Give me your dark horse and your dud for 2018

[Bengalstripes9]

(04-12-2018, 01:14 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Hope you are right about Kirkpatrick and wrong about Lawson. Dre can be decent at times and can pick the ball off he is
just so inconsistent and obviously flambouyant. I really think Dennard is the guy besides Will Jax that will impress if he can
stay healthy.

The way they are talking about Lawson playing SAM kind of seems like a move that could backfire. He is a great pass rusher
but he gets lost in space, just hoping the guy can learn to cover and stop the run cause it looks like we are putting all of our
eggs in that basket. I like Rashaan Evans a lot, but it seems like we won't draft him from what Jim O says.

I tried not to think about my response too much and just went with my gut as far as choosing my guys. Dre was pretty good two years ago when we won the division. His play has definitely dropped off and gotten more inconsistent since then. He was never all that consistent, but he was definitely playing better back then, and making a few plays/picks. I think with better coaching he can get back to that level of play--who knows, maybe even better. Like I said, just a gut feeling that he proves us wrong this year. He's someone everyone is down on, so I think he's a good dark horse candidate.

As far as Lawson goes... He's a great dud candidate--not just because everyone is high on him, but because he's not a traditional DE, nor a traditional linebacker. I don't know how the coaches plan on using him. And, his production dropped off significantly later in the season. It just left me with the feeling that he could have a down year. Having said all that, I think he has the potential to build off his performance last year in the same situational pass rusher role. He's definitely a skilled rusher. I'm really hoping my gut is wrong with Lawson (and right with Dre). 

I get a little hesitant to make these sorts of predictions. I really didn't want to touch on Eifert or Ross, perhaps the biggest boom or bust players on our team. Seems like half the fan base have high expectations and half have low expectations. I feel like Eifert could bounce back in a big way, but he could get injured again too. And I have the feeling Ross won't break out until year 3 if he does. I really hope we can draft a tight end like Goedert at some point in the draft for Eifert insurance going into next year. I would like to see some solid production from both Ross and Eifert this year though. Some of that hinges on how they rebuild the offensive line and some of it hinges on them individually--and some of it is luck with injuries