Round 2 and beyond

[Chromeburn]

I really don't see us investing in more TE's. We already have too many and signed a FA. But Tucker Kraft out of South Dakota looks like an intriguing prospect. He had a down year because of a high ankle sprain. But looks promising.

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

I've been in minority camp that wants another TE over a WR. The more I think about it, I'm not convinced that TE over interior OL would be a bad move.

Washington in particular stands out and not just because he's a near-Jelani Woods clone... it's because he seems to be the best run-blocking TE in the draft. I think that's huge for JT and something we miss from Doyle. Pairing Woods and Washington is very intriguing to me.

Especially if Ogletree returns and continues his trajectory from last pre-season. Last I read, he should be ready for OTA's. The three of them would be a pretty unique arsenal in the NFL match-up wise.

While adding to the TE group would be great Ballard really needs to bring in OL, whether from the draft or via FA. On top of a starting RG we need better depth along the line in case of injuries and/or some of our supposedly better OLmen shit the bed again. I know the OL was better at the end of the season, but they were still bad. And there's no point in trying to develop a rookie QB if he's going to get beat up every week.

Also, to your point on the earlier post we definitely CBs since we only have 2 of them who aren't camp fodder on the roster.

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

While adding to the TE group would be great Ballard really needs to bring in OL, whether from the draft or via FA. On top of a starting RG we need better depth along the line in case of injuries and/or some of our supposedly better OLmen shit the bed again. I know the OL was better at the end of the season, but they were still bad. And there's no point in trying to develop a rookie QB if he's going to get beat up every week.

Also, to your point on the earlier post we definitely CBs since we only have 2 of them who aren't camp fodder on the roster.

I don't disagree. The important part is we need to improve our blocking overall. OL definitely needs more talent, I'm not saying don't go after it. I just think a very unsung element of the offensive struggles was the lack of Jack Doyle's contributions (mainly blocking).

I'm excited about Woods as a receiver and Commish is right that Granson is a scrappy blocker. But there are a few TE's in this class whose strength is blocking. Washington will likely be gone anyway, but he's a blocker with near-Woods size/athleticism.

Then there's Luke Schoonmaker who reminds me of Doyle: really good blocker who wasn't super explosive catching the ball (though he had some good numbers at the combine), but one of those guys that found the weak spots in zones and was reliable. And because he wasn't as explosive as some of the other TE's, I've typically seen him projected around the 4th rd.

I just don't think it would be overkill to add one of them if they were hypothetically available, especially because I could see MAC getting bumped from that room. I was happy to hear that Ballard acknowledged the strength of this TE class.

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

I don't disagree. The important part is we need to improve our blocking overall. OL definitely needs more talent, I'm not saying don't go after it. I just think a very unsung element of the offensive struggles was the lack of Jack Doyle's contributions (mainly blocking).

I'm excited about Woods as a receiver and Commish is right that Granson is a scrappy blocker. But there are a few TE's in this class whose strength is blocking. Washington will likely be gone anyway, but he's a blocker with near-Woods size/athleticism.

Then there's Luke Schoonmaker who reminds me of Doyle: really good blocker who wasn't super explosive catching the ball (though he had some good numbers at the combine), but one of those guys that found the weak spots in zones and was reliable. And because he wasn't as explosive as some of the other TE's, I've typically seen him projected around the 4th rd.

I just don't think it would be overkill to add one of them if they were hypothetically available, especially because I could see MAC getting bumped from that room. I was happy to hear that Ballard acknowledged the strength of this TE class.

Agree a good blocking TE would help. It'd be nice to add one along w/ OL, but not sure we have enough draft capital to add both along w/ some much needed CBs. Agree that Schoonmaker would be a good pick. Hopefully in day 3.