2022 Comprehensive Draft Thread

[mistertim]

58 minutes ago, illone said:

Malik Willis reminds me of Kyler Murray. The football jumps out of his hand effortlessly. 
 

also, that mock draft above is funny. 12th pick? 🤣🤣

 

I could see us having the 12th pick potentially, though on paper we're more talented than that. We have a pretty tough schedule and all it takes is a couple of key injuries and you're in trouble. 

[Tress Is The Way]

11 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

I could see us having the 12th pick potentially, though on paper we're more talented than that. We have a pretty tough schedule and all it takes is a couple of key injuries and you're in trouble. 

Our schedule is about mid strength.. if I remember reading correctly its 15th (.504). No where as easy as the eagles (.451), but no where as tough as the steelers (.574).

 

The 12th pick would be possible if WFT craps the bed this year. I'd see us in the 19/20 range again 

[mistertim]

11 minutes ago, ZarG3 said:

Our schedule is about mid strength.. if I remember reading correctly its 15th (.504). No where as easy as the eagles (.451), but no where as tough as the steelers (.574).

 

The 12th pick would be possible if WFT craps the bed this year. I'd see us in the 19/20 range again 

 

Well, also remember that the only reason we were at 19 is because we were in the worst division in the NFL and we snuck into the playoffs with a 7-9 record. Most of the time a 7-9 record will net you something closer to 10, depending on strength of schedule, etc. Our division may still suck but I wouldn't count on being able to get into the playoffs again with a losing record. So I think we'd need to improve on our record a decent amount to be in the 19-20 range again.

[Skinsinparadise]

Agree that Howell throws a really nice deep ball.  As I said a few days ago, I love the arc and air he puts under those throws.  We've had strong armed QBs who throw lousy deep balls IMO in part because their throws were so flat. Making it difficult for the receiver to track the ball and get under it.   For his faults, RG3 had a wicked deep ball.   Kirk was decent at it but oddly he'd overthrow them at times.  Haskins oddly would often either under throw them and put very little arc on the throws -- ditto in college.  Campbell had a gun but threw mostly a "meh" flat deep ball.  Brunell couild get some arc/air on his deep ball but didn't have much of an arm.  Alex barely threw the deep ball so tough to recall him on that front.   Ditto Kyle Allen albeit I read he had the worst accuracy on the deep ball in the NFL the season he played some in Carolina. 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Going Commando]

Helps your deep ball look good when you have Dyami Brown making adjustments to the throws.  But it's catchable for sure.

 

Howell looks like a lower middle class man's Baker Mayfield to me.  Wonder how he copes with losing so much skill talent?

[philibusters]

Sam Howell was pretty much a day 1 starter as a true freshman at UNC.  I think that is good and bad.  Good cause he will have a big resume and you have film on him as freshman before he was fully prepared and can see how he handled the pressure.  I think it is bad in that having a year to sit behind another QB can help a QB add new wrinkles to their game.

[mistertim]

3 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Helps your deep ball look good when you have Dyami Brown making adjustments to the throws.  But it's catchable for sure.

 

Howell looks like a lower middle class man's Baker Mayfield to me.  Wonder how he copes with losing so much skill talent?

 

This is an good question and one I was wondering as well. It will be interesting to see how Howell adjusts to not having his #1 receiving threat this season.

[Going Commando]

9 minutes ago, mistertim said:

 

This is an good question and one I was wondering as well. It will be interesting to see how Howell adjusts to not having his #1 receiving threat this season.

 

Trevor Lawrence did it.  But he did always still have Etienne to help shoulder the load when he wasn't having great games.

 

There aren't the same CFP or bust pressures on Howell and the UNC offense though.  He doesn't need to win every game, just needs to have a good year.  I think the guy's toughness is his best attribute.  He is a rugged and fearless player and I think he's going to be able to carry his offense even with the attrition they'll face.  Feels like I keep saying this as almost a backhanded compliment, but I do mean it as a real compliment: he's a gamer.  He's my favorite of next year's quarterbacks so far.  Slovis and Daniels I'm not totally sold on just yet, but am recognizing that last year was difficult and they were making adjustments.

 

Can't shake the feeling that Davis Webb would have been battling Howell for QB1 in '22 if he'd gone back to school.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[philibusters]

5 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Helps your deep ball look good when you have Dyami Brown making adjustments to the throws.  But it's catchable for sure.

 

Howell looks like a lower middle class man's Baker Mayfield to me.  Wonder how he copes with losing so much skill talent?

 

See like a good comparison.  Both Baker and Sam Howell were gamers in college.  Baker Mayfield's emotions were out of control at times.  I think it took him two seasons to learn to control his emotions at the NFL level, wehreas I think that part will come easier for Howell.  That said Howell is probably a little bit less athletic than Baker Mayfield.

[Skinsinparadise]

5 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Helps your deep ball look good when you have Dyami Brown making adjustments to the throws.  But it's catchable for sure.

 

Howell looks like a lower middle class man's Baker Mayfield to me.  Wonder how he copes with losing so much skill talent?

