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NFL Musings and Observations (Draft Guy)

It's now time for the Draft as the NFL has cornered the sports world amidst concerns of the COVID-19 concerns and it will be the only sports in town when it hits. This draft I believe will have record setting viewership because it will be the first original TV in awhile. With the NFL having this monopoly on sports the "Draft Guy" will be in their element. You know Draft Guy, a person who will make a proclamation that isn't backed up by any film or logic. A true Draft Guy will make false arguments while insulting to diminish any critic of their metrics while not really showing how they came to believe someone is better then the next.

The classic is of course Mel Kiper Jr. who famously has NEVER built an NFL Roster and to my knowledge has never been offered a GM job to build said NFL but he KNOWS who would be best (Cough Jimmy Clausen Cough) for each and every team. But everyone has their own variation of Draft Guy and now this person has extended to Blogs and Vlogs so it is up to me to lay out some rules to avoid being Draft Guy.

1.) Never go over the top: Kiper talking about Clausen, Colin Cowherd saying he's ok with Josh Rosen having his attitude issues because he reminds him of Aaron Rogers. Note that is screwed up logic because Rogers didn't have his attitude if you want to call it that until he won and won significant games. But understand that no one knows what will happen in the future so don't go over the top on rhetoric.

2.) Both old school and new school is needed: If a person says they don't believe in analytics they're probably not going to be successful. If all they say is they only need analytics they probably won't be successful. This is why Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville failed as he didn't change with the growing times and Cleveland (One of the reasons Cleveland has failed) is they just went analytics. A healthy balance is needed.

3.) Insulting someone probably means your evidence isn't that strong: When does someone know they have won an argument is when insults start flying (Dinosaur) but it is a huge part of Draft Guy to throw out insults as people start to make solid arguments.

4.) If the first thing out of someone's mouth is "Intangibles": I don't CARE f someone has those "Intangibles" if they don't have the other things I want such as physical talent. Tim Tebow had a ton of those "intangibles" but also had one of the slowest deliveries I have ever seen from a QB.

5.) Part of the fun is having disagreements: As I said earlier no one really knows what is going to happen. NO one thought Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen out of 2018 would be kind of the more successful QBs so far from the 2018 class. So we want everyone to have a chance to speak and have point/counterpoint.

So what am I looking at in the up-coming NFL Draft: I think we have to speak of the elephant in the house and that's COVID-19. The league will have to wrestle with quite a few different aspects of the situation to have success in the league.

1.) Tua Tagovailoa will control the draft. I know the hype injury is going to make teams nervous. I know that with COVID-19 teams may not have their own doctors look Tua over however I believe that he will be taken and taken early. I have to believe that the Redskins have got to be looking for a nice package to trade back because the have so much many holes that Chase Young by himself won't be able to fix. Is the Dark Horse the Lions? Once Tua goes the Draft will then start flowing better.

2.) Red-Flag issues will force players to drop. Because of limited player access because of COVID-19 teams if they see any maturity issues may just avoid them. Why? Because no one is going to give the GM or HC a free pass this year if they bottom out they will be fired just the same. So I believe any maturity issues and the player will be pushed down the draft board because it isn't worth the risk.

3.) The Dolphins have got hit this Draft out of the Park or they set the team back 5-7 years. The pressure on Miami is going to be immense as they traded away key young player for draft picks. If they botch this draft they will be out a starting LT, safety, as well as first round pick from 2015 and 2018 as those were the Tunsil and Fitzpatrick picks. '

4.) Jordan Love will be a trade up target for the Patriots or Saints. I believe that these two teams know they need to get younger at the QB position. Love has a ton of potential and some people talk about him like Mahomes but Mahomes is a special case.

5.) After the Top Three Wide Receivers are drafted teams will draft for traits: Here's the thing after I look and see Juedy and Lamb I see a small drop off to Ruggs. Ruggs I like and he's just a shade below those two and then after Ruggs I see teams looking looking for specific traits. Justin Jefferson plays good in the slot, Reagor is a speedster, Mims is talented but a Baylor Wide Receiver doesn't come with a ton of good reputations. Tee Higgins is a jump ball artist in the mold of Plaxico Burress. I believe after the top three are gone teams are going to go with what they need. An example is Philly needs speed for Tee Higgins won't be any of their picks.

6.) The Jets will manage to screw up their pick. How do I know this? They're the Jets. However in all seriousness the Jets have a young QB with Sam Darnold and they need to upgrade LT or WR. Either one will work but to me I'm fascinated by what do they pick. A stud WR helps a QB get the ball out of their hand faster however a stud LT keeps the QB up right. The Jets simply need a strong draft because if they bottom out the Jets will move on from Adam Gase (He's still sending thank you cards to Peyton Manning for letting him pour his creamer into his coffee and that got him two NFL Head coaching jobs) and Sam Darnold (USC QBs do not have a good track record) will be on 3 head coaches in 4 years.

7.) When you look at Sean McDermott you can say that he's a head coach. You may not always agree with everything he has done, but he looks the part. Now, compare that to Matt Patricia or Freddie Kitchens. If you're wondering why some franchises are losing look at who they hire. This includes the Bills with their slew of bad coaching hires.

8.) The Bills I believe will take a look at Clowney and if they could get him for a three year deal I think they may go for it. The thing of it is that Clowney has already lowered his amount and if it dropped a little more I could see the Bills saying let's make a deal for three years and then going from there. Obviously cut Trent Murphy.

Well here is some NFL Musing and Observations but please remember, don't be a Draft Guy! Take Care and be Safe!

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.