2015 Draft Prospect Thread

[kennyb]

I love Maxx Williams as a prospect, I truly do. However we have much greater team needs along both sides of our lines.

I may get a lot of **** for saying this, however as long as Colt Lyerla is a Free Agent. I hate the idea of us spending any draft pick on a TE this year, unless some how Maxx fell to the end of the 2nd, which will never happen..
I actually wrote a piece I was going to post about Colt and how NE could do wonders for the kid, and how he could do wonders for NE. I really wish bill would bring him to town and help him get his **** together.

ps. this means nothing at all, but you should see what I do with him and Gronk in my Madden Franchise mode. UNSTOPPABLE lmfao

Didnt he tear an acl and then get busted for dui? Erratic at best in college. No need to draft a te with this gem out there.

 

[AzorianPats]

I love Maxx Williams as a prospect, I truly do. However we have much greater team needs along both sides of our lines.

I may get a lot of **** for saying this, however as long as Colt Lyerla is a Free Agent. I hate the idea of us spending any draft pick on a TE this year, unless some how Maxx fell to the end of the 2nd, which will never happen..
I actually wrote a piece I was going to post about Colt and how NE could do wonders for the kid, and how he could do wonders for NE. I really wish bill would bring him to town and help him get his **** together.

ps. this means nothing at all, but you should see what I do with him and Gronk in my Madden Franchise mode. UNSTOPPABLE lmfao

I loved Lyerla game in college. I might have been one of his biggest fans here, but between the Sandy Hook comments, quitting on Oregon, getting caught with blow after, he still got a chance and he blew it again. The kid unfortunately is a lost cause. Great prospect, but not worth it.

 

[mayoclinic]

From Matt Miller's Scouting Notebook:

With extended film study I planned to move Pitt tackle T.J. Clemmings up my board this week, so I reached out to an area scout for background info on him. Clemmings, the scout added, was a top prep basketball player with offers from Rutgers, Seton Hall and Rhode Island. He's also the owner of the most powerful punch this scout had seen in college football this season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...couting-notebook-pre-conference-championships

I expect Clemmings to dominate the Senior Bowl and Combine, and end up a top 15 pick. Good for him, bad for us. He and Eddie Goldman are my two top rated prospects for the Pats.

 

[luuked]

From Matt Miller's Scouting Notebook:


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...couting-notebook-pre-conference-championships

I expect Clemmings to dominate the Senior Bowl and Combine, and end up a top 15 pick. Good for him, bad for us. He and Eddie Goldman are my two top rated prospects for the Pats.

It was a fun thought while it lasted. Would have been a great time to reload on an elite tackle as well.

Anyway it means one more player will slide down if he is taken before us. Glass half full approach.

 

[mayoclinic]

DraftBreakdown has film up of Max Valles against Pittsburgh:

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/max-valles-vs-pittsburgh-2014/

Rushes mainly out of a 2 point stance. Needs to get stronger - but remember, most of the time he's rushing from the left side and going up against TJ Clemmings, one of the best tackle prospects in the country. Gets his hands up well and clogs the passing lanes, has nice speed in pursuit. Not bad in run support. Does a nice job disengaging from his blocker to slide over and make a pick-6 INT.

Valles loses his share of the battles against Clemmings, but he makes a lot of plays, too. Good to see him go up against top competition.

2 clips from DraftBreakdown of Eli Harold against UCLA and Louisville:

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/eli-harold-vs-ucla-2014/
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/eli-harold-vs-louisville-2014/

Harold (featured) is #7. Max Valles is #88, lining up opposite Harold, most often at LDE.

