2015 Draft Prospect Thread

[Off The Grid]

One of the things that I love about Grid's scouting reports is that he never pulls his punches. You know exactly where he stands. No one's perfect and every one misses from time to time, but it's very valuable when someone you respect independently makes an assessment and goes "all in" one way or the other. Compare Grid's scouting report on Clemmings with that on Andrus Peat, another highly rated OL prospect. Or Brandon Scherff, who Todd McShay still has as a top 10 pick. Mackenzie Pantoja was another guy who wasn't afraid to take a stand on a prospect.

Thank ye kindly indeed, Sir!!

 

[Off The Grid]

How bout this trade? Cutler to Tennessee. Chicago moves from 7 to 2 for Winston??

Intriguing.

Your Trade tags Cutler with an 1100 Point Book Value, equivalent to the 14th Pick.

Personally, you'd have to thrown in not only a 1st Rounder but three 1st Rounders for me to take Cutler and his crippling Salary Cap Burn off your hands, but that's me!! And it's funny 'cause it's True!!

Even so: NFL Offices have never run low on Stupidity. I pointed and laughed at the Bears when they made the Jay Cutler Trade in the first place, and pointed and laughed again when they extended'm!!

But that doesn't mean that some other Greater Fool won't convince themselves that they can unleash Cutler's amazing Talents and cough up a 1st Rounder for the Opportunity to find out otherwise!!

Ironically, it was Cutler'mself who I recently comped Winston to!!

 

[patsfaninpa]

Intriguing.

Your Trade tags Cutler with an 1100 Point Book Value, equivalent to the 14th Pick.

Personally, you'd have to thrown in not only a 1st Rounder but three 1st Rounders for me to take Cutler and his crippling Salary Cap Burn off your hands, but that's me!! And it's funny 'cause it's True!!

Even so: NFL Offices have never run low on Stupidity. I pointed and laughed at the Bears when they made the Jay Cutler Trade in the first place, and pointed and laughed again when they extended'm!!

But that doesn't mean that some other Greater Fool won't convince themselves that they can unleash Cutler's amazing Talents and cough up a 1st Rounder for the Opportunity to find out otherwise!!

Ironically, it was Cutler'mself who I recently comped Winston to!!

There were reports late in the year Tennessee might be interested in Cutler. Agree with you. I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. But, I guess they like him in Nashville. Maybe, from his Vandy days. I think Winston will be a better pro that Mariota. I just think he already throws well from the pocket. I don't know if Mariota ever will. Oh, there's baggage. More concerned about the rape charges. Very likely could be false. But, who knows. The crab legs thing is a complete joke. Pretty sure FSU players were allowed to shop Carte Blanche there. And, he was just taking advantage of the extra benefits. Took one for the team by not calling the program out. I honestly feel that's why Jimbo Fisher backed him to the hilt. FSU is really a sleezy program.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Not sure if Ereck Flowers has been mentioned much in this post, but I could see him in the 1st round conversation for the Patriots. He has size that Googe seems to like in his lineman, but moves surprisingly well in the run game and in has a good shuffle in his pass protection. He bends a little at the waist and that needs working, but his overall game is intriguing.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Great Work Grid,
I read a couple of your reports (will go back and do read them all soon) and they are great. Your breakdown and reasoning are well thought out and very thorough. I stopped Scherff because that is who I am currently scouting myself, so I have no idea if you liked him or not. I am interested to see if my perspective is in line with yours or if we go in different directions.

 

[Off The Grid]

Great Work Grid,
I read a couple of your reports (will go back and do read them all soon) and they are great. Your breakdown and reasoning are well thought out and very thorough. I stopped Scherff because that is who I am currently scouting myself, so I have no idea if you liked him or not. I am interested to see if my perspective is in line with yours or if we go in different directions.

Thank you kindly, Sir!!

 

[manxman2601]

Not sure if Ereck Flowers has been mentioned much in this post, but I could see him in the 1st round conversation for the Patriots. He has size that Googe seems to like in his lineman, but moves surprisingly well in the run game and in has a good shuffle in his pass protection. He bends a little at the waist and that needs working, but his overall game is intriguing.

I find Ereck Flowers weird. Has a strange stoop/bend at the waist seemingly all the time. excellent strength and athleticism but that stoop/bend is really off-putting...and he misses blocks because of it, a problem I see exacerbated in the NFL, potentially seriously. Unfortunately, I just can't get on board with him.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

I find Ereck Flowers weird. Has a strange stoop/bend at the waist seemingly all the time. excellent strength and athleticism but that stoop/bend is really off-putting...and he misses blocks because of it, a problem I see exacerbated in the NFL, potentially seriously. Unfortunately, I just can't get on board with him.

