Official 2015 NFL Draft Thread

TT once said, "Guys don't move around the draft board a whole lot from Jan-May" or words to that effect.

 

Patience is the biggest key in drafting. "Lap fallers" abound

ROTT has totes made his living off of lap-fallers.

Totes 'Foo!

I'm recommending to everyone I can to keep Colt Lyria on their fantasy keeper leagues.  

First round of Combine rumors:

 

T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh: 
Many grade T.J. Clemmings as a mid-first round choice but it's an opinion those affiliated with the league never shared. Sources told me the early first round grades placed on Clemmings were unwarranted and set up unreasonable expectations at the Senior Bowl. Most now believe Clemmings needs a strong combine performance and pro-day to stay in the first round. And though the short term picture may not be as rosy as some predict, league insiders all feel Clemmings best football lay ahead as he's still learning to play on the offensive line. There's also a belief Clemmings could start his pro-career at guard, something I've said all along, before being kicked outside to tackle. 

 

(Packers already met with Clemmings at the Senior Bowl)

 

Ty Sambrailo, OT, Colorado State: 
Another top rated blocker who needs to turn in a good combine performance is Tyler Sambrailo. The Colorado State tackle struggled at times during the Senior Bowl and teams came away questioning his functional football strength. On the other hand his athleticism is not a concern (still remember watching as Sambrailo caught a touchdown pass last season). Sambrailo may not have the fastest forty time on Friday but check and see how his shuttle and 3-cone times stack up against the rest of the offensive linemen. There's still a chance Sambrailo slides into the late part of round one. I previously posted on the Seattle Seahawks admiration for Sambrailo and now hear the Green Bay Packers are in the mix. The team could lose Bryan Bulaga via free agency in the coming weeks and the feeling is Sambrailo's athleticism and ability to easily move around the field makes him a perfect fit for the Aaron Rodgers led Packers.

 

For the Hawkeye fans:

Carl Davis, DT, Iowa: 
While I gushed over the performance of Carl Davis during the Senior Bowl, and justifiably so, sources tell me the defensive lineman will be asked hard questions at the combine surrounding his pedestrian production and the belief he occasionally took plays off. This should come as no surprise as I listed Davis as a Week Four Slider because of poor production. The answers scouts receive could determine whether or not Davis lands in the first round. Does a team overlook poor production in favor of dominant skills and potential? Or does inconsistent play raise red flags? 

 

 

 

The Sambrailo note is no suprise.  He probably fits the profile of what Ted looks for in offensive linemen better than any other prospect in this draft, and could easily be a player that Ted sees as having the ability to be a starting right tackle from day one. 

Carl Davis took a lot of plays off.   But damn could he flash at times

 

Better prospect then Rasheed Hagadumdum from UM last year

GD, not flaming you, but am curious to the source of these comments and if they are in any context. IOW, were these the only  players that were 'connected' to the Packers? Or is it just fluff based on somebody's perception of our 'needs'?

 

IC, why did Davis take plays off? Was it a case of him "protecting himself from injury", or is he a turd? Can he be properly motivated?

Draft him and former Hawk Jerry Montgomery can coach him up.

 

Him, Daniels, Datone and Mariraji...dream from heaven

http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/

No offense taken. The Packers rarely have any legit rumors or connections out there so if there's anythinf remotely Packer related, even a rumor based on speculation, I figure it's better than nothing. There's been no proven connection between the Packers and Sambrailo, just speculation that he's a fit and it could be a potential need IF Bulaga walks. Other guys like TJ Clemmings, there is a proven connection. They met with Clemmings at the Senior Bowl so we know he's at least a little bit on their radar even if it was just due diligence. Like I said, there isn't much info out there so I takes what I can gets.

Also I'm keeping the list in the topic post updated whenever I find info about meetings or rumored connections. I just found that they met with Tennessee CB Justin Coleman at the EW Shrine Game. Very raw CB who was up and down at TN, but resembles Casey Hayward in a lot of ways. He's a UDFA right now.

