Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

This section is for discussing possible future Buccaneers, as well as college football.
Post Reply
User avatar
Cheb
Posts: 3765
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:37 pm
Reputation: 2348
Location: West Coast

Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Cheb »

Good day to you one and all, Cheb here. Every year for the past seven years, I do a longer-form deep-dive mock draft a few weeks after free agency has settled. As usual, Youtube links to highlights and gamefilm are listed after each pick, and alternative picks are listed below each selection and listed in alphabetical order by last name. And while I fully expect Licht to be wheeling-and-dealing during this draft, I don't do trades in mock drafts because they are nigh-impossible to predict and decrease the realism.

Let's talk football.

---

First Round

With the 19th pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select one of the Big Four Offensive Tackles.

Image

Over the last several years, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had the luxury of drafting guys with potential, guys who can sit and develop behind established starters, who can take a few years to learn their craft before stepping into their own. Indeed, the only guy who immediately earned and thereafter kept a starting job from our last two draft classes has been punting phenom Jake Camarda.

Those days of unrushed development are over. In looking at our roster at the moment, we have considerable holes to fill, and they need to be filled now. Yes, I know that the Bucs or indeed any other team shouldn't be drafting for need... but there are large needs that the Bucs have yet to fill, literally thousands of snaps at key positions whose current starters even most fans of the team couldn't name. Yes, the Bucs should have covered all their holes in free agency... but they couldn't because they didn't have the resources. The Bucs lead the NFL in dead cap at $75 million, more than $21 million ahead of second place -- if the Bucs had that money to shore up other parts of the roster, we wouldn't be between the proverbial rock and a hard place, but them's the breaks when you go all-in to get a ring and bring the band back together to try to get another one. Twice. Now we are paying that price.

Back to the draft. The biggest of team holes right now is left tackle, and it ain't even close. Love him or hate him, Donovan Smith is gone, and our current projected starter is Brandon Walton, an undrafted third year player with two career starts. While I think Walton put in good snaps in relief duty last season, going into the year with Walton at left tackle as Plan A is a horrible idea imo, and would set up the entire offense for failure.

Enter one of the "Big Four" offensive tackles; Paris Johnson from Ohio State, Broderick Jones from Georgia, Anton Harrison from Oklahoma, and Peter Skoronski from Northwestern. All of them were starting left tackles in college who put great reps on film, and all are projected to be mid-ish first round selections. Because they were all left tackles in college, I would feel comfortable keeping them at that position, which wouldn't force us to experiment with Tristan Wirfs at LT. Any of those top four guys would knock Walton back down to swing-tackle where he belongs. One may prefer one of them over the other for various reasons -- I know I do, but I won't make this post even longer by waxing poetic for another ~2000 words about offensive line nuances and quibbles about technique. There's also a question of positional fit between these four dudes, and we don't know much about what the Dave Canales offense asks its tackles to do on a regular basis, so guessing which of those four guys would do their job the best in the new offense is an exercise in futility.

In short, I would absolutely be on board with any of these four guys. They're all good players, they fill our largest team need, and any of them would help set up the offense for better success. Assuming that they stayed healthy and won the starting job, any of these rookie LTs would play roughly 1000 snaps this season, more than any other draftee would play at any other position. I feel about 70 to 80% sure that we go offensive tackle in the first round for all the above reasons.

Now for some tape on these four guys. All games are from this year, all prospects are at left tackle. Enjoy.

Paris Johnson versus Notre Dame:


Broderick Jones versus LSU:


Anton Harrison versus Kansas State:


Peter Skoronski versus Penn State:


Alternative picks: Brian Branch, S/CB, Alabama. Dawand Jones, RT, Ohio State. Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame. Joey Porter Jr, CB, Penn State. Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas. Nolan Smith, Edge, Georgia. Darnell Wright, RT, Tennessee.

---

Second Round

With the 50th pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Isaiah Foskey, Edge, Notre Dame.

