Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young
  
• healthy
  
• at a premium position
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will?

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts?

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team?

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Always draft and re-sign great players wherever possible. If you can't resign them trade them or let them walk and recoup the puck via a compensatory pick. Never enter the draft to pick average players.

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Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young
  
• healthy
  
• at a premium position
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will?

**Draft great players until it becomes increasingly difficult to cut, tag, extend and trade any player on the team.

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts?

**Coaches should be thinking ahead of the curve, looking at new approaches, rotations and competitive advantages. Coaches must master and manage great ego's on a daily basis. Apart of that is developing every single man that makes the final cut.

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team?

**Healthy mix of both. Sometimes you want guys like Campbell to balance out guys like Ramsey. But it should be rare. You still want your youth to take over at some point.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

If you draft well enough, you can't keep them all.

We aren't at that point yet.

Ramsey and Ngakoue should be absolute locks for big paydays from the Jaguars. Myles Jack is not far behind on that priority list IMO.

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Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young 
  
• healthy IN JACK'S CASE THE KNEE HAS HELD UP AND JAGS GOT SOME QUALITY YEARS, LET SOME OTHER TEAM DEAL WITH THE RISK NOW
  
• at a premium position IN JACK'S CASE IT'S NOT A PREMIUM POSITION
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will? THE PATRIOTS ARE FINE WITH LETTING PREMIUM PLAYERS TEST THE WATERS. YANNICK IS A TOP-15 PASS RUSHER WITH SOME ROOM FOR GROWTH, BUT HE'S STILL VERY MUCH IN THE PROVE-IT PHASE. DON'T PAY HIM VON MILLER MONEY IF HE'S SEEKING THAT. RAMSEY IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE TRIO WORTH BREAKING THE BANK FOR, BUT IF A #3 DRAFT PICK + HAM SANDWICH CAN BE SECURED FOR A MUCH CHEAPER BLUE CHIP PLAYER RENTAL FOR FIVE YEARS, YOU TAKE IT. 

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts? NO, SHOULD BE ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS 

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team? NO

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"I am only an average man, but by George, I work harder at it than the average man." - Teddy Roosevelt

Unfortunately and fortunately we don’t have to worry about paying big dollars for a young franchise QB. With that in mind there is absolutely zero reason to not sign Yannick and Jalen to the contracts they’ll command. Jalen will want to reset the CB market by commanding a very expensive top paying CB contract, fine no problem. Yannick will without question get a monster contract. Probably something similar to what Frank Clark got. Myles Jack absolutely needs to stay on this team as well. Other than those 3, who else on the team is deserving of contacts? Maybe in due time Ronnie Harrison, but other than him... we really don’t have much else to shell out big contracts to.

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Always draft and re-sign great players wherever possible. If you can't resign them trade them or let them walk and recoup the puck via a compensatory pick. Never enter the draft to pick average players.

(Emphasis added)

While I don't want to put you int he position of answering for other posters, the highlighted point raises the question of why so many want to avoid contract negotiations for Ramsey and Ngakoue altogether.

Another general question:  Should there be an absolute bar on signing draft picks to second contracts?  Should the most any one player play for this team be no longer than five years?

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Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young
  
• healthy
  
• at a premium position
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will?

**Draft great players until it becomes increasingly difficult to cut, tag, extend and trade any player on the team.

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts?

**Coaches should be thinking ahead of the curve, looking at new approaches, rotations and competitive advantages. Coaches must master and manage great ego's on a daily basis. Apart of that is developing every single man that makes the final cut.

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team?

**Healthy mix of both. Sometimes you want guys like Campbell to balance out guys like Ramsey. But it should be rare. You still want your youth to take over at some point.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

1.  So far, based upon the limited responses, everyone seems in favor of drafting great players, but nobody seems inclined to reward great players for great play.

2.  I get that, but my question was within the context of avoiding expensive, second contracts.  Should coaches cut back on coaching and player development for the sole purpose of suppressing the market for players?

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

If you draft well enough, you can't keep them all.

We aren't at that point yet.

Ramsey and Ngakoue should be absolute locks for big paydays from the Jaguars. Myles Jack is not far behind on that priority list IMO.

I agree with this, yet to read some posts, the idea of paying our players for good to great pay is a bad one.

---

 

Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young 
  
• healthy IN JACK'S CASE THE KNEE HAS HELD UP AND JAGS GOT SOME QUALITY YEARS, LET SOME OTHER TEAM DEAL WITH THE RISK NOW
  
• at a premium position IN JACK'S CASE IT'S NOT A PREMIUM POSITION
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will? THE PATRIOTS ARE FINE WITH LETTING PREMIUM PLAYERS TEST THE WATERS. YANNICK IS A TOP-15 PASS RUSHER WITH SOME ROOM FOR GROWTH, BUT HE'S STILL VERY MUCH IN THE PROVE-IT PHASE. DON'T PAY HIM VON MILLER MONEY IF HE'S SEEKING THAT. RAMSEY IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE TRIO WORTH BREAKING THE BANK FOR, BUT IF A #3 DRAFT PICK + HAM SANDWICH CAN BE SECURED FOR A MUCH CHEAPER BLUE CHIP PLAYER RENTAL FOR FIVE YEARS, YOU TAKE IT. 

