2022 Comprehensive Draft Thread

[Ball Security]

Strong is on FS1 right now.  His perceived lack of mobility may hold him back, but he’s making NFL throws.

[Blanka]

Kyle Hamilton just suffered a knee injury. Didn't put any weight on it while being helped off by trainers. 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

2 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

Current coaches will always hype up the guy whose trying to get drafted.  That doesn't mean anything.

 

But objectively, Pickett's last season in college is far better than Kirk's.

[Skinsinparadise]

55 minutes ago, Alcoholic Zebra said:

 

Current coaches will always hype up the guy whose trying to get drafted.  That doesn't mean anything.

 

But objectively, Pickett's last season in college is far better than Kirk's.

 

From what I observed yes and no.   I don't always hear them say this guy was better than the previous guy I had even when the coaches change colleges.  That from what I recall doesn't fall into they all say that.   I do agree that just them saying it though doesn't make it so.  And yes most coaches praise their players headed to the pros. 

 

On another note, the PFT article below isn't isolated.   Lance though is raw and needs time so I think they are way jumping the gun.   Interesting to follow some of these players in year 1. 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Thinking Skins]

 

 

[Thinking Skins]

 

[CommandB11]

Can we talk a bit about Brennan Armstrongs game tonight. 400 passing yards and 100 rushing for 6 total TDs.......

[Spaceman Spiff]

I just want to be able to call our quarterback a ****in Hooker.  Let's draft that guy.

2 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

From what I observed yes and no.   I don't always hear them say this guy was better than the previous guy I had even when the coaches change colleges.  That from what I recall doesn't fall into they all say that.   I do agree that just them saying it though doesn't make it so.  And yes most coaches praise their players headed to the pros. 

 

On another note, the PFT article below isn't isolated.   Lance though is raw and needs time so I think they are way jumping the gun.   Interesting to follow some of these players in year 1. 

 

 

 

 

This article on Lance is jumping the gun.  IIRC, a lot of people had him pegged as a project.  The fact that he's not ready shouldn't be a surprise.

 

In a league where a team's fortunes can change seemingly overnight, the NFL fans and the NFL media has grown incredibly impatient.  It's somewhat understandable, there are rookie quarterbacks that come in and play great from Day 1.  

 

But even Mahomes sat for a year, and that wasn't all that long ago.  Rodgers sat for a few years behind Favre.  IMO, the article title is a bit clickbaity.  

[Skinsinparadise]

8 hours ago, panahoo said:

Can we talk a bit about Brennan Armstrongs game tonight. 400 passing yards and 100 rushing for 6 total TDs.......

 

Yeah I put him on my list here of players I want to watch a few days ago on this thread, his numbers this season are insane, he doesn't though get much hype from draft geeks, if I recall Kiper didn't even have him in his top 10.  I'll watch him though eventually.  A lefty, not too many of them around. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[philibusters]

I 100% agree that Lance was always viewed as the biggest project.   It does go to dangers of drafting a project though.  The fanbase can theoretically understand a prospect is a project, but once the L's start coming in, the fanbases emotion start overtaking their analytical takes.   And if the organization can not shield a player from the fanbases negative feelings it could even affect the development of that prospect.

Brennan Armstrong is another guy like Kenny Pickett who is a third or fourth year starter (third year for Armstrong, 4th Pickett) where they showed promise in earlier years, but really seemed to put it together this year.  From having watched the two I would say Armstrong is more of an improviser who takes some chances, whereas Pickett is more of a methodical game manager.

Edited October 24, 2021 by philibusters

[Going Commando]

That #99 WR/TE/wildcat QB that UVA has is an NFL player.  SEC athlete I think, not their typical caliber of recruit.  Their big WR #3 again was also dominant.  They've got a potent offense.

 

There was a seat of his pants quality to Armstrong's performance last night.  He's athletic but those zone blocked QB draws he was cutting up field early won't translate against NFL defense.  GTs pursuit was just in shambles and NFL teams just don't incorporate that many designed QB runs outside of Baltimore.  And his arm looks a little janky to me.  A lot of wounded ducks fluttering into the waiting hands of his receivers.  A ton of gimmick plays, almost all of which worked.  He was seeing the field well and finding gaps in zones but I didn't see the same kind of arm strength or smooth mastery and command of the passing game with him as I saw with Pickett.  Pickett looked like an NFL QB against Clemson and GT.  I think he's the best player in the ACC this year.

[Skinsinparadise]

On another note, something I, @stevemcqueen1 and @KDawg took some grief on in the last draft thread -- for pushing the power of having TWO RBs.

