Since the start of the offseason, I’ve woken up every morning believing that today would be a calm and relaxing day around the league with some discourse on draft prospects at some point on my Twitter timeline.
And every day since the start of the offseason the NFL will walk up to me and slap me in the face Will Smith-style. There has not been a single clam day since the final snap of Super Bowl 56.
It has been absolute and utter chaos from the jump; massive trades left and right, free agency, the NFL Scouting Combine, the ongoing Pro Days, the NFL Draft discourse on prospects — all of it has been insanity with almost no rest for anyone the final day of the 2021-2022 NFL season.
However, this offseason has been a good type of insanity. And, it is one that will be remembered for many years to come. Heck, you’ll be telling your children and their children about the 2022 offseason when the NFL turned into the NBA with blockbuster trades of superstar players across the league.
Only three weeks into the new league year and the absurdity and drama are far from finished. The NFL Draft this coming April will only increase the chaos with so much uncertainty around what teams could do on Day 1 through Day 3 of the event. Could we see Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey on the move that weekend or even sooner? What about D.K. Metcalf with the amount of uncertainty surrounding his future in Seattle after Russell Wilson was sent off to Denver?
There’s a lot to cover in this article. I might not be able to cover everything that has happened this offseason because it would be as long as a 20 to 25-page research paper. Yet, I will do my best.
Oh, and by the way: welcome back to #FootballThoughts.
The Blockbuster Trades
WRITERS NOTE: Due to the sensitivity around the topic involving Deshaun Watson’s trade to Cleveland, I chose not to discuss the move in this article. My thoughts on the issue are well documented on social media and I’d like to move forward without discussing it further.
We all knew that there was a possibility that Russell Wilson was going to be traded, so in this case, it really isn’t that surprising to see him on the move. However, no one expected two of the best wide receivers to be moved, a long-time franchise QB like Matt Ryan, star pass rusher Khalil Mack, or even Amari Cooper. So many stars moved around the league, leaving their former teams either in the dust to decline into mediocrity or help increase their new team’s chances of winning the Super Bowl.
Seattle leaving Wilson in the dust
I have already broken down the Wilson trade the day it happened. Oddly enough, I was in Seattle for spring break when the trade went down. When I went to the University of Washington (hello Ben Glassmire) the next day, I was sitting in a Starbucks on campus and just happened to look at the front page of The Seattle Times that was left next to the seat I was in. On the front page was the news on Russell Wilson being traded to the Denver Broncos and that’s when it really struck me that an all-time trade had occurred featuring Wilson and 4th round pick in exchange for 5 draft picks and three players.
I sat back and thought long and hard about the trade. Wilson was the heart and soul of not just the Seahawks but all of Seattle’s professional sports. He was an icon in the city and one of the best things to have happened to the area in a very long time. The fact that there were loud rumblings of him wanting out of the organization was telling.
Pete Carroll, John Schnider, the Seahawks failed Wilson. It’s as simple as that. They had a franchise QB, arguably one of the 5 to 7 best players at his position and they did very little to help propel him to another Super Bowl title. I don’t exactly remember a time when the Seahawks did anything to truly accommodate Wilson’s skill set. Yes, they did draft D.K. Metcalf to give him a superstar at the position. However, what about the offensive line? What about the defense, a group that was once so dominant that they struck fear into every offense they faced?
It’s a shame that Wilson left on terms that weren’t so great. Yet, it was the Seahawks organization that failed to provide Wilson with the pieces around him necessary to help him succeed at the highest level. Wilson kept the team in games and basically carried the team into the playoffs late into his tenure.
I’m sorry Seahawks fans. You all deserve so much better than a coach unwilling to change his football philosophy and a general manager unwilling to truly build the organization he works for into a consistent contender.
Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill: money talks BIG
It’s still wild to me that these two men are on new teams now when we all thought surely they were going to be mainstays with their former respective franchises for years to come and maybe even retire on those same teams.
Well, money definitely talks.
