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Movin’ on up or down … With less than a month to go until the draft, there still appears to be plenty of fluidity among those with top 100 grades. As noted above, WRs Breshad Perriman and Phillip Dorsett have both apparently given just what the 2015 draft needs and that’s a couple of more explosive, big-play wideout prospects; indeed, there’s a chance that as many as 7-8 receivers could be selected in this year’s opening round. The other really interesting position in this year’s early going could be the offensive line. On the one hand, there are no real locks on the OL to be a top 10 selection come April 30th, but there are just a lot of solid prospects among the Big Uglies. Its hard to find an NFL personnel person, for example, who doesn’t really like LSU’s La’el Collins, although nobody in the league appears to be quite sold on his potential viability as a LT in the pros. One also keeps hearing that one shouldn’t lose any sleep on Florida OT D.J. Humphries who just may be the best true LT prospect in this year’s draft. As such no one should be shocked if he is taken in the top half of the opening round. Same for Ereck Flowers of Miami, who isn’t as light on his feet as Humphries, but is bigger and stronger.
http://gbnreport.com/draft-buzz/
Agamemnonhttp://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/article_b7b38bf9-885b-5407-ad80-f2b79ac3ff48.html
Mock draft: Rams to select Iowa OL Scherff
13 hours ago • By Jim ThomasPut away the pencil. All signs in Tampa, Fla., indicate it’s safe to use ink to write in quarterback Jameis Winston of Florida State as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, by the Buccaneers, on April 30.
So what about Tennessee, at No. 2? Well, the Titans appear to be taking a long look at Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, which makes all the sense in the world considering their current depth chart consists of Zach Mettenberger, Charlie Whitehurst and Jordan Palmer.
“From Marcus’ standpoint, he exhibits a lot of the qualities that I think are important to the position,” Tennessee coach Ken Whisenhunt said at the recent NFL owners meetings. “He’s got good leadership. Very smart. Accurate thrower. Doesn’t turn the ball over a lot. Can extend the play. So he does a lot of things that I think no matter what you do (scheme-wise), transition well in the NFL.”
Whisenhunt’s inaugural season in Tennessee was anything but a smash hit. The Titans finished 2-14, the worst record in the franchise’s 18 seasons in Tennessee. But he knows better than most how strong quarterback play can make a coach look smarter.
In 2008 and ’09, quarterback Kurt Warner took Whisenhunt’s Arizona Cardinals to the playoffs, including a Super Bowl XLIII appearance against Pittsburgh to conclude the ’08 season.
However, once Warner retired, the Cardinals went 18-30 under the likes of Kevin Kolb, Richard Bartel, Ryan Lindley, John Skelton, Derek Anderson and Max Hall at QB. Whisenhunt was fired after the 2012 season.
The Titans spent a lot of time with Mariota after Oregon’s pro day, including 1½ hours in the classroom. Whisenhunt came away from that session impressed with Mariota’s football IQ.
“He has very good spatial memory, and when you say what’s spatial memory — he remembers plays, he remembers fronts, he remembers things in the short term and the long term,” Whisenhunt said.
“You have to have a memory that can see everything and remember it. Because when it happens in a game, then you have to come over and communicate that on the sideline, and then you have to have a plan for how you’re gonna adjust to it. That’s what the really successful ones do. He exhibits that type of quality.”
For all those reasons and more, we have Mariota going to the Titans at No. 2 in the draft in Mock 2.0. Our original mock draft, published March 8, had Mariota going to the New York Jets at No. 6.
At the NFL owners meetings, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said it was highly unlikely that Winston or Mariota would end up with the Rams. He didn’t think either would fall far enough for the Rams to make a serious trade-up proposal (they currently have the 10th selection). At this point, that looks like the case.
Another move that changes our top 10 in Mock 2.0 resulted from reports of drug use by Nebraska outside linebacker/defensive end Randy Gregory.
He tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Scouting Combine, in February, and tested positive twice at Nebraska as well.
So Gregory, taken at No. 2 by Tennessee in our first mock, slides all the way out of the top 10 to New Orleans at No. 13 this time around.
Mock 1.0 had the Rams taking speedy West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White at No. 10. But in our latest mock, White goes to Chicago at No. 7, a result of the Bears trading wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets just a few days after Mock 1.0 came out.
So where does that leave the Rams?
With Brandon Scherff, the highly-touted offensive lineman from Iowa. In Mock 1.0, Scherff went to the New York Giants at No. 9, just ahead of the Rams.
