MadDog49er 2017 NFL Draft Best Board Top 50 Draft Day Edition | Page 5

MadDog49er · 2017-04-27T02:20:59-07:00

It is draft day, and let's have some fun. I will be on the board for much of the draft the next three days throwing in my humble opinion about each selection. Very excited about the potential for the team to rebuild this roster. Here is my final best board, and some notes to go with it. First, I have removed two players completely off my top 50 board. Although the talent and film is sparkling for both Reuben Foster and Gareon Conley, you will not see them listed. Both would be top 10 on my board. Conley's circumstances are rare in being so close to the draft. It will be nearly impossible for teams to get all the information and make a judgment on his guilt or innocence. As for Foster, he simply doesn't get it. He has a 7-year child, but gets kicked out of the combine for yelling at a hospital employee (nobody else seemed to throw a tantrum at the hospital). has a diluted urine sample, is self-admittedly white-board challenged, and scored a low Wonderlic score. Middle linebackers are usually the team captain on defense. Not for me. I first moved him to OLB, then simply off it. Too many other good players to have than wasting energy on this guy who is clearly clueless. A best board for me doesn't automatically mean the surefire on the clock draft choice. Teams sometimes avoid a duplicate pick at the same position, or have a slim enough difference in grade between players that sometimes one leapfrogs over the rest. Some positions are simply more valuable than others. My best board is simply a projection of who I see has the greatest likelihood of success in the NFL. The top tier for me is from 1-6. I don't see any holes, or any question marks, in any of these top prospects. No deficiencies. Hooker and Davis are my best players who have a question mark attached (Can Hooker clean up his tackling and is he experienced enough; is Davis fully healed, and what would he post for a 40 time...we don't know). As chronicled many times before, my lower than expected score on Fournette is due to a couple issues: I don't believe he will be a three down back in the NFL and that cuts out a LOT of snaps; and that the huge gaping holes he saw at LSU are not going to exist in the NFL, and he is going to have to improve lateral cuts to be a top back. I could spend a day on each prospect, but that would take us into June, and that is no good. I welcome all questions, differences of opinion and more. As always, the draft is for fun (we are not solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis here) and witchcraft (nobody truly knows what they are doing, and those who think they do are fooling themselves). Strap on the seatbelts, and let's roll. The numbers indicate the round graded (I have 20 players graded as first rounders) and positional ranking. 2017 NFL Draft Best Board Pick Player School Position Grade Position Rank 1 Myles Garrett Texas A&M Edge 1 1 2 Solomon Thomas Stanford Edge 1 2 3 Forrest Lamp Western Kentucky G 1 1 4 Haason Reddick Temple ILB/OLB 1 1 5 Christian McCaffrey Stanford RB 1 1 6 Jamal Adams LSU SS 1 1 7 Malik Hooker Ohio State FS 1 1 8 Corey Davis Western Michigan WR 1 1 9 Marshon Lattimore Ohio State CB 1 1 10 Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech QB 1 1 11 Mitchell Trubisky North Carolina QB 1 2 12 Derek Barnett Tennessee Edge 1 3 13 OJ Howard Alabama TE 1 1 14 Zach Cunningham Vanderbilt ILB 1 2 15 Jonathan Allen Alabama DT 1 1 16 Mike Williams Clemson WR 1 2 17 Evan Engram Mississippi TE 1 2 18 TJ Watt Wisconsin Edge 1 4 19 Kevin King Washington CB 1 2 20 John Ross Washington WR 1 3 21 Zay Jones East Carolina WR 2 4 22 Cooper Kupp Eastern Washington WR 2 5 23 Blair Brown Ohio ILB 2 3 24 Tarell Basham Ohio Edge 2 5 25 Obi Melifonwu Connecticut SS 2 2 26 TreDavious White LSU CB 2 3 27 Jordan Willis Kansas St Edge 2 6 28 Ryan Ramczyk Wisconsin OT 2 1 29 Chidobe Awuzie Colorado CB 2 4 30 Ahkello Witherspoon Colorado CB 2 5 31 Marcus Maye Florida FS 2 2 32 Alvin Kamara Tennessee RB 2 2 33 Kareem Hunt Toledo RB 2 3 34 Leonard Fournette LSU RB 2 4 35 Cam Robinson Alabama G 2 2 36 Carl Lawson Auburn Edge 2 7 37 Sidney Jones Washington CB 2 6 38 Budda Baker Washington SS 2 3 39 Garrett Bolles Utah OT 2 2 40 Taylor Moton Western Michigan OT 2 3 41 Dion Dawkins Temple G 2 3 42 Malik McDowell Michigan St DT 2 2 43 Chris Wormley Michigan DT 2 3 44 Jarrad Davis Florida ILB 2 4 45 DeShaun Watson Clemson QB 2 3 46 Marcus Williams Utah FS 2 3 47 Takkarist McKinley UCLA Edge 2 8 48 Joe Mixon Oklahoma RB 2 5 49 Dalvin Tomlinson Alabama DT 2 4 50 Charles Harris Missouri Edge 2 9

