Draft thoughts not worth the virtual paper they're on

Merc - Usually on the good trades, a big name has dropped to #21, or one of the QBs is there. I have gotten a lower 1st and 2nd for a QB a couple of times, and for Rome Odunze a time or two as well. I usually end up with a 2nd and a 3rd though.

Grier will not do that IMO. I am still sayiung he sits pat and no matter who else is available, takes a CB at #21. (Unless he trades away next year's first for a big name CB!!)

You have to take these mocks with a couple of grains of salt, but...

I have always liked OT Foster. That Paul guy is starting to move up on my radar as well. Anyone have any inside dope on that Foster guy from ND?

Who knows? If Grier is able to re-sign Lamm, that would sure ease my worries somewhat. Lamm ain't the long term answer, but he filled in very well.

I have found a late round OG that looks interesting: OG Jacob Monk from Duke. He's way down the boards as of now, but he seems like he might be worth a 7th rounder.

I remember seeing Monk on Duke, but can't say I ever actually keyed on him.

I'd actually be fine with a CB at 21. It is certainly a need, even if Cam Smith pans out.

I keep waiting to be really impressed with Jerry Rice's son, Brenden Rice - WR from USC.  But so far, he's been just OK at the Senior Bowl IMO.  He's physical and does a good job getting off the line, but he doesn't seem like a great route runner and seems to have trouble tracking the ball.  Just initial impressions...I haven't really taken a good look at him yet.

WR Luke McCaffrey, Christian's brother, is pretty intriguing.  I saw an interview with him and he's VERY well-spoken and really seems to have a great attitude.  Looks like he can play too!  Could be a sleeper...

and speaking of pro kids. how about Ladd McConkey? i've seen a couple reports that said he was very impressive at the Senior Bowl practices thus far.

mercury22nathan wrote:and speaking of pro kids.  how about Ladd McConkey?  i've seen a couple reports that said he was very impressive at the Senior Bowl practices thus far.

McConkey made a great diving catch on day 1.

He battled ankle injuries all season and missed a ton of time, but from what I've seen of him at Georgia he seems like a solid #3 or 4 receiver to me...maybe a River Cracraft type. I know people are MUCH higher on him than that, but I don't see it at this point. Late rounder for me.

We'll see after the combine, but the Phins need a very good OC, whether that is a draft pic or re-signing Williams, I don't care.

It seems evident it cannot be Eichenberg!

Right now, whoever gets picked at #21 needs to an IMPACT PLAYER of some sort.

I think #21 is too high for Powers-Johnson, but who knows? If you knew he was gonna be Dwight Stephenson good, would that be too high for a player like that???

finfanatic wrote:

I think #21 is too high for Powers-Johnson, but who knows? If you knew he was gonna be Dwight Stephenson good, would that be too high for a player like that???

That's a good way to look at it. Of course, a lot will depend on who else is there at 21.

As I said, if we could trade down a few spots - maybe to the late 20s - and add a 3rd round pick, I'd gladly take J P-J in the first in that scenario.

JMP wrote:

https://twitter.com/DeSenaSports/status/1753092627375812761

After seeing JPJ for the first time on video I have now decided to...take a hard pass.

He looks too much like a boy (my older nephew looks the same age and he's not even 18 yet) and his head is much too big for his body which looks puny for an O-lineman. Never trust a player OR coach with a baby face is one of my new life guidelines. Remember Hunter Long?

Yes, I'm serious.

A lot of the players I've seen at the Senior Bowl look like little kids during interviews - much moreso than other years, that I've noticed. Weird.

JMP wrote:A lot of the players I've seen at the Senior Bowl look like little kids during interviews - much moreso than other years, that I've noticed.  Weird.

Remember what I've said multiple times about generational testosterone loss and how it's been going on for at least the last 80 years?

My older nephew's been working out and it shows. He's starting to get ripped but even after all that he's still kinda skinny and looks like I did around age 13, except that he's almost 18.

This is why males over the last 10 years or so have started to act more like women than actual women. It also explains why it seems to be almost impossible for any MLBs/ILBs can get over 230 anymore at best.

Senior Bowl report from some random site. Found the link when I was looking up Wilson's college stats.

https://vendettasportsmedia.com/2024-reeses-senior-bowl-national-team-day-2-winners-losers/

Michigan’s Roman Wilson might be winning me over. I’ll say it. There is a lot of talk around USC’s Brendan Rice as the “best receiver” this week, but anyone with two (or in my case, four) eyes can see that Wilson is stealing the show. He displayed sharp footwork today, also highlighting some really nice speed and high-pointing the ball. He also got called out for 1-on-1’s at the end of practice and won.

