Yeah…and you were the one that called it.
I remember doing the Mock Draft Simulator and posting the results where I picked Malcolm Rodriguez.
You were commending me on getting MR and how much you loved him.
Who the hell is Zaire Franklin? LOL
And why is he talking shit?
He got blocked twice and held on the pass to JW, who almost made the catch anyways.
Why is it the players that shouldn’t be talking trash are always have the biggest mouths?
#STFUZaireFranklin
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Shouldn’t the guy named Zaire be the one to tote DROC. 
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He congo for big yards him get his chance.
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I usd GPS to get to the grocery store, my man!
Also…you can get away with a lot when you are excessively handsome.
Focus on enjoying your gifts, it’ll get ya farther.
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Yes, many of us have been raving about his instincts. But the thing about Rodrigo that people are missing is that he IS the “best athlete with all the good metrics”. According to RAS, he had scores of 9.76 in the vertical, 9.65 in the 40, 9.81 in the 10 yard split, 9.41 in the shuttle, and 8.06 in the 3-cone. The only place he was not elite athletically was the broad jump with a 7.83.
His total RAS score of 9.28 is excellent, but that total score didn’t even account for 36 reps on the bench during his pro day, which is really incredible. If you put his bench in there, and took out his height (0.76) and weight (4.38), (which would be a true “athletic” score), his RAS would probably be close to top 1-2%.
Its only “traits” that made him drop in the draft, not “athleticism”.
Been high on this kid since Day 1, nice to finally see some justified Kool-Aid!
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This is SO interesting to watch. Obviously, we’re all rooting for this cat to be the best LB in the NFL. If he turns out to be as good as it feels like he is, how TF does a dude like this get drafted that late? Wowza!
Holmes got Ra late too → fantastic. If last year’s draft was done over, Ra would have been a late first/early 2nd.
UDFA defensive backs that are good players, even starter quality in the case of JJ.
Love our bald guy.
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Sometimes you have to be lucky. i think we were lucky with Rodrigo. Remember, we had pick 181 in the 6th round, and traded down to 188 and THEN picked Rodrigo. If we had any inkling he’d be this good, we were playing with fire with that little trade down! We got lucky. But you know what they say - its better to be lucky than good!
Then again, we were the only team that even thought he was worth a sixth rounder. Incredible.
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I agree. With all the resources that are put into the draft, its just incredible that a guy who was among the leaders in the entire nation for TFL, FF, tackles, etc. and had as high a RAS, and was an exceptional character guy could drop this much. Yeah, short arms and 5’11", but still.
I’ll be the first to say it: (remember you guys laughed at me when I said he could start by the bye week, and maybe even week 1). - this guy could turn out to be in the running for DROY. I would kind of love it if he stole it from Hutch and we had number one and two defensive rookies.
(I will duck at all of the PUMP THE BRAKES posts that follow this)!!
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Pump the brakes a little. Stay in your lane. Lol
I think he’s got potential to be a legit starter. Short arms can be a detriment to shedding blocks, tackling and pass defense, but it hasn’t seemed to slow him down much yet.
The instincts and speed seem to be really good. That’s a great start.
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For damn sure. Been some luck in getting Swewell and Hutch. Some luck in Ra and Rodrigo. Also some components of our GM playing 5D Chess. Stir in the UDFAs and acquisition of Jamo —WOW!
This roster is shaping up very quickly.
I imagine us having unbelievable depth in a couple of years, with the top of the roster looking better too.
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Well I’ve had the unfair advantage, as an Oklahoma State fan, of watching every single game he’s played for the past three years. I’m really thrilled with the way things have turned out so far, I loved him in Stillwater and now everyone here is joining in my love for him. Even in my wildest dreams I never imagined him cementing himself as a fan favorite so quickly. Hard Knocks helps, for sure.
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Question: I have my college fantasy draft on Monday. Do you get the idea that Dominic Richardson will be the feature back or do you expect more of a committee approach? It seems Gundy generally prefers the bell cow approach.
I think it’s Richardson yeah. That would be my bet. The one issue is that while Gundy does prefer a bell cow, sometimes that bell cow doesn’t reveal himself until after the season’s started. Like Jaylen Warren last year (who’s now the #2 back for the Steelers). The other guy to keep an eye on is Ollie Gordon. He’s been tearing it up apparently.
OK, mock drafts get you some points, @Snags
And loving him pre-draft gets you some points, @Thats2
But what really counts - did anyone love him enough to pick Rodrigo in the Mock Draft contest?
Just sayin’, LOL. P.S. That little trade down from 181 to 188 cost me an outright win in the mock draft contest (to a tie with Cal).
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I am interesting in seeing how Rodrigo does against the pass. Teams may pit him against a tall TE and just throw it up. That may be a weakness for Rodrigo, he look’s good so far, in all his measurable, but so did Barnes at this time last year. I’m pumping the breaks until I see him play in a real NFL game.
He was a safety for his 1st 3 seasons at OSU. I think his coverage skills are going to be a strength. Height could be a factor vs tall dudes though for sure. He’s only played linebacker for 2 years and he’s already our best backer, haha how sad is that.
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I thought about you yesterday, they had Jeff Risdon sitting in for the Huge Show and he was talking to one of the Indy Colts press guys. He asked him specifically about Barnes and he said he never really stood out to him.
I was hoping Barnes to make some strides this year and claim a starting LB spot. Oh well, even if he’s a special teamer and backup, I consider that a good pick for a 4th rounder.
It seems easier for a guy that is already playing in space to move to LB rather than someone playing on the line being moved to LB.
Rodrigo’s 40" vertical kind of negates some of that guys playing above him stuff.
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