Martin

Jeremiah was the latest one I saw, but I’ve seen it a couple of places.

This is a great point. If you like his ranking and you say you want to listen to him, you wouldn’t want any of these QBs in the first round. Using his ranking and then take one in round one when he says not to…

More and more mock drafts have either Ickey or Evan Neal falling out of the top 5. Adding either of them to our line would make for the best line we’ve had in a long time. I also have the feeling based on interviews with Fitts that if there is a blue chip OT available that is the pick. This is getting really exciting!!!

I read somewhere that we need $9m for the draft and want to have $10 for the season. Might have been a tweet from J Alexander

Mac Jones didn’t look great last year, that’s the one I can think of. His deep ball was really rough.

Adding abysmal coaching in college to the fact that he blew people away in his interviews shows tremendous upside. Have no idea if it will work out or not, but all the ingredients are there, no doubt.

I struggle with the fact that he is a four year starter that was mediocre for three years and then great for one year. Other QBs that have had a great year and then get drafted didn’t have three bad years before that, it was more a case of them not getting the chance. He got the chance but showed very little. Yes maybe the light finally came on, but I’m not sure how I feel about it coming on in year four. I also don’t feel there is much upside to him, he is who he is, and not a top 10 pick. But I’m far from a QB expert.

A 1-year deal would allow us to trade back for someone like Tyler Smith from Tulsa who might have the highest LT ceiling this year, but he needs a year or two of coaching. Play Tyler at LG for a year then move him to LT. I prefer one of the top LTs, but if we can trade back for Smith + a QB, it is an enticing idea.

We need a big run stopping LB on first and second down, so it makes a lot of sense. Good stuff assuming he is relatively cheap.

Looks like quite a few good guards and centers left, only two guards signed. Not seeing the need to panic on day one.

The biggest surprise was the comments on Strong. He’s known for making all protection calls himself and changing plays etc. due to his excellent grasp of the playbook in a NFL like offense. This essentially says the complete opposite. So a bit weird to say the least.

This could be great news for us!

Quick Willis question for this crowd. His completion % went from 61% last year to 64% this year. So that sounds good. But a lot of people are concerned about his accuracy. I have not seen him play. Does the 64% not really reflect his accuracy? Stats alone is always a bit of an incomplete story.

The good news is that if Cross is there, I would think they take him, especially with those measurements. Cross at LT and Christensen at LG sounds pretty great to me.

