Drew's Top 10+5
By Drew Boylhart
4/14/2017
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www.thehuddlereport.com]
Every year since 2004 when I first started to do public profiles I have done a top ten + 5. Every year I get extensive negative feedback because I don’t have the players who others have going in their top ten. The standard reaction is that I am nothing but an idiot, embarrassment, a joke and as one memorable person wrote me in an E-mail… (You remember those, don’t you?) “You should have been pulled from your Mother’s womb before birth because your such an idiot,” That was the year I had Clay Mathews in my top ten. Oh and you should have read what was said about me when I had Sean Lee in my top ten, It’s unrepeatable. Of course the year I had Trent Richardson in my top ten I was told how wonderful I was and how I finally had seen the light. Ironic…wouldn’t you say? We’ll I’m back and because I look at film from the college season for my top ten there will have a person or two that will surprise you. All I can say is…deal with it, I’m not perfect and neither is any other “expert” working in the NFL who selects or follows the players in the draft although… I do pretty good overall and I’m one of the few who can prove it.
1. DL - Jonathan Allen – Alabama
Jonathan plays football with the furiousness of a MMA fighter. In short, he’s a beast. He is a big, strong, powerful, athlete with excellent football intelligence and techniques. He is quick off the line with excellent hand usage to overpower and gain gap control on running plays. This combination of athletic talent and mature techniques along with excellent size makes it easy for Jonathan to play multiple positions along the defensive line in any style of defense.
2. ER - Myles Garrett – Texas A&M
Myles has untapped talent that is just waiting to bust out and impact for the team that selects him. He has good size and speed and is a three down lineman who understands the priority of stopping the run. He comes off the line with excellent pad level and two strong long strides exploding into the back field with the suddenness that most players trying to block him struggle with. He has the athleticism to turn the corner when pass rushing but the truth is Myles is more of a “power” pass rusher than a speed or finesse pass rusher.
3. QB - Chad Kelly – Mississippi
Before you go crazy, understand this is my top ten and I know for a fact this kid is the top talented quarterback in this draft. Nevertheless it takes more than talent to play in the NFL and I guess we can all agree that Chad has had some “off field” issues that are troublesome. Chad has been labeled by the NFL and not invited to the Combine. Because Chad’s off field stupid and immature decisions I did down grade Chad in my ratings and still he came out with being the third best player in this draft. I guess that means if there were no off field issues I would have rated him as the top player in this draft! Think about that for a minute! Without the information that the NFL has I can’t label Chad but that’s just me. He is type of quarterback who lacks a conscious and that can be a gift and a curse. He has a bazooka for an arm with good to excellent accuracy. He show’s on film solid mechanics and he has very good athletic talent to run for third downs when it is needed. On the field Chad makes macho and immature decisions at times and doesn’t protect the ball but because of his talent you are never out of a game no matter what the score is until the game is over.
4. ER - Solomon Thomas – Stanford
Solomon has the natural lower body strength that allows him to burst off the line of scrimmage with surprise quickness and strength. He is like a magician, first you see him on the line of scrimmage and then you see him in the back field making a tackle, sack or disrupting a play. He is big, strong, and athletic with the football intelligence to play more than one defensive line position in different defensive fronts. He is stout against the run with the lateral agility to stretch plays out. He has those loose shoulders slipping by double teams and his opponent in a now you see me, now you don’t fashion that creates frustration when blocking him. Like I said Solomon is like a magician getting into the backfield of the offense to make plays all game long.
5. OT - Ryan Ramczyk – Wisconsin
Ryan is the type of offensive lineman who the more you watch him the more you appreciate his consistency and talent. He can play multiple positions for you on your offensive line and in any style of blocking scheme. He has excellent feet and is smart handling stunts with ease. He does an excellent job run blocking and pass blocking using consistent techniques with a combination of quick feet and balance. Ryan is quick out of his stance and moves with ease to the second level to make blocks in space. All of that being said Ryan has one problem that could affect his draft status he had a hip operation and could not work out before the Draft.
6. ER - T J Watt – Wisconsin
This year my saying is “draft the obvious, don’t over think the process”. When you see a good player, trust your eyes that they are that, a good player. T. J. Watt is a Clay Mathews Clone. He has excellent athletic talent to go along with excellent passion to play every play at the highest level that he can. T. J. has the talent all teams running a 3/4 defense are looking for as an OLB/DE. I suspect that he could also play inside linebacker in a 4/3 defense. He can be used in coverage but the truth is his strength is in attacking the line of scrimmage. He communicates very well with his teammates and is very smart. T. J. has the potential to become one the key players your defense is built around.
