NFL Draft - Potential #1 Pick

[425cougfan]

Slow news time for the Cougs right now, it seems. Mainly posting this for this one reason ... look at the quotes near the end, when Fitterer starts talking about how the team "nutritionally can do some things to educate" Young. You really think in today's day and age, a prospect like Young doesn't know about nutrition or didn't get all he could handle on the topic from Saban and Bama? Even your everyday gym bro knows about how to eat to put on muscle. It's all rationalization, not that Young may not turn out to be great at the NFL level. I'd rather have Stroud. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36226200/panthers-gm-says-told-anybody-no-1-pick

 

[CougSinceBirth]

Slow news time for the Cougs right now, it seems. Mainly posting this for this one reason ... look at the quotes near the end, when Fitterer starts talking about how the team "nutritionally can do some things to educate" Young. You really think in today's day and age, a prospect like Young doesn't know about nutrition or didn't get all he could handle on the topic from Saban and Bama? Even your everyday gym bro knows about how to eat to put on muscle. It's all rationalization, not that Young may not turn out to be great at the NFL level. I'd rather have Stroud. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36226200/panthers-gm-says-told-anybody-no-1-pick

tOSU QBs from the Meyer/Day era never seem to pan out in the NFL, so that alone, I'm not really in on Stroud. Fields might be good.

Saban era: Mac Jones, Tua, Hurts, McCarron.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

Slow news time for the Cougs right now, it seems. Mainly posting this for this one reason ... look at the quotes near the end, when Fitterer starts talking about how the team "nutritionally can do some things to educate" Young. You really think in today's day and age, a prospect like Young doesn't know about nutrition or didn't get all he could handle on the topic from Saban and Bama? Even your everyday gym bro knows about how to eat to put on muscle. It's all rationalization, not that Young may not turn out to be great at the NFL level. I'd rather have Stroud. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36226200/panthers-gm-says-told-anybody-no-1-pick

The NFL is STILL operating on the scarcity principle and FOMO, and it pleases me to no end.

The recent run of talent at the QB position does lend to some of this, as does the league/coaches willingness and ability to create systems that maximize the modern day qb and their natural talents. Vince Young might have had a career in this league instead of the one he entered which insisted every QB stand in the pocket like a statue and throw the ball down field.

That being said, - as we can attest to first hand after last year - the ability to extend a play does not automatically translate into positive yards/ first downs/ touchdowns. What makes a qb like Pat Mahomes/ pre-denver RW great is that they know each and every play and where ALL of the WRs should be as the play develops, so they know that 5 seconds into the play the deep post on a cover 2 should just be crossing mid-field and coming into a window that can be thrown to. Or that the mesh route coming to his side should just be coming open. Its not looking up and scanning randomly for somebody (oh please Jesus somebody) to be open. THAT is what separates the elite dual-threat qb from a dude who can scramble and extend plays.

 

[425cougfan]

tOSU QBs from the Meyer/Day era never seem to pan out in the NFL, so that alone, I'm not really in on Stroud. Fields might be good.

Saban era: Mac Jones, Tua, Hurts, McCarron.

Really good point about Bama vs. tOSU. I think Stroud may be the one, though. Maybe not a top-5 QB kind of player but a legitimate top half of the league starter in a couple years. I have nothing in particular against Young, either. I think both those guys could be pretty good.

 

[95coug]

Really good point about Bama vs. tOSU. I think Stroud may be the one, though. Maybe not a top-5 QB kind of player but a legitimate top half of the league starter in a couple years. I have nothing in particular against Young, either. I think both those guys could be pretty good.

I see warts on all of them.

Bama's QBs have generally had more NFL success than tOSU's, but with the exception of Hurts they're not turning into franchise guys. Jury is still out on Tua and Jones, but they don't look like guys that are taking their teams to Super Bowls. In reality, they probably had a higher level of talent around their teams in college than they do now, and their own performances don't elevate their teams enough. Young doesn't look that much different from those guys to me...and he doesn't look enough like Hurts.

Stroud looks a little more like Hurts, but I don't see a team at the top of the draft that's likely to play that style of ball. And, Buckeye QBs have not tended to make the leap very well.