In our latest mock, the Giants address a different need, selecting Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes. That left the door open for the Rams to take the first offensive lineman in the draft.
At this point, it looks like a must move because free agency for the Rams has been stuck in neutral on the offensive line for the past three weeks.
Center Stefen Wisniewski, guard Justin Blalock and tackle Joe Barksdale still have yet to decide on where they’re playing next year.
The Rams have interest in all three and need starters at center, guard, and right tackle. The re-signing of free agent center/guard Tim Barnes last week gives the team four offensive linemen who have started an NFL regular-season game. That isn’t many.
While the Rams wait out Wisniewski, Blalock and Barksdale, they are going heavy on offensive linemen in their early pre-draft visits. Stanford tackle Andrus Peat, Duke guard Laken Tomlinson and Louisville tackle Jamon Brown all paid “top 30” visits to Rams Park last week.
(They’re called “top 30” because teams are allowed only 30 such visits before the draft.)
In addition, Pittsburgh tackle T.J. Clemmings told Sirius XM radio that he has a visit scheduled to Rams Park. Peat and Clemmings project as first-rounders, although neither figures to be top 10 material. Tomlinson is expected to go in Round 2, while Brown projects as a late-rounder.
Some see Scherff as best suited to play guard in the NFL. In fact, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks Scherff has all-Pro potential there like a 2015 version of Zack Martin in Dallas.
Scherff — who had a formal visit with the Rams at the Combine — could open 2015 at right tackle serving as a bookend with left tackle Greg Robinson should Barksdale slip away.
But that’s assuming Fisher, who didn’t draft any offensive linemen in Round 1 in his first 18 seasons as an NFL head coach, takes one in Round 1 for the second year in a row.
AgamemnonMock draft: Rams to select Iowa OL Scherff
13 hours ago • By Jim ThomasHey ag. What do you think about me putting all the OL draft posts in the same thread?
Sounds good.
AgamemnonWow, lot of work there. If the draft followed that, we could get Collins, Humphries, Tomlinson, and Garcia. 😉
AgamemnonInteresting draft.
So much of this draft is in the eye of the beholder. There doesn’t seem to be any real consensus about the players.
Trade up? Who knows who will drop and how far? Trade down? The player that generates a trade down might be the player you want to take.
Agamemnonhttp://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25143384/nfl-draft-notebook-why-you-can-pencil-in-the-patriots-to-take-a-receiver-early
NFL Draft notebook: Why you can pencil in any team to take a WR early
April 10, 2015 11:49 am ETIt’s difficult to make too many declarative statements three weeks out from the NFL Draft, given all the subterfuge and misinformation floating around, to say nothing of the innate unpredictability of the three-day event itself.
Bill Belichick has been spying on wideouts this spring.
The receiver who I hear scouts gush quietly about the most is Louisville’s DeVante Parker. A year ago around the combine I wrote what several evaluators I really trusted were telling me – that Odell Beckham, Jr. was to them the top receiver in the draft and would be a steal. I’m hearing some similar buzz about Parker.I’m not sure he gets past the 10/11 range, where the Rams are looking long and hard at him and, at 11, the Vikings have spent considerable time scouting him in the regular season (their top personnel people attended several games), and, with Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a Louisville product, there are too many obvious connections to ignore.
Parker has pretty much everything scouts are looking for. People rave about his hands and route running. I know some evaluators have him ranked higher than Kevin White, for instance, and while Amari Cooper is seen by some as the safest of the receivers, Parker might not be that far behind. “Parker is the kind of kid who could go to the right spot and put up 1,200 receiving yards as a rookie,” one personnel man said. “He’s that good.”
I’ve heard some differing opinions on Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman, with some who have been around his college team closely believing he is merely a fly pattern, deep ball guy with just straight-ahead speed who drops too many balls. But another evaluator I trust thinks that Perriman is more polished than White in terms of route running and could be a better player. Both are burners, for sure, but I have heard a few teams pumping the brakes on Perriman and preferring some other options, particularly because they don’t trust his hands .
If three receivers go in the top 10, then several others will continue to be pushed up the board as well (I have a hunch USC’s Nelson Agholor, who is flying somewhat under the radar, cracks that late first round group).
Draft notes
Middle linebackers: I’m starting to wonder if we don’t see an inside linebacker go even in the top two rounds, and I can’t get anyone to say anything positive about the group of tight ends and safeties available.
