Official 2016 NFL Draft Thread

How about another former tight end as OT? From senior bowl http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/d...ning-heads-for-north

"Jason Spriggs, a former tight end looking to prove this week that he has the strength and tenacity to handle NFL defenders after starring in an up-tempo spread offense for the Hoosiers. The 6-foot-6, 301 pounder has shown the quickness and balance this week that scouts have appreciated about his game in the past,

The OT I think TT would look at if he slides in to the late third or fourth is Joe Haeg from ND State. He's very athletic, but needs a year or two in the weight room. 

I like Haeg. I think he has the nasty streak they like. He plays through the whistle. 

Cody Whitehair/Kansas State

Kyle Murphy/Stanford

Joe Dahl/Washington State

Connor McGovern/Missouri

Joe Haeg/North Dakota State

My picks for offensive linemen that probably appeal to Big Ted.

I don't see Whitehair as a guy he'd go after though as he's a true OG and he'd likely have to be taken with Green Bay's #1. I think he'll be the first OG off the board by a fairly wide number of picks. 

If TT goes pass rusher in Round 1, Calhoun makes sense as a bigger guy who can set the edge, but I wonder if he could be tempted by a guy like Leonard Floyd? Floyd's quite a bit lighter, probably only 225# right now, but would be more dynamic in space. I guess part of it depends on what they want to do with the Amoeba/NASCRAP/whatever formations where the LBs are more likely to have linemen on them. 

Floyd is going to shoot up boards IMO. He's an Aldon Smith-type athletic pass rusher who was miscast as an ILB at Georgia. He's going to test really well at the combine. If he's available at 26 though I think it's a no brained, his tape reflects that he's an elite athlete and has a high ceiling as a pass rusher.

Every year I get a weird gut feeling about a player ending up in GB...I thought it with Randall Cobb and Casey Hayward and Eddie Lacy. This year my gut is telling me Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard is going to end up in GB in round 2. I have no evidence to back that feeling up, but his fit is so perfect for where this team is at. Then again last year I thought the same thing about Denzel Perryman and he didn't make it to their pick in Round 2 (no guarantees he would have been the pick if he had!). Shepard could do some real damage in GB similarly to what Tyler Lockett did in Seattle this year (I think the comparisons are legit) and what Cobb did his rookie year. 

I can't imagine Ted taking a WR.  

I think Shepard is going to be a very, very good pro.

So, maybe?

Grave Digger posted:

 If he's available at 26 though I think it's a no brained, his tape reflects that he's an elite athlete and has a high ceiling as a pass rusher.

If he available at 26 Seattle could take him 

Touché. A no brainer at 27.

Floyd is already grading out at about 20 overall, so he's probably already out of range for Ted unless he goes to the combine and tanks it.  I agree that he's a guy that Ted would love to have.

Grave Digger posted:

Floyd is going to shoot up boards IMO. He's an Aldon Smith-type athletic pass rusher who was miscast as an ILB at Georgia. He's going to test really well at the combine. If he's available at 26 though I think it's a no brained, his tape reflects that he's an elite athlete and has a high ceiling as a pass rusher.

watching film of him at ILB is so odd. he was always such a naturally gifted edge rusher at UGA it's strange to see him off the LOS filling gaps.

I think they had a hole at ILB and inserted their best athlete there in the same way GB did with Clay. They were able to make this move because they have another talented pass rusher in Jordan Jenkins. He's a borderline 1st/2nd rounder, but is a hard player to gauge in terms of upside. He reminds me of Patriots OLB Rob Ninkovich, maybe a little better athlete though. He's bigger, he sets the edge well, he attacks the ball, high motor, but he doesn't show the elite athleticism of his teammate Floyd. Mike Neal might be a good comparison also...doesn't have an elite first step, but can surprise OTs and gets a lot of effort sacks.

Floyd is, to me, a little Dion Jordan/Bruce Irvin in that he'll test well, though I'm doubting he'll be the off-the-charts measurables they had, but he's simply too damned small to play at DE, and not quite as versatile as a Khalil Mack or Anthony Barr (as well as being smaller). 

I like Jordan Jenkins a lot, and I agree he has the size but he's not the same level athlete. I think he'll go a bit later though, late second or third. He reminds me a bit of Markus Golden (and Mark Tauscher) in that he's productive, but looks less athletic than he is. 

What do you guys think of Deion Jones from LSU as a possible ILBer? Could be available in Round 3  http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/...ion-jones?id=2555162 

He's basically a slow safety/tweener trying to play linebacker. He's fast for linebacker, but I don't think he's that instinctive, he's also a smaller guy.

Floyd is a much more polished pass rusher and football player than Irvin or Jordan. I think Aldon Smith is a better comparison, although the off-field appears to be very different between Floyd/Smith. 

