2013 NFL Draft: 5 Small School Sensations To Watch!

Check out the article I wrote for FootballNation.com on 5 small schools phenoms that you will want to keep an eye on come NFL Draft time.

B.W. Webb of William and Mary

With so much emphasis placed on finding late round gems to fill rosters and contribute early, NFL teams are on the look out for under the radar talent. These five guys are just that, NFL Draft steals. Read, comment, and share the article with your fiends.

http://www.footballnation.com/content/2013-nfl-draft-five-small-school-sensations-to-watch/22003/

 

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Buffalo Bills Quarterback Draft Concerns

There is a great website out there called WalterFootball.com that keeps a pretty up to date record of which teams are meeting and scheduling workouts with certain NFL Draft Prospects. As I was doing some research for my Mock Draft coming up, I stumbled upon an interesting note on the Buffalo Bills. There is no doubt that you can look at the roster moves and see a huge need for a starting quarterback, and in this year’s draft it is hard to say which quarterback that is. Most people have the Bills taking Geno Smith with their eighth overall pick. But there are some people who speculate that Smith might not be there. SO the Bills are doing their homework and come hell or high water they are going to get a quarterback in the first round or early second, guarantee.  Take a look below at the prospects from the quarterback class that they have worked out and where some of the workouts and meetings have taken place:

 

Syracuse Quarterback Ryan Nassib was the starter for Buffalo Bill’s head coach Doug Marrone for three years.

Matt Barkley, USC- Private Workout
Landry Jones, Oklahoma- Private Workout, Pro Day
E.J. Manuel, Florida State- Private Workout, Pro Day
Ryan Nassib, Syracuse- Private Workout, Pro Day
Matt Scott, Arizona- Private Workout, Combine Interview
Geno Smith, West Virginia-Private Workout, Combine Interview, Pro Day
Jeff Tuel, Washington State- Private Workout
Tyler Wilson, Arkansas- Pro Day

Is this Earth shaking news? No. But it just bodes to show how much emphasis the Bills are putting on the plan of drafting a quarterback VERY high in the 2013 Draft.

I have the Bills taking Geno Smith at 8. I just don’t see him going any higher, but more on this as my first picks of the Post-Free Agency Mock Draft comes out soon.

Scouting Report- D.J. Fluker, Alabama Offensive Tackle

Check out my latest scouting report on Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker. It is posted on FootballNation.com and can be found by following the link here: http://www.footballnation.com/content/2013-nfl-draft-ot-dj-fluker-scouting-report/21966/

Feel free to share it with your friends and comment on it if you feel the need. Follow me on Twitter @scoutingblitz

Thanks and enjoy. My mock draft will start tomorrow for picks 1-10 of the first round, after free agency!

Scouting Report- Blidi Wreh-Wilson

Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Connecticut

Scouting Report

Position: Cornerback

Class: Redshirt Senior

Size: 6’1 195 lbs.

Strengths: Wreh-Wilson is a very lanky and tall corner back prospect who has above average long speed. He showed off that speed not only on the game film but at the Senior Bowl and Combine where he was clocked at 4.43 in the 40 yard dash. He has excellent ball skills and can make plays with his hands in coverage. Wreh-Wilson could excel in press man situations as he has a very good punch and jam technique. He is a physical player who plays with a swagger and has a short memory, all things you need at the corner back position. He possesses great hip flexibility and can make turns and drop his hips very well. For a taller corner, Wreh-Wilson plays with great leverage. He can open up and run on deep vertical routes but also does a great job of marking his man and targeting the ball in the air. Wreh-Wilson did not have a ton of production, interception wise. However he did do a great job of eliminating the receiver threat on his side of the field. Has good versatility as he does well in zone overages but is suited to play in man coverage as well. Overall Wreh-Wilson uses his size and physical tools well to fight off blocks and make open field tackles.

Weaknesses: Wreh-Wilson has some flaws to his game that do scare away some teams when people talk of him as a first rounder. For one, Wreh-Wilson is a bit of a gambler and will let receivers behind him and jump routes at times. He has good speed, but at times it doesn’t not translate to the field, as in he will not recover well or he will get beat by longer striders. While he does an OK job in getting interceptions, he is not the athletic return man type threat you look for in your corners. Wreh-Wilson will take chances on his strength and try to jam at the line and allow receivers to get past him. He has never suffered a huge injury, but has some medical concerns from his past and he will be looked at heavily in the pre-draft process to see if there are any lingering effects. Wreh- Wilson needs to get stronger in his upper body to help him make better open field tackles and fight off blocks.

