With the 23rd pick, your Minnesota Vikings select...
Apr 17, 2023 19:21:02 GMT -6
Brandon and FSUVike like this
Post by Funkytown on Apr 17, 2023 19:21:02 GMT -6
Buying, selling latest 2023 NFL Draft rumors, including Hendon Hooker in the first round by Brad Spielberger
Link:
www.pff.com/news/draft-buying-selling-2023-draft-rumors-hendon-hooker-first-round
“ONE OF THE TOP FOUR QUARTERBACKS COULD SLIDE OUT OF THE TOP 10”
Verdict: Buying
When all is said and done, we wouldn’t be surprised if either Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis goes off the board later than expected. Levis could be the true name to watch here due to Richardson’s off-the-charts athleticism.
Levis has a few things working strongly in his favor in the eyes of clubs: extensive experience in pro-style offenses, rushing ability for the occasional designed run with scrambling upside, a rocket arm and toughness playing through multiple injuries this past season.
While the injuries provide important context, Levis nonetheless ranked 101st in the FBS with 54.4% of his passes deemed accurate in 2022. In his penultimate season in 2021, he was better at 57.6%, but that still ranked just 55th. Throw on his tape and you’ll see the occasional airmail.
“THE WIDE RECEIVERS WILL COME OFF THE BOARD LATER THAN MOST MOCK DRAFTS HAVE PREDICTED”
Verdict: Buying
To a degree, we may have started treating top wide receiver prospects like we do top quarterback prospects. That is, with elite college talent at the position flying off the board early in the past few drafts, we’ve come to expect it every year. However, the top of this class is not held in very high regard across the league, and we wouldn’t be shocked if no wide receivers are selected through the first dozen or so picks, with perhaps only one or two in the top 20.
“HENDON HOOKER WILL GO IN THE FIRST ROUND”
Verdict: Selling
With each passing day there seems to be another credible draft analyst who expects Hooker to be a first-round pick, but we struggle to see it happening. A 25-year-old prospect coming off a torn ACL is tough to believe on its own, but the teams commonly linked to Hooker also don’t make a ton of sense.
The Minnesota Vikings undoubtedly need a quarterback of the future with Kirk Cousins entering the final year of his contract, but they don’t pick until No. 86 overall after No. 23 in the first round, which would mean they potentially add zero 2023 contributors with a Hooker selection.
Another popular narrative is that a team may trade up into the bottom of the first round for Hooker. While this is entirely feasible, besides the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 30 overall, the teams holding the final six selections have not historically been interested in trading down. All trends can be broken, but they are worth noting in this context nonetheless.
Hooker’s 43.7 passing grade when pressured ranked 61st among FBS quarterbacks in 2022, and while the stat can be unstable, he also earned a 48.6 mark in 2021, with his 65 sacks taken over the last two seasons tied for the sixth most in the FBS. Hooker’s 64 sacks taken on 196 pressured dropbacks over the span equates to a 33% sack rate when pressured, the second-worst mark in the country over the past two seasons.
“THERE WILL BE A MAJOR RUN ON CORNERBACKS IN THE FIRST ROUND”
Verdict: Buying
As of today, we’d expect a minimum of five cornerbacks to be selected in the first round, with a guess on the order as follows: Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and a toss-up between Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes and Maryland’s Deonte Banks.
Alabama’s Brian Branch is viewed as a slot defender who may ultimately become classified as a safety at the next level, but he’s currently listed as a cornerback on NFL.com, which is notable for the many sportsbooks that determine the outcome of position-based draft prop bets based on that information.
A few more players who could sneak into the first round are South Carolina’s Cam Smith, Michigan’s D.J. Turner and Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson, though this isn’t a prediction that will happen.
Verdict: Buying
When all is said and done, we wouldn’t be surprised if either Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis goes off the board later than expected. Levis could be the true name to watch here due to Richardson’s off-the-charts athleticism.
Levis has a few things working strongly in his favor in the eyes of clubs: extensive experience in pro-style offenses, rushing ability for the occasional designed run with scrambling upside, a rocket arm and toughness playing through multiple injuries this past season.
While the injuries provide important context, Levis nonetheless ranked 101st in the FBS with 54.4% of his passes deemed accurate in 2022. In his penultimate season in 2021, he was better at 57.6%, but that still ranked just 55th. Throw on his tape and you’ll see the occasional airmail.
“THE WIDE RECEIVERS WILL COME OFF THE BOARD LATER THAN MOST MOCK DRAFTS HAVE PREDICTED”
Verdict: Buying
To a degree, we may have started treating top wide receiver prospects like we do top quarterback prospects. That is, with elite college talent at the position flying off the board early in the past few drafts, we’ve come to expect it every year. However, the top of this class is not held in very high regard across the league, and we wouldn’t be shocked if no wide receivers are selected through the first dozen or so picks, with perhaps only one or two in the top 20.
“HENDON HOOKER WILL GO IN THE FIRST ROUND”
Verdict: Selling
With each passing day there seems to be another credible draft analyst who expects Hooker to be a first-round pick, but we struggle to see it happening. A 25-year-old prospect coming off a torn ACL is tough to believe on its own, but the teams commonly linked to Hooker also don’t make a ton of sense.
The Minnesota Vikings undoubtedly need a quarterback of the future with Kirk Cousins entering the final year of his contract, but they don’t pick until No. 86 overall after No. 23 in the first round, which would mean they potentially add zero 2023 contributors with a Hooker selection.
Another popular narrative is that a team may trade up into the bottom of the first round for Hooker. While this is entirely feasible, besides the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 30 overall, the teams holding the final six selections have not historically been interested in trading down. All trends can be broken, but they are worth noting in this context nonetheless.
Hooker’s 43.7 passing grade when pressured ranked 61st among FBS quarterbacks in 2022, and while the stat can be unstable, he also earned a 48.6 mark in 2021, with his 65 sacks taken over the last two seasons tied for the sixth most in the FBS. Hooker’s 64 sacks taken on 196 pressured dropbacks over the span equates to a 33% sack rate when pressured, the second-worst mark in the country over the past two seasons.
“THERE WILL BE A MAJOR RUN ON CORNERBACKS IN THE FIRST ROUND”
Verdict: Buying
As of today, we’d expect a minimum of five cornerbacks to be selected in the first round, with a guess on the order as follows: Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and a toss-up between Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes and Maryland’s Deonte Banks.
Alabama’s Brian Branch is viewed as a slot defender who may ultimately become classified as a safety at the next level, but he’s currently listed as a cornerback on NFL.com, which is notable for the many sportsbooks that determine the outcome of position-based draft prop bets based on that information.
A few more players who could sneak into the first round are South Carolina’s Cam Smith, Michigan’s D.J. Turner and Miami’s Tyrique Stevenson, though this isn’t a prediction that will happen.
Link:
www.pff.com/news/draft-buying-selling-2023-draft-rumors-hendon-hooker-first-round
... and neither is this Chris guy.