Totally_Red
Air Raid Warning!
http://www.gbnreport.com/scoutsnotebook.htm
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May 9, 2005: WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE ‘8TH ROUND OF THE 2005 DRAFT!
by Colin Lindsay
Put me in coach…anywhere!!! There will still be some shuffling over the course of the next couple of months, however, it would appear that most pre-traing camp NFL rosters are now pretty much set. In fact, in addition to the 255 players selected at last month’s draft, by our very unofficial count another 398 undrafted free agents are currently on an NFL roster. Still, a number of highly-rated prospects for the 2005 draft remain unsigned and could be on the outside looking in when training camps open in July. Heading the list of still unsigned undrafted free agents is former Florida State QC Chris Rix, who still has some hope after trying out with San Diego over the weekend. Other top unsigned rookies as of today – at least according to a check of NFL rosters on official websites of the 32 teams around the league - include RBs Alex Haynes of Central Florida, Ray Hudson of Alabama, DeWhitt Betterson of Troy State and San Jose State junior Derrick Johneses; FB Paul Jefferson of Penn State; WR Geoff McArthur of California, OTs Michael Munoz of Tennessee, who announced immediately after the draft he was retiring after not being selected, and Jon Colon of Florida; OG Cedric Johnson of Clemson, DT Albert Means of Memphis and Maryland WR/KR Steve Suter. There is also some wide divergence between the way teams across the NFL approach undrafted free agents. Tennessee, which underwent a dramatic salary-cap purge of veterans prior to the draft, for example, loaded up on undrafted free agents; indeed, as of this morning the Titans have 37 undrafted free agents on their roster which must be something of a record since the NFL put limits on the number of players each team could bring to training camp. Meanwhile, Cleveland, with 21, and San Diego and Detroit with 19 each, also have signed a relatively large number of rookie free agents. On the other hand, Denver and Oakland have each signed just 4 undrafted free agents, while San Francisco added only 5 and Carolina 7. That the 49ers signed so few rookie free agents is a bit of a surprise, though, as the team is in a rebuilding mode and needs all the help it can get pretty much across the board.
Titans, Bolts get leading grades… Using our listing of the top undrafted rookie free agents as a starting point, the same folks who developed the NFL’s complicated formula to determine compensatory draft picks, have put together a mathematical equation to grade every team’s undrafted free agent signings. Of course, as with trying to grade the draft itself, how well teams ultimately shopped in the undrafted free agent market won’t really be known until 2-3 years down the road. Also, on the theory that garbage in can equal garbage out, our grades will only be as good as our pre-draft ranking of players, however, our rankings did appear to at least be in the ballpark this year. And when the grades were tallied, Tennessee and San Diego appear to have done the best job of signing undrafted free agent at least at this time. And for now, here’s a quick rundown of those teams with the highest grades.
1. Tennessee:In addition to the quantity, the Titans’ undrafted rookie free agent class also includes plenty of quality. The Titans, for example, signed one player among our top 10 undrafted free agents in Syracuse RB Walter Reyes; the Titans also signed the 2 top undrafted QBs in Gino Gudugli of Cincinnati and former Heisman Trophy winner Jason White of Oklahoma, along with TE Jimmy St. Louis and DE Marcus White of Murray State, DE Todd Bates of Alabama, LB Robert Rodriquez of UTEP, and CBs Sydney Haugabrouck of Delaware and Louisville’s underrated Antoine Harris among the nearly 40 players they did sign.
2. San Diego: The Chargers led the way with 7 players off our list of the 80 premium undrafted free agents including CB Abraham Elimimian of Hawaii and Oregon State LB Jonathan Pollard, who both were in the top 20, as well as FB Matthew Tant of Vanderbilt, DE Ardell Duckett of Texas Tech, TE Cody McCarty of TCU, OT Cory Lekkekerker of Cal-Davis, and Southern Utah DE/OLB Marques Harris.
3. Miami: Miami followed up on a solid draft by signing a good group of undrafted rookie free agents including RB Kay-Jay Harris of West Virginia, WR Josh Davis of Marshall, CB Shird Mitchell of Missouri, Oregon State safety Mitch Meeusen and former Miami U QB Brock Berlin, all of whom were among our top 80 premium rookie free agents. RB Harris, in fact, was rated 3rd overall, while WR Davis was 21st. The Dolphins added to a strong rookie class by also signing LSU MLB Lionel Turner, former USC DE Vann Brown, who attended Northwest Oklahoma State last fall, BYU DE and LS John Denney, and Duke DT Orrin Thompson.
4. Arizona: The Cardinals got off to a great start when they signed Michigan SS Ernest Shazor, arguably the top-rated undrafted free agent overall. The Cardinals then added CB Lamont Reid of North Carolina State, Lehigh TE Adam Bergen and UConn DE Tyler King, each of whom was in the top 50 undrafted free agents. For good measure, Arizona also signed record-setting Hawaii QB Timmy Chang, as well as BYU DB Aaron Francisco. They may also have found a sleeper close to home in Northern Arizona RB Roger Robinson.
