2018 Draft Class Progress: Mid-Season Edition

[jrry32]

9 hours ago, Chiefer said:

3rd: Derrick Nnadi DT/NT - has been out most reliable rookie. Solid on the inside and in run defense plays in our base packages.

I'm not surprised. He was such a consistent and polished college player. 

[ninjapirate]

2. Dallas Goedert- He's the second tight end and looks like a good player.

4. Josh Sweat- Just now getting playing time after some injuries. Stil TBD.

4. Avonte Maddoz- Starting FS right now and looks good. 

6. Matt Pryor- Don't think he's been active yet.

7. Jordan Mailata- Hasn't played yet.

[iknowcool]

1. DJ Moore, WR - Any time he touches the ball, he's lethal.  He's just as good after the catch as he was in college and almost always makes the first guy miss.  He's been incorporated into the offense slower than I think most people imagined, but he looks like the real deal when he's gotten the opportunities and he should be getting more of those the rest of the way.  Last week vs Baltimore was his first time starting and he finished with 129 total yards (5 catches on 6 targets, 2 carries) while playing several different roles.

2. Donte Jackson, CB - One of the best players in the entire draft so far, which surprises me because I didn't hear much about him coming out.  According to PFF, he's 4th overall in passer rating allowed in coverage at 56.3 (to be fair, Bradberry is the one tasked with shadowing #1s but very impressive nonetheless).  His ball skills are top-notch.  The most impressive thing though is his willingness and ability to tackle.  He's done a good job when we need him to come up to the LOS and make a play against the run.  He's been a difference maker.

3. Rashaan Gaulden, S - Haven't noticed him much.  He's gotten some play-time since we rotate our safeties, but he's not been involved in much.  

4. Ian Thomas, TE - He showed flashes when Olsen were out, but he was raw coming out of school and it was on display.  Dropped an open touchdown pass earlier this season and ran the incorrect route which led to a Newton interception in the Giants game.

4. Marquis Haynes, DE - He's been inactive the entire season other than maybe the first or second game.  Obada's performance has had a lot to do with it.

Everyone after that (Jermaine Carter, Andre Smith, Kendrick Norton) is in the same boat or are on the practice squad.

[Calvert28]

1- Leighton Vander Esch- Not a rookie in this class I would take over him. Does all the little things right and only keeps improving.

2- Connor Williams- Unless I'm mistaken has started every snap this season. He has certainly had some rookie mistakes but has done nothing for us to regret drafting him. At the very least looks to be a solid starter for the next decade which is about what you would expect for a 2nd rounder.

3- Michael Gallup- Showed some real burst against the Redskins and has been our best deep threat (even though that's not saying much). He's already becoming a starter midway through the season.

4- Dorance Armstrong- Hasn't done anything worth noting.

4- Dalton Shultz- Had 1 reception against the Redskins.

5- Mike White- Has shown flashes but hasnt done anything of note.

6- Got Tavon Austin for it and he was decent for the pick before he got injured.

6- Chris Covington- Not worth noting

6- Cedrick Wilson- Showed flashes before getting hurt.

7- Bo Scarbrough- Got cut.

 

 

[onejayhawk]

11 hours ago, Chiefer said:

How are those rookies doing halfway through the season?

Chiefs

No 1st round pick because of Mahomes, having one of the best seasons for a QB ever to start the year

2nd: Breeland Speaks DE/OLB - has been playing due to injuries but has been solid enough. Decent pressure but he has no bend so is played wide 9 to compensate. 

3rd: Derrick Nnadi DT/NT - has been out most reliable rookie. Solid on the inside and in run defense plays in our base packages.

3rd: Dorian O'Daniel LB/S - has made an impact when asked to play. Gets washed out against the inside run but he's great in pass coverage and attacking outside runs.(at least with limited snaps)

4th: Armani Watts S - was looking pretty good, had some clutch plays. But had a muscle core injury and out on IT

6th: Tremon Smith KR/CB - Kick returner due to injury he's been pretty good so far. Blazing speed

6th: Kahlil McKenzie G/OL - Conversion project, made the active roster but will be inactive all year

Pretty good write up. The Chiefs did well in this draft, especially considering the team was in restock mode.

Now that the rookies have some experience the whole D may shift around a bit. A couple comments. 

• I was not high on Speaks coming out. He has shown better power rush than I gave him credit.
• Nnadi has been strictly running downs but almost all of them lately.
• Dorian O'Daniel shines in man coverage. I look for him to stay in more often rather than going for an extra safety. Compared to a DB he tackles well.
• O'Daniel is also a star on the #1 (with a bullet) ranked ST unit. They are killing it this season.
• Tremon Smith is lead returner for the #3 KO ranked return unit. 
• When Chiefer says McKenzie is a conversion, he understates. The guy played DL at Tennessee.

