All Gunner's Draft Stuff.... 2022 Edition!!!

[Don Otreply]

You always have good rational for your selection at all positions, a lot of work to put this together, well done and thanks, it was a good read. 

[Mr. WEO]

As always, Gunner's knowledge of this game puts most of ours to shame.

 

It's heartwarming to know (by such a site) a highly evolved European with a mind that has not been dulled by the monotony and simplicity of.....soccer!!

 

Cheers, good man!

[The Dean]

I never could understand why some posters think their personal mock draft or thoughts on the draft warranted a separate thread.  But yours definitely qualifies, IMO. A fantastic overview,  Gunner. Thanks.

 

Can't wait to see your final mock

[LABILLBACKER]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Depends what teams really think about the injury. If his health was totally clear, no chance he makes it to #25. 

Booth is my favorite CB target. If he's there you grab him.  

[Bob in NoCal]

I was pleased and impressed that you have Dameon Pierce in your top 5 running backs. He was underutilized by the Gators last year for whatever reason, so the big stats aren’t there and some could easily overlook him. You didn’t. 

[Sierra Foothills]

 

On another point I know there are those who'd like to see the Bills trade up in the 1st round but I'm in the boat where they should use those resources to move up in the 2nd round or even get another 2nd or 3rd round pick. I think there'll be a lot of good value in those rounds.

[Sierra Foothills]

So Gunner, you're one of those who has Kyler Gordon ahead of Trent McDuffie.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

 

Thanks again.

[H2o]

Nice work @GunnerBill  Four things I found interesting. 

 

1. Andrew Booth ahead of Sauce Gardner? Ehhhhhhh, idk, that's a tough one. 

 

2. I noticed you have Ekwonu listed on the IOL and not as an OT. Do you see this as a Zach Martin type of situation?

 

3. Pleasantly surprised to see you have my boy, Kyren Williams, ranked as a 3rd Round prospect. He has A LOT of Austin Ekeler to his game. 

 

4. The Charlie Kolar ranking surprised me also. Another guy I like. I think he can be a legit, starting TE in this league. Most of the boards I have seen though have him between the 4th-6th. I think Round 3 to early 4 is where he comes off as well. I also think he will contribute his first year without a doubt. 

[78thealltimegreat]

8 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Right, so just a few days away from the 2022 NFL Draft. Here is my annual compendium of my draft content. Hopefully people find the content interesting in the run up to the draft, and a few people have been kind enough to message me in the last couple of weeks asking for some of the things that this post sets out, but also it stands for the record too. Anyone in the draft evaluations game is going to have misses as well as hits. I never try and hide from the ones I get wrong. They are always out in the open for people to refer to. I liken it to Bill Parcells’ view of Phil Simms and interceptions….. if you ain’t throwing them, you ain’t trying hard enough. If you are not missing on the odd draft evaluation you are probably a fence sitter and therefore not adding much value anyway.

 

So without further ado…..

 

Products that are already published on the board are:

 

My 2022 Quarterback evaluations

My 2022 draft 'sleepers'

Gunner's 2022 Mock Draft (the final version 3.0 against which I will ultimately mark myself, will be published at that link on the day of the draft)

 

The "new content" in this thread will be:

A full list of my 18 first round grades;

An analysis of my top 100;

My positional top 5s.

 

[Key:

* denotes medical concern

^ denotes potential off-field / behavioural concern]

 

First Round Grades:

1. Aiden Hutchinson, DE Michigan

2. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

3. Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon

4. Andrew Booth*, CB, Clemson

5. Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

6. Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

7. Derek Stingley, CB, LSU

8. Ikem Ekwonu, OG, North Carolina Stat

9. Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

10. Jameson Williams*, WR, Alabama

11. Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa

12. Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah

13. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

14. Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State

15. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

16. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

17. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

18. Daxton Hill, S, Michigan

 

I then also have four borderline 1st/2nd grades: 19. David Ojabo*, DE, Michigan; 20. Drake London, WR, USC; 21. Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa; 22. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington.

