theinstrumental

Wait for the combine before making any plans based on measurements. Word is he’s going to come in way below 6’5”. If he changes positions it’s going to be to RB.

Exactly. There’s no magic in taking the highest-rated guy who falls because his position isn’t the most valuable. If you want the Hurney pick this year, just grab the LSU tackle and put him at center. Instant All-Pro!

I’m praying we use those picks on the less valuable defensive roles that fit a fast, two-high, odd-front scheme. We still haven’t really committed to building what Evero wants, and we need to fill in the gaps. Coverage linebackers and safeties who can tackle: Jay Higgins - LB - Iowa Jay Bassa - LB - Oregon Malachi Moore - S - Bama Kevin Winston Jr. - S - Penn State True nose tackles: Jamaree Caldwell - NT - Oregon Jordan Phillips - NT - Maryland

All I read was “ThunderWolves”.

Consensus is that he’s really smart and communicated reads even while playing LT. he could almost certainly convert to C for a year and the. Take over for Motion when his contract ends. It would be…bizarre…to not address the defense. But it’s not a bad outcome. To me it just re-enforces the idea that trading down is the best outcome. If we don’t grab an edge at 8, and trade down and miss them all, we can still grab Campbell and an extra day 2 defensive lineman in the deepest DL class in recent memory. That’s probably still better than reaching at 8.

Slayton would be nice. Thielen, Coker, and XL all seem good, they just need to be complemented with some speed. He’d be a good way to do it at an appropriate cost.

Agreed. I’m bothered by this FO’s historical trend to try to address every need in FA, leading them to go into the draft overconfident that every hole is filled. We need a bunch of guy, this draft is deep at what we need, and there aren’t great values at the top. It’s the perfect storm to try to move back.

You’re describing technique. Which, I agree, is obviously important. But what I’m reacting against is the pushback on the idea that football character is worth drafting for. Physical attributes, technique, and football character (“dawg”) all matter. If you’re short of any of them, you’re probably going to fail. I don’t understand the eagerness in this thread to throw one of them out the window.

He weighed in at 156 pounds.

That's fine--I think it helps to think about it on the team level and not the player level. In the same way that a slow team needs fast players, a soft team needs tough ones. Last year's defense lacked an edge. With this roster, it seems fine to look for guys who are going to create a competitive, physical culture.

No. The coach leaving must become the head coach of another team.

We don't have to talk in hypotheticals. Morgan's been here since 2021. The traditional linebackers that we've drafted since then have been Brandon Smith and Trevin Wallace, both great size/speed athletes. DJ Johnson is another great athlete. We haven't drafted many guys who have a chance at impacting the run game--that could be the entire problem--but I can't think of anyone who failed because they're not physically talented enough. Michael Barrett, maybe? But we're talking about picks that matter.

Interior defensive line, safety, (coverage) linebacker, and running back seem really deep this year. Which sucks for the rest of the league, because those positions aren't universally important, but is great for us. It's exactly what we need.

IDK, DJ Jones measured 6'0" 5/8 and 319lb pounds at his combine. No idea whether the more recent team measurements that are around 305 are more up-to-date. But it seems like he's used a traditional run-stuffer who plays with leverage and doesn't get moved out of gaps. Not a smaller, penetrating guy. Now, that doesn't mean that bigger guy = better. Everyone's salivating over Deone Walker, but being 6'7" means you're going to have a hard time in the leverage battles. But if a big guy is hard to move, then he's going to be Evero's type.

Culture is like any other team characteristic--sometimes it's a need, sometimes it's not. The run defense last year makes me think it's a need. If the line on a guy is "talented, but not tough enough," then he's probably not going to fix our problems. So right now, I'm fine with this being a focus. Once the culture's been built, we can start to use that as an asset and chase talent.