2017 Official Draft Thread - Round 1

[Fleet]

He had a huge season with over 150 receptions. Maybe closer to 175 i cant remember.

[RollingThunder]

I watch the film on Hooker and i sometimes wonder if hes a great value at 7. He dosnt line up in anything other than zone. Hes pretty much strictly a centerfielder. No slot. No man. I think his coverage skills could be a little above average. He takes some bad angles. And on more than a few occasions is out of position. I know his hype is based on projections. Most players are valued based on projections. But i have a thing for whats on film. He has a lot of INTs that are not difficult to make. Deeper balls. None in close coverage. I watch a guy like Adams and he lines up in a few different places. He can cover man to man. Play zone. Play the run. Play the slot. If i were to be looking for a chess piece player at S id say Adams is the more valuable of the 2. I think Adams/Lowery may be a better combo than Addae/Hooker. Id love to have a FS that can play slot. Or man to man. As well as deep coverage. I just wonder if a guy like Budda Baker or Marcus Williams is a better value in the 2nd with our 1st pick going to pass rush. A guy like Thomas or Barnett.

Hooker is raw but he has Deion Sanders type athleticism and a similar type of skill set and range. That is what has me so excited about him. He has the potential to develop into a generational type player.

Adams doesn't seem as athletic and I would even say he looks stiff. I see players like him coming through the ranks all the time, I can't say the same about Hooker's skill set.

[pigskin]

I love Hookers potential but if one of the top pass rushers is there, I would have to take them over Hooker.

[Highboltage]

Hooker is raw but he has Deion Sanders type athleticism and a similar type of skill set and range. That is what has me so excited about him. He has the potential to develop into a generational type player.

Adams doesn't seem as athletic and I would even say he looks stiff. I see players like him coming through the ranks all the time, I can't say the same about Hooker's skill set.

Does he tackle?

[Steve]

I watch the film on Hooker and i sometimes wonder if hes a great value at 7. He dosnt line up in anything other than zone. Hes pretty much strictly a centerfielder. No slot. No man. I think his coverage skills could be a little above average. He takes some bad angles. And on more than a few occasions is out of position. I know his hype is based on projections. Most players are valued based on projections. But i have a thing for whats on film. He has a lot of INTs that are not difficult to make. Deeper balls. None in close coverage. I watch a guy like Adams and he lines up in a few different places. He can cover man to man. Play zone. Play the run. Play the slot. If i were to be looking for a chess piece player at S id say Adams is the more valuable of the 2. I think Adams/Lowery may be a better combo than Addae/Hooker. Id love to have a FS that can play slot. Or man to man. As well as deep coverage. I just wonder if a guy like Budda Baker or Marcus Williams is a better value in the 2nd with our 1st pick going to pass rush. A guy like Thomas or Barnett.

THe thing is going to be is whether or not he plays zone because he can't play man to man or whether he is just never asked to because of the way OSU plays defense. Remember when all the scouts said that Melvin Gordon couldn't be a factor as a receiver? He only caught 15 passes or something like that in Wisconsin. Except that Wisconsin never throws to their RB, so he just never had the chance.

[Fleet]

Yeah im definitely not sour on Hooker. And i certainly recognize his athleticism and potential for greatness. Im just saying hes raw. Very raw. And his first full year while it looks great on paper on film shows that he has the potential to be limited as well. But a lot of great players had these questions like Steve pointed out. Hes a center fielder right now based on what i see. Open field tackles need lots of work. Angles/Contain need lots of work. But clearly nothing ive seen suggest he cant get better. The sky is the limit for him.

My point is that i almost always have a fascination with players based on deep production. And i tend to fall in love with players that are versatile. Chess piece types. Thats why i liked Ramsey so much. I preferred Bosa but the next guy would have been Ramsey based on his ability to take out a teams best reciever whether thats a TE or WR. I think Adams can play in the slot. I think he can also take out a teams TE and RB out of the backfield. So he has similar versatility to a player like Mathieu. The kicker is that Mathieu was taken outside of the 1st round. Im completely fine with Hooker or Adams at #7. But there are quite a few really good Safeties in the league that were not taken in the top 10.

The 2 safeties are not the only players who have generational player type potential. A few guys i have really enjoyed getting to know on film are Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster and Derek Barnett. All these guys have extreme football IQs, vast skillset and production to go along with it. Thomas and Barnett have some things similar to Bosa. Great hands. Great leverage. And an insane ability to sniff out the football. I think those 2 edge rushers are more polished than Garrett. Thomas can probably also slide inside. So he has amazing versatility in a Bradley type defense. Foster is going to have a monster career. He will eventually be a top 3 tackles guy in this league. I love linebackers. I think he can play all the linebacker spots in a 43. I know Bradleys over/under style well but in a traditional 43 a core group of Perryman, Foster and Brown might be the best LB core in the league. Nothing wrong with that. But again im obsessed with linebackers. Might be less of a need etc but you can build a D around Foster.

My guy right now if i were to single out just one player is Solomon Thomas. I expect he will time slower than Arron Donald(40). But his 10 yard split and cone should be close to Bosa's. I just think he would make a nice Leo end as well as maybe be able to slide inside in a 43. Bosa also can do this. I also think Thomas in addition to Bosa can play the 43 Under 2 Gap 5T spot. So Bosa and Thomas can be interchangeable in that front. Thomas just has that skillset that really makes me think he and Bosa together would be an absolute nightmare for offenses. Many will say where is the speed off the edge? Bosa. Ingram at SAM with Thomas and Bosa at 5T/Leo is scary.

Kerrigan, Watt and Aarron Donald. You guys know how hot i was for these players. We never had a chance with our draft position. Thomas is in this same group as far as my own personal expectations go. Bosa was another. Id love to have 2 of these types of players. And now we are in a position to get another one.

Right now you see Garrett and Allen above Thomas in most circles. But i wouldnt be surprised if he ends up the top defensive prospect. Especially after smaller DTs and Edge guys have been successful in this league. Id take him over Allen.

[Formula 21]

I look forward to seeing Thomas's times at the combine. Bosa, Ingram, Thomas. That would be hell on earth for opposing qbs. The Bolts could be a 60 sack team again.

[CTrout]

Thomas & Bosa could be really fun to watch. 2 high energy, relentless type players. Thomas seems to make more plays rushing inside then out so there is some versatility there.

I realize they are very different players but TT spent many years in Indy watching Freeney & Mathis derail offenses, wonder if he'd try something similar here...

[Fleet]

I look forward to seeing Thomas's times at the combine. Bosa, Ingram, Thomas. That would be hell on earth for opposing qbs. The Bolts could be a 60 sack team again.

I hope he times poorly.

[Formula 21]

I hope he times poorly.

LOL, a fast time guarantees he's gone before 7.

[Fleet]

LOL, a fast time guarantees he's gone before 7.

Just one of those Bosa type players. I expect teams to fall in love with him in interviews. Hey Thomas....Whats your position? "Football"

[blueman]

As much as I like the safeties, if Thomas is there that's a no-brained.