Gridiron Meanderings

Shame on you if you have not been following Scott Wright’s predraft scouting on Draft Countdown. But if you haven’t been, you should now since his final mock draft is up for the first three rounds. It’s a good one with terrific commentary throughout the first round.

I of course do not wholeheartedly agree with Scott. For example, I disagree with his giving Barron to the Bills, as I agree with Mike Mayock and think Keuchly makes more sense. Also not sure Poe goes so high to the Cowboys given his stock plummet over production concerns. On the flip side, I love his giving the Eagles Chandler Jones and Kevin Zeitler to the Steelers.¹

Of course, this is all academic as trades will happen, which will totally rock everyone’s mock. Gotta love Draft Day.

A solid breakdown and analysis by Jeff Haverlack over at Dynasty League Football of the big rookie debate raging this off season: Andrew Luck versus Robert Griffin III (RG3).

I am personally torn, especially after being totally wrong (along with many others) regarding Cam Newton last year. So while I am very intrigued by RG3’s upside, physical skill set, and maturity, I am also concerned I may overreact to my miss on Cam Newton and overvalue him.

This is not the first, nor will it be the last, look at this debate. I have a feeling many, like me, will be torn even after making our draft day selections. Chances are both will be solid franchise quarterbacks, but we won’t know for sure for years to come.

While this doesn’t exactly equate for fantasy drafts, it’s a cool tool for NFL Draft nerds or fantasy football nuts who want to try and apply it to their own leagues.¹

(via Football Guys’ Jeff Haseley)

Matt Waldman over at The Rookie Scouting Portfolio just posted an insightful, and rarely profound, fantasy football article. It’s a great breakdown of Brandon Weeden’s decision making skills where Waldman manages to weave not only cinematic critique but also a philosophic didactic on intellect and wisdom.

Definitely worth a read.

Walker Rhodes of Optimum Scouting provides us with some food for thought about first-round, cannot-miss wide receivers. Certainly the Lions’ failures skew things a bit, but he brings up some interesting stats concerning the top picks at the position over the past 10 years.

That said, I would be very curious to see a comparison to other skill positions before jumping to conclusions. I have a feeling quarterbacks especially have a similar or higher failure rate. What about all of the pass rushers and left tackles who never panned out? Fact of the matter is, without context, being worried about first-round wide receivers’ failing is no more or less a concern than any other marquee position.

So my advice is to give this a read, but take Rhodes’ conclusion with a grain of salt.