Photo by Jeff Risdon
Jeff Risdon
I’ve been at every minute of the first three days of practices here in St. Petersburg, watching as many of the players in as much detail as possible. Here are 10 of the things I have taken away so far…
1. The East secondary has some real talent. At various points this week I’ve been impressed by everyone from Navy safety Parrish Gaines to Western Kentucky CB Cam Thomas to Florida Atlantic safety Damain Parms.
What stands out is that it’s fairly easy to identify real NFL roles each guy can fill. Parms is a centerfield cover safety like Dashon Goldson. James Madison safety Dean Marlowe is a short-range downhill attack safety a la James Ihedigbo. Texas State CB Craig Mager is an off-man outside corner, esp. if he adds another 5-10 pounds. Georgia CB Damian Swann is a boundary corner for a team looking for playmakers.
None are high-end but I can see how every defensive back on the East other than stiff Virginia Tech safety Detrick Bonner can stick on a NFL roster. That’s a pretty impressive group for the Shrine Game.
2. FCS running backs rule the West. North Dakota State’s John Crockett and South Dakota State’s Zach Zenner are very different backs and personalities, but both hail from the upper Midwest and have legit NFL ability.
Crockett is the life and mouthpiece of the practice party. His effervescent persona and relentless positivity is very well-received by everyone from teammates to NFL decision-makers standing on the sidelines. It helps that he’s performed well in drills. While not a speedster, he’s proven fast enough to get through the hole and make moves coming out the other side. I’ve been impressed with how he presses the edge and then breaks off the blocks. He was also solid in pass protection drills.
Zenner is fairly reserved and more of an inside-out runner. He’s got nifty feet in tight quarters, able to turn himself and dodge hits in the box. Zenner runs with good pad level and seems to always find every inch he can possibly gain. On Wednesday he took a stretch run and really turned the corner nicely, quickly getting his shoulders and hips squared upfield and bursting forward. On the field he has some early Ray Rice to his game. He was the best back on either team in passing drills.
3. It’s a bad year to need developmental quarterbacks. Normally the Shrine Game features lesser-known QBs with developmental upside. Jimmy Garoppolo, Scott Tolzein. John Skelton and Matt Scott are recent examples, guys who flashed real NFL potential to some degree but needed work. This year there is one draftable QB here, Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke, and his ceiling is probably about where Tolzein’s is as a career backup. To be fair, both Duke’s Anthony Boone and Arizona State’s Taylor Kelly have improved as the week progressed, but they still need to show more to survive their first training camps as UDFAs.
4. Devin Gardner just might be a NFL talent after all…just not at quarterback. He’s making the transition to wide receiver with the East team, and he’s getting better every day. The intricacies of the position, things like getting his head and shoulders around to the pass or short-stepping his inside cut to make it tighter, are missing. His hands are unreliable but capable of improving with more reps. Gardner is a great athlete and conscientious worker and has handled his fall from grace as a QB with self-aware maturity. He’s not going to be ready for the NFL in 2015, but teams could do a lot worse with a 6th round pick than taking Gardner and stashing him on the practice squad for a year to let him develop.
5. One of the things that has been reinforced quite a bit this year from the scouts in attendance is how closely they are looking at the intangible aspects. When a player fails at something, they like to see him go to the coach or take the coach yelling at him positively. Learning from mistakes and accepting responsibility for them is huge.
There are contrasting examples on the East team. Central Michigan DT Leterrius Walton is a big puppy, full of energy and boundless potential but often can’t get out of his own way and sorely lacks technical refinement. Yet after every rep he goes to the coaches or even his teammates (Kentucky’s Za’Darius Smith in particular) to query what he did wrong or how he can make it better. I talked with an AFC East scout who interviewed him and he found Walton to be candid about his shortcomings but very willing to learn and get better.
Then there’s Michigan State WR Keith Mumphery. He’s flashed legit NFL skills as a slot guy, shiftiness off the line and quick, strong hands. Yet whenever anything doesn’t go his way, he’s always pointing a finger. The corner held me. I needed that throw outside, not to the defensive help. I had him earlier but the throw was late. While those excuses may be true, nobody wants to hear them. More than one scout has expressed disgust with his act. Shut up and play!
