2017 Draft Chatter Thread...

Cotton

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Cowboysrock55

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Of course, everyone wants to do what Zeke did as a rookie.
 

NoDak

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If we drafted Chunky Clements, Taco Charlton, Jake Butt, and Corn Elder do you think that would be enough to bring Bob Roberts back?

Chunky Taco Butt Corn.

That just might be enough...
 

Cotton

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If we drafted Chunky Clements, Taco Charlton, Jake Butt, and Corn Elder do you think that would be enough to bring Bob Roberts back?

Chunky Taco Butt Corn.

That just might be enough...
:lol

If that doesn't bring him back... ~solemn head bow~
 

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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/06/myles-garrett-combine-cleveland-browns-nfl-draft

9. I think this is the Dak Prescott Effect on the 2017 draft—when teams scramble back to see what they missed on the Cowboys’ rising star, the place most have landed is in the area of his leadership and mind for the game. And in that respect, score one for Watson, for the reason we mentioned in the quarterback section above: He crushed his interviews. Teams privately raved about his football intelligence and his personality. Prescott’s more vocal and a little more of a pied piper than Watson, but the effect those two have on their teammates, and the impression they leave on people just meeting them, isn’t much different.
 

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Move The Sticks notebook: Melifonwu rising into Round 1 range
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks
NFL.com

Editor's note: NFL.com analysts and former NFL scouts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks of the Move The Sticks Podcast share some of their scouting notes, including:

» A CB who's rising into first-round territory
» Jeremiah's take on the sweet spot of the 2017 NFL Draft
» A potential small-school gem you should get to know

But first, we kick off this week's notebook with Brooks' take on the buzz around one of the NFL Scouting Combine's top performers.

It's easy to fall in love with big, athletic safeties with long arms, blazing speed and solid ball skills. That's why scouts could push Connecticut's Obi Melifonwu into the bottom of the first round by the end of the pre-draft process.

Now, I know that might sound crazy based on his relatively low profile prior to the NFL Scouting Combine, but the four-year starter continues to check all of the boxes on the way to the draft.

Measuring 6-foot-4, 224 pounds with 32.5-inch arms, Melifonwu is the long, rangy athlete that every defensive coach and scout covets at the position. He complements his extraordinary size with outstanding speed (4.40 40-yard dash) and explosive leaping ability (44-inch vertical jump; 11-9 broad jump). Melifonwu exhibited above-average agility and change-of-direction quickness in position drills at the combine.

After studying the tape, I believe Melifonwu is more than a "HWS" (height-weight-speed) monster on the turf. He's an active box defender with outstanding instincts, awareness and a nose for the ball. Melifonwu is a tackling machine who's capable of displaying "thump" or wrap-up skills in the hole. He rarely misses runners in the open field and his secure tackling skills will make him a coveted player in defensive meeting rooms around the league.

Looking at his career resume, it's not a coincidence that his tackling production has steadily improved over his four years as a starter (70 in 2013, 75 in 2014, 88 in 2015, 118 in 2016). He not only has a knack for finding the ball but he takes good angles and flashes some explosiveness upon contact. Melifonwu's superb tackling places him ahead of some prospects who lack the discipline, courage and toughness to hit runners squarely in the chest.

In coverage, Melifonwu exhibits outstanding instincts and range as a deep defender. He is capable of getting to the boundary from the hash in two-deep zones and shows numbers-to-numbers range as a deep-middle defender. Although he is best suited to play as a robber in a single-high defense or in "Quarters", Melifonwu has enough athleticism and versatility to be an impact player on the second level. With the long, rangy defender also showing nice hands and adequate ball skills (10 career interceptions), the UConn standout has a chance to be a solid starter from Day 1.

"I think he's a top-40 player," said an AFC college scouting director. "I know he has some cornerback skills, but I would leave him at safety and let him grow at the position."

