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2014 NFL Draft thread (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter GregR
- Start date
Nobody looked more impressive running the ball in bowl games than Mason, just unstoppable.
FunkyPlutos
Footballguy
Bigboy10182000
Footballguy
Good stuff in here:
@JPSTATS: Top QB Prospects - Passing vs. Defensive Rushers. http://t.co/y1DseAhy1R
@JPSTATS: Top QB Prospects - Passing vs. Defensive Rushers. http://t.co/y1DseAhy1R
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Interesting:
I have him going at 5 to the Raiders (after Teddy goes #1 and Manziel #2).
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
I agree, think the top three QBs are gone by OAK at 1.5, in whatever order, Clowney will be top five, and the other top five pick could depend on whether STL picks from 1.2, 1.4 (or further down), but possibly Watkins, Matthews or Robinson.
If they opt for LT instead of WR, I now prefer Robinson, which might mean they could trade down further, to ATL at 1.6 or even MIN at 1.8 (though I can see Robinson surging up the board, so he might not even be a lock to get to ATL, but that would push Matthews and/or Watkins to that pick). If STL traded with CLE and added the IND first, and were able to add Baylor G/OT Cyril Richardson after getting Robinson, that could be a potentially dominant run blocking pairing, Fisher loves a physical, smash mouth run game, and they are in the Fargo wood chipper scene of a division. You have to win in your division, and they would help against SEA and SF (ARI, too - the NFC West improbably has close to three top 5 defenses, and STL could be a DB or two away from top 10).
I know it is very unlikely to add TWO OL when Fisher has never drafted one, just thinking out loud, but don't forget, STL was prepared to draft Warford with the 1.30 if Ogletree hadn't fallen to them. Between injury (Long), free agency (Saffold) and having aging, cap cut vulnerable interior OL vets in Wells and Dahl (also Wells has missed about 13 games since 2012), STL could be experiencing OL turnover in 2014, and may want to plan ahead for the future.
A couple BIG reasons Fisher was fortunate enough to not have to need to draft an OL was he inherited Matthews (1.9) who played close to two decades, and Munchak (1.8) who played over a decade. BOTH were future Hall of Famers that each had 10 All Pros, so guessing that was one of the most unprecedented cases of unbelievably good luck in the history of the NFL that will probably never be repeated. This is one reason it might be misplaced to assume he will make decisions in drafting OL exactly like he did in HOU/TEN.
* Back to the QBs, OAK must be feeling tremendous pressure to add a QB. Not sure if enough to trade up, as they have a lot of holes, but no way the HC survives another mediocre QB scuffling season, and probably the GM, too. The JAX HC could be feeling pressure, as well, if they suffer through another lost season due to not having a better QB than Gabbert/Henne, a lot of new HCs don't get a third year after two failed seasons out of the gate.
If they opt for LT instead of WR, I now prefer Robinson, which might mean they could trade down further, to ATL at 1.6 or even MIN at 1.8 (though I can see Robinson surging up the board, so he might not even be a lock to get to ATL, but that would push Matthews and/or Watkins to that pick). If STL traded with CLE and added the IND first, and were able to add Baylor G/OT Cyril Richardson after getting Robinson, that could be a potentially dominant run blocking pairing, Fisher loves a physical, smash mouth run game, and they are in the Fargo wood chipper scene of a division. You have to win in your division, and they would help against SEA and SF (ARI, too - the NFC West improbably has close to three top 5 defenses, and STL could be a DB or two away from top 10).
I know it is very unlikely to add TWO OL when Fisher has never drafted one, just thinking out loud, but don't forget, STL was prepared to draft Warford with the 1.30 if Ogletree hadn't fallen to them. Between injury (Long), free agency (Saffold) and having aging, cap cut vulnerable interior OL vets in Wells and Dahl (also Wells has missed about 13 games since 2012), STL could be experiencing OL turnover in 2014, and may want to plan ahead for the future.