Apr 27, 2017 at 9:56 AM

#61

gold49digger
Veteran
Posts: 17,691

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by gold49digger:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by 49erThrowback:
MD, since you eliminated some obvious characters from your board, among those currently on it, whom would you consider to have the greatest high-risk/high-reward future in the NFL.

Mixon. He has prototypical size/speed/hands and you don't have to be a leader at RB, just a guy.

Best player with inconsistent motor- McDowell. If he had the heart of a Barnett, he would be a top 5 pick.

I've heard McDowells talent when fully motivated can be a candidate for all pros and dpoy year in and year out. But that motor has everyone scared of him. If he had the motor, he wouldve been in discussion for number 1 along with garrett.

He is crazy good when he puts it all together. Reminds me a bit of Chris Jones of Miss. St. last year. He was a top 10 talent that I graded much lower because of consistency. Well, he put it all together last year and was a stud. McDowell could possibly do the same. I just got burned by Carl Davis the year before and am cautious about these guys. Some rise and some flame out.

You think he falls out of the first because of that? or is he too talented to fall?

Apr 27, 2017 at 10:33 AM

#62

Lobo49er
Veteran
Posts: 4,289

Thanks!!

Apr 27, 2017 at 10:58 AM

#63

genus49
Moderator
Posts: 28,215

Originally posted by All22:
Actually that's exactly what happened. He was a combine freak with great intangibles and virtually everyone else either had a character issue (Mixon, Foster, Conley, Peppers, Mcdowell etc) or an injury (Hooker, Fournette, Lattimore, Davis, McCaffery, Allen).

Allen is being pushed down due to concerns about his shoulders. Fournette is a RB, a position simply not getting the same pull as far as value it did even a decade ago.
I get that there may be some long term issues with Allen's shoulders but he's been near the top of everyone's board for two years.

RB isn't actually less important than it was a decade ago, people are just unknowingly feeding the QB bubble. QB's are overvalued in the draft and FA, RB's are undervalued.

Carson Wentz was a 2nd/3rd round pick...how did that turn out?

???? He played like a 2nd or 3rd rounder... 16/14 TD/INT and 79QB rating is on par with Kaep's worst year and nowhere near Kaep's best. Wentz looked good compared to Goff but compared to guys actually worth the 1st or 2nd pick? Luck, Newton, RG3 (first year anyway) even Winston and Mariota... no comparison.

Combine freak who nobody talked about after the combine as being a combine freak lol. Because of Garrett and some other guys Thomas went totally under the radar despite putting up crazy numbers.

And once again a guy who wins a coach/player award as the best lineman isn't someone who comes out of nowhere no matter how much you want to downplay which conference he played in.

If he played on a team like Bama or OSU he'd have been hyped up long ago. The fact that he played in Stanford hurt him until people actually got to watch his tape. Let's be honest most people aren't exactly staying up to watch Stanford games like they are with the other top programs with flashy players.

Apr 27, 2017 at 11:05 AM

#64

49erBigMac
Veteran
Posts: 8,009

Oh, if only there were a thread to talk about Solomon Thomas

Apr 27, 2017 at 11:59 AM

#65

RollinWith21n52
Veteran
Posts: 2,948

Trubisky goes #1. Do you a) stick to your board and take Garrett, b) go with your favorite player Thomas or c) try to get a king's ransom for a trade down, now that Garrett is available?

