You don't go for depth with a first round pick.  As long as Allen and Walker are healthy, edge #3 is only getting on the field for 3rd down.  Sorry I disagree.

I think a 3rd Edge player would get on the field a lot more than that.   Walker can move inside on occasion, and Walker and Allen need to rest at times.  We certainly don't want either of those guys to pay every single play.   Plus, injuries do happen.  Edge is such a valuable position, if there is a can't-miss guy at #17, and I wouldn't mind taking him at all.

This, Id love Latu, Turner, or Verse.  I think all 3 will be good players in this league.  You could have a 3 man rotation on the edge and keep them more fresh.  Could also use all 3 on passing downs.  If we draft any of those 3 he would see much more action than just 3rd downs.  You need more than 2 edge rushers.  I was concerned about Latus medicals but if our doctors check him out and there is no issues there he might be player one for me.  He is the best pass rusher in this class and his athletic ability was a little bit of a question but he aced that with a 9.19 ras.

(2) Kent Lee Platte on X: "Laiatu Latu is a DE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.19 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 134 out of 1637 DE from 1987 to 2024. Splits projected https://t.co/cYYpZ2AOcC https://t.co/NaoKtbo5dC" / X (twitter.com)


Production in the blue as he was by far the best pass rusher last year.

Laiatu Latu Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com


The best and safest players are always the ones that have the best production, in the blue and the ones that have a very high ras.

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This is the concern with Latu

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc...441350007/

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I think a 3rd Edge player would get on the field a lot more than that.   Walker can move inside on occasion, and Walker and Allen need to rest at times.  We certainly don't want either of those guys to pay every single play.   Plus, injuries do happen.  Edge is such a valuable position, if there is a can't-miss guy at #17, and I wouldn't mind taking him at all.

This, Id love Latu, Turner, or Verse.  I think all 3 will be good players in this league.  You could have a 3 man rotation on the edge and keep them more fresh.  Could also use all 3 on passing downs.  If we draft any of those 3 he would see much more action than just 3rd downs.  You need more than 2 edge rushers.  I was concerned about Latus medicals but if our doctors check him out and there is no issues there he might be player one for me.  He is the best pass rusher in this class and his athletic ability was a little bit of a question but he aced that with a 9.19 ras.

(2) Kent Lee Platte on X: "Laiatu Latu is a DE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.19 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 134 out of 1637 DE from 1987 to 2024. Splits projected https://t.co/cYYpZ2AOcC https://t.co/NaoKtbo5dC" / X (twitter.com)


Production in the blue as he was by far the best pass rusher last year.

Laiatu Latu Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com


The best and safest players are always the ones that have the best production, in the blue and the ones that have a very high ras.

---

This is the concern with Latu

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc...441350007/

I am sure he will be good in the pros. But why take the chance?

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

This, Id love Latu, Turner, or Verse.  I think all 3 will be good players in this league.  You could have a 3 man rotation on the edge and keep them more fresh.  Could also use all 3 on passing downs.  If we draft any of those 3 he would see much more action than just 3rd downs.  You need more than 2 edge rushers.  I was concerned about Latus medicals but if our doctors check him out and there is no issues there he might be player one for me.  He is the best pass rusher in this class and his athletic ability was a little bit of a question but he aced that with a 9.19 ras.

(2) Kent Lee Platte on X: "Laiatu Latu is a DE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.19 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 134 out of 1637 DE from 1987 to 2024. Splits projected https://t.co/cYYpZ2AOcC https://t.co/NaoKtbo5dC" / X (twitter.com)


Production in the blue as he was by far the best pass rusher last year.

Laiatu Latu Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com


The best and safest players are always the ones that have the best production, in the blue and the ones that have a very high ras.

---

This is the concern with Latu

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nc...441350007/

I am sure he will be good in the pros. But why take the chance?

