agreed, I don't get the Fautanu love.

The Jets need two tackles going into next year. Fuaga can back up every position this year outside of center and take over one of the starting tackle spots next year. 

If one of the WRs or Alt isn't there, Fuaga is a spectacular pick. 

[Augustiniak]

1 minute ago, ElBarrioJets said:

Agreed, I don't get the Fautanu love.

The Jets need two tackles going into next year. Fuaga can back up every position this year outside of center and take over one of the starting tackle spots next year. 

If one of the WRs or Alt isn't there, Fuaga is a spectacular pick. 

Prefer fuaga over fautanu, b/c i think fuaga can be more dominant physically.  

[Warfish]

2 hours ago, T0mShane said:

.....and this week Daniels’ agent indicated Daniels was pissed about flying into DC for what he thought was a one on one interview, which turned into a pack of prospects—including the other top QBs—getting dragged to Top Golf for some whack sociological experiment to see how those prospects responded in that setting.

Seems Daniels failed their test.

[Claymation]

18 minutes ago, ElBarrioJets said:

Agreed, I don't get the Fautanu love.

The Jets need two tackles going into next year. Fuaga can back up every position this year outside of center and take over one of the starting tackle spots next year. 

If one of the WRs or Alt isn't there, Fuaga is a spectacular pick. 

I prefer Fuaga over Alt, Fuaga is a good run blocker, where Alt isn’t.

[Warfish]

2 hours ago, T0mShane said:

All the Bowers stuff reeks of the Bears trying to trick someone into trading in front of the Jets, imo

And/or the usual Media guys, Draftniks and "Pro Scout Fans" being all hyped up about Bowers and trying to jam a 15-30 type prospect into the top 10 because he's so 'elite'.

There is one every cycle, the "generational, bestest, most athletic, most special, future HOF sure thing prospect that ever was at this position" megahype guy.

This year it's clearly Bowers.

[Greenseed4]

Great job, @T0mShane

 

 unsubscribe

[32EBoozer]

2 hours ago, slats said:

Denver and Vegas being division rivals adds a little juice if they both see Penix as a guy they’d like to take this year. Hurts a lot more when you not only miss your guy, but your rival got him. 

Vegas only team with a 2nd among them. I think We’d need to swap our #72 for their #44 to get it done

[Greenseed4]

I like that this mock has Nabers sliding past the Giants. 

OBJ was a slightly nutty Alpha from LSU; I don’t see them drafting his doppelgänger in the wake of how they parted ways.

Especially not with Odunze available, being equally as talented, as being touted as the Valedictorian of Disney U with his interviews and work ethic. 

[JustInFudge]

58 minutes ago, Warfish said:

And/or the usual Media guys, Draftniks and "Pro Scout Fans" being all hyped up about Bowers and trying to jam a 15-30 type prospect into the top 10 because he's so 'elite'.

There is one every cycle, the "generational, bestest, most athletic, most special, future HOF sure thing prospect that ever was at this position" megahype guy.

This year it's clearly Bowers.

Disagree. 

If anything, its Caleb Williams in this draft.  Tom just referenced Trevor Lawrence and Andrew Luck in this post.  The only reason you're not hearing it as adamantly as you did w/ Lawrence is because he's sucks and they were all wrong and they're scared to do it again but they so desperately want to, it's gross.

On the other hand, Bowers is the most accomplished TE in FBS history, that's why he's being hyped but there is just as much hate and doubt around Bowers that he's not considered the darling of this draft.  Look at the tear down going on here, people are coming w/ all sorts of nonsense to knock him down.  Currently, the earliest he's consensus being mocked is 10 and beyond, which would indicate, he's not what your claiming him to be in this cycle.  One of the most common comparisons I see is Dallas Clark.  These are not the marks of this cycle's generational hyped player.

 

[section314]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

And/or the usual Media guys, Draftniks and "Pro Scout Fans" being all hyped up about Bowers and trying to jam a 15-30 type prospect into the top 10 because he's so 'elite'.

There is one every cycle, the "generational, bestest, most athletic, most special, future HOF sure thing prospect that ever was at this position" megahype guy.

This year it's clearly Bowers.

Yep…..Mamula, Gholston etc.

[section314]

21 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

Disagree. 