A couple BIG reasons Fisher was fortunate enough to not have to need to draft an OL was he inherited Matthews (1.9) who played close to two decades, and Munchak (1.8) who played over a decade. BOTH were future Hall of Famers that each had 10 All Pros, so guessing that was one of the most unprecedented cases of unbelievably good luck in the history of the NFL that will probably never be repeated. This is one reason it might be misplaced to assume he will make decisions in drafting OL exactly like he did in HOU/TEN.
* Back to the QBs, OAK must be feeling tremendous pressure to add a QB. Not sure if enough to trade up, as they have a lot of holes, but no way the HC survives another mediocre QB scuffling season, and probably the GM, too. The JAX HC could be feeling pressure, as well, if they suffer through another lost season due to not having a better QB than Gabbert/Henne, a lot of new HCs don't get a third year after two failed seasons out of the gate.
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Donnybrook
Footballguy
Carr stats look good but his yards per pass attempt tells another story. http://espn.go.com/college-football/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/yardsPerPassAttemptBigboy10182000 said:
Notice that the other top QB prospects are in the top 10 in yards per attempt.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Saw a stat about Johnny Football in his only cold weather game.
He didn't complete a single pass that went over 10 yards in that game. I think it was against Missouri if I'm not mistaken so if that is correct then any cold weather team would have to dig into that to make certain tha his arm would not be an issue in cold weather.
matuski
Footballguy
I'm pretty sure his first TD in that game was a long one.
eta - that was his worst game that I watched, however.
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Bob Magaw
Footballguy
As to the Fisher doesn't take OL in the first round meme, did he have complete personnel autonomy when it came to the draft, or did GM Floyd Reese have the final decision in HOU//TEN (and did the owner have input, like when they took VY)?
If not the former, that would put the lack of first round OL picks on somebody other than Fisher.
If not the former, that would put the lack of first round OL picks on somebody other than Fisher.
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Bob Magaw
Footballguy
Greg Robinson and Tre Mason might get extra attention in STL, if they want to continue to make the run and not the pass the focal point of the offense. GM Snead is an Auburn alumni, and HC Fisher's son played there and was a teammate.
Not sure if it was Fisher's same son or a different one, but one was a teammate of starting CB Trumaine Johnson at Montana, and he was drafted by STL in the third round of the 2012 draft. I'm sure a player wouldn't get drafted just because he played with a coaches son, but it could be a valuable conduit of unfiltered intel, for things like character, work ethic, passion for the game, desire to be great, leadership and other intangibles.
* BTW, IF HOU drafts Bridgewater, STL trades with CLE who takes Bortles/Manziel and JAX takes the remaining of Manziel/Bortles, that could create a situation where STL might be in a position to trade down a second time sitting at 1.4 with Clowney still on the board, to ATL (which would than be just two picks back at 1.6). Depending on what OAK did at 1.5, STL would still have their pick of two or three of Watkins, Matthews or Robinson.
By the chart*, the cost of a move like that (1.6 ATL to 1.4 STL) would only be 200 points, a bit less than a third (maybe STL would have to give back a fifth, or maybe they could drive a hard bargain and it would be straight up, as Clowney could be very coveted with more than one team vying for him if they only had to go up to 1.4 instead of 1.1 or 1.2?).
* http://walterfootball.com/draftchart.php
Not sure if it was Fisher's same son or a different one, but one was a teammate of starting CB Trumaine Johnson at Montana, and he was drafted by STL in the third round of the 2012 draft. I'm sure a player wouldn't get drafted just because he played with a coaches son, but it could be a valuable conduit of unfiltered intel, for things like character, work ethic, passion for the game, desire to be great, leadership and other intangibles.
* BTW, IF HOU drafts Bridgewater, STL trades with CLE who takes Bortles/Manziel and JAX takes the remaining of Manziel/Bortles, that could create a situation where STL might be in a position to trade down a second time sitting at 1.4 with Clowney still on the board, to ATL (which would than be just two picks back at 1.6). Depending on what OAK did at 1.5, STL would still have their pick of two or three of Watkins, Matthews or Robinson.
