Your draft picks are in! Predict where they go?
Now is your chance to show your chops as an NFL analyst / guru extraordinare. Job slots open at ESPN too, if you don't mind working for free.
1. Do any UM players get drafted TONIGHT (1st round) and, if so, by whom?
2. Which UM players go TOMORROW night (2d & 3d rounds)? (Kudos if you wanna pick where but that's really a crap shoot).
I will say: Jabrill tonight by the Saints (last pick) -- they need defense something fierce, their coach likes UM, Jabrill even opens up a possible weapon for Brees time to time, plus they get special teams covered.
Tomorrow -- Taco and Jake. Lewis's legal thing notsogood for his draft status.
Lions take Taco in 1st round, trade up to get Jabrill in 2nd round, get Lewis in 3rd round, and Jake Butt in 4th round.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
Please god no! Let those young men go somewhere where they have a chance to have a nice career.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:19 AM ^
You can have a nice career with the Lions. You just won't ever win anything.
April 27th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
Mags, times are a changin'. In my 40 year Lion fandom, not until Quinn recently came along, thanks to Ms. Martha Ford, have we truly prioritized the lines, and/or understood the vast importance of the trenches, and he has acted accordingly, in draft and in FA recently, when he snagged Lang from GB which has GB fuming.
Quinn gets it, and in a few more drafts, we will be built to last, and that is when the incidental winning happens, and when you can really make a run. I will be watching intently this draft, if he continues stacking the trenches.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^
..."my 40 year Lion fandom". j/k
I think this is the first time since the Barry years where there's real reason for hope. But Ansah's rookie deal expires after the season and Stafford is also looking at a new contract. I don't see how the Lions make this work without crippling the salary cap in the future. Hopeful, but still concerned.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
and that includes re-signing Stafford and Ansah. Every team has a handful of players on their 2nd contracts, this won't be any different.
April 27th, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^
Players would certainly be used to that. Perfect fit!
April 27th, 2017 at 12:53 PM ^
So you're saying you can possibly make decent money with the Lions, just don't waste any of it building a trophy display case Immediately upon being drafted. Great comment.
Jabrill does not get past my Steelers in the first round. I see Taco going earlier than that; not sure who.
tonight sees JP and Taco gone.
Tomorrow I bet JD, Wormley, and maybe Butt.
Day 3 sees a lot of guys go, Darboh, Chesson early. Don't sleep on Clark either. Recovering from injury hurt him quite a bit, but he's got good size and film.
The Poconos?
100% chance Wormley goes day 2 (round 2 or 3, I'm assuming mid 2nd)
1) None drafted tonight
2) Taco and Jabrill in top half of the 2nd. Wormley top half of 3rd, and Butt in the bottom half of the 3rd.
Butt is definitely bottom half
Taco is projected first round everywhere I've looked. Someone is taking him tonight. He's projected, in some cases, as high as 11th. I don't think he'll go that high, but he's getting a call tonight.
Would like to see the lions take Taco but feel they have bigger concerns at LB. I think JP goes to the Steelers tonight and Taco to the Cowboys. Lewis and Wormley in the 3rd, the receivers in the 4th and the rest after. I do think Clark and Stribbs both get drafted.
Taco - 1st
Jabrill - 2nd
Wormley - 3rd
Lewis - 3rd
Butt - 4th
Glasgow - 5th
Darboh - 6th
Magnuson - 6th
Stribling - 6th
Chesson - 7th
Gedeon - 7th
Outliers: Hill, Thomas
is too much of a physical marvel to pass up.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^
Literally everyone on 97.1 talks about Taco like he is a reach for the Lions now. Freaking Stoney refered to him as a situational pass rusher!
He exploded as a senior only because he was used less as a junior. His numbers his junior year told everyone he would be one of the best DE this season, and he played up to the hype. And he isn't Just a Pass Rusher(tm). He is stout against the run, plays within his rushing lane really well, and can literally run a LT back into his QB.
Guy is a stud.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:14 PM ^
Your first problem is that you listened to 97.1 in the first place.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^
who knows very little on the subject.
Taco goes to Dallas at 28 is my guess. Unless one of the top 2-3 CBs fall further than expected or Barnett is somehow still on the board.
Peppers, Wormley, Butt and Lewis all go tomorrow hopefully!! I could see Peppers going with one of the last 2-3 picks tonight but I thinks it's more likely he is an early second rounder.
Two Wolverines go in the first round tonight:
Taco goes to the Bucs. They trade back from the 19th spot to pick up maybe a 3rd or 4th round pick, pass on Cook, and decide to help out their DL. Right now McCoy is the only real difference maker they have on the line.
Peppers gets picked up by the Cowboys. With their entire secondary depleted, Jones will be looking to add some versatility in the back end of the defense. Peppers provides that and more, and maybe occasionally gives their offense another weapon to in certain packages. Trying to defend against Prescott, Bryant, Elliott and Peppers, all with the best OL in the game, would be a near impossible task.
I think Jake going in the first round is highly unlikely. He's torn his ACL twice, and even though he's a proven commodity, there's no telling what he'll be like when he gets back. Even if he was healthy I'd think he's a round 2 guy. I'm thinking he's a day two or very early day three kind of guy. He won't last past round 4.
I think Lewis, Butt and possibly Wormley get called tomorrow. Maaaaaybe Glasgow, but I'm thinking he's more likely a Day 3 guy.
April 27th, 2017 at 11:49 AM ^
If Taco is available at #19, the Bucs better take him if they want him! He won't last much further than that, and I wouldn't trust that he'd be there were I that GM.
