(04-02-2022, 09:13 AM)The Real Marty Wrote:

(04-02-2022, 04:54 AM)Bullseye Wrote: For the purposes of these questions, assume the following conditions:

A.  A top slot WR and top nickel/slot CBs are considered starters, given the prevalence of 11 personnel and nickel defenses.

B.  There will be no trades up or down in any round, nor will there be any trades for or away of players existing on rosters, so there will be no trading away Shenault or trading for DK Metcalf.  What you now see as far as draft picks is what we will utilize in this draft.

With the above conditions in place:

1.  How many new starters do you expect to come out of our free agency haul?  Who are they?

Scherff, Oluokon, Kirk, Darious Williams, Fatukasi, Ingram.   Zay Jones maybe but probably just a top reserve.    

2.  How many immediate starters do you expect to come out of this draft?

Probably 2.  I think once you get into the 3rd round, you're not looking at immediate starters.  

3.  Are there any guys drafted last year that did not start for whatever reason last year to be starters this year?  Name them and if applicable, name their positions.

Andre Cisco, Travis Etienne.  

4.  Given the number of new starters combined from the questions listed above, would you say that is a good or bad total?  Why?  Do you think the number of new starters is a reflection of a job well done in terms of player acquisition, a function of how bad the roster was in the first place, the need for newer players to fit the new schemes, or some combination? Will the players be clear upgrades or scheme fillers?

I think our 2021 draft was okay.  Not great, not bad.  As for free agency this year, Scherff and Kirk are clear upgrades.  Darious Williams is a clear upgrade over last year's 3rd CB.  I'm not sure about the rest of them. 


5.  Do your expectations rise or fall depending upon who has the most sway in the draft room between Baalke or Pederson?

Not really, because I don't think one will have more sway than the other.  

6.  Would your expectations be any higher if Baalke had been fired or an EVP beeh placed above him as promised by Khan?

I'm not sure Khan "promised" an EVP, but regardless, I don't have any answer to your question, because I don't know who the EVP would have been or what his actual level of responsibility/oversight would have been.  

7.  Of all of the positions deemed to be needs on this team, what's the one position you somehow think will not be addressed by round 3?

linebacker.  I really don't know what the team is thinking, but it seems like a dire need and I haven't seen much speculation about what we might do about it.  

I will give my answers a little later.  I want to hear your thoughts.

I would also add, so much of what you are asking involves pure speculation with no actual knowledge of what the Jags' brass is thinking.  

In answering your questions about "starters," I considered anyone who would be on the field a majority of the game a "starter."  Like Travis Etienne.  He may not start the game, but I think, if healthy, he will be on the field for most of the game.

1.  So we're talking maybe 6-7 new starters from free agency.

2.  So maybe 2 starters from the draft.

3.  Two other starters from last year's draft.  So we're talking about half of the 22-24 starters (base personnel packages vs. Nickel packages) are changed within a year's time?  I would add Walker Little to the list, upgrading one of the T positions-most likely Jawaan Taylor/

4.  Scherff, Kirk and Williams are three good candidates to be upgrades from last year's roster.  I'd also add Engram to that list, with the LB from Atlanta and the DL from the Jets to be candidates to upgrade the roster, depending upon who they are replacing.  I could see the LB fom Atlanta being an upgrade over Jack, not due to size or athleticism but due to intelligence and instinct.  I'm not sure the guy from the Jets, if a NT, would necessarily be an upgrade over Hamilton, as I like Hamilton.  But I do like what little I've seen from the former Jet.

5.  A distinct possibility, but I would tend to put more trust in Pederson than Baalke, since Pederson understands his schemes and their personnel requirements better than Baalke does (they are his schemes) and Baalke's history of drafting (especially offensive skill players) leaves much to be desired.

6.  A fair response.

7.  Assuming it would have been Minnesota's Spielman, I would expect more from him than Baalke. 

These questions came to mind because it hit me how many possible new starters there was likely to be.  At first blush it struck me as a lot of new starters, and I'm trying to make more sense of it and get a proper perspective.  Is Baalke getting enough credit?  How much improvement can we really expect because of the new players?

---