10-04-2022, 03:01 PM
It's inevitable that Burrow will need to elevate his own wideouts. The days of Rice/Taylor, Monk/Clark, Carter/Moss are over (and the latter only played four seasons together), mainly because today's most overpaid NFL positions are QB and WR. There's just not enough payroll pie to go around. The guy they choose to keep will have a ripple effect on everyone else. And that's assuming they can even keep one; they may not be able to do that (e.g., Adams, Tyreek).
As a rule, I'd prefer to keep drafting and developing DL. The DJ Readers and Trey Hendricksons of the world are a total shot in the dark and I wouldn't want to rely on that happening again. The OL should be a combo of proven mid-rung FAs who want to play with a generational quarterback, along with Day 2/3 projects. I know that sounds like suicide today but I'm hoping our OL culture will have improved by the time we need to make these decisions and we'll be on our way towards pumping out a revolving door of linemen like the Pats and Ravens. I expect Jonah to be the first casualty. As for RB, also spend a Day 2/3 pick on them every other year. That's just the way the league is going and we'd do well to follow suit.
Beyond Burrow and a wideout, I think Logan Wilson's next on my re-sign list. Especially for this defense. He never leaves the field, he holds it all together, and he's a bit of an elevator in his own right. As for the secondary, I would normally go bargain FA for that position group as well (e.g., Chido, Bell, Apple have worked out well), but they just drafted two blue-chippers and needn't worry about it for a while. I would keep Bates until we feel Dax can take over, but I wouldn't try to play them together (I don't know how that would even work- not saying it wouldn't, just that I'd need to see it first).
Ultimately, imo it all comes down to the fact that this team finally signed a GM: Joe Burrow.
As a rule, I'd prefer to keep drafting and developing DL. The DJ Readers and Trey Hendricksons of the world are a total shot in the dark and I wouldn't want to rely on that happening again. The OL should be a combo of proven mid-rung FAs who want to play with a generational quarterback, along with Day 2/3 projects. I know that sounds like suicide today but I'm hoping our OL culture will have improved by the time we need to make these decisions and we'll be on our way towards pumping out a revolving door of linemen like the Pats and Ravens. I expect Jonah to be the first casualty. As for RB, also spend a Day 2/3 pick on them every other year. That's just the way the league is going and we'd do well to follow suit.
Beyond Burrow and a wideout, I think Logan Wilson's next on my re-sign list. Especially for this defense. He never leaves the field, he holds it all together, and he's a bit of an elevator in his own right. As for the secondary, I would normally go bargain FA for that position group as well (e.g., Chido, Bell, Apple have worked out well), but they just drafted two blue-chippers and needn't worry about it for a while. I would keep Bates until we feel Dax can take over, but I wouldn't try to play them together (I don't know how that would even work- not saying it wouldn't, just that I'd need to see it first).
Ultimately, imo it all comes down to the fact that this team finally signed a GM: Joe Burrow.
