2011 Comprehensive NFL Draft Database

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Question for mcqueen and d&s: Any big-time safety's in the 2011 draft? Who should I be watching? I doubt we take one in the 1st again, so any with 2nd-round grades that are worth looking at?

[seantaylor=god]

My thoughts on the draft based on what Ive seen so far.

Interior Oline has to be a priority (2nd round pick most likely spent on best C/G available). If we pick a center, stick him at guard for another year or so. Rabach is very average, but Dock is bad. Our running game has looked very,very suspect and its because of poor interior line play (in addition to Cooley/Sellers average blocking).

1st round pick clearly needs to be BPA, but I think OLB, DL, CB, or FS would all be in the discussion. Running back should be addressed later in the draft, but if Ingram or another top notch back is available in the late first (where we will draft, or after a trade down)

The good news is it seems like a pretty solid draft for defensive players (CB, S, DL).

[Tuff]

Awesome breakdown man. Really do appreciate it. Sounds like there's no chance we get a shot at him though

Oh there is still a good chance we get a high draft pick. Lot of NFL left, but who knows about the lockout net year.

[stevemcqueen1]

Question for mcqueen and d&s: Any big-time safety's in the 2011 draft? Who should I be watching? I doubt we take one in the 1st again, so any with 2nd-round grades that are worth looking at?

I think the four best safety prospects in college are all underclassmen: Rahim Moore (UCLA), Mark Barron (Bama), Ray Ray Armstrong (Miami), and Robert Sands (WVU). Armstrong isn't eligible for the draft this year as a true sophomore. He's the next in a line of great Miami safeties, he's definitely one to watch for the future--brilliant striker, natural feet in coverage, good instincts, and tremendous closing speed.

Mark Barron plays as more of a strong safety at Alabama although he's got the athleticism and range to play FS. He flashes first round potential but played with a lot of inconsistency last year and his surrounding talent on defense was phenomenally good since it had about 6 other first and second round picks starting in it (Arenas, Hightower, Cody, Dareus, McClain, Jackson). I believe he's a more natural FS prospect in the NFL. He looks a bit spotty playing downhill and he misses far too many tackles to play in the box with regularity. He looks like he has nice balance in coverage and he reads his keys very well. His ball skills look good. He's got good size for the position too at around 6'2.

Robert Sands is an enormous FS prospect and he's tremendously fast. He matches up well against any receiver in the league at 6'4" 220 pounds. He's not a big hitter, but he's a good and tenacious tackler and takes great angles in pursuit. He's also the incredibly active energizer bunny type, just like LaRon. His closing speed is impressive and he has great ball skills. He demonstrates great leaping ability and looks great catching the ball--plucks it with his hands like a WR and has good concentration to hold onto it. I like his instincts and he seems to read his run-pass keys very well. He is a gifted athlete and is capable of making sure tackles downhill and in pursuit. He plays with nice functional strength and can play with power on contact and drive ball carriers down, limiting extra yards upon contact. He's more of a drag down tackler than a strike but that's all you really need from the position when you've got guys like Landry laying the wood. All in all, Sands is my second favorite safety in college and I think he could be a tremendous value pick in the second round if he comes out. It's more likely some team will take a chance on his measurables and coverage skills in the first though. He looks like he could be a star.

My favorite safety prospect in college is definitely Rahim Moore. Moore is the one guy who I think compares to Eric Berry in his coverage skills and instincts and he's a definite first round caliber talent IMO. However, the reason he won't go nearly as high as Eric Berry is because he's not very strong. He's not going to make many plays around the LoS and he needs to be playing deep, sitting back in coverage, making plays on the ball in the open field. He can get walled off by blockers and isn't strong enough to consistently disengage upon contact. He's an athletic hitter but he lacks the leg drive to stone ball carriers on contact. He will occasionally lower his shoulder and lay the wood when he gets an open shot on a runner, but it doesn't happen all that often. He will miss tackles too from over-pursuing on his angles, and right now he lacks the power to make a ton of tackles off of his frame. But he'll be an effective wrap up tackler in the NFL once he grows a little bit more and goes through NFL weight training. At 6'2" 195 lbs., he's got the frame to add plenty of bulk and strength in the NFL.

