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*TODAY'S REPORT INCLUDES:
-- NOTES ON 2006 PROSPECTS
-- UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS
-- AFC TEAMS "OUT-DRAFTING" NFC TEAMS
-- NFL DRAFT BY THE NUMBERS
-- SAINTS COACH JIM HASLETT INTERVIEW FROM 1280AM
*Think that it is too early to get a jump start on the 2006 NFL Draft... well then you are looking to get left behind... our staff can help organize or contribute to your organization, franchise, player rep recruiting list or media coverage now so that you will be ahead of the curve when the new cycle of scouting starts later this spring... please contact our office over the next few weeks for more information... an available IM for our staff is draftjm13... as well as calling (504) 415.9979.
INITIAL NOTES ON 2006 DRAFT PROSPECTS:
HOFSTRA U. senior wide receiver MARQUES COLSTON caught four passes for between 76-80 yards in the team's recent spring scrimmage, which was held on Friday, April 29th... he is 100% recovered from a shoulder injury that cost him to red-shirt last season... will be working out for scouts later this week (Thursday).
MIAMI, OH senior defensive end MARCUS JOHNSON was not able to workout in the spring as he was rehabbing a pulled hamstring... currently, he weighs 6025, 263 pounds... has his hamstring back to 100%, and has been spending time working with a track coach to improve his speed and quickness.
VIRGINIA senior running back WALI LUNDY ran between 4.50/4.56 in the 40... weighed 5106, 214 pounds... was recently named "Team Captain" for his upcoming senior campaign... top games from his junior year were Akron, Maryland, North Carolina and Temple.
VIRGINIA junior linebacker AHMAD BROOKS sat out this spring and missed the team's scrimmage, while recovering from knee surgery, which was done to remove some "Loose bodies" that needed to be removed... he is expected to return at full-strength for the start of fall drills... the team has also been keeping a close eye on him to be sure he rides the straight arrow, which was pointed out as one of the primary reasons he decided not to declare for this past year's draft.
VIRGINIA senior defensive lineman KWAKOU ROBINSON has been working at both defensive end and nose tackle in the team's 3-4 defensive scheme... he has the natural size and flashes the quickness off the ball you desire at the nose, but has been a bit of an underachiever at times... Melvin Massey and few others have also been taking turns inside at nose tackle, although senior defensive linemen Brennan Schmidt might also play some there in the fall if he is 100% recovered from a shoulder injury that has kept him out this spring.
VIRGINIA senior kicker CONNOR HUGHES has missed the spring, including the team's scrimmage, while trying to recover from a battle with mono.
VIRGINIA senior wide receiver OTTOWA ANDERSON may re-join the team later this summer after sitting out last season due to an academic suspension... currently, he weighs 5116, 201 pounds... had 29 career receptions for 296 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding four special teams tackles... if he is back with the team he will be #83.
AVAILABLE UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS:
DUKE defensive back ALEX GREEN, SAN DIEGO STATE defensive back JOSH DEAN, SOUTH CAROLINA defensive lineman JASON CAPERS, MISSOURI offensive tackle SCOTT PAFFRATH, NEBRASKA-OMAHA offensive lineman BRETT HODGE, MISSISSIPPI STATE fullback DARNELL JONES, OKLAHOMA quarterback JASON WHITE were not offered contracts following their rookie camp tryouts... meanwhile, SOUTH CAROLINA cornerback TAQIY MUHAMMAD, who was originally listed on the transaction wire as having signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent, is still un-signed, as he a deal was never finalized.
MCNEESE STATE kicker JOHN MARINO made all of his field goal attempts up to 50 yards (5-for-5)... then made 1 out of 3 from 50-plus... converted one from 60 yards and then turned around a converted one from 50 yards against the wind... on his kickoffs (with the wind) all seven landed in the endzone... three were 10-yards deep... one five yards deep... one three yards deep... best hang time was 4.19, while two others were at least 4.00... on his kickoffs (against the wind) one landed inside the five-yard line... two landed inside the ten-yard line and one landed inside the 15-yard line... all four of the hang times were 4.10 or better... his Pro Day workout was held on April 2nd with members of the New Orleans Saints in attendance... the following was a letter of recommendation written by former NFL kicker Chris Boniol, who has spent time working with Marino over the past few months.
Coaches and Scouts
I am writing this letter recommending John Marino, kicker from McNeese State University. His statistics and honors speak for themselves. In addition to those and his highlight film, I wanted to add some comments.
