Final Thoughts on 2025 Draft

[tynimiller]

I don't think it's a bad thing that you preferred Higgins over Golden. And that played out when Higgins was taken with the 34th pick.

It will be interesting to see how their respective careers play out. I like Golden's speed and that he catches almost everything. The knock is his height. I loved the pick and have a feeling Golden will have an outsized impact on the team as a rookie and well beyond.

(Also thanks for the intel on Williams. Sounds like he may be another 7th round miracle by Gluten. He still needs to prove it, but he certainly has enough experience/talent to be a terrific value in the 7th.)

MLF made it quite clear John was higher up on their board than they took him at in the seventh and the tone of it made it sound like it could have been like me and fifth round grade perhaps.

 

[OldSchool101]

I kinda figured we would pick certain position groups and double up. With maybe a surprise pick at TE or QB. Although I predicted in a recent thread that CB would get passed up in Day1-2 and then we’d hit it 2X mid draft like 4th/5th or 6th. Mostly due to questions with JA + we did part with Rochelle and Ballentine. Not that they are irreplaceable as both were ST regulars, not much on D.
In retrospect we presses down the gas at EDGE/LB X2 instead of CB like I thought.

I like the 2X at WR and Savion is really that highly athletic crossover player who can serve multiple roles, so it’s more like 1.5 WR with that utility player. Might even see 10 Roster spots on WR/RB

Loved the 2X OL. Went bigger averaging 330lbs per O Lineman. Considering we just signed Aaron we just brought aboard 3 guys who’s combined weight is 18lbs shy of 1/2 Ton (1,000lb) of OL.

What I see? Matthew Golden is a very secure pick imo. He’ll produce (maybe not 1000 etc) very consistently and his mere presence will threaten the deep Safeties. I’d have a hard time predicting that Golden doesn’t surpass Watson’s usual 600 yards area.

Our other selections are mostly boom or bust guys. Super high upside if the Boom, but lower than average if the just don’t translate, which happens. However when you double down? I’d say a better than coin flip chance we get a nice upgrade at
Rotational Pass Rush
Pass game production.
OL quality depth

At DL we really with should be neutral losing TJ BUT with Brinson and Stackhouse Brought on board. Matter of fact the Boat bobbed a little when Stack stepped on. Lol

 

[Heyjoe4]

I kinda figured we would pick certain position groups and double up. With maybe a surprise pick at TE or QB. Although I predicted in a recent thread that CB would get passed up in Day1-2 and then we’d hit it 2X mid draft like 4th/5th or 6th. Mostly due to questions with JA + we did part with Rochelle and Ballentine. Not that they are irreplaceable as both were ST regulars, not much on D.
In retrospect we presses down the gas at EDGE/LB X2 instead of CB like I thought.

I like the 2X at WR and Savion is really that highly athletic crossover player who can serve multiple roles, so it’s more like 1.5 WR with that utility player. Might even see 10 Roster spots on WR/RB

Loved the 2X OL. Went bigger averaging 330lbs per O Lineman. Considering we just signed Aaron we just brought aboard 3 guys who’s combined weight is 18lbs shy of 1/2 Ton (1,000lb) of OL.

What I see? Matthew Golden is a very secure pick imo. He’ll produce (maybe not 1000 etc) very consistently and his mere presence will threaten the deep Safeties. I’d have a hard time predicting that Golden doesn’t surpass Watson’s usual 600 yards area.

Our other selections are mostly boom or bust guys. Super high upside if the Boom, but lower than average if the just don’t translate, which happens. However when you double down? I’d say a better than coin flip chance we get a nice upgrade at
Rotational Pass Rush
Pass game production.
OL quality depth

At DL we really with should be neutral losing TJ BUT with Brinson and Stackhouse Brought on board. Matter of fact the Boat bobbed a little when Stack stepped on. Lol

Well, Golden and Williams will be in the 53. All the WRs from last year will be at camp. Some familiar names are gonna get cut. And it's unlikely those guys would clear waivers. The WR room is gonna look a lot different.

They'll likely keep 6 WRs - so that looks like Reed, Doubs, Golden, and Williams and two other guys. At RB they'll keep 3. Probably waive Brooks and hope they can stash him on the PS.

 

[OldSchool101]

They'll likely keep 6 WRs - so that looks like Reed, Doubs, Golden, and Williams and two other guys. At RB they'll keep 3. Probably waive Brooks and hope they can stash him on the PS.

Agreed
Watson is in a contract year and he’ll highly likely miss most of the season. Best case is he makes a splendid recovery and he’s back for the last Quarter of Regular season (4-5 games). The issue being with him is we’ve already got his replacement on board so he’s become expendable to a degree.

I actually think Hardman will make the cut. He’s got both experience and he’s fiscally sound $, so his $ is not hindering him it’s helping him and he’s a veteran presence. Plus, we won’t want Golden fielding Returns. The 6th WR will be someone who is adept at Teams imo. Hardman currently the most natural fit there and he’s more dynamic.