What makes Moore special are his balance, speed, acceleration, agility, and instincts in coverage. He plays with the perfect pitch of discipline and gamble. He'll go for the big play when it's there but he'll never let the offense make plays behind him. His footwork is textwork in coverage and he looks very comfortable playing very deep in the defensive backfield. I like his closing speed and his long speed is good too. He's not matched up in man coverage often but I think he's absolutely got the athleticism and skill to walk over and man cover the slot in the NFL. I love his fluidity and speed out of his breaks. The guy can hang on a receiver's hip and then beat him to the ball when it's in the air. He's also got some of the best hands I've ever seen at the position in college. He's an absolute ball hawk, has great leaping ability, and times his jumps perfectly to make big plays. In his first two years as a starter at UCLA, he had 13 interceptions. That's even more than Eric Berry had (12) and I think Moore is poised to crush Berry's career interceptions total. Moore is basically as good a pure FS prospect as you'll see come along. The fact that he doesn't carry a lot of value as an in the box safety and a blitzer will probably hurt his value and keep him out of the top 10. It shouldn't hurt his standing for us though because we've got LaRon already. I like him a lot in a potential tandem with LaRon. Their talents compliment each other nicely since they each bring different things to the table. And if we had Moore playing FS on the field yesterday, I guarantee Andre Johnson doesn't make that catch in the end zone that easily.

As for the seniors, Deandre McDaniel and Deunta Williams are easily the best of the bunch. That said, neither look like first round picks, and should go in a more natural second to third round range. McDaniel is an incredibly productive ballhawk but he plays SS at Clemson and doesn't have impressive timed speed. I'm not sure he's the best fit for us since we're already so loaded at SS. Williams is a playmaker, but I like Kendric Burney a little bit better than him in that second round range as a CB prospect.

Ras-I Dowling should get graded as a FS and could be a first round pick there. He could end up fitting pretty nicely with our defense in that kind of role, he's far better suited to it than CB in the NFL IMO.

I wouldn't discount us taking a S in the first round this year since a guy like Moore could definitely be the BPA. Shanahan has a history of taking DBs in the first. It really comes down to how well Kareem Moore plays when he gets back from injury. If he struggles, then I think we'll target the position and it wouldn't bother me at all if we picked up a really good coverage FS in the first or second. I wouldn't take one over an elite QB, DL, WR, or CB. But it's no guarantee that one will be available to us when we draft.

That said, this year's CB class is flat out impressive. I count at least five prospects deserving of a first round grade: Prince Amukamara, Patrick Peterson, Ras-I Dowling, Aaron Williams, Janoris Jenkins. There will probably be several more who move up into that range like Brandon Harris, Kendric Burney, Brandon Burton, and Neiko Thorpe. Amukamara is sensationally good and Peterson could be among the best corners in the league if he ever got everything all put together. If one of those two players were available when we selected, I would probably draft them ahead of everyone except for Blaine Gabbert, Andrew Luck, Robert Quinn, and Adrian Clayborn. Maybe not ahead of Allen Bailey either. And Mark Ingram could potentially cut it ahead of them, I am super impressed with him. Those two could bring tremendous value to our defense. Hell with them, you could move either Rogers or Hall to FS and field a spectacular starting group of DBs.

[icbmayday]

We need to go after a RB or a LB

[stevemcqueen1]

stevemcqueen,

Thanks for responding in such detail, to me and others, throughout this thread. Especially on the QB's.

Your write-ups on Gabbert on this page, and in the past, are incredibly positive. And yet you acknowledge his current faults with honesty, making the positive comments that much more believable.