By the chart*, the cost of a move like that (1.6 ATL to 1.4 STL) would only be 200 points, a bit less than a third (maybe STL would have to give back a fifth, or maybe they could drive a hard bargain and it would be straight up, as Clowney could be very coveted with more than one team vying for him if they only had to go up to 1.4 instead of 1.1 or 1.2?).
* http://walterfootball.com/draftchart.php
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2014 NFL Draft: Texans' Bob McNair envisions Clowney-Watt tandem
By Jeff Reynolds | NFLDraftScout.com
January 14, 2014 1:55 pm ET
By Jeff Reynolds | NFLDraftScout.com
January 14, 2014 1:55 pm ET
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
Robinson moving up. By May STL may need to take him at 1.2 or 1.4 if they want him over Watkins and Matthews.
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Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
Nothing said about what round? Did the Titans have no other needs when Fisher drafted Lendale White, Chris Henry and Chris Johnson in the first couple of rounds over a several year period.RB is about the last thing STL needs in the first couple of rounds.
With Hyde, Carey, Sankey, Seastrunk, Hill also in the class, he could drop (Lacy was a few picks from making it to round three, and he has more prototypical size and did the best in the class of 2013).
STL wants to run the ball, Stacy was dinged a few times and has a violent running style. If he has serious injury, they may not want to roll with Cunningham, Richardson and Pead all season (they may not even all make the team if they draft a RB)
If they trade down at the top, they could have the luxury of extra picks to work with, and be able to fill multiple holes before addressing that one.
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GregR
Footballguy
Translation: Houston would like to trade down and acquire more picks. They realize it is unlikely many would be willing to move up to #1 to take a QB this year, as they could instead move to #2 for likely cheaper and still get a similar QB. So teams who might look to move up would be doing so to get Clowney. So Houston is trying to fuel the trade market by posturing that they might take him themselves.Faust said:
Donnybrook
Footballguy
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Kiper's first mock is out and it was announced on the Herd.
just announced on the herd on ESPN radio. He gave his top-five and said where he projects Bridgewater to go.
1 Manziel (Houston)
2. Matthews (St. Louis)
3. Clowney (Jax)
4. Bortles (Cleveland)
5. Waktins (Oakland)
Bridgewater, No. 8 to Vikings
just announced on the herd on ESPN radio. He gave his top-five and said where he projects Bridgewater to go.
1 Manziel (Houston)
2. Matthews (St. Louis)
3. Clowney (Jax)
4. Bortles (Cleveland)
5. Waktins (Oakland)
Bridgewater, No. 8 to Vikings
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
I haven't seen Calvin Pryor anywhere near that high before.
RBM
Footballguy
NFL.com Mock Draft Central
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks have posted their first mock drafts and there will be more to follow.
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks have posted their first mock drafts and there will be more to follow.
Donnybrook
Footballguy
Donnybrook
Footballguy
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
Watkins and Robinson are moving up (though QBs will be drafted high so they won't necessarily go 1.2 and 1.3). Robinson especially has been surging up the board and I expect him to go before Matthews. I was hoping STL could somehow get both, but that is looking increasingly unlikely. It would almost have to involve a couple trades, from 1.2 down to 1.4 or 1.6, probably take Robinson first at the rate his ascent is accelerating (and with the run being the focal point of the offense, if I had to pick one, which is likely, I'm starting to lean towards Robinson, WRs sometimes only get the ball a handful of times a game, Robinson will impact every offensive play), and with some of the ammo they might acquire in the trade down, they could parlay that into a trade up from 1.13 into the top 10 if Watkins is still on the board. Otherwise, maybe trade down again, and have not only multiple firsts, but also seconds and thirds to fill needs at safety, CB, QB, RB, etc.
