Draft Questions

[Verdict]

I haven't studied this draft like you guys have, but at first blush here are a few questions/concerns/observations about this draft class.

1. LVE is not a sure thing at all. He seems like a boom or bust pick. Hopefully he will boom instead of bust. I understand why the made the pick, but I would have probably gone OL in the first round, due to the high hit percentage of OL first round picks.

2. G/OT in the second. I like that they solidified the line or at least tried to. I like the versatility. I don't think he is a sure thing either. Another boom or bust pick. Hernandez would have been a much more sure thing at guard.

3. WR. I'm glad they drafted a WR but I wonder how much of this pick is forcing the pick a little bit.

4. Covington? I don't see why he was picked at all. Seems like a wasted pick.

5. Armstrong? Smaller school player. They like him a lot. Hopefully that is justified.

6. Stanford tight end. This seems like a knee jerk pick based on the Witten issue. Low floor/low ceiling pick.

7. Tavon Austin. Good risk reward ratio. If he hits awesome. If he misses we haven't lost much.

8. Jihad Ward. I'm not opposed to this trade, in theory. What concerns me about this pick is that the Raiders WANTED Switzer. They made the call. He had upside.

The Raiders didn't want Ward and are in a better position to know who he is after coaching him for two years than we do after one week in the senior bowl two years ago. A bit of an information disparity makes this troubling.

9. We don't care about 1Tech at all apparently.

10. Either Austin, Smith or the Rookie aren't making this roster.

11. Lots of bodies at DE. They can't all stick around. Does that mean we will be letting Irving or Lawrence walk? Are Tapper's days numbered?

 

[bodi]

LVE is not a sure thing at all

well name one player who is a sure thing ?

 

[Techsass]

1st couple of sites I checked weren't that high on LVE. They were pretty big on the negatives. Can't get thru the wash, gets stuck on blocks, etc. Then I started seeing sites talking about how raw he was to start the season, but how polished he was by the end of the season.

He's hasn't got the experience, which is a negative, but he's bright & committed to improving. I think Rod & Kris can get him up to speed.

 

[Verdict]

LVE is not a sure thing at all

well name one player who is a sure thing ?

Compared to Martin for example. Martin was. High floor high ceiling pick.

LVE has a ceiling of R. McClain without the baggage. But he has the floor of Escobar. That's a bit disconcerting.

 

[cmoney23]

LVE is not a sure thing at all

well name one player who is a sure thing ?

There have been a few...Andrew luck, Saquon Barkley come to mind.

 

[xwalker]

I haven't studied this draft like you guys have, but at first blush here are a few questions/concerns/observations about this draft class.

1. LVE is not a sure thing at all. He seems like a boom or bust pick. Hopefully he will boom instead of bust. I understand why the made the pick, but I would have probably gone OL in the first round, due to the high hit percentage of OL first round picks.

2. G/OT in the second. I like that they solidified the line or at least tried to. I like the versatility. I don't think he is a sure thing either. Another boom or bust pick. Hernandez would have been a much more sure thing at guard.

3. WR. I'm glad they drafted a WR but I wonder how much of this pick is forcing the pick a little bit.

4. Covington? I don't see why he was picked at all. Seems like a wasted pick.

5. Armstrong? Smaller school player. They like him a lot. Hopefully that is justified.

6. Stanford tight end. This seems like a knee jerk pick based on the Witten issue. Low floor/low ceiling pick.

7. Tavon Austin. Good risk reward ratio. If he hits awesome. If he misses we haven't lost much.

8. Jihad Ward. I'm not opposed to this trade, in theory. What concerns me about this pick is that the Raiders WANTED Switzer. They made the call. He had upside.

The Raiders didn't want Ward and are in a better position to know who he is after coaching him for two years than we do after one week in the senior bowl two years ago. A bit of an information disparity makes this troubling.

9. We don't care about 1Tech at all apparently.

10. Either Austin, Smith or the Rookie aren't making this roster.

11. Lots of bodies at DE. They can't all stick around. Does that mean we will be letting Irving or Lawrence walk? Are Tapper's days numbered?

Vander Esch is less risk than Tremaine Edmunds, IMO.

Normally you have a tradeoff beteeen student of the games types and top tier athletic ability. Vander Esch checks both boxes.

His only issue is that he only started 1 year mainly because he played 8-man football in high school.

Hernandez best fit is in a power-man blocking scheme. The Cowboys run a lot of zone blocking which is a perfect fit for Williams. Talent wise Williams is a very low risk. I do wonder about the knee injury that was not repaired with surgery; however, it was a known injury which means the Cowboys Doctor's would have focused on the MRI.

Covington was a 6th round pick. I would rate him slightly ahead of where I had Hitchens rated as a college player. He is 2 inches taller and 5 pounds heavier than Hitchens but otherwise very similar. If he can be as good as Hitchens that is a good 6th round pick.

Everybody including me liked 1-tech Tim Settle but NFL teams didn't have much interest.

Gallup could have been a 2nd round pick based on several analysts opinions. He is very similar to Ridley. Gallup is the 2nd best route runner after Ridley in this draft.

The TE was in college what Hanna developed into after a few year with the Cowboys. A precision blocker. He seems to have more upside as a receiver than Hanna but that undetermined.

Austin would be a perfect fit if not for the fumbles. He is exactly the type of player that I've said all offseason they need. A super fast RB/Slot-WR combo that can open things up for other players because defenses have to respect his speed especially as a receiving threat.

Armstrong went to Kansas. He was terrific in 2016 but his stats were down in 2017 due to a scheme change and injury.

Jihad is just adding a body at a position where they wanted more bodies. They had too many bodies at WR and knew they were unlikely to keep Switzer. They coached Jihad at the 2016 Senior Bowl so they know him a little bit.