Guide to Hi-jacking the Draft. This Years Draft Diamonds
- Tyler Webb
- Jan 27, 2017
- 8 min read
The whole reason I made this blog is to highlight what I believe is the most important part of building a championship team, the NFL Draft. You can always spend $72 million on a quarterback in free agency, but I think we can see how that turns out already. Every year there are plenty of prospects that slip through the scouting papers, and turn out to be late round studs. Striking gold in the later rounds of the NFL draft is how you become a dynasty franchise, and my job is to help find these golden players. The Dallas Cowboys transformed their team with a mid-round quarterback, an un-drafted wide receiver and All Pro talent in the first round. Dak wasn’t the only late round pick performing at a high level this season, as Tyreek Hill and Jordan Howard were voted to the Pro Bowl as mid 5th round picks.One of the teams in this years Super Bowl was 8-8 last year, but due to three rookies on their defense, and 3rd and 4th round running backs, are now in my mind the favorites to win it all. It is common in a draft as deep as this one for some cornerstone athletes to be looked over, and forgotten. As we go further into the article we will be going deeper and deeper into the draft, and hopefully, find some true diamonds in the rough.
First off, I just want to start off by saying this first person isn’t much of a sleeper but is looking to be one of the bigger steals in this years draft if he does fall out the top 12 picks. Solomon Thomas is a one man wrecking crew, coming to destroy any offense that gets in his way. Many say he single handedly won Stanford it’s bowl game with his late game heroics, but he has been doing things like that all season long. Like I said earlier, some players get looked over when a class is very deep, and with Jonathan Allen and Myles Garrett headlining the college football season, Thomas hasn’t seen much love until recently. He has been leaping through most big boards, and mock drafts, including mine. Not only his Solomon one of the better athletes in the draft, he is without a doubt the best mannered athlete here too. Growing up in Coppell, Texas i was able to watch Solomon all throughout high school and follow his recruitment well. At the beginning of his senior year he moved up a level in his courses to raise his GPA high enough to be accepted into Stanford, and I believe that shows his dedication. Solomon shows the ability to not just play as a tackle, or an end, but as a hybrid defensive lineman. Keep in mind one of the only players ranked higher than Solomon Thomas coming out of high school was rumored number one overall pick, Myles Garrett.
Sticking with the Texas love, my next prospect is the quarterback getting little love, Pat Mahomes II. Many people are going to look at Texas Tech’s offense, and past quarterbacks and brush off Pat Mahomes statistics when they really shouldn’t. Tech runs one of the most quarterback friendly offenses in the FBS, piling yards up like you only can in video games. Mahomes is a lot more than just a system quarterback though. He runs this offense to a tee, and averages over 420 passing yards a game, and holds a 4 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio. You can look at 10 interceptions and call him average, or you can look at his 591 pass attempts and realize he only threw an interception on 1.6% of those passes. Even Andrew Luck going into the draft threw an interception every 2.5% of his pass attempts. I see a lot of Marcus Mariota in Pat Mahomes, both are tall lean quarterbacks with elite arms/accuracy, come from schools with quarterback friendly offenses, and both have been groomed since their freshman years of college. I would give Pat Mahomes II and 1st round grade easy, but with most draft boards placing him in the 2nd-3rd round, I believe Pat Mahomes II could be a Russell Wilson like steal this year.
DeMarcus Walker has been a dominate force in the ACC for the past two years, and is an All American defensive end that has left his mark at Florida State. Once again, you probably didn’t know he was the Defensive Player of the Year in the ACC because of the swamped defensive line class. He has the leadership skills you not just want but need to have in a championship defense. This season he finished with 16 sacks, 19.5 tackles for a loss and 67 total tackles. Though he plays defensive end, and offers great pass rushing ability I believe he would fit best as a 3-4 DE/4-3 DT in the NFL. Walker is 6’3 and a bulky 273 lbs, and seems to fit in as the new hybrid defensive tackle. I would give him a early 2nd round grade, but could see him dropping into the third round if the right teams don’t see the same value.
Taco Charlton gets an automatic second round grade for me, just for his name. In all seriousness though, Charlton would be a great value in the 2nd round (with his expected combine numbers), and has the big NFL size you want in your edge rushers (6’6/272 lbs). He comes equipped with a good, but coachable, spin move, and a great reaction time to the snap of the ball. He has the length to make separation between himself and his blocker. He has shown the potential to overpower some tackles if he stays low enough, which can be hard with giant frame. This season Charlton finished with 40 total tackles, 13.5 being for a loss and 10 sacks. He has his moments of amazing athleticism, but also doesn’t seem to have a high motor throughout the game. With the teams in back end of this years draft needing pass rushers, don’t be surprised if Taco Charlton actually climbs into the first round.
