Way too early 2025 draft talk

[Magnus-Viktor]

2 hours ago, jebrick said:

The offense at Coastal Carolina does him no favors.  Accurate with a decent arm.  i do like him.

Yeah I was going to underline him too, but forgot I guess.  He did look pretty solid early on in that game, but it kinda fell apart when he started "pressing" later in the game while they were behind.  He's right there with the rest of the guys I underlined.  The Miami guy and Georgia guy were the best for what I like at QB.  

 

[JustPlainNasty]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:55 AM, warfelg said:

https://x.com/Steelersdepot/status/1785365641559679382

Drew Allen at 19 🤮

Drew Allar will be fortunate to keep his job the whole season. People that are pumping him up as a draft prospect have never actually watched him play a game apparently. This is worse than Christian Hackenburg, at least Hack competed, it was ugly at times but he competed. Allar has an arm an thats it, not even close to accurate.  I'd bet Bo Pribula if given a fair shot would win that job and win more games/ be more competitive. Same ole same ole with Franklin recruit highly touted offensive prospects then don't develop them cause the best thing you are good at is recruiting and CEO'ing. I like James he was a blessing for PSU but coaching up football is not his forte and it 100% depends on who the coordinators/position coaches are. Will be interesting to see though with Fleming coming over from OSU if there is any marked improvement, but Drew was not close to good this past season. 

[Magnus-Viktor]

52 minutes ago, JustPlainNasty said:

Drew Allar will be fortunate to keep his job the whole season. People that are pumping him up as a draft prospect have never actually watched him play a game apparently. This is worse than Christian Hackenburg, at least Hack competed, it was ugly at times but he competed. Allar has an arm an thats it, not even close to accurate.  I'd bet Bo Pribula if given a fair shot would win that job and win more games/ be more competitive. Same ole same ole with Franklin recruit highly touted offensive prospects then don't develop them cause the best thing you are good at is recruiting and CEO'ing. I like James he was a blessing for PSU but coaching up football is not his forte and it 100% depends on who the coordinators/position coaches are. Will be interesting to see though with Fleming coming over from OSU if there is any marked improvement, but Drew was not close to good this past season. 

Fleming has always made me wonder what is going on.  Highly touted guy, but never seemed to play much.  I hadn't heard he's transferring to his home state team, till just now.  Interesting.  Allar is terrible though, from what I've seen.  

[JustPlainNasty]

42 minutes ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

Fleming has always made me wonder what is going on.  Highly touted guy, but never seemed to play much.  I hadn't heard he's transferring to his home state team, till just now.  Interesting.  Allar is terrible though, from what I've seen.  

Yep, its a little funny cause he pretty much dissed Pennsylvania and his hometown area of Southern Columbia to my recollection. He was supposed to be #1 and ended up like #4 or #5 there at OSU. 

Edited May 2 by JustPlainNasty

[Magnus-Viktor]

1 hour ago, JustPlainNasty said:

Yep, its a little funny cause he pretty much dissed Pennsylvania and his hometown area of Southern Columbia to my recollection. He was supposed to be #1 and ended up like #4 or #5 there at OSU. 

Yeah I remember him supposed to be some huge star, and then never played unless someone was injured.  I didn't know he insulted his home state/town though.  

[JustPlainNasty]

Ive been previewing the D-Lineman in next years class and it is way more abundant than this years class. One thing I did take note of again was Byron Murphy from this years class definitely is sudden / explosive and Seattle probably got a fortunate steal.  I wasnt like enamored with him but my thoughts are there will be a few teams that drafted ahead of Seattle that probably will wish they would have. 

Im only previewing guys (just a half or so of a game) but the guy that stood out to me most so far was Shemar Turner -DE Texas A&M, he was like a rolling ball of knives. 6'4 290 

Edited May 2 by JustPlainNasty

[jebrick]

Next draft is has great RB talent and DL talent.  Very deep in both those areas.

[Magnus-Viktor]

6 hours ago, JustPlainNasty said:

Ive been previewing the D-Lineman in next years class and it is way more abundant than this years class. One thing I did take note of again was Byron Murphy from this years class definitely is sudden / explosive and Seattle probably got a fortunate steal.  I wasnt like enamored with him but my thoughts are there will be a few teams that drafted ahead of Seattle that probably will wish they would have. 

Im only previewing guys (just a half or so of a game) but the guy that stood out to me most so far was Shemar Turner -DE Texas A&M, he was like a rolling ball of knives. 6'4 290 

Byron Murphy was the 1 DL that I really liked this year.  However, that was only if you ran a 43.  At 6' 297, I didn't see how he fit into a 34 at all.  I remember thinking if the Vikings still ran a 43, he'd be a cool pickup since they already have Byron Murphy Jr, and then they could have Byron Murphy II too lol.  

[rlon]

9 hours ago, jebrick said:

Next draft is has great RB talent and DL talent.  Very deep in both those areas.

