FanPost

Trust the Process

Right now things don't look pretty for our team. We just lost our best player for the next 4-6 weeks, our defense wouldn't be able to stop a college team from scoring, and our coaching staff and several starters are as inexperienced as you can get. I'd say we have a better chance of getting the 1st overall pick than we do of making the playoffs. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are contenders. Rhule was given a 7-year contract for a reason. The first couple of years are expected to be rebuilding years, since rebuilding is what he does best. He had terrible first seasons at Temple and Baylor, but he turned those teams around and built them into contenders. So I would give Rhule the benefit of the doubt, and wouldn't start worrying unless we're not competitive by Year 3. Don't believe we can create a contender in just a few years? Well here's how we're going to do it:

The Process:

This Season:

Trade Curtis Samuel

Trade Kawaan Short (if we can even find a buyer)

Sit our franchise players like CMC and Burns once we're out of playoff contention

Free Agency:

Resign Pharoh Cooper

Resign Taylor Moton

Resign some depth players (Rasul Douglas, Tyler Larsen, etc)

Sign some solid depth players at positions of need but don't overspend on big-name players, since we should focus on resigning our own players due to the reduced salary cap

Draft:

Round 1- Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

You know what they say, your team is only as good as your QB. And as long as Bridgewater is our QB, we will never be a true contender. According to Football Outsiders, we currently have the best odds of getting the 1st overall pick. If we're lucky enough to do so, drafting a generational talent like Lawrence is a no-brainer. While he's talented enough to start immediately, he could sit and learn behind Bridgewater for a year.

Round 2- Nick Bolton, ILB, Missouri

While getting a new CB1 is still a huge need for us, I would argue that ILB is our biggest need right now. Jackson and Douglas are playing at least somewhat decent at CB, but our LBs have been terrible. But considering Chinn looks very natural at OLB, and we still have Thompson under contract for few more years, we should get by at OLB. However, Whitehead as a replacement for Kuechly has been nothing short of an absolute disaster. He can't tackle, shoot gaps, or cover if his life depended on it. Our D-line has done a solid job against the run, but our LBs have not been able to shoot their gaps. Kuechly was the cornerstone of our defense, and without him everything has fallen apart. Even though Bolton is undersized and not extremely athletic, he is an instinctive LB who is a three-down defender, as evidenced by PFF giving him a top 3 run defense grade among SEC players, as well as the best coverage grade among all LBs last year. I think the only reason we end up getting him in the 2nd round is because he is undersized, and because Parsons and Moses will almost definitely go before him.

Round 3- Cade Mays, OG/OT, Tennessee

While our O-line hasn't been terrible, the interior of our O-line has been greatly underwhelming. Considering we never properly replaced Norwell after he left in Free Agency, and now have another hole to fill after trading away Turner, I would say our interior O-line could use an upgrade. I picked Mays here since he's described as a "strong run blocker", which is probably good to have when running it with a FB on 4th and short, and because he's also versatile enough to play at OT.

Round 4- Camryn Bynum, CB, California

I'll admit, the only reason why I waited this long for us to address the CB position is because I have my eyes on a player in the 2022 draft. But I wouldn't be surprised to see them wait this long to draft a CB, since they didn't really prioritize the position in last year's draft, and we do have some solid talent in Jackson and Douglas. I picked Bynum since he has some decent size and is described as a "good tackler and steady corner":

Round 5- Jalen Redmond, DT, Oklahoma

With Short probably not being on the team next year (if we're lucky he'll be traded, but if not he'll be cut), we could use another DT to pair with Brown. I picked Redmond since his best quality is his pass-rushing ability, and with Short gone we don't have much of an interior pass-rush.

Round 6- Peyton Hendershot, TE, Indiana

While Brady doesn't really utilize TEs much in his offense, we could use more depth at the position considering Thomas still hasn't really developed into a TE1. I picked Hendershot simply because I think it would be funny to draft another TE from Indiana.

Round 7- Blake Lynch, K, Kansas State

Slye leg is as big, yet as inconsistent, as ever. In the same game he could hit a 60-yarder at halftime, yet miss the 20-yard extra point to lose the game. So we could use some more kicking talent to compete with him.

Next Season:

Start Bridgewater and have Lawrence develop/adapt to the NFL behind him

Have Lawrence start a few games at the end of the season to get some NFL experience

Sit our franchise players if we're out of playoff contention.

Fire any coordinators who haven't improved in their 2nd year (Phil Snow), and replace them with people who have actual NFL experience (Kris Richards)

Free Agency:

Resign Donte Jackson

Resign Ian Thomas

Resign Robby Anderson (but not to an overpaid contract)

Resign D.J. Moore or at least pick up his 5th year

Resign some depth players (P.J. Walker, Stephen Weatherly, etc)

Cut Tre Boston and start Kenny Robinson

Don't resign Juston Burris and sign a player like Quandre Diggs or Micah Hyde to replace him

And after all that I doubt we'll have much money leftover for anyone else

Draft:

Round 1- Derek Stingley Jr, CB, LSU

Now this is the reason why I have us ignoring the CB position up until now. Stingley is the next great LSU DB, and he has the size, speed, and instincts of a true CB1. While it would be an absolute pipe-dream for us to be in position to select Lawrence in the 2021 draft, and then Stingley in the 2022 draft, it isn't impossible. I mean last year almost every draft analyst had Grant Delpit as a top 10 pick, and he didn't even end up going in the 1st round. So while I still think Stingley will be a top 10 pick, there's no reason to believe we won't finish that way again. If Bridgewater is starting over Lawrence, in Rhule's 2nd year of rebuilding, with a bunch of 1st or 2nd year players starting for us, there's a good chance we once again finish with a top 10 pick. And considering we got the 1st overall pick just the year before, finishing with any other pick is improvement at that point.

