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Initial Thoughts:
So I am a new owner this year, and this team is...well....really bad. So bad, in fact, that we are the worst in the league and had the first overall pick this year. The team has a few very good players whose talents are frankly being wasted because of the lack of talent around them, and by "lack of talent" I mean there was no one around them. I took over at the very end of last season and was able to retain a few players, but for the most part, the entire roster hit free agency this year.
I had basically two directions I could go with the team: Purge the talent on the roster and rebuild from scratch, or try to fill the roster with talented players this year and go for a quick rebuild. I preferred to go the "rebuild from scratch" route, but lack of trade interest forced my hand. I set out to mostly fill the roster in free agency with veteran players, knowing that I would be trying to acquire lots of extra draft picks and I would need mentors for them.
Key signings in FA:
7th yr TE Brandon Klotz (54/54) - He has solid recieving skills and will likely be our primary weapon in the pass game.
8th yr SLB Jumbo Muskie (50/50) - Very good at pass rushing and in coverage. Jumbo will be a threat on our defensive front.
6th yr ILB Ed Whitehead (43/50) - A Bump and run specialist and excellent run defender. His play diagnosis skills will be crucial to the success of our run defense.
7th yr C Travis Fuchs (42/47) - An all around talent to anchor the line. He can run block, pass block, and long snap; definitely a plus to have a player who can do it all when we're looking to fill roles.
6th yr FS Michael Murry (38/38) - Technically a re-sign since he played for us last year, Murry is a great zone defender who will excel playing center field.
4th yr RB Aaron Rodstrom (35/35) - He has pretty decent speed and an ability to find the hole. He will likely start unless we snag a good RB in the draft.
5th yr WR Ralph Bell (39/39) - A good route runner, who can also get nice YAC yardage. Bell will be our number 1 receiver this year.
The Draft Class of 2021:
I had the first overall pick and when you have the top pick in the draft, you are always looking for the franchise QB. There was not only one, but 2 franchise QBs this year....Both were a little risky though.
Rico Oglethorpe had all the skills, did well at the combine. He looked like a sure thing on paper. But when you see him in person and he barely comes up to your elbows, you have to think twice. I am choosing the face of my franchise for the forseeable future, and I don't want to see Oglethorpe giving the post game interviews for 15 seasons next to a reporter who has to get down on his/her knees for both of them to be in the same shot.
So with the 1.1 pick, it was QB Cary Money (5/24) by default. Money has all the combine scores to indicate he will be a perennial pro-bowl QB, but none of the scouts believe it. We'll be looking to prove them all wrong.
The 2.4 pick we traded to Denver to acquire 3rd yr OLB Kendall Downs (31/56) - He is an excellent all-around linebacker with top of the line pass rushing skills, and he is no slouch in coverage as well. We got Downs to be our primary pass rushing LB, but we may use him in coverage after grabbing some nice young LBs later in the draft.
3.3 OLB Brady Hoffman (19/38) - The very nice pass rusher I referred to above. Hoffman will be vying for the starting WLB job this year.
4.2 RB C.J. Shannon (26/43) - I thought the world of Shannon and nearly traded up to the mid-third to grab him. We couldn't spare the draft ammo to trade up though, and I was ecstatic to see him fall to us. He could start this year, but even if he's a backup he will be seeing a lot of carries.
5.1 WR Daryl Tubbs (25/40) - Tubbs looks like an average all-around receiver. But, average is good enough to start for this team. Tubbs was a great pickup this late.
5.16 G Matt Anthony (16/51) - He had an excellent combine, the scouts think he'll be a great blocker... But he has endurance issues. In the 5th round, we're happy to take the risk that he'll be a part time player. He is a little undersized for a guard, and there has been discussion of moving him to Center.
6.4 OLB Carlton Jahr (17/57) - Another player with good skills but endurance questions. If Jahr plays half the defensive snaps at a very high level, that would be great value for this pick.
6.23 K J.J. Farrow (30/59) - We need a kicker...Any kicker. Farrow actually looks pretty decent.
7.3 QB Dave Chavez (14/41) - He had an OK combine and the scouts thought highly of him. We'll keep him around to play backup to Money.
7.18 OLB Leonard Jenkins (18/39) - Another pass rushing LB who I couldn't pass up. Our LB core will likely be the strength of the team for the future.
7.22 DE Randy Ruhman (18/31) - A pass rushing DE who is a liability in run defense. He could be a very good nickle/dime DE.
