RZ68 FA1 5 Worst Signings
by AST1N | 4 years ago | 0 Comments
With the end in sight (I am guessing 3, maaaaybe 4 seasons left), the scramble to try to put a winning team together and make a last push. I will always say that not spending your cap is one of the biggest mistakes guys will do when building a team, so I am glad to see guys are not pocketing money that will just disappear at the end of the season. Now let me put a disclaimer in here now. Some of these guys I talk about are actually really good players. Some times the signing is bad because they overspent. Sometimes they spent all their money without diversifying (foreshadowing!). Each case is different, and I will break down why I do not like each one as we go.
[Editor note: Please don't get upset if you were one of the teams listed. We all have our opinions on the ways to build a team, and this is an article on how I view the moves. Prove me wrong on the field. I am also bored and needed something to do, and I grabbed 5 guys worthy of at least having a conversation about. Someone has to do some media around here!]
#5 - New England Patriots sign 84 OVR CB David Long Jr. to a 4 year, $84.44M deal
Alright, let's take a look at Long. He is fast, good in MCV, and a great vertical jump. In honesty, he is a good player and instantly becomes their CB1. What I do not like about this signing is that contract. Sure, Glenn had all the money to spend and it's good to see him actively trying to get out of picking top 3 every season. But 4 years and $84M? He will instantly start regressing after this season, and in 3 seasons he will regret paying his CB3 $20M+. I would rather have seen Glenn go after a guy like Lyle Coleman, who is younger, similar skill sets, and significantly cheaper, allowing you to pursue more top notch FAs.
#4 - Arizona Cardinals sign 80 OVR MLB Cedric Keenan to a 5 year, $82.25M deal
There are so many pros and cons to this deal. Keenan likes to play fast, and he has the physical tools to do that. He is a top 15 LB in his ZCV. You don't find many SUBLBs like him who aren't secretly a safety.
Alright, enough of the good. Let's get to the bad. 67 block shedding is BAD (currently LB248 on shedding blocks). He is going to get locked up with a blocker more than you'd like to see. He also isn't a big hitter, nor will he rarely find success in a LB blitz. Lastly, that contract is a lot of money for a guy who will go missing on many plays. An option that I would have rather seen would be a guy like Drue Tranquill, who may be a little lower in coverage skills, but has a better all around game to him, and was significantly cheaper to bring in.
#3 - New England Patriots sign 84 OVR WR Sidney Black to a 5 year, $77M contract.
I swear I am not picking on Glenn, nor will there be any more Patriots players listed! This contract was given for 1 reason alone. Speed. You don't find many guys rocking 97 Speed, 91 Catch, and 89 DRR. But here is what you also get. Extremely undersized, struggles to get off press coverage, and not great in catching in space. He also won't go up and get balls that hang, leaving your QB susceptible to getting INTs if it's not placed exactly right. Lastly, he's not going to do much with the ball once it's in his hands:
All in all, Black is another guy who is not well rounded, but being paid like he is. If I were in Glenn's shoes, I think I would have rather cast my money towards a guy like Corey Davis, who while not as fast, has some size to him and gives your QB a bigger target, as well as saves you significant money.
#2 New Orleans Saints sign 78 OVR LT Bret Homan to a 5 year, $52.95M deal
I get it. Offensive Lineman are super hard to come by, and this FA didn't have too many to pick from. This was purely a "I have a hole and I will throw money at it in hope something fixes it" kind of move. Homan is a great tackle for stopping strong, power rushers, but it's hard to justify a contract this large for a guy who may end up struggling against speed rushers on the edge, as well as picking up the blitzes correctly (68 AWR...bleh). He is also a pure meat head who wants to smash you in the mouth on running plays, but will severly struggle on any runs that require him to move from his starting spot. Rather than spending this money on him, I would rather just throw a dart on an OL in the first 2-3 rounds of the draft and get him in there from the start. I just don't think Homan is worth the paycheck you will have to pay him.
#1 The Seattle Seahawks go all in on a QB/WR combo.
Few discussion points with what Seattle is doing right now. I can absolutely see their vision in building a young core and developing them into your ideal roster. They may have one of the youngest rosters in the league, but took $22.1M in cap penalties to get there. They have a boat load of picks in this draft (Picks 2, 19, 31, 32, 34). The problem with this approach is that we are likely too far into the cycle to really reap the rewards of this method. Pick #2 should be a stud, coming in around 78 OVR or so. However, those other four will likely be in a range of 69-73, and that's assuming you hit on all of them. Even the best drafters will miss, and I would be pretty amazed if all 5 guys picked are studs.
So why am I talking about draft picks and roster age, when this is about these 2 FA signings? Is Wentz better than Wilson at this point? Yes. Is he worth $31.95M this season? Again, I would say yes to that as well. Now let's talk about the WR. Would you rather have 28 year old, 89 OVR Superstar WR D.K. Metcalf for $7.5M, or have 33 year old, 93 OVR XF WR Davante Adams for $30.85M + pick 19 in the draft? Although I think the majority would choose Metcalf in this scenario, I still think that a couple of guys could try to argue towards Adams, and thats fine. Here is my issue with these moves:
The Seahawks are out of money.
Yup. The well is dried up. Big contracts and big cap penalties will do that to you. While yes, I say spend it if you have it, I don't mean go all in pre-flop with your only 2 cards. If your roster is ready to make a push then these moves make sense. BUT, here are the hard numbers. On defense, they will only trot out 3 players over 80 OVR (1 DE and 2 LBs), and none in the secondary. Offensive line? We are looking at 72-75-74-75-79 pre-draft. I would have rather seen this money spent on building a core and less rolling the dice on needing to hit every draft pick to help long term.
I hope I am wrong. I do hope they rally the youth and make a push, and do it early. Time is not on their side. Imagine having Rfox talk shit to you about being better at Madden. Nobody should have to listen to that. Kfox says he has a plan, and we are all here as witnesses.