The 2013 Prospect Thread

[mayoclinic]

Here's Rob Rang on Tennessee OL Dallas Thomas:

OT Dallas Thomas (6-5, 305)

Considering the "skill" position talent Tennessee boats, it is easy to understand why any offensive lineman -- even a very good one like Thomas -- is often overlooked by the Tennessee faithful and national media. As the Vols' top senior prospect, however, NFL scouts are certainly keeping close tabs on the the athletic and versatile talent. Thomas signed with Tennessee as a relatively lightly regarded prospect and saw most of his playing time as a freshman on special teams. He earned the starting left tackle position as a sophomore, however, and went on to start the next 25 games of his career at the blindside position. Despite his experience at left tackle, the Tennessee coaches have moved Thomas inside to left guard for his senior season. It is a move that could pay off nicely for the Volunteers, as well as Thomas, as he possesses the skill-set to make a smooth adjustment. Thomas possesses very good initial quickness. He was susceptible to speed rushers, however, as lacks the sustained foot speed to earn top grades as a pass blocker. He gets an aggressive punch in but often stops moving his feet as he does so and therefore if his punch doesn't stop the pass rush entirely, leaving himself vulnerable to an outside speed rush or quick counter back inside. This isn't the typical rotund blocker who is simply too un-athletic to compete on outside. Thomas is an impressive athlete, who plays with good flexibility and balance. Plays with good leverage and possesses an athletic build with good arm length. While moving a legitimate NFL prospect during his senior season is typically grounds for questioning, Thomas should perform very well protected inside at guard and could prove to be one of the top senior offensive line prospects in the SEC. Thomas currently ranks as NFLDraftScout.com's No. 2 senior offensive tackle and the No. 7 offensive tackle, overall.

2013 NFL Draft: Tennessee Preview - CBSSports

Good find, Manx.

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

Matt Barkley, Montee Ball lead offensive prospects for 2013 NFL Draft - Tony Pauline - SI.com

Sylvester Williams, Barkevious Mingo among top defensive prospects in 2013 NFL Draft - Tony Pauline - SI.com

[Wilfork#75]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned him yet, but I have a new binky for the 2013 draft. Kyle Prater, WR from Northwestern. He is only a redshirt Sophomore so he may not declare, but he has the potential to be an elite WR in the NFL. He was the top WR recruit in the Country a few years ago and committed to USC. After injury his freshman year he redshirted, and only had 1 reception the next season. Then he decided to transfer to move closer to home, choosing Northwestern.

He is 6'5" runs in the 4.5's and has amazing hands. Anyone that read any of my posts from the lead up to the 2012 draft knows I had a man crush on Alshon Jeffery (and rightfully so, he is going to be a beast). Well Prater is bigger, faster, a better route runner and has hands that are almost, if not just as good as Jeffery's. He catches better with one hand than most college receivers do with two. Now there are some concerns, obviously health and experience being two of the biggest. Going into his redshirt sophomore season he only has 1 career reception and very limited playing time. But that could also make him a steal. He is off most peoples draft radar at the moment, but a big season could definitely change that. I hope he stays a late round gem, because I think he can be a #1 WR in the NFL.

Watch him dominate 1 on 1's while he was at USC
Kyle Prater USC 1on1's.mov - YouTube

[Snake Eyes]

Originally Posted by Wilfork#75

I don't know if anyone has mentioned him yet, but I have a new binky for the 2013 draft. Kyle Prater, WR from Northwestern. He is only a redshirt Sophomore so he may not declare, but he has the potential to be an elite WR in the NFL. He was the top WR recruit in the Country a few years ago and committed to USC. After injury his freshman year he redshirted, and only had 1 reception the next season. Then he decided to transfer to move closer to home, choosing Northwestern.

