2021 Comprehensive Draft Thread

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

Another potential 1st rounder has opted out of the college season.  Bateman from Minnesota.

[Fresh8686]

4 hours ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

Another potential 1st rounder has opted out of the college season.  Bateman from Minnesota.

 

He was my favorite receiver so far. He's a definite first rounder with a high level of polish already for someone so young. Both him and Caleb Fairley, a 1st Round CB prospect out of Virginia Tech are opting out and declaring for the draft.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Fresh8686

[Burgundy Yoda]

Man, this will be a true test for Kyle Smith with some of these guys opting out of the season. It doesn't seem like a good idea to me if you're aiming to go to the NFL. Their tape against college players is basically the most important key for them to get in. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Burgundy Yoda

[Fresh8686]

 

 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

I'm not seeing those comps for Bateman.  Maybe I need to watch other games of his.

[Anselmheifer]

Great article on Caleb Farley:

 

https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-virginia-tech-cb-caleb-farley-opts-out-of-the-2020-college-football-season

"The first thing you notice about the Virginia Tech cornerback on tape is his size. Standing 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Farley has the type of body that can fit into any scheme in the NFL."

 

"Farley is a two-time honoree on Bruce Feldman’s annual freaks list, has blazed a 40 as fast as 4.35 and was reportedly clocked at over 24 miles per hour on GPS trackers during the Notre Dame game last season"

 

"Farley personifies that ability, and it’s why he basically didn’t get beaten last season. Farley allowed only 18 catches on 50 targets all season long for 257 yards. In his final three games, he allowed one catch on eight targets for four yards with a pick and a pass breakup. For the year, he allowed a passer rating against of 26.8 (that’s lower than spiking the ball every snap) and earned a coverage grade of 90.5."

 

"...he's not seen in the same light as someone like Jeffrey Okudah. To put it bluntly, Farley has been an awful tackler over the course of his career. He’s missed 21 of his 80 career attempts. That’s over 25%. "

 

"He’s also been underutilized as a press-man cornerback in Virginia Tech’s scheme. His blend of size and athleticism screams press-man corner, but he’s played a grand total of 58 snaps in such coverages over the course of his career."

 

 

 

I think his comp is super easy. He's Deangelo Hall. Super fast and athletic, but not super physical. Great ball skills, but probably more of a zone or off man CB. 

 

Interestingly, played QB in HS and was recruited as a WR. Has only 2 years of experience playing CB. That 24mph GPS tracker had to have been wrong. That would have been the fastest speed in the NFL last year. Still. Length. Speed. Ball skills. You could see this guy racking up some INT's behind our DL. 

I'm not sure where I think his value is. Maybe a bit lower that some other people. Given the 1 gap DL scheme and our DL talent, I might lean a little towards a guy with more press man experience, like Surtain. Maybe. But I'd like Farley if we are picking outside the top 10, obviously depending on what other talent is available. 

[Going Commando]

He kind of reminds me of Aqib Talib only with a neck and more speed.  Same kind of confident playmaking swagger and willingness to use his size to bully receivers down the field.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Skinsinparadise

[Skinsinparadise]

We've talked some about safety here.  Here's another ranking.  It pains me about the Honey Badger who we could have had cheap in FA. 

 

 

 

 

The top 5 safeties in the NFL

5. Jamal Adams, Seattle Seahawks

We begin the list of top five safeties in the NFL with Jamal Adams. The Seahawks just gave up a king’s ransom to bring Adams to town from New York. Adams dominates the middle of the field and brings a toughness and leadership that Pete Carroll will love. Not just a great blitzer, Adams is a great pure pass-rusher, as evidenced by his seven sacks…and there is a difference.

Adams doesn’t take the ball away as much as you would like, however, and isn’t as strong of a man coverage defender as several of these top safeties on the list. But he absolutely will make Seattle’s defense better.

4. Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans

This is a great football player that opposing quarterbacks must fear. Byard does his best work in the deep patrol and already has 18 career interceptions. Obviously, Byard has great ball skills and has rightfully made a name for himself with his deep patrol, but he also happens to be one of the best run defenders on this list. Byard logged more snaps than any other safety in the league last year.

3. Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City’s amazing offense gets the bulk of the attention, but the Chiefs defense really improved at the end of last year when it mattered most. Mathieu is a huge reason why. He is an elite slot coverage player but plays the game with the physicality of an old school strong safety. Only Byard played more snaps from the players on this list last year than Mathieu.

2. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers

Coming out of Alabama, Fitzpatrick was considered an extremely versatile defensive chess piece, and that is how Miami used him in the pros as well. After Pittsburgh traded for Fitzpatrick during the season, though, they pretty much put him in the deep middle of the field. And Fitzpatrick dominated. It got to the point late in the year when it was evident that opposing quarterbacks were not going to throw his direction unless absolutely necessary, especially knowing how poor the Steelers offense was at that time.

1. Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers

Because of injury, let’s throw out the 2019 season for James. But that only leaves his rookie season. Well, James showed enough in just that one full year of play to show that he is already the most dominant force in the entire league. His recognition skills will improve, but there is no one like James physically with his blend of size and explosion. He’s a nightmare to play against and that’s just one of the reasons why he is the top safety in the NFL.

 

 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

What?  They're just pretending his 2019 season never happened?  How does Derwin get a pass when so many other players get railed or forgotten about for an injured season?

 

That whole thing baffles me.

 

For the Honey Badger, I think I recall him saying he heard about our organization and had written the team off as a destination because of it.  Can't blame him, because hindsight shows he was right.

 

Amari Cooper chose less money to stay with Dallas instead of us.  But I think I heard something about him being unsure of Haskins vs being content with what he had in Prescott.

 

Hopefully with a real (please let it be real) organization makeover, and Ron Rivera changing the culture...free agents would be happier to join us.

 

[Burgundy Yoda]

Speaking of Micah Parsons. Looks like he just officially opted out of the 2020 college football season and will enter the 2021 draft. 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Burgundy Yoda

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

[Burgundy Yoda]

Basically the two best defensive prospects opted out of the season now. Anyone think this hurts their draft stock a bit? 

[Mr. Sinister]

9 minutes ago, Burgundy Yoda said:

Basically the two best defensive prospects opted out of the season now. Anyone think this hurts their draft stock a bit? 

 

As long as they're not injured, I doubt it. Maybe it could've happened a decade ago, but GM's are bolder these days, and so long ad medical/film/background stuff checks out, they will pull the trigger

[Burgundy Yoda]

1 minute ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

As long as they're not injured, I doubt it. Maybe it could've happened a decade ago, but GM's are bolder these days, and so long ad medical/film/background stuff checks out, they will pull the trigger

Rosseau is really lacking the film though against college competition. I think he's worse off than Parsons for this decision but I get it. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Burgundy Yoda

[PartyPosse]

15 minutes ago, Burgundy Yoda said:

Basically the two best defensive prospects opted out of the season now. Anyone think this hurts their draft stock a bit? 

Technically three when you throw in Caleb Farley.

[KDawg]

Rosseau is going high based just on his potential.

[PartyPosse]

5 minutes ago, KDawg said:

Rosseau is going high based just on his potential.

Well if being second in fbs in sacks is just potential, dude should be a perennial 20 sack guy in the nfl then.

[KDawg]

47 minutes ago, PartyPosse said:

Well if being second in fbs in sacks is just potential, dude should be a perennial 20 sack guy in the nfl then.

Someone above said he has a lack of film. I said he was going to go high based on just potential.

[Going Commando]

4 hours ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

What?  They're just pretending his 2019 season never happened?  How does Derwin get a pass when so many other players get railed or forgotten about for an injured season?

 

That kind of ranking article is exactly what I'm talking about with that dude being bizarrely overrated by football fans and media.

[mistertim]

8 hours ago, Burgundy Yoda said:

Basically the two best defensive prospects opted out of the season now. Anyone think this hurts their draft stock a bit? 

 

Normally I'd say yes but this is going to be a really weird year because there will probably be a decent amount of guys who opt out due to COVID-19. And that's if there is even a college football season to play in. The 2021 draft will likely be even more of a crap shoot than others. But I think a guy like Parsons is still going to go very high because he's already shown so much on film.

