Random draft notes

[Icness]

I've been tweeting and emailing with some people and here's some of what I've heard:


--Alshon Jeffery looks horrible, as in 249 pounds and can't break 4.8 in the 40, which makes him a slow tight end. Got that straight from a guy who has been working out at the same facility. He has already swapped agents and appears "like he don't give a sh**" about being professional. The Combine workouts for WRs are exactly two weeks from today. If he is above 240 and can't break 4.7--and nobody seems to think he will hit either benchmark--he's undraftable above the 5th round, if at all. Stay tuned...

--Boise RB Doug Martin is going to get drafted higher than anyone expects. He has the same sort of intelligent charisma that propelled Donald Brown into the bottom of the 1st and he'll work out well (though not sub 4.5). He had a very good Senior Bowl week too. I don't see him falling out of the top 50 picks.

--Coastal Carolina CB Josh Norman is going to be the top small-school guy. Everyone went gaga over him at Shrine Game week and it appears he is tearing it up in workouts too. I spent 15 minutes on the phone today with a player working out at the same place (Parisi TEAM school in NJ) and he told me Norman is the best player he's seen regardless of position that he has competed against. This is a Big Ten player I talked to. When he got to the training place Norman could only do 6 reps at 225, now he can get into the teens every time. 2nd round pick at worst.

--I'm trying hard to peg down Vontaze Burfict's draft range and finding it basically impossible. This will be the 8th Combine I've done and I cannot recall any oplayer for whom the interview portion is more critical than Burfict. I've had him in the mock draft as high as #22 and as low as #57 and the plain truth is that either is just as likely right now. Anyone who tells you different knows not what they speak.

--somebody asked me in the "ask Jeff Risdon a question" thread about a player that was real high in mock drafts during the season but will potentially fall out of the first round. I threw out the name Jonathan Martin then and it seems pretty prophetic. I still think he goes in the 20s but very rarely does a guy fall from legit top 10 consideration to the later realms of the first round and wind up proving it wrong, unless the fall is due to character issues and that is not the case with Martin. Decastro goes before him, I'll bet a round on it.

--I'm with the consensus that the Rams are going to trade #2 and fall back but I will be shocked if it's Cleveland moving up. They want Blackmon bad. I asked the question "would the team rather have Colt McCoy throwing to Blackmon or RG3 throwing to Greg Little" and the Browns guy I was talking to did not hesitate to choose option A. He's not the guy who will make that decision but he's not far removed from that guy. My guess (that's all it is) is that Washington moves up, but I still get a funny feeling about Dallas.

[studcrackers]

if dallas trades up, is romo involved in the deal?

ftr, id love to get griffin (and im a romo supporter) and im scared of the thought of him in a slurs jersey

[PhilipNelsonFan]

What's the book on DaJohn Harris of USC? And, while I'm at it, do you mind giving us a small scouting report on that Ryan Steed kid from Furman?

[Manhattan Project]

That's just inexcusable from Jeffrey, another one of those first round talent guys that just fall off the face of the earth this year.

[Da Schwab]

if dallas trades up, is romo involved in the deal?

ftr, id love to get griffin (and im a romo supporter) and im scared of the thought of him in a slurs jersey

I really, truly hope that RG3 doesn't end up in the NFC East. Any possibilities of the Dolphins moving up to get him, or are they sold on going after Matt Flynn?

[Jaruff]

That's just inexcusable from Jeffrey, another one of those first round talent guys that just fall off the face of the earth this year.

I'm really surprised. Hard worker at SC and seemed like he had his head on a swivel.

What's the book on DaJohn Harris of USC? And, while I'm at it, do you mind giving us a small scouting report on that Ryan Steed kid from Furman?

I've had the chance to watch many Steed games over the past few years. I think he's a damn fine corner and I can't see him dropping past the Panthers in the fourth round.

[Icness]

More on Jeffery--he last weighed in at 241 yesterday AM. Some of the gain is muscle, think David Boston. Most people now expect him to *cough*tweak a hamstring*cough* and not run in Indy. Still zero chance he sniffs the first round.

Ryan Steed--good natural cover guy, good instincts. Straight line fast, probably in the mid 4.4s and plays like it. Good tackler. Can play press but is better in off-man. Needs some work with his feet and adjusting to speed but he can play. Not much of a talker but that means nothing on the field. He's in the 75-100 draft range, maybe a little higher if he runs real well in Indy. Furman is a quality program with strong coaches in a good league and CB is the easiest position for small-school guys to make a splash.

DaJuan Harris--tall and plays like it, not real powerful for a guy his size. One of those guys that can be real good if he beats you off the snap with his initial move but is worthless if he doesn't, a la Corey Peters in ATL. Has very little ability to disengage or steer his blocker, even undersized guys. Some guys are higher on him than I am, but I will give him credit for improving his technique with Monte Kiffin barking at him and the Kiffin brand does carry a lot of weight with 4-3 zone teams. I would pick him in the 5th/6th but I suspect he'll go earlier.

I am in the minority but I do not believe Matt Flynn will wind up in Miami. I think he will be in Cleveland. Joe Philbin knows better than anyone the inept defenses Flynn exploited to put himself in this position. Just my guess though.

FYI I am talking to Aaron Corp and Jordan Jefferson later today. If y'all have any serious questions put 'em here and I will try to work them in.

[B Mac]

Why are the Browns so thrilled with Blackmon when they clearly didnt want anything to do with Julio Jones? Is Claiborne in consideration for the Browns?