7. DL - Malik McDowell – Michigan State
Malik is the defensive player the Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Offensive line coach has too game plan for because he plays every line position in any style of front. There is no doubt about the fact that Malik’s techniques are poor and sloppy. Nevertheless there is also no doubt about his effort on every play and his athletic talent and finally there is also no doubt that when he does use the correct techniques that he is pretty much unstoppable. Add all that together with the fact that Malik plays all the defensive line positions in any style defensive front and even has the athleticism to drop off the line with linebacker like skills and you tell me, are sloppy, poor Techniques a reason to not select Malik? I think not.
8. CB - Marshon Lattimore – Ohio State
Marshon’s athletic talent and ability to lead are two attributes you have to have in your defensive back field to reach the playoffs. After you select him you will have a hard decision to make as too where you want to play him. Do you leave him at corner back and develop him as your potential top cover corner or do you bring him inside, use him as a cover safety and use his leadership skills and athletic talent? The good think is that Marshon should be one of your core players and stand out pro bowl players for the next ten years because of being able to use him in so many ways.
9. WR - Mike Williams – Clemson
Mike is a “sellout”. For those new to The Huddle Report.com and my profiles that’s a type of player who will sell out his body to make the difficult play or catch. Mike will turn his body into pipe cleaner like contortions twisting, turning, diving, and going high and low to catch the ball. He has an excellent feel for zone coverage’s and because of his size and fearless attitude he is an excellent run after the catch receiver. He shows decent speed in general but what he brings to the table is his strength, size, fearless nature and acrobatic ability to catch a ball as if he was a member of the Circus O lay troupe.
10. RB - Christian McCaffrey – Stanford
Christian McCaffrey has talent way beyond his size and football intelligence way beyond his years. He is the definition of a football Swiss Army Knife. From the screwdriver to the corkscrew, the toothpick to the scissors, Christian will be able to fix any problem a team might be having with their offense. He can be a third down running back, a slot receiver or wide receiver and a return man on the special teams. He can be a deep threat receiving the ball or your short yardage move the chains receiver. He can run between the tackles and corkscrew your linebackers into the ground while cutting through your defensive back field like a scissor cutting through ribbon. Christian has unique speed and quickness along with unique lateral agility that allows him to burst through tackles and change gears when running routes or when running between the tackles. Christian might be one of the most intelligent running backs in this draft. He has the ability to set up blocks running with the patience like a veteran NFL running back. He has the hand/eye coordination to catch the ball deep and that alone at the next level is worth selecting him early. Do you think that’s enough to be considered as a top 10 player? I do.
11. S - Obi Melifonwu – Connecticut
He has the size and athleticism to cover those big tight ends down the slot and with his ability to change direction will be able to cover your tall receivers in the red zone also.
12. CB – Marlon Humphrey – Alabama
Marlon has the size and length and the quick twitch athletic talent to be an impact cornerback for the team that selects him in this draft.
13. QB – Brad Kaaya – Miami
Brad has had to play with teammates that are not as savvy as he is and sometimes that makes it look like Brad was not that good. The truth is when you’re throwing to players who don’t adjust to the ball quick enough it will make the QB look like he is at fault when in actuality the QB is seeing things the receiver is not. He’s the type of quarterback who understands how to throw his receivers open and that is maturity beyond most quarterbacks coming out in the draft. Brad has good size, arm strength, football intelligence and accuracy and I think any team would like to select a quarterback with that type of potential. I know I would.
14. S - Jamal Adams – LSU
Jamal is an excellent cover safety with the ability to tackle in the open field consistently. He shows leadership skills through his play on the field. He has excellent instincts and his football intelligence is off the charts good. Jamal is a safety and some teams do not value that posiiton very high so where Jamal will be rated on each teams board will vary. Of course if you ask Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs and Seahawks the impact and value of their safeties I think you would get a different opinion of the value an impact of that position in their defenses.
15. WR – Zay Jones – Eastern Carolina
Zay might be the smartest and savviest receiver in this draft. He runs routes like a veteran NFL receiver always changing gears and setting up his man. He can move the chains and go deep and will be your franchise receiver, the type you build your passing game around. Zay reminds me a lot of Larry Fitzgerald. He has those big cartoon hands that make it easy for him to catch the ball in any kind of weather.
