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30gut · 02-23-2016, 12:15 PM

Roger Goodell should give back NFL draft picks to Patriots | The MMQB with Peter King

The MMQB Mailbag: Pre-Combine edition

The MMQB's Peter King answers Twitter questions ahead of the 2016 NFL Combine.

It’s combine time

Time to vastly overrate NFL draft prospects!

That’s what happens when 32 NFL teams gather with their shopping lists, and 1,150 members of the news media are on hand to document the running and the testing and the interviewing of 335 top NFL prospects for the 2016 draft.

That’s about three media people and two coaches/scouts/club officials per prospect.

What could get overblown?!

I digress. What follows is the Ten Things I Think I Learned From A 51-Minute Chat With Mike Mayock the other day on the eve of this week’s combine, which runs from Tuesday to next Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis:

1. It’s an A draft for defense, C for offense. Mayock thinks there could be 19 defensive players among the 31 first-rounders. “We can talk quarterbacks and other sexy positions,” Mayock said, “but the nuts and bolts of this draft is defense. And think about this: There are 10 to 12 interior defensive linemen who could have first-round grades from some teams. It is by far the best year for interior defensive linemen in my memory.”

2. The two biggest mystery guys? Two huge front-seven prospects. Mississippi defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche fell from a fourth-floor window of a Hyatt in Atlanta in December, and police found seven marijuana cigarettes in his hotel room, leading him to be suspended for Ole Miss’s bowl game. So there’s that. “If you watched his Alabama tape from this year and we lived in a vacuum with no concerns for off-the-field stuff, you’d think he could be the first player picked in the draft,” said Mayock. Then there’s defensive end Noah Spence, booted out of Ohio State for failing multiple drug tests, including one for ecstasy; he transferred to Eastern Kentucky and had 11.5 sacks last fall in his only season there. “One of the most talented kids in the draft,” said Mayock, “but obviously, you’ve got to be careful.” Spence is similar in size (6-2 5/8, 252 pounds) to Von Miller.

3. Rising defensive star? Sheldon Rankins. “He made one of the great plays I’ve seen on tape this year—a scoop-and-score against Boston College,” said Mayock. “But not only that, he made a move on a BC guy while he’s finishing picking up the ball. He’s one of the great three-technique prospects in the draft this year, and he’s played all over the line. His value’s really going up.” Mayock says Oregon’s DeForest Buckner, a tackle or end, will be a certain top-10 pick.

4. Mississippi tackle Laremy Tunsil makes sense for Tennessee at number one. Mayock compares him to Washington’s Trent Williams. “Great feet, long arms, but I don’t know if he’s as strong as Trent,” Mayock said. “If you’re Tennessee, and you’ve got your franchise quarterback, step two is how you enhance his position, protecting him up front and getting him enough weapons. The one thing I say about the first pick is he better be a good football player on day one, an eight-to-10-year starter barring injury, an alpha male, good in the locker room … or you don’t want to take him there. But does Tunsil make sense for Tennessee? Sure he does, and he enhances two positions, because you can move Taylor Lewan to the right side, which is probably a better position for him.”

5. Now for the quarterbacks: It looks like Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State, in some order, at the top. But watch out for Memphis’ Paxton Lynch. “Goff’s by far the most polished quarterback in this draft,” said Mayock. “Quick release, natural feel in the pocket, good arm strength and accuracy and ability to read progressions better than anyone in this draft. He is your guy today, if you’re Cleveland. But say you’re Dallas [with the fourth pick], and you don’t need [a quarterback] today—maybe you think Wentz can learn behind Tony Romo, and maybe you think his upside is higher than Goff. Who you like better depends on what you need from your QB on day one.”

