MichiganCardinal

You can take out the one sentence about scouting reports I’ve seen and everything else is just factual (180-reception 1st round prospect TE from Notre Dame vs. 7-reception undrafted TE from Notre Dame).

No offense but you can have him.

I was between LB and OG with the 3rd round pick. I think there will be both good guards and linebackers available in the 3rd round. Not Micah Parsons good, but good enough to rotate in with Rodrigo and Anzalone if he's brought back.

I wouldn't completely rule out taking a TE relatively high, for the same reasons I wouldn't rule out taking a RB. Though the positional value isn't immense, the relative value of adding to the offense is greater than adding to the defense, and with five picks across the first three rounds, you have some capital to play with. I don't think it will happen in the 1st round barring a trade back though, because I don't think the value is there with any of the TEs at 18. I would love to see someone like Darnell Washington be considered in the 2nd or 3rd though. He is a 6'7"/270lb beast of a blocker in the run game that can go up and catch the ball too. He may fall to the mid-2nd or 3rd round only because of the depth at the position in this draft class and his receiving production at Georgia having been overshadowed by other TEs at Georgia (notably Brock Bowers). I think he is TE1 easily if he went to a Big Ten school. Washington lined up next to Sewell or Decker could take our outside run game to the next level, in addition to being a threat in the air. EDGE or DT / RB / CB / TE / OG in the first three rounds, alongside a free agent CB1, sets up the offense to be elite and the defense to be average to good, and that's all you need to be a very competitive team in the NFL.

No they’re not. Both went to Notre Dame and that’s where similarities end. Brock Wright is a blocking tight end. He had 7 career receptions at ND and was on no one’s radar as a draftable prospect. He was signed as a UDFA and had to claw his way onto a roster spot by being a nasty SOB in the blocking game. And later showing an ability to catch the wide open pass. Michael Mayer is a a pure pass-catching TE who set a ND record for career receptions out of that position with 180. In the scouting reports I’ve seen for him, the critique has been in his blocking abilities, that he’s seen more as a catch first, block only if I have to TE. If you want to argue the latter (Mayer’s) position isn’t really necessary in the Lions offense because of the creativity in scheming open the TEs they have, I think there is an argument to be made. Plenty of offenses are potent without a world-beating early round TE receiving threat. But they’re vastly different players.

I’m not necessarily opposed to it, but I also think there is something to be said for the production they got out of Wright last season. Blocking tight ends grow on trees and if they can scheme those guys into good situations there’s no need to spend capital on it. They also drafted an injured James Mitchell last year and I think he could get a chance to earn TE1 in camp this summer.

I agree with all of this, particularly your last paragraph, but I think it's possible you're understating the importance of offense in 2023's NFL. All else being equal, where you are faced with solid not spectacular options, I think it makes sense to take an offensive player and try to put your offense into the elite tier of the NFL. I won't go so far as to say they should win games 50-49, but we did just see a Super Bowl where the Chiefs won because they were the last team to score in a game with 73 combined points. A solid not spectacular RB who can break a tackle and take it to the house one time in the course of a game could be the difference in winning or losing a game more often than it is likely to be the case that a DT makes a game-winning sack. I also think it's much more likely against the best of the best teams in the NFL that you're going to find yourself in a shootout, even if your defense is good. Offenses are just that much better in 2023 that it's unrealistic to hold the best of the best to 21 points.

The ideal situation for me right now would be one where either Carter or Anderson somehow falls to #6 (in the same way Hutch fell to #2), and the Lions can do what it takes to get Bijan as well, trading up if needed (in the same way they did for Jamo)... Just as is plausible with the results last year, that is a world in which they could realistically land the best offensive and the best defensive player in the same draft. I wouldn't go so far as to say Bijan won't make it past #6, but I will say I don't think he makes it past the Eagles at #10. I would entertain sending a 2nd round pick to the Panthers to move from 18 to 9.

Last draft, I want to say he started something like 9/9 or 11/11 in correct predictions. Really impressive. It’s still early, but he’s good at what he does. If his final mock has us taking Bijan at 6, I would say it is a very real possibility.

Guilty as charged! LOL I actually like his partner Charlie Campbell much more. Campbell has sources across the NFL and has done a remarkable job at mock drafting the last few years.

Saw an off-season power rankings this morning that put the Lions at #4, behind only the Bengals, Bills, and Chiefs. I don’t think that’s crazy if they can pick back up where they left off. FWIW, Vikings were at 11, Packers at 19, and Bears at 28.

Did you hear the full comment by Holmes in context? It read like a pretty ringing endorsement of Goff when I heard it. It also came after Holmes got a little smart with the reporter who asked it and said something to the effect of “what did you think of Goff’s performance?” Not to say they won’t take a QB if they love one, but I think they’re big fans of Goff (as they should be).

