NFL - Discussion Thread

Washington's defense is going to be awesome next year if Foster plays like everyone expects. Their front four are Karrigan, Allen, Payne and Sweat. That's crazy. Add in Foster and Collins, and you have a great nucleus of young talent.

That's what I'm thinking Warrior13. It gets better for the Redskins, it's just been announced that Montell Sweats heart condition was a misdiagnosis, there's nothing wrong with him which means along with Allen and Foster Washington have had another steal. I didn't think there was when I saw him run that 4.3 60 yard dash at the combine. I've never seen a Defensive End move so fast, he looked like a wide reciever. Which one of those four monsters do offenses double team, they're all nightmares? Now with Haskins at quarterback Washington are on the rise... About time too, the last time the Redskins were good Mark Rypien was the Quarterback.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Apr 26th 2019 »

Whoops. My 2-14 prediction is going to have to be scrapped now...

NY Giants had a horrific draft night. Actually the worst possible outcome. They drafted the 4th best QB at pick 6 instead of Josh Allen, and drafted a DT with pick 17 after releasing one of their better d-line players. Trading up for Deandre Baker was good, but that was all that was. From reading at least 4 different articles, Jones is universally projected to be an average NFL starter with a high chance of making it at this level, but with a low ceiling. They compare him to Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, and a poor man's Eli Manning. Basically, he is the 4th best QB of this draft, and is no-where near a top-10 prospect. He has accuracy issues, and can't throw a deep ball to save his life (47% accuracy on deep ball passes). Daniel Jones is not taking NY Giants to a Superbowl.

Don't rule out the possibility of Washington drafting a WR. I know they've lost their 2nd round pick for 2019 and 2020, but there's still value in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Those picks should be focused on building around Haskins. A WR and an OT would be ideal.

With Washington having Haskins, Keenum, McCoy, and Smith in the team, it means once Keenum or McCoy is cut after training camp, Haskins will have 2 veterans around the club to mentor him. On top of that, he has an underrated o-line to protect him, and two RBs to take the pressure off. And the D-line is ever-improving, leaving perhaps CB and WR as the only weaknesses in the team (Josh Norman needs help).

Washington should be a good chance to win the division. NY Giants are going no-where, so they're instantly ruled out. Dallas didn't draft in the 1st round, so there's no star power being added to this team that was extremely lucky in 1-score games. Philly were mediocre when Wentz was the starter, but they've had a solid draft so far. It may be a 2-horse race between Philly and Washington, with Dallas a slight chance.
Fun Fact: The last two QBs that Alex Smith has mentored were Kaepernick (lead SF to a Superbowl initially) and Mahomes.

Miami just traded for Rosen. Late second rounder.

Another interesting day.

Denver eventually decided to take Lock with pick 40. He's an absolute steal that late. So much for Flacco being their savior and the QB to lead them to a Superbowl...

Also interestingly, Carolina drafted Will Grier in the 3rd round.

Miami's draft picks: Josh Rosen and Michael Deiter (G). Not bad giving up pick 62 and receiving the best QB in this crop, along with 2 late picks. When you look at it at first, Rosen looks like a great player to trade for. But I don't understand it. They signed Fitzpatrick for 2 years at $11 million, and now they recruit Rosen, who will surely be the starter from Day 1. Also, where does this leave the so-called Tank for Tua?

Washington only had a 3rd round pick to use, but they used it on the perfect position. They got wide receiver Terry McLaurin. From what I've read, it's not a convincing pick, but nevertheless it is a WR who "has a chance to become an NFL starter".
EDIT - McLaurin was Haskins' main target in college.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 27th 2019 »

Miami did okay. I would grade our draft a C+.

I absolutely love the Redskins Draft. I also love what the Browns and Bears did with their limited amount of picks. The Broncos and Pats also did great.

I'm amazed no-one is talking about it, but I think Arizona had a terrible draft.

Yes Murray is very talented and may become an above average starter. Yes they improved the WR group and other areas. But, after having the worst o-line in the NFL last season, their first pick which addressed this issue was in the SIXTH ROUND! Combine a short, light QB and a horrendous o-line, and you've got a repeat of 2018/19.

Dennis, as Warrior says, Washington had a great draft. They got several players with injury history which lowered their value significantly. For example, RB Bryce Love was projected to be a top 15 pick last draft, but he tore his ACL, and Washington got him using pick 112.

Warrior, why do you give our draft a C+? What didn't you like about it? Remember, we got a 2020 second round pick from New Orleans too.

The quarterbacks drafted were:
1 - Murray to Arizona
6 - Jones to NY Giants
15 - Haskins to Washington
42 - Lock to Denver
100 - Grier to Carolina
104 - Finley to Cincinnati
133 - Stidham to New England
166 - Stick to LA Chargers
167 - Thorson to Philadelphia
178 - Minshew to Jacksonville
197 - McSorley to Baltimore

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 28th 2019 »

Matt: There wasn't much I didn't like about our draft. I guess I said C+ because it looks like that when compared to other teams. If you compare our draft to the Broncos or the Redskins, it's hard not to say that we did okay. I guess it was more like a B when you factor in the 2020 Second Rounder and getting Rosen (if he pans out).

