03-03-2024, 06:28 PM
I was never a fan of picking a WR but the more I see this draft, the stronger I feel about it. So without further ado...
Round 1 - Latham, OT
Rd 2 - Haynes/Puni, OG
Rd 3 - Fiske, 3T
Rd 4 - T. Johnson, TE
Rd 5a - Zinter, OG (stash him for a year so he gets healthy)
Rd 5b - Vaki, ST
Rds 6,7 - Whoever.
OL becomes a strength right away. Yes, it'll be with 2.5 rookies- which is never a sure thing- but that doesn't bug me with these three. Upside is the wrong word for them, and for the line more broadly. It'll be solid left to right. Haynes/Puni are proven and versatile, and when ZZ emerges (ideally when Cappa and Karras are on the way out) it'll be even better. I doubt he'll last to Round 5 but I assume teams'll be scared off of that leg. He won't fall like Trey Smith did (blood clots) but he won't rise. That's for sure.
As for the rest, I love what Fiske shows. He has a Hubbard mindset- he's a trier; he'll get the most out of whatever he's got. Theo Johnson is maybe the '"riskiest" of these top 5, but pair him with vets like Wilcox and/or Sample and it'll be fine. Some of his tape also shows that he has real playmaker potential. Then whatever cap flex is left should go to NT.
TL;DR - you can't fill all the holes. Targeting WRs would create a real jam with our current picks and cap situation. It would start this game of whack-a-mole that we can't afford right now. Leave it to Burrow to turn water into wine. And it's pretty good water anyway, what with Chase, Tee, Jones, Iosivas around for at least another year. If you need to replace Tee next year you'll be in a better position to do it, notwithstanding the quality of this draft class- which is worth something, to be sure, but not worth that much imo.
Round 1 - Latham, OT
Rd 2 - Haynes/Puni, OG
Rd 3 - Fiske, 3T
Rd 4 - T. Johnson, TE
Rd 5a - Zinter, OG (stash him for a year so he gets healthy)
Rd 5b - Vaki, ST
Rds 6,7 - Whoever.
OL becomes a strength right away. Yes, it'll be with 2.5 rookies- which is never a sure thing- but that doesn't bug me with these three. Upside is the wrong word for them, and for the line more broadly. It'll be solid left to right. Haynes/Puni are proven and versatile, and when ZZ emerges (ideally when Cappa and Karras are on the way out) it'll be even better. I doubt he'll last to Round 5 but I assume teams'll be scared off of that leg. He won't fall like Trey Smith did (blood clots) but he won't rise. That's for sure.
As for the rest, I love what Fiske shows. He has a Hubbard mindset- he's a trier; he'll get the most out of whatever he's got. Theo Johnson is maybe the '"riskiest" of these top 5, but pair him with vets like Wilcox and/or Sample and it'll be fine. Some of his tape also shows that he has real playmaker potential. Then whatever cap flex is left should go to NT.
TL;DR - you can't fill all the holes. Targeting WRs would create a real jam with our current picks and cap situation. It would start this game of whack-a-mole that we can't afford right now. Leave it to Burrow to turn water into wine. And it's pretty good water anyway, what with Chase, Tee, Jones, Iosivas around for at least another year. If you need to replace Tee next year you'll be in a better position to do it, notwithstanding the quality of this draft class- which is worth something, to be sure, but not worth that much imo.