J

[lomaxgrUK]

1st round, Bradley Chubb, OLB/DE - He's played well, although I would argue he hasn't been as good as the sack numbers may insinuate. Good against the run (as he should be at 270lbs), above average pass rusher on 3rd down. It's no fault of Chubb's, but this pick is always going to come back to the fact that we passed on two QBs (Rosen, Allen) for him. He was supposed to be an immediate, high impact player and I personally don't think he's been that. I would argue that Shaq Barrett has outperformed him. 

2nd round, Courtland Sutton, WR - He's had limited opportunities, especially early in the year because we ran most of our plays out of 12 personnel, thus it was Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas on the field. With Jake Butt getting put on IR, we've run a lot more 11 personnel and he's seen more targets and he's been productive with them. With Thomas now being traded, we're expecting big things from Sutton. He's been the talk of the team since minicamps because of his pure athleticism and contested catch ability. One to keep an eye on for the 2nd half of the season.

3rd round, Royce Freeman, RB - Not convinced he's ever going to be worth this pick, but he was playing well before he hurt his ankle. He's really, really tough to bring down and he has good cutting ability for his size. His vision isn't good enough for him to ever be a top end back, along with the fact he doesn't have a 2nd gear speed. He was complimenting our other rookie RB really well before his injury. More about him later ...

3rd round, Isaac Yiadom, CB - Despite a total lack of CB depth, poor play and injuries, he still hasn't seen the field much. He got really picked on in preseason and I think the Coaching staff lost confidence in him from that point. I actually like his ability to run with his man, but he doesn't play the football well at all which is a huge issue in the NFL. He's still got time, but with the way our roster is currently panning out we're going to need him to develop big time next year.

4th round, Josey Jewell, ILB - Has flashed ability in the run game with his instincts and tackling ability. He's playing behind Brandon Marshall and Todd Davis, but he saw game time in our base 3-4 when Marshall got hurt. He does have limitations from an athleticism standpoint, but I am intrigued to see him the 2nd half of the year when he will get more snaps.

4th round, DaeSean Hamilton, WR - Like Sutton, he's had really limited opportunities and just as the potential for him to see more time arose (more 12 personnel), he got hurt on a fair catch. He impressed Coaching staff in camp but may get more looks in the 2nd half of the season to give some notable production.

5th round,  Troy Fumagalli, TE - Put on IR before playing a game. Basically a way of stashing him.

6th round, Sam Jones, C/G - To my knowledge, hasn't suited up this year to date.

6th round, Keishawn Bierria, ILB - Has played well on Special Teams. Hasn't seen any Defensive snaps.

7th round, David Williams, RB - Cut and put on the PS. Claimed by the Jaguars recently.

Undrafted - Phillip Lindsay, RB - To be frank, he's a star. Not a star for an undrafted player; a star compared with all NFL players. He's got top level burst, top level vision, top level cutting ability, very good hands, good route runner,  and more than willing to stick his nose in as a blocker. He's the first undrafted player in NFL history with 100 yards from scrimmage in his first two games. He's 6th in the league in rushing yards whilst having a YPC of 5.7 - the best YPC above him from those with more yards is 4.7.

Overall, most Bronco fans like our draft and how it's panning out. The absolute shambles that was our 2017 NFL draft may impact on how much this draft class gets to shine before they break up as a group, but hopefully it won't.

If Josh Allen or Josh Rosen pan out, however, then Elway will forever be remembered in this draft for passing on them.

[tgrades3]

1st round: Rashaan Evans, LB - We traded up to get him. He got off to a slow start in TC with an unknown injury & didn’t get to suit up until week 4. Started to get playing time in week 5 with all our injuries. He started really slow & looked bad but he has been coming around lately. He could shine in 2nd half with everybody healthy 

 

2nd Round: Harold Landry, DE - Again trades up for him. He got hurt early in TC and missed week 1, he made a big impact the next couple weeks before he disappeared. He too could have a big 2nd half with everybody healthy. 

 

Round 5: Dane Cruikshank, S/CB - He has been great on special teams so far, even has a TD reception lol. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get more playing time on D.

 

Round 6: Luke Falk, QB - He looked terrible in preseason, ended up getting Cut & signed with the dolphins PS 

 

 

[SilverNBlackFan]

Phillip Lindsay is a stud. Great find by Elway 

[Danand]

1. round: Hayden Hurst, TE – Seemed like a good weapon in preseason with strong hands. Then had a stress fracture in his foot which cost him 4-6 weeks, and when he returned he hasn’t had much success. While he had a garbage time TD against the Panthers, he also haven’t shown the great hands he did in college.

1. round: Lamar Jackson, QB: Is used mostly as a running threat and has worked so-and-so in that regard. The “gimmick” didn’t work well in the beginning of the year, but he had some good runs. While he had a TD pass against the Panthers which looked great, he also had a very poor throw to a free wide receiver that would have converted a 3 and 1.