Patrick Mahomes III I think is the most under valued quarterback in this class, but Davis Webb is straight up over looked. Funny enough, Mahomes took Webb’s quarterback spot at Texas Tech, which blessed California with Webb’s talent. Once again people throw him to the side, denying his talent due to a high pace college offense but that simply isn’t the case. Jared Goff, last year’s number one overall pick, came from the same offense, and Webb had similar numbers in the same offense. Webb would have games that they would throw the ball 70 times in one game, which added up to 620 pass attempts just this season. He has the size at 6’5, 230 lbs, and has the arm to make an accurate deep pass down the field. He makes quick decisions, which is good at times, but also has come back to bite him in games. I believe if an organization that can give Webb proper NFL coaching, he will be able to excel at the next level.
You will probably see this name in the 5th-6th round range, but I believe Darreus Rogers has 3rd round talent just based off his game film and catch strength. He only stands 6’1 but weighs out around 215 lbs and has the best hands in college football. He has long arms that make it easy for him to snag the ball away from his body, and more importantly the defender. I have watched him snag interceptions out of the cornerbacks hands and make it his catch, and these are traits that are hard to teach. He got playing time since he was a freshman but never broke over 1,000 yards as a receiver. With all the receiver talent that USC has put to the NFL, Rogers was never able to become a go to threat. The biggest question marks on his draft stock are his combine numbers that I expect to be mildly average, besides his vertical jump.
Another receiver that could have great value in the 4th/5th round is Chad Hansen from University of California. Hansen came from Idaho State, where he caught 45 catches as a freshman, leading him the opportunity to transfer to California and play where he belonged. Chad Hansen was Davis Webb’s favorite target hauling in 92 catches for 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2016. Hansen has amazing hands, and stands at 6’2 205 lbs which makes currently built to be an NFL receiver, but what surprises most is his speed. He is projected to run in the range of a 4.41 and his longest catch of 2016 was of 70 yards, which was really just a 9 yard catch that Hansen turned into a 70 yard touchdown against Stanford. Chad Hansen can ran route, be used in the screen game, and still has the unique combination of height and hands to catch those 50/50 passes.
Tre’Davious White is fairly valued at his coverage skills, but is undervalued as a playmaker and a leader. Get the ball in his hands, and he will do something with it. LSU is known for molding great defensive backs for the NFL, and Tre’Davious White can join that club. White started as a freshman and finished his career with 6 interceptions, 34 pass deflects and 167 total tackles, adding nearly 700 return yards and 3 touchdowns (No kicks returned in 2013). Standing at 5’11, 191 lbs he must improve his game to cover bigger NFL wide receivers, but he would make a clean transition to the slot where he can use his agility to the fullest.
Someone I don’t really know why is low on draft boards is Ben Boulware I could easily see him going in the 2nd to 3rd round but most have him going as far as the 6th. During the second Alabama game he showed what he can do if you give him time to study game film. On two different plays he was able to read where the play was going and snub it as soon as it happened. Boulware finished this season doing everything possible to get Clemson the national championship they felt they deserve. This season he totaled 116 tackles 11.5 for a loss, 4 sacks 3 forced fumbles and even an interception. The biggest knock on him is he sometimes plays too violent and can look like a dirty player. I don’t see him as purposely trying to hurt anyone, though suplexes can be dangerous. In the NFL though, I doubt he will be able to out strength someone to the point of just suplexing his opponent. If an organization with strong coaching such as, the Falcons, Chiefs, or Cardinals can add him to their roster in the 5th or 6th round.
Keeping a close eye in the draft process allows you to find your diamonds you need to make a championship team. Each one of the prospects I named in this article I believe have tremendous value for where they are projected to go, and can all be important players in making a championship team. The Seahawks won a championship and went back to another with drafting studs all throughout the 2010, 2011 and 2012 draft, including names Bobby Wagner and Golden Tate both in the 2nd, Russell Wilson in the 3rd, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor both in the 5th, Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane both in the 6th round, and Superbowl MVP Malcolm Smith in the 7th. Crazy to think that many players, all key players on their respected teams, came from the Seahawks scouting team.
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