Your Top 12 ROOKIES A Day Before The NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[VarsityBlues123]

There have been polls and discussion but now the time is here, what say you one day before the 1st round of the NFL draft?

Todd Gurley RB Georgia

Amari Cooper WR Alabama

Kevin White WR West Virginia

Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin

Devante Parker WR Louisville

Dorial Green-Beckham WR Missouri

Breshad Perriman WR Central Florida

TJ Yeldon RB Alabama

Jay Ajayi RB Boise State

Nelson Agholor WR USC

Tevin Coleman RB Indiana

Jaelen Strong WR Arizona State

 

[JohnnyU]

My ranking for a PPR Dynasty League. I took this from https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index.php?/topic/721020-early-2015-ppr-dynasty-draft-top-12/

I moved Jay Ajayi down to 1.12 (from what I have linked in this post) because of the recent information about his knee, but that could be planted bad information before the draft. Besides, I'm sure most of these rankings will change significantly after the NFL draft. I also made some other minor modifications.

Modified from the one I have linked

1.01 - Toddy Gurley RB, Georgia

1.02 - Amari Cooper WR, Alabama

1.03 - Melvin Gordon RB, Wisconsin

1.04 - Kevin White WR West Virginia

1.05 - Devante Parker WR, Louisville

1.06 - Ameer Abdullah RB, Nebraska

1.07 - Jalen Strong WR, Arizona St.

1.08 - T J Yeldon RB, Alabama

1.09 - Breshad Perriman WR UCF

1.10 - Dorial Green-Beckham WR

1.11 - Duke Johnson RB Miami

1.12 - Jay Ajayi RB, Boise St.

 

[Shutout]

It's a relative term for sure, but this is what I call my "safe" list at the moment.

1. Gurley

2. Cooper

3. Gordon

4. White

5. Abdullah

6. Perriman

7. Yeldon

8. Strong

9. Mariota

10.Parker

11. Ajayi

12. Agholor

 

[Run It Up]

Gurley
Gordon
Coleman
Abdullah

Cooper
White
Parker
DGB

Strong

Dorsett
Agholor
Perriman

No particular order.

 

[Warhogs]

Amari Cooper

Todd Gurley

Melvin Gordon

Davante Parker

Kevin White

Breshad Perriman

Nelson Algholor

TJ Yeldon

Tevin Coleman

Ameer Abdullah

Dorial Beckham-Green

Jameis Winston

 

[hankey2mlh]

I will probably move Jay Ajayi down a couple of spots because of the recent information about his knee, but that could be planted bad information before the draft. Besides, I'm sure most of these rankings will change significantly after the NFL draft.

I am also a bit down on Ajayi because of the recent news about his knee (before that he was a reasonable pick at 1.03).It's always interesting to see how the NFL Draft shakes everything up. Some second and third tier RBs like Cobb or David Johnson probably will be considered in the first round of fantasy drafts due to their landing spot, others could be stuck behind a stud RB. That's why I have Gordon rated higher than Gurley, who could be selected by a team like Houston because he is "too good to be passed up". Gordon, with no injury concerns at all and loads of talent as well, is more likely to be in a great landing spot like Dallas, Baltimore or Arizona. Here's my ranking:

1) Melvin Gordon

2) Todd Gurley

3) Amari Cooper

4) Kevin White

5) DeVante Parker

6) Duke Johnson

7) Breshad Perriman

8) Dorial Green-Beckham

9) Jay Ajayi

10) Ameer Abdullah

11) Jameis Winston

12) Tevin Coleman

 

[Khy]

Prior to the draft I rate on pure talent alone

TIER 1

1. Todd Gurley, his landing spot doesn't really matter a ton to me. He's easily the most talented of any of the prospects in this draft. Gurley is my only guy who won't adjust based on landing spot. Even in Houston I'd take him 1st overall, Foster is older has a lot of tread and has been often injured.

TIER 2 - LANDING SPOT WILL PLAY IN AS A FACTOR, BUT THEY'LL BE REORDERED. I DON'T EXPECT ANY OF THESE GUYS TO SLIP FROM MY TOP 7.

2. Kevin White

3. Dorial Green-Beckham

4. DeVante Parker - Actually my favorite WR in the draft. I fully anticipate him to be #1WR on my board after the NFL draft as he should go later and into a better situation than White & Cooper.

5. Melvin Gordon

6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time.

7. Jaelen Strong - There's just something about this guy that I love. He has the potential to be the best WR in this draft if he goes to the right team who can work on his route running. Physically, he's as gifted as any WR in the draft.

TIER 3 - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LANDING SPOT, WHERE ##### GETS MURKY

8. Duke Johnson

9. Jay Ajayi

10. Marcus Mariota - If he ends up in Cleveland just take him out of my top 12 entirely. If he lands in Tennesse, Philly, NYJ or somewhere similar he probably jumps a bit.

