Draft Talk

[nicfre2011]

2 hours ago, onejayhawk said:

Another collection of expert first picks. There is the usual lack of understanding, though a couple would be nice. 

 

Player & Position	School	Source
OT Dillon Radunz	NDSU	Luke Easterling – Draft Wire
LB Zaven Collins	Tulsa	Mark Schofield – Touchdown Wire
OT Liam Eichenberg	Notre Dame	Albert Breer – Sports Illustrated
OT Teven Jenkins	Oklahoma State	Bucky Brooks – NFL.com
OT Teven Jenkins	Oklahoma State	Chad Reuter – NFL.com
CB Ifeatu Melifonwu	Syracuse	Chris Trapasso – CBS Sports
OT Samuel Cosmi	Texas	Michael Renner – Pro Football Focus

 

I am not a huge fan of Dillon Radunz....I think he is getting overvalued by people looking for that small school gold. I am not saying he couldn't develop into a quality NFL player in time, I just don't agree with him being ranked ahead of some prospects with a better athletic profile and starting for a major program against top level college talent.

[onejayhawk]

We had a few rounds of Look-What I-Found in the mock draft thread. Radunz is a solid prospect and rates mid to late day #2. Personally, I think Jaylon Moore is more interesting, partly because he's a day #3 pick. 

J

 

[nicfre2011]

Thoughts on Milton Williams from Louisiana Tech as a defensive line prospect who could potentially play base defensive end for us and slide inside to bring some interior pressure on 3rd and long.

He had a really impressive Pro Day workout, showing tremendous athletic ability.

 

From Tony Pauline:

At 284 pounds, Williams touched 38.5 inches in the vertical, 10’1″ in the broad jump, and he completed 34 reps on the bench. His 40 timed as low as 4.62 seconds while his three-cone was an amazing 6.93 seconds. To put that time into context, just a half dozen defensive backs who ran the three-cone during the 2020 NFL Combine posted faster times.

Williams’ position work was outstanding as well. Defensive line coaches from the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals took turns putting Williams through drills. Cowboys assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett was also in attendance.

While Dallas has Williams highly graded, the question is how early in the draft would they select him? Word leaving the workout was the Bengals will seriously consider Williams at the top of the third round with the 69th selection, which is six picks before the Cowboys pick in round three.

 

From PFF:

DI MILTON WILLIAMS, LOUISIANA TECH

Williams was a PFF darling this past season, notching 88.0-plus grades as both a run defender and a pass rusher — the only player at the position to do so. That landed him a spot on the PFF College 101 and put him on draft radars across the country.

With no NFL scouting combine this year due to COVID-19, Williams was forced to rely on a mock combine run by athletic training company EXOS. He subsequently put up ridiculous numbers that people had a hard time believing. So, Williams went ahead and tested again at Louisiana Tech’s Pro Day and recorded the following results (percentiles are historical at the position):

Height: 6-foot-3 (50th percentile)

Weight: 284 pounds (17th)

Arm: 31 1/2 inches (5th)

Vertical: 38.5 inches (99th)

Broad jump: 121 inches (97th)

Bench: 34 reps (91st)

40-yard: 4.62 seconds (99th)

Short shuttle: 4.25 seconds (97th)

Three-cone: 6.87 seconds (100th)

Among all 280-plus-pound defensive linemen at the NFL scouting combine in the past 20 years, Williams' 40-yard dash and three-cone times would rank as the best on record and his vertical would rank second-best. A year ago, Williams wasn’t even in the draft conversation. After the 2020 season, it looked like he could be a good pick in the middle of Day 3. Now, he could be the second interior defensive linemen off the board in the late second or early third round. It’s safe to buy into the hype with Williams.

