Josh Norris | East West Shrine Review
Saturday, January 21, 2017
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Rather than breakdown the East and West rosters position by position, I decided to take this review a different way. You all love lists, so if you want to know the top 20 names from this week and moving forward, you will find them below. If you want a more in-depth look at each player, a short evaluation or note is also included.
Why 20? Look back to last year (and previous iterations) for the number of prospects who help teams early on in their career:
Joe Thuney,
Javon Hargrave,
Tajae Sharpe,
Juston Burris,
Justin Simmons,
Dean Lowry,
Graham Glasgow,
Robby Anderson, De’Vondre Campbell, Cre’Von Leblanc,
Josh Ferguson,
Alex Lewis,
Anthony Brown,
Brian Poole,
Romeo Okwara,
Brandon Shell,
Parker Ehinger,
Geronimo Allison,
Daniel Lasco,
Derek Watt,
LeShaun Sims,
Briean Boddy-Calhoun,
David Onyemata. This week matters.
Finally, I’ve added a short section of buzz I heard during the week when talking with NFL people and agents. Remember, there are 300-plus personnel members and scouts in the NFL. One opinion does not equal a league-wide view. The same could be said for media attending. We will see different things.
For verified Shrine week weigh-ins,
here is a full list.
1. TE
Eric Saubert, Drake - The top player entering the week for me exits in that top spot as well. Saubert is a receiving tight end who gives effort. He can be an asset in a team’s passing game at 6-foot-5, 245-pounds. Saubert was a topic of conversation when I spoke with a director of college scouting. I suggested Saubert could be considered in rounds 3-5 in other years, but not this year due to the depth of this year’s tight end class. He shook his head, saying a talented player won’t drop because of the other talent at his position. The director of college scouting noted that Saubert ran a 4.69 this spring. “That is straight out of bed. Straight off of spring break. No training. If a guy can run, he will run.”
I also learned that Saubert played through a knee injury since the second game of the 2016 season. He never missed a play.
2. RB
Elijah McGuire, ULL - It can be difficult for a running back to stand out at these events. Only first contact is allowed. McGuire is not flashy, will pick up the yards blocked for him and can work as a pass catcher.
3. WR
Jalen Robinette, Air Force - Robinette’s combination of size and athleticism is difficult to find. He played in a run-based offense at Air Force, so his opportunities were limited compared to his peers. He was limited to vertical routes and underneath stuff. This week he displayed his entire arsenal. Robinette’s Combine workout will be fun and he was called up for Senior Bowl week.
4. LB Paul Magloire, Arizona - Athleticism at linebacker always grabs my attention. Yes, he is under 6-feet tall, but Magloire can fit the hybrid safety-linebacker spot, although I’m not so sure teams are excited to add those as the public suggests.
5. LB
James Onwualu, Notre Dame - Consistent. In the right place. Etc. etc. I spoke with a scout who covers Onwualu’s area and he was excited about his projection. Was used in a variety of alignments for the Irish.
6. CB
Fabian Moreau, UCLA - Patient, fast, intelligent. Did not panic on breaks in routes and stays in phase.
7. LB
Kenneth Olugbode, Colorado - Similar to Magloire in terms of athleticism standing out.
8. EDGE
Trey Hendrickson, FAU - The best edge rusher on the East squad. Standing out as a pass rusher in one on ones grabs attention, but I do think perspective needs to be inserted. His competition was not very strong at the event, meaning his position and his opposition. Still, he is relentless and wants to create room as a pass rusher.
9. EDGE
Avery Moss, Youngstown State - Moss was the top edge rusher on the West squad and displayed more quickness than Hendrickson. However, he has difficulty resetting and restarting his momentum once his initial line is stopped.
10. T Sam Tevi, Utah - Power and movement skills. The former defensive lineman is still learning patience and positioning on the offensive end. It would not surprise me to see him viewed as a guard.
11. WR Deangelo Yancey, Purdue - Athletic testing will likely be the difference between a fourth or fifth round option for Yancey versus a sixth or seventh round tag. Yancey displays explosion to create slivers of separation on vertical routes as well as strength off the line and in routes. He is an outside receiver.
