Draft Rumors

[Jeezla]

2 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

Wynn is my OT1, and I think he is the only LT in the draft. Mcglinchey is 2 and can be a solid RT. Crosby is 3, Rankins is 4, then Cappa is 5. I don't really like any other OT that ive seen. I never liked Miller and O'neill has fallen off a lot for me once I watched more of him. I think the top 3 are the only ones that can start and produce right away at an OT spot. Cappa will be a good one with some experience. 

Did you think Halapoulivaati Vaitai was a NFL LT coming into the draft? Probably not, but he ended up playing LT well enough to help his team win the SB. There is certainly more than 1 LT in this draft. They may not win AP player of the year awards or be pro bowlers at LT, but there will be 4-5 OT's taken that end up starting at LT for their teams and play well enough to at least be considered an average NFL starter.

[minutemancl]

2 minutes ago, Jeezla said:

Did you think Halapoulivaati Vaitai was a NFL LT coming into the draft? Probably not, but he ended up playing LT well enough to help his team win the SB. There is certainly more than 1 LT in this draft. They may not win AP player of the year awards or be pro bowlers at LT, but there will be 4-5 OT's taken that end up starting at LT for their teams and play well enough to at least be considered an average NFL starter.

Well... yeah. I assume I'm not 100% right with my evaluations. 

[Duffman57]

1 minute ago, minutemancl said:

Wynn is my OT1, and I think he is the only LT in the draft. Mcglinchey is 2 and can be a solid RT. Crosby is 3, Rankins is 4, then Cappa is 5. I don't really like any other OT that ive seen. I never liked Miller and O'neill has fallen off a lot for me once I watched more of him. I think the top 3 are the only ones that can start and produce right away at an OT spot. Cappa will be a good one with some experience. 

IMO, Jones is the most pro-ready OT in this draft.  McGlinchey IMO can be a solid LT or RT, but never more than that.  I think Brown is what he is, and can be an OK RT for a while in the right scheme.  I think people jumped off the bandwagon too quickly with a combine (which REALLY doesn't matter for OT's with his size).  He's already a rarity with his body type, but if you look at guys like even Cordy Glenn and Cameron Flemming who aren't as big as Brown, a lot of their numbers look pretty similarly awful.  He can be a ok RT out of the box IMO, but won't get much better than that.  I think Cappa is going to surprise people with his ability to play right away either at OG or OT.  Rankins is another guy I think people underestimate because of his lack of great athleticism but is a passable RT out of the box.  Okorafor, Christian, Miller and O'Neil have quite a bit of work to do before their starting OT's.

[Duffman57]

7 minutes ago, Jeezla said:

Did you think Halapoulivaati Vaitai was a NFL LT coming into the draft? Probably not, but he ended up playing LT well enough to help his team win the SB. There is certainly more than 1 LT in this draft. They may not win AP player of the year awards or be pro bowlers at LT, but there will be 4-5 OT's taken that end up starting at LT for their teams and play well enough to at least be considered an average NFL starter.

He was one of my favorite OT's in the draft.  I was pretty confident about his ability to play OT right away TBH (credit to Duke Manyweather for pumping him up enough for me to check him out...lol).  Maybe not to the level that he ended up playing, but I really liked him.

[bzane]

43 minutes ago, Forge said:

Am I the only one who's bothered by his age? Age has always been a big thing for me. The guy will be 25 before the season starts. 

Aaaaah, I don't think that age is really all that important a factor. The right guy, in the right scheme- even a rookie pushing 30 can flourish!

[Dr LBC]

21 hours ago, SilverNBlackFan said:

NFL Network's Mike Mayock reports teams have injury concerns with Boise State LB Leighton Vander Esch.

Vander Esch's neck injury has removed him from some draft boards. He also had a pinched C-spine nerve and LCL sprain at Boise State. This has been out there, but it confirms teams have flagged Vander Esch's medicals. Vander Esch was given a passing grade for his neck issue at the Combine.

Neck issue.  Well, we can pretty much guarantee after the Mike Williams stuff last year that the Chargers aren't one of those teams who've removed him from their board.

For those not familiar, evidently the neck issue that caused Williams to miss early preseason and season reps popped up on the physical the Chargers gave him during a visit and they still drafted him.

[BoltsFan937]

44 minutes ago, The LBC said:

Neck issue.  Well, we can pretty much guarantee after the Mike Williams stuff last year that the Chargers aren't one of those teams who've removed him from their board.

For those not familiar, evidently the neck issue that caused Williams to miss early preseason and season reps popped up on the physical the Chargers gave him during a visit and they still drafted him.

That's the Chargers. I'm sure Mayock was referring to, well you know, competently run NFL franchises.  

[goldfishwars]

There's quite a few rumors linking Josh Sweat and the Seahawks. They've held multiple visits/meetings with him and there's the inevitable speculation around SPARQ fit. 

