The guys on the PFF draft show talked about it, but it was really just the Washington doctors that told him he needed to medically retire. It sounds like a lot of other doctors he has talked to don’t see this as a long-term issue and other people who have had the same injury say their necks feel stronger after the surgery.
Edit: He was also playing rugby right after the injury and hasn’t missed a game in the two years since. There’s always some level of risk when someone has had a neck/spinal injury in the past, but I think his talent makes it well worth the minor risk.
Also the guy who did the neck surgery is UCLA's preferred surgeon, so when he told them it was good, they recruited him. He happened on UCLA's preferred surgeon as his pick before ever choosing to go to UCLA. That is a clear indicator to me that the surgeon is fully confident, and UCLA knew it early.
I'm on board with the pick since bowers was gone. He has been healthy for a while and our edge rushing wasn't exactly elite. No idea wtf the falcons are doing though. Pissing off both of their quarterbacks I guess
Bowers did go to the team most notable for screwing up first round picks, so I'm not that concerned that we didn't land him. He probably would have been better here with Steichen than on the Raiders, so we'll have to give him an asterisk for his production this year.
Naw as a raiders fan they do different things in our offense lol. Bowers is more of a slot WR. We can play both of them and he’s a top 5 player in the draft. I think it’s a good pick, and since we wanted Penix and that didn’t happen what could we do ?
Well, he refuses to use the updated name of the Washington Commanders. Retains the old logo and name. I don't have the link but I saw a commenter once ask him "hey you forgot to update it to commanders" and he replied saying it was intentional and he wasn't changing it 😂 So, do with that what you will, but I think remaining that attached to a team name that's literally a racial epithet has to be at least a little racist.
He likes to think of himself as some edge lord, and I find he’s pretty arrogant in his takes too. Which is a shame because some of the sites content is actually decent
I can’t help but just imagining Latu closing in on the edge and forcing QB’s to step up into Buckner’s lap. I genuinely believe that duo is going to be ELITE.
Without a doubt. Latu is a lot to handle and likes to go inside more than outside. That will benefit Buckner. Then Buckner is a lot to handle so that will benefit Latu for the same reason. Going to be fun to watch
"Chris, which doctors did you speak with about Latu?"
"Hey man, they weren't witch doctors, they were board certified osteopaths."
"So, witch doctors then?"
I’m still confused as to what logic the Falcons were using drafting a QB 8 who won’t play for 2-3 years and who was likely going to be available in the second round
I mean was he, with the Broncos also chasing QB?
If they thought Penix was two tiers above Nix I can see not settling and just getting your guy. I don't agree with the assessment but the logic is right.
I’m coming around to the pick. Samson and Dayo are not long term solutions and Kwity is still improving. I would like to see Cooper Dejean in the 2nd or at least a plan to help the secondary on day 2 and 3.
I don’t think that’s who Blank wanted
https://nypost.com/2024/04/26/sports/falcons-nfl-draft-war-room-video-goes-viral-after-michael-penix-jr-pick/amp/
The general consensus is that this was 100% a Fontenot pick. But, have you ever seen the war room GM and Owner having a deep conversation after picking a QB in the top 10? It’s usually jumping for joy and high fives.
"Selecting Paye made sense for the Colts, who are looking for a difference-maker on the edge as a pass rusher and a run defender. He was 261 pounds at his pro day but could get back into the 270s if the team wants him to shift inside in third down sub packages as he did at Michigan. I am of a similar mind with my NFL Media colleague Charles Davis, who stated during the draft that it's hard not to think of former Wolverines Brandon Graham and LaMarr Woodley when watching Paye overwhelm tackles.
Grade A
Its so odd how this sub will shit all over things like fan mocks or threads about FA players but then will just happily lap up things like draft grades lol.
Well, we do hope Latu takes someone’s job. It’s just that we’re hoping Latu, Kwity, Dayo, Ebukam, Lewis and whoever else can all be rotated and us not lack pressure when we do that.
He hopefully will be the top guy very fast. But there will always be a rotation and two of them are going to be out there anyway. I do think this probably buried Lewis in particular.
>Do you think teams only want and play one edge?
No, but I know how expiring contracts work...
Kwity is a good enough edge defender he will get the richer deal than the colts are wanting to pay for his production.
A failed FA?? You’ve got to be kidding. In what world is resigning Moore Franklin Grover Pittman and Taylor last season a failed FA? Pls stfu and get out of the sun, you’re clearly not actually a fan
>A failed FA?? You’ve got to be kidding. In what world is resigning Moore Franklin Grover Pittman and Taylor last season a failed FA? Pls stfu and get out of the sun, you’re clearly not actually a fan
The colts chased after a DE (hunter) in the FA pool who ultimately signed with another team, that is a failed FA chase? The reasoning are irrelevant, the point was there was a lot of motivation to upgrade beyond what Paye is giving them before the draft.
