MichiganCardinal

I know it's all in the cycle of the lead-up to the draft, and that I shouldn't get too annoyed by it..... But this newfound social media and sports radio infatuation with Jordan Davis is blowing my mind. It's like they saw big man go fast and thought that it magically makes him the greatest player ever... Dude recorded 7 sacks over 4 years. Big man is good at what he does, maybe will even become the best in the NFL at it, but he's a bit of a one-trick pony. If he didn't get sacks and pressure at Georgia, surrounded on all sides by 1st round NFL talent, playing against college offensive lines (although SEC lines), why would he produce them in the NFL? I don't buy the "he was always double teamed" line (as an explanation for why his production is lacking). Derrick Brown, Quinnen Williams, and Ed Oliver are the only DTs taken in the last decade in the top ten. Putting aside the dubious nature of potentially joining that group, they averaged 12 sacks in each of their college careers (despite Williams only playing two years in college and Oliver three compared to Davis' four), surrounded by far inferior talent on the defensive line as Davis was. Also despite Derrick Brown (like Davis) being known more for his run stuffing than his pass rushing. If you want to bring really successful NFL DTs into the conversation, saying that he'll be the Aaron Donald or Ndamukong Suh of 1st round DTs, they collected 29.5 and 24 college sacks, respectively. If you're a team that needs a run-stuffing DT big man, and can afford to put aside more pressing needs to fill that hole for the foreseeable future, Davis is your man. If you're a team that desperately needs playmakers (ding ding ding!), he really should not be in consideration in the top half of the 1st round. He's just a better, more athletic, Levi.

Thought this rings pretty true.

I don't think that we will be trading for Ridley.

Davis should not be a top five pick. He might sneak into the top ten, but even that would be extremely high for a player like him. He will be a wall of a NT against the run, but he's not likely to be an every down player in the NFL, and he's not productive against the pass. Think of Levi Onwuzurike. Certainly has a valuable, and often underrated role on an NFL team, plugging holes along the line. It's not the type of franchise role that is up there with edge rushers, LTs, and QBs though. I'm not sure who Watson was supposed to be, but if DeShaun Watson re-enters the draft I'll change my tune about taking a QB at #2. 😄

You would think he should be more than “just” a run stuffing NT, but his college production tells another story. No more than two sacks in a year through his Georgia career. I think they envision Levi as a poor man’s Davis. A big man in the middle who will not be run through. Travon Walker is who really intrigued me today from a Lions perspective. Ran a damn 4.51 as a hand-in-the-ground DE. I wouldn’t be opposed (depending on how the board fell) to picking him up at 6/9/11 (or maybe even 2 if Hutch is gone) and converting the defense back to more of a 4-3. We need linebackers anyway so it’s not like we’d be forcing an elite edge rushing OLB to the inside.

Having the Texans at #3 helps us I think. I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see them look to replace Davis Mills at #3. I’m not at all attached to the #2 pick. If they would take Hutch/Thib at #2, two of Karlaftis/Ojabo/Walker will probably be available at any of 6/9/11. If they’d rather a WR, it makes more sense to take one at 6/9/11 than 2 anyway. I’m not saying to give away the pick, but I am okay with being a little flexible in our asking price. If any of them offered “just” their 2022 and 2023 1st, it might be a loss on the trade value chart, or compared to what other high 1sts have gone for recently. But it gives us a really good pick this year, plus the ammo we need with a 3rd 2023 1st to hopefully go get Stroud or Young next year.

I prepared and convinced myself before the combine that I wouldn't allow myself to fall in love with Willis if/when he wow'd everyone. He always made sense as the QB to rise through the process, because someone was going to and Willis is the athletic one of the bunch. I just don't see him as a franchise QB. He threw three picks to Middle Tennessee State. Another three to Louisiana-Monroe. Against the only two ranked opponents he played, (15) Ole Miss and (22) Louisiana, he went a combined 30/69 (.434) for 335 yards, 2 TDs, 5 picks, and little contribution on the ground. I know he didn't have a ton of weapons at his disposal, and had a sieve of an offensive line at times, but he didn't seem to make what he did have count. This wasn't some Joe Burrow rise to the National Championship. Using Randy's comp, it wasn't even an incredible FCS run (Lance went the 2019 season throwing 28 TDs and 0 picks while going 16-0). Willis has good numbers and is an athletic QB, but his vision and instincts were mediocre at the college level. Last year, he would have been the 6th or 7th best QB, next to Kyle Trask. Is it theoretically possible that behind a more competent offensive line he is able to develop into an average NFL QB? I think it is. I also think it is more likely that his lack of vision makes him a poor man's Jameis Winston.

Wordle 259 6/6 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 was ready to throw my phone on this one!!

I impressed myself today with this one. Daily Quordle #39 7️⃣6️⃣ 4️⃣5️⃣ quordle.com ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

To the Panthers or to the Broncos? 😆

4.39 was the official time, they were way off. His official time was 1/100th of a second worse than Garrett Wilson’s, and below a handful of other guys.

