Lab's annual Mock Offseason

[Labrev]

Free Agency

Extend:
- QB Jordan Love (no brainer)

Departures:
- OT Yosh Nijman
- OG Jon Runyan
- CB Keisean Nixon
- S Darnell Savage
- S Rudy Ford
- RB AJ Dillon
- TE Josiah Deguara
- S Zayne Anderson
- CB Robert Rochelle
- RB Patrick Taylor
- S Christian Uphoff

Cuts:
- LB Devondre Campbell
- OT David Bakhtiari
- T(urnstile) Royce Newman
... this puts us at ~$18m over the cap.

Re-Sign:
- TE Tyler Davis, S Jonathan Owens, LB Eric Wilson ... these three are quality backups and valuable ST contributors.
- P Daniel Whelan... he's our starting P and got good at holding for FGs.
- OT Caleb Jones... let's hope his redshirt years paid off and replaces Nijman as our swing-T.
- WR Bo Melton... a no brainer.

Acquisitions:

Jordan Fuller - FS, LA Rams



Already familiar with our DC; bring him in to be the single-high safety. 2-year mid-starter deal.


Xavier McKinney - SS, NYG



Bring him aboard for the all-purpose safety role. 4-year, quality-starter deal (FA safeties are a bargain).



Draft


Round 1: Jackson Powers-Johnson - IOL, Oregon



A big, dominant C elevates your OL (see: Kelce, Jason). JPJ does not need help against big DTs and will bulldoze the rest.

He will compete for C and RG on Day 1, and gives us our long term C/RG duo between him and the better of Myers or Rhyan.


Round 2: Payton Wilson - LB, NC State



Elite traits and a bona fide Playmaker. Sprinkle him in at LB when we are not in nickel to be an X-factor defender.

Round 2: Mike Sainristil - CB, Michigan



He has been climbing draft boards of late and has thrived as a nickel, which is exactly what we need at CB.


Round 3: Bucky Irving - RB, Oregon



... or Blake Corum, or Trey Benson, take your pick. A dynamic RB in the mold of 33 should be available (the value of which goes without saying).

Round 3: Cole Bishop - S, Utah



A rangy, jack-of-all trades developmental backup behind our two FA signings at S, will man ST units in the interim.


Round 4: Isaiah Adams - T/G, Illinois

College T that profiles to G. If JPJ is our C long-term, we need depth and competition for RG. Rhyan, &%$@ or get off the pot.

Round 5c: Braiden McGregor - DE, Michigan

Traits guy with a good motor and plays the run well, available in 5 because he is not refined/productive as a 'rusher.

For us, a change-of-pace EDGE as Gary and Smith remain starters and LVN takes on a larger role, will compete with Cox.

Round 6: Frank Gore Jr. - RB, Southern Miss.

OK, this pick is just for funzies. Frank Gore's son profiles as the same kind of RB as the old man. Pretty cool! ^^

Round 6c: Dylan McMahon - IOL, NC State

He's short and thus probably a Center-only but has great athleticism, good IQ and lots of savvy. We need a backup C.

Round 7: Curtis Jacobs - LB, LB-U

Explosive athlete, but can't play LB. Have him terrorize opposing return teams and use as a subpackage blitz-LB.

Round 7c: Myles Hardin - CB, South Dakota

A small-school sleeper who has shown the requisite athleticism and has had decent production, worth a flyer.


-- Projected 53 --

QB: Love, Clipboard
RB: Jones, Irving, Wilson
Z: Doubs, Wicks
X: Watson, Health
Y: Reed, Melton
TE: Musgrave, Kraft, Sims, Davis
LT: Walker, Jones
LG: Jenkins, Rhyan
C: Myers, McMahon
RG: Powers-Johnson, Adams
RT: Tom, Tenuta
=25

DE: Gary, LVN
NG: Clark, Slaton
DT: Wyatt, Brooks, Wooden
DE: Smith, Cox, *McGregor
MLB: McDuffie, E. Wilson,
OLB: Walker, *P. Wilson
CB: Jaw, Balentine, *Hardin
CB: Valentine, Stokes, *Sainristill
SS: McKinney, Owens
FS: Fuller, AJJ, Bishop
=25
+3 ST = 53.

