2023 NFL Draft Discussion

[Backthepack4ever]

Bryan young had a huge season now killing the combine. I think he's old though

[YoHoChecko]

Bryan young had a huge season now killing the combine. I think he's old though

Yeah, will be a 25-year old rookie; don't know the backstory

[YoHoChecko]

Nolan Smith's official electronic time revised to 4.39

4.39

They did a simulcam with Stefon Diggs; Nolan Smith won.

[Backthepack4ever]

Bryan young had a huge season now killing the combine. I think he's old though

Yeah, will be a 25-year old rookie; don't know the backstory

They said he went to work after hs bc nobody recruited him and he kept working to get in college. Pretty cool

Smith with an official 4.39.

I wish keion white ran. He's a monster. Explosion and cat quick

Tuli from usc has violent hands

[Yoop]

I did not expect Nolan Smith to be the A+ tester he's been today.

41.5" vertical
10' 8" broad jump
1.51 10-yard
4.44 40-time (unofficial)

He's small for an edge at only 238 but has such instincts and is a good run defender in space; might be a hybrid SLB/nickel rusher

Dang.

agree, he blew the group up, some team will create a fit for him, I havn't researched him at all but that speed is impressive, the run didn't look as fast as it was either, effortless athletic ability always gets my attention.

am I reading this right, his second run was official 4.39, if true he sure helped his draft value

[YoHoChecko]

Drills:

I thought that USA Guy Tuli something looked good and strong.

Keion White is a freak; such smooth mover at 285

Someone's gonna find the right role for Adeboware, but I'm not sure our defense is it; like him, but the way he moves, you have to wonder if slimming him down to keep him at edge makes more sense than trying to move him inside? Tough dilemma for the guy

Caleb Murphy kept slipping; that's the Ferris St kid who had 25.5 sacks this past season.

Will McDonald looks atheltic af, though he had some slips, too.

DJ loves Jose Ramirez and kept talking him up through the drills. He looked fine to me, but it felt like confirmation bias to keep banging on it

YaYa Diaby looked a lot more athletic and smooth than his scouting reports would indicate; he's a guy to go back and look more into later; sounds like he was a 5-tech in college at 262, so definitely not going to be his best position. Ran a 4.5 with a 1.56 10-yard and the drills looked smoooooth

McGuire from Missou looked really natiral in the drills for someone who's more of a 4.8 power rusher type. Not a bad day from him, as well

[Backthepack4ever]

Drills:

I thought that USA Guy Tuli something looked good and strong.

Keion White is a freak; such smooth mover at 285

Someone's gonna find the right role for Adeboware, but I'm not sure our defense is it; like him, but the way he moves, you have to wonder if slimming him down to keep him at edge makes more sense than trying to move him inside? Tough dilemma for the guy

Caleb Murphy kept slipping; that's the Ferris St kid who had 25.5 sacks this past season.

Will McDonald looks atheltic af, though he had some slips, too.

DJ loves Jose Ramirez and kept talking him up through the drills. He looked fine to me, but it felt like confirmation bias to keep banging on it

YaYa Diaby looked a lot more athletic and smooth than his scouting reports would indicate; he's a guy to go back and look more into later; sounds like he was a 5-tech in college at 262, so definitely not going to be his best position. Ran a 4.5 with a 1.56 10-yard and the drills looked smoooooth

We speaking the same language

I need to dig in on diaby. To your point a month ago this class is loaded with talent in round 2-3ish. My guy white is a top 25 pick

[BF004]

I did not expect Nolan Smith to be the A+ tester he's been today.

41.5" vertical
10' 8" broad jump
1.51 10-yard
4.44 40-time (unofficial)

He's small for an edge at only 238 but has such instincts and is a good run defender in space; might be a hybrid SLB/nickel rusher

Dang.

Man, gunna have to give him another look. That is freak top 5-10 athleticism.

240 isn’t ‘that’ small. Wish he could hold a good 255 or so on that frame.

[Yoop]

most of these off ball lbers are what have been big hybrid safety's, what is it 10 or so run under 4.6 today????

