Category Archives: nfl draft

Is SDSU Punter Matt Araiza a Future First-Round Pick?

Every year, there are a few college football players that I seek out their highlights. They are usually from smaller schools or teams out West that I don’t usually catch on television. This year’s number one guy I hunt for is San Diego State punter/kicker Matt Araiza.

Yes, I look forward to watching punting highlights every week. If you’ve seen just one highlight from Araiza, you would understand why. I’m not alone in this as he trends often on Twitter due to his unbelievable punts. He has two 80+ yard punts on his résumé this season.

Matt Araiza is a redshirt junior and takes care of punting, kicking, and kick-off duties. His placekicking skills aren’t great, but that doesn’t mean a team couldn’t refine his accuracy once drafted. It’s his punting ability that has put him on the map.

Continue reading →

The Best Potential Quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft Class

Most scouts thought the 2019 NFL Draft lacked the quarterback depth of the previous year’s draft. QB Kyler Murray should be a good quarterback, but there were huge question marks with the other first-round quarterbacks selected.

The 2020 NFL Draft should be stacked with quarterback talent. There are a few underclassmen that could hold out for another year, but there will be enough QBs in this coming year’s draft to fulfill the never-ending need for youth at that position in the NFL.

We will list ten of the best quarterbacks who can potentially be in the 2020 NFL Draft class and a few honorable mentions that could be diamonds in the rough. We are only a few weeks into the college football season, so a lot can change until the draft in May, but this is a nice primer to help you get to know this year’s quarterback class.

Continue reading →

8 Players That Changed the NFL Draft

Every NFL Draft there seems to be a new trendy way to grade a draft class. The grading process changes every year based on team needs and new play-calling trends.

There have been a few individual players over the years that solely changed the way NFL teams draft.

These players changed the ‘norms’ many NFL scouts thought about certain players and helped (or hurt) other players with similar skill-sets. Yes, not all of these changes were for the better.

Michael Vick

Vick helped open the door in two different ways: His success helped more African American quarterbacks get drafted in the following years, and more athletic quarterbacks were taken high soon after Vick was drafted in 2001.

Continue reading →

2018 NFL Draft: Best Undrafted Players

256 players were drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft over a three-day period. Some of those players will never play one down in a regular season NFL game. On the other side of the coin, many college players that went undrafted could end up having long careers in the NFL.

Kurt Warner went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft. He was a training camp invitee with the Green Bay Packers. He was released before the season and then found himself in the Arena Football League. He was successful there and then signed by the St. Louis Rams. Starting QB Trent Green suffered an ACL injury in the preseason and Warner was named the starter. He went on the win the Super Bowl that season. Warner is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Other recent undrafted players that had success in the NFL: RB Thomas Rawls, LB Zach Orr, WR Willie Snead, CB Malcolm Butler, RB Corey Clement, WR Robbie Anderson and many others.

Continue reading →

2018 NFL Draft: Which Quarterback Will Be Best Pro?

Quarterbacks are always at a premium in the NFL Draft. Teams reach for signal callers every single year. Some years work out great (2004) and some years are a disaster (2007).

Thanks to the NFL Rookie Wage Scale, teams have jumped at the chance of getting a possible franchise-changing quarterback in the early first round at a discount. Teams have traded huge hauls and mortgaged their future by trading up for a quarterback. The Redskins gave the Rams a large package of picks for Robert Griffin III (which didn’t work out long-term) and the Eagles gave the Browns a litany of future picks for Carson Wentz (too early to call).

The 2018 NFL Draft quarterback class is being touted as one of the best in many years. There are four quarterbacks that could be taken within the first five picks. Which one will be the best pro?

Here is our somewhat novice look at which quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft class will be the best pro.

Continue reading →

Who Should the Colts Draft at #6?

The Indianapolis Colts did have the third overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but traded down to sixth for a king’s ransom. They traded the Jets and received the 6th, 37th, and 49th overall pick in this year’s draft and a second-round pick next year.