6. All three centers on the West squad are legit NFL talents. Toledo’s Greg Mancz will almost certainly be the Shrine Game player who earns the highest draft grade from me by April, an incredibly agile tactician with experience playing all over the line. He’s not a power guy but if you like a pivot who can pull around the tackle or take out the backside linebacker on a screen, Mancz is the best in this entire class.
Brandon Vitabile from Northwestern is sort of the opposite. He’s not all that athletic and looks sloppy with his ill-fitting jersey and untoned arms. He’s not real quick and steps in the bucket too deep on his anchor. Yet Vitabile is the epitome of function over form. He’s a fantastic recovery blocker, able to regain the upper hand if he gets beaten initially. Nobody tries harder, and there is just enough strength and plenty of smarts to make it work. His odd style catches defenders by surprise. That can’t last forever, but if he gets some technical work–notably with his feet in pass protection–he’s worth a roster spot as a backup interior lineman.
Finally, Kansas State’s B.J. Finney has a lot of impressive game tape that is being reinforced here. I have a 5th-round grade on him that might tick up a hair, depending on his agility drills and strength score at the Combine. He’s the most complete of the centers here and looks very good in team drills.
7. Louisville has five guys on the East roster, and thus far only the least-familiar has really done much of anything. That would be OL John Miller, who has had solid reps at both RG and RT. He’s got good power in his shoulders and consistently get his hands and feet where they need to be.
The other Cardinals? Meh. Edge player B.J. Dubose has had some moments and has nice length, but he’s a reactive player without great athleticism. RB Dominique Brown is okay but lacks any real defining trait, which is a problem heading into a league which is becoming increasingly specialized at that position by the day. Outside LB Deiontrez Mount is very tight in the hips and is neither a pass rusher nor a cover backer, which makes it very hard to find him a viable NFL role. Then there’s offensive tackle Jamon Brown. It’s not been pretty for Mr. Brown, I’ll leave it at that.
8. Every year the Shrine Game invites a couple of Canadian collegians. This year’s Canucks are Western University DT Darryl Waud and Regina WR Addison Richards.
Waud has impressed those in attendance with his length, strength and pad level. He reaches too much and doesn’t have refined hand usage, but he’s got intriguing tools and has more wins than losses this week. One 3-4 scheme team really likes his potential as a 5-technique and I see that too. He could be as high as a late fifth-round pick.
Richards had my immediate interest as a 6’5” receiver. Alas, there just isn’t much else to get excited about. He’s a slender 210 pounds and doesn’t have much twitchiness or power. He’s fought catching the ball cleanly all week, and beating press coverage is an absolute mystery to Richards. Good luck in the CFL, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
9. The players who have impressed me the most that aren’t mentioned above, in terms of NFL potential?
Michigan State LB Taiwan Jones, ideal 3-4 ILB
UT-Chattanooga DT Derek Lott
Colorado CB Greg Henderson
Memphis safety Fritz Etienne
Memphis DE Martin Ifedi
USC CB Josh Shaw
TCU safety Sam Carter, great field general
Northern Iowa DT Xavier Williams
Kentucky OT Darrian Miller, a guard in the NFL
Kentucky DE Za’Darius Smith
LSU RB Terrence Magee
USF WR Andre Davis
Oklahoma G Adam Shead
10. Many have complained about it, as have I on Twitter and in my pieces at RealGM this week, but it’s impossible to understate how terrible Mike Singletary’s practices are run on the East team. It isn’t just those of us who clamor for offense vs. defense like junkies seeking an overdue hit. The NFL coaches and scouts in attendance are angrily shaking their bemused heads at the astonishing lack of organization, pace and purpose to Iron Mike’s practices. Singletary wanders around the field like a guy looking for his keys on a cluttered countertop. If he was hoping to use this as a springboard back to another head coaching gig, he’s failed miserably.
