The more I think about it, the more I wanna draft a couple of new LB's. The Dallas Cowboys had one of the worst defenses imaginable last season. CB Trevon Diggs returns and is playing like an All-Pro, but the Cowboys also selected LB Micah Parsons, who has been an absolute beast. Now that defense is respectable. We all know we need a pass rushing OLB for the 3-4 scheme we now run, but ILB is just as important. They are the unheralded backbone of the defense. Just look at great defenses of the past. The Ravens had Ray Lewis, last year's Bucs had LaVonte David and Devin White, the Niners had Patrick Willis, the Bears had Brian Urlacher and Mike Singletary and Dick Butkus. Even successful defenses of the past who didn't have star LB's on the inside, at least had good players who could consistently stop the run and cover passes. Right now, we're getting terrible play from our linebackers both outside and inside. If we could come out of the offseason with one consistent pass rushing OLB and one really good all around ILB, I think we'd see a huge improvement on defense. Maybe not enough to make us a Super Bowl contender, but enough of an improvement where we would at least be competitive. I think these are two areas that absolutely have to be addressed.

Take the BPA, I don't care what position it is we just need some stars

Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

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Take the BPA, I don't care what position it is we just need some stars

Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

And this is the issue with taking Etienne in round 1.

Oweh and Tryon were right there for the taking and they were even considered best available at the time. Not only did they reach for Etienne but he plays a position that can easily be filled later in the draft (like Gainwell).

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Take the BPA, I don't care what position it is we just need some stars

Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

That's what FA is for.  We are in the same position because we aren't taking the best players and not hitting on our picks   I like Quarterman tbh and think we have something there.  Hopefully he gets some more playing time

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Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

And this is the issue with taking Etienne in round 1.

Oweh and Tryon were right there for the taking and they were even considered best available at the time. Not only did they reach for Etienne but he plays a position that can easily be filled later in the draft (like Gainwell).

And Rousseau is probably guy we should have taken

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Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

That's what FA is for.  We are in the same position because we aren't taking the best players and not hitting on our picks   I like Quarterman tbh and think we have something there.  Hopefully he gets some more playing time

The problem with free agency is that this team has been mismanaged so long and continues to be and loses so much and continues to lose, that no top free agents seem to want to come here anymore. Just look at the guys we landed in free agency last year. We had a ton of money and were only able to bring in so-so players. If we wanna get better, we're gonna have to do it through the draft. Right now, this team's reputation is crap! We have a coach that has no clue what is going on, a "yes man" GM and a complacent owner. What top free agent is gonna pick coming to this team, if they have other options?

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That's what FA is for.  We are in the same position because we aren't taking the best players and not hitting on our picks   I like Quarterman tbh and think we have something there.  Hopefully he gets some more playing time

The problem with free agency is that this team has been mismanaged so long and continues to be and loses so much and continues to lose, that no top free agents seem to want to come here anymore. Just look at the guys we landed in free agency last year. We had a ton of money and were only able to bring in so-so players. If we wanna get better, we're gonna have to do it through the draft. Right now, this team's reputation is crap! We have a coach that has no clue what is going on, a "yes man" GM and a complacent owner. What top free agent is gonna pick coming to this team, if they have other options?

I don't think we went after the top FA last year being the first year in the rebuild.  I think this year is the year we open the check book.  Money talks, people said the same things the year we brought in Calais, Bouye etc. and won the off season a few years in a row.  Year year after we brought in the top lineman in FA.

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Of course you draft BAP, but with as many draft picks as we have, there is no way the linebacker positions should be ignored. We have to identify some good pass rushing linebackers and coverage linebackers in this draft and target them. Whether it be round 1, 2, 3 or 4 it doesn't matter. You take the best player on the board, but if you have 2 different players at 2 different positions, who are rated the same on your board and one of them is a LB, I'm taking the LB. 