John's technique is very detailed and will help him stay consistent. His tempo to the ball is controlled and he accelerates through the kick with a nice finish. The steady swing he has contributes to a consistent ball flight with nice rotation.
John has improved his kickoff technique since the end of his senior season. His finish through the ball is more aggressive than what you will see in his games. This extra explosion through the ball will hopefully gain him a few more yards on a consistent basis.
Please call me if I can be of help in assessing his abilities, as trying John out would be worth your time. Good luck this season.
Chris Boniol
ChrisBonioIKickingCamp.com
FORDHAM defensive back/return man TAD KORNEGAY ran 4.39 and 4.44 in the 40... 4.02 short shuttle... 6.54 three-cone and 10'1" broad jump, while performing for representatives of the Calgary Stampeders (CFL) last Saturday duirng a workout at Rutgers University... he posted similar numbers throughout the post-season, as well as posting a solid senior campaign, both as a defender and return man.
NFL NEWS:
CAROLINA PANTHERS punter TODD SAUERBRUN, who will visit the Denver Broncos later this week, could have several other suitors, including Minnesota and Tampa Bay among some others... if or when he is traded you can expect it to be for a late-round 2006 draft choice, which might have some conditional measures to it... it has been mentioned that it could be for as high as a fourth rounder, but most expect
it to be more of a fifth-to-sixth rounder.
AFC TEAMS "OUT-DRAFTING" NFC TEAMS:
Of the 255 selections made in the 2005 NFL Draft... 166 of them were made by AFC teams, while just 89 were made by NFC teams... so on the average AFC teams will have roughly 10 rookies who were drafted in training camp... while their NFC counterparts will have an average of just over 5 rookies who were drafted in training camp.
Additionally, over the previous five NFL Drafts, covering the years 2000 to 2004, a total of 17 teams had at least 40-or-more selections with four teams led by Jacksonville's 49 selections having a minimum of 45 choices (an average of nine per year)... and once again the AFC leads the way with 10 of those 17 teams who have held the most draft picks over that period of time... led by Jacksonville (49), Seattle (47), Tennessee (46) and San Francisco (46).
There is also a direct result of having those extra selections as AFC teams have acquired 159 starters through the draft (2000-2004), led by Tennessee (15), while NFC teams have acquired 146 starters over the same period of time, led by San Francisco (14).
The final example of how the AFC teams have gotten the better of the draft in recent times would be the fact that there are only 12-out-of-32 teams (NY Jets, Houston, Baltimore, Tennessee, San Francisco, Cincinnati, San Diego, Green Bay, Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle and Indianapolis) who still have over 60% of their original draft choices from the past five years (2000-2004) on their active roster with 9-of-those-12 teams coming from the AFC, including seven of the Top-10 percentages.
*(In this comparison I used results/numbers I researched from the previous five drafts along with those initially reported in an April 20th article in the Times-Picayune (New Orleans), which were researched by Jeff Duncan and the TP research staff).
INTERESTING DRAFT GRADE COMPARISONS:
Each spring several evaluators provide initial results, numbers and grades to NFL teams, which are then used to provide a guideline for the season of scouting and evaluation that takes place in the fall... but how closely should those initial results be followed... well that is a question that many have pondered in recent years... from a wide-variety of research and acquired information dating back to last June (2004)... here is a quick review of how some things "Changed" and others remained the "Same" in terms of initial grades and then actual draft day results...
(TOP-10 PLAYERS RATED BY POSITION LAST SPRING & HOW THEY FARED)
*There would be some fluidness to the actual value of the total players in the Top-10, as some teams or services likely had certain players rated higher or lower, but this is the most accurate average of the marketplace grade from last spring.
