CBS’s mock draft has Mikey going to Lions in the first round!
Mikey will be a good slot corner and Lions could use help in the secondary. I thought he was projected for the second or third round. Good for Mikey. One of the best position switches ever.
Also, it has JJ going to Steelers. That will be a good spot for him.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:38 AM ^
Perfect fit given what the organization wants from a skill and leadership standpoint. Maybe they can trade back and pick up another second.
February 26th, 2024 at 9:51 AM ^
Not a Lions fan, so excuse my ignorance, but don't they already have their nickel spot locked up with Brian Branch? Maybe Mikey could be a pure CB, but it seems like a waste of his abilities as a nickel to move him away from his natural position. It doesn't seem like Mikey has the height teams value to take a CB in the 1st.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:53 AM ^
Here is a mock from PFN that has JJ going 6th (!) to the NYG and Sainristil going in the early second round. Also has Blake going in the seventh round (I didn’t know he was projected to fall that far, but maybe makes sense given his injury and size):
https://apple.news/AOXy20V4HRaePp18cZNqndw
February 25th, 2024 at 9:05 AM ^
Blake can help himself a lot depending on his combine numbers. Simple physics says his bench press will be outstanding, but it’ll be his 40 time, his vertical, things like that which will move him up the draft board.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:30 AM ^
Every msu and osu fan will be glued to the tv watching his 40 and praying it isn’t good while mumbling something about vacated wins.
February 25th, 2024 at 10:39 AM ^
They shouldn’t be watching tv while delivering pizzas and long haul trucking. Spluttering and paranoia they do have in abundance. Troll Majors and proud.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
honestly, there is nothing wrong with people who deliver pizzas or drive tricks longhaul.
February 25th, 2024 at 1:26 PM ^
We need way more of the latter, and we need to pay the former a living wage.
Society functions on logistics.
February 25th, 2024 at 5:17 PM ^
I don't want to pay this clown a living wage, let alone any wage....
February 26th, 2024 at 10:19 AM ^
Ufer and this ad were my motivation for the comment. Love pizza and appreciate truckers (used to handle Logistics) but not keen on these spluttering versions.
February 26th, 2024 at 9:34 AM ^
We need way more of the latter
As someone in the trucking industry, we do not need more truck drivers. We just need to somehow make it not such a shitty and dangerous job.
February 26th, 2024 at 1:52 PM ^
But I might miss my exit if I don't cut right in front of you at highway speeds to get there. You left room in between you and the car in front of your 50 tons for some reason.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:37 AM ^
His 40 will be interesting. It's the only knock on him I've ever noticed and primarily because Edwards is uncatchable.
February 25th, 2024 at 10:00 AM ^
He was catchable in the TCU game. I thought we were going to get a quick TD to start the game. But instead the defender caught up to him
February 25th, 2024 at 8:55 PM ^
It's called an angle.
It can accomplish amazing feats...🤷♂️
February 26th, 2024 at 4:22 AM ^
I'm still reveling in our National Championship, but if you must bring this up, then let's look at the facts. The defender did not catch him. The defender has an angle with a 5 yard head start, i.e. defender at the 38 and Donovan at the 33.
As Donovan breaks the line of scrimmage, the safety Bud Clark, has 5 yards on him.
Ten yards later, Clark now only leads him by 2 yards.
Another 5 yards and Edwards has already pulled even with Clark.
15 yards later, Edwards has one full yard separation but Clark is able to leap forward, briefly grabbing the back of his jersey just enough to slow him down and enable Clark to get Donovan down.
The full clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5uPfw8nkms
My only complaint with the run would be Donovan cutting upfield slightly just before the defender is able to grab his jersey. However, it appears that he sees the other defender, #1, and that is what turns him slightly and gives #26 the opportunity to grab his jersey. If he continues to his right, I think there is no way either defender gets anything other than maybe his heels.
February 26th, 2024 at 9:37 AM ^
This is a way-too-detailed and excellent response to a really dumb "ummm akshually Edwards is not fast" comment. You didn't have to do all this, but thank you for it.
February 26th, 2024 at 4:11 PM ^
EXACTLY what I was thinking!