Apr 27, 2017 at 12:24 PM

#66

thl408
Moderator
Posts: 33,299

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by thl408:
MD, who are some off the ball LBs that you like in rounds 4-5? I want the 49ers to have a good developmental prospect there to learn behind Bow, possibly fight for snaps with RRArmstrong. I'm looking for instincts more so than athletic ability. Perhaps there's a guy that has great awareness but posted meh combine numbers?

My favorite is Samson Ekubam of Eastern Washington. If we could score him with a late fourth rounder on, I would be pumped. Super athletic, can rush inside and outside and also drop. Total stud!

My favorite no-namer is Blair Brown of Ohio at 23rd best overall. I think he goes 3rd or 4th round. So good! Love the kid. Total pro in his stance, preparation, instincts, and more. Watch the Tennessee tape to see a real treat.

Thanks. I'll look to see where those two guys go. I'm hoping ILB gets addressed with an early day 3 pick if value is there.

Apr 27, 2017 at 12:25 PM

#67

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
Trubisky goes #1. Do you a) stick to your board and take Garrett, b) go with your favorite player Thomas or c) try to get a king's ransom for a trade down, now that Garrett is available?

See what is available. Garrett is my best player so he would be the selection if we stay at 2.

Apr 27, 2017 at 12:26 PM

#68

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by thl408:
Thanks. I'll look to see where those two guys go. I'm hoping ILB gets addressed with an early day 3 pick if value is there.

Brown is so good. Studs in the MAC can play anywhere.

Apr 27, 2017 at 12:33 PM

#69

GoldenJoe
Veteran
Posts: 4,177

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
Trubisky goes #1. Do you a) stick to your board and take Garrett, b) go with your favorite player Thomas or c) try to get a king's ransom for a trade down, now that Garrett is available?

See what is available. Garrett is my best player so he would be the selection if we stay at 2.

I want Garrett too but as you've noted, don't know if he loves football or is just doing it and I think he's very soft a lot of the time. How does he look in the run game? Can he drop into coverage ever? I only caught a few of their games and he was hampered by injury so he didn't jump off the screen at me.

Apr 27, 2017 at 1:27 PM

#70

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by GoldenJoe:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
Trubisky goes #1. Do you a) stick to your board and take Garrett, b) go with your favorite player Thomas or c) try to get a king's ransom for a trade down, now that Garrett is available?

See what is available. Garrett is my best player so he would be the selection if we stay at 2.

I want Garrett too but as you've noted, don't know if he loves football or is just doing it and I think he's very soft a lot of the time. How does he look in the run game? Can he drop into coverage ever? I only caught a few of their games and he was hampered by injury so he didn't jump off the screen at me.

Before posting a final best board, I wanted to analyze every snap before injury in the Arkansas game and post injury. What I saw was a completely different animal. I am hoping that the guy I saw before Arkansas (thanks Dan Skipper) is the one we see in the NFL...if he is on our roster. He is number one on my final board.

Apr 27, 2017 at 2:48 PM

#71

TonyStarks
Veteran
Posts: 62,848

Always enjoy your draft posts ,Maddog.

Elite.

Apr 27, 2017 at 3:40 PM

#72

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by TonyStarks:
Always enjoy your draft posts ,Maddog.

Elite.

Thanks. Should be a great three days

Apr 27, 2017 at 3:57 PM

#73

KezarLivin
Veteran
Posts: 3,902

Thanks for the final best of MD! It's 6 am here in Thailand, got my first pot of coffee and your "best of" imported into Excel, I think I'm ready to go!

Apr 27, 2017 at 4:05 PM

#74

Decima_Mas
Veteran
Posts: 82

Ehi maddog,
David Njoku out of the top 50?

I am shocked

[ Edited by Decima_Mas on Apr 27, 2017 at 4:49 PM ]

Apr 27, 2017 at 4:48 PM

#75

MadDog49er
Hall of Fame
Posts: 19,400

Originally posted by KezarLivin:
Thanks for the final best of MD! It's 6 am here in Thailand, got my first pot of coffee and your "best of" imported into Excel, I think I'm ready to go!

Bangkok? Spent 34 days in Thailand in 1995. Had way too much fun. The food and beaches...wow!!!