Did you guys watch any of it? I did all day Saturday. Austin Allen looked pretty solid. He is 6’, 209 lbs. Not very big, but he looked good throwing those passes in the drills. The qb from Wyoming, Josh Allen reminded me of Ryan Mallet. What a cannon. He was impressive.
Saquon Barkley from Penn State was the star. 6’, 233 lbs. ran a 4.4, jumped 41" and did 29 reps at 225 lbs. He looked sensational running those cone drills down the field and catching the ball. I see him in a Browns uniform if they can sign AJ McCarron.
Barkley is the guy I’d take with my first pick. But I understand that you don’t take running backs high any more. They have a short shelf life. I watched the Ohio State center a little bit. Pretty nifty. Too bad Frank Ragnow can’t do those workouts yet. He’d have wowed everyone.
I agree, Clay. I was listening to ESPN radio and the guy made a good point about taking Barkley first. He pointed out how Dallas really improved by picking their tailback, Zeke Elliott and how New Orleans chose their back from Tennessee who really improved them.
Cleveland could be much improved if they sign a quarterback, AJ McCarron and pick Barkely #1. Then they could take Minca Fitzpatrick or the tackle from Bama at 4.
Therein lies the rub; Elliott (who I think is talented, but over-rated) was the 4th overall pick in the 2016 draft; Kamara (the Tenn kid selected by the Saints) was chosen in the THIRD round by the Saints.
If you look over the past decade or so, you can find more Pro-Bowl RB taken in the 2nd and later rounds as you will those taken in the first round. So the smart play is to draft the best non-RB player on your board when your first round pick comes up, then add the best RB left on your board when your time comes in rounds 3 or 4 (depending on the pool of RB left at that point, etc.) if you have a need for a RB.
That is what Dallas should have done in 2016, and I said it before the draft. They’d be much better off today if they had drafted defensive stud Jalen Ramsey at #4 in the first round, then added a RB in round 3 or 4.
How long can Cleveland wait to win is a fair question? Drafting Barkley at #1, as most experts now think Cleveland will do, will allow them to get immediately better, while getting a quarterback is at best a 2-3 year wait for him to mature. This guy is so talented he could be a difference maker, like Adrian Peterson. Just because you draft a quarterback first doesn’t mean he will be really good. See, Johnny Manziel. I say take Barkley.
Cleveland has the 1 and the 4. This should be an interesting draft. If not Barkley, I would go with Josh White of Wyoming. He is impressive.