What a coincidence, we are likely to need both. But, I will mention, in terms of value, that Rhamondre Stevenson apparently is an UFA next year. He’s a big back with a penchant for breaking some longer runs, and he won’t command anywhere near 7 mill.

[warfelg]

9 hours ago, jebrick said:

Next draft is has great RB talent and DL talent.  Very deep in both those areas.

Another reason why not picking up Najee’s 5th is a good decision. 

[Magnus-Viktor]

List of RBs in the '25 draft, since Najee didn't get picked up.  I just took the top 12, and then added a few that caught my eye due to size/speed while skimming the list.  I watched some videos (highlights) on the ones I comment on, making a point not to read their reviews beforehand:  

1.  Quinshon Judkins, Ole MIss - 5'11" 210 - 4.49 - He doesn't look really all that impressive physically, outside of that really impressive leg drive.  He picks up a lot of yards by keeping those legs churning.  Beast mode 2.0?  The writeup says he doesn't pass block, which is a killer these days.

2.  Ollie Gordon II, OK State - 6'1" 211 - 4.45 - Immediately more impressed with this guy.  Had a nice jump-cut in the hole, great stiff arm, great one handed catch on a screen that was thrown too high, etc.  Some nice cutbacks, and much more breakaway speed.  Nice vision in the hole and open space.  He doesn't keep the legs churning though.  Very impressive.  The writeup on him says a lot of what I saw, except I think he has better speed.

3.  Omarion Hampton, UNC - 6'0" 220 - 4.44 - The only one on this list that I've watched a lot.  He has the burst and the power, and about the perfect size/speed combo at 6' 220 with 4.44 speed.  The review, first thing mentioned is burst and a hard runner.  I'd definitely take this guy, and I knew that before watching a highlight video lol.    

4.  Ashton Jeanty, Boise State - 5'9" 210 - 4.42 - I didn't even look at this guy's size before I started the video, and I could immediately tell that he was shorter, quicker, and more elusive.  He has some moves.  Low center of gravity.  A few spin moves.  Guys try to tackle him up high and he shrugs them off.  A little like Warren size-wise and style too.  On the review it mentions return ability, and I can definitely see that working for him with this skillset.  

5.  TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State - 5'10" 212 - 4.39 - I've seen him play before, and knew he'd be good.  Immediately you could tell he was by far the fastest, most elusive guy on this list.  He's also the best open space runner seeing cutback lanes and almost turning sideways to avoid contact, and I could see him being a good return man as a result.  Very quick feet.  The summary on him talks about durability, which was my main concern.  It seems like he's dinged up a lot.  

6.  Trevor Etienne, Florida - 5'9" 217 - 4.48 - I'm assuming this is Travis's little bro.  Right off the bat you see several runs where he pushes his lead blocker through the hole and then takes off.  You can see he's one of the slower ones so far, which is right in line with the 4.48 vs the 4.39 and 4.42 I just watched.  He had a couple nice side steps in the hole, but for the most part I'm not that impressed.  He and Judkins are the least impressive so far.  They'll both churn out the yards for you, but nothing to write home about.  

7.  DJ Gidden, K State - 6'1" 200 - 4.56 - I almost didn't watch this video after seeing the size/speed combo, but I was impressed.  He runs a little bit like LeVeon Bell.  Slow to the LOS, reading the D, looking for lanes, and then goes.  He showed good hands and receiving ability with YAC.  He's quite elusive in the open field.  He also showed a burst that was pretty good, but his style doesn't use it much anyway.  I watched the UCF player of the week video.  

8.  Kyle Monangai, Rutgers - 5'9" 207 - 4.50 - Easily the least aesthetically pleasing RB to this point.  He runs with his head back, and too upright (almost leaning back), so even though he has that short stature, he doesn't give that small target that you usually see with a guy this size.  He seems to run with a lot of wiggle/power though, as he keeps moving the pile.  You can see he hesitates and kinda waits for blocks to develop or to see a hole quite often.  All of his highlights came against bad teams like Temple, Michigan State, Indiana, etc, all with losing records or programs that never do anything.  Of course, 3/4 of the way through the video I post that, and then there are highlights against Ohio State.  He looked pretty good against them, breaking some tackles and ripping off big runs.  I'd still rate him as my least favorite to this point though (just going down the list in order).  

9.  Jayden Ott, Cal - 6'0" 205 - 4-46 - Right off the bat, a KR for a TD and wheel caught in stride for a big gain.  Kinda runs with high knees or something at times when going full speed.  Unusual looking.  Big time breakaway speed that destroys angles.  Looks quite agile.  He's not very big, but he's able to get to the edge and run past guys.  The writeup echoes a lot of that.  They say he's good in pass pro, which the videos didn't show.  Jet Sweeps, swings, wheels and screens are where he should shine.  Would definitely be interested in this guy as a 3rd down back and return man, but he's not a bell cow workhorse type by any means.

