Good post as usual. A bit of feedback from somebody who disagrees on some of it:
I don’t see you as pessimistic about the team or hating exactly. I think you love Jayden and want to blame his supporting cast or lack thereof for other quarterbacks outperforming him. So you are more optimistic about Jayden but more pessimistic about AP and the receivers.
I’m not as high as you on Jayden—some of the other quarterbacks might just be better—but I do think he’s a franchise quarterback if he can stay healthy, and I do love having a guy who always gives us a chance to build around. I’m sure we all know not to take it for granted.
I’m higher than you on AP and our current receivers, in the sense that I would rather play the guys we drafted than overpay an aging free agent with character questions to replace them.
As for how good this team can be, I would bet somewhere between what they were in 2024 and 2025. I don’t think this is a Super Bowl team with or without Stefon Diggs. But if it is a Super Bowl team, then a player like Diggs shouldn’t make or break it.
OK, good post. This is much closer to my actual position than a lot of the responses I've gotten. You didn't nail every part of it, but you're in the neighborhood, and I appreciate you taking the time to understand what I'm actually saying instead of arguing against a caricature of it.
Your view that this team is somewhere between the 2024 and 2025 versions makes a lot of your points click for me. In fact, I suspect that's where some of the others debating me are coming from too. If the premise is that this isn't a true contender and isn't headed for a blockbuster season, then sure, why not trust McCaffrey to be the guy, let the young players develop, and see what happens? If you're wrong, no big deal because the team wasn't going anywhere anyway. Where we differ is on that premise. I think the stakes are higher because I think Jayden is the real deal.
And if this team goes 8-9, I'm not viewing that as some impressive Peters success story. Rivera gets remembered like every season was a disaster, but in 2022 they went 8-8-1. If Peters spends three years building a mediocre team, that's pretty underwhelming to me. Andif your point is correct and it turns out Jayden isn't that guy after all, that's an even bigger indictment of Peters given that he passed on Drake Maye to take him.
A. As for Jayden, you're right. I think he's a stud. More than that, I think he's one of those rare quarterbacks who has the "big game, big moment" gene. The clutch factor is a huge reason why I think this team can win a Super Bowl sooner rather than later. Some guys put up stats. Some guys elevate when the lights are brightest. Jayden strikes me as the latter. He's got "it."
B. Last season doesn't move me much in the Jayden versus Caleb versus Maye debate. Jayden was hurt for much of the year and barely played. And when he did play, his supporting cast was significantly weaker than what those other guys had. So when people start comparing raw production, I mostly shrug. I don't think we got anything close to an apples-to-apples comparison.
C. Where I strongly disagree with some people is on the supporting cast issue. We talk about Chig like he's some proven star when he hasn't even matched some of the better seasons of the Bears' second tight end, let alone their elite starter. New England's third or fourth receiver would arguably be Washington's No. 2 option. The disparity in supporting talent between Jayden and Caleb, Maye, and Nix is massive.
And yes, I think it matters. A lot.
What drives me crazy is when some fans act as if Jayden should simply elevate everyone around him and therefore weapons don't matter. To me, there are two camps.
The first camp basically believes Jayden is already Patrick Mahomes and therefore doesn't need the kind of support that Caleb or Maye supposedly require.
The second camp acknowledges the difference in supporting casts but largely dismisses it as a sidebar, preferring to conclude that maybe Caleb or Maye are simply better quarterbacks.
I reject both arguments.
Quarterbacks matter. Supporting casts matter. Coaching matters. All of it matters. If we are going to compare these young quarterbacks, then let's compare the environments too, because those environments aren't remotely equal.
D. The "let the young receivers develop" argument feels very familiar to me. It sounds a lot like the Rivera-era logic that the answers are always already on the roster. Just wait another year. Just get them in a better scheme. Just let them develop.
We've heard this movie before. Remember when people would point to Armani Rodgers and act like concerns about passing on a strong tight end class were overblown? Or when the offensive line issues were supposedly going to be solved by internal growth? Or when every training camp practice report became proof that a hidden gem was about to emerge? "Did you hear Mason Brooks pancaked Daron Payne in practice?" We have our LG in house!
But at some point, proven talent matters more than hopeful projections. And it's not like we're talking about blue-chip prospects here. Luke McCaffrey was a late third-round pick. Lane was a late fourth-round pick. Historically, most players drafted in those ranges don't become stars. Could they beat the odds? Absolutely. I hope they do. But championship-minded organizations don't hold roster spots hostage waiting to find out.
Look at New England. They drafted Kyle Williams higher than either McCaffrey or Lane was drafted. Yet they're still aggressively adding talent. They're not saying, "Well, we drafted Kyle, so let's stop looking." If Williams earns a role, great. If he beats out a veteran, even better. But they aren't limiting the roster in order to protect a developmental player's path. That's the difference. Development and competition should coexist. One shouldn't come at the expense of the other.
E. As for Peters, I've actually been complimentary of him. I think some people confuse criticism with dislike.
I've never said he's been bad. I've never even said he's average. I think he's been solid. I think he's done a number of good things. I like his temperament. I like his process. I like many of his moves. What I haven't seen yet is evidence that he's operating at an elite level and its not even close.
So if someone is significantly higher on Peters than I am, then I assume they believe he's already bordering on elite as a GM. Maybe they'll be proven right. Maybe he gets there. I actually think there's a chance he does. But for me, he's not there yet. He's been argaubly good -- at best. He's shown promise. He's made some aggressive moves. And considering your thoughts on this team's potential and Jayden -- I don't see how that jives with being really high on Peters. Considering my thoughts on this team and Jayden, shouldn't that mean I am higher on him than you?
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