dave mcbride

4 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed, AP defensive rookie of the year, a bunch of tackles for loss … come on. He was legit excellent in his rookie season, as his 14 AV attests. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/Y/YounCh04.htm

In three seasons as a starter on a loaded USC team with Tony Boselli as his LT and a sequence of #1 receivers that included Curtis Conway, Johnny Morton, and Keyshawn Johnson, he never beat ND or UCLA and repeatedly choked in those games. His brother Brett was the number one QB coming out of high school and flamed out at UCLA too (he blamed the program, transferred to Michigan State, and flamed out there too). There was something about RJ: despite the obvious physical talent, he dropped to round 4 for very good reasons. I was never a believer. In his final performance against UCLA in 1994, he was sacked 6 times and turned the ball over three times in a 31-19 loss. And USC was WAY more talented than UCLA that year. The six sacks were a harbinger of things to come. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-20-sp-65097-story.html

Brown got injured and it ruined his career. He looked amazing beforehand. I think injuries disqualify someone from being a bust if they looked good before the injuries. Steve Emtman was dominant early on, but his injury rendered him a shell of himself. If not for the injuries, both Brown and Emtman would have been excellent players, I believe.

Seems like an honest and fair quote to me. He came in halfway through the season and didn't know anyone. How is that either surprising or problematic?

Most importantly, the QBs are nothing to write home about, right? None of those guys really impress me.

Kelly left in early 2013 and Freeman's first season at Oregon was 2014. I don't see the connection. Are you simply talking about the system he was plugged into at Oregon? Also, as for him being a massive bust, he was a 3rd round pick who had a couple of 500-yard seasons before going into decline. I'd say less "massive bust" rather than "mild disappointment" -- his career is pretty typical for NFL players taken after the first couple of rounds, although I suppose relative to his college production it looks pretty meager. I do take your point about scheming; Charbonnet seemed set up to produce in that system. Regardless, he looked good to me.

He's from LA and I think he simply wasn't getting playing time at Michigan. He and Hassan Haskins pretty much shared time equally in 2019 but Haskins got more in the 2020 covid season. Charbonnet then transferred, and it was a smart move. As for the Oregon RBs, LaMichael James (a bust in the NFL) wasn't his recruit, although he racked up huge numbers at Oregon under Kelly. Kenjon Barner had one season under Kelly and was drafted in the sixth round. That's really all we have to go on. Anyway, sometimes you gotta look at the player rather than the coach. People thought Aaron Rodgers was a product of Jon Tedford (a guy who had tons of productions with the QBs he coached who then failed in the pros), and he dropped to #23 overall despite his shockingly good arm talent. As for Charbonnet, I'm a bit of UCLA homer (I went there for grad school), so maybe I'm biased. But he looked like a freaking great back when I watched him. But who knows -- maybe the system did him a ton of favors.

The guy who I always found to be truly impressive was Zach Charbonnet. Your thoughts on him? I think he has the style and talent to be a pretty good pro.

Given what I know is going on in schools and colleges because of covid over the last couple of years, it wouldn't surprise me at all that this group was screwed up by it. One of my best friends is a fifth-grade teacher and has told me that covid has broken kids. And a close friend who is a Vanderbilt prof told me the same thing about college students there.

Stefon Diggs was a five-star recruit! He went in the fifth round (bad qb at Maryland, some injuries). Just sayin'.

You're forgetting Davante Adams, another second rounder. He's arguably the best receiver in the NFL.

From Albert Breer's column today: '“If you have 15 first-round grades, then the class sucks,” said one general manager Saturday. “And I got less than 15 this year.”' https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/04/24/draft-team-needs-pick-predictions-analysis

The thing about QBs is that if they pan out, you're absolutely happy you've taken them in the first round because of the fifth year option. In a weird way, if the Raiders really like Herndon, then moving up to get him in the late first is the smart play even if they're not competing for him.

Daniel Jeremiah's top 150 posted today. He has Downs at 60th: https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-s-top-150-prospects-in-the-2023-nfl-draft-class.