If anything, its Caleb Williams in this draft.  Tom just referenced Trevor Lawrence and Andrew Luck in this post.  The only reason you're not hearing it as adamantly as you did w/ Lawrence is because he's sucks and they were all wrong and they're scared to do it again but they so desperately want to, it's gross.

On the other hand, Bowers is the most accomplished TE in FBS history, that's why he's being hyped but there is just as much hate and doubt around Bowers that he's not considered the darling of this draft.  Look at the tear down going on here, people are coming w/ all sorts of nonsense to knock him down.  Currently, the earliest he's consensus being mocked is 10 and beyond, which would indicate, he's not what your claiming him to be in this cycle.  One of the most common comparisons I see is Dallas Clark.  These are not the marks of this cycle's generational hyped player.

 

That’s who Bill Polian compared him to. Difference is, Colts took him at 23, I think, not 10.

[Warfish]

24 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

Disagree. 

If anything, its Caleb Williams in this draft.  Tom just referenced Trevor Lawrence and Andrew Luck in this post.  The only reason you're not hearing it as adamantly as you did w/ Lawrence is because he's sucks and they were all wrong and they're scared to do it again but they so desperately want to, it's gross.

On the other hand, Bowers is the most accomplished TE in FBS history, that's why he's being hyped but there is just as much hate and doubt around Bowers that he's not considered the darling of this draft.  Look at the tear down going on here, people are coming w/ all sorts of nonsense to knock him down.  Currently, the earliest he's consensus being mocked is 10 and beyond, which would indicate, he's not what your claiming him to be in this cycle.  One of the most common comparisons I see is Dallas Clark.  These are not the marks of this cycle's generational hyped player.

 

Maybe our experiences and media consumption differ, I've heard almost nothing about Williams beyond his being the #1 pick as a sorta "given" before the conversation moved elsewhere.  I've not heard or read anyone call him "generational" or "the best prospect at his position in history" or the similar things I have heard/read about Bowers.  And as a DC guy (hearing alot fo QB talk, as you might imagine) I've heard quite a bit of doubt and criticism of Williams here.

But with Bowers, it's almost religious-like, he is the ultimate weapon in the Universe, lol, even you yourself above i.e. "most accomplished in history", any criticism is "nonsense" etc, etc, etc.  Folks here have used every over-hype phrase, including generational, to describe him, have called him the best in the NFL on day 1, immediate best guy on the Jets, immediate impact, sure thing HOF'er, etc.  This is exactly the same deep preemptive love and rejection of all criticism that occurred with the Trevor Lawrence hype.  IMO, of course.   

As an aside, it's odd to me that anyone would care if fans on a forum "tear him down"?  It's all just opinions, some folks seem deeply and emotionally invested in this guy (as do a few others) in a very odd way for a guy we haven't, and may not, pick. I REALLY liked Wilson and Hall in that draft, but people tore both down regularly.  That's the draft, pros and cons being debated.  People who reject any criticism out of hand as impossibru and see only positive outcomes being possible.....I tend not to trust those opinions, far too emotionally driven, but again, just IMO.

Ultimately, he'll go where he goes, maybe to us, and the only proof that will matter will be on the field, not in how much hype can be generated.  But I see him as this year's by far biggest hype, with a low to moderate "tweeners" floor, but a high enough ceiling to be interesting.  No chance do I see him as the best TE in the NFL, now or in the future.  But just like Zach Wilson, Bowers can always prove me wrong.

[slats]

36 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

One of the most common comparisons I see is Dallas Clark. 

Dallas Clark didn’t break 500 yards receiving until his fifth season when he had 616. Was also nicked up quite a bit over his career. Probably a fair comp. 

[Beerfish]

[Jolot]

Thank God Greg the leg hit a 99 yard FG on Xmas eve huh ? We could had MHJ , Alt , or Odunze….oh and that win over the Pats that  put as at 1-0 in 2024. 

[Greenseed4]

4 hours ago, T0mShane said:

And the Jets should move up for Nabers, but could they put together a package to move up two spots that’d make it worthwhile for the Falcons to move to ten? If the Falcons don’t see the need to stay at 8 to draft their favorite defensive player, what good does it do them to drop to ten? For what, a fourth and a future third? Eh.

