2021 NFL Draft

El Gringo

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Mayfield admittedly had me fooled about his race for more than half of his abridged Michigan career. He has a sort of pale, flushed, pinkish complexion. Mayfield was supposed to be an anchor for the offensive line this past season, but got dinged up after two games. Rumors flared that he was "done" with the team (once Michigan started losing), and soon after, he did in fact quit the team to focus on his pro career. I thought it was odd that a white player would give up on his teammates midseason: I remember one of the Bosa brothers left before the end of a season rather than rush back from injury, but they were both slotted as top-3 picks and had plenty to lose. Usually, it's much more of a black player thing.

It was actually reading the message boards in a fit of offseason boredom where I learned about a tweet from Mayfield's mom that someone or other wasn't "down for the struggle" or some such nonsense. I clicked through and discovered the family photo that Mayfield is actually an Obama. (Both his white mom and black dad are the size of walruses and will likely be doing their grocery shopping in mobility scooters if either lives to age 65).

Anyway, my report on Mayfield is that he is a lazy underachiever with a selfish attitude who shirks responsibility and would be a locker room net negative. As I recall, he had one or two strong games in 2019 against decent competition as a right tackle, but he was by no means flawless. The expected learning curve improvement never manifested on the field. He is definitely not a road grader in the run game, and I'd be concerned that he didn't bench.

---

Ben Mason is by all accounts a ferocious player and impressive specimen. He actually scored 7 touchdowns in 2018 in the battering ram role. Nicknamed "Bench" for his diligent workout habits, it was a guarantee he would test well.

In 2019, Harbaugh hired black offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to run his "speed in space" playbook. No one really knows what that is, since it's been two years of scattershot playcalling, but that's beside the point. The trend was toward black receivers and away from blocking tight ends, and fullbacks are definitely not allowed. Mason was asked to switch positions, as white players often are, so he beefed up to about 270 and joined the defensive tackle rotation. The idea was to keep his athleticism on the field in some capacity, but as Mason was undersized and lacking technique, the experiment was not a success. Mason was invited to reprise his role at fullback in a pinch in the third game of the season against Wisconsin. An unfortunate fumble inside the five yard line, the only fumble of his career, kept Michigan off the scoreboard on its first drive, and Wisconsin went on to win in a blowout. We know the rule for white skill position players fumbling or dropping a pass: they never play again. Mason finished out the season as an unused DT.

In 2020, Mason returned to his natural role of smashmouth blocker. He showcased his agility as flipped his way into the endzone in Week One for a highlight reel touchdown. Unfortunately, he only received one other touch throughout the shortened season, being employed exclusively as a (very effective) run blocker. Even this concession was either begrudgingly employed by Gattis, or overruled and enforced by Harbaugh. Who knows or cares?

I imagine Mason has the sort of attitude and presence as someone like Larry Csonka. There's no reason to believe he can't hit the holes just as hard in a straight-line running role. Realistically, he's auditioning for a role as a special teams beast and occasional gadget player. I'd put him higher on my draft board than Mayfield.
It’s mind boggling how Harbaugh went away from Mason after his dominant sophomore year and switched to the spread offense that 95% of the country runs. Your right Phall it was probably Gattis as Harbaugh has always loved fullbacks. Here are a some awesome highlights of Ben. Unstoppable in short yardage!
 

Leonardfan

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Mayfield admittedly had me fooled about his race for more than half of his abridged Michigan career. He has a sort of pale, flushed, pinkish complexion. Mayfield was supposed to be an anchor for the offensive line this past season, but got dinged up after two games. Rumors flared that he was "done" with the team (once Michigan started losing), and soon after, he did in fact quit the team to focus on his pro career. I thought it was odd that a white player would give up on his teammates midseason: I remember one of the Bosa brothers left before the end of a season rather than rush back from injury, but they were both slotted as top-3 picks and had plenty to lose. Usually, it's much more of a black player thing.

It was actually reading the message boards in a fit of offseason boredom where I learned about a tweet from Mayfield's mom that someone or other wasn't "down for the struggle" or some such nonsense. I clicked through and discovered the family photo that Mayfield is actually an Obama. (Both his white mom and black dad are the size of walruses and will likely be doing their grocery shopping in mobility scooters if either lives to age 65).

Anyway, my report on Mayfield is that he is a lazy underachiever with a selfish attitude who shirks responsibility and would be a locker room net negative. As I recall, he had one or two strong games in 2019 against decent competition as a right tackle, but he was by no means flawless. The expected learning curve improvement never manifested on the field. He is definitely not a road grader in the run game, and I'd be concerned that he didn't bench.