 

A GB reporter talked on 980 about how GB fans didn't get why they drafted Dillon high when they already had Aaron Jones, it was an unpopular move with them but now they get it.  He went on about how that two headed monster at RB has made their offense even more dangerous. 

 

https://zonecoverage.com/2021/packers/aj-dillon-has-become-what-the-packers-need-him-to-be/

We’re four weeks into the season, and it’s clear the Green Bay Packers are at their best when they run the ball.

It sounds odd to say that when you’ve got the 2020 MVP at the helm, but the strong running game makes Rodgers’ life much easier. It takes the pressure off of him and the wide receivers while adding a threat to the play-action game. Of course, it helps when you have a dynamic duo of backs. We’ve seen just how vital Aaron Jones is to this offense, and it appears that his running mate, A.J. Dillon, is also a game-changer.

[Koolblue13]

I was in that "draft Najee or Eintienne early or Stevenson late" group as well. We clearly need a RB1 and I'm really high on Gibson.

[Wildbunny]

11 hours ago, Thinking Skins said:

I wouldn't want to have a team with both Hooker & Blewitt on the roster.

This wouldn't end well at all!

[Rex Tomb]

9 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

On another note, something I, @stevemcqueen1 and @KDawg took some grief on in the last draft thread -- for pushing the power of having TWO RBs.

 

A GB reporter talked on 980 about how GB fans didn't get why they drafted Dillon high when they already had Aaron Jones, it was an unpopular move with them but now they get it.  He went on about how that two headed monster at RB has made their offense even more dangerous. 

 

https://zonecoverage.com/2021/packers/aj-dillon-has-become-what-the-packers-need-him-to-be/

We’re four weeks into the season, and it’s clear the Green Bay Packers are at their best when they run the ball.

It sounds odd to say that when you’ve got the 2020 MVP at the helm, but the strong running game makes Rodgers’ life much easier. It takes the pressure off of him and the wide receivers while adding a threat to the play-action game. Of course, it helps when you have a dynamic duo of backs. We’ve seen just how vital Aaron Jones is to this offense, and it appears that his running mate, A.J. Dillon, is also a game-changer.

I was firmly in the draft Najee Harris camp. Now with the massive reach that the Jamis Davis pick appears to be, I'm even more upset that we didn't go after Harris.

1 minute ago, Wildbunny said:

I wouldn't want to have a team with both Hooker & Blewitt on the roster.

This wouldn't end well at all!

Oh, I'm sure it would be happy at the very least.

[Koolblue13]

Just now, Rex Tomb said:

I was firmly in the draft Najee Harris camp. Now with the massive reach that the Jamis Davis pick appears to be, I'm even more upset that we didn't go after Harris.

I was really hoping we could slide back and pick up both Harris or Moehrig and Bolton in the second. Oh well.

 

Davis is looking better and we can't start writing the book on him yet.

[Thinking Skins]

 

[philibusters]

1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

That #99 WR/TE/wildcat QB that UVA has is an NFL player.  SEC athlete I think, not their typical caliber of recruit.  Their big WR #3 again was also dominant.  They've got a potent offense.

 

There was a seat of his pants quality to Armstrong's performance last night.  He's athletic but those zone blocked QB draws he was cutting up field early won't translate against NFL defense.  GTs pursuit was just in shambles and NFL teams just don't incorporate that many designed QB runs outside of Baltimore.  And his arm looks a little janky to me.  A lot of wounded ducks fluttering into the waiting hands of his receivers.  A ton of gimmick plays, almost all of which worked.  He was seeing the field well and finding gaps in zones but I didn't see the same kind of arm strength or smooth mastery and command of the passing game with him as I saw with Pickett.  Pickett looked like an NFL QB against Clemson and GT.  I think he's the best player in the ACC this year.

 

UVA has one of the biggest playbooks in college football.   Lots and lots of formations and different looks.   I feel it works because they have a veteran team, but with a young team they may have a situation where they have lots of formations and plays but run them all at a low level because they don't have the mastery of any.

 

Addressing another post, I don't think Jamin Davis was a huge reach.  To date he hasn't justified that first round pick, BUT just like how we were talking about Trey Lance---he was the least polished of the three LB'ers we were looking at (Owusu-Koromiah,  Zaven Collins, and Davis).  The fanbase can often talk about how some guys are less polished than others analytically, but the second it leads to disappointing results on the field they get disappointed even though it should be expected.  I did think Davis was a slight reach at 19, but for the most part, what we have gotten is about what we should have expected.   He was a high upside guy due to his size and athleticism, but fairly raw.   If its next year at this time and he is not further along than I feel like we can say--it was a bad pick.

