ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay talks QBs, RBs, Miami Hurricanes, Florida Gators
ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay held a media conference call today to discuss the prospects who will be taken April’s NFL Draft. Here is what I found interesting, broken down by position:
Quarterback
• If the Dolphins stick with the 15th pick, McShay believes it will be nearly impossible for them to have a crack at one of the top two quarterbacks, Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert (McShay ranks Gabbert above Newton (but both in the top 10), while Mel Kiper has Newton going third overall in his latest mock draft). “You have nine teams in the top 12 that have some varying degree of need at the quarterback position, and you have two quarterbacks that project as top-10 picks,”
McShay said. “Obviously, we’re going to see these quarterbacks come off the board pretty quickly.”
• McShay called Newton’s off-field issues “the biggest issue in the draft right now. … One GM I talked to recently said, ‘Our team is not in the quarterback hunt right now, but if we were I’d be in this kid’s hip pocket every day between now and the end of the draft.’”
McShay said the comparisons to Vince Young aren’t fair, as Young didn’t face much adversity until he reached the NFL. “Cam Newton has faced all sorts of adversity this year and handled himself beautifully,”
McShay said.
• But McShay said there is decent value to be had at quarterback in the second or third round “and not have that pressure of playing them right away”
with Jake Locker, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, Colin Kaepernick and possibly Ryan Mallett, who could maybe fall out of the first round.
Running Back
• Several mock drafts have the Dolphins taking Alabama running back Mark Ingram with the 15th pick, whom McShay considers the only legit first-round running back. “I think he’s going to be a very good back,”
McShay said. “He is so instinctive, the lateral quickness, and the yards after contact. … Everyone is comparing him to Emmitt Smith. Usually I try to find something different and unique, but I just think it’s a perfect comparison.”
But Ingram is not without his faults. “He has durability issues, he’s not going to run real well, he doesn’t have the ideal measurable,”
McShay said.
• After Ingram, McShay considers Mikel LeShoure and Ryan Williams as second-round backs, and after that “there’s a lot of running backs in the mid-round range. … It’s not a great running back group in terms of trying to find starters.”
But plenty of guys can help out situationally – as a third-down back or change-of-pace guy. “A lot of guys can be your third-down specialist and probably help in the return game,”
he said. “You kind of have to go through and figure out what you’re looking for.”
• Though the Dolphins need at least one running back, if not more, McShay said there will be plenty of third-round value picks at the position, including Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma State’s Kendall Hunter (“he runs so hard and is so much stronger than his frame would lead you to believe”
), Kentucky’s Derrick Locke, Oregon State’s Jaquizz Rodgers, Cal’s Shane Vereen, Syracuse’s Delone Carter and maybe West Virginia’s Noel Devine.
Miami Hurricanes
• McShay called defensive end Allen Bailey “obviously physically gifted”
but said Bailey still has much to prove in terms of work ethic and consistency on the field. “I think he can be a good player in the NFL, I just think it hasn’t all come together, and he has to be willing to work and pay the price to get there,”
McShay said. “And if he does, he could wind up being a steal in the second round.”
• McShay called receiver Leonard Hankerson “obviously one of the good stories coming out of the Senior Bowl,” and said he is “clearly” working hard to improve his route-running skills. McShay believes Hankerson will be a “good value” pick in rounds 2-3 and develop into a quality No. 2 receiver. “That’s where a lot of the quality depth in this wide receiver class is, in that second or third round,” McShay said.
• McShay said he was “disappointed” last year in left tackle Orlando Franklin, a graduate of Delray Beach-Atlantic High. “He struggled in space at left tackle,” McShay said. “I think he was playing the wrong position in college and got exposed against speed rushers.” But McShay believes Franklin, listed at 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds, “has a chance to become a really good player” if he is moved inside to guard, and expects him to go in the second or third round.
Florida Gators
• McShay said guard/center Mike Pouncey is not nearly as good as twin brother Maurkice Pouncey, a first-round pick last year for Pittsburgh. “His brother is just at a different level,” McShay said. But McShay believes Mike Pouncey still “is a good player” and “moves well” and expects him to be drafted early in the second round.
• McShay said 5-foot-8 safety Ahmad Black will benefit from this year being “not a great safety class,” and has him going somewhere in the third round as the seventh-best safety. “He’s small, but he plays hard, he’s always around the ball, he’s instinctive and you know he’s going to contribute on special teams and find a way to contribute on defense.”
• As for junior Will Hill, who left Florida after three disappointing seasons, McShay has him ranked as the 16th-best safety and expects him to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round. “He has the better size/speed combination (than Black) and looks the part, but not as instinctive and not as athletic,” McShay said.