He sounds like a prototype NFL Franchise QB straight out of Madden: Mobility and power, some speed, great arm, height and size, leadership abilities, media competence, and YOUTH. Incredible youth for such a seemingly complete package, from your descriptions.

Its time that I looked up some of his highlight vids (even though you admit that highlight vids don't do a QB like him justice). Any recommendations?

Thanks connskin. As far as I can tell, there are few youtube highlights of him. Here is a set of cutups from the game against Nevada last year:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9BB0mwOBMg = first half
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UUuIvBof8 = second half

Someone has posted a ton of interviews from him on youtube though, so if you have the desire to listen to him talk, you can. He's a smart guy and gives a good interview, very diplomatic, confident, and well spoken. It's easy to see his flair for leadership. Someone has already taught him coach-speak and I can really see how the rest of the locker room would look up to him as the big man and best player.

[stevemcqueen1]

Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone who is interested in charting Ryan Mallett's passes versus Georgia on saturday know that the full game is available on the SEC digital network: http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/SEC...Full-Game.aspx

I missed the game myself and plan on watching the broadcast in the next few days to make the chart. It looks like Mallett threw the ball 33 times so there will be plenty to chart. I'll post my analysis after everyone is ready to post theirs.

[Forehead]

After yesterday's debacle from the secondary, I wouldn't mind us taking a look at that Peterson kid from LSU. I saw one LSU game early this season and it was obvious how much better he was than almost everyone else. I didn't see a link to a scouting breakdown for him on Page 1, but I'd surely like to see one.

[stevemcqueen1]

Here's an analogy to frame Patrick Peterson for you. Peterson is to Allen Bailey as Amukamara is to Adrian Clayborn. Amukamara is the better player right now and looks like he could be a stalwart at the next level. Peterson has higher upside but he isn't refined enough yet for my taste for me to confidently project him as a top 5 pick and future impact player. In a lot of ways, Amukamara reminds me of Leon Hall and Darrelle Revis as prospects. Peterson reminds me of Champ Bailey.

I love Peterson's speed in all facets of his game but he bothers me from a technical standpoint. His footwork is still a bit of a work in progress. He plays too high in his stance and I wonder if balance might be an issue for him, or if he lacks some flexibility. His backpedal is awkward when he plays man. In general, I think he takes too many false steps in coverage to be talked about as a top 5 lock. For me, if a CB is going to be taken that high, he needs to have elite man coverage skills and be polished in that facet of his game because he's got to come in and make an instant impact in the NFL. Now Peterson can turn and run with any receiver you man him up on. He's got smooth hips and phenomenal speed out of breaks and closes on the ball just as fast as Joe Haden did. But some will make out like Peterson is a significantly better prospect than Haden was and I don't think that's true. I think he might be a bit better, but he's not the once in a decade prospect he's being hyped up as.

I'm not even sure he's the best prospect in this class. In general, I like Amukamara a bit better right now. He's got great balance and agility in coverage and plays with efficient footwork. Plus Amukamara is the more physical player in run support where he already looks like he's ready for the NFL in that area. Amukamara has great short area burst and ball skills and he closes on the ball quick. What I like best about Amukamara is that he's got a well rounded skill set that can succeed in any type of scheme. I think he's got the strength and fluidity to be a star in a press man scheme, but I actually think his natural talents leave him best suited to playing zone one day because he's got great hands, natural coverage instincts, great closing speed, and nice footwork and balance in coverage. I think he and Adrian Clayborn are easily the two premier senior defenders of the class and I wouldn't hesitate to draft either one. If it came down to a choice between Amukamara and Peterson, it would be a tough one, but I'd choose Amukamara right now.

