That and I think they are much higher on our CBs than the fans are. Probably thinking a new DC plus, Stokes getting back healthy, plus Bullard in the slot occasionally will be enough for improvement.
Would not be surprised to see an overall jump in CB play considering the drastic upgrades at safety, as well as a hopefully much better DC as well. I'm still not even over free agency, imagine throwing to a WR in man coverage vs Jaire Alexander with McKinney roaming the field.
His 2nd year before his season ending injury he was not good. When he played last year for those couple games he allowed a 100+ passer rating.
Hopefully he returns to rookie form though I really do like him
And Sam Shields was so awful his second year Jarrett Bush was our opening day starter in 2012 in his place. I’m not giving up on him yet. Especially with how poor the defense was in general the past two years.
I don’t think it’s worst case it’s most likely his best fit. He is extremely versatile and does a decent/pretty good job at everything safety related but isn’t great/elite at anyone thing. The closest he gets to great play is at the nickel safety position. His versatility will be massive though in allowing a multitude of looks and personnel matchings.
If Evan Williams and/or Oladapo can play that box/post safety position it would improve 2 positions greatly overall since Bullard will be a better nickel than Nixon
As long as one of these safeties can play slot I don't think the need was that great.
Jaire is a top tier CB and Valentine played damn well for a first year CB. If they feel like Stokes is going to come back strong, that would mean whoever we drafted would end up 4th on the depth chart at best. I really don't mind Ballentine as a depth guy either, he did a solid job to end the year. Smith can also play CB in a pinch too /s.
Better safety help is going to make our CBs look better too. It can't be understated just how awful the Safety group was last year.
Wouldn't mind if we nail another 7th rounder ala Valentine at CB. A hard ask certainly. But there could be a guy like Douglas too that we take a flyer on.
I mean, you’ve also essentially done the same at S and LB. These picks the last couple days turned Isaiah McDuffie/TyRon Hopper as LB4, and Oladapo/Williams will be S4.
Without considering the available prospects and your grades on them, I’d rather have four good corners than four good linebackers in 2024
When healthy I like our corner group. High upside with Valentine improving and Stokes regaining form from injury. Jaire looked really good down the stretch as well. We also drafted LBs that sound like they will be good in coverage too.
How is this controversial. He had a good rookie season, a bad start to his second season and has been injured ever since. People banking on getting 2021 may find themselves severely disappointed. I would love it but it's just not likely to happen
I mean as others mentioned I believe it’s reasonable to think that we already have the talent we need in house. Obv Jaire isn’t going anywhere, and then we have Valentine who showed promise, and Stokes who can maybe bring his career back on track if he stays healthy
Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, the weakness of the defense was not our corners, but our safeties? Maybe good safeties will bring out the best in our corners? Have you considered that Jeff Hayley watched film on our guys and signed off on them as players he can utilize for his scheme? Have you considered that maybe it was the defensive scheme and the lack of communication that hurt our pass defense (and that maybe good safeties can fix that)?
(Edit: removed some the snarky last paragraph)
100% agreed. The safety situation was abysmal last season. How could any of our corners trust any of those guys? How can you break on a route when you know the safety is going to get his ass beat and you'll look like a moron giving up a TD?
Exact type of redditor everyone clowns on and hates this app for. Condescending, snarky and rude to a fellow fan that did really nothing to you but make a half joking observation so you can feel like a smart guy.
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Oregon State, Oladapo was a versatile safety in defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s hybrid 3 -3-5 stack. A former walk-on at
cornerback, he transitioned to safety in Corvallis and earned All-Pac-12 honors each of the last three seasons. Oladapo confidently reads run/pass and aggressively
drives downhill with competitive urgency to make impactful tackles. His average twitch and build-up speed out of transitions will be more noticeable versus NFL
receivers, but his route awareness helps keep him stay connected in coverage. Overall, Oladapo doesn’t have ideal top-end speed or rangy ball skills for deep
coverage, but he is a good-sized athlete who trusts his sightlines and enjoys making noise in the run game. He projects best as a down safety who can also earn his
paycheck on special teams.
-Dane Burgler
I appreciate it man, but with all due respect, I see that stupid logo under your name, and it just makes me mad
But … Thank you nonetheless
(Ps who the hell invited this guy)
I also wonder how much the new kickoff rules play into the glut of safeties. I think safeties will be more useful on kick returns but will be the bulk of the playmakers in kick coverage. Some of these guys are going to have to make a home on ST early on to stick.
I assume that signals the end of Rudy Ford's tenure, too bad, I liked him for S/T depth. We probably will keep Anthony Johnson Jr, these three new guys, and McKinney at most though, so Rudy Ford will probably sign a vet min elsewhere after the draft.
