2018 NFL Draft: The LaFleur of Vrabel’s Stables (Offense)

Welcome to the 2018 edition of my thoughts on this draft class. I’ll be posting these twice a week for both offense and defense.

QB

- I still maintain that Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) is the top quarterback in the draft. He has the necessary arm strength and mobility to escape the pocket when things go south. He’s the reigning Heisman winner and was a finalist a bunch of times for a reason. The production is elite level stuff and also the accuracy surpasses the 60% threshold for successful NFL QBs. He looks to pass before running. Sure, he is a hothead on occasion. I don’t want a QB leading my team like they are a corporate robot delivering canned responses at every interview. His game compares to Russell Wilson in my book.

- Which prospect do I think is the most likely to bust for the poor team that drafts him? Josh Allen (Wyoming). He’s simply not that good. Yeah, he has a rocket arm but he’s scattershot with it kind of like our long lost friend Zach Mettenberger. He’s just a big athlete that needs some serious bench time to develop. He has all the physical tools in the world but so did Jamarcus Russell. The accuracy issues are scary. He’s basically Jake Locker 2.0

- One relatively “unknown” prospect that I like is Kyle Lauletta (Richmond). He put up some monstrous stats for the Spiders. Has over 10,000 career passing yards, 73 touchdowns, and a career 64% completion rate. He really blew up during the Senior Bowl. It could be argued that he was the second best QB there.

RB

- The 2018 class is still deeply talented even with all the underclassmen departures from years past. There are a legitimately 10 backs that can go within the first 4 rounds talent wise. Seriously it’s that good.

- Derrius Guice (LSU) is staying hot on the heels of the consensus top back Saquon Barkley (Penn State). He’s an elite talent.

- I’m a huge fan of Nyheim Hines (NC State) and his versatility. He can do everything. It’s amazing that the Wolfpack underachieved in 2017 with the amount of draftable talent that they had. Granted, they have Clemson and Florida State in the same division. Hines is a special athlete out of the backfield that can be utilized like a Dion Lewis. If Jon Robinson wanted to build further on the special teams, it wouldn’t hurt to have Hines.

- I’m not a fan of Bo Scarborough (Alabama). He strikes me as an one game wonder who tried so hard to be Derrick Henry 2.0. I’d rather have the freshmen that were behind him.

- Josh Adams (Notre Dame) is a meh prospect to me. I have no positive or negative opinion on him. Notre Dame’s offense was a complete disaster given its quarterback problems.

WR

- Speaking of offensive skill players that had massive problems with their quarterback situation, Christian Kirk (Texas A&M) is a crazy good athlete and dynamic return man. It just seems like yesterday that he was a star recruit. At the very least, he’ll be a solid returner.

- Poor Calvin Ridley (Alabama). He’s getting dragged by some media as of late. He was the good solider for Alabama during the past year or so. He’s just a good ball player, regardless of anything else. Its not his fault that Jalen Hurts is the worst QB in the SEC. It’s a shame that Ridley didn’t get a full year of Tua starts.

- James Washington (Oklahoma State) is still the best receiver in the class. Nothing has changed in that regard.

- The JR Bah Gawd receiver prospect award goes to Daurice Fountain (Northern Iowa). He posted a 4.46 40, 42.5” vertical jump, and a 11’2” broad jump. Yeah. Do want.

- D.J. Chark (LSU) is Justin Hunter 2.0 even considering that LSU had less than ideal answers at the QB position. He did dominate the Senior Bowl game, though.

OL

- The guard class is really top heavy but you can find gems if you look hard enough. There may be some tackles that are going to need to transition to guard to have a shot.

- It’s a shame that Billy Price (Ohio State) got hurt at the Combine. He’s far and away the best pure center in the country.

- Mason Cole (Michigan) could be a sleeper pick at center.

- Who will win the race for top tackle taken? My money is on Mike McGlinchey (Notre Dame). He’s just so good. A franchise tackle type of guy.

- The more I watch Martinas Rankin (Mississippi State), the more I like.

- Isaiah Wynn (Georgia) is that dude. He’s my favorite OL prospect this year.

- Jamarco Jones (Ohio State) could be a fun conversion to guard project for some team.