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Goldfish's Way Too Early Draft Rankings 2019 - Cardinals at 1


goldfishwars

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6 minutes ago, goldfishwars said:

Great - so our entire receiver corps are slot receivers now? 

Wait... Didn't you guys just recently play in like your third super bowl in a row? And your best receivers for various lengths of time have been Julian Edelman, Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola, and Josh Gordon, right? Three of those guys are definitely natural slot guys, and Gordon is naturally a "big slot", too, right? Except you move them around to exploit matchups and create the optimal lineup. I think Harry is like Gordon in that he's naturally a slot, but can be moved around the formation.

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51 minutes ago, HoboRocket said:

Wait... Didn't you guys just recently play in like your third super bowl in a row? And your best receivers for various lengths of time have been Julian Edelman, Brandin Cooks, Danny Amendola, and Josh Gordon, right? Three of those guys are definitely natural slot guys, and Gordon is naturally a "big slot", too, right? Except you move them around to exploit matchups and create the optimal lineup. I think Harry is like Gordon in that he's naturally a slot, but can be moved around the formation.

It's fine to have multiple players who can align in the slot, but its useless if you can't generate explosive plays as a result. We were reliant on a partially broken Gronk to break down the seams to deliver that for us last year. Brady threw more interceptions than touchdowns in the payoffs, the passing game was on its knees. I'm struggling to see how Harry alone makes that significantly better. 

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16 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Great - so our entire receiver corps are slot receivers now? 

I have no idea how they make it work, but they seem to. We seem to be in run-type personnel a lot, so it could work out from those packages? I don't try and guess our offense - minefield. :D

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  • 7 months later...
On 5/9/2019 at 10:46 PM, HTTRDynasty said:

You've had us ranked 9th, 6th and 9th in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Now 2nd.  I guess you kinda like us ;).

In all seriousness, while Bruce Allen is making his rounds to the national media outlets the last few weeks trying to soak up the credit, the biggest reason for our success in the draft the past few years has been due to our 34-year-old Director of College Scouting, Kyle Smith, son of former Chargers GM, A.J. Smith.  He's running the show in all things draft-related.  The guy is a stud, and has put up a string of very solid drafts since he took over.  We need to promote him to GM soon, and kick Bruce to the curb.  I'd be disgusted if we let another McVay situation happen and watched him get promoted to GM elsewhere.  Probably would completely give up on the team tbh.

This post aged well B|

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On 4/30/2019 at 7:19 PM, SmittyBacall said:

Meh. I thought it was an okay haul. I wasn’t blown away by any means, so I don’t mind OPs ranking.

I liked the Jonah pick. Pratt should be a solid but unspectacular starter sooner than later. Finley is backup material. Wren has a long way to go, but the tools are there. The Sample pick was downright poor and a weak display at maneuvering around the board. I liked taking a chance on an uber talent like Anderson to get healthy and regain form. If he hits we could have one of, if not the best backfields in football. 

All in all, I was underwhelmed and thought there was better players to be had. I’d be singing a different tune if that trade to move up for Taylor or Ford came to fruition. We came into the draft looking to upgrade the offensive line and add some athleticism/talent to the LB room. I think we only accomplished one of those things.

Pretty bang on so far. Still hate the Sample pick. 

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On 5/7/2019 at 5:26 PM, goldfishwars said:

8. Minnesota Vikings 

Vikings_Introduce_Top_Draft_Pick_Garrett_Bradbury-syndImport-043435.jpg


Selections
18. Minnesota Vikings - Garrett Bradbury  [ C ] NC State
50. Minnesota Vikings - Irv Smith Jr.  [ TE ] Alabama
102. Minnesota Vikings - Alexander Mattison  [ RB ] Boise State
114. Minnesota Vikings - Dru Samia  [ G ] Oklahoma
162. Minnesota Vikings - Cameron Smith  [ LB ] USC
190. Minnesota Vikings - Armon Watts  [ DT ] Arkansas
191. Minnesota Vikings - Marcus Epps  [ S ] Wyoming
193. Minnesota Vikings - Oli Udoh  [ OT ] Elon
217. Minnesota Vikings - Kris Boyd  [ CB ] Texas
239. Minnesota Vikings - Dillon Mitchell  [ WR ] Oregon
247. Minnesota Vikings - Olabisi Johnson  [ WR ] Colorado State
250. Minnesota Vikings - Austin Cutting  [ LS ] Air Force

Picks Heading In
18.
50.  
81. 
120. 
190.
209. 
247.
250. 

