[Dynasty] 2020 NFL Draft Class (4 Viewers)

ESPN's Todd McShay lists Notre Dame TE Cole Kmet as the top tight end in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

Kmet gets the top spot, and he's followed by Dayton's Adam Trautman and Missouri's Albert Okwuegbunam. While the 6-foot-6, 255-pound tight end didn't test particularly well in Indianapolis at the combine, but he caught 69 passes for 734 yards, and McShay praises his hands on top of his size. That being said, this is a bit of faint praise, as McShay believes that there won't be any tight ends that come off the board on Day 1. 

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Adam Trautman

, Albert Okwuegbunam

SOURCE: ESPN

Apr 4, 2020, 1:45 PM ET

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Faust said:

Childs' 2020 NFL Draft Offensive Prospect Rankings

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ESPN's Mike Reiss reports that the New England Patriots held a teleconference with FIU QB James Morgan.

The Patriots are currently working through quarterbacking uncertainty for the first time in two decades with Tom Brady off to the Buccaneers. Morgan is a later option for the draft they could potentially take a flier on, but he is not the kind of prospect who could realistically start any time soon (if ever). If New England is thinking hard about taking a signal-caller higher up the board, Jordan Love should be considered one to watch.

SOURCE: 247Sports

Apr 5, 2020, 1:49 PM ET

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Faust said:

Salvon Ahmed Has Incredible Play Speed (2020 NFL Draft)

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rockaction said:

This guy wound up around my draft position in the fifth in some mocks. I got interested, so I watched some highlights. Not a burner, but he looks to just be moving forward pretty consistently. Maybe a flier at the back end of drafts.  *shrugs*

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Ilov80s said:

Good 5th round pick. As far as they go. 

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rockaction said:

Maybe need to flesh out my IDP needs more? *shrugs*

Regardless, he's a better football player than I could dream of being, so I'm not knocking him too much, but a 4.62 forty leaves something to be desired. Running backs can get away with that, though, if they have serious burst.

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Ilov80s said:

Oh I wasn't thinking IDP. I have no clue about value in IDP. 

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rockaction said:

Oh yeah, I was agreeing with you, my friend. He looks like a fifth rounder. I was doing nothing more than thinking aloud and probably shouldn't have posted. It's a hanging thought, really.   

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Ilov80s said:

What players are you big on this year? 

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Dr. Dan said:

Ruggs has a breakout age?

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THE DRAFT IS COMING

Alright, to the football we go. Here are nuggets with the draft now just two and a half weeks away…

• My belief is that, really, 11 players are sort of hovering around the top of the class—three quarterbacks (Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert), four defensive players (Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, Derrick Brown and Isaiah Simmons) and four tackles (Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, Andrew Thomas and Jedrick Wills). South Carolina DL Javon Kinlaw or one of the top two receivers might sneak into that crowd on draft day, based on different teams’ preferences, but that’s what I see as the top group.

• Also, my feeling is that a lot of teams would have Burrow and the four defensive guys as the top five players in the class. Young is the best non-quarterback—and for some, it’s not close. But I did get at least one piece of pushback on that the last couple days, from one college scouting director who sees something pretty cool in Simmons: “He’s dynamic, but he’s also safe. Great character, he’s smart, and does everything and he’s a freak athlete. He’s damn close to Chase Young for me. And I would take him before Okudah. Depending on your scheme, he could be as impactful as anyone on your team. He can do so much. He can cover, rush, run and hit. I love him.” One thing there’s agreement on with Simmons is that he needs to go to a defense that will move him around like the coaches at Clemson did. The interesting thing about that? That would be a Patriot-type of defense, and there are three of those picking in the top five (Lions at 3, Giants at 4, Dolphins at 5). Okudah will probably go somewhere in that range too, and all four could be gone by 7, with the Panthers lurking as a possibility to snap Brown up.

• The tackles could all be gone by 11, with the Jets and Browns both having needs and sitting right there on the fringe of the top 10. What’s interesting is how they’re each bringing something different to the table. Becton’s a freakish left-side type, with what one scout called “Jason Peters potential.” Thomas is solid, and also projects to play on the left, but is unspectacular. Wills is sort of a prototype right tackle, who can swing left. And Wirfs is a very good athlete who everyone sees a little differently (some like him as a guard), and is probably a little more scheme-specific (he’d be best with a zone team) than the others.

• Burrow is clearly the cleanest quarterback. And based on all the Bengals’ actions, I’d expect him to be the pick at No. 1 (which isn’t exactly breaking news). Tagovailoa’s status is more uncertain, and teams are plenty uneasy about his durability (we have more on that lower in the column). Miami’s widely been seen as his landing spot, in part because owner Stephen Ross was at LSU-Alabama to see him play, and went with CEO Tom Garfinkel and GM Chris Grier to Bama’s bowl game, a game Tagovailoa didn’t even play in, to see him. But there’s a flip side to all that due diligence—it didn’t necessarily lead them to the conclusion that Tua’s the right pick. In fact, all the work may have taken them the other way. We’ll find out soon enough.

• Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy have emerged as the top two receivers in the class, in some order. But as we’ve said a bunch the last few weeks, neither guy is Julio Jones, and the depth of the overall group could wind up hurting them on Day 1. Why? Teams will figure they can come back and get a good receiver on Day 2, and the recent history of second-rounders at the position (Michael Thomas, D.J. Chark, D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown) may actually be better than what we’ve seen in the first round.

• The corner position is stronger than I thought it was a month ago—and maybe I just needed to catch up on what scouts think. Despite a so-so performance in Indy (and those at Ohio State swear he’s capable of running 4.3), Okudah is easily the top guy at the position. But there are a half dozen good ones after that, in Florida’s C.J. Henderson, LSU’s Kristian Fulton, Clemson’s A.J. Terrell, Ohio State’s Damon Arnette, TCU’s Jeff Gladney and Alabama’s Trevon Diggs. So if you need a good corner, you can get one. But you probably should take one earlier, because there is a drop-off after those seven.

