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O. J Howard TE Alabama

JohnnyU

By JohnnyU,
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JohnnyU

JohnnyU 4,610

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I guess Saban convinced him that his breakout recently will continue through next year and better position him in the draft. Watch that backfire and he is seldom used again in 2016.

Alabama junior TE O.J. Howard will return to school.

We assume that HC Nick Saban and OC Lane Kiffin have promised Howard a far greater role in the offense after illogically ignoring him in the passing game over the past few seasons. The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder went off for five catches, 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the National Championship Game against Clemson, perhaps an appetizer of what we'll see in the fall. Rotoworld's Josh Norris had ranked Howard as the No. 23 overall draft prospect, writing: "The tight end can get open in the intermediate level with athleticism and body positioning, but what stood out was his yards after catch capability. He has plenty of straight line speed which will be maximized by accurate passes."
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menobrown

This is a terribly wrong myth I wish people would keep repeating. He was the OC for 5 years in Pittsburgh. One year he used him. The other 4 years he did not. This is not using your TE, this is a

Rhythmdoctor

This doesn't happen very often.  Good on you for owning up to it and apologizing.  We need more of this and less defending/arguing when we are wrong.  

Andy Dufresne

Considering that Ebron sucks,  I'd take Howard. 

menobrown

menobrown 4,455

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And I thought Ingram, Howard and Henry were going to make this a really sweet TE class.

I hate when players make dumb decisions like this. It's like when you watch one of those movies where a person finds a few millions dollars and gives it up or walks away from it. I'm frustrated for them and just think it's selfish coaches taking advantage of these young men.

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ConnSKINS26

ConnSKINS26 5,718

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Saban is a freaking genius. Targets the hell out of him in the championship game and then says he should have featured Howard like that all season, it was bad coaching, etc. Pulled him right back in with the implied promise of a huge season next year to raise his draft stock...which isn't super realistic because he was already going to be the #1 TE and probably a late 1st round pick. TE's don't get drafted much higher than that most years and next year will have a ton more competition at the position.

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menobrown

menobrown 4,455

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..which isn't super realistic because he was already going to be the #1 TE and probably a late 1st round pick. TE's don't get drafted much higher than that most years and next year will have a ton more competition at the position.

We'll never know but I don't agree with most of that sentence. Hunter Henry would have provided him competition for the #1 TE this year and Henry could grade higher than any TE Howard will be up against next season.

But both of them, Howard and Henry, could have both had shots at going in the first round so that's not a knock on Howard, just saying Henry is also very highly regarded.

Like I said earlier in this thread, for awhile now I assumed this draft class was going to have 3 really nice TE prospects, all from the SEC. Two returned and I think it's a major mistake for both, but more so for Howard.

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flapgreen

flapgreen 6,109

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Saban and Kiffin only care about winning

Isn't that what they get paid for? I do think its a bad decision on his part but if I were a coach I would do everything I could to talk these guys into staying in school.
True, but you would hope they would be looking our for the best interests of their players.
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gump

gump 2,109

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Who knows his draft grade? Draft projections by people like Rotoworld don't mean anything.

Saban gets that, and talks directly to NFL Head Coaches and shares their feedback with the player and his family.

Jonathan Allen has been mocked in the mid-1st, but apparently his official draft grade was 2nd round and NFL coaches shared if he showed more on field he could be top 10. So he returned.

Reggie Ragland just made himself $15-$20M by returning for his senior year.

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menobrown

menobrown 4,455

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He was ranked by draftniks as a 3rd rounder three weeks ago.

No one knew where he was 'probably' going to be drafted.

I consider a draftnik to be someone who never worked in an NFL front office, has never been an NFL scout. A Mel Kiper type. Fun to read but I put zero stock in them.

Only one I read was Rotoworld and that was before the bowl season and they had Howard rated as the #1 TE, which again I put little stock in but even before he blew up there people high on him.

What I do listen to and put stock in is ex-scouts and GM's, not all of them but they are one's I tend to put more trust in their opinions. One I trust felt that after the bowl games he was a first round pick and that is Daniel Jeremiah. He is enamored with him, said he's already a big time run blocker in addition to what he showed everyone he offers in the passing game. He felt he'd be a first round pick and he even addressed the lack of production as not a big deal to NFL teams as they realize college TE production does not usually translate. He specifically mentioned guys like Graham and Gates who had little to zero college production.

