(03-23-2021, 10:53 AM)Bullseye Wrote:

(03-23-2021, 10:33 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: We spent big money on Robertson-Harris. If he isn't starting, that's a bad contract. None of our starting guys are gonna wow you in a pass rush, but all are very good against the run and you can tell by the way this team signed free agents, that they are focusing the front 3 on stopping the run. Barmore is way better as a pass rusher, than as a run stopper. Given what we now have on the D-Line, I am satisfied as long as we add another good pass rusher at OLB. If all of our other positions were as solid as our front 3, we'd be a playoff team, but we're a long way off from that. 

I hate the draft, because imo, we've addressed the D-Line. We should move on. As for addressing other areas, I just think the actual players drafted in this mock are bad fits for the team. I don't have Mayfield ranked very highly at all. He's a pure RT, which is fine, if that RT is elite, but I don't think Mayfield is at all. I think there are much better players on the board, even at RT. To me, this is a reach. I think Holland is a reach based on his limited play due to his opt out. I just don't like gambling that early. It's not my nature. Freiermuth is not an athletic TE. He just isn't the type of speed player Meyer said he likes. I don't need a 40 time to tell me that. He plays slow, so I believe that is a bad fit as well. As for the pass rushers, we drafted 3-4 OLB's to play 4-3 DE's in the past and so far, that hasn't worked. Now, we're drafting 4-3 DE's to play 3-4 OLB's? That's basically the same thing in reverse. I just would prefer more versatile pass rushers. 

With Shelvin, I agree he is a very good player, but is he better than Hamilton or Brown? I doubt it. We are already 2 deep at a single position. I don't see the sense in drafting another NT. 

With Newsome, I see much better receivers available on the board. Personally, I don't think Newsome gets drafted, but you never know about how each team's boards stack up. All it takes is for one team to like him. 

I disagree about this draft filling gaping holes for our team. IMO, it just adds a logjam on the D-Line, never addresses the hole at LT and adds a bunch of bad picks and poor scheme fits. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's just the way I see it, when I look at it.

Though the ideal is finding a franchise LT to go with our franchise QB, with us picking at 25, that may not be in the cards this year. One of the top LTs likely will not fall to us at 25, and while Baalke has proven willing to trade in the past, there's no guarantee he could pull off a deal to move up to land one of the tackles.  If not, I'd much rather take Mayfield, a pure RT who can pass protect, than no T at all.  At minimum, he upgrades Taylor and helps improve our depth along the OL at two positions.  He more than held his own against Chase freaking Young.  Does Taylor manage that?  What do you dislike about his game?  If we upgrade the pass protection on the right side, there are things we can do to bolster the left, like line up a TE on that side and keep him in to block, and use RBs to chip a DE.

At this point, I'm 90% sure that is the case. My fear is that next year's class will be like the 2019 OT class and we'll reach for a guy that fails, keeping us in this loop we've been in of drafting bad LT's. I don't see any scenario where Sewell, Slater or Darrisaw fall passed pick #20. I really like Eichenberg, but I doubt he goes any higher than #27 and I just don't see us choosing him. From there, I'd focus more on upgrading the RT, because it is a much deeper class of RT's than LT's, but I still do not like Mayfield. I'd rather wait a round or two and select Spencer Brown, Cole Van Lanen or Josh Ball to play RT. I see them as much better prospects. IMO, Mayfield is too much like Taylor. I don't see the footwork to keep him in front of defenders and he just always looks a step behind the pass rusher. When I saw him, he struggled with bull rushers more than I liked. Maybe I'm wrong and he gets better, but I have him ranked as the #10 OT in the draft. As much as I'd like to trade up from #25, I realize it's not gonna happen. I just pray we upgrade at least one OT spot.

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