This installment is my ranking of the top offensive players at each position in the draft. This would be a draft grade, not necessarily a best fit for any one team. I will also scrub two players I would take off my board entirely with notes. The order of this ranking sheet is from groups that make me ill to groups that make me smile. We start with Yuck:
Best five QB's
1. Mariota
2 x-Winston
3. Grayson
4. Petty
5. Hundley
6. Bridge
7. Mannion
8. Bonner
9. Carden
10. Fajardo
I have take Winston off my board entirely for off the field issues. Like Johnny Manziel last year, I feel he is also a potential disaster on the field. TD-INT rate staggeringly poor in 2014 for a guy who might see 4 offensive linemen get drafted this month, as well as a draftable RB, TE, and WR. So many turnovers. Grayson and Petty fight for third best, and then the drop-off is really steep.
Best TE
1. Williams
2. Warford
3. Kroft
4. Heuerman
5. Saxton
6. Koyack
7. O'Leary
8. Pruitt
9. James
10. Pierce
Another terrible group. Trying to get the duds out of the way first. The wildcard for me is Kroft, who could end up competing with Williams for best. Just a bad crop of TEs.
Best Centers
1. Erving
2. Grasu
3. Finney
4. Garcia
5. Mason
6. Gallik
7. Mancz
To be honest, these are the only six draftable centers to me. I love Erving and rank him a top 12 player in the whole draft. He is going to start right away and has a chance to be a Pro Bowler really soon. Grasu is a tough kid, and super football intelligence. I like Finney's experience, and play. Not the best athlete, but fiesty, tough, and competed really well in key games. Garcia was maybe the best center at the Senior Bowl. Florida's offense was a mess last year, but he hung in there. Mason converts from RG, where he was a stud. Needs work on pass protection, but a nice Day Third selection. I'd love to put Toledo's Greg Mancz up higher, and I would, but repeated injuries (3 torn triceps) has me down the board. He is very good.
Best Tackles
1. Humphries
2. Flowers
3. Peat
4. Clemmings
5. Fisher
6. Ogbuehi
7. D. Smith
8. Donnal
9. Havenstein
10. C. Robinson
Count me in as crazy for the top two here, Humphries and Flowers, in an imperfect class of OT's, but full of optimism. Humphries is so athletic, He can mirror anyone. Looks bored at times. Had one tough game against Shane Ray in giving up sacks. Played well except for those two snaps. In other games, dominant. Is not going to push people down the field, but will get in the way. I watched about 7 of his games this year, every snap. Flowers is awkward, but he gets the job done. Held up really well against some of the better edge rushers in the draft. Long arms help him save the day when you think he is toast. Sometimes extends and blocks two guys at once. Funny, but awesome. His greatest struggle in all the games I watched (8), was against Eli Harold of Virginia. Peat should move to the right side. Very good blocker, and good most of the time in pass protection. Struggled like crazy against Utah's Orchard, and was leaky against Maryland. Clemmings is the best run blocker in the draft. Fun, fun, fun to watch. People mover. Great athlete. Has no idea what he is doing in pass protection. Complete opposite of Flowers, who looks unathletic but gets the job done. Ogbuehi probably should move inside, but at RT, he can probably do just fine. Got to get healthy. D. Smith is a riser. Looked way better at the Senior Bowl than I expected, and when I went to look back at PSU games, had a largely successful year. I love Donnal, and may end up ranking him higher at the end. Most underrated OT in the draft, and may go as high as the 4th round. Probably should have flipped to LT and moved Scherff to RT.
Best Guards- OK, let's have some fun.
