I'd personally take Sauce Gardner at 1, but I do think Walker would be a bad choice based on stats but I haven't personally watched his stuff so it could be misleading, idk.

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I'd personally take Sauce Gardner at 1, but I do think Walker would be a bad choice based on stats but I haven't personally watched his stuff so it could be misleading, idk.

It's not misleading. Big Bulldogs fan here. I am telling you. Go back and look at what they did all year last year on defense. It all started with Jordan Davis. Walker is a good player, however, I don't know if he's going to be the leading guy in the NFL. The numbers that they keep digging up on him just continue to bury him down the big board for me personally. 

Good to see Ebikete up there. That's promising. I like that kid. Said it earlier this year after watching some highlights out of Penn State that he honestly reminded me a lot of Yannick Ngakoue. Similar build. Similar moves. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if he's there at 33 and they like him enough to pull the trigger on him. 

Josh Paschal is another solid player out of Kentucky to keep an eye on as well. He can line up in a variety locations on the line and cause some problems if you don't keep an eye on him on the field. Again, another solid option at 65 or 70. 

Just depends on whether or not they get a trade down or decide to draft a player like Jordan Davis or Ahmad Gardner instead.

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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."

When I look at prospect comparison, to me Hutch is no Bosa or Myles Garrett but I'd put him about the same grade as Josh Allen or Bradley Chubb. Gardner is a better prospect and player than Horn and Surtain was imo and both went top 10 last year

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Nick Bosa>>Joey Bosa also imo

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Hutch and Walker likely don’t even go top 10 in last years class but will likely be the first 2 in this one.

Kinda crazy.

You have to look at the situation though. You had 3 QB's last season that were considered top prospects, unlike this season, (even though I really don't think Trey Lance is any better than any of the QB's in this year's draft.) That's three spots in the top 10 already filled. Kyle Pitts looked like a generational talent at TE. We may not see another TE of his skill level in the next 10-20 years. There is another spot filled. Ja'Marr Chase had all the traits of a star WR and the last year that he played college football, he put up record breaking receiving numbers for LSU, as did DeVonta Smith for Alabama. Everyone knew Chase was gonna be a star, if he was paired with a competent QB and he set those records with Joe Burrow as his QB. The QB of his future team, the Bengals. Jaylen Waddle was a big play WR just sitting there for the Dolphins, who had no playmakers on their team and Waddle's former college QB was now the Dolphins starting QB. You couldn't pick two better fits for those particular teams. It was just a perfect match. There is 6 spots gone in the top 10. Penei Sewell, is far and away better than any OT in this year's draft. It's not even close. Elite OT's always go high and Sewell deserved being taken as high as he did. Seven spots down. Now we get into the teams with defensive needs, Carolina and Denver. The Problem was that neither needed edge rushers. They needed CB help, so no matter how good of an edge rusher was on the board, they wouldn't take one. There's 9 spots down. The Philadelphia Eagles at #10 is where I think Aiden Hutchinson might have had a shot at being taken. They went WR there with DeVonta Smith, but they could've used an edge rusher as well. It basically would've been a coin flip, IMO. 

With that said, that draft was absolutely loaded with offensive talent and that side of the ball dominated the top 10 picks. It was also very weak at edge rusher and despite Hutchinson being a borderline top 10 pick, had he been in that draft, he would've definitely been the top edge rusher in that class. If we had a viable QB going into that draft and if Aiden Hutchinson were available, we probably would pass on him too, in favor of Chase or Sewell. Everything that happened in that draft was based on circumstance. It's not that Hutchinson wasn't good enough to go in the top 10 of that draft, he was. It was just a mixture of available QB's with high rankings, truly elite offensive players (some with ties to certain teams) and other teams not having a need for an edge rusher that could've kept him from being a top 10 player in that draft. In like 95% of normal drafts, a player like Hutchinson would always go top 10. Last year was not a normal draft.

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Hutch and Walker likely don’t even go top 10 in last years class but will likely be the first 2 in this one.

Kinda crazy.