Yeah, like I said.  I'd have to be sure hes medically cleared by the doctors 100% before I take the chance.  Not sure what the doctors are saying

---

I am sure he will be good in the pros. But why take the chance?

Yeah, like I said.  I'd have to be sure hes medically cleared by the doctors 100% before I take the chance.  Not sure what the doctors are saying

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

Yeah, like I said.  I'd have to be sure hes medically cleared by the doctors 100% before I take the chance.  Not sure what the doctors are saying

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.  All kidding aside, I disagree with the bolded strongly.  Holding the Super Bowl up as the qualifier does not negate whether trading up is a good idea or not.  Many trade ups have paid off for the team trading up by getting a more impactful player by trading picks that turned out to be just "guys".  Julio Jones comes to mind.  I was not a fan of the Falcons move up to get him at the time, but I seem to recall reviewing all the picks given up to move up to get him a while back and Julio was worth well more than all of them.

You trade up if the tier higher of players to choose from is dwindling and will likely be gone before you pick.  It's the same principle in multi-year fantasy football leagues that allow draft pick trading.  The problem with trading up is, you better be right which comes down to scouting.  The talent pools of a given NFL draft class and drop offs in talent don't necessarily align with NFL draft rounds and the talent pool will vary year to year as well.  Properly identifying individual talent, properly identifying the talent pool as a whole and figuring out where the drop offs happen is part art and part science.

You trade down when there are many guys graded similarly to choose from and no strong preference and you value picking up some later round picks to fill out the bottom of your roster.  You also trade down if a tier drop off occurred shortly before you were supposed to pick (i.e. one or a few guys you would have taken all got selected right before your pick).   I would argue in that scenario, had you been able to find a trade partner, you should have probably traded up to select from the next highest tier of graded players.  But finding a willing trade partner that won't take you to the cleaners isn't a given as they may have identified the talent pool similarly to you and are also aware of the drop off in talent after their pick.

---

Yeah, like I said.  I'd have to be sure hes medically cleared by the doctors 100% before I take the chance.  Not sure what the doctors are saying

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

You realize the Chiefs traded up for Mahomes right?

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Sure do. There are exceptions to my policies and it is just how I see things. That said I confess I personally did not see Mahomes as an exception. I wonder how many did see he would develop into what he is now? You?

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

https://x.com/arikarmstead/status/176905...30746?s=20

---

Sure do. There are exceptions to my policies and it is just how I see things. That said I confess I personally did not see Mahomes as an exception. I wonder how many did see he would develop into what he is now? You?

Sure didn’t. Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

---

Sure do. There are exceptions to my policies and it is just how I see things. That said I confess I personally did not see Mahomes as an exception. I wonder how many did see he would develop into what he is now? You?

Sure didn’t.  Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

---

Yeah, like I said.  I'd have to be sure hes medically cleared by the doctors 100% before I take the chance.  Not sure what the doctors are saying

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

It seems like these rules are set up to avoid the hard work of scouting players.  I agree that level of competition matters if you don't actually want to scout the players, but I would point out, the Hall of Fame is full of players from smaller schools who played against lesser competition.

---

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.  All kidding aside, I disagree with the bolded strongly.  Holding the Super Bowl up as the qualifier does not negate whether trading up is a good idea or not.  Many trade ups have paid off for the team trading up by getting a more impactful player by trading picks that turned out to be just "guys".  Julio Jones comes to mind.  I was not a fan of the Falcons move up to get him at the time, but I seem to recall reviewing all the picks given up to move up to get him a while back and Julio was worth well more than all of them.

You trade up if the tier higher of players to choose from is dwindling and will likely be gone before you pick.  It's the same principle in multi-year fantasy football leagues that allow draft pick trading.  The problem with trading up is, you better be right which comes down to scouting.  The talent pools of a given NFL draft class and drop offs in talent don't necessarily align with NFL draft rounds and the talent pool will vary year to year as well.  Properly identifying individual talent, properly identifying the talent pool as a whole and figuring out where the drop offs happen is part art and part science.

