alyoshamucci

Blinkscout 2020 Final Mock drafts

I am going to do 2 versions, based on the 50/50 shot of who I want in the 60s …Something I am going to assume for these mocks … I am assuming the following players are off the board before 52 … Hennessy, Ruiz, Higgins, Mims, Dobbins, Terrell Lewis, Josh Jones, and Patrick Queen … and thus I fully believe we will trade this pick down into the 60s to pick up another 4th. So Im doing 2 picks in the 2nd (but not 52), and 2 each in the 3rd and 4th, then one each in the 6th and 7th.

Mock 1 …

57) Edwards-Helaire RB LSU
Not a clone of Henderson. Not in any way. Leg drive, balance, and leadership are off the charts. Joe Burrow said he was the best football player he’d played with without hesitation. He played at OSU and LSU. He’s today’s MJD. Couple things I saw him do that I should note.
1) I saw guys take great angles on him, but when they arrived they made no impact on him. They basically just bounced off. So first downs/TDs on swings and pitches are basically a +3 yard thing now. UNless it’s a 250 lb LB going full speed at him it’s not going to change his angle.
2) I saw him “for sure tackled” by 2-3 guys, multiple times, and he would stumble out and not actually go down … Fooling camera men, officials, and players. He would do this at least once a game, and it was a serious sideline motivator.

2nd 2nd) Curtis Weaver rOLB Boise
I can take him if he’s there, if not I have a backup plan. He’s got size for playing against the run, enough long speed to get to the far sideline, and is really solid when it comes to change of direction speed and agility. His sack production, while in the Mountain West, was still noteworthy because he was the only pass rush threat and was always doubled.

3rd) Donovan Peoples-Jones WR MICHIGAN
I like this fit because he doesn’t take Reynolds job outright. He is a threat you can give snaps to and who you have to respect on screens and jet sweeps, but he’s not an every down player year one. His speed and burst is legitimately shocking. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for us he had the worst QB for his talents. So no one has really seen what he can do.

3rd) Logan Wilson ILB Wyoming
Had a great senior bowl week, and I thought, “Hmm, maybe we can steal him in the 6th” … nope. 6-2 241 running a 4.63 with a 4.27 short shuttle and 7.07 3 cone does not make round 6. Tackling machine at Wyoming, loved his read and react skills as much as anyone else in the draft. Why does he slide this far? Man coverage is weak and he needs to be coached up there a bit. We met with him, so this is a legit shot.

4th) Logan Stenberg OG Kentucky
Mauler with better movement skills than I expected (good drill work at the combine along with pulling at UK). There was a game at the combine to see if anyone could knock the coach’s hat off … you did 5 shuffles and then hit the bag with limited ground contact and the coach was holding the bag. He’s the only one who knocked the coach off balance and moved the hat, to the roaring applaud of the rest of the kids there. Putting him next to Whitworth changes the whole nature of the line. 3rd and 1 changes.

4th) JR Reid S UGA
This is not just a 3rd safety, but Johnson insurance. Team captain and defensive shot caller … he is fluid and solid in every aspect of the game without standing out enough to be drafted earlier. Thorpe finalist. The way he was talked about every game led me to believe he’d be considered in round 2 .. but no lists have him there.

6th) Jacob Breeland TE Oregon
Hampered by an injury or he’d likely be a 3rd round consideration. He comes in and challenges Mundt for 3rd TE right off the bat, and is fast enough to take over for Everett should he bolt (likely FA loss I’d say). This is a terrible class for a TE … but this option could come in handy, and we met with him. He and Herbert were synched up and Herbert’s play was affected quite a bit when he was out.

7th) Myles Bryant SLOT Washington
Calling him a CB or safety is silly … he plays between the hashes and is super instinctive and twitchy. He played with Rapp so we have plenty of tape on him before this year, and we met with him. He’s got small man syndrome like NRC and battles against much larger more athletic players. Been a fan his whole career.

Mock 2 … I’ll change everyone … but it’s mainly about Curtis Weaver, who I believe has a 50/50 shot to be gone.

57) Michael Pittman WR USC
Gonna be tougher to keep him off the field, but having a hometown hero deep threat is worth it. I wrote on another thread that “deep threat” is about the “threat” rather than blazing speed. Larry Fitzgerald ran a 4.62 and drew doubles down the field because he was nearly impossible to defend going up in the air. Pittman is like that, but faster. And because he’s a threat deep he gets cushion underneath for his + route running abilities. He also could be a true #1 and dominate after a year or two.

2nd 2nd) Jordan Brooks ILB Texas Tech
Speedy, heavy hitting ILB that only lasts this long because of high quality talent and depth at the position. Enforcer at the second level that can play fast (Big 12) and is used to covering a lot of ground. He did not have much in front of him keeping him clean so he regularly had to fend off and run around linemen. I expect him to thrive with our defensive line in front of him. And we met with him, too.

3rd) AJ Dillon RB BC
I know I’ve been alone on the Dillon wagon this year so I’ll stay with it here. I had he and Taylor as 2020 first rounders in 2018. I have not seen anything to really dissuade me except the stiffness you’d expect from someone running a 4.53 at 248 pounds. His single mother was teacher of the year after raising him working multiple jobs. He decided he wanted to be a pro football player at 7. They both put plans of action together and held each other accountable. That’s a teammate. That’s discipline.

