As another NFL season comes to an end we all wait the unbearable last few days before we find out who the Super Bowl champion will be..........if we live in Baltimore or San Francisco. For the rest of us the biggest thing coming for our team is free agency, except this year free agency looks to be pretty pathetic and boring. That leaves the draft as the next thing most casual fans will be looking forward to (I personally can't wait for the combine but to each his own.) Here is a list of players I think will be truly intriguing including a few high rated prospects and a few potential mid to late round prospects.
Dion Jordan
Position:DE/OLB
College:University of Oregon
Conference: Pac 12
Height: 6'7''
Weight: 240 lbs.
NFL.com Player Comparison: Julian Peterson
NNF Player Comparison: DeMarcus Ware/ Patrick Willis hybrid
Best Fit: New Orleans Saints
Dion is a freak of nature, he has a massive frame that desperately cries for him to add some weight to it. His body looks like it could support another 30 lbs without him losing any of his tremendous speed. Which speaking of speed, he runs around a 4.5-4.6 40 yard dash which makes him faster than both Aldon Smith and Rob Gronkowski. He does rely on his speed a little too much and neglects his technique at times. His speed does make it impossible for you to leave him unblocked however, you can't simply run away from his because he can and will run you down. He did that numerous times to teams running the Zone Read and trying to read him. They'd hand it off away from him and he'd run them down. Or they'd run a speed option to his side and he'd get off the block and chase down the QB pivot, and get to the pitch man before he could gain more than a yard or two.
Dion was also used by the Ducks in coverage against Tight Ends and Slot Receivers and he was able to match them stride for stride as well as being taller than them most of the time. As I've said before he could be the anti Gronk/Graham/Hernandez/ as he is as fast or faster than all of them and bigger than all of them. He should have no problem in coverage shutting down most Tight Ends in the NFL and could cover some faster slot receiver such as Wes Welker or Lance Moore because of his size. Dion does need to bulk up a little and needs to work on his technique, but a guy who is this big, this fast, and who doesn't shy away from contact will absolutely be a playmaker in the NFL. The landing spot that makes the most sense to me is the Saints at 15 but if he fell past 15 he could also go to the Steelers at 17 as James Harrison is getting up there.
Barkevious Mingo
Position:DE/OLB
College:Louisiana State University
Conference: SEC
Height: 6'5''
Weight: 240 lbs.
NFL.com Player Comparison: DeMarcus Ware
NNF Player Comparison: Aldon Smith
Best Fit: Detroit Lions/ Miami Dolphins
KeKe really looks to me more like an oversized safety than a defensive lineman, especially wearing that number 49 LSU jersey. Regardless this man is another freak of nature, although not as versatile as Dion he will probably go earlier in the draft than Dion. He will be drafted higher for one main reason, he played at LSU. KeKe has amazing potential as a pass rusher in either a 34 or a 43, I like him as a fit with the Lions as a wide 9 speed rusher or possibly in Philadelphia if they don't take an offensive lineman. Buffalo could also be interested in KeKe if they wait to take a QB until the 2nd or 3rd round.
Mingo could be this years rookie sensation on defense much like Aldon Smith and JJ Watt were a year ago. If he somehow fell past the top 10 then Tampa Bay, Carolina, or Miami could pick him. If he went to Miami they could be a threat in the AFC East next season with Cameron Wake and Mingo rushing from opposite edges. However in all honesty I don't see him falling past the Lions at 5.
Brian Schwenke
Position:C/G
College:University of California Berkeley
Conference: Pac 12
Height: 6'4''
Weight: 300 lbs.
