2023 draft prospects and college football talk.

[MikeT14]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/draft2023/insider/story/_/id/36147742/nfl-draft-2023-best-prospect-every-skill-top-traits-accuracy-speed-strength-instincts-blocking 

Taking this article at face value, some things I think that stand out:

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Best home run speed: Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M

Achane plays big despite his 5-foot-9, 188-pound frame. He's decisive on downhill schemes and knows how to find daylight. And the speed is real. Achane dropped a 4.32 in the 40 at the combine, fastest among all the running backs. He's an explosive-play runner when he bounces the ball to the perimeter, and it's no surprise that Achane posted 11 rushes of 20 yards or more in 2022, which ranked inside the top 25.

We've been looking for that guy, maybe to replace Gibson.

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Best seam-stretcher: Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah

Kincaid has the route traits and straight-line speed to press the seams in the pro game. And at 6-foot-4 with a catch radius to locate the ball outside of his frame, he can win one-on-ones against tight coverage at the second and third level. Kincaid has the profile of a big slot target in the NFL, and the numbers from last season (70 receptions, 890 yards receiving, eight touchdowns) point to his pass-catching skill set. He tied for the national lead among tight ends in catches on passes thrown at least 20 yards downfield (six).

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Best red zone target: Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia

With a massive 6-foot-7, 264-pound frame and really good body control, Washington projects as a productive red zone target with more pass-game usage in the pros. He can run the seams and corners from the higher parts of the red zone, while also creating isolation matchups inside the 10-yard line. He's big and strong enough to post up defensive backs or linebackers here, and he makes for a really tough matchup. He didn't see many targets last season while playing behind Brock Bowers, but two of his three red zone catches were TDs.

What EB might be looking for with a TE. 

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Best run blocker: Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse

Bergeron can win in both gap and zone run schemes. He can move defenders off the ball and displays the skill set to climb and latch onto linebackers at the second level. A strike-and-drive blocker, Bergeron fits best in a run-heavy NFL system that uses a lot of play-action protection. He amazingly didn't blow a single run block last season.

If Ron's run game comment is still to be believed. 

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Most second-level range: Drew Sanders, ILB, Arkansas

Sanders can work sideline to sideline in pursuit or get to depth in coverage. With a 6-foot-5 frame to close down throwing windows, he posted 111 tackles and 10 run stops last season. And for the record, Sanders also has the pass-rush traits that could make him a solid sub-package edge rusher in today's multiple NFL fronts.

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Best run-stopping instincts: Jack Campbell, ILB, Iowa

Campbell sees it fast from the middle linebacker position, creating clean angles to the ball -- and he's physical on contact. He's a strong tackler who can build a long pro career as a downhill thumper, and I see the size and toughness to rack up stops against the run game at the next level. Campbell registered 122 tackles and 11 run stops last season.

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Best press-coverage ability: Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State

Porter will challenge, disrupt and take control of the releases. With a 6-foot-2 frame, he's an ideal fit for a press-man or Cover 2 defense. Porter uses his 34-inch length and physicality to get his hands on wide receivers and wreck the timing of the route. He allowed just 3.7 yards per pass thrown his way last year (fifth best in the nation) and forced incompletions on 37.9% of his targets (best in the nation).

Interesting to point out with our zone heavy scheme.

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Best transition ability: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon

Fluid and smooth, with the ability to flip his hips and redirect, Gonzalez has the skills of a top cover corner. The tape shows us an easy mover in both man and zone coverage, and he can match verticals and play through multiple breaking routes with 4.38 speed.

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Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia: Jones has the traits of an NFL third-down back. He's a natural hands catcher out of the backfield who will challenge blitzing linebackers in protection. Jones can also contribute in the run game as a change-of-pace back, with perimeter ability and the power to finish on contact.

 

[e16bball]

3 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

A strike-and-drive blocker, Bergeron fits best in a run-heavy NFL system that uses a lot of play-action protection. He amazingly didn't blow a single run block last season.

Stuff like the bolded annoys me at times. Lots of these guys are awesome, but no one is perfect. And if you are 100% flawless as a run blocker in a Power 5 conference over the course of a full season, then you should be a top 10 pick unless you’re an absolute stiff moving backwards. Which he isn’t.

But I turned on his game against Clemson, and sure enough, just a few minutes into the video, he gets his *** whipped by Myles Murphy to blow up a run around the left edge. I’m sure there’s some special criteria for defining a “blown run block” that made that not qualify, but he clearly lost and it clearly affected the play (which resulted in lost yardage). Which seems like what counts.

