Khyber53

I think it's a good move for a couple off reasons. Punting was an area we had no worries with last season. The guy could put the ball right where it needed to be and he was excellent at getting them inside the 20, 15, 10, 5... whatever we needed. But the other factor is his relationship with our young kicker. He wasn't just the punter, but also the holder on field goal attempts and his veteran skills there may have helped turn out UDFA into a kid that is going to be fantastic for us in the coming years. Plus, man, I'm always going to be in favor of App State players.

My only thinking is that perhaps there's a reason New Orleans let him go. I don't know of one, but we've bought a lame horse a time or two. Also, I like getting younger and cheaper on the o-line. We need a good program for continually growing that line. Center is an excellent place to start, especially if you choose ones that can play guard, too. We've got a lot invested in our guards right now, but they can and do end up injured. But hey, if Fortner proves to be the guy, then alrighty!

^This. Rico was dynamite when we needed it last season, but not enough to keep but it massively upped his earning potential. It was a win-win for both sides. And he was there to cover the hole left by the injury to another RB, and hopefully his release to free agency means there's good news for us on the way. These new ones give us the opportunity to do that again, on the offensive line and elsewhere. We've got some long term question marks here and there due to injuries and age, and these players have a chance to up their value on the open market or settle down with us if the opportunity arises. And none of it ties us down with dead money down the road if it doesn't work out. And we've been in dead money hell for a decade now. Lease the ones you like, buy if you fall in love.

Guys built like that can do some major damage in a game. Want to get better in the trenches? Call out the big back brigade.

So far, on paper, he's doing great work. If it plays out on the field like that, we're going to do great.

I agree with you on the pick of Thienemen in the first. I think he will still be there and he's a smart, fast and sturdy player. He's who we need back there. In the second, I like Rodriguez over Golday. I agree that off the ball linebackers are desperately needed here, even with our great FA pick up. I think with our third pick, we're going to dip into OT territory instead of the D-line. While I agree that we need another disruptor at the point of attack that is stout enough to just stonewall a center and a guard at the same time, we've got a shaky and expensive O-line at the present that is just about to age out of the game. I think we snag Blake Miller out of Clemson here and give him a year behind Moton to learn and put some weight and strength on. He can also jump right in and play right guard at any time. Also, and this might sound crazy, but anyone who has put up with multiple seasons at Clemson will be able to take the heat and humidity of training camp at the start of the season and early games against the NFCSouth. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. We do need that QB for competition and realistically to study for back-up. Luke Altmyer out of Illinois seems to fit the mold of the point guard type QB that they want from Bryce. That'd make an apples to apples situation that could make coaching and game planning easy. On the other hand North Dakota State's Cole Payton could be an intriguing choice as well as a big dual threat guy. Both could be there for our fourth pick or both could be gone. Will QBs continue to slide this season like last? Who knows?

Good luck to him! He certainly made the most of his opportunity here and I hope he gets to back the big truck up to the bank another time with the Cowboys as well.

There's been a lot of moves that make me give them that raised eyebrows nod of hmmm, looks good. I hope it works out on the field like it is on paper. Picking up that OT at a reasonable price was unexpected!

Well sh!t. Sucks for us, but best of luck to him and his future endeavors. Thanks for being out there for us, man!

I think we hired this guy to figure out the New Orleans offense and what made it work so well against us. Also, I think we will draft a C later in the draft and this guy is either depth (which we didn't really have at the position) or is a learning curve guy as the draftee gets up to pro speed or needs time to season and put on some muscle. That makes me think we're looking at a smaller school center in the mid rounds. But what do I know?

I've been pounding on the table for years for us to grab a smart center in the draft. Hopefully we will this season, but this year, not in the first. Right now I think if one of the top two OTs is available at 19, you have to go for it considering Icky and Moton's issues. If those guys aren't there, you leapfrog and take Rodriguez in the first round and grab one of the remaining better OTs in the second.

Grab him in the first, get that extra year of contract possibility out of him and set things in stone. Mills, Morgan, Beason, Kuechly. Continue the tradition.

Anything that takes a bit of the turd sheen off of the day to day life anymore has to cost more money. fug it.

I've been wondering this myself. That's a lot of cheddar out there for two players so far. And Pickett now, too (although that's a drop in the bucket comparatively). It will take a lot of restructuring to get this done. Maybe there's enough desire for people on the team to stay that this is going to be a possibility. There's a good vibe happening now. But sometimes the ground vibrates right before a cave-in.

This ^. It's a back-up QB position filling. It's a bit of improvement at QB2 and it was something that was becoming obvious. Thanks to Andy for putting in the miles here, but it's been a long career and the days were getting shorter.