Last offseason we needed a better pass rush and better pass defense. We tried to fill the pass defense with so-so players and the results are largely the same as last year. We basically ignored the need for pass rushers and again, we have no pass rush. You always take the BAP, but at the same time, when you have huge needs at certain positions and you fail to fill them over and over, you can't expect your team to ever get better. One way or another by draft, trade or free agency, you're gonna have to address the gaping holes at positions that are plaguing the team.

And this is the issue with taking Etienne in round 1.

Oweh and Tryon were right there for the taking and they were even considered best available at the time. Not only did they reach for Etienne but he plays a position that can easily be filled later in the draft (like Gainwell).

Honestly, just going by BAP with no hindsight, I probably would've taken the same player I wanted at the time, OT Liam Eichenberg. He just supplanted Austin Jackson for the starting LT position for the Dolphins and had the highest grade on the Miami O-Line, against the Bucs in his first game at LT. I would've then targeted OLB Azeez Ojulari in round 2. I don't know how he is currently performing, but I can't imagine he'd be any worse than what we have now. I was surprised he fell to round 2.

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The problem with free agency is that this team has been mismanaged so long and continues to be and loses so much and continues to lose, that no top free agents seem to want to come here anymore. Just look at the guys we landed in free agency last year. We had a ton of money and were only able to bring in so-so players. If we wanna get better, we're gonna have to do it through the draft. Right now, this team's reputation is crap! We have a coach that has no clue what is going on, a "yes man" GM and a complacent owner. What top free agent is gonna pick coming to this team, if they have other options?

I don't think we went after the top FA last year being the first year in the rebuild.  I think this year is the year we open the check book.  Money talks, people said the same things the year we brought in Calais, Bouye etc. and won the off season a few years in a row.  Year year after we brought in the top lineman in FA.

????? That makes no sense. Why wouldn't we go after the top free agents every year, rebuild or not? Again, money or no money, who is gonna want to come to this cluster-doink of a team? The coach is in a scandal, he throws his QB under the bus in a press conference and is caught in a lie, he has no clue how many carries his star RB has and that is just the chaos of the week. Meyer takes responsibility for nothing and Khan seems to be sitting on his hands, doing nothing. I honestly don't think we'll land any veteran star player in the next offseason, unless we trade for one. If I were a free agent, I'd avoid this team like the plague.

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The more I think about it, the more I wanna draft a couple of new LB's. The Dallas Cowboys had one of the worst defenses imaginable last season. CB Trevon Diggs returns and is playing like an All-Pro, but the Cowboys also selected LB Micah Parsons, who has been an absolute beast. Now that defense is respectable. We all know we need a pass rushing OLB for the 3-4 scheme we now run, but ILB is just as important. They are the unheralded backbone of the defense. Just look at great defenses of the past. The Ravens had Ray Lewis, last year's Bucs had LaVonte David and Devin White, the Niners had Patrick Willis, the Bears had Brian Urlacher and Mike Singletary and Dick Butkus. Even successful defenses of the past who didn't have star LB's on the inside, at least had good players who could consistently stop the run and cover passes. Right now, we're getting terrible play from our linebackers both outside and inside. If we could come out of the offseason with one consistent pass rushing OLB and one really good all around ILB, I think we'd see a huge improvement on defense. Maybe not enough to make us a Super Bowl contender, but enough of an improvement where we would at least be competitive. I think these are two areas that absolutely have to be addressed.

Out of curiosity, how much hope do you have for Dylan Moses to be a contributor next year.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

The more I think about it, the more I wanna draft a couple of new LB's. The Dallas Cowboys had one of the worst defenses imaginable last season. CB Trevon Diggs returns and is playing like an All-Pro, but the Cowboys also selected LB Micah Parsons, who has been an absolute beast. Now that defense is respectable. We all know we need a pass rushing OLB for the 3-4 scheme we now run, but ILB is just as important. They are the unheralded backbone of the defense. Just look at great defenses of the past. The Ravens had Ray Lewis, last year's Bucs had LaVonte David and Devin White, the Niners had Patrick Willis, the Bears had Brian Urlacher and Mike Singletary and Dick Butkus. Even successful defenses of the past who didn't have star LB's on the inside, at least had good players who could consistently stop the run and cover passes. Right now, we're getting terrible play from our linebackers both outside and inside. If we could come out of the offseason with one consistent pass rushing OLB and one really good all around ILB, I think we'd see a huge improvement on defense. Maybe not enough to make us a Super Bowl contender, but enough of an improvement where we would at least be competitive. I think these are two areas that absolutely have to be addressed.