[Anselmheifer]

On 8/5/2020 at 6:57 PM, stevemcqueen1 said:

He kind of reminds me of Aqib Talib only with a neck and more speed.  Same kind of confident playmaking swagger and willingness to use his size to bully receivers down the field.

 

That might be apt. And I think I'll take your word about Cosmi. I trust your OL opinion more than mine. 

 

Rondale Moore opted out. I'm not sure that's the right decision for him. He had a good freshman year. Basically missed his sophomore year. He could fall farther than he should. 

[Going Commando]

5 hours ago, Anselmheifer said:

 

That might be apt. And I think I'll take your word about Cosmi. I trust your OL opinion more than mine. 

 

Rondale Moore opted out. I'm not sure that's the right decision for him. He had a good freshman year. Basically missed his sophomore year. He could fall farther than he should. 

 

Cosmi isn't absurdly fast like last year's first round OTs, and he's not going to generate excitement with a splashy reel of second level pancakes.  I keep going back to McGlinchey as an easy comparison, who I also really liked as a prospect.  Big, hardnosed zone blocker whose sets are smooth, who plays a heads up style, and who sustains his blocks with very consistent effort.  Nobody would have gotten excited about drafting McGlinchey in the first round heading into that 2017 college season.  Definitely not in the top ten, which TBF, was kind of a reach on SF's part.  But it's basically a safe pick that solidified their OL--you're almost guaranteed to get an above average long term starter who is going to pan out unless he gets hurt.  There is no way Cosmi goes as high as McGlinchey did, this OT class is head and shoulders better than 2018's.  But if we're in the late teens, we're fine picking him.  We'd get more excited about a starry defender or receiver, but if you get Cosmi, you can see things starting to come together for the offense.  You could basically pencil in Charles, Cosmi, Scherff if he's extended, Roullier if he's extended, Moses, and whoever emerges from the Pierschbacher/Parris/Christian/Ismael group of young prospects as your offensive line position group for the next three seasons or so.  That's actually a pretty good group if Scherff stays.  You can come up with a lot of configurations from those players that would be a strong ZBS line.  Charles could play guard or stay at tackle if Christian doesn't pan out.  Cosmi can play either tackle spot and Martin can play either guard spot.  Roullier can play guard or center. 

 

A good OL group combined with what will hopefully be some hits in the RB room would give Haskins a fighting chance at leading a good offense and getting himself established as our long term starter.

 

Re: Moore, I think he'll be part of a larger trend of nearly every first round prospect opting out if they're not realistically competing for a championship.  There seems to be a broad expectation that the season will get canceled for most teams.  I don't know if it'll happen, but seems like the first round guys are being advised to skip the uncertainty and are just going to train by themselves.  This draft is going to be crazy.  Anyone who manages to put out good film this year is going to get a massive boost to their draft stock.  Many won't drop, but I think some of the guys who opt out could end up being major bargains.

[Anselmheifer]

40 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

 You can come up with a lot of configurations from those players that would be a strong ZBS line.  Charles could play guard or stay at tackle if Christian doesn't pan out.  Cosmi can play either tackle spot and Martin can play either guard spot.  Roullier can play guard or center. 

 

 

I haven't heard what OL scheme we will be running. Will it be a ZBS? If so, how is Cosmi's fit there? 

[Going Commando]

40 minutes ago, Anselmheifer said:

I haven't heard what OL scheme we will be running. Will it be a ZBS? If so, how is Cosmi's fit there? 

 

My guess is the run game will be primarily inside and outside zone.  That supposition is based on the Charles, Gibson, and Ismael draft picks + the run offense from Carolina last season.  Carolina's run game was built off of a classic one-cut heavy zone running game.  I like it because it simplifies your scheme and makes it easier on your OLs if you have good readers and decisive running backs.  Cosmi is a good fit for a zone heavy run game, those definitely look like his best run blocks to me.  His pulls look slow and uninspiring.  His zone blocks are the most memorably successful.  He's already a decent cut blocker. 

 

Think of how McGlinchey has been for San Francisco, and that's the kind of role that fits Cosmi.  The main reason you're drafting him early is pass-pro, but his run blocking can be an asset for zone.