Talking Draft Prospects

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

On Coates, I think I would take his teammate "Duke" Williams in the 2nd-3rd over him in the 1st. Williams has dominated at every level he's played at and can work the slot or outside. He also has good size, speed, and explosion and has been way more productive despite, as you pointed out, mediocre Qb play.

Productivity isn't that big of an issue to me with this terrible of a QB, unless the numbers are extreme.

Unfortunately, Coates' numbers are extreme right now, in a bad way.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Productivity isn't that big of an issue to me with this terrible of a QB, unless the numbers are extreme.

Unfortunately, Coates' numbers are extreme right now, in a bad way.

You can give him a bit of a pass on that due to the injury he suffered in the 1st game of the season, undisclosed leg injury. But that still doesn't really excuse why he didn't do much in that game when he did have a lot of playing time before getting injured. Elite prospects put up numbers regardless, IMO, because coaches, especially at the college level, will force the ball into the hands of their elite athletes multiple times a game.

[Direckshun]

SS Landon Collins, Alabama -- Alabama DBs, even highly touted ones, have struggled so much in the NFL during the Saban era that it's almost become its own meme. Robert Lester, Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, Dee Milliner, and now HaHa Clinton-Dix have all had tremendous struggles in the NFL (though HaHa is just starting). It makes you ask why anybody would take a shot on Collins whatsoever. Fortunately, that question has an answer: because Collins is a prototypical box safety with outstanding tackling fundamentals. There is no better tackler at the safety position in this year's draft than Collins, which is a big deal in today's NFL, where the Seattle Seahawks won a championship on the backs of a brilliant secondary and quality tackling. Collins will be tempting for Seahawk copycats. His problem is the same as all the others, however: can he cover. I've seen very little to suggest he can. He's a bigger safety (6'0", 215 lbs), and looks it on the field (I bet he times at 4.7). In his worst challenge to date, late year's bowl game against OU, he was torched regularly. But that doesn't detract from his brilliant tackling -- if you need a SS, he'd be a solid investment as early as the 2nd round.

[Direckshun]

OLB Vic Beasley, Clemson -- As soon as the 2014 season ends, war rooms across the NFL will gather and begin discussing how to unlock the potential of Vic Beasley. In Beasley, you have one of the most electrifying passrushers in college football, with lightning speed around the edge, an absolutely gorgeous spin move, and ferocious tenacity that never takes a play off. Beasley is likely to time in the 4.5s, and flies across the field. What Beasley can't do, however, is play defensive end full time. Clemson plays Beasley with his hand in the dirt on 90% of the plays, but Beasley's slight frame of 6'3", 235 lbs is nowhere near NFL caliber for a fulltime end. Instead, Beasley will have to find a home at rushbacker or even an OLB in a 4-3 scheme much like Denver runs. Beasley is not just small, he's apparently not terribly strong: he is a finesse rusher, incapable of pushing back OTs who outweigh him by 80-90 lbs. He is terrible against the run, preferring to dodge blockers and take chances diving for the ballcarrier rather than holding up blockers and shedding them. And while he's perfectly athletic to play 4-3 OLB (which I'd argue he's physically perfect for), he has spent so little time at Clemson standing up and playing coverage. As a result, Beasley is perhaps this draft's most important project; a passrusher this brilliant needs to be unleashed, but a team needs to field him in a way that will utilize his tools without adversely affecting the team by playing him full time. I see him as a Top Ten pick, no question, he's only a little smaller than Von Miller and Barkevious Mingo who both went in the Top 5; Miller is a 4-3 OLB, Mingo is a 3-4 rushbacker.

Post Combine (2/24): Not remotely a worry that Beasley is big enough to be a full-time 3-4 OLB. He weighed in at 245, and it was CLEARLY all muscle. Incredible athlete, I think he's the best passrusher in this draft.

[Direckshun]

DE/DT Michael Bennett, Ohio State -- As the NFL becomes more and more obsessed with metrics and "scheme fits," the Michael Bennetts of the draft are destined to fall past where they should be taken. What I see on film watching Bennett is a slightly undersized (6'2", 288) DT who plays his ass off, is a capable one-gapper and two-gapper, who looks smaller than he is and plays bigger than he is. He's not quite the sheer specimen that Allen Bailey is, but he's close. And OSU plays him typically at nose guard, despite his size. His first step is really good; he typically comes out of his stance violently colliding with offensive lineman, and he can play anywhere on the DL and do his job. His job, of course, is shooting gaps and clogging lanes -- he's nobody's idea of a passrusher. The biggest question is, where do you put him? It could be argued that he's on the small side to play inside in the 4-3 full time. However, he does look like he could be effective as a DE in any 3-4 that doesn't require much passrushing from him. He struggles two-gapping against large, powerful OL, and the Combine will likely reveal he has short arms. While I love how he plays, and think he looks like a 2nd or 3rd rounder, it's possible he falls farther because he doesn't fit the exact specifics typically required of his position.

