45catfan

Upgrade at returner.

Just got home from work. I see Jensen and D. Wright made it. Two guys I thought may make the initial 53. Erving got cut too, which I thought was a possibility. Kinda shocked Jones got cut along with both STO and Taylor...figured one of two would stick. Bubble guys Shi Smith, Brandon Smith and McCray all got the axe. The biggest surprise to me is the number of TEs that were kept, especially Sullivan. Ricci was a bubble guy, so no huge shock, but how in the heck did Sullivan make it? Congrats to Sullivan, Lee, Ray, Thurman, Wooten, Jensen and Wright on beating the odds.

When I was looking at RB depth, he was one of the names that jumped out. Not gonna lie, if Sanders gets bitten by the injury bug, we could be in for a long year. It's a catch 22, while the RB market has dried up in value, try operating an offense without a true RB1 unless you have a Mahommes, Burrow or Allen all-star QB1 in place. Bryce isn't there yet.

That gives Fitts more time to work some magic on the phone.

Dude looks like a body builder. Being too bulky can actually impede agility though. He got hurt early last season, so his stats were meh...but two seasons ago he put up some decent numbers.

During preseason. Shenault or Shi Smith could take over those duties. He's okay, but the whole idea is to upgrade if and when you can.

I'd take a flyer on Kuntz. He was my mid-round targets in the draft. Coming off a knee injury last season, he's probably still not 100%. But 'stash' him as the #3 and give him time to learn he pro game and completely heal up, dude has some serious potential.

Blackshear is easily stashed on the PS. I was thinking of bumping Chuba to #3 personally.

I think we could upgrade at RB behind Sanders. I've never been a fan of Chuba and Blackshear & Brown are serious JAGs. Seeing some potential out there, but rather wait until all the cuts come through.

Any player(s) y'all think Fitts is trying to deal? Doesn't have to be a big name and not necessarily for a boat load of compensation. Examples being Corral, Shi Smith, Tremble, McCray, YGM or Henderson. All bubble-type players. Better to get a 6th or 7th rounder than to cut them outright and get zilch. Thoughts?

WR Wright. I should have specified since we had more that one. This is only due to injuries if he does. If all the dinged up WRs are slated to be good to go by week 1, he's a goner too.

Any potential surprises, either cuts or makes? I wouldn't be shocked if Erving, YGM, Taylor, Stallworth, Franklin or Shi Smith are cut. I think Wright, Jensen, Rowe and Ray may make the roster...initially.

So we have a 290 and 305 pound NT? Great.....

But those guys started. YGM will be in spot duty *knocks on wood* unless Houston and Burns struggles to stay healthy. Haynes, once fully ready, will probably be the #3 guy. Barno has too much speed not to give him snaps. We draft Johnson too. YGM is going to have a hard time getting enough snaps to have a "break out year" as a Panther.

Better than Corral, yes. Better than Dalton? No. Grier would not put those numbers up in a regular season game. Remember, their offense made Cooper Rush look like a viable NFL starter during regular season games. I don't like the Cowboys, but their offense is QB stout.

Clemson players by and large struggle in the NFL or at the very least rarely live up to their draft status. A few have produced, but the slew of underwhelming or complete disappointments far exceed those hyped players considering how many Tigers that have been drafted over the past decade in the Dabo era. I was on the Chinn train that pre-draft spring and caught serious heat for hyping the unknown small school mid-west kid over the local Clemson star. I'd said it then and I say it now, it's easier for a 4/5 star kid to show out on a team loaded with other 4/5 star players compared to a 3 star player on a team almost void of 4/5 star talent on the entire squad. If that's the case, and the 3 star is player making all sorts of plays on a pedestrian team, he's the one that should grab your attention.

As a backup/rotational type? I doubt it.

The last CB spot goes to the winner of STO and Taylor. We don't keep both. Henderson is a lock, I think and as long as he's not a starter due to an injury, I'm okay with that. For what he is, a back up in spot duty role, is fine.

NT's are hard to find. Watch McCall ball out in New England. I have a hard time believing our 300 pound DTs masquerading as NTs will fair very well against 320-300 pound guards.

It seems odd that we may not end up 'needing' a traditional NT, but they sure did give it a look, didn't they? Adjusting the scheme to the personnel at this point, I bet. Was it we didn't need a hoss at NT all along or we couldn't find one worth keeping and are scheming accordingly? I think it was the later.

I know he was undrafted, but so is the dude that's supposedly taking his spot. I hope our 'scheme' isn't to give up chunks of yards up the gut all season.

R. Williams is in the driver's seat for the spot apparently and listed at 305.

Reich stated to reporters and I'm paraphrasing: 'he's going to catch on to a team that utilizes a true NT.' That tells me the team is comfortable without a wide-bodied NT. Personally, I don't understand it.

No way we go into the season without picking up a big body. Ends look solid, but he middle is scary. A big body is essential to a 3-4 scheme take up two blockers and freeing up a LB.

So we are going to have some 300 pounder playing NT? Brown is the only one that could fit the billing, but he's at end. Our guards are all heavier than our DL except DB.