2023 NFL Draft -- April 27th to April 29

[NFLfan]

@Mr. Irrelevant  I was thinking of Thomas Bjorn.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

1 minute ago, NFLfan said:

@Mr. Irrelevant I thought Darren Clarke was from Denmark. I must have him mixed up with someone else. Isn't there a Danish professional golfer who enjoyed a lot of success about 15 to 20 years ago?

Hmmm, the only one I can think of is Thomas Bjørn but I don’t follow golf enough to know whether there might have been others. 

[NFLfan]

1 hour ago, coltsfan77 said:

Living in ACC land. Growing up a Duke fan, son a NC State grad, naturally despising the Tarheels, we just got one the best players in this draft with Downs. He is a playmaker. When Carolina needed him, he made it happen. First down machine. He truly can do it all.

 

Early in the pre-draft period, I wanted the Vikes to draft him, but many fans thought he was too small. I think he is a tremendous player.

[NFLfan]

1 hour ago, TomDiggs said:

@NFLfan

 

@VikingsFanInChennai

 

nice blurb on Blackmon. Great get. 
 

 

 

 

Thank you. That sounds positive. I read reports that he is "grabby". We had a CB in Trae Waynes who was described as grabby. He was often called for PI and other similar penalties (defensive holding, illegal touching, etc.)

 

One Vikings fan reported that Blackmon is not rated among PFF's top ten CBs in the draft. I looked for PFF's rankings and confirmed that he is not among their top ten. Ringo and Clark Phillips are on the list and still undrafted. Looks like we could have drafted Blackmon later.

 

I'm disappointed that we are not making good use of our draft picks. If a team has one selection in the first 86 picks, be sure to take a position of value that may not be available later. Or select BPA. I don't value the WR position the way others do. I think at some point, WRs will be viewed the way RBs are. I think OL, DL, and CB should be prioritized over WR. The QB position should be prioritized too if the team is in need of a QB.

 

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2023-nfl-draft-position-rankings-cornerback

[NFLfan]

I just thought to myself, the Vikes GM reminds me of Ryan Grigson. I remember that in 2015 Grigson drafted a WR at 29 when the Colts had lots of needs on defense and OL. The WR he selected, Dorsett, was not rated as high by others.

 

Then I remembered, Grigson is part of our front office. Could he be influencing these bad picks?

[NewColtsFan]

11 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

I just thought to myself, the Vikes GM reminds me of Ryan Grigson. I remember that in 2015 Grigson drafted a WR at 29 when the Colts had lots of needs on defense and OL. The WR he selected, Dorsett, was not rated as high by others.

 

Then I remembered, Grigson is part of our front office. Could he be influencing these bad picks?

I just looked him up.   His official title is Senior Vice President of Player Personnel.  So yes, I’d say there’s a very good chance that Grigson is indeed influencing your draft decisions. 
 

Which decisions don’t you like?   

[VikingsFanInChennai]

14 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

Thank you. That sounds positive. I read reports that he is "grabby". We had a CB in Trae Waynes who was described as grabby. He was often called for PI and other similar penalties (defensive holding, illegal touching, etc.)

 

One Vikings fan reported that Blackmon is not rated among PFF's top ten CBs in the draft. I looked for PFF's rankings and confirmed that he is not among their top ten. Ringo and Clark Phillips are on the list and still undrafted. Looks like we could have drafted Blackmon later.

 

I'm disappointed that we are not making good use of our draft picks. If a team has one selection in the first 86 picks, be sure to take a position of value that may not be available later. Or select BPA. I don't value the WR position the way others do. I think at some point, WRs will be viewed the way RBs are. I think OL, DL, and CB should be prioritized over WR. The QB position should be prioritized too if the team is in need of a QB.

 

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2023-nfl-draft-position-rankings-cornerback

Yeah, draft network says 

Quote

 

With that said, he isn’t a perfect player, and his size and build are the catalysts of a number of shortcomings. He can be overwhelmed at times in the contact window by bigger players and that will only compound in the NFL. His reaction at times was to grab, as evidenced by a significant number of flags called against his coverages. But it also pops up in the run game, where some teams will find conflict in knowing that he’s not physical and dense enough to shine as an outside player in press-heavy systems but he’s also not a great match to tackle and fill the D-gap as a run support player to play in the nickel. Some teams may struggle to find confidence in a home for him as a result. But there’s one thing that I know: this dude can cover. 

