If we get jumped and Young is gone, I’d be happy with this draft except 2 things: I really want Achane to pair with Pierce, but drafting two running backs in our first 6 picks when we already have Pierce is so funny for someone trying to plug all our holes. So instead of Miller, I would go with best CB available. 2nd thing is I would go Quentin Johnston at 12 instead of Sanders. Winters and Harris is good for LBs and we need a possession receiver along with Dell. Get Payne in FA and there is your DL with Anderson I would also target Bradberry, but I like Stromberg as well.
I was just looking for difference making speed on offense. Another thing I dont want to see is another season of Burkhead/Obi as backups for Pierce. What you could do is draft the best S possible to pair with Petrie in the 4th and trade a 6th to the Chiefs for CEH.
No I agreed with you on Achane. But drafting 2 is a lot, especially in the first 5 rounds when we already have one. So draft Achane and obi is 3rd back. Or FA if you really want a different 3rd. love the speed idea
At this point of his career, Tray Scott is a hard man to wow. A coach can get that way when he’s been the Georgia Bulldogs’ defensive line coach for a long time. Just a year ago, Scott had a bunch of proteges primed for the 2022 NFL Draft: Travon Walker, the eventual first pick, clocked a 4.51 40 after measuring 6 feet 5, 272 pounds. Jordan Davis, at more than 6 feet 6, 341 pounds, ran a blazing 4.78 40 and broad jumped 10-3 inches. Devonte Wyatt, a 304-pounder, timed a 4.77 40 with a 1.6 10-yard split. Perhaps the wildest thing about that defensive line group, though, is that the player most rival coaches thought was the best talent wasn’t even in last year’s draft. That player, 21-year-old Jalen Carter — who has drawn comparisons to Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp as well as super-sized NBA dunking machine Zion Williamson — is in this year’s draft and is rated by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler as its No. 1 prospect. […] Coaches who have faced Georgia think Carter would have been the first Bulldogs defensive lineman picked if he were draft eligible in 2022. They couldn’t stop raving about No. 88 — about how twitchy he is, how ridiculous his get-off is, how strong his hands are. “Ho-ly s—! This 88 jumps off the tape,” a veteran line coach told The Athletic last winter. “I think he is the best one in the front. He is so big but so quick-twitch. He has an uncanny ability to redirect and (he has) really good balance.” “Eighty-eight’s initial quickness is ridiculous,” said another coach who played Georgia late in the season. Said an SEC offensive line coach: “We knew Jordan (Davis) was a good player, but everybody circles 88 as the game wrecker.” Carter is a big reason Georgia allowed the fewest rushing yards in the past two seasons in college football and the Bulldogs won consecutive national titles. In 2022, he piled up 31 quarterback hurries — tied for tops on the team despite his being banged up for parts of the season. He sprained his ankle on the first play of the season against Oregon and was also slowed by an MCL injury. But there were also stunning displays of dominance, most notably in a showdown against Tennessee in which he had a sack, another TFL and two forced fumbles. “He’s a good mixture of what Jordan could do in terms of being an elite run defender and what Devonte was able to do with creating explosion and making negative plays and creating havoc,” Scott said. “Jalen can literally play zero-nose to a nine-technique defensive end. You don’t really see that a lot from 6-3, 310-pound guys. That is so impressive. … If you name a characteristic of a really good defensive tackle, he has it. Very seldom do you find someone who has a good mixture of all the right stuff.” A year ago at this time, it was Scott’s defensive linemen who stole the show at the NFL Scouting Combine. Carter will arrive in Indianapolis with an even bigger spotlight on him. Asked whether he can put up similar numbers in the combine or maybe get into the mid-30s in the vertical jump, Carter joked that he wasn’t even sure how to answer. “Jordan Davis is a freak athlete too,” Carter said. “He’s incredibly strong and fast. Those numbers he put up were wild. Could I run in the 4.8s? I can work on it and we’ll see what happens there. … I’m gonna try to go higher than mid-30s (in the vertical).” Scott wouldn’t doubt Carter, especially since he’s been training specifically for the combine. He acknowledged he never expected Walker to clock a 4.5 40. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Jalen hit a 4.8 (40) when he’s training for it,” Scott said. “And he’s really strong in the weight room. He could hit 40 (reps) easy (on the bench press) if he wants to. Maybe 50 if he really wanted to.” […] Not all of the pre-draft buzz on Carter has been as effusive. Before the national title game, Todd McShay, ESPN’s NFL draft analyst, said there “are some character issues,” with Carter. “Does he get along with everybody? What’s he like to deal with in the locker room? Those sorts of issues. I know it’s early in the process, but I’m forewarning everybody out there.” Carter’s teammates pushed back on those comments on social media. Carter didn’t seem to mind when asked about it last month. “Nah, it’s not hard to hear,” he told The Athletic. “I have a lot of motivation on my side, and every time something negative comes out, someone else will say something positive. It evens out. I really don’t need that added motivation. I always have a chip on my shoulder. I always try to be the best I can be.” Scott pointed out who he thought might be the ideal person to comment on Carter’s character. Weston Wallace is a player perhaps only the most diehard of Bulldogs fans know. A sophomore, the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder used to go up against Carter every day at practice when he was a scout team offensive lineman his first two seasons at Georgia ( the walk-on switched to the defensive line this year). Before this season Carter found out that Wallace, as a walk-on, couldn’t eat all the meals the scholarship defensive linemen were getting. Walk-ons weren’t able to eat lunch, but this year the players were given the choice to buy it. “Jalen heard about that. I’m the only walk-on in the defensive line room and he goes, ‘I’m not gonna let that happen.’ So he used his scholarship money to pay for me to get lunch every single day,” Wallace said. Wallace thought it was “ridiculous” to hear someone critical of Carter’s character. “You honestly don’t know the guy if you think that. You can ask anybody on the team, whether it’s the O-line that he bullies every day out there … everybody thinks he’s an all-around great guy, and I think he’ll be great for any team that picks him.” “The blessings I have from being on a full ride, I just wanted to help, and that was taking care of a brother,” Carter said. “And that started a wildfire with some of our good players (who benefit from name, image and likeness) picking different guys in their position group to make sure they’re good, so they can eat every time we eat just like you’re a scholarship player,” Scott said. “No one told him to do that. The nutritionist informed me about it. Had she not told me, I wouldn’t have known about it. And that’s what I like about it. “Everyone is gonna do their own research. People have different ways they take information. But I know how he is within our organization, and at the end of the day, I like for my guys to have a little edge, so where people may determine as ‘character issues’ may just be a guy who has a little edge that may be laid-back. Because like I tell him, as long as you know who you are, it doesn’t really matter. I said, guess what? You have an opportunity to prove who you are every single day. That’s why he’s been able to keep it moving.”
Nice find JR, you always post something useful to read--thank you!! I like Carter and Anderson both, but if we had a choice of either at #2 I'd take Carter. We need a difference maker/disruptor on the DL and he's the kind of guy that will draw double-teams and still make plays. Because of BY size and with even Anderson being a bit undersized for traditional DE, Carter seems to have the highest ceiling and floor in the Top 5. Anderson as a 3/4 OLB is perfect size, but he's powerful and proportional, so I wouldn't worry if he's the pick and lines up as a 4/3 DE. Side note, I love that Carter is #88. I was a fan of the old Vikings Purple People Eaters DL led by a remarkable guy named Alan Page (also #88). He was like 6'4" and 245, but played DT because of his superior quickness and relentlessness. Was first defensive player to win an MVP and went on to become Minnesota's Supreme Court Justice... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Page Probably the most remarkable part of his HOF career to me was he played 218 consecutive games without an absence. If Carter becomes our #88 (bye Atkins) and had half the career of Page we would be very happy.
Not sure where to post this, but this seems to be the most pertinent place. Take it for what it's worth, considering the time of year. I have a source that tells me that Tampa Bay is going to try and trade for Justin Fields within the next month. He talks like they're going to get him. Same guy told me Brady was getting a divorce within two days of him leaving camp. Either this is Chicago trying to create their trade market, or they really are serious about trading Fields. Sounds like the may be. I'd trade 12 and a 3rd for him in a heartbeat.
Just curious, since Houston doesn’t have better supporting talent than the Bears, why do you believe he would be successful here when he really hasn’t been there?
I think that in 2 years we will have a far better team than the Bears. I don't think it will be comparable. Maybe I'm too optimistic. I am a perpetual optimist, afterall. This isn't about competing next year. Never has been.
