2018 Draft Prospect Thread

PatriotsNumero1Fan said:

What are your thoughts on LB vander esch from boise state? Some drafts have mocked him at 43 for the pats.

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43 overall would be pretty rich for my tastes. He shows some smoothness in space, though, so he could be a solid fit here. I worry about him from a run perspective, however; he's a bit light in the pants despite his listed size (6'3 240). I like him best when he's running in open space, not when he's trying to take on and stack and shed. Looks like a guy who could play 4 downs, though, and that's worth a lot around here.

reamer said:

43 overall would be pretty rich for my tastes. He shows some smoothness in space, though, so he could be a solid fit here. I worry about him from a run perspective, however; he's a bit light in the pants despite his listed size (6'3 240). I like him best when he's running in open space, not when he's trying to take on and stack and shed. Looks like a guy who could play 4 downs, though, and that's worth a lot around here.

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Yea maybe with our 2nd? Does a good job of getting through the trash but you can tell he relies more on his mind to do that as opposed to raw physical skills.

Who else you looking at rn @reamer?

In general

BaconGrundleCandy said:

Yea maybe with our 2nd? Does a good job of getting through the trash but you can tell he relies more on his mind to do that as opposed to raw physical skills.

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Plus he has a cool name. Van Noy and Vander Esch has a ring to it.

BaconGrundleCandy said:

Who else you looking at rn @reamer?

In general

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Still finalizing my viewing lists. Been busy with the 3 month old. I'll have a better handle on things after the Senior Bowl, probably.

So far I'm locked in on Evans at linebacker. I think he's a slam dunk in our scheme. I'll try to throw together a basic position ranking and edit this post in a bit, but it's pretty incomplete (and I'm not even touching guys who will go top 25; not fair to expect them to fall, although realistically some are always available). Just because they're on the list doesn't mean I'm a big fan -- it just means I haven't discarded them yet. Likewise, if they're not on the list, it doesn't mean I don't like them -- I just haven't even come close to finishing my evaluations this year.

@BaconGrundleCandy Still a work in progress . . .


Quarterback

1. Baker Mayfield (major reservations; has the grit to succeed)
2. Mason Rudolph
3. Ryan Finley

Offensive Tackle

1. Chukwuma Okorafor
2. Tyrell Crosby
3. Brandon Parker
4. Bentley Spain
5. Jamarco Jones

Guard

1. Martinas Rankin
2. Braden Smith
3. Isaiah Wynn (like his toughness)

Center

1. Billy Price (love his explosiveness; needs to improve control)
2. Frank Ragnow
3. Bradley Bozeman
4. Mason Cole

Tight End

1. Mark Andrews
2. Troy Fumagalli
3. Dallas Goedart
4. Mike Gesiki
5. Adam Brenneman

Full Back

1. Austin Ramesh (if we didn't have Devlin I'd be all about this guy)

Running Back

1. Nick Chubb
2. Sony Michel
3. Damien Harris
4. Royce Freeman
5. Kerryon Johnson

Wide Receiver

1. Auden Tate
2. Javon Wims
3. Anthony Miller
4. Stanley Morgan Jr (watch his game against Josh Jackson)
5. Cam Philips
6. Braxton Berrios
   
7. Simmie Cobbs Jr
8. Dante Pettis
9. Emmanuel Butler

Defensive Tackle

1. Vita Vea (out of our range; still my favorite prospect)
2. Jerry Tillery (great kid, lots of interest, untapped potential)
   
3. DaRon Payne
4. Harrison Phillips

Defensive End

1. Clelin Ferrel
2. Duke Ejiofor
3. Hercules Mata'afa

Outside Linebacker

1. Rashaan Evans
2. Lorenzo Carter
3. Uchenna Nwosu
4. Tremaine Edmunds
5. Josh Allen
6. Fred Warner
7. Peter Kalambayi
   
8. Davin Bellamy
9. Skai Moore
10. Matthew Thomas

Inside Linebacker

1. Rashaan Evans (so good I listed him twice)
2. Nick DeLuca
3. TJ Edwards (just saw he's going going back to school; next year!)
4. Malik Jefferson
5. Chris Worley (space player; upside if becomes more physical)

Safety

1. DeShon Elliott
2. Kyzir White
3. Ronnie Harrison
4. Armani Watts
5. Dominick Sanders
6. Evan Berry

Cornerback

1. Josh Jackson
2. Darius Phillips
3. Quentin Meeks
4. Jaire Alexander
5. Greg Stroman
6. Nick Nelson
7. Carlton Davis
8. Denzel Ward
9. Isaiah Oliver
10. Aaron Davis
11. Davontae Harris
12. Levi Wallace
13. Arrion Springs
14. Devron Davis

Darnold entering the draft. Not surprise. He could be picked by the browns at number 1. Could see 4 to 5 QB taken in the first round.

What's the feeling on Andrews at TE?

