NFL Draft Part 2: Who HASN'T said racist things on Twitter when they were a teenager?!?

[Rhom]

Honestly, I just don't love any of these "surefire" QBs.  The fact that there is real talk of 6 QBs going in the first round of this draft is crazy to me.  It stinks of reaching to take Christian Ponder in the first round to me.

@sperry I like Mayfield.  I might even agree that he's better than the other so so QBs projected to be top 5 picks.  But history doesn't agree with him being successful.

Since the Big XII was created in 1996, no QB from the conference has ever started and won a NFL Playoff Game.  We can try to say that Vince Young's and Chris Sim's performance doesn't matter today, but at some point we can't deny 22 years of history.

As an interesting aside... when looking up a few drafts, it was interesting to me to see how much things have changed.  In 1996, no QBs were taken until Tony Banks 12 picks into the second round.

Edit:  @Trebla tagging you in this for my last point after reading your comment on the overvalue of the QB.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Why Darnold? He’s personally never impressed me. I’ve only seen him play a few times, but they were in big games and I didn’t see anything special. The best evaluation I heard of him is that he has ideal size and an ideal personality to play QB, but talent wise, he’s not the best at anything in this draft.

[Kalbear]

NFL draft scouting reports as done by a neural network

Quote

Slaps to improve athletic ability
Plays with a thwing and strong optimal power
Has desired -0 percent of his strength
Plays with backside to the ball
Has fluid in the run blocker
Has velocication
Doesn’t get in space
Bobwing plays on the pocket
Has ability to shed
Plays with take away
Doesn’t have the ball
Loves base
Has bowy long demeanor
Scrambly and herping body control as a pass protection
Has a percent of his backside
Will need to play with the ball
Expected to stay on touchdowns as meme inside coverage and lateral change of screams

 

[Trebla]

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Why Darnold? He’s personally never impressed me. I’ve only seen him play a few times, but they were in big games and I didn’t see anything special. The best evaluation I heard of him is that he has ideal size and an ideal personality to play QB, but talent wise, he’s not the best at anything in this draft.

I'd agree with @Rhom above, I don't think any of these guys are that great but from what I've seen and read, I think Darnold has the fewest negatives.  On the other hand, I do understand the reason teams overdraft QB's, especially with the current CBA. Salary caps are no longer destroyed as they were in the past when teams whiffed. In fact, I think teams should draft a QB every year. Not in the early rounds, of course, but mid and late rounds? Definitely.

[briantw]

I just don't buy the "he was only 17" argument.  That was only four fucking years ago.  Odds are he hasn't changed much since then.  He very much comes off to me like a racist, sexist, homophobic jock, and he's nowhere near good enough at football to justify picking him with that level of character concerns.  

And I also laugh that people are hammering those who found the tweets rather than Allen for tweeting them.  Who cares if someone went through his history and dug up some skeletons?  That's what happens when you step into the limelight.  Your warts get exposed.  I feel no sympathy for the kid.  He was either too dumb to scrub his social media history or just didn't think it would matter.  Either way, he's not someone I want on my team, although to be fair I didn't want him before this either because he's a shit prospect who will need to land in an absolutely perfect situation and even then will need to buck the odds to succeed.  You don't pick a guy like that first overall, and the obvious character concerns are the icing on the cake.

[Week]

6 minutes ago, briantw said:

I just don't buy the "he was only 17" argument.  That was only four fucking years ago.  Odds are he hasn't changed much since then.  He very much comes off to me like a racist, sexist, homophobic jock, and he's nowhere near good enough at football to justify picking him with that level of character concerns.  

I'm sure his agent is relieved that Allen never kneeled. Can you imagine the outrage?

How can people possibly defend or in any way justify that deplorable meathead? ... hmm ... I hope he goes to the Jets.

[Trebla]

So what about your guy's favorite teams? Who do you think they are going to draft TONIGHT and who do you want them to draft?

As far as my beloved Cowboys, I think they are going LB/WR/DT. Despite the release of Dez Bryant, I think linebacker is their biggest need. When Sean Lee is out, the defense collapses. They have Jaylon Smith but he is still recovering from the college injury and they seem like they want him to play the strong side this year to limit his snaps. They also now have a big hole since MLB Anthony Hitchens got a big contract from KC. The two names that may be there at #19 are Alabama's Rashaan Evans and Boise State's Leighton Vander Esch. Of the two, I think I prefer Evans but wouldn't be disappointed with Vander Esch. Dallas also has a history of drafting Boise State players and they have panned out. 

If they go receiver, it might be Alabama's Calvin Ridley, SMU's Courtland Sutton, or Maryland's DJ Moore. Of the 3, I think I'd prefer Moore because he has elite speed. I don't know if Ridley does anything really well other than route running but the Cowboys are filled with route runners who are either short or slow. Sutton has elite size but he's said to have questionable hands and seems to have the biggest bust potential.

At DT, they could go Alabama's Da'Ron Payne and Taven Bryan who look like good fits as 3-techniques in their 4-3 defense. A real darkhorse would be Washington's Vita Vea who looks like a 3-4 nose tackle but rumors are that the Cowboys are enamored with him. The buzz is that they think he's quick enough to play the 3-technique. The problem here is that they would almost definitely have to trade up get him and probably cost multiple picks which they need.

I think right now I'm hoping they pick Evans. If not, Moore or Vander Esch.

ETA: There have been rumors for months that Dallas and Seattle have been talking about a trade for Earl Thomas. Initially, the word was that Seattle wanted TWO #1 draft picks. LOL. If Dallas did that I would riot. But now the word is that Seattle would make the trade if it involved Dallas's #2 pick. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seahawks-reportedly-want-cowboys-2018-second-round-pick-as-part-of-any-trade-for-earl-thomas/

It would probably take a bit more than that: another pick and/or a player. Depending on the combination, I would say Hell Yes!

