2015 Draft Prospect Thread

mayoclinic · Sep 19, 2014

Here's a nice clip of Phillips terrorizing an opposing QB into fumbling, and taking the ball the length of the field:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...dt-jordan-phillips-terrifies-qb-causes-fumble

Remember, he's 6'6" 334#.

manxman2601 · Sep 20, 2014

A RB I like a lot who was in my last mock, Tevin Coleman helped Indiana beat Missouri. 6'1" and 210 lbs. Very interesting prospect

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...diana-stuns-missouri?campaign=Twitter_nfl_cfb

Peachhead · Sep 21, 2014

After the way Clemson's D-line terrorized Florida State's QB and RBs tonight I'm gonna have a tough time giving any Florida State O-lineman any respect this spring. Even though they had a backup QB in there FSU's O-line was putrid! FSU ran for 13 yards total and their QB was running for his life almost every dropback.

OTOH, I'm keeping my eyes on Clemson's MLB Stephone Anthony and DT Grady Jarrett.

mayoclinic · Sep 21, 2014

Peachhead said:
After the way Clemson's D-line terrorized Florida State's QB and RBs tonight I'm gonna have a tough time giving any Florida State O-lineman any respect this spring. Even though they had a backup QB in there FSU's O-line was putrid! FSU ran for 13 yards total and their QB was running for his life almost every dropback.

OTOH, I'm keeping my eyes on Clemson's MLB Stephone Anthony and DT Grady Jarrett.

Anthony got a writeup on NFL Mocks recently:

Possessing a 6’3″ 245 pound frame, Anthony is an impressive physical specimen who would be an ideal fit at inside linebacker in the NFL. His instincts, toughness, strength, and overall strong tackling ability led to one of the best seasons for any non pass rushing linebacker in college football last season, racking up 86 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two fumbles forced, and an interception.

Watching Anthony play, you can tell he has great instincts and the ability to diagnose where play is heading. He seems comfortable making the defensive calls and is very good at working upfield against the inside running game.

In fact, when teams try to run the ball at Anthony, they should just as well take a two-yard gain or worse. It’s not usually getting past him. Where I really noticed a weakness in Anthony’s game was working sideline to sideline, which isn’t all that surprising considering his size.

Stiffness in the hips can cause Anthony to be a liability in coverage, but in terms of working his way upfield, adding value perhaps as a pass rusher, and playing a true middle linebacker role, Anthony is very good, and improving. So far through two games, Anthony has racked up 12 tackles with 3.5 for loss. He’s already on pace to break last year’s mark of 15 in that category, and has a chance to help shut down one of the most prolific rushing attacks in college football on Saturday in Karlos Williams and the Florida State Seminoles.

Anthony’s ability as a middle linebacker has generated middle round hype at this point, but there’s plenty of room to grow. If he can show better in his coverage ability and versatility overall, as well as an ability to play sideline-to-sideline, there’s a good chance he could sneak into day two of the draft.

http://nflmocks.com/2014/09/19/2015-nfl-draft-clemson-lb-stephone-anthony-impressing/

mayoclinic · Sep 21, 2014

Bernardrick McKinney had a team-leading 7 tackles and led a Mississippi St. defense that shut down LSU's running game in their 34-29 upset of the Tigers.

McKinney is quickly becoming my front-runner for the Pats 1st round pick. I think that DL and OL can be addressed in rounds 2, 3, and 4, especially with 2 4ths and probably 2 3rds (assuming a comp pick for Aqib Talib).

Peachhead · Sep 21, 2014

mayoclinic said:
Bernardrick McKinney had a team-leading 7 tackles and led a Mississippi St. defense that shut down LSU's running game in their 34-29 upset of the Tigers.

McKinney is quickly becoming my front-runner for the Pats 1st round pick. I think that DL and OL can be addressed in rounds 2, 3, and 4, especially with 2 4ths and probably 2 3rds (assuming a comp pick for Aqib Talib).