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Donnybrook
Footballguy
msommer
Footballguy
But that is exactly what they said about Blaine Gabbert (without drawing ANY other comparisons than tose words)
EastonBlues22
Footballguy
I didn't pay much attention to the draftniks back then, but I did watch a lot of Gabbert in college thanks to my brother. He always struck me as a guy with close to ideal physical tools, but with a very limited skill toolbox. He was a spread QB with inconsistent accuracy, limited ability to work through progressions, and poor pocket presence. That's pretty much the opposite of what I think of when someone describes a QB as NFL ready.
For those who said that, do you happen to remember why they thought that about Gabbert?
GregR
Footballguy
To give an idea of how far such things are people talking out of their ### at this point...
Per O'brien the Texans haven't even started draft preparation. Right now the coaching staff are reviewing the players currently on the roster. Said the only play he's seen of Bridgewater or Manziel were the rare games he caught on TV as a viewer. Bortles he got to see first hand as they played.
Per O'brien the Texans haven't even started draft preparation. Right now the coaching staff are reviewing the players currently on the roster. Said the only play he's seen of Bridgewater or Manziel were the rare games he caught on TV as a viewer. Bortles he got to see first hand as they played.
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
It is a bit early to fit players with teams. But we can probably get a sense of which players could be the most likely to go in the top 10.
On defense, Clowney might be the only worthy DL (DT Jernigan showed up high in one of the new lists today, maybe Jeremiah's?), Mack the only LB (Mosley possible, not likely?) and maybe no DBs (some have Dennard going to DET).
That leaves eight on offense.
OTs Robinson and Matthews possible. No interior OL. Probably no TEs. No RBs. Maybe just Watkins at WR (DET could pair Evans with Johnson?). That leaves as many as five spots (or as few as one in the unlikely event all the names in parentheses go in the top 10, more likely one or two, if that), with quite a few potential openings for QBs.
On defense, Clowney might be the only worthy DL (DT Jernigan showed up high in one of the new lists today, maybe Jeremiah's?), Mack the only LB (Mosley possible, not likely?) and maybe no DBs (some have Dennard going to DET).
That leaves eight on offense.
OTs Robinson and Matthews possible. No interior OL. Probably no TEs. No RBs. Maybe just Watkins at WR (DET could pair Evans with Johnson?). That leaves as many as five spots (or as few as one in the unlikely event all the names in parentheses go in the top 10, more likely one or two, if that), with quite a few potential openings for QBs.
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msommer
Footballguy
I remember Mayock going on about it, but not the specifics, sorry. not enough science in the evaluations I think but then I may not remember that tomorrow
netnalp
Footballguy
http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/46006/349/peshek-top-4-wr-metrics
(Graphs from article aren't included in the posting here)
Peshek: Top 4 WR Metrics
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
- Sammy Watkins’ receptions stick out like a sore thumb. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s watched Clemson that 57% of Watkins’ catches came off screens. We’ll examine his yards after the catch in relation to screens later in the piece, but that doesn’t discount the fact that you’d like to see more than 30% of his receptions come past 6 yards – just for some variation.
- The most normalized reception chart belongs to Mike Evans, who was the closest to average among the top tier. Much will be made about Manziel and Evans’ connection and reliance on each other for deep balls. However, we still have to be impressed by the fact that at 6’5” Evans has caught the highest percentage of receptions past 20 yards amongst the top 15 WRs in this class.
- Like Evans, 25% of Benjamin’s receptions came on throws deeper than 20 yards. Benjamin’s receptions are well distributed among the various zones with the exception of screens. He caught 3 screens on the year where he totaled -8 yards. The screen game is not going to be strong for Kelvin at the next level.
- Lee’s receptions are the most stunning, as only 3.5% of his catches (2 receptions) came deeper than 20 yards. He actually dropped more deep passes (3) than he caught. Other than that, we can see the influence of Kiffin’s passing game where the majority of Lee’s receptions came on short passes designed to get yards after the catch.
As alluded to earlier, Marqise Lee was put in situations where he could catch the ball short and take it for good yardage. His 7.05 yards after the catch is top 5 in the class, although his paltry 3.7 yards after the catch on screens leaves a little something to be desired.
