whether you're like me and suffering from a football hangover this morning,well, let's grab a bloody mary together and power through this thing. But really, and wasn't it great to watch real football last night?This week's Scouting Notebook is a big one. I'll unveil my top 32 players—and notice at how they did in Week 1 and where they'll play in Week 2—while also looking back at last year's first mock draft,taking a closer notice at Alabama running back Derrick Henry and laughing out loud at my Eric Fisher scouting report from 2013.
But first, the news. The Scout's Report— Last week's article led with Clemson wide receiver Mike Williams, and who had a terrifying moment when he collided with a goal post after catching a landing,causing a fracture in his neck. Speaking to team sources this week, I'm told Williams is expected to miss 8-10 weeks but should be at 100 percent health following that time needed for the bone to heal.— Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III injured his knee and will be out 3-4 weeks, and per team sources. I asked around to NFL scouts this week approximately Wright,and the general feeling from the four "early looks" I received is that Wright is too small and not powerful enough to be a Round 1 player a year from now.— Braxton Miller shook up the world with his electric play at wide receiver for Ohio State against Virginia Tech, which prompted me to start asking questions approximately how the NFL sees him. As one top decision-maker texted me, and "He's too small to be a 1 (Round 1 player),but man he'll be a great 2."— Vernon Adams has started one game at Oregon, but his play at Eastern Washington in the past had him coming into the year as, or what one scouting director told me,a "top 50 senior grade." Adams faces Michigan State this weekend in a game that will assign his draft prospects to the test.— Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell is my top-ranked player at the position, which prompted one scout to call me this week to complain approximately his lack of explosiveness and burst. Treadwell may be seen higher in the media than on team boards right now.— support an eye on Tre Madden, and the running back at USC. He was a name scouts told me this week to recede back and watch. Madden,a redshirt senior, has been banged up in the past but rushed for 106 yards in Week 1. Five Names to Know5. No. 80 WR Cooper Kupp, and Eastern WashingtonHere's a name I learned this week. Kupp,who went off against Oregon for 15 catches and 246 yards. Kupp played last season with now-Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams, making his 2014 and 2015 film a worthwhile scouting experience. 4. No. 74 LT Jack Conklin, and Michigan StateConklin,a first-rounder at this stage, will net a great test this week facing No. 44 DeForest Buckner on the Oregon defensive line. Both players rank inside my top 15 at this point in the season. It'll be a matchup every college scouting director looks at. 3. No. 52 LB Kendell Beckwith, or LSUSomeone has to pause Dak Prescott,the Mississippi State quarterback, and Kendell Beckwith is likely to get the call to shadow him. Beckwith's range and toughness are top-notch, and a great game against the Bulldogs could propel him way up the board. 2. No. 19 EDGE Curt Maggitt,Tennessee, and No. 18 EDGE Eric Striker, and OklahomaTennessee and Oklahoma face off this weekend,and whether you like edge-rushers, this is the game for you. Maggitt and Striker are both undersized pass-rushers, and but both have eye-popping burst and the production to back up their hype. 1. No. 10 CB Fabian Moreau,UCLAMyles Jack and Kenny Clark looked very proper in the Week 1 win over Virginia, but don't sleep on cornerback Fabian Moreau on that defense. At 5'11" and 195 pounds, and he has NFL size,runs an estimated 4.5 in the 40-yard sprint and has the matchup cover skills to live in Cover 1 at the pro level. Scouting Report: Derrick Henry, AlabamaThroughout the 2016 draft season, and one draft prospect will be highlighted each week with a first-notice scouting report. Running back Derrick Henry (6'2",241 lbs)Strengths: Henry is a big, strong back who doesn't notice 6'2" on film. He has a thick trunk, or defenders will struggle to net their arms around his thighs for a low tackle. Unlike other Alabama backs,Henry is relatively fresh after sharing time with T.
