WhoKnows

No he wasn’t. He had multiple good games after that Pittsburgh game but he had 45 TDs in 2015. He finished with 28 in 14 games in 2018. That TJ Watt hit is glorified in here but his shoulder was already a problem. He had shoulder surgery after the 2016 season and he was added to the injury list the game before Pittsburgh. The hit didn’t help but Cam threw for 357 yards and 3 TDs the week after the “hit” and was 25 of 30 for 256 and 2 TDs the next week.

You are correct. In 2020, ESPN had us 32nd in terms of continuity. All the coaches were new and we lost tons of starters like Luke, Cam, Greg, TD, etc. CMC played 10 games in Rhule’s first two years. Rhule wasn’t good but we came close to beating both #1 seeds in 2020 with Teddy and we started 2021 3-0 and there was talk about playoff byes. Again, bad but much better than the coach and GM we empowered. The Cowboys game really threw ice water on the 5 game feel good run, but it still feels way better than the we got lucky to win 2 games last year.

In my dream, we somehow luck into a top 2 pick and someone wants a QB bad and doesn’t want anyone else to jump them. Somehow we’ll probably screw up the picks anyway, but it would be nice to do even partially what Chicago did to us. We’d have to lose out, which is a decent possibility unless Tampa is resting. We need Atlanta to stay within a game because Atlanta beat Tampa twice. The rest of the draft slots are who knows because Jax plays the Raiders and then Tennessee and you never know who will rest starters. I think we are top 7 unless we somehow pull out 2 more wins. The 4 win teams have higher SOS and there is only one 5 win team with the same SOS. If we win 1 of 3, we still should stay in top 7. If we lose out and the Jax games work for us, we can easily be top 3.

Not sure who would end up at QB but could you imagine a front 7 of Star, Short, Ealy/Addison, Von Miller, Luke, TD and Shaq in 2015? Miller would have been deadly having 11 sack Short on the interior with Star. That would have been a crazy fun D to watch.

I won’t say it destroyed us because we could have taken Stroud and just made better picks like not DJ Johnson and Matt Corral and Mingo and so on as well. It just put us in a position to trade up and make the wrong choice. Young could be OK and we could eventually win but it still set us back a lot because we spent so much and he doesn’t look like a stud. It does suck to look at the picks we gave up and the selections we made and see obvious choices that were thrown out in the draft threads: Young over Stroud Humphrey over TMJ Frazier over Cooks Downs/Dell over Mingo Cross over Iky (for pass blocking prowess) De’Von Achane over DJ Johnson - Actually looking back at the 10 players picked right behind DJ, you will see a bunch of contributing starters. Crazy how bad we are at drafting.

We would have made the playoffs and had a pick in the 20s. We wouldn’t have been able to trade up for Young. We might have kept Darnold another year and picking from Tampa’s spot and the pick for CMC, we could have picked Kinkaid, Flowers, Smith-Njigba or Addison in the 1st, Reed or Rice in the 2nd and Dell or Downs in the 3rd. Could have solved the WR issue and seen if Darnold was worth it while also still having Moore and our 2024 1st and 2025 2nd. Instead we lost all those picks and have Young. We also could have ignored XL and taken Frazier at C or DeJean at CB. Team would be a lot more talented and likely winning the division.

I’m sure the hit didn’t help but the shoulder injury/surgeries started in 2016/2017. According to this article about his 2019 surgery, it says he was added to the team’s injury report for the week 8 game. The Pittsburgh game was week 9. It was a bad hit, but he was already experiencing shoulder problems again before that game. If Newton missed the next week or separated his shoulder or broke his collarbone, I might agree with you but a bad hit doesn’t tear a rotator cuff. It took years before all the wear and tear got to him and after that he had shoulder issues from 2016 until his career ended.

Baker has improved and gotten some nice weapons too but I think you are right on Darnold. Even last night, we saw interceptions/almost picks, but with Jefferson, Addison, Hockenson and Jones, Darnold has weapons he never had anywhere close to here.

Sorry, but Cam’s shoulder was already hurt. He’d had surgery pre 2017 for his injury in 2016. That injury was completely avoided if the ref blows the play dead when it was obvious that KB touched the CB. The ref was 5 feet away and if a Tom Brady type QB was potentially going to get hit on a dangerous interception return, whistle blows. Cam was not protected in any 2016 game.

Been saying that in my comments about a bunch of us draftniks wanting Frazier over Brooks. I kept getting replies that C was fine and we had it covered. Mays is a decent backup but when the rest of the OL can’t help him, he’s not that good. We should have drafted our decade long Ryan Kalil twice already instead of TMJ and Brooks. C is a need and has been since Kalil’s shoulder/neck became an issue.

Dude was down anyway, but LOL at 4 Panthers knocking the ball away from each other on a fumble drill. It wasn’t a fumble but how did we not at least get the ball.

Welp, when we don’t play over our heads we are the soon to be 3-11 team that our record says we are. We beat a 5-9 team and the only two 2 win teams. We have to play perfect to stay close with good teams.

No Lawrence and no Overshon and they are destroying the OL.

