2023 Official Roster Build Thread - The Initial 53 / Practice Squad

[Boltgang74]

They did have an unusual amount of rookies playing throughout the season/playoffs.
On defense the guys that played a bunch were 1st round-McDuffie, 1st round-Karlaftis, 2nd round-Cook, 4th round- Williams, 7th round- Watson and by mid to late in the season 3rd round-Chenal was a regular part of their rotation. On offense they had 7th round Pacheco and 2nd round Moore who mainly played a backup role.

That's a lot of rookies that played a lot of snaps.
It would be like having to feature Spiller on offense and on defense rolling with Leonard/Taylor/Woods all playing a ton of snaps and starts through the year/playoffs.

And winning the Superbowl....

[blueman]

Jahmyr running behind Slater and Salyer?

I’m down!

[Bolt4Knob]

They use the argument to justify their stance that Keenan Allen should be traded.
But the fact is... none of those 10 rookies will ever be as good as the 5-time Pro Bowler and former 3rd-round pick.

Having said that, the Chiefs did a nice job drafting. McDuffie, Cook, Chenal, and Watson often ended up in my mock drafts last off-season.
I thought Karlaftis and Skyy were over-rated. Let's not forget that 6th-round Salyer handled 1st-round Karlaftis pretty easily...

True - they might not be better than Allen for the career but Allen is not the same player he used to be either. That doesn't mean he still can't be a productive player more as your 2nd/3rd option on the team. But the Chargers need a dynamic player at the WR position to give Herbert a chance to utilize and maximize his skillset. Plus improve the offense. The offense was very "station to station" last year. Will be interesting to see what happens these next two weeks.

So I justify trading him as understanding he is probably in the last year of his contract - in lieu of releasing him, see if you can get a day 3 pick for him. Now if he wants to take a pay cut, cut his cap number in half with the chance to earn money back - that might be amenable for both parties. Does KA want to catch passes from Herbert or maybe Justin Fields.

[Boltjolt]

True - they might not be better than Allen for the career but Allen is not the same player he used to be either. That doesn't mean he still can't be a productive player more as your 2nd/3rd option on the team. But the Chargers need a dynamic player at the WR position to give Herbert a chance to utilize and maximize his skillset. Plus improve the offense. The offense was very "station to station" last year. Will be interesting to see what happens these next two weeks.

So I justify trading him as understanding he is probably in the last year of his contract - in lieu of releasing him, see if you can get a day 3 pick for him. Now if he wants to take a pay cut, cut his cap number in half with the chance to earn money back - that might be amenable for both parties. Does KA want to catch passes from Herbert or maybe Justin Fields.

I would not trade Keenan for a day 3 pick. No way I do that. Not this year.

[Boltnut]

True - they might not be better than Allen for the career but Allen is not the same player he used to be either. That doesn't mean he still can't be a productive player more as your 2nd/3rd option on the team. But the Chargers need a dynamic player at the WR position to give Herbert a chance to utilize and maximize his skillset. Plus improve the offense. The offense was very "station to station" last year. Will be interesting to see what happens these next two weeks.

So I justify trading him as understanding he is probably in the last year of his contract - in lieu of releasing him, see if you can get a day 3 pick for him. Now if he wants to take a pay cut, cut his cap number in half with the chance to earn money back - that might be amenable for both parties. Does KA want to catch passes from Herbert or maybe Justin Fields.

Once Keenan got back on the field, he produced at a top-5 pace over his last 8 games... extrapolated out, that was 127 receptions for 1400 yards and 8 TD's. I'm not buying that Keenan is not productive anymore. Next year, he'll be good for 105+ receptions and 1200+ yards. This will be twice as much production as any post-21st pick WR you'll get in the draft... that's just a fact. Over the last 3-4 years, only George Pickens has approached half of Keenan's consistent production in their rookie year.

Will the Chargers be able to keep Keenan forever...? No. But why trade him now...? He's coming off injury... and his trade value is probably the lowest it has ever been. The Chargers are poised to make a SB run. If they trade Keenan now... it will be a signal that they've given up on SB aspirations. Keenan is a vital piece in this offense... this was just so obvious once Keenan wasn't around last year. Let him feed for one more year... get a ring... and make your Keenan decision next off-season.

