2024 CFB Talk/Draft Prospects: Draft who we want or the world will end.

[Ray Reed]

1 hour ago, diamondbull424 said:

I’m also against Chop Robinson. Also Jordan Morgan. 

However for similar reasons with Morgan, Tyler Guyton also is beginning to be a bit of a potential disappointment pick.

Jordan Morgan is an average size tackle with small arms that doesn’t play particularly physical in the run game, but does well in pass protection. We have that in Patrick Mekari already and I truly don’t see Morgan as much, if any amount of an upgrade. Also Morgan to me is most exclusively a LT only guy. Factor in that he’s 22 and will be 23 for this NFL season and I can’t help but feel like he’d be a huge downgrade in comparison to what we could get with most any of the WR prospects.

Tyler Guyton is actually pretty beastly and I’ve been a fan of him as a “safe” selection until recently. The only reason I have him listed is because if the choice is between him (nearly 23) and freshly turned 21 year old Kingsley Suamataia… and the play on tape isn’t far superior and he’s got less versatility playing only RT… and it’s a clear choice. If we go OT late in round one, I think it makes the most sense to draft the cousin of Penei Sewell who had he stayed in school one more year, could’ve potentially been a top 10 OT type player. Getting him at the end of round 1 seems like it could be both a high floor and high ceiling maneuver moving forward.

So Guyton isn’t any less safe, however Kingsley just has too much potential and NFL bloodlines to pass him up IMO.

Totally agree on Morgan. Haven’t been impressed in the slightest from what I’ve seen.

[Nobellythrower]

Amarius mims maybe at 30

[BareYourTeeth]

22 hours ago, Ray Reed said:

Totally agree on Morgan. Haven’t been impressed in the slightest from what I’ve seen.

I keep going back to this quote from EDC at the pre-Draft press conference “For us, you just hope and pray that one of those top-20 guys might be there for us at 30.”

Would they really feel like a guy like Morgan is a top 20 player? I'm hopeful they stick to BPA.

I'd say the consensus top 20 players are:

1. Alt 2. Latham 3. Fautanu 4. Fuaga 5. Fashanu 6. Mims 7. Barton 8. Bowers 9. Harrison 10. Nabers 11. Odunze 12. Thomas 13. Murphy 14. Quinyon Mitchell 15. DeJean 16. Arnold 17. Turner 18. Verse 19. Latu 20. Chop

With at least 5 QBs going off the board I'd say there's an ok chance at one of them.

Edited April 18 by BareYourTeeth

[Ray Reed]

I wonder if they would take Darius Robinson or Johnny Newton at 30 even though we’re relatively stacked on the DL next season. Those guys could easily be BPA at that point 

[berlin calling]

i do think this draft may tell a lot about if EDC actually values BPA over BNA, say if a DB like DeJean or McKinstry or IDL as you say is on the board when they pick...

Increase positions of strength even more or rather fill needs with prospects (purposedly) rated lower on their board? 

Exciting. 

[DreamKid]

7 hours ago, Ray Reed said:

I wonder if they would take Darius Robinson or Johnny Newton at 30 even though we’re relatively stacked on the DL next season. Those guys could easily be BPA at that point 

I think the team probably really likes Darius Robinson, that Pernell McPhee type inside outside power rusher, but he's not a top overall player in the draft like Byron Murphy or Johnny Newton. So it's hard to say whether or not they'd take him in the 1st. Since 2016 we've only drafted two players outside the Top 30 on the Consensus Board- Odafe Oweh and Hayden Hurst. 

https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/big-boards/2024/consensus-big-board-2024

- Darius Robinson is currently at 34

[diamondbull424]

On 3/25/2024 at 1:51 PM, diamondbull424 said:

5. Adonai Mitchell -> Michael Crabtree
- Combination of quality route running, great but not elite speed (on tape), and physicality at the catch point. Can create space with route nuance, has YAC ability, great balance 

I was going back to watch Xavier Worthy’s tape and I came away incredibly impressed with how well coached AD Mitchell was with regard to his ability to sell those rub routes. Also impressed by his blocking prowess that we see with him being a blocker for Worthy.

You also didn’t get the sense that he was a big diva type coming into Texas based off of his play on the field.

That said after watching every target for Adonai Mitchell, I can’t help but feel like AD is a bit of “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.” Not entirely because he does have production. But after watching his entire video, it felt like he would shrink in contested catch situations. You could tell he was keeping an eye out for big hits over the middle. His vision as a runner is below average as well. You do however love his ability to stop on the dime and adjust to low throws around his feet. As a thrower you want to attack his bottom half more than his top half, if you want to have success.

 

[berlin calling]

did you hear about his alleged issues with taking to coaching? Not sure if thats a viable source:

 

[diamondbull424]

9 minutes ago, berlin calling said:

did you hear about his alleged issues with taking to coaching? Not sure if thats a viable source:

 

I hadn’t heard that. I suppose if we drafted him getting him around Mark Andrews would be a boon, though that’s only if he’s interested in being a professional. His game is well nuanced, so someone has been able to coach him up well.

After watching his entire tape, I came away with “doesn’t play like a Raven” while his teammate Xavier Worthy does indeed fit the “plays like a Raven” moniker IMO.

 

I’m going through my WR rankings now. And I can already say that within my final rankings, he’ll be ranked below Xavier Legette and Xavier Worthy prior to having known any perceived character concerns.

