Way, way, waaaay too early 2023 Draft class thread

[Pullo Vision]

At one point I thought Roschon was a sleeper, but at this point I've been seeing him pop up and more and more. That secret is out.

Agreed. When searching for sleepers, I'd look at the Reece's Bowl invites. The organizers consult with teams and bring in people projected to get drafted, and we're not talking about 6/7th round here. Teams are particularly interested in how lower conference players match up against better athletes.

[wickerkat1212]

At one point I thought Roschon was a sleeper, but at this point I've been seeing him pop up and more and more. That secret is out.

Agreed. When searching for sleepers, I'd look at the Reece's Bowl invites. The organizers consult with teams and bring in people projected to get drafted, and we're not talking about 6/7th round here. Teams are particularly interested in how lower conference players match up against better athletes.

Nice.

[Orenthal Shames]

Daniel Jeremiah has 6 TEs inside his top 50

https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/statu ... 9DQqw&s=19

[Cameron Giles]

Daniel Jeremiah has 6 TEs inside his top 50

https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/statu ... 9DQqw&s=19

Kincaid, Mayer, Washington, LaPorta, Musgrave.

I'm guessing Schoonmaker is #6, but who knows. Overall, this TE class jumping up a few notches is a very good development for the already good depth of this class.

[Pullo Vision]

Daniel Jeremiah has 6 TEs inside his top 50

https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/statu ... 9DQqw&s=19

I've been loving the mock matches that've put Darnell Washington in Cincy or Miami. Great scheme and need for for NFL offenses. Lots of comments in the thread about Mayer (Jeremiah's #3) being available for Miami in the 2nd.

[kmbryant09]

Here are some RB comps of mine this early in the draft evaluation process. I'd consider these more like ceiling comps, as I don't expect each and every prospect to hit their projection, whether it be due to injury, bad scheming, or a player that never develops. But I do think we'll look back at this class, at least the RB position, similar to 2017 where we had a legitimate 8 - 10 multi-year starters in the NFL.

Anyways, stylistically, here's how I see some of these prospects:

Bijan Robinson - Nick Chubb / Saquon Barkley. His athleticism is somewhere in between, but he combines Barkley's big-play ability with Chubb's efficiency between the tackles.

Jahmyr Gibbs - Jamaal Charles / Chris Johnson. May not have quite that top-end speed, but has instant acceleration and absolutely dominant in space.

Tank Bigsby - Cam Akers. A bit small / lean, but packs a punch and a variety of offensive moves to go along with breakaway speed.

Kendre Miller - Aaron Jones. You don't realize how big these RBs are because of how nimble and agile they play. Great contact balance & speed / elusiveness for a strong, lower-bodied, powerful RB.

Zach Charbonnet - James Connor / Chris Carson. Some of the comparisons I feel strongest about. Runs so physical, breaks so many tackles, yet has just enough wiggle to make someone miss in the open field. Not a track star and won't break a bunch of 80-yard runs, but I expect NFL coaches to love his physicality.

Israel Abanikanda - Tony Pollard. Runs with a lot of power and with good size, but just so efficient with his movement. Explosive in the open field and just doesn't have a lot of weaknesses.

Devon Achane - Raheem Mostert. Admittedly saw this comparison somewhere else but now I can't un-see it. Obviously Achane is much smaller, but his speed is such a difference maker. Unlike other "small" RBs, Achane is willing & effective running north-south between the tackles and doesn't try to bounce everything outside.

I've left off Sean Tucker & Zach Evans from the top tiers, not because I don't like them, but because I just struggle to come up with accurate comps. Still undecided about these 2, will be interesting to dive into them as the off-season progresses.

As of now, I have a huge gap of tier2 RB's behind Bijan - I could see a legitimate case for any of the following RBs to be RB #2 in this class depending on draft capital, combine performance, and landing spots: Gibbs / Miller / Bigsby / Tucker / Charbonnet / Evans / Abanikanda.

Really feels like early 2nd round picks this year are equivalent to roughly mid-firsts most other years.