 

I had my kids sign up for Kirk's football camp years ago and it was interesting to watch him work with them on certain things including going long.  I forgot the arm motion aspect of of the teaching but if I recall it was something about pulling the ball down a bit lower than you normally would as for your arm motion to help put some air on the ball to avoid it coming off flat.  RG3 did it effortlessly.  Kirk IMO wasn't as good at it as RG3 but he'd get some good arc on his deep balls.   He'd over throw them at times though.  Funny enough he over threw some of the kids when he was demonstrating the throw.

 

To my eyes, Howell is a natural at both putting enough mustard on the deep ball but also putting enough air/arc/touch on the deep balls to give Dyami the opportunity to get under and track the ball.  If the deep ball is flat -- tough for the receiver to take advantage of their ball tracking skills. 

 

But to your point, just in general Howell had some crazy good weapons.  Williams and Carter in the backfield.  Dyami and Newsome as wideouts. So its definitely in the soup as to judging his play. 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[illone]

21 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

I could see us having the 12th pick potentially, though on paper we're more talented than that. We have a pretty tough schedule and all it takes is a couple of key injuries and you're in trouble. 

reasonable minds can disagree, but 12th is pretty ridiculous IMO. Even with injuries we’ll be picking in the 20’s. And im never confident about this squad. Havent been in a decade or so. 
 

rivera is the right guy and we win 10+ games this year. 🚀 

[CommanderInTheRye]

A brief diversion, from our discusion of the upcoming 2022 draft, to remind us that prospects come and go every year but the spectacle that is the NFL draft will go on forever.

 

 

 

Frank Caliendo channels Mel Kiper Jr. circa 2013...

 

 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by TrancesWithWolves

[JoggingGod]

I think heads should roll if we whiff on getting a franchise QB again this upcoming draft. 

[DWinzit]

5 hours ago, JoggingGod said:

I think heads should roll if we whiff on getting a franchise QB again this upcoming draft. 

Been whiffing for decades but keep trying. They need to have a definitive prospective starting/franchise QB.

I am happy they didn't reach with a low 1st or high 2nd on Mills, Trask or Mond as had been suggested. They did a nice job building a healthy roster instead.

I just hope next year we aren't talking of a  being our franchise QB moving forward

[KDawg]

36 minutes ago, DWinzit said:

Been whiffing for decades but keep trying. They need to have a definitive prospective starting/franchise QB.

I am happy they didn't reach with a low 1st or high 2nd on Mills, Trask or Mond as had been suggested. They did a nice job building a healthy roster instead.

I just hope next year we aren't talking of a  being our franchise QB moving forward

I’m surprised people are still responding to him.

[DWinzit]

2 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I’m surprised people are still responding to him.

Yeah, I debated it my head...and lost 

 

[Going Commando]

Howell's pocket footwork is godawful and he doesn't have the arm to cope with throwing off balance.  He sprayed the ball all over against Notre Dame and Texas A&M because of how badly synced his upper and lower halves were.  If you can get him to hold the ball for even a split second, you've won.  He'll try and arm the throw and it will be a 50/50 ball.

 

He's pretty inconsistent and is going to need a lot of technique work before he can operate even a shotgun offense.

 

This guy doesn't really feel like a top five talent to me.  I need to see him get way better next year, especially against his good competition.  Fields was way ahead of him going into his JR season and he hadn't played as much.

[KDawg]

36 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Howell's pocket footwork is godawful and he doesn't have the arm to cope with throwing off balance.  He sprayed the ball all over against Notre Dame and Texas A&M because of how badly synced his upper and lower halves were.  If you can get him to hold the ball for even a split second, you've won.  He'll try and arm the throw and it will be a 50/50 ball.

 

He's pretty inconsistent and is going to need a lot of technique work before he can operate even a shotgun offense.

 

This guy doesn't really feel like a top five talent to me.  I need to see him get way better next year, especially against his good competition.  Fields was way ahead of him going into his JR season and he hadn't played as much.

I absolutely agree with the Fields point. 
 

Fields was tremendously underrated in my opinion. 

[philibusters]

1 hour ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

Howell's pocket footwork is godawful and he doesn't have the arm to cope with throwing off balance.  He sprayed the ball all over against Notre Dame and Texas A&M because of how badly synced his upper and lower halves were.  If you can get him to hold the ball for even a split second, you've won.  He'll try and arm the throw and it will be a 50/50 ball.

 

He's pretty inconsistent and is going to need a lot of technique work before he can operate even a shotgun offense.

 

This guy doesn't really feel like a top five talent to me.  I need to see him get way better next year, especially against his good competition.  Fields was way ahead of him going into his JR season and he hadn't played as much.

 

I actually think Howell's fundamentals are hurt by being the starter right away.

I think this topic was talked about with Trey Lance last year.  Does a guy improve more from sitting a year or from playing right away.   And I think it depends on the player.  If the player needs to work on their fundamentals and adjusting to a brand new system I think sitting out a year improves them the most for year 2.  My contrast if they are fundamentally sound and playing in a system similar to what they played in college, then maybe playing right away improves them the most especially if the offense has enough talent to put the rookie in spots where they can succeed.  