---

Ben Mason is by all accounts a ferocious player and impressive specimen. He actually scored 7 touchdowns in 2018 in the battering ram role. Nicknamed "Bench" for his diligent workout habits, it was a guarantee he would test well.

In 2019, Harbaugh hired black offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to run his "speed in space" playbook. No one really knows what that is, since it's been two years of scattershot playcalling, but that's beside the point. The trend was toward black receivers and away from blocking tight ends, and fullbacks are definitely not allowed. Mason was asked to switch positions, as white players often are, so he beefed up to about 270 and joined the defensive tackle rotation. The idea was to keep his athleticism on the field in some capacity, but as Mason was undersized and lacking technique, the experiment was not a success. Mason was invited to reprise his role at fullback in a pinch in the third game of the season against Wisconsin. An unfortunate fumble inside the five yard line, the only fumble of his career, kept Michigan off the scoreboard on its first drive, and Wisconsin went on to win in a blowout. We know the rule for white skill position players fumbling or dropping a pass: they never play again. Mason finished out the season as an unused DT.

In 2020, Mason returned to his natural role of smashmouth blocker. He showcased his agility as flipped his way into the endzone in Week One for a highlight reel touchdown. Unfortunately, he only received one other touch throughout the shortened season, being employed exclusively as a (very effective) run blocker. Even this concession was either begrudgingly employed by Gattis, or overruled and enforced by Harbaugh. Who knows or cares?

I imagine Mason has the sort of attitude and presence as someone like Larry Csonka. There's no reason to believe he can't hit the holes just as hard in a straight-line running role. Realistically, he's auditioning for a role as a special teams beast and occasional gadget player. I'd put him higher on my draft board than Mayfield.

Thanks Phall - as always I love your insight into the Michigan program. I'll try to keep my Haurbaugh bashing to a minimum here in the NFL draft thread.

As far as I'm concerned Josh Gattis is trash as an offensive coordinator. If anyone watch Shea Patterson when healthy at Ole Miss you would of thought he was truly the next Manziel without the baggage. It was painful watching his career and draft prospects tank at UM. The offense did not utilize his talent and ability correctly (along with tradition of Michigan recruiting highly ranked WRs who end up being absolute garbage). It seemed to be a very conservative offense not allowing Patterson to improvise, spread the field out and make plays with his feet. He was decent in 2018 but in 2019 with Gattis at the helm that Michigan offense was terrible. Gattis also screwed over McCaffery for the black quarterback Joe Milton. The hype going into the Big Ten's shortened season for UM and Milton and the train wreck that ensued was great to see. Gattis seems to be in over his head.

Mason was very underutilized - he could of easily been a two way player for UM. It was disappointing to see him get moved from LB (he was probably he best LB athletically on the roster the last couple of years) to blocking fullback given token goal line carriers. Of course being a white player on offense the carries are going to be limited. My hope is that he becomes a Patrick Ricard type player in the NFL. Mason I feel is a throwback to what white LBs used to be in the 80s/90s.
 

Phall

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Timely article about hot conversation topic Ben Mason:
2021 Patriots draft profile: Ben Mason could be the next James Develin

A few impressive highlight videos are embedded at link.

excerpts:
Where Mason differentiates himself is as a ball carrier. His efficiency in short yardage situations is off the charts, scoring a touchdown on 25 percent of his career touches. He’s shown the ability to be a good route runner and has reliable hands in the passing game, not something that is a major need but a positive nonetheless.

Prior to 2019, the Michigan offense ran less of an up-tempo, zone-read-based rushing attack, with those concepts sprinkled in, similar to the Patriots. Mason established himself as a weapon in every phase — blocking, rushing the ball, and catching it out of the backfield, you name it. His ability to play road grader as well as receiver is unmatched in this draft class.


Why not the Patriots? There is a big factor that would make one pause on making a move at fullback; is Bill Belichick done with his Jakob Johnson experiment? He’s on record as saying Johnson was never a player that he wanted on the roster; two seasons later he’s the starting fullback. If Belichick isn’t done with his project, then Mason isn’t an option.

(Johnson is another one of those "German" players)
 

Warhawk_46

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The only thing about that is it means Danny Vitale is squeezed out...

In a merit-based world, there is no reason a 240 lbs, 6’, 4.5-4.6 supreme athlete like Vitale is not tearing up the league.

Mason too.

I would love to see a return to smash-mouth football. Infinitely more entertaining to watch.
 