He is 6'5" runs in the 4.5's and has amazing hands. Anyone that read any of my posts from the lead up to the 2012 draft knows I had a man crush on Alshon Jeffery (and rightfully so, he is going to be a beast). Well Prater is bigger, faster, a better route runner and has hands that are almost, if not just as good as Jeffery's. He catches better with one hand than most college receivers do with two. Now there are some concerns, obviously health and experience being two of the biggest. Going into his redshirt sophomore season he only has 1 career reception and very limited playing time. But that could also make him a steal. He is off most peoples draft radar at the moment, but a big season could definitely change that. I hope he stays a late round gem, because I think he can be a #1 WR in the NFL.

Watch him dominate 1 on 1's while he was at USC
Kyle Prater USC 1on1's.mov - YouTube

Very nice find, thanks for posting. I wonder if he'd be to tall for the Pats, who like their receivers to be able to stop on a dime, but maybe they want to shift away from that style of offense. Do you know what round he's projected to go?

[West Philly Patriot]

Originally Posted by Wilfork#75

I don't know if anyone has mentioned him yet, but I have a new binky for the 2013 draft. Kyle Prater, WR from Northwestern. He is only a redshirt Sophomore so he may not declare, but he has the potential to be an elite WR in the NFL. He was the top WR recruit in the Country a few years ago and committed to USC. After injury his freshman year he redshirted, and only had 1 reception the next season. Then he decided to transfer to move closer to home, choosing Northwestern.

He is 6'5" runs in the 4.5's and has amazing hands. Anyone that read any of my posts from the lead up to the 2012 draft knows I had a man crush on Alshon Jeffery (and rightfully so, he is going to be a beast). Well Prater is bigger, faster, a better route runner and has hands that are almost, if not just as good as Jeffery's. He catches better with one hand than most college receivers do with two. Now there are some concerns, obviously health and experience being two of the biggest. Going into his redshirt sophomore season he only has 1 career reception and very limited playing time. But that could also make him a steal. He is off most peoples draft radar at the moment, but a big season could definitely change that. I hope he stays a late round gem, because I think he can be a #1 WR in the NFL.

Watch him dominate 1 on 1's while he was at USC
Kyle Prater USC 1on1's.mov - YouTube

Just tuned in to Northwestern vs. Cuse' after reading your post. Only been watching a few minutes but I see they have 21 points by half not sure if your boy had anything to do with that but they are putting up points.

[Wilfork#75]

Originally Posted by Snake Eyes

Very nice find, thanks for posting. I wonder if he'd be to tall for the Pats, who like their receivers to be able to stop on a dime, but maybe they want to shift away from that style of offense. Do you know what round he's projected to go?

He's a redshirt sophomore so most scouting services don't even have him listed. But with only 1 career catch I would think he would have to be projected as a 7th/UDFA at the moment. That will obviously change as the season goes on but I think its going to be tough to boost hist stock too high.

On whether he would fit, I've been hoping for a big, physical target for the last few years. Someone with a huge catch radius that doesn't need a perfect ball to make a play and win a jump ball down the field.

Originally Posted by West Philly Patriot

Just tuned in to Northwestern vs. Cuse' after reading your post. Only been watching a few minutes but I see they have 21 points by half not sure if your boy had anything to do with that but they are putting up points.

Yeah Northwestern have a pretty good passing offense. They have a really deep and experienced WR group so Prater isn't a starter yet. I think part of that could be because of the transfer process and the time taken for the NCAA to rule him eligible this season without having to sit out a year. Over time I think he will earn the starting job and start putting up some impressive numbers. He's #21 and has 1 catch for 7 yards in the first half.

[manxman2601]

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

Here's Rob Rang on Tennessee OL Dallas Thomas:



2013 NFL Draft: Tennessee Preview - CBSSports

Good find, Manx.

Buffalo Bills Draft liked him in Tennessee's first game:

Summary: I usually don’t admit to being right or wrong about any player after the first game but I can already admit that I was wrong on Thomas. I only saw Thomas once last year v. Florida and it was not a good game for him. This year he looks entirely different, he looks like he’s spent a lot of time working on his fundamentals and most importantly he looks dominant. He played both OG and OT tonight and looked great at both. Really loved the way he got his arms out in front and kept defenders away from his body, so much improvement there. To me he was the player of the game.