[Papa John]

I like the idea of going all out to address the Safety position. I would consider giving the LB position more attention. Other than that, I can't think of any complaints that I'd have about this draft.

[Trudge]

I'm just not sure what we do with Stokes. Him and Valentine on the outside with Jaire playing 3rd string / nickel? Where do we put the guy who we drafted to play nickel? Dime? What about Balentine? Came on late in the year in the dime. Maybe cut him with injury settlement?

[lupedafiasco]

Really good mock. I also think we bring Fuller in. Just familiarity and seems like a lot of players love playing for Hafley. I can see a one year deal in hopes to get back to his pre draft stock form.

Would love McKinney but not sure we can afford him.

Love JPJ. I think he could come in and start guard or center and solidify the interior for us. Im not a huge fan of the day 2 picks. I dont like Wilson much and Sainristil is a midget. I love Bucky Irving and think hes going to be a really good back. Very similar to Aaron Jones. I also really like Cole Bishop and as you described can do everything. Hes going to be a good player I think with a high floor/low ceiling. Really like Frank Gore Jr myself quite a bit. Not even just for the name. I actually think hes going to be good.

[Labrev]

I like the idea of going all out to address the Safety position. I would consider giving the LB position more attention. Other than that, I can't think of any complaints that I'd have about this draft.

Yup, and nice to not have to put all our chips on a weak Safety draft class.

4-2 Nickel is the base D for everyone now. I like McDuffie and Walker as our starting LBs, and both seem to stay pretty healthy. If they go down, we have a talented rookie and passable vet behind them, even Jon Owens can get us out of a game in an emergency.

Beyond that, you would have to promote from the PS or poach another, as you do at any position that gets decimated with injury.

I'm just not sure what we do with Stokes. Him and Valentine on the outside with Jaire playing 3rd string / nickel? Where do we put the guy who we drafted to play nickel? Dime? What about Balentine? Came on late in the year in the dime. Maybe cut him with injury settlement?

Oh I am totally counting Stokes out until I see him stay healthy and play well. No way I pick up his option.

He is CB5 this year, then maybe I bring him back on a "prove it" deal next year if he was decent this year.

I'd put the rookie in the nickel. Or Jaire on occasion. Valentine has on limited snaps graded out well there, too.

[BF004]

We are putting way too much emphasis on, we have this many good players at this position, we don't need to add to it.


Not a position we don't need a better player at, even QB, WR, or P or LS if they are there.

Clipboard is a nothing yet, and maybe he even looks worse, but you get a top 50 guy on your board floating around the 4th or 5th round, by all means.

Having Watson, Doubs, Wicks, Reed and Melton is a silly reason not to add a WR. We frequently keep 6, Bo Melton was fine, but not stopping me from drafting anyone. Odds of 1 of those not being healthy starting week 1 is surely pretty high. I am not worried about having too many good receivers and they won't be able to get the ball enough. Great problem to have.

[Backthepack4ever]

I can dig this all 3 days.

Double dipping at safety bc they are cheap is the way to go.

Big fan of Wilson esp going to a new d. He is long rangy and was good against the pass and rushing the.passer. A sure tackler. Plus athlete and his work ethic is top notch (I know his HS coach)

Other positions hit needs. I know nothing about the safety. If he can play teams what the heck. Would rather keep Nixon around and try at back up safety.

Nice work

[Scott4Pack]

Double dipping at safety bc they are cheap is the way to go.

At a time when Safeties are available in abundance and we have the need at that position, go and get three of them for sure. Decide how many picks or FAs you want and fill the need. Isn't that a no-brainer? In the process, increase competition at the spot and gain at least one guy who is very young that has a very high ceiling.

[lupedafiasco]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

[MY_TAKE]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

Terrible take. You know better than that. One has nothing to do with the other. Also, the only position that appears to me that we have absolutely no use for drafting is TE and (starting QB)

Reaching for a player because of position of need is how you end up with busts.

[lupedafiasco]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

Terrible take. You know better than that. One has nothing to do with the other. Also, the only position that appears to me that we have absolutely no use for drafting is TE and (starting QB)

Reaching for a player because of position of need is how you end up with busts.

