I agree we need a premium piece on defense, which is why I'm reluctant to trade down unless it's a monster offer. Both Gregory and Williams are fear factor players opposing OC need to gameplan for. You saw that in the Holiday Bowl. USC was repeatedly running plays away from Gregory's side. Williams was getting double teamed frequently. Even triple teamed at times. Does a premium piece singlehandedly transform a defense? No. Even Watt hasn't done that. But it's a starting point. I get that we need quantity. We need both quality and quantity. But if I had to choose one or the other, I go quality. I want an elite playmaker. No guarantee Williams or Gregory become that, but I like their chances. We're a faceless team. We need some superstars.
Marcus Peters might be the best CB with the best shutdown CB potential in this draft. He's also a Huskie. The character issues will have to be looked at extensively. But if this guy fell to round 3, I'd give it strong consideration to take a gamble. If you play with fire too much, you're going to get burned eventually. But I think we 've been playing it too safe as of late and that's gotten us nowhere obviously. That doesn't mean we start taking major risk after major risk. But I think I'd be willing to take a calculated gamble on a guy like Peters if he's there. Another option would be Josh Gordon. I mentioned in another thread. If the Browns are moving on from him, and it sounds like that could be the case, I'd be interested. It's a gamble. The guy is Britt like in terms of idiocy. But there's not another WR that will be available in FA or the draft that's as gifted as him. Not even Cooper. Would I trade a 3rd to gamble on Gordon? I think I'd strongly consider it. He's a true #1 WR. And if we offer a 3 (which would be a very high 3), I think our chances of getting him are fairly high. I don't see anyone offering a 2 and our 3 would beat out just about everyone else (can't remember if we pick 1st in round 3)