Figured this deserves a lengthy response

Quote
alyoshamucci
We're oddly still a couple weeks out because the combine dates were moved back, but I'm going to go ahead and do this now regardless because the focus points I want to hit aren't going to change with more game analysis on my part and this week is going to be really boring otherwise.

I'm going to go through each position group and highlight what I'm curious about going into Indianapolis.


I have no curiosities with QBs, except whether or not they'll be able to throw the ball well enough to let the receivers show off.

RB
Who in the mid ranges goes up and down?
What does James Connor run and how healthy does he look?
What lower end back shows up and makes a case for himself? (Mcnichols? Redding? MCGuire? Hood? Justin Davis? Boom Williams?)

WR ...
How do these players fare?
Darreus Rogers, up and comer on USC who may well have outplayed JuJu down the stretch.
Ricky Seals-Jones ... Huge man with talent that has underwhelmed 6-5 230 and can move.
Mack Hollins and Bug Howard ... The two Tarheels who have been inconsistent but shown flashes ... and are both 6-4 and 220 ...
Josh Malone ... the Volunteer who has the size and speed ... but does he have the drive and awareness?
Keon Hatcher ... maybe the lowest ranked player on this list with the best statistics and performances ... how are his injured legs?
Ardarius Stewart[/b] ... the highest rated player here ... but does he go top 50 or 5th round? What's he going to run? Is he really ready?

Any movement up into higher rounds pushes my targets down to me later, at the very least. Im still eyeballing Taywan Taylor or Josh Reynolds in the 4th.

TE

This one could end up being huge, as Ive been eyeballing this class for a few years.

Who runs what? There are always guys who end up jumping because they ran a 4.5. Njoku should destroy it, but what about Engram and Leggett and Hodges? If Gerald Everett or Jonnu Smith run well as smaller move TEs does that make them stand out to our Jordan Reed utilizing coach? Do enough players show impact ability that Jake Butt drops to the 4th?

Pharoah Brown, George Kittle, and Darnell Daniels ... do they show up and show well?

O LIne

Do any of the unknown smaller school kids show up and make a name for themselves?
Can Dan Feeney play Center? This may be the biggest question for us.
Which guard are we going to be eyeballing for the late 6th early 7th rounds?

DL

Which of these kids can convert to 3-4 OLB? Movement skills for Ekanem, Price, McKinley, Daeshon Hall, Basham, Bryan Cox, Lawson?

LBs

What about these kids? Marquel Lee, Tanner Vallejo, Jalen Reeves Maybin?
And how good is Jayon Brown, really?


CB

Shaq Griffin is the one Im curious about ..
But the big questions are ... of the top closely rated 12-15 kids, who stands out? Does Rasul Douglas jump into round 1 as I think? How about Kevin King? Who may be there through round 2?


S

We finally get a look at Shalom Luani! How does he fare? I have him as the best unrated unspoken of player in the draft at this point.
How do Chuck Clark and Demarius Travis do as FS types in later rounds that could be steals (along with the obvious Lorenzo Jerome and Josh Johnson)




This is where I'm at going in ... and I'll watch every second of it (except the RB drills, can't bring myself to those yet).

Comments and questions welcome as always.

I'll try to add what I can to the categories you brought up. Where I'm at going in on some guys you mentioned, also some guys I expect to make their names known, others that will solidify positions, and a few that didn't make the combine cut and I'm wondering why. And of course out of the blue ramblings as well.

RB

I would gamble on James Conner in a millisecond. His health/ability vs basically any other RBs abilities alone is a clear advantage for Conner imo.

First, if Kareem Hunt is considered mid-round....he REALLY should move up...and not because of the combine. Simply never should've been there.

Marlon Mack, South Florida will show off. Rotation. lightning quick start/stop, excellent vision, outstanding ability to get skinny through holes. Not powerful but gets YAC because he's so tough to get a solid hit on. Speed ALL DAY.

Side note- Mack's teammate D'Ernest Johnson is probably the better RB and will show it next year.

I really like De'Angelo Henderson, Coastal Carolina. Outstanding foot quickness, feisty pass protector, makes first defender miss consistently even with immediate pressure. Lacks power

Tarik Cohen, North Carolina A&T will shine...after height/weight measurements though. Video game moves in space. Creates nothing as an inside runner, constantly bounces if there isn't a large hole. ++ hands. Needs to show special teams ability

Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego St. His stock seems to be taking a hit because of size, should start back in the right direction during the combine. Surprisingly good inside runner.

Shocked Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan didn't get an invitation. Starter. Big back. Plays with power and lean. Always falling forward. + hands.


WR ...
Rodney Adams, South Florida starts to get the talk he deserves. 2nd round player and that's probably only because South Florida over gimmicked (not a word I know) him because they wanted the ball in his hands and his skill set allows him to be moved all over. Could've simply dominated at WR. +++RAC. Fearless, great hands and body control. Limited route runner.

Carlos Henderson will keep his hype train rolling.

We know I like Chad Hansen.

Kenny Golladay, Northern Illinois probably won't test well but will make his name in the drills. Balanced route runner. ++ Body control and hands. Physical blocker. Lacks 2nd gear

Jerome Lane, Akron - Should test really well explosively. PHYSICAL. Outstanding body control. Strong hands. RB after the catch.