You don't think the bend is correctable? I wonder if its a technique thing because its always there. Even when he pulls he is hunched over. It doesn't seem to affect his balance either. What I really liked from him was his punch, in the Florida St. game you could see guys actually jolt back when he hit them.

 

[manxman2601]

You don't think the bend is correctable? I wonder if its a technique thing because its always there. Even when he pulls he is hunched over. It doesn't seem to affect his balance either. What I really liked from him was his punch, in the Florida St. game you could see guys actually jolt back when he hit them.

It might well be, I'm just not sure I want to invest a first rounder on the possibility. I just feel NFL defensive players will really be able take advantage of that stoop. There's a lot to like about his game and I really wanted to like him but he scares me too much.

 

[Off The Grid]

There were reports late in the year Tennessee might be interested in Cutler. Agree with you. I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. But, I guess they like him in Nashville. Maybe, from his Vandy days. I think Winston will be a better pro that Mariota. I just think he already throws well from the pocket. I don't know if Mariota ever will. Oh, there's baggage. More concerned about the rape charges. Very likely could be false. But, who knows. The crab legs thing is a complete joke. Pretty sure FSU players were allowed to shop Carte Blanche there. And, he was just taking advantage of the extra benefits. Took one for the team by not calling the program out. I honestly feel that's why Jimbo Fisher backed him to the hilt. FSU is really a sleezy program.

Few Prospects illustrate the Challenge of Prospecting in sharper Relief that Jameis Winston. The line between Top 10 Value and UFA Value is perilously thin, and I agonized over Winston's Evaluation.

You could make a strong Argument that he's worth Multiple 1st Rounders, right now, and you could make an equally strong Argument that he's Undraftable. I'm not much'f a Comper, but I comped'm to Cutler, and gave'm a 3rd/4th Round Grade, as I have little use for Cutler, Golden Arm and all.

His Pocket Presence is so intoxicating that I may conceivably end up jacking up that Grade to 1st Rounder before all is said and done: Pondering is an integral part of my Process, because the line between 1st Rounder and UFA is perilously thin...and it wouldn't be the first time I'd changed my mind.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Hey everyone Im new actually chiming in on the forums here, but Ive been following for sometime. only difference now is, Ive actually taken the time to create a account. Since the draft and the team building portion of Football/Patriots is my favorite subject and time of the year (basically I like to play fantasy GM), you guys will be seeing a lot of me around here.

With that being said, Im going to bring up a player that I've absolutely fell in love with the thought of the pats drafting this coming year. We all know the short coming the team has faced with developing high draft pick WR's over the years. With that being said, I really deter away from the thought of us drafting a WR anything before the 3rd and start to look for later round studs who may be a steal. As of right Im currently in love with Georgia Tech’s Deandre Smelter.

He a 5th senior who recently tore his ACL. Prior to the injury he had a 3rd-5th round grade on him by a few draft sites, other sites didn't even have him listed. However I feel this is greatly in part to him only playing 2 season of College football (one season in HS). His primary sport was baseball, as he was drafted into the MLB right out of high school, only to then choose to attend Georgia Tech to pursue an education before trying to enter the MLB draft. His whole MLB career plan came to a end due to lingering shoulder injuries (he was a pitcher)

He then choose to walk on to the GT football team, where he has done fairly well for the past two years. GT plays in the mediocre ACC, but so did Calvin Johnson and D.Thomas, and after a good look at him, 6-3 225lbs, 4.4- 4.5 40 yard dash, he will quickly draw a comparison to those to players as well. His highlight real, although short in nature due to his limited playing time, and also in part to the team he plays for(run option team), is filled with plays that show a high level of natural talent. Seeing his just tore his ACL, Id be all for drafting him on day 3 of the draft. He looks to have the natural talent to succeed with time. The only thing that concerns me is our ability, or lack of it, to develop WR talent. However Im sold on him. Go give it a look, I think you’ll be intrigued.