I think that’s a slight uptick in both talent and overall experience from 2024 and that’s sorta the objective in a Win Now mode. So my guess is the Draft gave us 2 upgrades and pushed Heath and Melton down the depth chart. They’d be primary alternatives if someone misses time before cutdowns.
Reed, Doubs, Wicks, Golden, Williams, Hardman.

 

[gopkrs]

I think that’s a slight uptick in both talent and overall experience from 2024 and that’s sorta the objective in a Win Now mode.

Not to nitpick too much but I'd say adding Golden is more than a slight uptick. At least I sure hope it is.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Not to nitpick too much but I'd say adding Golden is more than a slight uptick. At least I sure hope it is.

Yeah it's been a while since GB has had a receiver this athletically gifted - speed, catch ability, not sure about route running but believe it's solid. The one knock on him is height, but with his other skills he'll make up for that.

IMO he was the best WR in the draft. Time will tell of course, but he is a significant upgrade to the WR group, and he'll improve the play of the guys around him.

 

[OldSchool101]

Not to nitpick too much but I'd say adding Golden is more than a slight uptick. At least I sure hope it is.

No it’s fair. I’m tempering my expectations for several reasons. First of all because Golden is a Rookie and adjusting to the Pro game. Also we tend to bring guys into the mix with a more controlled dosage than many teams. Unless it’s OL, once they Win a starting spot they pretty much stay intact and get a full workload, we don’t really Substitute OL except on rare occasion.

 

[OldSchool101]

I think this draft class gave us a better Roster than 2024.

Our biggest losses were Watson, Myers, Stokes, TJ, Eric Wilson, Ballentine, Rochelle.
For me Stokes and Myers were both below league average Starters. It’s a Likely bet that the combo of Elgton Jenkins and Nate Hobbs Wins over those losses.
Eric Wilson was one of my favorite FA signings. He’s about the only position group LB that I don’t yet see an upgrade. However Isaiah Simmons absolutely has an opportunity to be that guy. Also Hopper is in year 2 and likely will have a chance to get some D snaps. The downside here is negligible.

WR + swapped Golden for Watson and brought in a dynamic Bonus receiver in RD3 in Savion Williams. That guy is too athletic not to succeed. I’d call him a medium+ floor and capable of an ultra high ceiling. We’re + at WR

iDT (even leaning -) I could argue TJ Slaton is gone and it’s possible we don’t get any improvement over his level of contribution. Yet we’ve got 2-3 guys fighting for that spot and these are Georgia players off their Championship Defenses in a Draft I feel like pushed them down a Full Round. I thought we might wait at DL because of how thick the draft class was. In many other Drafts these DT we signed were all 5-7th Rounders. Call them Top 175-225 overall prospects across literally thousands of players from college.
between both Georgia Defenders it should elevate one to the surface. If there’s any dropoff I think it’s miniscule, but it’s still a stretch to say we’ve elevated our Room over TJ.

LB (even)

OL ++ is better. I don’t think I need to go into any detail there.

 

[tynimiller]

I think this draft class gave us a better Roster than 2024.

Our biggest losses were Watson, Myers, Stokes, TJ, Eric Wilson, Ballentine, Rochelle.
For me Stokes and Myers were both below league average Starters. It’s a Likely bet that the combo of Elgton Jenkins and Nate Hobbs Win those losses.
Eric Wilson was one of my favorite FA signings. He’s about the only position group LB that I don’t yet see an upgrade. However Isaiah Simmons absolutely has an opportunity to be that guy. Also Hopper is in year 2 and likely will have a chance to get some D snaps. The downside here is negligible. Maybe I could argue TJ Slaton also. Yet we’ve got 2-3 guys fighting for that spot and these are Georgia players off their Championship Defenses in a Draft I feel like pushed them down a Full Round.

WR swapped Golden for Watson and brought in a dynamic Bonus receiver in RD3 in Savion Williams. That guy is too athletic not to succeed. I’d call him a medium+ floor and capable of an ultra high ceiling. We’re + at WR

The competition at iDT between both Georgia Defenders should elevate one to the surface. If there’s any dropoff I think it’s miniscule. It’s hard to predict but my guess is just like Brooks and Wooden 1 of the 2 almost always seems to rise like crème. It’s just hard to guess who transitions best or maybe it’s more fit.

OL is better. It’ll be tough to let someone go. Almost thinking we could trade Rhyan is one thought. Trade him for another CB to fill out that depth.

My only beef is treating Watson as if he's gone...otherwise I'm 100% in agreement, this class from a roster construction did some serious work!

 

[OldSchool101]

My only beef is treating Watson as if he's gone...otherwise I'm 100% in agreement, this class from a roster construction did some serious work!

Yes we have. A very athletic, high upside group.
As far as Watson it’s nothing personal. He didn’t try to get hurt. He has an outside shot of making a full recovery and contributing and I’m all for that.

The issue is these guys want to get paid and the timing of his injury isn’t exactly the best. At this point we can hope for the best for him, but still be smart about our future expectations and expenditures. That’s all I’ll say but would I like to have Watson and Golden here next year? Absolutely that would be a dynamic pair with Reed working underneath. I suppose it’s premature, he does have time to still get back I’m hoping the non contact aspect of his injury helps a little.