Don Wassall

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It was obvious when he was at Northwestern that Vitale could be a successful power runner in the NFL, not to mention a topnotch receiver out of the backfield as well. Ben Mason looks like he'll be the next "Vitale type" to be screwed over, and there's been a huge number, with Mason getting maybe a handful of touches per season in the NFL if he's lucky while otherwise being used as an o-lineman in the backfield when he plays at all besides on special teams.

There's no "safety net," no media or social media network supporting and advocating for capable White players other than the very small number who post here, so they have to take the few scraps they're offered. A lot of older football fans still fondly remember Csonka and Riggins and others but just accept at face value that there are no capable White power runners anymore, when in fact they could and should be a strong presence in the league. It was "controversial" 15 years ago when Mike Mayock believed that Brian Leonard should be a tailback in the league and treated as such. And so it goes in dumbed down Amerika.
 

Red Raider

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These would be great numbers for a wide receiver, however Noah Gray is a tight end. Wow what an athlete, he can be a good receiving TE in the NFL. He comes in Day 1 as probably one of the top 5 athletic tight ends in the NFL.

Noah Gray
Height: 6-3
Weight: 240
Hand: 9 2/8
Arm: 31 5/8
Wingspan: 78 2/8
Bench Press: 15
Vertical Jump: 35.0
Broad Jump: 9.7
40-Yard Dash: 4.52
Short Shuttle: 4.30
3-Cone Drill: 6.72
 

Bucky

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Excellent workout for Gray. Had a decent career at Duke, with those intangibles I expect more in the NFL!
 

Warhawk_46

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That is the thing that is so frustrating to me (well one of them) about the Caste System. How can people really be so dumb?? To believe that a 240 lbs, athletic, agile and insanely strong person that Vitale, Cox in Miami and soon to be Mason could not average at least 4 yards a pop and wear down the watered-down defenses of today...

Hell two recent examples: Peyton Hillis in 2010 (flat out dominant), Toby Gerhart for a stint in MN when allowed to carry the ball... even Brian Leonard his rookie year went over 100 yards in the single game he got lead-back number of carries.

The point is every dam time our men get a chance they succeed... every time. Ryan Nall leads league in preseason and his reward is ass splinters for the next few years....
 

Rocky B

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When Ripkowski got a bunch of carries late in the season a few years ago, he showed up big time....Continue to let him thrive?.....Ahhhhh, no
 

Aus2G

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Blake Proehl pro-day;

4.41 40 yard dash
10.6 broad
36 vertical
12 bench
7.00 cone

not bad at all...
 

white lightning

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Blake Proehl pro-day;

4.41 40 yard dash
10.6 broad
36 vertical
12 bench
7.00 cone

not bad at all...


That 4.41 in the 40 is blazing fast. The kid has great hands and there is no doubt these numbers will get more people interested. Even his vertical is very good. Glad he nailed the workout. :)
 

icsept

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Blake Proehl, I had no idea he had that kind of speed. The bloodline should benefit him as well.
 

El Gringo

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When Ripkowski got a bunch of carries late in the season a few years ago, he showed up big time....Continue to let him thrive?.....Ahhhhh, no
He had that one damn fumble in the playoffs (I think) that sunk him. He was a powerhouse more talented than Kuhn in my opinion.
 

Red Raider

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Ohio State Pro Day

LB Pete Werner
6’3” 238lbs
4.58 40
39.5” vertical
We knew Werner would test well, this should help him and solidify him as a mid round guy.

LB Tuf Borland
6’0” 229lbs
4.98 40
4.29 shuttle
7.17 3 cone
32.5” vertical
We knew Borland was not fast but he showed some decent quickness with his shuttle and 3 cone. Most likely undrafted.

TE Luke Farrell
6’6” 251lbs
4.79 40
36.5 vert
Not bad for Farrell, he is more of a blocking tight end but showed that he is an athlete too. He seems like a guy who should be able to stick around for a while as a solid guy in the blocking and receiving departments.
 

Bucky

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Nice times for Proehl and Werner!

Bit of a stinker for Borland..Undersized and a bit slow..Kind of amazing Ohio State offered him in the first place.

Agreed on Farrell @Red Raider . Should be a valuable piece in the TE room.
 

icsept

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Apparently Zach Wilson is going to the Jets. He’s a star, but that organization is such garbage. Whomever the 49ers pick will be in a great situation. Hopefully it’s Mac Jones.
 

Extra Point

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He had that one damn fumble in the playoffs (I think) that sunk him. He was a powerhouse more talented than Kuhn in my opinion.

