1 – I was disappointed after the pick of Fotu. I was not high on him, and I thought they could have had him later, if they wanted. I also wanted other prospects at that spot. That said, I have read reports from people who are much higher on him than me, and in general I am very worried about the defensive line, so from that perspective it was fine.
2 – Within the first hour of the pick of Josh Jones I had gotten heavy flashback to previous picks. Do you remember Dorian Johnson, who they drafted in the fourth round about three or four years ago? And to an extent with the pick of Hakeem Butler early in the fourth round last year? I remember that the reactions on this board was the same – that it was a steal because analysts ranked them a lot higher (I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, so I will not link to it, but if you want, you can easily find it). Johnson did not even make the final roster, and there are already rumors that the team consider Butler as a bust. Don’t get me wrong. I think it is a very interesting selection with Jones, and I do believe he has a lot of potential, but I am always skeptical when a prospect slides a lot further (like an entire round further) than people who scout for a living expect them to. Especially someone playing one of the most coveted positions.
3 – For several years the talk has been that college offensive tackles translate bad to the NFL because of how the game becomes more and more different from one level to the next. Well, Kingsbury’s system is basically a college system, so he must have a fundamental understanding of what college offensive linemen can do that suits his offense, and thus at least in theory it should be easier for them than a traditional from-college-to-NFL step.
Oh, and I trust offensive line-coach Sean Kugler.
4 - I don’t want to be in bad standing with half of this board, but I was a little bummed out with the selection of Eno Benjamin. Actually not because of the pick, but because wide receiver K.J. Hill was drafted just two spots ahead of it. They probably would not have selected him anyway, but it would have been an extraordinary pick from a pure value standpoint, in my opinion. Without having the full overview of the leaguewide results I would have easily considered it at least in my top five draft steals.
5 – Outside of Simmons, the selection of Rashard Lawrence was my favorite one. He is probably too inconsistent, but his flashes are very, very good. I am very excited about him. And don’t forget Zach Allen. I like the perspectives with that unit.
6 – Why is Haason Reddick still on this roster?
7 – What does two midround defensive tackles in a row tells us about what they would have done in round one, had Derrick Brown been available? Yeah yeah, “the board just fell that way”, “you can never have enough good players at one position”, yadda yadda yadda, and yawn. Maybe it says nothing, and no matter there really is no reason at all to think about it, but, well, I do.
8 – Eight (!!!) prospects with close bonds specifically to Nigeria were selected before Eno Benjamin became the ninth. That’s wild!
9 – From what I have read about them throughout the process, I have the most expectations to runningback Jonathan Ward, defensive tackle TJ Carter, offensive guard Steve Gonzalez and cornerback Zane Lewis out of the reported undrafted additions.
Would have been cool to add Khalil Tate, though, huh? No, I don’t care where he went to school. I just think he is a fascinating player.
10 – I certainly get some Scooby Wright-vibes from the selection of Weaver, but I was not upset at all with Wright, so that is fine. I think Weaver can potentially be great on special teams.
11 – Being at the commissioners home, and seeing him basically sleep awake in his chair, I thought made him human. I am not sure I like thinking of him as a human. I was fine thinking of him as a monster.
12 – I don’t myself include DeAndre Hopkins, Kenyan Drake and Jalen Thompson in my evaluation because I think it is about how you do this weekend, but I do think it is a perfectly legitimate perspective to judge on how you use your draft capital overall.
I will say, though, that on Friday and Saturday it certainly sucked to not have a second- and fifth round pick.
13 – I thought they would take a tight end at some point. Do they now go after O.J. Howard from the Bucs? David Njoku from the Browns?
14 – I could see several rookies and second year players competing for offensive line spots. My projection (what I wish would happen, and not what I actually think will happen):
Left tackle D.J. Humphries battling it out with Joshua Miles, who the coaches seems high on. (No contest, but you know, just for the sake of this thought)
Left guard Justin Pugh battling it out with (what I assume is) Sean Kugler-wish Max Garcia.
Center Mason Cole battling it out with Lamont Gaillard.
Right guard J.R. Sweezy battling it out with Justin Murray.
Right tackle Josh Jones battling it out with future All Pro Brett Toth.
Somewhere in there Marcus Gilbert should be mentioned, and who knows if undrafted free agent Steve Gonzalez can actually compete, such as several people seems to think. I could see Pugh, Sweezy or Gilbert coming in job-trouble. This unit would not be the best in the league, but I do think they would be able to compete, and I would appreciate the potential after many years of average at best from the unit.
Also, you don’t need a great offensive line to have success in the NFL. You “just” need an above average.
15 – I am just going to tell you right now, so you don’t have to use time and energy worrying and speculating about it, in about a year the Cards will select cornerback Shaun Wade, Ohio State or edge rusher Xavier Thomas, Clemson.