Out of curiosity, how much hope do you have for Dylan Moses to be a contributor next year.

Honestly, I have no clue. He was a very good player in college, but it all depends on how/if he heals from the injury. I'd love to think he'd be as good as he was pre-injury, but I don't wanna get my hopes up, only to be let down. I'm praying he is back to 100% by the start of next season. If he does, he'll be a steal. I'd still look to add another ILB though. Personally, I would look to trade Myles Jack in the offseason. If we are keeping the 3-4 defense, Jack just doesn't fit the scheme. He's a 4-3 OLB, through and through.

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Out of curiosity, how much hope do you have for Dylan Moses to be a contributor next year.

Honestly, I have no clue. He was a very good player in college, but it all depends on how/if he heals from the injury. I'd love to think he'd be as good as he was pre-injury, but I don't wanna get my hopes up, only to be let down. I'm praying he is back to 100% by the start of next season. If he does, he'll be a steal. I'd still look to add another ILB though. Personally, I would look to trade Myles Jack in the offseason. If we are keeping the 3-4 defense, Jack just doesn't fit the scheme. He's a 4-3 OLB, through and through.

We are in complete agreement here.

If he could play to pre injury level, he'd be a great bonus, but that possibility would not preclude me from drafting a superior LB if one was on the board.  I have some hope since he played through the injury last year and even participated in some of the minicamps this year.  Hopefully this means his knee/meniscus is not a complete wreck and his prognosis for complete recovery is good.  But there is always the chance he doesn't make a complete recovery, or if he does, Meyer and company could find a way to botch his development wholly independent of his recovery.

If we're running a 3-4, we need quality and quantity at LB.  It seems like we have 1.5 good LBs out of 4, counting Jack as the .5 because he is not a scheme fit, which limits his effectiveness.  This doesn't get into the lack of quality depth.

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Worst to 1st.  Curse Reversed!

Honestly, I have no clue. He was a very good player in college, but it all depends on how/if he heals from the injury. I'd love to think he'd be as good as he was pre-injury, but I don't wanna get my hopes up, only to be let down. I'm praying he is back to 100% by the start of next season. If he does, he'll be a steal. I'd still look to add another ILB though. Personally, I would look to trade Myles Jack in the offseason. If we are keeping the 3-4 defense, Jack just doesn't fit the scheme. He's a 4-3 OLB, through and through.

We are in complete agreement here.

If he could play to pre injury level, he'd be a great bonus, but that possibility would not preclude me from drafting a superior LB if one was on the board.  I have some hope since he played through the injury last year and even participated in some of the minicamps this year.  Hopefully this means his knee/meniscus is not a complete wreck and his prognosis for complete recovery is good.  But there is always the chance he doesn't make a complete recovery, or if he does, Meyer and company could find a way to botch his development wholly independent of his recovery.

If we're running a 3-4, we need quality and quantity at LB.  It seems like we have 1.5 good LBs out of 4, counting Jack as the .5 because he is not a scheme fit, which limits his effectiveness.  This doesn't get into the lack of quality depth.

Completely agree with both of you on the linebacker issues. I fear OLM is right about Myles. If any usefulness can be gotten from him it will be at OLB. However, it does seem he is built for OLB in a 4-3 scheme. Chaisson is finally starting to show. A little bit. Hopefully he continues to progress. That said, if he can get the Oregon pass rusher we should. I dearly hope Moses can be that steal we are hoping he is next year. Quarterman is going to get more playing time now so we shall see. But I want to look at some ILBs coming out for next year's draft. Also, out attempts at a deep threat at WR have not panned out so far, therefore a speed burner in the draft is also a priority. But our biggest need next year is interior O-line. Heck, OT as well. At least 4 of the five positions need addressing in my opinion. Trevor's health is too important. Safety may be OK if Cisco ever gets on the field and shows ability. That leaves CB where we still need help. Early on it looks like Arnold may be the move TE we have needed so badly.  

