2012 NFL Draft - Thurs. April 26th

[BINGO]

Floyd, Reiff on Cardinals' radar
10:38AM ET
Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have some distinct needs at certain positions on their roster, and they should be able to address one of them with the No. 13 overall pick. But which will it be?

The answer to that question largely depends on which prospects are taken with the first 12 picks. It could be that the players that they really like are off the board by the time their pick rolls around. However, there are certain scenarios where they'll have their choice of either Iowa OT Riley Reiff or Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd, both of whom would make an impact as rookies.

Both Bob McManaman and Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic offered their respective takes on the Reiff vs. Floyd debate this week. Each argument centers on which upgrade will bolster the team's QB play more: better O-line play or another strong target down field.

One or both of the two players may be off the board when Arizona picks, and it's possible that even if they are both still available the Cards will go another direction -- another pass-rusher would be a big help on D. Just another wide-open position for Thursday night.

- Tim Kavanagh​

 

[BINGO]

No Tannehill for Seattle?
10:02AM ET
Seattle Seahawks

A rumor made the rounds on Sunday that the Seattle Seahawks were looking to trade up to the No. 7 slot in the draft (currently the Jacksonville Jaguars' place in the order) so that they could take Ryan Tannehill; however, this notion was all but completely debunked by Monday. Even so, there's still an idea that the Seahawks would jump at the chance to add the Texas A&M passer if he were to fall to them at No. 12 overall.

Art Thiel of Sportspress Northwest emphatically argues against drafting Tannehill -- either at No. 12 or anywhere else -- this Thursday night. Thiel wonders why they'd add another QB to the mix after already spending money to bring in a potential solution in free agent Matt Flynn. Instead, the team should focus on finding an impact player that can help right away from another position.

ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando believes that some of the positive remarks emanating from high-ranking Seahawk officials may be a smoke-screen:

- Tim Kavanagh​

Mike Sando
This could be an effort to drum up trade interest

"[Seahawks HC Pete] Carroll and general manager John Schneider continue to speak glowingly of Tannehill. The team could be interested in Tannehill and/or trading back in the draft with a team eager to land him."

 

[mem49er]

I won't read anything more funny than that all day!! Thanks for the great start to my day, Mem.

 

[BINGO]

Overrated 2012 NFL draft prospects
Morris Claiborne, Michael Floyd among overhyped players
Originally Published: April 24, 2012
By K.C. Joyner | ESPN Insider

Morris Claiborne is a solid cornerback, but he may not be a shutdown CB in the NFL.

Last week I took a look at the players who are among the top projected value picks in the 2012 NFL draft.

This week, we'll tackle the flip side of that discussion and review the most overvalued players in the draft.



Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU Tigers

Claiborne brings a lot of strengths to the cornerback skill table, but there are reasons to think he may not be a dominant player in coverage at the NFL level.

A seven-game review of his 2011 performance against the toughest passing offenses the Tigers faced showed Claiborne allowed 12 completions/defensive penalties in 25 targets for 188 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

That equates to a 7.5 yards per attempt (YPA) mark, which would be middle of the road if it were posted against NFL-caliber offenses and is below average at the collegiate level. It wasn't a case of a couple of long passes throwing off the total, either, as nine of the completions/defensive penalties went for 10 or more yards.

This isn't to imply that Claiborne is a bad cornerback, but rather to note that the combination of his high interception total (his six overall interceptions ranked third in the SEC) and high YPA mark indicates that he probably will be more of a ball-hawking cornerback such as Antonio Cromartie rather than a total shutdown CB in the mold of Darrelle Revis.



Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor Bears

Wright has a lot of positives, but he also may have as many red flags as any potential first-round draft pick.

For starters, he had a poor 40-yard dash time at the combine (although to be fair, he did show improvement in that category at Baylor's pro day).

Further, it was recently reported that Wright weighed in with a 16 percent body fat count and did four bench press reps at that pro day. That bench press total would have placed last in that category at the combine.

His size is also an issue, as he was the shortest player in my recent article reviewing the top 10 wide receiver draft prospects and the second-oldest and fourth-lightest wideout of that group.

Add in Robert Griffin III's metrics on vertical passes, which were actually better when throwing to players other than Wright, to the depth of talent in this year's wide receiver draft class, and it means teams might do well to wait until the second round or later to select Wright.



Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Floyd's 2011 season was not just disappointing -- it was downright abysmal when compared to the other top wide receiver prospects. Floyd ranked dead last in YPA, vertical YPA and stretch vertical YPA in the aforementioned top 10 wide receiver draft prospects article. (Note: Stretch vertical passes are those aerials thrown 20 or more yards downfield.)

