Revisiting the 2014 NFL Draft

[RavensDieHard21]

17 minutes ago, Purple_City39 said:

I think this is an aspect we're all not fully considering.  In hindsight, we know how a player like Mack turned out, but that's a crazy trade on draft day.  First round picks bust all the time.  JaMarcus Russell was a can't miss pick.  The Browns traded an extra pick or two (I forget) to move up just one spot for Trent Richardson, who was another "can't miss" pick.  Even here in Baltimore, the team traded a future first for a franchise QB named Kyle Boller.

Hindsight is a wonderful gift, but I don't see how these trades get made on draft day

" Mack holds the all-time NCAA record for forced fumbles and is also tied for career tackles for loss in the NCAA." This is what we knew on draft night. NCAA records just don't easily fall. Those are crazy impressive accomplishments to go with a perfect frame, relentless motor, high character, and a crazy good combine. 

• 4.65 SEC

  Top Performer

• 23 REPS

• 40.0 INCH

  Top Performer

• 128.0 INCH

  Top Performer

• 7.08 SEC

• 4.18 SEC

[RavensDieHard21]

8 minutes ago, Winchester said:

Dislike all you want.  Show me one team that won a championship without rare talents!! So you need to make moves to get a couple of those guys you build your team around. Like Mayock said about trading up for qbs. It will not matter what it costed cuz you need a franchise qb. Franchise qbs never hit free agency just as Khalil Macks and .uk watts never hit free agency. Overrated players like Suh may hit the market and you will vastly overpay for him. But Macks watts reeds do not ever hit free agency. Have to draft'em

100% I agree, rare talents such as Watt, Kuechly, Miller, Mack, Sherman, will not hit free agency in their first 10 years, it all comes from being aggressive on draft night. In our system and in most, elite pass rushers are the second most valuable position, especially when that player can obliterate the run game and can drop in coverage, as well as he doesn't gas out in the 4th or has to leave the field based on packages.

[Tru11]

1 hour ago, ludy51 said:

Carl is very inconsistent

and "some other NT"? Really? that's your plan?

Mack wouldn't be used much simply because of the massive exploitable weaknesses in the other areas of our defense

my plan would be to resign williams.

also jernigan and brooks have done very little up to this point so i cant possibly see what we are losing without them.

run stopping  MLB can be found in FA and every round in the draft.
matter of fact we have been succesfull getting those as UDFA.

getting a MLB who can cover is the hard part but mosley has been pretty avg in that area and im being generous.

Mack is a better runstopper and pass rusher then jernigan and mosley combined and he has been more durable then brooks so far.

So again point out what exactly are these massive exploitable weakness this would create.

Brooks is a non factor and jernigan a disappointment so far as a pass rusher.
Mosley has been a great run stuffer but thats about it though.

id gladly trade all 3 for 1 of the truly difference makers in the NFL.

Heck Mack got double the amount of pro bowls in 1 season then all 3 of those combined in their career so far.

let that sink in....

 

[Winchester]

Don't know much about next yrs class. Just know Carl Lawson looks like Mack and he was the only edge rusher to give Tunsil trouble. If this class of edge rushers do not show serious promise the ravens will need to make a move for an elite edge rusher in the draft. I liked the idea of moving up for Daneel Hunter. He has a lot of raw tools to coach up. Mack played for a smaller school so the asking price from the raiders was not to crazy. Mack could be a raven. But Management is far to conservative for a move 

Edited May 16, 2016 by Winchester

[GrimCoconut]

47 minutes ago, Winchester said:

Don't know much about next yrs class. Just know Carl Lawson looks like Mack and he was the only edge rusher to give Tunsil trouble. If this class of edge rushers do not show serious promise the ravens will need to make a move for an elite edge rusher in the draft. I liked the idea of moving up for Daneel Hunter. He has a lot of raw tools to coach up. Mack played for a smaller school so the asking price from the raiders was not to crazy. Mack could be a raven. But Management is far to conservative for a move 

Go watch Myles Garrett. 

And Mack isn't a Raven and is likely never going to be one. Those players don't leave in FA as I think you said. We just gotta find that guy for this team. Not even Sherman was considered a top-5 player when he was drafted, else he would've gone earlier than the 5th round. 

[RavensDieHard21]

1 hour ago, Tru11 said:

my plan would be to resign williams.

also jernigan and brooks have done very little up to this point so i cant possibly see what we are losing without them.

run stopping  MLB can be found in FA and every round in the draft.
matter of fact we have been succesfull getting those as UDFA.

getting a MLB who can cover is the hard part but mosley has been pretty avg in that area and im being generous.

