I always get ramped up for the nfl draft. Read a mock the other day on some site that had my raiders going qb in round 1 at pick17. If the raiders do decide that neither carr or mariota is their guy, it’s going to be for a clear upgrade like watson or Wilson, not the 5th best qb to start from scratch. I think it’s clear as day they need to focus on defense, particularly the interior of the defensive line.
At 17 i see no QB who would be an improvement over Carr.Edge/CB or DT would be my guess.
Safety
Tier 1
Trevon Moehrig (TCU)-Played both FS and SS.Is constantly around the Ball.Has great instincts and understanding of coverages.Can get overaggressive and miss Tackles sometimes.Isn’t gonna be the fastest Safety.
Richie Grant (UCF)-Instinctive and rangy Safety who could theoretically play in the Box but i like him more deep.Knows where the Ball is going and makes plays on it.Decent Tackler who can find the Ball carrier.Has decent Athleticism.
Ar’Darius Washington (TCU)-My favourite Safety in this class.Small as it gets but plays much bigger and isn’t afraid to tackle.Recognizes plays and is very instinctive.Not quite as fast as one would expect from a 180lbs guy.
Tier 2
Jamar Johnson (Indiana)-Rangy FS who was a really good Blitzer.Has really good Instincts and anticipation and makes plays on the Ball in Zone coverage.A shoulder Tackler which led to some missed Tackles.Doesn’t have Top End Speed.
Richard LeCounte (Georgia)-Rangy FS who made a lot of plays in the Box.He’s agile with good closing Speed and gets to the Ball quick.Missed a lot of Tackles.
Hamsah Nasirildeen (Florida State)-Played pretty much every DB position.Big in size.Good coverage ability against TEs and RBs, limited against quick WRs.One of the best Tacklers in this class.Clearly likes hitting people.Projects as a Jeremy Chinn type but his ability to recognize plays is better than Chinn’s coming out of college.
Tier 3
Tyree Gillespie (Missouri)-Almost exclusively played Deep Free Safety.Was rarely involved in plays, which makes it a difficult evaluation.Looked fast and rangy.Comes up to Tackle and tackles well.Hits hard. in the games i watched he was rarely targeted in coverage.Could also play Strong Safety.
Divine Deablo (Virginia Tech)-Played all Safety positions as well as Nickel LB.Safety/LB Hybrid is probably his best Option as he doesn’t have the Top end speed for Deep Safety..Can cover most TEs & RBs in the slot and deep.Tackling looks good.Has some freelancing in him one of those plays ended with him intercepting Trevor Lawrence in the endzone.
Jamien Sherwood (Auburn)-Big Ass Safety.Did most of his work in the Box.Really smart Pre Snap as he had total command of their Defense.Usually made the right reads.A really good Tackler.Did have Problems shedding bigger Blockers (Linemen,Big TEs).Isn’t fluid enough to play at the last Level.Would benefit a lot to become a full time WILL LB.
Marc Webb (Georgia)-Safety who mostly did work in the slot.Looked good covering guys in the slot even WRs.Was used as a Blitzer.Tackles really well.Could work as a Box Safety too.
Andre Cisco (Syracuse)-The most Boom-or-Bust Safety in this class.Had a ridiculous amount of Interceptions but also a big amount of whiffed Tackles and Busted coverages.An unapologetic Ballhawk.Speed looks good not great.
Darrick Forrest (Cincinnati)-Played mostly FS with occasional snaps in the slot and a few at SS.Great athletic Profile.Has plenty of Range to play FS.A decent but not particularly willing Tackler.Had some mistakes in coverage that led to TDs.
Jevon Holland (Oregon)-Mostly did work covering the flat as a Nickel CB or the slot..Could play Strong Safety but his Tackling isn’t that consistent.Lacks the speed to play Free Safety.
Tier 4
Shawn Davis (Florida)-Played FS in college.Not the most rangy guy.Loves to hit people.Run Defense looked solid.Not the most rangy Safety which is why i would consider a move to SS.
James Wiggins (Cincinnati)-Mostly played in the slot,could play Strong Safety in the NFL if he improves vs. the run.A good Tackler who can cover the Slot.
Brady Breeze (Oregon)-Played mostly at FS.Looked pretty good in Zone coverage.Tracks the Ball well.Loved to come down and hit Ball carriers, always good for an unnecessary roughness penalty.A fairly average Athlete which could limit him to playing Strong Safety.
Paris Ford (Pittsburgh)-Should project to FS.Has improved a lot in coverage.Gets too greedy for the Ball sometimes.
Joshuah Bledsoe (Missouri)-Had to play deep plenty of times.Just doesn’t have the speed and instinct to play FS in the NFL.He’s a good tackler and did decent work in the slot .Needs to play close to the LOS in the NFL.
Talanoa Hufanga (USC)-Big Box Safety.Did pretty well as a Blitzer.Missed a surprising amount of Tackles.Has very limited coverage ability reserved for some slower TEs.
Tier 5
Tre Norwood (Oklahoma)-Switched from CB to Free Safety with occasional snaps at Nickel CB.Does a good job at getting into passing lanes which led to deflections and interceptions.Has the right instincts and quick reaction time.Constantly let guys slip out of his arm tackles.Doesn’t have any great athleticism to him.
Damar Hamlin (Pittsburgh)-Played all Safety and Slot DB positions.Very experienced with good coverage instincts.Lacks physical strength, struggled with Tackling.Isn’t rangy enough to play FS or physical enough to play SS.Probably has the best Chances to succeed as a Slot CB.
Marcus Murphy (Mississippi State)-FS who showed some decent Man Coverage skills.A fairly average Athlete and an average-at-best Tackler.
JaCoby Stevens (LSU)-Strong Safety.Doesn’t have the speed to play Deep despite good Pro Day numbers.Needs to work on his run defense.
Tier 6
Caden Sterns (Texas).Played mostly FS with occasionally covering the flats.Has good Size.Not as fast as i hoped and definitely not as fluid.Made plenty of mistakes in coverage.Not that hot of a Tackler either.
Chris Brown (Texas)-Lighter FS/Slot CB.Has all the athletic Tools to succeed.Really struggles at recognizing plays.Reacted slowly on a lot of plays.Was a really bad Tackler.
Donovan Stiner (Florida)-Played SS.Was a pure cleanup Tackler.Constantly recognized plays too late.Has no coverage skills.Wasn’t even much of a Tackler.The worst Safety in this class.
Tariq Thompson (San Diego State)-Played mostly in the slot.Has good size and can lay the wood.Looks slow and unathletic with no change-of-direction skills.Would really struggle to cover more than shallow routes.Even as a pure Box Safety his lack of athleticism is likely a no-go.