I think Mayo, Collins & Hightower are one of the better LB units in the league. And they're all fairly young. So I think any LB we draft would be depth for several years at least. And I don't like the idea of spending a 1st round pick on depth. Regardless of whatever LB we're talking about.

mayoclinic · Sep 21, 2014

Peachhead said:
I think Mayo, Collins & Hightower are one of the better LB units in the league. And they're all fairly young. So I think any LB we draft would be depth for several years at least. And I don't like the idea of spending a 1st round pick on depth. Regardless of whatever LB we're talking about.

I think that will be a very common point of view. I personally think there will be enough opportunity to get productivity out of McKinney, given his versatility and skill set. I tend not to draft for need, and I think people worry too much about whether a player fits a known hole. People didn't feel that it was worth spending a 1st round pick on a nickel DB in 2010, or on a sub pass rusher in 2013. I think BB will salivate at the possibilities that McKinney could add to the defense, but that's JMHO.

That's not to say that I wouldn't take Brandon Scherff over McKinney if both were available, but I doubt that dilemma would arise.

manxman2601 · Sep 22, 2014

Peachhead said:
I think Mayo, Collins & Hightower are one of the better LB units in the league. And they're all fairly young. So I think any LB we draft would be depth for several years at least. And I don't like the idea of spending a 1st round pick on depth. Regardless of whatever LB we're talking about.

I think it's that McKinney has the athleticism and size to backup both Mayo and Collins on the inside but also Hightower in the SLB or OLB role that appeals to Mayo and I. I agree with you on principal about drafting a backup in the first round but if you think that we lost Mayo all last year and We've already lost Collins for a game this year, I think the opportunities will be there for a LB that backs up all three positions. And if you think about it, we had Mayo, Fletcher and Spikes on the roster when we drafted Hightower.

patsfaninpa · Sep 22, 2014

mayoclinic said:
Bucky Brooks' stock report for last week includes an interesting name that we haven't discussed before:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000395203/article/stock-report-demarcus-robinson-on-the-rise-will-gardner-declines

Zettel has been outstanding. He's about 280 though. Needs to return for another year and add some weight. Two PSU defenders to keep an eye on are SS Adrian Amos. A converted cb. He might match one of our needs well. The other is Mike Hull. He's playing MLB. Only about 230. Might make a good 4th or 5th LB. PSU hasn't played anybody. But, the defense looks good.

On offense, the new staff isn't as good getting the TE's involved. Jesse James not doing as much as I hoped. Looking like he needs to return for senior year.

manxman2601 · Sep 24, 2014

Is it me or is Dante Fowler a perfect BB pick? Good at setting the edge, can line up anywhere in the front 7, good character, good size (would like him to be an inch or two taller) and an excellent work ethic. I can see him playing the Nink role but can also see him in the Hightower role. I haven't watched him until now and was very impressed.

ATippett56 · Sep 24, 2014

http://www.walterfootball.com/draft2015stock_04.php

2015 NFL Draft Stock Up

Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa

Scherff is one of the top tackle prospects for the 2015 NFL Draft, and he showed it against Pittsburgh with a rock-solid performance. Scherff had no issues in pass protection and opened up holes for his running backs. He demonstrated power at the point of attack to get movement and used his power to sustain blocks. Scherff showed an impressive ability to sustain blocks. Consistently, he would get a hold of a defender and ride them around the field. Scherff was solid in pass protection, too.

Scherff had his knee scoped about 10 days ago, so the recovery could easily have him slowed down and hurt his quickness, footwork and explosion, but he really wasn't challenged by a dangerous edge rusher. Scherff has shown real toughness with an ability to play at a high level despite not being 100 percent. That means a lot to NFL evaluators. This was a good performance from Scherff that will serve to confirm a first-round grade.

mayoclinic · Sep 24, 2014

manxman2601 said:
Is it me or is Dante Fowler a perfect BB pick? Good at setting the edge, can line up anywhere in the front 7, good character, good size (would like him to be an inch or two taller) and an excellent work ethic. I can see him playing the Nink role but can also see him in the Hightower role. I haven't watched him until now and was very impressed.

I've had him on my short list for a long time because of all of those reasons. My biggest questions are (1) he is likely to go high, possibly higher than we pick, and (2) is our biggest need another Ninkovich/Hightower player right now? But I agree, he's close to a perfect BB pick.

manxman2601 · Sep 24, 2014

mayoclinic said:
I've had him on my short list for a long time because of all of those reasons. My biggest questions are (1) he is likely to go high, possibly higher than we pick, and (2) is our biggest need another Ninkovich/Hightower player right now? But I agree, he's close to a perfect BB pick.

