With less than a week until the NFL draft is underway, teams are or should have finalized their boards by now.  Fortunately, we fans aren't under the same time constraints, even though we also don't have the good fortune of scouting for a living.  Thus we can still formulate some opinions on players up until now and leading up to the draft.  With this in mind, these are some of the last minute opinions I have formulated/am formulating on players.  Some I am getting my first real look at the players.  In other instances, I am reviewing.  But I figured it may be worth a thread to see how our opinions on these players in this year's draft class continue to evolve.  So here goes, some of my last minute looks at this year's draft class.


1.  Although safety has been an issue for this team for a while, I admit I haven't felt that safety would be much of a priority for the team.  Pederson has made it a point to emphasize the trenches in most of his talk about the priority for this offseason.  Accordingly, I haven't devoted much time to the position.  Having devoted a little more attention to the position, I would rank the top three players at S as

1.  Jaquan Brisker
2.  Daxton Hill
3.  Louis Cine

There was a time not tool long ago where I would shy away from Penn State DBs because they hadn't produced many good pros at all.  But now there seems to be a greater emphasis on speed and athleticism under the current coaching staff there.  U think Brisker embodies that new paradigm, as he is the total package.  He is capable of dominating as a box safety, quickly diagnosing plays, taking proper angles, attacking the LOS and making sure, physical tackles on the ball carrier.  However, he has also demonstrated good range and hands in pass coverage, and plays the ball well.

Right behind him, I have Doxton Hill.  To me, Hill seems more of the FS type, but he is all around the ball.  He has good timing and anticipation, and has the hands to get the ball back for you.  Seems to play with an enthusiasm.

Finally, there is a guy that is often linked to the Jaguars-Georgia S Louis Cine.  Cine is more of a pure in the box S than the other two.  He would make perfect sense as an heir to Cam Chancellor from the Legion of Boom days in Seattle.  He would be a good fit under our old scheme.  He hits a ton, but despite his speed, there seems to be some stiffness to his game.  I'm not sure I feel comfortable with his ability to flip his hips, turn and go.  He does NOT have the hands to get the turnover for you.  Any turnovers he creates will be forcing fumbles.  But he would be my 3rd ranked S.

2.  I also got some last minute looks at WR I haven't focused on in Baylor WR Tyquan Thornton, Memphis WR Calvin Austin and Tennessee WR Velus Jones.  Now Pederson indicated this year's WR class is top heavy and not as deep as prior classes.  I'm not sure if he is factoring increased demand at the position, but based on these guys, teams should be able to find contributors into the 3rd round.  Jones and Thornton have decent height, but none of these guys strike me as being overly physical receivers.  I would have concern about them being able to escape the jam at the LOS, but while I would put Austin in the slot, I would be inclined to keep Thornton and Jones outside and develop them.  Thornton has the pure speed you'd like.  I think Velus Jones  has good speed too, but I really like him after the catch.  He also has good return ability.

What do you think?  Any of you guys have any last minute takes?

More to come...

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