With the NFL draft right around the corner everyone’s an expert these days, but I’ll gladly admit it; I’m an idiot when it comes to the NFL. That doesn’t stop me from having Hot Takes™ and somewhat strong opinions on the NFL draft.
None of the 4 Best QB Prospects Will Become Stars
Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield. Everyone is trying to figure out who will be the best out of these guys. The New York Jets traded away the 6th, 37th, 49th and a 2019 2nd Rounder to move up and pick one of them. In my highly uneducated opinion, it’s a mistake. Let me break down all four of them:
Baker Mayfield is the most college football QB name I have ever heard. Colt McCoy, Johnny Manziel, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Paxton Lynch… They all fall under the same umbrella. College QB names with College QB careers. With names like that you are destined to fail. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner is no different and he’s gonna fall short. Like Johnny Manziel before him, this controversial and slightly diminutive QB will flame out in a few years.
Josh Rosen has seemed like a pretty good QB when he has played, but that’s just it, he struggles with playing. Not only is he injury prone, but his other antics when he is off the field has given teams even more question marks. His infamous “F**k Trump” incident isn’t necessarily a red flag by itself. It does however point to the fact that Rosen doesn’t play by the rules, just like his dorm room hot tub told us. If Rosen’s head isn’t in the game and he doesn’t obsess over recovery like most athletes do, he will spend most of his career on the sidelines.
“Hi, I’m Josh Allen and I’m a star QB”
Pfft, get out of here. All I hear about Josh Allen is that he has a big arm. It’s almost starting to sound weirdly sexual. “Sure, he’s inaccurate, has inconsistent footwork and didn’t really produce in college, but he has a BIG ARM”. Are we sure Allen is supposed to be in the NFL draft and not the Arm Wrestling draft? Is there even such a thing? Maybe he will win an arm wrestling contest on Hard Knocks like James Harrison. Josh Allen won’t be in the Hall of Fame discussion when he retires, that’s for sure.
Lastly, we have Sam Darnold, who I don’t really see many problems with. Sure, he’s got a couple more turnovers than you would’ve liked, but so did Andrew Luck and Matt Ryan coming out of college. They turned out alright. I still don’t see a Matt Ryan type of career for Darnold though, maybe something more like Andy Dalton. People tend to compare people on their physical characteristics and I’m no different.
The Browns might pick Darnold, but they should have drafted a future star QB when they had the chance: Mitchell Trubisky. Or at the very least lesser stars like Carson Wentz or Deshaun Watson. Yes, I am a Bears fan, why do you ask?
Maybe Lamar Jackson is this year’s Deshaun Watson? That’s your best bet. Him or whoever the Patriots pick. Kyle Lauletta anyone?
Isaiah Oliver Will Be the “Best Corner in The Game Draft!“
I might be an idiot, but Brett Kollmann isn’t. NFL idiots and experts alike can learn a lot from his film room sessions. I do and when he says Isaiah Oliver is the best cornerback prospect, I’ll take his word for it.
Personally though, I’m a huge fan of Joshua Jackson. He was the player I envisioned my favorite team Chicago Bears picking #8, until his combine numbers made him drop a bit. Just watching the highlights from his game against Ohio State alone made me a believer. With Denzel Ward, Mike Hughes, Jaire Alexander and Donte Jackson as well, this seems like a pretty deep CB class. Just trust the expert here like my idiotic ass does and bet on Isaiah Oliver being the best out of all of them.
Get Saquon Barkley in Fantasy NFL
Saquon Barkley is the real deal. I know his popularity peaked about a month ago when he was considered to go #1, but don’t forget how special of a prospect Barkley is.
This is a surefire top Fantasy player, even if he ends up with the Cleveland Browns. They shouldn’t really have any doubts about picking him at #4 after getting their QB at #1, but it’s the Browns, so watch them pick someone else if they have the chance.
I would pick him #1 in the NFL draft. Not surprising considering how I feel about the QBs. The Browns likely picks a QB at #1. If that happens and I’m the Giants, I jump on the opportunity to draft Barkley at #2 real quick.
The argument against it is that picking a RB that high isn’t smart. It’s not like picking the surefire RB prospect in the top 5 worked for the Cowboys and the Jaguars. Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette didn’t turn sub-par NFL teams into playoff teams, right? Yeah.. no.
