adam

I think the backup strategy will come down to whether the team expects Cutler to play every game, or if they see him as injury prone. If it is the former, than I can see them going the rookie route. If they view him as injury prone, then I can see them bringing in a vet who can come in and be serviceable.

Yeah pretty crappy. Also based on Emery's trend, first rounders come from Senior Bowl rosters, so Donald then Ward would make sense.

At #14, one of those 3 will be there.

My hope is that 3x QB's go before we pick. Even if teams trade up to get them. That would leave us most of the following available: DL: Donald, Jernigan S: Clinton-Dix, Pryor CB: Gilbert, Dennard OL: Lewan LB: Barr WR: Evans TE: Ebron How would you guys rank these available? I would go Donald, Clinton-Dix, Gilbert as my top 3, and possibly Lewan if he is there.

I would only say Lott and Reed if they were on that team at their current age last year. Otherwise, in their prime they still would've been impact players on that Defense last year. Conte is league-average at best, but looks a lot worse when the rest of the defense is at or below his level.

Almost have to go Safety in the 1st if HaHa is there.

I don't think you can narrow it down that much. In a perfect world, we go DT and S in the first two rounds and address our biggest needs with impact players. However, the draft will dictate that order because I would hate to lock myself into a S in the 2nd after picking a DT in the first, then picking a guy with a 3rd round grade when there is a CB sitting there with a higher grade. Even though CB is not as big of a need as the other two, one injury to Jennings or Peanut and it will be. I would think the best strategy would be to weight each position for need, then have a grade on every player. So if there is a DT with a B+ and a CB with an A sitting there, then you have to make the decision on which way to go. Then you apply this to every round. That way you are getting the best player available in a need area unless the grade itself outweighs the need (ie. OL from top 10 dropping to 14).

Yeah, if it was Bucs I would've believed it.

I like his enthusiasm. He is going to be a great addition to the locker room and push these guys.

SMC was #50, Wootton was #49, Bass #46. Peppers was #15 but tied with Allen, Michael Johnson and Chris Long.

His acquisition would make this one of the top 3 offenses of the SB and FA era. 3 legitimate #1 WR's, Pro Bowl level RB, top flight TE and an improving Offensive Line. Cutler would have to be released if he didn't pass for 4,500 yards and 40 TDs. His return ability makes it intriguing, but Carolina seems like the logical landing spot.

That would be awesome, the contracts are high enough where you can make that happen, especially with the cap increases that started this year.

Yeah he is very disruptive.

In the end it will come down to who our returner is next year and how he equates to Hester in terms of contract and expected performance. We can already expect a cheaper option but hopefully it is comparable performance.

Another Stat site: http://wp.advancednflstats.com/defenderstats.php?pos=DE Based on these numbers, Allen was 2nd most valuable DE in league last year. Allen – 2nd, behind only JJ Watt in +WPA Young was 8th Peppers was 18th Houston was 32nd

There is no way we go TE or WR. I doubt we even sniff an Offensive player in the first couple of rounds. The only Offensive player I could see is if one of the OT's fall out of the top 10. I would love to move down and pick up another pick. My picks are Donald or HaHa.

I don't see anything in his game logs to support that. He had sacks against Stafford, Dalton, Foles, Eli, Big Ben, RG III, Flacco, McCown, and Cutler.

It is actually not even close. Allen is a high motor guy who doesn't take a play off, which cannot always be said for Peppers. In the last 4 seasons, Allen has 19 more sacks, 48 more tackles, and 22 more QB disruptions than Peppers in the same amount of games.

Either way I am good with it. I just love how Emery turned around the Offensive Line last offseason from a weakness to a strength adding Bushrod, Slauson, Long, and Mills, and now has done the same thing to the Defensive Line this offseason adding Allen, Houston, and Young.

HaHa in the first round now?

With Allen signed, it now makes complete sense. I knew there was no way the organization was going to convert without needing space to sign someone.

Epicness, you knew it was coming after the Cutler contract modification.

Any updates?

It is really hard for me to believe that Emery would convert money into future cap hits without making a move.

If we bring anyone in, they will not make much money, and will be told they are the #2 with no chance at starting until Cutler is hurt in Week 7.