2016 NFL Draft - The Quarterbacks

You just did....

Look, this is an open forum guys, not my personal opinion play ground...Discuss away!!

I love hearing from everyone else...I am merely going through the tape of these guys and voicing my opinion, if you discuss someone, I am still going through the exercise, I may agree or disagree but that is where the discussion comes into play and hopefully what our own Browns are trying to accomplish in Berea..

 

Carson Wentz - North Dakota State University Bisons (FCS), RS Senior
6'6" 235 lbs, will be 23 years old at draft time

Stats for 2015 (broke a bone in his throwing wrist after 6 games)
passing;
114 comp on 179 attempts, 63.7%, 1454 yards, 16 TDs 2 INTs
rushing;
54 attempts 215 yards, 4.0 ypa, 4 TDs

Stats for 2014 (Junior year, complete season)
passing;
228 comp on 358 attempts, 63.7%, 3111 yards, 25 TDs 10 INTs
rushing;
138 attempts 642 yards, 4.7 ypa, 6 TDs

My evaluation:
I watched 6 games, over an hour of game film

Honestly, I see the QB I want to be on the Browns roster in 2016. I realize he is from a small FCS school, but spending the #32 pick on him, imho, would be the best thing this team could do.

I mentioned in an earlier post that he reminded me of someone..well, go back and look at Tennessee Volunteers game film from the 90's and I swear he looks almost identical to Peyton Manning...I am not proclaiming this kid the next Manning, not by any stretch. I don't know what his cognitive state of football is. His mechanics look a lot like Peyton though at the early stage of their careers. He steps into the throw very well, can make all the throws..I'm not sure what Sam was saying earlier either, I saw him go to 3rd and 4th reads. Not often, as he made quick decisions and almost always went to the 1st or 2nd read, but he did go through progressions.

One thing I didn't like, he runs too much. He gave up a few times early, where he stepped into the pocket and probably could have continued to look down field, as he did on many occasions mind you...but there were other times, when he felt pressure and simply tucked the ball and took off. He would need to cure that immediately. He also locks onto receivers some, not always, but even when a play is designed to develop, if he sees that receiver is going to be open, he locks on. He needs to learn to look him off, then come back.

The elephant in the room though is.. he DID play at an FCS school, mind you the top FCS school in the country, but still...the competition is NO WHERE NEAR SEC, where Manning played. Some of those defenses I watched were really bad.

He is supposed to return to action this Saturday at Noon in the FCS Championship game if any of you want to check him out...Then I will be watching very closely at the Senior Bowl as he has been invited to play there.

Next up, Jacoby Brissett

 

I don't follow any football metrics, but it would be interesting to see of these QBs, what is the % of plays that they get beyond their second read? and of those, what is the completion %?

There are variables (play design, weak OL, missed assignment) that could drag those down but I think it would show their feel for the pocket, awareness/processing, confidence (imo), and ability to handle pressure (that is with the assumption that getting beyond the 3rd option he is not just standing still).

 

Doughty no chance....watched all I needed vs LSU

 

I wuldnt even waste ur time on Brissett....he played out of his mind vs FSU in 2014, but wont make it as a NFL QB

 

Care to share on the WHY of that statement?

 

Hes big n physical and can get out of sacks like Big Ben, but when it comes 2 QB play he is lacking accuracy and not quick w decision making therefore he gets sacked a lot

 

That's a tale of two completely different QB skill sets.

I think Hogan looks like an NFL QB (I know, not very analytical there). He's got the size, arm, and pedigree. However, he's not especially accurate on intermediate or deep routes, nor does he offer any mobility. I think he was really helped out by Christian McCaffrey who looks unbelievable.

I think Hogan is a guy you can draft the mid-rounds and develop into a terrific backup and in the right system, I think he can be a very good starter.

With Prescott, he looks like a running back playing the QB position. He's obviously a terrific multi-threat QB and he's played against quality competition and more importantly (at least to me), he's improved every season. Looks like he's got a strong arm. This season, he did a lot more keeping his eyes downfield while moving around in the pocket or scrambling, which you always like to see.

On the negatives, he doesn't set his feet as often as he should and he was used by Mississippi State in a lot of designed runs -- which were good in college, but not something you want to do in the NFL. Last thing is that he doesn't seem to read progressions, from what I've seen. He appears to know where he's going with the ball from the snap.

 

A lot of Qbs in this draft class need more than what has been recently done to QBs (which is to start them immediately) Going to need some seasoning, but I wouldn't write off anyone given the coaching necessary to develop him. Does Cleveland offer that? Traditionally they have not. Remains to be seen what coaches come to Cleveland and what there specializations are. (Not all coaches are created equal).

A QB I think Irish could like is Nate Sudfeld. Especially from what I can surmise what Irish prefers.

 

One of the things that really stood out to be is, in spite of the hype and size, Lynch only displays average arm strength. It's probably more to do with mechanics than anything, but his arm strength definitely appears to be lacking.

 

I watched Carson Wentz in Saturday's FCS Championship, and I thought he looked great. He missed about 2 months and showed no rust at all. He appeared to have good arm strength, he was leading his receievers and moved around well. Some of his decisions were questionable and I think if he were playing against more than Jacksonville St that there would be more question marks.