Anyway, he is a pretty good run blocker. I think he struggles with finding a target in space sometimes, and he’s definitely going to have trouble with these explosive, strong guys who can get under his pads. Both Murphy and Foskey gave him issues with that. Murphy ate his lunch, for the most part, to be honest. But he’s solid in pass protection too, and he looks to be a pretty middle-of-the-road athlete from the testing that he did participate in.

Seems like his window will open up probably around our pick in the mid-2nd. More realistically, I’d see him in the late 2nd or early 3rd. I’m usually not interested in OTs at that point, so it’s probably a pass for me. I’m looking for high-end starter material or developmental depth at the position, and I think he falls a little short of the former and the pick is a little rich to be the latter.

[ARTMONK HOF]

 

[e16bball]

On the topic of Syracuse, we haven’t heard much about Sean Tucker, their star RB. Watching them, you could easily see him fitting into the group we have here, he is a natural catcher of the ball and he’s got pretty impressive speed. He’s short, which I like in a back, just because you see lots of these plays where he can continue to keep churning out yards in traffic because the big dudes are all pounding on each other instead of him.

There are so many of these RBs that could probably help the team in the later mid-rounds. Chase Brown, Zach Charbonnet, Tyjae Spears, Dewayne McBride, Tank Bigsby, Roschon Johnson, Keaton Mitchell, Kenny McIntosh, etc. It’s really tough to buy in on an RB at 16 when I could get a high-end OT option there and then add one of these guys to the stable with a 5th, most likely.

Also, Syracuse has an F TE type named Oronde Gadsden II who was really impressive. Some might remember his dad (Oronde Gadsden I). Maybe a big slot, they’re kind of the same role anymore though. Really long, good speed, effective blocker on the perimeter, hands catcher. Just a freshman last year, but he’s gotta be on the radar in a couple seasons.

Edited April 12, 2023 by e16bball

[turtle28]

 

[offbyone]

1 hour ago, e16bball said:

Stuff like the bolded annoys me at times. Lots of these guys are awesome, but no one is perfect. And if you are 100% flawless as a run blocker in a Power 5 conference over the course of a full season, then you should be a top 10 pick unless you’re an absolute stiff moving backwards. Which he isn’t.

But I turned on his game against Clemson, and sure enough, just a few minutes into the video, he gets his *** whipped by Myles Murphy to blow up a run around the left edge.

I am thinking they are rating it on whether he whiffed or not, like totally missed his assignment.  I agree with you, getting blown up and abused is the same result.

[e16bball]

I’ve made reference a few times to how much I like Anton Harrison for us. I especially like him if he’s legitimately in the 20s or 30s, as seems to be the draftnik consensus at the moment.

This game against TCU, even though I don’t understand how (or why) they decided to cut it up this way, shows a lot of what I really like with him. He came out of the box as a RS freshman in 2021 with the good feet, long arms, and ability to match and mirror. Tough to beat him in pass pro. But in the run game, especially when they got him on the move, he looked…unwieldy. Like a kid with some baby fat who is a little clumsy and unbalanced. 

In this one, he’s moving with much more purpose and explosion and body control. His movement skills are extremely impressive, especially if you watch this one immediately after running through some of his 2021 games. 

 

[MikeT14]

On 4/10/2023 at 9:04 AM, MikeT14 said:

I had an incident Saturday that rendered me unable to participate when I wanted to, so I lost of out on three guys I would have picked here instead (Tyjae Spears, Zach Kuntz, Trevius Hodges Tomlinson). My bad. I was able to circle back and add good depth and a guy to develop though in Yaya Diaby. I think added his teammate Kei Trel Clark in the middle of the 4th. I just traded up from 150 to 139 to get Vorhees. He was still sitting there, and redshirting him for his potential talent is fine by me, especially if we think we're carrying Norwell one more year. 

1.16 - Darnell Wright, OT
2.47 - Jack Campbell, LB
3.97 - Yaya Diaby, EDGE
4.118 - Kei'Trel Clark, CB
5.139 - Andrew Vorhees, G (traded 150 + 215)

This leaves me with 193 and 233 left to attack our depth. Hoping to attack QB, TE, RB, K, or WR with those two. 

