From ESPN NFL Insiders (TV) 3. Jags - Dante Fowler jr. 5. Skins - Shane Ray 7. Bears - Leonard Williams (no way he falls this far!) 8. Falcons - Randy Gregory 13. Saints - Vic Beasley 15. 49ers - Arik Armstead 22. Steelers - Bud Dupree 29. Colts - Eli Harold I think the best are Fowler, Gregory, and Ray, in that order. Forget the off the field noise, unless it's really something big, these 3 are the best on the field. (forget Williams, he's going top 5)
Well, it was on today's Insider show, so I assume it's his latest mock....not sure when he made it, but presumably it's fairly recent. Ray will prob. fall, I agree with you, but not necessarily. All it takes is one team willing to overlook the short-term issues for a potential long-term solution at LB.
w/ Shane Ray going down - pass-rushers are now even more valued. Redskins and Jets can find excellent value via tradedown
I can easily see Williams falling, I think I'm one of the only people that see him as overrated but I do. I don't think he is anywhere as good of a prospect as Nick Fairley was coming out of college.
Casserly said the same thing this morning on NFL radio. I'm under the impression that Williams is a solid pick, he's not Suh but he's going to be a good DL that has almost no chance at being a bust. On the flipside, I see all of these pass rushers as having the potential of flopping in the NFL. I really like Fowler, but the rest of them have questions to their game (and some their off-field decision making).
I think Williams absolutely can be a bust, although I see him having a OK career. Nothing special but consistent. Kind of like Ellis was for us. The only pass rushers I would take a shot on at 6 is Fowler and Gregory. IMO
Wow, Shane Ray at #5 with a broken foot and pot bust? That seems overly optimistic to me. FWIW the 'Skins GM said he will try to trade down if Williams is on the board at #5.
Why is that funny? Fairley and Williams had similar question marks coming out of college. Fairley was just as productive as Williams in college, if not better. IMO Especially when you look at the competition they each faced, think Fairley fared better than Williams. I think Williams is extremely over valued, I think he will be a consistent starter like a Shaun Ellis or a Mike Devito was for us. Solid contributor but always upgradable at a pinch. Williams didn't even play consistent football in college, he would catch fire in a game then disappear for two after. How is that not a bigger red flag for teams? I don't really know. Calling Williams 10x's more the prospect than Fairley is the only thing comical to me. I will correct myself though.. I wouldn't say Williams isn't anywhere near Fairley because thinking about it I do believe they are close, although I still think Fairley was a better prospect coming out of college.
He is destined to fail in my eyes.. I already had a bad review of him while doing research and film study on him, then I watched game changers and It really showed me how stiff and straight footed he is. He plays with no leverage, in these drills he was extremely stiff and he didn't know how to play with the height the good Lord gave him. I wouldn't even draft him until the later rounds just because he is an athlete and you never know what a good coaching staff could do with the kid but he is way tooooo risky in earlier rounds. IMO
Love him as a complete player, I think he will be a solid contributor in every facet at OLB. A defense will get better with Fowler on their team because he will instantly give that scheme more flexibility with the skill set he brings to the table. I don't believe he is extremely dominate at one specific thing at the position but I would personally rather have that versatility and football IQ, along with the solid production at the position. He can cover, he can set the edge and he can rush the passer very well. I don't think you can be hurt by having someone like that on your team. Even with that said, I think he is still the the second best pass rusher in this draft and he will only get better with proper coaching.
I like him but I don't think he should be a top ten pick. He's just not athletic enough. He's very similar player to Eli Harold and nobody is lauding Harold as a top ten pick. TBH, I hope he's off the board by the time we pick. I think he will be a good player to have but he will never live up to that elite expectation. I don't want just a solid player with a 6th overall pick, I want that player that can be extremely dominant.
Well.. I don't completely disagree with your assessment. The difference for me is that I do think Fowler is more than athletic enough to be that top 10 pick, anyone that can bend like he does off the edge, he is athletic. IMO Harold is not a very fluid player off the edge. IMO He just doesn't have that bend you want from a strong edge rusher and he isn't nearly as strong at the LOS like Fowler. Harold can easily get blown up, disengaged, and redirected at the line, it happened way to many times for my liking. I also don't think from the mental aspect of things, reading the line for example, that Harold is on par with Fowler in that facet of the game. With that said, I think Harold can be a very solid pro, I like Harold a lot, I just don't think he is as polished as Fowler right now in their respective careers. They had similar production in college but that doesn't mean they had the same level of competition as one another though, so the stats are a little skewed for me. Just my two cents though. Harold is my 4th rated pass rusher though. For what it's worth.
I agree with ur sentiments. I feel like he's a solid player but a guy in four yeara where you aren't sure if you want to exercise your firth year option on him.
The only thing funny is your assessment of an over weight DT over an absolute physical specimen. Fairley wasn't even in the same ball park as a prospect and hence why he wasn't a top 10 pick. Williams is not only going to be a top 5 pick he is the 2nd best player beside Mariota in the draft.