Winner: Michael Hall
I had a few pluses on Ohio State’s Michael Hall yesterday, today his name was littered with them. Hall really stood out among the DL today for his ferocious play at the line. In the 1-on-1’s, it felt like he was always pushing his guy back, even putting Michigan’s Trevor Keegan in a nasty spin cycle to win the rep. Violent hands, showed surprising agility and what appears as a high motor. Count me in.

I swear, when I read that bolded part the first thing that flashed into my mind was, too bad he couldn't have done that sort of thing during the actual games VS Michigan.

Loser: Kalen King
Being on the loser list two days in a row at the Senior Bowl is never a recipe for success. Penn State’s Kalen King is not having a good week so far in Mobile. It feels like these receivers are simply being too physical off the line, and he doesn’t have the quick acceleration to catch up. King was top-five in MPH tracked yesterday, but the breakout of a cut is lacking. He got cooked a few times today, notably from UCF’s Javon Baker.

We just found the CB Grier's taking at 21. Again, absolutely serious.

Senior Bowl quick hitters, then we’ll get out of here:

BYU Tackle will be very good. Another solid day
Florida has another potentially great guard at the Senior Bowl in Kingsley Eguakun
Dominick Puni from Kansas had one of the better OL days today
Brandon Dorlus with some nice pressures today
Evan Williams from Oregon stood out after Payton Wilson today at LB
Quinyon Mitchell should go home. Nothing more to prove. We now know he can play.

Remember me saying Mitchell would be the one CB I wouldn't hate the Fins taking at 21? Also, Puni BETTER be having good days with THAT name playing the position he does      

Anyone else look at the name Evan Williams and think of something else or just me?  

From the same site: a rather scathing view of the NFL draft media and coverage process. I can't really say I disagree all that much. When I read info on draft prospects I see two opposite things about him on two different sites all the time.

https://vendettasportsmedia.com/im-confused-is-max-melton-fast-or-slow/

And another Senior Bowl report.

https://vendettasportsmedia.com/2024-reeses-senior-bowl-american-team-day-2-winners-losers/

Loser: …no one…?
Don’t be confused by the heading. It isn’t that there were NO bad players today. You can highlight a handful of players who had bad reps. Miami’s Javon Cohen doesn’t look good at all. Houston’s Patrick Paul has underwhelmed so far through two days. We are still waiting to see Alabama’s Chris Braswell kick it into high gear. Javon Bullard out of Georgia has had more down than up plays through two days, even though today was better. I could go on.

Bolded part was just for you guys

Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma and Christian Haynes from UConn both land on the winner’s side of things today. Guyton impressed yesterday and built off a good showing. His kickback, hand placement, never seems to really be overpowered by a bull rush. He will need to work on his pass pro against speed rushers, as he was beat at least twice today by it.

Haynes just feels like a mauler. He has a great base to him, sits down really deep and always feels like he has the leverage. Hand placement could use some cleaning up or maybe just refinement but it never felt like he was out of a rep.

A lot of mocks have Guyton being the first Fins pick. Just sayin'.

Welcome to the Darius Robinson show.

Efficient arm-over vs. Tyler Guyton. pic.twitter.com/KM3VMUEDVJ

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 31, 2024
I link the video above because one of the biggest winners of the day is Missouri’s Darius Robinson. The grab and pull against Guyton was very impressive, as Guyton is not one to be snatched like that. He showed great jump off the line, as you saw above the hands are violent and land where they need to be. Hips could loosen up a little still, but he is someone who is tending up.

Missouri DL Darius Robinson is putting on a clinic at the Senior Bowl

pic.twitter.com/fCadFCjjHv

— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 31, 2024

Darius Robinson is someone I'm seriously starting to warm to. Perhaps our SEC operative FF could give us a bit more info on him?

AND FINALLY...Day 3 practice notes from both teams.

National Team. https://vendettasportsmedia.com/2024-reeses-senior-bowl-national-team-day-3-practice-notes/

Tight Ends:

The Michigan tight end AJ Barner is terrible. Can’t separate or move at all. I have nothing good to say.

