Big Blue Huddle

It amazes me that people think all agents do is negotiate NFL contracts.

The top agents oversee almost every aspect of the commercial life of their top clients including appointing and supervising tax accountants, lawyers, investment managers, image/marketing consultants, commercial deals, media/social media training & management, arranging training pre combine /pro-day and in offseasons, medical/health/nutrition stuff and way more besides.

They are also often involved in more personal life areas like housing, paying routine bills, providing services to the wider family etc.

In choosing to not have an agent Williams has to manage so many different aspects of his life and make a ton more decisions than he did as a college student, even in the NIL age. All of these facets are a potential distraction from the most important thing for him and any one of which could blow up pre or post draft into a significant distraction.

If he is going without an agent he should do it himself rather than having some of that gap filled by family or friends as we all know how often that type of arrangement has gone wrong in the past.

Personally I'd happily pay a good and reputable agent to take a ton of things off my plate and let me focus on my job. You have to supervise and manage your agent but it is much simpler to do that than to not have one.

Good luck to him with his choice. I hope it works for him.

The draft is an exercise in balancing:

1. value: talent, positional value, pick, invested $ at position
2. availability: who is gone/left, draft deep/thin at position
3. Impact: need, projected snaps/role, fit to scheme/culture

Our 'priorities' in whatever order we rank them (which we cannot conclude until after FA) is only part of the jigsaw.

Just on the Texans and Stroud I think people are forgetting that the Texans were competitive in a lot of games in 2022 (6 single score losses going 3-13-1) and won 2 of final 4, only losing in OT to the Chiefs.

When they drafted Stroud they already had an ascending D and significantly bolstered their OL and WR corps in free agency and draft. They under-achieved in 2022, over-achieved in 2023 and without doubt Stroud was the X factor but he was not the only factor.

So, Tiki has a point to a point. IF the Giants draft a QB it has to be part of a plan like the Texans had, meaning we have to prioritise helping the potential future /incumbent QB in free agency pre draft and the rest of the draft. Rookie QBs are more often naughty boys than messiahs (no prizes for catching the reference).

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on February 07, 2024, 03:19:12 PMAs I've established elsewhere on here. The Giants need to move on from Jones. If that means the Rook can sit behind him and absorb how to do and not do stuff. I'm all for it.

The one thing Gettleman got right was the fact if your QB is there, you take him.

If this kid is the guy this regime want to hitch their wagon to, then take him. Jones' structure always allowed for this approach. Some here knew and the Giants knew it was a possibility Jones wouldn't take the leap, therefore they put themselves to take a QB this year, if there's one there.

I posted something in the Giants biggest need thread that pretty much echoes this. I am slowly travelling to the "if there is a QB we like then take him" as the more I think about the alternative the less I like it.

If there is a QB and that QB is McCarthy then I will trust that Schoen, Brown, Cowden, scouts, Daboll, Kafka, Tierney et al can do a better job projecting traits and risk assessing the gaps in McCarthy's tape than I can.

If that is the choice (which is really no good choice at all) then it is Jones and by a distance for me.

De Vito had some surprise value as teams had no tape on him but they caught up with him in a few weeks. For me he's not a sustainable NFL QB. Jones on his too infrequent good days is clearly better.

I take the locker room point but again De Vito was a feel good story that came when everybody needed a lift but by season end he was rightly benched and his limitations were clear to see.

Bottom line for me De Vito is a QB3/QB4. Jones will be an average to good QB2 when his race with us is eventually run.

The answer is QB but it is likely one we can only address if we are willing to take McCarthy at 6 or in a small trade down (his floor might be Denver as teams rate him higher than draftniks).

The risk of repeating what we did with Jones exists, particularly given the difficulty projecting aspects of McCarthy's game from his tape, but we also run a risk if we ride with Jones and cross our fingers.

I am glad I do not have to make this decision. Instinctively I do not like the idea of taking JJMc high but I also do not like the idea of hoping for more from Jones.

All my career I have preferred to make a positive decision rather than fail without trying so I find myself slowly and somewhat reluctantly edging more towards taking that gamble if that is how the draft plays out.

I think I need a lie down or a stiff drink or both!

Bowen does look more like Graham than Martindale.

The pluses for us are he continues a base 3-man front. He runs lots of nickel utilising three safeties (McKinney and Simmons might be higher priority to keep now?). He is very good at getting Edge guys against C/G using twists/stunts/loops and Titans were mid league on sacks. He always fields a good run D.

The things we will struggle with as fans is little blitzing, predominantly zone concepts and per their fans annoyingly passive pass D forcing few turnovers but he did not have a bunch of talent at his disposal so that might be more forced than preferred.

You can over simplify and say his D strengths are Wink's weaknesses and vice versa suggesting strongly to me that Daboll's issues with Wink went well beyond personality.

Ed I share your Williams worry and I think Nix will have a solid pro career, albeit as a so-so starter or above par back-up but your opinion is at least as valid as mine so   

As for blitz/pressure performance the measured underperformance of the currently projected top two is in part because they did not have Nabers + Thomas, Odunze etc. No QB stat is ever entirely on the QB, good or bad.

Just for fun I went back and compared 2023 DJ 1.0 with 5.0 and the draft. I wouldn't get too depressed/excited if someone you really want at 6 is currently eg 3 or 11 and at 39 is 22 or 49 because it will change. A lot.

It is not the binary debate some on here are trying to make it.

You can believe Jones is not the answer and that trading up in this QB class or taking likely QB4 at 6 is not going to solve our QB problem. This is where I am right now.

Not supporting trading up does not mean satisfaction with Jones, simply dissatisfaction at the alternatives.

I might feel different by the draft with more time to research but I have never had a fuzzy feeling for Williams, do not get the Daniels hype given the holes in his game, struggle to project McCarthy off limited tape and the one guy I liked entering the year, Maye, created more questions than answers over the full season. Do not even try to sell me Nix or Penix. I bought into some of the stuff being said about Nix with Rosen. Never again!

Quote from: MightyGiants on February 04, 2024, 02:57:20 PMTo me, the QB is so special I don't see much of a difference between spending a 12th pick or a 6th.  I mean, do you pass on a QB because you have a slotted a few spots later?

It is not just about the player it is also the situation, coaching, support. Denver taking him at 12 is a substantially lower risk for them and him than us taking him at 6 IMO.

Bricillo got semi competent play out of him (well above his career average) so if he is confident he can repeat that and if he is the 'set the floor' alternative if Neal stinks then so be it but we should be clear that is what he would be.

Patti's point is valid. We have fairly reliable info from the more reliable beat writers that the Giants value and want to keep their key D coaches. This means any new DC potentially only gets two meaningful hires, the vacant OLB coach and a personal assistant if they want one. Any DC coming in probably has several guys they ideally want to bring. Would we sacrifice eg Henderson or Patterson to accommodate them?

Being honest, none of them. I don't get that Andrew Luck vibe from any one of them. I liked Stroud last year more than anybody this year.

Smart money might be McCarthy to Denver at 12 or in a small trade back. I just cannot see us risking it at 6 but I can see Payton taking him.