FuzzyLumpkins
The Boognish
- Messages
- 36,995
- Reaction score
- 28,207
If you want to know what I am watching, it will be the videos shown and linked HERE. I encourage people to watch along and give your own comments and opinions.
While I sometimes write in declarations, that does not mean that I am 100% certain, infallible, or the like. There is plenty about the game that I don't know and I welcome any and all input. Even the haters.
Anywho I am going to watch in order and unfortunately there is no game footage of the Indiana LB so I am not going to have a post on them. So here goes. . . .
1st Round Leighton Vander Esch LB Boise State - If you know me you know I love watching players develop over time. Wins and losses don't effect me near as much as progress and regression. I can take a loss easily if I see tangible progress being made by the team. I will be disappointed in a win when the team regresses. My thought is if you keep improving you will eventually get over the hump.
Watching LVE was a joy for me because of this. If you put on the Virginia and San Diego St games I can understand where the criticism comes from. He is slow to make his reads. He lets OL extend out on him and drive. He makes a good drop but allows guys to get behind him completely unaware.
He just looks uncertain. What gap do I take? Do I attack the shoulder or do I use my length to keep my frame clean and force the RB to choose? Do I go around or do I engage? What am I looking at when I drop? You can see him questioning these things.
Then I watched the Wyoming game. It's now the middle of the season and it sure looks like the light bulb came on. He's attacking downhill with authority making instant reads. He's attacking shoulders on the line to make plays when he isn't using his length to keep blockers off of him. He is now getting to his drops and then carrying receivers up and across the field looking to hand off. He is not consistent but he is obviously learning and implementing techniques in a matter of months.
By the time for the conference championship and the bowl game he is really starting to play at a high level. Now he is is consistently making the right reads, seeing routes being run at him and getting under crossing routes behind him, and dominating OL beating them to the punch at the los making making TFL. He is also picking spots to lower the shoulder and drive through ball carriers forcing fumbles.
I have a few main concerns. One is that he has a lot to polish up on. He needs to be more decisive when he doesn't get a jump on OL on how what technique to use. He will overrun plays and lose contain. He also doesn't have great long speed and thus cannot catchup to elite speed. He also needs to get stronger to do more than hold off blockers when they get him square. He was also used almost exclusively in zone coverage. He displays no skills to press at the line and play man coverage.
OTOH, he demonstrates the capacity for a high football IQ similar to what Sean Lee displays. The NFL is an extra order of complexity but the way he was well on his way to mastering NCAA offenses in a year bodes well. He also doesn't get fooled by screens and similar playfakes. He makes the QB eat the ball with nowhere to go.
He has an underrated pass rush where he gets skinny and shoots gaps. He uses one arm technique and will force double teams or get pressure.
He is developing as a run defender but he demonstrates the skills and recognitions to get the job done. He will stack and disengage OL. He does have the strength to play off an OL shoulder and finish. He has great length that he uses to effect fighting off blocks. Needs to do a better job using it to fight off the cut block. Does have good balance. While he is not a great thumper he is a consistent tackler. Even when he misses he still impedes progress and allows teammates to rally though not often. Very good short area burst filling downhill and shows good feel and burst for fighting through trash to get to the outside on plays to the perimeter. Studies film and anticipates plays.
Further he is young and has not filled out his frame. I could easily see him put on 10 lbs of muscle and be able to maintain his athleticism. His upper body is slim for an NFL LB.
I like Brugler's characterization of LVE as an ascending player. He is dynamic and swift in his ability to learn. He is the player that ended the season in the Conference Championship and Las Vegas Bowl not the one that started the year. If he can continue to build on that like he built up throughout the 2017 season he will be elite in short order. He is already pretty good.
2nd Round Connor Williams OL Texas- Williams was dominant in 2016. Quick, powerful, smart hand eye coordination patience. The basis for his all american status was obvious.
Williams injured his left knee in the 3rd game of the 2017 season and only returned for the final two. He was not very good in those first two games.
Offenses have about 50-60 plays during a game. An OL has very little margin for error. If they fail on just 10% of snaps then they are playing poorly. He was good for half a dozen poor snaps in those two games. The power was intermittent, he was bending at the waist instead of sinking his hips and knees, he was hopping instead of shuffling his feet, and the lateral quickness in his drop step was greatly diminished.
Then he came back from injury and was back to his dominant self. His first snap on his return was a pancake on an outside rush that many of you will have seen on twitter and he took it from there.
The question is why was he so bad to start the year? I am convinced that he was hurt specifically his right leg to start the 2017 season.
The first reason I think this is because towards the end of the Maryland game you can see him running to chase an interception. He is clearly limping on his right leg. The second reason is how he walked back on a bull rush. The left leg could hold but hen the right leg went back he instantly walked back again to try and anchor off the left foot. It would cause him to turn and lose power and be driven into the QB's lap.