Favorite Pick 
Garrett Bradbury – Probably my favorite player in the entire draft who has landed in a dream spot on a Gary Kubiak flavored offense. There’s probably a bit of debate around the selection in Vikings circles with Andre Dillard available and certainly this is a big call, but Minnesota weren’t going to find a center elsewhere in this draft who can make the blocks Bradbury can. He cn give the interior incredible quickness and range as blocker and someone who can consistently nail those reach blocks which can really ignite a running game which has to fire to give Kirk Cousins a chance. 

There’s a great write-up about what the Vikings are getting in Bradbury by Stephen White here:-
https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/4/3/18288079/garrett-bradbury-nfl-draft-2019-minnesota-vikings-center-first-round-scouting-report

Overview
This was a real rollercoaster of a draft, with 8 picks heading into Thursday and long-term GM Rick Spielman making 12 selections in total before the end of day three. There were some home-run selections, some leftfield picks that look better after the event and some really intriguing late round pick-ups who might be able to punch above their drafted position weight. It’ll be interesting to see how this draft pan outs, because there’s a lot to like and a lot of players to work in at key roster spots. The success of the draft may well be defined by how well the offensive line picks can be integrated into a unit that anchored the whole team down last year.   

Irv Smith was a versatile player who was frequently mocked to the Vikings in round 2 and it seemed destiny that he would land there. At just under 6’3 and a shade under 250, he’s a little smaller than your typical Y tight end, but he plays much bigger than his listed size and can run routes run block effectively. He might be utilised frequently as an H-back or as a run blocker from full back which Kubiak has liked to do in the past and the Vikings have done with other players in the same mold in recent years. He could also be flexed as a 2nd tight end, someone who can bust up the seam in a way Kyle Rudolph no longer can. 

Alex Mattison at 102 after a trade back yielded three additional picks from Baltimore, was one of the bigger day two surprises. The running backs didn’t exactly fly off the board entirely as expected and Mattison was pegged as more of late day three selection. He does have stuff to like though, he’s thickly built and a very good receiver and a good scheme fit for this offense. He’s obviously a good fit for what they want to do as a rotational back, albeit one without an outstanding physical trait. I liked the Dru Samia pick in the 4th, he’s physical interior lineman who tested slightly below expectations but flourished in a zone heavy offense at Oklahoma where he excelled at the second level. He’s a decent pass-blocker, allowing just 5 sacks in four seasons as a starter in college. There’s definitely space for him to start early on the Vikings interior, which was below par last season and he comes into the league with a lot of experience which isn’t always the case with the offensive line picks Minnesota have made. 

After that, the Vikings seemed pretty happy to take some shots. Cameron Smith was taken pretty much where he was expected to land. Lance Zerlein described him as the epitome of ‘steady’ at linebacker and there’s probably a place for that in most NFL locker rooms. I loved the pick-up of Armon Watts at 190, the Pats have selected a few Arkansas defensive linemen in recent seasons and he fits that mold as a hard-nosed overachiever with some refined hand-technique. They get some good coaching there. Marcus Epps wasn’t the Wyoming safety I expected to get drafted and I don’t know much about him other than he was a team captain there and had a big pro-day which probably caught some attention. 

Oli Udoh is man-mountain and I like the value of him in the 6th far more than some of the tackles who went off the board earlier. He played in both all-star games, is more of a mauler who can outreach defenders than someone who flourishes in space so there’s a bit of a scheme fit question. Kris Boyd was very up and down at corner in Texas, got roasted notably a few times there – but is a nice fit from a scheme and size perspective. I really like both late shots at wide receiver and I’m surprised more of the bigger names who ended up going undrafted weren’t targeted by other teams in the same way. They’re quite similar players, smooth route runners who are good with the ball in their hands and both are capable of playing their way into contention as a third wide receiving option behind Thielen and Diggs. Austin Cutting is a long-snapper and by God If I've ever seen a snap as long...I don't know anything about him. 
 

Bradbury was up and down, he had trouble with power rushers. Hopefully an improved LG will help him next season. He certainly had some great blocks in the running game in the open field/2nd level.

Irv Smith made some nice plays but didn't have nearly the impact I thought he would. I think a large part of that is the resurgent year Kyle Rudolph had.

Alexander Mattison needed to get the ball more and I'm saying that with Cook having a pretty damn good year himself.

Armon Watts and Oli Udoh flashed some very nice potential. Some are already talking about how they could potentially replace Linval and Reiff.

Didn't notice Cutting which is a good thing and Samia has some nice potential to compete for a starting spot next year hopefully.

