Zierlein's board

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
21

Its always funny to me how much of a curve that TEs get rated on. It makes me think of a baseball player who can be below average at hitting, fielding, pitching and running the bases but is somehow getting a high score on his ability to play baseball because of his body type and ability to be below average at so many different things at the same time. WTF?

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22

Lol nice analogy.

Remember what John madden always used to say, there aren’t a lot of good TEs in the league because they all play basketball! So your analogy really is pretty spot on

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23

Any one else not as high on Tyree Wilson. Love the effort he plays with, but outside of size, & closing burst I’m not overly impressed

24

I have to agree because that is my comparison and the reason it’s cra-cra to draft Stroud.

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25

Effort, size, closing burst and 7’0 wingspan…

I mean that’s pretty good stuff right there

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26

It starts with Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50. The names are hyperlinks so you can open their draft profile. Their profile has Zierlein’s grade recorded.

Eventually, when we get closer to the draft, the “prospects” list will be for the current year instead of last year. So, in essence, DJ provides a bit of a hack to getting Zierlein’s grades. Alternatively, you can google the name with nfl.com draft profile included in the text.

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27

Yeah you’re not wrong. I wasn’t very high on Ziggy Ansah either (similar player on film to Wilson) & Ziggy ended up being a pretty good player. I struggle to get excited about the length guys at DE that don’t seem to have plus power or initial burst/bend

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28

We’re definitely light on top grades. At one point I had compared the 6.7+ grades of 2022 and several previous years. I’ll try to find that.

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29

I get it, but with Hutch, Houston, Cominsky & Pascal…Tyree seems kinda like the perfect fit going forward .

What an absolutely elite group that would be

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30

I am getting closer to wanting to take Bijan at number 6 if he gets past AZ I don’t think we get the DT or edge we would want .

I am for taking the best at position 6 not second best.

I would have no problem if Lions take Bijan now if we trade down a little then your bring in The CBs

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31

What if that best position was a tackle, who could also play guard, who in 2025 takes over for RT and we move Sewell to LT? Just a hypothetical

I have no idea about him but skoronski is listed right in that 6 range…

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32

All class

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33

@DetroitStrong Make of it what you will.

Rank Name Position Grade
22.1 Hamilton S 6.81
22.2 Hutchinson Edge 6.8
22.3 Neal OT 6.76
22.4 Ekwonu OT 6.73
22.5 Gardner CB 6.72
22.6 Thibodeaux Edge 6.72
22.7 Linderbaum C 6.7
22.8 McDuffie CB 6.7
21.1 Lawrence QB 7.4
21.2 Pitts TE 7.19
21.3 Smith WR 7.13
21.4 Chase WR 7.12
21.5 Surtain II CB 7.02
21.6 Parsons LB 6.89
21.7 Waddle WR 6.86
21.8 Owusu-Koramoah LB 6.82
21.9 Sewell OT 6.73
21.10 Etienne RB 6.71
21.11 Slater OT 6.7
20.1 Young DE 7.37
20.2 Okudah CB 7.15
20.3 Brown DT 7.11
20.4 Burrow QB 7.07
20.5 Simmons LB 7.03
20.6 Wills T 6.85
20.7 Lamb WR 6.81
20.8 Swift RB 6.78
20.9 Jeudy WR 6.77
20.10 Tagovailoa QB 6.77
20.11 Henderson CB 6.72
20.12 Ruggs III WR 6.72
20.13 Queen LB 6.71
20.14 Becton T 6.7

you can access each year’s draft class via 2023 NFL Draft - News, Video & Photos | NFL.com

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34

I just want to clarify. Ziggy DEFINITELY had plus power. It was the one thing you knew you were getting if you didn’t get anything else. A guy who was strong AF and could hold his own in the run game. His testing numbers were the upside play. Ziggy had film of him playing NT and holding his own against a double team. 320 pound Malcom Brown out of Texas was blown off the ball when put in the same situation. It took Brown time to develop more size and functional strength. Ziggy showed up from day 1 in the NFL as a problem.

One thing I learned about NFL training is that agility, bend and burst increases substantially in the NFL. Sometimes it doesn’t increase enough relative to the peer group to get better results out of the player. But it happens. I had the same concerns about Ziggy as you (if we are talking about the same things). But with NFL training Ziggy was able to improve in those areas. Playing strength is the one thing that seems to be relatively constant, or you can say it even peaks in college. Anyone who thinks they can simply coach a guy to have Ziggy’s playing power is kidding themselves if the guy hasn’t already shown that kind of power in college.

I am going to step away because I have sooooooooooooooo much to say on this subject. And its also why I am not a Will Anderson fan. The idea of Bijan Robinson being able to stonewall Ziggy with a running start and free run doesn’t compute. Ziggy would have laid him on his ass and had him making business decisions on the following snaps. However, Bijan stonewalled Will Anderson. Little Willie is also barely bigger than Bijan. Let that sink in to any Anderson fans.

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35

Holmes absolutely would pull a move like that too.
I was talking about this the other day. I would not be surprised in the slightest.

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36

And Witherspoon.

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37

Interesting, thanks man!

38

Holmes seems like. Best player available kinda guy while also balancing need, but not just immediate need, what’s the need gonna be in a year or two, and then how does your scouting rank guys coming out in a year or two comparative to the current year and where you feel your need is along with BPA?

That guy probably has some insane excel documents!

39

I’ve been leaning this way for a while but seeing these lists are starting to reinforce my belief that Bijan is the best pick at 6 (assuming that Carter and Anderson are off the board) with Wilson as a close 2nd in terms of impact players, BPA. I’ve been on the Bijan train for a while but really studying Wilson’s film and this guy has real gamewrecker potential with the versatility to line up inside and out which Holmes will crave not to mention the measurables and athleticism.

I know that neither of these guys are top of the needs list but I want impact at 6 and none of the corners really stand out for me enough to take at 6. Actually, Branch would probably top my list of secondary guys in terms of playmakers but I just can’t take a safety, and mostly a box safety in this case, at 6 so it’s Bijan or Tyree for me, at least right now fluid situation and all.

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40

Laporta really should have come out last year….
I wouldn’t be sad if we grabbed him in the 3rd round.