- We can see the effects of Benjamin’s deep receptions as he caught the ball an average of 13.4 yards from the line of scrimmage, proving to be a solid deep threat. However, his 4.89 yards after the catch is the lowest among the top 15 WRs. That’s not necessarily a problem with a bigger WR as that’s not ‘where he wins’. However, we still have to take that into account when comparing him to other similarly sized WRs.
- Benjamin’s YAC becomes relevant when compared to Evans who averaged 7.63 yards after the catch. His yardage wasn’t just racked up on broken Manziel plays. On screens he averaged 8.92 yards after the catch, displaying an innate shiftiness/burst that he may not always get credit for.
- I was a bit hard on Watkins earlier for his lack of receptions downfield, however we have to be impressed with his YAC. Despite catching 70% of his passes within 5 yards of the LOS, where defenses were keying in on him – he averaged the highest YAC of this class gaining 8.48 yards on average. Most importantly he still averaged a solid 6.1 yards on non-screen passes showing he can get it done all over the field
[SIZE=medium]How Did they Catch the Ball?[/SIZE]
The chart below represents the final break each WR made before catching the ball. The goal isn’t to tell you exactly what routes each WR ran, but the variety of breaks they made as well as how those affected their production. For instance, comebacks typically yield very little YAC (2.5 yards on average) while posts/corner/slants yield high yards after the catch. The chart has factored out screens.
When he’s not running screens, Watkins has the most normal distribution of route types. This makes his overall YAC on non-screens all the more impressive because we know he’s not running an excess of routes that lead to exaggerated YAC totals.
- As many have surmised via his tape, nearly 44% of Mike Evans’ catches are from coming back to the QB. Whether that’s on a scramble drill or designed route, that high number of comebacks takes away from his experience running sharp-breaking routes like square outs. Although we must consider Evans’ high YAC as a positive sign despite catching so many comebacks.
- Most interesting here is Benjamin and FSU’s utilization of the go route to take advantage of his height mismatch, nearly doubling the average for that specific type of route.
- Nearly 43% of Marqise Lee’s receptions came on short breaking in/out routes designed to put him in a position to gain yardage after the catch. I’m personally a bit surprised by the lack of post/corner/slants that have seemed to factor more heavily into USC’s past offenses.
[SIZE=medium]How Are Their Hands?[/SIZE]
Here are the drop rates for each of the WRs. I defined drops as balls that were easy receptions and likely bounced off the hands of a WR, not passes that a WR ‘could have caught’ with an acrobatic play. I won’t provide any commentary since it’s pretty self-explanatory.
So much of a WR’s numbers depend on the quarterback, so we can’t always use stats as effectively as we do for other positions. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in them. Whether you use them to identify problems with a prospect’s hands or examine a WR’s YAC in depth, there is merit if you understand their potential and limitations. That’s all I have for now. I’ll answer any questions and tweet out additional info I have on Twitter @NU_Gap. Thanks for reading.
--------------------------------------------------------------
If Nicks leaves the Giants, it wouldn't be a shock if the Giants take Evans. Watkins is expected to be gone at their #12 pick. Evans at 6'5" Evans could play a role like Plaxico. A lot depends on what the new OC's scheme does.
(Graphs from article aren't included in the posting here)
Peshek: Top 4 WR Metrics
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
- Sammy Watkins’ receptions stick out like a sore thumb. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s watched Clemson that 57% of Watkins’ catches came off screens. We’ll examine his yards after the catch in relation to screens later in the piece, but that doesn’t discount the fact that you’d like to see more than 30% of his receptions come past 6 yards – just for some variation.
- The most normalized reception chart belongs to Mike Evans, who was the closest to average among the top tier. Much will be made about Manziel and Evans’ connection and reliance on each other for deep balls. However, we still have to be impressed by the fact that at 6’5” Evans has caught the highest percentage of receptions past 20 yards amongst the top 15 WRs in this class.