Mack is a better runstopper and pass rusher then jernigan and mosley combined and he has been more durable then brooks so far.

So again point out what exactly are these massive exploitable weakness this would create.

Brooks is a non factor and jernigan a disappointment so far as a pass rusher.
Mosley has been a great run stuffer but thats about it though.

id gladly trade all 3 for 1 of the truly difference makers in the NFL.

Heck Mack got double the amount of pro bowls in 1 season then all 3 of those combined in their career so far.

let that sink in....

 

Preach lol! I am sorry but getting all-pro honors at two positions is mind boggling

[RavensDieHard21]

1 hour ago, Winchester said:

Don't know much about next yrs class. Just know Carl Lawson looks like Mack and he was the only edge rusher to give Tunsil trouble. If this class of edge rushers do not show serious promise the ravens will need to make a move for an elite edge rusher in the draft. I liked the idea of moving up for Daneel Hunter. He has a lot of raw tools to coach up. Mack played for a smaller school so the asking price from the raiders was not to crazy. Mack could be a raven. But Management is far to conservative for a move 

Oddly I went to school with him at Buffalo, he was a monster then and a really cool guy that would say what up to anyone, but I am just praying in the future that the FO would make that move! Next year's pass rush class is alright. I like Lawson, but Garrett will be long gone and I like Lewis Neal of LSU and Barnett of Tennessee. 

The great thing is next year's draft class is loaded with secondary play makers, such as Desmond King, Jabrill Peppers, Jalen Tabor, White from LSU.

[BmoreBird22]

2 hours ago, Tru11 said:

my plan would be to resign williams.

also jernigan and brooks have done very little up to this point so i cant possibly see what we are losing without them.

run stopping  MLB can be found in FA and every round in the draft.
matter of fact we have been succesfull getting those as UDFA.

getting a MLB who can cover is the hard part but mosley has been pretty avg in that area and im being generous.

Mack is a better runstopper and pass rusher then jernigan and mosley combined and he has been more durable then brooks so far.

So again point out what exactly are these massive exploitable weakness this would create.

Brooks is a non factor and jernigan a disappointment so far as a pass rusher.
Mosley has been a great run stuffer but thats about it though.

id gladly trade all 3 for 1 of the truly difference makers in the NFL.

Heck Mack got double the amount of pro bowls in 1 season then all 3 of those combined in their career so far.

let that sink in....

 

The issue with the line of thinking of, "We would only lose X..." is that you have the gift of hindsight. 

The Ravens had no idea who they'd take at 17, or in the next few rounds/years. It almost never works out when a team gives up that much, like the Falcons for Julio. Great, great player, but the Falcons lost so much depth that they took a huge bell curve in terms of wins.

Also, you really think it would be easy to squeeze all those cap hits? Didn't Harrison just get like 5/$45M? His cap hits are all around $9-$10M, which Williams should exceed since he's the better player. So when it comes time to sign Mack, which you'd want to do earlier rather than later, he'd have cap hits probably similar to Watt and be around  $15M. That's about $50M in cap tied up to three players (Joe, Mack, BWill). Probably not going to get extensions done with guys like Jimmy and Yanda or sign Weddle, etc. 

Then, on top of that, you're losing out on three draft picks if we follow the OP. So, no LT and you're stuck with Hurst, probably cannot re-sign Wagner, so now Wesley and Hurst. 

I mean, it's easy to sit here and say, "Go trade up," when you can sit back and see what those picks became and not have to manage a cap, but could you actually do it if your job rode on it?

[ravefan52]

If we're talking Mack or Mosley, Jernigan and Brooks then I'll take Mack all day. There's definitely a point where it's just too much, but I would have even given another 1st and 2nd for Mack. 

 

This defense severely lacks young playmakers and is mostly good old players and decent younger guys. For as good as Mosley is against the run, his constant struggles in coverage make him a lot less valuable. Jernigan is decent and pretty replaceable while Brooks is nothing. Mack is an elite pass rusher and run defender. He's basically the ideal addition to this team. He would have been a game changer for us.

[rmcjacket23]

1 hour ago, GrimCoconut said:

Go watch Myles Garrett. 

And Mack isn't a Raven and is likely never going to be one. Those players don't leave in FA as I think you said. We just gotta find that guy for this team. Not even Sherman was considered a top-5 player when he was drafted, else he would've gone earlier than the 5th round. 