Epps was cut and signed by the Eagles I believe. 

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On 5/1/2019 at 9:01 AM, MWil23 said:

No real argument with where the Browns are. They didn't have a 1st after the OBJ trade, and the Greedy Williams for a 2nd/5th was great value for them. Hopefully he's lockdown opposite of Denzel. It's interesting with Wilks zone heavy scheme (in the past at least) that he will have 2 great man/press man corners, so I'm intrigued to see if he still utilizes zone heavy, or if he goes with some variation of match coverage, or man to man scheme with a sprinkle of zone.

LOL

I was spot on about Wilks scheme not being a good fit for Greedy and Ward.

On 5/1/2019 at 9:01 AM, MWil23 said:

I think that with cutting Collins and Kirksey will most likely be a camp casualty this year OR next, as well as Schobert being on the last year of his rookie deal (to go with guys like Myles/Baker/Ward who will get PAID in the next 3-4 years) if Mack and TakiTaki are guys to count on going forward, or if they were simply "just BPA". It's clear with all of their picks 3rd-7th that Dorsey values SPARQ/athletic metrics in Day 3. 

They also went D with every pick except for PROSPECT X (OL) and their K, so they must be pretty confident in their offense going forward, especially their OT situation as many speculated.

Their safety and OT situation this year was absolutely awful, and the lack of depth in the secondary and DL reared it's ugly head. It goes to show we aren't that far removed from the catastrophic 0-16 roster and that's where the lack of depth really shows.

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I think the Titans probably move up a couple of spots IMO.  Simmons has been a beast since he got back, AJ Brown is arguably the best rookie receiver in the league, Nate Davis has become a starting right guard, Amani Hooker has been a solid contributor at nickel, and David Long just got his first start against the Ravens and had 5 solo tackles (IIRC, 3 were on third downs).

Everyone but Walker contributed.  Four starters, and a contender for OROY surely is an argument for the top draft.

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  • 3 years later...
On 4/30/2019 at 7:56 AM, goldfishwars said:

25. Cincinnati Bengals

Image result for jonah williams bengals


Selections
11. Cincinnati Bengals - Jonah Williams  [ OT ] Alabama
52. Cincinnati Bengals - Drew Sample  [ TE ] Washington
72. Cincinnati Bengals - Germaine Pratt  [ LB ] NC State
104. Cincinnati Bengals - Ryan Finley  [ QB ] NC State
125. Cincinnati Bengals - Renell Wren  [ DT ] Arizona State
136. Cincinnati Bengals - Michael Jordan  [ G ] Ohio State
182. Cincinnati Bengals - Trayveon Williams  [ RB ] Texas A&M
210. Cincinnati Bengals - Deshaun Davis  [ LB ] Auburn
211. Cincinnati Bengals - Rodney Anderson  [ RB ] Oklahoma
223. Cincinnati Bengals - Jordan Brown  [ CB ] South Dakota State

Picks Heading In
11. 
42. 
73. 
110. 
149. 
183. 
198. 
210. 
211. 
213. 
223. 

Favorite Pick
Obviously their best move was taking Stanley Morgan as a UDFA, but as we’re not including those…
Jonah Williams – It seemed pretty obvious the Bengals had to do a little re-thinking when the Steelers came up to 10 to grab Devin Bush, but Williams was a very good plan B. The Bengals line is still working things out after the succession plan for a once top-tier offensive line turned into a minor disaster for the team. Williams is a technician who could solidify a spot either at guard or tackle, there are shades of Andrew Whitworth about his game and if the Bengals could get anything close to that there again it could be a transformative move.

Overview
A lot of picks, ten in total and a little bit of shuffling around to land a string of players that are a bit of a mixed-bag concoction, some which come with questionable associated value. Again there doesn’t seem to have been an obvious draft plan, hence why the Steelers were able to jump them so easily – but they’ve never had the most agile of front offices. The roster had a bunch of needs heading in and they’ve tried to fill them with a crop of ‘maybe’ players, outside of the first pick. It could pay off really well and this class will probably draw a range of reviews, but there’s a real chance it could deliver more of a whimper than a bang. 

Drew Sample was mostly pegged in a late day three range by media and draftnik analysts. He’s certainly someone who looks every bit the part at tight end, but played in a very strange multiple tight end offense that honed his skills as a blocker more than anything else. He did test pretty well, which is perhaps encouraging. There’s a chance he has a Will Dissly-like impact on the offense (his former teammate at Washington), where the run game gets a bit of a boost. Germaine Pratt was kind in that very much second/third tier behind the Devins and the Bengals and their consolation prize for not drafting one of those guys. He also certainly looks the part, but plays the position like he’s still learning it – which he is after only playing linebacker for one year. He might have to develop very quickly.

