2018 NFL Draft

[Don Wassall]

Nall Shines at NFL Combine

Former Oregon State running back Ryan Nall had a solid all-around day Friday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

Nall ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, which ranked him 14th among all running backs.

There was talk of Nall (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) playing at H-back or possibly other fits at the NFL level, but his numbers should keep him in the mix at running back.

He was second in the 60-yard shuttle in 11.57, although the group taking part in the drill was relatively small.

Nall tied for third with former UO player Royce Freeman with a time of 4.16 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle. To put that in perspective, Saquon Barkley ran a 4.24. The former Penn State standout is ranked as the No. 1 running back prospect.

Nall tied for fifth in the broad jump with a leap of 10 feet, two inches and was sixth in the three-cone drill in 6.95 seconds.

Nall decided to forego his senior season with the Beavers and go into the NFL draft.

He finished his OSU career with 2,216 yards rushing with 24 touchdowns. He also had 56 catches for 563 yards with four touchdowns.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/sports/...cle_251ae2da-f6ef-53cd-ab37-e29800dd82fa.html

 

[Leonardfan]

Jackson was pretty mediocre today and his apologists who are in charge of the hype train will continue to make excuses for him. I heard the term "wrist flick" and upside a few times when talking about him. It was nice to see him play second fiddle to Allen and Rosen.

 

[Leonardfan]

Packers are supposedly looking at QBs at the combine but McCarthy's idiocy is on display with his blind defense of Hundley.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2018/03/02/packers-believe/389947002/


This draft is loaded with QBs - my guess is at least 12 will get drafted. After seeing the bump in black quarterbacks playing in the preseason and those hanging out on depth charts we can only hope to see some whites displace them this year.

All of the below teams need either a potential franchise QB or a back up to be groomed behind an aging veteran. Free Agency will sort out some of this list:

Cousins, Bradford, Keenum, McCarron could all very well be starters for their 2018 team. Some team will believe in Bridgewater and sign him foolishly.

Arizona
Atlanta
Baltimore
Buffalo
Cincinatti
Cleveland
Denver
Green Bay
LA Chargers
Miami
Minnesota
New England
New Orleans
NY Giants
NY Jets
Pittsburgh
Washington

 

[dolphins15]

Cantrell had the fastest 20 yard shuttle 4.03, 3 cone 6.56 and 60 yard shuttle 10.85 out of all the receivers. I want to hear Mayock bring that up and downplay the long strides of the guys that had better 40 times.

 

[dolphins15]

So much for Gesick's long strides as he was tops in the both shuttles and the 3 cone for this years TE class. Gesicki should go in the top 20 picks. For comparison he tested better than OJ Howard in everything except 40. Howard went 19th to the Bucs.

 

[Don Wassall]

I'd say after today that Cantrell and Quinn will likely be drafted out of the four White WRs at the Combine, with Cantrell going before Quinn. Nall should be drafted, Peyton Hillis style late in the draft. I'll predict that Nall will be drafted by either New England or San Francisco. As disappointing as the Patriots' drafts are every year, they'll find Nall too inviting to pass up in the later rouunds. What do others think?

Whites will dominate at QB and TE in the draft.

 

[Leonardfan]

I think Quinn will go before Cantrell. Berrios and Wieneke could be late round guys. I wouldn't be surprised to see the latter two go the UDFA route - be impressive in minicamps/pre-season just to be cut or put on the PS. I also think white OL will dominate along with QB and TE. The OL class has had a noticeable bump in terms of draftable white prospects this year.

 

[Leonardfan]

Harrison Phillips threw up 42 in the bench press. I believe that is the most in the combine this year.



Pretty humorous commentary from weenieworld:

Penn State TE Mike Gesicki produce a composite score in the 99th percentile, third all-time for Combine TEs behind Vernon Davis and Dustin Keller.

