MichiganCardinal

Kind of feels to me like the trade was put in place for Gilotte and then when he was gone, the offer was still on the table and Holmes said “f it” and made the trade anyway for another guy he loved. Not a great strategy, but hope it works out.

Yeah but their dads aren’t famous so it’s okay. Sorry, correction. Their dads aren’t famous so ESPN doesn’t care. So it’s okay.

That’s a lot of lawns to mow.

There’s some creative reporting going on by his agent. That’s a very standard UDFA contract. The league standard for an undrafted rookie is a three-year deal, with Exclusive Rights to follow. Recall the Brock Wright drama last year when he signed an offer sheet with the Niners. As opposed to 1st rounders who have four-year deals with a fifth-year team option, or 2nd-7th rounders with four-year deals. The league minimums are $840,000 for the rookie season, $1,005,000 for the second season, and $1,130,000 for the third season. So the league standard, minimum deal for an undrafted rookie in 2025 is 3 years / $2.97 million. Exactly what he got. What UDFAs really tend to care more about is that guaranteed money. Since most of them don’t make it to the roster, if they’re a coveted name, they’ll want either a lot of guaranteed money or a real good chance to make the team. In that sense, $85k isn’t nothing, but it’s also not indicative that they really love a guy. For context, in 2021 (with a different cap and minimums), Brock Wright was guaranteed $50,000 and Jerry Jacobs was guaranteed $3,500. But, last year preseason fan-favorite Isaiah Williams got $245,000 guaranteed, and the center Kingsley Eguakun got $240,000 guaranteed. So it’s not like this Gavin Holmes dude is super highly thought of. He’s got a shot to make the roster, but probably on special teams, and his contract doesn’t really indicate anything more special than that.

As long as we’re picking 32nd.

The thing about being the smartest person in the room is that it works when you actually are the smartest person in the room.

I've applied to jobs before where you know that if you get it, you'll get a call on a certain date, and if you don't get it, you'll get an email the following week. I didn't invite friends and family to a watch party (which is for the best, because I didn't get it), but I would be pretty hurt if someone prank called me and told me I got the job. That's a really messed up thing to do. That said, I also agree with your other post and generally with Jimbo. The court of public opinion can get quickly out of hand when everyone on social media feels the need to one-up the last post's level of outrage. We don't need to crucify a dumbass for being a dumbass. He may not be a "child," but even at 21, his frontal lobe isn't fully developed. Not to stray into the political, but there's a reason the Michigan Supreme Court is taking mandatory life imprisonment off the table for 19- and 20-year-olds. We understand more now about brain development and how decisions are made at a young age. In the privacy of his home, surrounded by his friends, he made an enormously stupid decision. It probably wouldn't happen at 30, and he doesn't need to pay for it for the rest of his life.

Maybe it's my generation speaking (not that I'm that much older than Jax), but I also feel like the medium is a little superficial. The whole "I screwed up so let me take a picture of a black background and type a four-sentence apology into Instagram, tag him, and call it a day" just feels childish in and of itself. To the extent he feels the need to make a public post (I don't know that he does), it should be focused on Shedeur and the fact he called him to apologize. Then moving on and creating space for the victim of your behavior. Everything else is just actually trying to "apologize" to the public in order to salvage any reputation in the public eye he can.

Comparing to 2021 as well, we didn't really get anything out of our UDFAs after this draft. Obinna Eze has hung around the league, and is now with the Jets. Everyone else we pick up as UDFAs is either retired or playing in the Great White North. In 2021 we picked up Brock Wright and Jerry Jacobs as UDFAs.

Kenta Valverde!

The home plate blocking rule is entirely vibes based. They wanted to get collisions out of the game so they wrote the most subjective standard possible. Survey every MLB umpire in a vacuum, and it's probably a 60-40 split whether that was illegal or not.

Atta boy, Javy!

I think Glasgow is more about age than talent. He'll be 33 by week one. Last year, the playoff game was his 17th start. That takes its toll. I think he'll still be valuable this year as an OL6, even if he's not a starter. You just need to keep his legs fresh and his body right. In the NFL, you can't really count on all three of your IOL starting all 17 games. He'll get his chances, and I think he'll be a good veteran to have off the bench in those situations.

I do think Holmes drafted for need this draft in a way we hadn't seen in past drafts. Not to say that he had blinders on as to who his best players were, or that he was going to allow himself to be pigeon-holed into taking any particular position, but I think he was more conscious this year about the role that players would take, both immediately and in the near-future. For instance, in 2021 and 2022 for sure, and even the last two years to an extent, I think he relied much more on his Big Board, without respect for position. If the Board landed on doubling up on DTs with Levi and Alim, so be it. If the Board landed on taking a RB, LB, and TE with the first three picks, that's fine. If we double up on CBs with Arnold and Rakestraw, okay. He just wanted talent. The absolute best players out there. I think he came in knowing the positions he was targeting early this year, with more of a laser focus on checking those boxes... DE, DT, WR, OG... Did he check all of those boxes? No, we left without a high-quality edge rusher, because again, he wasn't going to be forced into making a pick he didn't love. But he checked most of those boxes while still finding players he loved. I just don't think he was about to take two DBs again, or a RB and TE. It's still BPA, but it's a little more focused than in year's past.

Aidan Hutchinson: A+ Can't ask for anything more. His injury possibly cost us a Super Bowl. I hope he gets the DPOY that he was on track for last season. Jameson Williams: B A lot of bark and little bite until last season when he finally showed his potential. There might still be meat on the bone too, which makes this a difficult grade. The off-field struggles and immaturity (both on and off-the-field) negatively impact this grade too. I worry about paying him the kind of salary that he will demand, and that has to impact my grade for a top-ten overall pick. Josh Paschal: C I'd like more out of where he was drafted at #46 overall. Looking at the players drafted after him, there are a handful I would prefer. Part of me still wonders if David Ojabo would have been the pick, reuniting him with Hutch, if he didn't go to Baltimore the immediately preceding pick. Health has been part of it, but I agree with the assessment of him as just a rotational player, which you hope for more in the 2nd round. At the same time, I think there is part of him that is doing what he's there to do. He first and foremost plugs the run. He does it well when he's out there. I would just still like to see more. Kerby Joseph: A+ Love myself a good bounty hunter pickup in the late 3rd. He's possibly the best safety in the league, even if his faulty reputation hurts him. James Mitchell: D I expected more out of Mitchell. His lack of contribution and exit stage left was disappointing. Malcolm Rodriguez: A You can't ask for more out of a 6th rounder. He's not a revolutionary player, but he's the kind of guy you want on your team. James Houston: B What an enigma this guy was. If you had told me in the middle of his run of sacks that he'd be the first Holmes draft pick released in the era, I'd have figured he committed an atrocious crime off the field. It's hard to grade him higher than a B when he's not on the team anymore, but he gave us some entertainment for a little while, and what more can you ask of a 6th round pick? Chase Lucas: B He's still in the league, so hard to grade harshly. Would be better if you can find someone who can contribute on your team, but you can't win them all. Overall: A- It's not 2021, which I graded an A+, but it's still a very good draft - the kind that leads to championships. They did their job in picking up a game-wrecker at #2 overall, and then effectively added to the team, in a significant way, with Jamo, Kerby, and Rodrigo, along with no true busts before the 5th round. Still, the Jamo and Paschal picks leave a little something to be desired, and I'm not sure either will be here past this year. I'm not saying I could do a better job, I couldn't. But I think an A means like damn near perfect, and I don't think it was quite that.