[Cameron Giles]

Good writeup.

I like the comparison for Achane. I agree that people are going to be really surprised at how effective he is as a between-the-tackles runner.

[YouMightDieTryin]

I don't like it. Partially because you left off a comparison for Tucker and Evans. They're both my biggest question marks sitting at 1.5 on who to take. Landing spots should help out. Really enjoy Miller, but experts are all over the board on him too. Not as big of a fan of Charb because he just looks slow. I'm probably wrong, but I'm hoping he runs at the combine to clear that up. Conner isn't fast, but does everything very well so perhaps I'm looking too deep. What's the "death number" for 40s? 4.7?

The only certainty in this draft is that there's talent. The rest is uncertainty on where everyone should go.

[kmbryant09]

I don't like it. Partially because you left off a comparison for Tucker and Evans. They're both my biggest question marks sitting at 1.5 on who to take. Landing spots should help out. Really enjoy Miller, but experts are all over the board on him too. Not as big of a fan of Charb because he just looks slow. I'm probably wrong, but I'm hoping he runs at the combine to clear that up. Conner isn't fast, but does everything very well so perhaps I'm looking too deep. What's the "death number" for 40s? 4.7?

The only certainty in this draft is that there's talent. The rest is uncertainty on where everyone should go.

You don't like my post? Because I left off players I'm unsure of or because you don't like the comparisons?

[mild]

You don't like my post? Because I left off players I'm unsure of or because you don't like the comparisons?

Because you owe him the world and an extra free sandwich, apparently.

I liked your post. The RB's in this class are really fun... interesting that you couldn't find a comp for Tucker, as I see him as one of the most electric guys in this draft. I need to watch more, but just based on his stature, build, and running style... I'm seeing another JK Dobbins...

If he tests anywhere like him athletically, I'm going to be praying he falls to the late 1st so I can grab him.

[Forza_Azzurri]

You don't like my post? Because I left off players I'm unsure of or because you don't like the comparisons?

Because you owe him the world and an extra free sandwich, apparently.

I liked your post. The RB's in this class are really fun... interesting that you couldn't find a comp for Tucker, as I see him as one of the most electric guys in this draft. I need to watch more, but just based on his stature, build, and running style... I'm seeing another JK Dobbins...

If he tests anywhere like him athletically, I'm going to be praying he falls to the late 1st so I can grab him.

I've seen Chris Johnson comps ... overall this looks like a very fast RB class.

[j4pac]

You don't like my post? Because I left off players I'm unsure of or because you don't like the comparisons?

Because you owe him the world and an extra free sandwich, apparently.

I liked your post. The RB's in this class are really fun... interesting that you couldn't find a comp for Tucker, as I see him as one of the most electric guys in this draft. I need to watch more, but just based on his stature, build, and running style... I'm seeing another JK Dobbins...

If he tests anywhere like him athletically, I'm going to be praying he falls to the late 1st so I can grab him.

David Wilson

[FantasyFreak]

Gibbs reminds me of Reggie Bush.

[Lumps]

You don't like my post? Because I left off players I'm unsure of or because you don't like the comparisons?

Because you owe him the world and an extra free sandwich, apparently.

I liked your post. The RB's in this class are really fun... interesting that you couldn't find a comp for Tucker, as I see him as one of the most electric guys in this draft. I need to watch more, but just based on his stature, build, and running style... I'm seeing another JK Dobbins...

If he tests anywhere like him athletically, I'm going to be praying he falls to the late 1st so I can grab him.

David Wilson

You just had me questioning myself…. (See signature)

I can see it maybe build wise. Both are compact and shredded. I expect Tucker to best Wilson in speed but not get to the jumps athleticism. Maybe I’m wrong. Wilson was a pretty athletic dude.

I like Tucker but the thing that stood out to me about Wilson were just bananas runs he’d put together. I don’t think I’ve seen Tucker do those things. Excuse me, I’m off to watch some Wilson again.

[wickerkat1212]

I've been hearing Kamara comped to Gibbs a lot.