NNF Player Comparison: Will Montgommery/ Chris Myers
Best Fit: Washington Redskins/ Houston Texans/ New Orleans Saints
Schwenke is a stereotypical Zone Blocking interior lineman like the ones used by Mike Shannahan in Washington or Gary Kubiak in Houston. He has shown versatility in starting at both Guard spots over the course of his first three years of college and playing the Center position in his Senior year. He showed good learning ability and smarts in learning all of the line calls quickly despite never having played center before. Looks to help teammates out when not covered and has shown elite twitch and burst when coming off the ball. Schwenke has shown great agility and understands how to use his low center of gravity and leverage to block larger opponents. At the Senior Bowl he was able to routinely beat mountain of a man John Jenkins from Georgia both in practices and in the game and has shown a consistent ability to beat larger men. He would be a great scheme fit in either Washington or Houston as well as on some of the spread teams such as the Saints, Patriots, Falcons, Panthers, and 49ers. He has all of the skills needed to be an excellent Zone Blocker and also to excel as a Pass Blocker, as the concepts are very similar. He should fall to the 3rd or 4th round simply because he is an interior lineman and they generally do not go early on, much like Tight Ends.
EJ Manuel
Position:QB
College: Florida State University
Conference: ACC
Height: 6'5''
Weight: 238 lbs.
NFL.com Player Comparison: Blaine Gabbert
NNF Player Comparison: Colin Kaepernick or a more mobile Ben Roethlisberger
Best Fit: Arizona Cardinals/ Buffalo Bills
EJ Manuel will be the best Quarterback to come out of this draft class, mark my words. And Mike Mayock of NFL Network comparing this kid to Blaine Gabbert is insulting, he's bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter than Gabbert. EJ reminds of Colin Kaepernick a lot, he has a cannon for an arm, is a natural runner, and is pretty accurate on his throws. The only other Quarterbacks in this draft who intrigue me are Geno Smith and Colin Klein. Manuel should be able to come in and make an impact immediately as a rookie if he went to Arizona or Buffalo and would be a good fit for both of those teams' systems.
The Bills new coach Doug Marrone has said he will run a hybrid of the K-Gun offense and Sean Payton's spread offense (Marrone was Payton's OC in New Orleans before being hired as the HC of Syracuse). EJ Manuel would fit such an offense very well and would probably be given a few weeks to prepare as he would have to wait for Ryan Fitzpatrick to self-destruct. On the off chance Fitz didn't self destruct the Bills would still have a very talented Quarterback to groom as their future star. Also with CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson on the roster he wouldn't have to carry the team and could be in a similar position as his former teammate Christian Ponder is in, in Minnesota with Adrian Peterson.
The Cardinals will be running a spread em' out, air it out, deep throwing offense under Bruce Arians that would fit Manuel's strengths very well. The Cardinals also have the most underrated receiver in football in Larry Fitzgerald who is just waiting for someone with EJ's talent to throw the ball to him. The only other available Quarterbacks who really fit Arian's scheme at all are Tim Tebow and JaMarcus Russell, as they are both massive Quarterbacks with cannon's in the play of a right arm. EJ will probably be a late 3rd or early to mid 4th round pick and whoever picks him up will have a steal.
Robert Alford
Position:CB
College:Southeastern Louisiana University
Conference: Southland Conference (FCS)
Height: 6'0''
Weight: 185 lbs.
NFL.com Player Comparison: William Middleton
NNF Player Comparison: Morris Claiborne
Best Fit: Houston Texans/ New Orleans Saints
This kid has come busting onto the scene ever since the Senior Bowl in which he was covering the best receivers from the SEC and other conferences and shutting them down in practice. No receiver was able to get un-blanketed against Alford in the actual game or in practice. He also showed off his speed and return ability on the opening kickoff when he returned it almost all the way to the endzone. Robert is ridiculously fast running a 4.3-4.4 40 yard dash, he also has the technique and strength to play press coverage very effectively. When all is said and done Alford should go off the board in the 2nd or 3rd round and I could see him being a good fit with the Saints as they could use a better option at Cornerback than Patrick Robinson, plus Mickey Loomis likes his small school guys. He would also be a good fit with the Texans as they could use help at Corner and could be a solid pickup by a team like the Patriots or Bengals who have solid Cornerbacks but not any that are particularly great.
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