Latu: Shame on me for hardly considering him. I thought there was no middle ground: either he would go way ahead of us, or teams (Colts included) would let him drop way past us (medical).
We really lucked out that offense went 1-14 (unbelievable). Our DL was waiting for that cherry on top: the alpha rusher. Now it looks absolutely stacked.
Mitchell: Top 5 receiver, 1st-round talent... we not only managed to snag him at #52, but we picked up two more picks in the process. If forget who, but they said there are three WR's in the draft with the "Alpha" tag... Harrison, Nabers, and Mitchell*.
The asterisk is because the first two are already there and Mitchell has the potential. Great gamble to take. I know Ballard defended him hard, which is good. But I am absolutely cautious about this kid concerning his buy-in and team focus. If Wayne and Steichen connect with him, he'll be lights out.
Goncalves: Consider the OL that went ahead of him and what was behind him. I think that's why Ballard moved up to get him (I heard SEA was after him). Dude is Quenton Nelson-big. He's not Nelson-athletic, but it seems his testing was affected by his injury. Plays everywhere which is great short-term for depth and allows an opportunity to graduate into a starting role at a couple of spots.
Botolini: Double down on OL depth. Here's the traits/RAS guy. Seems along the lines of the Raimann, Freeland, Witt method. If he hits, Ryan Kelly decision goes from difficult to simple.
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Still looking more at the rest of the guys. Gould looks promising for returns. Carlies and Simpson compare well to Leonard and Moore as far as measurables. Don't know the other guys yet.
Overall, DL and OL look fucking stacked. Perfectly in line with Ballard and Steichen's inside-out approach. Ballard said pre-draft that he was more concerned with protection for AR than weapons. He also talked about our CB's from '23 to '24 similarly to how he talked about our OL from '22 to '23.
I think the draft reflected that. AR has everything he could ask for. If he falls flat or can't stay healthy, none of this matters. If he shows up, this team will make some serious noise.
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