If Khalil Mack ever is going to be a Raven, it will be when he's no longer the player he is now. We're talking like mid-30s, a good ten years from now.

A player like him will be in Oakland for the next 6-7 years easily.

[gtalk12]

As great as all those players are, football unlike maybe bball is so dependent on so many players.....Watt vs. Carl Davis, Jernigan, and Mosley...those 3 cover so much compared to him

[gtalk12]

I think people forget how bad we where when we got all those high draft picks like Ogden and a 2nd 1st rounder for Lewis. And when we got Suggs/Jamal Lewis. We don't suck enough lol.....we just need to be patient and consistent like we always have. The corner stones are there...Mosely, Williams, and now on the offensive side of the ball with Maxx Williams...patience

[gtalk12]

44 minutes ago, ravefan52 said:

If we're talking Mack or Mosley, Jernigan and Brooks then I'll take Mack all day. There's definitely a point where it's just too much, but I would have even given another 1st and 2nd for Mack.

 

This defense severely lacks young playmakers and is mostly good old players and decent younger guys. For as good as Mosley is against the run, his constant struggles in coverage make him a lot less valuable. Jernigan is decent and pretty replaceable while Brooks is nothing. Mack is an elite pass rusher and run defender. He's basically the ideal addition to this team. He would have been a game changer for us.

 

that decent crew with no CB's had us within a couple of plays of a superbowl appearance...think about that...we would have smashed the Colts if healthy. how far have the Raiders gone??

[GrimCoconut]

1 hour ago, rmcjacket23 said:

If Khalil Mack ever is going to be a Raven, it will be when he's no longer the player he is now. We're talking like mid-30s, a good ten years from now.

A player like him will be in Oakland for the next 6-7 years easily.

Yeah, but I think he retires a Raider. He's one of those guys a franchise builds around as their cornerstone and I think they know it. He's money for them. 

[ravefan52]

5 hours ago, gtalk12 said:

 

that decent crew with no CB's had us within a couple of plays of a superbowl appearance...think about that...we would have smashed the Colts if healthy. how far have the Raiders gone??

Yes that core that got us there is/was good. But those players are either gone, will be very soon because they're old and just aren't as good anymore. How the Raiders perform as a team has pretty much nothing to do with this.

[ravefan52]

4 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

Yeah, but I think he retires a Raider. He's one of those guys a franchise builds around as their cornerstone and I think they know it. He's money for them. 

That's what we're lacking for maybe the first time in team history, a defensive cornerstone.

[Cville-Raven]

7 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

The issue with the line of thinking of, "We would only lose X..." is that you have the gift of hindsight. 

The Ravens had no idea who they'd take at 17, or in the next few rounds/years. It almost never works out when a team gives up that much, like the Falcons for Julio. Great, great player, but the Falcons lost so much depth that they took a huge bell curve in terms of wins.

Also, you really think it would be easy to squeeze all those cap hits? Didn't Harrison just get like 5/$45M? His cap hits are all around $9-$10M, which Williams should exceed since he's the better player. So when it comes time to sign Mack, which you'd want to do earlier rather than later, he'd have cap hits probably similar to Watt and be around  $15M. That's about $50M in cap tied up to three players (Joe, Mack, BWill). Probably not going to get extensions done with guys like Jimmy and Yanda or sign Weddle, etc. 

Then, on top of that, you're losing out on three draft picks if we follow the OP. So, no LT and you're stuck with Hurst, probably cannot re-sign Wagner, so now Wesley and Hurst. 

I mean, it's easy to sit here and say, "Go trade up," when you can sit back and see what those picks became and not have to manage a cap, but could you actually do it if your job rode on it?

Preach

[RavensDieHard21]

8 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

The issue with the line of thinking of, "We would only lose X..." is that you have the gift of hindsight. 

The Ravens had no idea who they'd take at 17, or in the next few rounds/years. It almost never works out when a team gives up that much, like the Falcons for Julio. Great, great player, but the Falcons lost so much depth that they took a huge bell curve in terms of wins.

Also, you really think it would be easy to squeeze all those cap hits? Didn't Harrison just get like 5/$45M? His cap hits are all around $9-$10M, which Williams should exceed since he's the better player. So when it comes time to sign Mack, which you'd want to do earlier rather than later, he'd have cap hits probably similar to Watt and be around  $15M. That's about $50M in cap tied up to three players (Joe, Mack, BWill). Probably not going to get extensions done with guys like Jimmy and Yanda or sign Weddle, etc. 