Here are the grades I would give each team:
Arizona: B (Needed more O-Line)
San Francisco: C+ (Went downhill after day 2)
Jets: C+ (Not so good after Day 2)
Oakland: B (Good players, only one true reach at #4 but no one would trade with them)
Tampa: B+ (Great picks outside the kicker)
Giants: C+ (People have been critical of them, but I don't think it was all that bad)
Jaguars: A (Great players fell to them)
Lions: B (A few reaches, but good players overall)
Bills: A (Great players fell to them)
Denver: A+ (Great selections with good value)
Cincinnati: B (Filled needs, no real superstars)
Green Bay: D (Good later selections, but bad reaches in First Round)
Miami: B (Decent selections, factoring in picks and Rosen acquired)
Atlanta: C (A couple of reaches, but they filled needs)
Washington: A+ (Great selection after great selection)
Carolina: B (Filled needs)
Cleveland: A (Literally picked the best available with their limited picks)
Vikings: B (A few reaches, but they filled their needs)
Titans: B+ (Character issues, but immense talent in selections)
Pittsburgh: B+ (Filled dire needs, kept 2020 First Rounder in the process)
Seattle: B+ (Filled holes while improving from four picks to like ten)
Baltimore: B (Picked a whole lot of receivers)
Houston: F (WAY too many bad reaches)
Dallas: B- (Filled needs)
Indianapolis: B+ (Good value selections)
Chicago: B+ (Good selections with limited number of picks)
LA Chargers: B (Decent selections, could've done better)
Chiefs: C (Could've done better, far superior talent available than selections)
Saints: C+ (Decent selections, gave up a lot to Miami to jump up)
Rams: B (Not bad, but I think they dropped down a little too much)
Patriots: A+ (Amazing value selections, filled needs, high ceiling late picks)

These are pretty fair grades.

Thank god I didn't have to grade them all xD

Some people are being harsh on Miami for trading for Rosen, citing he doesn't have passion for the game. If someone didn't love the game, would they be the first in and last out every day? Would he continue to take hit after hit like he did in Arizona? I don't think so.

Everything that Rosen has done in the past month or two has been to the highest level of sportsmanship and class. He's changed the narrative I had with him that he might have attitude problems. Firstly he turned up to the optional offseason workout, then he did an interview and accepted that he may be traded, and that he would just need to move on and work hard if that did happen. Then after the draft, he posted a video on his instagram, thanking Arizona (even though he had no reason to thank them for their awful treatment of him), looking forward to Miami, and also congratulating Murray.

I'm sure you heard Steve Smith's rant too about Rosen unfollowing Arizona, and supposedly being a sook. These people you mention that are being harsh on Rosen are just the same as Smith; have a grudge on Rosen for some reason and will not stop hammering him because they have nothing better to do (and probably get paid for it).

He definitely had passion for the game as you say. If he didn't, he would just switch back to playing tennis (he was a tennis prodigy, hence his elite footwork).

Arizona played a very dangerous game when they got rid of Rosen, and subsequently drafted ZERO o-line players in the first 5 rounds. If Murray is a bust (it may not even be his fault), they'll have to ship him off for a 6th rounder and then draft Tua at pick 1...

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 28th 2019 »

Rosen could be the highly touted quarterback of a couple of years ago in the right team. You look at players like Steve Young and Doug Williams, two quarterbacks that were disappointing with their initial NFL team (Tampa Bay) and then see what they did when they were traded to San Francisco and Washington you have to consider them steals for those two teams, no reason the same thing could happen to Miami. I've seen game film of Rosen, I studied it when the Redskins showed interest in him and Rosen can definately play the game. If he was in this year's draft he'd have been the undisputed no.1 quarterback but because he went to a bad team in the Cardinals and got banged about a bit he is looked upon as damaged goods. Give the guy a chance... What is disturbing though is wherever the guy goes he is unliked in the locker room, which is not a goods sign as the other players will not go all out for him. I'm wondering if that is the reason the Cardinals got rid of him as Rosen like I said before has the talent.

The Redskins have picked up two recievers and a running back to help Haskins, one target he is familiar with as it was his favourite deep threat in college. That's great, that means chemistry is already there between quarterback and reciever before the season begins, should only get better in the pro ranks. The Running Back Love is interesting though, Samaje Perine is definately on the way out now as soon a Guice is healthy. Love aparently is a burner who will take it all the way, the perfect complement to Guice who is a bruiser. Everyone is saying that the second reciever they chose is steal, how come if he is that good nobody drafted him before?


« Last edited by Sanzano on Apr 29th 2019 »

There's so many prospects to choose from in the draft, and at times there are too many for clubs to track. Many clubs probably went to do their section, and had a shortlist, eventually making their choice. The Washington WR was probably on people's radars, but they ultimately passed him because they probably wanted to draft in a different area like o-line for example.