It's a different game now imo, so much more outside stretch runs and short interior passing, lbers today have to have DB speed and coverage ability, 2 dn thumpers are a poor fit in todays game.

to me better off ball lbers with those ability's create the ability to play more base fronts which increases the ability to not only stop the run but also create better pass rush, it's a win/win, very impressed with this class of ILB's.

[Pckfn23]

I did not expect Nolan Smith to be the A+ tester he's been today.

41.5" vertical
10' 8" broad jump
1.51 10-yard
4.44 40-time (unofficial)

He's small for an edge at only 238 but has such instincts and is a good run defender in space; might be a hybrid SLB/nickel rusher

Dang.

Man, gunna have to give him another look. That is freak top 5-10 athleticism.

240 isn’t ‘that’ small. Wish he could hold a good 255 or so on that frame.

Faster/Smaller Bruce Irvin?? I can't think of another EDGE that was that small and moderately successful.

[Backthepack4ever]

I did not expect Nolan Smith to be the A+ tester he's been today.

41.5" vertical
10' 8" broad jump
1.51 10-yard
4.44 40-time (unofficial)

He's small for an edge at only 238 but has such instincts and is a good run defender in space; might be a hybrid SLB/nickel rusher

Dang.

Man, gunna have to give him another look. That is freak top 5-10 athleticism.

240 isn’t ‘that’ small. Wish he could hold a good 255 or so on that frame.

Faster/Smaller Bruce Irvin?? I can't think of another EDGE that was that small and moderately successful.

Haason Reddick?? Point being use him right. Nolan is strong but NFL tackles could still stall that talent. A good DC puts this talent in good situations to wreck &%$@.

Like I said earlier the Georgia d wasn't the best for him And he still played well (down 22) the sky is the limit

It will be interesting where he goes. I don't see top ten but anywhere after

[BF004]

I did not expect Nolan Smith to be the A+ tester he's been today.

41.5" vertical
10' 8" broad jump
1.51 10-yard
4.44 40-time (unofficial)

He's small for an edge at only 238 but has such instincts and is a good run defender in space; might be a hybrid SLB/nickel rusher

Dang.

Man, gunna have to give him another look. That is freak top 5-10 athleticism.

240 isn’t ‘that’ small. Wish he could hold a good 255 or so on that frame.

Faster/Smaller Bruce Irvin?? I can't think of another EDGE that was that small and moderately successful.

This guy was pretty good. Interesting comp. See if anyone can guess who this is. He has one very unique, infamous, combine result that will give it away if you know.

Spoiler

Cameron Wake

[Pckfn23]

[mention]BF004[/mention] I forgot Matthews was that light at combine time.

[BF004]

[Pckfn23]

[YoHoChecko]

He’s an absolute beast. Really important workout for him. Honestly even the difference between his unofficial 4.71 and official 4.65 matters because he was known not to have *elite* LB speed, but he has to show that he had *enough* LB speed to utilize his instincts and football IQ on all three downs

The broad and vertical being excellent made sense for a big explosive man. But the agility drills (and the 10-yard) were quite a pleasant surprise.

Locked up his spot in round 2, I think. And no offense to Trenton Simpson or anything, but seems to me like the best off ball LB in this class. We might be overdoing the whole “speedy LB that’s almost a safety” trend to think otherwise.

[YoHoChecko]

For all the talk of prospects getting bigger and faster and stronger over time, it’s worth noting that the DTs in this class did not get bigger and faster. They got smaller and faster or bigger and slower.

We don’t have any guys over 300 pounds that tested really well. Dexter from Florida is the one exception to an extent, but he really only stood out in the 40, while his 10-yard was somehow still subpar and he’s noted for being slow off the snap on film.

Mazi Smith would have changed this conversation, but it goes beyond there being no Jordan Davis because he was truly unique. There’s no Devonte Wyatt, either. Heck, there’s no TJ Slaton (5.09 at 330 pounds)

Not really sure what to do with all these athletic 280 pound guys. Some are clearly jumbo edges with the requisite length and fluidity like Keion White. But most just confuse me. Beyond the headlines like Adeboware and Kancey today, all the top DT 40 times are sub-300 pounds. Breese just barely, but you have Redmond and Pickens and Ojomo who all added weight to get into the low 290s and ran in the 4.9-5.1 range.

