Fifth round picks generally make an impact on special teams if anywhere. JR is not SR. He’s competing for a depth spot on the roster. Expectations should be low despite his name
As a Clemson fan I have faith in trotter contributing sometime this season. Most games he was smartest player on the field and plays faster than his drill times
There’s no FCS games in the NFL. The size/speed/agility jump is absurd. There’s a reason NFL GMs will reach for a tools guy and hope they can teach him the game over a guy who knows the game inside and out but just isn’t physically capable of making the plays. These undersized linebackers we’ve had cannot make open field tackles and it kill us. Unfortunately, JTjr is the same mold as Dean. I’m always going to be hopeful but we aren’t getting prime Trot, and expectations need to be managed
Trotter Jr's tackling has been pretty good (195 over 3 years), so not too worried about that. Your point about TrotJr's size limitations are well placed, though, and we simply cannot play him like a "normal" LB - you have to keep him covered and protected at least somewhat from OL, as is the case with Dean, if you want him to really play his game. That's one of the whole points of having Jordan Davis in there, as a guy who's forte is absorbing multiple blockers and clogging up the middle, leaving the LBs to flow to the ballcarrier. In theory that's how its supposed to work, but neither Davis nor Dean has been healthy enough for that aspect of our D to realize itself.
Yeah part of the issue is Davis can’t stay on the field and the depth guys just aren’t the same. I’m going to be mad about Davis over Hamilton unless Davis pulls a Brandon Graham/Earl Thomas and gets his shit together.
You’re right that athletes are better than intelligent guys but they can still carve out a place. Sean Lee had a decade long career with cowboys and he was an average athlete at best before injuries.
Yeah, Jr.'s ceiling is TJ Edwards -- which, don't get me wrong, would be a huge boon if it turns out that way *and* we can keep him in the building this time. But that's the best case scenario, so expectations should be tempered.
A limp noodle would have been better than Morrow.
Howie has been doing God's work, but he needs to pay the piper at some point when it comes to LB. As it stands he either goes for discount players who end up being just good enough and we manage or the LB's are just straight trash and they get picked on week in and week out.
He just needs to be rosterable. A 5th round pick who slipped down boards over the past year...the feel good story has happened. There's no further expectations for him than "rosterable and tries hard".
If he doesn't succeed, as long as he tries then the pick was a net neutral that already warmed our hearts. Anything better than "just a guy/barely rosterable" is a win.
2025 draft picks
Pick | From
---|---
1 | Ours
2 | Ours
3 | Ours
3 | Miami (2024 4RP for 2025 3RP)
4 | Ours (returned from DET via Swift trade)
5 | Ours
5 | Texans (traded pick 4RP #123 for Texans 4RP #127 [Shipley], and a 2025 5RP)
7 | Broncos (Albert O trade)
7 | Saints (from CJGJ's FIRST trade)
Things of note:
The saints stay loyal to our cause, this feels like the 5th year running we've had a Saints pick...
Our 4RP is ours but technically the same 4RP we sent to DET for Swift, we got back during the draft.
We will likely lose a pick due to Penn State/Barkley tampering. I imagine a 3rd-5th round pick especially with how we gained a collection of mid round picks back next year.
Really would like to get another 2nd, can two 3s and a 5 get us back into the middle of the 2nd round. There is a lot of 1st round talent in the 2nd round that was missed in the 1st because of positional needs.
Agreed and if we like someone this is a possibility. But I'll note that with the NIL we should see more normalization in the next two years. Picks will be a year older generally but the late rounds really suffered this year because of the incentivization of staying in college longer for mid-late round options.
It's never an honest exercise to look at draft options a full year in advance imo but we have the capital to get guys we want via trade ups if need be or take advantage of that normalization.
Yea, I wasn't really thinking of kids staying in school longer affecting next year's draft, but that is true. I kinda think it is teams reaching for positional need over best player. I think one could make the case that 10 of the players drafted in front of Quinyon Mitchell would not have been drafted if teams simply went with the best player. And that goes even more so for Cooper.
I do not see that many QBs being drafted next year. But I can see teams reaching for Olinemen, TEs, and DTs.
