by DeadRinger » Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:29 am
Looking at some mocks, most have Barkley going several picks before us.
My first thought is that, if Barkley falls to the Jets at #6 - who will absolutely draft a QB in round 1 - we should trade up to that spot and take him. The Jets should be fine with that because there's nobody between 6 and 10 who would take the next best QB (likely Mayfield), and they need picks badly.
Most mocks have us taking Roquan Smith. As I've said, he's an undersized 'tweener. He has thrived in college because he's not facing the massive, stronger, faster pro players every day. Every time an OL gets to him, it's lights out. And there are a lot of RBs who would run right through him. I don't think the NFL will be kind to him if a team wants to keep him at ILB instead of making him a SS.
I say we bring back Bowman on a 2-yr deal. He should be very receptive because he can stay in the Bay area. Then we pull the trigger on a serious playmaker, either at RB or WR.
Not only would Barkley instantly be our best RB, he'd instantly be our best receiver as well.
If not Barkley, then we trade up in rd 2 and take Sony Michel.
Teams that don't have Tom Brady keep proving over and over that the RB spot is a lot more important than most people seem to think. The Vikes learned it against PHI. Their 3rd down efficiency was just 46%, with the VAST number of first downs coming via the pass. So they had to put the game on Keenum's shoulders, and that's not a good recipe for playoff success, and INTs killed them.
BETTER be a playoff win in 2022.