Any of these guys could be our pick at six, but based on my read of our FO and what we like out of prospects, I’d be somewhat surprised.
Jalen Carter: off-field issues. No need to belabor this one. He’s my top option so I hope we’re able to come around on him, but if I had to bet we won’t.
Christian Gonzalez: Does he have the attitude we want out of our corners? I was listening to the Journey to the Draft podcast this morning, and Ben Fennell who works at NFL Network with DJ said the big concern league-wide is whether or not Gonzalez has any dawg in him. He stopped short of calling him soft, but was clear that it’s something teams are trying to figure out.
Tyree Wilson: Older prospect, didn’t break out until late, bad get-off, didn’t do it against top competition, is almost purely projection. I think he has the lowest floor of anyone regularly mocked in the top ten. I think we’d prefer the much younger Van Ness if we wanted to draft this sort of project.
Bijan Robinson: Plays low-value position, just paid DMont, highly unlikely we pay another RB even more and commit so many overall resources to the position.
Peter Skoronski: Better odds than not of being a permanent guard convert, and very few guards should ever go this high. Even Quenton Nelson had a really down year last year.
Paris Johnson Jr.: With no ability to play guard while he waits to move outside (thanks @HSVLion), he makes very little sense for us.
Devon Witherspoon: Too small (and potentially not athletic enough). It’s been noted there have been very few CBs this light drafted early and those didn’t pan out so well. Not that he won’t be on our board, but with these drawbacks the odds of him dropping to 18 have increased.
Quentin Johnston: Struggles to catch the ball, has remarkably small catch radius for a guy his size, will take plays off, inconsistent production, struggled against physical DBs.
Myles Murphy: I don’t think this one’s a mystery any more but some analysts still have him as a top ten pick.
To me, as long as we make the pick, that leaves us with any of the QBs, Will Anderson, Van Ness, Nolan Smith, JSN, Broderick Jones, and yes, potentially Bresee. And if you want to get nuts I honestly think they’ll like Banks more than Gonzalez, Witherspoon, or Porter. I doubt he’d be the pick at 6 but you never know. Overall I’d one of those guys to be our choice. I’m sure a lot of you disagree, so let me have it.
I checked out a couple of games yeah and more or less confirmed what you said. He clearly feels more comfortable relying on his athleticism in space. I think there’s a little interior upside if you could get him using the strength that he has properly, but I highly doubt they’ll take that kind of project at 6
It’s a good year to be an NFL draft junkie with very little certain, except that STROUD IS GOING TO THE CAROLINA LIONS. Don’t tell anyone because it’s a secret.
I largely agree with you in your assessment of the listed players, but there is a dog in Christian Gonzalez and that dog is a greyhound. He doesn’t yap like Witherspoon, but he is a willing and effective tackler, though not violent.
Yes, to reaches at #6 for Van Ness (I was so sure he was going to be gone at Jacksonville‘s #24 that I forgot about him when picking Darnell Wright) and Banks.
I can’t see us drafting a severely undersized DE when Houston gave us everything you could possibly hope for in an undersized DE. If we draft any of these guys, I would take it as a sign they plan on modifying the defense from what they ran last year.
I still think Gonzales is the most likely pick, or whatever corner they like the best. I don’t trust their evaluation of QBs at all, so the thought of that makes me nervous.
I was hoping he was the silent assassin type but there’s really no way for us to find that out without talking to him. And the whispers continue. Admittedly they might be bogus but they’ve been around since early in the process and I tend to trust those a little more.
That’s fair, and I think they might honestly. I think they take the draft-good-players-and-we’ll-figure-out-how-to-use-them approach. I also believe in DL rotation and there’s plenty of room for Smith if we rotate more. And I can absolutely guarantee we’ll love all the intangibles he brings to the table.
I love Gonzalez’s tape, but if he’s not an alpha are we OK with that? Cause I think that’s a distinct possibility, and if I had to guess I’d say no.
I agree with Tyree Wilson having a slow get off. He won’t cleanly beat ots like Parsons, Thibodaux, or Nolan Smith.
However I think he has one of the highest floors. He is just to long, strong, and fast for his size not to have success in the N.F.L.
He might not be a 10+ sack guy but he will put a lot a pressure on the qb. He also holds up well against the run. I was surprised how consistently good he was in the games I have watched.
He’s not a chirper but he plays with plenty of violence. Hell it’s why he misses so many tackles he comes in too hot. You don’t see that kind of violence on Gonzalez’s tape which is why the questions are raised.
Will seems way more comfortable running stunts than he does taking on the OT. I have him firmly pegged in the softish column. And he’s just a bad tackler, I’m not giving him any credit for it.
Based on pure talent and faith that DC can bring it the best, i want Carter. He changes the entire scariness of the defense.
Maybe I’m different than most i like wilson a lot.
Trade back is very good chance this year imo
I’m actually decently high on his ceiling but I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he was just sort of an OK overall player like Javon Kinlaw. I also don’t think he’ll test very fast, if he tests. He’s explosive, and that one-step distance he covers is crazy, but I don’t see a ton of speed. I think he’ll test like Gregory Rousseau.
I posited awhile ago that if you put weight on him and shifted him to 3T I’d like his ceiling even more. But that’s a lot to ask of a top 6 pick, especially since he offers enough at edge to keep him there.
But overall you might be right, he might have the floor of a good edge setter that keeps him from being an out-and-out bust, but is that really what we want at 6? Solomon Thomas was a good edge setter but most see him as a bust.
Tackling is something he definitely has to work on, I think it’s the biggest hole in his game. But I think it’s fixable, he just comes in way, way too hot. He’s got to learn to break down to make a tackle. And I know you watch a lot of Alabama so you’ve surely seen him more than I have, but I watched around 8 full games from the past couple of seasons, and I’ve seen him abuse a lot of tackles in that time. He doesn’t have that long-arm strength-to-power move that a lot of guys do, but I definitely wouldn’t call him soft.
You’re not different I think a lot of people on here like Wilson. I figured he’s be my most contentious one. I also think if I’m wrong about one of those guys he’s the most likely. I just think he’s still so raw for a guy who turns 23 before the season starts, he’s a bit more superfluous for us than some of the other edge prospects, and there’s another long, strong, potentially more athletic player sitting there in Van Ness, only he’s a couple of years younger.
Plus I think Wilson takes more plays off on tape than most of the top prospects. Now it’s the Big 12 and they run a ton of plays and don’t get a lot of rest, but it’s still hard to look at. And Anudike-Uzomah plays in the same conference and you almost never see his motor running anything but red hot.
I haven’t seen enough of Gonzales to compare the two. When people say Gonzales is soft, I’m assuming they mean he doesn’t play like Witherspoon. I mean Deion was technically soft and he’s the best all-time, I’m not sure it’s a deal breaker for me.
