r/NFL_Draft

Have a bold prediction that you want to state proudly but will most likely look very stupid in short time? Have at it! Maybe you’ll nail it and look like a genius in the future

Please don’t downvote a user for a stupid bold prediction; it’s all just for fun!

One of the biggest strengths for this upcoming class is the wide receiver position. While Jeremiah Smith and Cam Coleman look to be first-round locks, there's a massive group of WRs that, at varying levels, have a chance to be picked on day one. I know it's extremely early, but I wanted to ask y'all how many first-round caliber receivers you believe there are in this class?

With Devon Witherspoon and Jaxon Smith-Njigba signing top of the market deals this offseason, do enough people realize Seattle just added to this small list of greatest 1st round hauls of all time?

1995 Tampa Bay: Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks

1996 Baltimore: Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis

2000 New York Jets: Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Chad Pennington, Anthony Becht

2007 San Francisco: Patrick Willis and Joe Staley

2010 Seattle: Russell Okung and Earl Thomas

Used to hear a lot of great things about this guy with Tetairoa Mcmillan couple years back. Does he still have a shot or was he only good because of Tmac? I know the knock on him was physical traits but I wonder if he got better skill-wise to have his stock for the draft increase.

Updated Tuesday thread focused notes and opinions about individual prospects. Scout someone new and want to get opinions from others? Ask about it here!

Top 10 DT Rankings:

1. 1T Will Echoles, Ole Miss
2. 3T David Stone, Oklahoma
3. 3T Ahmad Moten Sr., Miami
4. 3T Justin Scott, Miami
5. 1T A'Mauri Washington, Oregon
6. 1T John Walker, Ohio State
7. 3T Kam Franklin, Ole Miss
8. 3T AJ Holmes, Texas Tech
9. 1T Bear Alexander, Oregon
10. 3T Kemari Copeland, Virginia Tech

HM: DJ Hicks – Texas A&M, Mario Landino – Indiana, Trey Pierce – Michigan, Tavion Goodson – Kentucky, Horace Lockett - UCF

Positional Strength:

8.5/10.  It’s a very good defensive tackle class, heavily built on the strength of the top 4-5 prospects. I am expecting 3-4 DTs to be drafted in the first round. If the quality of DTs in the 6-10 range was better, I would consider it a great class, but at this point I would say there’s a lot more bark than bite in the 6-10 range. The almost surefire first round picks are Will Echoles, David Stone, and Ahmad Moten Sr. I thought Echoles was extremely impressive, and he had a knack for showing up and being a game wrecker in games of consequence. I project him as a top 10 prospect. What makes him even more impressive, is he did this at 19 years old, vs powerhouse football teams like Georgia, Miami, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and LSU. I view Echoles as a nose tackle, but he’s also disruptive on pass plays. He moves very well for his size and there is an opportunity for growth as he works on his pass rush repertoire. David Stone is an excellent run defender and with his physical traits, he may have the highest upside in this DT class. I view him as a raw prospect, with more work needed to reach his upside. He displays rare physical ability but needs to work on his technique and finishing plays. I am expecting a big year from him. Ahmad Moten Sr is an older prospect; I think he will be 23 on draft night. Based off last years tape, I think Moten was the best pass rushing DT in the class. He isn’t good vs the run, he gets moved off his spots and doesn’t handle doubles well. His first step quickness is special and he’s a “bull in a China shop” type of disruptor. Amauri Washington Justin Scott and Amauri Washington came in at 4 and 5 for me. Justin Scott profiles as a 3 tech, with elite burst and twitch. Scott generated just 2 pressures in the first 8 weeks of the season,  but came on strong in the 2^(nd) half the season. Scott is a very young and was playing last season at 19 years old. I think there’s a strong chance that Scott breaks into the 1^(st) round if he plays how he did in the 2^(nd) half of the season or better. Unlike Echoles who stepped up in almost every big game he played, Washington seemed to step back. The more Oregon prospects I review, the more I notice how weak most of their schedule was last season. Washington will have an opportunity to sneak into the first round because he has excellent size and athleticism; he was recently featured on the Feldman Freaks list. Scott and Washington were inconsistent on the field and that’s a concern I have. Washington is a nose tackle and his pass rush isn’t very consistent, so those types of guys usually fall to round 2, especially if they’re older prospects (he will be 23). In his final two games vs Texas Tech and Indiana, Washington didn’t record a single pressure, and he recorded just 3 tackles to 3 missed tackles. AJ Holmes doesn’t have a great frame, but he was a productive player for Texas Tech, playing next to Lee Hunter. He had some standout pass rush games vs Kansas, BYU, and Oregon. I am not sold on his ability as a run stopper since I think he has below average length for the position and I came away more impressed with his pass rush skills. I don’t think he projects well as a run stopper at the next level. He reminded me of Ahmad Moten, but with less athletic and lower upside. Bear Alexander has been to multiple college programs, older prospect, and has struggled with inconsistency in his career. I think he will find a role in the NFL as a rotation nose tackle. Kemari Copeland is listed at 6’2” 305 lbs, and displays some versatility. He came in at #7 on Feldmans Freak list for “setting a program record when he benched 510 pounds this summer. He also improved his back squat to 735 pounds and clocked 20.2 mph on the GPS. He did a triple broad jump of 27 feet, 7 inches and ran a 4.64 shuttle”. Last year was Copelands first as starter and he was productive with 4.5 sacks and 38 tackles. Copeland has the opportunity in his 2 year starting to put his elite athleticism on display, with more big time performances.