[Dukes and Skins]

We need to go after a RB or a LB

Right now I'd categorize our needs as

1. DL specifically NT
2. Interior OL
3. RB

[Dukes and Skins]

Hey guys, I just wanted to let everyone who is interested in charting Ryan Mallett's passes versus Georgia on saturday know that the full game is available on the SEC digital network: http://www.secdigitalnetwork.com/SEC...Full-Game.aspx

I missed the game myself and plan on watching the broadcast in the next few days to make the chart. It looks like Mallett threw the ball 33 times so there will be plenty to chart. I'll post my analysis after everyone is ready to post theirs.

If you look on Page 29 I gave a pretty decent breakdown of Mallett. I didn't chart his throws but I gave a good analysis on how I felt he performed. It was needless to say a shaky game in that he played well early in the game but the 2nd half his accuracy faded and he just lost it until the final drive

[Dukes and Skins]

Question for mcqueen and d&s: Any big-time safety's in the 2011 draft? Who should I be watching? I doubt we take one in the 1st again, so any with 2nd-round grades that are worth looking at?

Personally, GACOLB It's tough to tell right now because the guys I would love to go after (Moore and Barron) are both 1st round grades but between the two I feel only Moore could go in the 1st round. He's a true FS and one who has great ball hawking ability. He's a lot like Eric Berry as Steve mentioned and someone who you know is the best player at his position right now. Personally if I were the Redskins I would look towards FA this year to shore up the Safety position and then in the 2012 NFL draft I would go after a Safety then like Ray Ray Armstrong

[stevemcqueen1]

Right now I'd categorize our needs as

1. DL specifically NT
2. Interior OL
3. RB

I think DE, OT, OLB, QB, DB, and WR are all positions we could do well to draft at in addition to the ones you mention. Nothing is really glaring right now except maybe the DL. We're in good shape in the first round this year because we can go BPA at a number of positions and fill a need with an impact player. Think about it, if we draft in the teens, Chances are that one of:

- Adrian Clayborn
- Allen Bailey
- Prince Amukamara
- Patrick Peterson
- Mark Ingram
- Rahim Moore
- Jerrelle Powe
- A.J Green
- Michael Floyd
- Robert Quinn
- Andrew Luck
- Blaine Gabbert
- Stephen Paea
- Marcell Dareus
- Akeem Ayers
- Ryan Mallett
- Jake Locker

will be available. That's 17 names right there that could all be impact players on our team. This is a stacked draft class. Unless we horribly screw the pooch, we're going to get a great prospect out of the first round this year.

[Dukes and Skins]

I think DE, OT, OLB, QB, DB, and WR are all positions we could do well to draft at in addition to the ones you mention. Nothing is really glaring right now except maybe the DL. We're in good shape in the first round this year because we can go BPA at a number of positions and fill a need with an impact player. Think about it, if we draft in the teens, Chances are that one of:

- Adrian Clayborn
- Allen Bailey
- Prince Amukamara
- Patrick Peterson
- Mark Ingram
- Rahim Moore
- Jerrelle Powe
- A.J Green
- Michael Floyd
- Robert Quinn
- Andrew Luck
- Blaine Gabbert
- Stephen Paea
- Marcell Dareus
- Akeem Ayers
- Ryan Mallett
- Jake Locker

will be available. That's 17 names right there that could all be impact players on our team. This is a stacked draft class. Unless we horribly screw the pooch, we're going to get a great prospect out of the first round this year.

And with that group you just posted Steve I would put it to 5 guys I would want and I'll rank them from 1-5

1. Prince Amukamara
2. Robert Quinn
3. Marcell Dareus
4. Adrian Clayborn
5. Rahim Moore

Now before anyone bashes me go watch Prince Amukamara play football, he is truly the best CB in College Football and I'm not going to lie he reminds me so much of Nnamdi Asomugha/Darrelle Revis someone who you can for sure put on an island and not worry about him in coverage. With the rest of my list you can tell the attention to the D and in particular the DL and OLB positions. If we were somehow able to get Robert Quinn to be an OLB with Orakpo talk about the combinations of blitzes we could run and not have to worry about sending more and more people to get at the QB. Quinn and Orakpo would be just like Harrison and Woodley in Pittsburgh in the pressure and sacks they would produce. I would put him above Prince but right now I can't say I would pass up the best CB in football for someone right now who has some issues going on. The other 3 guys are people who would immensely help our Defense with Clayborn and Daerus being great 5 tech DE's for us and Moore being a great safety option for us. Overall like Steve and I as well as others have stated this is a year where you want to keep your draft picks and use them in this draft with the talent that is available in this draft.

