Yahoo Sports draft grades

[d-dave]

6 minutes ago, caatfan said:

If he turns out to be good then I think it was a good move. He'd have been better off as an UDFA, rather than a 7th rounder, but now he's locked in, and can't shop himself around. The prospect of getting a 7th rounder at other positions good enough to stick on the roster and actually help are always low. 

There's a lot less certainty compared to a 7th rounder versus a UDFA.  If it's the player you want, you go get them.  UDFAs are way less certain.  With a 7th rounder, you're still telling a player we want you, and we're going to invest in you:  somewhere in the $150,000 for a signing bonus compared to a UDFA at $25,000 max.  UDFAs are easy cuts, but 7th rounders still cost you some appreciable money.  Also, UDFAs choose where they go, where as you choose your draft pick.

To me, it means that the Panthers are very serious about the Kicker.  Gano needs to shape up or else he's going to end up on the outs again.  Or we could save some cash by cutting him for a much cheaper alternative.

[heel31ok]

36 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Originally assumed Moton was the target all along.

Easily a better offensive lineman than Hawkins by a longshot. I loved the pick.

it is a "?" pick... projected to OG, can he play OT at this level...?

[heel31ok]

the trade dropped us out of the "A" grade range...B+...

[caatfan]

8 minutes ago, Mvp2014 said:

When you draft them they don't have a choice where they play

Exactly. A kicker, in particular, is better off being able to go where the prospects are better, vs. being being locked in with a 7th round deal. And teams are always open to taking a serious look at FA kickers if they have a need in that dept. 

[caatfan]

5 minutes ago, heel31ok said:

can he play OT at this level...?

We'll find out. He started 3 seasons at RT and his junior year at RG, so he knows both, and we know they value versatile linemen. I'm betting he gets a serious look at RT as a backup at least.

[dpm0409]

34 minutes ago, JawnyBlaze said:

Also notable about those draft grades is that we were like the 4th highest grade. I think only the bucs (1) , 49ers (2) and redskins (3) were higher. 

Can't believe I'm saying this, but not sure how Cleveland wouldn't be in the top 4?  They navigated their draft quite well, especially considering....they're the fuggin' Browns

But hey, we all know these grades don't mean jack.  Won't know anything for a few years.  Still fun to discuss while there is basically nothing else though.

[Thorrez]

32 minutes ago, SeoulPanther said:

Are they liking the players or liking the fit? Are they liking the potential or are they assessing the likely outcome?

I will be pleased if this works out but I'm taking nothing for granted. 

Taints don't think its a fit. No surprise there...

http://saintsreport.com/forums/f2/nfc-south-race-368078/#.WQnBQvmGPcc

Cute that the saints fans actually think they will win the division while arguing it is the best division in football because there is no push over. 

As they say in poker, if you have not found the fish after fifteen minutes, you are the fish. 

[Mvp2014]

7 minutes ago, caatfan said:

Exactly. A kicker, in particular, is better off being able to go where the prospects are better, vs. being being locked in with a 7th round deal. And teams are always open to taking a serious look at FA kickers if they have a need in that dept. 

I'm not an NFL expert by any means but why would be locked with a 7round deal be bad?   It could be he had a few interested teams close to home and we had no chance to get him.  Maybe we thought he would be drafted in the 7th behind us

[Castavar]

"It seemed like Carolina was trying to play keep-away from the Saints with the McCaffery & Samuel picks rather than going for their players."

Yes, I'm pretty sure we threw out our 3 months research leading up to the draft just so we could steal players from the Saints.

[Hogmolliesmaht]

Wait a minute. How do they know the Panthers wanted Hawkins over Moton?

[t96]

23 minutes ago, Hogmolliesmaht said:

Wait a minute. How do they know the Panthers wanted Hawkins over Moton?

It's a dumb assumption on their part. There is zero chance of that being the case.

[caatfan]

3 hours ago, Mvp2014 said:

I'm not an NFL expert by any means but why would be locked with a 7round deal be bad?   It could be he had a few interested teams close to home and we had no chance to get him.  Maybe we thought he would be drafted in the 7th behind us

I'm saying it's better for us, but not necessarily for him. Often a player is better off undrafted rather than being a 7th rounder. Teams don't feel as invested in lower round picks. In this case we need a kicker so he'll get a good look, but he may have preferred to target another team with a really crappy kicker. Gano wasn't that good last year, but there were worse out there.

[Daddy_Uncle]

4 hours ago, Pejorative Miscreant said:

If our "worst move" was grabbing Moton I will take it any day.  

I love Moton. Watching his press conference I could only think about how sincerely nice and friendly he seemed. They said he is an extremely smart guy and academics was very important to him. Thats the kind of guy I want. He is a big physical tackle with a ton of potential but he's also a really good dude that wants to learn and get better. 

[Daddy_Uncle]

1 hour ago, Hogmolliesmaht said:

Wait a minute. How do they know the Panthers wanted Hawkins over Moton?

they assume it because the bills jumped up to get him. IMO they wanted Moton. If nothing else they had them as equal value so they didn't really care that Hawkins was gone