I wondered what happened to Ripkowski. It may have been the fate many white players suffer - one and done. One mistake and they're gone.
 

white is right

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I wondered what happened to Ripkowski. It may have been the fate many white players suffer - one and done. One mistake and they're gone.
He was cut because Green Bay dropped their fullback breaking training camp that season, I think they subsequently brought one back in the middle of the season but they weren't interested in bringing him back.

He was in a camp battle with Sherman in KC but he lost out to Sherman who is a better pure blocker than Rip, after that he was in the mix for XFL work but he supposedly decided to quit/retire before the season began.
 

booth

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What happened to Kyle Trask? I heard yesterday on the NFL network that he has fallen to the 8th or 9th qb to be drafted, behind Kellen Mond & Elvis Franks. I know he ran a 5.11 forty but this guy was a Heisman Trophy candidate.
 

Warhawk_46

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Too bad Ripkowski gave up playing (somewhat understandable given him being jerked around) as I think we may see a slight renaissance in fullback usage with how pass-happy offenses have become which means lighter, weaker defenders... logical way to combat that is with big, strong running games, ie: look at Tennessee.
 

Bucky

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What happened to Kyle Trask? I heard yesterday on the NFL network that he has fallen to the 8th or 9th qb to be drafted, behind Kellen Mond & Elvis Franks. I know he ran a 5.11 forty but this guy was a Heisman Trophy candidate.

I've noticed the same. He's getting buried in the process. Not as "exciting" and "full of upside" like the black quarterbacks.
 

Red Raider

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WR Dillon Stoner
6’1” 194lbs
4.57/4.51
37” vertical
10-3 broad
4.13 shuttle
6.96 3 cone
16 bench reps

Not a bad workout for Stoner, right about where I expected him to test. He’s a guy I’d want on my team, excels on special teams and can play any WR position but most likely delegated to slot in the NFL.
 

Don Wassall

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What happened to Kyle Trask? I heard yesterday on the NFL network that he has fallen to the 8th or 9th qb to be drafted, behind Kellen Mond & Elvis Franks. I know he ran a 5.11 forty but this guy was a Heisman Trophy candidate.

I had on NFL Network for a bit yesterday while Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks discussed Trask during Florida's Pro Day. They both agreed that he's an antiquated immobile pocket passer who will be drafted late and will be an NFL backup with everything having to break his way for him to become a starter.

According to Wikipedia, Jeremiah is the son of David Jeremiah, "the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and a nationally known Christian author." Daniel seems to have been promoted by the NFL Network into Mike Mayock's old role as senior "scout" and draft analyst. Even with such a conservative background, Daniel is a super-reliable Caste cuck, hardly a surprise but worth noting for those who still think conservatives are ever going to speak out honestly on racial issues such as the Caste System.
 

Leonardfan

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I had on NFL Network for a bit yesterday while Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks discussed Trask during Florida's Pro Day. They both agreed that he's an antiquated immobile pocket passer who will be drafted late and will be an NFL backup with everything having to break his way for him to become a starter.

According to Wikipedia, Jeremiah is the son of David Jeremiah, "the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and a nationally known Christian author." Daniel seems to have been promoted by the NFL Network into Mike Mayock's old role as senior "scout" and draft analyst. Even with such a conservative background, Daniel is a super-reliable Caste cuck, hardly a surprise but worth noting for those who still think conservatives are ever going to speak out honestly on racial issues such as the Caste System.

Which begs the question that since an antiquated immobile pocket passer just won the Super Bowl wouldn't the NFL be wanting to find more of them? ;)

Trask was exponentially better than Franks, Mond and Newman during his college career. Compare Trask to the 1st round draft bust Dwayne Haskins. Haskins ran a 5.04 40 and had a 28.5" vert Haskins was getting all sorts of hype and it was a travesty to the sports media when Jones was drafted before Haskins.

Comical interaction between Bucky Brooks (trying to play up the leadership and intelligence angle for black QBs). Haskins was not an athlete at all (much like Jameis Winston). A prime example of melanin enhanced scouting.

https://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-netw...eaways-from-ohio-state-buckeyes-quarte-425419
 

Leonardfan

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WR Dillon Stoner
6’1” 194lbs
4.57/4.51
37” vertical
10-3 broad
4.13 shuttle
6.96 3 cone
16 bench reps

Not a bad workout for Stoner, right about where I expected him to test. He’s a guy I’d want on my team, excels on special teams and can play any WR position but most likely delegated to slot in the NFL.

Not a bad workout. Could easily be a 3rd/4th WR in the league. Underutilized at Oklahoma state.
 
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