Alright throwing in my "final" (until I decide otherwise later this week) 53 man prediction since the media availability is pretty much shut down and there's going to be little additional info reported until Saturday.
QB (3): Jackson, Griffin, Huntley
RB (4): Ingram, Dobbins, Edwards, Hill
FB (1): Ricard
WR (6): Brown, Snead, Boykin, Duvernay, Proche, Moore
TE (2): Andrews, Boyle
OL (9): Stanley, Bozeman, Skura, Fluker, Brown, Phillips, Mekar, Bredeson, Holden
DL (6): Campbell, Williams, Wolfe, Madubuike, Ellis, Washington
OLB (5): Judon, McPhee, Bowser, Ferguson, Ward
ILB (4): Queen, Fort, Harrison, Board
CB (5): Humphrey, Peters, Smith, Young, Averett
S (5): Clark, Elliott, Levine, Stone, Richards
ST (3): Tucker, Koch, Cox
Ideal PS (pending cleared waivers and no outside additions, of course):
O: QB McSorley, RB Williams, WR J. Moore, WR Scott, TE Wolf, TE Scarff, OL Colon-Castillo, OL Ehinger, OL Powers
D: DL Crawford, ILB Alaka, OLB Daka, OLB Rivers, CB Bonds, CB Nurse, S Warrior
No luck at the inn:
RB Barner, WR Dereus, WR White, TE Adams, OL Pollard, OLB Adeoye, OLB Willoughby, ILB Welch, CB Dorsey, P Townsend, LS Moore
Of note:
- McSorley's roster spot last year was solely based on his ability as a QB rather than the athleticism that we all expected. With no development there, they take the project in Huntley who has a lot more to work with from a pure athletic standpoint.
- I'm going with the 2 TE thing. Just guessing that none of the options are really "good enough" to make a difference so no sense in adding them to the 53 until the need arises.
- Holden's spot might be the most tenuous for me. I fully expect us to cast a wide net to find a better option out there for swing T. If Phillips continues his push for RG, it could also make me swap Holden for Powers with Fluker being the de facto swing T, with Brown sliding over to LT.
- I REALLY wanted to go with Warrior over Richards but I'm guessing they opt for the veteran to start with how young that group is outside of Levine. It wouldn't shock me at all if it went the other direction, though.
only 2 differences on my 53 right now as it stands
- Ben Powers over Holden (figure if Fluker's being tried out at RT and Phillips has the ability to play tackle in an emergency the ravens might risk it to keep the best 9 OL on the roster
- Charles Scarff as TE3 in stead of Broderick Washington
not confident in either of these choices lol
wildcard decisions for me:
- chris moore - he's been out almost all of camp - has someone done enough to replace him at gunner and made him expendable
- nigel warrior - has he done enough on special teams to get onto the backend of the 53 - is it possible that he could possibly even usurp geno stone
- john daka - early reports in camp were that he looked good on special teams - could he possibly steal one of those backend spots
i think you're right on some of those PS squad spots though - J. Moore looks like the best option at WR out of those in camp and I think they like Colon-Castillo and will want to hang onto him to see if they can get him onto a futures contract at the end of the year - we're loaded on the interior with young guys but he's someone we were clearly interested in as a draftable prospect
with Nurse's injury troubles he might be a candidate to be I/R'd and try again next year
I don't disagree with any of that.
Holden is interesting for me because he does not seem to be NFL quality but we literally have no depth at T so that's the only thing keeping him alive for me. I'd personally rather see us continue to develop a guy that has at least shown something and was a draft pick just last year over a guy that has middling NFL talent.
For the wildcards, I think the one thing Chris Moore has in his favor right now is that I think they'd want to have him in the organization even if he's not ready to go week 1. If you want to put him on IR and bring him back (and it's only 3 weeks now), he still has to make the original 53.
And for the PS, I tried to add some variety where I could... OL has a C, a G, and a T. WR has a slot and an outside guy. CB has a slot and an outside guy. Just think they'll have to construct it a little differently with all of the work it takes to get an outside guy in the building this year.
something to keep an eye on - lots of those veteran name players still out in the wilderness are gonna be signed this week
Reports are that he wants to move to safety.
with our multiple style secondary he would be beyond ideal, a literal corner who can play safety full time. No hiccups in switching roles from zone to robber to man to press.