Update the topic post with 2 confirmed Combine meetings:

 

Miami (Fla.) TE Clive Walford

• Miami tight end Clive Walford (6-4, 251) stayed consistent with his Senior Bowl weigh-in. Walford had an excellent Senior Bowl week to send a charge into his draft stock. Walford has surprising athleticism, so he could continue his upward climb with a strong performance at the Combine.
• Looking like a late 2nd to late 3rd round prospect

Minnesota TE Maxx Williams

• Minnesota's Maxx Williams is the consensus top tight end, and he hit the expected numbers at 6-foot-4, 249-pounds. That is almost identical to last year's top tight end, Eric Ebron (6-4, 250). Williams is a talented athlete with good speed, so he could impress in the field drills. It wouldn't be surprising if Williams generates more first-round buzz after his workout in Indianapolis.
• Looking like a late 1st to mid-2nd round prospect

I'm curious to see where Gurley and Gordon end up. Gordon's 40 time may actually be important and Gurley's medical will be huge, though we won't hear much about those results I suspect.

This Gurley talk belongs in the fashion thread.

The other big story brewing during the opening days of the combine centers around free agent cornerbacks. The belief is available corners will be overpaid in free agency as the demand at the position will far outstrip the supply. Sources tell me a number of teams (New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears) may look to sign a pair of corners in free agency, the need is so great. They also point to the New England Patriots as a team who won the Super Bowl with the help of two free agent corners, Darrell Revis and Brandon Browner.

Gonna make it harder to re-sign Williams and House if true.  But still so much better than being in the Bears shoes.

 

Even if both House and Williams leave, they still have Shields, Hayward and Hyde as starters.  Not too bad.  They'll need depth but TT was prepared for this.  

That's not good. Shields is what he is and that's fine, but Hayward hasn't shown the ability to play outside and Hyde is too slow also. They'd likely have to go to a lot more "pure" zone, blech. Maybe Goodson will be ready for some major snaps, but that's likely asking a lot.  

 

If House and Williams are both gone TT likely takes a boundary corner early.

It's not good to lose two top contributors, but it's worse to overpay for one or both. If they're pricing themselves out of GB, which it sounds like that may be the case with House, then there's nothing to be done. I like Tramon's veteran savvy, but I'd rather keep House if they can. His injury history is troubling, but he's young and I thought looked really good in the opportunities he had.

Texas A&M OT Cedric Ogbuehi wins the arm leangth measurement: 6'5"/305 lbs/35 7/8" arms

 

Also Iowa OT Brandon Scherff continues the traditional Iowa OL T-Rex body type with an unimpressive 33 3/8" arm length. His teammate Andrew Donnal had equally unimpressive 33 1/2" arms. Does Captain Kirk only recruit players that have those exact measurements? Bryan Bulaga and Riley Reiff both have 33 1/4" arms. Iowa loves it's T-Rex OL.

If the choice is between Tramon and Davon I'm taking Williams.  I know he's older but IMO he hasn't lost much, he's proven and the de facto leader of the secondary. House is a tease. I'm also declaring myself in the "let's load up for SB runs in the next 5 years camp."

So if you add his arms together you get close to 6'.  If his chest is only 18", his wingspan would be close to 7 1/2 feet! 24" chest and it's 8'!  Dude could probably fly without a squirrel suit.

Our own DBs all say that Williams is still the most athletic of the group. 

Miami OT Ereck Flowers (6'6" 329 lbs.) put up 37 reps on the bench with 34 1/2" arms!  Talk about a mauler!

It's looking to me like this draft is heavy on offensive players, especially WR & RB...two areas we're fairly solid. You could make the argument for a legit #2 back to compete with Starks. Assuming Janis and Abbrederis come back healthy, we're still stocked at wideout.

If you do your mocks at Fanspeak, a lot of the quality defensive players are gone by the end of the third round. I'm wondering if you had a chance to pick a stud OLB, who can get after the passer, or an ILB, who might grade lower, which would you take?