You have to look at the situation though. You had 3 QB's last season that were considered top prospects, unlike this season, (even though I really don't think Trey Lance is any better than any of the QB's in this year's draft.) That's three spots in the top 10 already filled. Kyle Pitts looked like a generational talent at TE. We may not see another TE of his skill level in the next 10-20 years. There is another spot filled. Ja'Marr Chase had all the traits of a star WR and the last year that he played college football, he put up record breaking receiving numbers for LSU, as did DeVonta Smith for Alabama. Everyone knew Chase was gonna be a star, if he was paired with a competent QB and he set those records with Joe Burrow as his QB. The QB of his future team, the Bengals. Jaylen Waddle was a big play WR just sitting there for the Dolphins, who had no playmakers on their team and Waddle's former college QB was now the Dolphins starting QB. You couldn't pick two better fits for those particular teams. It was just a perfect match. There is 6 spots gone in the top 10. Penei Sewell, is far and away better than any OT in this year's draft. It's not even close. Elite OT's always go high and Sewell deserved being taken as high as he did. Seven spots down. Now we get into the teams with defensive needs, Carolina and Denver. The Problem was that neither needed edge rushers. They needed CB help, so no matter how good of an edge rusher was on the board, they wouldn't take one. There's 9 spots down. The Philadelphia Eagles at #10 is where I think Aiden Hutchinson might have had a shot at being taken. They went WR there with DeVonta Smith, but they could've used an edge rusher as well. It basically would've been a coin flip, IMO. 

With that said, that draft was absolutely loaded with offensive talent and that side of the ball dominated the top 10 picks. It was also very weak at edge rusher and despite Hutchinson being a borderline top 10 pick, had he been in that draft, he would've definitely been the top edge rusher in that class. If we had a viable QB going into that draft and if Aiden Hutchinson were available, we probably would pass on him too, in favor of Chase or Sewell. Everything that happened in that draft was based on circumstance. It's not that Hutchinson wasn't good enough to go in the top 10 of that draft, he was. It was just a mixture of available QB's with high rankings, truly elite offensive players (some with ties to certain teams) and other teams not having a need for an edge rusher that could've kept him from being a top 10 player in that draft. In like 95% of normal drafts, a player like Hutchinson would always go top 10. Last year was not a normal draft.

Agreed, you can't really compare this class to last year's.  That's was one of the best classes of all time.  You had the QBs, a TE that set the TE record, a WR that set the yards record for a rookie, a WR that set the catch record, one of the best tackle prospects in recent memory who actually got a vote for the Heisman, and Smith is one of the best college WRs ever imo.  I think that will be one of the best classes of All time when it's all said and done

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If the Bengals took Smith I think he would of set the record.

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Why nobody can see the athleticism advantage that Walker has over Hutchinson is beyond me. He is clearly the better athlete/build/high-upside guy. Hutchinson gets handled by good tackles regularly. Go watch tape of the Georgia/Michigan game and you can see what short arms can do for a DE. The short arm thing is a Real disadvantage, initial punch is a good predictor of win rate in the NFL. Time will tell but I personally like Walker more as a prospect. Just my 2 cents....

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Why nobody can see the athleticism advantage that Walker has over Hutchinson is beyond me. He is clearly the better athlete/build/high-upside guy. Hutchinson gets handled by good tackles regularly. Go watch tape of the Georgia/Michigan game and you can see what short arms can do for a DE. The short arm thing is a Real disadvantage, initial punch is a good predictor of win rate in the NFL. Time will tell but I personally like Walker more as a prospect. Just my 2 cents....

Ok now go watch Hutch vs Ohio State.

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Been watching some stuff on Hutch/Walker/Gardner/Thibbs last day or two.. I can't say for sure because I haven't watched enough but to me right now if I was the GM.

I'd take Gardner. I am not sold on the pass rushers at all. Not to say they wont be any good, just don't see #1 pick worthy on anyone but Gardner. I know taking a DB #1 isn't something that will likely happen but I do think it would be the best choice from the group of players I've looked into personally. Like I said yesterday to me Gardner is the 2022 version of Kyle Pitts, in terms of he's probably the best overall player in the draft but maybe not at a position you'd normally consider at 1.

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Apparently it's not just Baalke among GMs who like Walker.

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-d...nd-others/

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Why nobody can see the athleticism advantage that Walker has over Hutchinson is beyond me. He is clearly the better athlete/build/high-upside guy. Hutchinson gets handled by good tackles regularly. Go watch tape of the Georgia/Michigan game and you can see what short arms can do for a DE. The short arm thing is a Real disadvantage, initial punch is a good predictor of win rate in the NFL. Time will tell but I personally like Walker more as a prospect. Just my 2 cents....