As a whole, the 2017 tight end class was the most athletic group we have ever seen. Gesicki would have been the most athletic of the group. Simply put, Gesicki was fast in a straight line, jumped out of the gym and produced top 10 all-time numbers in his agility scores at 247 pounds. The agility scores were the biggest takeaway, as we have concerns about Gesicki's game at the top of his routes when asked to sink his hips, break on routes and create separation. Gesicki only helped himself on Saturday.


How much of that "athleticism" was on display during the season? Pretty sure the only TE with a better season than Kittle was Engram. Kittle was a 5th rounder and more of a true TE while Engram is a glorified WR.

 

[Shadowlight]

I watched the entire Combine Saturday--NO I DO not have a life.

Bad news on Berrios. He pulled a pec muscle while bench pressing. Border line to begin with I fear this increases the chances he won't get drafted. Not sure he will be healthy enough come his pro day later in the month?

Wieneke came across as an in between type. Tall but too slow, albeit smooth with great hands, to play WR but not thick or strong enough to play TE.

So to echo the posts above it looks like we will have to sweat this out. I think Quinn will get drafted but I was hoping for a faster 40 time.

As for Cantrell his 40 time wasn't anything to write home about although adjusted for his size it was slightly above average. But he exploded in the other drills as mentioned above. He is not by any stretch a cinch to get drafted but I think he will sneak in late. I think he could carve out a niche in the NFL and he deserves to get drafted but as we know when it comes to white WR's getting drafted it is like pulling teeth. He can really jump and his agility was terrific for a player his size.

One more note on Quinn who was spectacular in the one thing that matters most Saturday, route running and great hands. His workout numbers were about average for a slot but if the NFL passes on him then you know they have decided not to have skilled real football players anymore. The black players they "love" run fast straight line 40 yard times but many of them are ill equipped to play good football. And watching them play is a chore. Bad routes horrible hands stiff in and out of cuts etc. Think of the spectacularly CRAPPY DB play that has overtaken the college ranks and the NFL.

Quinn is to WR what Ertz is to TE. He may not have spectacular workout numbers although they aren't bad by any means, but both are exquisitely skilled and smooth beyond belief. They are the type of players that make the game exciting. Quinn has NFL success written all over him and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a Cooper Kupp like rookie season--if given the chance.

More later.

 

[Leonardfan]

Don't feel bad Shadowlight! Ive been sick and dealing with some injuries so I haven't been able to work out and have found myself watching much more of the combine than I anticipated!

It's funny seeing how Harrison Phillips 2017 season stats dwarf many of the career stats of these magical upsiders. It's also nonsense that guys like Christian LaCouture, Joe Ostman, Parker Cothren, Dalton Keene, Marcus Martin, Justin Lawler were all excluded from the combine. I will probably post a few more gripes when I see the LBs workout and all of the white athletes that were not given invites at that position.

 

[celticdb15]

Don't feel bad Shadowlight! Ive been sick and dealing with some injuries so I haven't been able to work out and have found myself watching much more of the combine than I anticipated!

It's funny seeing how Harrison Phillips 2017 season stats dwarf many of the career stats of these magical upsiders. It's also nonsense that guys like Christian LaCouture, Joe Ostman, Parker Cothren, Dalton Keene, Marcus Martin, Justin Lawler were all excluded from the combine. I will probably post a few more gripes when I see the LBs workout and all of the white athletes that were not given invites at that position.

Don't forget Will Geary another deserving DL that was snubbed!

 

[celticdb15]

Guys on ESPN just compared Vander Each to Urlacher in terms of size, speed and production.! If he runs a 4.6 today he will be a 1st rounder.

 

[Leonardfan]

Don't forget Will Geary another deserving DL that was snubbed!

Good call! Also Connor Sheehy but he was injured I believe. It was nice to see Phillips perform exceptionally well - he is an interior DL all the way and I would love to see him get picked in the 1st.

 

[celticdb15]

As we predicted, this years TE class is head and shoulders above last year's afflete laden class.

It will be fun to compare the careers from 17 class and 18 class couple years from now.

