- Ranked 2nd among charted prospects in success rate vs. man (75%) and press coverage (75.7%) - Led all prospects in success rate vs. zone coverage (88.1%) - He can play inside and outsidehttps://t.co/HbifB61JlJpic.twitter.com/HYsV8rlAzF
Originally Posted by BossChief:
The story on Pickens isn’t the physical talent. Never was. The hesitancy with teams drafting him is injury and attitude. Either of those aspects of him could create large gaps in production where Skyy Moore is as clean as they come in those aspects.
So even while Skyy might not have the true upside Pickens has (and I don’t think he does) it was adding an explosive playmaker that firsts the scheme and won’t make you regret the pick.
Whoever mentioned that we haven’t drafted a player with attitude issues since peters hit it on the head.
Originally Posted by staylor26:
Completely different situation IMO.
This is more like if we passed on DK for McLaurin.
I don't think we'd hear as much bitching about passing on DK if we did that.
There's one lens where it's similar.
Moore over Pickens was taking a scheme fit over the raw talent and I think Hardman over Metcalf was the same thing.
Now the perceived need for Hardman turned out to be incorrect as Hill was cleared. But it was fairly apparent that the Chiefs were looking for a Hill replacement and focused on his fit in a particular role over pure talent.
I think that's what happened here as well. I think they were looking to find someone to man the slot effectively and Pickens is more of a true boundary player. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
Correct me if I'm wrong but is Moore even playing in the slot?
I think he's playing that Y receiver role where they have him motioning around. Sometimes he'll go out wide, but with the motions, etc... it's designed to keep presses off him and get him space underneath.
The Chiefs don't always utilize a conventional 'slot' receiver as much as they use that Y guy to move around (with Kelce doing the same thing) and create decision points or free up releases. [Reply]
I'd have preferred to go for the guy that can play more outside as those are harder to find, but I can't say much if it was off field stuff that shied them away from Pickens.
If Andy and Co. don't wanna deal with a guy, well, that's a big red flag on the guy for me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
I'd have preferred to go for the guy that can play more outside as those are harder to find, but I can't say much if it was off field stuff that shied them away from Pickens.
If Andy and Co. don't wanna deal with a guy, well, that's a big red flag on the guy for me.
They have their outside WR. That’s Juju. They also have Kelce and MVS to play outside.
What they didn’t have is 2 things:
1. A guy who can do some gadget things Tyreek can long term (don’t think Hardman is here in 2023) and Skyy is lining up in the backfield.
2. A pure route runner. Look at Byron Pringle and Mecole Hardman. They are athletic but can’t sell routes well enough and it hurt us badly.
Skyy’s athleticism and route running is gonna help this team a ton. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
I'd have preferred to go for the guy that can play more outside as those are harder to find, but I can't say much if it was off field stuff that shied them away from Pickens.
If Andy and Co. don't wanna deal with a guy, well, that's a big red flag on the guy for me.
SNR's "Patrick's Buddy" stance isn't a bad one, really.
But at some point, talent needs to win out.
That said, Kelce's not getting younger and Hill is gone. I don't have a problem finding the next bromance among his skill position guys before you start shifting your baseline a little as to personalities.
May just not have been the right year to take on a guy like Pickens. But I also don't think Pickens is a 'bad' kid. The attitude concerns were pretty nebulous; just seems like mostly some laziness and immaturity. Usually getting your dick knocked in the dirt a time or two will shake that off. I don't see him as a toxic personality - just a kid who needs to grow up a bit.
I dunno...this is a tough one. He's sooooooo talented. And as I said, I think in this thread, he's a remarkable route runner to boot. He does all those little WR things that a guy like Moore does, he just does it in a bigger package and with a higher top end.
He's absolutely a boom/bust guy, but if he can keep his head on straight, he's a Justin Jefferson sort of talent. If thats who he becomes, this one will sting a bit. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
SNR's "Patrick's Buddy" stance isn't a bad one, really.
But at some point, talent needs to win out.
That said, Kelce's not getting younger and Hill is gone. I don't have a problem finding the next bromance among his skill position guys before you start shifting your baseline a little as to personalities.
May just not have been the right year to take on a guy like Pickens. But I also don't think Pickens is a 'bad' kid. The attitude concerns were pretty nebulous; just seems like mostly some laziness and immaturity. Usually getting your dick knocked in the dirt a time or two will shake that off. I don't see him as a toxic personality - just a kid who needs to grow up a bit.
I dunno...this is a tough one. He's sooooooo talented. And as I said, I think in this thread, he's a remarkable route runner to boot. He does all those little WR things that a guy like Moore does, he just does it in a bigger package and with a higher top end.
He's absolutely a boom/bust guy, but if he can keep his head on straight, he's a Justin Jefferson sort of talent. If thats who he becomes, this one will sting a bit.
I just give this front office and coaching staff all the rope they need on "off field" stuff. If they don't wanna mess with it, it must be more than we know.
Moore kind of reminds me of DJ Moore. I'm hopeful that's what he becomes here. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
They have their outside WR. That’s Juju. They also have Kelce and MVS to play outside.
What they didn’t have is 2 things:
1. A guy who can do some gadget things Tyreek can long term (don’t think Hardman is here in 2023) and Skyy is lining up in the backfield.
2. A pure route runner. Look at Byron Pringle and Mecole Hardman. They are athletic but can’t sell routes well enough and it hurt us badly.
Skyy’s athleticism and route running is gonna help this team a ton.
And again, Pickens was arguably the best pure route runner in the draft this year. It's absolutely one of his strengths.
There's not a thing that happens on the football field that you can say negatively about George Pickens. He's an elite elite elite talent. If you're looking for a gadget guy, take Austin in the later rounds. Or just wait until AFTER you lose Hardman and draft one.
The only justification for passing on Pickens is you just don't think he has the drive to pick up the playbook quickly enough to contribute this year. If that's the case - so be it. But from a skills standpoint, there's nothing Pickens DOESN'T have. [Reply]
I’m just relieved we didn’t take Watson. No thank you to a guy with an issue catching the ball. Apparently, he’s had drop issues with the Packers already and been hurt. [Reply]
Originally Posted by smithandrew051:
I’m just relieved we didn’t take Watson. No thank you to a guy with an issue catching the ball. Apparently, he’s had drop issues with the Packers already and been hurt.
I'm not some Watson stan even though I live in Fargo (don't give a shit about NDSU) but I think the Packers were intending him to be a WR for the future. I think they were aware that he'd likely have a slow start to his career.
But yeah, Doubs is doing well for them. And they need him. Lazard is crap. Imagine if we kept Pringle, didn't have Hardman for some reason, and didn't sign Juju. Then imagine Andy Reid and Mahomes collectively anointing Pringle as the new guy because he would be the longest tenured Chief WR. Yeah. Bad stuff. [Reply]