2023 CFB Talk/Draft Prospects

[Ray Reed]

1 hour ago, diamondbull424 said:

This is good insight. I’ve just heard buzz around his name. I just see 6’2” 200 lbs and highly athletic and I can’t help but get giddy over another Chris McAlister/Jimmy Smith.

But if he’s not particularly a playmaker or a shutdown guy, then I’m not interested. I loved the idea that Baltimore would be drafting a Baltimore guy though.

Perhaps after the hype settles, he’ll be a 3rd round guy we can get later in the draft if we go WR early.

Definitely, definitely not a Jimmy/Cmac type. To be completely honest I was pretty surprised that Banks measured that big 😂

Although he would be a guy i’d definitely take in the 3rd if he lasted until then. Maryland has had a run lately of recruiting high level athletes that don’t fully develop technically until they reach the NFL and dramatically improve from where they were in college (Darnell Savage, Nick Cross are recent DBs that fit this mold).

[diamondbull424]

The senior bowl American team 1v1

Nathaniel Dell appears to be the most impressive WR and it’s not particularly close to second. Though 2nd looks like would go to Johnathan Mingo and then finally to Rashee Rice.

I don’t believe I’ve looked over tape for the top two options. Rice though does not look athletic enough to be a #1 nor appears to have the route running skills to be that immediate high level guy. This showing at the senior bowl was very much disappointing.

[diamondbull424]

Jordan Addison

Figured it’s worth watching some of Addison’s 2021 tape as guys like Boutte, Rakim Jarrett, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are sort of going to be moreso judged by those tapes, it only makes sense to really go back to Addison’s as well.

I have to say that I’m really a big fan of Jordan Addison’s grit and determination as a blocker; reminds me of DeVonta Smith as an undersized blocker, just gets after it with a lot of effort. Addison isn’t going to be doing his best Hollywood Brown impression.

Addison is physical and will attack balls that aren’t ideally placed, that might otherwise compromise him.

Still think his route running is a bit overrated. When corner leverage is designed to perfectly defend his route, he still runs it like a normal route, that could be coaching and wanting to keep the timing between QB/WR consistent, but I’d prefer to see him give a few more head fakes or shoulder tilt, while keeping his lower body running the route, so as to trick defenders into losing some if not all of their leverage in such scenarios.

Nathaniel ‘Tank’ Dell

I like the way Dell sets up his routes to disrupt defender leverage. He’s also incredibly quick and shifty which also helps. After looking more into him, he’s got some TY Hilton to his game.

Negative is he’s not a committed blocker, I’m also not in love with his effort route in and route out. I’m not sure if it’s fully an effort thing or if he’s just gassed and doesn’t have the endurance. But in either event, he will need to improve upon that at the next level.

[diamondbull424]

Tank Dell

Zay Flowers

Then you’ve got Zay Flowers who brings a similar skill set to both Jordan Addison and Tank Dell to the table. All are that elusive-quick guy. I’d say Dell does the best at attacking defender leverage and he’s probably possessed of the most elite quickness of the trio. However he’s the most finesse, has some Hollywood Brown (for good and for bad) to his game. Dell also seems to be the worst (though I need to watch more) at manipulating zone spacing. That’s a skill that I feel is more important than manipulating defender leverage as a route runner.

Addison does a great job, probably the best of the trio, at finding the soft spot in the zone and adjusting his route to make sure it hits that point.

Flowers appears to be in between both, does a good a job manipulating zone spacing, does a better job at manipulating defender leverage to create more space within the route as well.

I will have to watch more of this trio, as it stands, Flowers is probably the most impressive. Though I feel like all of these WRs are day two guys as I don’t see a high enough upside upon further evaluation. I don’t see 1400 yd type WRs at the next level, more like your 800-1000 yd and 4-7 TD type of guys on that Hollywood level.

If these guys are available in the 3rd round for our pick, I would absolutely scoop them up, but I would go elite corner over these particular WR options, if presented the choice.

[diamondbull424]

Quentin Johnston

The case of the state sheet being a bit inflated. 1v1 I didn’t see many wins for Johnston, his route running needs work. His big plays came on busted coverages FTMP.

However you can’t argue with his broken tackle rate. If a team were to draft him in the top 10, that would be an INCREDIBLY bold move and I think they have to be prepared to scheme him touches early to allow his fundamentals to catch up.

