LinvilleGorge

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see us trade down. Not having 2nd and 3rd round picks hurts and I don't think we'll hesitate to trade down if the right opportunity presents itself.

I really try to keep my college allegiance out of my prospect opinions. I said last year I wouldn't draft Dyami Brown in the first two rounds because of my concerns about his hands. He was never a natural catcher of the football. Dude could fly and he could get open, but the catch was a dicey proposition. Not as dicey as Ginn but he honestly reminded me a lot of Ginn. As a UNC fan, sure I hate state. But I'd have no problem drafting Ikem Ekwonu and honestly might be pounding the table for him if we had a QB. Even if he doesn't work out at OT, with his physicality and run blocking abilities I think his floor is a very good OG and lord knows we need those too so I'd view him as about as safe of a pick as we could make for our roster with the caveat of calling any pick "safe" is laughable in the crap shoot that is the NFL draft.

Honestly, I don't know. I can tell you as someone who watched every game he played that he didn't have many batted down. Will that translate at the NFL level? I don't know. Keep in mind though that Cam was 6'5" and Cam had way more balls tipped at the LOS than you would think for a guy at that height. I think a lot of it was because of the style of ball he threw. Dude threw lasers. They got there fast but they also came across the LOS low.

Everyone here should know by now that I'm a big Heels and Howell fan. I was planning to do a breakdown of him as an NFL prospect, but this guy basically did it for me. I can't find a whole lot to disagree with here so I'll just link this: https://steelersdepot.com/2022/01/2022-nfl-draft-player-profiles-north-carolina-qb-sam-howell/ I'll add... Biggest strength: - Physically, it's throwing the deep ball. He throws an accurate very catchable deep ball. Don't get triggered by these names, but in terms of the style of deep ball he throws think Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers. He has an ability to throw a ball that somehow both has a lot of air under it yet doesn't get "floaty" giving safeties a chance to make a great break on it. - Mentally, it's his competitive fire and ability to stay even keel. The guy is willing to do whatever it takes to give his team a chance and he doesn't get rattled or frustrated when the game isn't going well or the OL is getting blown up or receivers are dropping balls. Biggest weakness: - Physically, it's his height. He's probably six feet even on a good day. The pounding he took this season has to give you a little pause too. He took a prime Cam Newton type of pounding this year playing behind a porous OL while oftentimes being relied upon as the primary ball carrier on the ground. - Mentally, it's his risk/reward analysis. It has to evolve at the NFL level. As a pure passer, I actually think he's there. He usually does a great job of managing risk while still taking manageable chances. It has more to do with him as a runner and a scrambler. He's built like Stephen Davis and runs like him too. You don't want your QB taking that type of pounding. 3rd down in the second half of a tight game? Do your thing young man. 1st quarter? Get down and protect yourself. Similar story as a scrambler. He has the mentality that no play is ever dead and he always has a chance to make a play. That leads to some highlight reels but it also leads to some bad sacks. He has to develop a better feel for when to push the envelope and when to toss it into the stands. NFL comparison: Everyone wants to say Baker Mayfield and I get it. Physically they're very similar. I think Howell is a bit better of an athlete and I think Mayfield has a bit better natural arm talent (keep in mind, Mayfield has the longest pass thrown in terms of yards in air in NFL history to his credit). The breakdown I linked mentioned Wilson as a comp and I can get that too. Mentally, I think he's a much better comp vs. Mayfield. So if you let me combine them, I say Mayfield physically and Wilson mentally. I have another name in mind specifically, but I don't want this thread to go off the rails from the get go. There's gonna have to be a trigger warning involved.

More bluntly, I think he's afraid of him and his staff's ability to identify and develop a rookie. They did make runs at Watson and Stafford just to be chuckled at and told "nah, I'm good". Maybe that changes with the addition of McAdoo? He did hire Watson's old QB coach and I do think that was done in part to try to move the needle on Watson but it wasn't enough to make him sign off on coming here. But it's worth noting that Sean Ryan was the QB coach for Watson's first two years in the NFL so I don't think he's a guy who would be scared of developing a rookie who isn't seen as a slam dunk type of prospect. Remember, Watson was the 12th overall pick and third QB off the board.

Ultimately I think he's beholden to this idea of making it work with a non-premium vet option. I think he's wrong. He's had two seasons of getting his ass kicked to come to grips with that. We'll see if he has or not.

I don't think it's a size thing as much as it's a mentality thing. Stopping the run in football is a lot like rebounding in basketball. Sure, there's absolutely technique involved, but it's a lot of will and want to as well. Burns is a finesses edge rusher. That's just who he is. Jason Taylor had a more slender build than Burns but he could still set the edge vs. the run. Burns CAN too. He just has to want to. He's gotta play with the same vigor when he's setting the edge as when he's getting after the QB or pursuing the run. In short, he's great as a pursuit run defender but he's poor as an edge setter and I think it has more to do with mentality than physical tools.

