Originally posted by theduke85:
Garicboy: great post, you really nailed it.
I thought this was a tremendous draft. It fills future holes and gives us nice flexibility. Here are some random thoughts....
- Iupati is as good as gone, there is no doubt about it. He is going to command a massive contract, but he's probably not worth it. He's a stud in the running game but he doesn't have elite pass protection skills. We signed Kilgore to an extension not too long ago. We've added Marcus Martin and Brandon Thomas. In 2015, two of Kilgore/Thomas/Martin will be starters on this team. I would guess Thomas/Martin. Snyder, who is versatile but sucks, will not make the team.
- I'm not sure if we'll resign Crabtree or not. However, I do believe that some people are underestimating how much he'll get. I'm pretty confident that Crabtree will see a Percy Harvin/Mike Wallace contract. $10-12M a year. He has fantastic hands and some of the best YAC ability in the game. If he leaves (and he probably will), Johnson is a nice option to slide in as a starter opposite Boldin. By that time, Patton/Ellington will have hopefully developed to the point that they are legitimate starting options at the slot position.
- Crabtree and Iupati will both get massive contracts. I could envision a scenario where we receive third-round picks compensation for both (maybe not likely, but I do think it's possible).
- I absolutely loved the Trey Millard pick at the end of the draft. He is a dynamic player that shows great versatility. I also hope he takes Celek's spot on the roster. Celek to me has very little value or utility.
- some people are frustrated by it, but I think this whole "drafting injured players and redshirting them for a year" is a brilliant strategy. We still get four full years out of the player, and it gives us bargain value by being able to draft these players lower than where they would've gone had they been healthy.
Duke,
Nice post.
Yes, the drafting injured players is a GREAT strategy, but you have to have the extra picks to do it, and thankfully Baalke has been able to shrewdly pick up extra picks.
Hindsight is 20/20, and I am getting greedy but I possibly would have done 1 thing different. But because drafting injured players is such a great strategy and method of retaining players and enabling them to learn at the same time, I may have passed on Chris Borland, traded down and picked up extra an extra pick/s in 2015 draf and drafted CB Aaron Colvin in the 4th round and ILB Shayne Skov as UDFA. Hindisght is 20/20.
CB Aaron Colvin was one of the guys I really thought they were going to draft. I see him as a the perfect Slot CB to replace Eric Wright/Perrish Cox or even on the Outside and replace Chris Culliver.
Shayne Skov was a GREAT UDFA, but with Chris Borland now on the team, it almost makes the Chris Borland pick look unnecessary. However, once again, I am getting nit picky, and hindsight is 20/20 and who would have thought that Skov would not be drafted and that the Jaguars a team who needs players that can play now would take a player that can't play until 2015. Perhaps Trent Baalke is starting a trend and other teams are now seeing the value in drafting injured players saving a roster and allowing them to learn the system and get comfortable with their new team for a year. Even the worst team in the league, the Jaguars are catching on.