The Colts are in a great position as they aren’t in need of a quarterback…but they need just about everything else. Their former general manager was horrible at evaluating college talent and most of his picks have already flunked out of the league.

There are four or five quarterbacks that teams have circled as potential top-ten picks. There are eight or nine teams that are in need of a young quarterback. The Colts sixth pick could end up being a valuable trade piece as they could move another pick to acquire many more picks.

Here are a few options the Indianapolis Colts have for the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Continue reading →

3 NFL Combine Prospects to Set Your Fantasy Team on Fire

The NFL scouting combine is a great opportunity for coaches and general managers to gauge the talent available to them in the upcoming draft. It’s also a chance for fantasy fans to get a glimpse at who could help their team during the 2018-19 season. Here are some of the players who stood out at the combine.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

Continue reading →

reDRAFT – 2011 NFL Draft

It’s impossible to grade professional sports drafts immediately after they’re done. It’s easy to just play armchair general manager the next day. The NFL team that drafts the most popular players from teams with the largest college football fanbases, get the highest draft grades. No one is giving a team an A+ to a team that drafts interior linemen.

I recently completed a reDRAFT re-do of the 2010 NFL Draft and think I need to pump out the 2011 version. These two draft classes are quite different from a talent standpoint, but do have one thing in common, it wasn’t a very good quarterback class. Cam Newton was on another level compared to the rest of the group with Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick on the next level down.

In a draft class with Cam Newton, J.J. Watt, Von Miller, Richard Sherman and Julio Jones, which player gets taken first overall?

Which players would be taken in the first-round in a re-do of the 2011 NFL Draft?

Continue reading →

reDRAFT – 2010 NFL Draft

People often try to grade professional sports drafts immediately after they’re done. It’s easy to just play armchair general manager the next day. The NFL team that drafts the most popular players from teams with the largest college football fanbases, get the highest draft grades. No one is giving a team an A+ to a team that drafts an offensive lineman from Idaho.

Since the 2017 NFL season kicks off this week, it’s time to look back at an older NFL Draft and redraft based on how well the player has played in the NFL.

This list isn’t “pick the top 32 players and list them from best to worst” redraft. I try to factor in what the team needed in 2010. I’m not going to pick the St. Louis Rams drafting Rob Gronkowski first overall, cause the team didn’t even have a quarterback to throw to him.

Which players would be taken in the first-round in a ‘redrafted’ 2010 NFL Draft?

Continue reading →

2017 NFL Draft: Best Undrafted Players

The 2017 NFL Draft is officially complete and street sweepers are cleaning up the aftermath in Philly.

253 players were drafted over a three-day period. Some of those players will never play one down in a regular season NFL game. On the other side of the coin, many college players that went undrafted could end up having long careers in the NFL.

Continue reading →

2017 NFL Draft: Day 2 Recap

Well, Day 2 of the 2017 NFL Draft is over.

There aren’t many ‘sexy’ picks made on Day 2, but this is where a lot of guys with first round talent, but either injuries or off-the-field issues keep their names from being called on Thursday.

Day 2 is also where many teams pick up some of the depth a playoff team needs to make it through the entire season. Guys get injured and the ‘next guy up’ mentality is present late in every NFL season.

Did any teams reach for a player? Who dropped much farther than we thought they would drop?

We explain our thoughts on each second and third round picks.

Continue reading →

2017 NFL Draft: First-Round Recap

The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft is in the books.

There were a few trades, but very little surprises. I guess the most surprising trend of the night was how much teams were getting to trade down in the draft. The Bears, Chiefs and Texans paid a huge premium to trade up to draft quarterbacks.

We explain our thoughts on each first round pick and compare them to our 2017 NFL Mock Draft.

1. Cleveland Browns – Myles Garrett – DE – Texas A&M Aggies – I’m glad the Browns stuck to the ‘best player available’ for their #1 pick. I’m sure some people were in their ear trying to persuade them to draft a quarterback, but they held their ground. (Mock: DE Myles Garrett)

Continue reading →