6. I can see it now: Wentz is going to be everyone’s story late in the week, when teams interview quarterbacks, and then on Saturday, when he throws. A North Dakota State kid, from the metropolis of Bismarck, N.D., going two? Or four? Or seven, to the Niners? “After the Senior Bowl,” said Mayock, referring to Wentz’s star performance in Mobile, “the level of competition doesn’t concern me. I can see him do everything on tape I need to see, all the physical traits—strong arm, roll out left and throw, roll right and throw, make all throws. Does he have further to go than Goff? Of course. But we don’t take the time in the NFL to develop young quarterbacks, and you have to have this in mind when you draft Wentz.” I asked Mayock how Wentz would react to the pressure of, say, Cleveland, where the list of failed quarterbacks is very long. It’s a place where quarterbacks go to die. “Totally legit question,” Mayock said. “Playing in Jacksonville, say, is different, no doubt, than stepping into the cauldron that is the Cleveland Browns. Better make sure you get to know the kid very well. There has been nothing about him so far but, wow, this is the real deal. Solid, gets it, nothing fazes him. You can imagine all the people who will be curious about him in Indy.”

7. How many quarterbacks in the first round? Those three, probably, plus maybe Connor Cook of Michigan State. Enigma, as you’ll hear this week. Many love him, some question his leadership and consistency. “Cook’s a distant fourth in that group right now,” said Mayock.

8. The storyline that will be hidden, but that is important, is the next tier of quarterbacks. Very good point by Mayock: He’s talked to multiple scouts/coaches who wonder if there’s a Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson in this draft, a mid-rounder you can steal on day two or three and develop into your quarterback of the future. Mayock’s candidates: Stanford’s Kevin Hogan (Mayock loves him), Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, N.C. State’s Jacoby Brissett, USC’s Cody Kessler, Indiana’s Nate Sudfeld, Arkansas’s Brandon Allen. (Mayock didn’t included Christian Hackenberg or Cardale Jones here, thinking they’ll tempt some team higher than the fourth round.)

9. Most telling line from Mayock: “It’ll be really interesting to see if Hackenberg gets past Bill O’Brien in the second round.” The Texans coach loved Hackenberg at Penn State, and Hackenberg basically fell of a cliff since O’Brien left.

10. Most interesting player at the combine? Could well by Penn State pass rusher Carl Nassib, the younger brother of Giants backup quarterback Ryan Nassib. Carl Nassib was not a starting player in high school, walked on at Penn State, didn’t start a game till this year, and ended up leading the nation in sacks. He had 15.5 sacks. Mayock says he reminds him a little of Jared Allen—the effort and the production and the love of the game.

