NFLRT 4/26/2024

The questions and discussion… 

1) The prevailing opinion of most sports media so-called experts is that the New England Patriots need fresh talent at just about every position on the team.

With that in mind…

Should the Patriots keep the third overall pick in the draft and then most probably  select the best QB available or should they trade down, accumulate as many additional picks as they can so they can draft as many additional players possible to rebuild the team? Why?

Considering that the first round of the draft has occurred and that the Patriots did in fact stick with the third overall pick and they took Drake Maye, who they considered to be the best QB left on the board, I guess this is what is called a moot point.

However it’s exactly what I would have said they should have done.

They needed a QB. And while Jacoby Brissett will serve as perfectly place holder while Maye sits and learns about the pro game and how a QB needs to adjust to pro defenses that’s all Brissett is at his point in his career in my opinion… a bridge or  place holder until whoever the Pats drafted as their QB of the future could watch and learn and develop his technique before being let into  games as a starter.  

2) The Buffalo Bills traded former All-Pro Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texan and then saw free agent Gabe Davis depart from the team to the Jacksonville Jaguars leaving the team quite bare at the wide receiver position.

With the NFL draft just about a week away, the Bills general manager Brandon Beane recently met with reporters and was asked directly if the team needs to go out and acquire a No. 1 receiver to replace Diggs. He replied, “What you need are guys in this offense that are smart, versatile, selfless and can make the plays that their skill set allows them to make. … If there’s a one that pops out either in free agency or the draft that makes sense for us or a really good No. 2, you know, we’ll do it, but I don’t think not having a No. 1 doesn’t mean we can’t have success on offense or as a team.”

What are your thoughts about Beane’s comments… and how important is it for a team to have a true number 1 wide receiver on the roster?

Simply put I don’t know what Beane has been smoking but he needs to put he pipe down and draft the Bills a true number one receiver so Josh Allen has a consistent man he can depend upon when he needs that go to guy for a big play.

Very few teams can truly advance deep into the playoffs, forget about making the Super Bowl, without a true number one wide pout. The Chiefs this season were the rare exception to that rule. But the Chiefs have arguably the best ever tight end that Patrick Mahomes can go to as his fail safe option when he needs to make a big play in Travis Kelce.

And frankly I was sort of surprised when the draft when down Thursday night that the Bills actually traded back twice to accumulate more draft capital instead of selecting whoever they thought was the best receiver on the board. And frankly and ironically  it  was to the Chiefs benefit as they exchanged picks with the Bills and selected Xavier Worthy who is a burner on the field and will provide Mahomes with his best wide receiver option since the Chiefs once upon a time had a guy name Tyreek Hill.  

3) Patrick Mahomes was once a two-sport star in baseball and football, before giving up baseball to concentrate on football during his time at Texas Tech. Which turned out to be a rather decent decision considering it led to Mahomes becoming a first-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs, a two-time NFL MVP, and a three-time Super Bowl MVP and one of the greatest starts to a career for any player in NFL history. However as a part owner of the Kansas City Royals he still has a foot inside of the baseball side of the sports world. And it appears he still has an itch to revisit baseball as he recently told Time Magazine, “I’ve talked to the Royals and if I can maybe go out to a spring training, I’m not opposed to that. I’ll get it approved by the Chiefs and everything like that. But maybe one of these years I go out there and see what I got. See if I can still hit the ball or pitch or whatever that is. Maybe not in the games but I can at least practice with them.”

If you are the GM or the owner of the Chiefs how adamant would you be in discouraging Mahomes from playing baseball with MLB athletes on any level? Why?  

If I am the decision maker regarding Mahomes playing baseball with MLB athletes I lean heavily toward not allowing him to go through with realizing his fantasy to compete with MLB players.

And if I ultimately do allow him to go ahead and participate with the Royals in spring training workouts I insist he not test his arm as a pitcher on the mound and try to throw fast balls to batters. That’s all the Chiefs would need Mahomes throwing his hardest heater and tearing his  ulnar collateral ligament and needing Tommy John surgery.

4) It’s no secret that with Aaron Rodgers as their QB the Jets are all in on not only returning to the playoffs but taking a real shot at getting to and then winning the Super Bowl. However with just veteran QB Tyrod Taylor as the backup to Rodgers and technically Zach Wilson as the third string QB the Jets really don’t have a decent candidate for their future franchise QB.

How important is it that the Jets draft a QB in this year’s draft? Why?

And if they do draft a QB how early should they make that selection? Why? 

I don’t think its an absolute necessity but it sure wouldn’t hurt if the Jets used a late round pick and took a flyer on a QB.

Hell, what was Brady? A 6th round selection, 199th overall and look what the Pats wound up with.

And Brock Purdy? The final pick (262nd overall) of the 2022 NFL draft, making him that year’s Mr. Irrelevant and look what he has provided the 49ers since then.

It doesn’t happen often but sometimes a team can strike gold with some of those late round “afterthoughts.”

5) You’re the GM of a NFL team and your team is on the clock in the first round of the draft…

Do you make the pick to fill a huge team need or make the pick to acquire the best player available? Why?

This all depends upon the severity of the need and the availability of a player to fill that need.

If the need is that big and the player is there then it’s a no-brainer… draft the player.

However if the need is either not that great for a definite position or the players available when the team is on the clock are not that overwhelming then again its kinda, sorta a no-brainer… draft the best talent available.

 Nothing is ever cut an dried in the final analysis. It all depends upon the circumstances and the variables involved.