2015 Draft Prospect Thread

[patsfaninpa]

Not only where they poor, but the lack of stamina eliminate them from day 1 on my board.

I wouldn't write a player off on one bad performance. Goldman got injured against Ga Tech. When you have a 300 + pounder who hasn't been on his feet for a few weeks. It's gonna be ugly when you play an up-tempo team like Oregon. Look at VW in 2006 AFCCG. Awful 2nd half. He's turned out pretty good.

My browser didn't show Mayo's post for some reason until after I posted.

 

[AzorianPats]

Are there any good WR prospects who are also good kick returnees? Potential some that would be available 2nd round or later

Funny you mention this....

I'm watching the Birmingham Bowl between Florida and East Carolina right now. I'm extremely impressed with Justin Hardy Wr from E. Carolina.

6'0 190lbs. Broke a **** load of records in college. You can split him out wide or put him in the slot. He's also a PR. Maybe he's available with our 2nd-4th round pick...

http://withthefirstpick.com/2014/12/03/2015-nfl-draft-scouting-report-justin-hardy-wr-east-carolina/

 

[mayoclinic]

Rob Staton from Seahawksdraftblog profiles DT Jordan Phillips, and also discusses Maxx Williams:

People love to talk about the ‘rare nose tackle’ — well here he is. Like most big guys he isn’t impacting every play, but all of the 3-4 teams are going to show interest. They have to. He’s capable of drawing a double team, he flashes a nice swim move and he can work through traffic to get into the backfield. He makes splash plays and can impact the quarterback. You just don’t see many players with this combination of length, agility and bulk. Phillips is an exciting player who could easily be a combine star who ends up flying up the boards.

http://seahawksdraftblog.com/further-thoughts-on-jordan-phillips-maxx-williams

 

[kennyb]

Some mocks have pats picking devin funchess. What thinkest? At first I thought nay but he is quite the agile one. Has the height to win one on one.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Some mocks have pats picking devin funchess. What thinkest? At first I thought nay but he is quite the agile one. Has the height to win one on one.

I don't want to draft a receiver in the first. But, we've got two huge targets. Gronk and LaFell. He may or not make it, but Dobson is a pretty good sized wr too. I'd rather have a faster wr who can run some routes. Instead of a big kid who specializes in high-pointing a ball. Something Brady usually doesn't like to throw.

 

[mayoclinic]

Rotoworld's Cian Fahey provides a detailed breakdown on Maxx Williams:

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/51417/349/cians-corner-maxx-williams

 

[manxman2601]

Jared Stanger said on Twitter that TE Jean Sifrin has a reported 37" vertical jump. And bear in mind, that's combined with a 6'7" frame. For perspective, Jimmy Graham had a 38.5. That combines with Sifrin's reported 4.6 speed. His tape certainly suggests that level of athleticism.

 

[manxman2601]

Jared Stanger said on Twitter that TE Jean Sifrin has a reported 37" vertical jump. And bear in mind, that's combined with a 6'7" frame. For perspective, Jimmy Graham had a 38.5. That combines with Sifrin's reported 4.6 speed. His tape certainly suggests that level of athleticism.

Stop that!

I love his ability to highpoint the ball.

 

[mihap]

Catching is top, but do u have any info on his blocking?

 

[luuked]

Jared Stanger said on Twitter that TE Jean Sifrin has a reported 37" vertical jump. And bear in mind, that's combined with a 6'7" frame. For perspective, Jimmy Graham had a 38.5. That combines with Sifrin's reported 4.6 speed. His tape certainly suggests that level of athleticism.

I wonder how far his age will drop him. Just based on athletics he looks intriguing.. if available a bit later on day 3 he is definitely worth a consideration..

 

[mayoclinic]

Jared Stanger said on Twitter that TE Jean Sifrin has a reported 37" vertical jump. And bear in mind, that's combined with a 6'7" frame. For perspective, Jimmy Graham had a 38.5. That combines with Sifrin's reported 4.6 speed. His tape certainly suggests that level of athleticism.

Zach Sudfeld had a 37" VJ with a 6'7" frame, too, FWIW:

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=79949&draftyear=2013&genpos=TE

I always thought we gave up on Sudfeld too early.

 

[manxman2601]

Catching is top, but do u have any info on his blocking?

It's probably his weakest trait. He's a receiving TE which makes him a slightly less interesting Pats fit because he's probably someone who'd replace Rim Wright rather than Hooman on the roster. Still, I'll continue to be intrigued by that athleticism.