Overall Impression: I really like what Wreh-Wilson brings to a team that uses a lot more press man and cover 2 principals  He excels in the physical aspects of playing corner and he has that elite size and athleticism you look for in that type of defense  He is not going to give you anything in the return but he has the frame and speed to shut down a lot of the bigger receivers in the NFL. For a corner prospect you look for a player who has that intensity and drive to always compete and win the rep and Wreh-Wilson has that. I have him high on my board and I think he is one of the players that, starting with the Senior Bowl, has really used the pre-draft process to help his rise into the early parts of the second round.

Projected Draft Status: Early Second Round

Top 10 Board- Defense

The offensive board is complete for the time being and here is my crack at the defensive side of the ball. I will get a little bit more specific as the weeks come before the Draft. When the time comes I will break up players by 3-4 and 4-3 defenses, but right now I am still working on where they fit into each scheme.

Defensive Ends

1. Bjoern Werner, Florida State

2. Ziggy Ansah, BYU

3. Datone Jones, UCLA

4. Margus Hunt, SMU

5. Tank Carradine, Florida State

6. Damontre Moore, Texas A&M

7. Alex Okafor, Texas

8. Sam Montgomery, LSU

9. Cornelius Washington, Georgia

10. William Gholston, Michigan State

Defensive Tackles

1. Star Lotulelei, Utah- http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/02/20/scouting-report-star-lotulelei/

2. Sharrif Floyd, Florida

3. Sheldon Richardson, Missouri

4. Sylvester Williams, UNC

5. Jesse Williams, Alabama

6. Kawann Short, Purdue

7. John Jenkins, Georgia

8. Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern State

9. John Hankins, Ohio State

10. Montori Hughes, UT Martin

Outside Linebackers

1. Jarvis Jones, Georgia- http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/03/09/scouting-report-jarvis-jones/

2. Dion Jordan, Oregon

3. Barkevious Mingo, LSU

4. Trevardo Williams, UCONN

5. Arthur Brown, Kansas State

6. Khaseem Greene, Rutgers

7. Sio Moore, UCONN

8. Jamie Collins, Southern Mississippi

9. Zavier Gooden, Missouri

10. Chase Thomas, Stanford

Inside Linebackers

1. Alec Ogletree, Georgia

2. Mant’i Teo, Notre Dame

3. Kevin Minter, LSU

4. Kiko Alonso, Oregon

5. A.J. Klein, Iowa State

6. Kevin Reddick, UNC

7. Jon Bostic, Florida

8. Steve Beauharnais, Rutgers

9. Nico Johnson, Alabama

10. Michael Mauti, Penn State

Safeties

1. Kenny Vaccaro, Texas

2. Johnathan Cyprien, Florida International

3. Eric Reid, LSU

4. Matt Elam, Florida

5. Shawn Williams, Georgia

6. Shamarko Thomas, Syracuse

7. Bacarri Rambo, Georgia

8. D.J. Swearinger, South Carolina

9. Phillip Thomas, Fresno State

10. JJ Wilcox, Georgia Southern

Corner Backs

1. Dee Milliner, Alabama

2. Desmond Trufant, Washington

3. Xavier Rhodes, Florida State

4. Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

5. Blidi Wreh- Wilson, UCONN

6. Darius Slay, Mississippi State

7. B.W. Webb, William and Mary

8. Jamar Taylor, Boise State

9. Dwayne Gratz, UCONN

10. Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State

Top 10 Board- Offense

I have studied a lot of games over the last few months and have started to formulate my Top 10 by position. This is a moving piece of work and like my mock drafts, they will be updated right until the start of round one on April 25th. Take a look and feel free to comment. Keep updated on Twitter @scoutingblitz.

Quarterbacks

1. Geno Smith, West Virginia- http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/02/12/scouting-report-geno-smith/

2. Ryan Nassib, Syracuse

3. Mike Glennon, NC State

4. E.J. Manuel, Florida State

5. Matt Barkley, Southern Cal

6. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

7. Matt Scott, Arizona

8. Zac Dysert, Miami (OH)

9. Tyler Bray, Tennessee

10. Landry Jones, Oklahoma

Running Backs

1. Eddie Lacy, Alabama

2. Montee Ball, Wisconsin

3. Giovani Bernard, UNC

4. Andre Ellington, Clemson

5. Kenjon Barner, Oregon- http://nfldraftdog.com/2013-nfl-draft/Kenjon-Barner.html 

6. Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina

7. Jawan Jamison, Rutgers

8. Le’Veon Bell, Michigan State

9. Mike Gillislee, Florida

10. Johnathan Franklin, UCLA

Wide Receivers

1. Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee

2. Tavon Austin, West Virginia-  http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/02/13/scouting-report-tavon-austin/