1. Scherff
2. Collins
3. Miller
4. Tomlinson
5. Cann
6. Douglas
7. Marpet
8. Morse
9. Jackson
10. Sambrailo
I love the big uglies, and this class is full of some really good players. The AFC South should load up to match with JJ Watt and possibly Leonard Williams for 2015. Let's start with numbers one and two. Scherff and Collins can probably stay outside, but why settle for mediocre line play when you can get a beast inside. Scherff was beat so many times it scared me, and Collins leaked like crazy against some of the better pass rushers. Put them in tighter space, and you have the makings of two potential Pro Bowlers. I love how both guys crack into players and drive them down the field. Numbers 3-5 are a tight group. I have been a table pounder for Miller a long time now. Saw every game but two for Louisville, and can say that I saw some solid improvement as the year went along. Biggest struggle was against Grady Jarrett of Clemson. Competed against Eddie Goldman. Great pulling guard. Best player in the Shrine game. Tomlinson was about the only guy who could compete with Shelton and Davis at the Senior Bowl. He is tall, boxy, and long. Cann is a technician. Won't move anyone, but smart, and can go to the second level with ease. Douglas was a good LT at ASU, but has to move inside. Marpet is the wildcard. Might end up a center. Morse is one of the underrated OL in this draft, and one of my personal favorites. Will move inside as well. Jackson is a phone booth RG and Sambrailo is the nastiest dude of the group. Can't play OT at all, but he blocks through the whistle and long after. Nasty dude.
RB- Oh, yeah. Love this group
1. Gurley
2. Gordon
3. Ajayi
4. Coleman
5. Duke Johnson
6. David Johnson
7. Abdullah
8. Cobb
9. Langford
10. Yeldon
Gurley was possibly the best player in college football until his injury. Seems like he is ready to go after PUP. Would be a great mid-season boost for a team. Gordon is a stud runner. Give him a crease and watch him go. Big drop-off to next level, and I like Ajayi the best. Three down guy with awesome build for RB. The best shake and bake back in the draft. Can cut on a dime. Has an excellent burst. Coleman is the fastest of this group, and got zero help at Indiana, but carried that team on his back. Solid player. Would have Duke Johnson number three on my list, but health concerns move me down a few slots. Can put him anywhere on the field. Love that he catches the ball down the field. Great player. D. Johnson is no longer a sleeper after Senior Bowl week. Looked sharp, with an outstanding all around game. Terrific career ahead. All six of these guys should be able to step in and be starters. The next group will probably be rotational guys. Abdullah is maybe the smartest of this lot, and the best human being. Great attitude, love of game, makes the locker room better. Off the field awards will be plenty. Love Cobb's ability to gain yards after contact (among the top in the nation). Nothing fancy, just a stud football player. What a group!!!!
WR- Saved the best for last
1. White
2. Cooper
3. Parker
4. Strong
5. Lockett
6. Dorsett
7. Agholor
8. D, Smith
9. Perriman
10. McBride
I could probably write a 1000 page book on these kids. This is a great group. Let;s start with DGB. Such little on tape to see, and the off the field issues has him off my board completely. No me gusta. White- beast, stud, angry runner. Reminds me of T. Owens every time I see him on the field. Strong hands. Wants the ball. Cooper is this year's smooth operator. Easily the safest player in the draft, and it isn't close. Would be shocked to see him anywhere else than Oakland, which is being super pragmatic in the new era. He will be a Raider, write this in stone. Parker is the wildcard of the group. Could end up the best, or be a total bust. I loved what I saw in the FSU game against PJ Williams, and if you look at his per game stats this year, it is awesome. Right now is just a sideline runner, but I think there is more to his game. My pound on the table guys are next. Loved seeing Strong destroy Peters this year when Peters played off coverage. Had him spinning around. COmplete domination. Big players step up big in big moments. The last second catch against USC looked like everyone was in slow motion but Strong. Surreal catch to win it. As a UCLA fan, check is in the mail. Superb hands, and wins in the air. Lockett is small, skinny, and ....destroys everything in his path. Think of the rabbit in Monte Python. Stat line is crazy, Best guy on the field in nearly every game. Return ability is stunning (he and Agholor the best in this group). Go ahead and dismiss him. On a team like the Pats, he would annihilate the league. If Miami has any form of quality QB play this year, Dorsett's numbers would have been off the charts. I counted at least eight times where he was off to the races, but the pass was so bad that it went past him, fell well short, landed out of bounds. Maddening. He is the fastest on the field WR in this class. Agholor is growing on me a ton as I watched six USC games this week. Special teams star, really solid WR. Long and lean- hit the weights, son. Strong would break off his arm in a wrestling contest, and then White would eat it. D. Smith and Perriman are purely deep ball threats, and they are REALLY good at it. Won't give anything else right now. McBride a terrific all-around player. Nothing dynamic, but a steady guy to move the chains.