I agree with that assessment, but I would even suggest that Melifonwu should be considered a borderline first-round talent based on his size, production, and skills. He has all of the physical tools that teams covet in an enforcer between the hashes and I can see him thriving in a Kam Chancellor-like role as a pro. Considering how the perennial Pro Bowl safety has made an impact in the Legion of Boom, Melifonwu should receive high marks for his long-term potential at the position. -- Bucky Brooks

* * *
Melifonwu not only DB riser: Since returning from the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this week, I've had several conversations with personnel executives and area scouts. It's always fascinating to find out which players are generating the most buzz as a result of their combine performance. One player who kept coming up in these conversations --Washington cornerback Kevin King.

King has outstanding size and he ran much faster than evaluators expected. He also had an outstanding field workout, displaying excellent quickness and change-of-direction skills. Heading into the combine, I had King just outside my list of the draft's top 50 players, but he clearly established himself as a top-40 selection with his performance in Indianapolis. This draft is loaded with talented cornerbacks, but his combination of size, length, ball skills and speed could make him a late-first-round pick. -- Daniel Jeremiah

* * *
Draft's sweet spot: The first round of the upcoming draft is going to feature several future Pro Bowlers. However, the sweet spot of this draft is actually in the second and third rounds. I can't recall a better year to own multiple selections between picks 33 and 107. In my opinion, there is very little separation from a player you can find at pick 20 vs. the player you can find at pick 60. A player like UCLA cornerback Fabian Moreau would be a no-brainer first-round pick in most years, but he's likely to land in the second round in this talented draft class. For those picking outside the top 5, this is the perfect year to trade down and accumulate extra picks in the second and third rounds. -- Daniel Jeremiah

* * *
Combine's biggest surprise: Scouts aren't supposed to raise or lower grades for a prospect based on his NFL Scouting Combine performance, but that certainly doesn't stop the performance from having an impact on the evaluator's projections in pre-draft meetings. With that in mind, I'm hearing that Kansas State DE Jordan Willis could enjoy a bounce in meetings based on his spectacular showing in Indianapolis.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound defender shocked scouts with his impressive numbers in the athletic testing portion of the event. Willis blazed a 4.53-second 40-yard dash and posted outstanding marks in the vertical jump (39 inches) and broad jump (10-5). He scooted around the three-cone drill in 6.85 seconds and blitzed the short shuttle in 4.28 seconds. As the group leader in four of those five drills (he posted the best marks in the 40, vertical jump, three cone and 20-yard shuttle), Willis displayed the kind of jaw-dropping explosiveness and athleticism that makes coaches salivate in meetings. In fact, the performance was so shocking that scouts familiar with Willis were at a loss for words when asked to describe how work on the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"I definitely didn't see that coming," said an AFC national scout. "He plays hard on tape and makes a few splash plays, but I didn't see an explosive athlete. I'm going to need to check out the tape again to see if I missed something when I checked him out during the fall."

When I studied Willis' game film following the combine, I thought he was a junkyard dog with a non-stop motor and gritty demeanor. He outworked his opponents off the edge and collected his sacks off sheer hustle and determination. As a pass rusher, he is best described as a power player with the bull rush and butt-and-jerk as his preferred moves. He flashes some explosiveness off the ball, but I wasn't in love with his get off because he frequently appeared late off the ball. Against the run, he gave maximum effort and showed enough strength to hold the point at the line of scrimmage. Yet, I didn't see him as a dominant or disruptive player off the edge.

Overall, I thought he was a productive player who wins with tremendous effort and hustle off the edge. While I like his potential as a contributor as part of a rotation, I see him as a developmental prospect capable of growing into a spot-starter role at the next level. This would make him a Day 3 (Rounds 4-7) candidate on my grading scale, but I could certainly see a team overvaluing the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year based on his production (11.5 sacks in 2016; 26 career sacks) and impressive athletic performance at the combine. We'll see if he catches the buzz over the next few weeks as one of the late risers up the charts. -- Bucky Brooks

* * *
Small-school WR to remember: The combine is a great opportunity for small-school players to show they belong with the players from perennial powerhouse programs like Alabama and Michigan. That's exactly what Marian University wide receiver Krishawn Hogan did during his testing and on-field workout in Indianapolis.