@GunnerBill, did you see this bit in Peter King's column today regarding Stroud? 'I can never tell anymore if the cacophony of voices around a dominant story is real, or if the cacophony constitutes an echo chamber. So many people “cover” the draft, and there is so much information boomeranging around the internet and in NFL offices where info is king. Twice over the weekend, I asked coaches who said they “heard” Stroud was dropping: Without naming names, could you be specific? Because sometimes they might be hearing from coaches or personnel people employed by the teams involved in scouting the quarterbacks, which is valuable. Sometimes they might be hearing from people who are not involved in the decision-making. Or from people who saw Bob McGinn of Tyler Dunne’s “Go Long” Substack report that Stroud bombed the S2 cognitive test increasingly trusted by teams as a key part of their scouting regimen. The S2 test measures how fast a player can process information and make decisions; Bryce Young, McGinn reported, got the best score of quarterbacks at 98 on a 100-point scale. Stroud, per McGinn, got an 18. I don’t think anything should be ignored. The S2 test is a key piece of a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. But what about the corner pieces of the puzzle for Stroud, the ones that really matter? Nov. 20, 2021, Columbus: 32-of-35 passing, 432 yards, six TDs in a win over Michigan State. Oct. 29, 2022, State College: 26-of-33 passing for 354 yards in a win over Penn State. And his last, and biggest, game as a collegian, the college football playoff semifinal four months ago against mighty Georgia: 23-of-34, 348 yards, four TDs, zero picks, 41 points engineered. ... One thing re: the sudden knocks about Stroud, which absolutely should not be ignored but absolutely should be put into perspective – This from one exec of a team, a winning team, that respects the S2 athlete-processing test that, per McGinn, had Stroud grade very low: “All of a sudden the S2 test is the Bible. Why? It’s a smart test. But how did the guy play? How was his tape?”' https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/04/24/fmia-peter-king-mock-draft-bryce-young-panthers/ My own take: I have no dog in this fight, but I will say college football ain't the pros. College football defenses run far, far less complex schemes than pro defenses.

Don’t discount the field conditions in the SB. They were ridiculous. 100 percent. Excellent post.

And he wasn't really that bad either -- which is OK for a second-year sixth rounder. I'd continue to develop him. He knows the scheme and is at least average. You could do a lot worse.

His 15-year old sister died from brain cancer last year. Yikes - that is absolutely horrible. https://www.nfl.com/prospects/bryan-bresee/32004252-4551-0679-d769-a1a0d80e7931

You definitely could be right, but unlike you he's 64 years old and the epitome of an NFL lifer. He is giving up a salary of approximately $1 million-plus per year with no assurance that he'll get rehired at 65. It's not like he's going to become an artisanal carpenter or farm-to-table chef. It continues to look strange to me, and I don't think anyone knows the full story. I have to think the showing vs Cincy didn't sit well with people. They were terrible on D that day (and yes, I know there were injuries).

Sirvocea Dennis, MLB from Pitt (4.63 40 time and 41.5 vertical) Israel Abanikanda, RB from Pitt The Bills coaches are tight with Pitt. That's my logic here.

Regarding all of those comp picks the Niners have (some from minority head coaching hires), that got me thinking. The Bills were REALLY pissed when Frazier didn't get the Houston job last year. On one level, that's understandable given that they presumably want their guy to succeed in life. But on another, why would you be pissed if the DC you really want coaching your D ends up staying with you? You'd be happy, right? Turns out that they lost a chance at a 3rd round comp pick, and we now know how much Beane values those. After this season, they didn't let Frazier go right away, and it was the case that a number of coaching hire decisions played out over the next few weeks following the Bills loss to the Bengals. The final hire was Gannon in mid-February and Frazier stepped down in late February. He didn't get an AZ interview, but you never know how things can go on that front. Anyway, once all of the coaching decisions were made, he suddenly takes the season off at age 64 (and I'm not ruling out the possibility that a head coaching candidate other than Gannon might have hired him as DC/assistant head coach). I have no evidence to say he was basically forced out, but I can't help but think that the reason he didn't leave right away was the prospect of a comp pick. Just as importantly, McDermott taking over the defensive play-calling and not hiring a DC is just weird. And the timing and trajectory of the Frazier departure was always weird to me too. Just thinking out loud here.

Agreed. And given all of their middle-of the draft picks (7 comp picks!), they would have ammo with an extra early third to target a good talent that fits their schemes.

The Tyrod trade to Cleveland, basically. Seems like a fair comp, and the Niners could then parlay that third with another couple of picks into a mid second rounder if they're targeting someone. They don't draft until 99, but they have a TON of picks. They have 11 picks yet don't draft until basically the 100th slot! Has that ever happened? Round 3, Pick 99 (compensatory) Round 3, Pick 101 (compensatory) Round 3, Pick 102 (compensatory) Round 5, Pick 155 (via Miami Dolphins) Round 5, Pick 164 Round 5, Pick 173 (compensatory) Round 6, Pick 216 (compensatory) Round 7, Pick 222 (via Denver Broncos) Round 7, Pick 247 Round 7, Pick 253 (compensatory) Round 7, Pick 255 (compensatory)

A lot of QBs bust. Better to roll the dice than not if you truly believe, I think. They've certainly weathered the storm, though - their roster is terrific overall. I believe they would have beaten the Eagles if Purdy hadn't gotten hurt.

Fascinating. Maybe Houston, which could then focus on adding pieces with its two first-round picks? Lance is not going to beat out Purdy, and Darnold is a better #2 than Lance as well. That's not to say that Lance doesn't have upside. I just don't see a place for him there given how good Purdy was (and Purdy's elbow is going to be fine, btw -- that's a surgery that medicine has fully mastered) and the fact that Darnold is one of the league's higher-level #2s (Darnold played fairly well last season). A #3 overall pick as a third stringer? I don't see that happening.