Posted April 30, 201114 yr I'll say Michael Floyd, Ethan Johnson, Harrison Smith, Gary Gray, and Darius Fleming and I'll throw Trevor Robinson in there as well. Edited April 30, 201114 yr by juniper34
April 30, 201114 yr I'll say Michael Floyd, Ethan Johnson, Harrison Smith, Gary Gray, and Darius Fleming and I'll throw Trevor Robinson in there as well. If everybody shows some improvement this year I will say Floyd goes middle to late 1st round or early 2nd, Ethan goes late 2nd or 3rd, Smith goes 3rd or 4th, Gray could go late 1st to late 2nd, Fleming could go late 2nd but probably late 3rd, and T rob 3rd or 4th maybe 5th.
April 30, 201114 yr Considering we're sitting here in the middle of the 7th, and only have one guy off the board in spite of expectations for 3+ (Ian, Walls), I'ma buy low on this front. Floyd for sure. Te'o if he goes. The rest will have to earn it.
April 30, 201114 yr Man, I might have to lower my predictions by a round or two as well. Except Floyd and Gray....
May 1, 201114 yr Floyd top 7, gray late 1st early second, johnson 4-6th rd. Teo would go top 15 next yr. And top5 the year after...
May 1, 201114 yr I hope we don't need to add Manti to this list:tape: I've read from multiple articles that Te'o is a lock to come back his senior year. Remember that he is forgoing his Mormon mission...
May 1, 201114 yr Floyd top 7, gray late 1st early second, johnson 4-6th rd. Teo would go top 15 next yr. And top5 the year after... what round did you have Ian Williams and Darrin Walls going? Gray's advantage might be that he gets invited to the combine and has better game film than Walls, but Walls going undrafted shows you that Gray is not a 1st or 2nd rd pick.
May 1, 201114 yr Floyd late first round---# 26 Teo will stay at ND so- NOBODY ELSE BUT MICHAEL! aloha's
May 1, 201114 yr Don't be delusional....Mike Floyd is the only 1st-2nd round ND player has next year unless someone blows up.
May 1, 201114 yr That makes me very happy. THANKS I've read from multiple articles that Te'o is a lock to come back his senior year. Remember that he is forgoing his Mormon mission...
May 1, 201114 yr Gray's advantage might be that he gets invited to the combine and has better game film than Walls, but Walls going undrafted shows you that Gray is not a 1st or 2nd rd pick. What? No it doesn't show that. A. Black from Florida got drafted yet his counterpart went undrafted. Walls is quick, but undersized and got lost in zone coverage way too often. Grey is a much better corner than Walls. Just as fast too. I have no idea where he will be drafted next year, but you cannot make that statement.
May 1, 201114 yr I'll say Michael Floyd, Ethan Johnson, Harrison Smith, Gary Gray, and Darius Fleming and I'll throw Trevor Robinson in there as well. Whoa, I would say that only Floyd goes in the first 3 rounds. If career arcs continue, I would say Fleming and Johnson go undrafted.
May 1, 201114 yr Michael Floyd is the only player who will go, IMO, and of course Te'o. The other players listed will need huge seasons to break into the top three rounds. IMO, our third best draft eligible player next year is Darius Fleming, and he's the only other player that I think has more than a small chance to crack the top three rounds. I'm sure NFL GMs will dig a 6'2", 250 pound OLB who can rush just as effectively with his hand down as he can standing up. If Jonas Mouton (mediocre OLB for Michigan) can go in the second round, so can Fleming.
May 1, 201114 yr Author I think people are taking this latest draft a little hard in regards to Ian and Darrin. Ian was a great player for us and he worked very hard, Darrin as well but I will explain why neither of these guys were drafted and it's pretty simple. Ian was not looked at as a complete player, he's a run stopper who is very undersized for an NFL NT/NG with short arms and ZERO career sacks in college. He could have been drafted based on his work outs but he didn't separate himself at the combine. Darrin wasn't invited to the combine and this hurt him a lot because had he ran a 4.3 there, it would have increased his chances dramatically. Teams are contacting him and he'll make a team I'm sure. As for our guys graduating next year: Our defense is bound to BLOW UP (top 15 defense) the guys graduating will have a huge hand in that. Here's a realistic possibility on their stats for next year: H. Smith puts up 80+ tackles and gets 5-6 ints EJ gets 40+ tackles, 10 tfl and 6-7 sacks Fleming gets 50 tackles 15+ tfl and 7-8 sacks G. Gray locks his side down and ends up with 40+ tackles and 5 ints T.Robinson will be a breakout player and will have a huge impact on Cierre Wood's success. This would be in a top tier Defense and a great running game on offense they would all be invited to the combine. I don't think it's crazy to say they'd all have a much better chance at not only being drafted, but drafted pretty high, compared to Ian and Darrin. When you look at what they offer H.Smith is a solid tackler, good in coverage and very athletic. Gary Gray is better than Darrin Walls and will be dramatically better next season. Our defenses success will highlight Gray and Blanton's success on the corners because they will be up in the grills of the WRs and making plays. Gray is a playmaker with great tackling ability, he'll get an invite to the combine where he will run very well and make a name for himself. Darius Fleming is a very athletic, quick OLB who could play in a 3-4 or 4-3 at the next level. He has good pass rushing ability and is always making plays behind the line. At 6'2" 250lbs, he's an Ideal OLB in a 34 defense. EJ is a good sized DL at 6'4'' 295-300lbs, he can play DE in the 34 or a DT in a 43. He's solid against the run and has great pass rushing ability for his size/position. If you look at Cam Heyward or Mike Neal from Purdue last year you'll see EJ is very similar to them. I don't know if KLM will leave after next year or not but he's another guy who will project to the NFL better than Ian Williams based on his size for his position and his ability. Lets say KLM has 60+ tackles 6-8 tfl and 3 sacks, that's two straight 60 plus tackle seasons for him. I could see him going middle rounds, 4th or 5th depending on if he's able to prove he can pass rush better next year. We are basically returning our whole team, I don't think it's out of the question to expect a lot out of these guys. If they do succeed and play well next year, why shouldn't they be highly regarded as draft prospects? Edited May 1, 201114 yr by juniper34
May 2, 201114 yr Floyd top 7, gray late 1st early second, johnson 4-6th rd. Teo would go top 15 next yr. And top5 the year after... ILBs never go in the Top 5. And it's not like Manti Te'o is clearly the best prospect at his position. Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict and Boston College's Luke Keuchly are also elite ILBs in his class.
May 2, 201114 yr Burfict is a good lb but a huge head case, and how do say walls is better than gray, gg hits people and is a very good block shedder, good size and plays man good enough....
May 2, 201114 yr Considering we're sitting here in the middle of the 7th, and only have one guy off the board in spite of expectations for 3+ (Ian, Walls), I'ma buy low on this front. Floyd for sure. Te'o if he goes. The rest will have to earn it. Got that right!!
I'll say Michael Floyd, Ethan Johnson, Harrison Smith, Gary Gray, and Darius Fleming and I'll throw Trevor Robinson in there as well.
Edited by juniper34