MichiganCardinal

A pass-rushing, game-wrecking presence on the interior defensive line is one of the most rare athletes in all of sports. In the NFL today, I think there is one truly elite DT (Aaron Donald), and about five very good DTs (Quinnen Williams, Chris Jones, Cam Heyward, a couple others). If you have one, you've struck gold in a way that can make your entire defensive unit substantially better... With that said (and I might get some flak here), I think it's a bit of a luxury position. The Bengals have a good defense, without that premier player. Likewise for the Bills. With that said, if you have two very good or elite edge rushers on either side, you do not need that IDL presence because it makes your IDL's job much, much easier. You get Anderson, and you don't have to worry about Hutch being the most double teamed edge rusher in the league anymore. You can tell those two to go out there and have fun meeting at the QB, while you tell Paschal and McNeill to just plug their holes and know that linebackers will be there in support as needed. I think the pocket would collapse so frequently that you won't need a game wrecking presence on the inside, because the play will be coming to them.

I think they have high hopes that Paschal will fill that role this fall, but I don't think his presence will exclude them from taking Wilson or Murphy at 6 if that's the best player on their board. I also think there are conceivable packages where McNeil, Paschal, and Murphy/Wilson are all on the field at the same time.

Who needs to draft a QB when a franchise QB is available in free agency?? /s

Agreed. I think the term "character concerns" has grown into a catch-all for everything negative that could occur off the field, and that's not necessarily fair to a guy like Carter, when character concerns could also be attributed to guys like Titus Young and Nick Fairley, each for largely different reasons. That said, I do understand having concern with taking someone who doesn't put in 100% and who you're concerned doesn't love football. With any player, you have to account for the possibility that he comes in and gets his ass handed to him in his first real practice for the first time in his life. Remember the video of Hutch getting managed by Sewell? How will Carter react if/when he gets pancaked or shut down by Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow in training camp? Will he put in the time and work to get better and beat them the next day, or take his rookie contract and be happy that his raw talent got him that much?

I'm trying not to be the Charlie Campbell drum beater because it feels like I keep bringing him up, but he published his scouting report on Carter even before McShay's story came out, with mention of character concerns that he heard from "team sources". I don't think the concerns are that he's a jerk in the locker room, or that he's bullying freshmen, or drinking late at night, or anything like that. For that matter, I don't think there is concrete evidence to be seen (as RandyMarsh put it), or some witness to some smoking gun character flaw... My impression from what I have read is that the concerns are more along the lines that Carter relies on raw athleticism and talent to have his way with college athletes. That he doesn't put in the work others do, in the weight room or at practice, either because he doesn't have to or doesn't want to. That it won't translate well to the NFL, either because (a) grown men NFL players who are working their ass off will seek to alienate him, causing the locker room issues, and/or (b) he's not enough of a freak-of-nature to have continued success relying on his raw talent against NFL centers and guards.

I do put weight into the Risdon quote, but I also don't think it means we won't take the top edge at 6 if they're the best player on the board. He tweeted this shortly after the tweet from above. I think not taking Lukas Van Ness or Isaiah Foskey at 18 is pretty obvious. There are more pressing needs and a similar quality of player at other positions. But if the top player on your board is there at 6, and you see HOF potential, I don't think they let Charles Harris get in the way of taking that player.

There is too much smoke for me to categorize it as out-and-out false. McShay isn't the only one reporting it, so it's coming from somewhere (or multiple somewheres) and while those who are claiming it aren't coming out publicly, they're certainly making it known. I've also thought these PR stunts that Carter is pulling, having his buddies come out and say what a great guy he is, and leaking about paying for another guy's meals is phony as hell. That said, I trust Holmes and Co. to do their own due diligence into the character concerns. I am sure they have their own sources in the Georgia program who can tell them what they need to know, and the truth of it too, not anybody's public spin of it.

I see the reasoning, and I think they could. Ultimately though, I think Anderson is better, and Carter’s character issues would keep them away. I also think it’s noteworthy that while Carter is good, it doesn’t seem like he’s graded as a Ndamukong Suh or Quinnen Williams once-in-a-generation type of DT. Anderson might be, if his 2021 production translates to the NFL. It would be a good problem to have, hopefully they would choose right.

I believe it. Maybe it’s just me being crotchety. When I was young the cheapest tickets to a Tigers game were $5 and the most expensive were like $70.

No doubt RE hockey, but there are half of them compared to baseball, plus you’re inside. I’ve seen a few on the aftermarket at that same cheap seat price point the Tigers are offering their cheapest seats for too. Suffers from the same problem as baseball regarding regional television though. Football has eight or nine home games per season, is inside, and every game is available with the most basic cable package.

I don’t think it takes four. I’m not sure it even takes three unless it turns into a bidding war. I think it takes similar to what LA gave up to go 15 to 1 for Goff, which was two 1sts, two 2nds, and two 3rds.

Would it even be worth shortening draft season to just two months if we don’t even win it??

I don’t love the new pace of play rules. I think a clock is a good idea (and overdue) but 15 seconds seems too quick. NCAA does 20 (10 for the batter), that seems more appropriate. I also think it will be counterproductive later in games, when the suspense is on but doesn’t have any chance to develop as the game progresses robotically. All the same, players will adapt and I think it will become a pretty rare call, like a delay of game in football. I also don’t think it’s going to be some magical fix to baseball’s problems. None of these rule changes will. I looked at single game tickets today for the Tigers and laughed when I saw that the “cheap seats” are $20-25 or more depending on the game, and decent seats reach $100 or more... Who can afford that?! Add in downtown event parking and ballpark concessions and a family of four is looking at half a rent payment by the 3rd inning…. Should the casual middle class fan in the suburbs just look to watch games on TV instead and go to one or two, like my family did as a kid? Time to go out of your way to spend money on Bally friggin’ Sports. That’s Detroit specific, but it’s happening everywhere. You’re not going to create fans on sandlots anymore. And if they can’t afford to go and they don’t have the TV package to watch, Manfred is going to continue watching fans get older and disappear, no matter what rules you’re tinkering with. Me personally, I’ll continue going to Michigan Baseball games for a swipe of my student ID and maybe making a trip or two to Jimmy John’s Field or Toledo every season. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze at Comerica.