Do you think JFM included with a future 2 would move the needle? 

[T0mShane]

2 hours ago, Greenseed4 said:

Do you think JFM included with a future 2 would move the needle? 

I keep seeing that JFM would be a tradeable asset, but he’s a backup DL who makes $13 mil. Who wants that?

[Larz]

3 hours ago, Jolot said:

Thank God Greg the leg hit a 99 yard FG on Xmas eve huh ? We could had MHJ , Alt , or Odunze….oh and that win over the Pats that  put as at 1-0 in 2024. 

You must have loved those dolphins beat downs. 

[Warfish]

3 hours ago, Jolot said:

Thank God Greg the leg hit a 99 yard FG on Xmas eve huh ? We could had MHJ , Alt , or Odunze….oh and that win over the Pats that  put as at 1-0 in 2024. 

Woulda, coulda, shoulda are of little value. Players and coaches don’t tank.

[JustInFudge]

4 hours ago, Warfish said:

Maybe our experiences and media consumption differ, I've heard almost nothing about Williams beyond his being the #1 pick as a sorta "given" before the conversation moved elsewhere.  I've not heard or read anyone call him "generational" or "the best prospect at his position in history" or the similar things I have heard/read about Bowers.  And as a DC guy (hearing alot fo QB talk, as you might imagine) I've heard quite a bit of doubt and criticism of Williams here.

But with Bowers, it's almost religious-like, he is the ultimate weapon in the Universe, lol, even you yourself above i.e. "most accomplished in history", any criticism is "nonsense" etc, etc, etc.  Folks here have used every over-hype phrase, including generational, to describe him, have called him the best in the NFL on day 1, immediate best guy on the Jets, immediate impact, sure thing HOF'er, etc.  This is exactly the same deep preemptive love and rejection of all criticism that occurred with the Trevor Lawrence hype.  IMO, of course.   

As an aside, it's odd to me that anyone would care if fans on a forum "tear him down"?  It's all just opinions, some folks seem deeply and emotionally invested in this guy (as do a few others) in a very odd way for a guy we haven't, and may not, pick. I REALLY liked Wilson and Hall in that draft, but people tore both down regularly.  That's the draft, pros and cons being debated.  People who reject any criticism out of hand as impossibru and see only positive outcomes being possible.....I tend not to trust those opinions, far too emotionally driven, but again, just IMO.

Ultimately, he'll go where he goes, maybe to us, and the only proof that will matter will be on the field, not in how much hype can be generated.  But I see him as this year's by far biggest hype, with a low to moderate "tweeners" floor, but a high enough ceiling to be interesting.  No chance do I see him as the best TE in the NFL, now or in the future.  But just like Zach Wilson, Bowers can always prove me wrong.

The only reason you're hearing/seeing this said hype on Bowers is because he's most commonly being mocked to the Jets and it's been by far, the biggest topic on this board.  While he's clearly a well liked prospect, I'm not seeing this type of attention elsewhere.  That said, I'm not going to lie, I dont pay much attention to media during the draft because they're all idiots and blowhards who are always wrong and I'm better but when I do, everyone single of them calls Williams generational w/out saying it.  But at the end of the day, a player going 10 isnt "generational", hell, Kyle Pitts went 4th. 

The "tear down" I'm referring to is the constant reaching to knock a prospect down that rarely has to do w/ how they play or how their game will translate.  What Brock Bowers does, translates extremely easily and shouldnt require much discussion.  With Zach Wilson, there was a build up, he was a pre-draft riser, and was really QB1 at one point and yet nobody knew his name prior to the draft.  What he did, didnt translate so people built hype and cool things he could do in shorts.  This is totally different as they arent even comparable prospects.  Bowers is the most accomplished TE in FBS history, this isnt hyperbole, it's verifiable fact.  Zach Wilson sucked ball sack.

 

 

 

[JustInFudge]

4 hours ago, slats said:

Dallas Clark didn’t break 500 yards receiving until his fifth season when he had 616. Was also nicked up quite a bit over his career. Probably a fair comp. 

Tyler Conklin broke 600 yards this season for the Jets.  smh

My god man, you're getting worse than Shane on this one.  I dont need to tell you this but that's bad.  You never want to do that, especially when it comes to the draft. 