 

Expectations for Blackmon should have him playing significant defensive snaps for an NFL franchise in 2023. Blackmon can play man, he can play zone, he’s got good ball skills, and he can strike. His stature will make him a role-specific player for some teams, but I would expect a player with this kind of coverage skills will be hard to keep off the field for too long. 

 

Top Reasons to Buy In:

 

High-level football IQ in variety of coverages

Good ball skills with the ball in the air

Aggressive mentality in coverage to trigger and attack

Striker as a tackler 

Top Reasons For Concern:

 

Functional strength is not a big plus as a leaner athlete on the edge

Run-fit tackling is something that may limit his ability to play inside

Stature may be a disqualifier to playing outside for some schemes

Durability is in question with significant time missed in two of the last four seasons

 

that describes perfectly where the issues could be, but overall I think he'll do very well against most receivers and he may struggle with bigger body, aggressive receivers. As long as he gets healthy and stays that way mostly, I think he'll do well. 

 

https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/mekhi-blackmon-98247fbf-7b42-47bf-97ad-2ed235234468/

 

[NFLfan]

35 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

I just looked him up.   His official title is Senior Vice President of Player Personnel.  So yes, I’d say there’s a very good chance that Grigson is indeed influencing your draft decisions. 
 

Which decisions don’t you like?   

 

All of them. I was trying to pinpoint to myself what bothered me most. I may have already mentioned it. We had one selection in the first 86 picks. To maximize the value of that pick, I wanted to trade back or stay put and select BPA or BPA at a position of need. We drafted a WR, Addison. I think a team can find WRs all over the draft (JMO). I loved Flowers and Downs, the one the Colts got.  I did not believe we should draft WR in the first. I wanted Nolan Smith but I would have been fine with Banks, Porter, and a few others.

 

Our next scheduled pick was at 87. I wanted to do what was necessary to move up in the 3rd and draft Hooker. I'm not too upset over that because there seemed to be many suitors for him and we did not have the draft capital to trade for him.

 

WE then traded back but did not receive adequate value. We went from 87 to 102 where we drafted a guy that may have been available later.

 

2 picks on days 1 and 2. Not much value

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

34 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

All of them. I was trying to pinpoint to myself what bothered me most. I may have already mentioned it. We had one selection in the first 86 picks. To maximize the value of that pick, I wanted to trade back or stay put and select BPA or BPA at a position of need. We drafted a WR, Addison. I think a team can find WRs all over the draft (JMO). I loved Flowers and Downs, the one the Colts got.  I did not believe we should draft WR in the first. I wanted Nolan Smith but I would have been fine with Banks, Porter, and a few others.

 

Our next scheduled pick was at 87. I wanted to do what was necessary to move up in the 3rd and draft Hooker. I'm not too upset over that because there seemed to be many suitors for him and we did not have the draft capital to trade for him.

 

WE then traded back but did not receive adequate value. We went from 87 to 102 where we drafted a guy that may have been available later.

 

2 picks on days 1 and 2. Not much value

 

 

At least you guys have Justin Jefferson. I can’t remember which game I saw last year, but he was an absolute beast! I could hardly believe my eyes, just wow. 

 

Edit: I think it was against the Bills

[VikingsFanInChennai]

48 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

 

All of them. I was trying to pinpoint to myself what bothered me most. I may have already mentioned it. We had one selection in the first 86 picks. To maximize the value of that pick, I wanted to trade back or stay put and select BPA or BPA at a position of need. We drafted a WR, Addison. I think a team can find WRs all over the draft (JMO). I loved Flowers and Downs, the one the Colts got.  I did not believe we should draft WR in the first. I wanted Nolan Smith but I would have been fine with Banks, Porter, and a few others.

 

Our next scheduled pick was at 87. I wanted to do what was necessary to move up in the 3rd and draft Hooker. I'm not too upset over that because there seemed to be many suitors for him and we did not have the draft capital to trade for him.