[diamondbull424]

Tier 1
1. Marvin Harrison Jr -> AJ Green+
2. Brian Thomas Jr -> Randy Moss lite
3. Malik Nabers -> Torry Holt
4. Rome Odunze -> Reggie Wayne+

Tier 2
5. Xavier Legette -> Demaryius Thomas lite
6. Xavier Worthy -> Hollywood Brown

Tier 2.5
7. Roman Wilson -> Tyler Lockett
8. Adonai Mitchell -> Michael Thomas
9. Troy Franklin -> Robbie Chosen
10. Ja’Lynn Polk -> TJ Houshmanzadeh

Tier 3
11. Ladd McConkey -> Hunter Renfrow+
12. Johnny Wilson -> Jimmy Graham
13. Ricky Pearsall -> Stefon Diggs-lite 
14. Keon Coleman -> Mohammed Sanu
15a. Malik Washington -> Percy Harvin lite
15b. Jalen McMillan -> Chris Olave- lite

[diamondbull424]

15 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Tier 1
1. Marvin Harrison Jr -> AJ Green+
2. Brian Thomas Jr -> Randy Moss lite
3. Malik Nabers -> Torry Holt
4. Rome Odunze -> Reggie Wayne+

Tier 2
5. Xavier Legette -> Demaryius Thomas lite
6. Xavier Worthy -> Hollywood Brown

Tier 2.5
7. Roman Wilson -> Tyler Lockett
8. Adonai Mitchell -> Michael Thomas
9. Troy Franklin -> Robbie Chosen
10. Ja’Lynn Polk -> TJ Houshmanzadeh

Tier 3
11. Ladd McConkey -> Hunter Renfrow+
12. Johnny Wilson -> Jimmy Graham
13. Ricky Pearsall -> Stefon Diggs-lite 
14. Keon Coleman -> Mohammed Sanu
15a. Malik Washington -> Percy Harvin lite
15b. Jalen McMillan -> Chris Olave- lite

My key takeaways are that I’m far lower on Ladd McConkey than consensus and perhaps far higher on Xavier Legette than consensus.

He’s older but so are Roman and Johnny Wilson, Pearsall, McConkey, Polk, McMillan, and Washington.

Watching McConkey I never got the sense that he was absolutely dominating games and was the engine of that offense. If Legette were 21 and didn’t have some durability questions himself, then he’d be on that first tier IMO.

I also seem to be higher on Roman and Johnny Wilson than consensus. Roman I feel is either going to be a Tyler Lockett or he’ll be a Tylan Wallace, but I like that he attacks the football and I think especially with Lamar, Wilson’s tendency to get open on scramble drills is an elite trait for him. Johnny is just too big, long, imposing, and a mismatch. He’s got some nimble feet for his size, if he can fix his drops issue and continue to develop than I think he’s got a chance to be special down the line.

Lastly I can’t help but feel that if Brian Thomas Jr makes it past the Steelers, we absolutely need to trade up to get him. The value would be too great. I think he’s got the potential to be a special player.

[DreamKid]

Some thoughts on Round 1:

- Most likely scenario to me is one of the top Tackles or Cornerbacks falling to our pick for whatever reason(There's typically always a guy there you didn't expect to make it), or the Ravens looking at Graham Barton(Probably gone) & Jackson Powers-Johnson and saying "Okay, you can start next to Linderbaum for the next 8-10 years".

- I don't feel confident enough to outright predict one, but a Trade Up is definitely more likely this year than it has been in the past. 

- It's hard to see WR going from a 14 Million investment need last season with the acquisition of OBJ to not even on the radar this season, so even with all the recent early picks at the position it's fair to say a Round 1 WR is still very much in play. Problem is stock wise it's looking like Brian Thomas Jr is the only mid 1st Round option and then you have Late 1st guys like AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, and possibly Xavier Worthy/Troy Franklin but all are trending lower into that early-mid 2nd Round territory(With lacking consensus around their worth). So it's unlikely we see the Ravens reach for a WR talent outside their Top 25 players. 

- It won't happen but a Falcons-Julio Jones type trade up for Malik Nabers would probably be worth it in the long run. He's a talent that typically goes Top 3 but will be pushed down a handful of picks because of other players. 

- I'm expecting Dallas Turner and Jared Verse to be gone, which would make a falling Laiatu Latu the only option at EDGE in Round 1. It looks like Latu's stock is recovering though and he'll probably be picked earlier than most think. 

- It's hard to sell DI as a major need with the success of the unit last year, extensions of Buike/Pierce, upside of Travis Jones, and depth above replacement level in Broderick Washington...BUT.... BPA is BPA and Byron Murphy or Johnny Newton could be Top 15 talents still on the board at our pick. Murphy is the better prospect in my opinion and much less likely to be there but Newton profiles as your classic faller who might force an interesting conversation for the FO.

[DreamKid]

@diamondbull424 

 

[berlin calling]

3 hours ago, DreamKid said:

- It's hard to see WR going from a 14 Million investment need last season with the acquisition of OBJ to not even on the radar this season, so even with all the recent early picks at the position it's fair to say a Round 1 WR is still very much in play. Problem is stock wise it's looking like Brian Thomas Jr is the only mid 1st Round option and then you have Late 1st guys like AD Mitchell, Ladd McConkey, and possibly Xavier Worthy/Troy Franklin but all are trending lower into that early-mid 2nd Round territory(With lacking consensus around their worth). So it's unlikely we see the Ravens reach for a WR talent outside their Top 25 players. 

re. AD Mitchell:

https://x.com/prettyrickey213/status/1781015843536548290

Edited April 25 by berlin calling

[DreamKid]

16 minutes ago, berlin calling said:

re. AD Mitchell:

https://x.com/prettyrickey213/status/1781015843536548290

Doesn't shock me. Advanced data on him is poor as well. Flashes on tape for sure, but not a safe profile as a prospect.