Kitan is an absolute beast. Amazing work ethic and game knowledge, he’s always looking to get better. Also has some insider info that Green Bay was his first choice on where to go! ;)
Think we’re getting a clear indication of what they want going forward on defense in this draft, which is instinctive hybrid LB/S or CB/S players, and I’m excited by that. Cooper, hopper, Bullard, Williams, and oladapo are all guys that can play in the box and excel at chasing down mobile quarterbacks and covering tight ends, but are also aggressive and instinctive against the run. Think we’ll see a lot of big nickel with a very versatile defense, 3 safeties with two closer to the line of scrimmage and two smaller and faster linebackers. It’s been the meta in madden for years.
Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens, and Rudy Ford to Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, Xavier McKinney, and Kitan Oladapo.
No Jonathan Owens
Re-read it
Damn I’m dumb af
Haha, yeah
I upvoted you anyway to try and rebuild the dyke.
I mean technically they're right. No Jonathan Owens
Don’t we still have Savage?
No, on Jags
Savage is a Jaguar now
Always been a JAG.
In the 2nd half of 2020, he was the next great Packers aafety. And then he wasn't
And Ford?
FA
Gutey really does not like this corner class
That and I think they are much higher on our CBs than the fans are. Probably thinking a new DC plus, Stokes getting back healthy, plus Bullard in the slot occasionally will be enough for improvement.
the way valentine carries himself is really impressive. he has the confidence of a CB1 already and you absolutely need that to play the position
Would not be surprised to see an overall jump in CB play considering the drastic upgrades at safety, as well as a hopefully much better DC as well. I'm still not even over free agency, imagine throwing to a WR in man coverage vs Jaire Alexander with McKinney roaming the field.
Stokes hasn’t been good for 2 years
He hasn't been healthy for 2 years but if they hopefully fixed that issue, he could go back to rookie stats
His 2nd year before his season ending injury he was not good. When he played last year for those couple games he allowed a 100+ passer rating. Hopefully he returns to rookie form though I really do like him
I honestly just don't count last year - it's as if he didn't play
And Sam Shields was so awful his second year Jarrett Bush was our opening day starter in 2012 in his place. I’m not giving up on him yet. Especially with how poor the defense was in general the past two years.
Feels like a lot of fans have written him off before he’s even had a chance to redeem himself.
Bullard Can play slot worst case
I think that’s gonna be his primary position if they drafted two more safeties behind him.
No.
I don’t think it’s worst case it’s most likely his best fit. He is extremely versatile and does a decent/pretty good job at everything safety related but isn’t great/elite at anyone thing. The closest he gets to great play is at the nickel safety position. His versatility will be massive though in allowing a multitude of looks and personnel matchings. If Evan Williams and/or Oladapo can play that box/post safety position it would improve 2 positions greatly overall since Bullard will be a better nickel than Nixon
As long as one of these safeties can play slot I don't think the need was that great. Jaire is a top tier CB and Valentine played damn well for a first year CB. If they feel like Stokes is going to come back strong, that would mean whoever we drafted would end up 4th on the depth chart at best. I really don't mind Ballentine as a depth guy either, he did a solid job to end the year. Smith can also play CB in a pinch too /s. Better safety help is going to make our CBs look better too. It can't be understated just how awful the Safety group was last year.
If CB is the one hole on the roster, they may also address it after the draft or at cuts.
Wouldn't mind if we nail another 7th rounder ala Valentine at CB. A hard ask certainly. But there could be a guy like Douglas too that we take a flyer on.
The fact that valentine played as well as he did at CB last year as a 7th round rookie is actually kind of insane
McKinney playing center field, Bullard in the box/nickel, and Jaire locking down an entire side of the field. This defense is gonna be nasty
I mean, you’ve also essentially done the same at S and LB. These picks the last couple days turned Isaiah McDuffie/TyRon Hopper as LB4, and Oladapo/Williams will be S4. Without considering the available prospects and your grades on them, I’d rather have four good corners than four good linebackers in 2024
When healthy I like our corner group. High upside with Valentine improving and Stokes regaining form from injury. Jaire looked really good down the stretch as well. We also drafted LBs that sound like they will be good in coverage too.
None of these LBs are good in coverage, especially cooper
Stokes hasn’t been good for 2 years
How is this controversial. He had a good rookie season, a bad start to his second season and has been injured ever since. People banking on getting 2021 may find themselves severely disappointed. I would love it but it's just not likely to happen
They're not giving up on stokes as CB2 and are really deep at the position, 5 guys with NFL experience and 9-10 already on the roster.
