2023 NFL Draft Official Game Thread (This is the thread WITH SPOILERS)

j44thor

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Daniel Jeremiah loves the Matu pick and he has had an incredible draft so I'll take some solace in that.
 

BaseballJones

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I know BB is great - he really is. But for the life of me, I do not understand some of the things he does. Every single year there's an absolutely massive head-scratcher that makes you just go...what the ever loving F is he doing? Well, the ESPN guys love the pick.

So let's look at him as a LB. He's only 216 pounds. If he can get to 230 pounds and still run, that's still a small LB compared to what BB typically likes, but man, they are getting ATHLETIC on defense. He may not have elite athleticism for a DB, but for a LB...yeah.

Here's ESPN's analysis:

Pre-Draft Analysis
Mapu is a rangy run defender and powerful striker with good stopping power. He has long arms and flashes the ability to stack blockers. He has the tools to compete with tight ends in coverage and looked good when matched up against backs in one-on-one cover drills at the Senior Bowl. Mapu is a tweener safety-linebacker who will likely make his biggest contributions on special teams early in his career and carve out a role on defense in time. -- Steve Muench

Post-Draft Analysis
Mapu is an older prospect (23 years old) who wasn't able to test in the pre-draft process, but his versatility as a nickel linebacker/hybrid safety was liked by NFL scouts. He's a passing-down option and special teams performer early in his career in New England, and he will see plenty of work in dime and nickel situations as either an undersized linebacker or in-the-box safety. -- Matt Miller
 

DJnVa

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As intelligent folks we should be able to argue Bill's POV here. But, I can't.

I'm still really happy with first 2 pick though.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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We’ve been crying for them to get someone that can cover TEs for years. They just did. I want some new offensive toys but this D isn’t going to give up a lot
 

bibajesus

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On the Cbs Sports app they have Mapu's pro comparison as Bernard Pollard. I don't know how to feel about that.
 

DJnVa

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Yeah, but we never heard of him before ... so he sucks
For me it's not even that. Even if they grabbed someone we all knew and was mocked in this area, if he played defense we'd still be wondering what was going on.

Can BB be that confident in BoB and the pass catchers and OL?
 

Cellar-Door

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For me it's not even that. Even if they grabbed someone we all knew and was mocked in this area, if he played defense we'd still be wondering what was going on.

Can BB be that confident in BoB and the pass catchers and OL?
Or... it's a bad WR year. We have 2 very good pass catching TEs.
 

Dollar

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Looks to be a similar profile as a Tebucky Jones, probably a bit faster but I can't find a 40 time for him. I'm a fan of the pick with the Travis Kelce's of the world taking over the league.
 

Fishercat

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We’ve been crying for them to get someone that can cover TEs for years. They just did. I want some new offensive toys but this D isn’t going to give up a lot
Yeah like...I don't know much of anything but I do know we complained righteously for years about the Pats getting carved up by TEs and quick interior WRs when LBs got called into coverage. We will see but there is more sense to this one than some of Bills other oddly placed choices
 

DJnVa

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Or his school. Unless you can name a time where we’ve reached for some no name defensive back from some no name school and it actually came close to panning out?
Kyle Dugger. Like, just recently.
 

Cellar-Door

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curious to see if Bill moves up into the 86-92 range, feels about right for combining a pair of 4ths to get in that range
 

Dollar

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Or his school. Unless you can name a time where we’ve reached for some no name defensive back from some no name school and it actually came close to panning out?
Was Tavon Wilson actually a bad pick? I always kinda liked that guy.
 

Section15Box113

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Found this on Mapu from the Draft Network. FWIW, TDN had him at #108, one spot ahead of Noah Sewell.

"A quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, safety, and corner in high school, Marte Mapu has been considered a swiss army knife for as long as he’s been playing football. Now a six-year senior heading into the NFL draft, Mapu’s performance at the Senior Bowl has earned him significant buzz and has gotten him on every organization’s radar. Marte finished the season with 76 tackles, 6.5 of those coming behind the line of scrimmage, and added two interceptions, a sack, and a blocked kick to his resume in a season where he was voted the Big Sky Player of the Year as well as an AP First-Team All-American."

So:
Played everywhere in HS...
Swiss Army knife...
Senior Bowl...

"Long, rangy, and physical are all the key adjectives to describe Mapu’s game. Serving a plethora of roles for the Sacramento State Hornets, Mapu’s physical traits were used to their fullest extent, lining up primarily as a nickel safety but also consistently making appearances as a stack backer, force player, and even as a single high safety. His athleticism quickly jumps out on film, pairing elite closing speed with innate lower-body fluidity that allows him to be extremely effective in both the pass and run game."

Nickel safety...
elite closing speed...

