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The Way Too Early 2022 Draft Thread

What position(s) should the WFT be focused on in the 2022 draft?

  • Quarterback

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • Running Back

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Wide Receiver

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Tight End

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Offensive Tackle

    Votes: 5 41.7%
  • Offensive Guard/Center

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Defensive Tackle

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Defensive End

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Linebacker

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • Cornerback

    Votes: 1 8.3%
  • Safety

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Kicker or Punter

    Votes: 1 8.3%

  • Total voters
    12
I wonder if the term "mobility" includes how slippery a QB is, and his escapability, or if the term just describes his ability to move agile and far.
Like some QB's, for example Big Ben, are not real mobile, but they are slippery in a way that they can be hard to sack, just by making the right subtle moves to avoid the sack, as opposed to running an obstacle course or a marathon to get a 1st down. If that makes sense.

If the term does not include the aspect I described, there should be a box you can check that says "Slipperability" :)


Usually that's when they use the term 'escape-ability'
 
Usually that's when they use the term 'escape-ability'

That's one great thing about Heinicke, er two...
He has both mobility AND escape-ability
And dare we say, "durability"...considering that was one of the supposed knocks on him before the season started, but he seemed to dispel that theory in 2021

I don't know how everyone here feels about Heinicke, since I didn't hang around here much during last season, but as far as the slide we took in the last 5 or so games, how much of that do you blame on Heinicke's shortcomings, and how much would you attribute it to mounting injuries and other factors ?
Who is the real Heinicke ? The one that went 4-0 in 4 consecutive games against Brady, Newton, R. Wilson, and Carr ?
Or the one that went 0-4, immediately after going 4-0 ?
The answer is probably "neither", but I guess it can be asked which of those directions does he truly lean ?
 
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That's one great thing about Heinicke, er two...
He has both mobility AND escape-ability
And dare we say, "durability"...considering that was one of the supposed knocks on him before the season started, but he seemed to dispel that theory in 2021

I don't know how everyone here feels about Heinicke, since I didn't hang around here much during last season, but as far as the slide we took in the last 5 or so games, how much of that do you blame on Heinicke's shortcomings, and how much would you attribute it to mounting injuries and other factors ?
Who is the real Heinicke ? The one that went 4-0 in 4 consecutive games against Brady, Newton, R. Wilson, and Carr ?
Or the one that went 0-4, immediately after going 4-0 ?
The answer is probably "neither", but I guess it can be asked which of those directions does he truly lean ?



I think the offense as a whole was set so far back for numerous reasons that it's hard to TRULY judge Heinicke. That said, I think we saw enough to draw certain conclusions.

I've been very supportive of Heinicke, and I love a lot of what he does. That said, I don't think he's the reason we won those 4 games. We won consecutive games 17-15, not exactly an offensive juggernaut. You can make arguments in each one of those games, like the Logan Thomas TD that got overturned should not have, and Heinicke did enough there but got jobbed, but Seattle wasn't playing at an elite level so that defense was able to be had. Looking at some other games that resulted in losses.

Multiple games we have been a 4th quarter drive away from winning, and simply couldn't get it done. If you look back on our season, the biggest memories are not Heinicke throws (or at least not because of his throw). Gibson took a screen pass 75 yards. 19 play extended drive to beat TB (if you include Heinicke scrambles) consisted of 13 runs. Vs Denver we had 2 shots in their redzone to tie and couldn't get it done.

Again, if the team is 100% healthy, we're probably looking at things a bit differently. Heinicke has elite mobility and i'm not speaking in hyperbole there, i truly feel that way. He's just limited in the pass game. How much easier would the offense run if the defense had to defend over the top? YES part of that is the fact we didnt have the weapons to threaten, but the other part is they didnt have to respect Heinicke's arm, they knew they could get back over the top. I don't think it's an accident that McLaurin led the league in contested catches, because he consisently had to slow down to make the catch allowing the defender to recover. They look great on the highlight package, but how many more TDs do we have?