I can't agree on the "remarkably stout run defender" part. When you run power concepts right at home he struggles to set the edge. Speed or zone concepts he's much better at defending primarily because he seems to always be looking to make the tackle himself. Sometimes as a lineman against the run you have to sacrifice and eat up that blocked and rely on the guys behind you to make the play because if you don't then that lineman is going to get downfield and that's when you get gashed.

He's a really good, disruptive speed edge rusher. Really good pursuing the run when it's away from him. He's a liability when you run the ball at him. In short, he's just like every NFL player outside of a small handful of the very elite in that he has clear strengths and weaknesses.

Because the draft is always a big question mark. There are steals and busts in every draft class. The story a decade from now could very well end up being how this was the most underrated QB draft class in history and laughing about all the overrated It's and edge rushers who pushed QBs down the board. I've learned over the years to never talk in absolutes about the draft. There are just waaaaaaay too many variables at play. Sure, I'll develop strong opinions about certain prospects but I know I'm gonna be right sometimes and I'm gonna be wildly wrong sometimes. And guess what? So will NFL teams. It's a damn crap shoot.

We know. But you don't want to go through the list of 1st round OL busts over the last two decades. OL used to be one of the safest 1st round picks a team could make but they has gotten dumped on its head in the past 20 years. That's all I'm saying here. That "OL safe pick" myth is dead.

You really gotta chill. Find a way to voice your opinions in a more intelligent manner. You get way too emotionally involved in other people's opinions on draft prospects that none of us have a magic crystal ball to see how they'll ultimately turn out in the NFL.

Willis is huge boom or bust. There's no question about the physical talent. If we draft him after passing on Fields I'll be scratching my head. There were way less questions about Fields who was also dripping with physical talent.

Said about every highly touted OL prospect ever. Robert Gallery was considered a once in a decade type OT prospect.

I think we will move on from Darnold. The only question I have is how Tepper can still be sitting there watching as Rhule swings and misses on QBs, trading valuable future assets for those QBs, and singling valuable future cap space into those QBs and still think he has the right man captaining this ship. Yes, we need to solve the QB problem. But you're best way of doing that is with draft capital and/or cap space. Rhule is hamstringing us on both by flailing wildly with his moves at QB.

I don't need to read draftnik opinions on guys who I've watched play a ton. One of these guys says something and then it starts getting parroted around by the rest of them like it's a cold hard fact. If Sam Howell struggled with pressure UNC might not have won a game this year with the state of their OL and defense and considering they only had one legit pass catching weapon. Yes, pressure effects QBs. We saw Brady struggle with pressure in TB's playoff loss. We saw Bama's QB that many fans want #1 overall next year struggle with pressure in the national championship game. But does Howell handle pressure better than most college QBs? Yeah. Someone is going to get a great buy low opportunity on Howell as his stock slides a bit because he had no supporting cast this year. It won't slide as much as draftniks think because NFL teams scouting 1st round QBs will watch every snap the kid has ever taken at the college level and likely plenty at the HS level too.

Dude is certified nuts. I don't know I it's coincidence or not or maybe it just wasn't as widely known previously that he was looney, but it certainly seemed to get a lot worse after that Burfict decapitation hit.

Interesting opinion. It almost seems like you've watched Howell play some actual games.

Our smartest move would probably be to try to trade back a few spots to recoup some of the draft capital we've pissed away and draft Howell and then spend the majority of the rest of our available assets on beefing up the OL. But we've made very few smart football decisions under Tepper's brilliant Appaloosa Model.

Sam Darnold is your best option if you're shooting for the #1 overall pick in 2023. The guy we just hired as OC says Darnold sucks.

NO.

I don't think he ultimately goes top 10 either, but the interview process will be key. Taking Lamar Jackson in the top 10 would've been crazy talk too, but in retrospect it would've been a smart move by whoever made it.

I can believe it. This team is going nowhere until we solve the QB question. Willis is a helluva intriguing physical talent. His draft status is going to rely heavily on the interview process. Pickett... yeah, gonna have to agree to disagree there. I just don't see it.

I think Strong is basically Jacob Eason. He better get really good at reading defenses and making quick decisions because he has no ability to go off script. You don't want a Johnny Manziel type where he just wants to basically go into the huddle and say, "Okay, broken play scramble drill on three! Let's go!" but you'd like some ability to buy time or make something happen when the play breaks down. Sure, it didn't matter for Tom Brady and Peyton Manning but do you really want to bet on this kid having that level of football mind?