I was kind of hoping the Bengals would draft a quarterback who could put the heat on Dalton’s vice grip on the starting job, I’m not sure that is Ryan Finley. I like Finley and think his ceiling is high-end NFL back-up which is probably what the Bengals want him to be. He should be an upgrade over Jeff Driskell at least. At 125, I love Renell Wren’s first step without always being in love with what came after that. He’s another player who will need to develop in the NFL, but absolutely worth a shot at this spot. Michael Jordan is a long and tenacious interior, kind of miscast at center for Ohio State but showed some things at guard. He looks like he needs to fill out a little and play a little lower, or he’s going to get uprooted on a regular basis. At 21, he’s got plenty of room for growth.

After that, Trayveon Williams was a draftable running back after a very productive year at Texas A & M who loved him there. He’s a consistent home-run threat, but looks slightly underpowered to me. The Bengals probably needed to double-dip at linebacker and Deshaun Davis is probably as good a linebacker you could have got at the range he went in, in this class. I love the Rodney Anderson selection, with the caveat that I really hope he can play football again. Perhaps he gets a red shirt year in here as it’s looking like a crowded backfield around him. The Bengals waited until their last pick to select their requisite cornerback and that came in the form of Jordan Brown, who has a few things to like from a size and athleticism viewpoint. 
 

Stanley Morgan is still on the roster as a special teams specialist who gets the occasional offensive snap, but he's pretty firmly rooted at WR6 at this point.

Jonah Williams has been very up and down with 2022 being a down year, but in the end, I think was worth his selection at 1.11.  He's slated to be the starting RT this year after playing LT his first four years.  Not likely to be extended after we gave big money to Orlando Brown Jr, but he's been our best lineman over the past four years cumulatively.  Injuries (including playing hurt a decent chunk of last year) have really hindered his development, and I still think he has a ceiling as a good LT (or RT) in the league.  I wouldn't be shocked if he went out and put up a 70.0 PFF grade this year.  I wouldn't be shocked if he had a 50.0 PFF grade this year.  It will be interesting if nothing else.

Valid criticism of them not being that agile in the draft, usually not moving to secure or get a guy, but they did move up a few picks in the 2nd last year to secure Cam Taylor Britt and it's looking like that was a very wise move, so perhaps they are evolving.

Most have hated the Sample pick from the jump, but I still contend he looked solid until injuries have derailed him the last couple of years.  Was still a reach, but it looks like they have learned from it and have relied on cobbling together a TE room through cheap FA which Burrow has made work.  He's still a Bengal though, and will be TE2 this year if nothing changes, though they may add another veteran once cuts are made.

Ryan Finley did two things which the Bengals will be forever grateful for. He was bad enough to help us get Joe Burrow, and he did have a clutch win against the Steelers that one time, lol.  But yeah, he wasn't that good and I think may be out of the league now.  Noodle arm.

Wren is still bouncing around the league, but not a Bengal.  Never did much here.

Michael Jordan was handed a starting spot here and blew it fairly spectacularly.

Trayveon Williams is still here as a special teams captain, but it seems unlikely he'll carry the ball much.  Will probably get a few reps, but most will go to Mixon and Chase Brown.

Deshaun Davis wasn't anything, and Rodney Anderson was indeed cooked at that point.

I'm repeating myself, but good job once again.  You seem fairly in tune with the Bengals.

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On 4/28/2019 at 8:38 AM, goldfishwars said:

32. New York Giants 

Image result for fan


Selections
6. New York Giants - Daniel Jones [ QB ] Duke
17. New York Giants - Dexter Lawrence [ DT ] Clemson
30. New York Giants - Deandre Baker [ CB ] Georgia
95. New York Giants - Oshane Ximines [ EDGE ] Old Dominion
108. New York Giants - Julian Love [ CB ] Notre Dame
143. New York Giants - Ryan Connelly [ LB ] Wisconsin
171. New York Giants - Darius Slayton [ WR ] West Virginia
180. New York Giants - Corey Ballentine [ CB ] Washburn
232. New York Giants - George Asafo-Adjei [ G ] Kentucky
245. New York Giants - Chris Slayton [ DT ] Syracuse

Picks Heading In
6.
17.
37.
96.
109.
133.
143.
144.
156.
172.
181.
234.
247.

