Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat
It was an absolutely great post and i agree with you that that option would be the best for us. While it would really hurt to miss out on one of the Big 4 OTs if they fell to us, outside of them, theres not likely to be any players that fill our three main needs (OT, LB, DE) at 13.
Mack looks to be a solid player, but we would be incredibly foolish to take him at 13. I understand the man-crush some of you have on him, but if we selected him, we'd still have holes at starting RT, LB, and DE. Mack also doesnt fill one of our top 3 needs and using the 13th overall pick to fill a need that is probably 5th or 6th on our team makes no sense at all.
I used to favor taking an LB at 13, but USCs LBs look to be the best ones available when we pick, and one of them are really worth it, either. Theyre all "two-down" LBs who never played on third down - not exactly top15 material, if you ask me.
The DEs available at 13 all look to be tweeners, ill-suited for a 4-3 system.
Basically, if the big 4 are gone, we HAVE to trade down if possible. In the scenario where we trade with NE and end up with two 2nds and two 3rds, we are in a great position to get starters at atleast two of those positions.
This draft is very very deep at LB and lower-quality OL and DE players. In a year or two, guys we could select in the 2nd and 3rd rounds could be playing at levels comparable to any LB or DE we selected at 13. And, if we draft well, they would be immediate upgrades over the players we have right now.
We are bringing Daniels and Wynn back, so we can afford to draft a DE who is not counted on being an every-down starter. Jansen is healthy for the first time in two years and Heyer has improved every year.
While a stud OT would be nice, the competition between those two means we may be fine drafting an OT who doesnt need to start until mid-season.
At LB, we really need someone who can play significantly right away, but if we dont, we wont be any worse off than we were at the end of last year when our starters were Rocky, Fletcher, and Blades.
IMO our best option to trade down, get multiple picks, and draft guys who are talented and healthy, but a little rough around the edges and/or guys who look great but come from small schools... guys who probably cant start game one, but should be able to make the gameday rosters every week, play a little early on, and work their way into starting roles by the end of the season. Id rather have three guys like that from rounds two and three than anyone not named Oher or Smith at 13.
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