That’s what I’m saying, he’s an ideal fit for a team who just lost a premiere FS who was actually not much of a scheme fit. Classic 80/20 rule because I can’t see Logan Ryan costing nearly what Earl Thomas cost. It would be very enticing to see exotic coverages where we can interchange multiple players all over the secondary.he'd be more like a hybrid - but that's the sort of player that would fit right into our scheme - it just kind of depends on how smart he is and how he picks up the complexities of the playbook
and most importantly how good of a communicator he is...
but id certainly be interested
i honestly think this kind of signing is one of the best toys you could give Wink at this point with the way the defence is currently constructed - the only free agent who might provide more tools - is more "multiple" would be jadeveon clowney who can line up all over the front and at LB
That’s what I’m saying, he’s an ideal fit for a team who just lost a premiere FS who was actually not much of a scheme fit. Classic 80/20 rule because I can’t see Logan Ryan costing nearly what Earl Thomas cost. It would be very enticing to see exotic coverages where we can interchange multiple players all over the secondary.
there’s a lot of talk about how Humphrey can move outside now that tavon is back but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Humphrey had an all pro season largely from the nickel, we made jokes but Humphrey really does have a skill set that would make him a DPOY candidate if he was moved around like a nickel/robber, if Logan Ryan converts successfully to safety, it would give us 2 of those players, along with a true nickel, and 2 elite outside corners in jimmy and peters, because I personally think jimmy outside and Humphrey inside is a better pairing.
oh i know lol, we dont NEED any kind of secondary help this is really just me saying what feels ideal to me.i know you're really pushing that bandwagon to keep marlon in the middle of the field but he's so strong on the outside when he has the sideline to work with and it also means he can still come downhill and attack flats and screens like he's done the whole way through his career - i much prefer the idea of tavon staying inside because he's a playmaker on the ball in those spots but also because he gets to be closer to the ball and he's probably the best tackler in the secondary as well as being a great blitzer too
marlon's physical but he's not a great blitzer in the same way - but he is great in run support and you dont really lose that playing on the outside
jimmy's gonna get reps all over the field - it's not like he's not gonna get on the field
Jeff confirming at least some interest in Ryan. Source in the tweet seems to be a Browns compiler, so not sure of the original source. I know we have a strong secondary but I'd like this signing a lot more than say, Ziggy Ansah. I know we've been linked to him but not sure I see the need for another pass rusher that plays limited snaps because he can't stay healthy.
the only signings at this point id be interested in would be logan ryan or a blockbuster for jadeveon clowney
the only other thing i could really see happening is picking up someone after cutdown day to play swing tackle for us (or maybe if there's someone we really rate at TE we bring in them)
Agreed. Those are the only 2 I'd be willing to spend "big" money on at this point. Wouldn't complain about a few other guys for a couple million or less. Just not much out there currently and not thinking there will be much come cut day either.
Wouldn’t surprise me if we were forced to do a minor trade for T depth. Much like Bergstrom and Bowanko a few years back.agreed - im more hoping that someone like greg senat gets let loose and we can grab them on waivers
wildcard decisions for me:
- chris moore - he's been out almost all of camp - has someone done enough to replace him at gunner and made him expendable
- nigel warrior - has he done enough on special teams to get onto the backend of the 53 - is it possible that he could possibly even usurp geno stone
- john daka - early reports in camp were that he looked good on special teams - could he possibly steal one of those backend spots
with Nurse's injury troubles he might be a candidate to be I/R'd and try again next year
Nigel Warrior seems like a interesting prospect. I remember a ravens youtube guy I follow, Coach Evans (Sip2Tally Films), even called him out when we first signed him. Saying he's better than Geno Stone on film. Hearing how he's one of the first defender to the returner on kickoffs.. you know got harbs grinning. That, plus how I'm a sucker for cool last names, got me rooting for him to make the 53 (he just need to change that number from 39 to something in the 20's). lol
I mentioned Josh Nurse's name before camp started as a dark horse. He's extremely raw, having transitioned from WR to CB at Utah. But that size and length makes him a fun project. I was hoping we could sneak him in our PS, but with his injury, its looking more like the good ol' injury stash.
I haven't heard anything about our 5th round pick, Broderick Washington. I suspect he gets the phantom injury tag as well. That extra spot is needed if we want to keep 3 QBs and 4 RBs.
I think Huntley takes the 3rd QB spot. I think Eli Wolf and Ty'son Williams is going to be on our PS. I remember Ty'son name when we announced him as one of our UDRFA class. For us to revisit and signed him after things didn't fall through the first time, must mean we really like him. I think I heard he was one of the stars in the recent scrimmage, going for "8 carries for 40 yards and the scrimmage's only touchdown." when it was being reported. Could he be our next Gus Edwards when gus leaves after this year?