 

In terms of game experience I think Howell benefitted from playing right away, but in terms of fundamentals I think he would have benefitted from sitting a year at UNC.   He enrolls in school the fall of 2019 and is immediately the starter.  Spring 2020 is his first time to work on fundamentals with no games to worry about and its cancelled due to covid 19.   

 

I never loved Fields.  I think he is a boom or bust guy.  His ceiling is a top 5 QB in the NFL.  He runs and throws the ball amazingly, but the issue will be can he process information quick enough to succeed.  I would rate Howell in 2021 and Fields in 2020 roughly the same as prospects, but that is more because I am not as in love with Fields as most than that I love Howell.

[Going Commando]

21 minutes ago, KDawg said:

I absolutely agree with the Fields point. 
 

Fields was tremendously underrated in my opinion. 

 

His feet were miles ahead of Howell's plus he was a far better athlete.  Fields has disciplined worker-bee feet.  Howell has lazy, indolent pocket feet and stature.  He wants to stay square to the line of scrimmage and arm everything if he can.  When he steps into his throws the results are pretty, but for not being the biggest QB, he needs some space to operate in the pocket or else it looks like he defaults to bad habits really quickly.

 

[philibusters]

What did people think of Taulia Tagovailoa?  He has a really small sample size, but in 4 games last year, he looked really good in two of them, bad in one, and god awful in the fourth.   The one that he looked bad in could be explained some by the fact that offense was missing half its starters due to covid.  I don't think Maryland was missing any starters in the one he looked awful in.  In the two games where he looked good, he looked very good.  A 45-44 win against Minnesota, where he threw for 394 yards and 3 TD and the only interception was on a screen pass that was tipped so really wasn't his fault.   He also looked really good in a 35-19 win over Penn St. where he threw for just under 300 yards and 3 TD's and 0 interceptions and where if Maryland hadn't started trying to run out the clock near the end of the 3rd quarter after going up 35-7, he likely would have thrown for another 70 or 80 yards.   
 

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by philibusters

[Rolo Tomasie]

23 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

 

Can't shake the feeling that Davis Webb would have been battling Howell for QB1 in '22 if he'd gone back to school.

Think you mean Davis Mills? I agree, if so.

[Going Commando]

2 hours ago, philibusters said:

I never loved Fields.  I think he is a boom or bust guy.  His ceiling is a top 5 QB in the NFL.  He runs and throws the ball amazingly, but the issue will be can he process information quick enough to succeed.  I would rate Howell in 2021 and Fields in 2020 roughly the same as prospects, but that is more because I am not as in love with Fields as most than that I love Howell.

 

I wasn't in love with Fields either, for the same reasons.  I thought his field vision and instincts/anticipation were mediocre, and I also thought his arm talent was less than the other three top QBs from his class.  But I give him credit for being a good decision maker who protects the ball and he doesn't let the kind of crap fly that Howell does when he's pressured.  More conservative tendencies, but also just smarter decision-making.  And what I really like about Fields over Howell is that Fields is a disciplined grinder who always stayed on balance and ready to throw in his pocket.  If he moved or changed platforms, those feet were reset.  It was second nature for him as he had embedded good habits into his playing style.

 

I want to see growth from Howell this year before I would go all in for him.  Better pocket habits and footwork, better decision-making and accuracy.

[terpfan]

6 hours ago, philibusters said:

What did people think of Taulia Tagovailoa?  He has a really small sample size, but in 4 games last year, he looked really good in two of them, bad in one, and god awful in the fourth.   The one that he looked bad in could be explained some by the fact that offense was missing half its starters due to covid.  I don't think Maryland was missing any starters in the one he looked awful in.  In the two games where he looked good, he looked very good.  A 45-44 win against Minnesota, where he threw for 394 yards and 3 TD and the only interception was on a screen pass that was tipped so really wasn't his fault.   He also looked really good in a 35-19 win over Penn St. where he threw for just under 300 yards and 3 TD's and 0 interceptions and where if Maryland hadn't started trying to run out the clock near the end of the 3rd quarter after going up 35-7, he likely would have thrown for another 70 or 80 yards.   
 

 

As a Maryland fan I’m really excited about Taulia. He’s got an “it” factor that we haven’t had at QB in a long time and I think he will be a great college QB. 

 

That said, I’d have trouble projecting him as a pro, at least for now. He was inconsistent last year as you mentioned. Either great or terrible. I think that will improve over time, but specifically his accuracy will need to get much better and much more consistent for him to be a pro. He also doesn’t have good size (5-11) and while he’s a good athlete and has good escapability, he’s not an elite athlete like a Kyler Murray or a Russell Wilson to be able to make up for that size limitation. So he will have to improve dramatically as a passer to be considered more than a day 3 pick in the NFL Draft. 

Edited May 11, 2021 by terpfan