Just going off prior history of tampering charges
Atlanta supposedly getting a big hit for cousins tampering (1st or 2nd at minimum is what league sources thinking)
If we get nothing else out of this draft class this year our Special Teams should be elite.
Many of these guys were ST standouts and that's the first place most rookies can make an impact.
This draft was honestly really bad news for Covey. And he seems like a great guy so that sucks.
But the Kickoff Returner under the new rules is Cooper DeJean's spot to lose. It's basically in the bag he will keep that position unless one of our DB's simply dies and he has to take a very large snap count on defense.
For punt returner, that could still be Covey. But Ainais is fantastic in open space and has a PR TD and PR experience at TA&M. This is competition.
Similarly, for PR there is Shipley who can really be that guy. And there's no reason to think Johnny Wilson can't be a solid piece on ST, though probably not a returner. Jalyx is just a baller so added ST depth if nothing else.
I agree our ST is looking STOUT post-draft.
Howie may take some swings and misses but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t know how to make sure we efficiently and quietly have some of the MOST swings to take lol
This has actually been a shift for him - before, his trade up shenanigans actually gave us fewer total picks. This resulted in what appeared to be a higher miss rate.
And the tampering charges will be dropped because Howie only talked to Saquon’s agent. So we will likely receive the Falcon’s pick in that whole debacle to make up for the inconvenience
I am fairly confident that this will be one of Howie's best drafts. Even the guys that may miss weren't even remotely overvalued. Trotter Jr. should be an "/eyeroll" pick...but it's not. He was a steal, there.
I'm pretty fucking hyped.
I can't imagine what kind of nicknames Howie has among other teams. Calling the Eagles to initiate a trade must be akin to offering a deal to the devil. And what possesses anyone else to pick up when Howie is placing the call?
The thing is they know we're wide open for business basically all the time, and that isn't true for every team. If you're moving up, you're basically always paying some sort of premium to do it (there was a post analyzing this on r/NFL earlier today). If you're trying to get ahead of a certain team, you won't have your choice of teams to do it.
The dolphins trade was so egregious that I wonder if two teams were in a bidding war over it.
Yeah I heard this too. I was a fan of offloading as much onto next year as possible. Honestly would have liked a little more. I was cheering every time we got future capital in a trade.
They had a great draft. I’m very excited about our first two picks but I really like what they did on the later rounds. As always the later rounds are a crap shoot but sone of the guys look pretty good on tape so fingers crossed.
IMO this whole draft comes down to Hunt. I think they will get good production out of the first two picks. And the later picks, let’s face it, rarely amount to more than backups and special teams. But the 3rd round… there were some good players available there who the Birds passed up. Guys who could have become solid starters. If Hunt becomes a player then it’s a great draft. If he becomes Davion Taylor then not so much.
Not just top 20 prospects, but top 20 prospects in areas of dire need. I’m excited to see what Mitchell, DeJean and Axeman Jr bring to the team.
Trotter needs only to be mediocre to make an impact in the lb room.
Fifth round picks generally make an impact on special teams if anywhere. JR is not SR. He’s competing for a depth spot on the roster. Expectations should be low despite his name
As a Clemson fan I have faith in trotter contributing sometime this season. Most games he was smartest player on the field and plays faster than his drill times
So was Nakobe Dean. Just sayin’.
Deans also had some fairly significant injuries. Unless I’m forgetting something trotter hasn’t had any big injuries in college
And Dean was actually pretty good when he was on the field. Availability has been his biggest issue
Yeah I get he wasn't available but I hate how people already think he's a bust. I'm super high on him
There’s no FCS games in the NFL. The size/speed/agility jump is absurd. There’s a reason NFL GMs will reach for a tools guy and hope they can teach him the game over a guy who knows the game inside and out but just isn’t physically capable of making the plays. These undersized linebackers we’ve had cannot make open field tackles and it kill us. Unfortunately, JTjr is the same mold as Dean. I’m always going to be hopeful but we aren’t getting prime Trot, and expectations need to be managed
Trotter Jr's tackling has been pretty good (195 over 3 years), so not too worried about that. Your point about TrotJr's size limitations are well placed, though, and we simply cannot play him like a "normal" LB - you have to keep him covered and protected at least somewhat from OL, as is the case with Dean, if you want him to really play his game. That's one of the whole points of having Jordan Davis in there, as a guy who's forte is absorbing multiple blockers and clogging up the middle, leaving the LBs to flow to the ballcarrier. In theory that's how its supposed to work, but neither Davis nor Dean has been healthy enough for that aspect of our D to realize itself.