He's probably a luxury pick - if he is even available when we pick - but man I'd like to see him and gronk together. He has speed and moves after the catch for a guy his size. Good hands and a decent blocker who could be coached up.

Plus, gronk is not getting younger, so having a young, quality number two would not be that crazy. Especially with gronk's injury history in mind.

PatriotsNumero1Fan said:

Darnold entering the draft. Not surprise. He could be picked by the browns at number 1. Could see 4 to 5 QB taken in the first round.

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He was the big one that was really on the fence but him coming out is great news. It'll make the QB frenzy that much more real.

Teams won't have any excuse and will be tripping over themselves to trade up and get their guy.

Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Mayfield will all go top 10.

LT85 said:

What's the feeling on Andrews at TE?

He's probably a luxury pick - if he is even available when we pick - but man I'd like to see him and gronk together. He has speed and moves after the catch for a guy his size. Good hands and a decent blocker who could be coached up.

Plus, gronk is not getting younger, so having a young, quality number two would not be that crazy. Especially with gronk's injury history in mind.

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I'd love to add another big body weapon for Brady. Tom excels in that intermediate area. Inside or outside. I'd love to add another guy to hit the seem, back shoulders & comebacks.

I'd be very happy if we got Goedert, Andrews or even Auden Tate in the early 2nd.

BaconGrundleCandy said:

He was the big one that was really on the fence but him coming out is great news. It'll make the QB frenzy that much more real.

Teams won't have any excuse and will be tripping over themselves to trade up and get their guy.

Darnold, Rosen, Allen, Mayfield will all go top 10.

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Add in Finley, Jackson and the kid from oklahoma state and their could be 7 qb’s in the top 31.

Then add in running backs Barkley, Love and Guice All also going before pick 32 and that means a quality red chip player drops to us at 32.

reamer said:

Still finalizing my viewing lists. Been busy with the 3 month old. I'll have a better handle on things after the Senior Bowl, probably.

So far I'm locked in on Evans at linebacker. I think he's a slam dunk in our scheme. I'll try to throw together a basic position ranking and edit this post in a bit, but it's pretty incomplete (and I'm not even touching guys who will go top 25; not fair to expect them to fall, although realistically some are always available). Just because they're on the list doesn't mean I'm a big fan -- it just means I haven't discarded them yet. Likewise, if they're not on the list, it doesn't mean I don't like them -- I just haven't even come close to finishing my evaluations this year.

@BaconGrundleCandy Still a work in progress . . .


Quarterback

1. Baker Mayfield (major reservations; has the grit to succeed)
2. Mason Rudolph
3. Ryan Finley

Offensive Tackle

1. Chukwuma Okorafor
2. Tyrell Crosby
3. Brandon Parker
4. Bentley Spain
5. Jamarco Jones

Guard

1. Martinas Rankin
2. Braden Smith
3. Isaiah Wynn (like his toughness)

Center

1. Billy Price (love his explosiveness; needs to improve control)
2. Frank Ragnow
3. Bradley Bozeman
4. Mason Cole

Tight End

1. Mark Andrews
2. Troy Fumagalli
3. Dallas Goedart
4. Mike Gesiki
5. Adam Brenneman

Full Back

1. Austin Ramesh (if we didn't have Devlin I'd be all about this guy)

Running Back

1. Nick Chubb
2. Sony Michel
3. Damien Harris
4. Royce Freeman
5. Kerryon Johnson

Wide Receiver

1. Auden Tate
2. Javon Wims
3. Anthony Miller
4. Stanley Morgan Jr (watch his game against Josh Jackson)
5. Cam Philips
6. Braxton Berrios
   
7. Simmie Cobbs Jr
8. Dante Pettis
9. Emmanuel Butler

Defensive Tackle

1. Vita Vea (out of our range; still my favorite prospect)
2. Jerry Tillery (great kid, lots of interest, untapped potential)
   
3. DaRon Payne
4. Harrison Phillips

Defensive End

1. Clelin Ferrel
2. Duke Ejiofor
3. Hercules Mata'afa

Outside Linebacker

1. Rashaan Evans
2. Lorenzo Carter
3. Uchenna Nwosu
4. Tremaine Edmunds
5. Josh Allen
6. Fred Warner
7. Peter Kalambayi
   
8. Davin Bellamy
9. Skai Moore
10. Matthew Thomas

Inside Linebacker

1. Rashaan Evans (so good I listed him twice)
2. Nick DeLuca
3. TJ Edwards (just saw he's going going back to school; next year!)
4. Malik Jefferson
5. Chris Worley (space player; upside if becomes more physical)

Safety

1. DeShon Elliott
2. Kyzir White
3. Ronnie Harrison
4. Armani Watts
5. Dominick Sanders
6. Evan Berry

Cornerback

1. Josh Jackson
2. Darius Phillips
3. Quentin Meeks
4. Jaire Alexander
5. Greg Stroman
6. Nick Nelson
7. Carlton Davis
8. Denzel Ward
9. Isaiah Oliver
10. Aaron Davis
11. Davontae Harris
12. Levi Wallace
13. Arrion Springs
14. Devron Davis

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VERY useful! Especially since I'm just starting to catch up on prospects. Thank you!