I think you CAN win with Heinicke, but all things have to be 'right'. If he was on the 49ers, I think they win the same amount of games as they did with Jimmy Garapolo. If he's on the Bengals, I don't think they win as many as they did with Burrow, same thing with the Rams. I think he can truly help out your offensive line because of his ability to escape (sometimes to much and he just needs to eat it). I don't think he can overcome a lot of the other issues a team can have on a regular basis. I think he's able to get that 'clutch' gene because we saw it. There were a few times where we got the ball and you could feel us about to drive the field... then we get to the Redzone and it stalls. Is that a lack of weapons, or is that because the defense was playing soft zone while we drove, and it got too crowded in the Redzone? I love the diving for the pylon and the way it makes you feel, but more often than not he's limited to the plays he makes with his legs, and is much less capable of making the play with his arm.
 
I think the offense as a whole was set so far back for numerous reasons that it's hard to TRULY judge Heinicke. That said, I think we saw enough to draw certain conclusions.

I've been very supportive of Heinicke, and I love a lot of what he does. That said, I don't think he's the reason we won those 4 games. We won consecutive games 17-15, not exactly an offensive juggernaut. You can make arguments in each one of those games, like the Logan Thomas TD that got overturned should not have, and Heinicke did enough there but got jobbed, but Seattle wasn't playing at an elite level so that defense was able to be had. Looking at some other games that resulted in losses.

Multiple games we have been a 4th quarter drive away from winning, and simply couldn't get it done. If you look back on our season, the biggest memories are not Heinicke throws (or at least not because of his throw). Gibson took a screen pass 75 yards. 19 play extended drive to beat TB (if you include Heinicke scrambles) consisted of 13 runs. Vs Denver we had 2 shots in their redzone to tie and couldn't get it done.

Again, if the team is 100% healthy, we're probably looking at things a bit differently. Heinicke has elite mobility and i'm not speaking in hyperbole there, i truly feel that way. He's just limited in the pass game. How much easier would the offense run if the defense had to defend over the top? YES part of that is the fact we didnt have the weapons to threaten, but the other part is they didnt have to respect Heinicke's arm, they knew they could get back over the top. I don't think it's an accident that McLaurin led the league in contested catches, because he consisently had to slow down to make the catch allowing the defender to recover. They look great on the highlight package, but how many more TDs do we have?

I think you CAN win with Heinicke, but all things have to be 'right'. If he was on the 49ers, I think they win the same amount of games as they did with Jimmy Garapolo. If he's on the Bengals, I don't think they win as many as they did with Burrow, same thing with the Rams. I think he can truly help out your offensive line because of his ability to escape (sometimes to much and he just needs to eat it). I don't think he can overcome a lot of the other issues a team can have on a regular basis. I think he's able to get that 'clutch' gene because we saw it. There were a few times where we got the ball and you could feel us about to drive the field... then we get to the Redzone and it stalls. Is that a lack of weapons, or is that because the defense was playing soft zone while we drove, and it got too crowded in the Redzone? I love the diving for the pylon and the way it makes you feel, but more often than not he's limited to the plays he makes with his legs, and is much less capable of making the play with his arm.

I agree mostly, and appreciate your unbiased perspective, which is hard to find these days.
One thing you addressed, and alluded to already, but I can't get my mind away from because it was such an extreme issue : weapons and protection.
I can't help but to imagine what results we see, when you add a healthy Thomas, RSJ, McKissic, and Samuel (or any legit #2). And also add a healthy Roullier, as opposed to 4th or 5th string Centers.
 
I agree mostly, and appreciate your unbiased perspective, which is hard to find these days.
One thing you addressed, and alluded to already, but I can't get my mind away from because it was such an extreme issue : weapons and protection.
I can't help but to imagine what results we see, when you add a healthy Thomas, McKissic, and Samuel (or any legit #2). And also add a healthy Roullier.


It's a legitimate question.

If this team was dynamic, I think he could steer the ship to a pretty positive outcome.

The problem is this team wasn't dynamic, and he was limited because of it.
 
I've liked this guy for us in the 2nd but I dont think he makes it that far...

 
Whose place would he take ?
Scherff's position after he leaves ?

Yeah I dont see Scherff coming back. $18 mil last year for a guy who hasn't had a healthy season since 2016 is tough. I love the guy and the way he plays, but you can't build your team around a guard. LA Rams staring Guards COMBINE for < $2.5 mil. It's an important position, but we don't have to set the market. To do build around a guy who's only there ~70% of the time is detrimental also. Schweitzer played this year and was decent... Not ALL PRO, but in all honesty what difference did it ACTUALLY make? Pay Scherff $18 mil a year, or pay another guy $2.5mil a year and compensate the offense for it as he develops? It seems easy to me?
 