Image

The middle of the second round is an interesting place, as it is every draft, and reasonable people can disagree on what the Bucs should do here. There's some interesting pieces to add to the secondary like Tyrique Stevenson or Antonio Johnson, but I'd argue that the secondary talent in the third round is about the same as it is here. Mazi Smith or Siaki Ika would add beef and power in the middle of the defense. Jahmyr Gibbs looks to be a plug-and-play running back, especially for an outside zone team. But for me at any rate, the edge talent at this point of the draft is too good to pass up. Shaq Barrett is aging and coming off an Achilles injury, JTS is one more disappointing season from being labeled a bust, and Anthony Nelson while good isn't keeping offensive coordinators up at night. We need an injection of pass-rushing talent.

To address that problem we draft Isaiah Foskey, the 6'5", 264lb edge defender from Notre Dame. This team captain and All-American is Notre Dame's career leader in sacks and is a consistent producer, grabbing 11 sacks annually for the last two years. He can play in a two point stance or with his hand in the dirt, which is a plus. Isaiah has a bevvy of pass rushing tools at his disposal; he can beat you with speed to the edge, he can run the corner when he tries, he can convert speed to power, his long-arm is admirable, his dip-and-rip works nicely, his ghost and club moves work pretty well too. What I love the most about him is that he uses all of those tools to violently disengage from blockers -- you don't see him make his sacks by being unblocked or lucky like many edge rushers do, you see them happen by him shedding in creative and violent ways. He's instinctual with a good nose for the ball and has no problems finishing plays at the quarterback, which after watching JTS struggle in that department for two years is refreshing. He also has blocked his share of kicks, so you know he has value on special teams. Isaiah ran a respectable 4.58 40 yard dash, and had excellent vertical and broad jumps for his size at the combine. Indeed he was a top-10 performer in all athletic tests for his position except bench press.

As far as negatives, he has a tendency to routinely play with high pad level. He frequently takes false backwards steps at the start of his rush. His short, choppy rush steps often leave out the threat of a speed rush, letting tackles absorb his contact and distract him with hand fighting. He needs to do a better job of playing AROUND tackles instead of through them. As a run defender, he needs to drop his center of mass and anchor prior to disengaging, which again comes down to pad level. Thankfully many of those issues are coachable and correctable.

Projections on Foskey run the gamut. For example, Walterfootball has him at #23 overall, while PFF has him all the way back at #64. But when looking at the average spot by various ranking services, he's right about at 50th in the draft, which is exactly where we pick in the second round.

Does he walk in and lead the team in sacks, probably not. But if we can get him to unfuck just a few things and really dial in on his technique, paired with a consistent rush plan, I think the sky is the limit for him as a pro.

Isaiah highlights:


Isaiah versus Oklahoma State 2021:


Isaiah versus USC 2022:


Alternative picks: Adetomiwa Adebawore, Edge, Kansas State. Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse. Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama. Will McDonald, Edge, Iowa State. Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M. Drew Sanders, Edge, Arkansas. Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan. Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami.

---

Third Round

With the 82nd pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select JL Skinner, Safety, Boise State.

Image

The Bucs need secondary help. But don't just take my word for it -- look at what positions the Bucs are targeting. They interviewed a whopping 32(!) corners and safeties at the combine, and who can blame them? The only other safety on the roster besides Antoine Winfield Jr is a now-sophomore street free agent, and behind CD3 and Dean our corners are an underwhelming Zion McCollum and a group of guys neither of us can name. Bowles is a DB coach in his bones, and he knows that we can't even field a nickel defense with a straight face right now. We start to fix that in the third round with one of those 32 guys we interviewed.

The first thing you notice about JL Skinner is that the man is tall. 6'4" at the combine, which makes him taller than 95% of safeties in the league. Weighing in at 205lb, he basically has the same build as Richard Sherman. And not to say that he plays like Sherman... but JL Skinner is pretty good at football.