Some thoughts on Valles after watching the 3 film clips:

+ Good length
+ Gets his hands up well and clogs the passing lanes; had a nice deflecting against Louisville resulting in an INT
+ Seems to always be around the ball
+ Drops back into zone coverage at times; good awareness
+ Reasonable in run support
+ Good speed and burst when he turns it on
- Seems to work exclusively out of a 2-point stance; Harold works out of both 2- and 3-point stances
- Too easily redirected by linemen when rushing
- Combat tactics are lacking; gets stood up too easily
- Plays tentatively at times

Harold seems more developed as a pass rusher. Valles seems to have more versatility. I'd say Harold is fairly impressive as a sub rusher, and I'd probably give him a 2nd round grade. Valles is definitely not as developed and is a work in progress, and I'd probably give him a 3rd round grade right now, but I like his versatility and upside, and think he does more things that BB values. I'd say his floor is Michael Buchanan, his mid range is Akeem Ayers, and his ceiling is a lesser version of Jamie Collins.

 

[mayoclinic]

DraftBreakdown film of DeAndre Smelter against Virginia:

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/deandre-smelter-vs-virginia-2014/

Max Valles is playing as a LB in this game. Watch the clip around 1:07 where he runs down Smelter in the open field. Also, watch Smelter's blocking in the clip at 0:07 and 0:37.

 

[mayoclinic]

Matt Waldman profiles TE Jesse James:

http://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2015/01/16/boiler-room-penn-state-te-jesse-james/

 

[patsfaninpa]

Matt Waldman profiles TE Jesse James:

http://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2015/01/16/boiler-room-penn-state-te-jesse-james/

How you can discuss Jesse James without even MENTIONING his blocking baffles me. Is he scouting a WR or TE? Seems to think that blocking is irrelevant to TE's by not even mentioning it. Oy vey

 

[mayoclinic]

There are now three Terry Williams (NT, ECU) videos on Draft Breakdown. For the life of me, I cannot see what Jonathan Hankins or Louis Nix have on Williams. I have a second round grade on him; there isn't a part of his game that I consider a weakness. I can only think the red flags are pretty heinous for him to be considered little better than a late round UDFA type.

If you haven't acquainted yourself with Williams, I strongly urge that you do.

http://draftbreakdown.com/players/terry-williams

Having watched the clips, I like Williams, though I'm not sure I like him better than Justin Ellis last year. Reportedly he was quicker his junior year when he played a bit lighter, but there are no clips available from that year yet. I was never a huge Louis Nix fan - I thought that he lacked explosiveness. I did like Jonathan Hankins, and thought he was a bit more athletic than Williams.

 

[manxman2601]

Having watched the clips, I like Williams, though I'm not sure I like him better than Justin Ellis last year. Reportedly he was quicker his junior year when he played a bit lighter, but there are no clips available from that year yet. I was never a huge Louis Nix fan - I thought that he lacked explosiveness. I did like Jonathan Hankins, and thought he was a bit more athletic than Williams.

I think Williams is quicker in short areas than Hankins/Ellis - I'm talking over two or three yards here which is all you really need for a NT to make a play. In terms of combining the strength to take on double teams and the quickness to penetrate on running downs, Williams is as good as I've seen in the past two to three drafts (note - I never saw Poe tape and Lotulelei would edge Williams if I was forced to choose).

 

[manxman2601]

Shaq Mason really reminds me of Jonathan Cooper in terms of the speed with which he gets to the second level and beyond and the athleticism he shows when he's there. Also in terms of how natural he is at blocking two defenders on the same play.

There are three caveats when it comes to projecting Mason.

1. He cut blocks a lot. Whether that's a scheme thing or something he does because he's undersized I'm not sure. If the former, it's not a problem.
2. Playing in the Georgia Tech offense there's not a lot of opportunity to see him in pass pro.
3. He is undersized like Ryan Wendell who can struggle against bigger linemen. Having said that, Mason is excellent at taking advantage of his leverage advantage and at getting under linemen. He's so quick out of his blocks too that defensive linemen struggle to be in position against Mason.

The caveats undoubtedly dilute his stock significantly and render him a late day three prospect at best. But he is really good and someone well worth drafting as a second lineman because I can see him succeeding in the NFL.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

Didnt he tear an acl and then get busted for dui? Erratic at best in college. No need to draft a te with this gem out there.

Didnt he tear an acl and then get busted for dui? Erratic at best in college. No need to draft a te with this gem out there.

