2018 Draft Thread I

[John232]

Gonna start looking at Kylie Fitts soon. Might be an intriguing guy to take in the mid rounds. 

[big9erfan]

2 hours ago, rudyZ said:

Didn't we do the same thing with Sweat? I think Zgonina was running the drills. I don't know how something happens. Are teams putting in requests, or is it more like an agent thing, asking various coaches. I know that in the case of Darnold and Josh Allen, their pro days were ran by Jordan Palmer, who is coaching them both during the draft process. I think that QBs in general have a lot more pinned on the technical aspects of their job, and they hire independent coaches to show they're trying to fix the flaws they could live with in college. It would make sense for pass rushers to do that as well, but I don't remember of college pass rushers hiring personal trainers to work with during the draft process and make them look good during their pro days. 

Anyways, I'm glad we're having an up close and personal look at these guys, some first hand impression on how they respond to coaching. I think it makes it pretty clear what our focus is in this draft. One of these guys will either cement his status as a viable option at 9 or 59, or will drop out of consideration. 

Yep. Taking a really close look at both Sweat and Davenport might indicate a serious interest in coming out of the draft with a good pass rusher.

[big9erfan]

2 hours ago, Forge said:

Davenport is pretty the same as Landry for me. I don't love him, understand the appeal. I'd feel more comfortable with each after a trade down as opposed to number 9, but I get that trading down and drafting him is probably not feasible. 

If it comes down to Landry or Davenport it will be an interesting decision. Landry is explosive, quick and much more skilled, at least in this point in his career. Davenport is taller, with longer arms and 20 pounds heavier, much stronger, actually faster in the 40 but not nearly as quick and lacking real pass rushing skills.  Those are two very different guys to choose from if that's the direction they want to go.

[big9erfan]

2 hours ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

I rather draft Key in the 2nd than Davenport in the 1st. But the dilemma is obviously the off the field issues. Easy for us fans to always want talent when we aren't dealing with the player like the team is lol. 

Given our issues with Aldon and now with Foster I'm guessing we'll have no part of guys with character concerns.

[Forge]

1 minute ago, big9erfan said:

Given our issues with Aldon and now with Foster I'm guessing we'll have no part of guys with character concerns.

I'd disagree with that, after all, we met with Byron Pringle recently.

[N4L]

1 hour ago, JIllg said:

James is interesting. I love his character about as much as I loved Jamal Adams last year. He tested extremely well - to the extent that you wonder if he can do more things for your defense than the box/curl-flat defender stuff he showed on tape. I think that he would be even better than Tartt at his position and I rate Tartt highly. But I have seen zero tape showing me that he can do the high safety/boundary corner stuff that some folks suggest and it would be a minor waste of his ferocity in the box. And replacing Tartt even on the last year of his rookie deal really doesn't seem like good value for the 9th pick. Absolutely love the player. Like the scheme fit. Like the value for the 9th pick fit. Don't like the roster situation fit. 

I'm right there with you on James. I really think he would be a great fit here. This staff seems to value versatility, which is one reason why we ended up with Thomas last year. I do really like tartt though, but I think James has a higher ceiling. Tartt also has some injury concerns and is a pending FA. 

Thecloser we get to this thing the more I think we end up with one of edmunds/ward/James/Landry. Roquan is certainly in play but the fact he has trouble shedding blocks makes me think we will probably pass on him. 

Davenport doesn't do it for me. He has bust written all over him in my eyes. I don't like prospects where their only redeeming qualities are that they are 'tall and have long arms'. That seems short sighted (pun intended). He doesn't strike me as a dominant pass rusher on the edge, doesn't have the burst or the bend. He doesn't use his hands well and he doesn't have a lot of moves. Recipe for disaster in the top 10.

Give me ward over Davenport, all day long. Drafting ward would let ward move back to FS lol 

[big9erfan]

1 hour ago, Forge said:

God I hated that Armstead pick lol. 

I think we may see a little more consensus as we get closer to the draft. I have slowly begun crossing off people I think we will target. Most recently, I think it is very unlikely we draft Ward, so I'm pulling him off our board. Nothing to support that, just my opinion. So far I'm zeroing in on - Landry / Davenport / Edmunds / Smith. I'm still debating guys like Minkah and James. I think we'd more likely be in on the latter than the former, but again, just opinion. 

Would love to see Ward and Sherman together.  Put them one on one on the two outside receivers and take both of them out of the game. That leaves the other 9 guys to defend the short passing game and the run. Add a great pass rusher to that mix and it would be a really tough defense. But with Sherman on board and the possibility of playing Ward at CB I can't see us using our first pick on Ward even if he fell to 9. I think you've got the right six, and likely the right primary four.  Smith might be the safest bet of all of them but also likely to help our team less than the other three IF they work out well. So we've got proven talent vs potential, and positional need and value vs higher probability of high level performance. The FO will earn their money with this pick.

