- Joined
- May 31, 2016
- Messages
- 16,563
- Reaction score
- 28,659
Registered Members experience this forum ad and noise-free.
CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.IDL
Karl Brooks was a two-time captain with a plus first step. Comes at you in sync, full force. He's not a top gapper rn and maybe never will be consistently but he could be nice little project behind Barmore. Like traits. Like the production. Like the potential versatility to play 3T - end in odd fronts. I wouldn't mind adding one of Ika or Smith. Whoever falls, if they fall into the 3rd. Athletic, strong af and both have good play recognition. Smith's strength is legendary and I have Ika slightly higher rn. Either one would be a nice add after the 2nd. Young and Dex look like patriot guys. Ika is 6'5 355 and he's not Vea he's a good athlete with a nice burst off the line. He'll never be a pass rusher but he can occasionally make a play and push a pocket. Good job gaining a little position with that quickness and making himself immovable from the los. Plus grip strength that just controls lineman when he gets inside hands. He does a great job getting skinny and reducing his massive surface. He's a day one 0-1 tech. Both him and Smith are natural two gappers. Ika could improve on keeping his head and eyes up but both are NFL ready bully.
RD 1
Carter
RD 2 - 3
Bryan Bresee PTP
Siaki Ika PTP
Mazi Smith PTP
Calijah Kancey
RD 3
Karl Brooks PTP
RD 3-4
Gervon Dexter PTP
Jaquelin Roy
Byron Young PTP
RD 4-5
Zacch Pickens
Keondre Coburn
Keeanu Benton
Cam Young
*****Thursday, March 2: Defensive line and linebackers (3 p.m. ET)
Friday, March 3: Defensive backs and special teams (3 p.m. ET)
Saturday, March 4: Quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends (1 p.m. ET)
Sunday, March 5: Offensive line and running backs (1 p.m. ET)*****
• I don’t think most understand how much Kentucky’s Will Levis was affected by a left foot injury over the second half of the 2022 season. (He missed only one game and would get shots to manage the pain upon his return.) Receiving a clean bill of health from team doctors will be an important step
Achane has posted impressive numbers as a track star, too. In high school, he won a state championship in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.46 seconds (fastest in the country in 2019). At Texas A&M, he ran a blazing 20.20 in the outdoor 200 meters in April 2022 and was named an All-American in multiple events. To put those 200-meter times in perspective, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifying number in that event was 20.24.
The 60-meter dash is a great indicator for 40-yard-dash performance, and Syracuse’s Sean Tucker clocked an elite number (6.88 seconds) in the former event in high school. When he has a clear track on the field, Tucker’s speed is impressive.
East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell is small (185-ish pounds), but his speed and agility times should turn heads. He ran a sub-11-second 100-meter dash in high school and was timed at 4.28 in the short shuttle last offseason, according to Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List.
A high school running back, Scott ranked top 10 nationally in the 60 meters (6.77) and 200 meters (21.39) as a senior. And that speed absolutely translates to the football field — Scott had eight catches of 30-plus yards in 2022. The No. 47 prospect on my board, Scott is listed at 5-11 and 185 pounds, so it will be good to get “official” height-weight-length numbers.
• A lot of eyes will be on Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who missed almost all of the 2022 season with a hamstring injury. First and foremost, the medical feedback will be crucial. Secondly, will he be healthy enough to run in Indianapolis? If so, NFL teams will be watching his 40-yard dash closely. On film, Smith-Njigba’s speed is more average than above average, and evaluators will be hoping to see him stay under 4.55 seconds. This might be a situation similar to that of Drake London, who didn’t do any timed drills before last year’s draft but was still the first receiver taken.
TCU’s Quentin Johnston is one of the most physically impressive athletes in the class and the testing numbers should reflect that. Given his speed and leaping skills on tape (along with his track background), he should eclipse 40 inches in the vertical, 11 feet in the broad jump and run sub-4.45 in the 40.
• Another potential first-rounder, Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt is one of the top receivers in the class because of his speed. He clocked a 10.46-second 100 meters and a 21.14-second 200 meters in high school. The 40-yard dash should be a chance for him to flex.
LSU’s Kayshon Boutte is one of the wild cards of the 2023 NFL Draft. I expect him to test very well (6.90 indoor 60 meters in high school), and he should impress athletically. But more important will be his medicals — he’s undergone multiple surgeries on his right ankle — and interviews. The combine will be Boutte’s chance to change his narrative during face-to-face conversations with NFL general managers.
There are dozens of other receivers with track backgrounds who should shine during their on-field testing, including Cincinnati’s Tre Tucker, Nebraska’s Trey Palmer and TCU’s Derius Davis.
@Jim Beankie u got a list of track guys and their #'s?
Yes, like that he's apparently a fullback with very poor speed ? His explosion is great though, so...
That said if the safety Branch from Alabama there at 14, it might be hard to pass up.As the league runs more and more passing plays the labels that we all have in our minds about FS, SS and LB have become very blurred. I see them become less and less distinct positions than they have in the past. Duggar is that SS construct we have in our minds, while DMac in his prime was exactly what we wanted in the ideal FS, which was CB speed and agility with a super high football IQ who made sure that the secondary was in the correct position pre-snap, and could cover deep side line to side line. He also had to be tough enough to be a sure and effective tackler as he WAS the last line of defense.
Dmac was ALWAYS a great ballhawk with a nose for the ball. He excelled as a zone boundary corner, but was less effective in press man. So the move to FS was win win for the team and probably extended his career by about 5 years. I hope he comes back. I assume all DBs are fast and quick, so if I had to think of the skill set that will make a great FS in today's game, I would think its how fast he can process what he sees at the snap of the ball, so he can ANTICIPATE where the ball is likely to go and can get there.
Formations, motions and position groupings will all give clues about what is going to happen before the snap, what he sees after that snap are the beginnings of route combinations. How fast he can read these is critical To be effective you have to both decisive AND right. Size and length are always an advantage, but mean nothing without the IQ and anticipation.
I believe that the Pats currently have 2 guys who can potentially fill this role in Phillips and Mills. Mills has the experience with Philly, and Phillips is thought by many to be strictly a "box safety", but he's played the position before in this defense and has the speed and I believe the instinct to play it well. I don't know Bledsoe's game well enough to know if he could do it, but who knows. Peppers and Duggar should be your "box safeties/TE defenders" assuming they resign Peppers.
We have too many other positions that REALLY need priority over S in the draft AND FA. I'd want to see a CB. OT, LB, DT (now that it looks like the WFT are going to franchise Payne) WR, TE and C before we add a FS type. Just sayin