Hogan measured in at 6-foot-3, 222 pounds and recorded a 4.56-second 40-yard dash. He caught the ball effortlessly and he ran clean, crisp routes. He is a fun player to watch on tape. The Marian quarterback throws him the ball repeatedly until they get inside the 10-yard line. That's when Hogan lines up in the Wildcat formation and scores on a variety of quarterback runs. Scouts like to see small-school players dominate on tape, and that's exactly what Hogan did in every game I studied. After a strong combine performance, I believe he has a chance to be selected as high as the fourth round. -- Daniel Jeremiah
 
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boozeman

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McShay picks DE for Cowboys, but OT could fit better
12:45 PM ET

Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas – Free agency isn’t even a week old but the shopping is slowing to a crawl and the draft will soon take center stage.

ESPN Insider Todd McShay offered up his third mock draft so far and once again he has picked a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, with Michigan’s Taco Charlton the choice at No. 28 overall. In his first mock draft, he had Stanford’s Solomon Thomas, a Coppell, Texas, native, coming to the Cowboys, but Thomas is now the No. 2 overall pick in his mock. In his second mock, he had Alabama’s Tim Williams coming to the Cowboys, but Williams was not in the first round this time around.

That any prognosticator would have the Cowboys selecting a defensive end is not surprising. They need pass-rush help. And a lot of it.



But given how free agency has worked thus far, I’m not sure that’s where the Cowboys would go, especially with how McShay’s most-recent mock draft played out.
If the Cowboys had to play a game today, they would have enough bodies to line up at defensive end. You can argue with the quality, but they would have the bodies with Tyrone Crawford, DeMarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Charles Tapper and Damontre Moore.

They need cornerback help even with the addition of Nolan Carroll in free agency. They need more than just Carroll, Orlando Scandrick and Anthony Brown, unless you want to bank on Leon McFadden in a big role. McShay has five cornerbacks going in the first round and three before the Cowboys pick. He has Ohio State’s Gareon Conley and Florida’s Quincy Wilson going after No. 28. The injury suffered by Sidney Jones is devastating for him because he was a lock first-rounder and it takes a corner out of the first-round pool for the Cowboys.

Doug Free's impending retirement will factor into the Cowboys’ draft plans. While they agreed to a deal with guard Jonathan Cooper on Tuesday, they would rather keep La'el Collins at guard than move him to right tackle. They have Chaz Green, who was projected to be the tackle of the future when the Cowboys took him in the third round in 2015, but he has been hit by injuries in his first two years and played in four games.

That’s where Cam Robinson comes into play. McShay had him going No. 31 to the Atlanta Falcons, but I can see the Cowboys making another first-round play on an offensive lineman the way they did Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin.

At the start of the draft process, Robinson wasn’t expected to be around this long. He was a three-year starter at Alabama. He has all the prerequisites to be a top-flight tackle.
The Cowboys like to say they want to keep their strengths strong. The offensive line is a strength, and they could make it stronger with Robinson.
 

Cowboysrock55

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McShay picks DE for Cowboys, but OT could fit better
12:45 PM ET

Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas – Free agency isn’t even a week old but the shopping is slowing to a crawl and the draft will soon take center stage.

ESPN Insider Todd McShay offered up his third mock draft so far and once again he has picked a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, with Michigan’s Taco Charlton the choice at No. 28 overall. In his first mock draft, he had Stanford’s Solomon Thomas, a Coppell, Texas, native, coming to the Cowboys, but Thomas is now the No. 2 overall pick in his mock. In his second mock, he had Alabama’s Tim Williams coming to the Cowboys, but Williams was not in the first round this time around.

That any prognosticator would have the Cowboys selecting a defensive end is not surprising. They need pass-rush help. And a lot of it.



But given how free agency has worked thus far, I’m not sure that’s where the Cowboys would go, especially with how McShay’s most-recent mock draft played out.
If the Cowboys had to play a game today, they would have enough bodies to line up at defensive end. You can argue with the quality, but they would have the bodies with Tyrone Crawford, DeMarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Charles Tapper and Damontre Moore.