[Oldskool]

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/...book-5278.html

The No. 1 overall quarterback prospect is anything but clear-cut

Where do you even begin with Washington quarterback Jake Locker? Locker is a guy who I had as my No. 1 overall prospect last year, banking on a consistent improvement to his game over the next year or so. However, we have seen anything but that, as the guy struggled in week one vs. BYU and now had one of the worst statistical performances ever by an NCAA quarterback, completing only 4 of 20 passes against Nebraska on Saturday. Now, you can make the case that he was going against a really talented Cornhuskers pass defense. However, the fact remains that Locker was playing at home and if he really is a top-tier quarterback prospect with the kind of intangibles needed to win consistently at the next level, there is no way in my mind he allows his team to take a beatdown like this at home with such a punchless effort on his part throwing the football.

Again, Locker has all the talent in the world and does throw some of the prettiest balls you will ever see. But, he still does not do a good enough job recognizing coverages down the field, he forces too many throws into his initial read and worst of all he’s starting to lose confidence. He just strikes me as too much of a project at this stage to feel comfortable with taking him high in round one, as there is simply too high of a bust potential with his lack of overall intangibles in my opinion.

One of the competitors steps up

As for Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, he’s another guy we keeping hearing about as a prospect who has all the tools, but needs to improve his footwork and overall completion percentage in order to really take his game to the next level. Now, I do agree that there are times where he needs to do a better job resetting his feet, striding toward his target and not trust his arm so much when throwing the ball down the field. However, he reminds me a lot of what Michael Lombardi used to say about Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb.

(Paraphrasing)

“You can never judge McNabb on his completion percentage, more so you need to judge him on the amount of big plays he’s able to create for you in the pass game”

And that is exactly the case I see with a guy like Mallett. At 6-7 it’s tough for him to consistently reset his feet when pressure is baring down on him, as he will throw off his back foot and fall away from this target, causing his accuracy to get spotty. However, watching him vs. Georgia Saturday, he seems to have improved tremendously in his ability to feel pressure around him in the pocket, keep his eyes down the field and throw on the move. He’s not a great athlete, but he’s big and nimble enough to buy time for himself, take proper care of the football and throw strikes through the defense when stepping up inside.

Plus, from a mental standpoint, he has also improved in his ability to quickly decipher information both in the pocket and on the move. Now, he does have a tendency to throw blind at times on backside throws and his long, lethargic footwork in the three-step game will get him into trouble. However, I thought he showed a lot of poise in crunch time leading his team to a last-minute victory Saturday while making a big-time read on his last touchdown pass. Deciphering the cornerback’s jump on TE D.J. Williams and throwing a strike into a tight soft spot vs. cover two to WR Greg Childs before the safety could get over — a big-time throw by NFL standards. And if given the opportunity to work off the play-action game at the next level, I feel like this guy could be a productive vertical passer for an NFL team and could be efficient enough underneath to win games for you on Sunday.

A sleeper?

Finally, one quarterback who has made some noise early in the season and showed really well for himself Saturday evening against a disciplined Iowa defense was Arizona quarterback Nick Foles. Foles is a tall, 6-5, 245-pound kid who exhibits nice touch down the field on bucket throws, working well off the play-action game and dropping the ball into tight areas. Plus, he displays a good arm and possesses a nice blend of accuracy and timing in both the short and intermediate pass game. However, what jumped out to me most when breaking down tape of him last year compared to his performance Saturday was the improvement in his overall mechanics. He’s doing a much better job transferring his weight from his back foot to his front foot, generating more torque and power from his lower half and keeping his eyes down the field more consistently. Plus, the game is really starting to slow down for him at this stage, as he looks more comfortable in the pocket, manipulating safeties and quickly get the ball out of his hands vs. pressure.

