Ewwww
If I had to guess he was charged with a crime but not yet convicted and suspended from the team. That is just speculation but the only thing that makes sense to me.
That would be my hunch as well. Thought it could be mental health issues, but doubt he’d just dive right back into the pre-draft process like he has. A dying family member would also work, but your guess is much more likely. Still just speculation of course, but I’m sure Brad knows which is what really matters.
I would be ecstatic for this draft- many of these names have been thrown about, and even in this thread.
I think Barton is the ideal piece to the IOL- with Zietlers one year deal, GGs age, Ragnows toe, having this versatility is huge.
I think Polk brings a lot of what Reynolds did, and in a stronger and more complete package for an outside WR.
I doubt Ruke is there in round 3 (traded down with Zona and picked up a 4th) but Hall and Carter were both there as well…
Isaiah Adams just seems like a DC guy. He’s tough and mean, and being able to play OG, but with RT experience and success is key to me.
Malik Mustapha would provide ideal depth and range with some nice balls skills on the back end.
Cedric Johmson is a guy I think will be a better pro than college player in the right system. His size and athleticism is pretty clear, but he needs to refine his pass rush arsenal. 19 sacks in the SEC isn’t a bad career though.
Decamerion Richardson is all projection, but the size and speed at CB is pretty amazing. We have some nice veteran pieces, maybe we can get lucky and find a T Woolen type late?
Josh Karty- my kicker man crush.
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Probably not a fit for the Lions, but I do like the potential of the RT for Notre Dame as a stash and develop. Alt bumped him from LT, but he has traits.
I have been regularly mocking Wingo as a day 3. I know we signed a DT, and still have Alim, but I keep thinking a relentless 3 tech like Fiske next to Hutchinson would be fun.
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If Smith can recapture what he was as a younger player, someone is going to get a steal. Lots of behind the scenes homework being done on him for sure. Always a lot of homework that goes into the, “this guy showed top 15 draft ability, but the consistency wasn’t there.” The context piece of why? Is the reason area scouts get paid
For me it’s more about if Smith can regain the juice he flashed as a freshman. Highly possible since he’s been coming off injury of late, but man it’s been a long time since he flashed the elite traits that made everyone think he’d be going top ten one day.
I’m hoping his inconsistency can be explained by him slowing regaining what he used to have, rather than him not having it at all any more. And we’ve seen it before. Nick Chubb’s post-injury years at Georgia were nothing like the pre-injury ones, I really worried that nasty injury had ruined him. But then he regained his former juice in the league. It just took him like 2.5 years or so.
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I’ve got Fisher as my 41st overall prospect, so I like him a lot. He needs to continue to add strength, but has physical gifts that can’t be taught. And while he also had some high-profile struggles to start his career in South Bend, the past couple of years he improved greatly. It seems to me like the draft community is still punishing him for his early play and not rewarding him nearly enough for his improvement. I really like what that says about his character as well (feel kinda the same way about Caedan Wallace out of Penn State).
I think that’s the one spot where we could add. I’m not sure we’d do it in the first, especially with a guy like Wingo available later (similar to skipping WRs in 2021 cause we liked ARSB later), but it’s definitely possible. I think Wingo would take 73 though.
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That describes a lot of CBs in this class, especially on Day 3. The plan between my ears is to develop and play them for 4 years, then churn them for comp picks when they get expensive–with some exceptions. Rinse and repeat. I know, brutal like a Villain.
It’s actually kinda tricky to find prospects at any position under the age of 23 on day 3. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s more guys turning 27 than there are guys who will enter the year at 21 in the draft’s last four rounds.
I think so too now, though there was a time I hoped he’d slide to #103. I’ve moved onto to another draft model now and I can’t draft everyone. This model has been frozen for 24 hours, so it might be The One. Confirmation bias at work…
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A player that you liked early on Austin Booker was getting a lot of hype after a good season and showing at the senior bowl practice. People were expecting his production was because he was a freak athlete. Well after posting some mediocre numbers during the combine all of a sudden he was no longer a good football player. Watching his wide display of pass rush moves to beat some good OTs is now meaningless because he only had a 32.5" vert at the underwear olympics. Just maybe he got the 8+ sacks because he is very good at playing football and has a lot of room to grow because he is a younger prospect. He could be a player that slips because of poor testing.
I would take Booker all day over a guy like Ruke Orohoroh who showed nothing on the football field but tested good.
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Oh I agree and I still have Booker ranked pretty highly personally (65th overall, whereas I have Orhorhoro at 116). This happens every year, the hype gets out of control on guys (in both directions), then the draft comes and it looks a lot more like the mocks from January than the mocks right now.
There’s a lot of stuff on Booker’s tape that can’t be taught. He’s a natural as a pass-rusher despite having so few reps. You hoped he would test better, but that’s because he looks like a good athlete on tape. I also have a hunch that if he was 23 instead of 21 when he tested (like a lot of these other guys) it would have been a different story. He clearly still has some filling out to do.
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I do not agree that Ruke showed nothing. In fact given that I view current Clemson coaching as a significant headwind for their players I actually think that Ruke’s degree of production was fairly impressive. I would agree that Booker has a better plan of attack than does Ruke but in terms of future upside that can be viewed multiple ways.
I think with Booker the testing may suggest additional lead time before his true degree of impact manifests. I think even his most ardent supporters thought he’d have strength issues early. But I think glass half full types thought he might win with speed and finesse while he builds up his body. That no longer seems likely.
So while I don’t think Booker’s testing has a dramatic effect on his eventual upside I do believe that it is justifiable for one to think that it casts doubt on his ability to be impactful early in his career.
Fwiw, I like both players and would welcome both in to our program with optimism. I would not have high hopes for much help for other in year one. And gun to my head I’d likely be more optimistic about rookie Ruke just as an upfield NASCAR package interior rusher.
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To me that’s great value. But I’m the eternal optimist when it comes to athletic marvels having the light bulb go on.
On the other end of the spectrum is a guy like Chop Robinson. The dude is a total wrecking machine on the field. Blows up the combine and runs a 4.48 and people say he is just a freak athlete that can’t produce on the field. The production stats were low bacause he missed 2 games in the middle of the season with a high ankle sprain. He was trying to play sooner than he should have and his snap counts were very limited. If you watch his games before the injury he was that total wrecking machine that 2 guys could not block.
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Every team needs a Booker… 
I would say a borderline top 100 player or just below. I agree with thats2 here. I just see him in the top of the 2nd round on these sims and posters on here taking him in the 2nd and I just don’t see it on his tape.
Yeah I get it, and he has a lot to work with. I just saw a guy who got to play a lot and never really got much better. He has those flash plays from his highlights that make you sit up and take note, but those are few and far between. I just thought his play didn’t match his talent, and I’m always a little harsher on guys like that.
But as you say the staff there doesn’t do them any favors, and Clemson DTs often come good in the league. And despite playing a lot at Clemson he’s still relatively new to the game overall, so there’s undoubtedly some upside. And you hear good things about him from a work ethic/football character perspective. I wouldn’t hate it if we nabbed him at 73.
He was one of my initial loves, literally the first guy I listed on my draft crush list. I just figured his combo of athleticism + relentless would work in the league, no matter how little he produced in college. Still a young guy after all.
But @Davicus pointed out that he skipped his bowl game. That didn’t jibe with what I’d heard about his work ethic and character, but it’s also undeniable. Personally I don’t care about that at all, but it remains to be seen what our staff will think. If anything it might not give him those few extra points required to push him into the “loved” category that I think is required if they want to be drafted by Brad.