2013 FA Thread (Updates on OP) New: Merling, Brace, Pashos, Trueblood, EJBig, Tapp, White, Williams, MATTHEWS; Re-up: Rex, Hall, Davis, Paulsen, DY, RJax, Lich, Sundberg, Baker, Sav, Golston, Kehl, Polumbus; Paycuts: Carriker, Moss, BMeri, J. Wilson

[darrelgreenie]

I definitely love all of the info you are posting, man. I was just giving the ole' 2 cents.

I like Quinn a lot too. He and Merriweather, maybe T. Jackson and a draft pick... we're talking about going from a D+ secondary to a solid B... with that front seven? I might get a zero blitz t-shirt made

In my eyes it doesn't seem wise to count on 2 players who have barely played over the past couples seasons and when they did play their level of play was below average.

[SemperFi Skins]

Dukes and I were talking about it...

If we could come away with an up and coming starting corner in Keenan Lewis, and,
A legit starting SS in Chris Clemons from free agency, we could then draft a FS (hopefully TJ McDonald but I fear he will be gone by our pick).

That's a huge upgrade in our back 4 and immediately put's us with the best of the best... Our pass rush will immediately be upgraded when we get Carriker/Orakpo back.

[Skinsinparadise]

I definitely love all of the info you are posting, man. I was just giving the ole' 2 cents.

I like Quinn a lot too. He and Merriweather, maybe T. Jackson and a draft pick... we're talking about going from a D+ secondary to a solid B... with that front seven? I might get a zero blitz t-shirt made

Thanks. I am not sure we can count on T Jackson I believe this is his third violation of the NFL drug policy, if I recall he can't be reinstated until late August. The dude was suspended last year and was given another chance with a new team and still couldn't stay away from the drugs. As for Merriweather, am not sure about him either, he did play well against the Eagles, but hes coming off major surgery -- and the prior year he was benched and then dumped by both the Patriots and Bears, and neither team were loaded in the secondary. I like the idea of bringing Merriweather back assuming he's healthy as a back up. Chris Russell from 980 seems to be a big Merriweather advocate, says he's a good clubhouse guy who brings a lot of energy and humor.

---------- Post added January-23rd-2013 at 11:00 AM ----------

If we could come away with an up and coming starting corner in Keenan Lewis, and,
A legit starting SS in Chris Clemons from free agency, we could then draft a FS (hopefully TJ McDonald but I fear he will be gone by our pick).

That's a huge upgrade in our back 4 and immediately put's us with the best of the best... Our pass rush will immediately be upgraded when we get Carriker/Orakpo back.

Even if McDonald is gone, its a deep draft for safety so I'd be surprised if one of these guys isn't there among: Reid, Elam, Thomas, Williams, Swearinger. In most current mocks (granted they are crapshoots this early in the game), McDonald is still there at our pick. It's Reid and Elam that are often gone. Granted, McDonald thus far is having a good senior bowl week which might elevate his status.

[SemperFi Skins]

Even if McDonald is gone, its a deep draft for safety so I'd be surprised if one of these guys isn't there among: Reid, Elam, Thomas, Williams, Swearinger. In most current mocks (granted they are crapshoots this early in the game), McDonald is still there at our pick. It's Reid and Elam that are often gone. Granted, McDonald thus far is having a good senior bowl week which might elevate his status.

Elam and Swearinger are SS... If we get Clemons, we should be looking solely at FS. Although, like you said, Meriweather may be back and the Clemons talk would be moot. I just don't know how reliable Meriweather can truly be and to be honest, T. Jax has never even been a Redskin unless he could prove otherwise... and with no training camp, I doubt he'll be able to prove anything.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to take two Safeties in the draft...

[darrelgreenie]

SemperFi-

For whatever reason the early ranking don't have McDonald ranked as high as Vaccaro, Reid, Elam, Thomas, Rambo and Jefferson.
Of course the draft evaluation and ranking process is fluid but if it the rankings remain the same McDonald should easily be available in 2nd round and maybe even in the 3rd round.
No matter how the rankings shake out it seems there will be a good SAF on the board in the 2nd and most likely in the 3rd also. I would look to trade back in the 2nd round and try to package our extra 5th rounder to end up with the 2 late second rounders or 2 3rd rounders.