On another note, I recently read something about a VaTch cornerback, Adonis Alexander, potentially being converted back to Safety in the NFL. Do you have anything on this kid?

maineman209 said:

VERY useful! Especially since I'm just starting to catch up on prospects. Thank you!

On another note, I recently read something about a VaTch cornerback, Adonis Alexander, potentially being converted back to Safety in the NFL. Do you have anything on this kid?

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Big body, some athleticism, but from my limited viewing I wasn't a fan. I'll do some work on him later today and share some cut ups.

@reamer is there any good breakdowns on Evans?

Do we think it’s possible to get Evans and My main man Lorenzo

reamer said:

Big body, some athleticism, but from my limited viewing I wasn't a fan. I'll do some work on him later today and share some cut ups.

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I'm busier today than anticipated, so I may not have a chance to actually cut gifs and post analysis, but I've noticed that Alexander doesn't always get off blocks or tackle well, and I think he can lose track of his man and the ball down the field. He does have really long arms, and that helps him break up passes, but I am not a huge of how he transitions out of breaks. He can also get really handsy downfield.

Overall, someone will see his upside as Sherman (he is gifted in press man coverage) and overdraft him, but I don't think he's ever going to hit that ceiling.

An example of good and bad:

Snooky97 said:

@reamer is there any good breakdowns on Evans?

Do we think it’s possible to get Evans and My main man Lorenzo

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This is the game against Clemson. I think he shows a lot of positives here.




Here's a nice breakdown from an analyst:




Oh, and a nice highlight reel:

reamer said:

This is the game against Clemson. I think he shows a lot of positives here.




Here's a nice breakdown from an analyst:




Oh, and a nice highlight reel:

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Yeah wouldn’t mind seeing him lined up with Hightower... can we all just take a minute to imagine Lorenzo Carter, Evans, and HT..

Snooky97 said:

Yeah wouldn’t mind seeing him lined up with Hightower... can we all just take a minute to imagine Lorenzo Carter, Evans, and HT..

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I was thinking about that possibility but do you think that would be over doing it? We already have van noy and marquise flowers (who im very impresssed with). But the talent level would be ridiculous.

Gabriel_p94 said:

I was thinking about that possibility but do you think that would be over doing it? We already have van noy and marquise flowers (who im very impresssed with). But the talent level would be ridiculous.

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Flowers has really grown on me, for sure, but he seems to play around the line of scrimmage a lot. He's our fastest linebacker, though, so I'd like to see him in coverage more as he grows into the position. If Hightower comes back healthy, we have a good core to build around in our LB corp. Harris will likely not be back, however, and as much as I like E. Roberts, he could be upgraded.

reamer said:

Flowers has really grown on me, for sure, but he seems to play around the line of scrimmage a lot. He's our fastest linebacker, though, so I'd like to see him in coverage more as he grows into the position. If Hightower comes back healthy, we have a good core to build around in our LB corp. Harris will likely not be back, however, and as much as I like E. Roberts, he could be upgraded.

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I agree. But im saying if we were to draft evans and by some miracle lorenzo carter were available with our other pick; would you still make the pick? I think it would make the lb corps too crowded with van noy already in place. But dont get me wrong I hope we come away with a lb early but two might be much to what we already have in place.

Gabriel_p94 said:

I agree. But im saying if we were to draft evans and by some miracle lorenzo carter were available with our other pick; would you still make the pick? I think it would make the lb corps too crowded with van noy already in place. But dont get me wrong I hope we come away with a lb early but two might be much to what we already have in place.

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@Snooky97 will probably disagree with me (sorry bud!) but I think that Evans would do more for our defense. I really like Carter, but I see him as more of hybrid LB / EDGE player, and we just added one of those last year in Derek Rivers. Rivers is significantly more refined as a pass rusher, while Carter is more experienced in space, but they'd have some overlap. Don't forget that Shea McClellin is coming back, too, and he occupies the same general space in the scheme.

Evans can be a true ILB / OLB player, who can also occasionally line up and play on the end of the line, whether standing up or with his hand in the dirt. I think he's almost identical to CJ Mosely, right down to wearing #32, and Mosely has been a three-time Pro Bowler since he was drafted a few years ago at #17 overall. Look at their college tape: the role is similar, their size is identical, their speed and play recognition look comparable -- if anything, Evans seems to close even faster.

I try not to get too tied to a prospect, since there's such a low likelihood of the Patriots drafting my guy, but Evans just seems like a natural fit. Now, he may end up testing very well, and his market value will go up until he's drafted in the same range as Mosely; if that's the case, then we'll adapt, and I'm sure the defense would be fine. I'm not worried about value just yet. Evans is a great scheme fit though, as far as I can tell, so he's high on my list.