NFL Draft Early Entrees
 

If this doesn't need it's own thread it can be closed. But I figured it would be nice to have a place to keep track of who has officially declared and have some discussion about the merits of those declaring.

Marcus Lattimore entering NFL Draft: http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/sto...l-draft-source

It'll be interesting to see where he gets drafted. The talent is obvious, but 2 serious knee injuries will concern a lot of GMs I'm sure.

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Ohio St. DT Jonathan Hankins declares for draft.

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He's going to be a very, very good pro. Wish we could've had him for another year, but with first round money on the table you gotta go.

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First round money isn't much anymore, but ya, being a potential first round pick is hard to pass on.

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Smart Move. He will be a similar case to Willis McGahee where he got injured, then drafted and was able to rehab during his first year

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Yeah, but I wonder if he'll still go in the first round. Lattimore has an equally devastating knee injury that McGahee had.... plus another injury in the other knee.

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I doubt it. But you have to remember that almost all running backs are not first round anymore. With teams finding guys like Arian Foster, there is no need to invest that high of a pick anymore. Even if he was healthy, he was a 2nd round pick at best. Lattimore probably goes to a team with a boatload a picks in the 3rd, 4th or 5th round IMHO.

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The guys with no doubt talent are still going in the first round (Trent Richardson, for instance). Lattimore was a top 10 talent, but that's a good point that teams are much less willing to use top picks on RBs. I agree that he will likely be taken after the 3rd round.

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If he is taken past the third round, then he will be a steal for someone if he returns healthy.

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Knile Davis declared for the draft.

I thought he would stay to raise his draft stock after a disappointing season. He'll probably be a later pick, but he's got a lot of upside. Had an excellent 2010 season, but is injury prone. Wish him nothing but the best in the pro's, I think he'll wind up being a pretty good player.

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I think he'll be a pretty good backup over the next few seasons. Depending on the team, he could be decent starter.

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There is a report that Justin Hunter has declared. Not really surprising at all. I'd expect Tyler Bray and Cordarrelle Patterson to follow soon.

IMO, none of them are ready but it sounds like they all are going to go anyway.

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Are they leaving due to the HC change?

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It was assumed that they would go pro regardless of who the head coach was, so I don't think that is a big factor.

Patterson is leaving because he very likely would not be eligible (grades) if he returned.

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Giovani Benard is opting to go in the NFL Draft. What is up with Soph leaving early?

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2013/sto...ares-nfl-draft

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I think he's the top rated RB prospect by quite a few analysts. Hard to turn that down with so many RB's having a short shelf life.

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Yep, no sense in sticking around and suffering a major injury the likes of Lattimore. If you're going to get hurt, might as well get paid while you can't play.

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Runningbacks have no reason to stay longer then they have to if they are going to be drafted, RBs are becoming a position with a short life.

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I would have had his head examined if he stayed another year. He needed to go. More than likely a 2nd round pick.

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Justin Hunter has declared for the draft. Tennessee RT Ja'Wuan James has officially decided to return for his senior season.

Hunter has a ton of talent and potential. He really needs a good WR coach at the next level to help him improve at the little things that seperate a good WR from a great WR.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/b...2013-nfl-draft

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Stedman Bailey will go pro, according to Dana Holgorsen.

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If we had decent coaching instead of the suck that Dooley brought and if Charlie Baggett had stayed on board, there is no doubt in my mind that Hunter would have been an All American here at UT. I think he will do very well in the NFL.

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I agree. Our WR coaching was awful last year. They were undisciplined, dropped passes, ran poor routes, and didn't block. Hinshaw was a good recruiter, but a poor WR coach.

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How is that the coaches fault ?

If a WR doesn't block, and he drops passes, that is on the WR not the coach.

If you are a WR, you should already know that you are supposed to block, long before you get to college.

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There is a reason that coaches and even position coaches are paid high salaries. Coaching makes a huge difference most of the time even with basic techiques in their players.

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Butch Jones said that Cordarrelle Patterson is going pro. No word on Bray yet.

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Will be very surprised if Bray doesnt declare. He has grade issues and doesnt fit with the incoming staff's offensive scheme.

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Brad Wing: Profession Moron



http://www.tigerrag.com/?p=237552

Because going pro as punter AFTER being suspended for drugs is the logical choice of action

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Bray is reportedly gone too. No surprise that he, CP and Hunter are all gone.

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Where do Vols fans see these 3 going? I think Hunter will be the first one off the board.

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I think Patterson will be first of the three to get drafted, mid-to-late first round. He's a tremendous athlete and incredibly elusive, but needs to improve his route running and consistency.

I think Hunter goes second round. But with a good combine could get into the first.

Bray's kind of like Mallett was a few years ago. Has all the physical tools, but you question the intangibles. I'll go with third round for him.

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Patterson will rise and Hunter will fall as we get closer to draft day. I'd say 1st for CP and late first or early 2nd for Hunter.

I'm not really sure what to think of Bray. I could see him really falling into the 3rd round but with this weak QB class I could see someone taking a chance on him early.

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Not sure if this is the place, but does anybody think that poor grades are a character sign? I'm not saying 4.0 stuff, but flirting with academic suspension stuff. Seems like a big character problem to me. One thing you look for in a QB is character.

I mean, if a guy is leaving due to grades, I would be a bit put off by it.

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The NFL doesn't care about character at all, look at Suh, TO, and others. They actually seem to like people like that, because it draws attention and the NFL makes money off of them through fines.

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I think you're wrong there. TO had several teams cast him away due to his character, even though on the field he made the team better.

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I heard the main reason the Colts chose Manning over Leaf was because of his character compared to the character of the latter.

If I am a coach/GM, character is one of the biggest determining factors. I'd rather have a guy who has the tools, good character but lacks skill, than a guy with tools, skills but poor character. That's why I wish these college coaches had more character themselves, which is why I cannot stand guys like Nick Saban.

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They absolutely do take character into account, at least the teams do. TO is a bad example, there's a reason he's not on a team right now. Look at how many teams he's went through as well.

If you're a great player, the tolerance level of character issues is higher, and teams are more willing to give you a shot because of your talent, but once enough is enough you're gone.

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If you think teams don't take character in to account, even more so since Roger Goodell took over you're kidding yourself. Character is absolutely a factor. No team wants to invest a ton of money and eat up their salary cap on guys with questionable character.

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Not trying to start anything here, but I think Mallett's only knock was maturity, Bray has many, many more questions, including maturity. Bray is a good QB, and I'm glad UF won't have to see him next year in the hands of a better coaching staff, but I don't think he's near the level of a proven talent, Mallett was coming out.

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Robert Woods is entering the draft.