2018 Comprehensive NFL Draft Thread

[RemoveSnyder]

10 hours ago, bowhunter said:

The kid has an arm for sure, but after the first 5 clips, I could predict exactly where he was going to throw it. He stares down every target. He does however seem to excel in keeping his eyes downfield under pressure.

 

So, I'm not going to give my essay form scouting report, but I'll just hit a few key points. 

 

That 2016 highlight reel was Lauletta executing an 'every Sunday' pro-style offense. His 2016 offensive coordinator was the brother of Cows HC Jason Garrett, John Garrett. And what you're seeing is classic Tony Romo, cowboys, passing offense, largely from Shotgun -- Single UpBack. Yet, with a little of classic West-Coast offense sprinkled in also. You'll notice the under center alignment and the classic 5-step, to 7-step, timing depth, tight footwork and timing rhythm passing.

 

This since John Garrett originally comes from the Sam Wyche tree, which tracks back to big daddy Walsh. John Garrett not only played for Wyche in Cincy as a QB but later got his first coaching gig with Wyche. Some background. 

 

Lauletta is now working with his third OC in the last three years and his fourth OC in his Richmond career. Notwithstanding, also a new HC for 2017. And adding insult to injury, his 2016 season ended with a torn ACL. It's been a shuffling of the deck his entire time there.

The OC's have been: Streeter 2013 & 2014 (redshirt), who left Richmond to be the QBs coach and recruiter at Clemson. Fisher in 2015, now a HC. Garrett -- 2016, who also was made a Head Coach after one season in Richmond. And now Duren for 2017. 

 

Prologue. 

 

As to the demerit charge, first:

Staring down receivers is one of the classic ES cliche knocks. Not trying to insult you or be condescending, but I actually think it has no meaning. In all honesty, I would pay good money to see the QB who can look the opposite direction of his intended target and then throw to his receiver "blind" and hit him in stride. It would be a sight to behold. 

 

I think, ultimately, you're misreading what you're calling staring down. A ton of those throws in the cut-up (which I did not create) were on crossing routes, entire field length Drags, which undercut the vertical 'space creating' routes and there was a timing element to these passes, a waiting to clear element. Many of which for those routes originated the opposite side of the field to where the route ended. You're seeing Lauletta having to wait essentially. 

 

But moreover, there's another component I think you're failing to account for. It's the WCO passing tree element which has so many routes branched off a single alignment and single "stalk." For example the Bang route or Skinny Post which can turn instantly into the Shake route. Also that Post-Corner route you see multiple times in the cut-up.

 

And so, for the times you run that Bang, it's a quick hitter you know, the QB has to be locked into the receiver and DB's alignment (obviously pre-snap) but also instantaneously after the snap and when you run that Shake off the Bang, you've got to have the QB keying on the DB's false step in order to time the outside trajectory to hit the WR in stride. I mean, offenses are quite literally running isolation routes all the time which are focusing on a single match-up and which require the QB's straight focus on the primary read. 

 

But I'll also say generally that I've seen Lauletta work through his reads and I also believe that is evident in the film. I see tight and compact head adjustments and shoulder realignments throughout his footwork and progressions. 

 

He's hitting vertical downfield routes and clearly is reading the safetys. And other times manipulating the safety with a similar dropback and look but branching directly underneath the Verts to those multitude of underneath crossing routes, which travel through that same field of view. Good offensive design I say. The more seamless the routes can give the QB a wide-field of view so that he doesn't have to jerk his head completely wide-side at a 45 degree angle, the better. 

 

It's really a sticky demerit to claim someone is staring down a receiver if you're not seeing his eyes, in the field of play. IMO. 

 

I'll just finish with a few things here. I've watched full games of Richmond and seen Lauletta on the entirety. I've also seen him live. I was in Charlottesville when they upset UVA. He really impressed me there, just his entire game and his command of the offense. I went back to NC shortly thereafter and I happen to watch Norfolk State football and get their feeds. I watched him follow up UVA with some throws in the Norfolk State game which simply, when I saw them, had me saying quietly under my breath, "NFL throw." 

 

I'll see if I can find my recordings of the NS game and specifically his throws, for reference. Yes, Norfolk State isn't a great challenge, but if you saw the throws you'd marvel at the smoothness of the flight. Off-hand there was a bucket throw, for lack of a better term, on a Corner route in the endzone, ostensibly similar to a fade but from about 35 yards out. And the trajectory Lauletta put on the ball, the spin and the loft was just beautiful. 

 

That all said, there are reasons why he's only considered a late Day 3 guy in some circles. And for most everyone in the mainstream he's an unknown. Notwithstanding I concede he easily is listed by others in the undrafted range and could very well be undrafted when it's all said and done. Though I personally would give him a draftable grade. 

