REAL FOOTBALL Thread
- Thread starter zitothebrave
- Start date
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
I don't thnik he'll fall that far. Call me crazy, but I think the Raiders are taking him. I think Geno is a stop gap. That's with no contract of course, but even with a contract I expect it to be a 2 year deal where he's cut after that.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Aside from trading back, I think Walker was best case realistic scenario for falcons they weren't getting Carter or Graham
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Can’t believe they actually did it. Homerun of a pick
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Falcosn trade their 2, next year's one and a 7 this year to move back into the first and gain the Rams 3rd. And get James Pearce. SO they're going for a full edge and LB redo it seems. I thought it was gonna be for Will Johnson but I guess the Falcons want to really address their sack issues.
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Rumor is Will Johnson’s medicals came back with a degenerative knee issue. This is also a crazy deep CB draft. I think they may still trade Cousins and/or Pitts to get more picks. There should be a solid secondary prospect or two in the third round at the very least.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Yeah, I think they got 2 guys who can get to the QB. I think there's a debate that they would have been better if they knew they were going to get and edge going Shemar because he can stop the run. But I think they'll hybridize Walker, use him as an offball LB and edge rusher and Pearce will be the guy to go after the QB. Either way if the Falcons can pressure the QB without designing blitz's then great. THey still won't be close to a great team like the eagles because the interior is full of question marks.
striker42
Well-known member
The Falcons trading back into the first round exposes the desperation of the front office. TF knows he's going to get shown the door if the Falcons dont at least make the playoffs. He might need to win a playoff game to stay.
So TF is all in to win now. He doesn't care about next year's draft capital as he won't be here to use it if the Falcons don't win.
Pearce is a talented player but there were a lot of good Edge players on the board still. He likely could have waited, seen how the board shakes out, and, if necessary, traded up within the second round to get an Edge at a much lower cost.
So TF is all in to win now. He doesn't care about next year's draft capital as he won't be here to use it if the Falcons don't win.
Pearce is a talented player but there were a lot of good Edge players on the board still. He likely could have waited, seen how the board shakes out, and, if necessary, traded up within the second round to get an Edge at a much lower cost.
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Word is Pearce Jr is who they wanted at 15 but then Walker fell into their laps and they couldn't say no... then they got an opportunity to also get the original guy they wanted. Other rumor was the Ravens were going to pick Pearce if the Falcons didn't trade up and take him. Yeah there were a lot of edge rushers still on the board but Pearce had the second highest pass rush win rate in all of FBS against SEC competition and has super freaky athleticism. I love getting a freaky athletic guy who also has a long track record of production. I do think the FO is a bit desperate to win but I'm not sure this trade is really a symptom of that considering edge rushers usually take a year or two to develop. I think he was just trying to basically go ahead and get next year's first rounder this year and now he has fortified a part of the team that has been a long time weakness. Now the defensive front is looking quite interesting with tons of young talent. It's gone from low end to middle of the pack (but with huge upside). CB is extremely deep in this draft which I view is our other biggest need... we can easily get a solid player in the secondary in round 3 now. I'm not trying to stick up for TF here, but I love these two picks even if Pearce was a little bit of an overpay. I also don't really mind not having a 1st next year considering we should have a ton of cap space.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
I see inside defensive tackle as biggest need. Right now the interior of the defense is soft. We have the skill players to get to the QB. We don't have the size to stop the run.
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Yeah, I can see an argument for a big DT as well... either that or CB
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
I mean it's BPA in a position of need for the 3rd and 4th. Hopefully a hog of a DT is there, or a CB. If Jared WIlson is there he'd be a good pick too. THere's some discussion on if a WR makes sense there as WR3 is shit for us, so if that's far and away BPA go for it.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
It is desperation, but it's also acknowledging that everything fell into their laps. THey didn't expect Walker to be there at 15. Then when Pearce who was commonly mocked to us at 15 was still hanging around and LA let us trade up we deemed it worth it because I don't think Pearce fell back much further. Baltimore or Detroit likely takes him.
I'm all for giving Terry all the shit, but this is actually a great draft for him so far. Easily his best draft ever so far. Not that that is a high bar to clear.
He could have waited, which is a risk, but he also wanted to get one of the best pass rushers in the draft. Falcons pass rush got much much better.
I'm not fully shocked we traded up and it honestly was a decent trade overall we used a 1 to trade back into the first but also traded up from the 7th to the end of the 3rd. It's a bit of trading one great player next year for someone the FO viewed as a top 15 talent this year.
I think the Falcons Rams is a rare win-win trade. Rams didn't need the extra picks, but also are in an odd position as a team where they're not in rebuild mode but also not in push the chips in mode.
For what it's worth, there were a couple different articles that came out at the end of the 2023 college season that said Pearce would have been the 1st Edge off the board if we were eligible a season ago. Several sites had him projected to go # 1 overall before the start of the 2024 season.
striker42
Well-known member
I don't dislike moving up to grab Pearce. It's an aggressive move that took advantage of an unforeseen opportunity. I just think we seriously overpaid. The value of the picks exchanged very much favors the Rams. The price reeks of desperation.
I gotta think the Rams were well aware of the pressure of TF too. They knew he would undervalue next year's picks.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
I won't fully disagree with you. Because you're mostly right. THe one benefit of the doubt I'll give the Falcons is if we are winning (which isn't guaranteed) Pearce is liekly much better than anyone we could get that pick next year.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Boy the Mike Green SA must have some serious legs. Because he shouldn't be there if not for any other reason. Tuimaloau over him wouldn't make sense otherwise.