When Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph entered the 2011 draft, he was known for being a big-bodied, punishing pass-catcher. He could block well in-line and could catch well in the middle of the field. Now two years later, tight end Tyler Eifert is next in line to be a successful Golden Domer at the position, but he has little in common with Rudolph.
Everyone who follows a morsel of football should be familiar with West Virginia’s Geno Smith by now. He’s the best quarterback in the 2013 draft class, some say. No, he’s the most inconsistent ever, others say. Some just don’t know what to think of Smith; they’re being pulled in each direction and don’t really know what to make of a quarterback who threw the least amount of interceptions among his fellow prospects but the most amount of throws behind the line of scrimmage.
It’s that kind of draft class.
There’s no such thing as a “safe” prospect. It’s an illusion that many — scouts and general managers included — fall into when evaluating prospects. Yet that label is frequently attached to collegiate athletes during draft season, and it doesn’t always quite work out. Aaron Curry was that player in 2009 when the Seattle Seahawks selected him fourth overall, and all he’s been is a risk to put on the field. This year, the safe player to some – namely Mike Mayock – is Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner.
It was only five months ago that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. called for the Kansas City Chiefs, the holders of the No. 1 overall pick in this April’s draft, to select Manti Te’o with their first round selection.
“There’s no Andrew Luck, no RG3, no quarterback, what they desperately need,” Kiper said. ”They have to think about, OK, you have the two outside linebackers, you don’t need Jarvis Jones. You bring a Manti Te’o in next to Derrick Johnson, the veteran, all of a sudden that front seven, particularly that linebacking core, would be arguably one of the best in the NFL, potentially.”
In hindsight, the comment is most certainly laughable, as there is no chance of the Chiefs doing exactly that, but also makes the mind wonder just how good Te’o really is. If one is to believe the current state of the media, Te’o's something like a tebow-esque linebacker. But that’s far from the truth according to the tape, which shows a good (not great) linebacker who has the ability to impact games with his rugged run defense and instincts in pass defense. It also shows a guy who might be slightly overrated and perhaps not the best player at his position in the class, but still a good defender who can impact teams and is worthy of first round consideration.
During the four day combine extravaganza, NFL Network interviewed a series of individuals to share their thoughts on the workouts taking place. One of them was former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who is now out of work. He shed light on how he evaluated draft prospects and was very quotable during his stay on the air. One of the noteworthy messages from Tannenbaum was this: if one takes good players from good schools and asks them to do exactly what they did in college, they’ll be successful the majority of the time.
When considering the prospects in this draft, there’s perhaps no player that could suit Tannenbaum’s draft philosophy more than LSU’s Kevin Minter.
Dion Jordan has been one of the highest rated prospects for this April’s draft for a long time now. First lauded as a first-round selection, he’s now considered a surefire top 10 selection after tearing up the NFL Scouting Combine.
The Oregon defensive end and outside linebacker measured in at six-foot-six and 248 pounds, nearly 20 pounds heavier than the 226 pounds he played at during his senior season. He also ran a 4.6 40-yard dash and looked fluid in coverage drills despite his towering frame. That athleticism is one of the key components of his scouting report. But questions still linger for some about his ability to consistently rush the passer.
Lane Johnson is a lock to be selected in the top half of the draft’s first round because of his rare athleticism. There simply aren’t many offensive tackles in this draft or even in the league already who are like him.
In run blocking, he can drop his weight and cut block on the backside of a zone play or perform a slip block to the second level as part of the zone blocking scheme’s famous combination block. When it comes to pass blocking, he matches the movements of pass-rushers with ease. If beaten by a step at the line, he usually ends up a step ahead of the rusher.
That’s rare, but not first overall pick rare. Or top offensive tackle rare.
