David Bell
Day 1: QB, TE, WR
I tried to look at all that I saw on Day one and establish a view that makes sense. At the very least, it is a task that takes days. Even before I can make a judgment about the “numbers”, I know that I will look at certain players and reject others. Already today, I have re-evaluated a view of two Wide Receivers. Today, because I doubt that the Chiefs will draft a Quarterback, I only took a cursory view of the players. The position is also something that I have no expertise in analyzing. So, let me establish that fact before I start with the group.
Quarterbacks
I came away with deciding in my own mind that Sam Howell is going to be a top NFL QB. He marked my chart in several aspects. He has good speed, body balance, size, and length. Analysts decided he took a step back as a QB. I watched him specifically more closely than all the rest. Howell has the arm to reach deep with his passing game for the over-the-top work. At the same time, his passes are hard, fast, and crisp. He had passes measured at 59 MPH. When challenged to throw deep, he showed a strong presence and hit deep targets. In the short passing drill he was accurate. Everything about Howell tells me that the Tar Heel, is going to get a complete package type player because not only is Howell capable of playing at a high level in the aerial attack, he is also a dominant force running the football. Here, you need to check out his game films but a basic stat that I make a priority is that he ran for over 1,000 yards and broke 63 tackles. This tells me for the pro game, the RPO is going to be part and parcel of how an NFL team will use him.
Sam Howell you can “Sling it”:
There are other QBs. But I thought Howell solidified his position as a round one prospect in the draft.
Desmond Ridder caught my attention with his “Vertical”. His 40 time was 4.49U. Otherwise, I see him as a good prospect, but not a round one type pick.
There were other Quarterbacks of course. Ridders 40 time was the best among QBs. I will leave it there for now. Ridder himself, things he should be the first QB off the board. Ranked in front of these two men are Malik Willis(Liberty), Kenny Pickett(Pittsburgh), followed by Howell and Ridder. One more note: Kaleb Elbey (Western Michigan) showed well today also. He is listed as Drafttek’s #9 QB.
Tight Ends
The 2022 class of Tight Ends is very deep. I liked the overall speed of the ranked tight ends, the smoothness of several in catching the ball. I always pay attention to the “Gauntlet for Tight Ends. Jalen Wydermyer(Texas A&M) and Dan Bellinger(San Diego St) each manhandled the sled. Not a category I worry about much since I look for coaches to be able to manage blocking Technique, for the different roles that TE’s fulfill in today’s game. The TE that caught my eye was Trey McBride(Colorado State). Put simply, he has “burst” with his speed quotidian which adds to his prowess for today’s NFL. He made a superb leaping grab of a pass in the passing drill and he was very smooth with great presence in the “Gauntlet”. By Speed, we are talking at 4.49-40. McBride should be the first TE off the board and he helped himself at the combine. The separation between McBride and all the rest? I think you are talking about later round 2 and round 3 choices otherwise. Even Wydermyer is probably a day 2 pick at the very best.
The Wide Receivers
The 2022 Draft is a class of Aliens. There are so many receivers who recorded in the 4.3s, or less, in the 40, that I would be hard-pressed to even isolate and separate them. It was that impressive a performance by the Wideouts across the board. In fact, the NFL tweeted about the speed demons themselves:
THIS WR CLASS IS SO FAST, MY GOD. -NFL
So let us focus on naming names and covering just a bit on several young players. I first want to call attention to the most diminutive WR that I watched Calvin Austin. He did so well, that his broad Jump ended up a 1 inch short of the TE who won the day: 11’4″ was the longest of the day. Austin’s long jump was 11’3″. Austin’s Vertical was 39″ and his 40 time was 4.32 Sec. That held the day until it was likely broken by Tyquan Thornton, which may well have set a new record of all time at 4.21. The thing about Austin is he is 5’7″ tall. That is a detriment. I know for a fact that Austin was the topic of many conversations for his outstanding day and the pundits commented about it extensively.
Some of the WRs that I think about drafting showed up speed, hands, and smoothness-wise. Chris Olave (Ohio St) especially. But one WR I follow is George Pickens(Georgia) because of the College football playoff catch. You could toss a coin in regard to these young guys, and you wouldn’t get a miss if Speed was the only qualifier. Both Olave (who got a holy-moly) …
… and then… 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. George Pickens had times in the 4.40 range.
To see “the Catch” in the college football championship game, go here to this article.
These players are going to need to be sifted, and film analyzed and there are far more capable people who can do that outside of Tech pundits and certainly team analysts themselves.
The speed of this year’s class was outstanding. Other attributes were observable. I still, in my heart, like Pickens and Olave. You pick the favorite from among all the top WRs. It’s an impossible task to separate them without examining game tape.
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David Bell – ArrowheadOne
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