2013 Ask Jeff Risdon a Question

[Icness]

Can I get your opinion on the revelation that is tom savage, I've heard rumblings he's the best QB in the draft and is a lock for the 1st round now?

He's my 97th-rated player. Finished my evaluation of him in December so I'm not influenced by this craziness. He has all the positives of Ryan Mallett--the big arm, the confidence in the arm, the toughness, the size (not quite as much), but also even more of the negatives--he cannot move at all, holds the ball way too long, forces balls when other better options are present. At least he's not a heroin addict

A lot of people I trust and respect believe he will be the 33rd pick in the draft. I'll believe it when I see it.

[righterwriter]

Jeff, do you think that the truth to these rumors goes down incrementally as we get closer to the draft in an effort to produce a smoke screen?

I find it shocking that an injury case like Cyrus Kouandijo would be picked by the Fins in the first round and Tom Savage would be picked at the beginning of the 2nd round.

Should we disregard most of the really shocker rumors we hear until maybe a couple days before the draft? Any surprising rumors you are hearing which you think actually have wings?

btw...do you think Clowney goes #1 to the Texans?

[Manhattan Project]

Now that the draft attendees have been announced, who will be the last person in the green room?

[Icness]

Jeff, do you think that the truth to these rumors goes down incrementally as we get closer to the draft in an effort to produce a smoke screen?

I find it shocking that an injury case like Cyrus Kouandijo would be picked by the Fins in the first round and Tom Savage would be picked at the beginning of the 2nd round.

Should we disregard most of the really shocker rumors we hear until maybe a couple days before the draft? Any surprising rumors you are hearing which you think actually have wings?

btw...do you think Clowney goes #1 to the Texans?

It's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. It's been my general experience that the 2-3 week from the draft period is when the most valid info comes out, and then it gets more smoky. So we're in the end of the more truthful period.

I don't see any way Kouandjio is a first-round pick. I don't see how Lewan is either unless teams are desperate; he's Incognito 2.0 and proud of it.

[Icness]

Now that the draft attendees have been announced, who will be the last person in the green room?

Kouandjio. Then Kony Ealy.

[righterwriter]

Jeff, do you think that the truth to these rumors goes down incrementally as we get closer to the draft in an effort to produce a smoke screen?

I find it shocking that an injury case like Cyrus Kouandijo would be picked by the Fins in the first round and Tom Savage would be picked at the beginning of the 2nd round.

Should we disregard most of the really shocker rumors we hear until maybe a couple days before the draft? Any surprising rumors you are hearing which you think actually have wings?

btw...do you think Clowney goes #1 to the Texans?

It's hard to tell what's real and what isn't. It's been my general experience that the 2-3 week from the draft period is when the most valid info comes out, and then it gets more smoky. So we're in the end of the more truthful period.

I don't see any way Kouandjio is a first-round pick. I don't see how Lewan is either unless teams are desperate; he's Incognito 2.0 and proud of it.

Speaking about Lewan as a bit of a psycho.... quite an interesting post-game interview with him (where he chose to not wipe the blood from his brow): [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e6WxjGF7Eg[/youtube]

[Magilla_Gorilla]

What does Shayne Skov's 5.1 (40) at his personal workout do for his draft stock? What are your thoughts on him? And what team would be the best fit for him?

[BearTooth]

Can I get your opinion on the revelation that is tom savage, I've heard rumblings he's the best QB in the draft and is a lock for the 1st round now?

He's my 97th-rated player. Finished my evaluation of him in December so I'm not influenced by this craziness. He has all the positives of Ryan Mallett--the big arm, the confidence in the arm, the toughness, the size (not quite as much), but also even more of the negatives--he cannot move at all, holds the ball way too long, forces balls when other better options are present. At least he's not a heroin addict

A lot of people I trust and respect believe he will be the 33rd pick in the draft. I'll believe it when I see it.

His movement is probably the most criminally underrated aspect of his game, and I think the biggest culprit behind his misguided late-round ranking. He's not a runner by any stretch, but he can be very elusive in the pocket when he's not looking at a jail break.

Savage needs to work on his decision making. He has an angering penchant for throwing ill-advised passes under pressure. But you clean those things up, you have a 6-4, 230 lb. pro-style QB with very good short to intermediate accuracy, very good accuracy on the run, instinctive ability to vary velocity with touch, a rocket arm when he needs it, the best deep out in the draft, and the most effortless motion since Tom Brady.

In a year where questions surround all the QBs at the top, you bet I'd use a 2nd rounder on Mr. Savage.