[Dunnie]

So, I’ve gotten big into listening to podcasts at work to make the day go by and, predictably, it’s turned my brain into rock candy and I thought I’d share with the group the fetid stew of information gleaned from these more reputable NFL podcasts, in mock draft form, for those whose lives are spent doing more fulfilling, normal things. 
 
1. Bears: Caleb Williams
Pretty much a lock at this point. The smart QB draft guys have all coalesced around Williams being in that Luck/Trevor tier of prospect that they all love. I thought earlier on that Washington would make a push to trade up because Williams is from DC and his dad is a bit of a meddler. But, both Williams and the Bears are speaking openly about the inevitability of this pick. 
 
2. Commanders: Jayden Daniels
A week ago, Vegas had this as a near-certainty to happen, but things have tightened considerably since. Rumors persist that Daniels prefers the Pats, and this week Daniels’ agent indicated Daniels was pissed about flying into DC for what he thought was a one on one interview, which turned into a pack of prospects—including the other top QBs—getting dragged to Top Golf for some whack sociological experiment to see how those prospects responded in that setting. Commanders GM Adam Peters is a Niners progeny, and head coach Dan Quinn is the ultimate vibes guy—does Daniels being a titty-baby scare them off this pick? Daniels responded by flying out to Minnesota for an interview with their higher-ups. Schefter has been pounding away on Daniels being the Commies’ guy, though he has recently suggested that things aren’t as locked up as they were pre-Top Golf. Personally, I would lose my sh*t if somebody made me go to Top Golf.
3. Patriots OR Vikings: Drake Maye
There is some thought that there exists a division at the top ranks of the Pats hierarchy. New Not-GM Eliot Wolf (he hasn’t been given the title officially) and head coach Jerod Mayo are ok with trading out of this pick because the offensive talent is threadbare and it’ll require a multi-year rebuild just to get to average, but Robert Kraft is old and wants to reassert himself into running the team after finally ridding himself of scumbag Bill Belichick, and he wants to kick off the new era by bringing in a fresh-faced new QB. There is some thought that Kraft would prefer JJ McCarthy because of the Michigan QB connection, but Maye is the more physically talented prospect, even though Maye’s game is getting absolutely savaged in most corners of the draft media spectrum. The Vikings are very clearly trying to come up for a QB and they can currently offer #11, #23, and future picks for #3, but there’s some debate as to which QB Minnesota prefers. They were heavily rumored to prefer McCarthy after the Combine (due to some allusions made by GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah), but the Vikings recently hired Josh McCown as their QB coach, and McCown was Maye’s coach in high school (h/t [mention=9611]derp[/mention]). But if Daniels falls, he becomes the consensus top QB on the board here, at which point do the Pats just stick and take him? Big hinge point here, but the guess is that Kraft will put his foot down for Drake Maye. 
 
4. Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr. 
Some thought that the Cardinals want to trade out of this pick (most commonly to the Vikings, for the reasons discussed above), but would they pass on pairing Marvin Harrison Jr with Kyler Murray? GM Monti Ossenfort manipulated several trades last year and looked like a genius in the end, but at some point he’s going to have to win some games. The Cards have a lot of draft capital already, so unless they find a sucker team desperate to come up for McCarthy, the prevailing wisdom is that they just stick and pick their new Larry Fitzgerald. 
 
5. Chargers or Vikings or Giants or Raiders or Denver: ?
Nobody knows what’s going to happen at this spot. It’s widely presumed the Chargers will sell this pick to the highest bidder for JJ McCarthy, but nobody really knows because Jim Harbaugh is a bit of a nutbag who might want to use this pick on JC Latham or whomever he determines is the most macho guy on the board. It’d seem to be a perfect landing spot for Joe Alt, but they already have Rashawn Slater at LT, and it’s unclear that Alt is the type of sh*tkicker that Harbaugh prefers at RT, which could leave an opening for a guy like Latham—whom the OL community loves-loves—or even Fuaga. Chargers could also go receiver here, but Harbaugh is weird about his receivers dating back to his time with the Niners (ended up drafting catastrophic first round bust AJ Jenkins and trading for Anquan Boldin). BUT, Harbaugh has also signaled that the Chargers would be fine moving down, in which case the bidding war for McCarthy breaks out. Giants and Vikings are supposedly hot for McCarthy, but Denver is desperate and the Raiders are the Raiders. The Broncos probably lack the draft capital to get it done, but Payton could throw Pat Surtain on the table if he really wants to go for it. (Broncos insider Ben Albright strongly denies that Surtain will be traded fwiw). 
 