 

WE then traded back but did not receive adequate value. We went from 87 to 102 where we drafted a guy that may have been available later.

 

2 picks on days 1 and 2. Not much value

 

Blackmon might have been taken soon, as there are teams that would value a CB like him who is intelligent and can play most of the scheme in early day 3 when available.. I think this selection is okay, but yes they had a chance at an elite CB in Round 1. Still, Addison has potential to be great so I'm  not worried much. 

 

I think Flores defense utilizes 6 DB sets a fair amount of plays so if they need more players in secondary, they'd have prioritized earlier. 

 

Flores defense also uses a good amount of blitzes, and they use defensive front in a variety of ways, and the defensive front looks good for the personnel needed to perform specific tasks based on how the offense aligns each snap. I think they can draft an OLB early day 3 who could be involved in rotation. 

 

Overall, defense needs to learn new defense, which is an offshoot of Belichick scheme, I'd expect defense to be rebuilt in more than one year. 

[VikingsFanInChennai]

18 minutes ago, Mr. Irrelevant said:

 

At least you guys have Justin Jefferson. I can’t remember which game I saw last year, but he was an absolute beast! I could hardly believe my eyes, just wow. 

 

Edit: I think it was against the Bills

Yeah, 4th & 18 one handed jump catch for first down in shootout was one of the best plays of the season... Diggs had a similar catch earlier in the same game too. 

[stitches]

 

 

Trades have already started... wonder who they traded up for. 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1652340855770959873?s=61&t=pY1uS5n6JgnikELv7qQZPQ

 

Run in for the top picks!

 

Edit: sorry doesn’t know how to add Twitter links. 

[IndyEric07]

Since Im probly not gonna get any of my picks right in Dr Ts contest, im just hoping Taiwan Mullen is a Colt at the end of the day! He was an all american, coulda been a 3rd round pick last year and lead the ncaas in pass breakups! Too bad IU sucked this year and he Must have had a bad pro day to drop this much! 

[stitches]

 

 

 

 

[stitches]

Where is everybody? Am I alone here?  

[stitches]

Colts on the clock.... 

[DoubleE Colt]

Tackle first off the board today......one off the list I would have been happy the Colts would have picked. 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Let’s get some OL, i hope….

[IndyEric07]

Dang eggles gift the Texans a 3rd round pick and then take Ringo! 

[stitches]

Ringo gone... 

[KB]

I really wonder if picking n9thing but GA players is gonna work out for the eagles

[colts52761]

they trading pick?

 

[Crush22]

2 minutes ago, stitches said:

Where is everybody? Am I alone here?  

[NFLfan]

46 minutes ago, Mr. Irrelevant said:

 

At least you guys have Justin Jefferson. I can’t remember which game I saw last year, but he was an absolute beast! I could hardly believe my eyes, just wow. 

 

Edit: I think it was against the Bills

 

He's great. The year we drafted him we had two first round picks. He replaced Stefon Diggs who we drafted with a 5th round pick in 2015, the year Grigson drafted Dorsett. Lockett was in that draft and Colts fans wanted him. He is still playing for the team that drafted him.

[TomDiggs]

Eagles trading in front of Indy for that great value and another bulldog. Great value. 

[NFLfan]

Colts pick is in

[ADnum1]

Philly drafting the entire GA defense 

[IndyEric07]

Freeland!!!

[NFLfan]

A tackle for the Colts. Blake Freeland.

[TomDiggs]

Love Freeland. 
 

I like Dawand a lot but Freeland is more versatile and another freaky athlete to add to the line. 

[stitches]

Blake Freeland... OT... another RAS monster  

[ADnum1]

Finally an OT !!!

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Is Freeland any good?

[colts52761]

good pick

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Needed tackle depth. Ballard is nailing this draft. We will see how many of these guys work. We will be in a transition with the young QB next year so I like taking young Oline.

[stitches]

Just now, Mr. Irrelevant said:

Is Freeland any good?

Umh... he's ... athletic? Is he good? Eh... needs coaching. Had tough Senior Bowl... but killed the combine. 

[ADnum1]

Just said Colts last in the NFL in pass blocking last season

[stitches]

 

[ADnum1]

Need a center and send kelly packing