Are We One Player Away...?

[Steve]

Football is a hard sport to be "one guy away". It takes about 15 guys who play regularly on each side of the ball, plus ST and depth. There are always going to be slots/positions/roles you want to upgrade. It almost always happens 1 guy at a time. So as soon as one is filled, you move on to the next.

We are certainly a lot closer to being a roster that is one player away, but as soon as we fill gaping holes, then you start trying to upgrade "weaker" spots that are not necessarily horrible but could be upgraded. The roster-building never ends. Ask Cinci, I bet they are looking for help even though they filled their OL holes.

Plus, no championship team is made up of a perfect roster. Cinci and LA both had holes that teams were able to exploit last season.

[Steve]

We are one player away on the OL !

Not even if all you are looking for is the starters. We still have question marks at RT and RG.

Then the depth ...

And if you are going OL, how about DL. If you are incredibly lucky, your 5 starters on OL will play every game. But you have to rotate your DL, so you KNOW they will be used. We are fine at edge, but DT is still pretty thin, and they were the defense equivalent of OT last season. Both Jones and Tillery flashed, but Norton and Pipkins both played entire games well, and neither of last year's DT accomplished that.

[sonorajim]

Not even if all you are looking for is the starters. We still have question marks at RT and RG.

Then the depth ...

And if you are going OL, how about DL. If you are incredibly lucky, your 5 starters on OL will play every game. But you have to rotate your DL, so you KNOW they will be used. We are fine at edge, but DT is still pretty thin, and they were the defense equivalent of OT last season. Both Jones and Tillery flashed, but Norton and Pipkins both played entire games well, and neither of last year's DT accomplished that.

Last year's #5 offense, 11th ranked OL started Schofield & Norton. We lost Schofield. I suspect Davis or Wyatt would have a bigger impact than RG / RT.
My preference is BPA / Fit at 17 - 79. Backfill holes with later picks / post draft FAs.

[Steve]

Last year's #5 offense, 11th ranked OL started Schofield & Norton. We lost Schofield. I suspect Davis or Wyatt would have a bigger impact than RG / RT.
My preference is BPA / Fit at 17 - 79. Backfill holes with later picks / post draft FAs.

I'm not disagreeing. No SB team, even some of the all-time greats (Packers SB I & II teams, Steelers Steel Curtain, ...) were perfect rosters. It is always about finding the best fit.

I am fine with going into the season with Pipkins and Norton fighting it out at RT and James and some marginal vet (Aboushi? or Schofield) fighting it out at RG. However, if a top RG or RT is available at 17, then it needs to be considered.

TT has done his usual thing. He has addressed the immediate needs via FA, so he can draft the best available. We don't control who we pick at #17 as much as the teams that draft ahead of us do. We have to keep an open mind and be flexible.

As far as Davis, I really think he is a waste of a pick. Historically, the amazingly big and impressive athletic guys (called planet people - only a few people on the planet that big and athletic) tend to be a waste of a high pick. He is likely to be a better pass rusher than many will give credit based on his speed. Using history as a guide, NFL OL will probably knock him around in the run game, just like so many "planet people" types in the past. Very, very few of the top of the draft planet people guys do much in the NFL, or at least have done so in the past.

[rikardo]

If one of the top 3 OT fall to 11- 14 pick range.

What would it take to trade up to those spots?
Our 1st and 3rd?

I would do it. Protect Herbert with quality players is our current #1 priority.

We have a great Offseason at WR (MW), CB (JC J), Edge (KM), DL (SJD)
Time to solve Right side of the OL

[AFboltfan]

If one of the top 3 OT fall to 11- 14 pick range.

What would it take to trade up to those spots?
Our 1st and 3rd?

I would do it. Protect Herbert with quality players is our current #1 priority.

We have a great Offseason at WR (MW), CB (JC J), Edge (KM), DL (SJD)
Time to solve Right side of the OL

That's a little too extreme for my tastes, the margin of talent is not that wide IMO. Besides, Herbert is not PR he actually has functioning legs and no Oline will prevent every sack or pressure just like every Secondary will not prevent every completion.

We just have to have guys that do what Staley lives for... Prevent enough sacks and pressure to win the analytics game.

I personally would like a RB2 in the 3rd depending on who is there...

[sonorajim]

I'm not disagreeing. No SB team, even some of the all-time greats (Packers SB I & II teams, Steelers Steel Curtain, ...) were perfect rosters. It is always about finding the best fit.

I am fine with going into the season with Pipkins and Norton fighting it out at RT and James and some marginal vet (Aboushi? or Schofield) fighting it out at RG. However, if a top RG or RT is available at 17, then it needs to be considered.