TCU’s Paul Dawson is projected by some as a first-round pick, but scouts hate his attitude and don’t like the vibes about him on campus and some who have studied him closely believe he’s really a third-round talent. But the fact he may be the best of a weak crop of inside backers and the fact this draft isn’t all that robust with talent overall could push him higher than where he should go. “Is he really going to go in the first round?” one evaluator asked. “How could he go that high? I wouldn’t have anything higher than a third-round grade on him even if he was clean (from a character standpoint).” Some are projecting UCLA’s Eric Kendricks in the first round, and he has special bloodlines, but I’m not putting him in this equation because 4-3 teams see him more as a weak-side guy than their middle linebacker.
Tight ends: As for the tight ends, despite there being a lot of needy teams picking in the back end of the first round, no one is vouching for any of these prospects as legitimate first-rounders, and there might be quite a fall ahead for them. The more football people talk privately about Maxx Williams and Devon Funchess, and how they run some routes the wrong way, and the holes in their game, the more I wonder if South Carolina’s Rory Anderson might be a guy to watch as going higher than some would project.
Safeties: With the safeties, Alabama’s Landon Collins is getting mocked pretty high – and he may be the best of a very weak group at his position – but he’s seen as an in-the-box guy and I had several execs tell me they wouldn’t take him in the first round.
“Tight end and safety, in this draft, is a wash,” the exec said. “If that’s what you’re looking for here, good luck.”
Byron Jones wowed scouts at the combine. Byron Jones wowed scouts at the combine. (USATSI)
Byron Jones: Still plenty of differing opinions on UConn corner Byron Jones, a combine warrior I recently profiled with some good tape as well. Mixed opinions on whether or not he shoots into the first round. I have a hunch he does, though I’m not sure I see it with New England as some are projection (and Belichick certainly does love him some UConn prospects over the years).
On the depth of first-round talent: In a good year there might be 22-24 players who have true first-round grades. This year I’ve had execs tell me they can’t get to 20 in some cases, and some teams struggle to find 16 kids who truly merit first-round grades. Could make the back end of the first round a real crapshoot, with so much beauty in the eye of the beholder, and dependent on the type of scheme a team runs …
Latest on Randy Gregory: Sure, Randy Gregory is getting dinged by teams because of his failed drug test at the combine – and they question his decision making knowing well in advance he would be tested there – and that caused him to drop on subsequent mock drafts.
And character is supposed to matter more than ever now, and yada, yada, yada.
But when you strip that away and talk pure football and pass rushers, I don’t hear anyone who doesn’t think he’s one of at least the top three in the draft, and several believe he’s top two. I hear concerns about Vic Beasley being able to keep weight on and being a tweener and I hear people wondering why Donte Fowler didn’t have more big-play production and I hear people wondering if Shane Raye is really a top-10 talent, but aside from Gregory’s issues with pot, I don’t hear too many other reasons why he isn’t in the top 10 or top five.
So I guess what I’m saying is, I’m starting to think the closer we get to the draft that he will be.
The Redskins and Jaguars and Bears and Falcons are just some of the teams in the top 10 desperate for pass rush. I still can’t help but wonder if Gregory is one of the top two or three defensive players off the board, even with the red flag. I have Washington and Chicago pretty locked into pass rushers, and both teams have front office/coaching ties back to San Francisco, a team that took plenty of risks on character kids with mixed results. Could be he doesn’t get past that seventh pick, despite the failed tests.
AgamemnonOn the depth of first-round talent: In a good year there might be 22-24 players who have true first-round grades. This year I’ve had execs tell me they can’t get to 20 in some cases, and some teams struggle to find 16 kids who truly merit first-round grades. Could make the back end of the first round a real crapshoot, with so much beauty in the eye of the beholder, and dependent on the type of scheme a team runs …
That suggests that trading down is… less likely? More likely?
It all depends. First on how the draft plays out. This year more than any other the draft could turn chaotic. But chaotic within the envelope of the talent available.
Let’s try to look inside the Rams. I imagine Snead and the scouts do a good job of scouting players. Fisher then picks the players he likes or that he thinks fit his idea of what the Rams should be. Snead then tries to position the Rams so that they can come out with what Fisher likes. This means moving, up, down, or gambling that a player will drop. He does this to get value with each pick. It is not just quality vs. quanity.
So, trading down appears to be likely, but within certain constraints. These will be determined by Fisher, how the draft goes, and the availability of trading partners. So much of this draft is in the eye of the beholder that it would seem that trades will be more likely this year. imo
It isn’t only how may of this tier of players are in the draft. It is that nobody will have the same tier as someone else tier.
Trading down is more likely. I would think that in this draft they might also want to trade back into the first round.
Agamemnon
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