 

[manxman2601]

Zach Sudfeld had a 37" VJ with a 6'7" frame, too, FWIW:

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=79949&draftyear=2013&genpos=TE

I always thought we gave up on Sudfeld too early.

I wasn't aware of that. Interesting. And agreed.

 

[kennyb]

Sudfeld went from STUDfeld to DUDfeld. Very sad. Hasn't done much since though.

 

[captain stone]

The FO tried to sneak Dudfeld through waivers in order to sign him to the PS, which is where he belonged
(and still does, really). Not a huge loss by any means. The real loss was not making a better effort to sign
Joseph (nephew of Christian) Fauria as a UDFA.

 

[mayoclinic]

Miscellaneous comments from Dane Brugler on twitter:

1) Still very early, but my top-3 RBs are Gurley, Gordon and Jay Ajayi. I'm higher on Ajayi than most but I'm okay with that. All-around RB

2) William & Mary WR Tre McBride is a prospect I'll have graded higher than most. Love his game and mid-round value. Pierre Garcon type

3) I'm a big WR Kevin White fan. But if I can't get him in the 1st round, I'm targeting #UConn WR Geremy Davis later on day 3. He's KW Light

4) Rice's Jordan Taylor and Regina's Addison Richards are two tall, lanky and underrated WR prospects worth checking out. @Shrine_Game guys

5) The TE talent at the @ShrineGame will be fun to watch. Saxton, Christian and Pruitt are athletic hybrids and Derby and Bell are Ex-QBs

6) WSU DL Xavier Cooper is under-the-radar right now, but not for long. Quick off the ball w/ VG body control & loose hips. Scheme versatile

https://twitter.com/dpbrugler

 

[mayoclinic]

An early Steelers' big board from Behindthesteelcurtain.com, with some very insightful prospect comments:

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...015-big-board-by-ranking-early-january-update

Some comments of particular interest:

Dante Fowler Jr., OLB, Florida - 6'2", 260 lbs. Yet another player the Steelers will look at long and hard. He has a genuinely Steelers-ish tint to his game that's revealed in both the good and the bad. On the plus side, he's a fluid and ferocious athlete from a big program that has used his versatility to play both DE spots, OLB, ILB, and even DT. That hints at a really good football IQ as well as athletic ability. Even when he's not making plays, he's causing someone on the offense a lot of trouble. On the downside, he's the sort of guy who will consistently overrun plays, will try to do too much, and who needs coaching across the board to improve everything from his physical strength to his play recognition. The Steelers have those coaches, however, which will make Dante Fowler a serious Pittsburgh target come draft day, and probably the highest rated OLB prospect at which the Steelers have a quasi-realistic shot. This is a lightweight scouting report from a Cowboys fan site, but okay as an overview. This scouting report is also good as an overview.

Alvin "Bud" Dupree, OLB, Kentucky - 6'4", 267 lbs. Kentucky actually had him as a 3-4 OLB for a year, but it didn't work out because the team went back to being a 4-3 the year after that. In 2014 he had a mixed season. The sack numbers weren't great, but you get the feeling that he'd be toward the top of the heap if there was a statistic to measure "ongoing disruptive annoyance." It's a situation where professional scouts who can look at every single snap will have a great advantage over Internet dilettantes like yours truly. IMHO, however, he looks like a great prospect to be a larger-size pass rusher who could be paired across the line from Jarvis Jones. Here is a nice little scouting report. This is a longer and more thorough scouting report, albeit from back in November.

Danielle Hunter, OLB, LSU - 6'6", 240 lbs. A big, tall young man who will likely add some bulk as he matures into his grown-man strength as a pro. The question marks that will drop him down toward the Steelers pick all go to a first step that's sometimes awesome and other times nonexistent. Nor did it help his draft stock to get dominated by fellow-1st-rounder Cedric Ogbuehi. Do the problems arise from physical reaction time, a lack of recognition, or something else? At least one scout has compared him to Barkevious Mingo, who the Browns took at #6 overall. That implies that recognition may be the real question and that Hunter's stock will rise as the draft process moves forward.

Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon - 6'7", 296 lbs. Pure, athletic potential in a quasi-human form. If the Steelers do the necessary research into his internals and still think enough of this young man to pick him, Steelers Nation will start to go ballistic with glee. OTOH, don't be surprised if the FO simply passes him by in favor of a less gaudy but more reliable option.

