Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14917873)

I like McKinney well enough.

But not enough to pass on Epenesa on that board.

I really do love his fit as the strong-side DE on this team. He's absolutely perfect for that role and you've got a probable 10 year player on your hands there. He's just so damn solid.

Originally Posted by Mecca (Post 14917886)

Also there seems to be some increasing thought that rookies this year are going to do nothing because most rookies aren't good anyway and now you are going to have the strange offseason.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14917854)

Couldn't it also be that agents/reps/players knew that the dilluted sample wouldn't be taken as a positive test and as such players decided to 'cycle' differently?

The spike in diluted samples (presuming there is one) could just as easily be due to a series of volitional acts that came about as a result of the new rules on drug testing, no? If anything it's more likely, given the ridiculous amount of water one has to consume to dilute a sample. The idea that the new combine format somehow created a wave of these guys slamming enough water immediately before their weight in to create a bunch of dilute tests seems a little odd.

At best I could see some odd quirk where guys decided to chug water right before their weigh in in order to jump their 'tested' weight up and appear to be bigger on their official weight. And if you conduct a drug test shortly thereafter, you'll have guys who are trying to 'goose' their weigh in popping as dilute. That would be pretty benign I suppose. Though when you think about it - it's not impossible to slam a gallon of water, especially these bigger boys. That's 8 extra pounds of weight on their weigh in - that's not insignificant.

Ultimately I just don't think you can hand-waive it as obviously some kind of benign explanation, though. It's also a possibility that there were simply more guys willing to stay on a cycle to get their combine numbers boosted (because I think there are a TON of dudes who cycle on/off PEDs), dilute the sample knowing it wouldn't' count as a positive, and move forward.

Originally Posted by O.city (Post 14917884)

Epenesa just screams "solid, maybe not great,player" which is fine at 32. I don't know if thats the route i'd go, but at the back end of the round, you probably need to be looking at hitting doubles instead of swinging for the fence.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14917898)

The patron saint of 'good, not great' players - Grant Wistrom.

Okafor and possibly K-Pass are gone next season and Epenesa would provide a pretty significant upgrade on both.

What really surprised me about Okafor was how light he played. He was a lot more agile than I expected him to be but he was also WAY easier to blow off the ball than I'd hoped. He was essentially a finesse player and I think part of our improved run defense came from his absence. He was pretty shitty against the run.

So you take a guy like Epenesa, who should be an outstanding run defender, and give him an 8-10 sack potential w/ variety of power moves that play better on the strong side than Okafor - he's a real nice bookend.

I think I'd be a pretty damn big fan of that pick.

Originally Posted by staylor26 (Post 14917892)

Alright, but if that’s the answer, why are NFL teams reportedly not concerned at all and it isn’t expected to affect anybody’s draft stock? If this were a legitimate possibility, you wouldn’t think that would be the case.

Also, why aren’t we hearing all of the other names? I think that’s strange as well.

Side note: there was definitely a spike. That’s been reported by multiple guys in the know.

Tony Pauline for example was one of them. He’s the one that gave that excuse and basically said it’s much ado about nothing. He’s well connected and knows his shit.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14917898)

The patron saint of 'good, not great' players - Grant Wistrom.

Okafor and possibly K-Pass are gone next season and Epenesa would provide a pretty significant upgrade on both.

What really surprised me about Okafor was how light he played. He was a lot more agile than I expected him to be but he was also WAY easier to blow off the ball than I'd hoped. He was essentially a finesse player and I think part of our improved run defense came from his absence. He was pretty shitty against the run.

So you take a guy like Epenesa, who should be an outstanding run defender, and give him an 8-10 sack potential w/ variety of power moves that play better on the strong side than Okafor - he's a real nice bookend.

I think I'd be a pretty damn big fan of that pick.

Originally Posted by Mecca (Post 14917910)

Anytime a workout doesn't show a bunch of athletic explosion and major upside teams get super worried about using 1st round picks.

Originally Posted by The Franchise (Post 14917926)

I’m going to lock in my wants for the top three rounds before the draft.

1. Grant Delpit, S, LSU
2. Willie Gay Jr, ILB, Miss. St
3. Cam Akers, RB, Florida State

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 14917935)

Morse is worth remembering here.

Morse was such a polarizing pick because there was zero flash to his game. And people are used to 1st and 2nd round picks having "tremendous upside potential" (hat tip to Hubie Brown).

And Morse brought none of that but a super-safe floor. Well everyone that was a reach because you draft floors in the 3rd round.

Well....maybe many teams do, but it's clear with the Morse pick (and to a lesser extend the Speaks pick) that the Chiefs organization will put a significant value on floor, even in early rounds.

Ultimately maybe 1/2 the teams in the 2020 NFL draft will get a player in the 1st round who has a career that rivals Grant Wistom's. If you get that guy at the back of the 1st, you've done well.

We love the possibility of snagging a 3-4 time All Pro in the 1st round, but man - you get a guy that can keep you from having to spend $8-10 million/season in FA to get your SDE and you get a firmly above average player, you've used that pick well.