JL (which frustratingly isn't short for anything) is a born strong safety. He plays his best ball in the box, yet isn't a liability when he's twenty to thirty yards downfield. He uses his length to great effect as a tackler, snatching down ballcarriers with great reach. JL demonstrates consistently good timing to arrive at the receiver the same moment the ball does. He is a thunderous hitter and has pretty solid burst into contact for his size. He has good ball skills, with half of the balls he got his hands on over the last two years ending up being picks (6 PBUs and 6 INTs over the last 2 seasons). No, JL isn't going to be the best deep safety on your roster, but he will be excellent sticking his nose in the fan to stop the run and enforcing the middle of the field. Can he be a single-high, sure I guess, but that isn't where he'd play his best. Give him a deep half though and he'll do okay. Anything more shallow than that and the man is gravy. JL can clean up the flats like a champ and he can probably be a big nickel if you ask him to do it.

There are understandable concerns about his level of competition playing at Boise, as well as his short area quickness and long speed. He wasn't able to compete at the Combine or his Pro Day due to a pectoral injury, so spreadsheet scouts may get nervous. But the dude can ball. I think he would be a great complimentary piece to AWJ, given that Antoine is going back to being a full-time free.

JL highlights:


JL versus Fresno State:


JL versus Oregon State:


Alternative picks: Karl Brooks, DL, Bowling Green. Andre Carter II, Edge, Army. Derick Hall, Edge, Auburn. Daiyan Henry, LB, Washington State. Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee. Mike Morris, DE, Michigan. Christopher Smith, S, Georgia. Tuli Tuipulotu, Edge, USC. Byron Young, Edge, Tennessee.

---


Fifth Round

With the 153rd pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Jakorian Bennett, Cornerback, Maryland

Image

Remember how we were just talking about the secondary and how we interviewed 32 dudes at the combine who play in it? Here's a quote from Todd Bowles talking yesterday about the nickel corner situation: "We have guys on the roster that can play it. But we also want to address that spot as well if we get a chance to address it." This next selection is that guy.

Meet Jakorian Bennett, the 5'11", 188lb corner from Maryland. You may have heard of him because he ran a 4.3 second 40 yard dash at the combine. His 40.5" vertical leap and over 11" broad jump were also elite, even at a position where elite measurables are the norm. Simply put, dude is an Athlete. Jakorian is also pretty solid at playing football. The last two years he made about 60 tackles, but more impressively had 27 passes defensed in that time. Sadly he doesn't convert many of those PBUs into picks, with only five of them. As a run defender, he shows a willingness to get downhill, which as an undersized guy is about all you can ask for.

Okay, I hear you say, then why is he down here in the fifth round? Well, he doesn't always play as quick or explosive as his athletic testing would have you believe. He also is a bit of a penalty machine, mostly because he's so aggressive when the ball is in the air. But most importantly, he's just inconsistent. Inconsistent in the run game, inconsistent if he's gonna get a flag, inconsistent with his recovery speed, inconsistent with his footwork especially when he gets beat. He will look like a world beater on one snap and the next he may get beat.

One could argue that drafting an elite athletic corner who doesn't play consistently would just be repeating the McCollum experiment, and I get that. But I also think that Bennett has solid upside and would offer plus special teams snaps while competing to be a starting nickel. If nothing else, dude's great depth. And it's the fifth round. Don't @ me.

Jakorian highlights:


Jakorian versus Michigan 2022:


Jakorian versus the Senior Bowl:


Alternative picks: Stetson Bennett, QB, Georgia. Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn. Ryan Hayes, OT, Michigan. Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas. Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane. Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC.

---

With the 175th pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn.

Image

Do you like fast linebackers? Todd Bowles sure does. Lavonte David isn't getting any younger and is on maybe his final Tampa Bay squad, and Devin White is either going to get paid or leave the team next season, likely the former. And while we all like KJ Britt, he runs like old people fuck and I wouldn't trust him in a starting role.
Enter Owen Pappoe. This former five-star recruit as athletic potential for days. He's a speed merchant, running the second fastest linebacker 40 yard dash at a blistering 4.39 seconds at the combine. Yes, that means that Owen could theoretically beat Devin White in a footrace, which is impressive in and of itself. But he's also only 6'1" and 226, more the size of a safety than a linebacker, so he will need schematic protection to run-and-chase and he understandably struggles to shed blocks. But he plays the game smartly, has a pretty good understanding of coverage, and is pretty tough. And yet, he never quite put together the type of dominance you'd expect for someone with such athletic traits, which should have gotten him into position to make more plays than he actually has.

