Inbox: That's not too shabby

[Cheesehead]

Dan from Cross Plains, WI


Mark Murphy mentioned the reduction to three preseason games creates a "bye week" in what would have been Week 4 of the old preseason format. Does this mean that the season will end one week later than the old format?


Yes. The regular season will now be 18 weeks (17 games plus a bye), but it still starts the week after Labor Day, and two weeks remain between the conference title games and Super Bowl.


Thomas from Cedar Rapids, IA


I put little stock in mock drafts but read for the entertainment and to satisfy my curiosity. Some have no interior DL going until late in the first round. If your need is both CB and DL and you can get the best DT but only the fourth-best cornerback does that enter into the equation, or is it all still overall value?


Getting the best value for the pick is paramount, but I don't think it's ever about the "best" this or "fourth-best" that because those rankings are only relative to one specific draft and don't say anything about how a player will compete at the NFL level, which is what scouting is all about. In your scenario, all else being equal, how deep a team's draft board is at corner and D-line for subsequent rounds probably helps make the decision.


Jim from Cadott, WI


Do you think the 49ers wish they had a do-over in last year's draft when they trade up and took WR Brandon Aiyuk instead of QB Jordan Love now that they had to give up so much draft capital to move up and get a QB this year?


Jimmy Garoppolo had just led them to a Super Bowl. They couldn't have foreseen his upcoming injury issues, and I don't believe they anticipated having doubts about him being their long-term answer just a year later.


Tyler from Cross Plains, WI


In terms of one single event defining a player's career, only one name comes to mind … Buckner.


Sure, except in that case it was totally unfair. The guy hit .300-plus six times and drove in over 1,200 runs in his career. If his worst moment doesn't happen with the (then) cursed Red Sox, it's also a slightly different story.


Reed from York, PA


Last year we traded up to draft the fourth overall QB, while only sacrificing a fourth-round pick. Seeing what was given up for a crack at the second or third QB in this year's draft, by a team that has drafted a WR in the top 45 each of the past three seasons, I have to admire the wisdom of BG zigging while others zag. Ask an Eagles fan how those early WR picks have turned out. What single pick/draft move has impressed you most in BG's tenure?


I don't agree entirely with your premise (see comment on ranking players within a given draft above), but your point about WR picks is valid. To answer your question, it has to be the trade with his very first pick in '18, to get an extra first-rounder the following year. After all the trading over two years with those selections was done, Gutekunst turned a No. 14 overall pick plus a third-rounder and two fourths into the No. 18 and No. 21 overall picks in successive drafts, Jaire Alexander and Darnell Savage. That's not too shabby.


Michael from Burnsville, MN


What type of receiver do you think would be the best complement to Davante Adams? Adams seems like he does a little bit of everything, inside, outside, speed, jump balls, etc. The draft seems like it has some smaller, fast, slot-type players and some slightly slower, but bigger jump and catch-radius types. What would you pair with Davante?


I don't look at it as pairing someone with Davante as much as bringing a different dimension to LaFleur's offense as a whole, which I think would be the smaller, speedy type. The question might be where in the draft the Packers would target such an addition. If the next Randall Cobb is still there at the end of the second round, as the original article was a decade ago, I could see it.