Defjamz26

Do you think the Cardinals or Chargers would give you guys 4 or 5 for Jettas and a 1st?

Thought this was a good point from Jim Nagy. The agent influence is costing these kids money. I understand not doing drills or throwing for QBs, but I don’t get why people wouldn’t want to do athletic testing at the combine.

It depends on what the cost he. I have wanted Odunze to the Colts since the fall. If all it costs is this years 3rd rounder, I’m down for it. Or if the Bears still want receiver help I’d trade our 2024 3rd and Alex Pierce. If they want anything more than I’m content with drafting Brian Thomas Jr or A.D. Mitchell.

Just so everyone is aware, Kichens had his pro day on Monday and ran like a 4.56-4.57 hand timed

I think he would have to go up to get him. I think the Eagles, Packers, and Texans are all teams that would snatch him in a heartbeat. Like you said, he does remind me of Shaq a lot. Built like him and kinda plays like him too. Shaq in his prime was the best LB in the league. So I think there are a bunch of teams that would love to have a young Leonard on their team. He’s a lot of analysts LB1.

Since everyone has mentioned him, let’s dive into Edgerrin Cooper next. Length jumps out at you. Just in terms of his size, he’s built almost identically to Shaq Leonard. 6’2” with 34” arms is one of the things that Ballard liked about him. Cooper is a Senior who received an invite to the Senior Bowl but opted not to participate. He was at the East-West Shrine Game and did participate. 2023: 8 Sacks, 17 TFL , 84 Total Tackles, 2 FF Much like Leonard he is also known for flying around the field. He’s an elite play maker who tries to get in on every play. He’s also so athletic that they have him spy athletic QBs. He can do just about anything you would want a LB to do. The only knock on him is that he can play out of control sometimes trying to make a big play. He’s also a bit Raw. Checked Boxes: -Elite RAS. A+ athlete -Long 34” arms -Senior -College production Unchecked boxes: -Not a team captain Also I haven’t heard anything negative about his character but there is something that intrigues me. He went on Twitter in November and posted that his girlfriend had passed away. It turned out to be an ATV accident. After that he almost never mentioned it or her again. Has no pictures up on his IG of her and no mentions of her after that. Everyone handles grief differently, so maybe it’s nothing but just a little strange IMO. That aside he’s one of the best athletes in the draft. Perfect Ballard player.

Raw but has explosiveness you can’t teach. He also got better every year in college. Despite him only being 22 years old, he’s a 5th year player. So he needs some more polish, but he’s not as raw as everyone thinks.

I’m trying to pull the guys from my list that people might not be too familiar with. So today I’m going to spotlight Ruke Orhorhoro, DT from Clemson 9.90 RAS and he’s that explosive on tape. This is one of those super athletes that Ballard likes. This is a Senior who wasn’t at the Senior Bowl, but in his last season put up 23 tackles,17 hurries, and 5 sacks. It took him awhile to put it all together because of the talent on the Clemson D-Line over the years. The thing that will pop up with him again and again, is his first step quickness. He gets off the ball like an edge rusher and can convert that speed to power. Once again, insane measureables. We know from Ballard drafting Adetomwi last year that he loves the ultra athletes on the defensive line. As for character he definitely checks all the boxes. While Clemson just does game day captains, they noted on their website that’s he’s a very vocal leader. He also made the All ACC Academic team showing his ability to be a student athlete which is something that Ballard has valued in the past. He is also a native of Lagos Nigeria, moving to America when he was 9. Originally a basketball guy as well but stuck with football because he loved the brotherhood feeling of it. Boxes checked: -Elite RAS. A+ athlete -Excellent length -Produced in college (12 career sacks) -Student athlete -Clean character There really weren’t any boxes he didn’t check. Overall he’s a perfect Ballard prospect. The things that were evident with Kwity Paye, Dayo, Turray, Tomi, etc… are evident in Rume. He’s actually way more polished than Tomi coming out, and has a much higher ceiling than Eric Johnson. Think he could be a 2nd round target for Ballard.

In Ballard knows value. So far in his tenure he has never overpaid for a player. You could argue Leonard , but he was legitimately the best LB in the game at that time. I think it’s fine to put some money in Sneed. The young corner strategy hasn’t really worked, and the solution to that isn’t t more youth. A vet who can start on the outside for 4+ years would be a huge get.

Going back and forth with a fan and calling the fan broke is poor character IMO. Should be able to ignore that.

