2024 Free agency and draft thread

[fightinfunbags]

Eagles once again proving they do it better then the rest.

Ojulari for peanuts on a 1 year prove it deal where they will end up collecting a high comp pick for him next year after he has a solid season on a team that people actually watch. Sometimes I think even NFL GM's dont watch the bad teams play.

I am a little excited about this. And on top of that he’s another Georgia guy haha

 

[Battlelyon]

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

Rams got Goff to the Super Bowl, I'd say they did better with him than the Lions have thus far.

Rams definitely need to find someone to prepare for the future beyond Stafford. Tough to be in the mix to draft a worthy QB when you don't bottom out first. It takes an extreme outlier to find someone later.

I'd like to have seen what a healthy Lions defense could have done. Unfortunately their 3rd, 4th and 5th stringers were playing but that's the nature of the game. Rams did get Goff to the SB but if Detroit finally gets to one at least Goff can say he was part of the reason they got there.

Believe me I get it being mid or further back in the draft with no shot at a top QB. Seems more difficult finding that QBoF and you're correct in trying to find one in the later rounds.

 

[dtgold88]

A whole lot of ugly


View attachment 391963



Teams are still clueless about drafting quarterbacks

Yep....and why it cracks me up every time I see a fan claim he knows or knew about a QB.

 

[dtgold88]

They would have saved money if they just signed both of them last year instead of dragging it out. I also think they would have been better off trading Higgins and using the money to boost the defense and o-line.

Yep....and whatever one thinks about this Browns FO when they have guys they like they adhere to this philosophy and sign guys well before they hit FA.

 

[ducky]

The one thing this does prove out though is that it is always best to sign your guy as soon as you can. Had they sign both Chase and Higgins last offseason, it would have cost them about $30M less over the life of these contracts. This is where a cash poor team like Cinci really gets screwed as they were too busy searching the couch cushions for Burrow's guaranteed money to give these guys their deals.

Quoting myself here but saw an article that made me think of this.

Contract still TBD but I bet you the Cowboys will have ended up costing themselves $25-$45M in cap space by not getting Parsons to agree to a contract last offseason.

They sign him last year and his AAV is probably in the neighborhood of $37M a year.

When it finally gets done later this offseason, I bet it approaches $45M AAV.

It is weird at how bad Jerry and the Cowboys are at this part of the game. Did the same thing last offseason by waiting till the market was completely set for Lamb and Dak where they had little choice to either match or exceed existing contracts where they likely could have done a lot better if they were the ones out there trying to establish the market level. Especially on Dak.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

That is kind of amazing that all the teams still have their picks.

 

[shopson67]

That is kind of amazing that all the teams still have their picks.

F dem trades, lol.

 

[cdumler7]

I'm a little shocked considering many view this as a bad 1st round draft. Many claiming there are only about 8-9 true 1st round talented players and then a decent drop off. So would think someone in the 20's would be looking to trade for proven talent.

 

[Clayton]

So would think someone in the 20's would be looking to trade for proven talent.

Its mostly defensive talent in rd1. I think the scenario for trades would likely have to involve a team trading away a key offensive player they dont want to pay so they can get better on defense. The Bengals kinda showed that they had no interest in that.

 

[cdumler7]

Its mostly defensive talent in rd1. I think the scenario for trades would likely have to involve a team trading away a key offensive player they dont want to pay so they can get better on defense. The Bengals kinda showed that they had no interest in that.

Good point. The only offensive player I could see maybe falling into that category would be Garrett Wilson with the Jets fully hitting that reset button. Justin Fields doesn't exactly make me think they are fully set at QB for the future. I don't think the 49ers are looking to trade Kittle and I cannot see CMC getting a 1st round value.

 

[shopson67]

Its mostly defensive talent in rd1. I think the scenario for trades would likely have to involve a team trading away a key offensive player they dont want to pay so they can get better on defense. The Bengals kinda showed that they had no interest in that.

Depends on where teams have their tiers set for their targeted players. I could see someone trading back into the 1st for one of the top 4 WRs for example, or if Hampton is still available.

 

[Clayton]

Depends on where teams have their tiers set for their targeted players. I could see someone trading back into the 1st for one of the top 4 WRs for example, or if Hampton is still available.

