Late round draft picks

[pigskin]

We have talked about Hooker, Thomas, Adams, Allen, Williams and Davis but who are some of the late round (3-7) players that you like?

For me its Connor Harris LB Lindenwood probably somewhere around the 5th round.

OVERVIEW
Some guys are born to play football. Harris was a lightly-recruited player whose only FBS scholarship offer (Kansas) came after he committed to the Lions. Now, he's the NCAA All-Division record holder with 633 career tackles. The first-team All-American and 2016 Cliff Harris Award award winner as the top defender in Divisions II, III and NAIA was a three-time first-team All-Midwest Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) pick. Harris was an honorable mention All-MIAA selection as a true freshman (126 tackles, eight for loss, four pass breakups), but then had to redshirt the 2013 season with a shoulder injury (33 tackles in three games). He was a captain for the first of three seasons in 2014 (152 tackles, 4.5 TFL, two interceptions), and the conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a junior with 184 tackles, 12.5 for loss, and seven pass breakups. He capped his career by setting the tackles record and winning numerous All-American honors (138 stops, 8.5 TFL, two INT -- one for a score). Harris also contributed as a running back (50-328, seven TD) and punter (38.8 average, six downed inside the 20-yard line in 2016) during his career.
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS Voracious appetite for tape. Elite tackle production. Tremendous leadership traits. Instinctive with immediate response to keys. Can race ahead of linemen. Has instant stop/start quickness and change of direction ability. Always attacking downhill. Looks to attack blockers early to disrupt the timing of the run play. Played quarterback and safety in high school and has the quickness in space to cover running backs out of backfield. Gym rat with good power throughout his tightly muscled frame. Burst to the ball puts him in position to make plays. Body-up tackler who finishes what he starts. Can play all three downs.
WEAKNESSES Somewhat stubby frame with a lack of length. Unable to keep linemen off of him with punch and shed. Will get engulfed if he sits and waits. Straight-line attacker missing some fluidity of motion to consistently match the flow of a play. Square shouldered and unable to work body around blocks and through some crevices. Scouts question whether his production can hold up against elevated level of competition. Quicker than fast.
SOURCES TELL US "He's a good player. He's a Division I player who happens to play Division II. I don't think he ever gets tired because he is always in on plays or right there next to them." -- NFC college scouting director
NFL COMPARISON Chris Borland
BOTTOM LINE Rock 'em, sock 'em linebacker with an inextinguishable motor and the instant quickness and burst to thrust himself into tackle after tackle. Harris is a willing chance-taker who fires downhill and into creases looking to make the impact play, but his lack of length and straight-line style of play could limit his effectiveness on the next level. With his instincts, quickness and nose for the ball as a tackler, Harris should find a spot on the linebacker depth chart and has a chance to be a kick-coverage winner.
-Lance Zierlein

[pigskin]

and

Adam Bisnowaty OT Pit (4th round)

OVERVIEW
One of the top 20 offensive tackle prospects in the country according to recruiting services, Bisnowaty decided to stay in-state to play his college ball. As a redshirt freshman, he started eight games at left tackle, missing the final four contests because of a back injury. BIsnowaty manned the blind side for 10 games in 2014 and 12 in 2015, when he was named first-team All-ACC by league coaches. He missed one game in each of those seasons with an ankle injury. Bisnowaty repeated the first-team accolades as a senior, playing every game at the left tackle spot for the Panthers.
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS Well-built with proportional frame. Length is average, but his attention to arm extension helps make the most of it. Possesses good upper-body strength and his pass punch has some snap to it. Aggressively passes off twisting defensive ends to his guard. Does a good job of thumping at initial contact as run blocker. Rolls hips up under him after contact as a base blocker. Controlled climber to second level with a wide base. Wrestler in high school. Brawler with a mean streak. Able to exchange power for power if defender challenges him in a phone booth. Gets into his kick slide with good weight distribution.
WEAKNESSES Has missed time in each of his first three seasons with injuries to his ankle twice and back once. Limited bender with stiffness in his lower half. Unable to unlock hips and gain necessary ground in his pass sets. Lack of slide depth against speedy edge rushers forces him to open gate early and lunge. Appeared much more plodding in 2016 compared to his junior season. Struggles to change direction and unable to redirect weight back inside consistently enough to cut off inside moves. Able to get out into space but has a low connection percentage beyond line of scrimmage. Pad level way too high. Rarely able to get across the face of his opponent when zone blocking.
NFL COMPARISON Daryl Williams
BOTTOM LINE Four-year starter with plenty of toughness. Appeared to struggle with an athletic decline in 2016, which could be due to his injury history. In a phone booth, Bisnowaty can handle himself with pure brawn and power, but once he's forced to play in space, his athletic limitations become more pronounced. He'll likely have to move to the right side, but athletic opponents will always cause him problems. His ceiling could be as a low-end starter while his floor is fighting for a roster spot within a couple of years.
-Lance Zierlein

[chargerkdb]

Sam Rogers FB VaTech. Round 4-6 Bye bye Watt

[Boltjolt]

Is Watt a liability or something? He was a rookie like this guy will be.

[Steve]

Watt didn't have much of an impact as a rookie because

1) he plays FB and FB is not an impact position
2) our OL can't run block consistently, and that means we spend even less time in 21 personnel than most teams (which isn't much).