I have no idea what exactly what was wrong but he was clearly favoring that right leg.
At his best Williams is dominant with few holes in his game.
In pass protection he was quick feet and balance allowing him to mirror defenders. He has the patience to force rushers to commit and uses a jarring punch and accurate hand placement to rock would be defenders. When he knocks them off balance he finishes with a nastiness that is fun to watch. He loves to pancake and lie down on his man.
Quicker defenders can occasionally get to his inside shoulder but he has the upper body strength to recover and either anchor or at least push wide. You rarely see him wish outside of that two game stretch.
He shows patience and confidence that belies his age when dealing with stunts, twists and blitzes. He doesn't lunge and forces the DL hand before engaging. He passes off stunts and twists as a results. He is a very aware player and is timely enough to peel off or at the very least use his free hand to punch a blitzer and impede his progress. He can block two people at once similar to what Zack Martin did at LT at ND.
Overall he displays a very high football IQ and instinct. He has a very good feel of angles, spacing, what his offense is trying to do and what the defense is trying to do. You don't see him block the wrong guy and you do consistently see him pushing defenders in the right direction. This serves him well in the run game.
He has power in spades in the run game and he regularly dominated DE with drive blocks. His hand eye coordination and quickness consistently have inside hand placement. He naturally bends and he has jarring snap. He stands guys up, ragdolls them, and knocks them to the ground. When he crashes down to seal the edge he often caves the line giving wide lanes outside. He will manhandle DL to turn them outside on inside runs. Texas ran behind him a lot.
He has good feet getting to the second level but he does not do a consistent job when asked to cut guys in space. You are supposed to get on top of them and get your helmet across their thigh pad. All too often he will miss and become a glorified speed bump. Good hands on a defender overcomes that gaffe.
He has a great feel for zone blocking and the angles he needs to take to create the lanes the backs are looking for. He will be a great fit for Zeke who thrives off of that. If the closest defender gives him the lane he is looking for he just moves onto the next. You will see him block multiple guys as a play develops over and over and over again.
Overall watching him he reminds me of Zack Martin a lot. He doesn't quite have Martin's power but he's close. He doesn't have his polish but Martin was a 4 year starter when he came out. However how how he sits in his stance, his patience, his punch and the angles he takes is simply reminiscent. He is nastier than Martin and looks to finish off guys much like LC does.
i don't think he will come in like gangbusters as Martin did his rookie year. However i do think he wins the starting job easily and plays at a high level. His upside is All Pro but he needs more strength and technical polish to get there. He is my favorite pick of this draft.
Third Round - Michael Gallup WR Colorado St - There were only 4 games to watch of Gallup and he was consistent in all of them.
The lack of talent on Colorado State is important to keep in mind. The OL was porous and provided little running game and saw the QB pummeled regularly. His Qb had a decent arm but was erratic in his placement particularly downfield.
Gallup was far and away the best player on that offense and offenses keyed on him. He regularly had to make contested catches with multiple defenders around.
Given those handicaps, it is remarkable how well he was able to produce. Off the snap he handles press coverage like a pro. AL tried to press him and could not get it done. He has above average upper body strength and great hands. He will catch a lunging CBs arms and push or pull on it to get them off balance like a pass rusher will do. He dominates press coverage which is rare for a WR prospect.
He lines up across the formation and has success as an inside and outside receiver as well as playing on the line and off.
He runs most of the route tree and rarely rounds his routes. He is precise, crisp, and shows above average explosion out of his breaks particularly the slant/post, flag, and in. He will sometimes round the out. You do not see the comeback but you do see hitch and WR screen.
What you don't see at all are double moves like in/out and up or sluggos. Doesn't mean he couldn't just that he hasn't.
He has a lot of depth to his execution of routes and uses precise footwork in multiple variants of running a route. For example, he likes to fake the post/slant/out to set up the opposite cut or the go downfield. The precision makes them all look the same and regularly fools DBs. He is very advanced for an NCAA receiver.
He has very good hands and ball skills. He does not body catch. Everything is snatched away from his body. He high points balls downfield and has good body control to finish sideline catches. Because of inaccuracy he often had to adjust to balls thrown behind him, too far out in front, etc. He does a great job adjusting to the ball and maintaining stride. Drops are rare nonetheless.
One he is in the openfield he is tough to bring down. Would like to see him try to juke more but he has a very good stiff arm and balance through contact. He will truck people.
Run blocking he consistently gets his hands inside and sustains. Several DBs were frustrated. I would like to see him more decisive downfield. He too often would select a target and then hesitate allowing defenders to pursue. Would like to see better hustle on run plays away from him.
His route running and hands will allow him to contribute early. He is a complete receiver that does everything well. Outside of his release he is not elite anywhere. His speed is good but not elite. His route tree is polished but he lacks elite explosion out of his breaks. He has good hands but he doesn't make many circus catches. It is going to be interesting to see how well he transitions to the NFL.