 

 

Analysis of Top 100:

Here is the positional breakdown of my top 100:-

 

Quarterback: 5

Running Back: 4

Tight End: 5

Wide Receiver: 17

Offensive Tackle: 8

Interior Offensive Line: 10

Total offensive players: 49

 

Interior Defensive Line: 7

Edge Rusher: 12

Linebacker: 9

Corner: 14

Safety: 9

Total defensive players: 51

 

Strengths and Weaknesses of the top 100:

I think again it is a pretty balanced top 100 in terms of offense vs defense. It is a 51:49 for a third year in a row, this time in favour of the defensive side of the ball. I will say this about this class, my 100th player has a higher grade than in many other years. Quite often my 100th graded player is in the early to even mid 4th round grade wise – last year being a prime example. The 100th player on my board this year comes in the 3rd round and I have other 3rd round graded guys still on the board after him.

 

The deep positions are wide receiver (which seems to be deep almost every year now, something to which Brandon Beane alluded on Wednesday in his presser – he attributed it to the rise of the 7 on 7s and passing camps and kids playing in passing offenses more at an earlier age) and defensive back – which may well be the opposite side of the same coin. The sweet spot for receivers is really round 2. I have 12 receivers ranked in my top 60 players. I expect you could even see more than 12 go between round 1 and round 2 as some of the more scheme specific guys that I have graded in round 3 like Calvin Austin and Wan’Dale Robinson come off the board early.

 

As for defensive backs I think it is a really good safety group, and while 9 safeties in my top 100 is not that unusual, 8 or 9 is about par for the course, to have 5 with grades in the first 2 rounds is less usual. And the safety depth continues past the top 100 too. It is a slightly odd corner class in that I think there are 7 day one or early day two guys who could come in and be really good players early. They are all ranked in my top 34 players. I then have only one more corner between #35 and #70 on my board but then 6 between 70 and 100. I have described it as a bit of a late second round wilderness for the corner class but then there is a lot of 3rd and 4th round guys who I think are intriguing developmental prospects. Those guys might be able to play some as rookies and help you but they are going to need some work too. I think rounds 3 and 4 are the sweet spot for the corner depth.

 

Which position groups are weak? I again don’t think it is a stellar year for running backs. The flip side of what Beane said about receiver might be that the best athletes in school rarely play running back these days. Kenneth Walker and Breece Hall are both potential lead backs in the NFL but the rest of the class feel like specific role playing backs suited to running back by committee time shares. I also don’t love the tackle depth. The top 3 or 4 guys (depending on where you put Ekwonu and I have him graded as a guard but with tackle flex) are all good prospects but then I only have two second round grades, and three third ground grades. Some of that is I have a few guys who others might see as tackles in that 3rd round region graded as guards, but I just don’t think it is a deep group. A team would be very lucky to get a Spencer Brown type prospect at tackle in round 3 this time around. He was OT10 for me last year and would be OT7 this year.

 

Positional Top 5s:

(round I have them graded in parenthesis) 

 

Quarterback

1. Malik Willis, Liberty (2nd)

2. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (2nd)

3. Matt Corral, Ole Miss (2nd)

4. Carson Strong*, Nevada (2nd/3rd)

5. Sam Howell, North Carolina (3rd)

 

Running Back

1. Kenneth Walker, Michigan State (2nd)

2. Breece Hall, Iowa State (2nd)

3. James Cook, Georgia (3rd)

4. Kyren Williams, Notre Dame (3rd)

5. Dameon Pierce, Florida (3rd)

 

Wide Receiver

1. Chris Olave, Ohio State (1st)

2. Jameson Williams*, Alabama (1st)

3. Treylon Burks, Arkansas (1st)

4. Garrett Wilson, Ohio State (1st)

5. Drake London, USC (1st/2nd)

 

