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Like last year... Use this thread to talk about draft prospects, post your player wish lists, mock drafts etc. For those that don't follow college football then this is a good place to learn about players entering the draft.
Current picks (5 total):
1st Rd (25th overall)
2nd Rd
3rd Rd
4th Rd
7th Rd
They traded away their 5th & 6th for Scobee & Boykin. Might receive a 6th or 7th comp pick for McCain.
Here is a quick rundown of the needs (feel free to add more):
S: Mitchell appears to be the only starter. Others rostered are: Golden, S. Thomas, Ventrone, & Dangerfield. Golden proved to be a capable starter, but his ceiling is apparent and they could upgrade over that. Thomas has lost his coaches trust. As Tomlin put it, his "above the neck" talent is lacking. The awareness & reaction skills are severely lacking. I think he's destined to be a STer. Ventrone & Dangerfield are nothing more than STers. Will Allen tried to retire last offseason but returned for 1 year by the personal request of Tomlin. Doubt he will give it another go.
CB: Almost all of the '15 squad are free agents. Cockrell was already resigned to a no-brainer RFA contract. That leaves Cortez Allen, Golsen & Grant as the only other CB's on the roster. Yikes. Big Play Willie Gay is a UFA. I have hopes that he will return for a reasonable price. Lots of question marks, but having Gay back in the fold would be a huge boost.
DT/DE: McLendon is a UFA. We've discussed it before, but he is going to be asking for more than he's worth. He's a great player, but for someone that sees the field less than 30% of the snaps... Why pay him like a full-time starter? Heyward & Tuitt are the moneymakers, and rightfully so. They played >90% snaps of almost every game. Which can be seen as a problem when they are clearly gassed late in the 4th. They have young players UC: McCullers, Walton, & Lyons. McCullers is still progressing and is slowly gaining the trust of his coaches. Walton had a great offseason & preseason LY, but will he continue to progress? They have options, but they need to get Heyward & Tuitt more rest throughout the game.
OT/OG: Beachum & Foster are UFA's. Hopefully they can retain one of them. Luckily for them they have good backing options. AVill proved more than capable, and Wallace can play inside. Beachum got an offer last offseason, but decided to challenge for more. He gambled and lost because of the injury. Question is, what's his price now? I like the idea of retaining Beach and moving him inside. AVill can be a monster if he continues to progress. And we know what Beach brings to the table. DeCastro is UC, but currently sitting at a $8mil cap hit on his 5th yr option. They will likely extend his contract to lower that. Wallace & Hubbard are UC through '16. Both are solid spot starters. Not sure if Adams is still UC? There are concerns about losing the FA's, but it's good to know they have solid options in place.
ROLB: Will Deebo return for another season? I think so. But the case could be made that JJ & Moats aren't long term answers. Will they look to bring in more talent? If Deebo returns then probably not. Still a position to think about the future with. Dupree is rock solid on the left side.
TE: Miller and Spaeth are UC, long in the tooth, but still capable. Jesse James still has a lot of areas to improve on, but he showed good promise. That still leaves a future need if both Miller & Spaeth retire next offseason.
QB: There are always those for & against this. But its not about Ben declining, its about giving a prospect the highest chance to succeed. Ben has probably 3-4 more solid years left, maybe less if his injury issues keep up. Why not get a promising talent under his wings for the next few years? Landry isn't going to fill those shoes. He's got career backup written all over him. Some want to let Ben play until he can't anymore, then go the down-year route and get a top end draft pick. Risky at best. I'd much rather invest for the future. Currently the team doesn't have a QB3. Not sure how they feel about bringing Gradkowski or Vick back. I'd lean more on Bruce if I had to choose. But Landry has established himself as a pretty decent QB2. QB3 is up in the air.
DISCUSS!!!
Current picks (5 total):
1st Rd (25th overall)
2nd Rd
3rd Rd
4th Rd
7th Rd
They traded away their 5th & 6th for Scobee & Boykin. Might receive a 6th or 7th comp pick for McCain.
Here is a quick rundown of the needs (feel free to add more):
S: Mitchell appears to be the only starter. Others rostered are: Golden, S. Thomas, Ventrone, & Dangerfield. Golden proved to be a capable starter, but his ceiling is apparent and they could upgrade over that. Thomas has lost his coaches trust. As Tomlin put it, his "above the neck" talent is lacking. The awareness & reaction skills are severely lacking. I think he's destined to be a STer. Ventrone & Dangerfield are nothing more than STers. Will Allen tried to retire last offseason but returned for 1 year by the personal request of Tomlin. Doubt he will give it another go.
CB: Almost all of the '15 squad are free agents. Cockrell was already resigned to a no-brainer RFA contract. That leaves Cortez Allen, Golsen & Grant as the only other CB's on the roster. Yikes. Big Play Willie Gay is a UFA. I have hopes that he will return for a reasonable price. Lots of question marks, but having Gay back in the fold would be a huge boost.
DT/DE: McLendon is a UFA. We've discussed it before, but he is going to be asking for more than he's worth. He's a great player, but for someone that sees the field less than 30% of the snaps... Why pay him like a full-time starter? Heyward & Tuitt are the moneymakers, and rightfully so. They played >90% snaps of almost every game. Which can be seen as a problem when they are clearly gassed late in the 4th. They have young players UC: McCullers, Walton, & Lyons. McCullers is still progressing and is slowly gaining the trust of his coaches. Walton had a great offseason & preseason LY, but will he continue to progress? They have options, but they need to get Heyward & Tuitt more rest throughout the game.
OT/OG: Beachum & Foster are UFA's. Hopefully they can retain one of them. Luckily for them they have good backing options. AVill proved more than capable, and Wallace can play inside. Beachum got an offer last offseason, but decided to challenge for more. He gambled and lost because of the injury. Question is, what's his price now? I like the idea of retaining Beach and moving him inside. AVill can be a monster if he continues to progress. And we know what Beach brings to the table. DeCastro is UC, but currently sitting at a $8mil cap hit on his 5th yr option. They will likely extend his contract to lower that. Wallace & Hubbard are UC through '16. Both are solid spot starters. Not sure if Adams is still UC? There are concerns about losing the FA's, but it's good to know they have solid options in place.
ROLB: Will Deebo return for another season? I think so. But the case could be made that JJ & Moats aren't long term answers. Will they look to bring in more talent? If Deebo returns then probably not. Still a position to think about the future with. Dupree is rock solid on the left side.
TE: Miller and Spaeth are UC, long in the tooth, but still capable. Jesse James still has a lot of areas to improve on, but he showed good promise. That still leaves a future need if both Miller & Spaeth retire next offseason.
QB: There are always those for & against this. But its not about Ben declining, its about giving a prospect the highest chance to succeed. Ben has probably 3-4 more solid years left, maybe less if his injury issues keep up. Why not get a promising talent under his wings for the next few years? Landry isn't going to fill those shoes. He's got career backup written all over him. Some want to let Ben play until he can't anymore, then go the down-year route and get a top end draft pick. Risky at best. I'd much rather invest for the future. Currently the team doesn't have a QB3. Not sure how they feel about bringing Gradkowski or Vick back. I'd lean more on Bruce if I had to choose. But Landry has established himself as a pretty decent QB2. QB3 is up in the air.
DISCUSS!!!
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