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten. Landing spot plays into this a big deal. If he ends up somewhere like New Orleans or Green Bay, I'm really excited.

12. TJ Yeldon - Not sure what it is about him, I just like to sit back and watch him. Again, landing spot is key.

Honestly, I could list another 20 guys in Tier 3 without blinking an eye. This is one of those rookie drafts where I don't envy the guys who draft before the real NFL draft. Because some are going to get like 3rd and 4th round steals that end up as 1st rounders post-draft. And some are going to take guys in the late first or early second who go to absolutely AWFUL situations and get screwed as they slip down to the 3rd and 4th rounds of post-draft rankings.

 

[georg013]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

 

[Khy]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

Regardless, I wasn't and am not extremely high on him. Add in the fact that he'll likely land in Oakland and I like him even less. If he somehow does slip down a bit and someone like the Bears or Giants take him, I'd be more intrigued.

 

[bud29]

1. Amari Cooper

2. Todd Gurley

3. Davante Parker

4. Kevin White

5. Melvin Gordon

6. Jaelen Strong

7. Ameer Abdullah

8. Breshad Perriman

9. Jay Ajayi

10. Jameis Winston

11. Dorial Green-Beckham

12. Duke Johnson

 

[Biabreakable]

My list hasn't really changed much since the combine. I did split up my tiers somewhat and I have considered 2a players for the 1b tier a lot such as Devin Smith, TJ Yeldon, Perriman, and Sammie Coates was a tier 1b player in the early evaluation process before I got more spooked about his hands/ball tracking. Anyhow here are my rankings.

Post combine list

Tier 1 these are players I expect to be capable of top 12 performance in FF within their 1st 3 seasons.

I split this tier into 1a and 1b the 1a players I expect to be top 12 regardless of situation they land in. 1b players I consider to be more situation dependent. This also depends on draft position. A lower draft position than expected could drop these players into the second tier as could a bad situation.

1a

WR Amari Cooper 20
RB Todd Gurley 21
RB Melvin Gordon 22
WR DeVante Parker 22, Funchess
WR Kevin White 22

1b

RB Jay Ayaji 21
RB Tevin Coleman 22
RB Ameer Abdullah 21
WR Jaelen Strong 21
WR Dorial Green-Beckham 22
RB Duke Johnson 21
QB Marcus Mariota 21
QB Jameis Winston 21


Tier 2 these players I expect to be capable of finishing top 24 at their position but not top 12. Situation could push these players into the above tier.

2a These players could jump a tier with high draft pick and/or a good landing spot.

RB TJ Yeldon 21
WR Breshad Perriman 21
WR Sammie Coates 22
WR Devin Smith 24
WR Phillip Dorsett 22
WR Tyler Lockett 22
WR/TE Devin Funchess 21


2b These players would not jump a tier with high draft pick and/or a good landing spot.

RB David Cobb 21
RB Cameron Artis-Payne 23
RB David Johnson 23
QB Brett Hundley 21
WR Nelson Agholor 21
TE Maxx Williams 21
WR Chris Conley 22
WR Kenny Bell 23
WR Rashad Greene 22
WR Austin Hill 24
RB Jeremy Langford 23
Qb Bryce Petty
TE Clive Warford 23


Tier 3 these players I expect to be fringe starters or watch list players. But they could move into the above tier due to draft positon and/or a good landing spot.



WR Stefon Diggs
RB Trey Williams 22
RB Karlos Williams
WR Darren Waller
WR Justin Hardy
RB Jarius Allen 23
WR Devante Davis
WR John Harris
QB Garrett Grayson
WR DeAndre Smelter
WR Titus Davis
RB Mike Davis 22
WR Ty Montgomery
TE Tyler Kroft
WR Tre McBride 22
RB Michael Dyer
QB Sean Mannion
WR Tony Lippett
Rb Matt Jones
RB Malcolm Brown 21
Rb Terrence Magee
WR Corey Grant
TE MyCole Pruitt
RB Josh Robinson
RB Akeem Hunt
WR Jamison Crowder 21
RB Malcolm Agnew
WR DaRon Brown

 

[Biabreakable]

It's a relative term for sure, but this is what I call my "safe" list at the moment.

1. Gurley

2. Cooper

3. Gordon

4. White

5. Abdullah

6. Perriman

7. Yeldon

8. Strong

9. Mariota

10.Parker

11. Ajayi

12. Agholor

Why do you consider Perriman and Strong to be safer than Parker?

 

[JohnnyU]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

Regardless, I wasn't and am not extremely high on him. Add in the fact that he'll likely land in Oakland and I like him even less. If he somehow does slip down a bit and someone like the Bears or Giants take him, I'd be more intrigued.

