Bear Hands

I can honestly see the argument for Hooker ahead of AR. The dude is 6'4 220, dual-threat, great arm, ball placement/accurate, sound footwork. He impresses me every time I tuned in, and honestly, that Bama-Tenn game was hands down the best CFB game in years. Bryce and Hendon just laid it all on the line. I can't unsee what Hendon did in that game. Bama wasn't stopping him. People can highlight the system he comes from & age (and I get it, you want to maximize years, can't argue that), but his strengths are hard to ignore and I think teams see that as well. Now is the time for them to check out how well he can take in an NFL playbook. And honestly, Corral's offense in college was even more rudimentary and we've got many willing to toss him in no problem at all. If you can look past him being 25 his rookie year, and trust throwing him out there sooner than later, you're still getting a potential decade from the kid. 8-10 great years is better than no good years at all. I mean, Delhomme felt like he overstayed his welcome and he came in here and emerged at the ripe age of 28. Romo didn't shoot off until 26-27ish. The age gives me pause, but it doesn't discount his abilities. I swear, if he was a junior that declared with the same body of work the past 2 seasons, the "draftnick" whathaveyou opinion would be far different. And like you said, I think there could be much more buzz internally for clubs than we know.

He is far and away one of the most frustrating QB prospects that I can remember. I want to like him, I want to love all of these top prospects, but he just leaves so much to be desired every time I try to check him out. He has a decent understanding of a pro offense and understands layering throws. The tools are there, but he never seems to leverage his best traits. For having such a strong/pro-level release & strength, his deep balls just don't consistently have the touch you want. There's a lot of guys slowing and coming back for the ball, even though that should be his strength. Now, it's not always the case, he's had a few great flashes that were against Northern Illinois and on his 21' tape w/Wandale. I just saw very inconsistent accuracy this past year and highly questionable decision making. And after considering all of that, Coach Franklin, who I highly respect (Go Dores), stuck with a subpar Sean Clifford and essentially used Levis as a battering ram. There was just a lot of strangeness in the staff's unwillingness to have him succeed the legend that is Trace McSorley. And then once he hit the transfer window, I find even more strange how little interest he received with Kentucky being his only larger program option (UMass, UConn & Rutgers were the notable other options). His skills weren't some mystery either. He had Jimbo touting him in the CFB world. Add on he's a super senior so should be nicely refined at this point as a passer, yet he's not. I just can't get on board but I refuse to diss him entirely given the probability he could be our QB.

Totally. I see McKee and Hooker being viewed more favorably internally for teams than the draftnick's think. Doesn't place them solidly in the 1st but who knows. There's a perceived cliff around their tier because of all the guys who didn't declare: Jayden Daniels, Penix, McCall, Ward, Nix. So, you've got less than favorable R1 trade up candidates (a la Lamar) that people who want BPA at 9 can promote. It's just McKee and Hooker, then there's a pretty substantial drop off to Haener, Duggan, Hall, then a lot of nothing. But overall, as a prospect class, compared to this time last year, the only guy that truly fell off the radar was Tyler Van Dyke. The rest all held the hype. Stroud, Richardson, Levis, Young were all getting buttered up as 1st rounders even during the 21 season, and many were excited about them headed into this past year. Not to mention, many had been high on Haener here and there, although the reality is he's Day 2 at best (just too twig-like but he's still a fave of mine) Compared to the last decade, this is honestly a lot more promising than others. I'd say it's better than last year, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, & 2013. People are getting lost in the Maye/Caleb fever dream and losing context. 4 1st rounders, 2 potential late 1st/2nds. And then 2-3 solid mid rounders.

The titanic took a hit to the knee that didn't repair. Just kind of tilted, broke, and sank to the bottom the the Atlantic...coast conference. Alright, I'm out of bad jokes today.

This is the first reported visit, will be plenty more folks. Sometimes these are to more importantly check out guys that have question marks & chat with the dude firsthand. He probably had a nice lunch with Josh & Duce. Lunch with Josh & Duce, now there's a show.

Is that the day Titanic came out?

If we don't trade and all 4 are gone (unlikely, but I'll play), yeah, it would mean Tyree Wilson or Myles Murphy would be available. Not opposed in that scenario. Honestly though, if we didn't need a QB, this draft seems deprived of high end talent elsewhere. Not really seeing it in the CB, WR, or OL groups.

Had to put on a disguise to make that happen.

I wouldn't be too deterred by sizes entirely, don't forget how much a monster Willis and Bowman were together, and that was Evero's first taste of the NFL. Same goes for Chinn in any fixed role. I get he'll assume a similar moneybacker/buffalo nickel/big nickel/badger back/tweener-strat, whatever the hell name the SS/LB hybrid role has been christened this year. But, I'm interested in how he operates in a cover 1 or cover 4 shell base. For that, he's either ILB or S. I actually think Chinn could probably still play high, but in the 1/2 disguises where he's actually rolling into the box and Woods stays deep. Lots of possibilities, late rolls to play zone in the box or blitz in what seem like our base package. But yes, I can see how he's a variation of the moneybacker/SS-LB hybrid a la Mathieu/Muma otherwise. As mentioned in the presser, "base" packages are like 25% of what's actually deployed so this gon' be fun. It will definitely be a tailored scheme that is all about disguises. At the end of the day, the confusion is key as Andy Bernard mentioned.

Dude, I've kept forgetting we have him. But definitely agree. He's wicked quick at that size too so could be a big opportunity for him.

Yeah Chinn is just hard to place if we're going to have two safeties playing back. They seem completely capable of figuring it out, but he becomes somewhat of an outlier if we're strictly looking at Evero's defenses historicaly.

