The 2023 Draft

35 million is right about cousins/gaff/dak which is carr on a good day. Still needs a team around them but healthy team+get hot in January. Best case is eli. elis got more rings than lots of surefire hall of famers.

 

Carr is a tough call for me. While I do like him overall, he has some of that Russell Wilson, HEY GUYS LOOK I'M A LEADER!!! crap that eventually gets old in a locker room, plus he's approaching his mid 30's and fresh of his worst season since his rookie year.


There are worse quarterbacks to give 30 million dollars to, but there are just enough red flags to make me nervous here.

 

How about a damned kicker somewhere in this process?

 

We got 2 now, gonna have to cut the expensive one most likely

 

My first mock, on eve of Combine.

Panthers resign Sam Darnold to a 2 year - $40 million contract, which seems expensive until you realize that Daniel Jones is asking for $45 million per year.

They don't trust Will Leavis nor Anthony Richardson enough to take either a 9, so they trade back with Washington to pick 16 and pick up 2nd rounder (47) Washington takes AR and wishes Bienemy "good luck". The Sam Howell talk was a smokescreen.

Round 1 (16) Lucas Van Ness - Edge. He will bookend with Burns for a dynamic set of OLBs for the 34 base and is strong enough to kick in for sub 43 sets. Very high ceiling.

Round 2 (39) Drew Sanders - ILB. Shaq is a cap casualty and his guy is ferocious and the right fit for taking on blocks from IOL.

Round 2 (47) Luke Musgrave. Great speed and with a huge TE crop this year, is a bargain at pick number 47. He has suddenness and can get separation. The 4th TE taken so far in the 2023 draft.

Round 2 (61) Tanner McKee - QB. He is tall but can run when pressured. Very smart, great arm, and about 235 lbs. Moving up boards now to the bottom of the 1st, so a long shot to be here at end of 2nd round. He and Corral can fight out the next 2 seasons behind Darnold to see who best can run the Reich system. They both have different skill sets.

Round 3 (93) Siaki Ika - DT. Very good spot for this NT. McCall and Roy will rotate a lot with Ika to keep the Nose position fresh. He is needed for 34 base. Mazi Smith is probably better, but goes a round earlier.

After all the comp picks are given out, will try to do another post combine version. We will know the other slots then, but getting a RB, OT/G, and speedy WR will be priorities and fit nicely for those later rounds.

 

I like the trade back idea, but there's no way in hell Sam Darnold is being re-signed by this regime, and certainly not for $20 million/year. There are cheaper options for bridge quarterbacks who also don't carry the baggage of the failed Matt Rhule experience.

There's also no way in hell Reich is going to push for a sack magnet QB like McKee, but your third round appraisal of him is much more accurate than the contrarian idiots who are mocking him into the 1st.

 

I did not mind Sam nearly as much once Bozeman took over at Center. Why Rhule did not have him out their all year, we may never know. But Sam played much better once he returned and had a somewhat credible Oline. All QB's tend to be sack magnets with Irving, Elfiein and Jordan as your protections. Sam is fast also and familiar to the Oline and most receivers. With Oline getting better, Sam at $20 made more sense than others at $40 or $45. A bridge QB, but not a bridge too far

 

I'm not saying it's an absurd plan, I'm just saying there's no way that it's happening - although the finances are an absurd part of the plan. Obviously, you're right that QBs get more expensive, but Sam isn't going to reach anything close to 20 million.


For perspective, Marcus Mariota made $8 million to be Atlanta's bridge quarterback. That's about what you're paying a stopgap on the open market.

 

Like this mock . .. with exception of McKee. Would just take Ika at 61, but he could easily go even before then. In the 3rd take Hooker if still there. McKee is not mobile enough for Reich & Co. Sam can be slippery and surprisingly fast. Just have a feeling that he will be better with improved Oline and new regime

 

I'd rather go Hendon Hooker or even Duggan over MeKee.