Ok now go watch Hutch vs Ohio State.

Couple things.  Ohio State tended to run the ball the opposite side from Hutch most of the game which is a credit to him I presume.

That said, the first two sacks weren’t so much him in my opinion.  Bad blocking on the first one.  Coverage sack on the 2nd one.  Third one was him making a good move and beating his man one on one.  I don’t see a dominant performance here though.  Ohio State o-line play looked pedestrian to me and didn’t see Hutch much outside of the 3 sacks, 2 of which I wasn’t all that impressed by.

This game doesn’t change my opinion of him.  I don’t see him as a perennial 12+ sack a year guy in the pros.  I feel like I should be excited about a #1 overall selection and I’m just not with him or any of the DE’s.  I need to watch some Sauce.  Maybe I’ll get excited about him.

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Walker all the way to +150 in the betting lines.

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If the Jags end up taking Hutch, Thibs, or Walker - I'll be very interested to hear from Campbell on the player they end up with.

I have taken only a brief look at cut-ups from each player, but I see three distinctly different players.

Assuming Baalke will accept direction from his coaching staff on a pass rusher selection (I know, I know) then such a choice could really just come down to Campbell's intended scheme and which guy he sees as not just a fit, but also not redundant to what he has in place.

My chief concern among the three is Hutcinson's tendency to play so upright. All three have their merits and each could aid our defensive front. I just hope that Campbell gets the one he prefers if pass rusher the #1 or early trade down pick.

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A lot of talk about the "safe" pick. Just a reminder of the odds.

Draft success rate
1st Round - OL (83%) LB (70%) TE (67%) DB (64%) QB (63%) WR (58%) RB (58%) DL (58%)

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A new broom always sweeps clean.

Why nobody can see the athleticism advantage that Walker has over Hutchinson is beyond me. He is clearly the better athlete/build/high-upside guy. Hutchinson gets handled by good tackles regularly. Go watch tape of the Georgia/Michigan game and you can see what short arms can do for a DE. The short arm thing is a Real disadvantage, initial punch is a good predictor of win rate in the NFL. Time will tell but I personally like Walker more as a prospect. Just my 2 cents....

I can't even really be any more disappointed than I have been if they take Walker at #1. It's such a gamble for a team that needs safer picks.

For me it's either Hutch or Sauce. That's it.

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Having watched some Sauce today, I'd be happy with him. I think I'm finding myself in the OT or Sauce camp if we are forced to stay at 1. And I realize it's probably going to be Hutch or Walker.

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This is a really tough year to have to pick number 1. I still feel like Hutch would be a great culture fit and leader for the D long-term. Walker’s lack of sacks concerns me. While it’s true he had a great team around him, shouldn’t that have made it easier, since the o-line of opposing teams had to account for so many other top tier players? However, if Sauce is the clear best player, I’m okay going a different direction. I don’t know enough about his game to say, but I would rather go BAP than overdraft a specific position of value.

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Sorry, but it's extremely unconstructive to bother talking about taking Sauce #1.

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Sorry, but it's extremely unconstructive to bother talking about taking Sauce #1.

Sorry, but none of our draft banter is "constructive." 

Zero harm in including a prospect likely sitting near the top of 32 NFL big boards in our meaningless discussion.

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This is a really tough year to have to pick number 1. I still feel like Hutch would be a great culture fit and leader for the D long-term. Walker’s lack of sacks concerns me. While it’s true he had a great team around him, shouldn’t that have made it easier, since the o-line of opposing teams had to account for so many other top tier players? However, if Sauce is the clear best player, I’m okay going a different direction. I don’t know enough about his game to say, but I would rather go BAP than overdraft a specific position of value.

I watched some general highlights of Sauce and then the entirety of his snaps in the Notre Dame game.  I would say the pick he had in that game was more error on the part of the QB than effort by Sauce, but that said, he was in position to make the play and made it.  Also, they only really threw at his guy twice in the game.  First time he ran into a pick on a crosser and the receiver caught the ball and was immediately drilled by another defender.  He wasn't able to contest the pass himself because of the pick.  The second time, his guy was running a post and Sauce was with him the whole way and defended it well.  Not sure if he got a hand on the ball or not, but dude was on his guy like a glove.  So Notre Dame basically threw away from Sauce the entire game with the exception of 3 passes.  3 out of 46 pass attempts. That's respect.

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