2023 NFL Draft Discussion

[BF004]

I can't tell if he looks 16 or 45.

[Pckfn23]

This is interesting for several reasons, not least of which that it didn't take an ounce of athleticism to do it.

[YoHoChecko]

Bench press coming in from yesterday's crop...

Top guys:

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Bottom guys:

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Owen Pappoe showing strength while being an insanely fast off-ball LB

Lucas Van Ness is a long guy, and had a great day yesterday, but 17 reps for a power guy (his power is based in his lower body) needs some work.
Andre Carter, lol

[Labrev]

The bench press is something like 225 lbs., which is way lower than what most of these guys do regularly. The bench press is more about endurance than real strength; James Jones did more bench reps than Daryn Colledge.

17 reps does not bother me much. He can probably do double digits of way more than 225.

11 is more of a red flag, because I doubt that guy can go much higher.

[YoHoChecko]

The bench press is something like 225 lbs., which is way lower than what most of these guys do regularly. The bench press is more about endurance than real strength; James Jones did more bench reps than Daryn Colledge.

17 reps does not bother me much. He can probably do double digits of way more than 225.

11 is more of a red flag, because I doubt that guy can go much higher.

Generally speaking, doing less than 20 reps for a DL/EDGE position (a position that interacts with the blocking at the line of scrimmage) is considered a bit of a red flag for muscular strength and endurance. Endurance matters; it's not like you aren't playing 60 reps.

It's also a signifier of training habits. If you're only doing 17 of 225 at an event where you know you're getting tested, then it's clearly not something you have previously prioritized. That can mean upside, like "ok, well if he looks like that on film while not even prioritizing his upper body strength and muscular endurance, we can really see gains by putting him on our plan." For certain guys it can be a downside, like "this guy is lazy in the weight room."

Now, LVN is more the former than the latter, and the interviews and intel is how you contextualize it... but the point is, being in the bottom 6 of a position group and below 20 are things that are worth noting.

[Scott4Pack]

I can't tell if he looks 16 or 45.

FWIW, kickers can make unusually long figgies if they have the ball teed up and don’t need to worry about a defense trying to block the kick or create havoc. I have a family member who hosts punting and kicking camps for college and high school kids. (Thomas Hempstead is only one of the pros that’ve gone through his camps.) Those guys have the legs to kick 60+ yard figgies from a tee. But put on the uniforms and dynamics of game time, it changes a bit. First they have to kick the ball with a higher trajectory.

Even while I say these things, I’m convinced that there’ll be a day that we eventually see a real 70 yard figgy kicked in game time.

[YoHoChecko]

The Packers have 3 7th round picks and a 39 year old free agent kicker. I hope they draft a kicker in the 7th; I don't understand the whole "don't draft specialists" thing. I know you often find them undrafted, but a 7th round pick is a roll of the dice, at best, not even a coin flip. As an asset, it's just an early crack at the UDFA market. This guy or Moody make sense to me.

[Scott4Pack]

The Packers have 3 7th round picks and a 39 year old free agent kicker. I hope they draft a kicker in the 7th; I don't understand the whole "don't draft specialists" thing. I know you often find them undrafted, but a 7th round pick is a roll of the dice, at best, not even a coin flip. As an asset, it's just an early crack at the UDFA market. This guy or Moody make sense to me.

Agreed.

BTW, look up Kohl’s Punting and Kicking Camps online. Friend of mine owns that and he’s had his share of specialists go through his camps. That includes Hempstead and some other names you’d know, including one that used to punt for the Pack.

[YoHoChecko]

Got some measurements from The Draft Network's Twitter. I wish I had the 4-digit heights and not rounded figures (more detail on some guys than others)

Woah, Joey Porter Jr is huge. 34" arms at corner??

Height: 6'2.5"
Weight: 193 pounds
Arm Length: 34"
Hand Size: 10"

Witherspoon's height checked out. Lightweight, though

Height: 5'11.5"
Weight: 181 pounds
Arm Length: 31 1/4"
Hand Size: 8 7/8"

Brian Branch hit an even 6 feet tall; 190 is a little light for a safety

Height: 6'
Weight: 190 pounds
Arm Length: 30 3/4"
Hand Size: 9 1/2"

Julius Brents even bigger than Porter

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 198 pounds
Arm Length: 34"
Hand Size: 9 5/8"

Can't wait to see Darius Rush's testing. He locked down the Senior Bowl

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198 pounds
Arm Length: 33 3/8"
Hand Size: 9 1/2"

Our boy Sydney Brown short as expected, but thick. Arm length not a disaster (and longer than Branch)

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 211 pounds
Arm Length: 31 1/2"
Hand Size: 10 1/4"

Some other key Safeties:

Antonio Johnson
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198 pounds
Arm Length: 32 1/8"
Hand Size: 9 3/4"

Ji'Ayir Brown
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 203 pounds
Arm Length: 31 1/4"
Hand Size: 10 1/8"

JL Skinner
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 209 pounds
Arm Length: 32"
Hand Size: 8 1/4"

[YoHoChecko]

Hodges-Tomlinson is expected to be in the running for the fastest DB today. At this size/weight, he better be

Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson

Height: 5'8"
Weight: 178 pounds
Arm Length: 29"
Hand Size: 8 5/8"

[YoHoChecko]

CB vertical leaders

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[BSA]

Utah TE Dalton Kincaid mentions the Packers' strong culture as something he's aware of. Said he really wants to land with a team that has that type of culture in the locker room. He's close...Kincaid is close with the brother of former Packers TE Bronson Kaufusi, who has filled him in on the organization.

[YoHoChecko]

Branch unofficial 4.58. Official times were consistently faster than unofficial yesterday. His start looked a little blocky; I bet his 20 yard fly was solid. Interesting to see a second attempt and official time.

[YoHoChecko]

Darius Rush in the 4.3s unofficial, at 6'2", with a Senior Bowl week of unreal play?

This guy is either vastly undervalued in most media or is going to be a major bargain

[Yoop]

both maryland CB's run under 4.35, many have said this is a weaker draft class, but I'am not seeing it, I see some very good athleticism so far.

[BF004]

both maryland CB's run under 4.35, many have said this is a weaker draft class, but I'am not seeing it, I see some very good athleticism so far.

Like I said, I feel like that is the attitude everyone says every January and February, 'I'm only seeing 18-22 first round grades'. Never seems to hold true, no one ever says I have 40 guys around that time, let alone 32.

Its a high end QB class (~4 guys in the first? McKee prolly top 50), then looking at high profile positions being deep at the top, edge, CB, WR.

Maybe it might be light like 5-15 area compared to normal, but I never have trouble finding guys I like top 100 early on.

[BF004]

Darius Rush in the 4.3s unofficial, at 6'2", with a Senior Bowl week of unreal play?

This guy is either vastly undervalued in most media or is going to be a major bargain

Damn, he is quite impressive digging into him a bit.

[YoHoChecko]

Only 2 safeties under 4.50 so far

I love a fast safety. Guess we have to take Sydney Brown

[Backthepack4ever]

Thanks for the updates. Been traveling. Rush sounds/looks like a. Gem

[lupedafiasco]

For what the lineman and LBs did yesterday the DBs today really disappointed. Gonzalez solidified his top 10 and best DB status. Brian Branch is completely out of my first round.