I think he might go as early as #3 to the Texans.

I remember in undergrad a few years ago I was a project partner in a stats class with this kid. He shook my hand to introduce himself and his hand completely engulfed my normal adult hand. He later dropped the class to focus on some sport. Harrison Phillips was the name. Based on Twitter today, he should have been a QB.

Against Utah, London had 16 catches for 162 yards and a TD. Against Notre Dame, he went 15/171/0. Neither of those secondaries will knock your socks off, but they're both very good teams. Washington State was the best ranked secondary he faced in 21 and he went 13/170/2. It would have been nice to see him up against the Washington secondary. It's also worth remembering that he had two noodle armed QBs throwing to him.

Campbell also had a report that the Lions would want more than a 2nd round pick if they were to trade Goff. If true, I would have to imagine this means they don’t intend to draft a franchise QB in April. What (probably little) value Goff has now would plummet if they did. It could also just be talk in attempt to boost Goff’s confidence more. I can’t imagine Holmes’ phone is exactly ringing off the hook with 2nd round offers for Goff.

Probably a little of both. He missed the last few games of the season with a broken ankle, but I have to imagine that’s mostly healed by now. He probably knew that he wouldn’t be one of the fastest 40s there, and when you’re a projected top 16 pick it’s a lot easier to fall than rise.

The logic follows though. Why start the clock on a QB, there is no WRs and no defense. Why start the clock on an offensive tackle (last year), they don't have a franchise QB to protect. Why start the clock on an edge rusher, you can't win if you don't score points and the secondary is still a mess. You're building a team, not every piece is going to be in place after this draft. They should be pretty close though, and if they're a long-term QB away, that would be great. We still have about two months before the draft. Things are going to change. As of right now, yes I'm a fan of London. I'm also a fan of Wilson, Williams, and Olave. That doesn't mean any of them are Calvin Johnson and Calvin Johnson should not be your expectation from a first round WR, or even a top five pick WR. On the defensive side, I'm a fan of Hutch, but I'm also a fan of Jermaine Johnson and Arnold Ebikitie. With the QBs, I don't like any of them as a franchise signal caller. It doesn't mean we shouldn't take players who can be weapons for that eventual franchise signal caller (and weapons in the here-and-now). We saw how much better Jared Goff got when we added Josh freaking Reynolds to the WR room. It's overly simplistic to say that's the only reason for Goff's improvement, but the correlation is there. There are plenty of reasons to add a top tier WR to the team.

So don’t draft anyone because it will inevitably mean you’re neglecting another position?

Great night at LCA. Splurged a bit to ensure I keep the Best Uncle Award and got some last-minute glass seats. My 10yo nephew is a hockey nut and was in paradise. I was expecting to see a game where we lost but could say “this is a game we win two years from now”. Certainly loved seeing us pull it out. Brought me back to the years we were spoiled. Only yick to my yum all night long was that Raymond made a beeline right to my nephew after being announced as the second star, lifted his stick that just scored the game winner over the glass, and it ricocheted JUST wrong off the glass so that the people behind us got it instead of us. SO close. Still a phenomenal memory of a night though.

I'm going to the game tonight with my nephew, so if it could just not be a blood bath, that'd be great. Less than 10 goals given up would be a good start.

I'm not as high on him. I think he's a 4th round pick or later, and would fit more as our #3 behind someone else and St. Brown, though I've also read that some pundits are falling in love with him. He's only 5'10", which though not necessarily a death sentence for a WR, makes it a lot harder to become a #1 guy. Guys like TY Hilton, Antonio Brown, Steve Smith, and DeSean Jackson have done it, but they each possess game-breaking speed (sub 4.40 40) that I don't think Moore has. I could be wrong, we'll find out soon enough. I think Moore's absolute ceiling is a Golden Tate type, a really good slot receiver who excels when he does not have to be the #1 guy. If that's who he becomes, I'd be all about a 3rd or 4th round pick for him. I think it would be much more likely that he and St. Brown end up being two guys for one role, and St. Brown is likely better. I like Wan'Dale Robinson more for that #3 WR role in the 3rd round, if he's still there. He's a guy you can put on the outside as your vertical speed threat. Jalen Tolbert would be in consideration if Robinson is gone, for the same reason.

Rod Wood mentioned Ford Field, the Fox Theater, Comerica, and LCA in a 2017 interview. In a more recent one, he only mentioned Ford Field to formally host the event, but stated that other venues could cooperate and host other events leading up to Draft Day. He said that the walkability of all the downtown venues was a large part of their pitch. He also mentioned tying Canada into their proposal, and making it a draw to expanding the NFL’s audience. I think the national picture that gets painted of Detroit is the biggest thing working against them. Cleveland and Philly have both hosted now though.

This would be neat. I would definitely attend.

Took me forever to find this. Well worth it.