Similar was true of the Stafford/Goff trade IIRC. It was made in late January, but couldn't be made official until the new league year began in March. I like Ramsey, but I'm weary of giving up too much. I wouldn't give up #6, and #18 causes me hesitation. I really trust our scouting team right now to find difference makers in the draft.

Trade heavy and would set an NFL draft record for QBs, but I'm sticking to my guns RE Lions. My Mock Draft 2.2 1. Tennessee Titans (Trade w/ CHI): CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State 2. Houston Texans: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama 3. Indianapolis Colts (Trade w/ ARI): Will Levis, QB, Kentucky 4. Arizona Cardinals (Trade w/ IND): Tyree Wilson, EDGE, Texas Tech 5. Carolina Panthers (Trade w/ SEA from DEN): Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida 6. Detroit Lions (from LAR): Will Anderson, EDGE, Alabama 7. Las Vegas Raiders: Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia 8. Atlanta Falcons: Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State 9. Seattle Seahawks (Trade w/ CAR): Myles Murphy, EDGE, Clemson 10. Philadelphia Eagles: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois 11. Chicago Bears (Trade w/ CHI): Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern 12. Houston Texans (from CLE): Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU 13. New York Jets: Paris Johnson, OT, Ohio State 14. New England Patriots: Tyler Steen, OT, Alabama 15. Green Bay Packers: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon 16. Washington Commanders: Brian Branch, DB, Alabama 17. Pittsburgh Steelers: O’Cyrus Torrence, OG, Florida 18. Detroit Lions: Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland 20. Seattle Seahawks: Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan 21. Los Angeles Chargers: Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina 22. Baltimore Ravens: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State 23. Minnesota Vikings: Lukas Van Ness, EDGE, Iowa 24. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson 25. New York Giants: Jordan Addison, WR, USC 26. Dallas Cowboys: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee 27. Buffalo Bills: Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina 28. Cincinnati Bengals: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame 29. New Orleans Saints (from DEN thru SF): Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, Notre Dame 30. Philadelphia Eagles: Tuli Tuipuloto, EDGE, USC 31. Kansas City Chiefs: Will McDonald, EDGE, Iowa State Lions 2.18 - Antonio Johnson, DB, Texas A&M 2.26 - Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia 3.18 - Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa 5.18 - Nick Broeker, OG, Ole Miss 6.5 (from DEN) - Jake Moody, K, Michigan 6.18 - Rashad Torrence, DB, Florida

Bold move advocating for your team to trade for your replacement. Not that I'm against it.

I agree with everything you said, but I think he may benefit from the market. There are not a lot of options out there at WR this offseason, he's probably a top three option with Jakobi Meyers and Robert Woods, and he's only 26. I could see him being the Christian Kirk of this offseason and getting a large three or four-year contract from the Bears or Texans that isn't necessarily a smart move for an injury prone guy. I'm not sure I would want to do anything longer than a year or two unless there were very favorable outs for when we need to start signing the 2021 draft to long-term deals, and I'm not sure Chark would want to do another short-term deal if the market has longer options out there. The more injuries he sustains on short deals, the less he will make on future deals.

McVay is a prick. I think it was pretty widely known even before the trade that he didn't like or believe in Goff, based largely off of a postseason where Goff was playing with a broken and dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. That's not going to be a workable dynamic between HC and QB.

I agree with this. The comparison is far from perfect. Goff and Wentz will never escape the comparisons though beings that they went #1 and #2, and their career paths to some point have been kind of strikingly similar... I will say for the sake of comparing 2019 Wentz to 2022 Goff, Wentz finished 5th in Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2019. Goff finished 6th this year.

When the Eagles drafted Hurts, they were called stupid by a lot of people because Carson Wentz had just put up career numbers. The Lions know better than any of us whether Goff’s 2022 numbers are an expectation of things to come or an anomaly. I hope they are a sign of things to come and we don’t need another QB for a long time.

Holmes has earned the right to draft someone like Richardson without me losing my mind. Particularly if he goes into free agency and picks up Bobby Wagner and Jamel Dean (for instance). At that point, between your other four picks in the first three rounds, you have your starting 22 (and possibly then some). It’s a needle many have tried to thread and few have done successfully. Between not throwing Goff off of his game in the immediacy, developing Richardson to be better than Goff, and then transitioning Richardson into the starting role, things can go wrong in a lot of different ways. Ask Jordan Love, Trey Lance, and any number of 2nd round QBs taken through the years. On the other hand, you could get Pat Mahomes or Jalen Hurts if it goes well.

I’m not going to be upset if the Lions pick Richardson, but I would be surprised. I put it at 1-5% chance of happening.

I think I would rather Wagner. When Walker went out last season, it felt like the defense lost their sense of leadership. I think Wagner would instantly become the Kenny Rogers to our 06 Tigers.

Anzalone wouldn’t cost very much. Wagner would cost a a lot for a linebacker, but on a two-year deal, that money could potentially be off the books by the time you have to sign your current rookies long-term.

I like Bobby Wagner.