[Worm Guts]

if dallas trades up, is romo involved in the deal?

Nope.

[Icness]

Why are the Browns so thrilled with Blackmon when they clearly didnt want anything to do with Julio Jones? Is Claiborne in consideration for the Browns?

Blackmon >>> Julio Jones. Had Jones not run what he did at the Combine he wouldn't have been a top 15 pick. Blackmon would have gone ahead of him in the 11 draft regardless. I give Jones credit for knowing the market and he didn't do too badly as a rookie either.

Claiborne will be considered but the depth at corner in this draft is ridiculously good. If they trade back--and the'll listen to offers--he is certainly in the mix. He will not fall out of the top 6 though. That 2nd 1st round pick is prime territory for a corner if Holmgren wants to go that way.

[Icness]

if dallas trades up, is romo involved in the deal?

Nope.

That's why it seems so unlikely that Dallas does that. But you never know...

[Icness]

More random thoughts:
--watched a lot of Pac-12 the last couple of days. Specifically watched Cal/USC to see the battle between Mitchell Schwartz and Nick Perry, and it was not kind to Perry. He has so much Vernon Gholston to him it's scary. If the blocker gets a hand on his hip he's done, and he lacks the upper body strength to fight off solid blocks. He's real quick off the snap but Schwartz figured it out real quick and waited to react to the move, and Schwartz absolutely erased Perry from the game. USC took him out on most running downs too, and his replacement is not a real effective player either which says a lot about how Kiffin feels about Perry. Schwartz should be considered a real riser, FYI; he was good at Senior Bowl week and game tape helps him. Looks like a solid 2nd rounder and ready-for-action RT.

--watched Stanford/USC (3rd time!) to validate it, and sure enough the Cardinal did much the same to Perry. One really disturbing trend for Perry: he regularly twists his shoulders out of concert with his hips to try and wiggle out of blocks. Zero power, poor balance, and an exacerbated increase of injury risk. I know the Kiffins have taught him otherwise too. He's my new clubhouse leader for the "busts" section of the annual boom/bust column.

--Did not see a lot to merit a high pick on Stanford TE Colby Fleener. Looks like a good #2 TE in the NFL a la Kevin Boss or Joel Dreessen and that's a 5th-6th round pick. Probably a little faster than those guys but you get the point; he's not in the breed of the new wave of flexed-out TEs and he's not physical enough to be a great in-line guy.

--LaMichael James is tiny. I tried to pay attention to him when he didn't get the ball and see him in context with his teammates. I've seen Darren Sproles and Jacquizz Rodgers in person and they are just short; James is short and small. Chris Rainey is more solidly built and significantly quicker/sharper with his feet, though probably shorter than James.

--Darron Thomas needs work on his ball placement but there is more there to like as an NFL QB than I expected with a closer look. He throws a strong intermediate/deep ball while on the move and he is real hard to pin down in the pocket. I'd like to see him spend more time in there (bails too quickly) but I got the impression the coaches asked him to flee quickly and make plays by taking risks. In the Nevada game he only missed two throws despite going something like 13-for-20 (6 TDs). Not a strong showing for Wolfpack LB JM Johnson, who was indecisive and missed a couple of arm tackles.

--I'm continually warming to Brock Osweiler. Insert snide snicker here.

[Icness]

I wrote this for another site where I am now a contributing writer:
http://nflsfuture.com/2012/02/17/a-scouting-mea-culpa/

Covers some scouting whiffs and how I hope I have learned from them, with a few tidbits on this year's class too.

[Karmaloop]

I'll give Jeffrey a chance to show us that he's fast enough to play WR before casting him as an undersized TE.

Agreed about the Norman and Rams pick thing.

Perry is a red flag, but he's also got major upside there. Not sure where he lies yet, but if he hits he's going to hit well. Not sure this is the class to look for a premier pass rusher though.

[TheOUTLAW]

Jeff, you are a big OSU fan (as am I), what do you think about Posey? I keep seeing him going in the 5th round or so and I think he's a huge steal if he's still around at that point.

[Icness]

Jeff, you are a big OSU fan (as am I), what do you think about Posey? I keep seeing him going in the 5th round or so and I think he's a huge steal if he's still around at that point.

Posey is a 4th/5th rounder. Biggest issues are that he's not real big or real fast or real quick, pretty average across the board in measurables. And he missed almost all of 2011. Nobody holds Tattoogate against him (or Herron or Adams) but the fact he missed all that time hurts him. There is a rep about him that he doesn't play hard all the time and while I don't buy it I can see on film what people are talking about.

I know this about Posey--he's as good as any receiver in this draft when the ball is in the air. He's very tough. And he is used to catching bad throws from erratic, scrambling-type QBs. Perfect as a #3 receiver for Tebow in Denver.

[Roger Murdock]

Posey has 2nd round talent but is a grade A dbag. I hated having him on the Buckeyes, except during the actual games.

[ohara]

miami and KC won the coin flips today. Miami picks 8th, Carolina 9th, KC 11th and Seattle 12th

[Bucksfans1and2]

Sucks to be Carolina and Seattle.

I always thought that they should do it snake style rather than just 1,3,5,7 and 2,4,6.

Make it 1,4,5 and 2,3,6,7

[Rafael122]

Alshon weighs in at 219 pounds or something like that, or was it 214? Either way he lost about 25 pounds in 2 weeks. Impressive.