2016 Draft Prospects Thread

Randolphkeys said:

If the Browns take Goff, Lawler becomes more palatable as a 4th rounder because of familiarity. Overall I agree with Phills14. Why they reached on a backup center who may be too soft for the NFL, only to reach for a practice squad level WR in the 4th will never make sense to me. But, that's why the scouting department is saving up for bags of day old bagels right now.

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godfather said:

I would have loved to have seen their draft war room when discussing that pick.

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howler1313 said:

View: View: https://twitter.com/dpbrugler/status/719950652588208130

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One wrist injury, 612 throws, zero competition -- Does Carson Wentz really add up to $20M?
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  Kevin Van ValkenburgESPN Senior Writer

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This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's April 25 NFL Draft Issue.Subscribe today!

IT'S ALMOST 11 P.M., and he's just housed a 14-ounce rib-eye, some waffle-fry nachos and two pretzel bread rolls with cheese sauce. But Carson Wentz is not satisfied. His pro day, an event that feels both overwrought and like the biggest test of his life, is just two days away.

The 23-year-old quarterback is sitting in a corner booth in the back of the Granite City Food and Brewery in Fargo, North Dakota, fiddling with his wispy copper beard. It's both a tic and an obvious tell, a good indicator he's grown tired of sitting still. He's thinking about the future, and the uncertainty is maddening. He's a planner, an obsessive scheduler, and each hour he's awake, he is restless, as if his body and brain are idling in neutral.

"I want to head back to the dome," he tells Ryan Lindley, his friend and quarterbacking mentor, as the check arrives. "Just for like an hour. We can do a longer session in the morning, but I feel like I want to get more time in before I go to bed."

As they prepare to leave, an older couple stop at the table and gush about what a pleasure it was to watch Wentz play at North Dakota State. This happens often in Fargo, proud and provincial gushing. In the rest of the country, Wentz can go unrecognized, just another tall white guy in a Patagonia pullover. But here in North Dakota, he might as well be royalty. "It's hard to be a normal person," Wentz says. "I just keep telling myself, don't make it bigger than it is. I wear hats so at least I can try to blend in."

The encounter, like almost all of them, ends on the same awkward note:Carson, we sure hope you don't end up in Cleveland! Anywhere but Cleveland!He smiles and offers a polite but forced chuckle. "It's out of my control," he says, shrugging. He's become an expert in the art of noncommittal, inoffensive shrugs. He shakes a few more hands, gets up and walks to the parking lot.

In his truck, Wentz has a thin binder full of plays from -- who else? -- the Browns. Cleveland has both the second pick in the 2016 draft and arguably the most miserable quarterback succession in the NFL over the past decade. And despite picking up Robert Griffin III in March, all signs show that the Browns are still on the hunt for another one.

Wentz knows the team is testing him, trying to both rattle and educate. The Browns can't afford another failure. He has memorized every formation, but he's still headed to the Fargodome hungry to diagram plays. (Wentz long ago acquired a key to the stadium to ensure late-night access.) Lindley, a journeyman since being drafted in 2012, will quiz Wentz on the Browns' verbiage, demanding to know where each read should be against different defenses. They'll even do a mock news conference. Some coaches, he warns, like to soak footballs with water and ask you to throw them after your workout, just to see how flustered you'll get. The session won't end until well after midnight.

But first, as they climb into the truck, Lindley can't resist revisiting the Cleveland conversation. They've witnessed some version of it two dozen times by now, and it's always hard to know what to say. The Browns have shown more interest than any other team, and they're planning to send coaches, not just scouts, to watch Wentz's pro day. "I'm starting to feel like: Screw it, I hope you do go to Cleveland," Lindley says. "You kick ass there, they'll put you on their version of Mount Rushmore."

Wentz grins but doesn't speak. He doesn't need to. The look on his face is another tell.

Hell yeah, it says. Bring it on.

ESPN The Magazine The Podcast: The Great Unknown[/paste:font]
Deputy editor Ty Wenger and senior editor Cristina Daglas chat with ESPN senior writer Kevin Van Valkenberg about his latest story on NFL draft prospect Carson Wentz. Excerpts are read by deputy editor Otto Strong.



(Another notable anti-Johnny distinction: Carson is keenly self-aware.)

Hunting is an indispensable part of Wentz's life. His senior year, he arranged his class schedule so he'd have Tuesday mornings free. He and a friend would rise well before dawn so they could go duck or goose hunting 45 minutes outside of Fargo. Eventually he'd like to go on a hunting trip to New Zealand with his brother Zach, the only signing-bonus indulgence he's interested in. "I actually hated hunting the first time I went when I was a kid," Wentz says. "My dad took us deer hunting. We sat there for 30 minutes, and I felt like I was losing my mind. But in college, I fell in love with it. Football became a full-time job, and I needed an escape. I needed something that would mellow me out. There is just something about being out in open country, about seeing the sun rise over a pond, that's really beautiful."