Landing in Oakland (Carr) better than landing in NYJ (name your crappy QB).

 

[Slapdash]

In order:

1. Cooper
2. White
3. Gurley
4. Parker
5. Gordon
6. DGB
7. Abdullah
8. Strong
9. Perriman
10. Ayaji
11. Agholor
12. Dorsett

 

[LawFitz]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

 

[JohnnyU]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

It was that huge Alabama line opening holes for him like they did for Trent Richardson. Yes, even for a WR.

 

[slackjawedyokel]

Todd Gurley

Melvin Gordon

Amari Cooper

Kevin White

Devante Parker

Tevin Coleman

Jay Ajayi

Ameer Abdullah

Dorial Green-Beckham

Duke Johnson

Breshad Perriman

TJ Yeldon

 

[Khy]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9UgIoVsOC4

Watch his Auburn tape. He's pretty much just running in straight lines and doing comebacks and just hitting massive plays over and over again as Auburn is consistently caught not even looking the right way. Watch a 3:49, it's just a standard out and up. The CB for Auburn just stops moving. Cooper doesn't beat him, the CB beats himself. And this is the case in almost every play in this game. It was a pathetic excuse for defensive play. At no point in this tape does he beat a double team or actually make a guy miss after the catch or even really make a nice double move at the break.

I'm not saying Cooper is a bum, I think he projects as a solid NFL WR. But I don't feel he projects as an elite WR. I'd say I expect Robert Woods from him and I think his ceiling is Roddy White if he can get into a good situation, with a good QB where he'll be the #1 target and fed a lot. Problem is, he won't land in that situation, he'll land in Jacksonville, Oakland, NYJ or Chicago. All of which have big questions on the team. I think Oakland is his best landing spot, but Derek Carr isn't Matt Ryan.

I just feel he'll be a much better NFL receiver than a fantasy receiver.

 

[Milkman]

Tier 1

Gurley

Cooper

Tier 2

DGB

Parker

White

Perriman

Tier 3

Coleman

David Johnson

Lockett

Gordon

 

[Slapdash]

Tier 1

Gurley

Cooper

Tier 2

DGB

Parker

White

Perriman

Tier 3

Coleman

Johnson

Lockett

Gordon

What'd Gordon do to you?

 

[Milkman]

He showed he's not a special athlete. He is absolutely not the next Jamaal Charles.

 

[lardonastick]

Non-ppr, start 2 RB rankings:

Todd Gurley

Melvin Gordon III

Amari Cooper

Kevin White

DeVante Parker

Jay Ajayi

Ameer Abdullah

TJ Yeldon

Dorial Green-Beckham

Breshad Perriman

Jaelen Strong

Duke Johnson

 

[BuzzCagney]

Tier 1

Gurley

Cooper

Tier 2

DGB

Parker

White

Perriman

Tier 3

Coleman

Johnson

Lockett

Gordon

which johnson ? duke or david.

 

[Milkman]

Tier 1

Gurley

Cooper

Tier 2

DGB

Parker

White

Perriman

Tier 3

Coleman

Johnson

Lockett

Gordon

which johnson ? duke or david.

Sorry David Johnson.

 

[LawFitz]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

You're underselling (or simply not recongnizing) the subtle moves this guy makes to get open. At 3:49 he makes a quick, smooth move to fool the DB into thinking he was going to run a deep out. The DB barely bit but the slight hitch opened enough space for Cooper to turn inside with the 4.3 speed and go over the top for 75.

With the earlier long TD he made a similar, but harder fake outside that completely threw the safety off balance before cutting back inside for the deep bomb.

He's open on these plays because of his moves and elite speed.

 

[BuzzCagney]

Tier 1

Gurley

Cooper

Tier 2

DGB

Parker

White

Perriman

Tier 3

Coleman

Johnson

Lockett

Gordon

which johnson ? duke or david.

Sorry David Johnson.

thanks. that's who i thought you meant. just wanted to be sure.

 

[VarsityBlues123]

He showed he's not a special athlete. He is absolutely not the next Jamaal Charles.

i think he is a special athlete but also think he is not the next jamaal charles.

 

[Borden]

1 Gurley

2 Cooper

3 Gordon

4 Yeldon

5 White

6 Perriman

7 Parker

8 DGB

9 Agholor

10 Ajayi

11 Duke

12 Dorsett

If I were on the clock, Ajayi and Duke probably get bumped for WR. Coleman I want to move up but I think Duke can be at least part of a committee and Ajayi will naturally improve as he matures (he runs with too much wasted movement that I think just comes from immaturity). Dorsett could drop the most out of anyone. However, I think has the potential to be a lot more than just a speed guy.

