Draft Dudes

[akutozo]

Welcome to Draft Dudes, a weekly analysis of Draft Prospects, hot takes, mock drafts and more.

Let me tell you a bit about myself, and I'll let my co-host do the same.

Name: Pedro Rodrigo

Birthplace: Guadalajara, Mexico (pronounced Meh-hee-koe)

About Me:

I was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States when I was just 5 years old. I grew up watching futball and cheering for Chivas. As I expanded my knowledge and love for America, and much to the chagrin of my parents, I fell in love with American Football.

My family has known me for my fiery, passionate hot takes and I show no mercy when I think a college prospect will be an absolute bust. Look for me and my co-host Jeff Jerguson to argue, debate and dethrone current draft analytics and change the analyst game.

[Hskr8128]

Draft Dudes

Jeffrey Jerguson

Boston, MA

I'm Jeff Jerguson and I'm here, quite frankly, because I'm the best in the business at what I do. The AWFL higher ups had the foresight to grab the next Mel Kiper in the fledgling stages of his career. Now, why they decided to team me with a guy no one has ever heard of who's favorite player is the kicker, I have no idea. Regardless, tune in here throughout the season to find out who the next big stars coming to AWFL will be.

[akutozo]

Re: Draft Dudes

Now, why they decided to team me with a guy no one has ever heard of who's favorite player is the kicker, I have no idea.

You're just mad I was right about Aguayo going in the 2nd.

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[Hskr8128]

Re: Draft Dudes

The Bucs are as stupid as you are! This is a team who just traded a 1st and a 3rd for a CB coming off his worst year ever and 2 concussions. Dont try to justify your love for the weakest players in the game.

[akutozo]

Re: Draft Dudes

Joe Haden can complete the Buc's secondary with the potential to have a legendary team of Hargreaves & Haden.

Besides, you're focusing on the wrong meat. Let me add a little spice to this dish while you fire up the grill with those hot takes.

The Browns and a few other savvy teams (I see you Eagles) are loading up on draft picks and have the potential to be offseason Kings.

Meanwhile, Falcons and Jaguars are mortgaging their futures on right now. This years draft is already more exciting than your uneducated opinions will ever be.

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[Hskr8128]

Re: Draft Dudes

Joe Haden can complete the Buc's secondary with the potential to have a legendary team of Hargreaves & Haden.

Besides, you're focusing on the wrong meat. Let me add a little spice to this dish while you fire up the grill with those hot takes.

The Browns and a few other savvy teams (I see you Eagles) are loading up on draft picks and have the potential to be offseason Kings.

Meanwhile, Falcons and Jaguars are mortgaging their futures on right now. This years draft is already more exciting than your uneducated opinions will ever be.

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Thats why the Falcons and Jaguars are favorites in their conferences while Browns and Eagles fans have paper bags over their heads.

Listen, I dont have to deal with you until week 3 when our job actually starts so let me enjoy the peace until then.

[akutozo]

Re: Draft Dudes

Draft Spotlight: Rainey Roan

College: Louisville


There’s few stories more tragic than wasted potential in college. Rainey, however, is one of those stories. Here’s a kid that teams should be worried about, and not just because he’s a healthy scratch talent wise. Breaking it down, there are a lot of concerns about whether this kid loves football, or if he just loves to hit people.

In high school, Rainey was athletic and unstoppable. He put it in the end zone over 20 times his final season and got a scholarship to Louisville, despite some character concerns. Facebook and twitter showed him at a lot of parties and with a lot of liquor and a lot of firearms. Rainey, an army brat, was able to explain his family made sure he knew how to use a firearm and the drinking would stop. Reassured by how genuine he seemed, Rainey was college bound.

Louisville was rewarded with a raw, hot headed running back who played with passion. He would ram anyone, regardless of whether he saw a chance at winning the matchup. His enthusiasm to punish defenders led to multiple offers to switch to the defense, but Rainey wanted the ball. He wanted to be the star and for two seasons he was exactly that.

In his third season as Louisville, people began to see the cracks. He had just turned 21, and was back to drinking. Frankly, he was drinking a lot. Instagram is a player's worst enemy, and it was surprising to see a party that Rainey wasn’t at. Eventually he found himself getting benched for showing up late to practice, leading to an altercation between him and the offensive coordinator when his team was losing. After physically assaulting the coordinator, Rainey was immediately removed from the team.

The talented back fell into depression. His NFL dream was shot, his teammates wouldn’t speak to him, his friends suddenly disappeared. A few weeks later, Rainey showed up drunk to a college party where a lot of his former teammates were in attendance and began mouthing off. All it took was someone to stand up to Rainey for a handgun to be pulled. Sources say everyone froze at that moment.