They need cornerback help even with the addition of Nolan Carroll in free agency. They need more than just Carroll, Orlando Scandrick and Anthony Brown, unless you want to bank on Leon McFadden in a big role. McShay has five cornerbacks going in the first round and three before the Cowboys pick. He has Ohio State’s Gareon Conley and Florida’s Quincy Wilson going after No. 28. The injury suffered by Sidney Jones is devastating for him because he was a lock first-rounder and it takes a corner out of the first-round pool for the Cowboys.

Doug Free's impending retirement will factor into the Cowboys’ draft plans. While they agreed to a deal with guard Jonathan Cooper on Tuesday, they would rather keep La'el Collins at guard than move him to right tackle. They have Chaz Green, who was projected to be the tackle of the future when the Cowboys took him in the third round in 2015, but he has been hit by injuries in his first two years and played in four games.

That’s where Cam Robinson comes into play. McShay had him going No. 31 to the Atlanta Falcons, but I can see the Cowboys making another first-round play on an offensive lineman the way they did Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin.

At the start of the draft process, Robinson wasn’t expected to be around this long. He was a three-year starter at Alabama. He has all the prerequisites to be a top-flight tackle.
The Cowboys like to say they want to keep their strengths strong. The offensive line is a strength, and they could make it stronger with Robinson.
Screw that.

Just to clarify I've supported many a lineman at Alabama. None have lived up to the hype. Maybe Robinson is different but I doubt it. This OT class sucks and if he was that good he would go much higher. I'd rather roll the dice with Chaz and his injuries
 
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boozeman

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Screw that.

Just to clarify I've supported many a lineman at Alabama. None have lived up to the hype. Maybe Robinson is different but I doubt it. This OT class sucks and if he was that good he would go much higher. I'd rather roll the dice with Chaz and his injuries
Not even about Robinson, but I would be extremely pissed if we took an OT in one of the worst drafts at the position in a long time. Especially for a RT.

That would be pretty retarded.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Not even about Robinson, but I would be extremely pissed if we took an OT in one of the worst drafts at the position in a long time. Especially for a RT.

That would be pretty retarded.
And sadly I kind of like Ryan Ramczyk but the guy is having hip surgery after only one season of starting in major college football. I mean holy hell, I don't want an injury prone O-line again.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Ask 5: Who'll be first-round surprise of 2017 NFL Draft?

By Daniel Jeremiah
NFL Media analyst
Published: March 15, 2017 at 12:12 p.m. Updated: March 15, 2017 at 12:33 p.m. 0 Likes | 0 Comments
Read Discuss

March Madness is upon us and you can expect to hear the word "Cinderella" a few hundred times during the first few rounds of the tournament. Which under-the-radar team is going to make a deep run and surprise the college basketball world? I don't have a clue. However, I thought it would be fun to transfer that thought to the NFL draft. Who will be the surprise first-round pick in this year's draft class? That's a question I posed to five NFL personnel executives. Here are their answers.


Executive 1: N.C. State S Josh Jones
"For some reason Jones didn't get much attention during the season, but he has first-round ability. I think he'll definitely go in the top 40 picks and it wouldn't be crazy for some team to take him late in the first round."

Executive 2: East Carolina WR Zay Jones
"Zay Jones has crushed the postseason. He was one of the best players in Mobile (Senior Bowl) and he ran much faster than expected at the combine (4.45 40). He could sneak into the first round."

Executive 3: UConn S Obi Melifonwu
"I don't think many people thought the UConn safety could go this high during the fall. It wouldn't shock me at all if he landed in the first round."

Executive 4: USC CB Adoree' Jackson
"I'll say Adoree' Jackson. Yeah, he's short, but I love his confidence, character and explosive athleticism. That dude is a playmaker."

Executive 5: Washington CB Kevin King
"I liked him more than most guys but I never saw this spike coming. Also, my bonus name is Davis Webb. It wouldn't surprise me if someone traded into the back end of the first to take him."

