The NFL 2023 Draft

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Big/Sky/Fly said:
Maybe they wanted that image there on purpose... :coffee:

Ginger Satan = Goodell...that's about right.
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For those that aren't going to read:


Needless to say, the Boston sports radio stations are running with this, and declaring Josh Downs a Patriot already. And if that's the case, I don't hate the idea. At all. More on that in a second.


But let's acknowledge that there could be a dozen reasons why GM Bill is watching that play that has nothing to do with his interest in Downs. He could've been looking at whoever was in coverage on the play. Or some other defender. He might have just been doing what we all do, which is two-screening his way through a long night that involves a lot of sitting around waiting. And for all we know, this Downs video was one of a hundred highlight reels he had one during the course of the night and the Kraft Media cameras just happened to post this one.
And let's not discount the notion this was done specifically to throw everyone else off the Patriots scent. When their attention to detail is so great that they coached a roster bubble cornerback up on the exact, specific play he'd end up facing from the 1-yard line with a Super Bowl hanging in the balance, no one can put it past them that they'd release this video just to convince everyone they've targeted Downs when they're really after someone else. In that way they had the whole world convinced they were burning the phone lines to move ahead of the Jets in 2008 and grab Vernon Gholston. The Jets ended up taking the cheese while Belichick moved back and took Jerod Mayo. With predictable results for both.
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For what it is worth I'm not interested in Downs for the same reasons I wasn't interested in the WRs at the top of the draft, they did most of their damage inside...we are already really crowded in there. We've got to take a swing at someone that can play outside the numbers.
 
headcase said:
For what it is worth I'm not interested in Downs for the same reasons I wasn't interested in the WRs at the top of the draft, they did most of their damage inside...we are already really crowded in there. We've got to take a swing at someone that can play outside the numbers.
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Yup...100% agree.

Who in this draft still available are really good at this?
 
These are some of the names I've heard the most:

Jalin Hyatt, TENNESSEE -- He seems to be too similar to Thornton
Cedric Tillman, TENNESSEE -- From Tennessee he seems like the better pick
Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss
Bryce Ford-Wheaton -- If he could play to this athletic gifts he would be the steal of the draft

At this point they are all going to be a bit of a project, the question becomes who can we make work?
 
headcase said:
These are some of the names I've heard the most:

Jalin Hyatt, TENNESSEE -- He seems to be too similar to Thornton
Cedric Tillman, TENNESSEE -- From Tennessee he seems like the better pick
Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss
Bryce Ford-Wheaton -- If he could play to this athletic gifts he would be the steal of the draft

At this point they are all going to be a bit of a project, the question becomes who can we make work?
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Hyatt is a burner, but, not great at catching. BFW is slow, but, could be a goal line TD machine.

This is just what I've heard...I've seen brief snippits of their highlights.
 
headcase said:
These are some of the names I've heard the most:

Jalin Hyatt, TENNESSEE -- He seems to be too similar to Thornton
Cedric Tillman, TENNESSEE -- From Tennessee he seems like the better pick
Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss
Bryce Ford-Wheaton -- If he could play to this athletic gifts he would be the steal of the draft

At this point they are all going to be a bit of a project, the question becomes who can we make work?
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I'd take Tillman all day long of that group.
 
Lazar's wish list for tonight.

For the record, I like Mims a whole lot more than Josh Downs as a WR and I'm not a huge fan of Mingo prior to the 4th round.
Why? Downs is a good player and he's quick but he's slot only and he doesn't like to block. Mingo has too many concentration drops and when he does concentrate he claps at the ball.
Mims is faster, runs great routes, releases well, gets in and out of breaks quickly and has great hands. Mims can play X, Y or Slot. Mims over Downs for the Pats for me.

www.patriots.com

Best Remaining Patriots Fits Heading Into Day Two of the NFL Draft

The Patriots still have 11 draft selections after adding cornerback Christian Gonzalez in the first round on Thursday night.
www.patriots.com www.patriots.com
 
chevss454 said:
I'd take Tillman all day long of that group.
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I think he is going to go before 46, I'd almost bet on it....it will be interesting to see if they trade up in the 2nd, and for who. Someone else, I don't remember where, also suggested not trading up from 46/76, but trading a bunch of picks to get another shot at the top 100.

I also think they will trade into 5 one way or another.
 
Also, as mostly a burner, I wonder if Mims has too much overlap with Thornton much like Hyatt....I think they need a healthier version of Parker
 
headcase said:
Also, as mostly a burner, I wonder if Mims has too much overlap with Thornton much like Hyatt....I think they need a healthier version of Parker
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No. Totally different. Mims is stronger and more stoutly built than Thornton. Mims can run GO routes but he's much more versatile and can play flanker or slot well. Plus, Mims already has a more developed route tree and route running skills than Thornton. My comp for him is Santonio Holmes who is nothing like Thornton. Also think of him as a faster David Patten.
 
SCOUTING REPORTBy Greg Cosell

Background:​

Gonzalez played one year at Oregon after spending his first two years at Colorado. He came out of Texas as a 4-star recruit. In 2022 at Oregon, Gonzalez was First Team All-Pac 12

Gonzalez played left and right corner, and he aligned both to the boundary and to the field. He has extensive experience playing press coverage and off coverage. There were snaps in which he was deployed as a blitzer when aligned as the boundary corner. There were snaps throughout the season Gonzalez lined up in the slot (138 snaps, against Utah he played significant snaps in the slot), and there were also snaps in which he played back-end safety.