Hot Takes:

John Walker is my 6^(th) ranked DT, and I could see him being drafted late round 2 to round 3 range. I have rarely seen his name brought up in DT rankings. He transferred from UCF to Ohio State, where he will be starting this season. Walker was listed at 6’4” 324 lbs by UCF and then 6’3” 302 lbs by Ohio State. I don’t know if he has undergone a body transformation to become more athletic and improve his agility and pass rushing upside. I really enjoyed watching Walker’s run defense snaps. He plays with great leverage, strength and sheds blockers at a high level. His best skill is fighting through double teams and winning with leverage.  I’m curious what his playing weight will be this season and how versatile he can show to be. HE has upside if he can play all along the line and offer more of a pass rush.

My other hot take is Kam Franklin at DT #7. Franklin was productive last season with Ole Miss at just 19 years of age, but his technique left a lot to be desired. I give him grace because hes been finding his game as growing into his body. He is currently listed at 6’5” 300 lbs. by Ole Miss; he has excellent length. I believe he’s worked his weight up from 260 to 300 lbs, and now he has prototypical 3 tech size. Ole Miss had star DTs in Will Echoles and Zxavian Harris, so Franklin was used more at DE than DT, and I think he was out of position. He’s not fast or bendy enough to be an edge. Like Justin Scott, Franklin elevated his game at the end of the CFB season vs great opponents like Georgia and Miami. I see a high upside prospect, but he may not be ready until the 2028 draft.

Questions:

1.       Will Echoles displayed great tape at 19 years old. Can he unlock another level of his game or is he maxed out?

2.       What is John Walker’s play size and what will his role be with Ohio State? Does he have pass rush upside?

3.       How will Ole Miss use Kam Franklin?

Breakout Candidates:

1.       Justin Scott, Miami

2.       John Walker, Ohio State

3.       Kam Franklin, Ole Miss

 

I’m talking players drafted later in the draft who then became top 10 or higher at their position in the nfl immediately, what led to their performance and what was missed? Would teams draft them higher if they knew their skills would translate so fast?

Unless you either do a lengthy 5+ round mock or go into written detail on why you are making the picks, please post your mocks in this Mock Draft Monday thread. Use this thread to post your own mocks or anything from around the web you find discussion-worthy.

Please be respectful of other users’ mocks! Saying things like “this is awful” or a pick is “stupid” adds nothing to the conversation; try and focus on constructive feedback instead!

In my opinion, I thought Michael Trigg was a top 100 player in the draft, and I don't think Anthony Lucas was far behind him. Who do you guys think is the best UDFA from this year's class?

I need 250 characters to post this, so here is some filler.

Top 10 ED Rankings:

1. Colin Simmons, Texas
2. Dylan Stewart, South Carolina
3. J'Mond Tapp, Memphis
4. Yhonzae Pierre, Alabama
5. Damon Wilson II, Miami
6. Will Heldt, Clemson
7. Quincy Rhodes Jr., Arkansas
8. Anthony Smith, Minnesota
9. Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Ohio State
10. John Henry Daley, Michigan

HM: Matayo Uiagalelei – Oregon, Taylor Wein – Oklahoma, Boubacar Traore – Notre Dame, and Clev Lubin - Louisville

Positional Strength:

7.0/10 – Solid. Colin Simmons and Stewart are the headliners of the class and it’s likely that both will be top 10 picks. I don’t think it’s a strong class historically, because of depth. Theres some risk with the top 5 players and the 6-10 range has some good but not great athletes, who project more as average contributing players in the NFL than game wreckers. At this point, I would say David Bailey and Reuben Bain are better players than Simmons and Stewart, but a lot could change over this next season. Simmons has the cleanest profile in the class. He has solid size, could gain a couple lbs., but he’s an excellent athlete with good bend. He’s twitchy and accelerates well, helping him finish plays. He had double digit sacks last season and a 21.5% pass rush win rate. Simmons is a finisher in the pass and run game. He also boasts an impressive run stop rate. On film, he consistently plays with gap discipline and has good eyes on the play. Dylan Stewart is longer and even more athletic than Stewart, but he just plays in an undisciplined, wild manner, and lacking control. He doesn’t bring the same type of rush plan as Simmons, and he didn’t finish enough plays last season. Stewart had a weak counterattack, mostly relying on length and athleticism with the rush dead if it was initially stopped. He finished last season with a 13.1% pass rush win rate, which is extremely disappointing for a star edge rusher with elite traits.  Yhonzae Pierre is a good prospect, round 1 grade, but there's some things to unpack. Pierre is built like a linebacker and rushes better from a standing position, so I think he could be more scheme specific than the players ranked above him. While he’s has great speed, I don’t see special bend and he wins with speed more than pass rush moves. I don’t think he has a great pass rush repertoire and I have to question how productive he will be in the NFL when there aren’t as many speed wins vs bad tackles. Analytically, his sack production exceeds his pressure rate, so I am curious to see if there’s any regression in his sack totals next season. Will Heldt came in at #4 and he has unique size and length at 6’7” 260 lbs. I thought he was the better edge rusher at Clemson last season between him and TJ Parker, who was a first round pick last draft. Heldt lacks elite traits beyond his size, but he's a very balanced and effective player. Most of his sack production came off clean up work, rather than quick wins. Damon Wilson at #5; He has elite twitch and get off speed, but his run defense was a glaring flaw. He was highly productive as a pass-rusher with over 50 pressures and 8 sacks, but the concern is if he may only be interested in rushing the passer, making him a SPR at the next level. The next group of Quincy Rhodes, Anthony Smith, and Kenyatta Jackson are all larger 4-3 defensive ends with limited athletic traits, but balanced players who can contribute in both the pass and rush game. I gave the lead to Rhodes, who has elite size at 6’6” 276 lbs and better athletic tools than the others. He didn’t have consistent success as a pass rusher despite his traits, only having a 10.5% pass rush win rate last season but I view him as a high ceiling prospect if he can put it together. I’m excited to talk about John Henry Daley. His tape was so good, but he tore his Achilles at the end of the year. He is also an older prospect because he served a 2 year mission prior to starting his college football career. Daley displayed the best pass rush repertoire in the class with the most elite hands to shed blocks. It was like watching Mason Graham at edge rusher. Unfortunately, with the injury (good not great athlete before injury) and age red flags, I couldn’t put him higher, but his tape was deserving of it.

Hot Takes:

My hot take in the edge group is having J’Mond Tapp as edge #3 and a top 20 prospect on my board. Tapp was a 4 star recruit with offers from Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. He ended up in Texas but transferred out due to the logjam of talent ahead of him. He spent last season at Southern Miss, but is transferring to Memphis College this season. Tapp has premier size at 6’3” 256 lbs with pterodactyl arms. He’s twitchy, strong, physical, and plays with violence. He has a great long arm move, bull rush, and consistently use his violent hands to shed blocks. He has some insane reps where he's pushing the tackle into the QBs lap, he's rushing from the right side of the field and making tackles near the left sideline, and some of the quick wins are eye opening. I suggest watching Southern Miss vs W Kentucky tape. J’Mond Tapp is also an analytics darling, with an elite pass rush win rate over 20%, Over 60 pressures, 10 sacks, and a 10.5% run stop rate. Similar to Dylan Stewart, Tapp tends to play a little out of control and lacking discipline. I think if he takes to coaching, he can have a massive season at Memphis. Unlike many of the players I ranked after Tapp, I see elite upside for him and the ability to become a game wrecking player.

Questions:

1.      Will Dylan Stewart put up top 10 edge rusher production?

2.      Is Damon Wilson going to improve his run defense?

3.      How will John Henry Daley bounce back from his torn Achilles?

Breakout Candidates:

1.      J’Mond Tapp, Memphis

2.      Quincy Rhodes, Arkansas

3.      Quintavius Jackson, Georgia

Indiana lost several of its top contributors from a year ago, including their two top WRs. Charlie Becker came on towards the end of the season, and I'm excited to see how he does now that he'll have a bigger role in the offense. He's got great hands and is incredible in contested-catch situations. I wanted to ask how y'all feel about him as a prospect? I have him as my WR3, and I could see him being the consensus WR2 behind Jeremiah Smith after this season.

