Some food for thought as we all get together over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
Houston: Bryce Young, QB Alabama a franchise QB and should work well with Pep Hamilton (assuming Lovie gets on more years).
Carolina: C.J. Stroud QB. Ohio State: Panthers turn the page on the Baker and Sam experiments and get a cornerstone-type player, but the next question is who will be the HC and OC.
Chicago: Will Anderson Jr., DE/OLB Alabama: They need to get Fields some help, but Anderson is way too good to pass up. After trading Smith and Quinn, the Bears defense needs that leader. Anderson can bring a Parsons quality to the defense and team.
Las Vegas: Jalen Carter DT. Georgia: Roster purge will continue this off-season. I don’t like the direction Raiders right now, especially after being a difficult team to beat in the playoffs last year, but Carter is a beast.
Seattle: Will Levis QB Kentucky: With Geno Smith in place to hold the job down, for the time being, the Seahawks get their next franchise QB without the pressure of having to play him immediately, which is rare.
Detroit: Kelee Ringo CB Georgia. Ideally, they would like a franchise QB with this spot, but the top three are gone, and adding the top corner in the draft from the likely repeat National Champs works for me.
Houston: Myles Murphy DE Clemson Pass rush help is needed and is a day one starter.
Pittsburgh: Peter Skoronski OT Northwestern Pickett needs time to grow into the starting spot, so Pittsburgh would be wise to build up the line and go back to a heavy ground game.
Jacksonville: Jordan Addison WR USC. The Jaguars have solid wide receivers but lack a pure #1, and Addison is unique.
Philadelphia: Joey Porter Jr. CB Penn State, the Eagles dream of a top five picks because less and less likely with each Saints win. Bradberry is a free agent and will probably be paid in the neighborhood of 13 million a year, so adding a player of Porter’s caliber makes a lot of sense financially and in the long term.
Arizona: Paris Johnson Jr. OT Ohio State. A security guard for the franchise QB they invested in this past season.
Green Bay: Michael Mayer TE Notre Dame. They added the young wide receivers last year, and now they get the stud moving the chains tight end for whoever the QB is next season.
Detroit: Bryan Bresee DL Clemson A young stud for the middle of the line.
Indianapolis: Cam Smith, CB South Carolina Play, learn, and work opposite Stephon Gilmore (33 next year) would give the Colts a true tandem in the secondary and a future leader of the secondary.
Atlanta: Quentin Johnson WR TCU. Big, strong, wide receiver and a real need in Atlanta.
Chargers: Jason Smith-Njigba, WR Ohio State. Ironically seems Chargers’ wide receivers cannot stay healthy, so they add Smith-Njigba, who is only available because of his injury-prone season. If healthy, he will be an excellent replacement for Allen in the next two years.
Washington: Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Penn State. They need protection for whoever is under center next season.
NY Jets: Broderick Jones OT Georgia. See Above.
Tampa Bay: Isaiah Foskey DE Notre Dame. Time to retool the vaunted defense. You need more young pass rushers.
Denver: Nolan Smith DE Georgia. Chubb is gone, and not surprisingly, Gregory missed time, so Denver should add some young, cheap talent to the defense.
Seattle: Trenton Simpson LB Clemson. Best player and the most pressing need. Simpson should lock down a spot for the next 12 years.
New England: Christian Gonzalez CB Oregon. With what Miami has constructed at wide receiver, you need corners and more corners. Gonzalez is a day-one starter.
Cincinnati: Clark Phillips III CB Utah. The Bengals survive with current corners but grabbing Phillips is a definite upgrade.
Buffalo: Bijan Robinson RB Texas. You cannot expect Josh Allen to last if he leads the team in rushing and passing. OC Ken Dorsey will love Robinson and use him the same way backs got used during his days with the Hurricanes.
Baltimore: Keyshon Boutte, WR LSU, Need a new number one wide out after last off-season moves, and Boutte is that Alpha player who should work well with Jackson.
Tennessee: Jared Verse DE Florida State. He is a versatile defensive lineman who will help the defense on many fronts.
NY Giants: Jalin Hyatt WR Tennessee. They need weapons and a person who knows how to score TDs. Hyatt is emerging and would be a great addition to the changes Daboll will likely make this off-season.
Dallas: O’Cyrus Torrence IOL Florida. They could use a corner here, but all players rated as first-round are gone, so the next move is to continue to build the offensive line. With Tyler Smith likely sliding into LT full-time (with Tyron a likely off-season cut and McGovern a FA), then Torrence could take LG from day 1.
Minnesota: B.J. Ojulari DE LSU. Modern NFL means you can never have enough pass rushers, and they can use some talent infusion that Ojulari would bring to the team.
Kansas City: Andre Carter II DE Army Carter seems like an Andy Reid type of player, and with some pending free agents on the line and some guys aging, Carter would be a welcome long-term addition.
Philadelphia: Tyree Wilson, DL Texas Tech, with Jordan Davis injured and Javon Hargrave, Ndamukong Suh, Linval Joseph, and Fletcher Cox all free agents spending a late first-round pick on a defensive lineman would be a wise move this spring.
Some sports thoughts that hit me over the past few days:
· I love listening to Sean Payton talk football. Man is intelligent and needs to land in the right spot when he returns to coaching. I feel smarter after I listen to him talk.
· Amazing that a player like Justin Herbert, who has a ton of talent, when the Chargers lose every pro-Herbert guy can rattle off every player on the Los Angeles roster that is hurt or just coming back from injury. When Dallas blows a 14-point lead, the narrative is it’s Dak’s fault and is holding the team back. Dak needs to hire Justin Herbert’s PR team.
· I used to be a big fan of Colin Cowherd, but man, is his west coast bias showing every week and gushing over the 49ers, USC, and Chargers, making excuses for the Rams. My favorite is when he says daily, “49ers have a Pro Bowl player at every level” that’s hilarious; last year, the Rams had studs everywhere. Man, I know his goal is to build up West Coast football but calm down.
- It seems Chris Canty still holds a grudge against Dallas; let him leave. Every chance he gets, he slams them.
· Boy, imagine Jimmy Garoppolo with the New York Giants next year. Media would have their new Broadway Joe. In addition, he would be the perfect addition to the scheme with Brian Daboll and the team.
· Anthony Davis is a constant punchline for his injuries and missing games, yet Kawhi Leonard is rarely knocked like that? Since 2019 Kawhi has played 111 games, and Anthony Davis has played 150. As of 11/16/22, Leonard (19-20 57, 20-21 52, 21-22 0, 22-23 2) Anthony Davis (19-20 62, 20-21 36, 21-22 40 and 22-23 12)
· OBJ in Big D. Man, the marketing and NFL circles will go crazy. Prediction is a three-year deal with a voidable third year. OBJ, Lamb, and Gallup give the Cowboys a trio to compete with any group in the league.
· I read Peter King’s suggestion of Aaron Rodgers to Las Vegas for Derek Carr and a 3rd pick. That makes a ton of sense to me. Derek Carr is talented but not meshing with McDaniels. Rodgers would be the legendary type of quarterback coach McDaniels has made a career on riding the coattails of in the NFL.
· MLB Predictions are sure to go wrong. Justin Verlander signs with the New York Mets, Aaron Judge signs with the San Francisco Giants, Jacob deGrom goes to the Atlanta Braves, and Carlos Correa lands with the LA Dodgers.
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