6. Giants: Rome Odunze OR Drake Maye
Daboll is allegedly in love with both Odunze and Nabers, so it could be a preference thing for them. Odunze is a big-bodied receiver the Giants currently lack, and he’s the perfect target vacuum for the Giants scattershot QBs in Daniel Jones and Drew Lock. There is some thought that the Giants could aggressively pursue McCarthy as a means to reset the clock on Daboll’s job security, but he probably doesn’t have that kind of time regardless. That said, what do the Giants do if Drake Maye slides to them? Joe Schoen was in Buffalo when they took a similar prospect in Josh Allen, and Daboll is the coach who’s largely credited with converting Allen from a running back (h/t [mention=5406]Jetsfan80[/mention] into an All Pro QB. Hard to see how they pass on that potential. 
 
7. Titans: Joe Alt
This has been the scratch pick all along because the Titans OL has been terrible, and they currently have nothing at LT. In recent days, rumors have surfaced that the Titans are trying to move down because they have the best OL coach in the sport in Bill Callahan and don’t have to draft a ready-made tackle here. Seems unlikely because Alt is Callahan’s platonic ideal of an offensive lineman.
8. Jets or Denver or Bills or Bengals: Malik Nabers OR Brock Bowers
This is the Atlanta pick and they’re all but assured to trade out of it because they’ve picked in the top ten three straight years and they’ve taken offensive skills guys with each of those picks. No more. The Bills are desperate for a receiver and their window is rapidly closing. The Bengals are probably losing Tee Higgins next year (if they don’t trade him this week), and will need a replacement, and they could also use Bowers pretty effectively because Burrow throws to all areas of the field. And the Jets should move up for Nabers, but could they put together a package to move up two spots that’d make it worthwhile for the Falcons to move to ten? If the Falcons don’t see the need to stay at 8 to draft their favorite defensive player, what good does it do them to drop to ten? For what, a fourth and a future third? Eh. From the Jets perspective, you’d want the Colts or Bengals to come up for Bowers or OL help, which could drive Nabers down. 
 
9. Bears: Malik Nabers
This is another pick that’s widely believed to be for sale at a relative discount but, as with the Falcons pick, it’s dependent on someone wanting Bowers or Nabers, which screws the Jets anyway. The Bears have limited draft capital beyond picks 1 and 9, so it’s widely believed they’d drop down for a package of 2024 picks, or they can just stick and pick another weapon for Caleb Williams. They just gave Cole Kmet a bunch of money and signed Gerald Everett in free agency, so TE probably isn’t a need, but they have Keenan Allen on a one-year deal, and little else beyond him and DJ Moore at receiver. Nabers would probably be the pick unless Nabers is too much of a head case for them. 
 
10. Jets: Fuaga
Thank God we beat the Patriots and Commanders, baby. Initial thought—the Jets should go HAM and move up as far as they can for Odunze because Douglas is probably being served his last meal after this draft anyway. But, I think the competition and the price to move up to three or five will be pretty fierce because of all the QB traffic, and Douglas is going to get frozen out by the cost. Odunze is this year’s universally beloved prospect, so it’s highly unlikely he gets past six, which leaves the Jets hoping for a Nabers fall. Problem there is that both the Bears and Falcons are shopping for defense and will happily be shopping picks 8 and 9 in front of the Jets, making ten all but worthless as a trade chip. That said, Fuaga is a great prospect and could be a long-time stalwart right tackle for the Jets and that’s nice. If you wanted to be vindictive about this selection, you could say that we had to use ten on Fuaga because 1. Douglas took Becton and his weed habit because Tristan Wirfs was supposedly RT-only and 2. He sat on his ass and get cucked by Belichick last year, letting the Steelers trade up for Broderick Jones in front of his face. You could further be petty about this pick by suggesting that you’re drafting Fuaga as insurance for two older tackles whom you’re praying stay healthy for ~13 games when you could just go sign Bakhtiari or Donovan Smith on the cheap after the draft to fill the same role, only more capably in the short term. Alternative pick would be Troy Fautanu because of his versatility, but you don’t want to use top ten picks on a guy because he’s versatile, you want him to be dominant. You get “versatile” OL in the fourth. 