 

[celticdb15]

Good call! Also Connor Sheehy but he was injured I believe. It was nice to see Phillips perform exceptionally well - he is an interior DL all the way and I would love to see him get picked in the 1st.

Agreed it'd be nice to see Phillips and Vander Each go rd1. Both have potential to make immediate impact as rookies.

Sheehy is deserving as well. 3 year starter for a Top10 Badger defense.

 

[Leonardfan]

Taven Bryan is also getting first round buzz. This may be a top heavy draft for us in the 1st/early 2nd rounds but the most annoying think about the draft is watching all the non-descript affletes who get picked up in the mid rounds and end up on NFL rosters.

 

[Rocky B]

Lots of talk about Vander Esch going to Pittsburgh....Watt, VE, Matakavich and Chick.....Gotta love that Don....... 2 will start, at least........

 

[Don Wassall]

Lots of talk about Vander Esch going to Pittsburgh....Watt, VE, Matakavich and Chick.....Gotta love that Don....... 2 will start, at least........

That would bring back memories of the Steel Curtain defense of the '70s which featured three starting White LBs, including all-time greats Jack Lambert and Jack Ham. Now they need to get a good White safety to play the Mike Wagner role ha!

I really hope Matakevich gets a chance to start regardless of how their draft goes. I have no doubt he can be a tackling machine in the NFL.

 

[Leonardfan]

Some real cheezy Ryan Shazier nonsense going on

 

[Leonardfan]

Deluca and Jewell both ran in the 4.8s - not bad. They should both be viewed as starting LBs. I didn't hear Mayock go into either players college careers though and talk about how productive they were.

 

[ximasa]

Deluca and Jewell both ran in the 4.8s - not bad. They should both be viewed as starting LBs. I didn't hear Mayock go into either players college careers though and talk about how productive they were.

Vander Esch 4.66 !!

 

[Leonardfan]

Pats should get either Jewell or DeLuca to shore up the middle of their defense.

 

[Leonardfan]

Weenieworld must be on suicide watch - they were all so confident that Jackson was going to "blow up" the combine with dat wrist flick.


Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's throwing session at the NFL Combine drew mixed reviews from NFL teams, per Walter Football's Charlie Campbell, but Jackson still has staunch supporters in the scouting community.

"Lamar has no idea how to throw with his core and legs," said one NFC scout who specializes in quarterbacks. "He's all arm and wrist action right now, very much like Cam [Newton] but much cleaner delivery. When he gets some serious coaching on driving his body into throws, he could be insane. Completely blank canvas. It's amazing he threw it as well as he did seeing how much work he needs in that aspect alone. There's not a QB coach alive who looked at that and didn't feel as if they could make a very good passer. Old rule: you can fix the feet - not the mind or arm." Jackson's throwing session was up-and-down -- like many quarterback prospects -- but it wasn't catastrophic. Like the scout above, we continue to think that Jackson's accuracy issues are being caused by a correctable mechanical issue. He isn't a plug-and-play starter or a sure thing, but the ceiling is sky high for a team willing to wait and put in the developmental time.

 

[Leonardfan]

Looks like the Vikings could remain the most palatable team in the NFC if they draft even 3 or 4 of the players they interviewed on offense. It also sounds like Cousins may end up in Minnesota.

At the NFL Combine, the Minnesota Vikings have met with Ohio State OL Billy Price, Arkansas OL Frank Ragnow, Western Kentucky QB Mike White, Oregon State RB Ryan Nall, UCLA OL Scott Quessenberry and South Dakota State WR Jake Wieneke.

This courtesy of Walter Football's Charlie Campbell. We aren't surprised that the Purple have prioritized meeting with offensive linemen, perhaps an underrated need. Even if the team signs Kirk Cousins in free agency, it will presumably be in the market for a Day 3 developmental quarterback, and White is arguable our fav in that range.

 

[Leonardfan]

Wow they invited a Free Shoes LB who had 21 total tackles this season. That is unreal.