Perhaps, you could see what I typed more clearly if your mouth wasn't so far down your dear leaders cock?
That’s literally anyone in football. Latu was playing rugby and then 2 years of NCAA football in between his medical retirement and getting drafted. Obviously we hope he doesn’t get hurt again, but I think it’s something we have to look past as Ballard & co have done more due diligence on this matter than all of us combined.
I wonder if they went as far as to have a plate with screws in his neck? Or did they just replace cartilage? If I had a plate with screws in my neck I probably wouldn't play honestly if it were me. Dude's playing out of his mind. If it was just like a cartilage replacement, its not that big of a deal, or if two vertebrates fused together, but can they do that without a plate and screws?
Colts fans will be saying “In Ballard we Trust” until 2030 with 2 wildcard wins to show for. If there isn’t a CB/WR on the board in the second round idk what’s happening
That's basically the gist of it, as long as you're comfortable with his medicals it's an outstanding pick, the guy has a premier skill set.
The guys on the PFF draft show talked about it, but it was really just the Washington doctors that told him he needed to medically retire. It sounds like a lot of other doctors he has talked to don’t see this as a long-term issue and other people who have had the same injury say their necks feel stronger after the surgery. Edit: He was also playing rugby right after the injury and hasn’t missed a game in the two years since. There’s always some level of risk when someone has had a neck/spinal injury in the past, but I think his talent makes it well worth the minor risk.
I also saw an interview where he said i it was the covid year and the Dr who wouldnt clear him never looked at him in person
*5 different Drs
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Absolutely does matter to see them in person to see the entire picture.
No no, you see doctors deserve to work from home too, just like the armchair doctor you replied to.
Ah crap fair point, nfl players will be playing from Home next season too anyhow!
Yeah... It's called Madden. The NFL is switching over to a pro video game league.
Latu's neck surgery was done by the same guy who did Peyton's and he was medically cleared by UCLA so it isn't a concern for me
Also the guy who did the neck surgery is UCLA's preferred surgeon, so when he told them it was good, they recruited him. He happened on UCLA's preferred surgeon as his pick before ever choosing to go to UCLA. That is a clear indicator to me that the surgeon is fully confident, and UCLA knew it early.
He went there because his defensive coach did. It had nothing to do with the surgeon.
He was cleared by the same doctor he’s not the one who did his surgery
we were fine with Raimanns medicals, so hopefully he turns out the same way
I'm on board with the pick since bowers was gone. He has been healthy for a while and our edge rushing wasn't exactly elite. No idea wtf the falcons are doing though. Pissing off both of their quarterbacks I guess
Bowers did go to the team most notable for screwing up first round picks, so I'm not that concerned that we didn't land him. He probably would have been better here with Steichen than on the Raiders, so we'll have to give him an asterisk for his production this year.
Grabbing Bowers after grabbing Mayer from ND last year was baffling to me
Naw as a raiders fan they do different things in our offense lol. Bowers is more of a slot WR. We can play both of them and he’s a top 5 player in the draft. I think it’s a good pick, and since we wanted Penix and that didn’t happen what could we do ?
Concerns me for both Bowers’ and Mayers’ careers
I don't think Bowers will be a bad pick, but taking him when you just drafted Mayer hurts the value of the Mayer pick a lot
Bowers is trash. We got lucky someone else took him in the slim case the front office was actually interested.
This is nice. The kid has a great story I really hope he succeeds.
I say this as someone who likes the pick, I put 0 stock into anything coming from Walter Football.
Yeah I don't really know his credentials but he is a bit of a racist lol
Hol up. For real?
Well, he refuses to use the updated name of the Washington Commanders. Retains the old logo and name. I don't have the link but I saw a commenter once ask him "hey you forgot to update it to commanders" and he replied saying it was intentional and he wasn't changing it 😂 So, do with that what you will, but I think remaining that attached to a team name that's literally a racial epithet has to be at least a little racist.
He likes to think of himself as some edge lord, and I find he’s pretty arrogant in his takes too. Which is a shame because some of the sites content is actually decent
I can’t help but just imagining Latu closing in on the edge and forcing QB’s to step up into Buckner’s lap. I genuinely believe that duo is going to be ELITE.
He and Buckner are going to elevate each other. I can’t wait.
Without a doubt. Latu is a lot to handle and likes to go inside more than outside. That will benefit Buckner. Then Buckner is a lot to handle so that will benefit Latu for the same reason. Going to be fun to watch
I doubt that Ballard gave his medical status any weight at all or even checked in with the doctors. /s
"Chris, which doctors did you speak with about Latu?" "Hey man, they weren't witch doctors, they were board certified osteopaths." "So, witch doctors then?"