Entertaining , Well thought out with one major flaw in analysis. The Jets given more than one option have historically made the wrong decision for 40 years.

Exceptionally written and spot on logical analysis ... Just doesn't work in Bizarro World.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[Adoni Beast]

8 hours ago, T0mShane said:

 10. Jets: Fuaga

Thank God we beat the Patriots and Commanders, baby. Initial thought—the Jets should go HAM and move up as far as they can for Odunze because Douglas is probably being served his last meal after this draft anyway. But, I think the competition and the price to move up to three or five will be pretty fierce because of all the QB traffic, and Douglas is going to get frozen out by the cost. Odunze is this year’s universally beloved prospect, so it’s highly unlikely he gets past six, which leaves the Jets hoping for a Nabers fall. Problem there is that both the Bears and Falcons are shopping for defense and will happily be shopping picks 8 and 9 in front of the Jets, making ten all but worthless as a trade chip. That said, Fuaga is a great prospect and could be a long-time stalwart right tackle for the Jets and that’s nice. If you wanted to be vindictive about this selection, you could say that we had to use ten on Fuaga because 1. Douglas took Becton and his weed habit because Tristan Wirfs was supposedly RT-only and 2. He sat on his ass and get cucked by Belichick last year, letting the Steelers trade up for Broderick Jones in front of his face. You could further be petty about this pick by suggesting that you’re drafting Fuaga as insurance for two older tackles whom you’re praying stay healthy for ~13 games when you could just go sign Bakhtiari or Donovan Smith on the cheap after the draft to fill the same role, only more capably in the short term. Alternative pick would be Troy Fautanu because of his versatility, but you don’t want to use top ten picks on a guy because he’s versatile, you want him to be dominant. You get “versatile” OL in the fourth. 

The biggest thing about Fuaga if they do choose to draft him is what position do the Jets envision for him? I have my doubts he can even play RT let alone LT…however if they see OT at either side then this becomes a bigger value pick.

Guard: ridiculous if they take him at 10

RT: very good

LT: home run

[Warfish]

46 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

.....but when I do, everyone single of them calls Williams generational w/out saying it.

I respect your experience my friend, but I will reiterate I haven't heard that myself.

46 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

The "tear down" I'm referring to is the constant reaching to knock a prospect down that rarely has to do w/ how they play or how their game will translate.

I've been +1'ing @slats quite a bit this cycle (an oddity on it's own!), for his Bowers takes, and I think his takes have been quite specific  as to his physical traits and play style and how he thinks it will (or will not) translate to the Pro Game.

46 minutes ago, JustInFudge said:

What Brock Bowers does, translates extremely easily and shouldnt require much discussion.

I respect you feel that way.  Not everyone else agrees. 

Hence the discussion.  

 

[JKlecko]

8 hours ago, Phillyjet said:

Looks like the draft is 11-12 players deep at the elite positions, particularly when you factor in the run on QBs.

4 QBs

3 WRs

1 TE

2 OTs

1 DE

I agree that the Bowers to the Jets talk feels like a smokescreen.  They are trying to coax someone into trading up so one of the OTs or WRs fall to them.  The Jets will likely have pick of the 2nd OT off the board, and they should jump on that.  Take a WR in the third round.  I think it's Fuaga or Fautanu.  If Alt drops to 8 or 9, may be interesting to see if Jets try to trade up.

Do you not think that Fashanu will drop, or do you just not like him?  I'd take Fashanu in a heartbeat.

[JKlecko]

7 hours ago, Claymation said:

I prefer Fuaga over Alt, Fuaga is a good run blocker, where Alt isn’t.

Not me.  Fuaga has question marks about even playing RT.  The Jets need their future LT.  Give me one of Alt, Fashanu, Fautanu and maybe even Latham in the 1st round, or if they take a WR iin the 1st round, one of Paul or Amegadjie or Suamataia if they can get a 2nd round pick

[Jolot]

1 hour ago, Warfish said:

Woulda, coulda, shoulda are of little value. Players and coaches don’t tank.