Beyond Mariota and Leonard Williams, I'm not confident about much in terms of where people are likely to go. I do wonder if BB would be tempted to trade up if Fowler fell into the twenties. We might not need another Ninkovich now, but we might in a couple of years. I do agree with your reservations though.

mayoclinic · Sep 24, 2014

manxman2601 said:
Beyond Mariota and Leonard Williams, I'm not confident about much in terms of where people are likely to go. I do wonder if BB would be tempted to trade up if Fowler fell into the twenties. We might not need another Ninkovich now, but we might in a couple of years. I do agree with your reservations though.

It's way too early, and mocks mean little, but most mocks that I see have Fowler going around 15-20 or so. There was one I saw that had him in the 3rd round, but that was an outlier. Walter Football's latest mock has Brandon Scherff going at 15 and Fowler at 16. Incidentally, they had your guy Odighizuwa going at #42 overall.

Like you, I'm not worrying much at this stage about where people will go. Fowler's certainly on my "short list" of potential 1st round targets.

My "short list" right now looks something VERY roughly like this:

Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa
Leonard Williams, DL, USC
---------------------
Shawn Oakman, DL, Baylor
Dante Fowler, DE/OLB, Florida
Bernardrick McKinney, LB, Mississippi St.
Cameron Erving, OL, Florida St.
La'el Collins, OL, LSU
Ereck Flowers, OL, Miami
----------------------
Spencer Drango, OL, Baylor
Arik Armstead, DL, Oregon
Shaq Thompson, LB/S. Washington
----------------------
Carl Davis, DL, Iowa
Josue Matias, OL, Florida St.
Arie Koundjio, OL, Alabama
Laken Tomlinson, OL, Duke
AJ Cann, OL, South Carolina
Cody Prewitt, S, Mississippi
Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
Ellis McCarthy, DT, UCLA
Owagabme Odizhiguwa, DL, UCLA
Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
Eric Striker, LB/S, Oklahoma
-----------------------
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
Karlos Williams, RB, Florida St.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise St.
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford
Shilique Calhoun, DE/OLB. Michigan St.
Obum Gwachum, DE/OLB, Oregon St.
Bud Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
Bronson Kaufusi, DE/OLB, Brigham Young
Henry Anderson, DL
Durrell Eskridge, S, Syracuse
---------------------------
Wild Card: Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma

Marinlik · Sep 24, 2014

The more college film I watch the more I feel like I'm really at the deep end of the pool. It's hard to know what to look for. I mean for some positions I have an easier time, like on the line. But sometimes it's really hard to evaluate and really know what to look for. It's not like just sitting back in the couch and watching the game and seeing "Yup, Kaepernick really scrambles his way out of there".

Do you guys have any books, articles, videos to read and watch? Really anything that can make me better at watching the game and on scouting. I feel like people in here seems to know what they are talking about, and I'd happily steal some of that knowledge.

mayoclinic · Sep 24, 2014

Marinlik said:
The more college film I watch the more I feel like I'm really at the deep end of the pool. It's hard to know what to look for. I mean for some positions I have an easier time, like on the line. But sometimes it's really hard to evaluate and really know what to look for. It's not like just sitting back in the couch and watching the game and seeing "Yup, Kaepernick really scrambles his way out of there".

Do you guys have any books, articles, videos to read and watch? Really anything that can make me better at watching the game and on scouting. I feel like people in here seems to know what they are talking about, and I'd happily steal some of that knowledge.

My strongest starting recommendation would be that you go to Grid's website, fanaticalyankee.com, and look at his positional scouting reports. Grid has broken down each position (and in many cases, sub-types which in traditional positional designations) with a list of characteristics and their attributes that he looks for in prospects. Then his scouting reports for each prospect start by grading them for each of the relevant characteristics.

For example, Grid breaks "WRs" into "split ends" (bigger, taller and more physical WRs who excel over the middle and can move the chains), "flanker backs" (stretch the field WRs), and "flex wings" (slot receivers and smaller, quicker multi-purpose receivers). Factors such as ability to get separation, catching ability, route running (navigation) and blocking are general factors that are assessed, with differences for the different positional sub-types.

