DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2021 NFL Season 2021 NFL Draft Random draft thoughts

I would credit Bill Callahan for those guys performance more than anyone else.

And all that is without mentioning perhaps the biggest loss on defense which may have been Delpit.

Disclaimer : ( lol ) It would take a whole lot for me to be positive on the D side of ball because of Joe Woods .. Might be a swell guy , but I like an Attach D not his scheme..

Both Berry an Ski are college db's for starters . They should have a feel for that area .. I could type for an hour about dependable ( actually on the field of play ) DB's .. Ours looked like walking wounded even before the season started .. The knock on Harrison coming out of Jak. was what ? Wood's and I totally disagree on the value of LB's .. Was not impressed by the D palers he drafted last season..

It all goes back to my Disclaimer on top .. I can't get passed that ; Me bad.

The same FO who constructed the offense last season will be responsible for doing the same this year. Hopefully with the intention of strengthening the defense. Because so much was invested in getting the offense established the 2020 defense was patched together to a large extent. I expect the FO to address it competently.

Can someone watch some Talanoa Hufanga (S, USC) highlights and tell me who he reminds them of?

I'm surprised he isn't getting more buzz.

What did you think of the three D picks in last years draft. We moved up for Elliott I think ..

I haven't watched tape of him but I know that PFF doesn't think very highly of him, they have a 6th rnd grade on him. According to them he is strictly a box safety and may need to switch to LB. They say he is fast for a bigger Safety (6'1" 215) but that he is very tight in the hips.

I am curious to see how he does at USC's pro day. PFF could be right on the hips, it's hard to tell from the highlights.

I haven't watched tape on him but I did see one or two USC games this year and he did stand out. Seemed to always be around the ball. Very small sample size though.

On the small or non-existent sample size my way too early grades are:

Delpit, Inc. for obvious reasons.

Elliot, C- I think the skills are there we need to find a way to get them from him consistently. The jury is still out.

Phillps, C you can see the movement skills. He's a run-and-hit LB who showed glimpses of the type of play we need at the position.

When judging how the FO did on the defensive side of the ball I also see Goodson as a win. He was better than expected and his leadership helped the defense overall. Smith was a win. He was our best pass defending LB. I recall he made a number of crucial stops during the season. The Harrison acquisition was probably the most impactful we had on the defense. The secondary was definitely better with him in the line-up.

So the defense was constructed of chicken wire and string but it didn't come apart completely.

watching this Brett Kollman vid... this tyree gillespie guy is pretty solid. and more of what we need on D

Every year I hear about the "new" kind of QB. RG3 was supposed to exemplify the new age of the athletic quarterback. What happened? He got blasted too many times and his wheels gave out. Guess what, without being able to run, he was nothing at all. Cam Newton... he was "superman". The next big thing. But when he could no longer RUN... he turned into Clark Kent. The same will hold true for Lamar Jackson. One day, he will take one too many hits and won't be able to run like a gazelle anymore. Then what? Right now? He is really something. Bringing in Greg Roman was a genius move. They have an offense that is beautifully suited to Jackson and his strength. Run the ball, play great D... win games. It works. Especially, in our division. But sooner or later if you put your QB in a position to get killed he's going to get killed. The Tom Brady-style QB that is SMART and can throw the ball where it needs to go will always be the ideal QB. Other guys can win but they won't win 4 or 5 SB's. NO ONE will win 7. That is an unbreakable record. At least in my lifetime. I am not a Brady fan but he IS the greatest of all time. I am not a Belichick fan(though I really was when he was our coach) but he is the greatest HC of all time.

Then what?

You go get another. There is no short supply of that type of QB like there is 'traditional" QB's.

The key is you structure your O for that kind of QB. That was the problem with RGIII and Tebow. Teams harnessed them in to something they weren't.

I haven't seen Lamar taking a ton of hits like RG3 did. He did have the concussion in the playoffs, but that was kindof a freak thing. I am seeing some talking heads talking about them worrying about him holding up, but it seems like that's more just them regurgitating empty talking points (all QBs get hit both in the pocket and out).

