2017-18 CFB SEASON / '18 NFL DRAFT

[NinerSickness]

Some of my Favourites so far:

Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Big, nasty, heavy-handed NT. Would make the Niners' unit pretty scary.

Quenton Nelson LG Notre Dame: As good a guard prospect as you're gonna see in a few year IMO.

Mason Cole C Michigan: Taller C (6'5), but he plays very low & has a strong upper body & great hand usage. Held his own against some great DLs. Great at quickly snapping the ball & standing up his opponent on run plays.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Some of my Favourites so far:

Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Big, nasty, heavy-handed NT. Would make the Niners' unit pretty scary.

Quenton Nelson LG Notre Dame: As good a guard prospect as you're gonna see in a few year IMO.

Mason Cole C Michigan: Taller C (6'5), but he plays very low & has a strong upper body & great hand usage. Held his own against some great DLs. Great at quickly snapping the ball & standing up his opponent on run plays.

FYI: Are you aware that Wilkins is not even considered the best DT on his team by many who has watched Clemson closely.

[clyde21]

This 2018 class does not look top-heavy at all. Looks pretty weak at the top (QB notwithstanding).

It's strong(er) at the top depending on who stays and goes but the depth and value as go greatly diminishes if you compare it to the 2017 draft. That said it's still early and these things can change throughout the year but I'm not excited about '18 as I was about '17.

QB and OL will be and should be stronger than this year's but everything else is weaker.

The 2017 class was insanely good at the CB and RB positions respectively; and it was also loaded with edge rushers.

This upcoming '18 class will once again have great DTs at the top of the draft (Daylan Mack, Wilkens, Nnadi, etc.) and it will be surprisingly good at corner too (but nowhere near as much depth compared to 2017); but I see some great talent there --potential 1st rounders. Also the RB group could be descent compared to years past if players like Nick Chubb is 100% from his knee injury; and Royce Freeman has a bounce back year. I see the potential for the next draft to be a great one - b/c the QBs could push an elite player like Malik Jefferson or Iman Marshall (1st round picks most years) down the board to late first early second round range. QBs aren't afraid of getting that 1 year label being placed on them as a negative. I envision a player like Auburn's Jarrett Stidham entering the draft after just one season of starting if he's able to make noise in the SEC this year. He and Lock are my sleepers entering the season as this year's (Wentz and Trubisky type rise). I remember watching Corey Coleman a couple years ago tearing up secondaries, and Stidham as a true freshman stood out to me. I said to myself that this kid is a future top ten pick, now he's finally eligible and at Auburn he'll get his opportunity.

Disagree w/ a lot of that, but we'll see. The only positions that are better than '17 are OL and QB, and even that is dependent on who stays/declares and how these guys show out this year.

Re: Chubb -- I was a huge fan of him the last couple of years, even had him above Fournette as a prospect at one point but the injuries have curtailed his production recently, and I don't like he's come back for another year. Every year on a RB is invaluable IMO so now he loses a year in his prime in college.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

This upcoming DT class is going to be a very good one. Star Lotulelei's little brother is being overlooked at this point, you will start seeing him climb the draft boards very quickly. And we can't forget about the two big boys from Alabama.

Vita Vea - DL - Huskies

In a 2018 mock, Draft Analyst's Tony Pauline commented that Washington redshirt junior DL Vita Vea "could end up in the top five -- he's that well thought of in the scouting community."

Vea ended up going No. 10 to the Vikings in Pauline's 2018 exercise. Rotoworld's Thor Nystrom had Vea slotted No. 12 to the Titans in his own 2018 mock. The 6-foot-5, 332-pound Vea is a tremendous athlete for his gargantuan size.
Source: Draft Analyst

May 8 - 1:53 PM

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Mason Rudolph - QB - Cowboys

Pro Football Focus Senior Analyst Steve Palazzolo slotted Oklahoma State senior QB Mason Rudolph No. 3 overall to the 49ers in his 2018 mock draft.

The PFF College team is higher on Rudolph than any other outlet out there. In this mock, he goes ahead of Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson. "Rudolph is often overlooked when citing the best quarterbacks in the class of 2018, but he has the best resume of the bunch," Palazzolo wrote. Over the past two years, the site has charted Rudolph as the No. 8 QB in the nation (86.7 grade in 2015) and No. 2 QB in the nation (92.7 grade last season). "Rudolph still has some consistency issues to iron out, but he throws the ball very accurately outside the numbers and he’s handled pressure extremely well over the last two seasons," Palazzolo wrote. Rotoworld's Thor Nystrom listed Rudolph as a late first-rounder -- and the fifth QB taken -- in his own 2018 mock exercise.
Source: Pro Football Focus

May 8 - 2:43 PM

[NinerSickness]

Some of my Favourites so far:

Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Big, nasty, heavy-handed NT. Would make the Niners' unit pretty scary.