Favorite Pick
I liked the Julian Love pick, who is a sound and steady presence at corner. Corey Ballentine too was a decent pick-up if you want to go back to that well for the third time. He has some upside as a decent slot/nickel type. 

Overview
This draft class is Gettleman’s pièce de résistance at the end of a frankly weird two-year tenure where he has tried to bury this franchise for good with consistently unexplainable personnel decisions. He's slowly revealed himself to be a dinosaur operating in the wrong era, where he is out-manoeuvred by slicker, smarter movers at every turn. Daniel Jones was Giants reward for being bad in 2018 and big Dexter Lawrence plus Oshane Ximines is the return for trading away one of the game’s great offensive playmakers. Dave’s post-draft conference was a masterclass in stand-up comedy, where he admitted he had been spooked by Redskins rumors they liked Jones and gave a detailed homoerotic-tinged reasoning for taking Daniel Jones which had little to do with whether he could actually play or not. He also stated that Eli’s corpse could be dragged out for a further three years still and there was an admittance that he did not know Dwayne Haskins attended Ohio State. The only thing missing was a detailed rant on why he hates analytics nerds, but he had probably run out of material on that by now. 

When he was selected, the best thing anyone could say about Daniel Jones on NFLN was that he shared a coach with the Mannings and went to their Passing Academy for Rich kids. That…was...the…headline on this mysterious fella. Was this pick made out of pure politeness to the Manning Family who finally seem to be accepting Eli's end and have some weird mafia-like influence in the organisation? It certainly has that feel about it. When the networks did get the fabled quarterback whisperer David Cutcliffe (who has produced the Mannings and nobody else of significant note) on the phone to wax lyrical about his new protégé, he essentially called him a boring old man trapped in a 21 year old’s body. And for anyone who has heard Jones speak since, it’s hard to argue with that.

Time will tell if Jones proves to be a good pick and to be fair to him, there’s stuff to really like about his size and athleticism and the way he tried to overcome playing with a surrounding talent who will never even smell the NFL. But, there’s also little to point to in terms of a precedent which could predict future success for him. Plus, if the Giants had not selected him at 6 and instead had drafted, say Josh Allen who was available, then the fact Haskins landed in the laps of Redskins at 15 – meant either Haskins or Jones could still have been there at 17. Gettleman was spooked into drafting him at 6, but did he need to be? The more pertinent question is whether he was right to be worried about missing out on him at all. 

Outside of Jones, it’s kind of a draft masterclass not understanding what to do with your significant draft capital. Dexter Lawrence was next off the board at 17. Gettleman always seems determined to get his hands on the fattest guy in the draft and lands his man here. I like Dexter a lot, and many others like him a lot more than I do. I think 17 is earlier than I would have taken him purely because he was rarely on the field for Clemson on third down, so there’s a projection to his ‘pass-rushing upside’ where he isn’t just a ‘good mover for a big guy’. You might end up with a very good line pusher, you might end up with Dontari Poe whose athleticism got him paid, but never materialised. Plus, the Giants already have two good recent draft picks who can man the inside, in BJ Hill who played well last year and Dalvin Tomlinson. With gaping holes elsewhere, I’m not absolutely in love with it despite Lawrence panning out well being a very plausible scenario. 

Trading up for Deandre Baker was kind of strange, considering there were zero corners off the board at that point and the value for the position was always on day two. Baker is a feisty and competitive corner beloved by PFF amongst others, but had endured a poor draft season with below average athletic testing and rumors about his off-field demeanour. Gettleman had diligently cleared all of the so-called ‘locker room cancers’ out of NY, so it’s weird that he would trade up to potentially invite another in. The mythical small school buzz around Oshane Ximines seemed to flame out a while ago when he was revealed to be smaller and less athletic than anticipated, so would not have been my choice to fill a gaping void at outside pass-rusher. Besides pass rusher, right tackle seemed like it would have to be addressed but went completely ignored in a deep class. Perhaps the team are higher on Chad Wheeler than anyone possibly should be. 

Elsewhere, it’s very eh okay. The aforementioned corners should improve a bare cupboard of a roster position. Darius Slayton has questionable hands, but plenty of speed to burn on the outside. Ryan Connolly is a low ceiling talent at linebacker, but was well liked at Wisconsin. Asofo-Adjei passed me by completely at Kentucky and the other Slayton, Chris, is a high-effort, low-talent lane plugger at defensive tackle. 

If we are revisiting old Goldfish rankings, this is the one I really want to come back to. The Giants 2019 class 4 years later now looks... actually pretty good?

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