(12-11-2023, 06:01 PM)Caldrac Wrote:

(12-11-2023, 05:26 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: You have to hold up the specific guys that were available and should have been taken to call any pick a luxury in my opinion.  Position alone doesn't cut it, for instance, if they had all offensive and defensive linemen that were left on the board graded outside of the 2nd or 3rd rounds.  I've heard Torrance's name bandied about, so there's 1 potential miss either by scouting or by draft day strategy.  Let's hear the others.

The draft isn't always about filling immediate needs.  That's what free agency is for.  You have to take into account future needs (i.e. keeping an eye on whose contracts are expiring next year and beyond) in the draft as well on top of having the specific player graded somewhere in the vicinity of the top of your board.

Robinson is a cut candidate at LT.
Bartch/Little/Shatley at LG. Gross.
Fortner was not good as a rookie at C.
Scherff is long in the tooth at RG.
Harrison drafted at RT to replace Taylor.

Engram was tagged and extended. Farrell was on the roster already.

Etienne still has a year or two on rookie deal. Hasty was extended. Johnson was signed.

Going TE and RB in RD2 and RD3 made no sense then like it makes no sense now and the lack of production speaks volumes on a team that had a bad line last year and managed to one up itself again this year.

Trading for Cleveland and trying for Hunter before the deadline along with that kid from New England are admissions of failure by Baalke.

That's how I ultimately view it. Sat on 13 picks. Should have tried trading up more and got more aggressive to fill holes and areas of need. We'll never know now and it'll naturally be a wait and see game now with Strange and Bigsby, but, again, those choices reeked of luxury / reach.

We blew it.


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Quality replacements still have to be there in the draft when you're up.  If I've hupothetically got all the O & D linemen graded in the low 70's and I have a TE and an RB in the upper 70's early 80's.  I'd go with the clear higher grades and revisit the lines later in the draft which is apparently what they did.  We'll never know if anyone we coveted got sniped a pick or two before we selected.  That's going to happen.  It may not happen every year, but it's going to happen a bunch over the course of several years even to the most prepared GMs.  I guess, bottom line is, don't get too emotionally invested in a take where you have a handful of pieces (of info) to the 1000 piece puzzle that is the draft.  Give the class some time and review and grade a couple years down the road.

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