Pappoe is a mixed bag. He could go much higher than this due to his potential, but he could plummet past the fifth round because being so little makes him a niche pick. I don't mind it so much. He's only 8 pounds lighter than Lavonte, and I think with a year of seasoning and special teams work he can safely step into a starting role next season.

Owen highlights:


Owen versus Missouri 2022:


Owen versus Penn State 2022:


Alternative picks: Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pitt. Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss. Connor Galvin, OT, Baylor. Brandon Joseph, S, Notre Dame. Jalen Redmond, DL, Oklahoma.

---

Sixth Round

With the 179th pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Kenny McIntosh, Running Back, Georgia.

Image

OMG, Cheb, it's the sixth round, where's my running back? Well here ya go.

Kenny doesn't test well on a track, nor does he look great in shorts. He isn't the 300-carry-a-season bellcow back you're looking for, and he isn't going to be making Sportscenter highlights every week. What McIntosh brings to the table is that he's a talented slashing receiving back who led the national champion Bulldogs in rushing yards and TDs while catching 43 balls out of the backfield. He's got decent vision to find the hole, though he sometimes overly dances until he finds it. He has sneaky cuts and moves in the open field. He will flash some power at the end of runs, but that power evaporates if you ask him to tangle with the big boys inside. If you ask him to slam it between the B gaps on the regular you're going to be disappointed, but I think he would do well in the outside zone-based rushing offense that we are rumored to be implementing, and certainly I think he could earn his share of third down snaps. If nothing else I think he challenges Vaughn for the RB2 job if he doesn't just win it outright.

Kenny highlights:


Kenny versus Florida 2022:


Kenny versus Kentucky 2022:


Alternative picks: Chase Brown, RB, Illinois. Jaren Hall, QB, BYU. DeMarcco Hellams, S, Alabama. Isaiah McGuire, DL, Missouri. Clayton Tune, QB, Houston.

---

With the 181st pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Dante Stills, DT, West Virginia.

Image

While we all hope that Logan Hall stops sucking at football and free agent Greg Gaines balls out next to his old college roommate Vita Vea, we can't pin all of our hopes on that trio holding down our front 3 all season. We need another warm body in there who has some modicum of talent, and while chief backup Patrick O'Connor has surprisingly been on the team for six years(!!), he's also going to turn 30 this November. The Bucs I think agree with me, hence why they met with 10 defensive tackles and ends at the combine.

Our second pick in the sixth round addresses this lack of depth. Meet Dante Stills from West Virginia, a 6'3" 286lb defensive end. He's a two-time first-team All-Big 12 player, and his dad was a 10 year NFL veteran. Dante is quick for his size, a high motor dude, and strong enough to be a base 3-4 end. He does his best work while stunting, and thankfully we stunt quite a bit. Yes, he's about as explosive as mdb and struggles to get off blocks at times, but he can be a rotational 3-4 end from the jump. He's a power player by nature, and I think if he adds some strength in the men's league and stays off the edge he could be pretty good.

Dante highlights:


Dante versus Pitt 2022:


Dante versus Minnesota 2021:


Alternative picks: Chase Brown, RB, Illinois. Jaren Hall, QB, BYU. DeMarcco Hellams, S, Alabama. Isaiah McGuire, DL, Missouri. Clayton Tune, QB, Houston.

---

With the 196th pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Payne Durham, TE, Purdue.

Image

Believe it or not, this is the only guy besides Hendon Hooker thus far who we have been confirmed to have met with at least twice. Yes, a kinda-slow 6'5" 253lb receiving tight end from Purdue. At first I was underwhelmed, but Durham grew on me. He caught 56 balls last year for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns as the Robin to Charlie Jones' Batman at Purdue. Given how much our system reportedly leans on tight ends, adding another guy like Durham wouldn't be a bad idea. He has soft hands, is a decent move and in-line blocker all things considered, and is sneaky good after the catch. His game against Illinois in particular, which had one of the better defenses in college football last year, was pretty good. Payne Durham won't win you your fantasy league, but he could be a discount Cameron Brate. He would also allow us to make bad puns in gamethreads about Bringing the Payne or Feeling the Payne, which is an important consideration. Not bad for a sixth rounder.