3rd) Biadasz OC/OG Wisconsin
2nd round talent in a packed class that slides into the 3rd. Start him at OLG and move him over to center next to his old teammate if you need to. 10 year starter.

4th) Byron Jones S Texas
Basically the same pick as a the Reid pick. Byron hits a little harder and makes a few more splash plays and Im pretty sure I have him just ahead of Reid. Player I had almost even with Delpit coming in that suffered from losses in front of him.

4th) Reggie Robinson CB Tulsa
Small school kid we met with that has considerable length and numbers. Might be the reason D Long stays in the slot. I liked his tape and had him listed as a mid round prospect before his 40 … so this is value.

6th) Marques Ford rOLB Bethune Cookman
Guy we met with that has great #s and could be groomed for a year behind any one of our average edge guys.

7th) Noah Togiai TE Oregon St.
Backup TE to at least challenge Mundt that we met with. Definitely more of a move TE.

NFL abandons rule that made pass interference reviewable by instant replay

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/04/10/nfl-abandons-rule-that-made-pass-interference-reviewable-by-instant-replay/?fbclid=IwAR38GHw_Gs8msS8nj9a44ucpizifT2934kBaNjcspNnEZd5aBzv5Fme5aaE

The NFL and its competition committee plan to allow the controversial rule that made pass interference reviewable by instant replay to expire after one season, according to two people familiar with the deliberations.

The league signaled its intention Friday when a renewal of the rule, ratified by the owners last offseason after the missed call in the NFC championship game that cost the New Orleans Saints a spot in the Super Bowl in the 2018 season, was not on the list of rules-related proposals released by the NFL.

The rule was approved in March 2019 for one year only and needed to be renewed by the owners this offseason to remain in effect. But after a 2019 season in which players, coaches and fans expressed displeasure with how the new replay system functioned, teams were overwhelmingly against keeping it, according to the results of a postseason survey conducted by the competition committee.

The rule therefore will be allowed to expire, barring the owners unexpectedly reconsidering it on their own accord when they discuss related proposals during a meeting scheduled for next month. One person familiar with the deliberations by the league and competition committee said “no vote” of the owners is expected and described the rule’s expiration as being certain.

The Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers proposed adding a “booth umpire” to each officiating crew. That is comparable to the “sky judge” concept that many coaches initially favored last offseason and sought to revisit this offseason. A sky judge would be a member of the officiating crew stationed in the press box at each game, empowered to overturn obviously erroneous on-field calls.

That proposal will be considered by the owners this offseason, along with a related proposal by the Ravens and Chargers to add a senior technology adviser to each officiating crew. Either of those proposals could be enacted for the 2020 season with the approval of at least 24 owners. But there was no indication Friday that either is being endorsed by the competition committee, and one person close to the process said this week it’s more likely that the sky judge would first be tested as a preseason experiment. That person added that more discussion of the concept is needed.

The rule that made pass interference calls and non-calls subject to replay review was ushered in last year amid the furor over the missed call against the Los Angeles Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman that led to the Rams, rather than the Saints, winning the NFC title game in New Orleans and reaching the Super Bowl. The competition committee, even then, had qualms about making a judgment call such as pass interference subject to replay scrutiny, but coaches pushed for the rule.

Things went poorly, and many coaches said last season they no longer knew what constituted pass interference and what did not. In the competition committee’s postseason survey, 21 of the 29 teams that responded said they would not be in favor of making the new rule permanent; 17 of 22 teams that responded to another question said they did not favor extending the rule for even one more year.

Owners are scheduled to meet May 18-20 in Marina del Rey, Calif. That’s where they would consider rules proposals. It’s not clear whether that meeting will be held, however. The annual league meeting scheduled to begin late last month in Palm Beach, Fla., was canceled amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Owners spoke by conference call instead.

waterfield wrote:

Nevertheless, I do have an opinion which I intend to share-unless your words “you are among progressives here” are meant to imply I’m not welcome here.

Well, obviously, no one is implying that. Of course you’re welcome here, and I don;t know who would say otherwise.

My comment had nothing to do with you being here, or being welcome, or any of that. Here’s what I said: “And you still tend to broad-brush stroke all Sanders supporting progressives. Just a reminder that you are among progressives here, and we’re probably not inclined to accept broad brush stroke stereotypes about what that means.” That’s about a certain kind of statement, where you seem to want to describe “progressives” to us. All I said about that is, we’re probably not inclined to accept stereotypes of that kind. Which is true. If you keep it up, I would imagine you would get more resistance than genuine exchanges.

An example is this:

My other point was I just don’t see the same “hate” toward progressives from moderates that progressives have towards moderates.

First, I have seen that hate from moderates to progressives (the thing you don’t see) and I have seen it in royal abundance. (One of the ways it shows up is people identified as moderate telling progressives “what they are,” which is invariably something negative.) All I take from the comment of yours I quote is that people engaged in political discussion can tend to get confrontive, but in my experience it is individuals from every position (right, center, liberals, leftists) doing it, with no one position doing it any more or less than any other. But then we all think it’s the other guys doing it.

I just think the chances of better conversation increase the less we address each other with that kind of stereotyping.

Fair enough?

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