Buffalo Junction

Bryan Edwards - WR USC Gamecocks https://www.myhorrynews.com/news/conway-s-bryan-edwards-looks-back-at-a-storied-sc/article_e9f96fe4-e9ca-11e9-a982-03c5c3fda93f.html Bradlee Anae - Edge Utah Family, football, family https://www.ksl.com/article/46626221/amid-a-family-pedigree-of-cougars-utahs-bradlee-anae-ready-to-leave-his-mark Chase Claypool - WR ND Family trauma, BMX https://strongofheart.nd.edu/profiles/chase-claypool-2017/

Curtis Weaver - Edge Boise State Bio, jokester, work ethic https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/boise-state-football/article221358980.html Tee Higgins - WR Clemson Bio, family, faith https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.greenvilleonline.com/amp/2697523001 funny car dealership https://www.google.com/amp/s/collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/06/10/auto-dealer-deletes-photo-of-clemson-wr-tee-higgins-with-fancy-car/amp/ Denzel Mims - WR Baylor Used to play QB https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/2019/08/04/10-things-to-know-about-denzel-mims-from-dual-sport-success-in-high-school-to-his-big-time-catches-at-baylor/

Now that we’re in the off-season it seems like a good time to dig a little deeper into the backgrounds of some of these draft prospects - further than game tape and 40 times - to flesh out who they are as people. With how much McDermott and Beane mention character, family, faith, growth, work ethic, perseverance, etc it makes sense to look into who may, or may not, fit into The Process. This is a spot to place articles about draft prospects background: family, coaches, life events, etc. It is, admittedly, not something that everyone is interested in. However, for those of us who enjoy digging deeper into players life stories and/ scouting having a post that consolidates information may be useful. Feel free to post any articles about these soon to be NFL athletes in the comments. A brief synopsis can be helpful, but isn’t necessary. Particularly if you add a few articles in a post. Puff pieces or arrest articles are both perfectly acceptable. We’re looking for insight good and bad. I’ll get the ball rolling.... Henry Ruggs III - WR Alabama Perseverance story http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001044473/article/alabama-wr-henry-ruggs-finds-purpose-through-loss-of-friend Written by Ruggs https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/henry-ruggs-iii-alabama-football AJ Epenesa - DE Iowa Mentions family more that a 5 hour McD Presser about the locker room https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/college/story/2019-12-24/holiday-bowl-aj-epenesa-family-samoan-junior-seau Jalen Reagor - WR TCU High school coach was John Kitna. His father earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts. https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/tcu-horned-frogs/2019/12/02/star-tcu-wideout-jalen-reagor-declares-for-2020-nfl-draft/ Laviska Shenault - WR Colorado Goes into his upbringing, death of his father, etc. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/.amp/college/2018/10/11/laviska-shenault-family-colorado-buffaloes Bryce Hall - CB UVA Academics and community service https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyprogress.com/sports/cavalierinsider/virginia-cornerback-bryce-hall-receives-crowley-scholarship/article_e9a011ca-4a87-11e9-bedf-dbddda14e6e8.amp.html Michael Pittman Jr - WR USC Community outreach https://news.usc.edu/162471/usc-community-outreach-michael-pittman-jr-student-athletes/ I will add more in a little bit.

A large part of this fan base seems to not understand that “open while covered” is just vertical separation from height and/ leaping ability.... and subsequently a faster 5’11”-6’ guy with a 40” vertical can actually be open when covered, a la AB, OBJ, Steve Smith, etc.

I was going to use him as a way to balance out the trade value with next years 1st. Figured I needed 6 points of value added back into what I was gonna offer and your 7th rd pick wasn’t low enough ? Im in. Just sign me up with the same team.

Dagnabbit. I was gone make an offer for that pick and Rosen. ?‍♂️?

That’s why digging up more information on these guys personal lives is insightful. I’ve been starting to look up backgrounds and academics. Just a few so far, but some nice finds.... Jalen Reagor https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/tcu-horned-frogs/2019/08/05/made-for-greatness-how-jalen-reagor-s-upbringing-propelled-him-to-stardom-at-tcu/ Laviska Shenault https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/.amp/college/2018/10/11/laviska-shenault-family-colorado-buffaloes Denzel Mims https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/2019/08/04/10-things-to-know-about-denzel-mims-from-dual-sport-success-in-high-school-to-his-big-time-catches-at-baylor/

We certainly don’t need a megatron. I’d be happy with Ruggs, especially with the compensation we got Edmunds for. I have a feeling though that both Ruggs and Reagor are going to go higher than expected and Shenault and Higgins are drafted later. There’s a good possibility both the former run under 4.3 and post 40” verticals. I also think that Beane might make a move for Epenesa and double dip at WR in 2-4. Bryce Hall (CB UVA) is someone I could see with our 2nd pick too. I’m sure a few holes get filled in FA.

