6 rookies make the final 53

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dplank
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Very impressive.

Another 5 are on our practice squad, and one more on IR. For as much as Pace ticks me off with his FA moves and QB evaluations, the guy can find talent in the later rounds of drafts. He's done it since he's been here, it's his best strength IMO.

6 of his 7 draft picks, without a first rounder at his disposal, made the 53. Including all three 5th round picks and one of his two 7th rounders. I mean, damn that is good.
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mmmc_35
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Don't view that as impressive. I view it as 3 possibilities...

Nagy doesn't have much talent

Nagy is to committed to his rookies

It's a great draft

2 of the 3 are bad.
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I look at it as:
Kmet, Johnson, Trevis Gipson, Mooney were all locks to make the roster year 1 barring absolutely shitting the bed or committing a crime.
Vildor I was intrigued by, and I'm honestly surprised that he and Duke Shelley both made the team, but that to me says that he outplayed Tolliver in his reps outside. I like that.
I was fairly confident that the 2 7th round picks were always fighting for 1 spot. Looks like Hambright won that fight, but Simmons showed enough that he was kept for the PS.
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We're potentially in a position to draft in the Top 5 again, depending on the Carolina team, and probably have a low-teens (or better) pick ourselves.
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IE
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On the surface it could definitely look like a rebuilding situation with all those rookies. There were certainly some areas that needed to be fixed or filled due to attrition. Pace seemed to fix some roles with instant experience (TE, OL) and still find true quality depth and maybe a few future stars across several positions to the point where an unexpected vet or two became expendable.

I'm SUPER excited about seeing Kmet, Johnson and Mooney especially. That Vildor was able to replace a seasoned vet backup in Tolliver says a lot, IMO. Some of us (me included) were speculating that we'd like to see Tolliver take the step up into the starting role. So wow.
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The Cooler King
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Yea, 6 rookies making the roster in itself doesnt mean much in its own.
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HisRoyalSweetness
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I'm curious, does anyone know how many drafted players usually make NFL rosters as rookies? Don't most of them, with only one or two picked late on Day 3 missing out and even then often ending up on the Practice Squad (which of course is much bigger this year)?
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southdakbearfan
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When you have a lot of large contracts more rookies tend to make rosters.
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Yogi da Bear
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Disappointed that Dieter Eiselin didn't make the Practice Squad. His tape was impressive, but I guess that's what happens when you're going against Ivy Leaguers in the trenches.
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dplank
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HisRoyalSweetness wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:29 pm I'm curious, does anyone know how many drafted players usually make NFL rosters as rookies? Don't most of them, with only one or two picked late on Day 3 missing out and even then often ending up on the Practice Squad (which of course is much bigger this year)?
I don’t know, but ours are mostly going to be contributors and it seems to me that years ago you didn’t see so many late round picks land like they seem to for Pace.

Johnson and Kmet are starters, Kmet beat out Harris which is impressive. And Johnson won the CB2 spot, and they liked Vildir so much they sent Tolliver, a guy who’s played a bit here, packing. To top it off Mooney looks like he’s overtaken Ridley already and sits behind Ginn - we will see him a lot I think. I don’t know what to expect from Gipson. But this looks like a really good draft class, based on who they supplanted from last year.
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spudbear
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Lets see how the rookies perform under live fire before crowning his a$$. We haven't seen them in preseason games, so they'll be getting their first taste of NFL game speed on Sunday. They kept a bunch of rookies for now, but remember that last season they only had 5 picks, as opposed to 7 this year. While Montgomery did OK last season, Ridley didn't suit up for most of the season and only caught a couple in the last few games. Shelley is still a question mark though the team kept him for now. The flea RB Whyte is gone, and Denmark is still on the PS.

Pace can claim success from 2018's class with four starters: Smith, Daniels, Miller and Nichols. 7th rounder Wims got a look last season and is trying again this year. I hope Ridley and Wims push each other to improve.
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dplank
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spudbear wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:35 pm Lets see how the rookies perform under live fire before crowning his a$$. We haven't seen them in preseason games, so they'll be getting their first taste of NFL game speed on Sunday. They kept a bunch of rookies for now, but remember that last season they only had 5 picks, as opposed to 7 this year. While Montgomery did OK last season, Ridley didn't suit up for most of the season and only caught a couple in the last few games. Shelley is still a question mark though the team kept him for now. The flea RB Whyte is gone, and Denmark is still on the PS.

Pace can claim success from 2018's class with four starters: Smith, Daniels, Miller and Nichols. 7th rounder Wims got a look last season and is trying again this year. I hope Ridley and Wims push each other to improve.
Of course, just trying to be positive and I think it says SOMETHING about them that they beat out some other fairly quality / not awful players to make the squad. Like, Vildor must be decent if they sent Tolliver packing, no? Kmet must look really good if he overtook Harris already with the shortened camp? Johnson won the starting CB2 job already? Mooney has overtaken Ridley already? These are really good signs for this particular draft class IMO.

Pace's late round success is epic IMO. You only looked at 2 years, don't forget guys like Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen man. Both were 4th rounders and are key contributors, one an all pro.
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