While I sometimes write in declarations, that does not mean that I am 100% certain, infallible, or the like. There is plenty about the game that I don't know and I welcome any and all input. Even the haters.
Anywho I am going to watch in order and unfortunately there is no game footage of the Indiana LB so I am not going to have a post on them. So here goes. . . .
1st Round Leighton Vander Esch LB Boise State - If you know me you know I love watching players develop over time. Wins and losses don't effect me near as much as progress and regression. I can take a loss easily if I see tangible progress being made by the team. I will be disappointed in a win when the team regresses. My thought is if you keep improving you will eventually get over the hump.
Watching LVE was a joy for me because of this. If you put on the Virginia and San Diego St games I can understand where the criticism comes from. He is slow to make his reads. He lets OL extend out on him and drive. He makes a good drop but allows guys to get behind him completely unaware.
He just looks uncertain. What gap do I take? Do I attack the shoulder or do I use my length to keep my frame clean and force the RB to choose? Do I go around or do I engage? What am I looking at when I drop? You can see him questioning these things.
Then I watched the Wyoming game. It's now the middle of the season and it sure looks like the light bulb came on. He's attacking downhill with authority making instant reads. He's attacking shoulders on the line to make plays when he isn't using his length to keep blockers off of him. He is now getting to his drops and then carrying receivers up and across the field looking to hand off. He is not consistent but he is obviously learning and implementing techniques in a matter of months.
By the time for the conference championship and the bowl game he is really starting to play at a high level. Now he is is consistently making the right reads, seeing routes being run at him and getting under crossing routes behind him, and dominating OL beating them to the punch at the los making making TFL. He is also picking spots to lower the shoulder and drive through ball carriers forcing fumbles.
I have a few main concerns. One is that he has a lot to polish up on. He needs to be more decisive when he doesn't get a jump on OL on how what technique to use. He will overrun plays and lose contain. He also doesn't have great long speed and thus cannot catchup to elite speed. He also needs to get stronger to do more than hold off blockers when they get him square. He was also used almost exclusively in zone coverage. He displays no skills to press at the line and play man coverage.
OTOH, he demonstrates the capacity for a high football IQ similar to what Sean Lee displays. The NFL is an extra order of complexity but the way he was well on his way to mastering NCAA offenses in a year bodes well. He also doesn't get fooled by screens and similar playfakes. He makes the QB eat the ball with nowhere to go.
He has an underrated pass rush where he gets skinny and shoots gaps. He uses one arm technique and will force double teams or get pressure.
He is developing as a run defender but he demonstrates the skills and recognitions to get the job done. He will stack and disengage OL. He does have the strength to play off an OL shoulder and finish. He has great length that he uses to effect fighting off blocks. Needs to do a better job using it to fight off the cut block. Does have good balance. While he is not a great thumper he is a consistent tackler. Even when he misses he still impedes progress and allows teammates to rally though not often. Very good short area burst filling downhill and shows good feel and burst for fighting through trash to get to the outside on plays to the perimeter. Studies film and anticipates plays.
Further he is young and has not filled out his frame. I could easily see him put on 10 lbs of muscle and be able to maintain his athleticism. His upper body is slim for an NFL LB.
I like Brugler's characterization of LVE as an ascending player. He is dynamic and swift in his ability to learn. He is the player that ended the season in the Conference Championship and Las Vegas Bowl not the one that started the year. If he can continue to build on that like he built up throughout the 2017 season he will be elite in short order. He is already pretty good.
2nd Round Connor Williams OL Texas- Williams was dominant in 2016. Quick, powerful, smart hand eye coordination patience. The basis for his all american status was obvious.
Williams injured his left knee in the 3rd game of the 2017 season and only returned for the final two. He was not very good in those first two games.
Offenses have about 50-60 plays during a game. An OL has very little margin for error. If they fail on just 10% of snaps then they are playing poorly. He was good for half a dozen poor snaps in those two games. The power was intermittent, he was bending at the waist instead of sinking his hips and knees, he was hopping instead of shuffling his feet, and the lateral quickness in his drop step was greatly diminished.
Then he came back from injury and was back to his dominant self. His first snap on his return was a pancake on an outside rush that many of you will have seen on twitter and he took it from there.
The question is why was he so bad to start the year? I am convinced that he was hurt specifically his right leg to start the 2017 season.
The first reason I think this is because towards the end of the Maryland game you can see him running to chase an interception. He is clearly limping on his right leg. The second reason is how he walked back on a bull rush. The left leg could hold but hen the right leg went back he instantly walked back again to try and anchor off the left foot. It would cause him to turn and lose power and be driven into the QB's lap.
I have no idea what exactly what was wrong but he was clearly favoring that right leg.
At his best Williams is dominant with few holes in his game.
