I’d view him as a great student with a high ceiling. He is as raw as they come, and sits for at least a year (if not 2). Everyone’s hi lights look great. I wouldn’t want him for the YPC. Leadership at the most important position on the field, is what does it for me. Big arm that can make all the throws. If he can run, that’s just gravy.
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I honestly think this draft class is weaker at the top than recent draft classes.
But I think this draft also has plenty of talent in it.
Perfect year to trade down if you ask me.
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If the draft is weak at the top, then who’s going to trade up?
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Just because it’s weak up top doesn’t mean teams won’t see the limit need and be willing to trade up for someone.
I could see someone trading up for QB, OT and Edge.
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Who needs Edge more than us?
If there’s an OT worth pick 2, Jacksonville will take him at pick 1.
That means there has to be a QB worth pick 2 in order to receive a trade offer. There isn’t any other scenario where a trade presents itself. Who’s that QB?
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Every year teams fall in love with a player and are willing to move up and take him.
I think HOU could be the first landing spot for a QB and a team who likes a particular QB might be willing to leapfrog HOU to take him. Personally I like Corral the best.
As for OT I think there’s a good chance Jax takes an OT but I also think there’s 3 OT’s that are capable of going in the top 5. So even if Jax did take one I still think a team could trade up to get their guy. There’s a few teams in the top 10 who need OL help.
I don’t think a trade down is impossible this year.
I don’t think so either, but…
If there’s 3 OT’s that could go in the top 10, then why a need to trade up to 2? I don’t see it.
The top 2 positions on most big boards are the 2 Edge rushers.
.< in Jim Harbaugh voice >. Whoooooooo needs Edge better than us?
If the OT is better than Edge, Jax takes him.
If the Edge is trade-worthy, we take him.
Someone would have to be infatuated with Pickett or Corral to make the move. I’d say the Lions would have to have a lower grade on the Edge guys than most assume, too.
what makes you think this, bro?
The gap between the top 2 Edge guys and the next crop would have to be low enough for the Lions to accept the lesser player. Either that or the team trading would have to overspend. It’s the tier conversation that Quinn got into a couple years ago. If there are 3 players in tier 1 this year and you’re taking me out of that tier with your offer, either the compensation has to be worth it or the step to tier 2 not real steep.
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I’ve been thinking about this question, and IMO, I’d argue that the biggest thing to know about this draft class (like last year’s) is that it’s going to be harder to evaluate than typical. For any players who were underclassmen last year and played through the screwed up COVID season, they basically missed a year of development, even if they played. And this year got crazy at times too. So I think what you ultimately end up with is guys that might be a little more raw than they’d be otherwise. Which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re less talented, just that they may need a little more time, and the talent may be harder to spot than in classes filled with players who have multiple full regular seasons under their belts.
The upshot, for me at least, is I expect there to be good under-the-radar talent throughout the draft, just waiting for a good GM to snag them at a bargain. I think and hope we have a good GM, and I think we will find some good players. And I think 5 years or so from now, this draft class will outperform expectations and NOT go down in the books as an unusually weak one.
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Loved the whole post. I think these more ambiguous, covid drafts favor a guy like Holmes too. Love your thinking, my bro. Hope this all proves to be true.a
I tend to agree draft right now is not outstanding with lets say studs,
I think if your a sharp GM an scouts you can find the future studs ,
I normally am not trade down guy but this year i would look at a move an stay in top 5 or 6.
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I fixed that for you. You’re welcome.
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The problem is we don’t have access to the medicals prior to the draft which clearly affected both JOK and Teven Jenkins and has affected many other guys in the past.
The other problem is that any given year, there’s around 15-20 legitimate 1st rounders, then about 20-30 guys who could go in the 1st round based upon need, etc… The potential 1st round pool is generally around 40-50 guys, espeically once you get past the elite guys at the top. That means everyone’s gonna miss on 10-20 guys every year, that’s just the way the draft goes. And that’s also without the legitimate surprise 1st rounders like Arnette, Sony Michel or Jordyn Brooks.
Nothing’s impossible, but I thought our chances were much better the past two years. Last year to jump Denver/Carolina who both might ostensibly want one of the QBs (and Fields was there), and who knows, maybe we had an offer but were honed in on Sewell. I definitely don’t blame them.
And two years ago for LAC or Miami to ensure they got one of Herbert or Tua. They called our bluff (if we even bluffed), but I would have taken one and then opened negotiations (I said as much at the time). Alas I would have opted for Tua which clearly would have been the wrong one, but I think we still would have gotten a trade out of one of them.
I know QBs make FOs go weak in the knees, but I don’t think this year’s crop of QBs is gonna cause anyone to jump into the top 2. I don’t see them doing it for edge either as the class is so deep and Hutch/Thibs aren’t Bosa-level prospects (many have Karlaftis in the mix as well). And if someone’s trading up for a tackle, I doubt if it’s into the top two.
Plus, it’s just very rare to trade down in general, so predicting it to happen is going against the general trends. If only we could have had the #3 pick last year.
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Picture of Den mock drafters responding:
I’ve seen/heard Jav. Clowney as a comp but with better work ethic. This tidbit from Lance Zeirlein who does a lot of the write ups for NFL.com. Dane Brugler has made a Harold Landry comparison.
The thing that sucks worst is that we have such a high pick and honestly, I don’t think there is one guy in this draft who goes higher than about 8th in last year’s draft. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I just dont see the top end talent like years past. Despite all the morons who couldn’t see Stafford from Aaron Curry, Stafford was the easiest selection ever. So was Suh. I think we get an easy selection, KT or Hutch, but I question just how talented our pick is in comparison. In the end, its okay because we got a good player, but I was really really hoping for a superstar. They need a face of the franchise player.
But I do see decent depth. You figure there are a lot of guys who missed development, but there are also some guys who played last year and would have normally come out but didn’t because they wanted that extra year on the field. Some have paid the price too because instead of helping them it hurt them, see Sam Howell.
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I remember reading that last year had much fewer draft entrants than usual because the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID cancelled years.
This is from an article prior to the 2021 draft…
“There’s another element at play here too … the NCAA gave college players an extra year of college eligibility if they chose to make use of it. A lot of them have. In this year’s draft pool there are 657 eligible players to be drafted … last year at this time … 1,932 … we know that 657 players aren’t going to get drafted but the pool is one-third the size of what it usually is and the general consensus is that NFL GMs are going to give away day three picks like a cup of water … you want my sixth this year? Give me a seventh next year.”
Said one anonymous scout: “There are going to be some absolute slaps drafted this year … as in rejects.”
Every draft prior to this, if a team wanted to trade back into the sixth round this year, they’d have to give up a fifth next year. The general rule has always been that if you want a draft pick now, you have to give up a better draft pick later. But given that this pool is one-third its usual size — and that next year’s draft class pool will be over -loaded with prospects — the 2022 NFL Draft is expected to be remarkably more valuable than this one .
Many of those players likely had no chance to drafted in 2021 or 2022… but some may have benefited from the extra year to develop physically.
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There are quite a few WR’s who I personally would be okay with with the Rams 1st or our 2nd.
Jameson Wlliams
Garrett Wison
Drake London
Treylon Burks
Chris Olave
Geroge Pickens
Jahan Dotson
I would say it is likely at least two of those guys are there with our 2nd round pick. Depending on where the Rams pick falls, I can see Burks and London sitting there.