O.City believes that late 1st round picks have no value.

And simultaneously that teams can/should trade us superstar players for them.

I don't get him sometimes...

Rubics cube of logic.

That's a lot of contracts due at once. I wonder if we do trade down, do we add some picks next year to sort of spread this out.

They won't all hit.

That's why you use all the picks.

Of the 8 picks in the first 4 rounds, if 4 of those guys earn a 2nd contract, you're in REALLY good shape. And hell, if more of them do, you got 4 years of dirt-cheap production out of them and now have trade assets going into year 4 or at least someone that can help you with comp pick calculations.

It's not something worth worrying about when you have about 1/2 a roster under contract for the coming season.

Why not both?

Or just trade some of the players in the last year of the deal, 3-4 years from now, for more assets. Lots of options.

All the more reason to keep 2 picks in the 1st so we have a couple 5th year options.

If we don’t think Ojabo is a good risk/reward, I’d love to see us get Karlaftis, Cam Thomas AND Sam Williams. That sets this teams pass rush up for the forseable future while replacing what used to be “a dog” in Clark to “a dog” in Williams.

Those 3 in rotation staying fresh would be amazing value.

I don't think they take 3 edge rushers in one draft. That seems a little extreme.

I think it's two and a veteran.

I like Karlaftis a lot, but I don't think he makes it past the Cardinals or one of the Eagles 1st round picks, so if we want him we better be prepared to move up.

I see two and maybe a dart at an RAS freak late

Throw some competition in there to complete the overhaul of this DL

I like Karlaftis but I'm not trading up into the teens for him. I'm not trading into the teens for anybody really...

I could see two early plus an additional one with one of our 7ths.

Yeah this is kind of where I'm at too.

Putting this in here instead of in the first round mock thread...

This was literally the worst game of his career because they wanted him to keep using a speed rush to the outside, which isn't the way he should be used, and you picked it as your end-all-be-all example of him being a terrible player? Don't cherry-pick a bad game. I can cherry-pick a shit show from every favorite on the list sans maybe Hutchinson's 2021 tape. I'm fine with you using it as an example of his weakness, but you should also be talking about his strengths and presenting that tape if you're going here.

Players that can power rush are absolutely the top rushers year-over-year in the NFL, not speed rushers. There are a few speedy standouts, but they are rare commodities. Ideally, you have a guy with power that can bend a bit better but it's hard to get it all in one package.

Do I wish Karlaftis could bend better? Yes. I think he can be taught a few things to help him out. The guys behind him though have much more significant overall issues in their games.

My next guy would be Sam Williams from a talent perspective but he has some power issues at this stage. I love his potential, but he has to get stronger and develop much more of a power rush for the NFL and he has to set the edge against the run much better (like most coming from college).

Cam Thomas is virtually the same guy as Karlaftis. I like him a lot but very much the same issues and less developed hand play.

Ebiketie doesn't really fit a 4-3 very well. I see him as a 3-4 OLB. He's a guy I like a ton but I do worry about his ability to set the edge in the NFL in an even front.

Mafe is kind of in that group of guys without a lot of bend but I think he has more than Karlaftis and Thomas. That said I don't think he comes with the same power. He's a nice player but very, very inconsistent. I don't like his production overall. If you can get him to be consistent he could turn out to be a better pro. I don't like his age but its' not a complete deal-breaker. I'd be fine with him as the pick, but he comes with some significant bust potential in my eyes.

After this group, I think there's a very big drop-off again either in athleticism or development and I'm really not about to talk about them this early.