Notes this week- As stated before, watched about half of USC's games this week. Really impressed with Leonard Williams in run defense. The best stack and shed run defender in this draft. Not much is going to happen when you run to his side of the field. However, there are games where he completely disappears in pass rushing. He was all over the place against Nebraska, with hits and hurries. But against Stanford- one accidental, coverage sack where the QB ran forward inside the pocket and into WIlliams for a two yard loss. Other than that- 0 hits, 0 hurries. Was one on one about 65% of the time. He was feast or famine in a number of games when it comes to generating pressure. To me, sack numbers are great, but hits and hurries tell a much bigger story, that you are a mess to deal with. So, I can't put him as the BEST player in the draft, and he is NOT JJ Watt. However, this is a very good football player. I have him SECOND best in this draft. His on the field drills at the combine were spectacular. Moves so well.
Back to Marcus Peters. This dude needs to be a press corner, period. I think he is the best press corner in this draft, but rank him lower because he is a mess when playing off. Peters gets sloppy in his footwork, doesn't set himself pre-snap (watch the difference between him and Waynes pre-snap). I also think that all the trash talk distracts him from playing his best game. Focus on the game, son, and not on coaches, other players, etc. Love him in press. Gave Strong a real run for his money. In off coverage, Strong ate him alive.
Heavily focused on Ereck Flowers this week. Loved what I saw. But, Eli Harold made his life frustrating. I'll count this one as Harold being a seriously good player. At 20 years of age, he reminds me a bit of Aldon. Not going to drop into coverage, but will be a force chasing the QB. His best football is ahead. I grade him as my number four edge rusher, after Beasley, Fowler and Ray. The gap is not that big. After Harold, I have Gregory, who has all the athleticism, but seems like your classic knucklehead. With his athleticism, he should be better. Maybe he can grow up and be a star. I can't move him up any higher that fifth.
In a terrible safety class, let me throw out a safe prospect. Virginia's Anthony Harris is about as sure a player you will see. Tackling machine, loves to hit, wraps up well, has excellent instincts. Plays faster than he times because of high football IQ. I really like this kid as a SS in the NFL. Some team is going to be very happy.
Since I am on a Virginia roll, the best JJ Swatt impersonation in this draft is Max Valles (number 88). Some say he should have stayed in Virginia. Maybe so. But a really good college player (he played LDE, while Harold played RDE). who knows where the ball is located (like Arkansas' Trey Flowers). So many deflections. Saw four (that's right, four) in one game alone. Killed the other team's morale.
Funny that there was an article written about how Steven Jackson never misses a tackle. That is exactly what I was thinking this week. I am not sure if he ends up an early 4th or late 4th rounder, but this is a tough, fiesty corner who wants to win. Give me a guy like him on my team. I'll take him any day.
I have Carl Davis as a top 15 talent in this draft. If a team wants a guy who doesn't get pushed back, ever, they have to select Shelton, Goldman or Davis. Watched him in 4 games this week, and loved when he got in the crease between the center and right guard. Was doubled so much in 2014. but, held his ground. His best football is ahead.
I think the Niners will have some excellent options available when they pick. Should they go with an automatic starting center in Erving, who will be an ace for ten years, and can play anywhere on the line? Or, should they go with La'El Collins, who can step in Day One and be our starting LG, and play at a very high level? Or should they go with an immovable force NT like Goldman? Or with a long, rangy WR with huge upside in Parker (if he is there)? Or the best CB in the draft in Waynes (if he is there)? Or a guy with the biggest upside as a 34 DE, in Armstead (who is going to go earlier than expected)? A tough call to make for the guys making money. I tend to go the more conservative route, ala what the Cowboys did this year when they passed on Manziel and selected Zach Martin.
So much more. Just need a water break. Send me your questions, and I will do my best. Cheers
[ Edited by MadDog49er on Apr 11, 2015 at 3:21 AM ]
