AZ54

Starting Day 3 Packers: Rashan Gary DT, Darnell Savage S, Elgton Jenkins C, and Jace Sternberger TE. I really like what they did because it should help us stay leaders in the NFC North. Gary has all the talent and none of the production. I liked Savage for our pick at 87 and maybe even a big higher given his versatility but to trade up for him so early...thank you! Jenkins and Sternberger were good choices at those spots. Vikings: Garrett Bradbury C, Irv Smith TE, and Mattison RB. Bradbury was good value, same with Smith. Then they used a 3rd Rd pick to take a player who IMO should have been a 5-7th Rd RB. Detroit: TJ Hockenson TE, Jahlani Tavai LB, and Will Harris S. See my post above. They're on track for another top 10 pick next year. There are still good players available so they can redeem themselves but they bypassed a lot of talent in Rd 2 and 3.

Out of curiosity I'm looking over the NFL Network player rankings/grades to see who the lowest ranked players are that were drafted. Aka biggest reach. At this time the Detroit Lions have drafted two of the lowest graded/ranked players. Will Harris S out of BC ranked around 205 overall and he was taken with the 18th pick in the 3rd Rd. Before that pick Detroit drafted Jahlani Tavai who is ranked ~190 overall and they used the 43rd pick in the draft. Their draft ended after they took Hockenson. I should add that NFL Network has the prospects listed 20/page. For both of these players, on the pages they are listed there has not been any other player drafted.

This is a good way to start your RB career... Montgomery told reporters that his grandfather would show him tapes of legendary Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton. “I watched Walter Payton when I was younger,” Montgomery said. “Seeing how he ran, trying to correlate a lot of the ways he ran into my game.”

and you can get to know him a bit...

A little film breakdown...

We were all worried about you after this pick. It's at least good to know you've been released from the ICU and are back home.

The biggest problem with Montgomery catching the football was that we didn't have a good QB at Iowa State for most of his career. That changed midway through the season when we started the true freshman from my current home town (Gilbert, AZ). I had to rewind the the game on the DVR when that flashed by on the screen. Anyway, I've seen him catch a few passes but even I have to rely on the scouting reports (and Nagy/Pace) for how good his receiving skills are.

He'll never be your home run hitter but he'll be the one who keeps the offense in 3rd and short.

At 215lbs he is not small and he does not go down easily. Defenders often need to bring a posse to bring him down. His short choppy stride limits his long speed but it's also what gets him excellent balance, even with contact, and quickness in his cuts. One of his draft profiles: https://thedraftnetwork.com/prospect-rankings Always comes into contact low, hot, and with the intent to knock someone's teeth out. Can drag tacklers or straight up run through second and third level defenders with excellent leg drive and natural leverage.

There are multiple plays here that Howard just could not make. What he did against W. Virginia around 2-4min mark was impressive.

I've been watching him for two years. He can do a little of everything except hit the long run. He ran behind a poor Oline but still got positive gains out of nothing. We'll see him jump cut and hit holes that Howard would need 2-3 steps to hit. That said I'm surprised we traded up for him as I expected we'd either draft someone with more speed, or just grab one of the RBBC types later in the draft. Pace must have had a solid 2nd Rd grade on him. I'll add this: If Nagy and Trubisky can get the passing game going consistently then Montgomery will feast on the light box defenses he'll see. His top speed is similar to Howard's but he's quicker.

3rd Rd - TE, RB (if the right one is there and really thats Henderson or Montgomery), and S. I'm typing this as Josh Oliver just came off hte board (I'm happy because I don't like him at least not in the 3rd).

I'd be happy with this draft.

It's just that with Nagy's offense I have a preference for adding a TE who can better help as a receiver.

I'm not a big fan of Josh Oliver. He's too much of a straight line player and IMO we already have someone like him in Shaheen.