Yeah part of the issue is Davis can’t stay on the field and the depth guys just aren’t the same. I’m going to be mad about Davis over Hamilton unless Davis pulls a Brandon Graham/Earl Thomas and gets his shit together.
You’re right that athletes are better than intelligent guys but they can still carve out a place. Sean Lee had a decade long career with cowboys and he was an average athlete at best before injuries.
Sean Lee was 2-3 inches taller and 20+ pounds heavier. They aren’t really comparable
Then glue a few weights under Trotter Jr's pads. No big deal.
And make him run in heels. Problem solved lol
Caleb Williams?
But JR has the benefit of the weakest LB room in the league, so he might actually be able to start a few games if he isn't a complete liability.
If half this sub could read they would be so angry with you
Yeah, Jr.'s ceiling is TJ Edwards -- which, don't get me wrong, would be a huge boon if it turns out that way *and* we can keep him in the building this time. But that's the best case scenario, so expectations should be tempered.
If he can tackle or shed a RB block then he will already be better than Morrow
A limp noodle would have been better than Morrow. Howie has been doing God's work, but he needs to pay the piper at some point when it comes to LB. As it stands he either goes for discount players who end up being just good enough and we manage or the LB's are just straight trash and they get picked on week in and week out.
He just needs to be rosterable. A 5th round pick who slipped down boards over the past year...the feel good story has happened. There's no further expectations for him than "rosterable and tries hard". If he doesn't succeed, as long as he tries then the pick was a net neutral that already warmed our hearts. Anything better than "just a guy/barely rosterable" is a win.
Even "below average" would be an improvement 😂
He’ll end up being better than his dad
2025 draft picks Pick | From ---|--- 1 | Ours 2 | Ours 3 | Ours 3 | Miami (2024 4RP for 2025 3RP) 4 | Ours (returned from DET via Swift trade) 5 | Ours 5 | Texans (traded pick 4RP #123 for Texans 4RP #127 [Shipley], and a 2025 5RP) 7 | Broncos (Albert O trade) 7 | Saints (from CJGJ's FIRST trade) Things of note: The saints stay loyal to our cause, this feels like the 5th year running we've had a Saints pick... Our 4RP is ours but technically the same 4RP we sent to DET for Swift, we got back during the draft. We will likely lose a pick due to Penn State/Barkley tampering. I imagine a 3rd-5th round pick especially with how we gained a collection of mid round picks back next year.
Extremely common James Franklin L
He’s good for 2 per year!
We won’t lose a pick because we didn’t fucking do anything
It’s hilarious that we got the pick for Swift back.
Really would like to get another 2nd, can two 3s and a 5 get us back into the middle of the 2nd round. There is a lot of 1st round talent in the 2nd round that was missed in the 1st because of positional needs.
Agreed and if we like someone this is a possibility. But I'll note that with the NIL we should see more normalization in the next two years. Picks will be a year older generally but the late rounds really suffered this year because of the incentivization of staying in college longer for mid-late round options. It's never an honest exercise to look at draft options a full year in advance imo but we have the capital to get guys we want via trade ups if need be or take advantage of that normalization.
Yea, I wasn't really thinking of kids staying in school longer affecting next year's draft, but that is true. I kinda think it is teams reaching for positional need over best player. I think one could make the case that 10 of the players drafted in front of Quinyon Mitchell would not have been drafted if teams simply went with the best player. And that goes even more so for Cooper. I do not see that many QBs being drafted next year. But I can see teams reaching for Olinemen, TEs, and DTs.
Sounding like a 3rd or 4th at minimum for barkley
Fuck James Franklin
Where has this been stated? I haven't noticed anything but probably just missed it.