Benardrick McKinney, OLB/ILB, Mississippi State - 6'4" 250 lbs. McKinney is an odd case for this Board. He is regularly described as the #1 prospect in the country to be an inside linebacker who has the sort of fantastic athletic talent to stand out at the Combine, but with question marks about his extremely raw skillset and suspicions that his overly aggressive and downhill mindset will limit him to being a great (but two-down) thumper. The Steelers would be more interested in his ability to convert to outside linebacker. At OLB that same athletic genius would make him excellent in coverage, the size and attitude would make him excellent at setting the edge, and his pass-rush skills... Aye, there's the rub. McKinney has all the physical tools to be a fine pass rusher but he's never been pushed to develop them. He'll almost certainly go in the mid-1st to a team hungry for an ILB, which makes this moot, but if he should somehow fall to the Steelers pick life could get very interesting. Look for this to be a "what-if" debate that will heat up until Mr. McKinney blows up the Combine and puts himself thoroughly out of reach. This goes to an October scouting report. This is a more thorough scouting report from a Chicago Bears POV.

Owamagbe Odighizuwa, OLB, UCLA - 6'3", 270 lbs. I've heard him described as a bigger, just as strong, but not quite as bendy James Harrison. Which also sounds a lot like Lamarr Woodley if you think about it. I'd take either of those guys in a heartbeat as a 2nd-round pick. The OLB drills at the Combine will be key here. Can he play in space or not? The CBS summary scouting report is dead on point and raises an interesting question. Odighizuwa's primary position in college was 3-4 DE, shifting to a pass rusher for situational football. He's too small to play that position in the NFL, but does he transition better to a 4-3 DE or a 3-4 OLB? Hip surgeries in 2013 raise some injury questions too.

Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio) - 6'0", 187 lbs. This is one of my favorite early-process sleepers for the Steelers 2nd- or 3rd- round pick. Check out this college article on his background. Rollins is a basketball player who turned to football in his final year of eligibility, and then excelled because of his genuine athletic edge. He'll be badly out of his depth as a rookie, but sounds like exactly the sort of player who could make a huge sophomore leap, with a second one to follow the year after. The need to wait that long for a return on investment is likely to make him available in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. Here is an interview he did with CBS. This is a brief scouting report from a Patriots site, and this is a slightly better scouting report from edraft.com.

Nate Orchard, OLB, Utah - 6'4", 255 lbs. Had a breakout 2014 that will make him a serious candidate for someone's 2nd-round pick. And it might just be the Steelers, if they believe he can carry his pass rush on to the next level while learning to drop back in coverage. Bucky Brooks of the NFL Network did this excellent and well-balanced scouting report after Orchard's fine Bowl game against fellow edge-of-the-1st prospect Ty Sambrailo. This scouting report boasts some gifs in support of its conclusion that Orchard shouldn't be picked until Day 3. This brief scouting report is less useful for analysis, but makes the point that Orchard has been capable of taking over games on his own. This excellent scouting report is about Hauoli Kikaha but could have been written about Orchard since their styles are so similar. This article provides good background going back to High School.

Mario Edwards, DE/OLB, Florida State - 6'3", 294 lbs. Edwards is a heck of a player who should go to a base 4-3 team in the first two rounds. For the Steelers... Not so much. This grade reflects such a serious lack-of-fit discount that he should probably go on the "Ain't Gonna Happen List" instead, but we need to confirm whether he could bulk up to be an across-the-line defensive guy, or slim down enough to play in space as an OLB.

 

[mayoclinic]

Grid has started cranking out scouting reports again, and is currently doing 2 a day. Good stuff, and well worth checking out.

http://www.fanaticalyankee.com

He's on the offensive linemen right now, a topic of particular interest.

 

[Off The Grid]

Grid has started cranking out scouting reports again, and is currently doing 2 a day. Good stuff, and well worth checking out.

http://www.fanaticalyankee.com

He's on the offensive linemen right now, a topic of particular interest.

Much Obligado!! Kind Thanks!!

 

[mayoclinic]

Much Obligado!! Kind Thanks!!

Glad to see that they're coming out again. It's a ton of work, and we're indebted to you.

Found your writeup of AJ Cann quite interesting - you seem to think he has better lateral agility than I'd observed. That would significantly upgrade my opinion of him.