Welcome to the thir edition of the rookies game: Superman vs Bizarro
OFFENSE
QB Andrew Luck - New Orleans Saints 1.8
6”4 234 - 23 yrs old
64 spd - 62 str - 67 awr - 60 agi - 64 acc 90 thp - 89 tha
The expectations around QB Andrew Luck before the release of class were really high, many GM expected to see Andrew Luck as a franchise changer kind of player, as soon as his ratings were released many felt Andrew Luck wasn’t the best quarterback of the class, and that’s why Saints pick at 1.8 came as a surprise. The common thought was Chandler Harnish was more ready, had a better arm and was 1 year younger, which might be true. But also he had terrible physical attributes, Saints decided to take the safe way with a proven attributes QB as Andrew Luck, he’s mobile enough but he isn’t an scramble, his 90 thp is a proven number and can go up to 93, 89 tha is an extremely high number and comes with a respectable 67 awr. At the end the term “Best Quarterback of the class” this year depended much of criteria.
HB Doug Martin - New England Patriots 1.23
5”9 210 - 23 yrs old
94 spd - 78 str - 59 awr - 91 agi - 92 acc - 59 cth - 78 car - 79 btk
The HB position was highly underrated during all the previous draft talk, at the eyes of multiple GM this year was a weak year for HB, anyway, Doug Martin is an special player, he’s fast, he have a great body frame (Being 5”9 - 210, means is heavy for his size), short hb’s tend to be harder to tackle and usually find the small holes at the OL and attack them. He comes with a very good combination of attributes for a rookie at 78 car and 79 btk. And he’s strong at 78 str, only time will tell how Martin does at the SFL but at first sight is really hard to find a weakness at him, specially at his low attributes are progressable, and not that low for a rookie.
WR Alshon Jeffery - Baltimore Ravens 1.3
6”3 218 - 22 yrs old
95 spd - 28 str - 62 awr - 92 agi - 97 acc - 81 cth - 69 jmp
Just like happened with the QB position, there was a serious debate over the wide receiver position, Josh Gordon being more athletic while Alshon Jeffery being a more ready prospect with also good physical abilities. At the end Jeffery took the lead role, thanks to a more advanced football IQ and Cth. Jeffery is and will be one of the best wide receivers of the league, he has the size, the spd and the hands. His weakness are his strenght and jump, which multiple teams/gm, around the league (Me included) consider is a worthless attribute, have a high jump and strenght combination might help at contested catches at double coverage or at the red zone, but the truth is most of Jeffery production going to come at the deep pass due his burn the coverage ability
WR Josh Gordon - Tennessee Titans 1.5
6”3 225 - 22 yrs old
96 spd - 29 str - 49 awr - 97 agi - 95 acc - 73 cth - 80 jmp
The other prospect mentioned previously was taken just few picks after Jeffery, Gordon comes with an incredible physical ability, after he receive rookie progression + his AP bonus (Titans GM confirms he will), Gordon going to join a select group of wide receivers with 99 spd, but he also comes with a huge body of 6”3 and 225. Why he drop to 1.5, clearly because he lacks the football IQ and have stone hands. It might cause him to miss some routes and drop more passes than he should, luckily for him, he was drafted by a team with a GM that likes those kind of wide receivers.
WR Brian Quick - Houston Texans 1.24
6”4 220 - 22 yrs old
92 spd - 49 str - 52 awr - 97 agi - 92 acc - 81 cth - 82 jmp
The third wide receiver of the year didn’t get the same atention as Gordon or Jeffery, but was projected to be a top 10 pick, during draft nights many teams were expecting him to fall, to fly low in the radar but finally he was taken at 1.24, Quick is a wide receiver that use his body frame as his main tool, he doesn’t have the same blitzing speed of the other 2 prospects but he definetily have one of the best body frames at 6”4 220 and a better stranght of 49. This league have seen players with this kind of charactistics to have succeed the more recent example. Jhonnie Morant
TE Coby Fleener - San Francisco 49ers 1.13
6”6 251 - 23 yrs old
88 spd - 78 str - 59 awr - 85 agi - 86 acc - 78 cth - 62 jmp - 54 pbk - 54 rbk
Coby fleener might end being the steal and best pick of the draft, he should be considered as an strong candidate for OROY. Coby becomes instantly at one of the best tight ends, (if not the best) with a brutal 88 spd - 78 str and an incredible body frame of 6”6, There isn’t a single player at defense with numbers close to that, the mismatches he can produce are incredible, he should win every 1 vs 1 he have with his body, and should be able to burn at speed any linebacker of the league. The key of a succesful offense is to have players that mismatch the defense, and is hard to think in another player with such favorable set of skills.
OL Matt Kalil - Carolina Panthers 1.7
6”7 315 - 23 yrs old
65 spd - 94 str - 65 awr - 70 agi - 72 acc - 87 pbk - 93 rbk
Matt Kalil doesn’t have a single weakness, he’s very athletic, not the most, but doesn’t have a weakness there, he have blocking attibutes and football IQ of veterans that have been at the league for multiple years. He also have an incredible body frame of 6”7 an 315 pounds. Is hard to do a deep anlaysis about a player like him, cause he have all the numbers for being succesful. Kalin is a day 1 superstar, and he’ll only become better as he gets more and more polished.