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts? NO, SHOULD BE ON A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS 

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team? NO

Regarding Jack, that's why I used the "and/or" language.

1.  The Patriots have had Tom Brady, demonstrably the greatest QB of all time for decades.  They can let players walk because they can always attract another player.  But they extended Ty Law.  They extended Gronk and others.  They retained their share of players.

2.  In what instances would coaches not fully developing a player be a deliberate and acceptable practice?  Wouldn't other players see the distinction between one guy being fully and correctly coached vs. another who wasn't?  Would players be advised to not watch other players' reps in practice?

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Unfortunately and fortunately we don’t have to worry about paying big dollars for a young franchise QB. With that in mind there is absolutely zero reason to not sign Yannick and Jalen to the contracts they’ll command. Jalen will want to reset the CB market by commanding a very expensive top paying CB contract, fine no problem. Yannick will without question get a monster contract. Probably something similar to what Frank Clark got.  Myles Jack absolutely needs to stay on this team as well. Other than those 3, who else on the team is deserving of contacts? Maybe in due time Ronnie Harrison, but other than him... we really don’t have much else to shell out big contracts to.

Which is a large part of the reason why we shouldn't have to fear re-signing at least two of those guys.

---

 

Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Reading the board, I have seen numerous statements displaying not mere apprehension but abject terror over the prospects of signing Ramsey, Ngakoue and/or Jack to a second contract.

I always thought that once you drafted a great player, you should do whatever it takes to retain that player, especially if:

• He is young
  
• healthy
  
• at a premium position
  
• so far decent character
  

But judging on the reactions I've seen, people are willing to at least deal Ramsey, and I suspect as contract negotiations between the team and Ngakoue heat up, calls to trade him will soon appear on the board.

I compare Ramsey to Darrell Revis who will ultimately be looking for the best deal to be the highest paid CB or Defensive Player in the NFL.  If you keep Ramsey, then you need to let good players go like Nagakoue and Jack once their rookie contracts are up.  Heck, one of he best things the Jags have ever done was let Boselli and Brunell go after Coughlin got into cap-hell trying to retain their core group of players.

My question to you is the following:  Would you re-sign Ramsey for 6 years $200m with a $140m guarantee because by the time 2022 hits, that may be his price.  Bottom line, we still have him for 2 years + 1 year franchise tag but by that time, he will likely be a cancer like L. Bell and A. Brown up in the Burgh.  Right now, Kahlil Mack is on a 6-year Contract @ $141m with $90m in guarantees.

Also, please note as the Cap goes up, so do our ticket prices, so personally speaking, my personal contract with the NFL (attendance loyalty) will need to be re-evaluated on an annual basis as well.  A salary cap explosion under the new CBA will likely put an end to a lot of us. I can only imagine the NFL going to a 45,000 seat stadium in the future and having everything catered to Corp America.

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1. No
2. No
3. No

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If Ramsey mirrors his level of play from last year are you going to make him the highest paid corner in NFL history like he will want?

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I wish we would have explored extending them early and gotten a deal like the Vikings did with Danielle Hunter (or tons of baseball teams are doing currently). Would Yannick have taken 5/72 like Hunter did last year? I think he very well may have taken that instant security and signing bonus, now he's going to command 20M+ AAV.

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Find and keep your all pro QB. Everyone else is replaceable.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Here's what we do for the draft. Show up, sit at pick 7, draft T.J. Hockenson and go home. As a Hawkeye I'm going to be extra salty if we don't do this. TJ had more production than Kittle with a worse QB and Kittle tore it up for SF. He is a Travis Kelce type prospect.

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No pain, no gain.

Here's what we do for the draft. Show up, sit at pick 7, draft T.J. Hockenson and go home. As a Hawkeye I'm going to be extra salty if we don't do this. TJ had more production than Kittle with a worse QB and Kittle tore it up for SF. He is a Travis Kelce type prospect.

I'm ok with that strategy since we're totally lacking any talent at the TE position and need to get a little offensive fire power.  That said, can you elaborate on the differences between Hockenson and Fant.   It appears that Fant was a primary factor in Iowa's offense in 2017 but Hockenson edged him in 2018 leaving Fant with slightly better career stats at Iowa.  Did Hockenson finally get a shot last year or do you think his development (e.g. workouts & skill set) simply surpassed Fant over the past year?

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Serious questions:

1.  Is it better to draft average players who won't command second contracts as opposed to drafting great players who will?

