Steveo’s Salvos Pre-draft Report, April 2017
(See the results of the players we reviewed in our pre-draft below each caption)
We’ve seen a lot of collegiate talent perform these past three years who are going to make some NFL teams very happy after this week’s draft that starts this Thursday night. And then there are some college BMOCs who are going to make their new employers’ very disappointed over the next few years Then there will be a few surprises regarding some fantastic players you’ve never heard of. My good friend and amateur draft analyst Al Grant loves scouring the post season college All-star games and provides me with some input on some of the lower division players. Some we’ve seen in person, and there are some we wished we could have seen. Al and I compared notes on some of the players and give some perspective on who to look out for.
Of course, some of these players will never get drafted, but wait it out for those “hidden gems” to come to light in the free agent market after the draft. In a year or two they could become a household name or a favorite player on your favorite pro team, or even better yet, on your own fantasy football league team. Here are some players we’ve seen play during the last three years. We look forward to seeing where they end up in this week’s NFL selection process.
We think UConn’s Safety Obi Melifonwu, who shows tight coverage before picking off his second pass against Temple, is going to make some NFL secondary very happy. (Taken at #56 by the Raiders)
Christian McCaffrey (5) of Stanford lets his blockers clear a path before he bolts for his 90-yard TD run against Cal. Sooner or later during his NFL career, we envision him playing for New England. (Taken at # 8 by the Panthers)
Temple Owl RB Jahad Thomas runs for 11 yards before his nine-yard touchdown run against USF. We expect someone to draft him in the late rounds. (Free agent)
Tennessee QB Josh Dobbs (11) breaks out of the pocket in his second of three bowl games we watched the Vols win. Look for him to come into the draft at some position besides QB. He’s a winner. (Taken as QB at #136 by the Steelers.)
Buffalo Bulls TE Mason Shreck makes one of his critical first down catches we saw against Army. At 6-5 258, we think he’s one of those “hidden gems”. (Taken at #254 by the Bengals)
DT Larry Ogunjobi (65) of the Charlotte 49ers dominated ConferenceUSA at 6-2, 305 lbs during his career of 46 starts. We saw him against Old Dominion in 2015. He could be another unknown you will see get picked in this week’s draft. (Taken at #66 by the Browns)
RB Elijah Hood of UNC put up yards against Baylor in the 2015 Russell Athletic Bowl in a 49-38 loss. We expect him to be among the highest RBs picked. (Taken # 245 by the Raiders)
WR Jalen Robinette made an unusual play for the Air Force turning this catch against Utah State into a 74-yard touchdown. The Air Force grad is a possible long shot to become this year’s draft from a service academy. (Free Agent)
As a true Frosh, LSU RB Leonard Fournette (7) scored on a 100-yard kickoff return and on an 89-yard run in the 2014 Music City. Top RB in the 2017 draft. (Taken #4 by the Jaguars)
Notre Dame QB DeShon Kizer looked much better in leading the Irish to a 24-20 win over Temple in 2015 than he did last season when we saw ND fall to Stanford at home. Someone will pick him in the mid rounds for future development. (Taken #52 by the Browns)
Clemson QB DeShaun Watson, seen here against Oklahoma, will be taken late in the first round. (Taken # 12 by the Texans)
Al likes Houston DE Cameron Malveaux (94) to bring some speed for some NFL team from the outside. (Free agent)
We think Solomon Thomas, DT Stanford, is going to be an NFL mainstay for quite some time. (Taken #3 by the 49ers)