2024 - Way too early draft thread

I don't have an issue for the new regime to give all of Rivera's players a chance to come in and compete. At the same time Stromberg didn't get on the field enough in 2023 to make a judgment that he is necessarily part of the picture here.

The one thing I would say is with the poor play of Nick Gates at center and Stromberg coming in as a center from college, why was it such a stretch for Ricky to slide in their and make a contribution off the bench.

Instead we went back to the well and the 32 year old journeyman Tyler Larsen.

When a #3 pick isn't in the picture to come in and play his natural position in the NFL on a spot basis, that is a bit concerning to me.
 
Stromberg will be a good guard or center. Injuries happen.
 
I am just not certain that seeing a guy for 3-4 quarters of action in a 17 game season is enough to have confidence a guy is going to help you in the future.

But again, I am not an offensive line coach, so if we get the right guy in here and he determines Stromberg should be moved to guard on a permanent basis then I am all for that.

Right now, though, I have a natural skepticism on Ron Rivera draft picks because in most cases the players turn out to be less than envisioned as contributors when they were drafted.

It is sort of the way of the world around here.
 
As far as i'm concerned, we need to get the best possible players available. We're entering a complete transition, so the foundation of any decision should be getting identifying who can be a serious contributor in 2024, 2025, 2026... etc.

If a player is available, and they're more confident in that player long term than Stromberg... do it. If a player is available, and the confidence that they are that much better? look at another position and see if there is a larger net-gain available.

San Fran drafted Purdy after trading to move up and get Lance. Purdy proved to be the better option and they moved on... draft status be damned.

That all being said... I have ZERO confidence in Rivera and Co's talent evaluation, so going back to Larsen is not necessarily a total indictment of Stromberg's abilities. Cosmi has apperently turne out to be a pretty solid OG, so you wonder what would happen if you added more pieces around these other guys (especially the young ones) what they would turn into. This offense hasn't been doing these guys any favors either, so again... how can we judge these guys without taking that into account?
 
I agree that EB has not necessarily schemed to get the most out of the players on THIS offense.

The plays that Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce run best with Patrick Mahomes are not necessarily the ones to run with Howell, McLaurin, Dotson and the backs we have on the roster.

I always have qualms when a guy comes in as a coordinator and has a SYSTEM that he implements without any real regard for the talent on hand.

It's arrogant and often unproductive and the coordinator ends up getting fired.

That's what makes coaches like Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh hall of fame offensive minds, they could craft an offense and tweak it based upon who is on the field for the team that season.

When Washington acquired Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders I remember the team moving to a lineup of 3 wide receivers on the field at the same time as a staple of the offense.

In San Francisco, the offense matured when Joe Montana was matched with Jerry Rice and John Taylor in 1985. The downfield passing game was quite different from what the team was running for Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon.
 
I said early on this year that leading the league in passing attempts with a 1st year starter playing behind a sketchy OL wasn't sustainable. I thought it might end with Howell on IR, but it might as well have as he has looked beaten up and shellshocked for a month now.

If I'm being unkind, that strategy was plain dumb. They've dialed it back the past few games, but the damage was done.

And another Captian Obvious frequent reminder - the offense doesn't operate in a vacuum. Playing alongside a bad defense that never gives you short field opportunities or turnovers, and constantly has you playing from a score deficit (often a multiple score deficit) isn't helpful. All the fan experts throw out the 'Howell is pressing' nugget - well, no shit - he has to press when we're down 14 or 17 to nothing.

I like Bienemy's shtick. He's very entertaining and (at least publicly) a very positive coach. But I don't think he could help himself as a playcaller this season, and he was very slow to do anything to help Howell stay grounded and progressing. Kind of weird that a former RB would not know the risks of his approach and be able to dial it back. I think it's also a little damning that when Howell began struggling mightily, EB apparently had no answers and admitted as much. The kid is a great athlete and by all accounts a quick study, able to correct mistakes, and 'resilient' and yet Bienemy had him out there looking like Rex Grossman for the last quarter of the season. That may not be poor coaching, but it's clearly not good coaching.

The most ironic aspect of this last Rivera season is that the most dominant topic in his pressers was that the season was all about the 'growth and development' of Sam Howell. He probably made that statement 100 times over the course of the year. And yet, to quote EB 'when all is said and done' they did not grow and develop Sam Howell. And that's an organizational setback as we now head into a crucial set of decisions with no definitive verdict as to whether Howell can be the future under center.

If we didn't have bad luck we wouldn't have any good luck at all.
 
