2018 Prospects

[finomenal]

I knew going in that it would be impossible to fill all the needs during this draft. There's simply too many holes. A lot has been said about this draft being the deepest in years. For the 2018 NFL Draft, like always, players who are being talked about now won't project well when the time comes, and vice versa.

As a group, how does the depth compare to this year or an average year? What positions seem to be strong in next year's draft?

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

This year's class of DE and TE were exceptionally deep. As good as I've seen in many years. DT and OL were unusually thin and on the shallow side.

For 2018 the QB, OL, DT, and CB class is a lot better than this year. Most of my work is done for the 2018 class. I'll have those threads up in the next few weeks. I just like to give everybody time to digest everything they just experienced in this draft first.

 

[SaskFinFan]

wow i thought people were saying the years (2017) was a deep CB class. Is it just an evolution in the game that is starting to make this position so much deeper?

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

wow i thought people were saying the years (2017) was a deep CB class. Is it just an evolution in the game that is starting to make this position so much deeper?

Yeah I think you had 8 DB's selected in the 1st round this year, which is unusual to say the least. Teams selected DB's in the 1st round that didn't have clean 1st round grades. But it's the demand for DB's that pushes these guys up ahead of where they should be selected.

As I've mentioned a few times, the tape is rather irrelevant anymore for corners as far as the NFL is concerned. It's all based on upside and potential. They're looking for raw ability to take a chance on. There were extremely physically talented CB's who were selected in the 1st round Thursday night who stayed roasted in college and had very inconsistent tape. I'm referring to Marlon Humphrey and Adoree' Jackson here. Jackson also with size concerns as well.

I'm a very strict grader of DB's inparticular. Unlike the NFL, the tape matters to me. I only had 4 DB's with clean 1st round grades, yet 8 went in the first round due to demand. I have more than 4 with 1st round grades for 2018 at this point, and another 12-14 with top 50 grades. There's no telling how many you could see come off the board in the first 20 picks next year, let alone the top 32.

 

[ChambersWI]

QB people will focus on the 3 underclassmen from the Pac 12.

 

[ckparrothead]

At DE I think you have to look at Bradley Chubb and Clelin Ferrell toward the top of the list. I would put them above Harold Landry for now. Jalyn Holmes and Andre Trumbetti are two very underrated players who should rate well, as should Dorance Armstrong and Jaylen Ferguson who already rate pretty well I think. A couple of "keep one eye on" types there would be Antonio Simmons, Jesse Aniebonam, and Kemoko Turay.

At DT there is obviously Vita Vea, but his teammate Greg Gaines bears watching for his own reasons. There's also a massive bull in Virginia named Andrew Brown that stands out when I watch him.

At LB two guys I've got an eye on, in addition to Rashaan Evans whom I've already agreed with Simms should be the chalk as far as top rated LBs go, are Mike McCray and Tremaine Edmunds.

Orlando Brown, we'll call this iteration "Jupiter" instead of "Zeus", is an amazing looking prospect that I'm going to enjoy watching at LT.

I'm never very clear on DBs this early in the process but Ronnie Harrison has always looked amazing to me. And Tarvarus McFadden does seem legitimate.

At WR I think I will be really interested in seeing what Simmie Cobbs does this year. I've got a feeling he's going to skyrocket up there. I've been talking about Jester Weah for over six months now, another guy that will rate high.

At TE the guys that have always struck me, Mark Andrews and Mike Gesicki both for over a year now, great prospects for the next level. I really like what I've seen out of Dallas Goedert too, but as he plays in the FCS the "process" will be important for him.

But the number one player in the next draft, I'm fairly confident, will be QB Josh Allen of Wyoming. I expect his rise to be somewhat like Cam Newton's in that he could play second fiddle to the more classic Josh Rosen for a bit, but eventually at least half of the personnel departments in the NFL will agree that Josh Allen is the #1 player in the draft.