The kid has potential. He could very well be the next Flacco, only time will tell. I can see his stock going up at the Sr Bowl and in the underwear Olympics at Lucas Oil Stadium.

That is still a huge step to take and I am cautioned of my want of his ability and his true ability. I cant help but think that for every small school/underdog that makes it (Flacco), there are so many more that we had high hopes for them and they didn't amount to much (see Pat Devlin).

 

The real trouble with Wentz is that No. 2 is too high and No. 32 is too low. He's a mid-20s pick and will be a reach at the top and gone by the second.

And the last thing we want is for the Browns to trade down again. Our track record there is probably the worst in the NFL.

 

Yeah, the center of the draft (15, 19, 20 and 22 specifically) is going to be a hotbed for a team to reach for a quarterback and even though this is not looked at as a strong class for passers you may see more than one drafted in that stretch.

 

Speaking from experience, I can say that the No. 22 overall spot is a great place to take a QB. :/

 

Here's the beauty of the NFL combine and/or Pro days...Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg are going to throw really well in shorts, maybe even Cardale Jones...

My thought isn't so much that they will all be drafted ahead of Wentz, but at the end of the day, he is a project from a FCS school and the powers that be may choose to take a chance one of the other guys, who are projects from FBS schools will still be there in the 2nd round.

I could see Wentz being over looked for the likes of Cook and Hackenberg, leaving him to us at #32...based SOLELY on his level of competition in college.

I would be willing to wager that happening, rather than over drafting Goff at #2 and taking a better player like Bosa or Tunsil if the analytics force a move on from Thomas. IF they did decide to move Joe Thomas, I can't imagine them getting less than a 2nd rounder for him...

So I could see an "analytical" draft of say

#2 OT Laremy Tunsil
#32 QB Carson Wentz
(2nd rounder for Thomas) WR Will Fuller or WR Corey Coleman
#65 WR Josh Doctson

Yes, TWO WRs to help this offense...Doctson is purely a Red Zone receiver...Matching Fuller or Coleman with Travis Benjamin and hopefully Josh Gordon would help bolster the weapons around whomever the QB is in 2016.

The defense has players, they need a coaching staff to see their potential. The offense needs a lot of help and this draft could provide that.

IF they keep Thomas, Bosa would still get my vote at #2. If he's taken, Tunsil could immediately start at RT until Joe retires.

 

One other thing I would like to point out here Sam...trading down isn't necessarily a terrible thing either...depending on what the wants are and the trade itself.

Scenario:

#1 Titans draft Joey Bosa

If the Browns are not enamored with anyone on their draft board, but someone behind them believes they will take a QB if no other options present themselves, then a trade back may not be a terrible thing.

I could see a scenario where the 49ers fall in love with Jared Goff (obvious California ties), They would then send the #7, #37 and 2017 2nd round pick to the Browns for #2 (Goff)

I would do this in a heartbeat if Bosa is gone...

Then you would have 4 other picks gone before you are back on the clock..now analytically speaking, I could see the draft board with about 8 guys ranked nearly identical, and Goff not being on that list...Now, one would be gone in Bosa, but that leaves 7 others, with only 4 picks between you and your pick. So to pick #7 analytically speaking would be a God send, when you could add (2) more pieces from the 2nd round in consecutive years (including at least a high pick in 2016).

This is not a strong draft class...so moving back 5 spots, imho, would strengthen this team more in the long run.

Truth be told, I don't see a HUGE upgrade in my top 8 over the next tier of about 10 guys...but I would rather them take someone they are higher on based on gut feeling, than having to use that gut feeling after 15 guys or more are already off the board.

I just don't see them being enamored by two prospects over the rest of this draft. Unless the coach and/or GM that are brought in see Goff as a highly likely candidate to become a true franchise QB, trading down could be a viable option.

I would rather use Sam's idea of signing a veteran and taking a chance on another project later in the draft...having (2) 2nd round draft picks would make that project less risky.

 

Dont u feel Fuller and Benjamin are the same type of WRs

 

If there's anything our brief experience with analytics (Joe Banner) taught us, it's that the numbers almost always plus out it's in a franchise's best interest to trade down or out of picks. That's especially true in a weaker draft class. Review how 2013 went down to get a feeling about how 2016 might.

I think we have to be realistic here... the Browns are going to need a complete re-build. Adding draft picks is the best way to do that and it may be the plan this coming season.

 

Yes, VERY similar...

And Benjamin was very successful in 2015...adding Fuller would highlight another weapon, I am going under the assumption that Josh Gordon will also be back. Adding Fuller to Benjamin and Gordon, then adding a Red Zone threat like Doctson would be a big improvement over what we currently had at our disposal in 2015.

 

My point was why take the exact same type of WR? Either take Fuller and trade Benjamin or keep Benjamin and draft a different type of WR(Coleman)...also I think teams decided 2 take away the deep ball from Benjamin and he was very limited in his last 6 games...his longest catch was 42 yds and his production decreased a lot