Have a bold prediction that you want to state proudly but will most likely look very stupid in short time? Have at it! Maybe you’ll nail it and look like a genius in the future

Please don’t downvote a user for a stupid bold prediction; it’s all just for fun!

So I was listening to the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast and they had an idea I liked of adding an 8th round to the NFL draft that would take place on Sunday and NFL teams can’t trade these picks and the only player eligible are players from the NFL International Player Pathway Program. These player would still have the same rules they currently have where they can be added to the Practice Squad without taking up a spot on it and can’t be poached. I don’t think it would work right now, but in 5 years if the International Player Pathway Program keeps growing like it has been I think it would be a great idea for the NFL.

What do you all think about this idea?

Edit: I forgot to add they also wanted to give these guys their own combine if they did this which I would be down for.

Top 10 OL Rankings:

1. LT Jordan Seaton, LSU
2. LT Trevor Goosby, Texas
3. RT Andrew Sprague, Michigan
4. OC Kade Pieper, Iowa
5. LT Howard Sampson, Texas Tech
6. OG Carter Smith, Indiana
7. RT Melvin Siani, Texas
8. OG Trevor Lauck, Iowa
9. OG Greg Johnson, Minnesota
10. RT Drew Azzopardi, Washington

Positional Strength:

I would give the offensive line class an 8/10 – good. I am a big fan of Jordan Seaton; Watching him reminded me of Andrew Thomas! He projects as a top 5 pick. One thing that really stood out in this tackle class was their great length. In some recent drafts, the arm length and size of the top prospects brought their projected position into question. Seaton, Goosby, Sprague, and Sampson are massive and I have no doubt that they’re tackles. Melvin Siani is my 5^(th) ranked tackle, he may be a guard at the next level. Trevor Goosby was my 2^(nd) graded tackle, and I expect him to be drafted in the 5-12 range. He has elite size and athleticism, but he needs to refine his hand placement and consistency.  I projected Carter Smith to guard from LT. He has some good tape at tackle, but I think some of his tough matchups last season foreshadow challenges in the NFL, but he’s a very solid guard prospect, well balanced player, and a move inside should raise his ceiling at the next level. Kade Pieper was my favorite interior lineman. He’s moving inside to center and I think he has the perfect size, strength, and athleticism for that role. He was listed in Feldman’s freak list: “Last year, Pieper came in at No. 22 on the Freaks List after setting an Iowa record (4.13) for fastest short shuttle among offensive guards. Among guards, he also posted the vertical jump record at 37.4 and the best 10-yard dash at 1.52. This offseason, he set the program record for heaviest squat by a guard, doing 680 pounds”. Pieper is a special athlete, receiving great coaching, and playing at a high level. I expect him to be drafted in the first round.  I projected Trevor Lauck to move inside because his foot speed was just average and I suspect his arms may be on the shorter side. Howard Sampson graded as OT4. He’s another enormous, powerful tackle. He has the same length advantage of Goosby and Sprague, but his build appears less athletic, and I thought he had more struggle with leverage, especially In the run game.

Hot Takes:

I wasn’t expecting to like this group as much as I did because my initial summer scouting watch list featured players that were highly ranked on early boards, but I just wasn’t very impressed by their film. Some examples were OT Cayden Green, OT PJ Williams, OG Evan Tengesdahl, OG Anthonie Knapp, and OG Luke Montgomery. My 2^(nd) hot take is having Andrew Sprague ranked as OT3, projected from mid to late 1^(st) round. He’s 6’8” 315 and last season was his first year starting at age 20. He allowed just 1 sack. His length is impressive, he simply deletes pass rushers, and he moves and mirrors well for his size. He has room to improve going into his 2^(nd) starting season, mostly in the run game and with working on his technique in pass protection.

Questions:

1.       Andrew Sprague’s Decision to declare or stay in school

2.       USC OT Elijah Page, can he stay healthy this season?

3.       Is Miami OG Samson Okunlola ready to be a full-time starter? Slow developer

Breakout Candidates:

1.       OT Elijah Paige, USC

2.       OT Drew Azzopardi, Washington

3.       OG Samson Okunlola, Miami

Talk about anything you please; draft-related or otherwise!