NFL 2022 Off-Season

[GindyPosts]

Wow, Colts pick a wide receiver and don't go for the injured risk?

Who has replaced Chris Ballard?

[cable guy]

I don't like the Cowboys draft at all this year. So far anyway.

I usually like their drafts a lot, but I don't know anything about the guys they got, and they are not getting rave reviews. What do I know though.

[MajorHoy]

I'm annoyed with the NFL draft and ABC television.

They started showing it on the main ABC network at 7:00 EDT Friday night, so it preempted the syndicated programming the local stations normally show from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Where I live, that meant they showed the draft instead of Jeopardy! on both WABC Channel 7 (New York City) and on WTNH Channel 8 (the New Haven CT ABC affiliate). So my Mom didn't get to watch her Jeopardy! last night.

(I can see maybe doing that on the very first night of the draft, but even then, why couldn't they just show the draft on ESPN instead of taking the time slot(s) away from the local broadcast affiliates as well?)

[MRP]

After being unable to trade him through the Draft process, the Bears have released veteran QB Nick Foles. With his $10 million + hit to the cap, the Bears couldn't find any takers. I would guess he might get some interest as a free agent for less money.

-M

[WestPhillyPunisher]

After being unable to trade him through the Draft process, the Bears have released veteran QB Nick Foles. With his $10 million + hit to the cap, the Bears couldn't find any takers. I would guess he might get some interest as a free agent for less money.

-M

There are some Eagles fans who don’t like Jalen Hurts that are already longing for the team to bring Foles back for a THIRD time, to which I say….kill that noise!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Some things from the draft...

- The 49ers seem to be set on keeping Deebo as they likely got some calls before and during the draft. But as GM Lynch claimed the team wants to keep Deebo.

- The NY Giants also declined a 5th year option. The news came out it was on Daniel Jones. The QB enters a MAKE OR BREAK season and didn't seem to get a lot of big support even with the Giants #1 draft pick who said Jones walked up to him and he thought he was just some normal dude til he realized who Jones was. (If that didn't help Jones ego wise as the Giants declined his 5th year Option)

[CSTowle]

Long rant, New England Patriots centric, feel free to skip (but feel the need to vent somewhere, and wanted a few days to cool off):

To start, I had said that my number one priority as a fan was to find a CB to replace JC Jackson as he was our best player overall (forget Defensive player). We had 3 of the top 5 rated CBs still available to us at 21, and Devin Lloyd at LB or Jermaine Johnson at DE who look good enough that I'd have been fine passing on CB for either, but we traded down to let KC move up.

Looking at the picks we got in return for the move back in a deep draft, with a lot of holes to fill, I was actually pretty OK with it. It did feel like a kick in the d##k to see the best team in the AFC (arguably the NFL) take the best CB available with what would have been our pick. Then to see the second best team, but maybe the 1A, and our division leader in the Buffalo Bills take the #4 CB a couple of picks later in Elam. Then goes Jermaine Johnson, then Devin Lloyd. That's OK, we still have Andrew Booth who fell into our laps, and picked up two bonus mid-round picks (where we can surely find some decent O-lineman, as we tend to do well finding them in those rounds or even later). So, here comes the pick:

Round 1: Cole Strange, G. *FFFFFFFF_* OK. A couple of days to cool down, I get it. It's a need. It's a need we made for ourselves by trading Shaq Mason to Tom Brady and the Buccs, and letting Ted Karras go, but now regardless a need. And 8 O-lineman had gone before we picked him, including the consensus top 2 guards (both top 20 picks, so before we'd have a chance to think about them). He also seems to be the highest rated of the Guards after the big 2, though a big drop-off in talent and not far above multiple Guards available into the 3-5 round range. Still, a need. Probably could have gotten him in the 2nd, or something similar, but a need. Keep telling myself that. Not as big a need as CB, and the drop-off after Booth is massive. Blech.

Moving on, next round. We lost a pick to move up, must have our eyes on something good right? Got a Guard, no CB worth the pick, but Nakobe Dean at LB is still there, and many had us drafting him in the 1st round. A few other talented LBs as well, but none as good as Dean. I suppose at this point we can afford the luxury of WR depth, and there's still Skyy Moore sitting there along with George Pickens and Alec Pierce. Instead, we get:

Round 2: Tyquan Thornton, WR. Who? Apparently the guy the corpse of Al Davis would have picked. A very skinny, limited route-running speedster with Trump hands that (tell me if you've heard this one before) was considered a likely day 3 pick with no business being in this round. Excellent. Not only not a need, but not even a luxury as we once again go too cute/clever/4D chess. I can't feel good about this one. Especially seeing all of the guys I mentioned go off the board right after.

So, no CB and no LB as of yet and the talent pool is starting to dry up but there's still some solid players available. What's next?

Round 3: Marcus Jones, CB. Finally! A CB. A 5'8" CB with penalty issues, but one that seems to be highly regarded despite his size. And he's a kick returner to boot, Bill loves special teamers. And apparently has some experience catching the ball. I'm back in, first pick I like (not as much as I'd have liked one of McDuffie/Elam/Booth in the 1st, or Dean in the 2nd, but still). Maybe this won't be a disaster. Would still like to see a LB at some point, maybe some OT depth (Wynn likely gone next year, Trent Brown might want to re-negotiate if he's healthy and performs well). Instead:

Round 4: Jack Jones, CB. Another CB! And another Jones! Great, let's look into this guy: Oh, lost his position at USC because he was deemed "academically ineligible" (and given how they bend the rules for athletes, that's especially alarming) then went on to be arrested for breaking in and burglarizing a restaurant. So IQ and decision-making red flags. Well, we need bodies at this point. Hopefully done with that nonsense, don't need another Hernandez.