He's young, yet. Vick tore the league up for several years with his running before time started to take its toll.

I definitely think you will see him taking more hits in 2021, and his problem is going to be that the more often he takes hits, the more he's going to lose that little bit of advantage he has and thus the more guys are going to get hits on him.

He does seem to be smarter when he runs. RG3 was dumb with the ball in his hands and never slid or used the sideline to keep himself from being hit (heck, Baker had/has this problem too).

Thanks for the opine..

I'd add that Lamar doesn't look frail in any way (other than when throwing the ball)...RG3 always looked like an injury waiting to happen.

I feel the topic is much more simple than people are trying to make it out to be. Look at the average career of a franchise RB and then look at the average career of a pocket QB based on health and productivity.

Punishment on the human body adds up and takes its toll over time. The less punishment your body takes the longer you stay healthy on a general basis.

Having a running QB may look flashy but what it does is put you in the position you're going to have to find lightening in a bottle much more often than you would with a pocket QB due to the punishment a running QB will take. SB trophies indicate which QB is actually better in the NFL. Sadly there simply aren't enough quality pocket passing QB's coming out these days to go around. If there were everyone would have one.

When you think about it, that may not have been the plan when all of this started 10 years ago, but it could be a way for NFL teams to "control" QB salaries.

But, putting that aside, QB's don't really take all that much punishment when they run. The rules don't allow it if the QB is smart(most are) and gives himself up soon enough. Even when he doesn't, the refs are pretty well trained to throw flags at even the slightest hint of it being unnecessary.

One rule I would like to see to help defenders and encourage them to not clobber QB's going out of bounds is to make it illegal for a QB who is nearing the sideline and giving every indication he is heading out of bounds, only to catch a defender off guard by jutting back up field a penalty. I have seen several QB's do that to gain a few cheap yards.

Once a QB takes off as a rusher he is no more protected by the rules than a RB unless he slides feet first. I do agree with your suggested rule change however.

I say it every year. Best policy. Just take the best player available and let the chips fall where they may.

I agree. It is best, especially when you are a good team selecting further down in the draft order.

I can see need drafting if you need a long snapper or some sort of kicker...or are without a QB. If you don't have a decent QB, draft 1 or 2 a year until you finally get one.

I think there is a time an place for leaning more one way than another when it comes to Need vs BPA, but I think a measured, combined approach is always best. Ideally, you select where BPA meets Needs. If BPA is at a position you're loaded at already and BPA at something you need should be available a little later, then you should try to trade back.

This is where the numeric grading of each player comes in handy... if you have a 95 on the one guy and everyone else available is an 80, but that 95 is a position you're set at, then sell that pick, get BPA of the guys ranked in the 80's and pick up an extra player.

If you have guys at that position, but you aren't loaded, then you take that guy and the ones you have become depth.

It's about balancing Need and BPA and remaining flexible. Don't ever be dogmatic.

In what order you are drafting plays into that as well. If you have a top five pick the odds are there will be a few players that are well above the rest. Trading back will not give you a player you have rated as high as that #5 pick. Even trading down to #10 to #15 will create a situation where you will be drafting a player you have rated much lower. In such a case I think position may enter into how you have a player rated. At least in "the cream of the crop" players.

Now much as your scenario indicates I don't think you can box yourself into drafting a single position. In our case it seems that some posters lean in the single position idea of drafting while some don't. Drafts have a trend of there being runs on certain positions. We have seen that trend happen with CB's. We've seen it with OT's and pass rushers. And of course QB's.

Sitting at #26 I think which positions are most depleted by the time we pick may go a very long way on what position we address in the draft. If six pass rushers have been selected and only three CB's have been selected, we may find the best player on the board at a position of need is CB. If that trend is reversed we may see a pass rusher as our best option. LB also comes into play in such scenarios.

Disclaimer; Of course the strength of any position in a draft is a part of evaluation. If it's a very strong class for pass rushers and a very weak class of CB's this is also a consideration. The sixth rated pass rusher may be rated as highly as the 3rd rated CB. However in this draft I do not think that applies.

