My feeling is he would have to be one of the specials... Adrian Peterson Ladanian Tomlinson Derrick Henry Marshall Faulk He's absolutely worth a high pick if your scouts think he's that level with more than good certainty. If he's Elliott, Barkley, Chubb, etc then he's not. That's why if they can slide back and pickup one more decent pick to do it then I think you can rationalize it.
It's a fair point but you would be also doing it to help your qb develop. I also think if they split carries you can get more life out of them. It's a strange position to draft high... Generally I think if you're getting a consensus best player at their position in the draft, outside of kicker, you can rationalize the pick. I just know if we consistently get 4+ yards a carry we're going to score plenty of points...
I am taking him at 12 and not looking back. SF's success is based on their rushing attack. If you have RBs who can gain 4 yards per carry, you are looking at a lot of 3rd and shorts which you can run for a 1st down or open down the field for a pass. Moreover, he is a playmaker & the WCO stresses getting the ball out of the QB's hands to playmakers. I would even be comfortable letting Bijan line up as a WR... too fast for most LB's & too strong for most DBs
Great discussion on Bijan, Pierce and the RB game. One thing is for sure, we got to get Pierce some solid help back there to keep up the pressure on defenses and help the QB out. It doesn't have to be Bijan as there are plenty of promising options in this draft but as has been mentioned, it will extend Pierce's career as well and it is always fun watching teams run it down another teams throat.
I try to think about it this way... they don't need offensive line at 12. You can get center or guard in 2nd or 3rd round or free agency. You can argue for an impact defensive player there and I think it's justified. If you're thinking of just getting our young qb a weapon to work with, I'm not a fan of any of the WRs rumored in mid first. It's a bad WR year. Meyer is believed to be one of the best TE prospects in a decade. Bijan is considered similarly but maybe not much higher than Elliott or Barkley. TE that high is as big a position stretch as RB that high. I think Bijan being able to extend Pierce and keep them both fresh is a tie breaker for me. You just ideally move back a little and pick up some value. That being said, I wouldn't be shocked if Bijan goes top 10 to Carolina and it's all moot.
It's possible NC will trade one or both(?) of the first round picks. But just for the sake of argument, let's say he doesn't - a TE at #33 would still get you a day 1 starter. One of my buds thinks Luke Musgrave is even better than Meyers and if a GM thinks so too, he likely goes highish in the first as well but there are other options like Darnell Washington, Dalton Kincaid and Tucker Craft. None of these guys will last to #65 so taking one at #33 is a possibility as some pundits are hinting that as many as 4 TEs go in the first. It would be nice if Texans could finally get a top quality TE on this team as an Oline bolsterer and big target weapon for the QB.
My dream draft is something like: Young/Stroud at #2 Trade #12 back to something like ~18, take one of three top-TE's (Mayer, Musgrave, Kincade) Take best WR available at #33 Mid-round receiving RB to compliment Pierce, possibly pickup a G/C somewhere, rest of draft go defense and put majority of cap-space flexibility to work on defensive side Though I think I'd certainly get on board pretty quick if we took Bijan at #12. I like idea of surrounding young QB with young weapons, building an offensive core for the LT that can develop together
I've heard Kincaid mentioned as similar to Kelce. Don't remember who on radio mentioned but said it's the opposite type of TE Demeco may want. 49ers use bigger TEs that are like fullback bodies. Kincaid is more like Stephen Anderson... big WR type... Trading down and getting either filled in teeens is fine with me..
I like the idea of taking top tier TE, they can be good security blanket. I just have durability concerns on Pierce that get addressed with Bijan. There would be plenty of touches for both... Rookie Bijan definitely has bigger impact than any rookie TE, but that could be short term benefit only.
Question for everyone who is dead set on going offense with the early picks in the draft -- How do you improve the historically bad run defense from last year without bringing in the talent necessary?
Agree! Our run defense was horrible last year. Everyone trampled over that defense. We need defensive studs.
Scheme change will help. Harris did make a difference at the end. You can get linebackers and lineman in 3rd and 4th rounds. They can also spend free agent money. I think they legit have 6 starters on defense. Sign 3 guys and draft 2... They don't need superstars, just solid veterans in places.
Here are some random predictions... Bears stay at 1 and take Anderson. Texans take Bryce. Raiders trade with Arizona for Stroud. Colts settle for Levis. Seattle gambles on Carter Panthers sign Carr, draft Bijan top 10... Texans trade back from 12 for more picks.
I think Achane will be the steal of the draft. He would be a great guy to pair with Pierce. He is electrifying in the pass game.
Similar to my dream draft: Young at 2 Best TE at 12, what gronk/kelce/kittle, etc do can not be overlooked. Then after that I want Achane (thunder and lightning with Pierce) and someone like Hyatt or tank dell to be our will fuller opposite nico and metchie in the slot. use FA to get DT/DE and a C/G that fills the most holes, gives us tons of speed, and gives our new QB a ton of weapons.
