Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Path to the Draft, 3/22

Appearing: Fran Charles, Paul Burmeister, Mike Mayock, Charlie Casserly, Jamie Dukes, Bucky Brooks

* Player news.
- Morris Claiborne will require wrist surgery to repair a ligament injury that was discovered at the Combine. Not expected to affect his draft status.

Dukes talked as though the Rams shouldn't draft Claiborne if he's available at #6. Quote: "If you don't find Sam Bradford five weapons in this draft, shame on you." Not sure who he wants them to take over Claiborne if Richardson and Blackmon are gone; Michael Floyd? Casserly says the Rams have to take a premiere player at #6 almost regardless of position. And he's right.

The PTTD pendulum swung back to positive on Dontari Poe. Casserly honestly hasn't seen the lack of effort on tape that many others are reporting. People are getting hung up on that and on his low tackle numbers without observing whether or not he's doing his job. He's got someone like Michael Brockers beaten because of his speed and explosion. Dukes came an inch from saying Brockers would be a Jonathan Sullivan-like bust. The DTs without good speed/explosion are the ones who tend to bomb out.

Casserly ranks Andrew Luck ahead of all the recent top-drafted QBs: Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan. Luck has two significant advantages over Bradford coming out: 1) durability, 2) ability to call audibles. Luck was coming to the line at Stanford with the option to pick from three different plays; Bradford's coaches at Oklahoma were calling audibles for him. Casserly still likes Bradford's accuracy and ability to throw from the pocket or on the move.

Casserly put a 4th-5th round grade on Kirk Cousins. Gifted athlete with quick release and a strong arm and can make special throws. Too inconsistent with accuracy and decision-making, though. Doesn't produce on the field.

* Pro days.
Stanford Andrew Luck threw into the wind during drills. Started with a couple of ducks but was perfect the rest of the way. Has an easy, fluid motion but can really rip it. Has plenty of arm strength, but not elite. Casserly says Luck is the most pro-ready QB he's ever scouted. Over Peyton? Wow.

David DeCastro compares to the Pouncey brothers, a solid football player who'll start for 10-12 years. Jonathan Martin's not as strong as DeCastro, is more of a finesse player, and will take a couple of years to become a real good starter.

Coby Fleener did everything he didn't get to do at the Combine. Came in at 6'6" 247. 37" vertical, over 10-foot broad jump, 4.51-4.54 in the 40. Had just a couple of drops. Looks like a smooth, vertical route-running TE. Won't give you much as an in-line blocker. Should be a solid second-round pick.

(I'm not sure Mayock actually watched Fleener work out given this report. Reports were that he made one terrific catch after another, that Luck was purposely throwing Fleener bad balls to show off his ability to make tough catches outside his frame. Since he didn't work out at the Combine, on the strength of this workout - the jumping numbers are outstanding for a tight end - many analysts have moved him up into the first round.)

LSU  Morris Claiborne ran in the 4.4 range and dominated in positional drills. Bucky Brooks. HOW DO YOU DOMINATE IN A POSITIONAL DRILL? He showed smooth feet, exceptional hips and change of direction and excellent ball skills. An outstanding technician who can play in any scheme.

Michael Brockers came in at 6'5" 315 and ran in the 5.16-5.19 range. He was smooth and fluid running bag drills and showed exceptional strength taking on defenders. Solid improvement on a disappointing performance at the Combine. Looks ideally like a 5-technique for a 3-4 team. Brooks projected him as mid-to-late first round, while Dukes repeated he wouldn't draft him very high because of his lack of explosion.

That sounds like no problem for Reuben Randle, a player RamView's going to have to re-think. Reportedly ran in the high four-THREES. Showed exceptional hands, catches very naturally, ran routes very smoothly. Projected as a high second-rounder. Hmm.

Boise State  Good pro day workout for Doug Martin, who was the only Bronco draft prospect discussed here. Cut at full speed, showed good hands, acceleration and inside running along with excellent vision.

-$-

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