Summary: That's one vote apiece for Josh Jones, Zay Jones, Melifonwu, Jackson and King.

Conclusion: These are some very intriguing players. I don't think it's a coincidence that four of the five players mentioned play in the secondary. This is the deepest pool of cornerbacks and safeties that I've seen in a very long time. Teams and individual evaluators will vary on how they have them stacked on their board. One team might have Adoree' Jackson as its No. 3 cornerback, while others might view him as the eighth-best player at his position. Zay Jones just keeps acing the postseason tests. His rocket started to take off at the Reese's Senior Bowl, and it hasn't slowed down.

Follow Daniel Jeremiah on Twitter @MoveTheSticks.

____________________________________________________

It's funny because most of these guys are pet cats of mine. Obi, Josh Jones, Adoree Jackson and Zay Jones are all 4 guys who I would love to see in Dallas and wouldn't hesitate to take any of them in the second round. Depending on what happens with the pass rushers I may even consider someone like Obi in the first round.
 

1bigfan13

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I know I’m late as hell on this but I had no idea that Brad Kaaya’s mom is the actress who played Felicia on ‘Friday’.

Can you hit your mom with a “Bye Felicia” and not get popped in the mouth?
 

Jiggyfly

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I know I’m late as hell on this but I had no idea that Brad Kaaya’s mom is the actress who played Felicia on ‘Friday’.

Can you hit your mom with a “Bye Felicia” and not get popped in the mouth?
:lol
 

Cotton

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I know I’m late as hell on this but I had no idea that Brad Kaaya’s mom is the actress who played Felicia on ‘Friday’.

Can you hit your mom with a “Bye Felicia” and not get popped in the mouth?
:lol

You absolutely can not.
 

Jiggyfly

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Pass rushers who made the Pro Bowl had an RAS over 5.00 more than three times as often than those who had a score of below average. If that wasn’t glaring enough, 22 of the 41 pro bowlers who qualified for RAS, more than half, had an RAS in the elite 8.00-10.00 range. That’s twice as many (nine) as had a score below 5.00. Only three Pro Bowl DE had a RAS lower than Charles Harris. Two of them were 3-4 DE (who often measure much better as DT) while the third was Michael Bennett, who went undrafted. Having a poor RAS isn’t going to torpedo a player’s chances of getting drafted highly or becoming great, but it’s going to make the former less likely and the latter more difficult.

Some other interesting stuff in the link they talk about Watt, Mckinley and Willis.

http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2017/3/6/14822446/2017-nfl-combine-3-winners-losers-tim-williams-solomon-thomas-caleb-brantley-tj-watt
 

Jiggyfly

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It's an advanced analytics.

I don't really pay attention to the score but it's interesting to see how it stacks up with established NFL players.

 

Cowboysrock55

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It's an advanced analytics.

I don't really pay attention to the score but it's interesting to see how it stacks up with established NFL players.
Eh, everyone wants to feel like they can do analytics. The truth is different aspects of a combine are way more important then others for a DE. Those categories have to be weighted to have any real accuracy. I'm always skeptical of these "new amateur" type analytics.
 

Jiggyfly

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https://relativeathleticscores.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/relative-athletic-score-tables/

Relative Athletic Score Tables

I’ve been working on RAS for several years now. The ultimate goal is to provide a place where you can look up measurements for NFL players and draft prospects and compare them to their peers in a number of different ways. One such method is using the scores I’ve developed. Up until this point, I’ve posted only small snippets of information about RAS. A player here, a draft prospect there, occasionally a list containing a set group of players or prospects. Never before could you look at the entirety of the RAS database.

Until now.

Below you will find links to each position covered by RAS. Within each is a table that lists every player and their RAS, along with their scores for each individual measurement used. They are not sortable yet, they’re just very basic tables where you can view the work that I’ve put so much time and effort into. As usual, you can check in with me for any questions you have @MathBomb on twitter, or drop a comment on the page and I’ll do my best to answer your questions and address any concerns.
 
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