"Given the surplus of positions Mapu was asked to play at, it’s easy to notice his genuine feel for the game. In the pass game, he quickly diagnoses route concepts and does a good job of being disciplined in his coverage. It often seems like he has eyes in the back of his head, as he does a fantastic job of being able to cover his blind spots as a second-level coverage defender. Given his physical tools and IQ, Mapu is a matchup nightmare for tight ends and slot receivers in both man and zone coverage. He mirrors shifty route-runners with ease down the field and is very effective in trail technique which he was asked to use consistently as a slot defender. His range and ability to cover ground made him dangerous in all areas of the field, but his physicality in coverage neutralized route-runners and would often force tight window passes where he would demonstrate great ball skills to be able to intercept or swipe away passes. With his size, Marte will be an immediate answer to the new age of dynamic tight ends that have started to take the league by storm." (emphasis mine)

"In the run game, Marte stays focused and disciplined to stay in his gap and patiently waits to strike. When he gets his eyes set on a ball carrier’s hip, he quickly penetrates and explodes through his tackles. When engaged with blockers at the second level, Marte will need to improve his ability to shock and shed climbing tight ends and offensive linemen. His inability to do so in just a handful of similar reps makes the outlook of his ability as a true linebacker somewhat troubling, but not doubtful. Improving this trait will go a long way in becoming a more complete run stopper, which he is more than capable of being if he adds some mass to his frame."

"In the open field, Marte sometimes struggled to stay in front of shifty ball carriers, seemingly having his feet stuck in cement at times. In an NFL that has an increased focus on yards after the catch, matching this mindset as a defender will be important for Marte to do. Bearing in mind his athletic ability, I feel more inclined to assume that these poor reps are simply outliers, as he time and time again makes explosive and hard-hitting tackles against more stagnant ball carriers."

"All in all, Mapu projects as a hybrid defender in the NFL, capable of playing all over the field. While history is not so kind to similar players, I fully believe in Marte’s ability to succeed in the NFL considering his track record of different positions he was asked to play in both high school and college. I believe Mapu is fully deserving of a day-two selection, and believe he can potentially be a star in the league with a couple seasons in his belt and in the right situation."
 

Saints Rest

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Found this on Mapu from the Draft Network. FWIW, TDN had him at #108, one spot ahead of Noah Sewell.

"A quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, safety, and corner in high school, Marte Mapu has been considered a swiss army knife for as long as he’s been playing football. Now a six-year senior heading into the NFL draft, Mapu’s performance at the Senior Bowl has earned him significant buzz and has gotten him on every organization’s radar. Marte finished the season with 76 tackles, 6.5 of those coming behind the line of scrimmage, and added two interceptions, a sack, and a blocked kick to his resume in a season where he was voted the Big Sky Player of the Year as well as an AP First-Team All-American."

So:
Played everywhere in HS...
Swiss Army knife...
Senior Bowl...

"Long, rangy, and physical are all the key adjectives to describe Mapu’s game. Serving a plethora of roles for the Sacramento State Hornets, Mapu’s physical traits were used to their fullest extent, lining up primarily as a nickel safety but also consistently making appearances as a stack backer, force player, and even as a single high safety. His athleticism quickly jumps out on film, pairing elite closing speed with innate lower-body fluidity that allows him to be extremely effective in both the pass and run game."

Nickel safety...
elite closing speed...

"Given the surplus of positions Mapu was asked to play at, it’s easy to notice his genuine feel for the game. In the pass game, he quickly diagnoses route concepts and does a good job of being disciplined in his coverage. It often seems like he has eyes in the back of his head, as he does a fantastic job of being able to cover his blind spots as a second-level coverage defender. Given his physical tools and IQ, Mapu is a matchup nightmare for tight ends and slot receivers in both man and zone coverage. He mirrors shifty route-runners with ease down the field and is very effective in trail technique which he was asked to use consistently as a slot defender. His range and ability to cover ground made him dangerous in all areas of the field, but his physicality in coverage neutralized route-runners and would often force tight window passes where he would demonstrate great ball skills to be able to intercept or swipe away passes. With his size, Marte will be an immediate answer to the new age of dynamic tight ends that have started to take the league by storm." (emphasis mine)

"In the run game, Marte stays focused and disciplined to stay in his gap and patiently waits to strike. When he gets his eyes set on a ball carrier’s hip, he quickly penetrates and explodes through his tackles. When engaged with blockers at the second level, Marte will need to improve his ability to shock and shed climbing tight ends and offensive linemen. His inability to do so in just a handful of similar reps makes the outlook of his ability as a true linebacker somewhat troubling, but not doubtful. Improving this trait will go a long way in becoming a more complete run stopper, which he is more than capable of being if he adds some mass to his frame."

"In the open field, Marte sometimes struggled to stay in front of shifty ball carriers, seemingly having his feet stuck in cement at times. In an NFL that has an increased focus on yards after the catch, matching this mindset as a defender will be important for Marte to do. Bearing in mind his athletic ability, I feel more inclined to assume that these poor reps are simply outliers, as he time and time again makes explosive and hard-hitting tackles against more stagnant ball carriers."

"All in all, Mapu projects as a hybrid defender in the NFL, capable of playing all over the field. While history is not so kind to similar players, I fully believe in Marte’s ability to succeed in the NFL considering his track record of different positions he was asked to play in both high school and college. I believe Mapu is fully deserving of a day-two selection, and believe he can potentially be a star in the league with a couple seasons in his belt and in the right situation."
Could this be the DMcC replacement?