Quenton Nelson LG Notre Dame: As good a guard prospect as you're gonna see in a few year IMO.

Mason Cole C Michigan: Taller C (6'5), but he plays very low & has a strong upper body & great hand usage. Held his own against some great DLs. Great at quickly snapping the ball & standing up his opponent on run plays.

FYI: Are you aware that Wilkins is not even considered the best DT on his team by many who has watched Clemson closely.

Are you referring to Dexter Lawrence? Yeah, he looks really good too, but I thought he wasn't eligible for the 2017 draft.

But Wilkins more than holds his own, and I'm not worried the rest of the DL makes him look good; he does that by himself.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Some of my Favourites so far:

Christian Wilkins DT Clemson: Big, nasty, heavy-handed NT. Would make the Niners' unit pretty scary.

Quenton Nelson LG Notre Dame: As good a guard prospect as you're gonna see in a few year IMO.

Mason Cole C Michigan: Taller C (6'5), but he plays very low & has a strong upper body & great hand usage. Held his own against some great DLs. Great at quickly snapping the ball & standing up his opponent on run plays.

FYI: Are you aware that Wilkins is not even considered the best DT on his team by many who has watched Clemson closely.

Are you referring to Dexter Lawrence? Yeah, he looks really good too, but I thought he wasn't eligible for the 2017 draft.

But Wilkins more than holds his own, and I'm not worried the rest of the DL makes him look good; he does that by himself.

Yup. Big Tyrannosaurus Dex is the real can't miss prospect on that Dline. You're absolutely though, he's not yet eligible. Still I think Vita is the better DT in this year's class, not Wilkins.

[NinerSickness]

FYI: Are you aware that Wilkins is not even considered the best DT on his team by many who has watched Clemson closely.

Are you referring to Dexter Lawrence? Yeah, he looks really good too, but I thought he wasn't eligible for the 2017 draft.

But Wilkins more than holds his own, and I'm not worried the rest of the DL makes him look good; he does that by himself.

Yup. Big Tyrannosaurus Dex is the real can't miss prospect on that Dline. You're absolutely though, he's not yet eligible. Still I think Vita is the better DT in this year's class, not Wilkins.

Wow. I have to vehemently disagree with that one. I don't think Vea is anywhere near as good as Wilkins. Vea is nowhere near as quick. He plays higher & doesn't get as much leverage. His hand punch is good, but Wilkins' is amazing. Vea's a very good run-stopper (I think Wilkins is better), but he provides zero pocket collapsing on passing plays. Vea will probably be picked in the 30s to 50s, while Wilkins will be picked in the top 15 IMO. You don't see 310-pound linemen beat tackles around the corner and push guards into the QB like Wilkins does very often.

Dex is another story. But he doesn't take anything away from Wilkins. Wilkins has the power to play NT and the mobility to play LDE in a 4-3, IMO.

[NinerSickness]

Look at Christian Wilkins beat Jonathan McLaughlin, a very good tackle, around the corner on this play (rushing from LDE). Keep in mind, the dude's 310 pounds; they even line him up at LB sometimes:



Watch him just shove Ohio State RT Isaiah Prince out of the way on this play (rushing from LDE):



And look how good his hand usage & upper-body strength is (not to mention agility):



I've also seen the guy bat down like 6 passes. I don't know how many he has, but in what I've seen from him, it happens a lot.

[NinerSickness]

Wilkins also has a nasty spin move:

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Sick, the guy fondled Curtis Samuel. Then goes and do a cheerleading split a week later. Okay I admit the split for a guy that size is was impressive, but still he's not a "can't miss" prospect in my books.

[NinerSickness]

Sick, the guy fondled Curtis Samuel. Then goes and do a cheerleading split a week later. Okay I admit the split for a guy that size is was impressive, but still he's not a "can't miss" prospect in my books.

"Can't miss" would be going way too far, but I give zero f***s about his ball-grabbing incident. None whatsoever. And it's weird to me how that gets mentioned as a reason he might slide in the draft.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Arden Key - DL - Tigers

An NFL scout told MMQB's Emily Caplan that LSU junior edge rusher Arden Key "reminds me of (Raiders LB) Aldon Smith."

"He has bulked up a little this spring, which is good. Great speed and even better potential," the scout told Caplan. As to that added bulk, Key tweeted at the end of April that he was "255 and ready" after being listed at 6-foot-6, 238 pounds for the 2016 season. He is currently away from the team due to a personal matter, but has indicated that he has no plans to sit out the coming season. We have seen him projected to within the top-5 in early 2018 mock drafts.
Source: MMQB

May 9 - 6:22 PM

[NinerSickness]

Arden Key - DL - Tigers

An NFL scout told MMQB's Emily Caplan that LSU junior edge rusher Arden Key "reminds me of (Raiders LB) Aldon Smith."