So no we don't know for sure where he would have been drafted but I'll continue to insist he'd be competing with Henry for first TE off the board and both would have gone in round one. I just hate I don't get a chance to be proven right or wrong but more than anything I truly think he is being taken advantage off by Saban/Kiffin and is making a poor choice. Even if staying in school gets him picked higher he's not getting that lost year of no income back and that's a whole another year he has to wait until what is usually a more lucrative second contract if he's any good.

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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Hopefully he picked up a good insurance policy to offset the injury risk that he is taking in playing one more college football season. I would be curious to hear what grade he received from the NFL Draft Advisory Board as that could have factored into the decision making process.

Edited by Faust
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massraider

massraider 11,644

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Saban and Kiffin only care about winning

Isn't that what they get paid for? I do think its a bad decision on his part but if I were a coach I would do everything I could to talk these guys into staying in school.
True, but you would hope they would be looking our for the best interests of their players.

:lmao:

The coaches should be telling players to leave school?

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gump

gump 2,109

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All I know is that I found it inexplicable that he could perform as well as he did in the National Championship game and have so little production during the season. I was wondering whether he was a one day wonder, or a guy who could fill a huge void in Green Bay.

Alabama fans have wondered the same thing...loudly. But as much success as Kiffin has had, he's got tunnel vision. You can look thru his history and find a stud or two every year that he feeds heavily. Henry and Ridley were those studs this year.

Two things of note:

1) The OL struggled the first 3/4 of the year...so Howard was important as a blocker in run and pass protection. The OL should be better in '16.

2) The #1 WR was hurt in Week 3 in '15...Robert Foster. He'll return in '16. As will Ridley and Stewart. With a new (most likely Freshman) QB. The slot WR graduates.

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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Alabama senior TE O.J. Howard ran a 4.65 forty during Alabama's spring testing.

 

He added a 365-pound clean, 425-pound bench, 500-pound squat and 9-foot-11 broad jump. All marks were exceptional, with the clean tied for best on the Tide and the bench tied for best in the non-linemen category.
 
 
Source: AL.com
May 16 - 9:54 PM

 

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gump

gump 2,109

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OJ's getting some attention from the press, and Saban is pretty direct about wanted to see more out of him game-planning:

http://alabama.247sports.com/Article/Alabama-Crimson-Tide-coach-Nick-Saban-TE-OJ-Howard-should-be-dev-46237375

“I think he’s definitely someone who is a threat and should be developed as a threat in our offense and should be used as such and would certainly like to do that,” Saban said of Howard when he spoke at SEC Media Days.

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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In NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah's straw poll, five-of-five queried executives chose Alabama senior TE O.J. Howard over Michigan's Jake Butt.

 

"Howard is the better prospect," the first said. "He's faster and a bigger playmaker. However, Butt is a better blocker and he catches the ball more consistently." Another comped Butt to Jason Witten but sided with Howard anyway. A third chose Howard because he "gives your offense more mismatch opportunities because of his athleticism." The fourth said Howard is "a better blocker and he plays much faster" and the fifth said he "would take a chance on the skill set of Howard over the steadiness of Butt."
 
 
Source: NFL.com 
Sep 30 - 8:32 PM

 

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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Alabama senior TE O.J. Howard caught four passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in Monday's 35-31 loss to Clemson in the National Championship Game.

 

Howard went off against Clemson last year, too, scoring a pair of touchdowns on blown coverages. The 6-foot-6, 251-pounder's touchdown on Monday came on (what else?) a blown coverage, as he sprinted down the left sideline and caught the ball in stride for a wide open 68-yard score near the end of the third quarter. During his Alabama career, Howard was woefully underutilized at times. That is no fault of his, though, and he has all the athletic talent to land as a first-round pick in this spring's draft. An AFC area scout recently comped him to Jimmy Graham.
 
