kungfoodude

That is why I don't believe they will win. He is absolutely terrible.

That's a potential guy to look at. I will say that it would have to be at a lower price than we gave up for Burns, probably a 4th or lower. Reason being he hasn't been anywhere near as productive as Burns and 2026 is the last year of his deal. So even if he flashes in 2026(in the ever dangerous contract year), you may end up in a situation having to shell out a much bigger contract to retain him. That said, should be a day 1 starter in 2026 on this roster.

I think the player matters a lot(in regards to price specifically). Parsons will likely end up being worth the price because he is unquestionably elite. Burns obviously hasn't been until this year because he isn't a consistently elite pass rusher. He is too easy to shut down with just a single blocker. Guys like Parsons and Garrett that you have to plan your entire blocking scheme around make everyone on the defense better. Truth be told, that isn't Burns on his current line, it's Dexter Lawrence. But, as you pointed out, situations still matter. Joe Burrow may be a truly elite QB but that doesn't matter a lot when he can't stay healthy or the overall team isn't good. Ask Matt Stafford about that in Detroit. The Panthers aren't in a position to be liquidating the extremely valuable draft picks we have. Our roster is still a bottom 5 overall NFL roster.

I think Cherelus is actually better. Low bar but IMO he is.

I think we are a pretty good ways from being "dominant." I think two more elite players gets is to being above average and borderline top 10-12. Truthfully if we STAY in a 3-4 the way Evero envisions it, we probably need another good starter alongside DB and A. Robinson, we need at LEAST one elite EDGE and probably an upgrade over every single other EDGE on our roster across from him. We need 100% new ILB's of NFL starting caliber or better. Ideally one truly elite guy. We likely need a big upgrade at S across from Moehrig. I think CB is very serviceable. Maybe an upgrade at either #2 CB or nickel(can move Jackson around). That is what it likely takes to be a "dominant" defense(top 5). Again, after really hurting this team for so long by trading draft capital away, it really has to be the right situation and price for me to want to jump into more of that. Doesn't mean that in 4-5 years if this roster keep improving and we are a regular playoff participant I wouldn't change my mind. That's just not the spot I view us in at the moment.

Benjamin and TMac were roughly similar speeds. Benjamin was a 4.61 at the NFL Combine and TMac was about a 4.5-4.6 on most scouts watches at his pro day. Having elite speed is great but having elite playing ability is better. Where are all the Matthew Golden fanbois at? How is that working out? People get wrapped up in the video game guys like Megatron, Randy Moss, DK Metcalf, etc. That's extremely abnormal. Hopkins, Fitz, etc....those guys weren't elite speedsters. I guess that's why they didn't pan ou....oh...right.

IMO, there is no one player that instantly makes that an elite defense and my guess is that with the way his contract is structured, he may need a very, very substantial trade capital offer. If that is the case, I just don't think that's a prudent move for a team that is likely to have upper half of the draft picks and extreme roster needs for at least a couple of more offseasons. The Parsons trade made sense for Green Bay because that is a very complete team that needed someone to elevate them as a team. We are far from that situation. There are very few, if any, non-QB's we can add to this roster and expect big results in terms of overall W's/L's. If he can be had for a reasonable price, I am 1,000,000% in. If it's something that hinders our ability to continue to add cheap talent to the roster, it's a bad idea for where we are in our building phase.

He is under contract through 2029 so this is really nothing like Burns. Our clock had run out and he was going to be due a mega-deal and ASKED for a mega deal. They have an elite guy on a longer term deal with a highish AAV but it will be $25-30 mil/year with almost no money guaranteed. It's a mega low risk, mega high reward so his value in a trade is likely to be substantially higher than Burns at the moment we had to trade him.

I think if you know anything about Pete Carroll he isn't mailing it in. It's just not working there. I agree. They need to start collecting assets like the Jets did while retooling that roster. Some of that already started after they moved Meyers to Jacksonville. Geno is an acceptable QB to take the "rebuild" bullets while they try to get the roster upgraded the next 2-3 offseasons. They also have a ton of cap space next year($105 mil) so they could just opt to go hard in FA.

I don't necessarily think he will be moved, I would currently be leaning against that notion. I think a lot will depend on the coaching situation. Carroll certainly can't be thinking about wanting to go through a serious strip down and overhaul, so the longer he plans to remain, the less likely I think Crosby gets moved.

At this point, it is criminal to go into the 2026 training camp/OTA's with XL penciled in as a #2 WR. The team must upgrade, either through free agency or the draft. If he cannot give 100% effort on significantly less snaps as a #4-6 WR(players like Tremayne have done that consistently) then I don't think you have a player worth rostering beyond the trade deadline. Offensively, we eventually have to upgrade to an NFL starting caliber C. It's been almost the length of time from Gross to Ikey since Kalil retired and we have below average to terrible C play. Love Mays as a BC-esque utility backup but he will never be an above average long term starting C. The TE room is one of the worst in the NFL but it's a low usage position in this offense, so the investments are likely to be small, if any. I would never expect to see an elite TE in a Dave Canales offense. 100% agree on OL depth. We actually aren't bad there but BC will be gone, Mays is a UFA, Corbett is a UFA and Zavala has been both injured and bad. We have to bolster that depth again or resign guys like Mays and Corbett to keep that depth somewhat stable.

Crosby will garner a haul in a trade. I would be reluctant to make that trade because of the following: 1. Our overall roster is awful. We cannot afford to be trading away valuable draft capital. 2. He isn't the best fit(IMO) for the scheme that Evero runs. I love the player but it would really need to be at a reasonable deal and I think he is likely to garner an unreasonable price if he gets traded.

In terms of need, EDGE is currently #1. Our pass rush is near league worst levels. However, I don't subscribe to "need" based drafting. BPA all day. We do need to dramatically upgrade over Scourton, Jones, Wonnum and Umanmielen. That is likely in the running for the NFL's worst two deep. Not saying all those players are bad, but I am saying 100% of those players are 2nd or 3rd stringers.

If you get a chance to upgrade either(or both) EDGE spots, you do so. Doesn't mean Scourton shouldn't get reps, after all we will see plenty of reps from the two deep. We just need to get that front 7 better overall. You hope our young guys keep getting better and eventually become either very good rotational players or elite guys.

ILB's are bad but the EDGE guys are underwhelming too. Upgrades across the board are needed. If Scourton or Umanmielen pan out, fantastic, but it's unwise to assume they will.