I'm thinking this is where Pace is at. He'll take someone somewhere but won't force it. I tend to think however that he's closely eyeing Rodney Anderson and Bryce Love. If Pace and Nagy are content with Nall filling Howard's spot then they will be content to draft an injured 1st Rd talent and allow him to recover fully and then work his way into the rotation. Why not swing for the fences in the 4th or 5th Rd? If we have Nall in place then really we're looking at 2019 and 2020 draft classes to find our next RB. If either one recovers to what they were beforehand then we're in a pretty good spot heading into the playoff push. IMO Love has to be in an RBBC rotation anyway as I don't think he'll consistently sustain more than 15-18 carries a game at the NFL level. I know what Anderson's injuries were but I don't know if these were all Kevin White type issues or if the film shows he got his body wedged into a really bad spot when the injury happened. I think his knee injury was a non-contact injury on a cut.

I suspect Robbie will take a bit less to be back home with the kids. Quite a bit less. The Bears can't say anything or they are tampering. Lynch has to do something this weekend. He's heading into his 3rd season and it's time to start winning. Does he draft a kicker in the 7th? If he waits until after the draft the top UDFA kickers might not want to go to SF because there's still a chance Gould comes back. If he drafts a kicker then his leverage with Gould evaporates as does his trade leverage with teams around the league. Plus he's now looking at only getting a 2020 pick in exchange. Meanwhile Pace has gained the rights to 3 of the best FA kickers. When that phone rings on day 3 of the draft I'm pretty sure Pace says absolutely no to Lynch's first offer.

It's hard to watch these highlights, especially the receptions, and not wonder what Matt Nagy is thinking. Much of his highlights are against top competition, not the lesser programs Devin Singletary looks good against. The health concerns are real so I doubt we'd draft him in the 3rd Rd. I think we must add at least one player who can contribute somewhere, even if as a reliable depth player who could handle a starting role (OG, CB, S, TE). But in the 4th Rd I could forgive Pace for a taking chance on Anderson. Rodney Anderson vs. Roquan Smith...

He's an interesting prospect but he's not anywhere close to the athlete Aaron Donald is. In the NFL, once he gets in shape for it, he'll be a two-gap player who occasionally will take advantage of a mistake by the OG to get upfield for a big play. I think Nichols was better as a prospect because of his height and length.

I'm not big on Ximines he runs too hot and cold for my likes in the 3rd Rd. In the 4th maybe. Other than that I like the picks. This is the first time I've seen Nauta mentioned because I haven't done a ton of research on TEs. I like him especially in the 5th Rd.

Hard to see how a 3rd Rd pick costs too much, unless you're talking opportunity cost.

unsigned FA: Ndamukong Suh, Wilkerson, Ansah, Jernigan and more. I don't know what's left in the tank for many of them but we could find some help at least as a depth/rotation player if we wanted to. https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/all/defensive-line/

Sanders I was high on but his fumbling problems make me nervous and so I lean more toward Henderson in the 3rd Rd. Singletary's lack of explosiveness is worriesome at the NFL level. It's one thing for a bigger back like Barnes to lack explosiveness because he has the strength to run through tackles. I feel like Singletary will be the second coming of Mizzell although he's quicker in his cuts. Beyond those few it's just a bunch of guys who all offer a slightly different twist but can be productive in RBBC roles. There has been little discussion of Justice Hill here. He's fast and can hit the home run at any time but when I watched him in a game he tends to run into traffic too often for my liking. For a smaller RB you'd like to see him take the soft edge on tacklers. That lack of vision is concerning for me. That said, he should still be in the mix for us on day 3.

Nichols had quite a few splash plays but he also got moved around off the LOS a lot last year. I like his future potential and he's definitely in the rotation but he has things to improve upon.

Interior Oline help is a definite possibility in the draft. I'm not a fan of Ted Larsen at all but I give him credit because he's 32 and has managed to scrape together a decent NFL career given his talent. We still have plenty of cap space and if we go through the draft without picking someone at OG then I think Pace picks up another FA veteran who gets cut after the draft. That could happen at S or CB. Last year in the draft he avoided reaching for OLB help when the draft didn't fall his way. Any way we slice up the picks having 4 in the top 150 adds good depth a several positions.