 

But the reason for his demerits is lack of consistency, not some ES vernacular of staring down targets. The easiest analogy I can give is that he has Colt McCoy moments, where everything is going smoothly, then he does something boneheaded, or he gets tight, makes a bad throw and the drive collapses. In many ways he reminds me of McCoy when he ran the WCO specific stuff, in 2016, to be honest. 

 

 

Anyway. Longwinded, I know. Thanks for taking interest Bow.   

[bowhunter]

I appreciate the response. I'm not an ex-QB, nor anything nearly as well schooled as you in QB evaluation. I dig your well-worded explanation of what you see in the kid, and what I may be misreading in the highlights. I just never saw him "look-off" his receiver and the corresponding coverage, but again, I did notice how well he kept his eyes downfield even with pressure engulfing him. I regard that as an admirable trait that's difficult to coach. "Cool under fire" if you will.

[RemoveSnyder]

4 minutes ago, bowhunter said:

I appreciate the response. I'm not an ex-QB, nor anything nearly as well schooled as you in QB evaluation. I dig your well-worded explanation of what you see in the kid, and what I may be misreading in the highlights. I just never saw him "look-off" his receiver and the corresponding coverage, but again, I did notice how well he kept his eyes downfield even with pressure engulfing him. I regard that as an admirable trait that's difficult to coach. "Cool under fire" if you will.

 

I never played QB, except for maybe spring practice 7 on 7 shell. Nor have I ever coached QBs. So, far from an expert or well schooled in all truth. 

 

But, I just haven't seen the staring down thing that you brought up. But I'm certainly going to look for that specifically the next Richmond game I see. I've yet to see his Howard game tape, apparently he threw for 6 TDs. 

 

I know exactly what you mean about looking off defenders and I realize it's a real technique that is coached and employed, not just theory exercise. So, I didn't mean to come off as saying your observation had no foundation in reality. It's just, I'm remembering old ES debates where staring down a receiver was used as criticism for like any QB breaking the ten commandments of quarterbacking. 

 

I do think, from a general sense, that the offensive route tree from Garrett's 2016 offense just had a design that went from vertical to underneath and from right to left  in progression. And from my perspective, it literally allowed Lauletta to look in 'one' general direction and see the development of two or three routes before him, without a lot of herky-jerky shifting from read to read. 

 

And I'm just assuming from the way I see those routes develop that teams were often caught expanding the coverage shell and allowing a number of underneath and wide-open routes to come free. I'm also assuming that Lauletta is reading the coverage, seeing his keys on one or two specific DBs and just taking the high percentage open receivers.  

 

But I concede I'm not in Lauletta's head and don't know how or what he's processing. Nor am I across the ball from him seeing his eyes and whether he does or does not bait DBs with eye movement or body lean, and also whether or not he progresses from a chain of reads. 

 

I do know I've seen him extend plays out of the pocket and find WRs that break from their routes and comeback or ease to the sideline. So he does have some ad lib ability. From that alone I derive he has the ability to go off script, so I somewhat discount the notion that he ****s the bed anytime his 1st read is covered up and not available. 

[Going Commando]

Been gone this week so I didn't suggest a prospect of the week but it looks like there was an organic discussion of Kyle Lauletta that qualifies.

[Bonez3]

On September 9, 2017 at 9:58 AM, Bonez3 said:

Saquon Barkley is the best player in the nation this year... Big RB year

My first post in this thread and only going up... My #1 target with a bullet, this kid is special. Just watched gameday special on his training, he's a beast. Not just a workout warrior though, kid has every skill set you want in a RB.

 

BEST PLAYER IN NATION, PERIOD

[Mr. Sinister]

On 9/22/2017 at 12:05 AM, stevemcqueen1 said:

 it looks like there was an organic discussion of Kyle Lauletta that qualifies.

 

Nerd

[Going Commando]

21 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

Nerd

 

You have found what you have sought.

[PartyPosse]

If we're interested in continuing to beef up the DL, I wouldn't mind Maurice Hurst on Michigan.

[Skinsinparadise]

On 9/16/2017 at 2:08 PM, squatch66 said:

 

17. New York Giants

Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: Barkley averaged 5.7 yards per carry and he'll be another weapon for Eli Manning, joining Odell Beckham and 2017 first-rounder Evan Engram.

I included 17 in there too since its the Giants and we have been talking about Barkley. God I hope they don't get that guy.

 

I'd cringe if that happened.  The way this dude is playing no way (almost at 100 yards already today) he escapes the top 5 --let alone 17.

[Going Commando]

Giants might be picking top five though.

[Mr. Sinister]

Eli appears to be toast, anyway. And im not sure how organizationally committed they are to running the ball anyway. As of right now, I don't think Barkley alone would solve their problems

[Going Commando]

They need to fix their OL before they think about drafting another blue chip skill position player.

 

I'm enjoying the sports world waking up to the fact that Eli ****ing sucks though.  He's been trash for years.