Round 2- Luke Matthews, C/G, Texas A&M

With Paradis on the wrong side of 30 and no longer playing like one of the top centers in the country since his injury, I doubt we'll end up resigning him. And while Larsen is solid, I like him much better as a backup than I do as a starter, so getting a new center should be a priority. I don't know much about Matthews other than the fact that he's related to other good O-lineman, such as Bruce and Jake Matthews.

Round 3- Cory Durden, DT, Florida State

We all know Brown isn't much of a pass-rusher, and since the rest of our DTs up to this point are just solid depth players, we could use another pass-rushing DT to pair with Brown. I picked Durden since he has shown "some pass-rushing skills".

Round 4- Anthony Schwartz, WR, Auburn

Even though it was the right decision to trade Samuel, we still lost a fast, versatile playmaker. While Moore is somewhat versatile, and Anderson is even faster than Samuel, we don't have another player like Samuel on our roster. Schwartz is widely considered to be one of the fastest players in college football, and like Samuel, he is often used in creative ways such as jet sweeps. But he has a lot of competition on his own team, and from the rest of the league, so even a player with his speed could fall this far.

Round 5- Tre Sterling, S, Oklahoma State

As you saw earlier, I have us cutting Boston and not resigning Burris. So we could use some more safety depth.

Round 6- Caleb Jones, OT, Indiana

You can never have enough O-line depth.

Round 7- Chris Oats, OLB/ILB, Kentucky

When your LBs are as bad as they are now, and when you're trying to replace a Hall of Famer like Kuechly, you can use all the depth you can get.

Year 3 Roster Results:

Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence, a generational prospect who very well could have a Mahomes-esque season after being mentored for a year by Bridgewater

Runningback: Christian McCaffrey, the best RB in the league

Wide Receivers: D.J. Moore (a 1st round WR who is finally starting to play like a WR1), Robby Anderson (a fast deep threat), and now Anthony Schwartz (a fast and versatile playmaker)

Tight End: Ian Thomas, Peyton Hendershot (I'll be honest, this position could be much better, but Brady's offense doesn't utilize TEs. I think once we're a contender then we can afford to use a luxury pick on a TE in the first couple of rounds)

Left Tackle: Greg Little, a 2nd round talent who has had a year to learn and develop under Okung

Left Guard: Dennis Daley, a very solid and versatile O-lineman

Center: Luke Matthews, a 2nd round talent with Hall of Fame bloodlines.

Right Guard: Cade Mays, a 3rd round talent who is a strong run-blocker

Right Tackle: Taylor Moton, arguably our best O-lineman and one of the better RTs in the league

Cornerbacks: Derek Stingley Jr (a true CB1 and lockdown corner), Donte Jackson (a fast CB2 to matchup with the speed WRs in the NFL)

Free Safety: Kenny Robinson, a 5th round pick who many thought had 1st or 2nd round talent

Strong Safety: An All-Pro player like Quandre Diggs or Micah Hyde

Middle Linebacker: Nick Bolton, a 2nd round talent with good instincts

Outside Linebackers: Shaq Thompson (a solid yet overpaid player), Jeremy Chinn (a very good 2nd round talent)

Defensive Ends: Brian Burns (a 1st round talent and very good pass-rusher), Yetur Gross-Mato (a 2nd round talent)

Defensive Tackles: Derrick Brown (a 1st round talent who is a very good run-stopper), Cordy Durden (a 3rd round talent who can be a pass-rushing specialist).

Kick Returner: Pharoh Cooper, a fast and talented returner

Kicker: Either Joey Slye, a big-legged player, or Blake Lynch, a very accurate player

Head Coach: Matt Rhule, a coach who is known for having very successful seasons in his 2nd or 3rd year

Offensive Coordinator: Joe Brady, a young, modern, creative playcaller

Defensive Coordinator: Kris Richards, a very experienced and talented coach

Summary:

Now with a roster like that, it would be hard not to be a contender, You have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round talent all around the team, and several of these players will probably end up being the best, or at least one of the best, at their respective positions. And behind them you have a lot of solid, talented depth players to account for injury. With Brees and Brady heading towards retirement, the NFC South will be up for grabs once they're gone. And even if we can't win the division, we definitely have enough talent to contend for a Wildcard spot. And better yet, the core of our team is comprised of young, talented players, so through Free Agency and the draft we can just keep adding more and more talent before we eventually win a Super Bowl. So while the future is as uncertain as it's ever been for our franchise, I would argue it's also as bright as ever. All you have to do is trust the process.

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