[lightsout42]

There is no good or rational way to let go of KA this season. And there may not be next season either, unless they grab a very good WR this year to develop and see what they have. KA is special and he’s still operating at a very high level. The Chargers were a much lesser team without him last year and I have no reason to think they could walk away from him without leaving a big gap in a significant role.

[Bolt4Knob]

Once Keenan got back on the field, he produced at a top-5 pace over his last 8 games... extrapolated out, that was 127 receptions for 1400 yards and 8 TD's. I'm not buying that Keenan is not productive anymore. Next year, he'll be good for 105+ receptions and 1200+ yards. This will be twice as much production as any post-21st pick WR you'll get in the draft... that's just a fact. Over the last 3-4 years, only George Pickens has approached half of Keenan's consistent production in their rookie year.

Will the Chargers be able to keep Keenan forever...? No. But why trade him now...? He's coming off injury... and his trade value is probably the lowest it has ever been. The Chargers are poised to make a SB run. If they trade Keenan now... it will be a signal that they've given up on SB aspirations. Keenan is a vital piece in this offense... this was just so obvious once Keenan wasn't around last year. Let him feed for one more year... get a ring... and make your Keenan decision next off-season.

Jamarr Chase, Cooper Kupp (when he was healthy), Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown, Davante Adams, Christian Kirk, Deebo Samuel, Stephon Diggs. Metcalf in Seattle.

He is not a top 5 receiver. He doesn't bring the explosive plays to the offense but is being paid like a number 1 WR. Like I said, if he wants to take a pay cut, with incentives - that works. If he wants 19m in cash - trading or releasing him. Its life in the NFL.

[rensoul]

Once Keenan got back on the field, he produced at a top-5 pace over his last 8 games... extrapolated out, that was 127 receptions for 1400 yards and 8 TD's. I'm not buying that Keenan is not productive anymore. Next year, he'll be good for 105+ receptions and 1200+ yards. This will be twice as much production as any post-21st pick WR you'll get in the draft... that's just a fact. Over the last 3-4 years, only George Pickens has approached half of Keenan's consistent production in their rookie year.

Will the Chargers be able to keep Keenan forever...? No. But why trade him now...? He's coming off injury... and his trade value is probably the lowest it has ever been. The Chargers are poised to make a SB run. If they trade Keenan now... it will be a signal that they've given up on SB aspirations. Keenan is a vital piece in this offense... this was just so obvious once Keenan wasn't around last year. Let him feed for one more year... get a ring... and make your Keenan decision next off-season.

He's still a good player, I don't think anyone is saying he isn't. He's basically a very good possession WR on the wrong side of 30 with very little YAC ability at this stage of the career. Really good players rarely drop off a cliff rapidly, it happens occasionally but usually they are still good but they just get dinged up more and begin to be available less and less.

Whether they keep him or let him go I think they will still have to draft some speed at the WR position.

It's pretty simple if you think about it. If the team really wants to go all in for 2023 they will need to restructure some guys and push the bill out or cut/trade some big salaries to keep KA for another year because they are starting out around over 20 mil or so on the cap. That has to be addressed by the team one way or another.

KA's name gets brought up because he is one of those big salaries that could possibly get moved. If they keep him then there's a good chance another big name gets cut/traded instead unless they just decide to say screw it and go all in and mortgage the future cap for 2023. It's a wait and see.

[Boltjolt]

Jamarr Chase, Cooper Kupp (when he was healthy), Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown, Davante Adams, Christian Kirk, Deebo Samuel, Stephon Diggs. Metcalf in Seattle.

He is not a top 5 receiver. He doesn't bring the explosive plays to the offense but is being paid like a number 1 WR

None of those guys had big rookie years asside from Chase. And this past season he didn't have as big a year.

Tyreek averaged 9.7 YPC his rookie year on 61 catches.
Are you advocating we use a first on a WR? Chase was top 2?
Kupp had 62 receptions his rookie year so not bad. Kirk only had 43. Metcalf 58.

Keenan had 71 for 1046 his rookie year.

He isn't being paid top 5 . He is 10 or 11th on the WR pay scale. Still has plenty of value to us.

[Boltnut]

Jamarr Chase, Cooper Kupp (when he was healthy), Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown, Davante Adams, Christian Kirk, Deebo Samuel, Stephon Diggs. Metcalf in Seattle.