2013 NFL Draft Scouting Notes: Tennessee v. NC State-LIVE THREAD | Buffalo Bills Draft

[mayoclinic]

Originally Posted by manxman2601

Buffalo Bills Draft liked him in Tennessee's first game:

2013 NFL Draft Scouting Notes: Tennessee v. NC State-LIVE THREAD | Buffalo Bills Draft

Interesting piece from Dan Pompei today on the "decline" of offensive linemen and offensive line play:

NFP Sunday Blitz | National Football Post

One of the reasons advanced by league personnel men is that superior athletes are gravitating towards the defensive side of the ball. Guys like Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer are superior athletes by any definition. Solder's problems have been more inexperience and technical than any athletic limitation, and Vollmer has a freakish combination of size/speed/footwork that made him the best RT in the NFL before hurting his back. I also think of OL binkies in recent years such as Jared Veldheer (6'8" with a basketball background) and Senio Kelemete (started out as a defensive lineman before switching to OT and eventually probably OG) with exceptional athleticism and footwork.

Perhaps it makes sense not to target guys with athletic limitations who excel at the college level as much as guys with ridiculous footwork, athleticism and physical attributes who can be coaches up over time. From this perspective guys like Luke Marquardt (6'8"+ with a basketball background from a small school, like Veldheer), Mark Jackson (6'5" 330# but with terrific footwork and athleticism for a big man) and Dallas Thomas make sense. None will require a 1st round pick. Thomas and Jackson could go day 2 but possibly lower, and Marquardt is clearly a developmental guy. All have a ton of potential, especially after some time at Dante's Dancing Academy.

[Snake Eyes]

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

Perhaps it makes sense not to target guys with athletic limitations who excel at the college level as much as guys with ridiculous footwork, athleticism and physical attributes who can be coaches up over time.

I couldn't agree more, this is why I'd like to target shorter but very athletic left tackles, who GMs wont give a shot at playing tackle because their height, and use them in the interior, and also get very athletic blocking TEs who can't catch and coach them up as tackles. Not only would you be getting players for cheap but you could also potentially get much better players than teams who opt for a finished product with a lower ceiling.

[manxman2601]

Originally Posted by mayoclinic

Interesting piece from Dan Pompei today on the "decline" of offensive linemen and offensive line play:

NFP Sunday Blitz | National Football Post

One of the reasons advanced by league personnel men is that superior athletes are gravitating towards the defensive side of the ball. Guys like Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer are superior athletes by any definition. Solder's problems have been more inexperience and technical than any athletic limitation, and Vollmer has a freakish combination of size/speed/footwork that made him the best RT in the NFL before hurting his back. I also think of OL binkies in recent years such as Jared Veldheer (6'8" with a basketball background) and Senio Kelemete (started out as a defensive lineman before switching to OT and eventually probably OG) with exceptional athleticism and footwork.

Perhaps it makes sense not to target guys with athletic limitations who excel at the college level as much as guys with ridiculous footwork, athleticism and physical attributes who can be coaches up over time. From this perspective guys like Luke Marquardt (6'8"+ with a basketball background from a small school, like Veldheer), Mark Jackson (6'5" 330# but with terrific footwork and athleticism for a big man) and Dallas Thomas make sense. None will require a 1st round pick. Thomas and Jackson could go day 2 but possibly lower, and Marquardt is clearly a developmental guy. All have a ton of potential, especially after some time at Dante's Dancing Academy.

Well this is the Pats mantra isn't it - coachable athletic guys whose upside outweighs their current skillset by potentially, some margin. But I wonder whether the Pats are all about a high ceiling or to what extent the floor factors into their consideration. Is a low floor guy like Marquadt ever going to be drafted by the Pats no matter what his ceiling might be or do they require a high enough floor to contend realistically for a place on the 53? I'd suggest that as BB looks to favour seniors over juniors (open to debate) and big schoolers over small schoolers that the floor is as important a consideration as the ceiling.