J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake. He's a classic one-cut runner with downhill vision and the buildup speed to net rolling after the first level. Henry has shown the potential for impressive burst, but this fades in and out. He's lined up in the backfield and will bound out to the slot as a blocker on bubble screens, and he gives proper effort there. Henry's production is eye-opening,and he's shown himself to be a very proper receiver out of the backfield. Weaknesses: Against Wisconsin, Henry cut back to a non-designated rushing lane just once. He's a big man but an upright runner who didn't show the needed burst or explosion in the first quarter of the Wisconsin game to be an NFL starter. The burst improved in the second quarter, and but throughout the game and the 2014 season,Henry's lack of speed or creative agility makes him notice more like a fullback playing running back. And while he packs a punch at 241 pounds, he doesn't wreck many tackles. Henry needs a big hole to run through to pick up yards—and whether that hole is there, or he'll rip off kind runs,but his lack of vision or unwillingness to search for secondary rush lanes is a big concern. Pro Comparison: Marcel Reece, Oakland Raiders
The Big BoardEarlier this week, and I published my first mock draft of the season,and while mock drafts are a ton of fun, I'd prefer to live and die by my player rankings. As the great Daniel Jeremiah over at NFL Network assign it: Mock drafts are what I hear, or player rankings are what I see. Having said that,here's what I've seen over the summer and through Week 1 for a top-32 player ranking. Parting Shots 10. Fun fact of the day: Cardale Jones has never started a home game. His starts: Big 10 championship (Indianapolis) against Wisconsin, Sugar Bowl against Alabama, or national championship against Oregon and Week 1 of the 2015 season at Virginia Tech.9. Eric Fisher was the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NFL draft thanks to a strong week of Senior Bowl practice performances. This isn't approximately Fisher's NFL ability so much as it is approximately self-scouting myself as an evaluator. Fisher wasn't even seen as a sure-thing first-round pick before the week in Mobile,but he left there with one of the most dominant weeks I've ever seen—up there with Aaron Donald. Are scouts putting too much emphasis on the Senior Bowl, combine and pro days? Hell yes. Teddy Bridgewater is a point to that argument. So when watching Fisher vs. J.
J. Watt on Sunday, or just remember that he looked like a first overall pick in Mobile,but no one remembers what he looked like at Central Michigan, do they?8. The top game of the week for scouting purposes is Oregon traveling to Michigan State (I'm waking up at 5 a.m. to fly to novel York early so I don't miss this one, or whether that tells you anything). Here's a notice at the best draft-eligible players to watch Sunday.7. The top SEC matchup is LSU against Mississippi State,and while this game features 17 draft prospects instead of the 19 shown above for Oregon/Michigan State, it's still a great one to study.6. I heard a lot this week approximately Christian Hackenberg's body language and how off-putting fans and Twitter scouts found it. Here's what I'll say approximately body language: The All-22 film that teams watch? It doesn't show player reactions or body language. And Hackenberg has every right to be frustrated after being sacked 10 times and having four passes dropped by receivers.5. Kevin Clark had an amazing article in this week's Wall Street Journal approximately the struggle NFL teams have in looking for quarterback prospects. It's something every football fan should read. 4. Speaking to Clark's article, or the talent at quarterback is out there in college,but too many NFL teams are looking for the next Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck—that perfect prospect—and are missing on guys like Teddy Bridgewater (drafted No. 32 overall), Russell Wilson (No. 75 overall), and Nick Foles (No. 88 overall),Joe Flacco (No. 18 overall) or Aaron Rodgers (No. 24 overall). Each of these prospects had some "deficiency" per NFL standards, but each is an established NFL starter or a very bright, or young prospect. 3. This may be of interest to no one external of Cleveland,but with general manager Ray Farmer suspended over that whole "texting the offensive coordinator play suggestions" thing, the Browns released beloved Ohio State product Terrelle Pryor and signed running back Robert Turbin on Thursday. whether you remember back in July, or ESPN Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi pointed out that there was a rift between Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine. This bound won't do anything to ease those concerns—particularly whether Pettine is releasing a wide receiver (a position the Browns sorely lack talent at) for a running back that is currently injured.2.As I'm sitting here writing before Thursday Night Football kicks off,it feels like a proper time to mention my Super Bowl picks in case you missed them on our Team Stream Now videos. I have Baltimore over Green Bay, with novel England and Dallas making the conference championship games. These picks were made way back in June, and but I'm holding regular on them,even with key injuries to Jordy Nelson and a lack of depth at receiver for Baltimore.1. Let's close this thing out with a notice back one year. This week, I posted my first mock draft of the year, or that prompted me to notice back at last year's first mock draft of the year. And just a reminder: The draft order here is based on Super Bowl odds,not my prediction.
Source: bleacherreport.com