You trade down when there are many guys graded similarly to choose from and no strong preference and you value picking up some later round picks to fill out the bottom of your roster.  You also trade down if a tier drop off occurred shortly before you were supposed to pick (i.e. one or a few guys you would have taken all got selected right before your pick).   I would argue in that scenario, had you been able to find a trade partner, you should have probably traded up to select from the next highest tier of graded players.  But finding a willing trade partner that won't take you to the cleaners isn't a given as they may have identified the talent pool similarly to you and are also aware of the drop off in talent after their pick.

This is just my opinion and a general summary of how I look at the draft. I am sure others think differently. They are generalizations that to me appear to reflect what pretty successful people have done over the years. They are not absolute. (I am not a Sith)

I hate trading up because it cost draft capital. Also, despite it working out it generally the odds favor it not being incremental enough to justify the capital expense from where I sit. You only get 7 picks per year and based on any success rate chart for draftees you limit your chances. There are notable exceptions, but for everyone of those there are more where it was not a good idea. Mahomes was a good deal,  but what about Trey Lance? Call me a bit risk adverse, just how I see it.  Bravo to those who pull it off. Link below is for QB's take a look and see the rate. It is about the same for other positions too.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2021/story...uarterback

Trading down. The key phrase here is "if you can get your next target".  How you establish that can be quite diverse. You have shown a few examples. Obviously you do it to acquire more resources.

How would you go about this?

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

Sure do. There are exceptions to my policies and it is just how I see things. That said I confess I personally did not see Mahomes as an exception. I wonder how many did see he would develop into what he is now? You?

Sure didn’t. Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

---

Sure do. There are exceptions to my policies and it is just how I see things. That said I confess I personally did not see Mahomes as an exception. I wonder how many did see he would develop into what he is now? You?

Sure didn’t.  Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

So he won it all by himself?  No other person in the same situation could have gotten them there? How about Brady or others? He certainly developed into one of the best. Good thing about opinion we have here....

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

I usually shy away from specific player names for that reason. (It is a personal choice) As fans we are at a disadvantage not having all the information. We don't see medical records, spend as much time watching tape, investigating backgrounds or interviewing the players.  Generally, I use 4 general policies on my draft opinions.

1. Never trade up in the draft. There has never been ONE player that anyone can point to that enabled a team to win the Superbowl.
2 Always trade down and acquire more picks if you can get your next target. Draft picks are the life blood of an organization's ability to continually be competitive. Last year what Baalkie did with our first round pick was opportunistic perfection. Not his fault no one would let him trade up. I wonder if he tried to package some to trade to some cap strapped team for the next year's pick.
3. Level of competition matters. We once had a GM that didn't understand that. Most teams (there are notable exceptions) have maybe one or two guys that will get drafted. What players can do in college may not translate once they face the higher level of competition at the professional level.
4. If a player has injury issues on the college level then odds are very good he will most definitely at the professional level. The hits are much harder and there are no cupcakes to rest up on.  It truly is a grind. Now one has to take into account the conference on this one as a couple do has an elevated grind in comparison to others.

It seems like these rules are set up to avoid the hard work of scouting players.  I agree that level of competition matters if you don't actually want to scout the players, but I would point out, the Hall of Fame is full of players from smaller schools who played against lesser competition.

I agree it reduces the amount of scouting needed as it is not my full time job the time is just not there for me.  Things you can do for the smaller school player is se how they react when they do play against top line players in college. I was high on Georgia's OL Sayer because he pretty much erased Hutchinson in the Orange Bowl in 2021.

---

A new broom always sweeps clean.

Sure didn’t. Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

---

Sure didn’t.  Not many people saw Mahomes being this good.

But you said to never trade up in the draft and that a trade hasn't enabled a team to win a SB. Mahomes certainly has.