February 25th, 2024 at 11:17 AM ^
Edwards has never seemed overly “fast” to me. He has great burst and acceleration which helps him hit holes and get to the open field but his top end speed seems pretty normal. He’s not slow by any means but his speed doesn’t really stand out to me.
February 25th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
Perception is a weird ass thing
February 25th, 2024 at 4:44 PM ^
It can be. Many fans will see elite traits like acceleration and think “fast.” That burst of getting to your top speed faster is enough to create separation, even if you have similar top end speeds. It seems like that is where Edwards excels, not his top speed being higher than everyone else.
February 26th, 2024 at 2:00 PM ^
I think he is seeing what I am seeing. He doesn't "look" fast at top speed, but he "is" fast at top speed. I don't know why, but certain runners "look" fast, but get caught, and certain players "look" normal speed, but are fast.
Denard I think fell into this category for me. He was way faster than he looked. I can't really explain what it is. They are obviously moving way faster than anyone, but their stride is too smooth or long or something, so they don't look as fast as they are. Some of the Oregon players who were fast, looked fast. It might come down to even the shoes they are wearing as lighter shoes can give a faster look than dark shoes because you can see them moving more on screen.
Just to be clear, I know both Denard and Edwards are fast. I'm just maybe understanding what he is saying and interpreting bad as to think they are not as fast as they actually are.
February 28th, 2024 at 7:44 AM ^
He has great stride length like Robert Smith of the Buckeyes and Vikings.
February 25th, 2024 at 1:44 PM ^
Ohio State and Washington fans would like to have a word with you.
February 25th, 2024 at 4:46 PM ^
I don’t think they’d disagree with me. Again, he’s not slow by any means. Where Edwards will kill you is his burst and acceleration. Creating that initial separation and making your defenders have to chase him down. Looking at his touchdowns in the games you mentioned, that seems to check out.
February 26th, 2024 at 8:57 AM ^
Stating that Ohio State fans agree with you is rarely a clincher.
February 25th, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
Interestingly, I see the opposite. Once he's up to speed, he isn't caught very often unless a safety is in position and takes a good angle on him. However, it takes him a bit to get to top speed. So many times last season he had a wide open lane that he couldn't burst into quick enough and it either closed up or allowed a defender to trip him up before he could get to open field.
February 25th, 2024 at 4:35 PM ^
Well like I said, he’s certainly not “slow.” He’s plenty fast for a back but I think it gets overrated in his game. His reported 40 time is in the mid 4.4s and draft sources project him in the 4.5 range. Not slow, but it’s not exactly elite speed either. He can outrun some guys and his speed is good enough to not get caught from behind consistently.
However, it takes him a bit to get to top speed
His biggest strength has always been his explosion and acceleration. Even as a recruit Allen Treiu noted “Compact and has prototypical size. Explosive runner with good burst and can hit the home-run.”
So many times last season he had a wide open lane that he couldn't burst into quick enough and it either closed up or allowed a defender to trip him up before he could get to open field.
See that highlights a major weakness in his game to me. Vision. He’s seeing these holes too late, or not at all, and it’s impacting his timing/ability to hit those holes. We saw in the national championship where he missed a wide open hole just to run into the butt of his blockers. Luckily, that hole remained open and he was able to hit that hole (with the excellent burst and acceleration I mentioned) on the second opportunity. Those second opportunities don’t happen often.
https://x.com/umichfootball/status/1744523697493332160?s=46&t=KBFYyyuDBE9KuWjE-WUrrg
seemed to get to top speed pretty quick here
February 25th, 2024 at 4:55 PM ^
There is also nobody even remotely in his proximity until he is 15-20 yards down field on that play. That's a lot of time to wind up.
Agreed on his vision, though. Hitting the wrong gap or finding the right one a touch late was a big issue for him last season and cost him some yardage.
February 25th, 2024 at 5:22 PM ^
But you can see him go from running into his blocker to making that cut outside and being at full speed incredibly fast. There was nobody in his vicinity largely because of his ability to get to that top speed so fast, decreasing the amount of time the defenders had to get to the right spot.