[Direckshun]

WR Amari Cooper, Alabama -- To watch Cooper at WR is to watch the sport as it's meant to be played. That sounds like overkill, but Cooper is a truly enjoyable watch on film because he is a perfect combination of athletic ability, superior technique, and wily intelligence. He reminds me of Reggie Wayne in so many ways: both players are unremarkable, size-wise (Cooper has an inch and about 5 lbs on Wayne), both have pretty good (not great) speed and athleticism (Wayne ran a 4.4 in 2001... Cooper should time similarly), both are insanely sharp route-runners that will take entire drives to set up CBs for specific moves and routes they want to capitalize on later, and so on. Cooper is extremely versatile -- he's an adept deep threat, he can rack up YACs on crossing routes, he can challenge in the red zone. He even blocks well in the run game. Cooper is the player every Super Bowl team needs. Because he lacks in elite measurables, he may fall outside of the Top 10, but he really shouldn't.

[Direckshun]

CB P.J. Williams, Florida State -- For teams looking to copy the Seahawks mold, P.J. Williams should be in high demand. His size is somewhat relevant, as he's listed as 6'0", 196, but doesn't quite look that long. What really stands out is his press man coverage. The Seahawks defense is as good as it is because it reliably takes away QB's first looks, forcing them to take longer to pass which helps the passrush, and tackling well. Williams gets beat occasionally, but it almost always takes the WR forever to separate from him. He's physical all over the field, initiating contact at the line of scrimmage and using the sideline as an extra defender. He's able to stay in the hip pocket of receivers as he runs with them, despite lacking elite speed. Quarterbacks largely avoid throwing to him, and he's seemingly in the mix every single time they try. In the open field, Williams is an excellent tackler with a penchant for big hits. I was underwhelmed by his play against the run, but it wasn't bad, he just isn't the explosive presence that he is against the pass.

[OldSchool]

CB + WR + ILB

Should be our picks in the top 3 rounds.

Marcus Cooper isn't really starter quality right now, giving up too many receptions.

Bowe is our only solid WR.

DJ is done as a great ILB in this league.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

CB + WR + ILB

Should be our picks in the top 3 rounds.

Marcus Cooper isn't really starter quality right now, giving up too many receptions.

Bowe is our only solid WR.

DJ is done as a great ILB in this league.

This team needs an OL more than CB right now. Also, WR isn't used as much in Reid's offense. I think we could get one with one of our 3rd rd picks and be okay. Or sign Maclin (fingers crossed).

I still think that if we had a 2nd rd pick in 13, we draft Kiko Alonso. We went to Oregon to see him that year.
The Kendrick's kid could be an option, but it's clear that we need to build the foundation on the lines now that we have some weapons and a QB.

Alex is on pace for 28 TD's with shit at WR and OL. This guy will throw 30+ TD's if he has a better OL and one more weapon outside.

[Direckshun]

OT/G La'el Collins, LSU -- I looked into Colins last year in depth, because I thought he was going to declare. Here's what I shared:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

When Collins is on, he is an outstanding lineman in size, athleticism, toughness, technique, and versatility. When he's off, which does happen, he can lapse and give up some plays. With solid coaching, however, you can probably eliminate his negative tendencies and end up with a Pro Bowl caliber talent a few years down the road at either guard or right tackle. Right now, teams are potentially scouting him for left tackle, considering that was his position at LSU, and I have a really hard time believing he wouldn't be really good there, either.

His athleticism doesn't jump out at you, but he can get where he needs to get, and does plenty fine at the second level. He's somebody you can send out on screens without having much issue at all. Moreover, if Collins performs well at the Combine, these fears will be allayed almost entirely.

What really jumps out at you is Collins' runblocking. He's an extremely powerful runblocker who gets low and bulldozes through lineman of all shapes and sizes. Collins has the potential to play guard for 10 years at a very high level given his size (6'5", 321), his quickness off the ball, his technique in getting leverage, and his seemingly impressive strength.

But he's quick enough to handle the edge, as well. His kickslide is pretty decent, and he's very much one of those guys that finishes you when he gets his hands on you. He's just so strong, and does a great job of keeping his butt low to retain position.