I know we have Brown but I’m high on Graham as well. Pearce was supposed to be the top edge guy in this draft at the start of the season but when I watched, I wasn’t really impressed either. I think the edge guys this draft seem really risky. Graham was on the top 5ish list in this draft since the earliest 2025 mocks which makes me less concerned because he was thought of as a top 5 pick at the end of his sophomore and junior years.

Since 2017, which was a much better draft. It’s progress in that we didn’t just waste picks on guys who had no business being drafted, but it doesn’t even have a marquee guy like Burns, Moore and Brown (for the drafts since 2017). Brooks was the only guy until this week that we weren’t sure about in terms of maybe elite. Losing two years and not knowing what he’ll be makes it a bad pick. The best value we got was Coker and we really do need to do better this draft. It’s nice we’re competitive but if we actually want to be a playoff team, we need better drafts.

A 3rd rounder this year is likely a 4th, maybe even 5th in 2025. Deeper class so there should be some good RBs in the 4th. That's where the year in year out good teams do better. They go value. If you draft the strong and deep positions you should (on average, always exceptions) be getting better overall draft value every year. You have above average drafts every year, you keep winning. We don’t and haven’t done that as far back as I can remember. Our results speak for themselves. Some people get so emotionally involved in picks that they defend mistakes like Brooks. It’s simple logic to say drafting Frazier at C this year in the 2nd and a RB in the 4th next year is way better than Brooks in the 2nd and a C in the 4th of 2025. Cs were pretty solid this year and RBs solid next year.

100% agree. We are down to Chuba and that’s it. I just hope we pick a guy early in day 3. There’s a handful of day 3 2024 draft RBs who would have been perfect as a 2nd RB splitting carries with Chuba. If Brooks works out in 2026+ then a day 3 pick isn’t a big deal. Brooks is still going to be an injury risk when he comes back.

Huh? The guy we wanted who was available at Brooks pick is starting for the Steelers. He would 100% be starting over Cade Mays and taken over the future for Corbett who’s a FA. Weird take on this considering Steelers fans love Frazier and we loved Kalil. Frazier would be a fan favorite and lock down the position for years and potentially be a pro bowler. Yeah, backup center indeed. Not a good post at all. How about the reality of maybe we draft a 10 year stud center or we draft a complimentary RB who doesn’t play for 2 years. Think of how good the second RB will be in 2026 since he missed 2024 and probably 2025.

The draft was prior to the 2024 season when center was a big need to create an amazing OL for years. Sorry, but that will always be important. Before 2024, Mays was absolutely just a backup and Corbett hadn’t played center in forever and was (and still is) a major injury concern. It's not an obsession, it’s just another recent case of the huddle fans wanting to resolve a key hole and almost universally picking the right player while the GM picks a different player that doesn’t work out.

Yep. We are 4 games behind Tampa so they’d have to lose out and us win out just to get past them. Atlanta is 4-1 in the division already and they beat us so we’d have to win out and they have to lose out as we can’t tie. I could see one of Tampa or Atlanta losing out but not both. Atlanta also plays the Giants and Raiders so they have an easier schedule.

This is a terrible take. Frankly, everyone in the draft threads talked about the need at C. C was one of our highest needs and we liked a lot of the prospects. You obviously weren’t in the pre-draft threads. Mays has looked just OK, center position is not covered. Corbett is a free agent and has played 9 total games in 2023 and 2024. Corbett looked OK as well but hadn’t played C in years and also was coming off a season where he missed 13 games. We seem to count on a lot of injured players. It’s funny how you say C is covered and that Pittsburgh wasted a 2nd. There’s a reason why we have been shitty for years and they don’t have a losing record in a decade+. Pittsburgh wisely used their 2nd on a stud C. We did not and we are in now way better off for it.

Yep. If one day we decide to draft the strong/deep positions more and play the value side we could be ok. C/G is great for day 2. Same with LB and TE. Lower value positions that go after T, QB, CB, WR, etc. you are drafting the best C/G early to mid second like we always draft. Get the 2nd or 3rd best C (Frazier or Humphrey) instead of the 12th WR or 1st RB in a weak ass class. It’s so simple and it’s why the good teams stay good for a while.

It’s a deep 2025 RB class and a lot of day 3 RBs have contributed this year so there should be some really good value in day 3 RBs. I wouldn’t want to pay a FA either. Grab a cheap complimentary RB in day 3 who can be insurance if Brooks doesn’t play at all next year. We’ve got a lot of day 3 picks.

This. DJ Moore was a bit raw as well but he didn’t turn 21 until a couple weeks before the draft. Legette turned 23 a few months before the draft. Moore also contributed as a freshman. Right away. It took 4 years for Legette to have as many yards as Moore did his freshman year. Raw is OK if you are 21 at the draft and still had some decent college stats. Raw is too risky if you turn 23 before the draft and only have 1 year of college stats. We’ve taken way too many risks in our recent drafts and we are doing it day 1 and day 2, not day 3 where players with multiple risks go (older, raw and injured).

Reminds me of Hurley taking Will Grier to beat the Patriots and left Maxx Crosby on the board. We actually had Crosby in as one of our 30 private visits but we took Grier. Fitterer got Mingo before the Cowboys did and I remember the discussion about getting TMJ before the Saints could. Gotta love how we fall on the grenades for other teams.