Edited March 28, 2021 by nicfre2011

[KCsb]

Has anyone seen Kansas State DE Wyatt Hubert in Big 12 play? He stood out to me on many occasions. 6'3'', 270 pounds. Excellent pass rusher, just lacks an arsenal of moves. Reminds me a bit of Dee Fords first step, but not quite as elite. Another knock is short arms. But there is a fire in the belly of this kid. Huge desire to play and general love of the game. Very coachable. Could play a role on Special Teams as he gets coached up. A day 3 sleeper?

[onejayhawk]

Dan Soren re-signed. The big news is the signing of Jarran Reed. 
https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2021/3/29/22355900/chiefs-jarran-reid-film-review-why-kansas-citys-defensive-line-just-got-better

Since we have two 3-tech DT, Chris Jones and Turk Wharton, I have been resisting draft thoughts in that direction. Now, the Chiefs have signed a third 3-tech. One needs to ask, what is the plan? 

Reed is a former teammate of Frank Clark, which is an excellent place to start. They know each other well. He is also position flexible, able to slide to the 1-tech, ie Nnadi's spot. He and Jones can play side by side. He can also play next to Nnadi in a run heavy set-up. Reed is a good run defender, whose pass rush is from persistence. In that, he reminds me of Tamba Hali, who was neither quick nor powerful, but got the job done. 

Spaguolo has tried Jones at DE, which has interesting possibilities. Clark, Nnadi, Jones, Reed, Wharton, and Danna form the basis of a full DL rotation, with Taco available as a situational pass rush specialist. Another DE would be welcome, but this is an improvement over last week.

J

[warsawian]

On 3/28/2021 at 7:12 AM, nicfre2011 said:

Thoughts on Milton Williams from Louisiana Tech as a defensive line prospect who could potentially play base defensive end for us and slide inside to bring some interior pressure on 3rd and long.

 

Best athlete in the entire draft, obviously very raw.  I really expect him to go in the mid-late second round. 

[onejayhawk]

I worry about drafting pure athletes. Khalid Sunders is 300 pounds and can do back flips. Can he play? Tanoh Kpassagnon is the definitive physical specimen of the entire 2017 class. A lot of posters in this forum oppose re-signing him, even at a discount. Athleticism is necessary but not sufficient. 

J

[nicfre2011]

Interesting arrowheadpride article on Derrick Barnes

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2021/4/2/22363165/purdue-linebacker-derrick-barnes-could-be-a-steve-spagnuolo-dream-come-true

 

🤫

Edited April 2, 2021 by nicfre2011

[nicfre2011]

 

Jim Nagy

 

@JimNagy_SB

·

Apr 3

 

 

Wake DT Boogie Basham isn’t in enough first round mocks.

@Almighty_Basham

had 15 sacks & 7 FF in 19 games over past 2 years. Ran ELITE 4.64 at 274 lbs on pro-day. Makes sense for teams looking to replenish pass rush in late 1st like Ravens, Saints, and Packers. Closing juice!

 

 

[nicfre2011]

Just now, nicfre2011 said:

 

Jim Nagy

 

@JimNagy_SB

·

Apr 3

 

 

Wake DT Boogie Basham isn’t in enough first round mocks.

@Almighty_Basham

had 15 sacks & 7 FF in 19 games over past 2 years. Ran ELITE 4.64 at 274 lbs on pro-day. Makes sense for teams looking to replenish pass rush in late 1st like Ravens, Saints, and Packers. Closing juice!

 

 

Thoughts on Basham in round 1?

[kingseanjohn]

16 minutes ago, nicfre2011 said:

Thoughts on Basham in round 1?

I wouldn't mind it. We took him round 1 in TCMD. He's in my list of top 5 guys we have a realistic chance of getting at 31.

In no order: Alijah Vera-Tucker, Terrace Marshall, Carlos Basham Jr., Zaven Collins, and someone I'm forgetting...

[onejayhawk]

2 hours ago, kingseanjohn said:

I wouldn't mind it. We took him round 1 in TCMD. He's in my list of top 5 guys we have a realistic chance of getting at 31.

