No one finger-wags like Fenton.


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Sneed is probably going to cost around $15m AAV. Bolton likely around $13-14m AAV.

That’s not counting Creed Humphrey and Orlando Brown (I think we’ll pay him).

You can’t pay everyone with a Mahomes level contract on the books, but if we can squeeze someone in then it’s not Willie Gay.

IMO extra cash to keep our own should go to Trey Smith
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So many of those bridges are WAY down the road, fortunately.
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Exactly why it’s silly to try to predict who they will sign long term.

We have no idea how good these guys will be or if they will regress between now and then.

For now, let’s just enjoy having young talented players on rookie deals while adding more.
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Dude….all of that is like 3-4 years away.

Let’s enjoy the moment.
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and just keep adding good players in the draft. Just don't whiff.
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It’s fun to enjoy now and look to the future. But I’m pretty confident in how good Sneed, Bolton, Humphrey and Smith will be unless they suffer a devastating injury.

But I do know that Patrick is gonna cost us $40+ million a season. Even with the cap rising that means you can’t sign everyone.

And I think guys like Willie and Rashad will get good offers from other teams. Too good to turn down less money just to stay with us.
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Agreed. Sneed's the guy you plan on extending. But you'll still need to backfill for Fenton and Ward around him. Especially after Ward walks next year and Fenton gets a showcase season to really demonstrate his value.

If you could get Fenton extended prior to next season at a $5-$6 million AAV I think you'd be wise to do it. You'd be buying the dip, so to speak. You'd be getting him locked in before the cap really explodes and before he demonstrates his ability to play on an island. Worst case scenario is that he's over-exposed out there and you've overpaid a little bit for a guy who's more of a #3 CB, but that's not the kind of thing that will really hurt you going forward.

I'm betting his agents are smarter than to bite on that, though.
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Bolton's skill-set is easier to find than Gay's.

If Gay can put the injury history behind him, he's the guy you sign. He combines Bolton's aggression with premier athleticism. And while Bolton's instincts are better, Gay's speed is just remarkable and makes him more versatile.

I LOVE Nick Bolton, for obvious reasons. But Gay, if healthy, is a guy that's just really damn hard to find.

It's the same sort of analysis as Sneed/Fenton. Gay's ceiling, like Sneed's, is so much higher than the other guy that you've gotta hold onto him.

But sadly we'll be getting cap relief from Kelce by then (who's gonna be nearing his ride into the sunset) and Thuney. Even Jones. We'll have a pretty lean cap situation when those decisions are needing to be made.
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I think DJ has it right in regards to Gay/Bolton, but that's down the road.

The think with Bolton is, he may not have tested as well as hoped but the dude just plays so fast. He's so instinctual that he just makes up for it. I've been impressed with how quickly he's picked this up.
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I'd have considered Bolton with a first rounder.

This is who he's always been. I never questioned if he'd translate to the NFL. He was as smart and instinctual a college player as I'd ever seen.

Josh Allen (Kentucky) was the only player at the college level that I'd ever seen completely control games defensively like Bolton could. He was everywhere.
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When I first started my 1st round targets thread in the draft section last season I had Bolton, Humphrey, AND Smith on my list of 15 or so.

It’s just incredible that we ended up with all 3 without a 1st.
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Shows how little you know
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Apparently you missed the part where I said that this was at the beginning of the process…
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Yeah, before everyone told you what to think when it was just you. Duh.
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