QB- I like Mariota for his character and smarts, Winston for his skill and experience in a pro-style offense. I am going character over experience in a pro-set in this one. No high on one-read, tuck and run Hundley. Maybe he can develop.
1. Marcus Mariota
2. Jameis Winston
3. Garrett Grayson
4. Brett Hundley
5. Conner Halliday
WR- What a group. Three number one looking WRs at the top, one that could be if he gets himself together (DGB), and a ton of depth. White best all around (I love the way he plays angry); Cooper is so smooth and effortless; Parker is so long and has a huge catch radius; Lockett simply produces- he is always the best player on the field; Strong is the best at winning the ball in the air. Just a remarkable group of young talent.
1. Kevin White
2. Amari Cooper
3. DeVante Parker
4. Tyler Lockett
5. Jaelen Strong
TE- A solid pass catching group that is overall, pretty weak at blocking. Williams, to me, the best overall with the highest ceiling. Big drop off from 3 to 4. Williams is a solid overall player with so much room to grow. Funchess will be an effective move TE, and Walford can really get down the field, much like Vernon did with those seam routes. O'Leary is a pass catcher only, but smart smart smart. Heuerman simply did not touch the ball often with The three QBs, Elliott, D. Smith, E. Thomas and Jalen Marshall. Lot of players not enough ball. Effective when targeted.
1. Maxx Williams
2. Devin Funchess
3. Clive Walford
4. Nick O'Leary
5. Jeff Heuerman
RB- My favorite positional group of the year. Too bad to limit to five in this catagory. Gordon is a monster. You give him a crease, and hasta. Reads the field so well. Gurley is probably the best of the group, but the ACL has me drop him one slot. Superb at every aspect of the game. Coleman can break one at any moment. Even when you game plan him (Indiana had nothing else but him this year), he still produces. Ajayi has the best stop-start of any RB in this draft. People are sleeping on him. He is a stud. Johnson can run, catch, and a bigger body. Special mention to Duke Johnson, who I really like, but his injury history is scary for me.
1. Melvin Gordon
2. Todd Gurley
3. Tevin Coleman
4. Jay Ajayi
5. David Johnson
OT- Mediocre group this year. Lot of future RTs, or guys that kick inside. Scherff is so mature and pro-ready. Love the attitude. A man, not a child in a big body. Collins is a terrific player. Matured a ton over the years. Flowers is so massive. He gets his hands on you, and you are done. Peat is another tree that is raw, but has some upside at the next level. Haverstein was the second best OT at the Senior Bowl (after Collins). Good player in rush and pass. Note: TJ Clemmings of Pitt is the most athletic of the group, but fared so badly at the Senior Bowl that he flat out scares me. At times, he looked like the worst OT on the field.
1. Brandon Scherff
2. La'El Collins
3. Ereck Flowers
4. Andrus Peat-
5. Rob Haverstein
OG- My favorite position to evaluate each year. I love the big uglies. Good group this year. AJ Cann is a smooth athlete for the position, a technician. Not a mauler, but can get to the second level quickly. Ready for the NFL. Can't believe John Miller is being overlooked in the draft process. Best player by a mile at the Shrine Game, and is terrific at sinking his hips when necessary to push rushers outside. A knee-bender. Favorite value player in the draft. Tomlinson was the best guard at the Senior Bowl. Squarely-shaped stud that moves pretty well, and can drive you back. Ogbuehi coming off ACL. Kicking inside for me at the next level. Mason knows how to run block. That is all they did at GT.
1. AJ Cann
2. John Miller
3. Laken Tomlinson
4. Cedric Ogbuehi
5. Shaq Mason
C- A really weak group after the first three prospects. Erving moved inside from tackle, and showed he is ready to play center at a high level in the NFL. Grasu another one of those stud Pac-12 centers, who has a complete game. Garcia was the best center at the Senior Bowl, and was able to compete with some pretty decent DTs there. Marpet is a small schooler who made a smooth transition at the Senior Bowl. Played OT in college, but is moving inside in the NFL. BJ Finney is a guy who had a terrific career at KSU, and kept his QBs clean.
1. Cameron Erving
2. Hroniss Grasu
3. Max Garcia
4. Ali Marpet
5. BJ Finney
Overall, outstanding talent at WR and RB. Great value at guard, and an off year at tackle, TE, and center. Another disaster at QB. I have a thread coming soon about the shift of the NFL back to a greater focus on the running game in the next few years due to the lack of upcoming QB talent. A look at the last 8 years in QBs drafted show this league is in deep, deep trouble.
[ Edited by MadDog49er on Feb 20, 2015 at 10:00 AM ]
Still, I'm not a huge fan of the shootout style of game the NFL has mostly become. I would almost look lorward to a "dead ball era" dominated by great defenses and stout running games (hopefully, Niner football)...