Let’s discuss Tyreek Hill first. This man is the fastest receiver on the planet and arguably the best at his position. He was one of the main reasons why many feared the Chiefs offense: the combination of Patrick Mahomes ICBM for a right arm and Hill’s explosiveness and rare speed made for one of the best duos the league had ever seen. Sadly, that duo broke apart too soon.
Tyreek Hill wanted an extension and the Chiefs were unwilling to honor that request after months of extension talks. It was then that Hill would be traded to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for 2022 first, second, and third-round picks, and second and fourth-round picks in 2023. On top of that? A four-year, $120 million extension with $72.2 million in guaranteed money, blowing Davante Adams’ $141 million ($28M APY) contract out of the water.
In my opinion, the Chiefs should’ve just given Hill whatever he had wanted. However, looking at the fact that they were already paying Travis Kelce a ton of money and Mahomes being the first half-billion-dollar man in sports history, paying Hill would’ve put the Chiefs in cap space bankruptcy. Trading Hill was the right move for both parties and for Hill’s future.
The Chiefs have already gone to work to add more weapons to a less-scary — yet, still very dangerous — offense, signing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to deals and essentially making Mecole Hardman the team’s top deep threat. It doesn’t seem like they’re finished either, with rumors that the Chiefs might be looking for another elite receiver via trade.
The Dolphins, on the other hand, have completely revamped their offense with Hill and Jaylen Waddle as the top two weapons, Mike Gesicki signing the franchise tag, and former Saints left tackle Terron Armstead signing with the organization on a five-year, $75 million contract. This tells me that new head coach Mike McDaniels and general manager Chris Grier want to help surround quarterback Tua Tagovalioa with the tools necessary to help him become a formidable starting QB in the NFL as he enters a crucial Year 3.
Davante Adams was in a similar situation. However, he was on the franchise tag. The Green Bay Packers had just reworked and extended Aaron Rodgers to keep him in Green Bay for most likely the rest of his career. While the Packers were wanting to keep Adams, it would’ve added more stress to their cap space.
Adams is also arguably the best receiver in the league due to his elite route-running ability to quickness at the line of scrimmage against any press-man coverage. Adams was/is still well aware of his talent and was wanting to be paid top dollar at the position, essentially resetting the wide receiver market in terms of pay.
This led to the Las Vegas Raiders swooping in and sending their first and second-round picks this year to the Packers for the All-Pro receiver. The move sent shockwaves throughout the league and left Aaron Rodgers will very little help at WR. Adams is now reunited with his former college quarterback Derek Carr as the two will be looking to help each other get the Raiders over the top by winning the AFC West over the likes of Herbert, Mahomes, and now Wilson.
The Packers should be active in the free-agent receiver market, but they have been quiet on that front so far. It should not surprise anyone if they use two or three of their first four draft picks in the first two rounds on wide receivers, such as Arkansas’s Treylon Burks, Ohio State’s Chris Olave, or Alabama’s Jameson Williams.
Adams and Hill are big examples of why the NFL is looking like the new NBA: if a star is not satisfied, expect a potential blockbuster trade that could shake up the league.
The Chargers want to win “right the [expletive] now!”
The Chargers were one win away from making the playoffs, and that crushed them knowing they had an elite quarterback at the helm and were unable to get into the postseason in spite of Justin Herbert.
What does Tom Telesco do this offseason? He trades for a still-very-good pass rusher in Khalil Mack in exchange for a 2022 2nd-round draft pick and a 6th-rounder in 2023 to the Chicago Bears. Plus, he also adds ball-hawk cornerback J.C. Jackson and three defensive tackles: Austin Johnson and Sebastian Joseph-Day in an effort to bolster their run defense.
In any normal season, the Chargers have the squad to be a Super Bowl contender and they certainly have the roster when healthy. They got the coaching staff, the front office, the quarterback, the skill players, a cornerstone left tackle, and an improved defense that could get better via the draft. Plus, a healthy Derwin James would help their secondary tremendously.
Los Angeles has the pieces in place to be a very, very good team in 2022. The bad news? They play in the best division in football.