- Like Evans, 25% of Benjamin’s receptions came on throws deeper than 20 yards. Benjamin’s receptions are well distributed among the various zones with the exception of screens. He caught 3 screens on the year where he totaled -8 yards. The screen game is not going to be strong for Kelvin at the next level.
- Lee’s receptions are the most stunning, as only 3.5% of his catches (2 receptions) came deeper than 20 yards. He actually dropped more deep passes (3) than he caught. Other than that, we can see the influence of Kiffin’s passing game where the majority of Lee’s receptions came on short passes designed to get yards after the catch.
As alluded to earlier, Marqise Lee was put in situations where he could catch the ball short and take it for good yardage. His 7.05 yards after the catch is top 5 in the class, although his paltry 3.7 yards after the catch on screens leaves a little something to be desired.
- We can see the effects of Benjamin’s deep receptions as he caught the ball an average of 13.4 yards from the line of scrimmage, proving to be a solid deep threat. However, his 4.89 yards after the catch is the lowest among the top 15 WRs. That’s not necessarily a problem with a bigger WR as that’s not ‘where he wins’. However, we still have to take that into account when comparing him to other similarly sized WRs.
- Benjamin’s YAC becomes relevant when compared to Evans who averaged 7.63 yards after the catch. His yardage wasn’t just racked up on broken Manziel plays. On screens he averaged 8.92 yards after the catch, displaying an innate shiftiness/burst that he may not always get credit for.
- I was a bit hard on Watkins earlier for his lack of receptions downfield, however we have to be impressed with his YAC. Despite catching 70% of his passes within 5 yards of the LOS, where defenses were keying in on him – he averaged the highest YAC of this class gaining 8.48 yards on average. Most importantly he still averaged a solid 6.1 yards on non-screen passes showing he can get it done all over the field
[SIZE=medium]How Did they Catch the Ball?[/SIZE]
The chart below represents the final break each WR made before catching the ball. The goal isn’t to tell you exactly what routes each WR ran, but the variety of breaks they made as well as how those affected their production. For instance, comebacks typically yield very little YAC (2.5 yards on average) while posts/corner/slants yield high yards after the catch. The chart has factored out screens.
When he’s not running screens, Watkins has the most normal distribution of route types. This makes his overall YAC on non-screens all the more impressive because we know he’s not running an excess of routes that lead to exaggerated YAC totals.
- As many have surmised via his tape, nearly 44% of Mike Evans’ catches are from coming back to the QB. Whether that’s on a scramble drill or designed route, that high number of comebacks takes away from his experience running sharp-breaking routes like square outs. Although we must consider Evans’ high YAC as a positive sign despite catching so many comebacks.
- Most interesting here is Benjamin and FSU’s utilization of the go route to take advantage of his height mismatch, nearly doubling the average for that specific type of route.
- Nearly 43% of Marqise Lee’s receptions came on short breaking in/out routes designed to put him in a position to gain yardage after the catch. I’m personally a bit surprised by the lack of post/corner/slants that have seemed to factor more heavily into USC’s past offenses.
[SIZE=medium]How Are Their Hands?[/SIZE]
Here are the drop rates for each of the WRs. I defined drops as balls that were easy receptions and likely bounced off the hands of a WR, not passes that a WR ‘could have caught’ with an acrobatic play. I won’t provide any commentary since it’s pretty self-explanatory.
So much of a WR’s numbers depend on the quarterback, so we can’t always use stats as effectively as we do for other positions. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in them. Whether you use them to identify problems with a prospect’s hands or examine a WR’s YAC in depth, there is merit if you understand their potential and limitations. That’s all I have for now. I’ll answer any questions and tweet out additional info I have on Twitter @NU_Gap. Thanks for reading.
--------------------------------------------------------------
If Nicks leaves the Giants, it wouldn't be a shock if the Giants take Evans. Watkins is expected to be gone at their #12 pick. Evans at 6'5" Evans could play a role like Plaxico. A lot depends on what the new OC's scheme does.