Hightlights 1 :

Highlights :

ACC feature on him :

When ever I watch a video of him, I feel like Im basically watching a touched up HD version Of D.Thomas at G.Tech. The scary part is they’re almost identical in height, weight, strength and speed. Then they both grew up and attended high school within 30 mins of each other. Both were 3 sport athlete in HS with D.Thomas running track instead of Baseball, which probably accounts for the slightly faster speed. Last they also happen to look like twins in the face lol. It’s funny/scary

To walk on a team, and do what he did in his first two years, is nothing short of amazing. I really truly hope his ACL surgery goes well, and he does fall to the 5th-67h rounds. Id be so happy to see the Pats draft him with one of our many mid round picks in this years draft. What Im am defly afraid of is having Denver draft him…. Imagine that?! D.Thomas would probably be able to relate and teach him so well, and that would be extremely bad news for every other team, especially the patriots.

Again watch a D.Thomas Georgia Tech Highlights, Then watch DeAndre Smelters GT highlights. Tell me it doesn’t feel like the same guy?

D.Thomas :

D.Smelter :

 

[manxman2601]

Hey everyone Im new actually chiming in on the forums here, but Ive been following for sometime. only difference now is, Ive actually taken the time to create a account. Since the draft and the team building portion of Football/Patriots is my favorite subject and time of the year (basically I like to play fantasy GM), you guys will be seeing a lot of me around here.

With that being said, Im going to bring up a player that I've absolutely fell in love with the thought of the pats drafting this coming year. We all know the short coming the team has faced with developing high draft pick WR's over the years. With that being said, I really deter away from the thought of us drafting a WR anything before the 3rd and start to look for later round studs who may be a steal. As of right Im currently in love with Georgia Tech’s Deandre Smelter.

He a 5th senior who recently tore his ACL. Prior to the injury he had a 3rd-5th round grade on him by a few draft sites, other sites didn't even have him listed. However I feel this is greatly in part to him only playing 2 season of College football (one season in HS). His primary sport was baseball, as he was drafted into the MLB right out of high school, only to then choose to attend Georgia Tech to pursue an education before trying to enter the MLB draft. His whole MLB career plan came to a end due to lingering shoulder injuries (he was a pitcher)

He then choose to walk on to the GT football team, where he has done fairly well for the past two years. GT plays in the mediocre ACC, but so did Calvin Johnson and D.Thomas, and after a good look at him, 6-3 225lbs, 4.4- 4.5 40 yard dash, he will quickly draw a comparison to those to players as well. His highlight real, although short in nature due to his limited playing time, and also in part to the team he plays for(run option team), is filled with plays that show a high level of natural talent. Seeing his just tore his ACL, Id be all for drafting him on day 3 of the draft. He looks to have the natural talent to succeed with time. The only thing that concerns me is our ability, or lack of it, to develop WR talent. However Im sold on him. Go give it a look, I think you’ll be intrigued.

Hightlights 1 :

Highlights :

ACC feature on him :

When ever I watch a video of him, I feel like Im basically watching a touched up HD version Of D.Thomas at G.Tech. The scary part is they’re almost identical in height, weight, strength and speed. Then they both grew up and attended high school within 30 mins of each other. Both were 3 sport athlete in HS with D.Thomas running track instead of Baseball, which probably accounts for the slightly faster speed. Last they also happen to look like twins in the face lol. It’s funny/scary

To walk on a team, and do what he did in his first two years, is nothing short of amazing. I really truly hope his ACL surgery goes well, and he does fall to the 5th-67h rounds. Id be so happy to see the Pats draft him with one of our many mid round picks in this years draft. What Im am defly afraid of is having Denver draft him…. Imagine that?! D.Thomas would probably be able to relate and teach him so well, and that would be extremely bad news for every other team, especially the patriots.

Again watch a D.Thomas Georgia Tech Highlights, Then watch DeAndre Smelters GT highlights. Tell me it doesn’t feel like the same guy?

D.Thomas :

D.Smelter :

Firstly, welcome to the board. Secondly, very nice first post. And thirdly, welcome to the Deandre Smelter fan club. Both myself and mayoclinic have been big fans for some time. In terms of pure receiving skills, I think Smelter has first round talent but I have some questions about his forty speed and his lack of experience and how quickly he can be integrated into this offense. What I love bout him though is that I think he can take the Amendola spot on the roster as a third down possession receiver that adds a blocking element to the offence and can back up Lafell and even Tim Wright initially and can progress, in time, to becoming a featured part of this offense. Not taking his injury into account, I gave him a solid day two grade. He and Tre McBride of William & Mary are my two favourite later round WRs right now.

 

[mayoclinic]

Im going to bring up a player that I've absolutely fell in love with the thought of the pats drafting this coming year. We all know the short coming the team has faced with developing high draft pick WR's over the years. With that being said, I really deter away from the thought of us drafting a WR anything before the 3rd and start to look for later round studs who may be a steal. As of right Im currently in love with Georgia Tech’s Deandre Smelter.

