(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F_jEkN3W8AEXX8s?format=jpg&name=large)
https://x.com/The33rdTeamFB/status/1727346587578618145?s=20
It's funny to characterize the #2 pick in the draft as a "steal" and even funnier that it's absolutely correct to do so.
Pretty sure UK and myself was on the Marvin Mims train. Other than that none for me.
I wouldn't say I was "on" Ivan Pace, but I remember being very surprised when he went undrafted and thought he was an interesting pickup.
Not the same thing as being on him though, obviously.
I was not high on Stroud. I was less high on Bryce Young (I just couldn't get past the size issue with him) but I thought Stroud would be middling.
I did like Brian Branch a lot but so did a lot of people. He had first round grades all over the place. I wouldn't have wanted him over a top corner for us.
I had two of them on my want list:
Puca Nacua (loved his attitude and knew he'd be a star), but was okay in losing him once we had Hyatt in the fold. He played with heart and did incredible things in college and was 6'2" to boot!
Ivan Pace (really, really wanted Pace) - the best LB in the draft (had better stats than Drew Sanders and Jack Campbell), but "two inches too short" ("too small" said all the brilliant pundits), a human bowling ball with a built-in GPS on the ball and plays like the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character. He didn't even get drafted and I screamed for the Giants to make him priority one in UDFAs, because we needed a LB and Pace was just sitting there for the taking :(
Joey Porter Jr was someone I liked a lot who I thought would be a top 12 selection.
Addison and Porter Jr were on most of our radars as they were likely to still be on the board when we picked and played at a position of need.
I remember getting ripped here on draft night for being upset we gave up draft capital to get banks when we could have stayed in our spot and picked Porter Jr as I thought he was clearly better than Banks.
I'm not going to lie - I was down on Addison relative to his expected draft position. I just couldn't get past his crappy athletic measurables, which I felt were unacceptably bad given he isn't big. I did not want the Giants to draft him. Many here had the same (or similar) opinion. Turns out the guy is just a very good football player.
I like Addison. I still think the Vikings were dumb to draft him instead of Banks and I'm glad they did.
Quote from: DaveBrown74 on November 22, 2023, 12:56:27 PMI'm not going to lie - I was down on Addison relative to his expected draft position. I just couldn't get past his crappy athletic measurables, which I felt were unacceptably bad given he isn't big. I did not want the Giants to draft him. Many here had the same (or similar) opinion. Turns out the guy is just a very good football player.
I thought the same.
Also I'll say Banks will still be better than Porter. Banks is asked to do a lot more than Porter and he's much more versatile.
Branch and Mims are the only two who were really on my radar.
Mims Jr was pretty much a mutual obsession in my conversations with Ceri. Addison was my favourite of the round 1 WR guys but Mims was love.
I also really liked Pace and was stunned he went undrafted. It is a clear case of too much emphasis on 'prototyping' size etc. and not enough on production. I get why this can happen as on average size does matter to both production and longevity but for all the resources deployed sometimes NFL teams still miss the obvious exceptions.
I had Porter Jr above Banks on my board as I thought his physicality suited our scheme but I see enough in Banks so far to think we will be happy with him.
Quote from: madbadger on November 22, 2023, 12:12:40 PMAddison and Porter Jr were on most of our radars as they were likely to still be on the board when we picked and played at a position of need.
These were the guys I thought would be good picks. Surprised they went with Banks over Porter but Banks hasn't been a bad pick.
Sam LaPorta for me, mostly cause I live near the university and saw all of his games last year. I'd take him now for our heroes and then. Very solid at receiving and blocking. Smart.