He is not a top 5 receiver. He doesn't bring the explosive plays to the offense but is being paid like a number 1 WR. Like I said, if he wants to take a pay cut, with incentives - that works. If he wants 19m in cash - trading or releasing him. Its life in the NFL.

Depends on how we compare stats. 127 receptions would have finished only behind Jefferson. 1400+ yards would have finished only behind Jefferson, Hill, Adams, Browns, and Diggs. Now, Kupp would have also surpassed those numbers. But, if you're going to argue that KA is injury prone... you have to also include Kupp in that conversation. What's good for goose is good for the gander.

Again, I'm not buying the "KA is on the decline" narrative. I recognize it for what it is... justification concerning a faulty theory.

[Boltnut]

He's still a good player, I don't think anyone is saying he isn't. He's basically a very good possession WR on the wrong side of 30 with very little YAC ability at this stage of the career. Really good players rarely drop off a cliff rapidly, it happens occasionally but usually they are still good but they just get dinged up more and begin to be available less and less.

Whether they keep him or let him go I think they will still have to draft some speed at the WR position.

It's pretty simple if you think about it. If the team really wants to go all in for 2023 they will need to restructure some guys and push the bill out or cut/trade some big salaries to keep KA for another year because they are starting out around over 20 mil or so on the cap. That has to be addressed by the team one way or another.

KA's name gets brought up because he is one of those big salaries that could possibly get moved. If they keep him then there's a good chance another big name gets cut/traded instead unless they just decide to say screw it and go all in and mortgage the future cap for 2023. It's a wait and see.

I agree on both accounts. There are a number of WR's, 3rd round and later, that have good speed (4.45 or faster).

I was one of the first posters to point out the Chargers' cap problems (around Week 2 or 3). I've also been researching possible cuts/restructures/extensions way before most even recognized the cap problem. It can be done. If you look at how contracts are structured, it's obvious that Bosa, Mack, Keenan, and Mike were signed to be on the 2023 roster. Add in the fact that the "All-In" trades and signings were made with these contracts in mind.

Feiler is gone. The drafting of Salyer (along with Feiler's contract structure) is pretty obvious sign.
The one plan that has changed is the Vato/JCJ plan. IMO, they planned on replacing Vato with JCJ. Davis didn't even get a start until several games into the season. Davis' contract is structured in a way that I believe he was getting cut this off-season. That all changed by Week 6. JCJ sustained an injury that very few recover from... and none come back to pre-injury form. And Vato began to ball-out. Davis is a guy that could/should be extended. He's still young... and an extension would save cap space for 2023.

I've explained how all of this can happen. I just think people don't read through my posts... because they're stuck in "Must Cut or Trade" mode.
They don't want to know how it can be done. They've already made their minds up.

[Boltjolt]

I agree on both accounts. There are a number of WR's, 3rd round and later, that have good speed (4.45 or faster).

I was one of the first posters to point out the Chargers' cap problems (around Week 2 or 3). I've also been researching possible cuts/restructures/extensions way before most even recognized the cap problem. It can be done. If you look at how contracts are structured, it's obvious that Bosa, Mack, Keenan, and Mike were signed to be on the 2023 roster. Add in the fact that the "All-In" trades and signings were made with these contracts in mind.

Feiler is gone. The drafting of Salyer (along with Feiler's contract structure) is pretty obvious sign.
The one plan that has changed is the Vato/JCJ plan. IMO, they planned on replacing Vato with JCJ. Davis didn't even get a start until several games into the season. Davis' contract is structured in a way that I believe he was getting cut this off-season. That all changed by Week 6. JCJ sustained an injury that very few recover from... and none come back to pre-injury form. And Vato began to ball-out. Davis is a guy that could/should be extended. He's still young... and an extension would save cap space for 2023.

I've explained how all of this can happen. I just think people don't read through my posts... because they're stuck in "Must Cut or Trade" mode.
They don't want to know how it can be done. They've already made their minds up.

Agree. It can be done. There will be no common ground for you and Bolt4knob.

You will give your numbers with OTC/ Sportrac and he will repeat the same things. Trade, incentive contract, etc.

You two will just keep repeating yourselves lol. As will I but I'm trying to stay off it more and wait til things start happening.
Being 30 and above imo is worse for RBs than anybody else.

Again, I don't think Keenan is going anywhere and we will add to the reciever group in the draft. Need to. We can't have Bandy and Moore as part of the group.

Guyton is a star compared to them.