NFL GMs not picking him top 5 shouldn’t stop you and your fantasy team from doing it however.
Tremaine Edmunds Will Be the Best Defensive Player in the Draft
Meet Brian Urlacher.. I mean Tremaine Edmunds:
Brian Urlacher was bigger than your usual LB, but still really fast. The 6’4, 258lbs Hall of Famer ran the 40-yard dash at 4.57. How does Tremaine Edmunds stack up? 6’5, 250lbs and his 40-yard time? 4.54.
Edmunds is a physical freak at the linebacker position and while he’s still very raw, there is nothing about him that can’t be coached. He is going to be one of the youngest prospect to ever be drafted, so obviously he’s gonna need some time to develop. Edmunds makes more mistakes than your average linebacker right now, but at the same time he can do so many things other linebackers simply can’t.
He will need a good situation to succeed, but luckily, his draft range from 8-12 would all be good places for him to learn. I’m hoping my Bears with Vic Fangio and a veteran Danny Trevathan already there could get their hands on Edmunds. He’s going to be special.
Calvin Ridley Is Not Going to Be a WR1
Calvin Ridley is the most accomplished WR coming out of college, after 3 seasons being Alabama’s best receiver. He might very well be the first WR coming off the board, possibly in the middle of the first round.
Ridley is one of the cleanest route runners you will see and he has some shiftiness few others have, especially off the ball. I can imagine his floor is pretty high and at worst he’ll likely be a good 3rd option as a pass catcher.
But I’m not sold on him being a game changer you should use your 1st round pick on. Sure, route-running is cool and all, but don’t expect the same separation Ridley has seen in college when he plays in the pros. As a WR in the NFL, I look for two things: can you catch a ball that is contested and can you gain yards after the catch.
As far as I can see with Ridley, he’s not that good at either. Sure, give him some space and speed after the catch and he’s likely gone, but that is a rarity in the NFL. When you are covered by guys like Lattimore or PatPat or Rhodes are closed, you won’t get that much space. Ridley won’t be a WR1 and this class has a lot of interesting WR talent in the later rounds.
Simmie Cobbs Jr. and Equanimeous St. Brown Have Cool Names and Better Skills
Remember how I liked tough catches and yards after catch? Look at those highlights, that’s how it’s done!
Equanimeous St. Brown just has to become a prominent NFL WR. His name is too good to pass up and his backstory and family are feature worthy. The St. Browns are the Ball Brothers of the NFL. Not just his name and family, but Equanimeous was actually a projected 1st round pick in the NFL only a year ago. Being DeShone Kizer’s best receiver, Equanimeous put up those highlights you can see above. With Kizer going in the 1st round of last year’s NFL draft, Equanimeous’ production dropped next to Brandon Wimbush and his stocked dropped.
Equanimeous St. Brown is still a 1st round talent and he will ball out in the NFL if he gets paired with a decent QB. I was the first on Donovan Mitchell’s bandwagon before last year’s NBA draft and I’m firmly on the Equanimeous bandwagon in this NFL draft.
Simmie Cobbs sat out in 2016 when Equanimeous St. Brown dominated in college, but was a very reliable target in his final college season. He was a red-zone monster, grabbing 8 touchdowns, often fighting off intense pressure. He doesn’t get much separation as a 4.64 guy, but he can make tough catches, even if he still needs to work on his drops.
The skills he has shown will make him a viable NFL WR and a steal in the later rounds he is to go in. Those skills were never more prevalent than against Ohio State (Cornerback U) in last year’s season opener.
Cobbs completely dominated former 5-star recruit Kendall Sheffield, while Denzel Ward, possibly the 1st corner taken in the NFL draft, completely shut down the rest of Indiana’s offense.
Eventually Ohio State put Ward 1 on 1 against Cobbs to try to shut him down. Cobbs couldn’t catch the first throw when covered by Ward, but that was because of an overthrown ball from the QB. The 2nd time around, Cobbs reached over Ward and caught a very contested ball against probably the best man to man corner in this NFL draft.
Cobbs will be a steal in the later rounds.
Follow @TheVideoScope