Interesting point on QBs in the SB:

Drew Brees won a Super Bowl without completing a 30-yard pass. Tom Brady has completed one pass longer than 33 yards in his seven Super Bowl wins combined. Peyton Manning’s longest completion when the Broncos beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl was a 25-yarder. Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Eli Manning all won Super Bowls without a 40-yard completion.

Arm strength is not the issue with Hurts, reading the field from the pocket, anticipating his WRs, improved accuracy (better mechanics and footwork).

And getting better WRs wouldn't hurt, imagine how much better Hurts numbers would be if Reagor was the guy they thought they were drafting.

7 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Time to quell the Liberty mythology stuff.  Willis was a QB at Auburn his freshman and sophomore year. So SEC competition but not good enough to start at a second tier SEC team and afraid he couldn’t beat the competition his junior year there. . So transfer protocol to Liberty (I mean, Liberty, not some other conference higher level team) where he had low 60% completion rate. Did not perform well (albeit running for his life) against higher CFB teams. Wouldn’t you expect a SEC level QB to slaughter the competition at the Little Sisters of the Mercy level?  (People don’t anoint Ridder at the AAC, which is higher than Liberty.) Meanwhile, Hurts was good enough to start at two top ten CFB universities.  I don’t expect Willis to read D as well as Hurts and that isn’t a compliment. He can’t run like Hurts and huge arm velocity means little except one to two plays a game but only if you can hit targets like Rodgers and Wilson. 

He runs different from Hurts.  Completely different style, but just as effective.   

 

I don't disagree, but Alabama and OU are schools that are putting QBs into the NFL... Murray, Jackson, Hurts, Jones, Tua, Mayfield... all in the last 4 or 5 years.   What QB has come from Auburn?   Bo Nix.    meh.

 

So, I think that we could see significant improvement from Willis in the NFL.  But, again, I am not stumping for him, just saying that I understand why a GM/HC might leap at him higher than his current level would dictate due to his athleticism and the caliber of clay he is to work with.  Hurts was pretty much hardened clay by the time he got to the NFL... due to his background and college experience.  I said it at the time, and I'll say it again... low ceiling, high floor player coming out.  Top end backup, bottom end starter potential.    Meanwhile, Willis is a boom bust guy.  Willis, not Hurts, is the Josh Allen comparison that so many want to throw about.  Not perfect my any means, but much more apt.

7 minutes ago, RLC said:

Losing Amari absolutely makes the Cowboys worse. They're not replacing him. We wanted to trade for him before...

It's the right move for them, though.  Cooper is very good, but not worth $22M per season.  They also made the right move ditching Jaylon Smith, although they weren't smart enough to do it before giving him a big contract.  They should also move on from LVE rather than extend him.

5 minutes ago, purplefiggy said:

I actually like that. part of my job over the years has been interviewing people about a lot of things and I appreciate what you can learn from a. making them comfortable and b. not going straight at what you want to know. The player wants to get in and out delivering their canned response the best they can without f'ing anything up.  That's how they are coached by their agents. Mix things up and there's at least a chance you can get past that facade and see what's really in there.

Yea, I see the benefits. I just think it's more beneficial for an interview for a more traditional job. I don't want them comfortable.

Cooper being added to an already deep WR free agent pool leads me to think the Eagles should be able to get a quality WR on a decent deal.  Not all of these WRs are going to be able to land massive deals at the same time.  I'm think Godwin especially coming off an injury. 

17 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Raw athletic ability doesn’t factor in his route running, contact balance, intelligence. 

It’s just a measure of raw athleticism. I’m not sure what your point is. No one is suggesting drafting WRs in their order of finish in the RAS.

My point is that "relative athletic score" is a number that turns out to mean...not much. Probably even less than the unofficial 40 times we were seeing. And, if it doesn't mean much, why do it?

15 minutes ago, RLC said:

Losing Amari absolutely makes the Cowboys worse. They're not replacing him. We wanted to trade for him before...

Could be an underrated loss for them.  Amari and Dak have a nice chemistry.

I wouldn't want him though for obvious reasons.  