[big9erfan]

46 minutes ago, John232 said:

I hated the Armstead pick too, but I think after getting Buck  and after Armstead actually showed some flash as a 3-4 end, i was pretty excited to see what he could do even in O'neil's scheme..but since injuries and a move to the 4-3 AND drafting Thomas..just over it. 

 

In regards to the draft, like @y2lamanaki there seems to be a lack of consensus with us. But i'd say this also extends to the rest of the teams in the top 10. Usually a top 3 to top 5 is nailed down by now. And at this point, it's not even close imo. Outside of the Browns and Jets going QB, I can't say with any confidence what each team is going to do, and even less so with 5-9.  Seems like there is very little consensus among fans and pundits. 

I think it's not an exaggeration for me to say I have never seen a draft where the top 8 to 10 guys is so uncertain. 

[Geek]

Landry>>>Davenport for me.

 

Not a huge fan of either tho. I have been starting to warm a little more to Landry recently but that's only because I need to justify it to myself when we inevitably pick him. 

[Justone2]

58 minutes ago, John232 said:

Gonna start looking at Kylie Fitts soon. Might be an intriguing guy to take in the mid rounds. 

If he can stay healthy he can be a really good player. Seeing his history so far that is a really big if.

[rudyZ]

3 hours ago, JIllg said:

Agreed. You stated my point more clearly, I think. Haven't seen the dude bend yet, either. But he does have a strong first punch using his really long arms. And he seems like a willing worker. 

Maybe we should try to fuse Landry and Davenport together. It would have to happen before the draft, so we can use only one pick on them.

[the-catch]

To me, Davenport's a day 3 pick. Sure he's athletic and combine numbers were great, but I just don't see it. I see a guy who plays too up high, ok bend/flexibility, and limited hand usage. 

I know he's raw, but he just has bust written over him. He'll still probably go in the mid 1st, I just hope it's not to us. 

[the-catch]

5 hours ago, y2lamanaki said:

This is a strange year for this forum. Usually there are two or three guys that most gravitate towards as a desired pick. We seem to be as all over the board as our potential pick could be.

Not a bad thing. Just an interesting observation.

I think this year there's multiple ways we can go DE/DB/LB etc and of the ways we go, there's multiple choices within that route. IE production vs potential: Fitz vs James, Smith vs Edmunds, and Landry vs Davenport, etc.

[big9erfan]

3 hours ago, N4L said:

I'm right there with you on James. I really think he would be a great fit here. This staff seems to value versatility, which is one reason why we ended up with Thomas last year. I do really like tartt though, but I think James has a higher ceiling. Tartt also has some injury concerns and is a pending FA. 

Thecloser we get to this thing the more I think we end up with one of edmunds/ward/James/Landry. Roquan is certainly in play but the fact he has trouble shedding blocks makes me think we will probably pass on him. 

Davenport doesn't do it for me. He has bust written all over him in my eyes. I don't like prospects where their only redeeming qualities are that they are 'tall and have long arms'. That seems short sighted (pun intended). He doesn't strike me as a dominant pass rusher on the edge, doesn't have the burst or the bend. He doesn't use his hands well and he doesn't have a lot of moves. Recipe for disaster in the top 10.

Give me ward over Davenport, all day long. Drafting ward would let ward move back to FS lol 

I heard James being interviewed and I really liked the way he comes off.  Could be a real leader on defense. I think he'll make whoever drafts him really happy.

As for Davenpoort, long arms is far from his only asset.  He's 265 and ran a sub 4.6 forty. That's really fast for a guy that big.  If you've ever watched him he lays a feroscious hit on anyone trying to block him. Nothing fancy - yet. But what he does he does incredibly well. Even just using pure power alone he's likely to be a decent pass rusher. But having come from a small school program he probably didn't get the best position coaching so there's probably lots of room for improvement in his technique. The  guy he reminds me of in terms of pure power and raw potential is Aldon Smith except Dafvenport is indeed taller. longer, heavvier,  faster, stronger,  and just as fast in the 3-cone and a bit faster in the shuttle. "Physical freak" doesn't mean squat if a guy can't play football, bui in 11 games he had 17.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks. Plus when he went to an post season game he did just fine in his first time playing against the caliber of guys he'll face in the NFL.

I've been on the Ward bandwagon from back when other folks didn't recognize how good he is.  I love him. But we need a pass rusher so badly it's well worth considering taking one at 9 rather than adding Ward - who might well be gone by then anyway. I don't think I would take Minkah or James ahead of Smith or Edmunds, and I'm giving stong consideration to saying not before Davenport either.

[Ronnie's Pinky]

1 hour ago, the-catch said:

To me, Davenport's a day 3 pick. Sure he's athletic and combine numbers were great, but I just don't see it. I see a guy who plays too up high, ok bend/flexibility, and limited hand usage. 

I know he's raw, but he just has bust written over him. He'll still probably go in the mid 1st, I just hope it's not to us. 

He might slide to the 2nd round, but I don't think there's any way he makes it to day three unless something comes up between now and the draft. I hope the FO stays away from Davenport in the 1st, but if he makes it back around to #59 and Landry wasn't the pick at #9, I'm all for it.