And DT Johnathan Hankins from Ohio State as well. Knile Davis would be a lot more interesting if not for all the fumbles.
Dennis Johnson is who I would prefer out of that backfield. I've been waiting for that guy to turn pro since 2009.
I can't take much credit ... all I do is copy and paste (plagiarizer) other people's work But unlike some people (coughSalguerocough) I don't claim its mine
A competing list from an Eagles board, re-posted on FH. DECLARED FOR DRAFT RB Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina) RB Cierre Wood (Notre Dame) RB Knile Davis (Arkansas) RB Trabis Ward (Tennessee State) WR Keenan Allen (California) WR Justin Hunter (Tennessee) WR Da'Rick Rogers (Tennessee Tech/Tennessee) DT Johnathan Hankins (Ohio State) DT Sheldon Richardson (Missouri) OLB Brandon Jenkins (Florida State) CB Tyrann Mathieu (no longer at LSU) ******************************************************************* EXPECTED TO DECLARE (BUT NOT OFFICIAL YET) RB Giovani Bernard (North Carolina) RB Eddie Lacy (Alabama) OT Luke Joeckel (Texas A&M) OT D.J. Fluker (Alabama) DE Bjoern Werner (Florida State) DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M) OLB Jarvis Jones (Georgia) CB Dee Milliner (Alabama) CB Xavier Rhodes (Florida State) CB David Amerson (NC State) SS Matt Elam (Florida) FS Eric Reid (LSU) ******************************************************************* RETURNING TO SCHOOL QB A.J. McCarron (Alabama) S Jemea Thomas (Georgia Tech) ******************************************************************* UNDECIDED QB Aaron Murray (Georgia) QB Tyler Bray (Tennessee) QB Logan Thomas (Virginia Tech) QB Zach Mettenberger (LSU) QB Derek Carr (Fresno State) QB Tajh Boyd (Clemson) RB Joseph Randle (Oklahoma State) RB Le'Veon Bell (Michigan State) RB Stefphon Jefferson (Nevada) RB Michael Dyer (Arkansas Baptist/Arkansas) RB Dillon Baxter (Baker/USC/San Diego State) RB Silas Redd (USC/Penn State) RB LaDarius Perkins (Mississippi State) RB Spencer Ware (LSU) RB Damien Williams (Oklahoma) RB Marcus Coker (Stony Brook/Iowa) FB Trey Millard (Oklahoma) WR DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson) WR Robert Woods (USC) WR Cordarrelle Patterson (Tennessee) WR Kenny Stills (Oklahoma) WR Stedman Bailey (West Virginia) WR Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt) WR Marquess Wilson (no longer at Washington State) WR Devin Street (Pittsburgh) WR Ace Sanders (South Carolina) WR Josh Boyce (TCU) TE Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame) TE Zach Ertz (Stanford) TE Jordan Reed (Florida) TE Dion Sims (Michigan State) OT Taylor Lewan (Michigan) OT Jake Matthews (Texas A&M) OT Justin Pugh (Syracuse) OT Seantrel Henderson (Miami) OG Gabe Jackson (Mississippi State) OG Alvin Bailey (Arkansas) DE Sam Montgomery (LSU) DE Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas) DE Morgan Breslin (USC) DE Corey Lemonier (Auburn) DE Scott Crichton (Oregon State) DE William Gholston (Michigan State) DE James Gayle (Virginia Tech) DE Stansly Maponga (TCU) DE Ryne Giddins (South Florida) DE Ed Stinson (Alabama) DT Sharrif Floyd (Florida) DT Akeem Spence (Illinois) DT Daniel McCullers (Tennessee) DT Dominique Easley (Florida) DT Bennie Logan (LSU) DT Kwame Geathers (Georgia) DT Will Sutton (Arizona State) DT Louis Nix III (Notre Dame) OLB Barkevious Mingo (LSU) OLB C.J. Mosley (Alabama) OLB Anthony Barr (UCLA) OLB Jelani Jenkins (Florida) OLB Christian Jones (Florida State) OLB Trent Murphy (Stanford) MLB Kevin Minter (LSU) MLB Alec Ogletree (Georgia) MLB Max Bullough (Michigan State) CB Nickell Robey (USC) CB Logan Ryan (Rutgers) CB Bennett Jackson (Notre Dame) CB Tharold Simon (LSU) CB Bradley Roby (Ohio State) FS Tony Jefferson (Oklahoma) FS C.J. Barnett (Ohio State) FS Ty Zimmerman (Kansas State) FS Nickoe Whitley (Mississippi State) FS Kenny Ladler (Vanderbilt)
Man Rogers is a very tempting player. If his head gets screwed on right he can be the best WR in this class easy. If he somehow made it to us in the 2nd I'd be all over that.