 

[Shutout]

1 Gurley

2 Cooper

3 Gordon

4 Yeldon

5 White

6 Perriman

7 Parker

8 DGB

9 Agholor

10 Ajayi

11 Duke

12 Dorsett

If I were on the clock, Ajayi and Duke probably get bumped for WR. Coleman I want to move up but I think Duke can be at least part of a committee and Ajayi will naturally improve as he matures (he runs with too much wasted movement that I think just comes from immaturity). Dorsett could drop the most out of anyone. However, I think has the potential to be a lot more than just a speed guy.

I like Dorsett a lot too. I think of him as a guy that could be like DJAX was in fantasy drafts who seemed to be heavily drafted in the mid-2nd and after but could easily be a guy we look back on and find a lot of value in.

I LOVED Parker. I had been positioning myself to move up and get him anywhere I could after the big 4 or so but recently I'm starting to worry about the foot. When you see the list of great players that had foot issues and then repeated those issues early in their careers, Parker is looking much more like a long-term investment to me with later payoff. And that could be fine but there are a lot of options out there this year.

 

[Steve Grogan]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

I agree with this and have no axe to grind. He deaks out the defense. Cooper made that play happen.

 

[Khy]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

It's possible, I fully understand the breaks he's making and his ability to move his hips to fake out the defender. That said, I also feel you're underselling his ability to be faked out there. It's a nice move, but pretty elementary at the NFL level. Again, to me it's all about situation for him. If he were to slip and land in New York (Jets), think I'd rather draft a multitude of other guys over him. Not that situations can't change. I'm not even sure I like the Oakland spot for him either as there's nobody else there to take coverage off of him. He'll be seeing double and triple coverages all game and it'll be unlikely that he gets one-on-one often to even make the kind of moves that opened him up at Alabama. Before I watched any tape on him I had him as my #1 WR, after watching some tape on him though I just feel like there are better all around talents at WR than him in this draft class. He may have better early success but I firmly believe that Parker/DGB or White will best him down the line.

 

[JohnnyU]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

youtube highlights <> tape

Greg Cosell = tape

 

[georg013]

All I am saying is this: when a guy is able to consistently get wide open, that usually means he is pretty good.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

 

[Khy]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

LOL, yeah those monster stats came against those ultra crappy SEC defenses. Had nothing to do with his razor sharp route running or 4.3 speed.

Yeah, actually they did.

I'm assuming you didn't click the link I posted? That's Draftbreakdown's video. It's not Youtube highlights, it's just every play he had in the game. Youtube highlights mean jack all, half of them are just guys running free and doing nothing special at all.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Maybe the other teams never heard of him before they played Alabama?

 

[Khy]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

No lol, I suppose 'just' wasn't the right word. I meant just in the defined term as exactly. Not just as to imply Witten isn't good.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

"6. Amari Cooper - I'm just not nearly as high on him as most everyone else. He saw a lot of wide open field at Alabama. His highlight tapes look like there's no defense on the field half the time."

Really speaks to his uncanny ability to gain separation and get open. It's not like teams are letting him get open.

Or he just played against crappy coverage?

Regardless, I wasn't and am not extremely high on him. Add in the fact that he'll likely land in Oakland and I like him even less. If he somehow does slip down a bit and someone like the Bears or Giants take him, I'd be more intrigued.

Landing in Oakland (Carr) better than landing in NYJ (name your crappy QB).

I'm going to name him "Ryan".

 

[JohnnyU]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Speaking of Witten, I wish he would retire so Escobar can become the stud I know he will be.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Speaking of Witten, I wish he would retire so Escobar can become the stud I know he will be.

He's so selfish.

 

[Khy]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Speaking of Witten, I wish he would retire so Escobar can become the stud I know he will be.

He's so selfish.

I initially read this as

"He's so Shellfish" and was trying to get the joke of how Gavin Escobar was a shellfish. I think I need more coffee this morning.

 

[JohnnyU]

11. Maxx Williams - I agree with Bloom that he's just Jason Witten.

"Just Jason Witten"? - is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Speaking of Witten, I wish he would retire so Escobar can become the stud I know he will be.

He's so selfish.

I initially read this as

"He's so Shellfish" and was trying to get the joke of how Gavin Escobar was a shellfish. I think I need more coffee this morning.

Actually he was referring to Witten as the shellfish for not retiring. Or maybe he mean Escobar was shellfish for wanting more playing time.

 

[Slapdash]

In order:

1. Cooper
2. White
3. Gurley
4. Parker
5. Gordon
6. DGB
7. Abdullah
8. Strong
9. Perriman
10. Ayaji
11. Agholor
12. Dorsett

Perriman and Agholor rising so far. Surprised Strong didn't make it in the first round.