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Start your premature list of candidates as you come across them.
This guy is an absolute beast. I don't know if he'll ever be quick enough to be a great edge, but he's a very large, strong football player.There isn’t a guy I dislike in our defensive front but I am also strongly in the mindset we have to surge competition both on edge and down in the trenches as well.
Landon Jackson from Arkansas is a 6’7’ 280 pound phenom along the edge. Excellent at setting an edge and pressuring the pocket. I personally think he is playing his way to a first round grade but likely a Top 50 prospect to all.
This position should be a major priority for us in next year's draft. Is the interior d-line prospect deep this year?Okay, let's look at some of my quick favorite BIGGUNS along the front of the defense.
Look Mason Graham is a stud, but likely unrealistic he falls to where we are even if we end up middish. Kenneth Grant the other Michigan guy is good...but I want to bring forth some names of guys I really think either should be/could be day one guys or should be names you know for Day2 especially with Kenny Clark perhaps finally getting worn down and Slaton with no contract into next year...
Derrick Harmon, Oregon - I officially locked in a first round grade for this dude two weeks back. I just cannot ignore what he seems to be able to do and the fact he's still young...but this 6'5' 310lb stud moves pockets at times single handedly and even crazier is he moves with a quickness and first step of that of an OLB or edge guy. He is a stellar run defender and even with double teams on him this year has found that technique to lock down and hold positioning against it. In stunts and slant rush/assignments his speed is way more than what a lot of lineman can handle. The one knock you'll see in him is longer possessions his pad level rises and can cost him but his Football IQ against diagnosing the play design is stellar and when he's attacking his freak athleticism for his size is something I think will do very well at the next level. Day 1 worthy IMO.
Dontay Corleone, Cinci - Everyone remembers me bringing him up last year. I had a top 100 grade on him for last year, and this year I'm at that point of where if a team calls his name at the end of the first round I can easily understand it. Does he have the lateral mobility to come off of the nose position he plays so well for the Hafley system....that is the question for the GB brass to decide. Dude plays the run incredibly well, his arm strength is incredible....this is a guy I'm very curious what his arm length comes in at and his RAS...if he can illustrate he's a 7.5 RAS or higher guy with adaquate (doesn't need incredible length) arm length - he 100% should be a target for GB possibly Day2 but I could see a team nab him first day.
Deone Walker, Kentucky - High intensity, high motor...this cat explodes in plays and it costs him sometimes with overplaying or getting too high too quickly and getting wiped, but there may not be a iDL with more "highlight plays" than him. At 6'6' 350lbs...you are shocked to learn he carries that much weight after watching how he moves. KY does odd things on defense but this dude is lining up everywhere from A Gap / B Gap clear out to outside tackle during games and doing well. He's not getting the disruption or pressures this year as he did last year however this year they have used him to control the middle more with majority of his alignments being a and b gap - where last year his majority was b or over tackle and outside. I know it isn't common to see brought up but, Walker's hands and his hand fighting technique is likely one of the best in this draft - he often times can get a OL off base quickly just with his hand engagement style. If you see Gute call Walker's name know that we just got a massive athletic big guy that can absolutely hold or wreck the middle...think BJ Raji or Clark prime type player potentially. Day 1 worthy IMO
Walter Nolan, Ole Miss - This cat is a fun one and truthfully is a guy I've been excited to see if his hype (HIGHLY RANKED RECRUIT back in the day) was going to live to be true or not. 6'4' 290lbs. This guy truthfully IMO is my #2 ranked iDL and SHOULD potentially be off the board for any team beyond 25 on the draft board...but a lot of that can change depending on the QBs that go, run on skill positions...often times we see a DL or LB fall farther than they should due to other positional runs. Nolan is just an INCREDIBLY violent handed, strong first step DL that showcases insane discipline in his game in almost every asset or trait. While KY is just an odd defensive front and Walker does line up everywhere...Nolan truly can and I could see lining up anywhere in the NFL...I could see say Hafley getting him and he never sees hardly any snaps outside at DE....but I could see just as likely he gets pushed out there to be that big athletic DE that we all hoped LVN would be (and still might be as he's only in second year). Day 1 Worthy
TJ Sanders, South Carolina - I'll end here because my time to sit down and write this up is ending. He's a prototypically sized interior DL whose motor never stops and truthfully is one of his best traits for me - never out of a play and never willing to be done often leads to him cleaning up broken plays or even tackling ball carriers on cut back moves after a gain. 6'4' 290lbs - he may end up with one of the more attractive length to size ratios in the bunch...but the reason why many will overlook him is he isn't a refined pass rusher yet from the inside. He'll absolutely ruin run game attacks and can and does impact the passer on extended drop back plays sheerly due to his athleticism being too much for blockers, but he's got to build up his technique on pass rushing snaps to attack those with the same motor he has to diagnose and attack ball carriers. TOP of Day 2 worthy
This position should be a major priority for us in next year's draft. Is the interior d-line prospect deep this year?
Agree. We don't need offensive skill position players. Maybe one or two more developmental offensive linemen. I haven't checked yet to see whose contracts expire after the 25 season which would give me a hint of targetted positions.So I happen to like it a lot more than in year's past from a depth factor. I think beyond maybe Graham and Nolen it is going to be tough for many to agree on iDL #3-#20 or so. Which does make it possibly more of a crapshoot than some years but there is a diverse amount of styles out there. I personally envision us letting Slaton walk with us plugging a bigger iDL rookie into the rotation from maybe the 4th - 7th....but also would love to see us grab a Clark replacement type guy Day 1 or 2 as well....
