Yes indeed Don! Agreed the talent pool seems to be dwindling . Consume Devour Repeat
Couple of positive trends recently ...
The other day ESPN analyst (former NFL player) Louis Riddick called Alec Pierce the "Sleeper" of the WR Class. Raved over his athleticism etc
Then yesterday (ex NFL QB) Dan Orlovsky did not understand or appreciate Aidan Hutchinson not being called " a great athlete "; and also saying he's not just a "try hard / high effort player " terms(labels) usually used for white players
I reviewed 5 recent 7 round mock drafts published in the last week or so along with two sites "big boards". As usual we see very little deviation from previous years. I was surprised with Reuter having the most White athletes projected to be drafted. I do not count K,P, LS.
Profootballnetwork - 44
Cbssports trapasso - 58
Cbssports wilson - 49
Drafttek - 54
NFL.com reuter - 62
Walterfootball - 50
GBNDRAFT REPORT - 57 out of top 262 on big board
NFLDC - 51 out of top 262 on big board
BSPN - 50 out of top 262 on big board
Some trends I noticed:
The Steelers seem to be projected to get one of the quotas.
The big three LBs Chenal, Andersen and Muma are all projected anywhere from round 2-3. Indiana LB Micah McFadden showed up on more than a couple of those mock drafts as a 5th-6th rounder.
Pierce is projected to go in the 2-3 rounds in all the mocks. Kyle Phillips is very underrated.
The DBs really are getting overlooked. Turner, Blankenship, Weatherford appear on some but not all of the mocks. Jake Koerner not mocked but his less talented black teammate Dane Belton is.
RBs also getting disrespected - Borghi and Horvath projected as late round picks.
Nice work Leonardfan! Thanks for the research . Hoping for 60+ ...that's what i like about it here on CF ...Show the Draft list on how it "should be" and what it's likely to be. Been there done that all too often.
Too bad LB Nate Landman knee injury really dropped him ...before that he was on a 3rd-4th round trajectory at the very least
PFF Mock Draft had 2 DB's Sterling Weatherford & Scott Nelson.
....But Reed Blankenship ( been following him since his true Fr. season with highlight reel INT vs Syracuse) & Nolan Turner(nice story 2 star) should make at least 4 white DB's taken .
..but not going to hold my breath ever since i missed on Andrew Wingard going by Round 5 but instead going the UDFA route. Yet his less talented team mate at Safety from Wyoming was Drafted instead.
Borghi was a Top 8 RB according to NFL.Scout after his Soph. season. He should be a STEAL . Will be interesting to see which team takes Zander Horvath!