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Who did? Everybody knew he was a project coming in IMO. He did very little in college. Nothing like Bridgewater at all.
msommer
Footballguy
Village Idiot
Pokerguy
Jeremiah has the Browns taking Hyde at 26.
If the Browns take a RB that high they truly are inept.
The other guy that has a mock up with Jeremiah's also has Watkins dropping to the Ravens at 16.
I don't think there is a snowballs chance he drops that low.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
I didn't know that.Dr. Octopus said:
Any cold weather team will have serious concerns over Johnny Manziel effectiveness in poor conditions.
His mobility would be advrsely effected if the natural turf he was playing on wasn't ideal.
Manziel's arm strength has been questioned. Arm strength isn't nearly the issue for teams who play indoors or who don't experience bitter cold or poor conditions on a regular basis. In bitter cold conditions deep balls die.
Some people who have not seen this for themselves may not understand how bitter cold makes deep passes hang in the air allowing defenders to recover to get breaks on deep passes.
Bitter cold has a clear effect but the worst conditions for a weak or even average armed QB are windy/gusty conditions.
The numbers have been crunched many times to show cold weather adversely impacts the passing game but these numbers have not been cross tabulated to break-out weak armed QBs to show that they have even more difficulty.
The following study included ALL OUTDOOR STADIUMS, not just the cold weather teams and ALL QUARTERBACKS they did not try to make a distinction between QBs with strong arms VS. average or weak armed QBs.
http://www.nfl.com/features/freakonomics/episode-12
Completion percentage(from 2007-2011)
Month
Indoors - - outdoors
September
62.9% - - - 61.0%
October
63.7% - - - 60.8%
November
62.4% - - - 60.6%
December
63.2% - - - 59.2%
January
61.1% - - - 56.4%
RUSF18
Footballguy
I had the same reaction (and I think Jeremiah is great, FWIW). I'd be completely amazed if CLE burns a 1st round pick on a RB after so quickly turning around on a 1st round RB in Richardson. You can of course make the case that they saw his talent diminishing and chose to cash in before it was too late, but a popular story after the trade was that the new management valued the position very differently.Village Idiot said:
I like Hyde as a player but I also think going after a big bruiser type is a huge risk, not knowing how they will transition to the NFL where it is obviously much harder to run over guys. And to take that risk in the 1st or 2nd...I wouldn't want my team to do that.
Milkman
Footballguy
I think it would be a better option for them to go QB and WR. If somebody like Evans or Lee falls to them with their second pick.....I mean they could pick up Seastrunk, Mason, Hill, or Carey in the second. If there is a RB they love i guess i could see them taking him in the first but this draft seems pretty deep at the RB and WR position. Elite WR>>>>>Elite RB in this new pass friendly NFL.
If they hit on their QB with their first pick their offense could be elite very quickly.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Yesterday on Cleveland Browns Daily the two hosts of the show and another host of a different ESPN program all commented on a mock draft that had the Browns taking a RB with their other 1st round pick and all said that they were almost certain that would not happen. They said that the people running the front office do not value the RB position and they all but said the Browns drafting a RB in the first round had almost a zero chance of happening.
Many have been saying that this upcoming draft class is the deepest at WR that they've seen. Two days ago Matt Williamson was on and he said that Cleveland could take a WR in the third round that would compare to a high 2nd round draft selection in a typical draft.
So although taking a WR with the Browns 26th pick in the first round is not out of the question, the Browns hold two 3rd round draft picks and it sounds like a few decent wide receiver prospects will be available there. The club will likely look to upgrade the O-Line, right tackle to be specific, and probably target a CB to start opposite Joe Haden with the 26th pick of the first round could even be a TE and ofcourse if they don't get a QB with the top pick then QB is a high possibility to go there should the top pick be anything other than a QB.
Meh, they already have an elite WR but just crap in the backfield.
I agree though, both positions appear to be deep. It will all come down to who they are in love with in the bunch.
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