12. S
Xavier Woods, Louisiana Tech - Louisiana Tech asked Woods to do a lot: play split, play in the box, work single high, cover slot receivers. I would go as far to say they put him in some spots to fail. But a team that narrows down his assignments can get a good player.
13. EDGE
Bryan Cox, Florida - Cox turned it up this week, something I didn't see over the last two years at Florida. Teams will like his lineage, and Cox might also offer interior pass rushing snaps.
14. S
Tedric Thompson, Colorado - Flashes plenty of range, but his tackling skills remind me of
Phillip Thomas and
Gerod Holliman. When know where that flaw landed those two.
15. RB De’Veon Smith, Michigan - I’m not saying this matters, but it is noteworthy (even just for kicks) to mention Smith’s hand size: 8 ¼ inches. As
Fran Duffy pointed out, only two running backs drafted in the last five years have smaller hands. Smith is a power back who will be at the Senior Bowl.
16. RB
Dare Ogunbowale, Wisconsin - A receiving back who will have to carve out a role. Not every team believes that type of skill set is rosterable.
17. LB
Marquel Lee, Wake Forest - Lee will not play in the game due to injury. At 6-foot-3, 230-pounds he was used all over the defense for the Demon Deacons.
18. CB
Aarion Penton, Missouri - Penton projects as a slot corner, and a good one at that. We’ve seen him work in tight man and in zone.
19. WR
Austin Carr, Northwestern - I didn’t think he had a good week, but Carr can still make a roster as a slot receiver. He got into the all-star mode by taking too many steps and hesitations off the line in one on ones. A la
Braxton Miller.
20. DL Josh Augusta, Missouri - I spoke with a scout who works in Augusta’s area. He said two years ago, Augusta looked like he was on track to be a top three round pick, but never improved. He weighed in at a ridiculous 365 pounds, but the scout said he watched Augusta chase down screens and move incredibly for a man that size. I was told he will be drafted, if the other parts of the process check out.
Miscellaneous Buzz
One of my favorite parts of the week is reviewing last year’s East-West Shrine roster with NFL people and figuring out what we missed on. One of the first players was
Brian Poole, a UDFA out of Florida who took hold of the Falcons slot corner duties. “You saw him do everything he is doing now when he was in school,” a personnel director told me. “And it was at Florida. I would chalk that up to Poole producing a SPARQ-percentile of 4.5% and checking in under 5-foot 10-inches.
We also talked about Pitt edge rusher
Ejuan Price, who suffered an injury and was only on the field for the first half of the first practice. We all agreed his UNC game was the best, which will help with so many decision makers watching that contest in preparation for
Mitch Trubisky’s evaluation. Somehow the conversation shifted to
Vic Beasley, not because of a potential comparison (there isn’t one) but possibly weight fluctuation. The evaluator said he and others ran into “
Vic Beasley-itis” since the NFL had been hearing about him since his freshman season and saw variations in his frame and his play from year to year. I cracked a smile the entire time, as Beasley was a draft favorite.
Finally, the scouting director asked which tight end I’m most excited for, other than
O.J. Howard. I told him
David Njoku. He thought I was going to say
Jordan Leggett… keep that in mind.
Stacy Coley’s absence was not injury related. He wanted to focus on other parts of the process… and if I were to read between the lines, I’m guessing he was not in practice or game shape.
Justin Davis suffered an ankle sprain in the Rose Bowl.
I’m always curious as to agents’ processes of signing prospects. I spoke to one who uses scouting service grades, and admitted they impact who he interacts with. As in he might not be interested in a player if they are given a low or undraftable grade by spring scouts. DO NOT DO THIS. Those grades are generated by entry level evaluators, some will turn out to be good at their jobs, others are not. Trust your own eyes. In fact, trust media evaluations. It is incredible how different actual talent and projections turn out than those spring grades. Use those names as a watch list, not grades on talent.