Then, on top of that, you're losing out on three draft picks if we follow the OP. So, no LT and you're stuck with Hurst, probably cannot re-sign Wagner, so now Wesley and Hurst. 

I mean, it's easy to sit here and say, "Go trade up," when you can sit back and see what those picks became and not have to manage a cap, but could you actually do it if your job rode on it?

yes. I mean his combine numbers were highly incredible, he broke NCAA records, coaches praised him, he has a great work ethic, high character and dominated against top talent even though he went to Buffalo. If my job rode on it and I could very easily understand who might be there at 17, i would make the trade 10 / 10 times.

[RavensDieHard21]

8 hours ago, rmcjacket23 said:

If Khalil Mack ever is going to be a Raven, it will be when he's no longer the player he is now. We're talking like mid-30s, a good ten years from now.

A player like him will be in Oakland for the next 6-7 years easily.

not if there fax machine jams or Davis switches back to faster 40 gets the most playing time lol

[RavensDieHard21]

7 hours ago, gtalk12 said:

I think people forget how bad we where when we got all those high draft picks like Ogden and a 2nd 1st rounder for Lewis. And when we got Suggs/Jamal Lewis. We don't suck enough lol.....we just need to be patient and consistent like we always have. The corner stones are there...Mosely, Williams, and now on the offensive side of the ball with Maxx Williams...patience

I wouldn't say corner stone yet, neither have been top 5 at their positions. Williams is a run game wrecker, but seriously lacks in getting after the QB like a player such as Marcell Darius.  Maxx has a way to go too. A lot of lack luster drafts have given us good to solid starters, but not too many top notch prospects.

[RavensDieHard21]

2 hours ago, ravefan52 said:

That's what we're lacking for maybe the first time in team history, a defensive cornerstone.

Lewis, Boulware, Reed, Suggs, Ngata, Webb for a short stint, now.....? Maybe Mosley is he can become a vocal leader and can improve his coverage skills, or Williams if he can impact the pass defense more, or Jimmy Smith if he can play a full healthy season where he doesn't miss camp.

[Winchester]

9 hours ago, BmoreBird22 said:

The issue with the line of thinking of, "We would only lose X..." is that you have the gift of hindsight. 

The Ravens had no idea who they'd take at 17, or in the next few rounds/years. It almost never works out when a team gives up that much, like the Falcons for Julio. Great, great player, but the Falcons lost so much depth that they took a huge bell curve in terms of wins.

Also, you really think it would be easy to squeeze all those cap hits? Didn't Harrison just get like 5/$45M? His cap hits are all around $9-$10M, which Williams should exceed since he's the better player. So when it comes time to sign Mack, which you'd want to do earlier rather than later, he'd have cap hits probably similar to Watt and be around  $15M. That's about $50M in cap tied up to three players (Joe, Mack, BWill). Probably not going to get extensions done with guys like Jimmy and Yanda or sign Weddle, etc. 

Then, on top of that, you're losing out on three draft picks if we follow the OP. So, no LT and you're stuck with Hurst, probably cannot re-sign Wagner, so now Wesley and Hurst. 

I mean, it's easy to sit here and say, "Go trade up," when you can sit back and see what those picks became and not have to manage a cap, but could you actually do it if your job rode on it?

I would trade Jimmy and Weddle for mack. By time he hits free agency ravens will not have players like Suggs Yanda Weddle Dumervil on the books. How are we stuck with hurst. 2 round1 picks?? Ravens would have Ron Stanley this year. And unless Wagner really lights it up this yr right tackles are played less than guards. He is one player the ravens should be able to resign

[BmoreBird22]

56 minutes ago, RavensDieHard21 said:

yes. I mean his combine numbers were highly incredible, he broke NCAA records, coaches praised him, he has a great work ethic, high character and dominated against top talent even though he went to Buffalo. If my job rode on it and I could very easily understand who might be there at 17, i would make the trade 10 / 10 times.

But it's not just about who may be there at 17. Mosley was rated as a top 10, and you'd be losing two more first round picks on top of very likely some second and third round picks. 

You're using the power of hindsight. The FO had Mosley top 10, possibly top 5, and had Mack probably at 1. They could stay put and get one of the drafts best or mortgage the future for the best in the draft. Given what the FO knew, you do not make that trade.