In pass protection he was quick feet and balance allowing him to mirror defenders. He has the patience to force rushers to commit and uses a jarring punch and accurate hand placement to rock would be defenders. When he knocks them off balance he finishes with a nastiness that is fun to watch. He loves to pancake and lie down on his man.
Quicker defenders can occasionally get to his inside shoulder but he has the upper body strength to recover and either anchor or at least push wide. You rarely see him wish outside of that two game stretch.
He shows patience and confidence that belies his age when dealing with stunts, twists and blitzes. He doesn't lunge and forces the DL hand before engaging. He passes off stunts and twists as a results. He is a very aware player and is timely enough to peel off or at the very least use his free hand to punch a blitzer and impede his progress. He can block two people at once similar to what Zack Martin did at LT at ND.
Overall he displays a very high football IQ and instinct. He has a very good feel of angles, spacing, what his offense is trying to do and what the defense is trying to do. You don't see him block the wrong guy and you do consistently see him pushing defenders in the right direction. This serves him well in the run game.
He has power in spades in the run game and he regularly dominated DE with drive blocks. His hand eye coordination and quickness consistently have inside hand placement. He naturally bends and he has jarring snap. He stands guys up, ragdolls them, and knocks them to the ground. When he crashes down to seal the edge he often caves the line giving wide lanes outside. He will manhandle DL to turn them outside on inside runs. Texas ran behind him a lot.
He has good feet getting to the second level but he does not do a consistent job when asked to cut guys in space. You are supposed to get on top of them and get your helmet across their thigh pad. All too often he will miss and become a glorified speed bump. Good hands on a defender overcomes that gaffe.
He has a great feel for zone blocking and the angles he needs to take to create the lanes the backs are looking for. He will be a great fit for Zeke who thrives off of that. If the closest defender gives him the lane he is looking for he just moves onto the next. You will see him block multiple guys as a play develops over and over and over again.
Overall watching him he reminds me of Zack Martin a lot. He doesn't quite have Martin's power but he's close. He doesn't have his polish but Martin was a 4 year starter when he came out. However how how he sits in his stance, his patience, his punch and the angles he takes is simply reminiscent. He is nastier than Martin and looks to finish off guys much like LC does.
i don't think he will come in like gangbusters as Martin did his rookie year. However i do think he wins the starting job easily and plays at a high level. His upside is All Pro but he needs more strength and technical polish to get there. He is my favorite pick of this draft.
Third Round - Michael Gallup WR Colorado St - There were only 4 games to watch of Gallup and he was consistent in all of them.
The lack of talent on Colorado State is important to keep in mind. The OL was porous and provided little running game and saw the QB pummeled regularly. His Qb had a decent arm but was erratic in his placement particularly downfield.
Gallup was far and away the best player on that offense and offenses keyed on him. He regularly had to make contested catches with multiple defenders around.
Given those handicaps, it is remarkable how well he was able to produce. Off the snap he handles press coverage like a pro. AL tried to press him and could not get it done. He has above average upper body strength and great hands. He will catch a lunging CBs arms and push or pull on it to get them off balance like a pass rusher will do. He dominates press coverage which is rare for a WR prospect.
He lines up across the formation and has success as an inside and outside receiver as well as playing on the line and off.
He runs most of the route tree and rarely rounds his routes. He is precise, crisp, and shows above average explosion out of his breaks particularly the slant/post, flag, and in. He will sometimes round the out. You do not see the comeback but you do see hitch and WR screen.
What you don't see at all are double moves like in/out and up or sluggos. Doesn't mean he couldn't just that he hasn't.
He has a lot of depth to his execution of routes and uses precise footwork in multiple variants of running a route. For example, he likes to fake the post/slant/out to set up the opposite cut or the go downfield. The precision makes them all look the same and regularly fools DBs. He is very advanced for an NCAA receiver.
He has very good hands and ball skills. He does not body catch. Everything is snatched away from his body. He high points balls downfield and has good body control to finish sideline catches. Because of inaccuracy he often had to adjust to balls thrown behind him, too far out in front, etc. He does a great job adjusting to the ball and maintaining stride. Drops are rare nonetheless.
One he is in the openfield he is tough to bring down. Would like to see him try to juke more but he has a very good stiff arm and balance through contact. He will truck people.
Run blocking he consistently gets his hands inside and sustains. Several DBs were frustrated. I would like to see him more decisive downfield. He too often would select a target and then hesitate allowing defenders to pursue. Would like to see better hustle on run plays away from him.
His route running and hands will allow him to contribute early. He is a complete receiver that does everything well. Outside of his release he is not elite anywhere. His speed is good but not elite. His route tree is polished but he lacks elite explosion out of his breaks. He has good hands but he doesn't make many circus catches. It is going to be interesting to see how well he transitions to the NFL.
Last edited:
