Nfl draft 2020

The Game Room
1

Well, with the virus doing it’s thing, I’ve found I have a lot more time on my hands. While I should be using it to develop an interesting hobby (woodworking, anyone?), instead I’ve been reading about this years’ NFL Draft. With so many sports events cancelled, the NFL should be in a good position to get a lot of eyes on their Draft, even though all the live festivities are shut down.

Some overall thoughts:

  1. Medical issues will be a huge influence on this draft. Teams don’t have the ability to have their doctors check out prospects, so guys like Tua Tagovailoa (who likely would have been a top 2 pick had he not gotten injured) and Laviska Shenault Jr could really drop if teams aren’t comfortable with the risk.

  2. The Dolphins will be a fun team to watch, but only for the NFL Draft. They sold off almost all of their talented young players and now have three first round draft picks, 2 second rounders, and 14 picks overall. Sure, they will be horrible to watch if there are actual games this fall, but the draft day will be their time to shine.

  3. On the flip side, the Bears don’t have a first round pick, have two second round picks, and then don’t pick again until the 5th round. They really have to hit on those second rounders.

  4. Without Al Davis, the Raiders get a little less interesting. Although last year they shocked people at #4 by taking Clellin Ferrell (4.5 sacks) and passing on Josh Allen (10.5 sacks and a Pro Bowl berth), so we can have fun watching Jon Gruden again.
    Each year, I pick out “my guys” (guys I think will succeed and who will offer more value than where they might be drafted), “your guys” (players I think will either bust or be underperformers relative to their draft position), and my favorite named guys. So here you go:
    MY GUYS:

1st Round

Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia
Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa

Isiah Simmons, LB, Clemson – he’s fun as hell to watch with mad versatility.

2nd Round

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona – A bit short, but long arms and good separation and speed.
Marlon Davidson, DE/DT, Auburn – If only for this quote: “What do I love most about the game? I love most about the game is that — this is true now, OK, this is true — I love most about the game that I can literally go out there and hit a man consistently and pound him, and the police not come. That is the most enjoyable moment about ball, to just go out there and really abuse somebody, and they won’t say nothing about it in the press or anything. I ain’t on no headlines, in handcuffs, no mugshots, no nothing. I’m out here just physically abusing my man.”

3rd Round

Antione Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota
Josh Uche, DL, Michigan

4th Round

Jonah Jackson, G, Ohio State
Geno Stone, S, Iowa

5th Round

Tyler Johnson, WR, Minn – Just gets open.
Logan Wilson, LB, Wyoming
Alex Highsmith, Edge, Charlotte

6th Round

Isaiah Hodgins, WR, Oregon State
James Morgan, QB, FIU - draft a quarterback EVERY YEAR.
7th Round

Antonio Gibson, RB, Memphis
McTelvin Agim, DT, Ark
YOUR GUYS:

Any QB drafted in the first round not named Joe or Tua. I’m iffy on Tua because of his health, but I consider Herbert, Love, and Eason to be way over-valued in the first round.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma
Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville
Raekwon Davis, DI, Alabama
K’Lavon Chaisson, DE, LSU
Antonio Golden Gandy, WR, Liberty
Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor
Henry Ruggs, WR, Alabama
Cole Kmet, TE, Notre Dame
Grant Delpit, S, LSU

FAVORITE NAMES:

Joey Magnifico
Lloyd Cushenberry III,
Lamar Jackson & AJ Green
Jalen Hurts
Mason Fine
Nigel Warrior
Maurice Ffrench
Michael Divinity

So, is anyone else interested in the NFL Draft this year? Has the free time the virus given us made you more, or less, interested in it? Who are your guys? Let’s hear from you.

2

Joey Magnifico is wasting his time - he should be looking to become a WWE superstar with that name. He could tag team with Fandango. They could come out to the middle section of Bohemian Rhapsody. They could call the team Thunderbolts and Lightning.

Jack in football, Joey. Have a word with Rob Gronkowski

3

I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum. I’ve been hella busy this month and I’m not even an “essential” worker, my company simply standardized on remote work a long time ago and things are operating as usual…but with even more meetings and emails for some reason. So I’m as low-information going into a draft as I ever have been. Since the Bears don’t have a lot of picks I’m even more disincentivized.

I have tried to bone up on the QBs since that’s what the mainstream media have talked about most and I did see enough of the games to form an opinion. Quick thoughts.

Joe Burrow - Honestly, I’m trying to nitpick this guy and figure out where he goes wrong and I just don’t see it. Maybe he’s not a perfect physical specimen. maybe he’s a little bit of a one hit wonder, maybe he’s benefited from a loaded roster…but the tape is fucking amazing. I have to expect that he’s as close to a can’t miss as a QB prospect can be.

Tua Tagovailoa - This guy is a total 180 from Burrow for me. I simply don’t see the hype at all. Even before the injury I was not sold on him. People talk about him like he’s Russell Wilson or Lamar Jackson and he’s not even close to the same kind of playmaker. He’s more Brees than Wilson. He’s undersized. And he did look like a guy who to me was coasting a bit on the talent and program around him. I wouldn’t take him in the top 10 and I would be uncomfortable taking him in the top 20.

Justin Herbert - This is a guy that you see in every draft. Looks like he was built to play QB…size, arm, athleticism, the whole package, but the tape didn’t really match up. I’d take a flyer on him in the late first round for sure and wouldn’t be shocked if he’s taken over Tua with the injury questions…but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s a disappointment. I’m not sure what the comp is for him, Cutler? Palmer? Mariota? Stafford? Flacco? Wentz? Darnold?

Jordan Love - The 2019 tape on this guy is pretty dismal. But one thing I pay close attention to in the Combine is how the QB’s throw to the WRs. Obvious I know, but specifically I want to see how catchable the balls are. Do the WRs have to reach? Are there a lot of bobbles? Hows the pace on the easy throws? Are the balls perfectly on schedule or are they being forced to make toe taps on sidelines? Do they need to adjust to over the should throws or is it right in the bucket? Lots of college QBs have amazing arms and good completion stats but when they are tossing it around during the Combine you can see the WRs working a bit even if the balls aren’t hitting the ground. I bring this up because at the Combine Love’s balls were almost flawless. It’s almost as if his balls were magnetically drawn to the WRs hands. No arms extended, never a hint of drama, nothing hit the dirt. The tape shows some issues with decision making, but I think he has the chops. If he’s there in the mid-second round (he won’t be) I’d love to see the Bears take a shot.

Speaking of the Bears…this off-season has been something of a shit show. They have really mortgaged the future in terms of both draft capital and salaries. I won’t derail the thread too much, but the one that stands out to me is signing the corpse of Jimmy Graham to a huge deal and then subsequently cutting Trey Burton and eating a bunch of dead cap. I mean, this looks like a act of confusion and desperation. Pace competed against himself for Burton 2 years ago and did it again with Graham…and a lot of people think he’s eyeing another TE in this draft. If he does that, shit is on. I got my pitchforks ready.

Where should we spend our limited draft capital? For my money it’s QB, QB, QB. I think the odds are poor, Pace knows that if Foles isn’t the answer his job if forfeit so planning for the future isn’t in the cards. We’re in serious need of help all across the OL and the defensive secondary is full of holes. If we get two starting OLs from those 2 second round picks that would be an absolute godsend. We’ll see.

4

While my main interest is seeing who the Packers draft, and if they can get any good receiving help for Rodgers, my other interest is seeing if the son of a friend of mine gets drafted.

Connor Kaegi played QB and punted at Ottawa, an NAIA school in Kansas. He won several awards, but his pro day was cancelled a few hours before it was supposed to happen, due to the coronavirus. He’s a longshot to get drafted, but he hopes to get a shot at going to training camp with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent.

5

This is the first year in like maybe 16 years that I didn’t get very into the draft. I actually haven’t looked into it at all - no mock drafts, no college game tape, no scouting reports. I’m not sure if being a dedicated fan to a laughing stock of a team finally got to me after two decades or if my interest in football was going to naturally wane. I’ll still watch the draft, but I won’t really know much about it.