From what I’ve read on Skoronski, some project him as either an All Pro guard if that’s where he is put or a really good tackle if that’s where he is put. IIRC, it has to do with his arm length.

Good to see I’m not going crazy. We must be reading this wrong, because regional media would have been all over it you would think, or this wouldn’t have been the first time someone received compensation for it. I just can’t figure out what it means if not this.

I remember growing up when Columbine was like 9/11. A one-off tragedy that wouldn't happen again. Until it did at Virginia Tech. And then again at Sandy Hook. And then again at Parkland. And then again at Uvalde. And then again at Oxford. And then again at Michigan State. From my K12 experience to now, I've gone from a lockdown being just something that we do when a deer gets trapped in the courtyard (7th grade), to choosing a seating chart on the first day of class based on the likelihood of victimization if a gunman entered the room (present day in grad school). I simply can't imagine what it must be like for kids growing up in this twisted version of American education. Speaking of the 9/11 analogy, imagine if we expended the resources we did on 9/11 (which killed less than 3,000 people) on combatting firearms (which kill about 3,000 people every month). I'll just keep taking my shoes off at the airport though while children die for going to school.

Yes, but when you read the qualification in isolation, that's where I get a little confused. (ii) The employer-club shall be eligible to receive this Draft choice compensation if: a. The minority employee hired as a Head Coach or Primary Football Executive has been employed by the employer-club for a minimum of two full seasons; and b. The minority employee is not the Head Coach or Primary Football Executive of the employer-club and is hired into the same position with the new club. There can be no break in employment between clubs.

The Bears are a total dumpster fire with needs everywhere. To be a competitive team, they will seriously need to upgrade, address, or expect vast improvement at every offensive and defensive position sans quarterback, if you are someone who believes that Fields could lead a competitive team that actually has talent. It's probably not going to happen in one offseason unless they pull a Jaguars and say to hell with the future let's vastly overpay for Christian Kirk (and even then I don't think it would be successful). With that said, it would make sense to trade Fields away if you see a franchise QB there at #1, you have the backing of the ownership to request a mulligan on the start to your tenure, and you get a boat load back for Fields. I don't think the market will be what they hope on Fields. At least not compared to what it will be for the #1 pick. Teams want their franchise guy. The guy they selected, and can mold, and make into their own. Fields is going to be due a large contract after one more season and he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire through two seasons.

To my knowledge, the minority hire resolution was designed only for head coaches and GMs, but my reading of it, specifically (ii)(b), doesn't make that super clear. It seems to indicate that we should get comp'd for Staley maintaining the same position. I think it's just a poorly written resolution and is only meant to apply to head coaches and front office execs, but Holmes and Sheila should try to get us some more picks!

If we can afford to give pretty much every American $3k for existing through the pandemic, we can afford to buyback the nation’s guns. Give people three years. You can either surrender your weapons for destruction and receive immediate fair compensation, or you can declare that you’re keeping your weapon(s). After that, require annual inspections, registration, and insurance. Registration costs a fee, but on a sliding scale, where single shot hunting rifles are a nominal fee and automatic/assault rifles are astronomical. Gun locks are provided for free with registration. Multiple weapons increases the fee. A lengthy questionnaire is required yearly for registration which asks about physical and mental health history, as well as those in the home, where both certain responses and random flags will require physician clearance. Remove statutory liability protection for gun manufacturers and prohibit automatic weapons from being produced. Commission of a crime with an unlawful weapon is a mandatory two-year felony. A first unregistered or uninsured weapon requires destruction of all weapons owned by that individual, and inability to register a weapon for ten years. Subsequent is a two-year felony and inability to ever register a firearm. If your registered weapon is used by another in the commission of a crime, and you didn’t report it stolen, two-year felony for you both. I don’t want to hear it’s not possible. It is. Our leaders just have to care enough.

It sounds about right. I think they would have given the Eagles and Niners a run for their money.

And "unauthorized" ≠ dangerous. These campuses are also publicly funded community centers. There are cafés and libraries in these buildings that are open to the public. Non-students and non-faculty going inside the academic buildings include visiting academics, local high school students, retirees, tourists, etc. The more you stretch to prevent actually attacking the problem (guns), the more you turn schools into voluntary prisons.

I agree. Along with the relative weakness of the NFC, it’s a reason why I would like to see us really make a push this off-season to set the team up for a deep run if we can.

Cardinals hired Gannon. We keep Glenn and the Eagles will need to replace both of their coordinators.

Romad and others on this board who have friends and family on campus were some of the first people I thought of, and continue to think of. I’ve heard from those I’m close to and they’re safe. It’s all such bullshit. Hope the NRA, the GOP, and their cronies sleep well tonight knowing their nonsense manufactured right means more than a college kid’s ability to hang out with friends at the student union without worrying about being killed.