To be fair, some of his metric woes can be placed on the shoulders of the Fighting Irish's inconsistent quarterback play, but that same claim could be made by LSU wideout Rueben Randle, and it didn't prevent him from posting dominant YPA totals. Randle isn't the only one to make this claim, as Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver A.J. Jenkins and South Carolina Gamecocks wideout Alshon Jeffery also played on struggling offenses and yet still had YPA totals higher than Floyd's. Simply put, Floyd did less to overcome subpar circumstances than any other top WR prospect.



Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson Tigers

From a receiving skills standpoint, Allen isn't even close to being in the same class of either Stanford Cardinal tight end Coby Fleener or Georgia Bulldogs tight end Orson Charles.

For proof, check out the route depth YPA totals for each player in his contests against BCS conference-caliber foes last year:

Tight end Route Depth Targets YPA
Fleener Short (1-10 yds) 20 4.6
Charles Short (1-10 yds) 39 5.6
Allen Short (1-10 yds) 43 5.4
Tight end Route Depth Targets YPA
Fleener Vertical (11+ yds) 29 18.4
Charles Vertical (11+ yds) 20 12.7
Allen Vertical (11+ yds) 24 8.5
Tight end Route Depth Targets YPA
Fleener Total 49 12.7
Charles Total 59 8.0
Allen Total 67 6.6

Allen's vertical and total YPA marks rank last among these three, but his numbers are even worse than they appear because they rely heavily on success in variations of the wheel route.

Allen gained 116 yards on 10 wheel variation targets. Take that single play type out of his totals, and Allen's already poor 6.6 YPA drops to an even worse 5.7 mark. Factor in his 5.5 YPA when flexed out as a wide receiver and his subpar performance at the combine (Mel Kiper said he looked almost sluggish) and it means Allen has little claim to being an elite receiving tight end.



Nick Perry, DE, USC Trojans

At first glance, Perry's 9.5 sacks look to be a dominant total. According to NCAA.com, he led the Pac-12 last season in that category and was tied for 10th nationally in sacks per game.

Upon closer examination, however, Perry's mark falls somewhat flat because most of his sacks were not of the one-on-one variety.

A one-on-one sack is defined as a situation in which a pass-rusher beats a pass-blocker in a one-on-one blocking situation and sacks the quarterback in the pocket within three seconds of the snap. This is the most difficult type of sack to generate, but this difficulty means that consistent success here is a very good omen for future pass-rush success.

The issue for Perry is that only 3.5 of his sacks fell under the one-on-one heading, and one of those occurred right at the three-second mark. If that is an indicator of the level of pass rush he was capable of generating in a 12-game college season, it doesn't bode well for his ability to post high sack totals at the professional level.



Honorable mention:


Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama Crimson Tide

He played on the best defense in college football last season and still managed to post a middle-of-the-road 6.6 YPA against the seven strongest pass offenses the Crimson Tide faced.



Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M Aggies

Over the past two years, Tannehill has fared much worse than Brandon Weeden in metrics, consistency, career growth and big-game performance.

Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State Cowboys

He was kept in check when covered by Texas Longhorns up-and-coming star CB Carrington Byndom last season. As good as Byndom is, Blackmon will face a CB of that caliber in just about every NFL contest.

 

[BINGO]

Vikings open to trading No. 3
3:42PM ET
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Tuesday he still plans to take one of three players with the third overall pick: offensive tackle Matt Kalil, cornerback Morris Claiborne or wide receiver Justin Blackmon, according to 1500ESPN.com's Tom Pelissero. The good news for any team that wants to secure one of those top draft prospects is that Spielman remains wide open to dealing the No. 3 pick.

"We're going to be very open to the trade scenario," Spielman said during his annual pre-draft media conference.

"I know that's been talked about a lot, asked a lot. Just to give you an update, that front has really heated up over the last 24 hours and I'm sure it'll continue to heat up as we head into Thursday night."

Spielman is playing the GM role properly here by making sure that other GMs know the pick is available for the right price, while generating buzz that there are other teams which are considering moving up. If a trade goes down, we likely won't hear about it until the draft is underway Thursday evening.

- Tom Carpenter​

 

[BINGO]

The floor for Kalil
11:51AM ET
Matt Kalil

Over the past few weeks, there's been a notable increase in skepticism that Matt Kalil is a shoo-in pick for the Minnesota Vikings at No. 3 overall. That has given us the opportunity to explore where the USC product might land if he's available to the next group of teams. Sure, the next bunch have returning starters at LT -- until you get to the Buffalo Bills at No. 10 -- but that doesn't mean that they would not be interested in grabbing the potentially elite prospect.

