On To The Chargers…

[The AutumnFart]

Chargers by 90.

[vtraider]

Calling 3 sacks for Mack

Just 3?

[Cruisin with Tooz]

Ohh my jesus f'n god, can I please stop hearing this!

Attn: all NFL fans, news alert!!
Teams are not build from the outside in. You DO NOT draft your quarterbacks, recievers, defensive backs and runningbacks first. This is a secret only a few are privy to...........

It turns out, you draft your offensive and defensive lines first! Which is totally NOT SEXY, but it's been rumored to have worked in the past at some point,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or so they say.

So the crazy thinking here is, maybe we NOT draft a rookie quarterback to get slaughtered behind this offensive line? I dunno, just a random thought from a random fan.

Agree with you up to a point. If we were picking lower I would say go OT, rather than trade up. But when you have a top 3 pick and there is a worthy qb prospect available, you have to take your shot at that qb, otherwise youre going to mortgage the future trading 3 firsts to get that high pick if you wait for a different year. I think it was a mistake to take Jeanty. Should have taken Membou in the first, a guard in the second and a rb in the third. This year I think the strategy should be get that qb and plan on him sitting the first year. Put all your other best resources (2nd and 3rd picks and FA money) into fixing the OL. Best OT available with the 2nd pick and best guard available with the 3rd pick. The following year use your 1st pick on a DT. And with the OL straightened out, a rb and TEs in place, use the 2nd pick on your #1 WR.

[DanKD]

And yet in the past 10 years we have taken four lineman and 0 quarterbacks in the first round. Hows that working out for us?

The team should absolutely spend major resources on the lines, especially offensive, but you need to take your shots early on a franchise qb. You can build your line with FA dollars and others picks.

[DrDUne]

Ohh my jesus f'n god, can I please stop hearing this!

Attn: all NFL fans, news alert!!
Teams are not build from the outside in. You DO NOT draft your quarterbacks, recievers, defensive backs and runningbacks first. This is a secret only a few are privy to...........

It turns out, you draft your offensive and defensive lines first! Which is totally NOT SEXY, but it's been rumored to have worked in the past at some point,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or so they say.

So the crazy thinking here is, maybe we NOT draft a rookie quarterback to get slaughtered behind this offensive line? I dunno, just a random thought from a random fan.

At some point the team will have to take a swing on the QB of their future. If the playoffs were to start today, 12 of the 14 teams would be starting a QB drafted in round 1. Hurts and Purdy being the outliers, and both teams whose overall rosters are pretty loaded.

While I agree that the line(s) should be a top priority, you can afford to invest in both. This is particularly doable if your QB is on a rookie contract, and you’re not stuck paying someone like Geno Smith ~14% of your effective cap space.

[FlyBono24]

Calling 3 sacks for Mack

Another of Pete's trash ass players from Seattles scrap heap just like Geno

[DeathStar24]

Ohh my jesus f'n god, can I please stop hearing this!

Attn: all NFL fans, news alert!!
Teams are not build from the outside in. You DO NOT draft your quarterbacks, recievers, defensive backs and runningbacks first. This is a secret only a few are privy to...........

It turns out, you draft your offensive and defensive lines first! Which is totally NOT SEXY, but it's been rumored to have worked in the past at some point,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or so they say.

So the crazy thinking here is, maybe we NOT draft a rookie quarterback to get slaughtered behind this offensive line? I dunno, just a random thought from a random fan.

This isn't the great take you think it is.

Nobody who would start a team from scratch is taking Joe Thomas over Joe Montana. NOBODY.

[BoKnows81]

Ohh my jesus f'n god, can I please stop hearing this!

Attn: all NFL fans, news alert!!
Teams are not build from the outside in. You DO NOT draft your quarterbacks, recievers, defensive backs and runningbacks first. This is a secret only a few are privy to...........

It turns out, you draft your offensive and defensive lines first! Which is totally NOT SEXY, but it's been rumored to have worked in the past at some point,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or so they say.

So the crazy thinking here is, maybe we NOT draft a rookie quarterback to get slaughtered behind this offensive line? I dunno, just a random thought from a random fan.

Oh look. Somebody else without a clue.

[Attyla]

Oh look. Somebody else without a clue.

OK, while I disagree with the generalized statement he made, there is a school of thought that offensive linemen are the building blocks you start your team with. John Madden himself prioritized Oline over every position on a team and the results speak for themselves. Now, in context, that was during a time when the QB, while vitally important to winning, was competing with the RB on a team for most important, but even the old man saw the vast importance of keeping the Oline top notch and it showed well into his senior years.

So the debate does have some merit. Times have changed as has the league dynamic but we do see that teams with good lines typically have good success. But teams with good QBs with a struggling line can falter. Like I said, the dynamic has changed so the times when Oline men and corners ruled is pretty much not the case, so building with your QB as your first option is now the go to option.

And I will say, you can be fairly certain a successful Olineman will find success at the next level, not always but often, doing the same with a QB is far more uncertain. Merely stating nobody would take a Joe Thomas over Joe Montana is way oversimplified. Joe himself fell to the third so not many saw him as one of the all time greats he became. The trick is finding the guy and that is damn hard to do. For every Montana, there are 30 Jack Thompson's. Don't know who Thompson was? Just the guy taken 79 picks ahead of Montana.