Many will hate it but I'd love our first four picks to be any order of CB, Edge and iDL...
Agree. We don't need offensive skill position players. Maybe one or two more developmental offensive linemen. I haven't checked yet to see whose contracts expire after the 25 season which would give me a hint of targetted positions.
Any reason to think that more really high D choices would be any better than the high ones they're using now?Many will hate it but I'd love our first four picks to be any order of CB, Edge and iDL...
Any reason to think that more really high D choices would be any better than the high ones they're using now?
I'm going to jinx us further into not likely drafting a single CB and discuss another one of my favorites:
Tacario Davis - Arizona - 6'4' 195lbs (Junior)
So Tacario is a dude that caught my eye when I was watching Arizona tape (focused on Morgan) last year but didn't want to share any future draft thoughts then. I had Tacario on my early favorite 10 CBs list for this year's draft. There is a chance he could decide to not declare and circle back, but I STRONGLY think Davis is going to play and likely test his way into a Top 50 pick this year and will declare. With the likes of Benjamin Morrison and Shavon Revel both getting hurt the CB2 slot after current CB1 (Will Johnson) is to some up for grabs potentially (me personally those are my top 3 regardless of injury)....but Davis is one of the guys mentioned fighting to be considered.
He is a slighter built guy but that 6'4' frame weighs more than it looks at 195lbs.
His instincts and reads are elite level, BUT his best reps always come in zone snaps - if he can build his man coverage grades the second half of the college season and illustrate improvement perhaps at the Senior Bowl against elite WRs - Davis for sure could be a guy that hears GB call his name in the 1st or 2nd.
Put on his reps/film from last year against Washington and UCLA for some of his best work.
What do you see as the three strongest and three weakest position groups compared to average drafts?The positions that are "arguably" depleted the most due to just contracts expiring are
RB, but Wilson is an ERFA and Brooks and Dillon both would be cheap resigns no doubt..
Offball LBs have McDuffie, Wilson and Mosby (ERFA). Eric Wilson is likely playing his way into consideration of a decent one or two year deal. Cooper/Walker/Hopper are only three signed though past this year.
CB - we have Nixon, Alexander and Valentine under contract next year....and Nixon needs to be a first up not a starter...
Special Teams - K/P/LS all expiring contracts but doubt that impacts our draft unless 7th rounder.
LOOKING to 2025 expiring though might tip hat more as Gute likes to build proactively...
DE/DTs...past 2025 we have just Clark, Brooks, Wooden, LVN - plus Wyatt if we do 5th year option.
OL - we have Glover, Jenkins, Morgan and Monk that's it beyond 2025
WR - Wicks and Reed only guys beyond 2025
What do you see as the three strongest and three weakest position groups compared to average drafts?
What do you see as the three strongest and three weakest position groups compared to average drafts?
We need a really good DT, really bad. Just like 20 other teams.It's a little too early for me to say fully, I have only arrived at about 40 prospects I've given a grade thought to in my grading system. But some are changing...Howard Cross from Notre Dame is an example...he's no longer a Day 2 lock for me, I suspect he'll be there on Day 3...
But initial thoughts or observations:
Down DE/DTs - I think this is a very strong position group...while pure stand up OLBs might be weak, those more DE edges are strong and a lot of DTs out there that are good.
CBs - This is an early thought, but this group appears it might be one of the strongest three...however there seems to be a LOT of middle tier guys, very few top top shelf guys...so makes an odd class but I expect a lot of good starters to happen but could see quite the swings and misses in top 100 or so happen.
RBs - This group is deep I think - a lot of guys I like and I've barely looked at it specifically as we don't have a big need IMO. I'll dive deeper before April for sure.
OTs - TOP TOP tier tackles I don't see in this draft and suspect that many of the most NFL ready are going to be RTs. I'll be honest though I think this could change to be a class I think is deep but just not top heavy enough to be called one of the strongest.
Cs - I don't like hardly ANY centers before the third round personally...I have two guys that I might consider for a 2nd round pick....but verdict is still out.
WRs - I personally don't view this class as crazy strong or deep but also I haven't dived into it that deep given our plethora of riches here.
Now I'm confused. If we don't judge a player until he plays, and don't care where he's drafted, whyI'm confused by this?
Each draft you look to improve the weakest parts of the roster or build towards the future where expiring contracts exist. How any player presently is performing is the only thing that matters, not the place they were drafted or what draft pick you're about to pick in the current draft.
If the subsequent failure of high draft picks doesn't mean anything, just pick guys from those three positions someplace in the draft. Why specify the first four?Many will hate it but I'd love our first four picks to be any order of CB, Edge and iDL...
Now I'm confused. If we don't judge a player until he plays, and don't care where he's drafted, why
If the subsequent failure of high draft picks doesn't mean anything, just pick guys from those three positions someplace in the draft. Why specify the first four?
Feel free to put words in my mouth when it's evidently a better way of getting my point across.If I had to venture a guess (not to put words in his mouth) I suspect the point @Half Empty is trying to make is that Gute and co haven't done a great job with evaluating defensive talent in the early rounds (or at least to the point that they largely haven't panned out as expected/hoped), so unless their talent evaluation changes then we might not expect more in terms of production/results either.
But, in any case, our biggest needs are still IMO CB, DL, and edge, so regardless of our thoughts on Gute and Co's scouting acumen for these positions we probably should still draft them high and hope that the investment pans out lol