[BmoreBird22]

30 minutes ago, Winchester said:

I would trade Jimmy and Weddle for mack. By time he hits free agency ravens will not have players like Suggs Yanda Weddle Dumervil on the books. How are we stuck with hurst. 2 round1 picks?? Ravens would have Ron Stanley this year. And unless Wagner really lights it up this yr right tackles are played less than guards. He is one player the ravens should be able to resign

You'd trade away Jimmy and Weddle and then have....? You want Elam and Webb back there with Will Davis and Sharice Wright as your starting corners? Probably not.

Also, it was three, so no Ronnie Stanley. Also, right tackles absolutely will be making more than guards with the increased emphasis of rushing from the right side. Miller rushed over 60% of the time from the right.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

3 hours ago, ravefan52 said:

That's what we're lacking for maybe the first time in team history, a defensive cornerstone.

I'd argue Mosely but that's about it. He needs to be more vocal but he's a guy you can build a defense around. But I would agree.

[Winchester]

11 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

You'd trade away Jimmy and Weddle and then have....? You want Elam and Webb back there with Will Davis and Sharice Wright as your starting corners? Probably not.

Also, it was three, so no Ronnie Stanley. Also, right tackles absolutely will be making more than guards with the increased emphasis of rushing from the right side. Miller rushed over 60% of the time from the right.

It was not 3 round1 picks!! it was 2 no.1 picks or round1-3 picks in that draft. By the time Mack hits free agency Weddle Will be retired!! And Jimmy probably cut by then. If ravens drafted Mack then an emphasis would of been on cornerbacks this draft. Not edge rushers. So you do not want khalil mack cuz you have to pay him??

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

As important as cornerstones are, who the hell was ours during our SB run? Injured ngata? Old man Ray? Old man Ed? Injured Suggs? No. We rode Flacco. Whether you want to admit it or not, we rode him to the promise land. He had one of the greatest posteasons in NFL history with a borderline #1 WR, a one trick pony deep threat in Torrey, Jacoby Jones who has an occasional big drop, and a very good TE with a good RB. I know we all like to glorify Boldin, but reality is, while he was very good he wasn't the WR god people made him out to be. He was more than critical to the run, but Flacco activated his god mode. That's our cornerstone. Our defense was beat up, and ironically the worst one I've ever seen win a SB. We had good depth. As important as cornerstones are, you can't win a SB without depth. 

 

And who the hell were we going to get this year?  Bosa. Probably had no chance even if we traded. We would've had to offer like an entire draft. No player is worth that. Look at Ricky Williams, good RB with a good career. But Saints gave up way too much for him. No player is worth that. Ramsey is the same deal. And Jack's knee is a ticking time bomb. Much as I would have loved to get him, I understand the logic there. If he injures his knee again it could be game over for his whole career. 

2014 provided us with a cornerstone in my eyes. CJ is someone you can build a defense around. Only MLBs I'd honestly take over him are Luke, Bowman, and Wagner. That's about it. CJ may have issues in coverage(which btw. It was his second season. He can improve), but is about fantastic in every other category. He's got a very high football  IQ and he plays with a fire. You're talking about someone who was a second team all pro his rookie year, and was pretty good this year. That's a cornerstone to me. I have no issues if we build a defense around CJ. He's young, already one of the best, and has nowhere to go but up. 

We got Jernigan who's a high level contributor. If he becomes a consistent pass rusher(he flashes, and is easily one of the better 3-4 Ends in the league already), that's a pro bowler on our hands. Urschel, while his play was overrated, has the talent and potential to become a full time starter and we got him in the 5th round. 

So you trade up for Mack, lose a bunch of depth and potential talent. We may have a superstar on our hands, but no depth meaning ironically we'd be in a way worse position than before. 

 

Again. I'm glad the fans don't run this team

[Winchester]

3 minutes ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

As important as cornerstones are, who the hell was ours during our SB run? Injured ngata? Old man Ray? Old man Ed? Injured Suggs? No. We rode Flacco. Whether you want to admit it or not, we rode him to the promise land. He had one of the greatest posteasons in NFL history with a borderline #1 WR, a one trick pony deep threat in Torrey, Jacoby Jones who has an occasional big drop, and a very good TE with a good RB. I know we all like to glorify Boldin, but reality is, while he was very good he wasn't the WR god people made him out to be. He was more than critical to the run, but Flacco activated his god mode. That's our cornerstone. Our defense was beat up, and ironically the worst one I've ever seen win a SB. We had good depth. As important as cornerstones are, you can't win a SB without depth. 