So he won it all by himself?  No other person in the same situation could have gotten them there? How about Brady or others? He certainly developed into one of the best. Good thing about opinion we have here....

I think Cousins if healthy could of won it with KC these past couple years.  Mahomes is very good but KC is loaded with multiple HOF's other than Kermit and Reid is an offensive mastermind.

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So he won it all by himself?  No other person in the same situation could have gotten them there? How about Brady or others? He certainly developed into one of the best. Good thing about opinion we have here....

I think Cousins if healthy could of won it with KC these past couple years.  Mahomes is very good but KC is loaded with multiple HOF's other than Kermit and Reid is an offensive mastermind.

Did you just [BLEEP] say Kirk Cousins could have won the last two SBs with KC?  Chris Jones and Kelce are the only HOFers Mahomes currently plays with.

Patrick Mahomes is a mutant.  He is the best QB I have ever seen play personally because he creates so many opportunities for himself with an unorthodox play style.

Maybe the Chiefs go deep into the playoffs with Kirk.  But they aren't winning it all.

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Lol.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

I think Cousins if healthy could of won it with KC these past couple years.  Mahomes is very good but KC is loaded with multiple HOF's other than Kermit and Reid is an offensive mastermind.

Did you just [BLEEP] say Kirk Cousins could have won the last two SBs with KC?  Chris Jones and Kelce are the only HOFers Mahomes currently plays with.

Patrick Mahomes is a mutant.  He is the best QB I have ever seen play personally because he creates so many opportunities for himself with an unorthodox play style.

Maybe the Chiefs go deep into the playoffs with Kirk.  But they aren't winning it all.

Absolutely, only Jones and Kelce?  Lol.  How many other QBs have the luxury of playing with 2 HOFs right now?  Most teams don't even have 1.  They also have a top 3 D and arguably the best interior oline.  Mahomes is great as well but what a luxury to play on a stacked team.

---

I think Cousins if healthy could of won it with KC these past couple years.  Mahomes is very good but KC is loaded with multiple HOF's other than Kermit and Reid is an offensive mastermind.

Did you just [BLEEP] say Kirk Cousins could have won the last two SBs with KC?  Chris Jones and Kelce are the only HOFers Mahomes currently plays with.

Patrick Mahomes is a mutant.  He is the best QB I have ever seen play personally because he creates so many opportunities for himself with an unorthodox play style.

Maybe the Chiefs go deep into the playoffs with Kirk.  But they aren't winning it all.

Kirk Cousins hahahaha

My god. That may be the dumbest thing I’ve seen on this board. Trying to downplay Mahomes?

“All he has is Tyreek”

Proceeds to win both Super Bowls after Tyreek leaves. I know for a fact that when Tyreek was traded, people on this board said Mahomes wouldn’t be the same.

Then when Kelce retires, they’ll say the same thing and he will likely win more.

---

Did you just [BLEEP] say Kirk Cousins could have won the last two SBs with KC?  Chris Jones and Kelce are the only HOFers Mahomes currently plays with.

Patrick Mahomes is a mutant.  He is the best QB I have ever seen play personally because he creates so many opportunities for himself with an unorthodox play style.

Maybe the Chiefs go deep into the playoffs with Kirk.  But they aren't winning it all.

Kirk Cousins hahahaha

My god. That may be the dumbest thing I’ve seen on this board. Trying to downplay Mahomes?

“All he has is Tyreek”

Proceeds to win both Super Bowls after Tyreek leaves. I know for a fact that when Tyreek was traded, people on this board said Mahomes wouldn’t be the same.

Then when Kelce retires, they’ll say the same thing and he will likely win more.

 Kelce was there when Hill was there so that wasn't all he had.  Sleeping on Kelce like he ain't [BLEEP] lol.  Not down playing Mahomes and he is a great QB but KC is stacked and Cousins has been a damn good QB before the injury.

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Cousins is 12-20 in primetime games but sure…. He would have won a SB….

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