Talking with a draft guy today, at times, Ego has graded out higher than Freak this year. OBJ and Landry had both graded very high. Hill also grades out well. It's a weak draft at many positions this year. One of the deeper at the QB position.
I also think they are. They probably shouldn't be because they've been lackluster this year. On the other hand, we won't really miss them. Or for the scarier thought, will we?
Whoever replaces them can't be any worse, right? I say that with much trepidation, though, as we must have improvement on the DL next year.
I was sitting with a draft guy Saturday night and he felt both would be dumb to come out but figured they would since even coming off bad years they'll both be gone by the end of the 4th round. The fact that there's not a huge difference in 2nd round and 4th round money just motivates these guys to move on sooner. The belief is still that Freak has top-10 potential, but it won't happen this year. The money difference for him is much more significant than Ego, who probably won't play up to any higher than the 2nd round even with an extra year. Freak's issue is that if he stays and doesn't improve, that kills any talk of potential because he'll be viewed as someone who's hit their ceiling, so an extra year could actually hurt his draft stock. He said if he was advising them, he'd advise both of them to stay because they're not ready. His feeling is that the only guys who should even be considering early entry are Hill, Landry, Beckham, and Collins in that order. They should all be 2nd rounders at worst. Landry and Beckham both help themselves immensely by also being extremely valuable special teams players. Not only are they two of the better receivers period, but they're also two of the best special teams players. Collins getting knocked on his ass Saturday night is a very infrequent occurrence. He's every bit as good as the top guys like Matthews, Lewan, and Kuondijo but he'll get drafted lower. An extra year will probably make him THE top LT prospect next year. Hill still grades as a top two to three RB prospect. He could go now and get mid-low 1st round money or wait until next year and be a part of a potentially historic RB class with Gurley and Yeldon...and still be a mid-low 1st rounder. I think he goes now. If Les feeds him for these last three games instead of giving him 12 carries he'll get his 1000 yards and march into the top 15 picks after he blows up the combine. And he will blow up the combine. 6'2, 235, 4.4 is hard to come by...until next year when Gurley and Yeldon come in about the same.
Whitworth was one of the better to play the OT position at LSU, he went in the second round, played OG before moving out to OT. OT is a tough position to play in the NFL, real tough.
I used to say when SOME guys leave early even though they aren't ready it was a sign that they couldn't improve by staying (i.e. Rueben Randle). Now, I realize it's probably more a factor of that player possibly peaking too early...and knowing it. I realize Rueben has improved in the NFL thus far, but look at a guy like Big Sam. You're telling me he couldn't use this extra year? Where has leaving early gotten him? Freak and Ego need to stay put. I don't know if that's really a good thing for us considering their performance this year, but one would think they HAVE to get better next year. There's no way Brick Haley fell off that bad. I believe it's the players, not the system.
Agree 99, the NFL is an Equal Opportunity Employer, everyone gets the same chance. The Giants thought they got a steal with RR, an it looks like they were right. The thing is, it only takes one team to like a player.
If they are that high they are gone. I believe it will be a bad draft choice by which ever team takes them.