Hate Kendall Sanders, Arkansas St. not getting an invite. Small school guys can really help themselves in an apples to apples situation like the combine. Good frame. Snatches passes. Physical RAC with no wasted movement (leave ground for no reason). Very raw route runner but creates separation.


TE

Mentioned Adam Shaheen, Ashland before and will be a huge "riser" after the combine. It will actually just be the media now knowing who he is. He's huge and will physically test well but drills will solidify it for him.

Jonnu Smith is a guy I'm pumped for. Hope he tests well so he gets slotted closer to where he deserves.

Kittle won't test well...GREAT news for the team that gets him (probably as an UDFA).

Pharoah Brown will blow it up...I'm just not sure he can play and especially question his ability to catch.

Njoku And Everett are in a similar camp for me but more over-hyped, especially after they have huge combine showings, not a question of if they can play.

I will continue to beat the Billy Brown drum. Should be showing off vs TEs instead of competing with WRs.

O LIne

Dorian Johnson, Pitt will test well and "rise". Starter. Great length. Strong leg drive. Needs more hand power. Take awhile to get arms extended fully. Smooth mover. Attacks second level. Finishes blocks

Antonio Garcia, Troy begins his climb to the top OT in the draft.

I'll just mention Jordan Morgan, G, Kutztown (Pa.) again.

I think Taylor Moton, Western Michigan proves he's a guard, not OT at the combine. NOT a negative for me. Huge base, tough to move. Good vision, plays under control and balanced. Holds up vs bullrush on pure strength needs to do a better job re-anchoring with form. Feet are not quick. Keeps hands low, limits his hand power. Gets grabby vs speed. Tremendous upside in a power scheme.

Parker Collins, App State should've gotten an invite. Center. Nasty. ++ snap to set up. Quick and relentless. Short arms, lacks bulk. Better in zone

DL
Guys I think show 34 OLB skills

Avery Moss, Youngstown State - Compact and explosive. Non stop motor. Fights through blockers. Better standing up as a pass rusher.

His teammate Derek Rivers is already a top prospect for the position but shouldn't be available to the Rams.

Darius English, South Carolina - ROTATION/STARTER. Twitchy, explosive. Stiff. ++ hands. Very good working across blockers.

Tashawn Bower, LSU is a guy I'd be dying to coach. Perfect build for a 34 OLB. Shorter legs, long arms, power in his hands, good bend, and looks like no one ever taught him how to use his hands except for good initial placement, pop, and extension. If he learns counters, etc...watch out.

Already stated how much I like Lawson and Basham. Probably prefer both with a hand down though. Basham is more explosive from that stance. Lawson has the hands to win either way.

J.T. Jones, Miami Ohio is a guy I wish was at the combine for this role. Was a soft-ish body DE with an explosive first step and pass rush ability. I'd like to see him leaned up and doing some LB drills.



LBs

Only issue I have with Jalen Reeves Maybin is health. Love the player. Quickly diagnoses plays, takes best angles, and will work through or around blockers. Explosive sound tackler.

Tanner Vallejo is an animal who will test very well. His drops are outstanding...fluid,balanced, and gets surprise depth quickly. Really effective when asked to cover huge areas. I have to question if he will ever stay healthy though. He attacks anything in his path with EVERYTHING he has...RB, blocker, even teammates. That's also his big negative for me, gets tied up trying to blow up a blocker instead of thinking about working around or shedding.

Marquel Lee is the opposite but might be ideal in some 34 defenses. Probably won't test fast or explosive but he's big and long. Plays with good strength, very effective stacking and shedding blockers but doesn't have much range.

Really wish Jason Cabina came out, but at least he will be fun to watch next year at Penn State.

Ben Gedeon, Michigan will lose ground at the combine which will add to his actual value.

Matt Milano, Boston College will be a top test guy....I won't fall for it. Maaaaaybe if you have a very specific coverage sub package in mind for him.

Probably makes NO SENSE but in a 34 I have a feeling Trey Hendrickson, FAU would be good fit.....at inside linebacker. He looked real comfortable when asked to stand up. Problem is how effective he is as a pass rusher, that's a skill you don't waste. Offers a ton of scheme versatility regardless though.

CB

Griffin seems like a pretty complete CB when I saw him but he didn't show well vs better talent. I remember Rodney Adams eating him up the few times they were matched up and S. Florida let Adams play pure WR. Another guy I mentioned, Kendall Sanders, Arkansas St handled him easily...2 TDs iirc.

I want to see Howard Wilson, Houston. He shuts down his side but I want to focus on his movements

Treston Decoud, Oregon St is a guy who's 40 is interesting to me. Great length, good hands in press, times his hips well, just want to be more comfortable with his long speed/2nd gear.


Surprised Jeremy Cutrer, Middle Tenn State didn't get an invitation. Long, very physical tackler despite slender frame, great zone/off-man instincts. Didn't see any press

S

I honestly don't see how Lorenzo Jerome gets to later rounds.

Love Desmond King, Iowa with the safeties. One of my favorite returning players but he got exposed skillset-wise at CB.

Medical checks are most important for Eddie Jackson, Alabama but he will be with the top dogs on most of the tests and his buzz will grow again.

Really wanted Casey DeAndrade, New Hampshire at the Combine. Another guy I wanted to see apples to apples. (•) - Plus instincts, good quickness, but lacks power/strength

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