OL Lamar Holmes - Buffalo Bulls 1.10
6”6 333 - 23 yrs old
70 spd - 98 str - 53 awr - 75 agi - 78 acc - 84 pbk - 81 rbk
Holmes is a force of nature, he joins the league and instantly becomes one of the most athletic offensive lineman, with a 70 spd, is a number that previously was a myth and now is becoming a new standard for top players, still is very weird but slowly the position is becoming more faster as universities produce better athletes. His blocking skills at 84 and 81 are not bad, but could be better, specially with a low 53 awr. Holmes going to wait a few season before he unlocks his true potential, but should be a gamechanger since day 1, specially at run game where he should dominate.
OL Riley Reiff - Dallas Cowboys 1.16
6”6 305 - 21 yrs old
70 spd - 96 str - 67 awr - 78 agi - 70 acc - 88 pbk - 77 rbk
Mentioned above how the position is becoming faster, and the 2nd 70 spd OL confirm it, Riley Reiff might be one of the best picks of the draft. He’s fast, have good awr, pbk and it’s extremely young at only 21 yrs old. His “low” rbk might affected his value, but 77 is still very managable with a 67 awr and lots of years ahed at his career. The other concern around him is his acc, 70 spd with 70 acc is better than 65 spd with 80 acc. I guess that’s one thing will figure it out soon, and Reiff want to prove his acc won’t define him.
OL Mike Adams - Miami Dolphins 2.2
6”7 320 - 23 yrs old
65 spd - 96 str - 58 awr - 72 agi - 75 acc - 86 pbk - 86 rbk
Day 2 of the draft often brings huge steals, specially at the top of 2nd round, where 1st round players caliber drops, Mike Adams is a “Cheaper” version of Matt Kalil, he also comes with a 6”7 body frame, and comes with better strenght. Acceleration and agility. Physically is slightly better than the 1st prospect of the draft, and as he’s not that polished, his block skills are very good at 86-86, and his weak spot being 58 awr can be easily progressed. Mike Adams after he develop more football skills, have potential for being one of the best OL of the league.
C Peter Konz - New Orlean Saints 3.8
6”5 317 - 22 yrs old
62 spd - 88 str - 68 awr - 66 agi - 73 acc - 88 pbk - 87 rbk
We didn’t have a single C drafted at the first 2 rounds of the draft. There wasn’t any eye catchy prospect but the C for Superman team is an instant starter. Konz have the size of a guard or even a tackle, at 6”5, not a conventional size for a center. He’s only 22 years old but he join the league with a very high blocking skills at 88 pbk, and 87 rbk. He’s very polished at 68 awr, and the athletic attibutes are there with a very respectable 62 spd and 73 acc. The potential downside is his strenght at 88, but i don’t think that’ll really affect his game, specially with football skills as progressed as his.
DEFENSE
RE Malik Jackson - Denver Broncos 1.20
6”5 265 - 23 yrs old
81 spd - 82 str - 49 awr - 80 agi - 84 acc - 70 tak
Malik Jackson rise the hand as the best defensive end in a weak class, the DL on this draft wasn’t stacked or close to be. All the players had the same problem: Low awr and low tackle, and this is not the exception for Malik, the difference is Jackson comes with potential stud physical attributes, he has over 80 at spd, str, agi and acc. His low football IQ might affect him for stop the rush or he might bite some PA, but you don’t need to be an Einstein for sack a QB. Malik have the numbers for post 10+ sacks every season
RE Jared Crick - Oakland Raiders 2.26
6”6 285 - 23 yrs old
72 spd - 82 str - 55 awr - 70 agi - 79 acc - 74 tak
Given the draft class is not a surprise the next player drafted needed to wait for being taken. Jared crick is the kind of tricky prospect at start doesn’t look “Sexy” but after some progression he have the numbers for being a productive player on this league. Part of draft is exactly that, to try and project how good a player can be, Crick is not a player that produce an inmediate change, but he have the potential. Specially if he progress his strenght, his body frame is good, and he’s not as slow as it looks.
DT Derek Wolfe - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1.25
6”5 286 - 22 yrs old
80 spd 86 str - 49 awr 79 agi - 76 acc 75 tak
Talk about projection and to plan ahead of time, Derek Wolfe have everything for become one of the best defensive linemen of the league, with 80 spd and 86 str, he’s already special, but he adds a good body frame of 6”5 286. Wolfe is a combination of the analysis done for Malik and Jared. He doesn’t have the football skills for being dominate, he might progress it, but never going to be close to the 99. But he can shine thanks to his physical attributes, specially as DE.