[Tugboat]

3 hours ago, Forge said:

Am I the only one who's bothered by his age? Age has always been a big thing for me. The guy will be 25 before the season starts. 

Not only does Hurst have the age thing, but he's also still not a supremely experienced, super-polished TE prospect either.  He's got a decently well-rounded skillset compared to a lot of the top guys, but he's still only a real 2-year starter at TE who will still need plenty of refinement and adjustment at the next level.  TE is a position where a lot of guys, even extremely talented ones tend to take a year to truly get caught up to speed (especially teaching an old dog like Hurst new tricks).  Which means you're gonna have a guy who is probably gonna be 26 when he starts to really come on.  Which isn't great, relative to most guys' athletic peaks.  And he's not exactly a super special athlete either.  I don't think it's unrealistic to think you can work with some other guys who are a bit more "receiver focused" and more athletic but years younger, and get their blocking caught up with him in a year in a Pro program.

The age thing isn't a dealbreaker, but it's not ideal either.

 

3 hours ago, Duffman57 said:

I disagree.  I think it's a particularly good IOL draft.  I think there's 3 elite/near elite C's in Daniels/Price/Ragnow.  3 top tier OG's in Nelson, Wynn and Hernandez, and beyond that, there's a lot of talented players like Smith, Corbet, Cole, Teller, Phillips.  But there's also a lot of guys projected to go later that I'm a little higher on than most, so it may not be as good as I think.

That said: I don't see Wynn falling out of the 1st.

Yeah.  I'd say the strength of Interior OLine is probably one of the defining characteristics of this draft.  A lot of quality prospects there.  The lack of headlining OTs hurts the OLine class overall, but it's not an altogether bleak class...just less prestigious strengths.

[49erurtaza]

 

[Iamcanadian]

On 4/20/2018 at 3:04 PM, game3525 said:

True,  I think the top player on Oakland's board is Smith, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Niners are high on him as well, especially with Foster's issues. 

I disagree somewhat. 

The way the passing game is structure in today's game has reduced the importance of offensive tackles. You just can't afford to be terrible at that position, but if you can get an average OT and if your QB is worth a snot, then you should be fine. The value of LB has increased IMO since most of the action is in the middle of the field. If you can get a guy who can play the run as well as cover, then you have something that is really valuable in today's game.

 

This is absurd, LT remains the #2 position on the offense if you want you QB to stay healthy, RT is of less importance but still is a priority. LB is a secondary position on a pro football team as their main priority is stopping the run and running the ball only accounts for 33% of a NFL offense.

If you cannot protect your QB's blindside, you'll find your QB in the hospital quite often.

 

[canadaluvsdallas]

28 minutes ago, 49erurtaza said:

 

Makes sense. Eberflus ( was our LB coach) is their new DC and he really values the LB position as the shot caller on defense & tone setter.

Sean Lee's game went to another level with him.

[game3525]

1 hour ago, Iamcanadian said:

This is absurd, LT remains the #2 position on the offense if you want you QB to stay healthy, RT is of less importance but still is a priority. LB is a secondary position on a pro football team as their main priority is stopping the run and running the ball only accounts for 33% of a NFL offense.

If you cannot protect your QB's blindside, you'll find your QB in the hospital quite often.

 

This may have been true 15-20 years ago, but this hasn't been the case since like 2005. 

No team does 7-step drops anymore that requires QB's to hold the ball long. Everything is a 3-step drop and the ball is out, so the left tackle position is not nearly as important as it was in the 90's and early 2000's. 

And your view about LB is completely outdated. It is not about stopping the run with LB's anymore, it is about having LB's who can cover and control the MOF, because that is where all the action is at in today's game. 

The Super Bowl was the perfect example of why LB's matter in today's game. A big reason why the Pats losted was because Philly exploited their LB's in the passing game. IMO, if your LB's can't cover in today's game, you are always vulnerable to get worked and it doesn't matter how strong your d-line/secondary are. 

[jrry32]

9 hours ago, Duffman57 said:

IMO, Jones is the most pro-ready OT in this draft. 

Jamarco Jones? For those who care (I do not), he tested terribly. But he did look like a serviceable OT to me. I didn't see a ton of upside in his game, though. Geron Christian is the guy I really like outside of the top couple guys (imo, Wynn and McGlinchey). I think Wynn can be a good LT and a very good pass protector. I see McGlinchey as being a rock-solid player. After those guys, I think Christian is the best pass protector. He's going to need to bulk up and get stronger, but he's so natural, smooth, long, and flexible. He's also only 21 years old, so I think there's growth potential there.

[jrry32]

10 hours ago, Iamcanadian said:

Except for his age, Hurst is head and shoulders above Goedert as a prospect. However his age could easily drop Hurst on draft day.

Goedert is head and shoulders above Hurst. He's a bigger, stronger player who is a far more effective blocker and just as dangerous in the passing game with more run after catch ability. When you factor in his age, it's an easy win for Goedert. I like Hurst, but Goedert is a future Pro Bowl TE.