Extremely early look at the 2017 Draft

[nyjbuddy]

I know its way too early to be looking at the 2017 draft when the 2016 hasn't even happened yet but with spring games going on and teams trading possibly trading for 2017 picks (i.e. the Rams/Titans trade), I wanted to see what the talent would look like next year.  In 2014, 98 underclassmen declared for the draft. 2015 had 74 and this year its 96.  With so many underclassmen declaring, looking at both juniors and seniors led me to think that next years' draft is going to have a lot of talent at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions.  Some players may drop off, some probably won't declare, some may get injured, some may not be eligible.  Most of the these draft candidates performed better in 2015 than the current draft prospects statistically. It'll be fun to track some of these players through the 2016 college season.  

Next year's RB class seems to be very deep.  Pass on an RB this year to get one next year?  Forte and Powell can carry the team for at least a year.  Also, wouldn't be unhappy if the Jets tried to trade for mid to late round 2017 picks in order to move up in next years draft.  If they are planning on taking a QB every year, next year seems like a good one to be able to the flexibility to move around the draft.

QB

• Deshaun Watson
• Luke Falk
• Brad Kaaya
• Chad Kelly
• Baker Mayfield
• Cooper Rush
• Gunner Kiel
• Nick Mullens
• Patrick Mahomes
• Mason Rudolph
• Zach Terrell

WR

• Taywan Taylor
• Juju Smith-Schuster
• Gabe Marks
• Isaiah Ford
• Chris Godwin
• James Washington
• Mike Williams
• Fred Ross
• Travis Rudolph
• Devonte Boyd
• Artavis Scott
• KD Cannon
• Jehu Chesson
• Malachi Dupre
• Stacy Coley
• Darren Carrington

RB

• Leonard Fournette
• Christian McCaffrey
• Nick Chubb
• Dalvin Cook
• Royce Freeman
• Samaje Perine
• Wayne Gallman
• Jalen Hurd
• Nick Wilson
• Justin Jackson
• Jarvion Franklin
• Larry Rose III
• Donnel Pumphrey
• Kareem Hunt
• James Conner

 

[win4ever]

Watson is probably my favorite QB prospect in a couple of years, I think he'll be a star.  RB is deep next year, I can us holding fort this year, and look for one next year.  

[maury77]

RB and Edge Rusher look strong next year, but the quarterback class is kind of meh. The only QB is like so far is Chad Kelly. I think Watson is going to be another Tommie Frazier, great college QB, but not a very good pro player. 

[BklynJetsFan85]

I've always liked Gunner Kiel - prob needs to chill with the INTs (not because of lack of accuracy) - just as that gunslinger mentality. has NFL arm and size, pretty good accuracy short/intermediate

[win4ever]

5 hours ago, maury77 said:

RB and Edge Rusher look strong next year, but the quarterback class is kind of meh. The only QB is like so far is Chad Kelly. I think Watson is going to be another Tommie Frazier, great college QB, but not a very good pro player. 

I respectfully disagree on Watson.  I can't point out the tapes (because I don't see them up yet) and linking highlight films makes everyone look like a superstar, but I did watch a good amount of Clemson games and this kid projects to be a better version of Winston.  

He's good at scrambling, but he knows when to slide or get out of bounds most times, albeit he does have an injury history.  However, he throws a great deep ball and Clemson loves to take shots down the field.  It's not really the distance that impresses me, it's the ball placement, there were a few throws just in the national championship game where the defender was all over the WR and he still completed it.  He has good velocity with his intermediate throws and he has good footwork.  

I think injuries are really going to be the only thing that holds him back at this point.  

[win4ever]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drTUKZ1CAkA

These are the highlights from this past season, and obviously he looks like superman because these are highlights.  I don't have access to his game tapes yet, but just watching this, I wanted to point out some throws that just stood out, especially after looking at tapes from this year.  

:22-  This is a 3rd down throw, where he zips it between three defenders.  He shows very good arm strength and ball placement here.  This one just highlights his arm strength.  

:54-  This is a 30 yard throw facing pressure.  There are two defenders near the WR, so a laser throw here is most likely batted away, if not worse.  But he places it perfectly, right over them to where only his man could do anything with it.  

2:20-  This is a great throw, across the hash mark, and he places it perfectly.  

3:05-  Pretty much the definition of hitting a WR in stride.  

3:25-  This seems somewhat similar to one of the best passes from Mark Sanchez (to Holmes against Texans), perfectly placed.

4:45-  Another perfectly thrown pass from about 45 yards out.

7:10-  This is a normal connection, but notice when he throws the ball.  The ball is out before the WR makes his break, pretty much throwing his receiver open.  

8:02-  Blitz recognition, picked up the first down because he could run with the ball.

Is he perfect? No, but I can't show the bad plays yet.  But as far as prospects go, I think he's better than Winston (assuming he stays healthy next year), and I believe he had a great year after his No. 1 WR (Williams I believe) was injured and out for the year with a neck injury.  

Watson is the type of prospect, I sell the house for.  2 firsts and 2 second round picks?  I'd do it.  

 

[Tinstar]

Charone Peake, Cody Core and Ricardo Louis are 3 players who offer size and speed at a position devoid of that combination .

[afosomf]

On 4/15/2016 at 2:43 PM, win4ever said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drTUKZ1CAkA

These are the highlights from this past season, and obviously he looks like superman because these are highlights.  I don't have access to his game tapes yet, but just watching this, I wanted to point out some throws that just stood out, especially after looking at tapes from this year.  

:22-  This is a 3rd down throw, where he zips it between three defenders.  He shows very good arm strength and ball placement here.  This one just highlights his arm strength.  