It's a brilliant system.

Beyond that, I would suggest watching as much film as possible (Draft Breakdown has great prospect-by-prospect film breakdowns of specific games), looking for specific characteristics, and double check what you see with different evaluations from people whom you "respect" or who are known to have a good eye. These aren't necessarily the best-known names. Darren Page of DetroitLionsDraft and Oliver Thomas of NewEnglandPatriotsDraft do very good and detailed analyses and have a good eye. Don't take anyone's word for the gospel truth and don't go by traditional rankings, but keep an open mind and cross-check what your own eyes tell you with what other people say. Over time, you'll get pretty good at trusting your own eyes, but keeping an open mind. No one's perfect, even those who have specialized in this for decades.

stelfans · Sep 24, 2014

Kevin White is legit!

Actually that Oklahoma West Virginia game was really cool to watch. Oklahoma has plenty of intersting guys.
Will watch the Nebraska Miami game, two great backs to watch plus Gregory vs Flowers. Should be fun.

manxman2601 · Sep 24, 2014

Marinlik said:
The more college film I watch the more I feel like I'm really at the deep end of the pool. It's hard to know what to look for. I mean for some positions I have an easier time, like on the line. But sometimes it's really hard to evaluate and really know what to look for. It's not like just sitting back in the couch and watching the game and seeing "Yup, Kaepernick really scrambles his way out of there".

Do you guys have any books, articles, videos to read and watch? Really anything that can make me better at watching the game and on scouting. I feel like people in here seems to know what they are talking about, and I'd happily steal some of that knowledge.

Good questions. I will say this, it isn't easy. I learned a lot of what I know by following certain people on twitter. If you're on twitter, I can supply you with some good follows. I actually don't look too much at the specifics of how a player plays, things like pad level or hand usage for interior linemen etc. For me, I tend to get a general feel for a player just by watching him as much as possible on Draft Breakdown as Mayo recommended. If you' re trying to work out where a prospect might be graded, I find this guide useful from National Football Post:

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Prospect-Grading-System.html

And as Mayo says, Brother Grid is outstanding at scouting talent (although his unique style is..well..unique). I wouldn't worry too much about the nitty gritty but I would urge you to watch the Draft Breakdown videos rather than games because it allows you to focus in on a prospect. The downside is that you lose the context.

There is one website I strongly recommend and that is The rookie scouting Portfolio . It's run by Matt Waldman and only focuses on offensive skill position players but it is a goldmine for scouting tips and inspiration. For example, the following video is a one and a half our video chat between him and Josh Norris (another name I'd recommend) and it's only about TJ Yeldon and Indiana RB Tevin Coleman. Now I only skipped through it but I learned more about scouting RBs just in the short time it took me to skip through the video as I have through three years of scouting the draft.

Anyway, don't fret, just spending time here with the likes of Mayo, Grid et al and you'll be just fine. The more the merrier and we all learn from each other.

manxman2601 · Sep 24, 2014

stelfans said:
Kevin White is legit!

Actually that Oklahoma West Virginia game was really cool to watch. Oklahoma has plenty of intersting guys.
Will watch the Nebraska Miami game, two great backs to watch plus Gregory vs Flowers. Should be fun.

I'm not sure about his speed but his ability to widen the catch zone is certainly legit. And enjoy Nebraska/Miami. Two words. Ameer Abdullah (drool).

mayoclinic · Sep 24, 2014

manxman2601 said:
There is one website I strongly recommend and that is The rookie scouting Portfolio . It's run by Matt Waldman and only focuses on offensive skill position players but it is a goldmine for scouting tips and inspiration. For example, the following video is a one and a half our video chat between him and Josh Norris (another name I'd recommend) and it's only about TJ Yeldon and Indiana RB Tevin Coleman. Now I only skipped through it but I learned more about scouting RBs just in the short time it took me to skip through the video as I have through three years of scouting the draft.

Very nice. I was not aware of this. I second the recommendation on both Matt Waldman and Josh Norris. Very useful stuff, even though offensive skill position players aren't generally my priority.

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