So I am a new owner this year, and this team is...well....really bad. So bad, in fact, that we are the worst in the league and had the first overall pick this year. The team has a few very good players whose talents are frankly being wasted because of the lack of talent around them, and by "lack of talent" I mean there was no one around them. I took over at the very end of last season and was able to retain a few players, but for the most part, the entire roster hit free agency this year.
I had basically two directions I could go with the team: Purge the talent on the roster and rebuild from scratch, or try to fill the roster with talented players this year and go for a quick rebuild. I preferred to go the "rebuild from scratch" route, but lack of trade interest forced my hand. I set out to mostly fill the roster in free agency with veteran players, knowing that I would be trying to acquire lots of extra draft picks and I would need mentors for them.
Key signings in FA:
7th yr TE Brandon Klotz (54/54) - He has solid recieving skills and will likely be our primary weapon in the pass game.
8th yr SLB Jumbo Muskie (50/50) - Very good at pass rushing and in coverage. Jumbo will be a threat on our defensive front.
6th yr ILB Ed Whitehead (43/50) - A Bump and run specialist and excellent run defender. His play diagnosis skills will be crucial to the success of our run defense.
7th yr C Travis Fuchs (42/47) - An all around talent to anchor the line. He can run block, pass block, and long snap; definitely a plus to have a player who can do it all when we're looking to fill roles.
6th yr FS Michael Murry (38/38) - Technically a re-sign since he played for us last year, Murry is a great zone defender who will excel playing center field.
4th yr RB Aaron Rodstrom (35/35) - He has pretty decent speed and an ability to find the hole. He will likely start unless we snag a good RB in the draft.
5th yr WR Ralph Bell (39/39) - A good route runner, who can also get nice YAC yardage. Bell will be our number 1 receiver this year.
The Draft Class of 2021:
I had the first overall pick and when you have the top pick in the draft, you are always looking for the franchise QB. There was not only one, but 2 franchise QBs this year....Both were a little risky though.
Rico Oglethorpe had all the skills, did well at the combine. He looked like a sure thing on paper. But when you see him in person and he barely comes up to your elbows, you have to think twice. I am choosing the face of my franchise for the forseeable future, and I don't want to see Oglethorpe giving the post game interviews for 15 seasons next to a reporter who has to get down on his/her knees for both of them to be in the same shot.
So with the 1.1 pick, it was QB Cary Money (5/24) by default. Money has all the combine scores to indicate he will be a perennial pro-bowl QB, but none of the scouts believe it. We'll be looking to prove them all wrong.
The 2.4 pick we traded to Denver to acquire 3rd yr OLB Kendall Downs (31/56) - He is an excellent all-around linebacker with top of the line pass rushing skills, and he is no slouch in coverage as well. We got Downs to be our primary pass rushing LB, but we may use him in coverage after grabbing some nice young LBs later in the draft.
3.3 OLB Brady Hoffman (19/38) - The very nice pass rusher I referred to above. Hoffman will be vying for the starting WLB job this year.
4.2 RB C.J. Shannon (26/43) - I thought the world of Shannon and nearly traded up to the mid-third to grab him. We couldn't spare the draft ammo to trade up though, and I was ecstatic to see him fall to us. He could start this year, but even if he's a backup he will be seeing a lot of carries.
5.1 WR Daryl Tubbs (25/40) - Tubbs looks like an average all-around receiver. But, average is good enough to start for this team. Tubbs was a great pickup this late.
5.16 G Matt Anthony (16/51) - He had an excellent combine, the scouts think he'll be a great blocker... But he has endurance issues. In the 5th round, we're happy to take the risk that he'll be a part time player. He is a little undersized for a guard, and there has been discussion of moving him to Center.
6.4 OLB Carlton Jahr (17/57) - Another player with good skills but endurance questions. If Jahr plays half the defensive snaps at a very high level, that would be great value for this pick.
6.23 K J.J. Farrow (30/59) - We need a kicker...Any kicker. Farrow actually looks pretty decent.
7.3 QB Dave Chavez (14/41) - He had an OK combine and the scouts thought highly of him. We'll keep him around to play backup to Money.
7.18 OLB Leonard Jenkins (18/39) - Another pass rushing LB who I couldn't pass up. Our LB core will likely be the strength of the team for the future.
7.22 DE Randy Ruhman (18/31) - A pass rushing DE who is a liability in run defense. He could be a very good nickle/dime DE.
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