Couple updates to the list based on some feedback. Bolded are new entries WR: 1. Rome Odunze, Washington 2. Brian Thomas Jr., LSU 3. Tez Walker, UNC 4. Xavier Legette, South Carolina 5. Ryan Flournoy, Southeast Missouri State 6. Adonai Mitchell, Texas CB: 1. Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo 2. Cam Hart, Notre Dame 3. Khyree Jackson, Oregon 4. TJ Tampa, Iowa State 5. Max Melton, Rutgers 6. M.J. Devonshire, Pitt Edge 1. Jared Verse, FSU 2. Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan 3. Eric Watts, Uconn 4. Brennan Jackson, Washington State 5. Jalyx Hunt, HCU 6. Chop Robinson, Penn State @OhioColt Ryan Watts may project better at safety in the NFL, but even so he’s an elite athlete so he deserves a tape watch from me.

Boss is washed tbh. Never turned out to be the player he was hyped to be. Also, he’s not a great character guy. I will never forget how poorly he handled being heckled by a fan. Not worth the money or anything.

Blackmon’s is replaceable. Good but not great. I thought he was bad against the run. I think Cross can step in there and hold it down. I’d rather get Jeremy Chinn to play at SS/LB on a 1 year deal, and then get Justin Simmons on the backend.

Blackmon is definitely gone then if you’re re-signing Harrison before him. I figured he’d be the odd man out. We need to add a veteran FS as well.

Let’s go over another guy I really like. Marshawn Kneeland, Edge from Western Michigan University Not sure why he was put in the system as a DT. If you run him as Defensive end, he’s an 8.45 but his agility testing numbers dissapear so it’s probably not a fair grade. His weight numbers would likely be better too. Anyways, you’ll notice how long his arms are at 34.5”. Really great number there. Kneeland is a Senior who was at the Senior Bowl and performed really well there. What is evident with Kneeland is the ridiculous amount of power that he plays with. He can push the OT into the lap of the QB Another interesting thing about him is that he had the opportunity to transfer to Colorado his Senior year to go play with Coach Prime. He chose to stay and cited the people who really gave him a shot still being around as the reason why. Shows a lot of character. Now he wasn’t a team captain his senior year, which does intrigue me a bit because Braden Fiske was his former teammate and was a team captain when he was there. Why wasn’t he a captain after Fiske left? Aside from that, he’s got everything else you need, including the size profile to kick inside on some passing downs. His bend and agility for his size is pretty good as well. I think considering the struggle the Colts edge rushers had with pressure percentage, an edge who does just that is a perfect fit. Overall he’s got a great athletic profile (although there are some freakier guys in the glass) that’s highlighted by his length and agility. He plays with a lot of power and has a non stop motor. He wasn’t a team captain, which to me is a head scratcher, but his high character makes up for it. I’d say he’s a pretty good Ballard like Edge but maybe not the best (I’d probably give it to Verse). Still I could see him being a good day 2 pick for the Colts.

Armstead is 30 as well so it may not be worth bringing him in. I’d like to see Buckner get a deal that keeps him here until 2026. Gives you time to draft and groom a replacement.

The fact that they resigned everyone but Buckner is a little worrying to me. Seems like they may just let him walk in 2025. I understand he just turned 30 but he’s still got plenty left in the tank. Draft will let us know for sure if that’s the plan. If we see a 3-tech taken in the first 3 rounds, I’d say the writing is on the wall.

Wikipedia has Paye with a 4.52 40 and 1.52 10 yard split at Michigan’s pro day I also saw on tape that Chop was winning with mostly 1st step quickness and athleticism. That’s essentially how Paye was in college. I just think people see Chop and his build and can’t help but think Micah Parsons. He’s such a projection pick, and you’re banking on him being a 10+ sack a year before his rookie contract is up, which is a tall ask considering how far he needs to go.

My only major issue is with the Robinson pick. I feel like that’s Kwity Paye all over again. And while it’s easy to say Robinson is more athletic because his testing was crazier, I don’t think it’s a significant gap because they had the same 10 yard split (1.54) in yhe 40 yard dash. To me he’s a Build-A-Ballard edge rusher in the numbers, but he’s green with not great college production. And that’s not me saying Paye was a mistake. He’s developed into a solid 8 sack a year edge rusher and has done more in the league than Bruce Huff has who just got paid. I’m just saying if you’re trying to find that guy, you need someone with a different profile. To me, if Ballard was dead set on taking an edge at 15, I’d rather it be Verse or Latu. Power and advanced hand usage isn’t something our current groups of edge players have.