1.16 - Darnell Wright, OT
2.47 - Jack Campbell, LB
3.97 - Yaya Diaby, EDGE
4.118 - Kei'Trel Clark, CB
5.139 - Andrew Vorhees, G (traded 150 + 215)
6.193 - Sean Tucker, RB

[MikeT14]

Last pick was an @e16bball pick since he was standing on the table. It was an awkward moment but we'll let it slide.

[e16bball]

2 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

Last pick was an @e16bball pick since he was standing on the table. It was an awkward moment but we'll let it slide.

You’ll be standing on the sofa the first time you see him turn a dump-off pass into a 50-yard TD 😂

That’s very good value for him, though, I’d say. And I’m a big fan of the whole draft, really. I’m not one of these guys who is fawning over Darnell Wright all of a sudden, but he’s clearly a good player. And scoring Campbell + Yaya + Kei’Trel (I assume you must have been in attendance at the Louisville Pro Day) is a big infusion of additional talent into the defense. I figure Wright and Campbell would both start from day one. 

[MikeT14]

12 minutes ago, e16bball said:

You’ll be standing on the sofa the first time you see him turn a dump-off pass into a 50-yard TD 😂

That’s very good value for him, though, I’d say. And I’m a big fan of the whole draft, really. I’m not one of these guys who is fawning over Darnell Wright all of a sudden, but he’s clearly a good player. And scoring Campbell + Yaya + Kei’Trel (I assume you must have been in attendance at the Louisville Pro Day) is a big infusion of additional talent into the defense. I figure Wright and Campbell would both start from day one. 

Been high on Campbell for a while myself. @MKnight82 and I had a good debate over him or Drew Sanders there, and he's right too. You and I both like Yaya, and I would have made some different picks there had I been on time, but I am happy with it regardless. Kei'Trel was mostly because I wanted a corner and we brought him in for a visit. I think my draft is unfolding in the "a lot of B guys" type of draft. No all-pros, but probably a bunch of solid contributors. 

[e16bball]

4 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

Been high on Campbell for a while myself. @MKnight82 and I had a good debate over him or Drew Sanders there, and he's right too. You and I both like Yaya, and I would have made some different picks there had I been on time, but I am happy with it regardless. Kei'Trel was mostly because I wanted a corner and we brought him in for a visit. I think my draft is unfolding in the "a lot of B guys" type of draft. No all-pros, but probably a bunch of solid contributors. 

Perhaps a lower upside draft, but that’s realistic for these guys. That Jamin Davis pick sticks out like a sore thumb, it’s just so far removed from their usual high-floor focus. 

I think Sanders may have the higher ceiling, he’s a little more fluid and explosive in his movements to my eye. If we were looking for a pure athlete playmaker, he’d be higher on my list. But I think we need a Captain America to get all these Avengers on our defense on the same page — and that’s Jack Campbell to a T. He would’ve been the undisputed captain of the All-America team. Sanders is in a tough position in that way, having played at two different schools, but pretty little doubt that Will Anderson was the leader of the Alabama defense the last couple years or that Bumper Pool was the leader on the Hogs defense last year. At the risk of offending the masses, we need a chief, not another Indian.

[Thaiphoon]

BTW all - I'll be running my annual draft game. I'll get the post set up this weekend so that you all can make your picks.

[MikeT14]

https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-nfl-draft-ideal-top-two-picks-for-every-team 

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Washington Commanders

 

Round 1: No. 16 overall -- Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois

Round 2: No. 47 overall -- Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State

 

The Commanders get impact players at two positions of need in this simulation. Witherspoon mixes it up with receivers in the slot and outside despite his slender build (5-11 1/2, 181 pounds), while Musgrave is an athletic target who can attack multiple levels of the defense. Washington would lean on these two young talents for the next few years.

I don't overly disagree with this. I'm not as high on Musgrave, but also might be dead wrong about him. This would be a pretty good 1-2. The downside is the lack of a guard. 

[ripsean21]

47 minutes ago, MikeT14 said:

https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-nfl-draft-ideal-top-two-picks-for-every-team 

I don't overly disagree with this. I'm not as high on Musgrave, but also might be dead wrong about him. This would be a pretty good 1-2. The downside is the lack of a guard. 

I’m not a fan of a guy who over and over is hurt!!! A Ferrari in the shop is no better than a Lemon on the field. It’s part of my potter knock. Other then how lost he gets when his coverage is solid when I try to watch a guy live for highlight and over his career 5 different times they aren’t avalible and it’s a premier matchup they fall down my list. Avalibility is a trait Musgrave can’t stay on the field I’ll bank on a safer player especially in this class of TE’s