From CBS Sports Offensive line measurements PLAYER HEIGHT WEIGHT (LBS) HAND SIZE ARM LENGTH WINGSPAN Tyler Smith 6-4 324 10 3/4 34 83 1/8 Joshua Ezeudu 6-4 308 9 1/2 34 82 1/4 Charles Cross 6-4 3/4 307 10 3/4 34 1/2 81 Evan Neal 6-7 1/2 337 10 1/8 34 83 Ikem Ekwonu 6-4 310 10 1/4 34 84 1/4 Daniel Faalele 6-8 384 11 35 1/8 85 1/8 Kenyon Green 6-3 7/8 323 10 3/8 34 1/8 83 3/8 Tyler Linderbaum 6-2 1/8 296 10 31 1/8 75 Zion Johnson 6-3 312 10 5/8 34 Bernhard Raimann 6-6 303 10 1/4 32 7/8 Nicholas Petit-Frere 6-5 316 10 3/4 33 5/8 Darian Kinnard 6-5 322 11 1/4 35 Cole Strange 6-5 307 10 1/8 33 Max Mitchell 6-6 307 10 33 1/2 Thayer Munford 6-6 328 10 1/8 35 1/8 Jamaree Salyer 6-3 321 10 33 5/8 Sean Rhyan 6-5 321 11 1/8 32 3/8 Dylan Parham 6-3 311 10 1/4 33 1/2 Abraham Lucas 6-6 315 10 1/2 33 7/8 Luke Goedeke 6-5 312 9 3/4 32 1/4 Logan Bruss 6-5 309 10 3/4 33 1/8 Luke Fortner 6-4 307 10 33 1/8 Cade Mays 6-5 311 10 34 1/8 Rasheed Walker 6-6 313 10 5/8 33 5/8 Andrew Stueber 6-7 325 10 34 1/8 Braxton Jones 6-5 310 10 1/4 35 3/8 Zach Tom 6-4 304 10 3/8 33 1/4 Chasen Hines 6-3 327 9 7/8 33 7/8 Vederian Lowe 6-5 314 10 3/8 35 3/8 Justin Shaffer 6-4 314 9 5/8 31 7/8 Ed Ingram 6-3 307 10 33 5/8 Spencer Burford 6-4 304 9 1/2 34 3/4 Nick Zakelj 6-6 316 9 7/8 32 1/2 Kellen Diesch 6-7 301 9 1/2 32 1/4 Dohnovan West 6-3 296 9 1/2 33 Marcus McKethan 6-6 1/2 340 10 1/4 33 5/8 Marquis Hayes 6-5 318 8 7/8 34 7/8 Cordell Volson 6-6 315 10 1/2 33 7/8 Cam Jurgens 6-3 307 10 33 3/8 Ja'Tyre Carter 6-3 311 10 1/4 33 5/8 Dare Rosenthal 6-7 290 9 33 1/2 Obinna Eze 6-6 1/2 321 9 7/8 36 1/8 Zach Thomas 6-5 308 10 1/4 33 7/8 Ben Brown 6-5 312 10 1/4 34 3/8 Dawson Deaton 6-5 1/2 306 9 5/8 32 7/8 Matt Waletzko 6-8 312 10 1/4 35 1/8 Alec Lindstrom 6-3 296 9 1/4 32 5/8 Chris Paul 6-4 323 9 3/8 33 5/8 Austin Deculus 6-5 321 9 1/4 34 3/8 Myron Cunningham 6-5 320 10 3/8 34 1/2 Tyrese Robinson 6-3 317 9 3/4 33 1/8 Blaise Andries 6-6 308 9 7/8 33 7/8 Andrew Rupcich 6-6 318 9 1/2 32 7/8 Luke Tenuta 6-8 319 10 1/8 32 7/8 Luke Wattenberg 6-4 299 9 3/8 34 3/8 Offensive line winners Evan Neal, Alabama. One of the favorites to be the No. 1 pick in the draft is certainly a massive human at 6-foot-7 and 337 pounds, but by the looks of it, he has exactly zero excess weight. He's ready to be a solid Day 1 starter for whichever team selects him in the top five. Charles Cross, Mississippi State. At a shade under 6-foot-5 with nearly 35-inch arms, Cross has the prototypical measurables for an NFL tackle. He has the skill set, too, as CBS Sports ranks him as the eighth-best prospect in this class. Daniel Faalele, Minnesota. Faalele weighed in at a whopping 384 pounds, a number the combine scales haven't seen since Wisconsin's Aaron Gibson weighed in at 386 pounds in 1999. Many draft pundits are pegging him as a Day 2 selection. Offensive line losers Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan. The reason the Austrian native lands here is because of his 32 7/8" arms, which are just below the generally acceptable 33 inches for offensive tackles in the NFL. Usually players with 33-inch arms or shorter play guard at the next level, but the tight end-turned tackle has impressed scouts throughout the draft process. CBS Sports has Raimann as the No. 6 tackle prospect and the 29th-best prospect overall.

Yes this one made me laugh. Let’s use two QBs with rocket arms and great mobility as an example

I would think that a QB from a top five conference in general is closer to done from a fundamentals perspective, while a QB from a FBS school where he was asked to play hero ball has much more upside to improve with NFL coaching. Allen did, doesn’t mean Willis can, but to outright dismiss it as impossible… With Rhule we know that no QB stands a chance to improve, but with McAdoo we actually have a proper OC/QB coach. I want an LT, but if we take a QB, I would no doubt gamble on Willis.

Anyone seen the official measurements of the top OTs yet?

Here are Allen’s stats: Here is part of his draft profile: So very similar to Willis. Allen is clearly taller and heavier, and with a much lower completion %. But again, very similar negatives.

I think you are the only one here saying “…the idea that you can just take any guy that's got great athletic ability and teach him to be an NFL level quarterback…”. Apparently he’s been very impressive in interviews, so that shows that he is more than just an athletic ability guy. He’s not a Kyle Boller with a rocket arm and dumb as a rock. Again, he might bomb but you seem to go to great lengths to downplay his skill set, even downplaying his physical skills vs. all other draft folks.

You need both, if you struggle to throw when it’s raining outside it doesn’t matter how well you read a defense. One you might be able to improve with great coaching, the other one is what it is at this point. Again I haven’t seen Willis play, but some of the comments seem to indicate he maxed out playing at Liberty for two years for a coach fired from Florida, and that doesn’t make sense to me. But sure, he might completely bomb. But if we go QB (I really prefer a LT), I’d rather gamble on someone with upside, than someone with high floor/low ceiling.

Yes, but as a high pick you really want to see the tools as well. I would still not take Mac Jones due to his limitations. But that’s me.

It was a shame Mahomes couldn’t elevate Texas Tech going 4-8, 7-6 and 5-7 during his three years as a starter

In 2020 Liberty had their best record ever at 10-1, beating Coastal in their bowl game. How is that not elevating the team?

Great write-up, really appreciate your perspective!