If we want a FB this year, either

A) draft someone who can also play TE
B) go for an UDFA, to minimize the waste of draft picks, since it is a waste to use draft picks on non-impact positions in any draft, let alone in 2 consecutive drafts
C) take a smallish OL or move a LB to FB. Do it as to an UDFA, and then we don't waste another pick on a player who doesn't have much of an impact.

Just out of coriosity, why do we need a FB? Improve blocking or pass catching? Watt seemed fine on ST, which is mostly what FB do these days.

[Boltjolt]

Watt didn't have much of an impact as a rookie because

1) he plays FB and FB is not an impact position
2) our OL can't run block consistently, and that means we spend even less time in 21 personnel than most teams (which isn't much).

If we want a FB this year, either

A) draft someone who can also play TE
B) go for an UDFA, to minimize the waste of draft picks, since it is a waste to use draft picks on non-impact positions in any draft, let alone in 2 consecutive drafts
C) take a smallish OL or move a LB to FB. Do it as to an UDFA, and then we don't waste another pick on a player who doesn't have much of an impact.

Just out of coriosity, why do we need a FB? Improve blocking or pass catching? Watt seemed fine on ST, which is mostly what FB do these days.

Some believe that Gordon cant run in a single back set which i think is bullshit.

[Steve]

Some believe that Gordon cant run in a single back set which i think is bullshit.

I agree that is complete bullshit. http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/split.../melvin-gordon
Melvin had 41 carries for 88 yards out of the I. He had 101 carries for 429 out of 2 TE sets. 2 YPC vs 4 YPC.

If a RB can only run from the I then Gordon should just retire. NFL football doesn't have many teams playing 21 personnel, much if at all. https://www.profootballfocus.com/offensive-packages/ It is an older artile (4 years old), but it has NFL teams only playing about 20% of their downs in 21 personnel. I imagine it is even lower now since a number of the better FB are retired since then.

I don't have a problem with playing some 21 personnel when you have a great FB, but if you are just going to plug in some guy, there is no sense in handicapping our offense by putting a guy who has little business being an NFL player on the field too much.

Watt made a couple of plays last year, even though he didn't play much. I think he adds something as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and is a decent lead blocker. The fact remains we would probably be better off going with another TE who can block, and then put that guy in the backfield now and again. At least that guy has some potential as a receiver, and can probably line up on the line and stretch the D horizontally.

Incidentally, playing out of 11 personnel removed players from the box, making it easier to block the players that are there. A lot of teams prefer to spread teams out and run from the 11 personnel packages.

RB struggle to run out of the shotgun, which we use a lot. The problem is that if we made Rivers drop back on passing downs, instead of shotgun drops, he is going to get killed. For both Melvin and Rivers to do their best work, we need to do a better job of run and pass blocking. I think the skill positions could be better, but they are fine. They put up good stats last year.

The OL is horrible, which shows how good the skill guys actually are. Until the OL can put together whole games, the O is still going to struggle. We don't need a bunch of all pro guys, but we need to improve at the 3 open spots on the OL. By that I mean, Okung is going to start at LT, and Sluasson is going to start inside. Outside of that, I would let the guys fight it out, and even undrafter rookies should be allowed to compete for a starting job.

[Steve]

By the way, Sam Rodgers?

If you were trying to pick the guy in this draft most like Watt, it is Sam Rodgers. The only thing he has going for some people is if you are Virginia Tech Alum, he is a Hoakie. He is a decent football player, but so is Watt. Niether is a great athlete.

Neither is special enough to earn time in a base offense to keep a potential playmaker (TE or slot WR) off the field. They will get their token runs, and both can play FB and Hback. You can even get them some short passes and use them asdump off options in the pla action game. But neither is going to be that special, except on ST.

If we bring the guy into camp to compete, fine. Just don't spend a draft pick on him, because there are a bunch of guys like this every year and every NFL team has one in their camp. But most won't make it, or if they do, they bounce around for a couple of years until the team decides they are a jack of all trades and can't do anything well enough to get on the field. Then rinse, repeat expereiment again with the next guinea pig coming out of college.

[Fleet]

Rather have Bucky Hodges if we are targeting a VT player late. I like the TE class this year and they tend to fall. I think the 5th-7th is a good place to look at a few guys i like. I really like Sprinkle and Roberts. Some think Roberts has the best hands in the draft and is gigantic. Might be a Bennett type. Sprinkle and Henry worked well together at Arkansas.

[Attack]

Rather have Bucky Hodges if we are targeting a VT player late. I like the TE class this year and they tend to fall. I think the 5th-7th is a good place to look at a few guys i like. I really like Sprinkle and Roberts. Some think Roberts has the best hands in the draft and is gigantic. Might be a Bennett type. Sprinkle and Henry worked well together at Arkansas.

I like Sprinkle at TE too.

[Boltsfan70]

I Lille Chris Godwin WR in the third round dude catches everything

[chargerkdb]

Rather have Bucky Hodges if we are targeting a VT player late. I like the TE class this year and they tend to fall. I think the 5th-7th is a good place to look at a few guys i like. I really like Sprinkle and Roberts. Some think Roberts has the best hands in the draft and is gigantic. Might be a Bennett type. Sprinkle and Henry worked well together at Arkansas.

Hodges's won't be that late and IMO he is just a big WR which is pretty much how Tech used him