No, in all seriousness, for the first time ever (and probably last too) reading mocks and trying to project players already may not be completely useless since it is a very real risk that we will not get more game video on these prospects, and that each teams’ perceived needs will not change much.
2 – Within the first hour of the pick of Josh Jones I had gotten heavy flashback to previous picks. Do you remember Dorian Johnson, who they drafted in the fourth round about three or four years ago? And to an extent with the pick of Hakeem Butler early in the fourth round last year? I remember that the reactions on this board was the same – that it was a steal because analysts ranked them a lot higher (I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, so I will not link to it, but if you want, you can easily find it). Johnson did not even make the final roster, and there are already rumors that the team consider Butler as a bust. Don’t get me wrong. I think it is a very interesting selection with Jones, and I do believe he has a lot of potential, but I am always skeptical when a prospect slides a lot further (like an entire round further) than people who scout for a living expect them to. Especially someone playing one of the most coveted positions.
3 – For several years the talk has been that college offensive tackles translate bad to the NFL because of how the game becomes more and more different from one level to the next. Well, Kingsbury’s system is basically a college system, so he must have a fundamental understanding of what college offensive linemen can do that suits his offense, and thus at least in theory it should be easier for them than a traditional from-college-to-NFL step.
Oh, and I trust offensive line-coach Sean Kugler.
4 - I don’t want to be in bad standing with half of this board, but I was a little bummed out with the selection of Eno Benjamin. Actually not because of the pick, but because wide receiver K.J. Hill was drafted just two spots ahead of it. They probably would not have selected him anyway, but it would have been an extraordinary pick from a pure value standpoint, in my opinion. Without having the full overview of the leaguewide results I would have easily considered it at least in my top five draft steals.
5 – Outside of Simmons, the selection of Rashard Lawrence was my favorite one. He is probably too inconsistent, but his flashes are very, very good. I am very excited about him. And don’t forget Zach Allen. I like the perspectives with that unit.
6 – Why is Haason Reddick still on this roster?
7 – What does two midround defensive tackles in a row tells us about what they would have done in round one, had Derrick Brown been available? Yeah yeah, “the board just fell that way”, “you can never have enough good players at one position”, yadda yadda yadda, and yawn. Maybe it says nothing, and no matter there really is no reason at all to think about it, but, well, I do.
8 – Eight (!!!) prospects with close bonds specifically to Nigeria were selected before Eno Benjamin became the ninth. That’s wild!
9 – From what I have read about them throughout the process, I have the most expectations to runningback Jonathan Ward, defensive tackle TJ Carter, offensive guard Steve Gonzalez and cornerback Zane Lewis out of the reported undrafted additions.
Would have been cool to add Khalil Tate, though, huh? No, I don’t care where he went to school. I just think he is a fascinating player.
10 – I certainly get some Scooby Wright-vibes from the selection of Weaver, but I was not upset at all with Wright, so that is fine. I think Weaver can potentially be great on special teams.
11 – Being at the commissioners home, and seeing him basically sleep awake in his chair, I thought made him human. I am not sure I like thinking of him as a human. I was fine thinking of him as a monster.
12 – I don’t myself include DeAndre Hopkins, Kenyan Drake and Jalen Thompson in my evaluation because I think it is about how you do this weekend, but I do think it is a perfectly legitimate perspective to judge on how you use your draft capital overall.
I will say, though, that on Friday and Saturday it certainly sucked to not have a second- and fifth round pick.
13 – I thought they would take a tight end at some point. Do they now go after O.J. Howard from the Bucs? David Njoku from the Browns?
14 – I could see several rookies and second year players competing for offensive line spots. My projection (what I wish would happen, and not what I actually think will happen):
Left tackle D.J. Humphries battling it out with Joshua Miles, who the coaches seems high on. (No contest, but you know, just for the sake of this thought)
Left guard Justin Pugh battling it out with (what I assume is) Sean Kugler-wish Max Garcia.
Center Mason Cole battling it out with Lamont Gaillard.
Right guard J.R. Sweezy battling it out with Justin Murray.
Right tackle Josh Jones battling it out with future All Pro Brett Toth.
Somewhere in there Marcus Gilbert should be mentioned, and who knows if undrafted free agent Steve Gonzalez can actually compete, such as several people seems to think. I could see Pugh, Sweezy or Gilbert coming in job-trouble. This unit would not be the best in the league, but I do think they would be able to compete, and I would appreciate the potential after many years of average at best from the unit.
Also, you don’t need a great offensive line to have success in the NFL. You “just” need an above average.
15 – I am just going to tell you right now, so you don’t have to use time and energy worrying and speculating about it, in about a year the Cards will select cornerback Shaun Wade, Ohio State or edge rusher Xavier Thomas, Clemson.
No, in all seriousness, for the first time ever (and probably last too) reading mocks and trying to project players already may not be completely useless since it is a very real risk that we will not get more game video on these prospects, and that each teams’ perceived needs will not change much.