Me too. Rogers & Patton would make a nice pair on the outside. His size is listed at 206. Maybe my eyes deceive me but he looks significantly bigger than that..... like 215+. Trade back for Tavon Austin. Da'Rick 2a. Patton 2b. Jordan Reed 2c. Shayne Skov 3a. Carradine 3b. Margus Hunt 4. If I could have the draft of my choice, this would probably be it. Heck, if our entire draft was those first four guys I'd be thrilled. FA: Kraig Urbik, Martellus Bennett (I like his size as a compliment to Austin), & steal Talib from NE at all costs. Move Marshall to FS
Stedman Bailey and Justin Hunter just declared for the draft according to Dana Holgorsen and Hunter's Twitter.
Austin has elite NFL level explosiveness, where as, IMO, Bailey won't do the same damage against NFL defenders that he does in college. I think he can still be a good NFL player, but not the same potential difference maker Austin is to warrant such a high pick. Plus, IMO, because of his size, Bailey's appropriate NFL position is in the slot where Austin happens to be the superior prospect. In my eyes Bailey is an upgrade over guys like Bess, so he should be getting some attention as far as the slot goes.
But the think is Bailey is taller and weighs more than Austin. I don't know how Austin should be able to play on the outside and Bailey can't. Also Bailey has averaged more YPC than Austin. I see Austin being the faster prospect, but at the same time I don't think Bailey is going to run slow in the 40. Bailey seems to break more tackles than Austin too. I'm not trying to tear down Austin, but I think Bailey should be getting some respect too.
I never said Austin should be starting on the outside and that Bailey can't play there. IMO they're both slot receivers at the next level despite where Bailey played at WVU..... but if I'm gonna occasionally slide one outside to create either a speed advantage/mismatch or decoy to stretch the field, I'd think Austin would be more effective b/c he has greater speed and similar to DeSean Jackson type explosiveness. Regarding the greater YPC average, Bailey should see a higher YPC b/c he plays on the outside where as Austin spends his time either in the slot or coming out of the backfield, inherently making him a more frequent recipient of shorter passes. Plus with Austin you're also talking about impacting the return game and adding an extra element to the run game. I don't feel Bailey's slightly larger height & weight makes a difference b/c he's still a smallish receiver. If he were 6'2 210 then he'd have the size trait to make a legitimate size argument b/c that would make him a threat on the outside rather than a likely slot receiver. IMO on an NFL field there should be more DBs with better speed & ability to narrow the gap between Bailey's success in college verse his potential success in the pros, where as very few pros can match Austin's combination of speed, explosiveness, lightening quick change of direction, and decisiveness. He's just a little dynamo. Bailey is great on the outside in college, but I personally don't see it in the pros. The odds are drastically against him at his size (looks like he's 5'9) unless he runs a 4.3 which I don't think he's close to. So he moves to the slot where his YPC drop just as Austin's has..... and in the slot Austin is the superior prospect. Hey, Bailey gets respect and definitely deserves some...... but IMO it's unfair to Austin to say Bailey deserves just as much. Tavon gets the hype b/c of bonerific stuff like this Oklahoma game. It actually reached the point halfway through where I found myself snickering at each successive big play like the Asian forensics dude on Dexter, especially during his hop steps. This is the silliest I've ever seen one player make an entire defense look. 25 offensive touches---- 426 yards. Warrick Dunn type jitterbug ability. [video=youtube;jH0FGpQZZnw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH0FGpQZZnw[/video] The extra gear and top end burst displayed at the 5:07 mark??? Wow. Just wow.