Rest of the draft: Mostly dart-throws at this point, but we took another luxury pick in RB depth in the fourth with the kid Pierre Strong who seems like a James White/Bolden third-down type so maybe a guy to fill in that gap if White's hurt and now that Bolden's gone. Taking a back-up QB in Zappe (Zappy!) seemed like an odd choice, with some better looking dart-throw CB and LB types still available and Sam Howell still sitting there. Ended up with a big DT body and some O-lineman, maybe one of them turns into a solid back-up. No LB though, so guess they're either going to re-sign one of the old, slow veterans or hope the young guys step up and get past injuries.

Still, looking at this draft and free agency it feels like everyone else in the AFC got better and we either stood still or took a step back. If Wilson develops at all at QB (took a few years for Josh Allen) we could honestly end up 4th in the division, and no way are we making the playoffs. Hard to complain after the Brady/Belichick era and knew a slide back to mediocrity was inevitable but it's rough when you see it happening in real time. Still, games are played on the field in the fall, and not on draft boards in the spring. Let's see what happens.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I really don't know how good KC did draft wise. I know they went defense to build that unit. They drafted a CB and DE early to try and help it. In the 2nd rd they drafted Skyy Moore who has a cool name and speed. One analyst has came out and said Moore will be the #1 guy now and proclaimed him a steal. But we won't know that for sure til the season begins.

The past drafts Veach has done great draft wise. Last year he drafted 2 all-pro players in the 2nd round and a starting guard in the 6th in Smith. So Veach has done solid in drafts. Its just a question mark how this draft will go.

I can get KC wanted to go with youth and they seem to keep that mantra by not going for free agents (as much as I wish they'd get pieces around Jones and Bolton etc.

[C_Miller]

I'm happy with the Bills picks. We only really had two starting positions to realistically fill and I think we made every reasonable effort to do that. First pick fulfilled our biggest need in a CB. I think Elam can easily fill in the CB2 role and perhaps the CB1 role in White starts the season on IR. Then we went and got a change of pace Running Back who I believe compliments Singletary very well and may even bee the RB1 soon.

The next pick is a little bit more confusing. We reached on Terell Bernard who is likely only going to be a Special Teamer and back up. I know we don't have many holes, but I would have liked to have seen someone more rotational here. Being in the Super Bowl window we're in now, I'd prefer not to go developmental in the first 3 rounds and focus on players who can help us in 2022.

As for the rest of the draft, it was fine over all. It's hard to complain too much about the 5th - 7th Rounds. I do think we potentially got a steal in Khalil Shazir at Wide Reciever who I think could get some actual meaningful reps this year and of course Matt Araiza is going to be our Punter.

Overall, not a super exciting draft, but it's hard to be really exciting when you have a team like the Bills. We are drafting at the bottom of rounds and we're not trading away major talent to get extra First Rounders. We're looking for more roll players than game changers.

[Kirby101]

The Dolphins might get one or two good players from the draft. Sometimes latter picks work out. But of course their draft story is they traded away their picks in a year with underwhelming choices for one of the best WR playing. This will be the test year for Tua. Hopefully he will stay healthy. He has two explosive receivers, talented TEs and good RBs. It will also depend on first year coach Mike McDaniel. We also have an asshole owner who can screw things up.
This year, the AFCEast turned from a weak, one team division to tough competition.

[C_Miller]

The Dolphins might get one or two good players from the draft. Sometimes latter picks work out. But of course their draft story is they traded away their picks in a year with underwhelming choices for one of the best WR playing. This will be the test year for Tua. Hopefully he will stay healthy. He has two explosive receivers, talented TEs and good RBs. It will also depend on first year coach Mike McDaniel. We also have an asshole owner who can screw things up.
This year, the AFCEast turned from a weak, one team division to tough competition.

Generally speaking, it's always smart to go with the sure thing. You can maybe make the argument that they gave up too much for Hill considering what the Bills traded for Stefon Diggs who has more or less been matching Hill production wise over the last few years. But none of that matters if you're winning. I think the Dolphins are going to be the second best team in the division this year and have a real chance at a wild card.

[MRP]

Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins gets a 6 game suspension for violating PED policy.

Elsewhere the New Orleans Saints have reached a three-year, $33 million deal with $18 million guaranteed with the All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu.

-M

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The Chiefs were busy and sent a 2024 7th rd pick for Lonnie Johnson , a CB. Then they decided to roll the big dice on a rookie undrafted player.

KC signed Justyn Ross from Clemson. Ross at one point was gonna be a sure fire 1st rd draft pick before injuries dismantled his college career the last 2 seasons. Teams were worried about his injuries that ended both seasons. KC could end up with quite a steal if Ross is healthy.

[Scott Taylor]

The Rams got two Safeties, Offensive Tackle, Edge Rusher, two Cornerbacks, Running Back, Offensive Lineman. Five defensive positions all together with a big focus on pass protection. Overall, I agree with the focus and think its something we are going to really need this upcoming season, as covering the pass was at times a glaring deficiency. These were all late rounders, so we'll see if they pan out.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The Haters Guide to the 2022 NFL Draft. The narrator who does a great job admits the video won't age well in spots. But he's ready....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3czruIzKYb0&t=376s


(the video won't be posted due to NFL footage)