DL wise, Karl Brooks out of Bowling Green is a cool prospect. Mazi Smith as mentioned stands out in R2-3. I really like the EDGE class in R2-4 like that Felix Anudike-Uzo kid, Keion White. If Nolan Smith (UGA) fell to R2 at our second spot, that would be an attractive get. Derrick Hall out of Auburn is another interesting guy to throw in. I actually think this really opens things up prospect wise.

It is confirmed; straight from the horse's mouth. Sounds like we will have multiple looks in our sub packages, so some of the fun hybrid stuff. But our base defense is confirmed to be a 3-4. Likely 2 high shell Fangio concepts with a bit more blitzing that seemed to be Evero's MO in Denver. This confirms a few obvious needs: (1) 3-4 DE (1) EDGE (could work with what we have but another wouldn't hurt) (1) ILB (1) Outfielder/S Luvu could play a few roles depending on the looks. Chinn becomes a question mark--S or LB? I'd definitely lean towards ILB, w/a hybrid type role in our sub packages. Exciting stuff. Correct me if you think I'm wrong on any needs/debate player roles/have at it.

Reich confirmed soundly our base defense will be 3-4. There it is folks.

What's said about him ad nauseam is the "out of structure" habits. When plays break down, he does have what I'll call a delay switch that is far less forgiving in the NFL. It's there, even as a fan I'll acknowledge it. However, it is his mid and deep ball accuracy & touch is just hard to ignore. His accuracy is on another level compared to most QBs coming out. He seems to balance his risk/reward very well in respect to making throws and shows great anticipation. I mean, he's thrown some absolutely bananas Sunday-level balls these past few years. In that respect, I actually think he's shown great ability to create, this showed this very well the tail end of 21 and then 22 as well as many saw against UGA. What I think people have seen--is that early on in seasons he plays safe and within what was manageable, cruising to wins off the full team talent load. As stakes went up, he adjusted his aggressiveness and risk taking that led to nice play creation and showed off his intangibles quite nicely as well. He has very subtle but sly moves in the pocket to stay standing tall and over the line. He also calls audibles and protections effectively. For example--Darnold still can't call protections well. And through all of that, he doesn't lose anything mechanically, not issues at all. Arm strength, if you group all active-NFL starters, I'd say he's top-20. Probably around Dak. Totally for him. Worth the risk and worth a trade up. The argument will get more dicey the higher that trade up is, but I see a tremendous ceiling with this kid. And honestly, a high floor. He's made to do this QB thing.

I personally love how Jayden developed and am big on Pratt. Daniels could've declared and gone ahead of Hooker and McKee this year. But him running it back and showing out again could get him 1st round grades. He really progressed as a passer, made huge strides. I also really enjoyed watching Ward play, but he has some stuff to work on. Penix needs to have another stellar season to fully separate himself from the injuries/Indiana days. At the end of the day though, I agree none are really worth waiting for compared to this class with one of Levis/Young/Stroud likely in reach & considering Richardson's potential.

Rattler is in this class, no? I was just confused. I'd say Ewers is on the top tier watchlist. Pratt, Daniels, Ward & Penix are all on that Nix-tier watchlist.

Maye and Ewers may not even declare with the whole NIL environment. Could easily see that happening and next year is left with Caleb...then Pratt/Daniels/Penix. So, if people are eyeing 2024 and REALLY think they'd pass on a QB this year, they might as well be talking Michael Pratt or Jayden Daniels. Heck, even if Ewers and Maye stay on their trajectory, they will be more out of reach AND sought after than either Stroud or Young this year. Talk about selling the barn, imagine trading up from 16-20 to the top-5. Yeah... If we're picking top-5 next year, with this staff, the current NFC landscape, and the baseline roster we have, something will have gone tremendously wrong.

Rattler or Nix?

Just look overall QB draft history since 2013. It's just not pretty. During the 2013-2019 6 year stretch, you basically have Allen, Mahomes & Lamar as the only runaway hits. Carr, Goff, Jimmy G, Kyler & D Jones are still kicking, but are no means high bar/success models. That right there is where the NFC QB drought stems from. Then, all AFC teams swarmed the top QBs in recent years. Last year's may rival 2013 when all is said and done. https://www.drafthistory.com/index.php/positions/qb

These aren't consensus, the research is just using one mock each year from different sources. All it takes was the mock writer to be an Eason stan. Eason was a 2nd-3rd, with only some claiming he was a first because of his size+arm. I'd like to see more of a consensus mock research but I doubt many have the time to figure that out ha. Last year though, if you search for as many mocks as you can find, that was a true outlier with how off they were.

Leaving this here for the crowd trying to decipher Irsay.

That video lol. I guess the word about him and Steichen being a bit awkward is 100% true haha. I will say, in the yt vids of their practices where the team showcased the staff, Gannon communicates, umm, let's just say, a bit differently. He was out there speaking a different language. It's like Kendall Roy cringe-festing his way through S1 of Succession, the football version. But if it works, it works. I just find it so easy to dislike the Cards. Maybe it still stems back to the Delhomme implosion.

Now that...that is interesting. The fit would be pretty fun with the RBs and Lockett/Metcalf. Rodgers stays in the wide open NFC with a playoff caliber team.

We may not have to worry until #5 in that case. If IND/CHI is the trade that happens: #3: AZ may want to capitalize on already having a QB and get the BPA in the entire draft at their spot. Gannon getting a prized defensive weapon in the desert w/Anderson. Then #4: Question is do the Bears trade down again? Or they could also take who could be #1 on their board overall in Carter at #4, after already gaining picks?