Jenkins is not an elite athlete, but I will be surprised if he makes it to the end of round 2. He doesn't have the first step that Nick Perry had at USC, but he's a more polished all around player. I think he's a late 1st rounder/early 2nd rounder. 

I know then Safety/ILB tweener is hot right now because Deone Buchanan had such a successful season, but that tweener can't be your primary ILB. They also have a pretty solid ILB in Kevin Minter who is a thumper in the middle and allows Buchanan to freelance. GB doesn't have a Kevin Minter that can take on blockers and allow the WLB to freelance. Really the position that Buchanan plays is not too dissimilar from what the Packers used to do with Woodson except Buchanan isn't playing CB. More of a rover. 

Badgers

Caputo would be a steal in the 7th. Schobert should sneak into the 3rd. The Browns might take Stave in the 6th, if pictures of him with 40's duct taped to his hands surface. Would love to have Erickson in camp as a FA.  Same with Hillary.  Watt should go earlier, but there are questions about whether or not he can play in a 3-4.  

Your consensus board is taking shape! 

Is Derek Watt's brother Justin J. still in the NFL? Don't hear much about him lately. 

A guy I kind of wonder about is Tanner McEvoy. What the heck does a team even look at him as? He's 6'6", can't throw well enough to be a QB, not sudden enough to be a safety, bigger than a WR, probably too thin as a TE, really raw at everything...

It seems there are a couple of guys every year that you think should be athletic enough to do something to at least work on the practice squad but trying to figure out what that is... 

McEvoy has pictures of Barry.

Grave Digger posted:

Floyd is a much more polished pass rusher and football player than Irvin or Jordan. I think Aldon Smith is a better comparison, although the off-field appears to be very different between Floyd/Smith. 

 

I agree he's more polished than those guys, but he's also likely going to be lighter, maybe quite a little.

(Combine) Aldon Smith was 263#, Irvin 6'3" 245#, Jordan was 6'6" 248#, and all three have elite burst. The heaviest I've seen Floyd listed is 232#, and most of the sites have him listed around 220-225#. Can he add 20# and still test well enough? 

Maybe it's just wishful thinking he'll slide a little due to size, but size concerns do seem to matter quite a bit in the NFL. 

I can see the Cardinals or Lions wanting a 6'6" guy like McEvoy as a safety, even just for a couple plays a year.  

We will see what he weighs in at the combine. I bet he shows up 235-240, that's not too small for a premier pass rusher. I don't think his weight will scare teams off, the tape is there.

Caputo is being very underrated at this point. Shocked he didn't get a combine invite. 

Caputo is a less versatile Hyde. He has great instincts but is just so limited athletically compared to most NFL players it's a big hurdle. 

When it comes to tackling, McEvoy makes Terrell Buckley look like Ray Nitschke.  Worst tackler in the history of football.

but his 40 time Joe, 

his 40 time.

Let's go to the tapes! 

Ragland        http://www.nfl.com/news/story/...d-be-his-destination 

I like Ragland, but would he be there at 27? Gravedigger?????

It's difficult to see him making to GB unless he struggles in workouts and there is an influx of risers. I see the Giants and Bears at 10 and 11 that need a stud ILB as well as Oakland, Detroit, and Atlanta at 14, 16, and 17 that desperately need ILB help. Then you have the Bengals at 24 who may want to move on from Vontaze Burfict (who would blame them!). Hard to believe he slips past all those teams. 

Maybe Ted could do a deal for that #14 pick with his old buddy Reggie McKenzie. It would only require our 1, 2, and probably 4.

An ILB isn't worth that. Only a QB & possibly a franchise LT.

I'm assuming you're being facetious 

I love Ragland, but that's a crazy price. 1 and a 4 maybe as we will most likely get compensatory picks in round 4, but not a 1 and 2. Maybe McKenzie will give him the friend/mentor discount!

A 1 and a 4 for Ragland might be worth it...

I'd take Trevathan or Lauriniatis before giving up picks for Ragland. Id have given picks for CJ Mosley. But not Ragland.

Best scenario IMO is to sign a guy like Trevathan or Lauriniatis and grab a DT in rd1. TE or OL in round 2. That would solve a lot of concerns. 

don't usually advocate for signing FA's but I think Trevathan would be a great fit. Very fast LB, good in coverage. The defense seems to have good gap pluggers in Ryan and Barrington; Trevathan would be a good compliment with his speed

A committee is looking at making changes to the combine, possibly doing away with drills like 40, bench and vertical. Good for the game overall, but I'm little bummed as a fan of a team that drafts well without being distracted by those very drills.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/...ne-changes/80700052/

It sounds like a virtual reality combine. Just hook everyone up to a computer — they won't even have to show up.