"He has bulked up a little this spring, which is good. Great speed and even better potential," the scout told Caplan. As to that added bulk, Key tweeted at the end of April that he was "255 and ready" after being listed at 6-foot-6, 238 pounds for the 2016 season. He is currently away from the team due to a personal matter, but has indicated that he has no plans to sit out the coming season. We have seen him projected to within the top-5 in early 2018 mock drafts.
Source: MMQB

May 9 - 6:22 PM

He's going to be the most interesting player to watch this season. He has the potential & talent to be a 10-sack guy, but I saw some things that concerned me from his play last year. He'd actually get really tired at 236 pounds, which is pretty mind-boggling.

Not a huge fan of his personality.

With this weak draft class, he's looking at top 7 or so if he has a great season.

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Stidham is the truth! But i wouldn't go that far in comparing him to Drew Brees:

Jarrett Stidham - QB - Tigers

Former Baylor DB coach Cris Dishman called new Auburn redshirt sophomore QB Jarrett Stidham "a taller Drew Brees."

"We used to sit in our defensive meeting room at Baylor and be like 'OK, we've got one right here. We've got something special at quarterback,'" Dishman said. This certainly won't slow down the hype train that Stidham is firing up during Auburn's offseason and spring activities. In the Tigers' spring game Stidham completed 16-of-20 passes for 267 yards. Head coach Gus Malzahn is acting like he is being patient in naming a starter, but we all know it will be Stidham.
Source: AL.com

May 10 - 10:25 AM

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Josh Allen - QB - Cowboys

Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said of redshirt junior QB Josh Allen: "He's a Brett Favre-type guy."

Like Favre, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Allen has a rocket arm and a gambler's heart. To that point, Allen has been working out with another risk-happy QB, former first-round pick Johnny Manziel, as well as QB tutor George Whitfield. Allen, 20, threw for 3,193 yards and a 28/15 TD/INT ratio last season. His ascension up draft boards has been compared to Carson Wentz's; Bohl and Wyoming OC Brent Vigen developed Wentz at North Dakota State. "The last guy we had like him was Carson," Bohl said. In a recent 2018 mock draft, Rotoworld's Thor Nystrom projected the Saints to take Allen with the No. 6 pick, writing that Allen "isn’t quite the gun-slinging risk-taker that Pat Mahomes is, but Allen wouldn’t be out of place playing craps at Mahomes’ table in Las Vegas."
Source: CBS Sports

May 11 - 12:50 PM

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Derwin James - DB - Seminoles

NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks says FSU redshirt sophomore S Derwin James "has a mix of Jamal Adams and Reuben Foster in his game."

"He plays with a nasty streak and temperament, but he is an outstanding leader. He is one of my favorites," Brooks said. James had 91 tackles and 4.5 sacks for the Seminoles as a true freshman in 2015 next to Jalen Ramsey. James missed most of last season with a torn meniscus. "He's a grown man. One of the best specimens you'll see," Brooks said. "A guy that is 6-3, and an old-school safety. He's athletic, he can come down in the slot, he can blitz off the edge, and he can play the deep middle. He's a natural leader and an alpha dog."
Source: NFL.com

May 11 - 1:44 PM

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Christian Kirk - WR - Aggies

ESPN's Mel Kiper ranks Texas A&M junior WR Christian Kirk No. 5 overall on his first 2018 big board.

"Kirk's size (5-11, 200) might ding him in the eyes of scouts, but he's a tremendous receiver and return man with excellent speed," Kiper wrote. "From everything I've heard, Kirk is a studious guy who is always looking to learn." Over his two years on campus, Kirk has already piled up 163 catches and 16 receiving touchdowns, along with three punt return scores in 2016. Kirk ranked No. 8 nationally last year with 576 yards after the catch. Rotoworld's Thor Nystrom slotted him No. 13 to the Lions in a recent 2018 mock draft. "Kirk has been shredding the SEC since he stepped foot on campus and would give Detroit a lightning-quick weapon on the perimeter," Nystrom wrote.
Source: ESPN

May 11 - 3:26 PM

[Bingo_AlphaMan]

Tremaine Edmunds - LB - Hokies

247 Sports' Barton Simmons ranks Virginia Tech junior OLB Tremaine Edmunds as the No. 25 draft-eligible prospect in the country.

"A 6-foot-5 linebacker that runs and strikes with anyone in the country and he makes a ton of plays behind the line of scrimmage," Simmons wrote, adding that Edmunds is "one of my personal favorite players in the country." Edmunds piled up 18.5 TFL last year, No. 6 among linebackers nationally. Edmunds' father, Ferrell, is a former All-Pro NFL tight end. Rotoworld's Thor Nystrom recently listed Tremaine Edmunds as one of the top "riser" defensive prospects in the nation.
Source: 247 Sports

May 11 - 3:10 PM