One team that has not been frequently speculated as a possible destination for Kalil is the St. Louis Rams, who currently sit at No. 6 overall with both of their starting OTs (LT Rodger Saffold and RT Jason Smith) returning. The general belief is that the Rams will take either Justin Blackmon, Morris Claiborne or Trent Richardson in that spot (depending upon which is still available). But in the opinion of Steve Muench of Scouts, Inc., they would have to consider drafting Kalil if he fell to them (and the others were off the board), instead of taking a player at a different position or trying to trade back.

"I don't think he gets past St. Louis at six," Muench indicated in a video posted this week. "I know they've drafted tackles high -- i.e. Jason Smith -- and it hasn't worked out with his concussion issues, but you still need that franchise left tackle and, again, I think that position is so important that you can't just pass on it because you haven't had luck in recent years."

As we've noted in previous entries, all of this debate is moot if the Vikes, as expected by many, take Kalil at No. 3. But ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando thinks there's a way that this could work out for St. Louis if they do decide to take Kalil:

- Tim Kavanagh​

Mike Sando
Saffold could move

"Muench called Kalil a 'no-brainer' selection for the Vikings, but will Minnesota agree? And how would the Rams respond if presented with an unexpected choice? They recently worked out a streamlined contract with Smith, allowing him to return as the projected starting right tackle. Rodger Saffold returns as the likely starting left tackle, but he could conceivably move to another position on the line if the Rams found a better option at tackle."

 

[NinerSickness]

Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson Tigers

From a receiving skills standpoint, Allen isn't even close to being in the same class of either Stanford Cardinal tight end Coby Fleener or Georgia Bulldogs tight end Orson Charles.

Allen also didn't have a future HOF QB throwing him the ball, nor did he have a future first round pick throwing to him (Murray).

Totally agree about Claiborne, but disagree abour Floyd. Floyd is legit. Only thing that will stiop Floyd is Floyd.

Nick Perry, DE, USC Trojans



The issue for Perry is that only 3.5 of his sacks fell under the one-on-one heading, and one of those occurred right at the three-second mark. If that is an indicator of the level of pass rush he was capable of generating in a 12-game college season, it doesn't bode well for his ability to post high sack totals at the professional level.

That is the dumbest analysis of a player I've seen in a long time. Terrible article KC Joyner.

 

[deep9er]

Allen also didn't have a future HOF QB throwing him the ball, nor did he have a future first round pick throwing to him (Murray).

Totally agree about Claiborne, but disagree abour Floyd. Floyd is legit. Only thing that will stiop Floyd is Floyd.



That is the dumbest analysis of a player I've seen in a long time. Terrible article KC Joyner.

the Nick Perry description has some logic. it isn't a full analysis, but it does indicate something about his pass rush ability.

 

[NinerSickness]

the Nick Perry description has some logic. it isn't a full analysis, but it does indicate something about his pass rush ability.

There are a bunch of problems with the logic though. Most obviously it's only looking at 10 plays in the entire season. You can't JUST look at sack plays & sack numbers to determine if a guy is a good pass rusher.

 

[deep9er]

There are a bunch of problems with the logic though. Most obviously it's only looking at 10 plays in the entire season. You can't JUST look at sack plays & sack numbers to determine if a guy is a good pass rusher.

a BUNCH of problems???

if you want to analyze how an OT pass blocks, what kind of plays do you watch? if you want to analyze if a WR can catch the sideline pass, what kind of plays do you watch? if you want to.......

ok, you do have to look at pressures and even hurries to analyze his entire pass rush ability. but if this 3.5 sacks mano-a-mano is true - against college OT's - does this indicate a potential pass rushing beast?

what will NFL OT's do to him?

 

[BINGO]

To sum it up, I don't like Perry all that much either. He lacks a repertoire of moves to get to the qb. He uses a speed rush and an occasional spin move. I hardly see a swim move, a bullrush or a consistent motor we use to see from Merriman and what we see from Matthews now. He doesn't posses that Aldon Smith / Justin Smith type brute strength either. At best (high unlikely he'd get to that level) his ceiling is comparable to a player like Shaun Philips or Anthony Spencer. I don't see a dominant perennial probowler in this guy at all.

