2023 NFL Draft Thread

[Motown Bombers]

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Unlike Quinn, who was a complete moron and signaled to the world he wasn't taking one of Tua or Herbert, Campbell/Holmes are playing this smart. If they want to trade back from #6 then getting other teams to believe you could draft a QB is a smart strategy and the right one.

[gehringer_2]

I get the strategic ambiguity, but I don't know how much attention any team pays to what any other team says leading up to the draft. I suppose somewhere out there there is a really stupid FO or two and you want to take advantage of that if you can  but I'm sure most teams plan their draft assuming nothing anyone else says means anything.

and 10 yrs is forever in football.

Edited March 3, 2023 by gehringer_2

[RandyMarsh]

If they go qb I think that says alot about what they feel of the other talent. I don't think there is a chance in hell that they'd take a qb if a guy like Sewell or Hutch was there but if they just feel all the guys are just meh then maybe it's worth swinging for the fences on a qb in their eyes. Still don't agree with it though. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by RandyMarsh

[Motown Bombers]

11 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Unlike Quinn, who was a complete moron and signaled to the world he wasn't taking one of Tua or Herbert, Campbell/Holmes are playing this smart. If they want to trade back from #6 then getting other teams to believe you could draft a QB is a smart strategy and the right one.

What mattered is whether the teams behind the Lions were drafting a QB. It literally makes no sense. We're moving on from Matthew Stafford and are going to draft our future QB, but if you trade with us we'll stick with Stafford and change our plans. The Giants weren't taking a QB so Miami had no reason to trade up for Tua. 

[Motown Bombers]

5 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

If they go qb I think that says alot about what they feel of the other talent. I don't think there is a chance in hell that they'd take a qb if a guy like Sewell or Hutch was there but if they just feel all the guys are just meh then maybe it's worth swinging for the fences on a qb in their eyes. Still don't agree with it though. 

They had a chance at a better QB than Richardson and more uncertainty around Goff and they still took Sewell.

[Stanley70]

If there is a QB that they feel is a franchise player at 6 they would be stupid not to pick him. Goff is going to get another big contract and you can debate whether or not paying mid tier talents huge money at that position is a winning move going forward.

That said they would have to be pretty sure of themselves because it could backfire obviously.

 

[MichiganCardinal]

I’m not impressed with Sewell, but it’s to do with his tape, not his 40. I don’t care at all about his 40. He could have been one of the dozen players to not run it and we wouldn’t even know. I also don’t think he would even be on many of our radars if he wasn’t Penei’s brother, and while that’s a cool story, I don’t think it necessarily leads to great football players (see: Romeo and Julien Okwara).

As far as linebackers go, I think Jack Campbell fits the Dan Campbell culture of hard nosed football player to a t.

[Jason_R]

I don’t believe there is any chance they will take a QB at 6. 

That said, they have to do due diligence. It would be irresponsible for them not to interview Richardson. Also, for competitive reasons they cannot signal that they are not considering QBs who may fall to 6. 

[buddha]

richardson has the most upside of any qb in this draft.  brad holmes went to florida multiple times to watch him.  they already interviewed him.

regardless of whether they take him, they are interested in him.  i dont think its a smokescreen.  

theyre going to visit with and see many prospects, lots of whom they wont draft (like thibodeux last year), but they are doing their due dilligence on him for sure.

[RandyMarsh]

One thing I do like about Richardson is that I think he can provide value right away in in certain packages in specific situations.

Not that just doing that justifies the 6th pick but its nice knowing that we could get some ROI before 2 to 3 years down the road. 

[Motown Bombers]

They also interviewed CJ Stroud. It doesn't mean they are interested in him too. 

[Motown Bombers]

If they do draft a QB, Goff has to be gone within a year. I would trade Goff now and sign Garappolo to a one year deal. 

[RandyMarsh]

1 minute ago, Motown Bombers said:

If they do draft a QB, Goff has to be gone within a year. I would trade Goff now and sign Garappolo to a one year deal. 

I agree, it defeats the purpose of having the "cheap qb" if he's just going to hold a clipboard until 3 years in the league.

 

[MichiganCardinal]

3 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

If they do draft a QB, Goff has to be gone within a year. I would trade Goff now and sign Garappolo to a one year deal. 

I think they would fully intend on keeping Goff at least one more year and redshirting any rookie QB. With Ben Johnson and the offensive firepower we have here, Goff’s trade value should only rise, and he also puts us in the best position to win in 2023.

[Motown Bombers]

4 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

I agree, it defeats the purpose of having the "cheap qb" if he's just going to hold a clipboard until 3 years in the league.

 

It would actually cost more in cap space in 2023. It takes restructuring Goff off the table because you would be committed for two years, plus you have to pay 1st round cap space to the backup QB which isn't cheap. For reference, Zach Wilson's cap hit his rookie year was over $6 million. They can save $12 million by restructuring Goff minus the rookie QB cap as well. 

[MichiganCardinal]

3 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

I agree, it defeats the purpose of having the "cheap qb" if he's just going to hold a clipboard until 3 years in the league.