Do what Ted Thompson would do and trade back to a spot you think the ILB will still be available at and draft him.

 

Or do what Kevin Costner would do and convince another idiot GM to give you 5 first round picks for your first round pick...and then take the ILB.

UMass TE Jean Sifrin (6'5" 245 lbs) has 11" hands! Holy smokes! Did not participate in the bench press though so he either has an injury or he knows he's super weak. 

 

Here's some numbers for players confirmed to have met with GB:

• Miami TE Clive Walford hit 20 reps on the bench and measured 34" arms and 10 1/4" hands.
• Minnesota TE Maxx Williams hit 17 reps on the bench with 33 1/2" arms and 10 3/8" hands.
• TJ Clemmings (6'5" 309 lbs) has quite a wingspan himself with 35 1/8" arms, but only managed 22 reps on the bench.
• Louisville RB Dominique Brown measured 6'2" 234 lbs with 9 1/2" hands.
• Texas RB Malcolm Brown measured 5'11" 224 lbs with 10 1/4" hands.

 

Agreed that a cornerback (that can play outside) becomes another need area if both Williams and House leave.  But I don't know if Ted looks to spend a first or second rounder at the position.  There are still some pretty decent players at that position.  This is like WR to me...if it becomes a need area I think Ted would look to fill it with a veteran CB that another team cut loose.

 

I think Ted will approach the draft with ILB, NG and OT (even if Bulaga stays) as the three areas he'll most want to address.  WR and CB (if either become a need area) with free agents (preferably with ones that have been released).  All other spots with later round picks.

Rob Havenstein killing it on the bench with 16 reps, he's tops among WRs right now. 

 

Added Boise St. RB Jay Ajayi to the list of confirmed Combine meetings for GB. He measured 6' 221 lbs. with 10" hands. That's the third bigger back that they have looked at and all three are known for being physical runners. Dominique Brown and Malcolm Brown look like UDFA's, but Jay Ajayi is a solid Day 2 prospect. Probably means very little, but I'm surprised they're looking at bigger RBs with Lacy and Starks both being bigger backs. I assumed if they looked at RBs they would be the smaller like DuJuan Harris...more of RB/WR tweeners like Darren Sproles. 

Hmmm.

@MikeSilver: I was told by one GM and one HC that Georgia RB Todd Gurley refused to let combine doctors examine his surgically repaired knee Thursday...

I actually don't blame him. I was just reading about Rutgers TE Tyler Kroft who was injured by a team doctor this year during an exam. Apparently they pulled and twisted on his ankle that had been injured during the season and re-injured it. He's going to run his 40 on an injured ankle. Apparently the same thing happened to Penn State LB Dan Connor a few years ago, combine doctors pulled and twisted on his knee too much and re-injured it. If I'm Todd Gurley I don't let anything interfere with his drills and tests, he has too much riding on them. Teams can examine him individually.

McCarthy's love for big RBs is long established, so it's not a surprise. 

Yup.  Chad Brown was on the radio this morning in Denver and he was talking about his combine experience.  He had a separated shoulder his senior year and he said the combine doctors all but pulled it out during their examination.  If it was me, only one doctor would touch any surgically repaired joint/ligament: mine.  

 

He also talked about the 5 paragraph essay he wrote for the Saints at their request, describing why they should take him in the first round.  Pretty funny stuff.  

I wish they'd find another Jonathan Franklin.  That kid looked like he could have given our offense another gear.

Another year away from the knee injury and the former used car salesman could offer that extra gear. 

Hope this hasn't been posted.....on the tv show "highly questionable"...... a question came up regarding Jameis Winston's hands being small, and would that be a problem for his draft status, anyone else hear that?  I wonder if that WAS talked about on Dante Culpepper's draft status?  Never heard about Winston's small hands.    

Heard one "draft expert" say Miami's Denzel Perryman was "too short to be an effective LB in the NFL."

 

Chris Borland clutched his pearls.

Borland flashed but like too much of his college career, didn't he end this year on IR?