I don't think Austin should be a top 15 pick, but I could see a team falling enough in love with him to say, "Screw it, if we don't take him now, we'll miss out... and we have 6+ other picks we can hit on." ......kind of like how Seattle did last year with Bruce Irvin.
Makes sense. Seems like he could be used all over to create mismatches. He has a little Sproles in him. All that being said, you really think he could go in the bottom half of the 1st round? I really can't see that. Way to high for him in my opinion.
I agree. I think it might be too high but someone will trip over themselves making sure no one else steals him away.... and I wouldn't be upset if it were us, especially if we hit on the rest of the draft and do well in FA. Yeah, does seem to be some Sproles ability in him. If we don't have a shot at him my next choice for the slot would be Bailey so I certainly don't think Stedman is a slouch.
Stedman Bailey says the feedback he got from the league projected him to the 3rd round. That's a surprise to me. They're habitual low graders, but even so......
Bingo. It's all about conventions though. Guys his size and speed are always going to carry a certain grade. They may be drafted higher on draft day but the "grade" is this sort of universal, highly conventional measuring stick...and by that measuring stick at 5'10" and 190 lbs or whatever he is, without 4.3 speed (or even with it), the universal conventional grade is never going to come out much higher than a 3rd if at all. I think of him as very literally having as good tape as you can possibly have at those physical dimensions, and it just shows what the conventions value that even so it doesn't get above a 3rd.
I'll take Stedman Bailey in the third all day!!! Chris Givens went at the top of the third last year if I recall correctly.
I hear Kenny Stills is out. Not a WR that I'm all that interested in I don't think, but he fattens the neck at the position. When I refer to fattening the neck, what I mean is: Keenan Allen, Justin Hunter, Quinton Patton, Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Terrance Williams, Cobi Hamilton, Kenny Stills, Markus Wheaton, DeAndre Hopkins, Robert Woods, Da'Rick Rogers, Marquess Wilson and Cordarrelle Patterson. In no particular order that strikes me as a class that may lack a prospect that has given you adequate signal to predict him as a #1 at the next level, but is not in any way lacking in prospects that COULD become a #1 at the next level.
December 18 (11:30 AM): Top junior WR enters draft ... West Virginia junior WR Stedman Bailey has announced that he will be entering the 2013 draft. The 5-10, 190-pound Bailey had a breakout season this pass fall when he caught 106 passes for just over 1,500 yards and 23 TDs and is considered to be a potential second-day pick this coming April. http://www.gbnreport.com/
Is there a place where we can see all the league's projections on players in past years? I'd like to compare their projections to where players are actually drafted to get a sense of any trends, skew, or accuracy.
It makes me giddy knowing we have two 2nds to get one or two of those guys. If we don't draft a WR with one of our first 4 picks I will freaking lose it. Absolutely. Lose. It. I've been a fan of Ireland, but if we ignore the position that much I am over him. I really would like to trade down and pick up another 2nd round pick IF Werner, Jones, Moore, and Barr are already gone... A lot of the top WR talent should be available in the late first.
I would love to trade if those options are gone and pick up an extra 2nd and maybe draft Bernard, Eifert, Elam, or Phillip Thomas with a late first.
I've only watched a couple of Elam's games, but I don't see the fit. He's a strong safety, and from how much he played at the LOS or in short zones I have little idea if he could handle deep coverage well. The times I saw him deep he was late getting to the WR and ball, slightly slow recignizing and tracknig the ball in the air, and took some questionable angles on WRs after catches. Classic guy who plays better moving forwards and with things in front of him, but once it's in the air he is so-so. The opposite of what we need to pair with Rashad imo. Rashad already doesa ll of that well, and we need a guy whose strength is tracking the ball in the air, covering the back end with rangy speed and GREAT anticipatio so he gets there when the ball gets there, or in time to position for an INT. Then again, maybe I watched his worst two games.
I feel the same way. A lot of people that really are in the know (Boomer, etc) think him and Rashad would be fine back there together. The one thing it would allow us to do is hide our coverage because either of them could step up/step back.