 

[ChrisPozz]

NFL Draft Insider News & Notes

- Last week we alerted readers the San Francisco 49ers pick in the first round will come down to the highest rated guard or receiver Stephen Hill. Several sources told us last night the guard the team has its sights on is Amini Silatolu of Midwestern State, and the franchise will not hesitate to pull the trigger on the small school prospect in round one.

- Surprisingly the other team showing a lot of interest in Fleener are the San Francisco 49ers. We hear its more than just the usual overt interest rather a number of phone calls and close inspection of the Stanford tight end.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

What if Perry's 6 other sacks were one-on-two?

 

[Ray_Dogg]

NFL Draft Insider News & Notes

- Last week we alerted readers the San Francisco 49ers pick in the first round will come down to the highest rated guard or receiver Stephen Hill. Several sources told us last night the guard the team has its sights on is Amini Silatolu of Midwestern State, and the franchise will not hesitate to pull the trigger on the small school prospect in round one.

- Surprisingly the other team showing a lot of interest in Fleener are the San Francisco 49ers. We hear its more than just the usual overt interest rather a number of phone calls and close inspection of the Stanford tight end.

This is what I thought. So I'm praying Fleener lasts and we take him instead of a G. Or be a massive smokescreen! With Baalke one should expect to be surprised.

 

[deep9er]

What if Perry's 6 other sacks were one-on-two?

if his other six sacks were blasting thru true double teams, then we'd be asking why is he stymied by solo blocks?

 

[ChrisPozz]

Just about finished watching Bill Parcells' draft special. Parcells may just be my favorite non-player ever associated with the NFL so I make it a point to catch as many interviews or segements on TV that he has. There was much more included in the special than what I will post here. I'll post what I can of his big board by position and the round/grade he has on each player.

He does have them positioned in a way that you can tell on many if they have a high, middle or late grade for each particular round (ex. high first, middle first, late first). For time purposes I won't have that included in this and some positions are crowded so it's hard to tell where they fall for him in each round. After the 5th round he stops and just has a PFA section (no players are listed in this section).

So anyways, his draft board is set up with the system, principles and every other thing he values. Of course if he were on a real team his staff would likely have input and things would then most likely be a little bit different.



Wide Receivers

Justin Blackmon (1st)
Michael Floyd (1st)
Stephen Hill (1st)
Kendall Wright (2nd)
Tommy Streeter (2nd)
Alshon Jeffery (2nd)
Reuben Randle (2nd)
Juron Criner (2nd)
Ryan Broyles (2nd)
Mohamed Sanu (3rd)
Jeff Fuller (3rd)
Dwight Jones (3rd)
DeVier Posey (3rd)
Brian Quick (5th)


Quarterbacks

Andrew Luck (1st)
Robert Griffen III (1st)
Ryan Tannehill (1st)
Brock Osweiler (2nd)
Kirk Cousins (2nd)
Brandon Weeden (3rd)


Running Backs

Trent Richardson (1st)
Lamar Miller (2nd)
David Wilson (2nd)
Doug Martin (2nd)
Isaiah Pead (3rd)
LaMichael James (3rd)
Bernard Pierce (3rd)
Chris Polk (4th)


Tight Ends and Fullbacks mixed together

Coby Fleener (1st)
Dwayne Allen (2nd)
Orson Charles (3rd)
Ladarius Green (4th)
Michael Egnew (5th)
Bradie Ewing (5th)
Rhett Ellison (5th)


Offensive Tackles

Matt Kalil (1st)
Riley Reiff (1st)
Jonathan Martin (1st)
Mike Adams (2nd)
Jeff Allen (2nd)
Mitchell Schwartz (3rd)
Zebrie Sanders (3rd)
Lamar Holmes (3rd)
Nate Potter (4th)
Bobby Massie (5th)


Offensive Guards

David DeCastro (1st)
Kevin Zeitler (1st)
Cordy Glenn (2nd)
Kelechi Osemele (2nd)
Amini Silatolu (3rd)
Brandon Brooks (3rd)
Lucas Nix (4th)
James Brown (5th)


Centers

Peter Konz (1st)
Mike Brewster (3rd)
David Molk (4th)
Philip Blake (5th)
Garth Gerhart (5th)

I'll post his defensive board in a bit.

 

[ChrisPozz]

Bill Parcells' board continued from before. Remember that if a position all of a sudden ends or a round isn't listed then that means he had no players in that round.