Payne highlights:


Payne versus Syracuse 2022:


Payne versus Illinois 2022:


Alternative picks: Ronnie Bell, WR, Michigan. Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisville. Lonnie Phelps, Edge, Kansas. Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State.

---

Seventh Round
With the 252nd pick in the NFL draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Jake Moody, Kicker, Michigan

Image

Jake Moody kicks the ball really good. He won the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in college football in 2021, and was a finalist in 2022. He is 69 for 84 (82.1%) on field goals for his career and a perfect 148 for 148 on extra points. For those who love field goals from distance, he hit a 59 yarder in the Natty semifinals against TCU. In the Shrine Game this year he was perfect, 4 for 4 on field goals including two that were longer than 50 yards. His mustache game is also on point. Best case scenario, he beats out Jake McCaughlin for the starting gig and we save some money while actually developing our first homegrown kicker who isn't a failure since Gramatica. Worst case... who cares, it's the seventh round.

Here's some sweet-ass highlights of a ball going between some upright yellow poles:


Alternative picks: That One Guy You Swear Will Be There at ##252 But Everyone Else Thinks You're Crazy. Max Duggan, QB, TCU. Justin Shorter, WR, Florida.

---

Summary:

- In the first round we thankfully acquire a day one starter at left tackle from one of the "Big Four."
- In the second round we select Isaiah Foskey, who offers passrushing insurance against Shaq's Achilles and JTS' continuing suckage.
- The third round provides us JL Skinner, a big dude with even bigger hits who steps in as a day one strong safety.
- The fifth round gives us a developmental and possible starting nickel corner in Jakorian Bennett, and one of next year's starting inside linebackers in Owen Pappoe.
- The sixth round gives us a RB2/3 with third down ability in Kenny McIntosh, a rotational 3-4 end in Kenny Stills, and yet another slow white tight end in Payne Durham.
- The seventh round either wastes a draft pick or fixes our kicking situation in the form of Jake Moody.

---

Thoughts? Reactions? How badly have those teeth been gnashing over the last nearly 4000 words? Feedback welcome as always, and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

---

Links to previous years:

2022 - http://www.itsabucslife.com/viewtopic.php?t=712

2021 - https://buczone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7050

2020 - https://buczone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6045

2019 - https://buczone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5235

2018 - https://buczone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4123

2017 - https://buczone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2897
Image
User avatar
_MB_
Posts: 9298
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 11:28 am
Reputation: 1988

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by _MB_ »

Tackle, edge, and safety with the first three makes perfect sense.

Stills is a guy I want to hype, but he's where he is because he's been a good player on a mediocre team for a long time. I don't want to get my heart broken again with another great guy with upside.

Best mock so far.
Image
Grahamburn
Posts: 3146
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:50 pm
Reputation: 943

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Grahamburn »

Just awesome. Thank you for the read.
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

They have moved the tackles that will be available down, I guess to mess with us. I can see Licht taking one but it shouldnt be without a tradedown.
Grahamburn
Posts: 3146
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:50 pm
Reputation: 943

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Grahamburn »

They?
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

Grahamburn wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:58 amThey?

Actually "they" has made some of them guards.
User avatar
Doctor
Posts: 4323
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 2:02 pm
Reputation: 1087

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Doctor »

Love it.

I have to agree, with so many good OTs I find it hard to think JL won't fall in love with one. I really like your alternative picks as well. Would love to know your thoughts on BJ Ojulari.
Image
Kona
Posts: 740
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:27 am
Reputation: 436

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Kona »

Nice mock Cheb! Appreciate the effort with the breakdowns. Every time I do a mock simulation I end up going OT, Edge and Safety. Just seems to be where the best value for the positions would line up for us.