[Opoponax50]

Ohh my jesus f'n god, can I please stop hearing this!

Attn: all NFL fans, news alert!!
Teams are not build from the outside in. You DO NOT draft your quarterbacks, recievers, defensive backs and runningbacks first. This is a secret only a few are privy to...........

It turns out, you draft your offensive and defensive lines first! Which is totally NOT SEXY, but it's been rumored to have worked in the past at some point,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or so they say.

So the crazy thinking here is, maybe we NOT draft a rookie quarterback to get slaughtered behind this offensive line? I dunno, just a random thought from a random fan.

I agree with a lot of that. Ideally you have a competent vet the rook can sit behind for a season, but we don't have a competent vet QB. Right now it appears that the only competent O-linemen we have are injured and likely to stay that way. JPJ has been injury prone since college and Miller appears to be reaching the end of his career. We have no idea whether or not the Gs we drafted are worth a damn.

I think a good argument for drafting a QB if we're in the three would be to get rid of Geno because he's not a good example and see if we can find someone adequate like Flacco if he's still interested in playing. Then we can draft OL in the 2nd, pick up a FA or two, and then go OL in the first round in 2027. By then, with a competent OC OL coach we could be in good shape.

Or not.

[RI RAIDER]

We had the best OL in football when vulva was here. How did that work out? Rome was not built in a day. However, the best route to turn a shit team around is to draft that franchise QB and build the team while he is on that rookie contract. If you are not trying to draft a franchise QB, then you will more than likely not get one.

Do you have to draft a franchise QB. NO. Look at all the solid QB's who are on their 2nd and 3rd teams before they figured it out. However, those teams have solid management. Unfortunately, we have shit management and no QB. Anyone who thinks we are going to turn this shit show around anytime soon is living in a fantasy world (might as well have Sydney Sweeney to boot).

[DeathStar24]

OK, while I disagree with the generalized statement he made, there is a school of thought that offensive linemen are the building blocks you start your team with. John Madden himself prioritized Oline over every position on a team and the results speak for themselves. Now, in context, that was during a time when the QB, while vitally important to winning, was competing with the RB on a team for most important, but even the old man saw the vast importance of keeping the Oline top notch and it showed well into his senior years.

So the debate does have some merit. Times have changed as has the league dynamic but we do see that teams with good lines typically have good success. But teams with good QBs with a struggling line can falter. Like I said, the dynamic has changed so the times when Oline men and corners ruled is pretty much not the case, so building with your QB as your first option is now the go to option.

And I will say, you can be fairly certain a successful Olineman will find success at the next level, not always but often, doing the same with a QB is far more uncertain. Merely stating nobody would take a Joe Thomas over Joe Montana is way oversimplified. Joe himself fell to the third so not many saw him as one of the all time greats he became. The trick is finding the guy and that is damn hard to do. For every Montana, there are 30 Jack Thompson's. Don't know who Thompson was? Just the guy taken 79 picks ahead of Montana.

Not if you're talking about staring from ground zero. I don't know what the Niners had going on back in that draft but if the Niners were an expansion team I'd bet dollars to donuts they go QB ove OL.

[BoKnows81]

If you dont have a QB, you have nothing. I don't give 2 shits how good your O line is. It starts and ends at QB.

I know our current regime hasn't shown this but its a lot easier to fix your O line through free agency than the draft. Obviously, the same cannot be said about addressing QB.

[Attyla]

Not if you're talking about staring from ground zero. I don't know what the Niners had going on back in that draft but if the Niners were an expansion team I'd bet dollars to donuts they go QB ove OL.

If you are starting from ground zero (2014 Raiders come to mind) you probably get a QB killed for a few years so you waste that pick. But that is a hypothetical. David Carr was eaten for lunch his first years and never recovered. If we draft a QB next year, we are not zero, we are closer to zero than I like but not zero, I might not spend on a top pick simply because I do not like this class. We are probably out of the argument for Mendoza so Sellers or another guy who is going to need work is the option. So I might get an also ran and see if he can be worked on. Unfortunately, that would mean Geno gets the sacrificial lamb designation. And yes, this is a QB driven league so that piece has to be addressed, but this draft class has a lot of eh, not sure but maybe guys. And if Mendoza stays put (I don't see that at all) the class is on pace to be one of the worst QB classes in the last decade.

I was not arguing that the QB is not the most important position to address. I was more arguing that suggesting you build the Oline first does have its supporters among top football minds. Hell, getting away from the focus on the line was what killed both Marino and Young late in their careers. Unless your QB has nothing but quick release short passes, you do need the line to stand up and there is that school of thought among some experts. I sited Madden and Davis among them. They are not wrong because there are multiple ways of fixing a broken team.

That all said, I do agree that without the QB you will struggle. Finding that guy is tough to pull off and this next draft it will be even tougher. Here is the scary part, if O'Connell were coming out in 2026 he might be a top 5 guy in that draft among QBs and might go in the 2nd round.

[pfish57]

If you dont have a QB, you have nothing. I don't give 2 shits how good your O line is. It starts and ends at QB.

I know our current regime hasn't shown this but its a lot easier to fix your O line through free agency than the draft. Obviously, the same cannot be said about addressing QB.

With out a doubt QB has got to be the Raiders first priority...it's not even questionable.

[raiderjohn]

Not that it matters, the Dolts are coming off a bye.