No one is saying to reach on a position of need. I’ve stated this in another thread. We have a pretty extensive list of needs along the starting lineup and for depth. Help those positions.

[Labrev]

We are putting way too much emphasis on, we have this many good players at this position, we don't need to add to it.


Not a position we don't need a better player at, even QB, WR, or P or LS if they are there.

Clipboard is a nothing yet, and maybe he even looks worse, but you get a top 50 guy on your board floating around the 4th or 5th round, by all means.

Well, the fact that you yourself did not draft this Top-50 guy before Rounds 4-5 (126-166 range), when you could have picked them outside of the Top 50 with our second Round 2 pick or either Round 3 picks.... makes the opposing side's point for them.

[NCF]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

It's also how you end up with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

[Yoop]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

It's also how you end up with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

now people want to take WR's, so confusing

[Labrev]

Jordy you could justify because James Jones was more of a solid possession receiver than a true star wideout. There was room for a homerun hitter WR like Nelson.

Cobb was a luxury pick. We had few needs so it was one we could afford to make, but it did probably cut short Jennings's time here in GB while he still probably had a handful of high-end production seasons in the tank.

We got some real nice play out of Cobb on his rookie contract, definitely not a bad pick or a waste. 'Came up short of our goal, though.

[lupedafiasco]

Jordy you could justify because James Jones was more of a solid possession receiver than a true star wideout. There was room for a homerun hitter WR like Nelson.

Cobb was a luxury pick. We had few needs so it was one we could afford to make, but it did probably cut short Jennings's time here in GB while he still probably had a handful of high-end production seasons in the tank.

We got some real nice play out of Cobb on his rookie contract, definitely not a bad pick or a waste. 'Came up short of our goal, though.

When we took Jordy we werent as deep at WR as we are now. We had Jennings, Driver, and Jones and Driver was already old. As you said when we took Cobb we could legitimately take whatever we wanted and even then he filled in the return role that we didnt have. People forget how bad we were at returners during that SB run.

[Yoop]

Ted new his WR's, most here liked the Cobb pick, the slide out of 1 and still getting Nelson was master craft GM work too, Jennings got it going in his first draft class, Adams a few years later.

Gutekunst went to complete over haul in 2 drafts, looks to have picked well, possibly several blue chippers, same with TE, having both Musgrave and Kraft on the field together will be a mis match for most defenses

Injuries are always a concern though, not having what we expected Watson to deliver limited our production, as good as we all think Melton can be, he's not as athletic, Reed and Wicks seem very talented, ALL at 100%, I agree, are there enough snaps to go around, thing is to often ALL are not 100%.

more and more I think we'll take a OL in the first, safety and lber round 2 and RB round 3, these guesses are good till tomorrow

[MY_TAKE]

Taking a player at a position you absolutely have no use for is how you end up with Bustin Harrell.

It's also how you end up with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

now people want to take WR's, so confusing

I think I disagreed with the premise of drafting a player of perceived lesser or no need is how you end up with busts. Busts are just Busts.

[Labrev]

Sounds like some have Mike Sainristil measured at 5'9, in which case, you can take him off GB's board.

The more I think about it, the more I like Payton Wilson for us. Yeah he has durability issues, but we are not relying on him being an every-down starter in our defense, but to use him as more of a chess piece defender.

He is good enough in coverage that you can honestly just line him up in the slot over big WRs and TEs.

[Yoop]

It's also how you end up with Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

now people want to take WR's, so confusing

I think I disagreed with the premise of drafting a player of perceived lesser or no need is how you end up with busts. Busts are just Busts.

I agree, bust are busts, whether you reach or not, the whole dang draft is a crap shoot, less then 30% (guess) ever see a 2nd contract, it's staggeringly unsuccessful albeit as fair to each team as it possibly can be, or so it seems anyway.

imo once you get into the 20's, bottom 3rd of first round, the draft value on your board broadens, just like the remaining rounds, a GM probably has a half doz. players with near exact value to choose from, a position of high priority will be available, and of course it's possible that a blue chipper fell, and is impossible in that GM's mind to pass on, and often it takes me by complete surprise, Justin Harrel was just such a pick, and Teddy paid the price for that gamble, imo GM's do that kind of stuff for DT's every year, it's a supply and demand issue, the good ones are so few. jmo