Im all in bois!
Just went down to the team shop and grabbed my Murray jersey.
Rosen who?
Haha dang, all in, eh? I hope he justifies it and makes you proud!
As for me, in the context of going all in on Kingsbury and giving him everything he feels he needs to succeed, I'd have to say this was easily Keim's best draft. Not only do we get the best QB to run his system and one he feels so strongly can do so that we used the #1 pick on him, but we completely revamped our WR room which we desperately needed going into this off season. I really think Isabella is going to be a stud in this system over time and Hakeem finally gets us a large WR that we've needed badly ever since we knew Floyd wouldn't pan out. He'll be a great red zone target, no more having tiny guys going up for jump balls in there (I'm looking at you, Arians and John Brown). Keeshawn is a great route runner and could find his way on the field eventually too. In the meantime, we still have Fitz and Kirk the latter of which I think will work nicely in this system as well. We went from the WR room being a large weakness to it being a real strength on paper.
Although I really wanted Ford with that second pick to stay with Murray, Byron is the best corner from the draft and will be able to start right away in nickel packages ultimately replacing Alford in the CB2 spot later on. He's also insurance in case anything happens with Peterson. Speaking of which, I'm not worried about it right now and he'll be good when he sees us moving in a positive direction but if he does leave after his contract is up, I'll need a new jersey too :P David Johnson will be great for this system too and hell, Mr. Irrelevant might actually be a good TE for this system and find his way on the field at some point. With a 4 WR formation AND DJ who can basically be a fifth WR himself plus the TE, how do you stop that in a system that gets rid of the ball quickly?
There comes the rub, our season will make or break based on Kingsbury's play calling. I love the pick of Clements as an offensive NFL mind for Kingsbury to bounce his ideas off of and get advice so I'm cautiously optimistic about KK's system and man if it works we're going to surprise. If it doesn't, we'll be picking early again next year. Right now I'm with you in being excited for the season! This offense will be so much more interesting to watch than last year even in losses! If we can basically do what the Browns did last year, right around .500 while showing the potential and promise to be a playoff team next year, I'll be happy.
Next year's draft has multiple first round grade OL so we'll have the opportunity to further upgrade the OL next offseason and we'll also have the most cap space we've had since I can remember to play in FA. We're trending in the right direction if we can give life to this offense this year. I'm also hopefully for Gilbert at RT, he'll be a huge upgrade if he returns to form. Even if he isn't great, Sweezy is an upgrade over Iupati who can't stay on the field, at least Sweezy stayed healthy and while not one of the best guys on SEA's line, he was still part of the leading rush attack in the NFL last year and with virtual no names at RB too. While it won't be anything special and is reliant on people staying healthy, our OL won't be as bad as last year which many people online seem to assume will be exactly the same and act like we didn't address it at all. I look forward to further upgrading it next year though, we can actually focus on it between there being more quality prospects and also having finally addressed the WR room and long term CB2 spot.
Our defense should be awesome and one of the top defenses again too! Going back to the 3-4 alone should do that as the same personnel made us a top 5-7 D in the league for years no matter who the DC was until Wilk's dumb ass made us a 4-3 with 3-4 system players.... On top of that, we have some upgrades between the signings of Philon, Hicks, Alford, bringing Swearinger back! and drafting Byron. Our secondary is going to be sick and having CJ and Suggs rushing with Zach Allen rotating in and helping contain the run plus having Reddik move to his proper position and adding Hicks should beef up our ILB positions. Hicks in particular could be a real steal and gem if he can stay healthy. Fingers crossed! Regardless, I expect us to be one of the top defenses again and that will go a long way in helping Murray out in his rookie season. A great D and RB just like RW had in his rookie season.
So it's that time to drink the koolaid and be hyped about our team's prospects and direction! Lets go Cards! This train stops for nobody! Choo Choo!