I see Taco in the first. Peppers, IMO, was a first round lock until the diluted sample. That moved him to the second. But I would be ecstatic to see Quinn take him at #21!! Won't happen, but he would fit nicely. I'd also be very pleased to see Cook taken by Quinn at 21 if Taco isn't there.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
when it comes to Butt's draft position.
I have a friend who is a scout with the Bengals and they don't have him in their top four. Part of that is his injury but they were never very high on his ability to get seperation in the NFL. They don't currently have him in their top four TE's.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:26 AM ^
TE class is deep with elite athletes. Jake Butt's 2 ACL injuries is hurting his stock and the fact that he's an average athlete (especially when you compare to the rest like Howard, Njoku, Kittle, Shaheen, Engram, Hodges), it doesn't help his case at all.
4th round is the earliest that I can see him getting drafted but 5th round seems reasonable. They viewed him as a #2 TE and is similiar to Indy Colts TE, Jack Doyle.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:32 PM ^
tight end class ever for the draft
April 27th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
Taco night Thursday.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^
I think there is a team out there leaking all this bad news on Jabrill with the hopes he falls to them late in the 1st round. I predict both he and Taco will get selected tonight.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
I think Taco Charlton goes in the first, with Peppers high in the second and Wormley in the middle of the second. Butt slips to the third, and Darboh and Chesson go in the fourth or fifth. All of which is a WAG, without much research.
The fun thing will be if Malik McDowell slips into the late second round or the third round. Especially after the Connor Cook debacle last year. WOTS is that McDowell's interviews were among the worst ever at the combine, and certainly some of the worst this year. "Come to Michigan State, where even if you somehow avoid trouble with the law and display exceptional potential, people still question your character and drive."
April 27th, 2017 at 10:22 AM ^
You wonder if going to Michigan would have changed his character or not. His mom wanted him at Michigan, but he wanted to hang with his bad influence friends at MSU. Kudos to him for at least staying out of trouble on a team that has had a lot of trouble.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^
the Lions guys I have been reading say there's no way the Lions take McDowell. Some in the organization think he will keep being the same person he is if he stays in Michigan. A change of scene would probably benefit him. But I think he is a fringe day 2/early day 3 guy. High upside but high risk.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:17 PM ^
Never mind Detroit. He'd be the same guy if he was in Beijing.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:24 AM ^
The Dolphins take Charlton at #22.
Peppers becomes the top pick in round 2.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:36 AM ^
The Dolphins take Charlton at #22, and this board loses its damn mind because the Lions did not take him at #21.
(Like the rending of garments here when KCP was - IMO intelligently - taken over Trey Burke.)
Charlie Batch over Elvis Grbac
April 27th, 2017 at 10:24 AM ^
I'd be pretty shocked if peppers went in the first round. Think taco is the only shot to have his name called tonight. Wormley and peppers tomorrow night. Maybe Lewis or butt sneaks into the back half of the third round
April 27th, 2017 at 10:32 AM ^
Peppers is pegged as a 1st rounder in a lot of mock drafts, and even where he's not, he's looked at as a high 2nd round pick. It's pretty common for those guys to slip into the 1st round and push some low 1st rounders into the 2nd round.
It may not be likely, but it shouldn't be shocking at all.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
I'd be very surprised. These guys have a lot of insider information. The fact that Peppers is all over the place either means every team has putting out smokescreens on him or more likely no team is targeting him with their first round pick leading to a lack of rumors for the analysts to use. I mean sure it could happen, but I'd say over 80% chance he isn't picked in the first which to me would qualify as shocked.
Your definition of shocked is weird then. If you had four blue marbles and one maize marble in a bag and you picked one at random, and it was the maize marble, you would be shocked?
I would be pleasantly surprised if I selected the maize marble.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:29 AM ^
Never saw pep as a 1, doesn't really have a position. Jack of all master of none applies here.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
I think that's an asset, not a drawback. The NFL loves guys who can be slotted in at multiple spots, and Peppers can play LB, CB, or S.
April 27th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
positions are so NFL circa 2010
pep can't play cb. prob can't play lb unless on passing downs. he was getting swallowed on most run plays towards him.
Nope and nope. Demonstrably false on both and NFL scouts are saying he can play CB, S, and LB in certain situations.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
Taco: early 2nd
Jabrill: early 2nd
Wormley: mid 2nd
Darboh: mid to late 3rd
Lewis: late 3rd to UDFA (has DV trail plus stuck in the deepest CB class in years)
Butt: mid 4th to early 5th
Hill: 6th
Chesson: 6th
Gedeon: 6th
Stribling: 6th
Clark: 6th
Glasgow: 7th
Thomas: 7th to UDFA
Braden: 7th to UDFA
Kalis: 7th to UDFA
Smith: UDFA
Magnuson: UDFA
April 27th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
Lance Zeirlein from NFL.com says that due to the domestic violence charges against Lewis, he is likely to be undrafted now. GTFO
April 27th, 2017 at 10:37 AM ^
That's...good?
I mean, if the NFL decides to take a stand against criminals and abusers, then good for them. It seems an odd place to start with Lewis, but as long as they apply it to Joe Mixon and others, then I'm okay with it.
Personally, I think Lewis is going to get drafted. The NFL hasn't shown in the past that it cares THAT much about stuff like this, and Frank Clark is a familiar example from just two years ago.
April 27th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
Mixon is too good for teams to try and take a stand on this issue. They make examples of people who aren't going to be game changers or are at the end of their career (compare how the league blacklisted Ray Rice, but had no problem with Greg Hardy)