There are also player groupings to consider. At #26 the top rated talent of any draft is usually gone. So the groupings of the remaining talent get grouped closer together. There most likely isn't a large gap between the 20th player and say the 30th player as there would be between the 5th player and the 15th player in the draft.

That opens up the very real possibility of things happening in either direction. A player you may have rated very high could slip through the cracks to #20 which may make the idea of trading up very logical because at that point the cost of moving up wouldn't be that significant. Just as likely a scenario would be that the players available at #26 aren't rated much differently than the players on your big board of the next ten selections, which would mean you could trade back somewhat and come out with a player you have rated very close to the same as that #26 player.

To me that's what makes attempting to predict anything in a draft where you are selecting at #26 almost an exercise in futility. There are some positions it would make no sense for us to draft. Which positions we do need is hard to predict how many players at each of those positions will be selected and how depleted those positions will be when our pick comes up is impossible to know.

I think we're saying pretty much the same thing I just used a lot more words to describe it.

We both used a lot of words to say "it's not as simple as 'just go BPA' or 'draft for Need'". They're both factors to consider along with situation.

Still IMO the best policy is to take the BPA in the draft and to get the needed players in free agency. Of course you must be opened minded enough for those rare players that you can’t afford to let them get away.

I think we’re in a position to literally draft BPA on the defensive end for the first 3 rounds

You are probably right, at least until the picks become redundant.

Taking the same relative position 3 rounds in a row doesn't make a lot of sense, but it could 2 rounds in a row.

I'm impressed with him. I like his physicality and his instincts for the ball. I think he could be more dynamic than Joseph but you'd have to endure the NFL inexperience. In youtube videos, it's hard to tell where he's lining up but I think he's in the box quite a bit. His draftnetwork.com profile says that he can play in any scheme:

"Talanoa Hufanga was a versatile defender for the Trojans defense. He is a safety by trade but has aligned in multiple places due to his diverse skill set. He is a violent tackler who seems to enjoy the physical aspect of the game. His mental aptitude allows him to easily align in multiple places. He has made strides in the passing game, evidenced by his four interceptions this season. He is an instinctive player who plays the game with a violent edge.

Ideal Role: Eventual starting safety.

Scheme Fit: His skill set will allow him the versatility to play in any scheme."

It looks like he has wheels to cover TE's. He does have the size and the play style to handle those assignments.

Does anybody know anything about this WR? Why isn't he getting more attention?


What's the mystery about Gowan? Seems to be graded all over the place.

CB Newsome II from Northwestern U. Ran a 4.37 40 at 6'0" 192. I think we have interviewed him.

Probably reminds people of JJAW who hasn't panned out in Philly. That and West Coast games don't get as many eyeballs, and there were only 6 of them this year with Oregon the only team that was ranked.

Gowan only has one season of tape and opted out this season. Had one tackle at Miami (OH) as a freshman, then had to sit out as a transfer in 2018.

Watched the videos.

The Wr Fehoko from Stanford has really nice hands but seems to have trouble creating separation.

The Cb Gowen from UCF was not very impressive. His highlights were mostly related to poor Qb play - IMO.

Edit: This is on limited evaluation of hte 2 highlight clips. It is very possible Gowen has some great coverage footage that was "less spectacular" but actually better football.

link

...Working from limited, second-hand information is a pain. It's hard to figure out how to synthesize it all.

According to what I've read on Fehoko while he plays the part physically he is very raw, only 4 starts and 62 career catches at Stanford. He can make a spectacular catch then turn around and drop an easy one, he also doesn't run much of a route tree, strictly a speed guy at the moment. Also I believe he may be a little older than other players in this draft as he served a 2 year mission in South Korea.

j/C

Thanks to everyone who supplied info on the two players I asked about. There will be some tough evaluations this year for every team the way that CFB played out.

I'm always looking for gems. There will undoubtedly be a few. I trust the FO is doing its due dilligence.