Dom, you have been around here a long time, and I know you are a passionate about your Fins, and especially about FA and the draft, but like the poster above said, you really are off base here. For one, we are in NO position to give up two picks for Kris Jenkins. He is not as young as you make him out to be, number one. But beyond that, we just have too many positions that need an infusion of young talent to give up that kind of compensation. Not to mention the $. Is he a good player? Sure. Is he dominant? He was at a point, and can be. Is he a player that when I look at the FA moves, I say to myself WE HAD TO GET HIM? No, not by a long shot.
As for Starks, calling him a loser is silly. Do you know much about him? Clearly not. What you should know is he is a 24 year old UFA (which is rare in itself). John Beck was DRAFTED at 26. Just some perspective. No, his production hasnt been through the roof, but he was signed based on pure skills and potential. As a 3-4 DE, he will be playing a totally different position, with different roles and responsibilities, which should hopefully lead to dominant play from the young man. Is the contract big? Sure, but whose contract isnt? Jerry friggin Porter got 30 million dollars. But lets be clear, as far as DTs go, its a fair contract.
You need to open your eyes Dom and see the big picture. We werent one player away. It wasnt going to happen. We didnt need any 30+ year old FAs who wanted to cash in one last time. Every player we added (and potentially Pace) is in his prime. You have to understand just how important that is for a team that has missed on oh so many draft picks. In just one day, we have infused the team with young, ascending talent, and have completely made over the personnel in our front seven, with more to come in Douglas and Pace. It is critical that we upgrade the overall talent, as in 25 new players, and that just would not happen by bringing in Samuel and Briggs. We would have Samuel, Briggs, and then Derrick Robinson, Anthony Bryant and Donnie Spragan.
PS Torbor is good enough for the SB winners, but not for 1-15? Yikes, interesting logic.