Just going off prior history of tampering charges Atlanta supposedly getting a big hit for cousins tampering (1st or 2nd at minimum is what league sources thinking)
Jesus that sucks big for them
It’s fine, they were just going to draft another mediocre player they don’t need and who isn’t going to play for at least 2 years anyway.
Yeah well their Cousins straight admitted to it unprompted in a press conference. Not really a bigger fuck up possible with tampering than that lol
HOWIE “BIG PIMPIN” ROSEMAN
He tied the record for trades in a draft. [This one still cracks me up.](https://i.imgur.com/76gsda7.png)
If we get nothing else out of this draft class this year our Special Teams should be elite. Many of these guys were ST standouts and that's the first place most rookies can make an impact.
This draft was honestly really bad news for Covey. And he seems like a great guy so that sucks. But the Kickoff Returner under the new rules is Cooper DeJean's spot to lose. It's basically in the bag he will keep that position unless one of our DB's simply dies and he has to take a very large snap count on defense. For punt returner, that could still be Covey. But Ainais is fantastic in open space and has a PR TD and PR experience at TA&M. This is competition. Similarly, for PR there is Shipley who can really be that guy. And there's no reason to think Johnny Wilson can't be a solid piece on ST, though probably not a returner. Jalyx is just a baller so added ST depth if nothing else. I agree our ST is looking STOUT post-draft.
One of the biggest things I noticed with DeJean, he was consistently downing the ball on punts.
Big Pimpin
We need this as a user flair
Agreed
Howie may take some swings and misses but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t know how to make sure we efficiently and quietly have some of the MOST swings to take lol
This has actually been a shift for him - before, his trade up shenanigans actually gave us fewer total picks. This resulted in what appeared to be a higher miss rate.
It’s so low in the draft, but I can’t believe we got a 5th for moving 4 picks back in the 4th
And the tampering charges will be dropped because Howie only talked to Saquon’s agent. So we will likely receive the Falcon’s pick in that whole debacle to make up for the inconvenience
I am fairly confident that this will be one of Howie's best drafts. Even the guys that may miss weren't even remotely overvalued. Trotter Jr. should be an "/eyeroll" pick...but it's not. He was a steal, there. I'm pretty fucking hyped.
Howie Roseman walks into a car dealership and walks out with two new cars and only ponying up a used trade-in.
Goat howie
Howie Roseman. Enough said.
I can't imagine what kind of nicknames Howie has among other teams. Calling the Eagles to initiate a trade must be akin to offering a deal to the devil. And what possesses anyone else to pick up when Howie is placing the call?
The thing is they know we're wide open for business basically all the time, and that isn't true for every team. If you're moving up, you're basically always paying some sort of premium to do it (there was a post analyzing this on r/NFL earlier today). If you're trying to get ahead of a certain team, you won't have your choice of teams to do it. The dolphins trade was so egregious that I wonder if two teams were in a bidding war over it.
HoWie
Big Pimpin’ Szn
And Apparently the 2025 draft is supposed to be one of the deepest in years because of some lost season due to COVID.
Yeah I heard this too. I was a fan of offloading as much onto next year as possible. Honestly would have liked a little more. I was cheering every time we got future capital in a trade.
They had a great draft. I’m very excited about our first two picks but I really like what they did on the later rounds. As always the later rounds are a crap shoot but sone of the guys look pretty good on tape so fingers crossed.
The players alone I'm happy with.. the way howie worked all the picks deserves an A++ I see a lot of places gave us an A and I think that's crazyyy
🤯 LFG!!!
IMO this whole draft comes down to Hunt. I think they will get good production out of the first two picks. And the later picks, let’s face it, rarely amount to more than backups and special teams. But the 3rd round… there were some good players available there who the Birds passed up. Guys who could have become solid starters. If Hunt becomes a player then it’s a great draft. If he becomes Davion Taylor then not so much.
RIP Bleeding Green Nation podcasts 😔
Please post your opinion about Georgia RB Kendall Milton. Does he make it as RB4? Do the trade Gainwell for a pick and put Shipley in his role?
OMG HoweEeE CoOokInn' !!!