Now, his footwork still gets sloppy resetting his feet when trying to locate a secondary target and for the most part he’s still a bit limited reading only one side of the field. However, the guy understands coverages and blitz concepts on his pre-snap reads, stays poised and level-headed throughout the course of the game and was at his best Saturday night in the red-zone and in the fourth quarter, fitting the ball into some really tight spots against a very good Iowa defense. I still think he needs some more time to develop at the college level and work toward showing a better understanding of going through his progressions, but if he can make the type of improvements he made following the 2009 season, there is no reason to think this guy can’t be a very solid starting quarterback for an NFL team. Reminds me some of Rams quarterback Sam Bradford.

Live from Penn State
The National Football Post will be live on location at a number of games this season, bringing you the best coverage on the web. This week: notes from Penn State/Kent State played at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State

No second gear
I know I’m beating a dead horse on the Evan Royster issue, but watching him live is even less impressive than on tape. There is no suddenness to his game in tight areas, he’s slow to change directions and exhibits no real burst in any area of the game. He’s the type of back that the offensive line needs to block for twice off the snap in order for him to gain a yard and it is no shock at all to me the guy didn’t see much tick in the second half due to the effort of backup RB Stephfon Green.

Highly rated defensive linemen fail to stack up as well
I also came away really unimpressed with the performances of DE Jack Crawford and DT Devon Still. Crawford is a big, long-armed 6-5, 256-pound kid who certainly looks the part. However, there isn’t a real explosive first step to his game off the ball, isn’t real sudden on contact and he’s simply just a guy who relies on his length to eventually fight his way off blocks. He didn’t start for Penn State this week and was said to have had his best game of the season, and even that was far from impressive in my view.

Still, on the other hand, was a bit better, showcasing some natural power on contact off the snap. However, he looked stiff trying to get out of his stance, wasn’t real fluid when asked to change directions and lacked much awareness when asked to find the football. Again, both guys look the part; they just weren’t real dynamic in any area of the game to be tapped as big-time players.

No linebackers at “LB U” this year
Senior outside backer Bani Gbadyu struggled when asked to set the edge when run at, wasn’t real physical at the point and looked stiff when asked to break down on contact as a tackler. He does display some natural range as a linear athlete once he gets going, but isn’t an NFL-caliber option.

The best of the bunch
DT Ollie Ogbu continues to impress with his ability to fire off the football on time, play with natural leverage and be sudden and violent with his hands on contact. Now, he lacks the power to be real effective vs. any type of double and fails to display the kind of body control/awareness to consistently make a play on the football once he gets into the backfield. However, he can be disruptive as a one-gap guy inside and I definitely think he has what it takes to make a roster as a reserve type lineman.

Kent State

A hidden gem?
I talked about Kent State senior safety Brian Lainhart in my Saturday primer and I came away impressed again with the guy’s overall game. Now, Penn State isn’t real explosive on offense, but Lainhart showcases impressive balance, body control and awareness in coverage and did a nice job cleanly changing directions and closing on his target. Now, he does lack great range sideline-to-sideline, but plays faster than he times because of his instincts and even did a nice job in man coverage, being physical off the line.

Plus, he was asked to play more near the line of scrimmage in this game than I have seen on past tapes and displayed a willingness to work hard and close the back door in pursuit. Now, he still is maturing as a tackler when asked to break down, but has some natural pop and should be able to develop in this area with some more time. He’s one of the most underrated safeties in the entire class and because of his blend of instincts and balance, I think he has a chance to definitely see the field as a nickel guy and possibly fight for some starting playing time down the line.[/B]