Edited October 24, 2021 by philibusters

[Skinsinparadise]

Aside from a rare freak like Derrick Henry, RBs don’t seem like they are built to last a full season which is another reason why you need two.

 

 

 

[Rex Tomb]

Carson Strong... thoughts?

[Berggy9598]

23 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I don’t know what he’ll do in the NFL but I feel like Pickett has more upside than Kirk did coming out of school. 

[Skinsinparadise]

3 hours ago, Rex Tomb said:

Carson Strong... thoughts?

 

I've talked about him on and off.  I need to see more to land an opinion.

 

Tall, lanky, good arm, quick release, decent accuracy.   Not an off script-mobile type.  So old school QB.  Tough to tell sometimes the QBs that play inferior competition unless they showcase freak ability.  Carson doesn't showcase freak ability IMO.  But I am open minded about him. I've only watched one full game of his so far.  I watched a little of the Fresno State game last night, too but I was mostly watching the Alabama-Tennessee game. 

Edited October 24, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Going Commando]

12 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

Aside from a rare freak like Derrick Henry, RBs don’t seem like they are built to last a full season which is another reason why you need two.

 

We watch a lot of college football so we saw how the RB position transformed, and that change in role has trickled up into the NFL.  Even when an offense gets a super blue chip stud like a Najee Harris, they split time with a Josh Jacobs and Damien Harris or a Brian Robinson.  Other high quality studs.  Travis Etienne is ACC player of the year in back to back seasons and he is still streaming significant carries with LynnJ Dixon and Tavian Feaster during those award winning seasons.

 

Backfields are like wide receiver corps.  You don't expect to field a dominant offense with one receiver.  Nor should you expect that with one quality back.  In college it's a little easier to manage multiple blue chip runners if you stagger their matriculation so you can kind if keep the line moving and back ups know they're being groomed to be the guy eventually.  But that's not always how it plays out, and obviously it doesn't work like that in the NFL.    You need a coach with the right feel for calling the run and operating an efficient and effective timeshare and you need the requisite talent.   But also you'll get plenty of games and situations where you still have only one option even if you cultivate two and three back depth.  You just have to have more than one good back.  You need fresh legs at all times inside games and you need to be able to cope effectively with games lost by your key skill players.

[The Consigliere]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:09 PM, Skinsinparadise said:

 

From what I observed yes and no.   I don't always hear them say this guy was better than the previous guy I had even when the coaches change colleges.  That from what I recall doesn't fall into they all say that.   I do agree that just them saying it though doesn't make it so.  And yes most coaches praise their players headed to the pros. 

 

On another note, the PFT article below isn't isolated.   Lance though is raw and needs time so I think they are way jumping the gun.   Interesting to follow some of these players in year 1. 

 

 

 

 

It's kind of a stupid take and a stupid premise for an article if it is entirely coming from those angles. I'm here for an article explaining what the hell happened with the reporting on the trade up suggesting it was all about Mac Jones until an eleventh hour switch to Lance. I'd love to know what really happened there. 

 

#2: Trey Lance WAS ALWAYS a project. He played for North Dakota State what, 14 or 15 career games. Even Wentz played more than 25 games. He was raw as hell, even produced his one sketchy start in his last one. He was guaranteed a clipboard guy barring a miraculous ability to transition perfectly to the pro's a la Herbert, and Herbert had like 40 starts. Of course he looks sketchy. Garoppolo basically gets this season to audition for a trade or FA signing elsewhere in '22, Lance gets the clipboard and hopefully Lance is ready for some Mahomes-like December start(s) as a rookie, and then takes over in '22. There's no other play here. 

 

Never was. 

 

So far, what I find extraordinarly interesting:

 

1.Lawrence looks fine, but not super elite. That's surprising. Although basically the two best offensive weapons are out (Chark and Etienne)

2. Fields shows the perils of a great QB prospect landing with a dumpster fire organization and coaching staff. He's getting Gased. One can only hope that they fire everybody and bring in a great top end OC, QB Coach and HC whose offensive minded next year. 

3. Lance is what was expected: incredibly raw.

4. Mac Jones is WAY WAY better than advertised, and it must be said a thousand times over. The Patriots have nothing but garbage at the playmaking positions other than TE. They have no exceptional athletes or weapons at WR or RB, Damien Harris is a good solid between the tackles RB, but he's not super elite, the WR's are yuck as hell (and I say this as a fan of Harry and disappointed he's a bust), they do have two solid though not elite TE's. I guess the OL is solid to good (i think, I don't know). People aren't as insanely impressed as they should be with him. He's doing this with very, very little around him. It's amazing.