TOP 10 & THE DRAFT:
QB -- 7 out of the Top-10 quarterbacks drafted (70%)
RB -- 6 out of the Top-10 running backs drafted (60%)
FB -- 1 out of the Top-10 fullbacks drafted (10%)
WR -- 8 out of the Top-10 wide receivers drafted (80%)
TE -- 5 out of the Top-10 tight ends drafted (50%)
OC -- 6 out of the Top-10 centers drafted (60%)
OG -- 6 out of the Top-10 offensive guards drafted (60%)
OT -- 8 out of the Top-10 offensive tackles drafted (80%)
DE -- 9 out of the Top-10 defensive ends drafted (90%)
DT -- 7 out of the Top-10 defensive tackles drafted (70%)
ILB -- 5 out of the Top-10 inside linebackers drafted (50%)
OLB -- 7 out of the Top-10 outside linebackers drafted (70%)
CB -- 8 out of the Top-10 cornerbacks drafted (80%)
S -- 5 out of the Top-10 safeties drafted (50%)
K/P -- 3 out of the Top-10 kickers/punters drafted (30%)
OFFENSE: 47 out of 80 Top-10 rated offensive players drafted (59%)
DEFENSE: 41 out of 60 Top-10 rated defensive players drafted (68%)
SPECIAL TEAMS: 3 out of 10 Top-10 rated specialists drafted (30%)
OVERALL: 91 out of the TOP-10 by Position (150 players) were drafted (61%)
NFL DRAFT BREAKDOWN:
(In parenthesis is the first player selected by college/pro level during the 2005 NFL Draft)
229 -- Division I-A (#1 QB Alex Smith, Utah)
17 -- Division I-AA (#41 OT Michael Roos, Eastern Washington)
4 -- Division II (#126 OT Todd Herremans, Saginaw Valley State)
2 -- AFL (#152 QB Adrian McPherson, Indiana (AFL)/Florida State)
1 -- Junior College (#155 WR Larry Brackins, Pearl River CC)
1 -- Division III (#207 OL Joe Berger, Michigan Tech)
1 -- NAIA (#255 TE Andrew Stokes, William Penn)
(In parenthesis is the number of players selected by college conferences (Top-10) during the 2005 NFL Draft)
SEC - 37
ACC - 36
BIG-12 - 34
PAC-10 - 33
BIG-10 - 30
MWC - 16
C-USA - 15
MAC - 11
BIG EAST - 8
WAC - 6
(In parenthesis is the list of players selected by position overall and in the TOP-100 during the 2005 NFL Draft)
QB -- 14 overall, six in the Top-100
RB -- 20 overall, eight in the Top-100
FB -- 5 overall, zero in the Top-100
WR -- 31 overall, 14 in the Top-100
TE -- 10 overall, three in the Top-100
OC -- 9 overall, two in the Top-100
OG -- 14 overall, four in the Top-100
OT -- 26 overall, nine in the Top-100
K -- 3 overall, one in the Top-100
DE -- 20 overall, seven in the Top-100
DT -- 15 overall, six in the Top-100
LB -- 36 overall, 15 in the Top-100
CB -- 29 overall, 18 in the Top-100
S -- 21 overall, six in the Top-100
P -- 2 overall, one in the Top-100
OFFENSE -- 46 in the Top-100
DEFENSE -- 52 in the Top-100
SPECIAL TEAMS -- 2 in the Top-100
TOTAL PLAYERS DRAFTED WHO WERE NOT COMBINE INVITEES: 31
TOTAL PLAYERS UNDRAFTED WHO WERE COMBINE INVITEES: 107
OFFENSE -- 54 of 171
DEFENSE -- 46 of 145
SPECIAL TEAMS -- 7 of 11
LIST OF PLAYERS DRAFTED THAT DID NOT ATTEND THE COMBINE (31):
MATT MCCOY, LB, Philadelphia (second round)
JAMES SANDERS, S, New England (fourth round)
MATT GIORDANO, S, Indianapolis (fourth round)
ROYDELL WILLIAMS, WR, Tennessee (fourth round)
DAMIEN NASH, RB, Tennessee (fifth round)
MICHAEL HAWKINS, CB, Green Bay (fifth round)
NICK SPEEGLE, LB, Cleveland (sixth round)
CHRIS HARRIS, S, Chicago (sixth round)
WILL SVITEK, OT, Kansas City (sixth round)
C.C. BROWN, S, Houston (sixth round)
PATRICK THOMAS, LB, Jacksonville (sixth round)
REYNALDO HILL, CB, Tennessee (seventh round)
ADRIAN WARD, CB, Minnesota (seventh round)
RODRIQUES WILSON, LB/S, Chicago (seventh round)
RICK RAZZANO, FB, Tampa Bay (seventh round)
MARCUS MAXWELL, WR, San Francisco (seventh round)
JAY RATLIFF, DL, Dallas (seventh round)
SHAUN NUA, DL, Pittsburgh (seventh round)
JAMES KILIAN, QB, Kansas City (seventh round)
MATT CASSEL, QB, New England (seventh round)
JONATHAN FANENE, DL, Cincinnati (seventh round)
MIKE SMITH, LB, Baltimore (seventh round)
CHRIS ROBERSON, CB, Jacksonville (seventh round)
PAUL ERNSTER, K/P, Denver (seventh round)
HARRY WILLIAMS, WR, NY Jets (seventh round)
KURT CAMPBELL, S/LB, Green Bay (seventh round)
WILLIAM WHITTICKER, OG, Green Bay (seventh round)
KEYONTA MARSHALL, DT, Philadelphia (seventh round)
PATRICK ESTES, TE, San Francisco (seventh round)
DAVID BERGERON, LB, Philadelphia (seventh round)
ANDREW STOKES, TE, New England (seventh round)
PRE-ROOKIE CAMP & POST-DRAFT QUOTES FROM COACH JIM HASLETT:
New Orleans Saints head coach Jim Haslett was a guest Tuesday afternoon on 1280AM Sports Radio in New Orleans with host Gerry Vaillancourt... the following are some of the quotes and comments made by coach Haslett, regarding the team's recent NFL Draft picks, pre-rookie camp evaluation and the off-season improvements made by the team...