He

Didnt he tear an acl and then get busted for dui? Erratic at best in college. No need to draft a te with this gem out there.

I loved Lyerla game in college. I might have been one of his biggest fans here, but between the Sandy Hook comments, quitting on Oregon, getting caught with blow after, he still got a chance and he blew it again. The kid unfortunately is a lost cause. Great prospect, but not worth it.

You need to read the story SB nation did on him to understand. It's very lengthy, but it puts his Oregon story into some sort of perspective. When he got his second chance with GB he was basically a practice squad player being forced to play 110% every time he had a chance to showcase his skills. He partly tore his MCL in a scrimmage game doing just this. The tear was one which didn't require surgery, however the packers didn't have room for another TE on their roster (very apparent by the good play of several TE's in last weeks game against Dallas) so they gave him a speration settlement. One week later he got arrested in his hometown (where he was basically once a superstar) by a rookie cop for a suspected non alachol DUI. I read the cop said his face looked puffy and he slurred his words. I can almost certainly bet it was caused by pain pills seeing he just tore his MCL.

Now as far as the Sandy hook comments, I knew this is what would keep him out of NE last year. You have to think about the fact that he was just 19 when he made that very ill advised Twitter comment. Just think of all the stupid **** any 19 year old does and says .He is still 22 and has so much room to grow. Just think of how immature Gronk was back when he was 22 (lost Super Bowl year) and see how far he has come in just 3 years. We're just lucky he had money and was able to get a party bus and not get any DUI's lol

In a few months we will once again have a 90 man squad, and I think if we don't bring him in for a look at that point, we'd be very silly. I remember reading a piece mayoclinic did about how our offense should be built around versatility. Well this guy is the definition of versatility, and I would like to see him get a chance with a originaztion that actually might have a chance to turn him around.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

DraftBreakdown film of DeAndre Smelter against Virginia:

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/deandre-smelter-vs-virginia-2014/

Max Valles is playing as a LB in this game. Watch the clip around 1:07 where he runs down Smelter in the open field. Also, watch Smelter's blocking in the clip at 0:07 and 0:37.

Man oh man, every time I watch smelter I melt a little more inside. I pray he's sitting there with our early 6th pick and we pull the trigger. I'd be willing to take him with one of our 4ths. The only thing is, I feel like some quality depth pieces will be sitting around in the 4th that will have fallen and think we should pull the trigger on them. I think smelter has a much much higher chance of falling to the late 5th early 6th then some of these players.
Maybe we'll be lucky enough to find a team that would like our 1st round pick to the point where we can get a early second and maybe another pick or two in the 3rd-5th rounds. I really want smelter!!!!!!

 

[mayoclinic]

Man oh man, every time I watch smelter I melt a little more inside.

That's why he's named S-melt-er.

I pray he's sitting there with our early 6th pick and we pull the trigger. I'd be willing to take him with one of our 4ths. The only thing is, I feel like some quality depth pieces will be sitting around in the 4th that will have fallen and think we should pull the trigger on them. I think smelter has a much much higher chance of falling to the late 5th early 6th then some of these players.
Maybe we'll be lucky enough to find a team that would like our 1st round pick to the point where we can get a early second and maybe another pick or two in the 3rd-5th rounds. I really want smelter!!!!!!

I would happily use a 4th on him, too. He's my top day 3 prospect right now - the only guy I'm pretty sure won't go until day 3 on whom I have a 1st round grade (injury aside). I'm hoping he lasts until our high 6th from TB, though. My fear is that someone takes him in the 5th round.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

That's why he's named S-melt-er.

Got to love the pun I think we can all agree on this, if he comes to NE, we can only refer to him as "melter" Because thats what he will be doing to defenses.

