Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Originally posted by Chance:
Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Originally posted by pdc20:
FWIW, Dane Bugler heard before the draft that Stribling was going to be drafted probably in the second round but not that high.
With Stribling, there's things I call the "undeniables" – and for him, on a positive note this is what I had:
– blocking is likely the best in this class
– Speed is proven both on the field and in testing, testing among the top 10 in pre draft 40.
– Numbers don't lie, he had one of the lowest drop rates in the nation
All great positives. But none of these mean you will consistently get open at the next level.
Now the negative undeniables:
– He almost never did well against top competition, getting shut down on tape against Mansoor Delane, Brandon Cisse, and Julian Neal, as well as struggling against Oklahoma's promising freshman, Courtland Guillory. He did get the best of fourth round selection Keionte Scott at least though.
One other thing I noticed on tape that was odd was he got taken off the field a lot in the red zone and I'm not sure why. I also didn't see him on for the 2 minute drill against Arkansas. In that game specifically, Neal jammed him with ease and rode his hip pocket all day. It was rough. Tre Wallace wound up being the go to guy that day.
Something fun to note, one receiver who did have success against Delane and Cisse? KC Concepcion.
So the knocks.. hip stiffness, lack of precision in routes despite a lot of experience, and struggling against quality competition. To be fair, the ole "eye test" dinged him a smidge too. Instinct wasn't getting a strong "buy" signal, more "boom or bust".
I hope I'm wrong and he is amazing for us. I just have a lot of questions and wonder what the hole is that these top CBs were able to expose to shut him down.
Cosell studied his 2024 tape where he had a fuller route tree. Looked at every target between the last two years. Cosell said he's a proficient route runner, so I'll take his word over yours considering he has more data at his disposal.
As for the players he struggled against his year, when you're only running a small selection of routes, it's not crazy that good QBs would be able to narrow their defensive focus. Honestly, it's wild to me that he was locked down by good cbs and this was not noted by someone like Cosell. Sure seems like there's some needed context to those numbers, which I have not seen.
To the numbers, I did rewatch the games, it's not just me looking at the box score.
Big fan of Cosell, and his point about the Oklahoma State tape is valid. The question arises as to why he wasn't separating at the same level on the same exact routes for Ole Miss? I would've expected it to be even better. Perhaps there was a habit picked up.
The potential is there, he's far from a finished story. He's just got some questions to answer for me, hence why he wasn't a first round pick.
At this point, I've dove as deep as I can into the player without NFL level resources and still wasn't fully sold on him being top 50 caliber. Been doing this a long time, going against the census and rating players like Antonio Brown, George Kittle, Tyreek Hill, Lamb, Stefon Diggs, and Chris Godwin much higher than others – while casting doubts about guys like Ruggs, Reagor, Mingo, NKeal Harry, and Xavier Leggette
I'm not right all the time and neither is Cosell. And I understand I'm not a household name like he is. But I do have a phenomenal track record and it's why I trust what I see. I thought Stribling was boom or bust. I hope he is one I wind up super wrong about!
I don't see Stribling as boom or bust. He seems to have a decent floor as a guy who can take the top off a defense, catch contested passes, block his ass off, get YAC with designed plays to give him space. Thats kinda his floor. His ceiling is high, and it does come down to how well he can win routes or find soft spot in zone, or beat press. But at the end of the day, even if he doesn't turn into the guy we hope, it's hard not to imagine him carving out a wr3 role.
In regards to you vs a guy like Cosell, of course I'll take Cosell's take with a higher degree of confidence. He does this for a living and has a pretty good track record. He also has access to more data. But that's not to say you don't have valuable knowledge. I've been on these boards for two decades, and am aware of how much work you've put in understanding prospects and the draft. It's commendable, but at the end of the day, it's a hobby. That doesn't mean that you're not good at it, it just means that you're not a professional who has access to the full suite of information.
Regardless, I take the team's take more valuable than either you or someone like Cosell, and especially over consensus, because they simply have so much more data to work with. To me, it's all about data. Highlights gives us a pinhole view, watching games gives us a small window. Access to all-22 expand that window. Studying combine results, scouring the internet for articles, reviewing senior bowl clips makes that an even bigger window. Meeting the player, talking to his coaches, reviewing his medicals, putting him through workouts, etc. that gives you as full a picture as one can get and is only available to professionals. It's why I laugh when mock guys say a guy was drafted too early, they simply cannot know.