To wrap up, I see our needs as follows:   Edge if we have the 1st pick. Then O-line followed by ILB and speed WR. Then CB. That is nine positions if we have to fix all 5 oline spots. Now if Little pans out at LT and Bartch can develop at guard then only 3 spots on the line need fixing. LG, RT and center because Linder's inability to stay healthy is a deep concern for me. Best case though I see 7 position needs of top priority. Problem is in filling all 7 in one draft. That just ain't gonna happen. That means FA is going to be very, very important.  If Trevor continues to improve, and I think he will. That can certainly help to lure good to top FA prospects.  The other 2 changes I think need to happen is to replace Warhop and seriously upgrade the scouting department. We just still have a long way to go to become competitive but hopefully we will get there by 2023

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A healthy Moses didn't move very well, much less whatever version we're going to get coming off major injury. I don't know how in the world we could ever expect him to be a 3-4 ILB they have to cover a ton of ground in pass coverage.

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A healthy Moses didn't move very well, much less whatever version we're going to get coming off major injury. I don't know how in the world we could ever expect him to be a 3-4 ILB they have to cover a ton of ground in pass coverage.

Multiple outlets say he clocked the 40 at 4.46 in college. Must be able to move a little.

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A healthy Moses didn't move very well, much less whatever version we're going to get coming off major injury. I don't know how in the world we could ever expect him to be a 3-4 ILB they have to cover a ton of ground in pass coverage.

Multiple outlets say he clocked the 40 at 4.46 in college. Must be able to move a little.

1. Maybe he was faster before he went through that Alabama practice wringer that notoriously crushes damn near everyone.

2. 40 time doesn't really matter a whole lot to me in this case. I care much more about his SS and 3 cone time. That change of direction athleticism is more important for a guy that's going to have to play a ton of pass pro in a 3-4.

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If the season ended today we pick 3rd

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Outside of Thibs, the top talent in this years draft isn’t wowing me. Definitely would love the idea of trading down a bit and getting a guy like Ahmad Gardner.

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https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-...roit-lions

Trevor Sikkema released his first mock. Jags take Evan Neal at #3 with Thibodeaux and Stingley going ahead of him.

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https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-...roit-lions

Trevor Sikkema released his first mock. Jags take Evan Neal at #3 with Thibodeaux and Stingley going ahead of him.

No thank you. He'd basically be the same thing we have now, in Cam Robinson. He has slow feet and is a "grabber." Sure, he's really strong, which makes him a very good run blocker, but in pass protection he misses a lot of faster DE's, because he lunges at them instead of using solid footwork to mirror them. IMO, there is no way he's a top 10 pick, much less a top 3. That would be a waste. I see him as a mediocre, RT only in the NFL.

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https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-...roit-lions

Trevor Sikkema released his first mock. Jags take Evan Neal at #3 with Thibodeaux and Stingley going ahead of him.

No thank you. He'd basically be the same thing we have now, in Cam Robinson. He has slow feet and is a "grabber." Sure, he's really strong, which makes him a very good run blocker, but in pass protection he misses a lot of faster DE's, because he lunges at them instead of using solid footwork to mirror them. IMO, there is no way he's a top 10 pick, much less a top 3. That would be a waste. I see him as a mediocre, RT only in the NFL.

I'd have to agree with you on this one. My preference is to make Terron Armstead an offer he can't refuse. Make Little the right tackle (depending on progress) and move Taylor to guard (his natural position).

Aiden Hutchinson or Stingley would be great choices as the first pick if available as Thibodeaux should be unavailable. I'd likely prefer Hutchinson since the cornerback class is very deep next year. Jags could likely find a starter in round 2 (McDuffie/McCreary are possibilities). 

Linebacker and speed receiver would also need to be addressed in draft or free agency.

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