The short answer is yes First off, even if the Panthers choose Stroud, it doesn’t mean he was the top choice on everyone’s draft board. It might make the others more valuable if they believe the Panthers made the wrong choice and gifted them a shot at their guy. For that matter, hypothetically, any of these four guys in almost any other draft without the other 3 present would be the unanimous first QB taken and a team in need of a QB would move up to #1 to grab them. That is why I think it’s a lock that (3) guys go in the top 5 picks. There are going to be teams that fall in love with each of these guys for their different traits. I wouldn’t put Lamar in question for these guys. One, because a team can’t make that decision based on who they THINK will go #1 overall. Pretty sure that won’t be known until April 24th. I don’t think Lamar is destined for a draft day sign and all of a sudden the Ravens have an extra draft pick. The lack of interest to this point tells me teams are waiting for the draft to play out, then a team might consider Lamar based on them not having to give those picks until 2024 and 2025. I’ve been saying it for weeks, this is one of the most interesting drafts I have watched in a very long time BECAUSE of the QBs. Such fun conversations going on, without anyone really jumping up and down declaring one guy is so far ahead of the others that we shouldn’t even be talking about them. That’s the beauty, like @Campbell has been saying, they all have their major pluses to build on, yet they all have their minuses to argue which has the least potential to fail. You don’t want to use that word fail when discussing a high draft pick, but it has to be discussed all the same. For me, in terms of “most likely to fail” 1. Richardson 2. Young 3. Levis 4. Stroud All for different reasons, that have been discussed by everyone already. At the end of the decade following this draft, Hooker might be the best pro out of the class. He will get pushed way down draft boards because of an injury. Injuries heal, but he has something none of the others have if they are a top 5 pick.. he has a minimum of 1 year to sit back and learn the pro game behind a veteran QB without any pressure to get it all ready by a certain date. At any given time, any of these other guys more than likely, will get thrown into the fire before they are ready. In a lot of cases that ruins a guys career.
It was Levis' turn to take the stage on Friday, and he didn't disappoint. There were a few off-target throws, but Levis -- who boasted of his "cannon" at the NFL Scouting Combine -- had a good performance overall. He conducted a 50-throw script, which was overseen by his QB coach, Jordan Palmer, and included passes to all three levels of the field. The pro-day pace was quite rapid, with less time between throws compared with the QB workouts from earlier in the week. "That was fun," Levis told NFL Network's Stacey Dales and David Carr. "Just getting ... every club in my bag, to put on display all the different types of throws, whether it's short, long, on the run, on a line with some touch. I think I covered all the bases, and I thought I did a pretty good job and had a lot of fun throwing with my receivers." Levis' arm talent was on full display, showing more velocity on his throws than either Stroud or Young did consistently in their workouts. Of the handful of misfires, most came on shorter passes, including a red-zone overthrow in which Jeremiah noted during live coverage on NFL+ that Levis' lower body and upper body were "disconnected." Levis also overthrew one receiver on a post pattern and had one pass fall incomplete when it hit the roof of the Wildcats' indoor facility. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the consensus from his sources is that Young and Stroud are likely to be the first two quarterbacks drafted next month, with Levis and Florida's Anthony Richardson vying for the next two spots. The Panthers and Texans are set to draft 1-2, and Carolina had a 10-man contingent on hand, dining with Levis on Thursday night. The next QB-needy team on the board is Indianapolis at No. 4 overall. "From the teams that went to dinner with him, the Carolina Panthers, the Las Vegas Raiders spent time with him, Mike Vrabel from the Tennessee Titans spent time with him," Rapoport said. "(Levis) actually pretty quietly had a top-30 visit with the Houston Texans; that happened over the last several weeks. "It's been really positive from the feedback from those teams. As far as the range (for Levis), it seems anything from (No.) 3 to probably somewhere in the teens is possible. The quarterbacks always go earlier than we anticipate, so we've got to keep our eyes peeled on just where he goes after the first two go off the board." The question with Levis' pro day, as it often is with any quarterback after such a session, is: Did he help himself? The arm strength was as advertised, so there's no mystery there. Levis looked spry during his session, appearing to be recovered from the foot and shoulder injuries that plagued him during the 2022 season. Levis also said that his recent focus over the past eight weeks has been on tightening up his "mechanics of movement" in his delivery. "A lot of times when I'm missing throws I'm not doing that," he said. But were any of Levis' other question marks as a prospect answered? "(The questions) are about awareness, taking some of the sacks, some of the turnovers," Jeremiah said during live coverage of the workout on NFL+. "That's not going to show up here. I feel like he finished up today and showed us everything that we had seen (previously on tape). "What you like about him, you're going to like about this pro day. The size, the power arm, the athleticism, the quickness, all that stuff was on display today. The stuff that you have questions on, you don't get answers today." NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, who earlier said Levis "looks like he was built to play in the league," believes Levis might have been able to answer some of those concerns himself behind the scenes. "Hopefully, what you're able to do is get some of the answers behind the scenes (in) some of the one-on-one conversations that (teams) have with him," Brooks said. "You can kind of get a feel for where he is in terms of his football acumen, his development, what is his approach, his process -- those things. NFL.com
Welp, without a big move, it seems the Ravens may have just dropped from AFC North contenders to 3rd or 4th in the division! 3 little words did it for them, Lamar requests trade!!