I think Elam and Swearinger are versatile enough to play SS or FS.

[SemperFi Skins]

SemperFi-

For whatever reason the early ranking don't have McDonald ranked as high as Vaccaro, Reid, Elam, Thomas, Rambo and Jefferson.
Of course the draft evaluation and ranking process is fluid but if it the rankings remain the same McDonald should easily be available in 2nd round and maybe even in the 3rd round.
No matter how the rankings shake out it seems there will be a good SAF on the board in the 2nd and most likely in the 3rd also. I would look to trade back in the 2nd round and try to package our extra 5th rounder to end up with the 2 late second rounders or 2 3rd rounders.

I think Elam and Swearinger are versatile enough to play SS or FS.

After this Senior Bowl, McDonald should be an early 2nd rounder at the latest but luckily like everyone's said... there are a ton of quality Safeties in this draft. IMO, he's the best all around Safety and his skillset fits FS better than any of the other safeties in this draft.

McDonald or Reid would already make it an amazing draft for us.

[thesubmittedone]

My question is, with the depth assembled on our roster and our ability to win the NFC East even with some of the holes we have, does it afford us the ability to go completely BPA in the draft now?

I think so. I think Free Agency will determine that as well. If we get ourselves either a stud CB and a starting Safety or a stud Safety and a starting CB via FA, I think it behooves us to simply go BPA in the draft, PERIOD, even if the best player on the board is a WR.

[skins2323]

You've had a negative comment for almost everything proposed. No offense bro.

It is certainly feasable. Bennett is a situational player and works best in two TE sets. Paulsen is a FA as well. I like Paulsen as well but you can never have too many options on offense... especially when I said drafting Kelce would work too... I wouldn't keep Paul on this team unless they feel his "gunner" on ST is too valuable to let go.

This is RG3's team. You will see more wanting to be here instead of looking for the massive pay day than you would have in the past. Book it! Also, we are a contender...

Sorry if you feel that I have been overly negative, but I am just trying to be as realistic as possible. No offense taken by that comment either way either. As far as Bennett, as far as I know, Bennett last year was "The Guy" for NY at TE in all sets. in fact, he had 55 reception for almost 700 yds and 5 TDS last year, which IMO is a pretty solid year for his first year being a full time starter. When he played in Dallas, he was the #2 guy behind Witten and was very vocal last offseason that he wanted to be the #1 guy. (Link to his comments here) http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com...atch-guy-.html Why would Bennett go from being unhappy being the #2 in Dallas, then to having a pretty darn good yr as a #1 in NY, then go back to being a #2 here? Now, if you want Bennett as your #1 thats different, but it appears to me that you are lobbying for bringing him in as our #2 TE in 2 TE formations. Sorry if you think I am being negative, but IMO that simply is not going to happen.

Paulsen is a FA, but I think he could be brought back for very cheap and is the ideal #2 TE. He is a plus blocker with very reliable hands. He might not be a game changer with his speed, but he will run good routes, catch the ball and block well. The question now becomes who do you want as a #1? Davis is an option and there a few FA's there. Personally I like Jared Cook but there are plenty of options.

Im totally fine with drafting Kelce if you can get him in the 5th. I believe our 1st 3 picks (as of now) should be a CB/S/OT in no particular order. In this mock http://walterfootball.com/draft2013_4.php Kelce is a 4th rounder, which IMO is too early to draft a TE that may be on our PS if Paulson is resigned. As far as Paul, I am on the fence. On one hand he looked pretty bad last yr, but on the other it was his first time EVER playing a new position. I may be inclined to hold onto him for 1 more year to see how he develops.

Sorry if you think I am being negative for shooting down ppl's ideas, and I understand its the offseason, but believe me I have reasons why I dont think some of these ideas will work. i am not shooting down ideas for the hell of it. HTTR

[thesubmittedone]

Yeah I totally agree. I think it was difficult this past offseason (2012) because we had two years of cap penalties to absorb and a number of other things to worry about. I think with one more season, and an expanding cap in two years, we can afford to be a little more creative.

