(03-23-2023, 09:32 AM)TheDogCatcher Wrote:

(03-22-2023, 10:40 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: "Going to be a draft and develop football team..."

We just spent the most money in free agency EVER SPENT - just last season. 

When you do that - the next two years are going to be "draft and develop" oriented whether you like it or not. 

So far - what we have to judge Baalke on in rounds 3-5 is hit and miss - or incomplete:

Fortner 
Muma
Conner
Cisco
Tufele
Jordan Smith
Luke Farrell

You've got 3 guys that look promising, one guy they probably cut too soon (Tufele) , one guy who is solid depth with some potential (Farrell), and Conner/Smith who are long shots to succeed. 

From this list - it would appear it is rounds 4 and 5 that are tough for Baalke. (like most GMs I imagine) 
His round 3 picks all appear on a decent trajectory for success, albeit early to be certain for 2 of them.

Fortner was a reach. The team went for "intelligence" over raw talent. His ceiling is limited. Conner is a bust. 
Cisco is talented, but to me he should be playing free safety, not hovering around the line so much. Tufele was cut too soon. Jordan Smith and Luke Farrell were Urban Meyer specials, so we can't attribute those to Baalke. 

Muma and Cisco are core defensive players and hopefully Farrell can fill Manhertz's blocking TE shoes. I give Baalke's mid-round work a B-/C+. Caldwell seemed to be better at the lower rounds, but he of course was an F 1st round drafter, which got him fired.

Fortner could work out fine if he gets stronger, anchors better, and recognizes stunts quicker. All things that second year centers might actually do in year two. We'll see. Did they reach? Probably a bit, but it's early to say they reached too far for a payoff. I'm crossing my fingers here. I actually like the kid, I just get scared he's gonna get TL hurt and not create clean pockets very often. 

Cisco is playing free safety. They do switch them occasionally and try to disguise coverage, but if you watch him after the snap he is almost always dropping or backpedaling either to single-high, a quadrant, a deep-half, or shading to bracket a dangerous receiver. He doesn't stay in the box much at all post snap.

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