3. Keenan Allen, California

4. Justin Hunter, Tennessee

5. DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson

6. Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech

7. Aaron Dobson, Marshall

8. Da’Rick Rogers, Tennessee Tech

9. Chris Harper, Kansas State

10. Robert Woods, USC

Tight Ends

1. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame

2. Zach Ertz, Stanford

3. Gavin Escobar, San Diego State

4. Vance McDonald, Rice

5. Jordan Reed, Florida

6. Travis Kelce, Cincinnati

7. Dion Sims, Michigan State

8. Mychal Rivera, Tennessee

9. Nick Kasa, Colorado

10. Levine Toilolo, Stanford

Offensive Tackles

1. Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M- http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/02/14/scouting-report-luke-joeckel/

2. Eric Fisher, Central Michigan

3. Lane Johnson, Oklahoma

4. D.J. Fluker, Alabama

5. Terron Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

6. David Quessenberry, San Jose State

7. Justin Pugh, Syracuse

8. Jordan Mills, Louisiana Tech

9. Oday Aboushi, Virginia

10. Menelik Watson, Florida State

Offensive Guards

1. Chance Warmack, Alabama- http://scoutingblitz.com/2013/02/16/scouting-report-chance-warmack/

2. Johnathan Cooper, UNC

3. Larry Warford, Kentucky

4. Kyle Long, Oregon

5. Dallas Thomas, Tennessee

6. Brian Winters, Kent State

7. Alvin Bailey, Arkansas

8. Hugh Thornton, Illinois

9. Travis Bond, UNC

10. Jeff Baca, UCLA

Centers

1. Barrett Jones, Alabama

2. Travis Frederick, Wisconsin

3. Khaled Holmes, USC

4. Brian Schwenke, California

5. Braxton Cave, Notre Dame

6. Joe Madsen, West Virginia

7. T.J. Johnson, South Carolina

8. Lamar Mady, Youngstown State

9. Matt Stankiewitch, Penn State

10. P.J. Longeran, LSU

Scouting Report- Jarvis Jones

Jarvis Jones, Georgia

Scouting Report

Position: Outside Linebacker

Class: Red-shirt Junior

Size: 6’2 245 lbs.

Strengths: Jones is one of the premier pass rusher’s in the 2013 draft. He possesses the versatility to play in coverage as well as rush the passer when called upon to do so. Has scheme versatility in the sense that he could play the SAM linebacker in a 4-3 and be able to cover tight ends, or he could play the hybrid defensive end/OLB that so many teams now covet. His game is reminiscent of the Von Miller type player if you will. Jones was extremely productive in his career and isn’t an athlete that you are looking at come out of the draft like Ziggy Ansah of BYU who is being evaluated on what he COULD DO in the NFL. In Jones you are getting the NCAA sacks leader from 2012 and a pass rusher who has sacked the quarterback 28 times in 26 games against elite competition  Jones is nasty on the field and plays with that raw emotion you look for in your linebackers. He was voted team captain and is a natural leader. On the field, besides his sack production, he is extremely quick in his first step and in his coverage skills. He has that fluid motion skill set you look for in an outside linebacker. If you watch the SEC championship game against LSU, he is all over the field making plays in pass coverage and behind the line of scrimmage. He makes some of the most explosive hits I have ever seen and is a real punishing tackler, separating a lot of players from the ball. He had seven forced fumbles in 2012 alone. Jones plays with great instincts and you can tell he is a smart football player that takes coaching well and studies his opponents.

Weaknesses: First thing you have to put on Jones as his weakness is the medical issues he has faced and will continue to face. Jones played his freshman year for the Southern California Trojans and contributed early. He hurt his neck in the end of the season and could not get cleared from Spring ball by team doctors with his diagnosis of Spinal Stenosis. He transferred to Georgia who cleared him and he dominated in the elite SEC. However, with the millions of dollars invested in players now, teams are weary to take a player who may, down the road, have a major problem. This medical issue is real and he needs good reports from teams’ medical evaluations.  With that being said, Jones also has some other weaknesses that can be seen on film study. Jones is not a small player by any means, but he looks to be “maxed out” in his size and strength. He just doesn’t seem to have the frame to get any bigger and he will struggle to take on blocks and consistently take a pounding from NFL blockers. He already has troubles taking on blocks at the point of attack and will struggle to disengage on his blocks. Jones isn’t necessarily weak at a certain area of his game, but he will also need to improve on his coverage skills but he is not far off.

Overall Impression: His production has to speak for itself. We are talking about a player in Jarvis Jones who was All American and the nation’s sack leader from the best conference  If not for his medical issues he would be in the top 5 picks of the 2013 draft. No questions. However, the medical history will scare some NFL teams and Jones could see his name slip a little further into round one than he wanted. Jones is an explosive pass rusher though and those players DO NOT stay on the board for long. Jones is the most polished and explosive option as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme and over half the teams in the NFL employ that type of scheme as their main defense. So you can do the math. Jones will not be available long and should hear his name called in the top 15 picks.

Projected Draft Status: Picks 5-10 of the first round