OldTimer1960

Matthew Bergeron Jonathan Mingo

Excellent point, in the draft fervor, I forgot that any slot receiver would have to have a higher upside than Shakir/Harty. For that reason, I don’t see WR as much option in round 1 unless Johnston is there and I’m not crazy about him.

Thanks. What do you think of a later pick who is much bigger for a slot in Parker Washington? He is interesting to me maybe late 3rd or maybe 4th? He just looks like an athlete to me, though not as fast or quick, but can probably block at a pretty high level from the slot.

He is small. Do you have the same concerns with Josh Downs and Tank Dell? I am worried about their size as well.

Brown did have back problems that destroyed his training last offseason. I would not give up on him yet, either. That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be willing to draft an OT high to compete with him - if a good one is available at one of their picks. There are other spots to address and they had little cap room and only a few draft picks (all late in the rounds) to work with.

Many thanks! Dean is also smart - academic all-conference every year, but is he too slow? I am not one who obsesses about 40 times, but I think he ran 4.75 at the Combine. I saw that PFF is touting Zavala recently, too. I have not watched any game tape on him, but read that he missed a year with back surgery- that seems like a big red flag, but team Docs will check that. I’m starting to set Carter Warren’s name as an OT who some say could go day 2. Have you watched him?

I don’t know about Branch being a fit here. I think he is good, but from everything I’ve read he is basically a slot corner with pretty good size for that position, excellent instincts and tackling skills. He might be better than Taron Johnson, but Johnson is pretty good, himself. Would Branch be as good playing a safety role as the Bills play it?

I agree with all of this, especially the point about the media not knowing how each team is grading/slotting the prospects. I wish I was a scout, but I’m not. I read as much as I can about the prospects and I watch a little game tape - not nearly as much as the top draft guys here, but I’m watching as a long-time fan and I don’t know the technical aspects of each position. With the caveat that I know the actual scouts have done a lot more work on these prospects than the media, I am just not seeing any receivers in this draft that I think are going to really become outstanding NFL players. I like Flowers, Addison and Downs and I believe they will be good, not great players - all undersized, but with quickness, route running, and good hands. I am not sold on Johnston and after that, the rest just seem like consolation prizes. A few of those consolation prizes might turn into decent starters or good non-starting contributors, but which ones? Hyatt at least has speed and solid hands, but can he be more than an occasional deep threat?

Wright - I saw him play very well vs Ga and against Clemson Bryan Bresee played a lot of 3-4 DE going 1-1 with Wright and Wright really handled him very well.

And, importantly, it was before the salary cap and FA as we know it today. And, I think, with better pass protection from the OL, we could see Cook deployed in the passing game - that is what I really think they drafted him for.

For sure, I would not spend a first round pick on a TE expecting to move him to RT. Only way you take Darnell Washington in the first is if you KNOW he is a dynamite blocker and can live with 30ish catches a year from him - that is probably his floor. That would not warrant a second contract. If you are betting on his upside as a receiver and counting on his blocking, then *maybe* you can consider him round 1. I see the athletic skills, but he still looks awkward as a receiver.

This is where I would Lean conservative this year. Find a few guys with high floors who are pretty likely to be decent starters and then similar for decent backups later. I think a swing for the fence and coming up empty puts them behind the teams they are competing against. I may be too conservative here, but I think it’s warranted in this draft.

You may be right, but I can’t think of any top WRs in the league who have questionable hands. I’m not saying that I am absolutely right, but man that scares me.

I think Johnston could be there at 27 and I would have to consider other positions and players available before I took Johnston. My main concerns are the comments about too many drops and not being great at contested catches, despite his size. Secondarily, he ran 4.5 at his pro day - that’s fine, but doesn’t offer the super athlete to counter the questions about his hands.

True and I like Flowers, Downs and a few others. I like Parker Washington 3rd/4th.

I like Addison, not crazy about Johnston.

Edmund big pay day is in part because he is still very young.

So, who are the great receivers that will be available when they pick? There are some options, if you want a very small slot receiver- not much outside.

Is Skinner going to play this year? I think he recently tore his pec.

Troup injured his back and cost him his career. I think unfair to call him a bust - could not know he would be injured when they play picked him.

Simpson is a tremendous athlete. Are the critiques of his instincts mainly a result of only play inside backer for 1 year? Will that improve with experience and coaching?

Especially Gibbs. I’m not saying he is terrible, but isn’t he just the same as Cook, except maybe 15-20% better? Still, a small RB isn’t going to play to his capabilities behind this line as currently constructed.

I would venture to say that Gunner does far more actual tape evaluation than most “NFL reporters”. I highly value his opinion- more than most of the media. Even the “draft gurus” like Daniel Jeremiah probably don’t put in much more time than Gunner. I like Jeremiah’s opinion and a few others who have actually scouted for teams. I respect Kiper and others who are similar. I don’t think that even NFL teams watch many more than 3 full games of prospects- probably more for the early round prospects, but not for all of them. There is more that goes into scouting than tape evaluation, such as learning about the player’s character, work ethic, are they a leader, what do coaches and others who have been around them say, physically do they have room to add muscle, lose weight, get stronger, does the player fit a given team’s criteria, do they fit the scheme? How much might they be able to improve with pro coaching….

I really like the aggressiveness that Bergeron shows in his blocking. He is looking to finish every block, form what I saw.

There is speculation that Jones has put on even more weight since the combine. He refused to weigh in or workout at Ohio State’s pro day. Jones is gigantic with super long arms, but because he is so big, his change of direction and quickness isn’t ideal. If he has put on more weight since the combine, that is a big concern.