Signings, Cuts, Trades

[rossihunter2]

lol - just to emphasise what a bargain this deal is lol

 

[rossihunter2]

 

[rossihunter2]

 

[UPennChem]

but on the plus side we've added a playmaker and our roster has genuine stars at most major positions (if they're healthy)

obviously when you put it like that it looks bad but i could also frame it like this:

the offence is probably only 2 players away (a starter at C and a starter or swing at tackle) from being outrageously stacked with talent
the defence has some holes but is also full of playmakers and speed with peters, marlon, williams, PQ, Oweh, Madubuike and Bowser

we've still got some money in free agency to add depth and maybe find another starter (or even 2)
we've got the 14th pick in the draft where there's a very good chance we're going to add either an EDGE, a CB or an OT
we've got 3 picks on day 2 and we own the 4th round

lots of opportunities to plug holes and add talent

Completely agree. I'd like to see the draft help plug those defensive holes. I'd be so content if we can just add Tretter or Bozeman or someone else.

 

[Edgar]

I'll cop to never having watched him but...plus range and plus route recognition on film...Dont see much man coverage but a willing tackler...could be dynamic with Stephens

 

[rossihunter2]

hahahaha

 

[Dom McRaven]

Chandler Jones, perhaps?

 

[rossihunter2]

Completely agree. I'd like to see the draft help plug those defensive holes. I'd be so content if we can just add Tretter or Bozeman or someone else.

i think that's the thing - add 1 guy at EDGE or OT or C and it dramatically changes the outlook of this team now lol

 

[Deebo813]

yeah - macdonald's even talked about the difference in terms of how we blitz and create pressure - wink would often overload gaps and create pressure with numbers and that was amazing in '18 and '19 when we crowded the line and used a lot of simulated pressure but i think teams got wise to the numbers and were able to predict the blitz so were prepared and able to execute in the quick game which put a ton of pressure on the DBs to not only be good but to be basically perfect

macdonald's talked about being more gap disciplined even with stunts and blitzes - as you say he's not necessarily deadset on creating free rushers but isnt going to shy away from simulated pressures but is philosophically more into creating 1v1 matchups with his pressure looks and staying gap sound

I dnt think teams got all that wise.. we had weddle and earl back then so we were able to disguise our defense much better. Those other two guys, who i will not mention….. made it a little bit harder to do so.

 

[rossihunter2]

Chandler Jones, perhaps?

haha he's speculating about pricetag lol - if we're out on ZDS because of pricetag (which to be clear, jeff isnt saying we're out on him at all) we won't be in on jones lol

 

[All_black_everything]

Love the Marcus Williams signing. My immediate thought is: this is to defend the Bengals passing game.

 

[rossihunter2]

I dnt think teams got all that wise.. we had weddle and earl back then so we were able to disguise our defense much better. Those other two guys, who i will not mention….. made it a little bit harder to do so.

i mean, we still disguised a ton in 2020 and 2021 too lol - and as good as earl was, he's not well-known for his pre-snap disguise

 

[Grim]

i think that's the thing - add 1 guy at EDGE or OT or C and it dramatically changes the outlook of this team now lol

Yeah, agreed. I’d focus more on C since I like the draft a little better for Edge and not a ton at C. I also think C takes longer to transition and make an impact as a pro. I think edge guys can come in and be immediate starters. I also don’t think we’re as bad at RT as others and like the draft there. Ideally, we could do the following

FA: S, C
Draft: Edge, IOL, OT, CB, DL

 

[UPennChem]

i think that's the thing - add 1 guy at EDGE or OT or C and it dramatically changes the outlook of this team now lol

Agree entirely. Can't judge the FA period until it's over.

 

[Simba]

If it was up to me...

C - add via FA
EDGE - add via FA and/or draft high
OT - draft decently high
DT - draft decently high
CB - draft decently high and maybe add a slot guy later in FA
ILB - stopgap (e.g. Bynes) and/or mid round pick
TE - mid-late round pick
RB - mid-late round pick

 

[RavensMania]

I'm not a huge fan of how we used our safeties during Wink's tenure so I'm hoping Williams will allow us to get closer to our Reed-era days, in which our safeties had more refined roles.

Having a deep safety like Williams should allow us to use Stephens in the dax hill mold. Of course I'd still love to have Dax.

 

[rmcjacket23]

DJ knows what's up lol

We've been discussing this all offseason. Safety was always the #1 position I was certain we'd go the FA route to upgrade. We've done it consistently for like multiple decades now. We haven't made many, if any, attempts to replace Ed Reed via the draft. And its been a LONG time since Ed's been gone and even longer since we drafted him.

 

[Grim]

If it was up to me...

C - add via FA
EDGE - add via FA and/or draft high
OT - draft decently high
CB - draft decently high and maybe add a slot guy later in FA
ILB - stopgap (e.g. Bynes) and/or mid round pick
TE - mid-late round pick
RB - mid-late round pick

I concur.

 

[RL52TheGreatest]

i mean i dont want to do that lol- and macdonald has already talked about how important disguise is to his defence too - i fully expect us to do a ton with our safeties still (probably why we put so much value in the position because we ask them to do a fuckton more complex shit than other teams do)

what it does do is make us more effective when we go to those single-high man coverages because the guy we've got single-high is a genuine threat - i dont expect the defence to change much tbh, but williams allows us to be more threatening in those coverages and out of those same looks

I still expect our safeties to do a lot and be "interchangeable", but I just think we'll see them utilized to their strengths more with Williams being the main coverage safety (Clark will still be asked to do some of that, but I think we'll see him in the box more than usual). I expect Macdonald to put our guys in better positions to succeed so, for example, if Williams is thriving in the single-high role then I would expect to see him in that role far more often.

 

[rmcjacket23]

Having a deep safety like Williams should allow us to use Stephens in the dax hill mold. Of course I'd still love to have Dax.

I'll be interested to see what happens in the first couple rounds of the draft. Taking another Corner like a Stingley means we can probably move Marlon into the slot more if we want to. One could make the case our best defenses in the last couple years have been with Marlon in the slot and Jimmy/Peters outside.

Or they could opt to go for a slot corner in the middle rounds.

My opinion of the first round has been the same... I want playmakers. I want people that can either create turnovers or score touchdowns... or both. Offensive lineman don't fit that mold. I'm not a big fan of taking Olineman in the first round that aren't LT's, and especially as high as 14.

I think a Corner or a Pass Rusher are likely to still be in play in the first round, unless we manage to land some like super-stud pass rusher like a Chandler Jones, which I highly doubt.

I think we'll get a Center here in FA and we'll target Tackles on day 2 and day 3.