Defjamz26

Rick Spielman and Tom Telesco.

Want to make sure I do at least one guy from each category, so I’ll do a safety: Not the typical 9+ RAS we typically see from most Ballard types but this is more than adequate. Oladapo was a Senior who participated at the Senior Bowl and showed the ability to cover tight Ends. He was a team captain who played over 30 games in college. He has a lot of versatility as he can play multiple roles: I see him playing a hybrid SS/Dime LB role. I also think he can be a demon special teams. Short write up here. I think what you see is what you get with him. There needs to be a vision on how to use him though. Needs a creative defensive coordinator. Boxes Checked: -Senior Bowl Participant -Good but not great RAS. B+ athlete -Team captain -Versatile He’s a day 3, developmental pick. Should be good on special teams early.

Will do, but I think he can stick at corner in the NFL. Especially if he plays Zone. Brents also ran in the 4.5s. I have to watch more of him but I added him to my updated corner list for Colts fits. Unless this Sneed thing happens, I wouldn’t rule out a corner on day 2.

Yeah this is not a draft to need a FS in. The guys that can play that role are either slow or can’t tackle. We absolutely can not play Rodney Thomas back there. Cross showed flashes when back there but he’s still inexperienced. You can’t fix a secondary that’s issue is youth with more young players. I understand Ballard is fixated about having a 30 and under team, but this is going too far. He needs to get Quandre Diggs In here like yesterday. Idk if his 1 year rental of Rhodes spooked him, but guys can still play at 30+. Mike Adams was a ballhawk here in his later years.

May have to take Nubin off my list. granted these are pro day numbers but yikes. Kind of just confirms that this isn’t a great safety class.

For all of that he better live up to the hype. This draft is going to be memorable because there are two other receivers in Nabers and Odunze who are just as good. If he doesn’t become the undisputed best receiver in the class, people are going to remember that he didn’t do any pre draft testing.

As discussed, here’s Isaac Guerendo Elite athlete although you’d like to see a better 3-cone for a RB. But it’s fine if you factor in size. Interesting note about him is he’s a local kid. He’s from Clayton, Indiana. He’s a senior who did participate in the Senior Bowl, though his team mate did. He checks the boxes for being able to pass catch and pass protect. He’s a Wisconsin transfer and those are two skills that most of their backs usually have coming out (JT, Melvin Gordon, etc…). We know Ballard values versatility and Isaac’s got it. He can be a good punt/kick returner: I’ve also noticed that Ballard values backs who get yards after contact (Moss) and he also checks the box there: He can truly do it all Like JT he can make house calls too Again, Yards after contact: For character he was a 3-time Big 10 All-Academic while at Wisconsin. Other than that, there’s no red flags. Boxes checked: -Senior -Elite RAS. A+ athlete -Local kid -Multi sport High School athlete -Student athlete -Versatility Boxes Not checked: -Senior Bowl participant -5th year transfer who only produced his final season in college Overall Guerendo is everything Ballard looks for in explosive offensive weapons. He’s an elite athlete at the RB position who can do anything. He plays a little upright which is common for bigger backs, and also doesn’t have great quickness which is seen on tape. But he’s a day 3 RB, who in the right system could a lethal RB2. I think he could be a surprise 4th round pick by Ballard if he was there.

Officially a 9.02 for Kneeland at DT.

I’ll do his write up soon.

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.