The only way we don’t waste the C.J. Stroud window

If we’re not seriously in the playoff mix, there is absolutely no reason to be trading away picks. None. This roster is not “one player away.” We’ve got a legit QB, a good head coach, and an offense that still feels like it’s trying to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up.

That’s exactly how you screw up a rookie QB window: pretend you’re closer than you are and start burning future picks for band-aids.

On the coaching side, I don’t see Nick Caley here next year. The way DeMeco’s been talking about the offense… it doesn’t sound like a long-term marriage. It feels like a stopgap.

Lance Z tossed out the idea of Mike McDaniel ending up here and, at first, I was out. I didn’t want another Shanahan-tree dude. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense:

1. DeMeco gets a former head coach running the offense.

2. You’re not losing your OC to a head coaching job after one good season.

3. Stroud finally gets some continuity instead of learning a new system every year.

That’s huge. DeMeco can run the team, McDaniel can develop Stroud, and you actually build something instead of constantly retooling.

Now the front office.

Caserio deserves credit for getting us out of the mess and giving us Stroud + DeMeco and Deshaun Watson trade. That matters. But the “stabilize the franchise” phase and the “chase a Super Bowl” phase usually don’t have the same GM. At some point ownership needs to make a change or it will be more of the same and they will lose fans again.

That’s where someone like Alec Halaby from the Eagles could work perfectly.

You’d be getting a GM from that’s not from the patriots or 49ers (no more Shanahan connections) The eagles are a winning franchise that's who you want to pouch from. Demeco was to be physical in the trenches eagles built their roster that way it makes total sense.

Would you rather roll into next year with Caserio and Caley and just hope it clicks… or rip the band-aid off now and go all-in on something like DeMeco + McDaniel + a Halaby-type GM to actually maximize this Stroud era?