NFL Draft 2013: The Vernon and Renfree watch

[tommy]

Has there ever been an NFL draft in the modern era that is less interesting than this one? All the radio and TV talking heads are trying to create buzz around it of course, but really. Who are most of these guys that are being projected to go early? A lot of offensive tackles and inside linebackers, really. The only guys with any kind of real national recognizability are Manti Teo (whose Q rating is where it is primarily because of off the field stuff) and maybe Matt Barkley, who isn't even likely to go in the first round. Oh, and the Honey Badger, who didn't even play football last year. Certainly there are no Andrew Lucks, RG III's, Adrian Petersons, or anything like them. Is anyone going to tune in to watch this thing??

[BD80]

I am amused that some are calling it the worst draft in 15 or more years ...

and the 49ers have 13 picks!


Kinda strange that the NBA and NFL drafts are considered "bad" in terms of talent in the same year (with NFL requiring 3 yrs after high school and the NBA just 1)

[sporthenry]

I don't think the draft is that bad. No top end talent and not a ton of skill players but a ton of linemen on both sides of the ball and OLB in the hybrid Matthews form are on the board. Not a huge drop between 5-15 but that doesn't mean that talent isn't there. Sure, no franchise QB's but I'd love to have a few first rounders this year to stockpile on these players.

As an Eagles fan, love for them to trade down, draft BPA and then trade back and take one of the safeties (Vaccaro or Elam). Nobody is going to get excited for a tackle but that position has become one of the most important positions in the game.

[brevity]

This would be a good draft if fans were encouraged to look inside the game of football the way we do with baseball and basketball. Unfortunately, the only statistics that matter in football are fantasy statistics, which are seemingly limited to the glamour offensive positions. ESPN and the other broadcasters of NFL games have primarily served to feed that beast.

So we have the 2013 NFL Draft, where the first round will have, at best, up to two quarterbacks and up to one running back. (Maybe two wide receivers, and I'd have to look them up.) ESPN, clearly unprepared for this, is scrambling to make Luke Joeckel a star-by-extension for protecting Johnny Manziel, upping the Manti Te'o talk, and trying in vain to push EJ Manuel, Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib into the first round. (Manuel was invited (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000158953/article/geno-smith-ej-manuel-among-2013-nfl-draft-attendees) to the green room.)

The NFL is more popular than ever. The Blind Side made a lot of money. ESPN and others should have used that goodwill to educate their fans that football is not about the famous guy that throws the ball (is he elite yet?) and more about the not-so-famous guys that determine the existence of that throw and its success. Now they're paying... dearly. Watch the NFL Draft tonight to see how much the commentators who aren't Kiper or McShay squirm. If they can't talk about their beloved QBs... what else is there?

I wonder if the more knowledgeable NFL fans feel about casual/fantasy fans the way traditional golf fans feel about Tiger fans.

[Mal]

This would be a good draft if fans were encouraged to look inside the game of football the way we do with baseball and basketball. Unfortunately, the only statistics that matter in football are fantasy statistics, which are seemingly limited to the glamour offensive positions. ESPN and the other broadcasters of NFL games have primarily served to feed that beast.

Not sure I completely agree, although I do agree that ESPN and the rest of the sports media industrial complex is sleeping in a bed they made for themselves on this, and there's some schadenfreude associated with a "weak" draft that isn't easily hype-able. To me, though, it's not because fans are overly shallow about the game these days, and ESPN made them that way. My personal experience has, in fact, been the opposite. I think the infinite nature of media coverage, and the presence of guys like Jaws and Gruden, has actually increased the average fans' understanding of and appreciation for line play, defensive schemes, and the like. I don't recall many people other than serious diehards talking about 4-3 vs. 3-4 and Cover 2 and all that jazz 15 years ago, but it's ubiquitous now. I realize QB's get more attention than everyone else, but given the rules changes and evolution of offense over the last 20 years, this is more than justified (and it's not like this is a recent phenomenon - Dan Marino and John Elway got a heck of a lot more attention than their left tackles, too). Passing is king, and you have to go back close to 15 years now to find a Super Bowl winning team without an elite QB. Ray Rice just became the first top 5 running back to win a Super Bowl since, I don't know, Marshall Faulk? Who, of course, had Kurt Warner. And Terrell Davis before him had John Elway. And Emmitt Smith before him had Troy Aikman. In fact, who is the last great RB to carry a team to a ring without a complimentary great QB? Anyway, teams are built around quarterbacks and pass catchers now - so it doesn't surprise me that the QB's get all the attention.

To a degree, even fantasy football has led to some deep knowledge that otherwise wouldn't trickle down to fans: guys in my league justify lineup changes for their fantasy squads based on things like opposing defense's yards per rush attempt stats, injuries to offensive lineman, and the caliber of the cornerbacks facing their wide receivers. Maybe that's the exception to the rule, but my understanding of the game at large has been increased, not infantilized, by fantasy football.

Anyway, I enjoy ESPN and others fretting about the draft and its potential ratings bust this year, not because I think they've trained fans to not care about non-skill players. I enjoy them fretting about it because the entire concept of the NFL draft as an event is so incredibly contrived. It's the DRAFT! I realize some people like to watch it. But, again, it's the draft. I would conjecture that 90%+ of the audience watching the draft is watching for one reason and one reason only: to see who their team picks. That is unlikely to change just because there's not a couple QB's anticipated to go in the first 5. I've consciously avoided paying any attention to it for years (I don't think this thread counts, does it? ;)) because I resent the way ESPN shoves it down my throat, telling me I should care so much about who the Cleveland Browns pick that I just can't even wait to check the paper the next day. The fact that Mel Kiper has a full time job as a "draft analyst" is ABSURD. //rant//

[hurleyfor3]

Tiger Woods isn't in it, so who cares.

[moonpie23]

can't wait to see the panthers make their picks

[duke74]

can't wait to see the panthers make their picks

If it were my Jets, it would be aimed at the head. And he'd miss!

[duke74]

Tweet from Gang Green Nation:

Gang Green Nation ‏@GangGreenNation

G. Smith, Z. Dysert, and S. Renfree are the only three QBs I'd be interested in.

[Bob Green]

Is anyone going to tune in to watch this thing??

Come Saturday I will be tuned in watching for Conner Vernon and Sean Renfree to be selected. Rounds 4-7 are going to be very interesting.

[JasonEvans]

Where does Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu go, that is what I want to know. No one was willing to risk a first rounder on a guy with a substance abuse problem who was clearly a focus/discipline issue. Supposedly he blew off meetings with the Seahawks and Texans in recent days, which has everyone concerned about whether he can be controlled. In truth, it would probably do him some good to be drafted in the 4th round or so and feel like he needs to refocus and prove himself. Plus, a smaller signing bonus may give him less opportunity to get himself in trouble ;)

-Jason "I felt sorry for Geno Smith last night - expecting to go in the top ten and then leaving early because he knew he would not go in the first round" Evans

[Olympic Fan]

Good first round for the ACC -- six players drafted, including the only QB. Only the SEC has more players taken.

But that's normal -- over the last 10 years, the ACC is second only to the SEC in players drafted and first round picks. And the ACC is a lot closer to the SEC than to the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12.

That's the oddity. If you go by the draft and the NFL pro bowl teams, the ACC talent is second only to the SEC -- and it's a close second.

But, of course, on the field over the last decade, the ACC has clearly been the fifth best conference -- and closer to the No. 6 Big East than to the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12.

Why the disconnect between ACC talent and ACC performance?

PS I definitely will be watching the middle/late rounds to see where Vernon and Renfree go. Cut has had a couple of Duke players make the pros -- Thad Lewis and Matt Daniels, for instance, but they've done it as free agents. I think Shawn Johnson in 2004 was the last Duke player drafted.

[Reilly]

...
Why the disconnect between ACC talent and ACC performance? ...

Same question, but maybe providing the answer:

Why the disconnect between [Clemson] talent and [Clemson] performance?

[CDu]

Same question, but maybe providing the answer:

Why the disconnect between [Clemson] talent and [Clemson] performance?

You can add FSU to that list too.

[BD80]

My Lions could pull off a rare daily double, first two rounds, two days, two picks, EACH with a TOTAL of two years of football experience. In first round drafted DE Ziggy Ansah from Ghanda who fancied himself a basketball player until his junior year and didn't start a game until his senior year; didn't even know how to put pads on two years ago. Now the Lions could draft OT Menelik Watson of FSU in the second round, another basketball player who never played football before August 2011.

The Lions must think highly of their ability to "coach em up"

GGGOOOOOOO LIONS!

[sporthenry]

Where does Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu go, that is what I want to know. No one was willing to risk a first rounder on a guy with a substance abuse problem who was clearly a focus/discipline issue. Supposedly he blew off meetings with the Seahawks and Texans in recent days, which has everyone concerned about whether he can be controlled. In truth, it would probably do him some good to be drafted in the 4th round or so and feel like he needs to refocus and prove himself. Plus, a smaller signing bonus may give him less opportunity to get himself in trouble ;)

I don't get the love with Mathieu. Even before all the off field stuff, I'm not sure he was a first rounder. He was never regarded as a top cover corner. Sure he is a play-making beast but LSU did all they could to hide him and a lot of his numbers were b/c teams were more afraid of Claiborne (granted Claiborne is pretty good) and speculation was that Simon would become the #1 even if Mathieu stayed. I actually think his falling saved a few teams from themselves. As a 4th rounder or later, he can be a special teams player first and foremost and they can ease him into a corner role where they can selectively put him out there and let him ball hawk or blitz. I think dropping is a blessing in disguise for guys like this especially since it increase the odds of him going to a good franchise.

