NFL News and Notes: Are Robert Woods and Barkley Top 10 Picks in 2013
Over at with the first pick I took a look at whether or not Robert Woods and Matt Barkley are destined to be top ten picks in 2013
Read any number of 2013 NFL Mock drafts and in most Robert Woods and Matt Barkley at top 10 picks and with good reason. Both players are terrific College Football players who play at a higher level than everyone else around them. But the truth of the matter is, neither player “pops” the way their contemporaries have. Neither player possesses terrific NFL size with exceptional measruables–and with them being in the conversation for top 10 picks all season they might be the next victims of paralysis-by-over-analysis.
“I was as impressed with him as any player I’ve been around,” Savage said. “It was obvious the moment Trent got to Tuscaloosa (Ala.), he was a program-changer.
“He is a complete football player. He has the proper size for a running back, big-time speed, catches the ball well. He has great demeanor, the right frame of mind. He never complained about playing behind Mark Ingram.”
“He could have done what he did (in 2011) the previous two years,” Savage said. “The kid’s fumbled one time in over 600 touches. He dishes more punishment than he takes. There is no doubt in my mind he is the best running back to come to the NFL since Adrian Peterson. He probably doesn’t have quite the instant acceleration, but he’s got some juice. And as far as the things (the Browns) will ask of him in the West Coast passing game – screens, swings and checkdowns – those won’t be an issue at all.
Matt Waldman breaks down Running back Bryce Brown
“Bryce Brown was the top-rated running back entering college football in 2009 – over Trent Richardson.The Eagles made him a seventh-round pick to insure no other team could sign him. Ability-wise, Brown is nowhere near a seventh-round grade: he’s a big back with soft hands, good burst, long speed, and finishing power.
The reason he dropped so far in the draft is past history:he left the Tennessee Volunteers after one year, sat out a year to comply with NCAA rules, and then only carried the ball three times at Kansas State before leaving the team and then entering the NFL Draft. There’s very little to see with Brown in college action. However, what’s available is filled with impressive moments.
What I like most about Brown is his vision. He’s a patient runner that he knows how press the hole and set up the cutback. Just as impressive is his ability to find small creases in an area where an opening doesn’t seem to appear until the last moment.”
Draft Ace breaks down their grades for the Jacksonville Jaguars
“I feel like I should apologize to Jacksonville Jaguars fans for GM Gene Smith. He continues to make a mockery of the NFL Draft. In his first few years at the helm Smith showed an inexplicable obsession with small school prospects. And while that phase seems to have passed, he’s moved on to 3rd-round punters and 28-year-old D-II players.
Jeris Pendleton is a 28-year-old from a Division-II school. The Jaguars will use him at nose tackle, and he could potentially be forced into a starting role early if Terrance Knighton isn’t ready for the start of the season. It’s an experiment that could go horribly wrong, and they don’t appear to have a backup plan in place.”
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