Polk instead Kingsley Suamataia?

[PatsFan2]

Wrong.

We should hope C Wallace is better than the alternatives for their sake.

 

[captain stone]

IMO it is clear that they drafted with a multi-year vision for the roster. They wanted to take a guy like Polk high because he has low bust potential and is someone they'll be able to count on as a likely starter for several years with Maye. They knew they'd be unlikely to start Maye this year at all, or at least, not for the first part of the season, so having a more shaky OL was not as big of a deal. They drafted some a slightly more developmental tackle (Wallace) later to see if he could grow into a role over the course of the season. If they don't think he's capable of being the starting LT by next offseason, they could throw a high pick or cash at tackle next year. He'd most likely at least be ready to start at RT, which solves one problem.

So they drafted an Inferiot prospect, on purpose?!?

 

[captain stone]

We should hope C Wallace is better than the alternatives for their sake.

Indeed we should… Though I don’t think it will help.

 

[Wozzy]

This is going to be a very very long season hopefully we can Trade the #1 overall for a haul. What's the record for sacks given up in a Season?? We are going come very close or smash it... I see why they're playing Onwenu at RT we are playing some killer Fronts this year with guys who can run circles around even him. There is no way this Team can survive with Lowe and Okorafor @ Tackle a DE's dream.

It won't last, isn't sustainable. They'll look for better options and move the younger players up, whether they succeed or are better options is another question entirely.

 

[Wozzy]

So they drafted an Inferiot prospect, on purpose?!?

This is the silliest part of the "long term rebuild" theory.

They drafted lesser players, they signed bad free agents because they need more time... just absurd.

 

[Sciz]

This seems to be jumping the gun just a little bit.

 

[Wozzy]

This seems to be jumping the gun just a little bit.

Giving up one sack as a starting rookie left tackle to the number one defense in the NFL last year is a bad night?

Perspective people...

 

[silentone]

From Profootball focus - both graded out poorly, in fact lowest of all offensive players

Roger Rosengarten:
Snaps: 20
Overall grade: 44
Pass blocking: 31
Run blocking: 48
Lowest grade for all Ravens offensive players

Kingsley Suamataia:
Snaps: 54
Overall grade: 49
Pass blocking: 61
Run blocking: 37
Lowest grade for all Chiefs offensive players

Small sample of snaps and only one game but these grades are bad
Their preseason grades were ok (64 & 62 respectively) but that was likely against lesser competition

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

This is going to be a very very long season hopefully we can Trade the #1 overall for a haul.

Yes I would think that is the way to go. The Patriots will be picking in the top 3 again next year; the right thing to do would be to trade down and pick up a bluechip LT and some weapons. Unfortunately they may not find a trade partner! It seems like most the blue chip QB prospects were in 2024 and this was the year to trade down, alas. As I said before the draft, and I took a lot of heat for it, the Patriots should have traded down and got a LT and WR; no point in getting a bluechip QB and letting him get destroyed behind 5 blind mice on the OL.

 

[Wozzy]

From Profootball focus - both graded out poorly, in fact lowest of all offensive players

Small sample of snaps and only one game but these grades are bad
Their preseason grades were ok (64 & 62 respectively) but that was likely against lesser competition

These are the same people who told us Stephon Gilmore was a bad player back in 2017.

PFF player grades are toilet paper.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

Gotta say…what’s done is done. Do yourself a favor and try not to think about it. So not worth it.

 

[Ross12]

This is the silliest part of the "long term rebuild" theory.

They drafted lesser players, they signed bad free agents because they need more time... just absurd.

Not sure I understand the counter-argument. They didn't "draft lesser players", they drafted the players who were available when they picked because they prioritized other positions earlier in the draft. It's not like clearly better players were available on their board and they just picked some random nobody. As I said, they prioritized a receiver earlier and then went tackle and then guard after that. They wanted a "high floor" WR who will probably take a year to hit his stride in the NFL while also developing a guy who might be able to play LT but maybe not - and if not, they'll probably use a premium pick on a guy who can start day 1 at the position next year.