I watched about 2/3 of the Senior Bowl yesterday to spy the QBs.

The offensive line play was so piss poor that any valuable evaluation was difficult at best. Nearly every second or third play was disrupted with a false start penalty and the ones that weren’t were like a jail break on passing plays.

My completely amateur rankings of the QBs not named Willis is:

1. Desmond Ridder
2. Sam Howell
3. Kenny Pickett
4. Carson Strong

Malik Willis is without question the most athletic of the bunch and possesses elite arm talent. He looks very much like a project as far as his readiness to capably running a professional offense. He does not seem to work through progressions much at all and is very quick to take off to create plays. Not that he or the others had much time to do so.

I was also able to view sideline interviews with Willis and Pickett. Willis impressed me. Pickett struck me as kind of a dick.
 
With the caveats that a) I don't watch much college football and b) I haven't studied any of these guys...

I hope we don't throw some Hail Mary in the draft to go after a go who is athletically dazzling but who may or may not be able to be a capable NFL QB. I know picking a QB in the draft is a crapshoot by nature, but the most important requirement for an NFL QB is the ability to see the field, read defenses, and make good decisions. Elite athleticism and cannon arm are great qualities to have - but we've seen over and over that those things aren't enough. If you do not have that football mind upstairs, great instincts, and the mental ability to make great decisions, you are probably doomed to fail.

We cannot afford to draft another RG3 in the hope that he will develop.
 
My feeling is that any QB drafted will be dependent upon the FA results.

If a Wilson, Carr, or even Garoppolo (shudder) is acquired then Willis will be added. He could give them the needed time to develop him and also use him as a weapon ala Taysom Hill.

If a Trubisky or Mariotta type is added they go the Pickett, Corall, Ridder route.
 
Chris I saw a lot of the same... QBs were running for their lives the whole game. Timing clearly was an issue on a lot of passes and I think most of that is attributed to a lack of true playing time together in addition to the bad O-line play.

I've taken on the QBs for our upcoming draft prep podcasts and have really started digging into them quite a bit. The Senior Bowl showed me almost nothing.

Willis is far and away the most physically gifted of the bunch. The ultimate question is the football brain. Looking at his path here it does concern me. He transferred OUT of Auburn to of all places Liberty to reportedly play for Hugh Freeze. I dont know him so let me say that it's very possible that Hugh Freeze is the only reason he would take that much of a step backward in competition. I do have a concerning curiosity about someone who elects to take that step though. Hugh Freeze is not an elite level NCAA coach with a prestigious reputation... unless I'm missing something? Willis clearly has the physical skillset, so I imagine LIBERTY wasn't the top school interested in his services.... he was at Auburn after all. So that's not necessarily a big red flag, but it makes ya wonder.

I was reading reports that Willis was impressing with his ability to read defenses, go through progressions, and doing some of the better things, so I was interested in seeing if that played out while being coached by NFL coaches.... unfortunately that just was not possible to see with what we saw over the weekend.
 
Very true on all points, Derek.

Hopefully the Senior Bowl practice sessions were valuable for evaluation purposes, at least the opportunity to sit down with players. The game certainly wasn’t.
 
Suppose this one works for the 2022 draft thread. Not sure wth happened to our 5th rounder but here’s the picks (as of now) per the teams website.


Rd Pick
1 - 11
2 - 47
4 - 113
6 - 189
7 - 230
7 - 240

I’m of the belief that losing Collins, paired w/ StJuste’s concussions they’ll be going secondary with the 1st rounder. Anyones lineup changed since FA?
 
Suppose this one works for the 2022 draft thread. Not sure wth happened to our 5th rounder but here’s the picks (as of now) per the teams website.


Rd Pick
1 - 11
2 - 47
4 - 113
6 - 189
7 - 230
7 - 240

I’m of the belief that losing Collins, paired w/ StJuste’s concussions they’ll be going secondary with the 1st rounder. Anyones lineup changed since FA?


it was part of the draft day package to move up and get Cheeseman. We did not have a 6th round pick last year so we traded a 5th rounder this year to go up and get him.
 

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