I still don't expect more than two guys being brought in who will contribute on a regular basis... and that's no shot against the talent out there or our Front Office and how they'll handle the cap. It's more a compliment to how well our football team is currently constructed. I think it's going to be at least one defensive back (maybe two) and either a linemen or a playmaker.

We'll certainly bring in other guys who will fight for a spot, but I think if we can get two solids it'll be as successful free agency period as we've had here. We're closer than the experts think.

I hope this is the case, and then I think we must go totally extremist on the BPA philosophy in the draft.

[SemperFi Skins]

My question is, with the depth assembled on our roster and our ability to win the NFC East even with some of the holes we have, does it afford us the ability to go completely BPA in the draft now?

I think so. I think Free Agency will determine that as well. If we get ourselves either a stud CB and a starting Safety or a stud Safety and a starting CB via FA, I think it behooves us to simply go BPA in the draft, PERIOD, even if the best player on the board is a WR.

I think you answered your own question my friend

If we get 1 or 2 A-B caliber starters, immediate upgrades in FA.... BPA is the best way to go about it.

[thesubmittedone]

This a large part of the reason I dislike making 'splash' FA signings. There is a gamble on whether or not that player will buy in to what they Burgundy and Gold have brewing and the more money spent on the player the more precarious a position their level of 'buy-in' becomes. I think we focus on building through the draft and taking a draft style approach to FA. Target young, affordable (cap friendly) hungry, humble players that are looking for a chance to play.

I think, as long as Raheem is around, we can afford to make a couple of splashes at DB in Free Agency. I think all of the players at secondary understand they need to improve; the players coming in will understand their role in improving the corps; and Raheem is a coach that doesn't seem to have any guys who don't "buy in".

I agree with the principle of your statement, though, but like I asked in an earlier post, at what point do we say we have enough depth and we just need a couple more stud pieces?

[darrelgreenie]

...does it afford us the ability to go completely BPA in the draft now?........I think it behooves us to simply go BPA in the draft, PERIOD, even if the best player on the board is a WR.

I agree for the most part except about WR. Imo once a position group is stable (and imo WR is stable with upside/growth potential) if you keep chasing talent you stunt the growth of your in-house talent and you begin to amass talent as opposed to building a team.

Here is my view:

2nd: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT
3rd: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT minus the round 2 selection
4th: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT minus rounds 2 & 3 selections + ILB, TE, RB, WR
5th: BPA
5th: BPA
6th: Collin Klein or zone read capable developmental QB (depending on the OC i.e. if we're still running a lot of zone-read stuff)
7th: BPA

---------- Post added January-23rd-2013 at 12:26 PM ----------

I think, as long as Raheem is around, we can afford to make a couple of splashes at DB in Free Agency. I think all of the players at secondary understand they need to improve; the players coming in will understand their role in improving the corps; and Raheem is a coach that doesn't seem to have any guys who don't "buy in".

I agree with the principle of your statement, though, but like I asked in an earlier post, at what point do we say we have enough depth and we just need a couple more stud pieces?

Specific to your point about Raheem having players 'buy-in' Morris reportedly had an entire team tune him out/quit on him which imo is the opposite of creating buy-in.
But either way I think buy-in is determined by the player not the coach.

[thesubmittedone]

I think you answered your own question my friend

If we get 1 or 2 A-B caliber starters, immediate upgrades in FA.... BPA is the best way to go about it.

Glad you agree... but I'm not sure about the rest of ES. I think everyone thinks we have a lot bigger holes at other positions than just the secondary as I'm implying. My position, basically, is that if we hit the secondary hard in FA and get 2 stud players there the rest of the team can afford total and utter BPA in the draft.

What do you guys think? How would you feel if we came out of the draft with a WR, a RB, a TE and a couple of LBs? I think this place would go nuts.