Browns may be working on trading for Washington LT Trent Williams, which I’d support if they can get him for the right price. If they don’t, they might end up taking an OT at 10. Don’t sleep on the Browns o-line this year, they picked up Bill Callahan and are hopefully investing significantly into it. Chubb is going to have a big year.

Apparently ESPN and NFL network are going to simulcast the same broadcast. I hope they go with NFL network’s coverage rather than ESPN because it was always way better. But apparently it’s airing from ESPN studios, so it’ll probably have the ESPN dumbness.

Various sites say the draft will be available to be streamed online on nfl.com, espn.com, and their various apps, but doesn’t make clear if that means it’s a free broadcast or if you’ll have to sign in with your cable credentials. Anyone know if there will be free coverage you can stream?

6

It’s going to be on ABC as well.

Looks like all the streaming options require a cable service.

7

Apparently, Todd McShay will be missing from the draft coverage because he’s recovering from … coronavirus.

8

I haven’t researched much of anything either. The Chargers need a QB now that Phil is gone, and they need OL (like always), and otherwise they seem decently well set. The question seems to be between Tua and Herbert, although I did see one mock that had them taking Love at #6. Tua would be my choice, and then OL the rest of the way.

9

Who’s the odds on favorite to make an embarrassing technical snafu?

Bill O’Brien? Dave Gettleman? John Elway?

10

I just realized that I think this is the first time since the NHL shut down 6 weeks ago that I am actually turning on my TV to watch something as it is broadcast. I watch on the web or even just DVR for later damn near everything these days.

11

The guy I really want is Henry Ruggs III, but I’d be OK with Lamb, too. It’s looking increasingly likely that the 49ers are going to trade down from #13, possibly multiple times. They could also trade out of #31. I predict they will make at least one trade on Day 1 and again on Day 2. I predict they will trade a player and a future pick at some point. It should be an exciting night, but I might end up disappointed at first. It’s all about who they pick with the extra selections they pick up.

At #13, these are the guys I’d be good with before trading back:
Chase Young, EDGE
Henry Ruggs III, WR
CeeDee Lamb, WR
Jeff Okudah, CB
Tristan Wirfs, OT
Andrew Thomas, OT
Jedrick Wills Jr… OT
CJ Henderson, CB

12

3 picks down, no drama to speak of so far. Hoping Okudah is a bust for the sake of my Bears but I don’t think that’s likely. Unfortunately the Lions didn’t Cleveland that pick up.

13

Ok, Tua to Miami and Herbert to the Chargers. I wonder how the Chargers had the two of them rated. If they had Tua higher, it might not have cost too much to trade up to 4 and take him. If the Giants assumed Miami was going to take a QB, then their guy would still be available at 6, so trading down is free.

14

Every year I see NFL experts grading teams’ draft picks (i.e. with letter grades from D to A) according to whether they supposedly nailed it in selecting future stars.

Are there any websites that grade analysts on how accurate they’ve been? I found a couple of sites evaluating whose mock drafts eventually conformed closest to reality, but none that put prognosticators under the microscope on a consistent basis.

15

Browns turned their pick in really fast and didn’t even field offers, so they must really like the guy. I’d probably rather have Trent Williams and the #10 to spend on something else, but this is fine. ESPN made it sound like the OT that went before him (Thomas to the Giants) didn’t deserve to be the top tackle taken. Is Wills the best tackle in the draft? The posters on a browns board I was browsing mostly seemed to want Wirfs.

16

None of the top 3 QBs slipped, this makes it pretty much a certainty that Love will go in the first at some point. Raider maybe? Bucs as a developmental guy behind Brady? Patriots maybe?

17

Wirfs was the top rated guy on most boards I saw. Go figure.

18

I dont understand why, if Wills was that good, why he’s playing RT instead of LT at Alabama. Personally, I like Wirfs a ton more.

Sad to see the Chargers draft Hebert, whose production, especially against good teams, never seemed to live up to the hype.

19

Ah, Gruden brings a smile to my face again. Ruggs before Jeudy is just silly.

20

Tua is left handed. He was the blindside tackle.