Players don’t , smart front offices and organizations do 

[TuscanyTile2]

In Cimini's draft podcast ("Flight Deck"), he's saying that the theme of this year's draft is "today vs tomorrow".  JD's free agency has been "today" and Cimini says the sense he gets is that JD will continue that in the draft.  

Says JD loves Fuaga and has talked him up for months.  And probably has him as their 2nd OT on their list.

Cimini says he sees Fautanu as AVT 2.0 (versatile, athletic, can play all 5 spots, can push John Simpson as a starter).  Later in the podcast Miller agrees with the AVT comparison.

Doesn't see great positional value in Bowers.  A lot of TEs drafted in the top 10 don't live up to the hype (only Tony Gonzalez became a HOF'er). He mentions that a lot of these TEs don't get 2nd contracts either.  OTOH, he said the people he trusts have said some very good things about Bowers.  However, he thinks it's not a guarantee that Bowers is even there at 10.  (He could see Tennessee take him.)

EDIT:

Scout Matt Miller says (regarding Bowers) if you put a LB on him, he's too fast.  If you put a S on him, he's too big.  He's a great player after the catch but he's not a big guy.  

Cimini mentioned that Bowers catches a lot of passes behind the LOS and gets his YAC that way.  He asked Miller if that would translate in the NFL.  Miller said yes, he thinks it will.

[Beerfish]

I still need someone to explain to me why a 4 inches taller Stetson Bennett is worthy of a trade up into a top 5 QB.

[Lupz27]

10 hours ago, 32EBoozer said:

That’s definitely a tin of Zyns in his pocket.

[Warfish]

1 hour ago, Jolot said:

Players don’t , smart front offices and organizations do 

I'm sure it's happened, but for the most part this idea is just fan's putting motivation where a truly bad team is.  Most' supposed "tanks" aren't tanks, they're just bad teams.

Regardless, it doesn't change that woulda, coulda, shoulda is just whining.  What happened happened.  It's about as useful as "we shoulda drafted this guy we know if an all-pro now, but no one heard of when he was drafted in the 6th five years ago" posts.  

[Integrity28]

3 hours ago, JustInFudge said:

The only reason you're hearing/seeing this said hype on Bowers is because he's most commonly being mocked to the Jets and it's been by far, the biggest topic on this board.  While he's clearly a well liked prospect, I'm not seeing this type of attention elsewhere.  That said, I'm not going to lie, I dont pay much attention to media during the draft because they're all idiots and blowhards who are always wrong and I'm better but when I do, everyone single of them calls Williams generational w/out saying it.  But at the end of the day, a player going 10 isnt "generational", hell, Kyle Pitts went 4th. 

The "tear down" I'm referring to is the constant reaching to knock a prospect down that rarely has to do w/ how they play or how their game will translate.  What Brock Bowers does, translates extremely easily and shouldnt require much discussion.  With Zach Wilson, there was a build up, he was a pre-draft riser, and was really QB1 at one point and yet nobody knew his name prior to the draft.  What he did, didnt translate so people built hype and cool things he could do in shorts.  This is totally different as they arent even comparable prospects.  Bowers is the most accomplished TE in FBS history, this isnt hyperbole, it's verifiable fact.  Zach Wilson sucked ball sack.

 

 

 

[Larz]

2 hours ago, Jolot said:

Players don’t , smart front offices and organizations do 

How would that work.   It was after the trade deadline.  Just start cutting good players ? 

[T0mShane]

I have seen/heard this rumor in a few different places, that Douglas would take Fautanu over Fuaga. Cimini has it as Fuaga, but who knows. 

 

[T0mShane]

2 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Cimini mentioned that Bowers catches a lot of passes behind the LOS and gets his YAC that way.  He asked Miller if that would translate in the NFL.  Miller said yes, he thinks it will.

I’d be more inclined to believe this if it was a thing that anyone else in football does—these little smoke routes and screens. Rodgers used to throw a lot of those to Davante on blitz looks, but that was when Davante was one on one with a corner. Bowers is going to try doing this out of the slot?