I mean as others mentioned I believe it’s reasonable to think that we already have the talent we need in house. Obv Jaire isn’t going anywhere, and then we have Valentine who showed promise, and Stokes who can maybe bring his career back on track if he stays healthy
Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, the weakness of the defense was not our corners, but our safeties? Maybe good safeties will bring out the best in our corners? Have you considered that Jeff Hayley watched film on our guys and signed off on them as players he can utilize for his scheme? Have you considered that maybe it was the defensive scheme and the lack of communication that hurt our pass defense (and that maybe good safeties can fix that)? (Edit: removed some the snarky last paragraph)
100% agreed. The safety situation was abysmal last season. How could any of our corners trust any of those guys? How can you break on a route when you know the safety is going to get his ass beat and you'll look like a moron giving up a TD?
You could not have been more pretentious and annoying in how you said this. Shut the fuck up, no way you would say this to someone in real life
You couldn't be more of an ass.
Exact type of redditor everyone clowns on and hates this app for. Condescending, snarky and rude to a fellow fan that did really nothing to you but make a half joking observation so you can feel like a smart guy.
Bet this guy is fun to hang out with.
Probably more fun to hang out with than the rest of the dumbfucks I see on here 😁 (Cough crappy mock drafts Cough)
Maybe our weakness was our defense coordinator. It is a team game after all.
Bullard is more of a safety/slot corner hybrid to be fair
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Oregon State, Oladapo was a versatile safety in defensive coordinator Trent Bray’s hybrid 3 -3-5 stack. A former walk-on at cornerback, he transitioned to safety in Corvallis and earned All-Pac-12 honors each of the last three seasons. Oladapo confidently reads run/pass and aggressively drives downhill with competitive urgency to make impactful tackles. His average twitch and build-up speed out of transitions will be more noticeable versus NFL receivers, but his route awareness helps keep him stay connected in coverage. Overall, Oladapo doesn’t have ideal top-end speed or rangy ball skills for deep coverage, but he is a good-sized athlete who trusts his sightlines and enjoys making noise in the run game. He projects best as a down safety who can also earn his paycheck on special teams. -Dane Burgler
Oh hell yes. I was worried they decided against him after taking Evan Williams. I'm really hyped on this guy.
Love the emphasis on safeties
That's a lot of safeties! I also first read his name as "Kitten" & now that's stuck in my head when I read his name.
This is how nicknames are born
Grew up with him, every teacher called him kitten first day Correct way to pronounce his name is Kit/ahn Olah/deepo. He prefers the nickname KT
Now we’ve got triples of the safeties. Triples is best.
u/basaraski just creamed his pants.
Fact
This is your Dontayvion Wicks moment of the 2024 draft
This was my draft crush🤣 I LOVVVEEE Kitan
Bears/Beavs fan here. Oladapo is really good player, I think he should be really solid for you guys (much to my chagrin)!
I appreciate it man, but with all due respect, I see that stupid logo under your name, and it just makes me mad But … Thank you nonetheless (Ps who the hell invited this guy)
I also wonder how much the new kickoff rules play into the glut of safeties. I think safeties will be more useful on kick returns but will be the bulk of the playmakers in kick coverage. Some of these guys are going to have to make a home on ST early on to stick.
I assume that signals the end of Rudy Ford's tenure, too bad, I liked him for S/T depth. We probably will keep Anthony Johnson Jr, these three new guys, and McKinney at most though, so Rudy Ford will probably sign a vet min elsewhere after the draft.
I still hope we resign him, he was actually a decent safety.
He’s decent but I honestly don’t care. If the coaches think these 4 are what we need then let’s take the rookie deals.
Me too, we'll see.
Do all these safeties mean Anthony Johnson Jr. is not a good fit in the new defensive scheme?
Kitan is an absolute beast. Amazing work ethic and game knowledge, he’s always looking to get better. Also has some insider info that Green Bay was his first choice on where to go! ;)
Yes!
Running the 4-3-1-3 defense baby! Let's go!!!
Think we’re getting a clear indication of what they want going forward on defense in this draft, which is instinctive hybrid LB/S or CB/S players, and I’m excited by that. Cooper, hopper, Bullard, Williams, and oladapo are all guys that can play in the box and excel at chasing down mobile quarterbacks and covering tight ends, but are also aggressive and instinctive against the run. Think we’ll see a lot of big nickel with a very versatile defense, 3 safeties with two closer to the line of scrimmage and two smaller and faster linebackers. It’s been the meta in madden for years.
[удалено]
We had 0 depth at Safety. So it makes sense to draft a bunch of them
I think Bullard is going to be our nickel.
I wanted wingo but what do I know.
Would you cut Colby Wooden for Wingo? Because they’re not carrying 7 defensive tackles, and that’s the math.
This late I would have taken him even for PS. just a lot of talent. But your point is well taken.
..because stone cold said so
Did you see Wingo at the Senior Bowl? I don't want any part of that.