If Love can become healthy, Washington will have an elite running game. Love was touted as a top 15 prospect back in last draft, but he then tore his ACL and his value plummeted.

That's beginning to look like a scary backfield the Redskins have. And they've got one of the greatest running backs ever in Peterson to mentor the young talent. I can't wait for the season to start and see what these rookies can do. I think it will probably be a 9-7 season for the Redskins which is a step in the right direction.

Who do you think will be the starting wide recievers for them? At the moment its Josh Doctson, Trey Quinn and Paul Richardson. Doctson will probably be one but the other two are question marks. Quinn was literally the last player selected in last years draft which straight away tells you he's not an elite player and Richardson has just been a disappointment from day 1. I doubt either of these two will even make the cut. If Haskins has Jordan Reed, Chris Tompson and his favourite deep threat reciever from college to throw to he's got some to be feeling pretty confident especially with those running backs behind him and big offensive lineman like Trent Williams and Brandon Scherff in front of him. Things are finally starting to look good for the skins.

Will Rosen start for Miami or will they go with the veteran Fitzpatrick? I'm guessing Rosen and if he reverts to his 66 quarterback rating they will put Fitzpatrick in. Miami need to find out quickly if Rosen is their quarterback of the future or another Ryan Leaf. Either way they haven't lost much taking a chance on him.

That's the way I see it with Rosen. The Miami coach says Rosen isn't the starter yet and will have to win that, but you'd expect it's just talk and that he will start in week 1. If he is indeed a bust then Miami can offload him and tank for Tua. But if he succeeds, then Miami have plucked a top QB prospect for the price of pick 62 and a 2020 5th rounder, and can go into the 2020 draft with a 1st rounder and two 2nd rounders, which they can use on non-QB players.

The beauty of it is that Rosen has had 13 games of NFL experience. I talk a lot about having rookies sit for a year, and essentially Rosen is a 2nd year player who hasn't played a snap for Miami, yet he is comfortable at this level now.

Washington's season will come down to how Haskins performs. If he is successful, then Washington have a very high chance of playoffs. Their team is filled with players who played together at college (the Alabama o-line and d-line players, and the Ohio Haskins-McLauren connection).

The Washington squad is Superbowl-ready. No rebuilding is required. Any future drafting/free agency trades is merely strengthening an already-good team. I'm not saying they are necessarily a SB contender right now, but the team personnel is spot on.

I have to agree Matt, it is starting to look like a Super Bowl team, what can't be measured though are the intangibles, is Haskins a leader, can the wide recieves play at the top level, secondary is a problem in deep one-on one coverage due to inexperience. Another couple of years and a those areas shored up and the skins will be in with a chance of going all the way. I'd like to see a Washington vs Cleveland Super Bowl in 2021. I wonder what odds I would get for that now?

I don't think Miami will be tanking it though, at the end of the day the Dolphins franchise is a business and nobody wants to be associated with a bunch of losers which would cost the franchise money in lost revenue through advertising. The players have families to feed so will want to keep their jobs, if they do dismal this year it will be because of lack of talent not effort.

Well. The NFL.com updated Power Rankings have Washington at a lowly 28th, and Miami have moved down to dead last. I don't understand??? What weaknesses to Washington have???

Divisional games will once again decide Washington's season. NY Giants look beatable, but Dallas and Philly are 4 crunch games. Historically they do poorly in divisional matchups, so whoever takes the initiative will probably make it. Dallas were 5-1 in the division last season, and thus finished on top with a 10-6 record.

Side note: The AFC and NFC East divisions are stacked with young QBs. Allen, Rosen, Darnold, Prescott, Jones, Wentz, & Haskins. And in a few years (maybe) Brady will retire and a young QB will take over. It's gonna be a fun 10 years to track results in our divisions.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 29th 2019 »

Rookie QB is always a weakness. Haskins will have some growing pains, but he should end up being better than all the other QBs they have on their roster. I feel they are at least a year or two away, especially considering a lot of their players need to get healthy.

Here's a name to watch for the 2020 Draft: AJ Epenesa. Dude is a monster.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Apr 29th 2019 »

Are you sure he's not another Tony Mandarich? I remember the hype surrounding him before the draft. He was on the front of Sports Illustrated and he looked like a monster. As soon as he entered the NFL he looked anything but stellar.



Just been doing my homework on Bryce Love the Redskins new running back. How did this guy stay undrafted so long, I know he's been injured but the scouts say if he comes back fully healthy he will be one of the most dynamic players in the league. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist a year ago, has break away speed, demon cuts and is an excellent deep threat reciever. This guy could be the steal of the entire draft. Him and Guice in the backfield gives the Redskins a power and speed option and when in the backfield with Thompson that's two quality recievers Haskins has to throw to. I don't think the Redskins will be power ranked 28 after this season, that's for sure. I'm thinking more like top 10.

Epenesa isn't going to be a bust. He's going to be a star. I'm telling you: I've seen him send a 350 pounder flying to ground. He's scary strong.