Image courtesy of Photo: David J. Phillip/AP Oops. The Cleveland Browns did it again. They found a way to blow it again at the top of the NFL draft. Instead of taking a quarterback with more long term upside in Sam Darnold, they took an older quarterback who is four inches shorter and plays out of control in Baker Mayfield. I would say I am surprised that Cleveland passed on Darnold…
I am going to keep it short and sweet. Here are my thoughts on last night’s first round. 1. Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: The Browns took Mayfield after all. It’s a risky pick. Mayfield is small at 6-0 215 and he played in an RPO based spread offense. He will have to get acclimated to playing under center. That’s why it’s important he sits for a year. With…
My third and final mock draft is revealed. There are several changes from my first two mock drafts so without further ado, he is my final mock draft. 1. Cleveland Browns: Sam Darnold, QB, USC: The Browns dipped their toes in the water with Josh Allen but they take the safest quarterback in this draft in Darnold. 2. New York Giants: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: Giants GM Dave Gettleman…
As teams enter this weekend’s draft, they target specific players based on need. Not all teams target players based on need. Some teams, particularly in the first round will take the best player. Here are each team’s needs as we head into this weekend’s draft. NFC NFC East Dallas Cowboys CB, WR, OT, DT, DE New York Giants RB, OL, CB, WR, QB Philadelphia Eagles CB, TE, S, DT, OL…
The quarterbacks in this draft has been a source of discussion for the past two years. Teams that need quarterbacks have been looking to this draft with anticipation since 2016. Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson have been evaluated and dissected. Talent evaluators across the board have different opinions on all of them. They all have strengths but they also have their fair share of…
The running back position is stacked in this draft. It has been the deepest this position has been in over ten years. Saquon Barkley heads the group. He is the best running back to enter the draft since Adrian Peterson in 2007. Barkley is a better prospect than Ezekiel Elliott was in 2015. I know it is hard to believe considering how good Elliott had been but Barkley is a…
The wide receiver position is usually a position of strength in the draft. 25 receivers have gone in the first round since 2012. Six were drafted in 2015 alone. It would be shocking if more than two receivers were drafted in the first round of this draft. Here are top twenty receivers and some thoughts on the position. XNOJOE’s Top 20 Receivers 1. Calvin Ridley, Alabama, 6-1 190 2. Courtland…
The tight end position has evolved in the last ten years. Tight ends are no longer big, vertical targets that strictly line up next to the offensive tackle and run block first. Tight ends are athletes now. They are mixed and matched within personnel groupings and line up as split ends or in the slot. Tight ends are used to generate match ups now. The 2018 class has a handful…
Offensive tackle has always been the strongest offensive line position in the NFL draft but that is not the case in this draft. It is a position with two tackles possibly going in the first round. After Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey and UCLA’s Kolton Miller, there is a drop off at the position. Texas’ Conor Williams and Oklahoma’s Orlando Brown have first round talent but teams have reservations about both…
The guard position in this draft is as good as I have seen in my twenty of years of covering the NFL draft. Quenton Nelson is the best guard prospect I have watched on tape since David DeCastro. He has everything you are looking physically and technically. There are not many flaws in his game. Here are our top ten guards and some thoughts on the position. XNOJOE’S Top Ten…