Never heard of him.

 

[mayoclinic]

Hey everyone Im new actually chiming in on the forums here, but Ive been following for sometime. only difference now is, Ive actually taken the time to create a account. Since the draft and the team building portion of Football/Patriots is my favorite subject and time of the year (basically I like to play fantasy GM), you guys will be seeing a lot of me around here.

With that being said, Im going to bring up a player that I've absolutely fell in love with the thought of the pats drafting this coming year. We all know the short coming the team has faced with developing high draft pick WR's over the years. With that being said, I really deter away from the thought of us drafting a WR anything before the 3rd and start to look for later round studs who may be a steal. As of right Im currently in love with Georgia Tech’s Deandre Smelter.

He a 5th senior who recently tore his ACL. Prior to the injury he had a 3rd-5th round grade on him by a few draft sites, other sites didn't even have him listed. However I feel this is greatly in part to him only playing 2 season of College football (one season in HS). His primary sport was baseball, as he was drafted into the MLB right out of high school, only to then choose to attend Georgia Tech to pursue an education before trying to enter the MLB draft. His whole MLB career plan came to a end due to lingering shoulder injuries (he was a pitcher)

He then choose to walk on to the GT football team, where he has done fairly well for the past two years. GT plays in the mediocre ACC, but so did Calvin Johnson and D.Thomas, and after a good look at him, 6-3 225lbs, 4.4- 4.5 40 yard dash, he will quickly draw a comparison to those to players as well. His highlight real, although short in nature due to his limited playing time, and also in part to the team he plays for(run option team), is filled with plays that show a high level of natural talent. Seeing his just tore his ACL, Id be all for drafting him on day 3 of the draft. He looks to have the natural talent to succeed with time. The only thing that concerns me is our ability, or lack of it, to develop WR talent. However Im sold on him. Go give it a look, I think you’ll be intrigued.

Hightlights 1 :

Highlights :

ACC feature on him :

When ever I watch a video of him, I feel like Im basically watching a touched up HD version Of D.Thomas at G.Tech. The scary part is they’re almost identical in height, weight, strength and speed. Then they both grew up and attended high school within 30 mins of each other. Both were 3 sport athlete in HS with D.Thomas running track instead of Baseball, which probably accounts for the slightly faster speed. Last they also happen to look like twins in the face lol. It’s funny/scary

To walk on a team, and do what he did in his first two years, is nothing short of amazing. I really truly hope his ACL surgery goes well, and he does fall to the 5th-67h rounds. Id be so happy to see the Pats draft him with one of our many mid round picks in this years draft. What Im am defly afraid of is having Denver draft him…. Imagine that?! D.Thomas would probably be able to relate and teach him so well, and that would be extremely bad news for every other team, especially the patriots.

Again watch a D.Thomas Georgia Tech Highlights, Then watch DeAndre Smelters GT highlights. Tell me it doesn’t feel like the same guy?

D.Thomas :

D.Smelter :

Seriously, Dude.

1. I applaud you on your good taste.

2. Manx has been all over Smelter for ages now, like Rex Ryan over a foot massage, like Gronk over BiBi, like Al Davis over a bad trade, like Ron Borges over a dumb idea, like ... you get the idea.

3. I jumped on the Smelter bandwagon months ago, after Manx opened my eyes. I've called him my favorite receiving prospect in this draft (and I love some of the WRs) and my #1 day 3 binky. Compared him to Keenan Allen (with more speed) and Alshon Jeffery. I think Demaryius Thomas may be faster, but otherwise the comparison is probably a good one. I've taken some flack on this forum for saying I'd much rather have Smelter than someone like Dorial Green-Beckham.

4. I applaud you on your good taste.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Thank you. Im really stoked to find a place where other people share the same amount of love and energy for the more detailed side of being a patriots fan, especially the draft and team building side of things.

Back to Smelter. Yes his 40 time also concerns me too, not to mention the torn ACL probably won't help. However I think he is worth a shot. Its not everyday you find players with size, strength and natural talent for sports like he has. His field vision and hands are one point, especially giving the amount of experience he has playing football. These are two natural skills you almost can't teach. Everything else players can learn in time. I personally think we need to upgrade our outside receivers. I just think Edelman and Lafell are better suited in the slot, and I don't want to wait another year if Dobson doesn't work out in 2015. That being said, I think its very important we grab a big tall x receiver in this coming draft, maybe even two. I think we have other needs which are grater, this has me searching for late round Gems. I have a few more ill post here

 

[mayoclinic]

Thank you. Im really stoked to find a place where other people share the same amount of love and energy for the more detailed side of being a patriots fan, especially the draft and team building side of things.