LOLB Melvin Ingram - Tennessee Titans 1.15
6”2 247 - 23 yrs old
86 spd - 80 str - 58 awr - 84 agi - 84 acc - 80 tak
Contrary to defensive line, the LB draft was loaded with quality talent, specially players athetically gifted, that might helped the top players to drop as there were many options, the first linebacker taken and member of superman squad was Melvin Ingram. He has a good body frame at 6”2 247 and comes with fast legs at 86 spd and 80 str. He have the skills for stop the run and cover the pass, his tackle of 80 is high but require to work on his football IQ and add some awr before being a lockdown, it’ll take some seasons till all his potential can be seen.
ROLB Bobby Wagner - Carolina Panthers 1.22
6”0 240 - 23 yrs old
85 spd - 84 str - 56 awr - 83 agi - 88 acc - 77 tak
The 2nd outside linebacker of the draft was Bobby Wagner, a player that might raised some red flads because his size as he’s only 6”0, but he’s also 240 and 84 str, so he’ll probably going to hit stron. Add a tremendous 85 spd and you have a linebacker with pro bowl quality, his tak is good at 77 and just like with Ingram, his awereness needs some work before he can do a whole impact on the team. The physical abilities makes him one of the best linebackers of the league.
MLB Luke Kuechly - Detroit Lions 1.1
6”3 242 - 23 yrs old
84 spd - 82 str - 70 awr - 84 agi - 86 acc - 90 tak
Luke Kuechly joins a select group of first overall defensive players, that only had 2 members, both CB. So luke becomes the first LB to be taken 1st overall, tagged as the best prospect of the draft it didn’t come as a surprise he was taken first overall. Kuckhy doesn’t have any single weak spot, he’s fast, strong, with amazing tackle and high awr for a rookie. He should change Detroit’s defense since day 1, and quoting a 3 time super bowl winner (You know who) “MLB is the Quarterback of defense”
CB Casey Hayward - Tennessee Titans 1.2
6”0 187 - 23 tyrs old
98 spd - 66 str - 59 awr - 98 agi - 97 acc - 64 cth - 87 jmp - 75 tak
Casey Hayward is a CB that’s going to max out the physical attributes at 99 (Spd - agi - acc), and comes with good football skills and high strenght. Taken 2nd overall he should dratically improve one of the worst secondaries last season, he needs to quickly work on that awr for become a lockdown corneback. He’ll need 2 or 3 seasons before unleash the full potential, but should be a playmaker since day 1, The speed should help to have a better regression period once he reach the 30. The description given by a GM was: “He’s a bailey kind of CB with tackle abilities”
CB Stephon Gilmore - San Diego Chargers 1.4
6”1 190 - 22 yrs old
93 spd - 48 str - 57 awr - 93 agi - 95 acc - 67 cth - 85 jmp - 72 tak
Cornerback is the most wanted/needed position right now, most teams struggle to find a cornerback that can stop the multiple quality wide receivers the league has. So is not a surprise to see the 2nd cornerback of the draft being taken at top 5. Gilmore reuinite a series of interesting attributes, he isn’t as fast as Hayward but he’s 93 spd (With up to 96 potential), allow him to cover almost all receivers, he has a very good 6”1 body frame, Good hands and catch, just as with many players, he’ll need some seasons for develop that awareness.
CB Morris Claiborne - Cincinnati Bengals 1.12
5”11 192 - 23 yrs old
93 spd - 51 str - 65 awr - 90 agi - 95 acc - 73 cth - 89 jmp - 72 tak
Morris Claiborne is a more ready and shorter version of Stephon Gilmore, with the same speed the only difference between them is the body frame and the football IQ. Claiborne have better awereness, so during the first seasons he should in theory play better than any other rookie cornerback. The huge advantadge of a player as Claiborne, is won’t be painful to grow up, and won’t make game cost mistakes as often as other rookies. The Body frame might limit his potential at future as the roof is smaller. Definetily the most ready cornerback of the class
SS Mark Barron - Oakland Raiders 1.26
6”2 230 - 23 yrs old
90 spd - 67 str - 59 awr - 85 agi - 91 acc - 69 cth - 80 jmp - 80 tak
Mark Barron as almost all the safeties on this class struggle with awereness but excel at tackle, the special thing about Barron is his incredible body frame he’s tall, and he’s heavy, that should help at tackling, and more with an incredible 80 tackle attribute. His speed of 90 put him as one of the fastest safeties of the league. As mentioned above the awereness going to be hard to deal during the first 2 seasons at least, but the profit once he’s fully progressed clearly worth it. Barron is a stud
SS Harrison Smith - San Diego Chargers 2.4
6”2 213 - 22 yrs old
88 spd - 62 str - 55 awr - 88 agi - 90 acc - 67 cth - 85 tak
The final player of superman team comes with another safety that excel by his tackle abilities. He also struggle with a low awr, but as happens with Barron, his body frame - spd and football skills counter it and make him an impact player. 88 speed at the safety position should be enough for lockdown 1 side of the field without much problem, and the height helps to swat the ball on those deep passes. 85 Tackle is probably one of the highest tackle ratings any rookie safety ever have.
