90 to 53 - Cutdown Tracker to Final 53
Aug 21, 2022 9:53:19 GMT -6
Funkytown, MidwinterViking, and 1 more like this
Post by Krauser on Aug 21, 2022 9:53:19 GMT -6
The roster has basically been decided, even if final cutdowns are over a week away. Camp is over and the final preseason game won’t be more than a brief dress rehearsal for the starters (maybe).
Players I’m pretty sure have made the team:
QB (1): Cousins
RB (5): Cook, Mattison, Nwangwu, Chandler, Ham
WR (5): Jefferson, Thielen, Osborn, Bisi, ISM
TE (2): Irv, Mundt
OL (8): Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Ingram, O’Neill, Reed, J Davis, Brandel
DL (5): Phillips, Tomlinson, Watts, Bullard, Lynch
OLB (4): Hunter, ZDS, Wonnum, Jones
LB (4): Kendricks, Hicks, Asamoah, Dye
CB (6): Peterson, Dantzler, Sullivan, Booth, Boyd, Evans
S (4): Smith, Bynum, Cine, Metellus
21 on offense, 23 on defense.
I don’t think any of the players listed here are really on the bubble. I’m giving Jesse Davis the benefit of the doubt despite a bad game in Vegas, and giving Boyd a vote of confidence based on his good game in Vegas (and being held out tonight assuming that was a healthy scratch was a very good sign for his chances).
There are reasons to doubt the quality of a few of the backups (James Lynch, Dye, Metellus, Boyd), but their pattern of usage in the preseason games (who was held out, who played earlier and didn’t play later) probably tells the story of how the team sees its own depth chart.
Notable non-rookies who I think didn’t make the team, even if a few of them might stick just to fill out the roster:
Mond, Mannion
Chisena, Wilson
Davidson, Ellefson
Udoh, Hinton, Wyatt Davis
Twyman
Robinson
Surratt
Hairston, Nickerson
Dorn
Bubble players who might have forced their way in:
TY McGill (pretty spectacular performance but he’s being used behind Bullard and Lynch)
Trishton Jackson (decent but not great performance but it’s notable that he’s playing with the 2s, ahead of Wilson, Mitchell and all the other depth WRs)
Late round / UDFA rookies listed in order of what I think are their chances to stick (probably only keep 1-3 from this list)
Nailor
Lowe
Muse
Otomewo
Vilain
…none of the other UDFAs seem to have a shot
So the last 6 roster spots probably come down to:
QB2: Mond vs Mannion, or else cut them both, put Mannion on the PS and sign/trade for another backup. If it has to be one of them, it should be Mannion. Mond has a nice arm but doesn’t have the head for the game. Maybe another year on the practice squad would get him to that point, but I wouldn’t use a roster spot just to keep him for that slight possibility.
WR6: probably Nailor given his draft status and faint hope he could be the punt returner (though letting that punt bounce and roll to the 1 did him no favors). Jackson would be the next choice unless they’re crazy enough to give Chisena a roster spot again so he can miss special teams tackles.
TE3: Ellefson vs Muse. Davidson just doesn’t have it — he wilts under the lights. Ellefson is competent and I think it’ll be him, but I think they should give it to the rookie — Muse is a very good prospect to be a TE2 in a year or so and he looked good vs SF.
OL9: Udoh vs Lowe. Udoh was terrible again today, has been their worst pass blocker not that anyone’s talking about it. I think Brandel can play the left side better than Oli, and Lowe might be just about as good with a higher ceiling. They might keep just 8, but Lowe could stick as a redshirt who’s inactive unless there are injuries. The other wild card would be Hinton who’s been pretty solid this preseason, but I think if they keep a 9th OL it should be an extra tackle.
DL6: McGill vs Twyman vs Otomewo. Otomewo doesn’t look physically ready to line up between the tackles in the NFL. Needs a year on the practice squad, at least. Twyman is a great story but he hasn’t had a sniff as a pass rusher that I can see and he’s playing as the 4th string DE. I think they actually should keep McGill, who looks phenomenal and it turns out has actually been productive as a pass rusher in the regular season over the years, playing just a few snaps here and there.
OLB5: Robinson vs Vilain. Neither has looked great. I think the best plan is to put one or both of them on the PS and keep just 4 OLBs.
CB7 / SCB2: Hairston vs Nickerson — I have no idea what the plan is for a backup slot corner. I guess they probably have to keep one or the other, but they’ve both been bad. 7 CBs seems like overkill but since 2 of the outside corners are rookies and another is well over 30, and they will be playing a lot of dime, it might not be a terrible idea.