Back to Smelter. Yes his 40 time also concerns me too, not to mention the torn ACL probably won't help. However I think he is worth a shot. Its not everyday you find players with size, strength and natural talent for sports like he has. His field vision and hands are one point, especially giving the amount of experience he has playing football. These are two natural skills you almost can't teach. Everything else players can learn in time. I personally think we need to upgrade our outside receivers. I just think Edelman and Lafell are better suited in the slot, and I don't want to wait another year if Dobson doesn't work out in 2015. That being said, I think its very important we grab a big tall x receiver in this coming draft, maybe even two. I think we have other needs which are grater, this has me searching for late round Gems. I have a few more ill post here

Pretty much every mock I've done in the last 2 months has had Smelter as a day 3 fixture - probably 6th round, but if it took a higher pick I wouldn't hesitate. The other day 3 gem who (again, following Manx's lead) seems really intriguing is Tre McBride from William & Mary. As Josh Norris from Rotoworld noted earlier today:

William & Mary's Tre McBride is probably just behind John Brown for top WR at the E-W Shrine over the last three yrs

https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/553651610656997376

For more WR-specific discussion on this board you might want to look at:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/threads/wr-in-the-2015-draft.1114188/

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

As many of us probably now know, P.Chung was re-signed to a 3 year deal today. Previous to this I was very vocal that the team should try to retain him, but for no more then 2.5 million a season. What that being said, I think the Pats front office did an amazing job with his contract. Only guaranteeing him him a little over 3 million was the right thing to do with a player like him. I think Chung has done very well this season, especially as a run defender. Although he has done a fairly decent job in man to man & coverage situations, I still think he could improve, and we should still look for a backup/upgrade,. If anything for depth and to also push him to improve.

With this happening, it naturally makes me think more and more that they will use the Franchise tag on D.McCourty this season. Although Im a firm believer in D.McCourty, I will also note I think his play has a slightly regressed this season (not by much) which is weird considering the upgrade it talent around him. This actually has me thinking, maybe it will be best if we Franchise tag him to feel him out for another year before we give him that big, long payday.

With that being said, I think this offseason it is time for bill to finally say goodbye to the Tavon Wilson mistake. Id much rather spend a mid/late round pick on a new safety who will one be cheaper, and two someone who offers more upside.

This leads me to Adrian Amos out of Penn State. He’s 6ft, 215lb, and runs a 4.5+ 40. He’s a player with considerable experience at both cornerback and safety, At his time at penn state, he has started a team-high 25 games, 19 at cornerback and the majority of this season at safety. Amos is well built with good height, length and overall frame for the position, displaying good bulk and strength. He’s aggressive and often explodes downhill while also showing the start/stop quickness to recover and alter his path mid-momentum. He has amazing tacking and great ball skills to go with it

I feel Like he would be a good pick for two reasons. One, if we franchise D.McCourty and for some reason he doesn't pan out as well as we all hope next season, he has the potential to replace D.Mac. Second, I also think he may have the potential to take over at the SS position, or at least at a minimum push players like Chung to improve in things like coverage and man to man. Last seeing he has experience at both corner and safety, he could act as a great depth piece at both positions. Considering he currently has a 3-7th round grade by draft websites, he may be worth a later pick if he is there.

His 2013 Highlights, not including his senior year

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Pretty much every mock I've done in the last 2 months has had Smelter as a day 3 fixture - probably 6th round, but if it took a higher pick I wouldn't hesitate. The other day 3 gem who (again, following Manx's lead) seems really intriguing is Tre McBride from William & Mary. As Josh Norris from Rotoworld noted earlier today:



https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/553651610656997376

For more WR-specific discussion on this board you might want to look at:

Oh yeah, for sure, he looks like a steal too. Some players you can just take a quick look at and quickly they are naturally talented. Im going to look over some more of his tape when I get Time.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Ahhh, nothing like some good old fashion draft talk on a Friday night. I just posted a new thread with my scouting report on Brandon Scherff if anyone is interested. I am especially interested for Grid to give it a look since I know he has done his own report.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

Welcome to the Board Hawaiian,
You will soon learn that there are a lot of good people with great insight on this draft board.