Kansas City still has Mahomes and Andy Reid, and as long as the two are still there, they’ll be one of the teams to beat in the AFC. The Broncos just traded for Russell Wilson and they should be a playoff team in 2022. The Las Vegas Raiders, having made the postseason this past season, got better by adding Chandler Jones in free agency and Davante Adams via trade.
It will be very tough sledding for Brandon Staley and the Chargers. However, this club wants to win now, especially with their young, prosperous quarterback. They have the roster to do it. The only question: can they?
Stop overthinking top draft prospects, please!
We do this every single year. Anytime we get to a point in the draft cycle, there will be a group of people, media, etc. that will begin to overthink top prospects and make them something they’re not.
I will be the first one to say that everyone’s opinion in the draft community is to be respected and the discourse should be healthy and productive. However, I’ve seen takes or analysis on different prospects that feel…wrong, misguided, and downright false.
My goal here is not to bash or bring down anyone with opinions of certain prospects. However, respectfully, the tape needs to back up your claims. Everyone sees prospects differently no matter what. For example, I think Sam Howell is the best quarterback in this draft class because I believe he has the skill set necessary to be a formidable starting quarterback, dependent on his landing spot.
Two well-known and highly-regarded prospects have somehow come into question. Those names are Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton and Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, who are my first and second-rated prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft, respectively.
Let’s start with Thibodeaux. Coming into the offseason, he was considered one of the favorites to go No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Now, it seems as though his stock has somehow dipped. Not drastically, but enough to where some believe he may not even go in the first 10 picks. This stock “decline” in Thibodeaux’s stock has come from media reports of his “lack of effort and love for the game.” These reports have come from anonymous scouts from across the league.
What do I think of these types of comments toward the Oregon pass rusher? Ridiculous, absurd, and downright inaccurate.
I have no doubts when it comes to Thibodeaux’s effort on or off the field. His tape is littered with plays of him making stops behind the line of scrimmage coming from the backside, pursing ball carriers to the boundary, and getting after the quarterback on a consistent snap-to-snap basis. I have no doubts or concerns about his effort on the field.
Off the field, I’ve seen reports of the opposite of what these “anonymous scouts” are saying in terms of not having any love for the game or something along with that line. I see nothing wrong with a player trying to grow his image and brand off the field. Thibodeaux is trying to be a successful football player and businessman which could help him in the long run. Saying THIS is affecting his draft stock and why teams may not be interested in drafting him is, respectfully, a complete load of you-know-what.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, in my opinion, is the best pass rusher in this draft class and is a great person on and off the field who is looking to help himself for life after football (whenever that might be).
As for Kyle Hamilton, his stock is somehow tittering after he didn’t run a fast 40-yard dash time at the combine or his Pro Day at Notre Dame. This has led to some controversial takes from different people I respect in the community that I will not name. As I’ve said before, I respect everyone’s opinion on prospects during the draft cycle and everyone sees things differently. However, these takes seem absurd to me.
Sure, Hamilton may not be the fastest safety on the planet and may not run a fast 40 time. That’s OK! On tape, he can play a variety of roles, whether that’s as a box safety, big nickel, single-high, split, WILL linebacker, or even boundary corner. Why can he play so many roles? Because he has elite play speed, instincts, and highly-advanced football intelligence that make him the player many consider the best safety prospect since 2018 when Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick were drafted.
The 40-yard dash should not be the end-all-be-all of draft prospects, especially Kyle Hamilton. Unfortunately, there are prospects that do fall because of bad 40 times and I fear that’s the direction Hamilton could heading. The draft process is incredibly fluid, yet flawed in some areas such as the 40 time.
Some advice to young draft analysts: trust your eyes! Hamilton is and will remain as my Player1 on my draft board because on film I saw a player that can transform an NFL defense due to the variety of roles he can play at the next level with the potential to be a superstar. Thibodeaux is my Player2 because of his athleticism, high motor, elite get-off, an arsenal of pass rush moves and counters, and sets the edge very well against the run.
Folks, please do not overthink these two prospects or any highly-regarded player coming into the league.