I agree. That’s why it’s difficult sorting this stuff before FA and the combine. If they do sign a guy like Green then Reagor might make sense as he could fill the McKenzie role while improving his craft. Wanna shock the world by trading that pick to the packers?

I like Reagor more than most. Primarily looking at skill set and competitive nature. He’s a willing blocker, but lacks technique. He’s a more physical than he gets credit for. He’s just smaller which is why I’m not sure he’s a match for the Bills. That said he can hand fight and high point the ball very well. You’re dead on with the route tree. However, he has all of the quickness and agility to sink his hips and turn into an excellent route runner.... by year two.

It certainly gets more difficult as teams improve. I just don’t see a Julio or Megatron in this draft class. For that reason I’d want to double down on WRs. Perhaps take a high ceiling player and a high floor player later along with a lineman, etc. That’s a bit skewed by my view of our WR depth chart.... I see two starters (Brown & Beasley) and a bunch of WR 4’s or WR5’s. Basically viewing it as 3 WR spots that can be improved, which is why I like the extra picks for the Bills. I see the merit in getting “the guy”. We were lucky this year though, and I just can’t Phaethon how bad the O would have looked last season if Smoke has gone down with no one behind him.

This is exactly why I went with Murray for GB. There is one ILB in this draft that scouts worthy of a 1st round pick. The rest have too many flaws to be plug and play. As opposed to WR where there’s enough talent to find guys that contribute in roles without needing to be immediate contributors at X or Z spots. Granted, when you’re picking for a team with D Adams you already have a WR1. I was livid with the Watkins pick though. I really thought they were going to grab Mack with the trade up. Lost a remote thanks to that when my buddy whipped it at the tv.... fortunately too drunk to be accurate. At least the cable guy replaced it for free because my reason for damage was “Watkins instead of Mack” @Virgil. I’m willing to take on another team if it speeds this thing up.

I’m down for another round. That said, I think we may have seen more movement at the bottom of the 1st if this draft started out as a 2-3 rounder. With three guys I liked dropping i would have been open to a trade back into the early 2nd.

If they had any draft picks to offer as compensation it might be worthwhile as an Osweiler move. I can’t imagine them trading Kupp. Nor can I see Woods being okay with being traded back here. Although we’re now a pass focused offense that went to the playoffs.

In Jacksonville perhaps. I think he would have shown up big in Carolina. He would have found a way to show up as he tends to play up to competition. That said, on a bad team he wouldn’t have gotten any hype at all.

The Packers are ecstatic that they have three of their top targets available: Raekwon Davis, Kenneth Murray, and Jalen Reagor. We are in win now mode. As such we let Jimmy Graham go, freed up an extra $8MM in cap and subsequently addressed NT and got A-A-Rod a veteran weapon. We truly like Reagor as a game breaking weapon, but we acknowledge that unless we can stop the run teams like TN and SF will destroy us. Simply put Rodgers is useless on the sideline. That coupled with the draft depth at WR this year leads us to finishing this defensive rebuild for a championship run. With the 30th pick in the 2020 NFL draft the Green Bay Packers select.... KENNETH MURRAY, LB, OKLAHOMA. San Francisco (@DJB) is now on the clock.

I disagree. However, I will say that he was a lot more polished coming out than Shenault. Plus there’s the level of competition. Samuel put up a 10/210/3 game against Clemson his senior year and generally played well against SEC teams while drawing the top corner or double teams. His skills translated and it was easier to see than Shenault whom I cannot quite predict NFL performance.

I do. I watched Samuels whole gamecock career though. He showed the ability to set up DBs with route running, exceptional hands and body control. He’d have showed his talent on most teams.

We’ll see how it all plays out. There are always risers and fallers throughout the draft process. Often a surprise pick or two as well. It’s hard to even speculate before the combine and FA. For all we know the fish might land Newton for their late 1st. ?‍♂️. I enjoy the exercise though. It’s valuable for the extra research and digging.

Or they grab Love, they’re QB of the future.

Shhhh Shhhh on Aiyuk. I still have to pick for the Packers later. Let’s not remind folks.

I think a lot of folks might be disappointed with the DE we sign in FA. I really won’t be surprised if Beane resigns Shaq and then brings in a Kyler Fackrel type to take over Zo’s role. I like Ruggs. I’m just not certain he’s worth that much capital in a deep WR class.

This would have made more sense to me for a Beane trade up. 2-3 top DEs in this draft vs 101 WRs. ?‍♂️

Basically what I was thinking with a late rounder or bit player to round out the value. I have two guys I really like for GB. We’ll see how everything plays out.

I might be open that slight trade down with pick #30 (GB) depending on whether my top two guys are still available. Probably because he’s the second best receiver on that team.