(01-29-2018, 02:39 PM)Caldrac Wrote:

(01-29-2018, 01:33 PM)JagFanFirst Wrote: ...and select a quarterback. That's what the Texans did last year, and I'm sure they don't regret the loss of their first round pick this year. 

Normally I'm opposed to trading away first round picks. But this year might be an exception. Even if we spend big bucks on Cousins or Smith, I think having one of the better QBs in this draft would be a good insurance policy. 

Thoughts?

Nope. We've seen this before that one year where we thought all we were missing was a pair of stud edge rushers and we ended up having to pull street free agents to help make up for the rash of injuries we sustained along the offensive line. 

You especially don't want to surrender two first round selections for a rookie passer that gets a deal tied up along with Cousins or Smith's deal. That ultimately makes no sense at the end of the day. It would defeat the purpose of either move during this off season. 

If you move up into the top five to land a Quarterback. Who are you looking at? Because honestly none of these guys coming out of college instill enough confidence to where they should be starting right away. And that's a huge price to fork over for an "insurance" policy. 

Best bet is to sign Alex Smith or Kirk Cousins and retain Blake Bortles for one more year. Gamble on a QB later on without having to surrender your future for the next two seasons. We may not be able to retain all of the talent we have now on defense. You may want to replace Paul Posluszny sooner rather than later. We might not be able to keep Aaron Colvin. We could end up losing both Robinson and Lee at receiver. Marcedes Lewis could retire soon. You may want to think about the long term DE position when/if Campbell hits that old man wall in his career. 

Just too many variables right now to fork over two first round picks for not even a sure bet at QB in a rookie passer. If it was to pick up someone like Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford. Go for it. They are a sure bet. But not on a rookie. Especially from this class where basically your top three prospects regressed in their final years of college football and didn't really play in any meaningful games.

I agree that we should not trade up; it would be giving up too much for an unknown commodity. However, if we do pick up either Alex Smith or Kirk Cousins, we'd only do so if we are cutting Blake. His $19 mil hit next year is too large (although technically feasible) if we want to go after Smith or Cousins and retain Robinson or Hurns. It would also limit our options for other FAs.

If we do sign Smith or Cousins, I think we would also take a developmental QB in the draft, probably in the 3rd round or later.

---