[Maithanet]

Well I don't have a team, so I can't really make predictions or hopes based on that.  I don't care who Washington picks, and even if I do, I'm not going to admit it, because fuck those guys.  Secretly I'm hoping they draft a cornerback in the first round, because it will make me hate them more. 

So instead I'll make a few predictions that are educated by my reading pre-draft chatter (which is of course, bullshit) and watching very little college football.

1.  Of the four big quarterbacks people are talking about (Mayfield, Allen, Rosen, Darnold), Allen goes last, but still somewhere in the 5-10 range. 

2.  The six non-qbs I expect to go in the top 10 (roughly in order):  Chubb, Barkley, D. James, Q. Nelson, R. Smith, M. Fitzpatrick.

3.  Maurice Hurst goes in the first round, in spite of his heart condition.  He's really good, the pre-draft film that footballoutsiders put out of him was really impressive.  I remember being impressed with him at Michigan, and I'm hoping he goes to a team I like, such as Carolina or Atlanta. 

[Jace, Extat]

Good to see the thread come to life on the eve of the draft.

[Lord Dracarys]

The Packers are rumored to be trying to move up. I'm hoping that means they'll move up to take Denzel Ward because the CB situation in GB is pretty dire. Honestly any defensive picks would be good at this point due to having holes all over the place defensively, so if they took Denzel Ward or somebody like Tremaine Edmonds, Roquan Smith, Josh Jackson or Jaire Alexander I'd be pretty content. If they moved up and took Chubbs that'd be amazing, but also would cost some serious draft capital. Though the Packers also have 12 picks which is quite a bit of capital to barter with.

[Nictarion]

58 minutes ago, Trebla said:

So what about your guy's favorite teams? Who do you think they are going to draft TONIGHT and who do you want them to draft?

I think the Bengals take either Frank Ragnow or James Daniels. I’d be fine with either. We haven’t had a decent Center in over a decade. 

[Mexal]

Just now, Nictarion said:

I think the Bengals take either Frank Ragnow or James Daniels. I’d be fine with either. We haven’t had a decent Center in over a decade. 

Think this is right. Though I could see them taking Price over Daniels. Never know though, there may be someone that drops if a lot of QBs are taken that they may take instead.

[Rhom]

Almost everything I read on the Niners says Minkah Fitzpatrick.  We've had good luck defenders from Alabama before, so I'll take it.

[Trebla]

Since the draft is in Dallas and Roger Goodell gets to face that crowd at the start of the draft, he will be flanked by Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/23324799/roger-goodell-flanked-dallas-cowboys-greats-start-nfl-draft

LOL, they could resurrect Tom Landry to join them as well and that crowd would STILL boo. Seriously, fuck that guy.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Trebla said:

I'd agree with @Rhom above, I don't think any of these guys are that great but from what I've seen and read, I think Darnold has the fewest negatives.  On the other hand, I do understand the reason teams overdraft QB's, especially with the current CBA. Salary caps are no longer destroyed as they were in the past when teams whiffed. In fact, I think teams should draft a QB every year. Not in the early rounds, of course, but mid and late rounds? Definitely.

Idk if that's true. I've heard that he panics in the pocket and that his throwing motion needs a lot of work. Everything I see about him makes me think he is a fancier Andy Dalton. Getting that in the second round is fine, but not first overall. I think he has the third highest floor and the lowest ceiling. I feel like people are telling themselves his 2016 campaign is who he really is. I'm skeptical of that.

I really feel like you have to go with Baker or Rosen. Those guys have NFL arms right now. Baker can make every throw, and I see a bit of Brees in him. Rosen needs to work on his deep ball accuracy, but he can make every other throw and he has the best touch and a pretty spiral. He, in a lot of ways, reminds me of Rodgers.

Jackson and Allen will both need work. Jackson is more accurate. Ignore his 57% average. When you control for drops he was more accurate than Darnold. His ceiling is super high, but he could also turn out to be a bust. Allen, I just don't see it. The NFL dustbin is loaded with looks the part all-stars, and that's what he is. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Vikings will trade back and out of the first round. I probably don't get to have any fun tonight. They will take a guard with their first selection, be it tonight or tomorrow, and day 2 is supposed to rich at the guard spot, Right now we need depth. I think there's only one starting position that's up for grabs going into camp. 

[Jace, Extat]

23 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Vikings will trade back and out of the first round. I probably don't get to have any fun tonight. They will take a guard with their first selection, be it tonight or tomorrow, and day 2 is supposed to rich at the guard spot, Right now we need depth. I think there's only one starting position that's up for grabs going into camp. 

You see this? This is me feeling awful that your team has so much talent that the massive WR bust they took a few years back has caught like ten passes in 2 years and nobody cares.

[Rhom]

Gotta give Mayfield credit, this is pretty awesome

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 minute ago, Pony Empress Jace said:

You see this? This is me feeling awful that your team has so much talent that the massive WR bust they took a few years back has caught like ten passes in 2 years and nobody cares.

Especially when you consider How many first round picks we've had over the last 5 years and most of them flamed out. You must win day 2, and your ponies have lots of picks. 

And Treadwell isn't that bad. He just can't get playing time because Diggs and Thielen came out of no where.  

[Jace, Extat]

32 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Especially when you consider How many first round picks we've had over the last 5 years and most of them flamed out. You must win day 2, and your ponies have lots of picks. 

And Treadwell isn't that bad. He just can't get playing time because Diggs and Thielen came out of no where.  

Dude, he's slow and can't run routes.