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May 9, 2005: WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE ‘8TH ROUND OF THE 2005 DRAFT!
by Colin Lindsay
Put me in coach…anywhere!!! There will still be some shuffling over the course of the next couple of months, however, it would appear that most pre-traing camp NFL rosters are now pretty much set. In fact, in addition to the 255 players selected at last month’s draft, by our very unofficial count another 398 undrafted free agents are currently on an NFL roster. Still, a number of highly-rated prospects for the 2005 draft remain unsigned and could be on the outside looking in when training camps open in July. Heading the list of still unsigned undrafted free agents is former Florida State QC Chris Rix, who still has some hope after trying out with San Diego over the weekend. Other top unsigned rookies as of today – at least according to a check of NFL rosters on official websites of the 32 teams around the league - include RBs Alex Haynes of Central Florida, Ray Hudson of Alabama, DeWhitt Betterson of Troy State and San Jose State junior Derrick Johneses; FB Paul Jefferson of Penn State; WR Geoff McArthur of California, OTs Michael Munoz of Tennessee, who announced immediately after the draft he was retiring after not being selected, and Jon Colon of Florida; OG Cedric Johnson of Clemson, DT Albert Means of Memphis and Maryland WR/KR Steve Suter. There is also some wide divergence between the way teams across the NFL approach undrafted free agents. Tennessee, which underwent a dramatic salary-cap purge of veterans prior to the draft, for example, loaded up on undrafted free agents; indeed, as of this morning the Titans have 37 undrafted free agents on their roster which must be something of a record since the NFL put limits on the number of players each team could bring to training camp. Meanwhile, Cleveland, with 21, and San Diego and Detroit with 19 each, also have signed a relatively large number of rookie free agents. On the other hand, Denver and Oakland have each signed just 4 undrafted free agents, while San Francisco added only 5 and Carolina 7. That the 49ers signed so few rookie free agents is a bit of a surprise, though, as the team is in a rebuilding mode and needs all the help it can get pretty much across the board.
Titans, Bolts get leading grades… Using our listing of the top undrafted rookie free agents as a starting point, the same folks who developed the NFL’s complicated formula to determine compensatory draft picks, have put together a mathematical equation to grade every team’s undrafted free agent signings. Of course, as with trying to grade the draft itself, how well teams ultimately shopped in the undrafted free agent market won’t really be known until 2-3 years down the road. Also, on the theory that garbage in can equal garbage out, our grades will only be as good as our pre-draft ranking of players, however, our rankings did appear to at least be in the ballpark this year. And when the grades were tallied, Tennessee and San Diego appear to have done the best job of signing undrafted free agent at least at this time. And for now, here’s a quick rundown of those teams with the highest grades.
1. Tennessee:In addition to the quantity, the Titans’ undrafted rookie free agent class also includes plenty of quality. The Titans, for example, signed one player among our top 10 undrafted free agents in Syracuse RB Walter Reyes; the Titans also signed the 2 top undrafted QBs in Gino Gudugli of Cincinnati and former Heisman Trophy winner Jason White of Oklahoma, along with TE Jimmy St. Louis and DE Marcus White of Murray State, DE Todd Bates of Alabama, LB Robert Rodriquez of UTEP, and CBs Sydney Haugabrouck of Delaware and Louisville’s underrated Antoine Harris among the nearly 40 players they did sign.
2. San Diego: The Chargers led the way with 7 players off our list of the 80 premium undrafted free agents including CB Abraham Elimimian of Hawaii and Oregon State LB Jonathan Pollard, who both were in the top 20, as well as FB Matthew Tant of Vanderbilt, DE Ardell Duckett of Texas Tech, TE Cody McCarty of TCU, OT Cory Lekkekerker of Cal-Davis, and Southern Utah DE/OLB Marques Harris.
3. Miami: Miami followed up on a solid draft by signing a good group of undrafted rookie free agents including RB Kay-Jay Harris of West Virginia, WR Josh Davis of Marshall, CB Shird Mitchell of Missouri, Oregon State safety Mitch Meeusen and former Miami U QB Brock Berlin, all of whom were among our top 80 premium rookie free agents. RB Harris, in fact, was rated 3rd overall, while WR Davis was 21st. The Dolphins added to a strong rookie class by also signing LSU MLB Lionel Turner, former USC DE Vann Brown, who attended Northwest Oklahoma State last fall, BYU DE and LS John Denney, and Duke DT Orrin Thompson.
4. Arizona: The Cardinals got off to a great start when they signed Michigan SS Ernest Shazor, arguably the top-rated undrafted free agent overall. The Cardinals then added CB Lamont Reid of North Carolina State, Lehigh TE Adam Bergen and UConn DE Tyler King, each of whom was in the top 50 undrafted free agents. For good measure, Arizona also signed record-setting Hawaii QB Timmy Chang, as well as BYU DB Aaron Francisco. They may also have found a sleeper close to home in Northern Arizona RB Roger Robinson.
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