 
 
Jan 10 - 12:55 AM

 

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Hankmoody

Hankmoody 3,834

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On 1/5/2017 at 3:31 PM, Faust said:

Scout compares Alabama's O.J. Howard to Jimmy Graham

My only concern is that he's "too good" a blocker.  Interesting they compare him to Graham here, because that's the model I want - a guy that catches the ball and can't block a lick.  Nothing sucks worse than being down 3 Monday night and your TE's team is in the red zone - and Romo drops back, looks over the field, and Jason Witten is ... pass blocking.  Gimmie Graham, Gates, Gronkowski - guys whose blocking is functional at best in the run game but that teams wouldn't dream of keeping in to help pick up a blitz, and would rather beat that blitz with a hot read to said TE.

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Rhythmdoctor

Rhythmdoctor 1,494

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8 hours ago, Hankmoody said:

My only concern is that he's "too good" a blocker.  Interesting they compare him to Graham here, because that's the model I want - a guy that catches the ball and can't block a lick.  Nothing sucks worse than being down 3 Monday night and your TE's team is in the red zone - and Romo drops back, looks over the field, and Jason Witten is ... pass blocking.  Gimmie Graham, Gates, Gronkowski - guys whose blocking is functional at best in the run game but that teams wouldn't dream of keeping in to help pick up a blitz, and would rather beat that blitz with a hot read to said TE.

Um, Gronk is an exceptional blocker AND an exceptional receiver. That combination is what makes him a HOF TE. 

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FUBAR

FUBAR 3,203

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1 hour ago, Rhythmdoctor said:

Um, Gronk is an exceptional blocker AND an exceptional receiver. That combination is what makes him a HOF TE. 

True, though Gronk might be HOF worthy without blocking. 

Reminds me of Gonzo - before Gronk probably the best all around TE. But damn it was frustrating when he was kept in to protect green.

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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Alabama TE O.J. Howard accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

 

In so doing, he becomes arguably the best prospect to participate in this year's event. Howard joins teammates Ryan Anderson, Dalvin Tomlinson and Cole Mazza in Mobile. A potential first-rounder, Howard had 45 receptions for 595 yards and three touchdowns this past season. An AFC area scout comped him to Jimmy Graham earlier this month.
 
 
Source: Senior Bowl 
Jan 16 - 1:43 PM

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menobrown

menobrown 4,455

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7 minutes ago, bicycle_seat_sniffer said:

I know it early...but do we think he is a top 10 rookie dyno pick??

I think so and and can see him hovering closer to 5-7 range in TE premium leagues.  RB depth could push him back especially combined with TE depth which might have a lot of owners thinking they can address TE later.  You also have a lot of fantasy owners who don't like investing high picks in rookie TE's but even that going against him I still think he's top 10.

 

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gump

gump 2,109

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On 1/18/2016 at 4:00 PM, JohnnyU said:

I guess Saban convinced him that his breakout recently will continue through next year and better position him in the draft. Watch that backfire and he is seldom used again in 2016.

:popcorn:

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BigTex

BigTex 860

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11 hours ago, menobrown said:

I think so and and can see him hovering closer to 5-7 range in TE premium leagues.  RB depth could push him back especially combined with TE depth which might have a lot of owners thinking they can address TE later.  You also have a lot of fantasy owners who don't like investing high picks in rookie TE's but even that going against him I still think he's top 10.

 

From someone who has multiple picks in the draft this is what I'm praying for. I'm hoping that everyone will be grabbing RBs, WRs, and maybe one QB with Howard and Njoku falling to me!

I can dream!

Tex

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Faust

Faust 5,893

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Alabama TE O.J. Howard displayed the skills of a "potential top-10 pick" in Tuesday's Senior Bowl practices, writes Draft Analyst's Tony Pauline.

 

"The Crimson Tide tight end started the day with a one-handed grab on an errant pass and continued his momentum throughout the day, avoiding drops and consistently catching the ball away from his frame," Pauline wrote. "He did a nice job tracking and adjusting to underthrown deep balls, used his speed to get open up the seam for an easy touchdown catch and added another one-handed grab for good measure." The 6-foot-6, 251-pound Howard is one of the three-best prospects at the Senior Bowl. He's been comped to Jimmy Graham.
 
 
Source: Draft Analyst 
Jan 25 - 1:15 PM

 

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