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Saguaro
"All 3 seem far and away better than their '16 predecessors, with all due respect to the injured Higbee.
How can you possibly make a statement like that at this point? There's just nothing to support it but sheer optimism and youtube highlights!
They haven't even been through a training camp, much less a preseason, much less even one regular season game.
Look, I know that works for you, but I just don't see how you can make these pronouncements with such certainty!
"Everett>Kendricks"
Obviously, Kendricks wasn't the "type" of TE that McVay wanted, but don't you think Lance learned a thing or two about the TE craft at the NFL level in 4 years that Everett has no clue about yet? We may gain some things going from Kendricks to Everett, but it's hard to imagine that we lost nothing.
Kupp>Tavon or Cooper
See comments above. Pharoah Cooper was a productive starter for a good SEC program for years. And he STILL had problems translating to the NFL level. I like Kupp a lot, too, but some struggles are to be expected. Tavon...we'll see what McVay can do with him.
"Reynolds>Quick"
Might have to give you that one. But keep in mind, Reynolds lasted into round 4. Are the other NFL teams really not as smart as the Rams? Where is the evidence for that?
I want to hope, but I just can't play the bandwagon tune with as much volume and pizzaz as you do.
Kendricks may know some things about the TE position that Everett doesn't but IMO he was a net negative last year. He wasn't a threat in the passing game, and had bad inconsistent hands. He was supposed to make up for that by being a good blocker but in the last few years he hasn't been good at that either.
FWIW, PFF ranked him as the 54th best TE with a 48.3 rating. That's far below average. He was probably the worst starting TE in the league.
That said, I don't know if Everett will be better as a rookie. But I do expect Higbee to step up with a year of experience under his belt. Both Higbee and Everett have more talent than Kendricks. Given how Kendricks wasn't a plus, I can't imagine Kendricks/Higbee being greater than Higbee/Everett. IMO they don't lose anything with the loss of Kendricks and may gain something.
Same analysis on Reynolds v. Quick. Quick was a negative. You lose nothing by subtracting him. I do agree on Reynolds though. We should be cautious with all expectations for a 4th round WR.
I completely agree on Tavon and Cooper v. Kupp. Cooper has a lot of potential and a year of experience. Tavon has actual real production. And with a new offensively minded coach, I envision a return to his 2015 numbers and possibly better.
At least we know he's capable of producing 1000 net yards and 10 TDs. I'd be shocked, if Kupp even got within shouting distance of those types of numbers as a rookie.