Even though I’m stuck on drafting a WR on the first 2 days of the draft, I still like what you did here. Only thing to note for you is that Ballard has never drafted a LB or CB with less than 32” arms on day 1 or 2 of the draft, so Wilson and Sanristil would be exceptions to the rule as both have 30” arms.

Today let’s look at Mason McCormick from South Dakota State: However, if you switch his position to Center then you get: That is important to know because one of the great things with McCormick is that he has the skill set and build to play either guard or center, and we know that versatility is something that Ballard values high (Tyquan Lewis, Julian Blackmon Danny Pinter, etc…). He was also a 3 time team captain at South Dakota State who played and started 57 consecutive games. 57!! With 33 inch arms he checks the length box that Ballard values for OL. If you like a little nasty in your lineman, then he’s got it He’s plenty agile too Also watch how he handles Kristian Boyd in the bottom video in the tweet above. Boyd is one of my guys too and a lot of people like him here too. Also Jim Nagy ran into at the combine and personally told him that he misses on him and should have had him at the Senior Bowl. It’s also reported that he killed his interviews at the Combine and teams loved him. So When I tally up all the checked boxes we have: - High RAS (9.96 at OG and 10 at Center) -Long Arms -Senior (but no Senior Bowl) -Position Flexibility -Durability -No character issues The only unchecked box I’ve got is that he didn’t go to the Senior Bowl, but that small since he was at the Shrine Bowl and dominated and the Director of the Senior Bowl says he missed on him. Overall I think he’s a perfect fit for the Colts and checks all of Ballard’s boxes. I think he’s another guy with a good chance to get drafted by Indy. My round projection would be round 4, but I could see another team snag him in round 3.

Possibly. There is great CB depth in this class, and since other teams don’t have the strict benchmarks for players that Ballard does, some other corners will go before him.

I’m going to start pulling guys from this list periodically and putting why I think they’re fits. Basically a prospect deep dive. May do 1-2 a day Let’s start with Cam Hart, CB from Notre Dame. First let’s look at his measureables First thing you’ll notice is his incredible length: 6’3” with 33” arms. And at over 200 lbs, he’s built similarly to JuJu Brents, although JuJu was a lot quicker (better 3-cone and shuttle) and was a 9.99 RAS. Hart was both a Senior Bowl participant (5th year senior) and a team captain, which are two Ballard signatures. Also in our current scheme, it’s important for corners to be able to tackle. He’s good at that too. Also as a bigger corner, he actually handles speed really well Also has really smooth hips for a bigger corner Only knocks on him are ball production as he only had 2 INTs in 5 years at Notre Dame. But as you can see in the Tweet above he had 3 * this past season. Another little plus with him is he actually did the best in coverage against Marvin Harrison out of almost any corner. Held him to 3 catches for 32 yards. Also during his combine interview you could tell that he has great character. Humble and chill, not flashy at all. Total Boxes Checked: -Elite RAS score -Long arms -Senior Bowl participant -Team Captain -Tackles well -No character issues Only unchecked box is ball production. Overall I’d say he’s probably one of the top 5 best Ballard fits in the draft. I’d put money on him being a pick for the Colts, somewhere between rounds 2-3.

I don’t see us making any moves for a WR. I think Ballard will go to the draft, which is fine because that’s a position where rookies can shine early. So with the Browns nabbing Jeudy, I’d get a WR personally. I like the draft though. All really good fits. I’m just personally waiting on I see what Kool-Aid does at his pro day. Injury aside the question with him was his long speed. He got beat up by A.D. Mitchell when they played too so that’s where it stems from. Only thing that jumps out to me is no edge. If I’m not mistaken Dayo and Kwity are both in the last year of their deals, so it may be pertinent to add another edge now so he can have a season of development. Other than that. Great Job!!! Colts would have a great secondary along with a beefy IDL.

I wrote in another thread. IMO even though at first glance Dallas Turner doesn't seem like a Ballard DE, if you look deeper into his length, speed and explosiveness scores... IMO he's one of the best fitting DEs you can find for the LEO position in Gus' scheme. The only thing is I’m not convinced Bradley is the long term answer at DC, so I wouldn’t want to draft any players that’s selling point is their ability to fit in his scheme. Turner did have great testing though and his arm length was insane. I think his teammate may actually be more of our type. Fabien Lovett Sr. Is his name. He hasn’t tested yet though, so I’ll have to see what he does at his pro day. Melton I like. Good senior bowl and tested amazing. If Moore leaves I’d be interested in drafting him and starting him in the slot. I think he can play outside, but he’s the only guy with arm length and quickness to play inside. All of the other potential slot guys (Sanristil, Jarrian Jones, etc…) have short arms.