 

And who the hell were we going to get this year?  Bosa. Probably had no chance even if we traded. We would've had to offer like an entire draft. No player is worth that. Look at Ricky Williams, good RB with a good career. But Saints gave up way too much for him. No player is worth that. Ramsey is the same deal. And Jack's knee is a ticking time bomb. Much as I would have loved to get him, I understand the logic there. If he injures his knee again it could be game over for his whole career. 

2014 provided us with a cornerstone in my eyes. CJ is someone you can build a defense around. Only MLBs I'd honestly take over him are Luke, Bowman, and Wagner. That's about it. CJ may have issues in coverage(which btw. It was his second season. He can improve), but is about fantastic in every other category. He's got a very high football  IQ and he plays with a fire. You're talking about someone who was a second team all pro his rookie year, and was pretty good this year. That's a cornerstone to me. I have no issues if we build a defense around CJ. He's young, already one of the best, and has nowhere to go but up. 

We got Jernigan who's a high level contributor. If he becomes a consistent pass rusher(he flashes, and is easily one of the better 3-4 Ends in the league already), that's a pro bowler on our hands. Urschel, while his play was overrated, has the talent and potential to become a full time starter and we got him in the 5th round. 

So you trade up for Mack, lose a bunch of depth and potential talent. We may have a superstar on our hands, but no depth meaning ironically we'd be in a way worse position than before. 

 

Again. I'm glad the fans don't run this team

Depth players are a dime a dozen. Khalil Macks and jj watts can transform your defense by themselves. Mosley struggling in coverage is a big deal!! Have you noticed how much the league is throwing the ball?? I do believe he can and will get better. But slow down before calling them cornerstones anywhere near the caliber of Mack!! I like jernigans potential but in 2 yrs now he has flashed. He has not climbed to impact player status yet. Urschel was not overrated he struggled a little on snapping until he adjusted. By week 16 he was standing out as a mauler. If ravens made that move for mack this whole board would be singing praises for obtaining him. Not clamoring for who the backup and role players are. A player like Mack makes players around him better.  As for the superbowl run the oline dominated.

[Winchester]

For the record Will Henry will be a cornerstone. Calling it now.Kufusi will be as well if he gets to his optimal play weight for rush old or 4-3 defensive end. He will be at least an impact performer!! T. Young is gonna be a very good cornerback

[usmccharles]

51 minutes ago, Winchester said:

It was not 3 round1 picks!! it was 2 no.1 picks or round1-3 picks in that draft. By the time Mack hits free agency Weddle Will be retired!! And Jimmy probably cut by then. If ravens drafted Mack then an emphasis would of been on cornerbacks this draft. Not edge rushers. So you do not want khalil mack cuz you have to pay him??

Do you have a link or any proof of that? I found an article about us wanting to trade for Mack but they didn't specify the terms.  I just cant see a team trading from 5 back to 17 to only gain an additional first rounder.

32 minutes ago, Winchester said:

Depth players are a dime a dozen. Khalil Macks and jj watts can transform your defense by themselves. Mosley struggling in coverage is a big deal!! Have you noticed how much the league is throwing the ball?? I do believe he can and will get better. But slow down before calling them cornerstones anywhere near the caliber of Mack!! I like jernigans potential but in 2 yrs now he has flashed. He has not climbed to impact player status yet. Urschel was not overrated he struggled a little on snapping until he adjusted. By week 16 he was standing out as a mauler. If ravens made that move for mack this whole board would be singing praises for obtaining him. Not clamoring for who the backup and role players are. A player like Mack makes players around him better.  As for the superbowl run the oline dominated.

Sadly, singing praising for trading for a player does not correlate to winning.  Im sure Falcons fans were happy to get JJ, they have what, one playoff win since then?  I think they could of built just as good as team without that trade, maybe even better.  It just creates too many holes and In hindsight its easy to critique, but on the day of the draft I can understand why they didn't do it and I have no issue with it. 

I think sometimes fans forget to look at the other aspects of the deal, they just see a player and want him but don't look at the why's.  Its not saying I don't like Mack because he is clearly one of the best in the NFL, but I understand why we didn't make the trade.  Ill stick with my premise of you don't win with one major superstar ie Watt, Megatron, Julio, etc,,,but that's just my opinion.  Teams who win SBs are very well rounded, yea they may have A superstar but they have depth. Broncos had Miller, but they also had CBs, Jackson, Wolfe, Ware, etc...