45catfan

Evero was the backup guy.

If it's there, yes, but don't force it. I'm liking Lomu out of Utah, but his stock keeps rising and I fear he's going to climb up boards beyond #19.

Yes, for one season only. If the Browns can assemble a roster with Watson's ball and chain salary, Bryce's 1-year on the option is chump change. The cap is set to go up nearly $20M this season. The option gives him a pay raise of about $15M or about 4% more in cap usage, again, for one season. I get it, most of us would rather have Uncle Rico QB-ing this team over Bryce. Being emotionally reckless to spite Bryce is not in our best interest. Unless Tepper steps in and mandates an extension for Bryce, it's HIGHLY probable that this coming season is his last as our starting QB. I just don't want to become the new version of the Steelers that ship off/cut their QBs without a backup plan in place.

For the sake of this team's greater outlook beyond next season, I hope you are right. I see the defense taking another step forward and STs are solid. Maybe a shaky OL, but cobbled together units don't always suck. This roster is getting better...slowly, so I think 5 wins is pretty unrealistic. The 7 win mark is more likely and with a couple lucky breaks could eclipse that by a game or two.

And the rest of the team? Yes, QB play is important, but it isn't everything. I doubt we will have a top 10 pick to get a sure-fire franchise QB. Think big picture. While the '27 QB class is supposed to be deep, I'm not sure that if we sneak into the playoffs again with like a 9-8 record that even a deep QB class will have a guy around pick 20.

He'll do well enough to keep us in the back half of the draft in round 1 for '27 and that's my biggest fear.

Do you agree the team is all in on Bryce this coming season? I'm not talking about token competition, unless you think the front office will bring in a serious competitor that could unseat Bryce. That's not happening. Working under that assumption that Bryce is going to be the unquestioned starter next fall, that leaves him working essentially on a one-year deal for '27 unless we are stupid enough to give him an extension. We can look for a new QB in FA and/or the draft without having reach, settle, make a rash decision. If all else fails, we still have Bryce to QB us that season. If we find his replacement, GREAT! He can be a backup, traded or cut. Even as a Bryce doubter, I would rather have him as the backup plan than not have the 5th year option and have no starting QB going into '27 if the FA QB market sucks or we somehow we can't draft our new franchise QB.

It buys us time (if needed), that's all. An extension makes no sense. We are not moving on from Bryce for the '26 season, everyone knows that. The 5th year option gives us some flexibility for '27 for a crazy scenario for not being able to find his replacement. He's the fallback plan if everything else fails, period.

Kmet for XL straight up. We need a proven TE and I don't want us reaching this draft. If we take a day 3 flyer again, okay, but not on day 1 or day 2. Much bigger needs with those three picks over a TE. Also, we need production now, not production in a year or two. Hey, this worked out well for us once before. "Carolina hasn't gotten a season of at least 400 receiving yards out of one of their tight ends since 2019. (Yeah, when Greg Olsen was still around.)" https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/panthers/2026/01/31/nfl-trade-rumors-panthers-bears-cole-kmet/88446124007/

A lot of mocks are zeroing in on us taking Woods or McDonald. I don't love either of those guys. At this point, Styles does not make past #15 with Dallas the most common landing spot. The Saints are the favorites to land Bailey. The top tier OTs are always gone, with Lomu creeping up on some mocks. He may make it to a top 20 prospect. I am really leaning to a move back. If mocks are stating that Woods and McDonald are the best fit on the board for us at #19, we could move back several spots and land someone just as good, if not possibly one of those guys anyways.

Smaller? They are basically the same size.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Caleb-Lomu-OL-Utah Lomu is about 305 taken the average weights I've seen him listed at. He probably needs to get to about 315. I'm not worried about his age; more mature in my book. This whole thing about being a year or two older than the average draftee matters none to me. His pass blocking is top notch. That's what you want from your blindside tackle. Run blocking can be refined more easily than vise-versa. Pass protection has a lot more nuances and technique to get correct to be efficient over run blocking. My thought is if Ickey can make it back, great, but I'm not betting the future of the team on it since LT is arguably the second most important position on a football team besides QB. Also, I want to draft our LT this year to get a season under his belt so he can protect our rookie QB in '27.

Young LT with lots of upside, wirey Edge guy, proven center, feisty corner, stout IDL, ball-hawking safety, sideline-to-sideline LB, productive all-purpose RB, off-ball tackling machine LB and slot WR that's a mismatch threat. I'd be elated with that draft!

He's got the frame to add weight. It's easier to get a guy to add 10-15 pounds than tell a big guy to go on a diet.

Chef's kiss! Hey Dan, Give me a call. I can walk you through this, lol!