Final grades: Alexander shows promise at cornerback

[Cheesedog]

well, let's not forget that we let a couple of the better ones just walk away, and we also tried to force a pretty decent safety to play corner. so some of that draft capital was just plain wasted.

Good point..

 

[Dubz41]

Teds last 5 draft's total of 44 players drafted. 12 were on the active 53 man roster at end of 2018 season.

That is misleading. That 53 man roster didn't include IR. We were stashing people like crazy at the end of the season. IIRC there were 15 guys on the IR (plus the unfortunate circumstance of Cole Madison) which were 8 draft picks. That would make it closer to 20 of 44. That's still below 50% for a draft and develop FO.

 

[57packer]

I won't comment on the grades much other than that they seem pretty fair. I think the CBs we have are good enough to play for a middle of the pack defense, but this group is not nearly good enough to take CB off the list for this draft. I'm not sure I use a 1st Rd pick on one this year, but they still need help at the position so even in mocks I toy with I always toss a CB into the middle rounds.
I'd bring back Breeland if he doesn't get pricey. Let him test the market and see if you can come up with a number you can live with. I bring back Jamerson on the cheap to see if you can make a special teamer out of him. I'd move Jackson to safety but with new coaches, maybe they need to evaluate him more first. See if you can determine where he fits in pre-camp workouts. Move him if the new coaches think CB is not in his or the team's best interest.
House is done. Brown should come back to see if they can harness his athletic ability. Redmond isn't an answer and I'm not sure he's even worthy of a spot in camp. No mention of Tramon, I suspect because he spent the end of the season at safety, but if they bring him back (which I would) he also factors in the CB discussion as you probably have to use him for depth at both positions.

 

[dannobanano]

Instead of resigning Breeland, why not cut Daniels (save 8.3M), and use the Breeland/Daniels money to sign one of the better CB’s in free agency?

Deep draft at DL this year. Find Daniels replacement now.

 

[57packer]

Agree on Breeland in terms of signing a FA. There isn't exactly a real high quality CB group in FA this year. That might drive up the price of some more mediocre players, but if a better option is there instead of Breeland, I'm all for it. That's why I suggested letting him hit the open market and seeing if he could be brought back for a fair deal.

I disagree on dumping Daniels because to me there is no need to cut Daniels to get a CB, partly because I'm not sure any of the FA options are worth that kind of money. Just to use an objective source, PFF rates the top-5 FA CBs as - Ronald Darby, Bryce Callahan, Kareem Jackson, Jason McCourty, and Steven Nelson. Not a guy in that group I'd throw a ton of money at. I don't think these guys will be ultra pricey, so given the likely $40-50mil of CAP space they will already have without cutting Daniels, they have plenty to money to sign a FA CB. I would definitely draft DL in a deep draft but I think they can afford a FA CB, Daniels, and a DL draft pick and they'll be better for having them all.

 

[Keg Man]

well, let's not forget that we let a couple of the better ones just walk away, and we also tried to force a pretty decent safety to play corner. so some of that draft capital was just plain wasted.

But doesn't that really look down on the coaching? Shouldn't they know who we should be keeping? Shouldn't they know guys may have been drafted to play one position but really should be at another position?

Did Thompson miss? Yes. But, if your team is draft and develop, we sure as H E Double Hockey sticks didn't develop much.

Thompson's biggest mistakes were not gutting the coaching.

 

[Mark87]

But doesn't that really look down on the coaching? Shouldn't they know who we should be keeping? Shouldn't they know guys may have been drafted to play one position but really should be at another position?

Did Thompson miss? Yes. But, if your team is draft and develop, we sure as H E Double Hockey sticks didn't develop much.

Thompson's biggest mistakes were not gutting the coaching.

Still say it's a combination of both. Nobody walks away unscathed in this debacle.

 

[FlaPack]

But doesn't that really look down on the coaching? Shouldn't they know who we should be keeping? Shouldn't they know guys may have been drafted to play one position but really should be at another position?

Did Thompson miss? Yes. But, if your team is draft and develop, we sure as H E Double Hockey sticks didn't develop much.

Thompson's biggest mistakes were not gutting the coaching.

Sometimes you can’t put lipstick on a pig. Also guys were drafted out of position and forced to play roles not in their skill set. Lot of blame to go around

 

[Keg Man]

The reason I think it was more coaching, is that many of our defensive secondary "pigs" are successfully playing elsewhere.

Who knows for sure? Time to move on and hope it doesn't repeat.

 

[HowardK4]

well, let's not forget that we let a couple of the better ones just walk away, and we also tried to force a pretty decent safety to play corner. so some of that draft capital was just plain wasted.

Let me reiterate - I'm not saying TT was the best GM in the league in the last few years - but I think the deficiencies in the coaching staff made the talent we did have look worse than it was.