(02-20-2022, 10:04 PM)Bullseye Wrote:

(02-20-2022, 05:49 PM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: Wow! That's a "blast from the past." I haven't heard the name Tony Mandarich in a very long time. LOL.

I totally agree 1000%. I used Joekel as an example, because even though I was definitely not a fan of his when we drafted him, there were fans who were absolutely convinced he was gonna be the next Tony Boselli. I loathed Texas A&M OT's because they all had one thing in common. They had good feet, but they lacked functional strength and got dominated by bull rushers. Ever since Joekel failed, many people on the board have gotten "gun shy" when it comes to possibly drafting an OT in round 1. For years, I have been begging us to use a first round pick on a LT and we never have. It's just this particular draft when I don't wanna do it. The quality isn't there. This is just a bad OT class. 

I would be ecstatic if there was a Trent Williams or Tyron Smith type LT in this draft. I would easily take that OT #1 overall, but in this draft I see no one better than a Jonah Williams type LT and that type of LT isn't even close to being worthy of a #1 pick. I just don't think after extensive hours of watching Neal play in games, that he is any better than an average RT. It's just what I see. On top of that, his weight issues are a big red flag, imo. In my evaluation, my aversion to taking an OT #1 overall has nothing to do with using that pick on that position. It has everything to do with my low opinion of this particular OT class in general. Had we not desperately needed a QB last year, I would've drafted Penei Sewell #1 overall.

That's fair and accurate.

For months you have been quite vocal about this year's class of tackles.  It's entirely possible you are right.

It's also possible you are wrong.

That's the beauty of pre draft speculation on message boards.

I just hope that whatever the Jaguars' decision turns out to be, THEY get it right. 

I think Baalke- yes Baalke- may have gotten the Walker Little pick right.  If he did, and gets this draft right that could help put Trevor Lawrence into the elite category we all feel like he's capable of reaching.  This in turn brings the Jaguars and their fans out of the depths of football hell and closer to respectability and ultimately to dominance.

Getting it right could mean implementing Upper's (?) strategy of moving Little to LT and signing a vet in free agency to upgrade Jawaan Taylor at RT, then drafting one of the edge rushers.  Getting it right could mean signing Robinson to another franchise deal, putting Little in at RT, and maybe drafting a T much later.

Getting it right could mean trading back and collecting more picks.

Just get it right, dammit!

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(02-20-2022, 08:53 PM)I am Yoda Wrote: If Pederson and company don't feel Neal is worth the #1, I'd rather see us trade out of the first pick and gain another 2nd or 3rd rounder.

Agreed.

My initial preference is to trade back a few spots-maybe to 4, 5, 7, 8. or 9.

If we trade back to 4 or 5, I would happy if we did that and still wound up with Neal.  But if we traded back further and missed out on Neal and still wound up with a viable T prospect and upgrading WR, I'd be fine with that too.

But if we can't trade back and are forced to stay at #1, my preference at the moment is to take Neal.

I could be wrong. I've been wrong before. Off the top of my head, I whiffed on my evaluations of Mason Rudolph and D'Onta Foreman, so anything is possible. Nobody hits on all their evaluations. 

Whether or not I'm right or wrong, like you, I just want the team to get our picks right. I'm sick of drafting guys that turn out to be nothing. I just wanna start winning. As far as Walker Little, I don't know if he is good or bad. I didn't even have a chance to evaluate him, because before he was drafted, he played so sparsely that I had nothing consistent to go on. I was hoping I would get to evaluate him last season, but again, the sample size isn't big enough to make an accurate evaluation. With that said, I would start him in 2022, be it LT or RT. It just depends on if he could beat out Robinson. We drafted Little to be a starter, so that would start this season. He is bought and paid for, so let's see what we have and go from there. 

The only problem with just giving Little the LT position and signing a veteran RT is that we are assuming Little can be a good LT and we are assuming we could find a better alternative to Little or Robinson at RT. I still doubt any good OT with any other options would choose to come to this team, no matter how much money is offered. We are a very long way from even being a .500 team. 

I would definitely not be opposed to trading back and accumulating more picks. I just don't see any other team willing to trade up to #1 given the state of the players in this draft. Maybe we could find teams to trade that #33 pick to, but I have a feeling that #1 pick is gonna be something we are stuck with given that this QB class is extremely underwhelming. Kenny Pickett is the top QB in this class and he really struggled in bad weather situations during the Senior Bowl. It was a constant source of debate during that week.

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