2.    Should our coaches not develop players to make the otherwise average good players, and otherwise good players into great players to avoid second contracts?

3.  Would it be better to sign veteran free agents old enough to not command another contract from the team?

1. Never, because this implies your opponents are drafting great players that will command a second contract, whether or not they sign with the team that drafted them. Until that second contract comes due, you have to build a franchise (from your pool of average guys) to overcome more talented rosters

2. Again, never. Coaches jobs, especially positional coaches, is to develop a player. You cannot survive three years from now with the roster you have today. Guys get old. Guys get hurt. Developing young guys either makes the older guys expendable, either by overcoming the older guys' talent or the older guys' cost for the same expected performance. In the case of injury, the development softens the blow of having to rely on players further down the depth chart.

3. This may be my biggest pet peeve with our roster. In recent years, we have had tons of cap space to work with, and we have spent lots of money to bring free agents in. Almost never do those guys see the end of their contract, as the team opts to release a player rather than paying the rest of the contract out. That player signs with another team, and we get nothing in return to account for the loss of the player, and usually eat dead money when the amortized bonus accelerates to the current year. While comp picks cannot be the foundation on which you build a roster, those extra picks will help to bring in youth to an aging roster, prevent future overpayments to big-name free agents, and also make the team more attractive to potential FA. If you were looking to sign with a team, but that team always cut a guy in the final year or two of a multi-year deal, that might not give you the security you are looking for when changing teams. The end result is you are going to ask for more up front, or opt for a team that tends to keep guys on the team until the contract elapses, if the offers are similar. I'm less concerned about the AGE of the free agent, it's more a matter of the terms we are signing them to.

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If the talent level is elite or very good at a premium position, then you should absolutely do whatever it takes to re-sign those players. This applies to Yannick and Jalen.

Jack would be a bit more understandable if they let him go, especially considering the longevity concerns around him. Off the ball linebacker is nowhere near as important as pass rusher or shut down corner. That said, I still hope to see him back.

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Always draft and re-sign great players wherever possible. If you can't resign them trade them or let them walk and recoup the puck via a compensatory pick. Never enter the draft to pick average players.

(Emphasis added)

While I don't want to put you int he position of answering for other posters, the highlighted point raises the question of why so many want to avoid contract negotiations for Ramsey and Ngakoue altogether.

Another general question:  Should there be an absolute bar on signing draft picks to second contracts?  Should the most any one player play for this team be no longer than five years?

---

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

1.  So far, based upon the limited responses, everyone seems in favor of drafting great players, but nobody seems inclined to reward great players for great play.

2.  I get that, but my question was within the context of avoiding expensive, second contracts.  Should coaches cut back on coaching and player development for the sole purpose of suppressing the market for players?

I am in the opposite camp then I suppose. When you enter any draft I was under the impression that the mindset should be gaining as much great talent that you can possibly get your hands on. I love the draft process. Big fan of what the Steelers did in the 1970's as well as what the 49ERS did in the 1980's. And of course we all know about Jimmy Johnson's legendary trade with the Vikings but between what he did between 1989 - 1991 is off the charts. 

What Caldwell did in 2016 is ideal. To land players like Ramsey, Jack & Ngakoue in that order is outstanding. I don't think we've seen that happen in Jacksonville before. Even under Coughlin. The guy literally hit at each position for each level of defense between CB, DE & LB. That's impressive. Of course we would ALL love to see him pull that off again. Who wouldn't?

But as far as your 2nd question? Coaches should coach. Some players need a lot of hands on mentoring and some players don't. It's a case by case deal. But if you've got a great talent on your roster that makes splash plays or consistently gets the job done? Do what have you to do to keep them on the roster. It makes a coach's job easier for sure.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Your cornerstone signings should always be QB, DE, CB, and LT/RT (nowadays). We've signed Foles for the next 3-4 years. Ramsey and Ngakoue signing a new contract should be our main priority going forward; if they maintain their course. Telvin will probably be traded by then. Campbell will be gone by then. They should be kept and resigned.

FA supplement ability always varies, but can be beneficial as we saw in 2017. But cornerstone players like Ramsey and Ngakoue should be prioritized.

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Let's Get Em!!!! Go Jags!

Your cornerstone signings should always be QB, DE, CB, and LT/RT (nowadays). We've signed Foles for the next 3-4 years. Ramsey and Ngakoue signing a new contract should be our main priority going forward; if they maintain their course. Telvin will probably be traded by then. Campbell will be gone by then. They should be kept and resigned.

FA supplement ability always varies, but can be beneficial as we saw in 2017. But cornerstone players like Ramsey and Ngakoue should be prioritized.

I agree with this.

It's all about the position for me. Linebackers, safeties, running backs, and for the most part guards/centers can be more easily replaced than QBs, tackles, corners and pass rushers.

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