:54-  This is a 30 yard throw facing pressure.  There are two defenders near the WR, so a laser throw here is most likely batted away, if not worse.  But he places it perfectly, right over them to where only his man could do anything with it.  

2:20-  This is a great throw, across the hash mark, and he places it perfectly.  

3:05-  Pretty much the definition of hitting a WR in stride.  

3:25-  This seems somewhat similar to one of the best passes from Mark Sanchez (to Holmes against Texans), perfectly placed.

4:45-  Another perfectly thrown pass from about 45 yards out.

7:10-  This is a normal connection, but notice when he throws the ball.  The ball is out before the WR makes his break, pretty much throwing his receiver open.  

8:02-  Blitz recognition, picked up the first down because he could run with the ball.

Is he perfect? No, but I can't show the bad plays yet.  But as far as prospects go, I think he's better than Winston (assuming he stays healthy next year), and I believe he had a great year after his No. 1 WR (Williams I believe) was injured and out for the year with a neck injury.  

Watson is the type of prospect, I sell the house for.  2 firsts and 2 second round picks?  I'd do it.  

 

just watch the bama game the kid is a stud

[win4ever]

4 hours ago, afosomf said:

just watch the bama game the kid is a stud

Yeah, that one was great too.  Honestly, he jumps out as a No. 1 pick type, just talented and fits in perfectly.   I was really impressed by his ball placements on deep passes, because I think for a QB to be a good runner, they have to be very good deep passers.  

[afosomf]

3 hours ago, win4ever said:

Yeah, that one was great too.  Honestly, he jumps out as a No. 1 pick type, just talented and fits in perfectly.   I was really impressed by his ball placements on deep passes, because I think for a QB to be a good runner, they have to be very good deep passers.  

If you switched QB's in Bama game, bama wins 70-3.  Watson threw so many dimes it was insane, he is way ahead of Cam at same time.  

[maury77]

Agree to disagree. I think Watson is smart, accurate and athletic. However, he is short and slight, so I have concerns about how he will hold up in the NFL (particularly since running is such a big part of his game). He is mostly a one read quarterback who stares down his WRs and honestly, I don't think he has a very good arm. 

[afosomf]

7 minutes ago, maury77 said:

Agree to disagree. I think Watson is smart, accurate and athletic. However, he is short and slight, so I have concerns about how he will hold up in the NFL (particularly since running is such a big part of his game). He is mostly a one read quarterback who stares down his WRs and honestly, I don't think he has a very good arm. 

Watson is 6 2 klondike and has a cannon. Clearly you have no clue

[Augustiniak]

can't we do this after we're all done whining about the 2016 draft?

[section314]

2 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

can't we do this after we're all done whining about the 2016 draft?

Damn. I was just going to ask you to help me with my super-early 2018 mock.

[Colgateman]

#tankforDeshaun The browns can not ruin him

[maury77]

6 hours ago, afosomf said:

Watson is 6 2 klondike and has a cannon. Clearly you have no clue

Clearly you are unable to engage in a discussion without resorting to insults. This may come as a shock to you, but sometimes colleges don't list players at their actual height and weight. Watson looks kind of small to me. Neither you nor I have any way to verify this until he shows up for the combine. 

[afosomf]

26 minutes ago, maury77 said:

Clearly you are unable to engage in a discussion without resorting to insults. This may come as a shock to you, but sometimes colleges don't list players at their actual height and weight. Watson looks kind of small to me. Neither you nor I have any way to verify this until he shows up for the combine. 

If he ends up at 6 1 cry me a river.  The kid has a great arm, you must be watching his pee wee tape

[T0mShane]

23 hours ago, afosomf said:

just watch the bama game the kid is a stud

Johnny Manziel torched Bama.

[win4ever]

19 hours ago, afosomf said:

If you switched QB's in Bama game, bama wins 70-3.  Watson threw so many dimes it was insane, he is way ahead of Cam at same time.  

I think Cam was a different animal, because Cam was just physically imposing.  Watson is better at throwing the pass than Newton, but Cam was more of a nightmare matchup because he was so tough to bring down.  

Just in terms of their play, I see a lot of Winston with Watson.  On deep passes alone, I see a ton of Luck as well, both would place deep passes exactly where it needed to be.  However, Luck played in a far better system for his NFL prospects, so Watson's adjustment time knocks him down.  I think he falls somewhere between Luck and Winston assuming everything holds the same this year.  

 

[afosomf]

8 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Johnny Manziel torched Bama.

He didnt torch last yr's bama's def and when he did win he was extremely lucky with his jump balls to evans. 

[afosomf]

8 hours ago, T0mShane said:

Johnny Manziel torched Bama.

what did your boy Connah Cook do vs Bama's def last yr?

[SenorGato]

Myles Garrett, Cam Robinson, some RBs maybe, some DBs

[afosomf]

16 hours ago, SenorGato said:

Myles Garrett, Cam Robinson, some RBs maybe, some DBs

Tim Williams  Marlon Humphrey are both studs.  OJ Howard and Jon Allen also 1st rounders

[nyjbuddy]

 

[RSJ]

I really like Chad Kelly. He has a cannon and seems to have matured since his incident. The test will be this year after losing some big weapons. If he still does well I think he is my favorite QB in a while.

[maury77]

On 4/21/2016 at 5:20 PM, nyjbuddy said:

 

Agreed, he reminds me of a more accurate Jake Locker. 

[legler82]

Aside from Watson I don't see how this is a good QB class.  The Eagles traded up giving up picks in the next couple of drafts to get their QB now mainly because they didn't think much about the prospects on the horizon.