If I was desperately hurting for a guard or a right tackle at #23, and had future aspirations to improve my LT position, Collins would be an outstanding candidate to move there. Strong, heady, pretty athletic, and just a great combination of technique in the passing game and brute strength in the run game.

From his time on LSU, you can pretty much plug him in right away and play. Collins has a really high floor -- but he's already pretty much where his ceiling is going to be. He's never going to become much better than he is now, and teams love upside prospects in the 1st round.

Projection for Collins: I'm higher on Collins than most, and I'd say he's definitely first round talent. He's everything NFL teams love in first-round tackles: he's really good in pass defense, has good technique, terrific push in the run game, can play multiple positions. The thing he's lacking is upside. There's some technique you could do with Collins, but the guy you get on Day One is the guy you got.

Projected Chiefs interest @ 23: Moderate. I honestly think Dorsey would bring in another OL in the first round if the player warranted it, but I think he wants a guy with way more upside than Collins. Collins, again, is a really good player and will be one of the best OL in his draft class, but he's probably not going to give you that game-changing All Pro talent that you're probably hoping for when you draft an OL like this in the 1st.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

OT/G La'el Collins, LSU -- I looked into Colins last year in depth, because I thought he was going to declare. Here's what I shared:

This is my pick right now. Long arms, 6'5", stout square body, very quick off the line and does really well at the 2nd level.

Sounds like a wet dream for this front office.

[Direckshun]

DE/DT Mario Edwards, Jr., Florida State -- Mario is a lunch pail player who's impact on a defense is not very well summarized by his statistics. His ability to clog the line of scrimmage and to even apply some occasional pressure recall to mind Glenn Dorsey when he was a Chief (not Glenn Dorsey when he was a Wolverine or 49er). He's more able to provide pressure than Dorsey, but not yet the kind of powerful run-stopper Dorsey became. Edwards works very hard and rarely quits on a play, and showcases a surprising degree of speed when chasing after QBs (I predict he times at 4.8 -- pretty good for a 6'3", 298 lb). He's versatile, as well -- the Seminoles lined him up everywhere, and in 2013 even had him stand up as an edge rusher about 50% of the time (which he was terrible at). Edwards' place is as a 5-tech in a 3-4, but a 4-3 team could use him as a DT or even a DE in a pinch. He nets a few sacks a year, which I don't think will continue in the NFL. He'd be ideal as a two-gapper, in my opinion -- his has strong arms and a good base to hold up lineman, often times demanding double teams. He's projected as a 1st rounder right now by draft analysts, but I'd probably only look at him if I ran a two-gap 3-4, and I would take him in the 2nd round at the absolute earliest.

Edit (11/18): Yet again, this is a guy you must trust your coaches on if you're taking him in the first. You're talking about a guy with damn near prototypical size as a 3-4 DE, and has spent nearly 100% of his time rushing the passer with good results as a stand up passrusher at Florida State. He is going to be a massive, multi-year project for whoever drafts him, as they'll have to totally remake him, but I think he goes late in the 1st.

[O.city]

WR would be at the top of my list. Need guys on the outside to scare defenses, other than Bowe.

Cooper would be option 1A. Or trade our 1st and a 3rd to the Browns for Gordon.

[RunKC]

I would ideally like us to use our first 4 picks in rd 3 (Comp for Albert) on OL, WR, S and ILB.

Cooper is a nice #2 IMO. If Sean Smith keeps playing like this then he's worth the money. Also have Owens and Gaines behind him. That's solid. I think that safety is thin.

If there is a Zack Martin type OL who is very pro ready in rd 1, I don't see how we pass on him.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I would ideally like us to use our first 4 picks in rd 3 (Comp for Albert) on OL, WR, S and ILB.

Cooper is a nice #2 IMO. If Sean Smith keeps playing like this then he's worth the money. Also have Owens and Gaines behind him. That's solid. I think that safety is thin.

If there is a Zack Martin type OL who is very pro ready in rd 1, I don't see how we pass on him.

The thing is, I hoped that Cooper would improve over last year. He has to an extent, not allowing any deep passes so far, but he is giving up over 70% completions to his player in coverage, that's not acceptable from a starting corner, IMO. Not with this pass rush. He needs to be at 60% at worst. Good thing is that most of this is underneath and it's ok if he can tackle them short of a 1st down, but he blew it against Lafell.

Drafting Marcus Peters in the 1st will help tremendously, either that or Cooper and Gaines developing into quality corners. I think Sean Smith, if he remains consistent in his level of play, should stick around for the duration of his contract.