I think Steve Smith mentioned someone would trade up for Burden if he fell to the bottom of rd1. Loveland I think is maybe someone who could fall just being TE2 and he is too talented for rd2. Hampton likely in the same boat.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

It was almost foiled when the bears traded the first pick to Carolina for the haul. They took DJ Moore and a second this year over just a first round pick this year.

 

[shopson67]

I think Steve Smith mentioned someone would trade up for Burden if he fell to the bottom of rd1. Loveland I think is maybe someone who could fall just being TE2 and he is too talented for rd2. Hampton likely in the same boat.

Yep, watched that 89 content last night.

Really, could be any position if a team narrows it's focus on a specific prospect.

 

[cdumler7]

Yep, watched that 89 content last night.

Really, could be any position if a team narrows it's focus on a specific prospect.

I really don't trust Steve Smith and his eval of WR's. He hates taller WR's. Every single year they seem lower in his rankings than what the consensus is and he hypes up players that have similar games to how he played. Throw in I question how much he really does watch these guys. When talking about McMillan he mentioned that in 2023 he didn't really do much and struggles when he isn't the main target since Arizona had Cowley. Problem is McMillan had 90 catches, 1400 yards, and 10 TD's. I wouldn't call that not doing much. So again that bias he brings to the table really makes me question especially when he talks about taller WR's.

 

[Clayton]

I really don't trust Steve Smith and his eval of WR's. He hates taller WR's. Every single year they seem lower in his rankings than what the consensus is and he hypes up players that have similar games to how he played. Throw in I question how much he really does watch these guys. When talking about McMillan he mentioned that in 2023 he didn't really do much and struggles when he isn't the main target since Arizona had Cowley. Problem is McMillan had 90 catches, 1400 yards, and 10 TD's. I wouldn't call that not doing much. So again that bias he brings to the table really makes me question especially when he talks about taller WR's.

Smith's commentary doesnt make a whole lot of sense without context and I think he intentionally leaves context out just to say provocative things. I saw his breakdown of Xavier Worthy this year and I thought he did a good job of showing his issues but a lot of those were in the first half of the season. I think he obviously made some strides as the season went along which he seemed to account for with his grading but not his commentary.

His ranking of T-Mac seemed fine. His commentary was bad (Burden commentary was non existent)

 

[cdumler7]

Smith's commentary doesnt make a whole lot of sense without context and I think he intentionally leaves context out just to say provocative things. I saw his breakdown of Xavier Worthy this year and I thought he did a good job of showing his issues but a lot of those were in the first half of the season. I think he obviously made some strides as the season went along which he seemed to account for with his grading but not his commentary.

His ranking of T-Mac seemed fine. His commentary was bad (Burden commentary was non existent)

I don't mind TMac being ranked 2nd. So I do agree the ranking is fine. The commentary though of how he arrived at that conclusion is sad. Just adds fuel to the fire that he does hate taller WR's and will go into his eval of them with that thought process. I really do not have a problem if someone has Golden ranked over him as he is a good prospect and both of them seem to be more of a what fits your offensive style. I like TMac in part because I do think he is a good fit with Payton. Payton has always shown a love of big/tall receivers that present matchup problems and then will many times put them in the slot to get an even bigger advantage using their body to give them leverage.

 

[Clayton]

I don't mind TMac being ranked 2nd. So I do agree the ranking is fine. The commentary though of how he arrived at that conclusion is sad. Just adds fuel to the fire that he does hate taller WR's and will go into his eval of them with that thought process. I really do not have a problem if someone has Golden ranked over him as he is a good prospect and both of them seem to be more of a what fits your offensive style. I like TMac in part because I do think he is a good fit with Payton. Payton has always shown a love of big/tall receivers that present matchup problems and then will many times put them in the slot to get an even bigger advantage using their body to give them leverage.

We're seeing two different evaluations of TMac on the internet. One is a guy that should be going #4 to the Patriots and one that falls to around #20 to Denver. Those are two extremely different values for a position thats in high demand. I think the other player we're seeing like that is Sanders at QB.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

NWPATSFAN
Well-Known Member

FWIW, ESPNs Jeremy Fowler reports LB Jack Gibbens to #Patriots on a one-year deal. Gibbens had 167 tackles over three seasons in Tennessee, reuniting with Mike Vrabel.
2:08 AM · Mar 20, 2025