Scout says offensive players in this year's draft one of the worst in years

[socaljake]

A scout and I went to lunch in Indianapolis, and before the waiter could say hello, the scout was ranting about the state of quarterbacking in college and the NFL.

On college quarterbacks: "Not a single one who makes you go, 'Wow.' The best teams can hope for is that one of these guys becomes Trent Dilfer."

Wait...what? Did you say Trent Dilfer?

"This is not a good class. No matter how much you guys in the media try to spin it."

So, there's that.

He calmed down after the food arrived. He had been hungry and grumpy. Now, he was just grumpy.

The scout is one of the more respected in football, and based on interviews with a half-dozen personnel evaluators, he's not the only one who feels this way. (Well, the Dilfer comparison is a little extreme.) His overall point wasn't just about quarterbacks, and it wasn't crazy, either. This is what he was saying:

Not only is the quarterback talent in this draft barely above average. The overall offensive talent is as well.

"This is one of the worst drafts for offensive talent in the past four or five years," the scout said.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2620295-mike-freemans-10-point-stance-the-worst-offensive-draft-class-in-years

[socaljake]

A couple other nuggets from that article that stood out:

- Another factor: I've heard repeatedly from team officials that they think the best player in the draft is Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott—not any quarterback, not Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, not any receiver. Running backs are not supposed to be the most captivating prospects for a passing league, but here we are.

- Since the draft isn't one of the better offensive ones, several front-office sources said more and more teams are looking to trade down. A team can trade back a handful of slots, gather picks and get decent (not great) offensive players late instead of getting decent (not great) players early.

- The scout: "This is one of the deepest defensive drafts, I'd say, in about three years. Maybe longer. The thing that's impressed me is the quickness of the interior linemen. They also use some of the best technique that I've seen in some years."

 

[IsntLifeFunny]

The best technique I've seen in ages (2 years)!!!! God, I promise I will do better and stop reading this shit. 

[NashvilleNinja]

Stuff like this reminds me of how they say  "he's the best prospect since ____" and the guy they compare him to was drafted not more than 2 or 3 years prior. The way they say it you think they're talking about a guy who was drafted a decade ago or something. Fucking retarded.

All of this pre-draft determinism is for the birds. There may be a lack of future superstars in the league, there may be a few surprises. We probably won't know either way for at least a couple years.

In the meantime... Jalen Ramsey.

[Omar]

I still think the one player who would have the biggest impact for this team Ezekiel Elliot. 

[Dikinbaus]

Kinda makes you wanna go offense in FA and load up on defense in the draft.

[rns90]

1 minute ago, XFactor808 said:

Kinda makes you wanna go offense in FA and load up on defense in the draft.

Perhaps.  The other problem is that the edge rushers suck in this draft as well.  This is where I will just trust Robinson and hope that he places the correct value on the position/spot in the draft and doesn't recklessly pick guys because of need.

[NashvilleNinja]

4 minutes ago, Omar said:

I still think the one player who would have the biggest impact for this team Ezekiel Elliot. 

I like Elliot. At one point I wanted him. I just think we need to go after defense with that first pick. And if dline is as deep as people are saying then we can stand to wait until the 2nd round to grab one and use that first pick on Ramsey. Besides, if we manage to sign Doug Martin we won't need to draft a RB, at least not until the 3rd/4th round.

[Starkiller]

Elliott may end up being the best offensive player in this draft, but you still can't take a RB #1 overall. RBs just aren't that valued anymore in the NFL.

And this may well be a bad offensive draft, but that doesn't mean teams can't find good players.

WR looks like the biggest weakness. None of them really look like they are normal 1st round value.

[Mythos27]

1 hour ago, socaltitan said:

A couple other nuggets from that article that stood out:

- Another factor: I've heard repeatedly from team officials that they think the best player in the draft is Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott—not any quarterback, not Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, not any receiver. Running backs are not supposed to be the most captivating prospects for a passing league, but here we are.

- Since the draft isn't one of the better offensive ones, several front-office sources said more and more teams are looking to trade down. A team can trade back a handful of slots, gather picks and get decent (not great) offensive players late instead of getting decent (not great) players early.

- The scout: "This is one of the deepest defensive drafts, I'd say, in about three years. Maybe longer. The thing that's impressed me is the quickness of the interior linemen. They also use some of the best technique that I've seen in some years."

 

Wow. Sounds like that scout is taking the same drugs as me...

[CaliTitan3518]

Im not a fan of Wentz or Goff. Im just happy we went with Mariota last year.

[NashvilleNinja]

2 minutes ago, CaliTitan3518 said:

Im not a fan of Wentz or Goff. Im just happy we went with Mariota last year.

I've gone from thinking it would be a mistake to draft Mariota last year at this time to thinking "holy shit, it's a miracle Ruston Webster didn't fuck us over for a generation by not drafting him".

[CaliTitan3518]

1 minute ago, NashvilleNinja said:

I've gone from thinking it would be a mistake to draft Mariota last year at this time to thinking "holy shit, it's a miracle Ruston Webster didn't fuck us over for a generation by not drafting him".

Last year I was such a big fan of Winston I hardly looked at Mariota prior to the draft. After we made the selection I was trying to be optimistic but then I started looking into Mariota and I was pumped for the pick. If we didnt take Mariota last year I wonder if we would be taking one of these QBs.

[Mythos27]

20 minutes ago, NashvilleNinja said:

I've gone from thinking it would be a mistake to draft Mariota last year at this time to thinking "holy shit, it's a miracle Ruston Webster didn't fuck us over for a generation by not drafting him".

Can't lie. I'm there too.

[titanruss]

5 hours ago, socaltitan said:

A couple other nuggets from that article that stood out:

- Another factor: I've heard repeatedly from team officials that they think the best player in the draft is Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott—not any quarterback, not Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, not any receiver. Running backs are not supposed to be the most captivating prospects for a passing league, but here we are.

- Since the draft isn't one of the better offensive ones, several front-office sources said more and more teams are looking to trade down. A team can trade back a handful of slots, gather picks and get decent (not great) offensive players late instead of getting decent (not great) players early.

- The scout: "This is one of the deepest defensive drafts, I'd say, in about three years. Maybe longer. The thing that's impressed me is the quickness of the interior linemen. They also use some of the best technique that I've seen in some years."

 

'zeke is the truth