Defensive Ends

Quinton Coples (1st)
Courtney Upshaw (1st)
Melvin Ingram (1st)
Whitney Mercilus (1st)
Nick Perry (2nd)
Vinny Curry (2nd)
Chandler Jones (2nd)
Andre Branch (2nd)
Donte Paige-Moss (3rd)


Nose Tackles/Defensive Tackles

Michael Brockers (1st)
Devon Still (1st)
Fletcher Cox (1st)
Jerel Worthy (1st)
Dontari Poe (1st)
Brandon Thompson (2nd)
Josh Chapman (2nd)
Jared Crick (2nd)
Derek Wolfe (2nd)
Kendall Reyes (3rd)
Billy Wynn (3rd)
Alameda Ta'amu (3rd)
Marcus Forston (4th)


Outside Linebackers

Ronnell Lewis (2nd)
Zach Brown (2nd)
Travis Lewis (2nd)
Bruce Irvin (3rd)
Tank Carder (3rd)
Lavonte David (3rd)
Nigel Bradham (3rd)
Sean Spence (4th)
Shea McClellin (5th)
Terrell Manning (5th)
Demario Davis (5th)


Inside Linebackers

Luke Kuechly (1st)
Dont'a Hightower (1st)
Vontaze Burfict (2nd)
Bobby Wagner (3rd)
Audie Cole (3rd)
Mychal Kendricks (4th)


Safeties

Mark Barron (1st)
Harrison Smith (2nd)
Trumaine Johnson (2nd)
Markelle Martin (3rd)
Antonio Allen (4th)
Brandon Taylor (5th)
George Iloka (5th)


Cornerbacks

Morris Claiborne (1st)
Stephon Gilmore (1st)
Dre Kirkpatrick (1st)
Janoris Jenkins (1st)
Chase Minnifield (1st)
Alphonzo Dennard (2nd)
Jayron Hosley (2nd)
Casey Hayward (3rd)
Brandon Boykin (3rd)
Coryell Judie (3rd)
Jamell Fleming (3rd)
Josh Robinson (4th)
Cliff Harris (4th)

Specialists

Greg Zuerlein (5th)
Drew Butler (5th)
Philip Welch (5th)
Blair Walsh (PFA)

58 offensive players
59 defensive players
4 specialists

121 total players on his draft board (31 with a 1st-round grade)

 

[clyde_carbon]

Interesting stuff Pozz. Few thoughts:

- He has Chase Minnifield graded as a first round talent. That's good to see. I was huge on him coming into the year. I have him as a real solid second rounder right now and I thought that was a lot higher than where most people have him.

- I think Markelle Martin is the best safety in this draft class. #4 is too low for him, and Mark Barron is extremely overrated.

- Vontaze Burfict as a 2nd rounder is just ridiculous.

- Nick Perry a 2nd rounder? Interesting. I'm not as high on him as most people, but apparently not as low on him as Parcells.

 

[NinerSickness]

A lot of my favourite players are moving up the boards.

...Except Poe & Perry, my favourites of my favourites. Poe needs to be a 49er. It simply must happen. Since I have to watch Luck play in Indianapolis, I deserve to see Poe in red & gold as a consolation prize.

Perry in the 2nd would be insane. He could drop 20 pou'nds, and he's still be big enough to play OLB.

Schwartz is finally getting some cred'. 3rd round? He'd still be a good value there. He's easily a starter on most teams at RT, and maybe even at LT. I don't see what the overrated Jonathan Martin has on him. Too bad tackle isn't more of a need, or else I'd be more excited about him...

Glenn in the 2nd? Did the Tuna forget to take his old man med's? Did Glenn get arrested for murder or something?

 

[EKmane]

This is what I thought. So I'm praying Fleener lasts and we take him instead of a G. Or be a massive smokescreen! With Baalke one should expect to be surprised.

Right guard is our only major hole, unless you feel that Kilgore is the man. Amini looks to have that killer instinct that most o linemen don't have. I'm sure it comes from him starring on the d line throughout high school. Just look at how he finishes the blocks, he could be better than Iupati.

I also love how Zeitler lead college football in knockdown blocks, he finishes too.

I'm pretty sure we have to go with one of these two to maximize our value at #30. Fleener for us at #30 wouldn't be as much value when you combine bpa and need, it all equals best rg, especially since this is a strong draft for interior linemen. It get's tricky for me if Glenn happens to be there at #30 also. I'm not sure if he's tenacious enough for me to agree with him over Amini.

Amini Silatolu Highlights - YouTube

Kevin Zeitler highlights Nebraska and Penn State.wmv - YouTube

Cordy Glenn vs South Carolina 2010 "Playing Left Guard" - YouTube

I'm not sure if you can go wrong with any of these guys at #30.

Question, is that hammer block that Amini does legal? Check the move at 4:19.