02-23-2016, 12:15 PM	#15
30gut Playmaker Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 3,323	Re: 2016 Combine Roger Goodell should give back NFL draft picks to Patriots \| The MMQB with Peter King The MMQB Mailbag: Pre-Combine edition The MMQB's Peter King answers Twitter questions ahead of the 2016 NFL Combine. It’s combine time Time to vastly overrate NFL draft prospects! That’s what happens when 32 NFL teams gather with their shopping lists, and 1,150 members of the news media are on hand to document the running and the testing and the interviewing of 335 top NFL prospects for the 2016 draft. That’s about three media people and two coaches/scouts/club officials per prospect. What could get overblown?! I digress. What follows is the Ten Things I Think I Learned From A 51-Minute Chat With Mike Mayock the other day on the eve of this week’s combine, which runs from Tuesday to next Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis: 1. It’s an A draft for defense, C for offense. Mayock thinks there could be 19 defensive players among the 31 first-rounders. “We can talk quarterbacks and other sexy positions,” Mayock said, “but the nuts and bolts of this draft is defense. And think about this: There are 10 to 12 interior defensive linemen who could have first-round grades from some teams. It is by far the best year for interior defensive linemen in my memory.” 2. The two biggest mystery guys? Two huge front-seven prospects. Mississippi defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche fell from a fourth-floor window of a Hyatt in Atlanta in December, and police found seven marijuana cigarettes in his hotel room, leading him to be suspended for Ole Miss’s bowl game. So there’s that. “If you watched his Alabama tape from this year and we lived in a vacuum with no concerns for off-the-field stuff, you’d think he could be the first player picked in the draft,” said Mayock. Then there’s defensive end Noah Spence, booted out of Ohio State for failing multiple drug tests, including one for ecstasy; he transferred to Eastern Kentucky and had 11.5 sacks last fall in his only season there. “One of the most talented kids in the draft,” said Mayock, “but obviously, you’ve got to be careful.” Spence is similar in size (6-2 5/8, 252 pounds) to Von Miller. 3. Rising defensive star? Sheldon Rankins. “He made one of the great plays I’ve seen on tape this year—a scoop-and-score against Boston College,” said Mayock. “But not only that, he made a move on a BC guy while he’s finishing picking up the ball. He’s one of the great three-technique prospects in the draft this year, and he’s played all over the line. His value’s really going up.” Mayock says Oregon’s DeForest Buckner, a tackle or end, will be a certain top-10 pick. 4. Mississippi tackle Laremy Tunsil makes sense for Tennessee at number one. Mayock compares him to Washington’s Trent Williams. “Great feet, long arms, but I don’t know if he’s as strong as Trent,” Mayock said. “If you’re Tennessee, and you’ve got your franchise quarterback, step two is how you enhance his position, protecting him up front and getting him enough weapons. The one thing I say about the first pick is he better be a good football player on day one, an eight-to-10-year starter barring injury, an alpha male, good in the locker room … or you don’t want to take him there. But does Tunsil make sense for Tennessee? Sure he does, and he enhances two positions, because you can move Taylor Lewan to the right side, which is probably a better position for him.” 5. Now for the quarterbacks: It looks like Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State, in some order, at the top. But watch out for Memphis’ Paxton Lynch. “Goff’s by far the most polished quarterback in this draft,” said Mayock. “Quick release, natural feel in the pocket, good arm strength and accuracy and ability to read progressions better than anyone in this draft. He is your guy today, if you’re Cleveland. But say you’re Dallas [with the fourth pick], and you don’t need [a quarterback] today—maybe you think Wentz can learn behind Tony Romo, and maybe you think his upside is higher than Goff. Who you like better depends on what you need from your QB on day one.” 6. I can see it now: Wentz is going to be everyone’s story late in the week, when teams interview quarterbacks, and then on Saturday, when he throws. A North Dakota State kid, from the metropolis of Bismarck, N.D., going two? Or four? Or seven, to the Niners? “After the Senior Bowl,” said Mayock, referring to Wentz’s star performance in Mobile, “the level of competition doesn’t concern me. I can see him do everything on tape I need to see, all the physical traits—strong arm, roll out left and throw, roll right and throw, make all throws. Does he have further to go than Goff? Of course. But we don’t take the time in the NFL to develop young quarterbacks, and you have to have this in mind when you draft Wentz.” I asked Mayock how Wentz would react to the pressure of, say, Cleveland, where the list of failed quarterbacks is very long. It’s a place where quarterbacks go to die. “Totally legit question,” Mayock said. “Playing in Jacksonville, say, is different, no doubt, than stepping into the cauldron that is the Cleveland Browns. Better make sure you get to know the kid very well. There has been nothing about him so far but, wow, this is the real deal. Solid, gets it, nothing fazes him. You can imagine all the people who will be curious about him in Indy.” 7. How many quarterbacks in the first round? Those three, probably, plus maybe Connor Cook of Michigan State. Enigma, as you’ll hear this week. Many love him, some question his leadership and consistency. “Cook’s a distant fourth in that group right now,” said Mayock. 8. The storyline that will be hidden, but that is important, is the next tier of quarterbacks. Very good point by Mayock: He’s talked to multiple scouts/coaches who wonder if there’s a Kirk Cousins or Russell Wilson in this draft, a mid-rounder you can steal on day two or three and develop into your quarterback of the future. Mayock’s candidates: Stanford’s Kevin Hogan (Mayock loves him), Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, N.C. State’s Jacoby Brissett, USC’s Cody Kessler, Indiana’s Nate Sudfeld, Arkansas’s Brandon Allen. (Mayock didn’t included Christian Hackenberg or Cardale Jones here, thinking they’ll tempt some team higher than the fourth round.) 9. Most telling line from Mayock: “It’ll be really interesting to see if Hackenberg gets past Bill O’Brien in the second round.” The Texans coach loved Hackenberg at Penn State, and Hackenberg basically fell of a cliff since O’Brien left. 10. Most interesting player at the combine? Could well by Penn State pass rusher Carl Nassib, the younger brother of Giants backup quarterback Ryan Nassib. Carl Nassib was not a starting player in high school, walked on at Penn State, didn’t start a game till this year, and ended up leading the nation in sacks. He had 15.5 sacks. Mayock says he reminds him a little of Jared Allen—the effort and the production and the love of the game.