(04-25-2023, 08:05 AM)Caldrac Wrote:

(04-25-2023, 04:53 AM)jj82284 Wrote: Not just nice, imperative.  

That's why I lean towards Torrence, or a corner.

I ronivally u can put Brian Branch obviously YouTube is limited, but the on thing I like is that he finds the ball at the top of the route.  He plays a LOT of slot corner ad made plays there.  I think u know ur going to get a solid nickel.  

But he's 195, a little sight for SS.  And while he plays a lot of nickel,  I don't see him as a guy who can kick outside and play true corner.    On tape his long speed might not have been s big question mark, but this pick eont come with Will Anderson to put in front of him.  Add to that, I think we already have 3 good safeties with Drew getting re-signed.   Do u draft  nickel @ 24?   I'd rather draft the best in class guard.

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?

Caldwell is the team's weakest link. He's a newbie coordinator, who in his quest to prove himself creatively misplays his cards. Instead of allowing blue chip talent like Lloyd and Walker do what they do best, as you said, he's consumed by "versatility." 

I wish Doug would've hired someone proven. Anyway, let's hope Caldwell improves in year two. Baalke should simply draft the best defensive talent available rather than catering to Caldwell's wish list of projected "versatile" weapons, like Branch. The Sacksonville defense was able to overcome Todd Wash's scheming deficiencies most of the time, but Wash still managed to put Poz on receivers and get pencil whipped badly by elite offensive coordinators like Shanahan. Caldwell so far seems a notch above Wash, fortunately.

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