[Icness]

What does Shayne Skov's 5.1 (40) at his personal workout do for his draft stock? What are your thoughts on him? And what team would be the best fit for him?

I wouldn't touch him with his knee and leg injury, personally. But I'm admittedly over cautious on that type of thing. I wouldn't draft Dom Easley this year and I wouldn't have drafted Marcus Lattimore last year either.

He's Brian Cushing with less patience as a linebacker. Big-time hitter, great at filling vs. the run and sticking with the TE in short-range coverage. Can really chase and fly in a straight line. Ideal attack 3-4 SILB for a team like Green Bay or Pittsburgh. But again, his knee is liable to go at any given minute and he's not going to change his style to protect himself. I think he goes in the 50-75 overall range.

[Da Schwab]

Five names that will be butchered over the course of the draft?

[Icness]

Five names that will be butchered over the course of the draft?

Easiest one is Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the underrated tackle from McGill. Legit 4th rounder. It sounds a lot cooler when he says it too.

Lache Seastrunk. It's pronounced "Lake"
Jadeveon Clowney. It's apparently Juh-DAY-vee-on
Eathyn Manumaleuna. I thought his name was "Earthling" for a time

Take your pick of Khyri Thornton or Khairi Fortt. Both are pronounced like Kyrie Irving, who might be a better football player than Mr. Fortt.

[Yunsen]

What do you think about the Seahawks trading down? I'm thinking if an OG/OT doesn't drop to us we should trade back to try to get a 3rd round pick (and anything else) back.

[Icness]

What do you think about the Seahawks trading down? I'm thinking if an OG/OT doesn't drop to us we should trade back to try to get a 3rd round pick (and anything else) back.

Carroll and Schneider have a very distinct board that likely differs from most others, so they might take a guy that seems like a reach and be perfectly happy with it, like they did with both Irvin and Carpenter. Guys like JuWuan James or Joel Bitonio might be worth the 32nd pick to them. Kelvin Benjamin is an option too.

[NW7]

Is Bridgewater really going to fall out of the first round due to his crappy pro day? I know you are still high on him Jeff, but can you give me an idea of what has caused so many experts/nfl "sources" to sour on a consensus top QB for well over a year in a span of ~6 weeks. The whole situation feels really weird to me.

[Icness]

Is Bridgewater really going to fall out of the first round due to his crappy pro day? I know you are still high on him Jeff, but can you give me an idea of what has caused so many experts/nfl "sources" to sour on a consensus top QB for well over a year in a span of ~6 weeks. The whole situation feels really weird to me.

He really might. I don't see what awful things they're seeing. The only legit knocks are that he's small-framed and his hands aren't real big. Put on the tape!

I think he winds up going in the 20s to a team trading up or to the Chiefs. Have to think Andy Reid sees a lot to like there.

[Icness]

Three little tidbits for today:
Mike Evans to the Browns at 4 in my last two mocks is not an uneducated guess, folks

Heard from two people I respect and trust very much that Taylor Lewan to BUF at 9 is more likely than not. Excuse me while I vomit...

If someone offers you a wager on who goes first, Logan Thomas or Tom Savage, put an extra $25 on Thomas for me. I'm good for it.

[gswhoops]

Three little tidbits for today:
Mike Evans to the Browns at 4 in my last two mocks is not an uneducated guess, folks

Heard from two people I respect and trust very much that Taylor Lewan to BUF at 9 is more likely than not. Excuse me while I vomit...

If someone offers you a wager on who goes first, Logan Thomas or Tom Savage, put an extra $25 on Thomas for me. I'm good for it.

With all the hype about Savage in revent days, does that mean Thomas is a likely top-50 pick?

[Icness]

I think they're both second-rounders. How high or low is an open question. I lean towards later in the round to teams like CIN, KC, PHI, SD.

[Icness]

For those interested, we're having a Mr. Irrelevant prediction contest at Detroit Lions Draft. Anyone predicting the correct player gets a pretty cool prize. I'll post a link here tomorrow, but I do prefer the predictions on Twitter.

[hermes]

where the top qbs are going has been all over the place the last few weeks, for a while all three would be gone before the vikings at 8 and now i've seen where people have all three available at 8 - don't think i've seen the qbs all over the place like these have been

so my question is: if all three qbs (bridgewater, bortles and manziel) are there at 8, what do the vikings do? do they take their favorite of the three, trade back and still get one because they don't really favor one over another or defense and go for qb later?