Mel Kiper 2017 Top 10 at each offensive position ($)
Jake Butt listed at #1 TE (duh) but has Mason Cole as the #1 underclassman center without ever playing a snap at the position in a game I believe. That's pretty high praise even given the Mel Kiper grain of salt. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
....Of course what he fails to mention is how Mason is not NFL ready yet and will need another year of seasoning before going pro *wink wink*
http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2016/insider/story/_/id/15499906/nfl-draft-…
Jehu is fast and has pretty good hands, but has never leapt off the page with leaping ability or size or other things you often see in NFL receivers
Respectfully, I'm inclined to disagree here. Jehu has all the talent he needs to be a great NFL receiver. I didn't see one game last year where he was given an opportunity to catch something wildly hard [but possible] and failed. Amara obviously did with that amazing catch against BYU. I think when tested in that capacity, he'll prove his true capability. Bias aside.
vs NFL quality CBs and has a very good size/speed combo. He's also a tremendous blocker and a serious threat on end arounds. I think he was a top ten WR for the second half of last season.
Agree. Didn't Hargreaves go in the first round? Granted, maybe he was taking the bowl game off, but still, Jehu torched him.
Yes, he did go in the first round. I think the whole Florida team took the bowl game off.
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No, I don't. I say it in a manner in which I suggest that Florida took the game off. I didn't say a word about Michigan. Don't create a controversial statement where there isn't one.
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Did the Leidner family hire a PI to take compromising pics of both McShay and Kiper? McShay had him going in the 20s in the first round next year, and now Kiper has him as the #2 Sr. QB and a 1st round possibility? Or is this Kiper throwing McShay some cover for that projection?
All the underclassmen would go before him.
look at Leidner and think, "that guy really needs to take better care of himself."
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Teams likely see a lot of similarities with Jacksonville QB Blake Bortles as well. He's a big body that can run pretty well and break some tackles and has a decent arm in terms of strength, but his mechanics are wildly broken and not really improving. I honestly wouldn't even have him as a draftable player. But he threw nearly 60% in a "pro-style" offense, has started a long time, and has the size/athletic tools scouts look for, so until other guys pass him, apparently he's "up there".
And Beathard shouldnt be a sleeper. That guy is legit. He is, right now, far and away one of the top 2 QBs in the league along with Barrett, and if it wasn't for Barrett's freshman year, he would be far and away the best. The guy can make all the throws you ask of him, far sideline, corner, post, whatever. Threw nearly 62% last year despite going deep an awful lot and not having much in the way of receivers outside of possession TEs and some raw WRs. Iowa doesn't give him a lot of opportunity to shine because of their offense, but I bet he ends up a top 6 QB in next year's draft as they open up their offense a bit more for him.
I think you're looking: Watson, Chad Kelly (Ole Miss), Falk (Wash St), Dane Evans (Tulsa), Gunner Kiel (Cincinatti), Brad Kaaya (Miami), and Beathard in some order. Some of those guys would have to declare early, Baker Mayfield could likely convince a team he's Johnny Football without the issues, Falk will have to convince people he isn't just another Leach system QB, Kelly has to drastically read the field better, but yeah, Beathard is a legit NFL prospect (and all those guys are significantly better than Leidner). Beathard is more college ready than probably all but 3 or 4 QBs.
I've heard from a couple scouts who already had a jumpstart on 2017 QB class. They said Watson is the only QB who can potentially be drafted at 1st round. They're a big fan of Mayfield, but would like to see his progression this season. They're not as big of a fan of Kaaya because he's mechanical in movement and throws and doesn't do well beyond first read.
They have Chad Kelly as a draftable QB (not top 2 rounds though), but he has big time off field issues that he must address. Gunner Kiel has fallen off out of their favor and needs to shed injury label (also his play last season hasn't been all that good). They're not a big fan of Dane Evans and ambivalent on Luke Falk.
They told me to keep an eye out on CJ Beathard and said that he's a name to watch for the 2017 draft. I agree with them. He's legit and can really play IMO. He just doesn't have anything beyond the running game.
JT is likely going to be a better college QB than a pro QB unless he makes a huge progression as a QB.
Well, he did throw 14 TDs and 11 picks last year while completing less than 60% of his passes, so he's clearly worth the gamble. I mean, the #2 pick this year was a guy from NDSU...
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speaking of not being ready for the nfl, Jourdan Lewis is looking notably taller nowadays.
Yep. I saw him the other day, and dude is about 6-foot-twenty
If Cole leaves, the 2017 OL will be seriously depleted. I'm probably missing someone, but wouldn't be we down to Newsome, Kugler, Dawson, JBB, Runyan, Ulizio, and the incoming freshmen (Bredeson, Onwenu, Spenellis)? Not a lot of room for error there. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few of those guys worked into the lineup a bit this year.
Cole isn't leaving. I can't even recall the last Michigan lineman who left for the NFL before his eligibility expired. He's also an interior player on the next level and thoe guys usually aren't as high of picks as tackles.
In terms of the 2017 OL, I'm guessing Cole, Newsome, and Bredeson will be locks to start with guys like Onwenu, Dawson, Kugler, and possibly a FR like Isaiah Wilson pushing for the other two spots.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the interior comment.
As far as guys leaving early, both Long and Lewan seriously considered it. But of course, they were LTs.
I don't think Harbaugh would encourage a guy to leave who has a 3rd round grade.
However, if you're going to be a 1st round pick, I don't see any point in staying in school unless you're already set up for life with family wealth or something.
unfortunately 2017 OL will likely be depleted regardless. theyve signed 3, 3, 2 and 2 OL over the past 4 classes (though they initially signed 6 in 2013) which is not enough.
youre absolutely right, theres no room for error. itll be interesting to see how harbaugh and drevno go about identifying 7-8 capable bodies and then molding into cohesive OL (especially since they cant supplement via JC prospects like almost every other top program).
development of younger players at OL and DL will go a long way to determining how good this team will be in 2017 and 2018 (and adding elite players this class capable of stepping in early would be great)
I wouldn't sleep on the 2017 class. Our depth chart is a draw for some very highly rated recruits. You hate to rely on true freshmen, but one stepping up would not be a big surprise either. We saw it with Cole and with Drevno's one year at USC.
And like it or not, OSU did a good job with this situation in the last couple of years too. There is precedence.
I don't see why Cole would leave early. If he is projected as an interior lineman or even a SAK, wouldn't two years of C/G give him a better chance of going early in the draft?
Sometimes there isn't much room to move up and inside OL have relatively low ceilings in the draft. His best bet might be to move back to tackle for his senior season. At this point, it's impossible to make a good guess at our top five OL in 2017.
Cole is going to have to DOMINATE to leave early. I mean like best center of all-time dominate.
It's far more likely he still plays at an All-American level, returns for his senior year...is a captain and widely considered the best C in Michigan history when he leaves as a Rimington Award Winner and late first round to mid-2nd round draft pick.
No pressure, kid.
Signed David Molk, David Baas, Rod Payne, John Vitale, Tom Dixon, George Lilja, Watt Downing... just to name a few fairly recent All-Americans at that position.
EDIT: Meant as a reply to Mr. Yost.
Don't forget Steve Everitt.
Rod Payne was the best center I've seen at Michigan IMO.
Roy Tarpley was a pretty darn good center, too! ;)
Pad level was amazing.
I seem to recall a two-way star who won consecutive national chamionships and then went on to become president. Not that becoming president makes him the best center in M history, but Cole would be in elite company just to be among the top 5 centers.