Theo Johnson is just a much better version than him. Still slow as dirt but at least has some wiggle to him. He’s at least catching the ball and making plays. He’s in a different class compared to the other tight ends in this group.

Minnesota tight end belongs in the aisle at Home Depot for when people shop for fridges. That’s not a football player. When the ball is in the air he may as well be the Buffalo Wild Wings panic button. Never know what’s going to happen. Can’t make the easy play.

Bolded that part because it's hilarious IMO

Offensive Line:

LaDarius Henderson left with the trainers during practice. He’s been completely terrible during the week.

No practice for Taliese Fuaga. No problem with it. Guy was a stud during the week.

I’m in on Eguakun from Florida. Looks like a poor man version of Torrence from last year.

Jordan Morgan is fine. Hard time convincing me he’s dominant. The kick slide stuff is all there. I’m just not sure he’s strong or tough.

What say you about Eguakun, FF? And that last bit is what I've been thinking about Morgan all along, which means he's another guy Grier is sure to take because that's how it works.

Also, more bashing of Kalen King...and Josh Proctor, who I've taken late in a few of my mocks. Not good. (Hey, I'm not going to quote you the *entire* thing, gotta leave *something* for you guys to read )

And now for the American team...

https://vendettasportsmedia.com/2024-reeses-senior-bowl-american-team-day-3-practice-notes/

Tight Ends:

Jaheim Bell can catch the ball and make plays. It is what it is. Going to be a tricky one to figure out. Mostly because if your plan for him stinks he won’t make it.

Florida State TE Jaheim Bell catches the touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone.

Yelled in my direction: “This sh*t too f**king easy!”#SeniorBowl @seniorbowl @FSUFootball @dba_bell pic.twitter.com/ulg9nlKdRr

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulli) February 1, 2024

Offensive Line:

Nothing new on Delmar Glaze. Hit the weights, bro. Only guy he beat was Hunt from Houston Christian and was a converted safety.

Andrew Raym did a nice job on T’Vondre Sweat. One of the few. He and Limmer at Arkansas look similar. Both centers who battle and are never out of the play. Limmer is probably a tick worse. Lost to LSU pretty bad. Limmer isn’t as powerful.

Christian Haynes isn’t bad. Not perfect knee bend but he stands his ground.

Javon Foster is good. Showed off those vice grips against Braswell. Not sure how twitched up he is but he can play.

Christian Jones at Texas is good. He almost gets too wide sometimes but I love his base. If he adds power someone will get a steal. Bends well and stays in control.

Not a huge fan of this Patrick Paul. Yeah, he’s tall but he’s also not really good. Braswell was mostly terrible and swam right by him no problem. You can tell he’s raw with a wide range of outcomes. The guy we see right now isn’t good.

Javion Cohen is terrible. He’s on his heels going for rides constantly. He’s been bad for 95% of the week.

Defensive Line:

Another big day for Darius Robinson. Bull rushed Maryland straight back. Walked UConn right back too lining up inside. He’s just impactful. Probably drew six holding flags during team drills.

Interesting play – #Mizzou DL Darius Robinson could’ve had a sack on this play. #SouthAlabama QB Carter Bradley hit a wide open #FSU TE Jaheim Bell for a TD. #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/AZrziyZdR4

— PewterReport ‍ (@PewterReport) February 1, 2024
Braden Fiske is just so damn slippery. I don’t know what it is but the linemen can’t figure out what he’s doing. They’re only getting chunks of him as he goes by. It’s fun to watch.

Chris Braswell stinks. If he loses the get off he never wins. Can’t chain anything together. The only thing he has going for him is he does have a nasty side and he’s not untalented.

Javonte Jean-Baptiste but pummeled by the Houston guy who has been mostly bad. He looks really small like a Daddy Nicholas that can’t do much.

Justin Eboigbe put Javion Cohen in a blender. Push, pull, ran right through him. Really nice hand work for him.

I gotta have T’Vondre Sweat on my team. That’s all I know.

BTW let me know how much of all this actually matches what you guys are seeing.

