(04-25-2023, 09:43 AM)TheDogCatcher Wrote:

(04-25-2023, 08:05 AM)Caldrac Wrote: I am leaning towards edge rusher or a pure, natural CB with the 24th overall pick. I don't think Torrence is the best guard in this class though. I think, depending on your team and who you ask? You could probably play Skoronski or Mauch at guard and get a much better athlete with better feet in that position Vs. Torrence. Not to mention the versatility those guys add. 

I would rather address guard in RD3-RD4. Tackle is more important to me than LG at the moment. The biggest sleepers for me in this year's draft is LSU's Anthony Bradford and Ole Miss' Nick Broeker. Those are the guys I would take at some point this weekend. Bigger, more athletic, offer swing tackle ability in a pinch. 

Will make up for Baalke passing up on Jamaree Salyer last year for a RB that he traded up for and has now signed an experienced back-up in Johnson and extended Hasty to keep higher on the depth chart. 

At 24 though, if they can't land a quality edge rusher? I would rather them select Cam Smith or even Julius Brents over Brian Branch. That's how uncertain I am about him in the NFL. He's a tweener. Like you said. I have concerns with him. Especially with Caldwell defensively running the show. 

I mentioned that yesterday and somehow it was misconstrued. I fault Caldwell for Walker and Lloyd not showing anything noteworthy as rookie's because they were mismanaged and played out of position. You took a big, powerful player in Walker and made him play upright on the outside which requires more thinking and lateral movement Vs. just letting him use his big, natural power and frame to pressure the inside. 

You took a naturally gifted athlete in Lloyd, who played outside at Utah, not inside, OUTSIDE. You seldom blitzed him off the edge, you seldom had him around the LOS, you kept letting him sit back and he got ate alive in coverages and got exposed to the point to where he was benched for his inability to keep his [BLEEP] together when crossing routes were used against our defense.

My biggest complaint and concern is this. Everybody is clamoring for a [BLEEP] nickel/slot CB, at 24. A NICKEL/SLOT CB. That's insane! When we COULD NOT EFFECT THE QB last year, at all! Down the stretch we had two things consistently show up. 

1. We couldn't effect the opposing QB.
2. We couldn't buy our QB enough time. 

That's all I keep seeing in both losses to Kansas City last year and during the play-off's. Not enough pocket collapsing and not enough pocket space for Lawrence to step up and comfortably hit those long plays downfield. A Nickel CB is not going to resolve this problem. Especially a rookie. One of you numbers guys can go out and break it down for me. But, in the long run. What are the odds that a nickel CB will have a higher snap count than an actual edge rusher?

This! Both lines need 2-3 players each from this draft, and a pure corner to take over for Williams eventually is also top of the list. Nickel can be found in later rounds or from the undrafted ranks. Bring in lots of competition and someone will emerge. It’s a position like running back.

A few things I'd like to unpack in these posts regarding the nickel:

• Nickel corner devaluation is officially an antiquated concept. Every year a dozen or more teams are putting premier receivers in the slot for a significant percentage of snaps. Plenty of other teams are getting their move TE matched up on the Y defender frequently by design. If you face these teams with a late round flyer at nickel you get what we got from Ceedee Lamb vs Tre Herndon last year. Nobody wants that. Jags had a nickel on the field for 70% of their snaps last year. It's important. 
  
• Is the first round still too early to draft a nickel?  Yes. I think it's early. I still feel like late 2nd round is the soonest you target a slot defender depending on positional depth that year. If I had my druthers in this year's draft we'd have a good candidate available to us in the third round. I would NOT wait until the 5th or later. You are going to be spinning your wheels again unless you hit the lottery - should you take that late round route. 
  
• Like many - I want to see the Jags get a pass rusher early. But please don't forget that a top notch nickel will indeed give the pass rush more time to operate. We saw an uptick in our pass rush last year when Williams moved to outside CB and suddenly routes and reads were not as instantly open for opposing QBs. Adding a quality nickel will have a similar effect - and cumulatively. 
  

I'd love to see the team address DL/Edge, OL, and nickel in that order. I think it just comes down to what's left to choose from when we're on the clock. They'll have to be flexible. 

Now, if the Jags select a DB early to play nickel in 2023 - but they intend for him to take over SS in 2024, I think the late first pick would be slightly more justified. Would still like to get that player later, but... I'd get it. Jenkins is likely in his last year as a Jag and he sucks in coverage. We can get better there. 

I have bleated like an injured lamb around here about how this OL wasn't very good last year despite the low # of sacks allowed and good runs produced. So I'm first in line to want O-linemen selected in this draft. 
In my perfect little draft utopia we'd select a tackle (early) who might play guard for a year if he doesn't beat out one of our penciled in tackles right away. I'd also try to find a guard in the fourth round who could challenge Bartch for a start. Extra points if that guard has some center experience in his resumé.  

Get Trevor a real pocket to step into instead of being forced to call so many quick release play designs and our big play percentage will skyrocket. Last year's win streak featured lots of plays designed to get the ball out quickly with smoke and mirrors ZBS looks from the line. That was Pederson wisely covering for the bad protection, but it put the onus on Trevor and it limited what he could do in those moments. Additionally  - we saw designed and undesigned rollouts galore because Shatley and Fortner were being moved straight backward immediately on an inordinate amount of plays. Get a real LG in there and that changes. 

Unrelated to these posts, but I have to get it off my chest: If you're calling for a RB or WR prior to the fifth and that guy doesn't have a near certain chance to be a difference making core special teamer, I can't take you seriously.

---