As you mentioned, any of the big 4 would allow us to leave Wirfs on the right side. If Bucs Brass feels comfortable in him making the switch to LT, I’d absolutely be ok with a Darnell Wright or Dawand Jones to plug and play RT. OT just seems to be the best option for us position wise at 19 with the level of prospects that can be there.
User avatar
Cheb
Posts: 3765
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:37 pm
Reputation: 2348
Location: West Coast

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Cheb »

Thanks for the feedback and kind words everyone.
Doctor wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:32 pm Love it.

I have to agree, with so many good OTs I find it hard to think JL won't fall in love with one. I really like your alternative picks as well. Would love to know your thoughts on BJ Ojulari.
What I notice is that he's a smaller dude who plays even smaller, and he only had two sacks in the last 8 games of his LSU career which gives me pause. But he played very well against Alabama which gives him alot of points in my book (though he wasn't anything special in big games against Tennessee or the above game against Georgia). Certainly he could be in the running for our second rounder from what I've read, but based on rankings I've seen Ojulari seems more likely to be a late-first or early-second kinda guy, right between where we would pick, so I think we'll miss out on him regardless.

But let's watch him a bit.



Here is BJ Ojulari playing against Georgia in the SEC championship game a few months ago. Look for #18 on defense, usually in a two-point stance on the edge.

Firstly, some positives. I think he demonstrates admirable fight throughout contact but isn't very consistent with it. He shows flashes of an elite getoff but that isn't consistent either -- that may be due to stance, as when he's in a three-point stance he is much more explosive than when he's in a two-point, and given that we'd be asking him to do alot of the latter that would worry me a smidgeon -- not a deal breaker, but noteworthy. Ojulari shows that he has good agility and good burst. But there's alot of buts.

He's slow to react to the ball on fakes and misdirection. BJ doesn't very natural in his zone drops, but that isn't where he'd make his money in the pros. He can look bored and lazy when the ball isn't coming his way in the run game. Speaking of the run game, he gets overwhelmed on the regular and routinely cannot beat blocks from tight ends. Most importantly, outside of one notable pressure and a near-pressure, Broderick Jones and his friends totally owned him all game.

I don't see a second round talent, imo. I think he looks more of a developmental late-third or early fourth rounder, but what do I know?
Image
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

A player like Dorian Williams had a slightly faster ten yard split than LVD and White. I could picture him as a third down pass rusher where we could double up on the edge - send one - send both - drop both.
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

Jack Campbell was only 3 hundreds slower that LVD and White with the ten yard split - I also think he could factor in to special packages.
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

Yasir Abdullah's matched LVD and White's 10 yard split.
User avatar
Cheb
Posts: 3765
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 4:37 pm
Reputation: 2348
Location: West Coast

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Cheb »

mdb1958 wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:13 pm A player like Dorian Williams had a slightly faster ten yard split than LVD and White. I could picture him as a third down pass rusher where we could double up on the edge - send one - send both - drop both.
I really like Dorian Williams as a developmental backer, hence why he's one of the alternative picks in the main mock. He was all over the place in Tulane's bowl game against USC. That said, he is less than 230 pounds, so putting him at edge is asking for trouble.
mdb1958 wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:18 pm Jack Campbell was only 3 hundreds slower that LVD and White with the ten yard split - I also think he could factor in to special packages.
Campbell is another very good player. If LVD hadn't been resigned, I could absolutely could have gotten onboard with selecting him in the second round. If we DID end up drafting him in the second, I suppose I shouldn't cry too much because he is very good at football. Doubt he falls to the third.
mdb1958 wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:22 pm Yasir Abdullah's matched LVD and White's 10 yard split.
Another 230 pound edge player? I'm noticing a trend, mdb.
Image
mdb1958
Posts: 7411
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 9:11 pm
Reputation: 21

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by mdb1958 »

@Cheb

The trend was speed and cost of said asset. Plus I have thought forever about linebackers being able to play inside and outside on third down and what would help is the collapsing of the pocket rather quickly.
User avatar
Doctor
Posts: 4323
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 2:02 pm
Reputation: 1087

Re: Cheb's Official Post Free Agency Mock 2023

Post by Doctor »

I would also go absolutely nuts for a Israel Abanikanda pick. He's my Rhamondre this year.
Evan Hull would also be a fun day 3 guy.
Image
Post Reply