A few mock drafts have Zion Young as the Patriots 1st rounder. Does the "ornery brawler with a superstar on the other side of the line" analogy work when the Pats other edge rushers are ordinary but their DTs are pretty good?
The Kedric Faulk write up immediately had me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. Greek statue physique; marble statue mobility. In fact, half the reviews had me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. Waiting at a red light gets me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. The Cashius Howell video got me blissfully daydreaming. An edge with a dip move. Van Ness isn't quick enough to get deep faster than the tackle and LVN's dip generally occurs two to three yards behind the QB. When you see an outstretched hand two feet behind the quarterback's throwing arm, that's the Big Dipper Van Ness getting ridden deep by the tackle.
If the Packers land one of these draft candidates, he'll compete with 2025 4th round pick Barryn Sorrell for playing time across from Van Ness until Parsons returns. I like Sorrell, he's got some quickness LVN lacks, and as the Packers are unlikely to extend LVN, Sorrell may get more time as the season progresses to boost his experience for 2027. Edge is definitely a need for Green Bay. Pick #52 is dependent on the available cornerbacks; if the CB cupboard is bare, DT or Edge are on the clock.
Mike, I may still be suffering some light PTSD from the offensive tackles post, but is there ever any consideration to move some of these lighter, quicker edge guys back to linebacker? It seems to work out sometimes for bigger linebackers moving the other way. Thanks.
Why do you care so much about the age of a prospect? An extremely small percentage of these guys will play five years in the league. Why does it matter if those years start at 21 or 25. Maybe for the very top guys, getting an extra three years at the end of their career, maybe with you maybe not, matters. But for the most part, its seems irrelevant.
But not universally, which is why so many of them are out of the league in 4 years. Commentary that defaults to an assumption that a 24 or 25 year old from college won't improve as much as you'd like with better training and diet seems lazy.
Saying that a 21-year-old athlete is not necessarily going to improve does not imply that a 25-year-old athlete will improve. It does mean that, other things being equal, the 21 year old has a higher ceiling, and that matters while drafting. A Sam Darnold can improve. A Brandon Weeden is not likely to.
Oops, I forgot that a 28 year old quarterback from 15 years ago defines the ceiling for 25 year old ERs in 2026. Thanks for the correction. Back to mindless acceptance for me.
Everybody bear in mind that this guy pays just as much for this site as we do. And for Mike to make a viable living at this, he needs these guys' $$$ too.
A few mock drafts have Zion Young as the Patriots 1st rounder. Does the "ornery brawler with a superstar on the other side of the line" analogy work when the Pats other edge rushers are ordinary but their DTs are pretty good?
The Kedric Faulk write up immediately had me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. Greek statue physique; marble statue mobility. In fact, half the reviews had me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. Waiting at a red light gets me thinking of Lucas Van Ness. The Cashius Howell video got me blissfully daydreaming. An edge with a dip move. Van Ness isn't quick enough to get deep faster than the tackle and LVN's dip generally occurs two to three yards behind the QB. When you see an outstretched hand two feet behind the quarterback's throwing arm, that's the Big Dipper Van Ness getting ridden deep by the tackle.
If the Packers land one of these draft candidates, he'll compete with 2025 4th round pick Barryn Sorrell for playing time across from Van Ness until Parsons returns. I like Sorrell, he's got some quickness LVN lacks, and as the Packers are unlikely to extend LVN, Sorrell may get more time as the season progresses to boost his experience for 2027. Edge is definitely a need for Green Bay. Pick #52 is dependent on the available cornerbacks; if the CB cupboard is bare, DT or Edge are on the clock.
A+ Todd McFarlane reference. Spawn!
I was going to say: “Parker is built like a Todd McFarlane drawing.” makes sense because Todd first got famous by drawing a guy named Parker.
Reese sounds like the kind of got the Ravens would draft and make the best use out of
Mike, I may still be suffering some light PTSD from the offensive tackles post, but is there ever any consideration to move some of these lighter, quicker edge guys back to linebacker? It seems to work out sometimes for bigger linebackers moving the other way. Thanks.
Why do you care so much about the age of a prospect? An extremely small percentage of these guys will play five years in the league. Why does it matter if those years start at 21 or 25. Maybe for the very top guys, getting an extra three years at the end of their career, maybe with you maybe not, matters. But for the most part, its seems irrelevant.
Umm, because athletes typically improve during the 4 years between ages 21 and 25?
But not universally, which is why so many of them are out of the league in 4 years. Commentary that defaults to an assumption that a 24 or 25 year old from college won't improve as much as you'd like with better training and diet seems lazy.
Saying that a 21-year-old athlete is not necessarily going to improve does not imply that a 25-year-old athlete will improve. It does mean that, other things being equal, the 21 year old has a higher ceiling, and that matters while drafting. A Sam Darnold can improve. A Brandon Weeden is not likely to.
Oops, I forgot that a 28 year old quarterback from 15 years ago defines the ceiling for 25 year old ERs in 2026. Thanks for the correction. Back to mindless acceptance for me.
And FWIW, Rosen was a better comp for Weeden from 2018, but I guess that wouldn't have made your point.
Everybody bear in mind that this guy pays just as much for this site as we do. And for Mike to make a viable living at this, he needs these guys' $$$ too.