ON THE SAINTS USE OF NFL EUROPE:
"(I) believe that you wait for three years with your draft picks before sending them over to NFL Europe... if they have not developed into starting roles or are not seeing a great deal of action by then... then we believe that NFL Europe is a good option"
ON WHAT VETERANS COULD STEP FORWARD:
"Mel Mitchell (safety), Zach Hilton (tight end) have been noted (by our staff) as two guys who can come on strong this upcoming season"
ON HIS TEAM'S DEFENSIVE PROBLEMS IN 2004:
"(We) had 400 snaps (plays) less on offense than in previous years, according to the stats compiled by our coaching staff... so we (the Saints) hope to run the ball more, use more play action and get back the control of the clock; time of possession"
ON THE ADDITION OF ANTOWAIN SMITH:
"Antowain Smith gives us some flexibility to give Deuce (McAllister) some added rest... (Aaron) Stecker is one of our best special teams players, so using him in spots or situations should also make our special teams better"
ON THEIR FIRST ROUND DRAFT CHOICE:
"(We) saw 1-2 defensive guys that I felt could step right in and help us... but when (I) watched the tapes of (Jammal) Brown... I saw a tough, aggressive run blocker... who got out and blocked down field... then when you see him being such a good guy and hard worker... it was a no-brainer... (I) think Thomas Davis (Georgia) and some others will turn out to be very good players, but this (Brown) was the one guy that really stood out to me"
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE PLAY IN 2004:
"(I) was disappointed on how our offensive line played last year... but I have to put some of that on our coaching staff... our line is not made to be passing the ball 60 times a game... (I) mean look at our line (last year) 340 (pounds), 320, 330, 320... we have to be able to run the able more consistently... so with the addition of Jammal Brown and Jermaine Mayberry that should be the case"
*Gerry Vaillancourt can be heard daily 4-7pm in the afternoon on 1280AM Sports Radio in New Orleans, please visit www.sportsradio1280.com.
COMPANY NEWS:
*Be sure to listen to ESPN (Florida) radio's Thursday night program (7-9pm) the "Rock Solid Financial" Florida Sports Program, leading up to the start of NFL Training Camps featuring Orlando Alzugaray... you can find out more by visiting www.espn1080.com... and contact Rock Solid Financial Group at 305.593.9023 for more information about their services.
*For those who have not followed or received the reports during the previous four drafts... during and after the DRAFT... you can still send your prospect information ([email protected]) to our staff and it will be sent out to all 32 NFL Teams following the ROOKIE CAMPS... the example method for this process will be as follows: (School), (Position), (Name), (HT, WT, workout results and your (agent) best contact info either phone or email)... this year alone over 200 of the profiles that were sent out between rounds 6, 7 and post-draft.
*Be sure to listen to Sirius' NFL Radio program each day leading up to the start of NFL Training Camps.
*Next Level Scouting Staff members Dean Zarafonetis, Matt Jansen, Pat Schuster have contributed to previous reports, as have Carlos Holmes, Josh Buchanan.
*All rights reserved by NextLevel Scouting, Inc. and John Murphy... any use of the material enclosed without the express written or verbal consent of NextLevel Scouting, Inc. or John Murphy is prohibited... John Murphy can be reached via phone or email at 504.415.9979 and [email protected].
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