Notes from Off-Season Practice

[*ochocincos*]

(06-01-2025, 04:47 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: but as you stated we don't need great, last few years have seen more mid round picks it seems cracking the starting lineup... again don;t need great just solid or better than what we had last year

Yes, but a high majority of draft picks, especially after the first two rounds don't even perform "solid" as rookies.
Most never earn starting gigs as rookies, and many that do have up and down performances.

I am optimistic of Fairchild, I mocked him to Bengals at different times in the offseason leading up to the draft.
My worry is even with that optimism, there's always a risk that a mid-round rookie (or any rookie) is not going to be consistently good/solid enough right out of the gate.
Could he beat out the likes of Patrick, Ford, and Volson? Maybe.
And it sounds like they are giving him the opportunity to do so.
However, beating out (arguably) scrubs doesn't mean the rookie will perform consistently solid or better right out of the gate.

In a preferred world, a quality vet would have been added to cover the position as insurance in case the draft pick isn't ready or has inconsistent/poor performance early on.

Whoever covers LG and RG, I hope they both perform at least solid or better, I don't really care who it is.
And on the flip side, I'll be critical of whoever covers those spots if they perform poorly.
The goal for the season on a contender is to have solid or better performance regardless of whether vet or rookie, allowing those who need more development to ride the bench as needed.