…
So that’s a full 50 players — the 44 in the initial list plus Mannion (or QB2 TBA), Nailor, Ellefson, Lowe, McGill and Nickerson.
Players I’m pretty sure have made the team:
QB (1): Cousins
RB (5): Cook, Mattison, Nwangwu, Chandler, Ham
WR (5): Jefferson, Thielen, Osborn, Bisi, ISM
TE (2): Irv, Mundt
OL (8): Darrisaw, Cleveland, Bradbury, Ingram, O’Neill, Reed, J Davis, Brandel
DL (5): Phillips, Tomlinson, Watts, Bullard, Lynch
OLB (4): Hunter, ZDS, Wonnum, Jones
LB (4): Kendricks, Hicks, Asamoah, Dye
CB (6): Peterson, Dantzler, Sullivan, Booth, Boyd, Evans
S (4): Smith, Bynum, Cine, Metellus
21 on offense, 23 on defense.
I don’t think any of the players listed here are really on the bubble. I’m giving Jesse Davis the benefit of the doubt despite a bad game in Vegas, and giving Boyd a vote of confidence based on his good game in Vegas (and being held out tonight assuming that was a healthy scratch was a very good sign for his chances).
There are reasons to doubt the quality of a few of the backups (James Lynch, Dye, Metellus, Boyd), but their pattern of usage in the preseason games (who was held out, who played earlier and didn’t play later) probably tells the story of how the team sees its own depth chart.
Notable non-rookies who I think didn’t make the team, even if a few of them might stick just to fill out the roster:
Mond, Mannion
Chisena, Wilson
Davidson, Ellefson
Udoh, Hinton, Wyatt Davis
Twyman
Robinson
Surratt
Hairston, Nickerson
Dorn
Bubble players who might have forced their way in:
TY McGill (pretty spectacular performance but he’s being used behind Bullard and Lynch)
Trishton Jackson (decent but not great performance but it’s notable that he’s playing with the 2s, ahead of Wilson, Mitchell and all the other depth WRs)
Late round / UDFA rookies listed in order of what I think are their chances to stick (probably only keep 1-3 from this list)
Nailor
Lowe
Muse
Otomewo
Vilain
…none of the other UDFAs seem to have a shot
So the last 6 roster spots probably come down to:
QB2: Mond vs Mannion, or else cut them both, put Mannion on the PS and sign/trade for another backup. If it has to be one of them, it should be Mannion. Mond has a nice arm but doesn’t have the head for the game. Maybe another year on the practice squad would get him to that point, but I wouldn’t use a roster spot just to keep him for that slight possibility.
WR6: probably Nailor given his draft status and faint hope he could be the punt returner (though letting that punt bounce and roll to the 1 did him no favors). Jackson would be the next choice unless they’re crazy enough to give Chisena a roster spot again so he can miss special teams tackles.
TE3: Ellefson vs Muse. Davidson just doesn’t have it — he wilts under the lights. Ellefson is competent and I think it’ll be him, but I think they should give it to the rookie — Muse is a very good prospect to be a TE2 in a year or so and he looked good vs SF.
OL9: Udoh vs Lowe. Udoh was terrible again today, has been their worst pass blocker not that anyone’s talking about it. I think Brandel can play the left side better than Oli, and Lowe might be just about as good with a higher ceiling. They might keep just 8, but Lowe could stick as a redshirt who’s inactive unless there are injuries. The other wild card would be Hinton who’s been pretty solid this preseason, but I think if they keep a 9th OL it should be an extra tackle.
DL6: McGill vs Twyman vs Otomewo. Otomewo doesn’t look physically ready to line up between the tackles in the NFL. Needs a year on the practice squad, at least. Twyman is a great story but he hasn’t had a sniff as a pass rusher that I can see and he’s playing as the 4th string DE. I think they actually should keep McGill, who looks phenomenal and it turns out has actually been productive as a pass rusher in the regular season over the years, playing just a few snaps here and there.
OLB5: Robinson vs Vilain. Neither has looked great. I think the best plan is to put one or both of them on the PS and keep just 4 OLBs.
CB7 / SCB2: Hairston vs Nickerson — I have no idea what the plan is for a backup slot corner. I guess they probably have to keep one or the other, but they’ve both been bad. 7 CBs seems like overkill but since 2 of the outside corners are rookies and another is well over 30, and they will be playing a lot of dime, it might not be a terrible idea.
…
So that’s a full 50 players — the 44 in the initial list plus Mannion (or QB2 TBA), Nailor, Ellefson, Lowe, McGill and Nickerson.
... and neither is this Chris guy.