The other day after the Ravens game, I was sitting around thinking about the whole Danny Amendola situation and what we should do with him and his contract. Its hard to ignore him stepping up with his great play over the past few weeks. Due to this, I'm pretty sure he IS NOT going to want to take a pay cut. This could be bad, or it could possibly work in our favor. Just maybe, we can leverage his recent play (which has mostly come in primetime with every GM watching) for a trade to some team. Id be happy if we could get anything from the 4th to 6th for him (Think Percy Harvin & the Jets trade, similar production, similar player). Who knows, maybe we could even get a 3rd?! (although Id be extremely happy with a 6th).
This has the Raiders written all over it. The Raiders would be a perfect suit for this kind of deal. Hopefully they pull the trigger and draft Amri Cooper. I personally think Derek Carr has a lot of potential. Drafting him a elite outside receiver, who will be around for 5 years at a cheap cost, then bringing in a good mid priced slot receiver like Danny could do wonders for his development. They already have James Jones, and they can't really afford to spend more then one high draft pick on a WR due to various needs in other positions. I mean they have the cap space to take on his salary without a problem. Id be happy with their 6th, which we might be able to use in combination with Tampa's Early 6th to make a trade somewhere into the mid 4th (NFL draft trade value calculator)
Say hello to Smelter, and hello to the $5.7 million of his ridiculous salary we would seek to get back. I could think of a bunch of ways we could use that money, and that doesn't include Revis and McCourty. Maybe Mike Iupati?
Lets just keep our fingers crossed Danny continues to put up for the remainder of this post season.

 

[kennyb]

Don't think amendola has trade value. Vet min plus incentives or he's out of the league.

 

[manxman2601]

Don't think amendola has trade value. Vet min plus incentives or he's out of the league.

He's not going to be out of the league for a long time unless injuries catch up to him. Off the team is certainly likely though and I agree that there's little trade value there. But he'll definitely find a home. He might even be a Welker replacement for a second successive time.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

I completely disagree. He is still one of the best and most reliable slot receivers in the league. His problem in NE is he doesn't fit in with our current roster. Besides Jarvis Landry (who I was extremely high on coming out of LSU), I can't name a better underneath, more reliable possession receiver in the league Id rather have at the moment. Maybe Im forgetting a few because of the multiple glasses of wine I've just consumed. However to say he isn't worth anything is completely wrong. He's defiantly not worth 5.7 million a season, but he still carries some value, especially for a team in need of a player with his skill set.

 

[HawaiianPatsfan]

He's not going to be out of the league for a long time unless injuries catch up to him. Off the team is certainly likely though and I agree that there's little trade value there. But he'll definitely find a home. He might even be a Welker replacement for a second successive time.

I was just thinking the same thing. However, even Denver doesn't have the cash space for him with all their upcoming contract issues. When I think about the raiders, I really do think he could find a good place with them if they do decide to take a elite receiver. Jack Del Rio is going to try to build the D, if they're going to spend cash, they should look to pick up a few weapons either via FA or trade. The issue is, everyone who could best fill the role D.A would play, would come at a even higher price.
Thats why I said a 6th, **** even a 7th would be nice. However with his current play, I think there may be a small market to shop him via a trade. Even if it is for dirt

 

[manxman2601]

I was just thinking the same thing. However, even Denver doesn't have the cash space for him with all their upcoming contract issues. When I think about the raiders, I really do think he could find a good place with them if they do decide to take a elite receiver. Jack Del Rio is going to try to build the D, if they're going to spend cash, they should look to pick up a few weapons either via FA or trade. The issue is, everyone who could best fill the role D.A would play, would come at a even higher price.
Thats why I said a 6th, **** even a 7th would be nice. However with his current play, I think there may be a small market to shop him via a trade. Even if it is for dirt

The reason I think that he doesn't end up with any draft value is what happened with Edelman when he first re-signed on a one year prove it deal. It was pretty clear that the league didn't view him that highly and that probably means they're not going to value a similar player that high either. Add on top of that the fact that they'll be paying a $5m average annual salary then that becomes a lot of money for a position the teams don't value that highly anyway. And then a draft pick on top of that.

I suspect teams will end up thinking that if the Pats are shopping him then they'll probably cut him anyway and that they'd be better off waiting and then signing Amendola to a much more friendly contract. A draft pick would be nice, it's just that I wouldn't expect it.