Gonzalez was beaten in press man by Stanford WR Michael Wilson, who effectively used a swipe-arm-over move to get him off-balance and out of phase. Overall, Gonzalez-Wilson was a good matchup with Gonzalez, winning some physical press man reps as the game progressed.

Positives:​

  • Experience playing outside and the slot; Outside-inside flexibility; Predominantly played outside in 2022.
  • Long, fluid outside corner with easy transition and change of direction; Loose hips and quick feet, Smooth as silk.
  • Patient and composed in mirror match press man; Waited for receiver to declare release before reacting.
  • Played both mirror match and physical press man efficiently; Strong, active hands to disrupt routes off the LOS.
  • Press man snaps in which he physically drove the receiver out of bounds removing him as an option for the QB.
  • In mirror match press man, did an excellent job squeezing receivers to the sideline, taking away their space.
  • Flipped his hips in press man matching vertical routes with easy strides; Speed to stay comfortably in phase.
  • Plant and drive burst in off coverage; Quick transition from pedal with no wasted steps; Stride length a factor.
  • Played with assignment, alignment discipline and good eyes in zone coverage; Read route combinations.
  • Competitive as a tackler on the outside; Squared up on balance; Willing to play physically when demanded.

Negatives:​

  • At times in press man got back on his heels negatively impacting balance; Tendency to reach to compensate.
  • Some routes in which he lost contact with the receiver at the top of the route stem, then had to recover.
  • There were times in press man he had to take too many steps to stop when the receiver broke off his route.
  • Needs to win more at moment of truth; Too many plays he had outstanding coverage and did not play the ball.

Bottom Line:​

Gonzalez is one of the best corner prospects in the 2023 NFL draft, and he projects and transitions to the NFL very well given his overall traits and skill set to line up at boundary corner in the NFL and match the big-time boundary x receivers man-to-man in press coverage. Gonzalez has the length that is desired at outside corner in the NFL, and he is as smooth and fluid as they come, with the easy ability to flip his hips and change direction, plus the long speed to comfortably run with vertical routes out of press position. Gonzalez also played with a physical, competitive edge, disrupting routes off the LOS and driving receivers into the sideline.

Overall, Gonzalez has extensive experience playing mirror match press and physical press man, in addition to multiple zone concepts, and he showed efficiency in all coverage concepts. He also brings the flexibility to line up in the slot when needed (which he did for more than 100 snaps in 2022), so you have a corner with outstanding physical and athletic traits to play outside who can move inside as well. Few corners have his size/length/speed/fluidity/competitiveness profile, and it would not surprise me if he came off the board in the top 10 of the first round of the draft.
 
chevss454 said:
www.patspulpit.com

Patriots draft preview: New England could be in the specialists market

New England re-signed Joe Cardona and added punter Corliss Waitman in free agency, but more moves might be in the pipeline.
www.patspulpit.com www.patspulpit.com

www.patspulpit.com

Analytics predicts who will be available for the Patriots in the NFL Draft

New England is picking 14th overall.
www.patspulpit.com www.patspulpit.com

ESPN Sports Analytics is taking the latter route, with the results presented through its Draft Day Predictor. The tool puts a numerical value at the likelihood a prospect will be available at a certain point in the draft using “prospect grades from Scouts Inc, expert mock drafts, and team needs along with a few other factors” as its basis.

So, what does it say for the Patriots? The following:
ESPN Sports Analytics

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Several players on this list are potential targets for the Patriots in Round 1. Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon and Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., for example, are the consensus top three at the cornerback position.

All three would make sense for the team at No. 14, but only Porter Jr. has a likelihood of more than 50 percent to actually be available. In order to get Gonzalez or Witherspoon, New England — at least according to the projection — would have to trade up.

The same is true for the top wide receiver, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. At offensive tackle, meanwhile, the situation looks a bit more favorable: only Peter Skoronski (Northwestern) is considered to come off the board before the Patriots’ pick; Paris Johnson Jr. (Ohio State), Broderick Jones (Georgia) and Darnell Wright (Tennessee) are all more likely to be on the board than not.
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chevss454 said:
I don't know about you but since Miami, Buffalo and now the Jets have good QBs and WRs, CB moved up to be #1 on my wish list.
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ESPN Analytics gave Gonzalez an 11% chance of being there at 14 for the Pats. BB picked him up at 17. :coffee:
 
listened for about 20 minutes to F and M. They had Gasper on and they all panned the pick and especially the trade back. They got a call asking who BB should have taken at 14 and only Gasper answered. He said a WR1, no name.

Edit: Gasper did in fact mention one WR Amonra St. Brown. Too bad he was drafted in 2021.
 
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Mike Lombardi said that the Ravens drafting Zay was stupid, the Ravens should have been looking for a bigger WR with a big catch radius .
 
foobahl said:
listened for about 20 minutes to F and M. They had Gasper on and they all panned the pick and especially the trade back. They got a call asking who BB should have taken at 14 and only Gasper answered. He said a WR1, no name.

Edit: Gasper did in fact mention one WR Amonra St. Brown. Too bad he was drafted in 2021.
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What is it about Boston fans that they tune in to this shit? I can't make it 2 minutes.
 
aloyouis said:
What is it about Boston fans that they tune in to this shit? I can't make it 2 minutes.
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Some people are only happy when they are miserable or making other people miserable. Others aren't Boston fans but are ashamed to say what if any team they like, and/or like to troll other fan bases....and some are just morons and so like F&M.
 
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