I'm not so sure about bottom 3 and tanking. Another middle of the road 7-10 type of season strikes me as more likely. That's part of why I'm glad you got Willis now rather than assuming they'll have a top five pick to grab one of next year's "can't miss phenom" catastrophes. Keys to Atlanta's season: They HAVE to get a pass rush in place. On paper, their secondary is good. But they can't be expected to stick to receivers for an eternity. If Dean Pees can get pressure with the front seven, the defense will surprise a LOT of people. The youngsters on the offensive line need to step up and show development. They struggled last year, but the media and internet trolls need to chill and cut the kids a little slack. (Jalen Mayfield was a third rounder thrown into starting duty on day one. He struggled. DUH...) Beyond that, the 2008 team hid a lot of deficiencies with smoke and mirrors, and this team can do the same. Even if they don't land a serious threat #1 WR, they have a TE who is a true #1 target and a RB who is a converted WR. Put Auden Tate at split end and Damiere Byrd at flanker, and you actually do have four legit receiving targets on the field. If the blocking can keep Mariota upright and open some holes for the RBs, the offense will at least be functional.
well... that was fast. I was just about to PM @matthewwillson29 that there were only two picks left ahead of him...
Well... when you asked me about the second pick, I didn't name the third major need but said it should be bloody obvious - even for people who haven't read my rants on the News And Notes page. They needed a WR. He got a WR. They need to figure out what "pass rush" means. He got a good edge rusher. They need a long term plan at QB. He got a mobile guy with massive upside who will energize the crowd base. I like all three of his picks so far. But I disagree with the bottom three / tanking projection.
General reminder... round three moves to 20-minute windows and round four cuts it back to 15 minutes. Monday through Wednesday are going to be crazy with four rounds in three days. We'll probably be "on schedule" for most of that, as I suspect we'll start having late picks once we hit that 15 minute time window. Fingers crossed that it isn't a complete train wreck. But if nothing else, it ought to be interesting.
I'll also unveil the idea for this year's Draft Pick Challenge game either late tonight or more likely sometime tomorrow. It's a bit different too...
First pick for the Broncos in this draft! Denver selects Cade Otton, TE - Washington On to round 3! @Lyman