In the interim, they have a couple of cheaper stop-gaps at the LT spot who are only here for now and didn't need longer commitments. I'm not sure what other clearly "better" left tackles you have in mind that were available for the same price like you claim?

In general you find good WRs earlier and can find solid linemen a little later. Their draft strategy aligns with this thinking. If some of their guys develop this year, great. If not, and they need to throw a high pick and/or cap space at the LT position to shore it up and be ready for Drake Maye's sophomore season, they will. But they weren't worried about being perfect there this year because they weren't planning to play him much this year. They likely felt like the rest of the pieces they have would make for a largely decent OL besides LT, and I tend to agree with that assessment. We'll see how the games go.

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

There is never an excuse to chase after weapons and ignore the offensive line... if anything the opposite is true. Once you have your QB prospect build your lines, then chase weapons once you have the ability to block for them.

I agree. This may be even worse: what if they misevaluated the state of the OL before the draft?

 

[203Pat]

Polk over this kid is easily the most fair second guess as far as the new regime.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I wonder what the Giants were offering for the trade back? I think it was this years first and next years. So they could have gotten a big moose LT such as Fashanu or Lathum or, gulp, a QB, Bo Nix, but the fun stuff would be the 2025 draft where they could have the number 1 and number 2 overall in the draft! Ha

 

[Clonamery]

Gotta say…what’s done is done. Do yourself a favor and try not to think about it. So not worth it.

Wait, so you do believe in divorce (from reality) or you don't believe in divorce (stay married for the mistake players sake)?

I truly am confused by what's been done.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

 

[Wozzy]

Not sure I understand the counter-argument. They didn't "draft lesser players", they drafted the players who were available when they picked because they prioritized other positions earlier in the draft. It's not like clearly better players were available on their board and they just picked some random nobody. As I said, they prioritized a receiver earlier and then went tackle and then guard after that. They wanted a "high floor" WR who will probably take a year to hit his stride in the NFL while also developing a guy who might be able to play LT but maybe not - and if not, they'll probably use a premium pick on a guy who can start day 1 at the position next year.

In the interim, they have a couple of cheaper stop-gaps at the LT spot who are only here for now and didn't need longer commitments. I'm not sure what other clearly "better" left tackles you have in mind that were available for the same price like you claim?

In general you find good WRs earlier and can find solid linemen a little later. Their draft strategy aligns with this thinking. If some of their guys develop this year, great. If not, and they need to throw a high pick and/or cap space at the LT position to shore it up and be ready for Drake Maye's sophomore season, they will. But they weren't worried about being perfect there this year because they weren't planning to play him much this year. They likely felt like the rest of the pieces they have would make for a largely decent OL besides LT, and I tend to agree with that assessment. We'll see how the games go.

Yeah... they prioritized WR all offseason. Whether it was in the draft or in free agency, where they tried to throw a massive bag at Aiyuk and Calvin Ridley. They were singular of focus and myopic in their approach.

It has yet to be determined if either of the offensive tackles I suggested back in the draft (Paul/Sumiata) are better pro players than Polk, but the initial results at least confirm these two tackles are moving up their team's depth chart and those are very good offenses... these aren't bad teams. Also offensive line should always be the focus before weapons... horse/cart.

As far as relying on Okorafor and Lowe, that was clearly a mistake and not the result of some longterm plan. There is no justification for signing or relying on bad players... ever. Especially not when there were better options available for similar money.

The long term rebuild is going to take longer and longer the more bad players they rely on and place their faith in. I don't buy a hammer knowing it will break because it's junk and just because I need a hammer, that's throwing good money on top of bad.

 

[Wozzy]

I agree. This may be even worse: what if they misevaluated the state of the OL before the draft?

This is my biggest concern with Wolf, a potential blindspot at the most important offensive position group after QB.

 

[TommyD4207]

I agree. This may be even worse: what if they misevaluated the state of the OL before the draft?

It's pretty terrifying that this is a possibility.

I think the 'Kraft is too cheap to pay top-end free agents' is the only real excuse that would exclude that.