Poles Redux

[adam]

Would you rather have Velus Jones (WR), Claypool (WR), Wright (RT), and Dexter (DT)

or

Jalen Carter (DT), Rashee Rice (WR), Sam LaPorta (TE), and Abraham Lucas (RT)

[Stinger226]

The later most likely but a little early to judge. Cherry picking specific players for a point is a little unfair at this stage. Even if Claypool and Jones is a bust , if Wright and Dexter turn out to be above average players, those were good picks. Rice still has to prove himself and Carter still could end up being a problem. To early for an evaluation.

[adam]

10 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

The later most likely but a little early to judge. Cherry picking specific players for a point is a little unfair at this stage. Even if Claypool and Jones is a bust , if Wright and Dexter turn out to be above average players, those were good picks. Rice still has to prove himself and Carter still could end up being a problem. To early for an evaluation.

I wasn't cherry-picking as much as going BPA at the time of the pick. If Poles really wanted to address the OL, he could've taken Abraham Lucas in the 3rd in 2022 as their new RT. Since they don't need a RT in 2023 draft, they can go BPA and take Carter. Since he is a DT, they don't need Dexter, so they draft a WR. The Claypool - LaPorta thing can be removed, but if they didn't trade for him, a TE in the 2nd made a lot of sense with how deep of a group it was.  So I was trying to think needs and BPA and how the drafts played out. 

As much as the free agency WR group was meh, Jakobi Meyers looked pretty good in Vegas in Week 1 after being very solid for NE the past few years. Again, if it was a lost year, adding Claypool wasn't going to get them any wins last year. If he played well he was going to get a new contract, so whether you went that route or FA in 2023, the outcome is almost the same, except you needed draft capital to get Claypool, while Meyers would've just been an extra cap hit in 2023 (there is space for it).

[Stinger226]

I would definitely  take your scenario but easier to look at now than at the time of those drafts. The year Lucas was drafted ,Jones was the highest rated rookie OT in the class on PFF. Made all rookie and was gotten 2 rounds later. He had Jenkins and Borom already there so maybe he didnt have every thing sorted out yet and was waiting for Braxton . As for Claypool , it definity looks like a bad deal but is still is just the first game of the year.