[SemperFi Skins]

Sorry if you feel that I have been overly negative, but I am just trying to be as realistic as possible. No offense taken by that comment either way either. As far as Bennett, as far as I know, Bennett last year was "The Guy" for NY at TE in all sets. in fact, he had 55 reception for almost 700 yds and 5 TDS last year, which IMO is a pretty solid year for his first year being a full time starter. When he played in Dallas, he was the #2 guy behind Witten and was very vocal last offseason that he wanted to be the #1 guy. (Link to his comments here) http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com...atch-guy-.html Why would Bennett go from being unhappy being the #2 in Dallas, then to having a pretty darn good yr as a #1 in NY, then go back to being a #2 here? Now, if you want Bennett as your #1 thats different, but it appears to me that you are lobbying for bringing him in as our #2 TE in 2 TE formations. Sorry if you think I am being negative, but IMO that simply is not going to happen.

Paulsen is a FA, but I think he could be brought back for very cheap and is the ideal #2 TE. He is a plus blocker with very reliable hands. He might not be a game changer with his speed, but he will run good routes, catch the ball and block well. The question now becomes who do you want as a #1? Davis is an option and there a few FA's there. Personally I like Jared Cook but there are plenty of options.

Im totally fine with drafting Kelce if you can get him in the 5th. I believe our 1st 3 picks (as of now) should be a CB/S/OT in no particular order. In this mock http://walterfootball.com/draft2013_4.php Kelce is a 4th rounder, which IMO is too early to draft a TE that may be on our PS if Paulson is resigned. As far as Paul, I am on the fence. On one hand he looked pretty bad last yr, but on the other it was his first time EVER playing a new position. I may be inclined to hold onto him for 1 more year to see how he develops.

Sorry if you think I am being negative for shooting down ppl's ideas, and I understand its the offseason, but believe me I have reasons why I dont think some of these ideas will work. i am not shooting down ideas for the hell of it. HTTR

Good post bro. This is what I like to see. I was just commenting on the striking down of ideas without any reasoning posted... you did exactly that in this post and I like it.

I too have soured on the idea of Bennett. I read that he and Coughlin are talking up new deals as we speak and he's even trying to get his brother to come to NY over the Buccs...

The only thing I would change is I've been following Kelce for a while... Dare I say, he reminds me of Gronk with his ability to be overlooked and slip past defenders in to the flat, and when you notice it, he's already doing an endzone celebration. I'd love to see the two pass catching TE's out there ala Gronk/Hernandez...

When all is said and done, IMO Kelce will be the best TE from this draft.... with his 4.5 speed and 6'5, 260 and his devastating blocking ability.... Averaging 15 yards per catch. Ridiculous!

But anyways, this is the FA thread so I'll stop my Travis Kelce draft preaching.

[thesubmittedone]

I agree for the most part except about WR. Imo once a position group is stable (and imo WR is stable with upside/growth potential) if you keep chasing talent you stunt the growth of your in-house talent and you begin to amass talent as opposed to building a team.

Here is my view:

2nd: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT
3rd: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT minus the round 2 selection
4th: BPA: CB, SS/FS, DL (penetrator/pass rusher), RT minus rounds 2 & 3 selections + ILB, TE, RB, WR
5th: BPA
5th: BPA
6th: Collin Klein or zone read capable developmental QB (depending on the OC i.e. if we're still running a lot of zone-read stuff)
7th: BPA

I think that's an excellent point and I'd agree with it, however, I wouldn't call our WR position "stable" unless we are 100% certain Hankerson and Robinson are going to develop into starters. We also only signed Morgan to a two year deal. But, that's something that we can really only speculate on. If our FO has full confidence Hank and Robinson are going to develop into guys who can easily take on the roles of Morgan and Moss, then we certainly are stable there.

Specific to your point about Raheem having players 'buy-in' Morris reportedly had an entire team tune him out/quit on him which imo is the opposite of creating buy-in.
But either way I think buy-in is determined by the player not the coach.

I knew you'd mention that, lol. It's my fault, though, I knew that would be a logical counter point and decided to be lazy about differentiating between Raheem the head coach and Raheem the secondary/defensive coach.

I think Raheem as a secondary/defensive coach has extreme "buy in" stock which is what got him into position to assume a head coaching job in the first place. He just wasn't ready for that entire responsibility, most likely.