..I am not as big of a fan of this draft as PN
Originally Posted by: Martha Careful
While, the 2021 draft can't be fully judged until 2024. It is indeed looking like a quality draft so far. If you just look at Stokes and Myers it has already provided great impact. Yes, Myers got injured but showed he is a stud center. Is the near lock to be the starting center again this year.
You can hate on Newman all you want, but the fact is the coaches felt he was good enough to start most of the season. Others could have taken his spot earlier, it wasn't desperation that he won the job. Did he have his moments where he got beat? Yes. Did every OL? Yes. Runyan wasn't perfect either. Elgton will play LG or RT when he returns. Newman has no shot at either of those spots. Newman will fight again for the RG spot, which will be hotly contested.
Amari Rodgers was buried on the depth chart all season. Barely got a look at WR. You can't be seriously judging him off a lackluster special teams performance this past year? Most of his return issues were because of poor scheme by Mo Drayton. Mo had no clue what he was doing, and the players suffered trying to follow his lead. The fact LaFleur didn't step in and fire Drayton at mid-season is perhaps what cost the Pack a Lombardi last year. Very disturbing situation that was. LaFleur corrected it too late.
McDuffie looks like a player at ILB. No reason to imply he sucks just because he didn't get a lot of playing time. He is a very valuable backup and pushing for snaps. Watch him closely in camp and pre-season games. You will like what you see. Gute doesn't keep "just guys" around for no reason. He will cut ties with those he actually missed on. Every GM misses on a player at times. The best ones hit more than miss. That has been Gute since he took over in 2018.
Kylin Hill is a favorite of the coaching staff. They love his skills. No, he isn't going to start over Jonesy and Dillon, but a valuable piece of the RB room. It would be shocking if he doesn't make the squad.
I agree with you on T.J. Slaton. You spoke of adding a vet to the DL. They already did in signing Jarran Reed in March. Another great pickup by Gute! Best GM in the NFL!