Maybe I’m too damaged by the Datone Jones experience, but it feels like there aren’t many examples of these bodies excelling in the NFL right now, so even the whole “it’s a new game” doesn’t really do it for me.

Maybe it’s just not the best year to find interior DL help

[TheSkeptic]

For all the talk of prospects getting bigger and faster and stronger over time, it’s worth noting that the DTs in this class did not get bigger and faster. They got smaller and faster or bigger and slower.

We don’t have any guys over 300 pounds that tested really well. Dexter from Florida is the one exception to an extent, but he really only stood out in the 40, while his 10-yard was somehow still subpar and he’s noted for being slow off the snap on film.

Mazi Smith would have changed this conversation, but it goes beyond there being no Jordan Davis because he was truly unique. There’s no Devonte Wyatt, either. Heck, there’s no TJ Slaton (5.09 at 330 pounds)

Not really sure what to do with all these athletic 280 pound guys. Some are clearly jumbo edges with the requisite length and fluidity like Keion White. But most just confuse me. Beyond the headlines like Adeboware and Kancey today, all the top DT 40 times are sub-300 pounds. Breese just barely, but you have Redmond and Pickens and Ojomo who all added weight to get into the low 290s and ran in the 4.9-5.1 range.

Maybe I’m too damaged by the Datone Jones experience, but it feels like there aren’t many examples of these bodies excelling in the NFL right now, so even the whole “it’s a new game” doesn’t really do it for me.

Maybe it’s just not the best year to find interior DL help

Those smaller and faster are ideal for a 4-3-4 DE. Or a 4-2-5. Which might be ideal for Gary too. But GB runs a 3-4-4 or a 3-3-5 - and its not working.

[BF004]

For all the talk of prospects getting bigger and faster and stronger over time, it’s worth noting that the DTs in this class did not get bigger and faster. They got smaller and faster or bigger and slower.

We don’t have any guys over 300 pounds that tested really well. Dexter from Florida is the one exception to an extent, but he really only stood out in the 40, while his 10-yard was somehow still subpar and he’s noted for being slow off the snap on film.

Mazi Smith would have changed this conversation, but it goes beyond there being no Jordan Davis because he was truly unique. There’s no Devonte Wyatt, either. Heck, there’s no TJ Slaton (5.09 at 330 pounds)

Not really sure what to do with all these athletic 280 pound guys. Some are clearly jumbo edges with the requisite length and fluidity like Keion White. But most just confuse me. Beyond the headlines like Adeboware and Kancey today, all the top DT 40 times are sub-300 pounds. Breese just barely, but you have Redmond and Pickens and Ojomo who all added weight to get into the low 290s and ran in the 4.9-5.1 range.

Maybe I’m too damaged by the Datone Jones experience, but it feels like there aren’t many examples of these bodies excelling in the NFL right now, so even the whole “it’s a new game” doesn’t really do it for me.

Maybe it’s just not the best year to find interior DL help

Jalen Carter going to do testing at his pro day? He was 314.

[Pckfn23]

For all the talk of prospects getting bigger and faster and stronger over time, it’s worth noting that the DTs in this class did not get bigger and faster. They got smaller and faster or bigger and slower.

We don’t have any guys over 300 pounds that tested really well. Dexter from Florida is the one exception to an extent, but he really only stood out in the 40, while his 10-yard was somehow still subpar and he’s noted for being slow off the snap on film.

Mazi Smith would have changed this conversation, but it goes beyond there being no Jordan Davis because he was truly unique. There’s no Devonte Wyatt, either. Heck, there’s no TJ Slaton (5.09 at 330 pounds)

Not really sure what to do with all these athletic 280 pound guys. Some are clearly jumbo edges with the requisite length and fluidity like Keion White. But most just confuse me. Beyond the headlines like Adeboware and Kancey today, all the top DT 40 times are sub-300 pounds. Breese just barely, but you have Redmond and Pickens and Ojomo who all added weight to get into the low 290s and ran in the 4.9-5.1 range.

Maybe I’m too damaged by the Datone Jones experience, but it feels like there aren’t many examples of these bodies excelling in the NFL right now, so even the whole “it’s a new game” doesn’t really do it for me.

Maybe it’s just not the best year to find interior DL help

Might force defenses to play my preferred style!