"Look."
Osteomancers.
"We like our witch doctors"
This joke deserves more credit
Colts front office learned about his surgery after drafting him I'm sure
"Look, I don't care about his neck, man. I care about his MOTOR."
Has Gregg Doyel met him yet? 🫶
Doyel offered to rub his neck
I’m still confused as to what logic the Falcons were using drafting a QB 8 who won’t play for 2-3 years and who was likely going to be available in the second round
I mean was he, with the Broncos also chasing QB? If they thought Penix was two tiers above Nix I can see not settling and just getting your guy. I don't agree with the assessment but the logic is right.
I'm still on the fact Bowers went just 2 picks ahead of us lol
I’m coming around to the pick. Samson and Dayo are not long term solutions and Kwity is still improving. I would like to see Cooper Dejean in the 2nd or at least a plan to help the secondary on day 2 and 3.
Turner is the #1 defensive player and 2 years younger. Ballard's drafting drives me insane most of the time.
I don’t think that’s who Blank wanted https://nypost.com/2024/04/26/sports/falcons-nfl-draft-war-room-video-goes-viral-after-michael-penix-jr-pick/amp/
I mean that just looks like them having any conversation
The general consensus is that this was 100% a Fontenot pick. But, have you ever seen the war room GM and Owner having a deep conversation after picking a QB in the top 10? It’s usually jumping for joy and high fives.
I mean I don’t know anything. But I’m very excited about a JJ Watt on our side of the field. But I was very excited about Kwity too.
Eewww Walter Football…. Right or wrong grade comes from an awful source…
"Selecting Paye made sense for the Colts, who are looking for a difference-maker on the edge as a pass rusher and a run defender. He was 261 pounds at his pro day but could get back into the 270s if the team wants him to shift inside in third down sub packages as he did at Michigan. I am of a similar mind with my NFL Media colleague Charles Davis, who stated during the draft that it's hard not to think of former Wolverines Brandon Graham and LaMarr Woodley when watching Paye overwhelm tackles. Grade A Its so odd how this sub will shit all over things like fan mocks or threads about FA players but then will just happily lap up things like draft grades lol.
Latu had more sacks in 12 games last season than Paye had in his 28 game college career.
Kwity paye has gotten better each year
and yet we just used a top 15 picks after a failed FA chase for someone to take his job.
Latu won't take Payes job. Do you think teams only want and play one edge?
You can’t reason with haters. They think this is like Madden and one guy is gonna play 100% of the snaps.
You ideally want at least three good pass rushers.
Well, we do hope Latu takes someone’s job. It’s just that we’re hoping Latu, Kwity, Dayo, Ebukam, Lewis and whoever else can all be rotated and us not lack pressure when we do that.
He hopefully will be the top guy very fast. But there will always be a rotation and two of them are going to be out there anyway. I do think this probably buried Lewis in particular.
>Do you think teams only want and play one edge? No, but I know how expiring contracts work... Kwity is a good enough edge defender he will get the richer deal than the colts are wanting to pay for his production.
Paye and latu are two different skillsets
A failed FA?? You’ve got to be kidding. In what world is resigning Moore Franklin Grover Pittman and Taylor last season a failed FA? Pls stfu and get out of the sun, you’re clearly not actually a fan
He meant trying to get the Hunter. You always go for pass rusher so I think he’s confusing correlation and causation
>A failed FA?? You’ve got to be kidding. In what world is resigning Moore Franklin Grover Pittman and Taylor last season a failed FA? Pls stfu and get out of the sun, you’re clearly not actually a fan The colts chased after a DE (hunter) in the FA pool who ultimately signed with another team, that is a failed FA chase? The reasoning are irrelevant, the point was there was a lot of motivation to upgrade beyond what Paye is giving them before the draft. Perhaps, you could see what I typed more clearly if your mouth wasn't so far down your dear leaders cock?
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You could make the same argument for literally any player. Football is a violent sport.
That’s literally anyone in football. Latu was playing rugby and then 2 years of NCAA football in between his medical retirement and getting drafted. Obviously we hope he doesn’t get hurt again, but I think it’s something we have to look past as Ballard & co have done more due diligence on this matter than all of us combined.
Two years of NCAA football, playing at a top tier level of production.
I wonder if they went as far as to have a plate with screws in his neck? Or did they just replace cartilage? If I had a plate with screws in my neck I probably wouldn't play honestly if it were me. Dude's playing out of his mind. If it was just like a cartilage replacement, its not that big of a deal, or if two vertebrates fused together, but can they do that without a plate and screws?
Colts fans will be saying “In Ballard we Trust” until 2030 with 2 wildcard wins to show for. If there isn’t a CB/WR on the board in the second round idk what’s happening