TT has done his usual thing. He has addressed the immediate needs via FA, so he can draft the best available. We don't control who we pick at #17 as much as the teams that draft ahead of us do. We have to keep an open mind and be flexible.

As far as Davis, I really think he is a waste of a pick. Historically, the amazingly big and impressive athletic guys (called planet people - only a few people on the planet that big and athletic) tend to be a waste of a high pick. He is likely to be a better pass rusher than many will give credit based on his speed. Using history as a guide, NFL OL will probably knock him around in the run game, just like so many "planet people" types in the past. Very, very few of the top of the draft planet people guys do much in the NFL, or at least have done so in the past.

Vita Vea is hanging in there. Vince Wilfork played at a high level for a long time. There have been others. Davis seems unusually athletic for his size but no argument @ percentages of planet success. It's a judgement call and has to be based on the individual. Your remark about % tells us that some succeed. Point being that if the coaches like him, take him. If they get it right, the rewards are great. Just so-so and he's better than Tillery.

[Steve]

Vita Vea is hanging in there. Vince Wilfork played at a high level for a long time. There have been others. Davis seems unusually athletic for his size but no argument @ percentages of planet success. It's a judgment call and has to be based on the individual. Your remark about % tells us that some succeed. Point is that if the coaches like him, take him. If they get it right, the rewards are great. Just so-so and he's better than Tillery.

Do the coaches like him???? No one will really know how much coaches really do like players like him. First, it's liars month right now, so who knows what people are REALLY saying. Partly because coaches are only one part of the decision-making process. Plus, it only takes one team near the top of the draft, even if everyone else in the NFL hates him.

Again, there is a chance he is going to be as good as everyone thinks. But going back and looking at the vast majority of them, the odds are against it. Kinda like playing the lottery. Sure, piss your money away, maybe you will hit the lottery, someone will. But your chances of doing so are less than being hit by lightning or being killed in a plane crash. And the percentages for most other positions /player types are much higher than for the huge DT.

Wilfork is one of the very few, and he while being big, was not as athletically gifted. I suspect BB had a lot to do with motivating him as well.

Vea the jury is still out on, but he is playing well. Time will tell.

Can he keep playing at a high level for very long? Dontari Poe, and Star L. both looked like they were going to be perennial all pro's, but then their play fell, and now they are out of the NFL and didn't play well except for 1 season(each). Danny Shelton was a solid player for 1 year too. But that is a lot to give up for 1 good year of play. I would be willing to trade 1 good year of play for a late-round guy, but not a day 1 or day 2 pick.

[blueman]

Seems if we have a top 5 offense we shouldn’t need to throw a first round pick at it, given other problems.

Third EDGE, third CB would likely have more impact than any O addition, going by top 5/bottom of 30 metric.

[Steve]

Seems if we have a top 5 offense we shouldn’t need to throw a first round pick at it, given other problems.

Third EDGE, third CB would likely have more impact than any O addition, going by top 5/bottom of 30 metric.

That is one way to look at it, but the counter to that is if you have faith in the FA we have signed and have "fixed" the D.

We may have been top 5, but we do have a lot of room for improvement, even if we are"pretty good" already on O.

Personnally, I think this is TT just setting himself up to go "Best Player Available" in the draft. He may not seek out the best players at every position in FA, so he doesn't HAVE to draft for need. This year has the same look, although some positions have been addressed better than others.

[AFboltfan]

Seems if we have a top 5 offense we shouldn’t need to throw a first round pick at it, given other problems.

Third EDGE, third CB would likely have more impact than any O addition, going by top 5/bottom of 30 metric.

I'd rather draft a starter on O than a backup on defense... You don't draft a player in the 1st round to be a backup. Besides, Lombardi is not the greatest OC in the NFL our offense will be as good as his playcalling is and the O will need the boost.

[Velo]

Personnally, I think this is TT just setting himself up to go "Best Player Available" in the draft. He may not seek out the best players at every position in FA, so he doesn't HAVE to draft for need. This year has the same look, although some positions have been addressed better than others.

This is what I think. Telesco/Staley want to be able to draft the best player available when their turn comes in the 1st round, rather than pass on the best player and chose a player because he feels a need. I don't think the Chargers need another WR, it is already the deepest position group on the entire roster IMO, and one of the best if not the best in the league when you evaluate the top two guys and the depth below them, and I believe Joshua Palmer is really going to take a step forward this season. Plus, the Chargers are additionally loaded with pass catchers, with Ekeler filling the role of a #3 WR, unique among RBs, and a TE corps with three capable receivers. But despite all this, if the "Best Player Available" when the Chargers draft is a wide receiver, I think they want to be able to snag that guy and not feel like they are neglecting bigger needs.