2020 Draft Prospect Discussion

[wu-dai clan]

Blackjack !!
Good post by 21...

[Steve]

The Chargers are currently a team without a franchise QB...... if you dont have a QB, then you dont know what type of personnel to build around him. A right handed QB needs a top LT..... a left handed QB needs a top RT........ a guy with a strong arm like mahomes or Hebert needs super fast WR's to take advantage of that deep arm...... a guy like more precise passer like Burrow or Tua will; need better route runners..... as well as speedsters to run deep.....

The mobility of the QB also affects the type of OL you draft..... big maulers or lighter more mobile OL????

Great teams/organizations do not force players into a system, they instead acquire their franchise QB and build a system and personnel around that QB

First the Chargers have to acquire our franchise QB, then only after that, build the appropriate parts around them.........

The days of he RT and LT are kinda over. Both tackles need similar skill sets. the lefty righty thing is kinda overblown. Besides even back int eh 80's and 90's, plenty of teams played roadgrader types at LT and more athletic guys at RT.

I think the running/pocket debate is really, really overrated. NFL teams have been trying to find out ways to use running QB who couldn't throw for decades and it just doesn't work. Teams will just put out vanilla coverage with plenty of spies and not worry about pass coverage. It is being able to throw, and read defenses are the top skills, and everything else is very distant in terms of importance.

The other thing to notice, of the top QB in this draft, they are all "mobile", just some are more mobile than others. Guys like Burrow are less mobile than Jalen Hurts, but he can still do everything. He is not going to get the same explosive chunk plays like Lamar Jackson, but that is probably true of every QB, because there are so few 4.3 guys out there, regardless of position. And some of the 4.3 guys that are out there are going to be Jimmy Oliver types (thinking either the injury or the lack of position skills).

What makes Mahommes so special is that he reads defenses and understand his offense so well. Teams pull out exotic packages to confuse him, and he sees through it like a 10 year vet. Mahommes athletic skills are great, but he is coupling the ability to adjust the play on the field to get his guys in great matchups. And now that Hardiman and Hill are catching up in terms of their ability to run routes. They just need to get a RB to help him like Hunt used to and they will be set.

Jackson isn't on the same level as Mahommes, but the Ravens sold out to scrap their old offense and go super run heavy to support what Jackson did well. BUt he is such an extreme case in terms of his athletic skills, I am not sure anyone else is going to be able to get away with it to the same degree.

How many hits and how much damage can a rookie endure before becoming damaged goods? I am not convinced that a rookie who is forced to play early leans much, if anything, except maybe how to take a beating.

Plus, there is no guarantee that any or all of the QB in this draft (any draft) are truly a "FRANCHISE" player. The assumption is that because they are QB with elite stats and great college players that they will be, but can they repeat it. Every few years a QB class comes in and draft time they look great, but then do nothing. In fact, most classes are like that in terms of the QB. Sometimes there are multiple guys who work out and sometimes later round guys. Will ANY of the QB this year be a true franchise guy, let alone be a HOF caliber player.

[blueman]

Blackjack !!
Good post by 21...

Yup, agreed.

[jubei]

Will ANY of the QB this year be a true franchise guy, let alone be a HOF caliber player.

NO one knows for sure. No one knows if ANY of the players in this draft, let alone QBs, will be franchise or HOF players? Just gotta go by game tape, interviews, and measurables as best as possible and TRY to make informed decisions. And it will be the same next year and the year after. The draft is a crap shoot but some players just have more ability than others.

[Boltgang74]

Just as some GMs have more ability saddly.

[Steve]

NO one knows for sure. No one knows if ANY of the players in this draft, let alone QBs, will be franchise or HOF players? Just gotta go by game tape, interviews, and measurables as best as possible and TRY to make informed decisions. And it will be the same next year and the year after. The draft is a crap shoot but some players just have more ability than others.

They do, but a couple thoughts on that.

Looking back at the best QB of all time. You can make the list yourself, but are they best QB always the most talented? How many HOF QB were the top picks in their draft class.

Some are, but the majority were not. That alone should tell you something. TB and Montana, two of the only ones to get the title of GOAT certainly were not.

And before anyone gets too far on the mobile QB thing, remember a few years ago the transition was going to happen when Russell Wilson, RG3, Kapernick….. and others were going to take over. The only one of them left is Wilson, and he has done it mostly by becoming much more of a pocket passer.

I would even argue that Mahommes is NOT a top QB because of his physical traits. Those may be what catch your eye, but watch the various youtube channels that break down QB play, and it is really his ability to read defenses and make adjustments in pass protection and adjust plays that make him so dangerous. The physical stuff is secondary.

All this to argue that the guys who are the top of the draft might not be the most obviously physically gifts.

[Steve]

Just as some GMs have more ability saddly.

Maybe, but a big part of developing talent is what the team does with players once they arrive, and I am not sure we do a good job of developing the players we draft. The same way that AJ was an amazing GM when Marty was the HC, and then couldn't seem to do anything right with Norv. I don't think it was that AJ forgot how to draft, but more about not having the coaching to take advantage of the players we drafted.

[Topcat]

Maybe, but a big part of developing talent is what the team does with players once they arrive, and I am not sure we do a good job of developing the players we draft. The same way that AJ was an amazing GM when Marty was the HC, and then couldn't seem to do anything right with Norv. I don't think it was that AJ forgot how to draft, but more about not having the coaching to take advantage of the players we drafted.

The second half of AJ's career, he really made some bad moves, both drafting and extending the contracts of marginal players. The giving up of multiple draft picks to trade up, like the Hester deal, just killed our ability to develop mid-range draft picks...

[Steve]

So is what you are saying is that GM's are totally responsible for player performance and coaching has nothing to do with it?

[Topcat]

So is what you are saying is that GM's are totally responsible for player performance and coaching has nothing to do with it?

No, but the evidence is clear that AJ made several poor decisions regarding either the signing or extending of players who had either red flags in their past (Lazy Gaither) or drafting/signing/extending some players with overly generous deals...who either never lived up to expectations, (Hester, Whiffhelm, Meachem) or were cut shortly afterwards (Jyles Tucker)...

[powderblueboy]

They do, but a couple thoughts on that.

Looking back at the best QB of all time. You can make the list yourself, but are they best QB always the most talented? How many HOF QB were the top picks in their draft class.

Some are, but the majority were not. That alone should tell you something. TB and Montana, two of the only ones to get the title of GOAT certainly were not.

And before anyone gets too far on the mobile QB thing, remember a few years ago the transition was going to happen when Russell Wilson, RG3, Kapernick….. and others were going to take over. The only one of them left is Wilson, and he has done it mostly by becoming much more of a pocket passer.

I would even argue that Mahommes is NOT a top QB because of his physical traits. Those may be what catch your eye, but watch the various youtube channels that break down QB play, and it is really his ability to read defenses and make adjustments in pass protection and adjust plays that make him so dangerous. The physical stuff is secondary.

All this to argue that the guys who are the top of the draft might not be the most obviously physically gifts.

If by physical traits you mean speed (& not arm strength), Mahomes was a 4.8 guy at the combine. He sees the entire field, knows when to run and he'll outrace defensive linemen

[blueman]

All I know is Mahomes and Jackson were the best QBs in the league last year, can I have some of that please?