When he decided to get a dog -- a golden retriever he named Henley -- he wanted to teach her to hunt, so he researched the process with the same intensity with which he approaches game film. He talked to friends, read for hours on the internet and found that the best way to train a dog to fetch a duck or a pheasant was to use live pigeons. In an attempt to save money, he spent a day trying to catch pigeons in the park with a box. It didn't work, so he relented and bought 10 pigeons for $5 each, plucked their flight feathers and kept them in his house. On the weekends, he'd take them to a field so Henley could learn to chase them. Eventually it became second nature.

"Promise you won't judge me for that story," he says. "This is what people do."

Whatever franchise drafts him, Henley is coming with. She'll be his only roommate for at least a year. He and Melissa have decided they won't live together until they're married. "That's really important to both of us, and to both our families," he says. He doesn't want to leave behind some of the values that shaped him, but he knows the world is going to change him in ways he can't even comprehend yet. He understands there is much he's naive about, but what matters is learning from his mistakes. When he was training in Irvine, California, in the winter, Wentz sheepishly had to explain to Zarrabi one day that someone had broken into his rental car.

"I've learned," he says, "that you can't get away with leaving your wallet in the car like you can in North Dakota."

The Browns quizzed Wentz at his pro day. Will they take him at No. 2? Marcus Eriksson for ESPN
IT'S AN HOUR before his pro day, and Wentz is tugging on his beard again, standing in a hallway in the Fargodome. He and Lindley have scripted 65 throws he'll make in front of NFL scouts, and Wentz has been practicing, and visualizing, every last one of them for months. Ask him how he slept last night in anticipation of the workout and Wentz smiles but doesn't entirely answer. "Sleep is overrated," he says.

The day before, Cleveland's new coach, Hue Jackson, called Wentz to say he was stranded in Chicago because of the weather and might not make it. Wentz's anxiety intensified. "I'm not an idiot, I can make adjustments to my life," Wentz says. "But I like having a schedule."

In the end, Jackson made it and brought along Pep Hamilton, the Browns' associate head coach. They were the only NFL coaches there. Jackson and Hamilton asked Wentz to spend an hour with them before his workout, going over the plays they gave him weeks ago. Wentz thinks he impressed, but it's hard to be sure. Lindley warned him not to gush too much about how they did things at North Dakota State. You're not North Dakota's prodigal son anymore, he explained; you're a grown man someone is going to gamble $20 million on. "You don't want to get a reputation as a High School Harry," Lindley told Wentz. "That's a bad rap to have. You do that and you won't have a single friend in that locker room. You can be a Bison for life, but now you have to be your own guy."

Five minutes into the official throwing session, Wentz's arm strength and accuracy, especially when he's on the move, have scouts gawking in awe. The ball hums as it comes out of his hand and knifes through the air. He throws 45 passes before a single ball touches the ground. He shows touch on his deep throws and velocity on his passes to the sideline. One scout mentions how much he appreciates that Wentz didn't blare music during his workout the way Manziel did. It's a little thing, but it shows how serious Wentz is about treating this like a job interview.

As Wentz is wrapping up, Hamilton steps forward and asks whether anyone minds if he runs a few more plays with Wentz. He's holding a water bottle. Wentz knows what's coming. As he pretends to take the snap, Hamilton squirts water on the ball, drenching it completely. It comes out of Wentz's hands wobbling like a pheasant hit by shotgun pellets, skipping at the feet of his receiver. Nervous laughter fills the dome.

They line up again. Hamilton squirts water on the football, but this time Wentz gets a better grip on the throw, zipping it 15 yards down the field for an easy completion. He's starting to get a feel for this, his 10-inch hands digging into the ball. Another completion. On his final pass, Wentz throws one of his best of the day, hitting a receiver in the hands on the far sideline, drops of water spiraling off the ball and spraying everywhere. Hamilton nods as the small crowd in the stands applauds, then says he's seen enough.

Maybe it means nothing. Maybe they'll draft someone else instead. But as he's walking toward Jackson, both of them already eager to catch a plane, Hamilton can't resist catching Jackson's eye and offering his silent, one-word review: Wow.

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Phills14 said:

Words cannot describe how disappointed I will be if they screw around with this pick and not end up with Goff.

That being said, It was Wentz for a few weeks. MMQB had us going back to Goff yesterday and the prevailing thought was it was Goff for a day and a half. Now today we are trading down. Well played Browns, well played. Just don't F this up!

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godfather said:

Blame @AZ_ if that happens.

He might always be right about the QBs, but 100% of the time we don't pick the guy he really wants.

Weed Man, Johnny Manziel, Hackenberg?

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Randolphkeys said:

I have been quietly worried about a trade down since that atrocious first 48 hours of free agency. To have a team this full of holes, and then create four more holes without filling any slots... the Moneyball thing to do is trading down. In reality I do like the top 8 or 9 players in this draft.

Right now, the team lacks starting experience at nine key spots: two starting receivers, a starting H Back, two starting offensive linemen, a starting defensive end, someone to replace Armonty Bryant as a pass rush specialist, and two starting safeties. I'm not talking depth to develop this year... nine plug and play positions where at best the team has rostered a few intriguing young guys to push for playing time.

I don't prefer a trade down, but I could see it happening.

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JMcCurry08 said:

I'm not sure of this answer, but has trading down worked for anyone ever?

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