3 minutes ago, justrelax said:

My point is that "relative athletic score" is a number that turns out to mean...not much. Probably even less than the unofficial 40 times we were seeing. And, if it doesn't mean much, why do it?

clicks

31 minutes ago, purplefiggy said:

I think the most valuable part of the combine is probably the interview.  Who are these guys?  How much do they love football?  How much info can they retain?  That on top of what you've seen from them in college should be the bulk of it.

It's too bad they've mandated the interviews to be PC.  I'm more old school where I'd want to see how they respond to a curveball question like "Is it true your Mom's so stupid that she stared at a carton of orange juice for 12 hours because it said 'CONCENTRATE'?

Watching David Ojabo highlights and he looked small but I looked it up and he's 6'5.  He can play. 

Just now, Alphagrand said:

It's too bad they've mandated the interviews to be PC.  I'm more old school where I'd want to see how they respond to a curveball question like "Is it true your Mom's so stupid that she stared at a carton of orange juice for 12 hours because it said 'CONCENTRATE'?

I LOVE Dozens. Now that's something where competition and quick thinking can be measured.

2 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I bet if the Eagles were to let Devonta Smith walk, it would make them worse.  

Source?

33 minutes ago, justrelax said:

My point is that "relative athletic score" is a number that turns out to mean...not much. Probably even less than the unofficial 40 times we were seeing. And, if it doesn't mean much, why do it?

Teams use this type of information. Mostly it’s to eliminate bad athletes, or significantly devalue them. 

48 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

I would think he’s out of our price range. 

 

Can’t trust fake wrestling. 
 

 

26 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Which is not good.  

Wow.....great take

Not surprising that someone who doesn't understand math or opportunity cost is confused.

9 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Source?

Freshmilk

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

 

 He’s the best run blocker in the draft, Cross might be the pass blocker. 

Cooper is nice, but would rather have Robinson, Ridley, Williams, Godwin, etc.

40 minutes ago, justrelax said:

My point is that "relative athletic score" is a number that turns out to mean...not much. Probably even less than the unofficial 40 times we were seeing. And, if it doesn't mean much, why do it?

Yup guys like Keenan Allen had pretty low RAS scores yet end up being pro bowlers, where as other guys with high RAS scores are out of league in a couple years.

RAS is just another piece of the puzzle in the draft.

1 hour ago, jsb235 said:

Hurts' deep ball does compare really favorably to Pickett's though.

I agree. 

There is a lot to like about Pickett, but so many red flags. First and foremost the hand size and fumbling. His arm isn't great. He didn't always play top competition. I think he's pretty accurate and has the mental aspect down, but I just don't see it overall with him.

Especially in the first.

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Yup.  Max speed is overrated.  Long speed matters more.  Also, how quickly can you reach 'max speed'.

Yup, look at a guy like Westbrook, he was a 4.5 guy but his ability to stop and start and reach top speed was top shelf.

 

7 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Yup guys like Keenan Allen had pretty low RAS scores yet end up being pro bowlers, where as other guys with high RAS scores are out of league in a couple years.

RAS is just another piece of the puzzle in the draft.

Keenan Allen had an injured knee during the draft process. 

8 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Yup guys like Keenan Allen had pretty low RAS scores yet end up being pro bowlers, where as other guys with high RAS scores are out of league in a couple years.

RAS is just another piece of the puzzle in the draft.

As for the bold, yeah. No one should drastically change grades on players based on this unless they completely bomb it like Bell, but it gives you a great idea about who isn’t a good enough athlete for the NFL, and who has the raw tools you can potentially teach skill to. 

2 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Keenan Allen had an injured knee during the draft process. 

Yup. Allen looked slow this year. He was moving like Jason Avant.

11 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Yup guys like Keenan Allen had pretty low RAS scores yet end up being pro bowlers, where as other guys with high RAS scores are out of league in a couple years.

RAS is just another piece of the puzzle in the draft.

 Game film is 90% of it, Hamilton could test like crap, (won’t) but it won’t change the fact he’s the best on defense in this class. 
Going with film though, Hutchinson beats Ojabo off the snap consistently, and has more pass rushing moves. Hutchinson has more experience and might be better at jumping the snap, or Ojabo needs a ton of work and might not be as good as everyone believes.