For nearly 30 minutes, Rainey was talked down from the ledge. He was crying, yelling, absolutely broken. Blaming himself, blaming others. Everyone was paralyzed but him, waiting for the worst. In the absolute best case scenario and before law enforcement could arrive, Rainey surrendered his gun to a friend and cooperated with police. Getting a surprisingly light sentence, Rainey was required to take counseling and given indefinite probation.

Rainey is a kid who dreamed big, played hard and ultimately loved football more than he loved himself. He’s declared for the draft, and even some scouts are advising they’d still take him in the 7th. By all accounts, he’s been dedicated to bettering himself and staying in shape. The question is: Will a team be willing to spend a draft pick, even a low one, on a kid who’s had alcohol, firearm and legal issues tear him away from the sport?

[akutozo]

Re: Draft Dudes

Draft Spotlight: Kirby Dailey

College: Southern Arkansas


When a receiver has back to back 1,000 yard seasons in college, you start to think that maybe this kid is a first round talent. You start pulling up statistics, sending scouts to games, grading him and deciding if he should be one of your top picks. Unless, of course, the player is 5’9’’.

Let’s be clear. We have plenty of great WRs who have been under 5’10’’. TY Hilton, Steve Smith, and… well, okay so maybe that list isn’t very long. And therein lies the issue. You can’t train size and you can’t train speed. You can teach a route tree, you can teach how to beat press, but you’re relying on that player to be able to adapt and learn how to be an excellent fundamentalist because he will never be a physical freak who can beat people with his body.

Steve Smith? 3rd round draft pick. TY Hilton? 3rd round draft pick. Cordarrelle Patterson? 1st round draft pick. I rest my case. We haven’t seen Kirby’s combine numbers yet, and frankly college defenses haven’t forced this kid to really pop the cork up till now. When it comes to size, however, don’t expect a miracle.

One thing I can tell you though, this kid makes lesser defenses look foolish. His passion for the game has made him an outstanding college athlete, and he has consistently burned players who underestimate his size. If you’re looking for a high risk, high reward player in the draft keep your eye on Kirby.

[Hskr8128]

Spotlight: Jewone Crockett

Draft Spotlight: FS Jewone Crockett-Purdue

Coaches say Crockett is "Electric, Instinctual, and Gifted" while opponents prefer to call him "Wreckless, Incompassionate and Dangerous". We have never seen a player surrounded by controversy quite like Crockett as he continues to make waves in the NCAA in some of the worst ways.

With concussions coming to the forefront of our sport, player safety has quickly risen to the top of the priority list for the NFL and other organizations. Crockett's hard hitting, body sacrificing hits has flown in the face of all the progress made in the last 10 years. Coaches have spent countless hours working on tackling technique with Jewone but according to an anonymous source "When he hits the field his natural instincts just come out, and those instincts are to hurt people."

Crockett has now been ejected from 3 of Purdue's last 6 games, and the B1G conference has warned him that any further ejections could result in an unprecedented season long suspension.

However controversial his playstyle, it has been effective as recievers are always weary in the secondary which has led to 6 INT's so far for Jewone. NFL Scounts are said to be intrigued by his physicality and toughness but also realize that he is a huge liability and PR nightmare. Will a team be willing to take a risk on this big hitter?

[Hskr8128]

Re: Draft Dudes

Draft Spotlight: C Korbin Kinney

Iowa

Let's be honest, Iowa isn't known nationwide for a whole lot of anything. However, if there is one thing they can hang their hats on, it is that the University of Iowa turns out some big time NFL-ready offensive lineman. Since the turn of the century, Iowa has seen 4 OL go in the first round alone (Robert Gallery 04, Bryan Bulaga 10, Reilly Reiff 12, Brandon Scherff 15).

While Korbin Kinney isn't likely to add to those 1st round numbers, this is a kid everyone should have on their radar. His football skills may need some polishing but there is no arguing that the mental side is all there for this kid.

Kinney grew up football. His dad, Caleb Kinney, has been the OL coach at Iowa for the last 18 years and had a large hand in developing some of the names I mentioned previously. If Korbin wanted alone time with dad, he knew he often had to get it beside him in the film room. Korbin began to soak up that knowledge and you could clearly see it on the field as he became an extension of his father on the field, coaching up his teammates and quickly alerting them when they made a mental mistake.

However, Kinney's mental fortitude doesn't stop on the football field. Not only has he been a 2 year starter on the football team, but he has also maintained a 4.2 GPA in his field of Molecular Engineering and become a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship. He will make some NFL coaches job much easier, although it may be better for the world if this kid goes in to bigger and better things then football.