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The NFL formula,historically, for developing a young QB has always been protection, a viable run game and a viable TE.

They provided Sam with none of it. You can say the league has changed (hate that) but some things,mainly fundamentals, never change and IMO, it was either Bieniemy's ego or pure ignorance that lead him to believe he could put the weight of the whole offense on Sam.

I still believe that the book has not been written on Sam yet. I don't believe you can give up on a guy , that put up some very favorable numbers historically, after just one season. But that's most likely what's going to happen here and to me it will be a shame to not get to see Sam after a whole offseason where he can watch tape and work on weaknesses and see how that changes him next year.

Starting all over from ground zero at QB sucks.
 
I think one scenario is that we draft a QB, but Howell shows in the offseason and preseason that he is clearly the better option (at least in 2024). If he has a breakout season next year, all bets are off. I get that highly drafted QBs play and get far more opportunity to 'develop' than 5th rounders. But there's a lot of fan love for Howell. If he is clearly better, the team will have a hard time not playing him.

Is that the most likely scenario? Probably not. But it is possible.

And although most of us are convinced you have to draft QB with that top pick, always possible a new GM feels differently.
 
The other factor is what the tape really shows. I’m sure the new GM and coach will study the tape intently and in a different way than most of us. It’s possible that Howell will look like a different QB through a play-centric lens versus a game centric lens.

Maybe he looks better or maybe he looks worse under the microscope, but the new GM and coach should examine him that closely.
 
In most cases you are correct that the bird in the hand is often times more valuable (Howell), however the case example of CJ Stroud and what he has done in 2023 is always going to have NFL personnel guys and coaches frothing over the next great prospect.

The ghosts of Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson are definitely still there. And Bryce Young looks as if he could end up as a project player rather than fast developing star on the rise as Tepper had hoped.
 
Are we rooting for the Ravens or Steelers? Can't remember.
 
God knows all of the permutations of the playoff picture :oops:

One thing I find ironic - Washington BEAT New England, Arizona, and Atlanta and somehow depending upon whether they win or lose and whether Washington wins or loses, Washington could end up in front of all of them with the same record.
 
Bulldog said:
In most cases you are correct that the bird in the hand is often times more valuable (Howell), however the case example of CJ Stroud and what he has done in 2023 is always going to have NFL personnel guys and coaches frothing over the next great prospect.

The ghosts of Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson are definitely still there. And Bryce Young looks as if he could end up as a project player rather than fast developing star on the rise as Tepper had hoped.
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The Houston situation is a good comp. Houston drafted CJ Stroud because they had the opportunity and didn’t pass on it. They had Davis Mills who was OK at QB. I’m sure there were many that thought Houston would be fine with Mills and could get him to grow. But they knew they were in a unique position to get that Franchise QB that everyone covets. I think that’s where this team is, especially if they get the 2nd pick.
 
I agree, but the $1M question is whether the quarterback Washington selects is going to be the instantaneous CJ Stroud or Justin Herbert OR the next Bryce Young, Sam Darnold or Zach Wilson?

Zach Wilson has all of the tools. Strong arm, mobile, nice size.

But the game refuses to slow down for him and no matter how they dress it up the Jets blew the #2 pick in the draft.

Otherwise, 40 year old Aaron Rodgers would not be their hope for 2024.
 
Million dollar question for an NFL quarterback? That's not even backup money Bulldog
 
Eugene Shen's insight on the value of the tight end in the offense per an interview played on WFAN this week:

Someone asked Shen about value picks on a football team, positions that may be undervalued vs. those where salaries have escalated so far that big dollar free agent signings are rarely worth the freight.

He responded that tight end is one of the most UNDERVALUED positions in the NFL. It's a value position because unlike receivers, good tight ends not only catch passes and support the quarterback, but are good blockers at the point of attack and take on a two-way value others don't.

He continued that at the same time on the salary side while the average receiver salary has soared, the tight end salary chart has risen but modestly in comparison and those teams that invest in the draft in a tight end are likely to get an outsized reward in terms of offensive contribution and salary value over the life of that player's contract.

He mentioned the Ravens with Andrews and the 49ers with Kittle as being teams that receive wide receiver production with above average blocking for the run game. This combines to make these players plus value for these teams.
 
Good news-

Taylor Heinicke is inactive and Desmond Ritter will start for the Falcons.
 
So, is this like Brett Hunley having to come in for Aaron Rodgers? :rotflmao: :devilish:
 
Not looking great for us so far with New England and the Saints sleepwalking through their respective games....
 
The Patriots have -7 yards after the first quarter. They have got to do better than that.
 
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