2014 NFL draft thread (no longer too early)

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Elway just brought the house down by calling Manziel "A great little player."

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

That's the point. It's gotten too over-analyzed.

A number of years ago, one of the high school players in our area really loved a certain D-I university and wanted to go there. Kid was a really good running back, but only 5-10 and the school had a "policy" of not offering scholarships to running backs under 6-feet tall. I thought that was pretty dumb and wrote such. Kid ended up going to another school and did reasonably well when he got on the field.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Thank you for this. It drives me nuts every time I read or hear someone compare Manziel to Russell Wilson. In a lot of ways, they are almost polar opposites as quarterbacks.

Wilson has always been a pocket passer first. His big strengths coming out of college were his football intelligence and ability to read defenses, accuracy, consistency and technique. He had shown he could play effectively in a pro-style offense. His smarts, dedication and maturity were never questioned.

Manziel plays street football. He's an unbelievable playmaker, but his smarts, dedication and maturity are big questions.

Pretty much the only thing Manziel and Wilson have in common is their lack of height.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

PK has some interesting stuff on Manziel in MMQB today. He's clearly working to get rid of the maturity questions. Is he disingenuous? I don't know, but the fact that he's at least trying shows he at least cares about how teams perceive him. Obviously, he needs that to be the case if he's going to be a top 5 pick, but you'd be surprised at the number of players who refuse to do that kind of stuff.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Somebody either told Manziel or he figured it out for himself (I doubt) that quarterbacks aren't players in the NFL. They're part of management and expected to look and act as such.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Yeah, especially when a guy is supposed to be a really high pick and have the potential to be the face of the franchise.

All it means is Manziel hired a good agent who is aware of all of this, and all of it is hardly a secret, but there are a lot of players who are expected to be high picks who show up completely unprepared to meet the owner and anyone beyond the coach and GM.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Clowney clocks in at 4.47 in the 40 (unofficially):

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/nfl-draft-scout/24455479/nfl-combine-clowney-posts-447-second-unofficial-40-time

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

I just saw that. Holy shit. If you still were needing further proof that Clowney's a freak, there it is. Work ethic, schmerk ethic.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

I'm taller than Montana, and I'm 6-1 tops.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

I think he's even going to stay in the first round. Whew. I was worried since there was that one game he didn't play and that caused his draft stock to tumble.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Clowney makes the top of the draft very interesting. I think without question he's the best player, but four of the teams in the top 5 need a quarterback. I would argue all five do, but it appears the Rams are sticking with Bradford. Teams don't usually give up a ton to move up a few spots to take a player unless they're a QB.

I think whichever team takes him will be a team that trades up to do so. I wonder if the Texans would have the stones to trade back with Atlanta and then risk the top 3 QBs being gone at No. 6.

 

Re: (Way too early) 2014 NFL draft thread

Assuming the Texans don't take Clowney, I think the Rams trade back with the Falcons. I think the question will be if Cleveland wants to get in front of Jacksonville to get Manziel or whichever QB they covet who is left on the board.