10.  Donovan Edwards, Michigan - 6'1" 210 - 4.55 - I've seen him play and know he can produce.  Corum was MUCH better though.  He looks sluggish to me.  3 of his first highlights are an end around and a reverse.  In other words, he doesn't even line up at RB a lot of the time because MI was so loaded.  His catches are just mundane, catches the ball and runs.  No wiggle, no burst.  He doesn't break tackles.  He doesn't push the pile.  He doesn't make people miss.  He just takes what is there and runs out of bounds.  He does appear to take the right hole, but these are highlights.  Not my cup of tea at all.  He's up there with Monangai for me.  He may produce, but he's too sluggish and only takes what is there.  No thanks.  The writeup says a lot of what I did.  Good vision, but doesn't create, no burst, good receiver, lots of sweeps, etc.  

11.  Raheim Sanders, Arkansas - 6'2" 242 - 4.44 - Wow, that's a nice size, speed combo!  Right off the bat you could see that he lacked the agility to make guys miss in the open field, but he was big and fast.  He had the agility to get into the open field, but in the open field he didn't make anyone miss.  I wonder if he lost 20 lbs if he could be really fast and have some more wiggle in the open field.  The writeup says that he isn't nimble enough to string together multiple elusive moves, and that sums up what I was eluding to before quite nicely.  Fumbling is a problem too apparently.  

12.  Roman Hemby, Maryland - 6'2" 202 - 4.40 - All I could find on him was the Michigan game where he had no openings to hit, and a freshman highlight from a year ago.  You could tell right away that he had a slight build, and was fast.  He did break some tackles and make some guys miss.  Pure speed in the open field.  Looked like a good receiver with great YAC ability.  Hard to tell what you're going to get though, based on his age.  They say he's bad in pass pro, but he's young.  

18.  Camar Wheaton, SMU - 5'10" 202 - 4.30 - Couldn't find any videos on him, but I like that he FLIES.  Tony Pollard type guy?  

19.  Evan Pryor, Ohio State - 5'11" 198 - 4.38 - Couldn't find any recent videos on him either.  He sounds similar to Wheaton, except he's taller, lighter, and slower according to these #s.  

31.  LJ Johnson Jr, SMU - 5'10" 211 - 4.33 - No video again.  This guy's writeup is a perfect example of why these scouting reports are a joke sometimes.  His first strength is: "he's equally dangerous in catch-and-run situations as Johnson is "taking the top off a defense"".  His last weakness is:  "he's not going to threaten to take the top off of a defense"  lol.  Pathetic.  The rest of the strengths on him sound outstanding, as do his measurables.  

32.  Brandon Thomas, Memphis - 5'10" 210 - 4.39 - no video again.  Sounds good except they say he's too hesitant at the LOS.  A lot of these last few guys with speed say the same.  Good receiver, good athleticism, etc.  

33.  John Emery Jr, LSU - 6'0" 224 - 4.37 - Another great blend of size and speed.  

34.  Antario Brown, Northern Illinois - 5'10" 219 - 4.39 - More of the same, except they say his pass pro is pathetic.

Edited May 3 by Magnus-Viktor

[AFF]

An elephant in th room next offseason will be TJ Watt going into last year of his deal and already being 30 Years old.

[Magnus-Viktor]

1 hour ago, AFF said:

An elephant in th room next offseason will be TJ Watt going into last year of his deal and already being 30 Years old.

Yeah, I was noticing that a while ago.  His entire career was wasted due to incompetent coaching.  Not a single playoff win if I recall correctly.  Best player in the league, and nothing.  Must be what Barry Sanders felt like.....except he played for the Lions, not the 6xSB Champ Pittsburgh Steelers.  

But seeing TJ get wore down due to no depth, and his age, is why I always look for more depth at that position.  Highsmith could easily be upgraded, if they hadn't done so poorly drafting the last decade, so we have holes everywhere!  This draft is hopefully as good as it appears, and a step in the right direction.

[AFF]

13 hours ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

Yeah, I was noticing that a while ago.  His entire career was wasted due to incompetent coaching.  Not a single playoff win if I recall correctly.  Best player in the league, and nothing.  Must be what Barry Sanders felt like.....except he played for the Lions, not the 6xSB Champ Pittsburgh Steelers.  

But seeing TJ get wore down due to no depth, and his age, is why I always look for more depth at that position.  Highsmith could easily be upgraded, if they hadn't done so poorly drafting the last decade, so we have holes everywhere!  This draft is hopefully as good as it appears, and a step in the right direction.

I’m most sure what will happen to him honestly…I’m guessing they extend him a year or 2 but you never know.

[Magnus-Viktor]

4 hours ago, AFF said:

I’m most sure what will happen to him honestly…I’m guessing they extend him a year or 2 but you never know.

Yeah I have no idea either.  I haven't looked into his contract to even see how many years are left on it.  With him, it really all just comes down to his age.  Now that they have bad contracts off the books, or coming off soon, at least the cap space won't hinder their ability to retain him on a new contract.