In no order: Alijah Vera-Tucker, Terrace Marshall, Carlos Basham Jr., Zaven Collins, and someone I'm forgetting...

I would not put Basham in that group. Marshall is a legit late first round pick, but not one to get excited about. I don't think Basham is even first round material, though I have also seen him rank late day #2, which is too far the other way. Fair value is more like where we drafted him in the GM mock, ie 40 something.

The one who seems to have helium is Jayson Oweh. He's a soph coming out, so video is limited, but the flexibility to play even or odd front is driving his value up. I think he's a possible at #31. The ideal, of course, is Kwity Paye, but Rousseau is late round enough to hope. I will also take Collins if he is available. 

On offense, there is AVT and Mayfield. None of the later 1st WR excite me, nor any of the other OT. Hopefully there are enough QB and CB pushing into the top 30 that we get one of the players that rate in the 20s. 

J

[onejayhawk]

One of the roster holes has been FB. The Chiefs signed veteran Michael Burton, after six years with the Saints. Here is some info.
https://chiefswire.usatoday.com/2021/04/06/kansas-city-chiefs-fullback-michael-burton-explains-free-agency-decision/

This is an article on all the moves over the first month. Some of the below are futures contracts from before FA opened.
https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2021/4/5/22367716/one-month-in-where-the-chiefs-stand-in-free-agency

FB Michael Burton (reported signed 4/1)
C Austin Blythe (reported signed 3/30)
DT Jarran Reed (reported signed 3/28)
TE Blake Bell (reported signed 3/18)
G Kyle Long (reported signed 3/17)
G Joe Thuney (reported signed 3/15)
TE Evan Baylis (reported signed 2/10)
TE Sean Culkin (reported signed 2/6)
T Prince Tega Wanogho (reported signed 1/27)
WR Antonio Callaway (reported signed 1/13)
QB Anthony Gordon (reported signed 1/12)

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by onejayhawk

[nicfre2011]

10 hours ago, onejayhawk said:

I would not put Basham in that group. Marshall is a legit late first round pick, but not one to get excited about. I don't think Basham is even first round material, though I have also seen him rank late day #2, which is too far the other way. Fair value is more like where we drafted him in the GM mock, ie 40 something.

The one who seems to have helium is Jayson Oweh. He's a soph coming out, so video is limited, but the flexibility to play even or odd front is driving his value up. I think he's a possible at #31. The ideal, of course, is Kwity Paye, but Rousseau is late round enough to hope. I will also take Collins if he is available. 

On offense, there is AVT and Mayfield. None of the later 1st WR excite me, nor any of the other OT. Hopefully there are enough QB and CB pushing into the top 30 that we get one of the players that rate in the 20s. 

J

I think Basham could be a solid fit in our defense at end considering his ability to hold the edge and get penetration. Obviously Spags values the ability to anchor the outside as TK started for us despite offering little in the way of a pass rush. I see Basham being able to do that and rush the passer. Oweh scares me as possibly the classic "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" prospect not to mention that I am not sure he projects to be the run defender on the outside that we seem to prefer. For OT, Mayfield doesn't have much experience combined with pretty poor measurables and testing.

Regarding value, trading down is easier said than done and if you value a prospect and what he brings to the table for your scheme, like I think Basham does...you have to be realistic about the value vs. draft slotting. He likely isn't going to be there at our second round pick. I view Leatherwood and Basham in the same way....quality starting experience and highly productive at a premium position for us.

[onejayhawk]

Trading down has advantages and disadvantages. If the draft goes according to valuation, plus three or four picks from left field, then we should get a pick that values about #27. that would put us in the running for Collins, Rousseau, and about four OT. The potential sliders of interest include AVT and Mayfield. It's solid but not exciting. 

Ozzy, the guy who does 7 round mock drafts, commented that Turk Wharton is built like a power DE. Now that we have Reed on board, perhaps a move is coming. I think Wharton would set a good edge and he's decent at pass rush. 

J 

Edited April 6, 2021 by onejayhawk