• One player who got more love than I expected when I was calling around this week: Alabama S Xavier McKinney. I actually got an Earl Thomas comp out of one of the NFL’s most respected evaluators, and not a lot of disagreement when I ran that by a couple other veteran evaluators. Another called him “premium…one of the best safeties I’ve ever watched.” Teams love his athleticism and his versatility to play up, back or in the slot. LSU’s Grant Delpit came into the season considered the class’s best safety by a healthy amount, but McKinney has flown by him (part of that, of course, is that Delpit had a shaky final season with the Tigers).

• The COVID-19 affect? One director told me he thinks teams will play it safer this year, and playing it safer, in his mind, means taking big people. That, he continued, should open the door for USC’s Austin Jackson and Houston’s Josh Jones to sneak into the first round. Louisiana’s Robert Hunt is another guy who might go earlier than expected. And it’s possible the top center/guards, LSU’s Lloyd Cushenberry and Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz, merit consideration at the bottom of the round as well.

• Weaknesses? If you’re looking for a traditional middle linebacker, there aren’t a lot of them. Simmons could play there (but you probably wouldn’t be getting the most out of him there), and Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray and LSU’s Patrick Queen might wind up there too. But after that, the ranks are sparse. And tight end is the other place where there aren’t a lot of answers for teams. Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet is the top guy but has had injury issues.

• It’s no secret that the Lions are open for business with the third pick. And they’re not alone. Early word is this year’s draft is no different than most—with more teams near the top willing to move down than up. The Jaguars are another team that’s kicked around the idea of moving down. The Raiders too, a team that could well be looking to replace the second-rounder they lost this year, with the final pieces in the Khalil Mack trade finally in play.

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Gil Brandt's Top 16

This will be the NFL’s 85th draft. This will be Gil Brandt’s 65th either working for a team—full-time or part-time—or working for the league.

Cooped up in his Dallas home instead of dropping into Pro Days this spring, Brandt, 87, still rates the players. “This is the hardest-to-figure draft,” Brandt said on Friday. “I’ll give you an example. There were 34 cornerbacks at the combine. Only 10 did everything. They were going to do stuff at their Pro Days instead, and then most of their Pro Days got cancelled. So teams are trying to figure out all those guys now. One of the ways you rank the corners is the cone drill. [The three-cone drill measures speed of players while changing directions around three L-shaped orange cones.] If you’re under 7.0 seconds in the cone, that’s a pretty good indicator you’re quick. So now you’re going back to drafting with 50 percent information on a lot of guys, because of no Pro Days and no individual workouts with teams. So your scouting of the games becomes more important.”

Brandt’s 16 top-rated players, the players he thinks should comprise the first half of the first round April 23, along with his comments:

1. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU. Came farther than any player I can remember in his last year of college football.

2. Chase Young, edge rusher, Ohio State. The best football player in the draft.

3. Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson. Played safety, slot corner and linebacker at Clemson. What’s amazing is he had 23 pressures last year on 70 pass-rushes.

4. Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon. So much going for him. Very smart, better speed (4.68 in the 40) than you think. Strong arm.

5. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama. A left-handed Drew Brees. Longevity more than anything is the concern. You’ve got to trust your doctor.

6. Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn. Stayed in school when he could have been a high pick last year. Wish he was a little faster than 5.12 seconds in the 40.

7. Jedrick Wills, T, Alabama. Only played right tackle, but I think he can be a guard or left tackle. Quick and athletic.

8. Tristan Wirfs, T, Iowa. Small-town Iowa kid, three-year starter, long arms, good explosion for a guy his size. He’ll get stronger.

9. Andrew Thomas, T, Georgia. Started 41 straight games at a high level of competition. Played 1,021 passing snaps in three years, allowed five sacks.

10. Mekhi Becton, T, Louisville. Another one of these freaky athletic guys, and huge. Started at both left and right tackle. Size/speed combination is great.

11. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma. Dez Bryant-type. Strong, tall, complete receiver.

12. Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama. Excellent route-runner. Plays a lot like Antonio Brown, without the baggage.

13. Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State. Shutdown corner with big upside. I probably have him too low.

14. C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida. Good speed (4.39), and a starter against top competition. Will play a long time in the NFL.

15. Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina. Tore up the Senior Bowl. Productive three-year starter. Very strong. Will play early and could dominate.

16. Henry Ruggs, WR, Alabama. You can teach a guy to catch better, but you can’t teach speed like he has. Ran a 4.27 40 at the combine.

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rockaction said:

Weird how he says that about Ruggs. More astute observations have Ruggs III as a catcher of the football that snatches it out of the air quite adroitly and have him as a more than competent hands catcher. Video highlights show no body, too, only hands.

Dang I'm high on him. I was high on Higgins, too, but I think consensus is scaring me away from that.

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BigTex said:

There's a shift taking place, I'm not sure why but it is. I'm starting to see more mocks with Ruggs as the 1st WR drafted. He's line is moving up.

Tex

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rockaction said:

It's moving, that's for sure. I've seen it since the combine. I wonder if he can ever live up to that much capital investment given, as Dr. Dan and Iceman03 will point out, his lack of collegiate volume. A risk for sure, but I just can't get over those highlights (I can't call what I'm watching film, that's misleading.)

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miqws said:

From numberfire.com, J.J. Zachariason (@LateRoundQB)

Fantasy Football: Zachariason's Pre-Draft Rookie Rankings

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Faust said:

Jeffrey Lurie and Robert Kraft Step Up; Trouble With Canceled Physicals; Draft Notes

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