Richardson is high risk. He might be a physical freak with a high ceiling, or he might be a bust. He just doesn't have enough film in the can to really predict which way he's going. Someone is going to take him and will look like either a genius or an idiot in 5 years.

I think Levis is interesting, but not in the top 5...probably not even top 10. He's got talent, but I think he's another who will eventually play himself to the middle of the pack - a decent starter, but not a guy who's going to take you all the way.

As a GM with a top 5 pick, I'd be paralyzed. I rarely see anyone that I think is such a no-brainer that they're worth that pick. Especially seeing how the Bears fleeced the Panthers for #1 this year, I'd definitely be looking to trade down. Getting 2 1's, 2 2's, and a starting WR in exchange for moving down 8 spots and still picking top 10? Yes, please. The Panthers now have to get this pick right, because they've given up all of their room for error. The Bears get a good player, have 4 extra shots at good players in 2024-25, and still get a shot at a really good player this year. They certainly could blow it, but they get 5 tries to hit a home run...the Panthers get 1.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I see warts on all of them.

Bama's QBs have generally had more NFL success than tOSU's, but with the exception of Hurts they're not turning into franchise guys. Jury is still out on Tua and Jones, but they don't look like guys that are taking their teams to Super Bowls. In reality, they probably had a higher level of talent around their teams in college than they do now, and their own performances don't elevate their teams enough. Young doesn't look that much different from those guys to me...and he doesn't look enough like Hurts.

Stroud looks a little more like Hurts, but I don't see a team at the top of the draft that's likely to play that style of ball. And, Buckeye QBs have not tended to make the leap very well.

Richardson is high risk. He might be a physical freak with a high ceiling, or he might be a bust. He just doesn't have enough film in the can to really predict which way he's going. Someone is going to take him and will look like either a genius or an idiot in 5 years.

I think Levis is interesting, but not in the top 5...probably not even top 10. He's got talent, but I think he's another who will eventually play himself to the middle of the pack - a decent starter, but not a guy who's going to take you all the way.

As a GM with a top 5 pick, I'd be paralyzed. I rarely see anyone that I think is such a no-brainer that they're worth that pick. Especially seeing how the Bears fleeced the Panthers for #1 this year, I'd definitely be looking to trade down. Getting 2 1's, 2 2's, and a starting WR in exchange for moving down 8 spots and still picking top 10? Yes, please. The Panthers now have to get this pick right, because they've given up all of their room for error. The Bears get a good player, have 4 extra shots at good players in 2024-25, and still get a shot at a really good player this year. They certainly could blow it, but they get 5 tries to hit a home run...the Panthers get 1.

Don't forget that the other top 5 pick is a lying coward who drove off while his teammate and trainer were wrapped around a tree and still hasn't copped to his part in all of it. Yes, he took a plea deal because he was caught red-handed, but has yet to offer a mea culpa. I suppose some asshole with a law degree is telling him to keep his mouth shut until after the draft, but imho that would improve his draft stock.

 

[95coug]

Don't forget that the other top 5 pick is a lying coward who drove off while his teammate and trainer were wrapped around a tree and still hasn't copped to his part in all of it. Yes, he took a plea deal because he was caught red-handed, but has yet to offer a mea culpa. I suppose some asshole with a law degree is telling him to keep his mouth shut until after the draft, but imho that would improve his draft stock.

Yeah, and most projections seem to have him going to the Seahawks.

I don't feel great about a DT in the top 5, unless he's a virtually guaranteed "double-team on every down or your QB dies" kind of player. But, realistically, I would probably almost never actually take a player with a top 5 pick. I've said many times...if you've earned a top 5 pick, your team has more problems than you can solve with 1 player.
Of course, the Seahawks didn't earn it, the Broncos did. Maybe I'd use that extra pick to shoot for a long-term star in a position...but I still think that you get better value from the pick if you turn it into more picks.

 

[Coug1990]

tOSU QBs from the Meyer/Day era never seem to pan out in the NFL, so that alone, I'm not really in on Stroud. Fields might be good.

Saban era: Mac Jones, Tua, Hurts, McCarron.

You can also put an asterisk next to Hurts, as he lost the starting job to Tua and ended up transferring to Oklahoma.