Tight End

1. Trey McBride, Colorado (2nd)

2. Greg Dulcich, UCLA (3rd)

3. Jelani Woods, Virginia (3rd)

4. Cade Otton, Washington (3rd)

5. Charlie Kolar, Iowa State (3rd)

 

Offensive Tackle

1. Charles Cross, Mississippi State (1st)

2. Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa (1st)

3. Evan Neal, Alabama (1st)

4. Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan (2nd)

5. Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State (2nd)

 

Interior Offensive Line

1. Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State (1st)

2. Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa (1st/2nd)

3. Kenyon Green, Texas A&M (2nd)

4. Zion Johnson, Boston College (2nd)

5. Tyler Smith, Tulsa (2nd)

 

Interior Defensive Line

1. Devonte Wyatt, Georgia (2nd)

2. Jordan Davis, Georgia (2nd)

3. DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M (2nd)

4. Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma (2nd)

5. Travis Jones, UConn (2nd)

 

EDGE

1. Aiden Hutchinson, Michigan (1st)

2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon (1st)

3. Jermaine Johnson, Florida State (1st)

4. David Ojabo, Michigan (1st/2nd)

5. Cam Thomas, San Diego State (2nd)

 

Linebacker

1. Devin Lloyd, Utah (1st)

2. Nakobe Dean, Georgia (1st)

3. Chad Muma, Wyoming (2nd)

4. Christian Harris, Alabama (2nd)

5. Troy Anderson, Montana State (2nd)

 

Corner

1. Andrew Booth*, Clemson (1st)

2. Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, Cincinnati (1st)

3. Derek Stingley, LSU (1st)

4. Kyler Gordon, Washington (1st/2nd)

5. Trent McDuffie, Washington (2nd)

 

Safety

1. Kyle Hamilton, Norte Dame (1st)

2. Daxton Hill, Michigan (1st)

3. Lewis Cine, Georgia (2nd)

4. Jalen Pitre, Baylor (2nd)

5. Jaquan Brisker, Penn State (2nd)

 

 

Final thoughts

It is often said that the best General Managers separate themselves as drafters in rounds 2-5 and that is going to be even more the case this year. I do think there is good depth on day 2 and into the first half of day 3. This will be the type of draft class that has pro bowlers and all pros drafted in rounds 4 and 5. There are not as many "elite" prospects up at the top end of the draft as normal and a lot has already been said and written about the Quarterback class. But a team that drafts well and follows their board and does not reach on positions in those middle rounds, but allows themselves to stick to best player available is going to look back on this as a critical draft for their franchise. I don't think you will see a ton of big trade ups on Thursday night, maybe one if Malik Willis gets to #4 or #5 and a team like Pittsburgh decides to jump up, but otherwise I expect trades to be more teams moving just a couple of picks each way. But you could see a lot of trade action on Friday night as teams try to marry the value of the board to their needs. As for the Bills.... I expect corner and wide receiver to be addressed somewhere in the first two days. I think safety, tight end and offensive line depth will all be addressed somewhere too. Let's hope Beane and co. can find some stars. 

 

As ever, I will be doing my daily de-briefs each morning after the action, looking at whose drafts I liked and didn't like, the best players I have left on my board and analysing the moves the Bills, in particular, have made. By this time next week the first round will already be in the books..... not long to wait!!

 

 

 

Man great work how is the tight end class? It seems with the amount of draft visits the Bills had they are going to be drafting one at some point in the middle rounds since they don’t have any TEs under contract after this year. 

[John from Riverside]

Thank you Gunnar

 

Love taking these that you do every year and comparing them to how the draft actually plays out

[Richard Noggin]

8 hours ago, Virgil said:

If I can make one recommendation for us dumb dumbs.

 

Maybe separate the MLB from the OLB, with the OLB's being actual linebackers and not EDGE guys. 

 

With our loss of Klein, I think OLB could very well be on the table for us at some point, any many are clamoring for the Edmunds replacement.  Those players are pretty different at LB

 

I disagree that off-ball LBs still need to be differentiated between ILB and OLB. I know there have historically been differences between their responsibilities, but at this point it really feels like your MLB is just the stouter of your two or three best LBs. The roles/specific LB positions are determined by the traits or talents of the personnel on a given roster.

 

Possibly unrelated: Remember the playoff game against Jacksonville back in 2017/18? Remember Lorenzo effing Alexander essentially playing MLB in that game? At least as a subpackage in short yardage and goal-line. He was a beast at it. He made a handful of old school MLB plays. From OL to IDL and EDGE and eventually SLB...no idea where I'm going with this. I guess he was our best LB by far at that point, and we needed him most in the middle that game, against that offense. 

[GunnerBill]

3 hours ago, H2o said:

Nice work @GunnerBill  Four things I found interesting. 

 

1. Andrew Booth ahead of Sauce Gardner? Ehhhhhhh, idk, that's a tough one. 

 

2. I noticed you have Ekwonu listed on the IOL and not as an OT. Do you see this as a Zach Martin type of situation?

 

3. Pleasantly surprised to see you have my boy, Kyren Williams, ranked as a 3rd Round prospect. He has A LOT of Austin Ekeler to his game. 

 

4. The Charlie Kolar ranking surprised me also. Another guy I like. I think he can be a legit, starting TE in this league. Most of the boards I have seen though have him between the 4th-6th. I think Round 3 to early 4 is where he comes off as well. I also think he will contribute his first year without a doubt. 

 

I love Booth's tape. I get that I am higher than the consensus on him, but whatever, I found it really difficult to pick holes in the film.

 

On Ekwonu, yep. He played some guard in college as well as tackle. I think he is a beast at guard. He could play tackle but he is a bit more scheme specific at tackle to me. In a run heavy scheme with lots of RPO, great. In a scheme that runs a lot of more traditional dropback passing I worry about his balance playing out on the island and whether his feet move fast enough for his body. Can get a bit lungey. But at guard where those issues are slightly protected.... I think you could be talking perennial all pro type. 

 

On Williams - I have made the Eckler comparison too. Somewhere between James White and Austin Eckler!

 

On Kolar - I think generally this is a tight end class without a true #1 tight end type but with lots of guys who can be good complimentary pieces as rotational, #2 tight ends that you can get on the field in 12 personnel and he is one that applies to. I think the league will like him more than the talking heads.

1 hour ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I disagree that off-ball LBs still need to be differentiated between ILB and OLB. I know there have historically been differences between their responsibilities, but at this point it really feels like your MLB is just the stouter of your two or three best LBs. The roles/specific LB positions are determined by the traits or talents of the personnel on a given roster.

 

 

For what it is worth I do kind of agree with this. Obviously the MLB often has to call the defense too so there is leadership element and the run fits are different but with so much nickel in the NFL now and 2 linebacker defenses - as we know that is the Bills' base defense - the coverage responsibilities are getting more and more similar for off the ball 'backers. 

[GunnerBill]

5 hours ago, 78thealltimegreat said:

Man great work how is the tight end class? It seems with the amount of draft visits the Bills had they are going to be drafting one at some point in the middle rounds since they don’t have any TEs under contract after this year. 

 

As I just said to H2o - to me there isn't a clear #1 tight end in this class. Of course someone maybe develops into one in time.... but generally I think this is a deeper group than some recent ones but full of guys who can be good #2 tight ends. Again rounds 3, 4 and 5 are the sweet spot for the tight end depth for me. I have McBride as TE1 but he only just sneaks into my round 2 grades. It is those meat and potato rounds where I think there will be a mini-run on them.

Edited April 23, 2022 by GunnerBill

[machine gun kelly]

This is one of the threads I look forward to every year the week before the draft. Thanks GB as always as you put so much work into it.

 

That said, I particularly liked how you put Booth above Gardner as that hernia will heal.  He’s a stud.  I’m hopeful between the QB’s who are always over drafted, the five or so OT’s, and all these DE’s we get one of the top CB’s.

 

Once Tre is back and if we trade up a bit, we will complete our team.  Depth at G, TE, WR, RB,  and Punter will help, but we need a CB improvement over what we had in Wallace.

 

I believe Beane wants speed.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

11 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

Right, so just a few days away from the 2022 NFL Draft. Here is my annual compendium of my draft content. Hopefully people find the content interesting in the run up to the draft, and a few people have been kind enough to message me in the last couple of weeks asking for some of the things that this post sets out, but also it stands for the record too. Anyone in the draft evaluations game is going to have misses as well as hits. I never try and hide from the ones I get wrong. They are always out in the open for people to refer to. I liken it to Bill Parcells’ view of Phil Simms and interceptions….. if you ain’t throwing them, you ain’t trying hard enough. If you are not missing on the odd draft evaluation you are probably a fence sitter and therefore not adding much value anyway.

 

So without further ado…..

 

Products that are already published on the board are:

 

My 2022 Quarterback evaluations

My 2022 draft 'sleepers'

Gunner's 2022 Mock Draft (the final version 3.0 against which I will ultimately mark myself, will be published at that link on the day of the draft)

 

The "new content" in this thread will be:

A full list of my 18 first round grades;

An analysis of my top 100;

My positional top 5s.

 

[Key:

* denotes medical concern

^ denotes potential off-field / behavioural concern]

 

First Round Grades:

1. Aiden Hutchinson, DE Michigan

2. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

3. Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon

4. Andrew Booth*, CB, Clemson

5. Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

6. Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

7. Derek Stingley, CB, LSU

8. Ikem Ekwonu, OG, North Carolina Stat

9. Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

10. Jameson Williams*, WR, Alabama

11. Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa

12. Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah

13. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

14. Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State

15. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

16. Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

17. Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia

18. Daxton Hill, S, Michigan

 

I then also have four borderline 1st/2nd grades: 19. David Ojabo*, DE, Michigan; 20. Drake London, WR, USC; 21. Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa; 22. Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington.

 

 

Analysis of Top 100:

Here is the positional breakdown of my top 100:-

 

Quarterback: 5

Running Back: 4

Tight End: 5

Wide Receiver: 17

Offensive Tackle: 8

Interior Offensive Line: 10

Total offensive players: 49

 

Interior Defensive Line: 7

Edge Rusher: 12

Linebacker: 9

Corner: 14

Safety: 9

Total defensive players: 51

 

Strengths and Weaknesses of the top 100:

I think again it is a pretty balanced top 100 in terms of offense vs defense. It is a 51:49 for a third year in a row, this time in favour of the defensive side of the ball. I will say this about this class, my 100th player has a higher grade than in many other years. Quite often my 100th graded player is in the early to even mid 4th round grade wise – last year being a prime example. The 100th player on my board this year comes in the 3rd round and I have other 3rd round graded guys still on the board after him.

 

The deep positions are wide receiver (which seems to be deep almost every year now, something to which Brandon Beane alluded on Wednesday in his presser – he attributed it to the rise of the 7 on 7s and passing camps and kids playing in passing offenses more at an earlier age) and defensive back – which may well be the opposite side of the same coin. The sweet spot for receivers is really round 2. I have 12 receivers ranked in my top 60 players. I expect you could even see more than 12 go between round 1 and round 2 as some of the more scheme specific guys that I have graded in round 3 like Calvin Austin and Wan’Dale Robinson come off the board early.

 

As for defensive backs I think it is a really good safety group, and while 9 safeties in my top 100 is not that unusual, 8 or 9 is about par for the course, to have 5 with grades in the first 2 rounds is less usual. And the safety depth continues past the top 100 too. It is a slightly odd corner class in that I think there are 7 day one or early day two guys who could come in and be really good players early. They are all ranked in my top 34 players. I then have only one more corner between #35 and #70 on my board but then 6 between 70 and 100. I have described it as a bit of a late second round wilderness for the corner class but then there is a lot of 3rd and 4th round guys who I think are intriguing developmental prospects. Those guys might be able to play some as rookies and help you but they are going to need some work too. I think rounds 3 and 4 are the sweet spot for the corner depth.

 

Which position groups are weak? I again don’t think it is a stellar year for running backs. The flip side of what Beane said about receiver might be that the best athletes in school rarely play running back these days. Kenneth Walker and Breece Hall are both potential lead backs in the NFL but the rest of the class feel like specific role playing backs suited to running back by committee time shares. I also don’t love the tackle depth. The top 3 or 4 guys (depending on where you put Ekwonu and I have him graded as a guard but with tackle flex) are all good prospects but then I only have two second round grades, and three third ground grades. Some of that is I have a few guys who others might see as tackles in that 3rd round region graded as guards, but I just don’t think it is a deep group. A team would be very lucky to get a Spencer Brown type prospect at tackle in round 3 this time around. He was OT10 for me last year and would be OT7 this year.

 

Positional Top 5s:

(round I have them graded in parenthesis) 

 

Quarterback

1. Malik Willis, Liberty (2nd)

2. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh (2nd)

3. Matt Corral, Ole Miss (2nd)

4. Carson Strong*, Nevada (2nd/3rd)

5. Sam Howell, North Carolina (3rd)

 

Running Back

1. Kenneth Walker, Michigan State (2nd)

2. Breece Hall, Iowa State (2nd)

3. James Cook, Georgia (3rd)

4. Kyren Williams, Notre Dame (3rd)

5. Dameon Pierce, Florida (3rd)

 

Wide Receiver

1. Chris Olave, Ohio State (1st)

2. Jameson Williams*, Alabama (1st)

3. Treylon Burks, Arkansas (1st)

4. Garrett Wilson, Ohio State (1st)

5. Drake London, USC (1st/2nd)

 

Tight End

1. Trey McBride, Colorado (2nd)

2. Greg Dulcich, UCLA (3rd)

3. Jelani Woods, Virginia (3rd)

4. Cade Otton, Washington (3rd)

5. Charlie Kolar, Iowa State (3rd)

 

Offensive Tackle

1. Charles Cross, Mississippi State (1st)

2. Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa (1st)

3. Evan Neal, Alabama (1st)

4. Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan (2nd)

5. Nicholas Petit-Frere, Ohio State (2nd)

 

Interior Offensive Line

1. Ikem Ekwonu, North Carolina State (1st)

2. Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa (1st/2nd)

3. Kenyon Green, Texas A&M (2nd)

4. Zion Johnson, Boston College (2nd)

5. Tyler Smith, Tulsa (2nd)

 

Interior Defensive Line

1. Devonte Wyatt, Georgia (2nd)

2. Jordan Davis, Georgia (2nd)

3. DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M (2nd)

4. Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma (2nd)

5. Travis Jones, UConn (2nd)

 

EDGE

1. Aiden Hutchinson, Michigan (1st)

2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon (1st)

3. Jermaine Johnson, Florida State (1st)

4. David Ojabo, Michigan (1st/2nd)

5. Cam Thomas, San Diego State (2nd)

 

Linebacker

1. Devin Lloyd, Utah (1st)

2. Nakobe Dean, Georgia (1st)

3. Chad Muma, Wyoming (2nd)

4. Christian Harris, Alabama (2nd)

5. Troy Anderson, Montana State (2nd)

 

Corner

1. Andrew Booth*, Clemson (1st)

2. Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, Cincinnati (1st)

3. Derek Stingley, LSU (1st)

4. Kyler Gordon, Washington (1st/2nd)

5. Trent McDuffie, Washington (2nd)

 