Its tricky, because Lamar requested a trade on March 2nd and todays tweet may have had other intended effects. Harbaugh wants him, Lamar wants what he wants, so they are still in a game of chicken.
Interesting also is the fact more teams have indicated they are not interested in a Lamar trade, but there are still a few out there that seem to be waiting to see what happens in Baltimore. Rumor mill in full force.
I imagine there are more than a couple teams that would gladly give up the two #1's for Lamar. It's clearly the contract demands that are causing angst.
I don't think they make a move up in the draft, and I'm not convinced that Lamar will be in another jersey in 2023. However... The Ravens should just release a public statement that they have made the best offer they can to Lamar, one that pays him handsomely without crippling the franchise, and that they will not be continuing negotiations at this time. It may give a boost to another team that is considering working up a deal to offer Lamar, which can only help Baltimore. Jackson receiving fair market value offers from other teams would set the table so that Lamar knows exactly what he would get from someone else, were the offer not to be matched from the Ravens. Then, Jackson's options become crystal clear: Take the deal Baltimore is offering Play out the season on the franchise tag Sit out 2023 Because there will be no option where Lamar gets a long term fully guaranteed contract. The best offer he may receive from another team would be something along the lines of 3 years, essentially fully guaranteed, but not the Watson deal. If he gets an offer like that and accepts it, and I'm the GM in BAL, I help him pack his gear and wish him well...
I like this a lot, Tim. Its rather simple and makes a lot of sense. Why this isnt implemented is a mystery to me. IF Lamar had an agent that was privy to this situation, this may have been done a while back.
Colts may have considered Lamar, but it sounds like that might be changing. Per; PFT The money free agent quarterback Lamar Jackson is asking for is not too much for the Colts. But the guarantees on his contract might be. That’s the word from Colts owner Jim Irsay, who told reporters that the Colts are willing to pay Jackson a lot, but not to give him a fully guaranteed contract. Irsay told Stephen Holder of ESPN that “the money is not a problem,” but Irsay also told Zak Keefer of TheAthletic.com that “I do not believe in fully-guaranteed contracts.” The precise nature of Jackson’s demands is not known, but the fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract that Deshaun Watson got from the Browns a year ago is believed to be in the neighborhood of what Jackson wants. Irsay also indicated that the draft pick compensation the Colts would have to give the Ravens might be too much. If the Colts signed Jackson to an offer sheet and the Ravens didn’t match it, the Colts would get Jackson and the Ravens would get the Colts’ next two first-round draft picks. It’s also possible that the Colts and Ravens could agree to some other form of compensation, but the Ravens would surely demand a significant trade offer. And so the Colts don’t seem to be close to landing Jackson. But at a time when most of the league is oddly uninterested in a 26-year-old former NFL MVP, Irsay is at least willing to consider making an offer.
If you can give a serial sexual predator on a suspension a 5 year guaranteed deal, you can give Lamar one.
Baltimore may be desperate if Lamar chooses not to play and sit out or doesnt play under the Tag. This is intriguing to me.