Barkley is must see TV.  He's the best RB prospect I've ever seen.  Like some sort of freakish mix between LaDanian Thomlinson and Earl Campbell.

[Going Commando]

I honestly think he's the best back to come through the pipeline since Adrian Peterson.

[Going Commando]

He gets you second and three every time.

[RemoveSnyder]

This Wadley kid ain't nothing to sneeze about either. 

 

Penn St. needs to protect Barkley. The only thing NFL GMs are saying to themselves right now is 'please don't get injured.' 

[Going Commando]

That was a signature game by Barkley.  He's the best player in the class by a sizable margin.

 

I hope Penn State wins out so I can see him in a playoff game against either Alabama's or Clemson's defense.  I want to see how he looks against guys like Dexter Lawrence and Minkah Fitzpatrick who are as talented as him.

[CommanderDOOM]

Barkleys burst is unreal. Iowa is tough but speed is not what they are known for. I want to see if he looks as dominant vs Michigan or Osu's defenders.

[Going Commando]

Guice really suffers in comparison to Barkley.  If I watch him run after watching Barkley, he just looks slow.  He's so much less impressive despite the fact he's running behind a substantially better line.  He's strong and has good balance, but I'm not even sure I see a first round talent in him, much less a player who is in Barkley's class.  All those preseason rankings and mocks that had him above Barkley look really terrible.  Barkley's talent is so jaw-dropping and immediately manifest, it takes like five minutes of watching him to understand he's special.  With him I see LaDanian Thomlinson.  With Guice I see Jeremy Hill...

 

I'd be really bummed out if I was a fan of the team that settled for Guice in the first round after Barkley is already gone.  And if I'm a team with a top three pick, I'm taking Darnold or Rosen if I need a QB and Barkley if I don't.

[squatch66]

Holy ****in balls Barkley ?????

 

I reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaally want him in the first and Mayfield in the 3rd. I loved seeing Mayfield talk **** and then come out and back it up.

[Darth Tater]

On 9/23/2017 at 10:56 AM, Bonez3 said:

My first post in this thread and only going up... My #1 target with a bullet, this kid is special. Just watched gameday special on his training, he's a beast. Not just a workout warrior though, kid has every skill set you want in a RB.

 

BEST PLAYER IN NATION, PERIOD

Many of the best running backs in football history since I've been alive had very mundane college careers or questions about their mental/physical toughness.

[lavar1156]

13 hours ago, TheShredSkinz said:

Barkleys burst is unreal. Iowa is tough but speed is not what they are known for. I want to see if he looks as dominant vs Michigan or Osu's defenders.

 

Did you not see his USC highlights last year?

 

 

 

[clskinsfan]

As I stated on page one of this thread. Barkley is the best player in College Football. And how about that last drive from Penn State baby!!!

 

And Josey Jewell is one hell of a player as well. He had an incredible game.

[Going Commando]

Barkley is better than Gurley and Elliot were.  Clearly better than Fournette and McCaffrey.  And all of those guys were great prospects who were a lot better than the stud prospects of the previous decade like Cedric Benson, Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, Darren McFadden, and Reggie Bush.  When you compare that group to this recent crop of highly drafted RBs, you really see how there were some serious flaws that went unacknowledged prior to the draft.  And I honestly think a part of it was there just weren't any truly transcendent college RBs out there other than Adrian Peterson at the time.  So it was a bunch of flawed RB prospects being graded relative to each other.  And even Peterson had questions about his receiving ability.  The top RBs coming out now are much more complete players.  All of them can run both inside and outside now.  All of them can block now, when that used to be a rarity.  And almost all of them are terrific pass catchers.

 

Reggie Bush and Ronnie Brown and Darren McFadden had teams shook about drafting a RB in the top three to four picks.  I think those days are ending as, with the exception of overhyped and overused Alabama RBs, these top RBs are going to end up being some of the best players in their classes.

 

If I've got the #1 pick this year, I'm taking Barkley at 1 and Mayfield at 33.

[gooseneck]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2018-nfl-draft-qb-stock-watch-the-dilemma-with-oklahomas-baker-mayfield/

 

2018 NFL Draft QB Stock Watch: The dilemma with Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield

The Sooners quarterback has been awesome in 2017, but how should he be viewed as an NFL prospect?

 

I'm not extremely confident about this, but I think we need to start taking Baker Mayfield seriously as an NFL quarterback prospect. 

The Oklahoma signal-caller isn't especially tall for the position, improvises a lot and rarely reads the entire field. But he has been ridiculously good to begin the 2017 campaign. There's no arguing there.

All he has done through four games is complete 75.2 percent of his throws at a nearly unfathomable 13.2 yards per attempt with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. He has been the epitome of efficiency; he beat Ohio State in Columbus, and his "worst" game was a 17-of-27, 331-yard, four-score performance against Tulane. 

 

 

click link for rest of article

[Dukes and Skins]

Looks like I've missed some really good discussion lately.