I care more about winning than having a cheap QB though. If they redshirt a rookie QB, Goff leads us to winning the NFC North and a playoff win, and they look into 2024 and say “sticking with Goff gives us the best chance to win”, I’m okay with that. It creates a bit of drama and headlines, but at the end of the day I just want to win.

I would rather the rookie QB be a colossal bust and have the Lions win playoff games and divisions (and more?) under Goff than move on from a winning QB because we think we have to dog our heels in on a lesser option because we drafted one high. It’s a similar problem facing the 49ers right now. All else being equal of course I don’t want our picks to bust, but I would rather the team say “(Richardson) isn’t quite where we need him to be, and Goff puts us in the best position to win games” than double down on what’s not working to save face.

[Motown Bombers]

6 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I think they would fully intend on keeping Goff at least one more year and redshirting any rookie QB. With Ben Johnson and the offensive firepower we have here, Goff’s trade value should only rise, and he also puts us in the best position to win in 2023.

I would break it off right away. Every time Goff throws an INT there will be calls for the new QB. We've seen how Goff does when his confidence gets rattled. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by Motown Bombers

[RandyMarsh]

If you're hell bent on getting a young replacement I still say next draft is the best one. For starters I just feel there are atleast 3 to 4 better qbs than any this year(plus who knows who will rise by then) but also I think the timeline matches up better. 

In the 2024 draft scenario we will have another year of draft picks under our belt and improvement from young players so if we do draft a qb he could potentially make an immediate impact due to the great situation we put him in, much like Herbert did a couple years ago. 

Otoh you could still ease him in and have him sit behind Goff for a year too.

The downside is that we'd likely have to trade up to get a qb next year but if you have a stacked team like I hope we will you can afford to do that, and I think it would be worth it getting the better qb and better fitting timeline.

[Motown Bombers]

If you don't think Goff is the future QB, draft the QB now while you have the pick and you can trade Goff since Goff has trade value. 

[MichiganCardinal]

Just now, Motown Bombers said:

I would break it off right away. Every time Goff throws an INT there will be calls for the new QB. We've seen how Goff does when his confidence gets rattled. 

I mentioned it above, but that’s why I would be clear with Goff and the rookie about expectations ahead of time, and I probably wouldn’t even dress the rookie in 2023. Particularly if it’s Richardson. Have a QB depth chart of 1) Goff, 2) Andy Dalton (or whatever veteran free agent you like), 3) Rookie, and you make clear from your first press conference that this kid will not see the field in 2023, no matter what.

I’m okay with testing the waters on a Goff trade if Stroud is the pick at 6, because I think he could plausibly play behind this offensive line in week one. But if the value isn’t there (I’d probably want a late 1st), then there is more value in having the rookie sit behind Goff. I don’t think the answer is bringing in a journeyman. Calls would be even louder to bring in the rookie, and the QB play would be worse.

[RandyMarsh]

Just now, Motown Bombers said:

If you don't think Goff is the future QB, draft the QB now while you have the pick and you can trade Goff since Goff has trade value. 

My issue with that is that I think that puts us in a bad spot this coming year. We either have Goff playing while looking over his shoulder and as you said he has struggled in the past in similar situations. Or you trade Goff and are either forced to start an inferior FA or a rookie qb who is not ready.(assuming it's Levis or Richardson)

Also as I said I just don't like the qbs in this class so I hate to draft one just cause they want their young qb.

 

[Motown Bombers]

Just now, MichiganCardinal said:

I mentioned it above, but that’s why I would be clear with Goff and the rookie about expectations ahead of time, and I probably wouldn’t even dress the rookie in 2023. Particularly if it’s Richardson. Have a QB depth chart of 1) Goff, 2) Andy Dalton (or whatever veteran free agent you like), 3) Rookie, and you make clear from your first press conference that this kid will not see the field in 2023, no matter what.

I’m okay with testing the waters on a Goff trade if Stroud is the pick at 6, because I think he could plausibly play behind this offensive line in week one. But if the value isn’t there (I’d probably want a late 1st), then there is more value in having the rookie sit behind Goff. I don’t think the answer is bringing in a journeyman. Calls would be even louder to bring in the rookie, and the QB play would be worse.

Yeah but who cares if they are calling for Garoppolo? He's a disposable QB. Goff has trade value. The Lions could still be competitive with Garoppolo even. 

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, RandyMarsh said:

My issue with that is that I think that puts us in a bad spot this coming year. We either have Goff playing while looking over his shoulder and as you said he has struggled in the past in similar situations. Or you trade Goff and are either forced to start an inferior FA or a rookie qb who is not ready.(assuming it's Levis or Richardson)

Also as I said I just don't like the qbs in this class so I hate to draft one just cause they want their young qb.

 

I think it would be worse if the Lions won the division, win a playoff game, and then you decide to draft a QB and going into 2024 having to part ways with Goff. If you don't think Goff is your future than what's the point of competing this year? 

[Motown Bombers]

Here's something I've been thinking about. Holmes has had no problems trading with Minnesota. Cousins is going to be 35 and in the last year of his contract. They have a long way to go to get to the 6th pick. What kind of bounty would it take to trade with Minnesota?