Within a good scheme, his combination of tackle breaking ability and speed can be lethal. I definitely think the Demaryius Thomas comparison holds true however, he doesn’t appear to be as physical within his routes as people like DK or Andre Johnson, he’s not utilizing his length well to create top of route separation, etc.

However he’s a big deep threat, that also excels with tackle breaking ability. The right OC is going to turn him into a 1400 yd 10 TD receiver, whereas the wrong guy will try and deploy and use him like Julio and he’s going to be a “bust” as a 700-900 yd, 6 TD type guy IMO.

 

I’d also say he’d probably work best with a super accurate QB type. Honestly I think a quality pairing could be in NE with Mac Jones. I think he’d pair well with Kyler Murray, depending on the Cardinals new scheme. Of course the Texans with the right OC and with Bryce Young would be a fit as well, though #12 is probably a little high for my blood for a potential boom bust guy.

If I’m them I’d prefer to go with CJ Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but that’s me. (And I of course hope they don’t and JSN falls to the Ravens).

[diamondbull424]

Quentin Johnston.

This just dropped. I do like his analysis about Johnston finding spots in the zone based off the defender coverage even though the route was sort of made up.

That backyard element to his game, I could see pairing well with Lamar, who seems to have a good sense of that with Andrews.

Johnston would be the perfect case study in whether Keith Williams is really as special as his hype was. Johnston is quite raw in many aspects and if his route running and/or his route physicality improves, that could put him on an elite trajectory.

[wackywabbit]

^ This tweet was liked by Lamar 👀

[wackywabbit]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:30 PM, wackywabbit said:

^ This tweet was liked by Lamar 👀

I'm surprised (but maybe shouldn't be) this got no attention.

It'll be fun when we can go back to talking ball instead of billionaires and 100 millionaires posturing about money that isn't ours.

[DreamKid]

1 hour ago, wackywabbit said:

I'm surprised (but maybe shouldn't be) this got no attention.

What exactly did you want people to say about it?

Clips and analysis of Zay Flowers have been posted in this thread already. He's a solid but undersized early round WR prospect. Combine will be big for him in deciding if he can sneak into the 1st Round or not, that 5'9 measurement really hurt his stock. Great cod abilities, high end YAC, solid speed & hands, + tracking.... he's a decent WR prospect.

Lamar liking the tweet doesn't add any level of interest imo. Lamar frequently gives props to prospects(typically from Florida) during draft season. 

Flowers wouldn't be my 1st, 2nd, or maybe even 3rd choice at the position, but he's a pro ready receiver who should be able to contribute Day 1(For whoever is at QB).

[wackywabbit]

46 minutes ago, DreamKid said:

Lamar frequently gives props to prospects(typically from Florida) during draft season. 

Was not what I've seen. Who else in this class have you seen him give props to?

I'd bet we are doing anything we can to trade back from our first pick, so it may not be the top 20 prospects we need to look closely at. I thought it was notable that a guy the Ravens scouts were reportedly paying notable attention to, also has Lamar's eye. Of course, it could be a smoke screen on the Ravens part and Lamar could just like every clip of a prospect he sees (but I haven't seen this). 

Edited February 28, 2023 by wackywabbit

[DreamKid]

5 minutes ago, wackywabbit said:

Was not what I've seen. Who else in this class have you seen him give props to?

I don't have a twitter so I can't see 'likes', but I'm talking historically. Every draft season the fandom circulates various tweets of prospects he seemingly cosigned. It's not a new or special thing, and as I said it frequently involves prospects from Florida(where he's obviously established a lot of personal connections). 

[DreamKid]

I'm generally okay with all of the WR names attached to us in the 1st Round. It's not a great class and I think the 1st Round CB prospects offer a lot more bang for your buck, but I'm not going to be mad or upset if we draft one of the top billed guys.

None of them are perfect but no matter who you look at... they add something.  A lot of them are pro ready as well, meaning I'm not worried about how they'd fit into our offense(especially with Roman gone). 

[DreamKid]

We knew he'd get hit with that question-

 

[DreamKid]

Tomorrow is probably the most relevant combine day for us. I expect us to hammer the CB position in the draft.

[DreamKid]