[Bob Green]

Where does Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu go, that is what I want to know.

Round 3, pick 7 to the Arizona Cardinals.

[sporthenry]

Round 3, pick 7 to the Arizona Cardinals.

And that is why the Cardinals are the Cardinals. Amazing how some teams continue to do the same things. I guess they might move Patterson away from a returning role to save him but he and Peterson have a ton of overlapping skills and he just would have been more valuable to another team.

[JasonEvans]

Really fun article on Yahoo (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--former-trojans-leading-men-matt-barkley--mark-sanchez-in-midst-of-horror-flicks-071257822.html) about...

A) Matt Barkley, the presumed top 5 pick a year ago who is still undrafted as we enter day three
B) Mark Sanchez, the Jets former wonderboy who now faces a whole bunch of challengers to his job, including Jets second round draft pick Geno Smith
and C) The woefully Jets, who seem utterly clueless about what to do at the QB position, which is merely the most important job on the field.

My favorite lines are:


As of today, there are a half-dozen quarterbacks on the Jets' roster: Sanchez, Smith, Tebow, former Jacksonville Jaguars starter David Garrard, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms. Though Tebow is presumed to be serving out a pit stop on the road to Canada — or to football oblivion, or to the Florida Governor's mansion, or to unmatched televangelist superstardom — newly hired Jets general manager John Idzik is still holding onto this mismatched six-pack.

Quick, someone call Donald Trump and turn this into a "Celebrity Apprentice" offshoot. I'm especially looking forward to the episode in which The Donald tells Tebow "You're fired" — and is immediately besieged by a swarm of locusts.

-Jason "the Jets as a reality show... someone make this happen! Wait, it already did ;)" Evans

[Olympic Fan]

As the front page noted, neither Vernon nor Renfree has been drafted yet. But that's no surprise, I saw no projection that had either Duke star in the top three rounds.

But their time is coming up. The most optimistic projection I saw had Vernon in the fourth round ... Renfree is more of a wild card -- all QBs are -- but I've watched a lot of draft coverage the last two days and they've talked about Renfree several times -- he's the No. 6 QB left on Me Kiper's board, but apparently several teams think he's the best prospect among the lower-rated QBs (although whether that includes Barkley and Nassib, who were pojcted as 1-2 round picks, I don't know) Kiper has him as the No. 153 overall pick, which would be midway through the fifth round..

Anyway, here's hoping we see them soon.

[Olympic Fan]

The run on quarterbacks started early today -- Barkley, Nassib and Landry Jones will went in the top 18 of the third round ... that's good news for Renfree.

[Bob Green]

The first four rounds are complete (133 total picks) with 15 wide receivers and seven quarterbacks selected. Four of the seven QBs were taken in the fourth round. On to Round 5, where we are getting into the area Vernon and Renfree should be selected. I've got my fingers crossed...good luck guys!

[Bob Green]

Round Five has come and gone with Vernon and Renfree still available. There were three wide receivers selected bringing the total through five rounds to 18. Zero quarterbacks were selected so the total stays at seven.

On to Round Six!

[Bob Green]

No quarterbacks taken for the second straight round, but six more wide receivers were selected in Round Six bringing the total to 24. On to Round Seven, it is now or never...

[Blue in the Face]

Hotlanta for Renfree. Good luck to him.

[Bob Green]

Twenty nine wide receivers drafted and Conner Vernon wasn't one of them. I'm definitely disappointed and guessing Vernon's 40 time at the Combine did him in. Oh well, now he has to go the free agent route.

[duke74]

Twenty nine wide receivers drafted and Conner Vernon wasn't one of them. I'm definitely disappointed and guessing Vernon's 40 time at the Combine did him in. Oh well, now he has to go the free agent route.

Although I can imagine the disappointment, sometimes being an UFA rather than a late 7th rounder is actually beneficial to the player. He now can hopefully select a team where his game fits in and have a better chance of sticking.

The ESPN team also went on and on about Sean...very complimentary.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Twenty nine wide receivers drafted and Conner Vernon wasn't one of them. I'm definitely disappointed and guessing Vernon's 40 time at the Combine did him in. Oh well, now he has to go the free agent route.

The Manning brothers could see his worth. Maybe too much razzle dazzle in the draft distracted decision makers. Conner is quiet and works hard, doesn't draw attention to himself with off the field problems. Some team's going to get a hidden gem!;)

[BD80]

Welcome to San Diego Teo!

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