Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Meck
In a draft deep in quality DL and RB, I don't think that is a fair comparison.
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On being disingenuous, maybe a tad. I just feel like this board was all up in arms, "fix LT, fix LT," and then we signed a career backup to take some of the edge off, and now everyone assumes it's just "fixed." I championed that signing, but I'm not going to crown it "the solution." I feel that LT remains a huge unknown, and now everyone says, "Hold on, let's not fix it unless a guy falls." Hmm. That doesn't happen. There is a gauntlet of teams in need of OL help from 23 onward. Green Bay can get by with Rasheed Walker but they want to improve there. Houston is not going to leave this draft without a future LT. The Rams will be in the market for a RT of the future with Havenstein at 33 and in the final year of his deal. There are teams at the top of round 2 that could trade ahead of us for OTs if they don't go that route early in round 1. Cleveland and New England both need LTs. The Raiders could get an R,T and the Bears want competition at LT.
On the draft rankings component, one of my arguments related to this has been against precisely what you're saying here, but it's not you or anyone on this board specifically that makes me question things. It's the media guys. Throughout this offseason, they have continued to lower the values of the OTs because of how good the DT class is. They want to keep pushing DT guys up and then push others down, and the OT class has been the one that has seen the bulk of it. A lot of guys like Jeremiah started with Conerly as the #13 overall prospect and top OL. Now, is that the correct slotting? Maybe not, but he's not the 31st best prospect.
I've pointed out that this class of OL is very "normal," all things considered. Recency bias is injected into things, and last year's offensive line class was extremely deep and talented. As time has gone on, talking heads keep sliding offensive linemen down the board, nitpicking anything they can. Banks and Conerly are really good prospects that keep getting slammed for minor things. I feel like that's not likely to match reality, and some people are going to be surprised on draft day.
I feel like a position that has gained value for media guys is CB. There aren't that many round 1 caliber CBs, but a couple of guys ran fast fast at the combine and are shooting up from a round 3 grade to a round 1 grade. I don't think that'll happen. You tend to notice 4.2 speed on tape. It's not a revelation of an unknown. I think it's just wanting more talent to be there than there is.
Also, the league, as a rule, doesn't value DT in Round 1. They have to be pretty special to end up in Round 1. There are probably 4 that could go round 1 this year. This draft maps out eerily similar to 2023 to me.
2023
QB - 3
RB - 2
TE - 1
WR - 4
LT - 4 (one drafted as LT moved to OG)
RT - 1
ER - 7
DT - 4
LB - 1
CB - 4
What we likely see in 2025
QB - 2 or 3
RB - 2
TE - 2
WR - 4
LT - 3
RT - 1
OG - 1
ER - 7
DT - 4
LB - 1
CB - 3 or 4
S - 1 or 2
I just don't see a route that makes sense if you're in the "wait and see" crowd. If you say wait, you're basically saying I'd rather have a defensive lineman. That's fine, but I'd like to hear who you're thinking if that's the case.