3. round: Orlando Brown, OT: Most Ravens fans have been screaming for him to start. Looked like a talent that could start early, but the Ravens opted to start veteran James Hurst at tackle. Has been thrown into action due to injuries and has held his own with a few rookie mistakes.

3. round: Mark Andrews, TE: He shouldn’t block, but let him run up field and find the soft spots in zone and let him do work in the red zone, and I think Ravens have a great talent in that regard for the coming years.

4. round: Anthony Averett, CB: Came on strong in the pre season and somewhat surprised many Ravens fans who didn’t think he was on the radar. Scrappy and able to stick with wide receivers, and then got injured before the first game and just returned to the active list.

4. round: Kenny Young, LB: Fast and more instinctive than in college. By far at his best when he is allowed to hit gaps and attack up field and run to the sidelines. Doesn’t find the ball/pass catchers well in the passing game

4. round: Jaleel Scott, WR: Showed nothing in pre season, the Ravens most likely wouldn’t already give up on a 4^th round pick and IR’ed him.

5. round: Jordan Lasley, WR: Healthy scratch, hasn’t show much and hasn’t had the opportunity to do so. The suspect hands is there, but also the playmaking ability.

6. round: DeShon Elliot, S: Showed a little in pre season, then got IR’ed.

6. round: Greg Senat, OT: Athletic and showed enough for the Ravens to be scared he would be taken by someone else if they put him on the practice squad, so they IR’ed him.

6. round: Bradley Bozeman, OC/OG: Stepped in as a starter at LG when Alex Lewis got hurt, then got himself hurt but played through it and did well enough. He is out due to the injury sustained.

7. round: Sach Sieler, DE: Made the roster but have been a healthy scratch. Came from low competition but it will be exciting once he get playing time. Athletic and strong and get a good push.

[Forge]

On 10/30/2018 at 8:48 AM, ET80 said:

Martinas Rankin - Pushed into action due to injuries, and is overmatched in every possible way. Not fast enough for speed rushers, not strong enough for power rushers, not experienced enough for either. He's possibly a candidate for G, or a swing T one day. He's absolutely not the guy for a starting T role, LT or RT.

Yeah, you guys need to get him off the edge. When I looked at him as a prospect, I thought his position at this level would be center and maybe guard. never did I consider him as a viable candidate to play on the outside

[Forge]

On 10/30/2018 at 11:23 AM, animaltested said:

Mike Davis being an awesome 2nd RB

Words I honestly never thought I'd hear

[FinSting]

8 hours ago, Danand said:

1. round: Hayden Hurst, TE – Seemed like a good weapon in preseason with strong hands. Then had a stress fracture in his foot which cost him 4-6 weeks, and when he returned he hasn’t had much success. While he had a garbage time TD against the Panthers, he also haven’t shown the great hands he did in college.

1. round: Lamar Jackson, QB: Is used mostly as a running threat and has worked so-and-so in that regard. The “gimmick” didn’t work well in the beginning of the year, but he had some good runs. While he had a TD pass against the Panthers which looked great, he also had a very poor throw to a free wide receiver that would have converted a 3 and 1.

 

Congrats! Yours is the only list where the first two draft picks worked together to score a TD last weekend. 

[Danger]

On 10/30/2018 at 9:49 PM, ninjapirate said:

4. Avonte Maddoz- Starting FS right now and looks good.

He's been in various parts of the secondary. He's certainly struggled at times, but he hasn't been awful.

[SBLIII]

Not much to say honestly. Most are on IR. Michel has been good when healthy though. Will be interesting how Dawson does now.

[minutemancl]

Saquan is a stud. Hernandez is a stud and our best OL by a sizeable margin. BJ Hill and Lorenzo Carter started as rotational guys but have been getting a lot more snaps recently and both look like hits. Carter is as quick and ahtletic as everyone knew he was, but his hand use and transitional pass rush moves are incredibly advanced for a guy who has played 8 games. Carl Banks is really high on Carter. BJ Hill is one of the most athletic DTs the Giants have ever had and makes a few wow plays every game. We haven't seen Lauletta yet, but we better see him soon. Until then, no idea on him. RJ Mcintosh just recently got cleared back to practice after a long absence due to a medical condition that he had surgery for (think it was a thyroid condition? It's kind a mystery at this point. It may be embarrassing so that's why RJ doesn't want to talk about it). We will see if he is activated off the NFI list soon so he can get some game action. I don't see why he wouldn't; the season is lost and all game experience is good experience. He didn't even practice all preseason, so no way to know how he is.

6 picks, 2 are studs, 2 look great, and 2 we've yet to see. Gettleman really did not do a great job in hindsight on his big name FA signings (Omameh, Jonathan Stewart, Solder to a much lesser extent), but the man knows how to evaluate and draft.