He’s plenty fast, I just don’t think he has elite speed. His acceleration to create that initial space is where he’s elite
February 26th, 2024 at 8:53 PM ^
You keep saying he doesn't seem to be fast at top speed, but I just don't agree. He's lethal and it's his best feature along with his hands.
February 25th, 2024 at 5:34 PM ^
Ask Washington how fast The Don is
February 25th, 2024 at 5:47 PM ^
Washington would note how great his acceleration was. His speed wasn’t what killed them. How quickly he got to that top speed is.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
I agree...by himself he seems plenty fast for a RB. Prob even above average
February 25th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
I cancelled my Cialis prescription. I just watch Edward’s two runs agains OSU and Washington instead and I’m ready to go.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
after 4 hours call a doctor
February 25th, 2024 at 3:29 PM ^
Not to threadjack but I'm interested if Koen Entringer gets portal'd anywhere after he caught Semaj on his punt return. Sign me up for a freshman with that kind of hustle. One of the best plays from 2023. This kid is from Ypsilanti.
Note Semaj put a foot out of bounds prior to contact but definitely caused by Koen... IMO.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:25 AM ^
I'd LOVE to see my NYG draft JJ to replace Dave Brown 2.0.
February 25th, 2024 at 10:04 AM ^
My many Giant-fan friends are lusting after Drake Maye, who I believe is Danny Dimes 2.0. J.J. would be a better choice, though I’d hate to put him behind that O-line.
February 25th, 2024 at 11:21 AM ^
For the sake of JJ’s career I hope he stays far away from either team in New York.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:44 PM ^
I concur. Leonardo voice.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:29 AM ^
He does know that Jim, not John, is the coach of the Ravens, right?
5) Los Angeles Chargers: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
Let’s dive into this pick in detail because the Los Angeles Chargers could go in several directions. Malik Nabers is a popular name that makes sense from a personnel perspective here. Joe Alt has also been linked here repeatedly and for good reason, given the common link between new head coach Jim Harbaugh and trench play.
Yet, I went elsewhere for a few reasons. In the case of Alt, flipping tackles is often a horrid practice, especially for rookies, and often sets their development back unnecessarily. This is the same rationale for keeping Rashawn Slater at left tackle; he’s an All-Pro left tackle already, and moving him could backfire.
As for Brock Bowers over Nabers, new Chargers OC Greg Roman’s time in Baltimore showcased some obvious tendencies, namely a heavy dependency on multiple TE sets.
From 2018 to 2022, the Ravens were consistently among the most 12-13-22 personnel looks and used some of the fewest 11 personnel looks. They targeted tight ends frequently throughout his tenure as well.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:31 AM ^
Maybe the author is just referencing Roman?
[N]ew Chargers OC Greg Roman’s time in Baltimore showcased some obvious tendencies, namely a heavy dependency on multiple TE sets.
February 25th, 2024 at 9:33 AM ^
Oops, I saw that and removed my post before I saw your reply. I'll put it back and take the negs so that your comment isn't out of context.
February 25th, 2024 at 11:18 AM ^
No sweat. The author could've made that more clear.
February 25th, 2024 at 4:02 PM ^
Blake is the #1 RB in this draft class no way he drops to the 7th. He is 5 for 7 210 lbs which is huge for that size. He has 4.5 maybe 4.4 speed and agility and vision that is amazing. He will be a steal for whatever team drafts him.
February 26th, 2024 at 10:02 AM ^
One of Harbaugh's favorite players, Frank Gore, was drafted number 3 overall about 20 years ago. He was a little taller than Corum, but ran a 4.58 at the combine and also had a knee injury in college (of course, later in the pros as well). It's funny how much the game has changed. To me, they both seem to have the instincts and desire to overcome any physical limitations (such as they are) to become great RBs. I'm sure Corum will be fueled by however many teams, however many times, decide to pass on him. On a side note, Gore's son is a draft-eligible RB this year. Will be interesting to see who goes first and what (if any) role Harbaugh plays.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:56 AM ^
Have there been any mocks with JJ going 1st?
February 25th, 2024 at 9:09 AM ^
I’ve seen more lately with him in the first. Teams like his skill set and know next year’s class is weak.