Safety

1. Kyle Hamilton, Norte Dame (1st)

2. Daxton Hill, Michigan (1st)

3. Lewis Cine, Georgia (2nd)

4. Jalen Pitre, Baylor (2nd)

5. Jaquan Brisker, Penn State (2nd)

 

 

Final thoughts

It is often said that the best General Managers separate themselves as drafters in rounds 2-5 and that is going to be even more the case this year. I do think there is good depth on day 2 and into the first half of day 3. This will be the type of draft class that has pro bowlers and all pros drafted in rounds 4 and 5. There are not as many "elite" prospects up at the top end of the draft as normal and a lot has already been said and written about the Quarterback class. But a team that drafts well and follows their board and does not reach on positions in those middle rounds, but allows themselves to stick to best player available is going to look back on this as a critical draft for their franchise. I don't think you will see a ton of big trade ups on Thursday night, maybe one if Malik Willis gets to #4 or #5 and a team like Pittsburgh decides to jump up, but otherwise I expect trades to be more teams moving just a couple of picks each way. But you could see a lot of trade action on Friday night as teams try to marry the value of the board to their needs. As for the Bills.... I expect corner and wide receiver to be addressed somewhere in the first two days. I think safety, tight end and offensive line depth will all be addressed somewhere too. Let's hope Beane and co. can find some stars. 

 

As ever, I will be doing my daily de-briefs each morning after the action, looking at whose drafts I liked and didn't like, the best players I have left on my board and analysing the moves the Bills, in particular, have made. By this time next week the first round will already be in the books..... not long to wait!!

 

 

 

 

a lot of talk about Booth going to the Bills , which i would be ecstatic over , and you have him number four which would be amazing value for us.

 

i also want Trevor Penning, Jameson Williams, and Treylon Burks with the first pick, i dont mean one of them but all of them 😁

 

 

[GunnerBill]

Made a very minor tweak this morning which slightly affects the balance of my top 100. I had it 51 defense and 49 offense when I posted last night but when I looked at my board this morning I realised I hadn't factored in my re-grade of Zach Tom from earlier this week where I bumped him up a few points, resulting in him going from #114 on my board to #97. So one more IOL (I see him ultimately as a center at the next level) makes it and poor Marcus Jones the slot corner from Houston drops to #101. So I now have exactly 50 offensive players and 50 defensive players in the top 100. Don't think I have ever had that before! 

2 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

a lot of talk about Booth going to the Bills , which i would be ecstatic over , and you have him number four which would be amazing value for us.

 

i also want Trevor Penning, Jameson Williams, and Treylon Burks with the first pick, i dont mean one of them but all of them 😁

 

 

 

Penning, Booth and Olave were the three names I had as my Bills round 1 guys in January when I had done a first look at the guys being predicted to go early. Still want one of those three but I think Penning and Olave are long gone. 

[GunnerBill]

2 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

 

That said, I particularly liked how you put Booth above Gardner as that hernia will heal.  He’s a stud.  

 

Matt Miller did his pro comps for his top 50 guys this week..... his comp for Andrew Booth was Darius Slay who I have called the most unheralded elite player in the NFL numerous times in the last decade. I likey. I likey a lot.

[BritBill]

Cheers @GunnerBill As someone who doesn’t watch any college ball or has the time to look at draft prospects your time, effort and posts are always appreciated. 

[hemma]

We’re all fortunate that you haven’t slid your work behind a Paywall.

 

I usually read, then reread your output 3 or 4 times.  Thank you.

[MrEpsYtown]

Awesome stuff Gunner. Which linebacker do you think is the best fit for what we do here? Like in our 4-2-5 base? Like I really like Brandon Smith. I understand why people don’t like him. I like Anderson too. But outside of Lloyd I think it’s kind of pick your flavor. I’d love for you to share some more details on your thoughts on that group.