Early 2015 Scouting (1 Viewer)

[Zyphros]

Before I go into my initial evaluation of some of the 2015 RB's I just want to explain my process a little to give you a better background on how I came to my rundown. It's a very simple process where I list roughly 10 RB's and 10 WR's that I have noticed have gotten a lot of hype up until this point and go through youtube highlight videos of each of those players while pointing out what I see. I know some of you probably frown upon the "highlight reel" but I find it gives me a good idea of a players ceiling. I think of it like this, if a guy has highlights at a lower level than the NFL, then they can be average with those highlights in the NFL, and if they improve upon their skill set then they can achieve the highlights in the NFL as well. A steady progression with the assumption that they will get better when use to the game speed at the NFL level.

All height/weights are according to rotoworld. These are all just initial reactions to what I saw in the videos I had watched. Each player was about 10-15 minutes worth of clips.

Now for the RB's (no specific order):

TJ Yeldon - 6'2" 221 - Good speed, the build, and plus vision. He makes cuts with a natural look to them and breaks arm tackles with ease. Also a plus pass catcher. Very likely my #3 RB in 2015.

Jay Ajayi - 6'0" 216 - Thin legs with not much leg drive to move piles. Not very elusive. Hits the hole well but bounces outside a lot. Decent balance but a good pass catcher. Very little I liked when watching him.

Todd Gurley - 6'1" 226 - Fast, great cuts, breaks all tackles, great vision. Long strides. Easily my #1 RB.

Melvin Gordon - 6'1" 213 - Fantastic cuts, great speed, plus vision. Limited power but has enough. Strong guy with great balance. Easily my #2 RB.

Duke Johnson - 5'9" 206 - Good speed, with good patience. Decent vision.

Tevin Coleman - 6'1" 210 - Hits the hole very well. Very good acceleration with good power. Decent cuts, but straight-lineish.

Ameer Abdullah - 5'9" 190 - Best cuts I've ever seen. Tough kid and reads blocks extremely well. Great pass catcher with great vision.

Devon Johnson - 6'1" 243 - Strong power back. Gerhart 2.0 without his speed or athleticism. Doubt I'll draft him anywhere.

Mike Davis - 5'9" 223 - Decent speed with "ok" cutting ability, not the best vision. Reminded me of watching Montee Ball (jury still out on him too).

That's it for my RB's right now. I am by no means an expert at scouting, just wanted to share some initial reactions to each guy with the rest of you. Honestly I do not watch college football almost at all, so maybe going through some of their clips now by someone who does not have a bias towards them is a fresh outlook for some. This is my first time watching 6 out of 9 of these guys.

 

[Zyphros]

Here are some WR's too.

Amari Cooper - 6'1" 198 - Very smooth, good ball tracking and high points the ball well, has the speed, sinks hips well, solid hands.

Kevin White - 6'3" 210 - Explosive athlete, looked a little skinny for his size, great hands and high points the ball well.

Davante Parker - 6'3" 211 - Good body control, high points the ball well, looked a little skinny for his size, fast enough. Didn't see many routes other than redzone throw it up and let him catch it.

David Funchess - 6'5" 230 - Man among boys, looks his size and uses it well. Decent hands, reminded me of Jared Cook watching him (WR/TE nobody knows yet).

Jaelen Strong - 6'4" 205 - Good feel for the position, good hands, not as quick/fast as I would like.

Sammie Coates - 6'2" 201 - Strong and has the speed. Needs to put in more effort on all plays, also has very little hip movement. Raw athlete.

Dorial Green-Beckham - 6'6" 220 - Didn't look 6'6" more like 6'4"ish but good hands and speed, has the size and high points it well. Looked like Marshall with better speed.

Vince Mayle - 6'3" 240 - Big guy, strong. Ok hands, ok speed, needs to use his hips more

Stefon Diggs - 6'0" 190 - Skinny but a strong kid. Sudden moves look good. Reminded me of Desean Jackson.

That's it for my early 2015 scouting and I will be using all of this information as my baseline for my rankings. If there are more players you want to hear my views on just let me know. Like I said before, there aren't a lot of players that I have looked at and these are all "initial" reactions to each one of them. For the WR's this is my first time watching 7 out of 9 of these guys.

Would love to hear peoples comments about all these WR's or RB's in case I'm missing something that I should take another look at.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

Kevin White looked skinny to you? The guy is seriously built.

 

[EBF]

I don't think White is actually the 6'3" they list him at. I wouldn't say he's skinny. Not huge either.

Players who you might want to look at:

RB Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn

RB David Cobb, Minnesota

RB Michael Dyer, Louisville

RB Byron Marshall, Oregon

RB DeAndre Washington, Texas Tech

WR Corey Coleman, Baylor

WR Phillip Dorsett, Miami

WR Tyreek Hill, Oklahoma State

WR Ty Montgomery, Stanford

WR Devin Smith, Ohio State

I think Montgomery and Smith are highly likely to go in the top 100 picks. Montgomery nearly a lock barring a disastrous Senior Bowl.

Artis-Payne seems to be underrated on some Internet lists. I could see him as a 2nd-4th round draft pick.

Hill might have been a first round pick without his character issues. Now he's a wild card. Probably more of a day two gamble than elite prospect. Could slip further if the red flags are really bad. Apparently he has a history of domestic violence. Not good for his draft stock. 4.2 40 will help him though.

 

[jurb26]

Funchess has decent hands? Hasn't he dropped like 100 passes this year?

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Dorial Green-Beckham - 6'6" 220 - Didn't look 6'6" more like 6'4"ish but good hands and speed, has the size and high points it well. Looked like Marshall with better speed.

He's probably 6'6" but he doesn't play that big. Soft hands, good route runner and probably the guy in the draft with most dynasty upside. Has potential to be a top 10 WR, but not sure he'll declare. Another year in college and he's a top 10 pick in 2016.

 

[Zyphros]

Kevin White looked skinny to you? The guy is seriously built.

Maybe it was just because of the height/weight that rotoworld provided I expected him to look a little bigger. Not sure. That's just what my initial reaction was.

Funchess has decent hands? Hasn't he dropped like 100 passes this year?

Like I said, just watched some highlights of each player to get a first reaction of them all. I don't watch games and obviously drops aren't going to be in a highlight reel. I put "decent hands" because in some of the clips you could see him bobble it for a second and then complete the catch.

I don't think White is actually the 6'3" they list him at. I wouldn't say he's skinny. Not huge either.

Players who you might want to look at:

RB Cameron Artis-Payne, Auburn

RB David Cobb, Minnesota

RB Michael Dyer, Louisville

RB Byron Marshall, Oregon

RB DeAndre Washington, Texas Tech

WR Corey Coleman, Baylor

WR Phillip Dorsett, Miami

WR Tyreek Hill, Oklahoma State

WR Ty Montgomery, Stanford

WR Devin Smith, Ohio State

I think Montgomery and Smith are highly likely to go in the top 100 picks. Montgomery nearly a lock barring a disastrous Senior Bowl.

Artis-Payne seems to be underrated on some Internet lists. I could see him as a 2nd-4th round draft pick.

Hill might have been a first round pick without his character issues. Now he's a wild card. Probably more of a day two gamble than elite prospect. Could slip further if the red flags are really bad. Apparently he has a history of domestic violence. Not good for his draft stock. 4.2 40 will help him though.

Thanks EBF, I'll definitely take a look at some of these guys after my holiday vacation.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Funchess is Brandon Pettigrew II, Electric Boogaloo.