And now from a different site, which says a lot of the same things about the same players so no more quotes.

https://www.the33rdteam.com/2024-senior-bowl-biggest-risers-fallers-at-this-years-event/

I can prove I nabbed Bowers THIS time, baby!!!

https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/user-mock-drafts/2024/user-mock-2097382

Great stuff, 316. I have to go through it more, but a couple of initial thoughts:

--Quinyon Mitchell looks like one of the top players in this draft - at any position. Very impressive.
--Guyton is similar to Mims- looks the part and has the skills, but doesn't have a lot of experience and is very raw. Like Mims, he'll be overdrafted because of his size/skill, but I'm not touching him in round one if I'm the Dolphins.
--Darius Robinson has had a tremendous week. This guy looks like the real deal.
--I feel awful for UNC WR Tez Walker. I haven't seen day 3 yet, but he was an absolute disaster on the first two days. He dropped everything and just seemed completely lost. You can tell he's letting the mistakes get to him, and they're just piling up. It couldn't have gone any worse for him. I hate to see things like that.
--DL Branden Fiske is one of those high-motor guys that has endless energy and plays like his hair is on fire. He's going to be a fan favorite wherever he ends up.
--Keep an eye on Kentucky RB Ray Davis. He had 1000 yards for 3 different teams and is a very good receiver. Bowling ball body at 5'8", 220 - hard to tackle and has power. Deceptively fast, too.

I wouldn't say Eguakan was another Torrence. Eguakan has gotten beat before. Torrence manhandled his opponents. Eguakan is a much better run blocker than a pass blocker IMO.

As a late round draft pick that could fill in at OG or OC, I think he is well worth a pick. He will bet MUCH Better after a season in an NFL strength and conditioning program IMO.

D. Robinson? When Florida played Mizzou I remember thinking what a great LB Tyron Hopper was! That may have been because Mizzous DLine kept the LBs clean. And of course, hoping Mertz didn't try to throw the ball at Kris Abrams-Drain!!

Corley is very intriguing. I seem to remember reading something about him being called YAC-man because of the yards he gets after reception.

I would add... take the one or two day reports with a grain of salt or two or three...some of these guys are being asked to do things they didn't do in college and play in schemes they are not comfortable with.

You need to take into account everything, all the game films and what they did in college as well as the combine and the senior bowls stuff.

finfanatic wrote:
I would add... take the one or two day reports with a grain of salt or two or three...some of these guys are being asked to do things they didn't do in college and play in schemes they are not comfortable with.

You need to take into account everything, all the game films and what they did in college as well as the combine and the senior bowls stuff.

Well said! Absolutely. We don't have access to all the tape on these guys, but that's what these practices are for in terms of scouting: you watch a guy and he either confirms what you saw on tape, or he shows you something completely different that forces you to go back to the tape. We as fans don't have all the tools at our disposal, but these practices are great for us to identify players and dig a little deeper.

Doesn’t Grier just sit by the blue tent and write those names down as potential picks? Asking for a frustrated friend.

61finfan wrote:Doesn’t Grier just sit by the blue tent and write those names down as potential picks? Asking for a frustrated friend.

I know what you mean, 61.

I would dearly love to watch how Grier assembles his draft board. I have yet to figure out what he is using to rank the players.

Am I to assume NOBODY here besides me watched the Senior Bowl?

Then again I fell asleep, woke up after missing the first half entirely, and could barely get through the game due to all the constant sideline interviews of random people while plays were going on (Thurman Thomas??? Really???) along with the constant sucking up to Reese's which is yet another company that's gone full woke. There were entire possessions being completely glossed over for God's sake!

All I really got out of it was that none of the QBs in this draft besides the Big Three are worth a darn, McConkey and McCaffrey are pretty fly for white guys who play WR, that safety Williams out of Miami is HUGE for his position, Kalen King is just as bad as everyone said he was, and everybody loves that Fiske guy from FSU in a "scrappy underdog who tries really hard" sort of way, but he still won't be drafted before the 5th round because arm length

Also JPJ injured his hammy, probably because he came to the practices 15 pounds heavier than his college playing weight, and couldn't even last long enough to play in the actual game, and NOBODY is talking about this. I told you, this dude is SAAAWWFT. At least he actually DID weigh in unlike Sweat who refused, probably because he would've tipped the scales at 400-plus

Nabbed Bralen Trice AND Darius Robinson even after trading down, as well as Edgerrin Cooper to give the poor LBs a boost and still was able to get Sedrick Van Pran as well as 2 other O-linemen, another LB in Tyron Hopper, another Oregon safety to join Holland in Evan Williams, TE depth and the only RB at the Senior Bowl who showed me anything with my final pick. Also collected 2 extra 3rds and a 4th for the next draft

https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/user-mock-drafts/2024/user-mock-2112953