There's something to be said for the thought that Matt Elam is too much of a strong safety to play with Reshad Jones. I think it could work, but it's an open question.
Very true.... and that's why I think he'd be a great fallback plan to Tavon Austin. He represents very good 3rd round value in my eyes. He doesn't have that one elite NFL level ability IMO but he's a (+) straight across the board, although his ball skills at his size are outstanding. The comparison I'd draw is to Eddie Royal coming out of Va Tech. Had Royal been in WVA's gaudy passing attack I think he would've put up the type of crazy numbers we saw from Bailey. Royal was quick, fast, decisive, ran sharp routes, could create instant separation out of his breaks, similar (+) run after catch ability, similar balance & body control, (+) hands, similar vision & field awareness, played bigger than his size, and could stretch the field and compete for deep balls like Bailey can. Royal gets the slight speed advantage over Bailey which vaulted him into the 2nd round, but I think Eddie's first year in Denver (1100 scrimmage yards & 5 TDs), before they ruined him, is a good measuring stick for what Bailey might be capable of in the slot if used properly. What Denver, an NFL football team, did to ruin Royal [moving him to the outside to use his speed as a decoy] sickens me, and the fact he assumed the role with grace and humility gives me a massive amount of respect for him.
Not really mate. Usually only comes out when players mention it. FWIW, I'd re-unite the pair of them in Miami. I think Austin may fall between picks one and two. But if the opportunity arose, I might deal back and try and get Thomas/Elam, the two WV receivers, an end and a CB with those first 5 picks in the first 3 rounds. At that point if you could get a Fauria in R4 then you're cooking on the proverbial gasoline.
Would you play Elam at safety in base and move Marshall back to safety in nickel with Elam moving up to nickelback? All I know is I want our safety play to be more intimidating/playmaking and our OLB play to be more dynamic. I want a great 3 down coverage LB on one side and a better pass rushing hybrid on the other. Ansah at SDE Aqib Talib at corner Richard Marshall at FS CJ Mosley at WLB Chase Thomas at SLB *Trade back for Ansah and use that to trade up for Chase Thomas. *Package Kevin Burnett and our 3rd to get back into the 2nd round to start work on the offense. Use those next 3 picks on Q Patton, Jordan Reed, Stedman Bailey ..... or Patton, Reed, Swope <if Bailey is off the board> ..... or Patton, Bailey, Chris Gragg <if Reed is off the board in the 3rd> Jake Long could really throw a monkey wrench into this.
Hah no kidding. Chances were he was losing his job to Connor Halliday anyway but I think this could be more than that. I think it could be more along the lines of what Marquess Wilson was complaining about when he left the program. Incidentally I haven't read where Wilson actually recanted anything. His initial letter used the word "abuse" and of course that immediately got everyone's panties in a twist thinking he meant the same physical abuse that Leach was accused of and fired for at Texas Tech. But I thought he made it pretty clear he was using the term broadly to emcompass the demeaning and insulting behavior of the coaches toward the players. These were the words he used in the letter: Honestly it's one of those things that really ticks me off that the media can read this and start immediately painting it for what it's clearly not. Marquess Wilson's "recantation" was the following text message written to the Athletic Director: That's not a recantation. Yet all you see are headlines that say, "Marquess Wilson recants accusations against Mike Leach and Washington State’s staff" (literally, as per Yahoo Sports). BS on that. Pet peeve of mine. He didn't recant anything he just clarified what the idiot factory already should have been able to clearly read. Ugh. I need a drink.
Well now that we have Dimitri Patterson to play SCB I'd just move Richard Marshall to safety period and focus elsewhere in the Draft. Does that mean you want all three linebackers as three down players? Interesting. I suppose it could work. One dynamic three down OLB, another at MLB, both of whom can be relied upon in coverage, and then a SLB that can move up to the line on passing downs and rush the passer? Sounds great in theory but those guys that can play all three downs and not wear down, keep up the intensity for 60 minutes...not easy to come by. I've not been a fan of either Mosley OR Thomas to be honest. By the way is Jordan Reed coming out? Haven't heard that.
