Other Misc. Teams

Purdue:

Curtis Painter, QB- Before the year started, I was convinced Painter was the best Senior QB prospect in this draft, and a potential first round pick. Yikes, that proclamation after watching him play last year has really backfired on me! I’m not sure what happened to Painter as he really took several steps back this year after looking very impressive last year. His outstanding accuracy did not show up, and he forced many more throws this year that got picked off. I’m not sure if Painter felt he had to carry the team more this year, thus trying too hard to put the team on his back when it wouldn’t work? It’s strange, but Painter still intrigues me. I think he’s going to make some team very happy that picks him up late in the draft, and he shouldn’t go any higher than very late after the season he put up this year. I’m just very interested to see which year was the anomaly: last year or this year.

Kory Sheets, RB: Sheets is an interesting third down back. He has good hands, good speed, but he’s very undersized. I could see him sliding through the cracks a good bit.

Baylor:

Jason Smith, OT- I have a very hard time reading Smith properly. Of the games I watched, he played primarily in a two-point stance where the offence ran about 80% pass plays to 20% run plays. Because I was not able to see Smith put his hand in the dirt enough and power through guys in the run game, I’m skeptical how he will do in this phase of the game. There is absolutely no questioning his footwork in the passing game though, as he has elite ability to hold the edge against pass rushers. He’s definitely in contention for the top 5, even considering the fact that his run blocking is questionable.

Virginia:

Eugene Monroe, OT- Monroe fits into the mold of what I would call a ‘finesse’ blocker. Monroe has very long arms, good feet, and good technique in the pass game. But he doesn’t overpower DEs. He relies more on his speed and quickness to redirect players in the pass game, and cut off lanes in the run game. When run blocking, Monroe has the tendency to get a bit too high in his stance, so he loses power on the block. He’s lacking that mean streak that I saw in other top LT prospects like Michael Oher. I will say that he can definitely be an NFL LT, so that makes him a top 10 pick to me. I just don’t know if he is dominant enough to consider in the top 5 picks.

John Phillips, TE- I think Phillips is flying way below the radar, and that’s not a fair assessment of his ability. Phillips isn’t a game breaking offensive weapon, but he’s very reliable. He has great hands, he runs very good routes, and he’s a willing and able blocker. He’s probably going to slip through the crack but I could see him contributing right away for some team as a #2 TE. He’s a very solid all around prospect for the position, and valuable no matter where he’s drafted.

Cedric Peerman, RB- I think I like Peerman more than other people do. From when I’ve watched him over the past few years, he looks very fast and seems to be pretty strong as an inside runner. He shows good hands in the pass game, and if he gets the corner on a swing pass, he can hit the home run with his long speed. He has had injury issues and fumbling problems though, which does hurt him. But he’s yet another solid RB who can be had late and will provide very good value and depth.

Mikell Simpson, RB- Simpson will be coming back next year, but I’ve seen something in him the past two years that intrigues me. He has home run hitting raw speed, but he’s either tall for the position or has very thin legs. That scares me for a RB as it means he will struggle to take the pounding of the NFL game. This passing offense of the Cavaliers is atrocious though, so it’s also hard to get a good feel of Simpson’s true ability. I feel that if he was surrounded by a better passing game, he could be a star. He’s someone to watch, and I would bet his 40 time at the combine next year will be very quick.

Clint Sintim, OLB- Sintim is a very hot property as he’s played OLB in Al Groh’s pro-style 3-4 defense (Groh used to be the defensive coordinator for Bill Parcells for those of you that do not know him). So this name recognition alone pushed Sintim’s stock up in the eyes of some scouts. I’m just not so sure that Sintim is a first day pick though. He’s great in the pass game. He can rush the passer, he has great speed around the edge, and he shows good instincts in zone coverage. He just really struggles in the run game. He does a good job of stacking the blockers at the line, but he doesn’t get rid of the block and make the tackle. He more or less gets in the way and hopes a teammate picks up his garbage. It’s a bit nit-picky of me to fault the guy for this, but that’s an issue. If you are in the vicinity of the play, have your arms extended, and hands in the proper position on the blocker, you should be able to easily shed the block and at least attempt the tackle. Just setting the edge as an OLB is not good enough for a first day pick. You need to show you can make plays as well instead of just keeping contain. His change of direction skills leave something to be desired as well, but they are decent enough. He’ll probably go in the second round, but it’s a much safer pick for his value in the third.