2017 Draft Profile - Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

Deshaun Watson

QB - Clemson - #4 - Junior

6-2 - 221 - 4.66 speed

Past two years: 30 starts - 721 of 1,070 for 8,697 yards - 67.3% - 76TD/30INT - 1,734 yards rushing - 21 rushing TDs

Watson is one who needs no introduction as a player who either did or should have won every award while leading Clemson to two amazing seasons that culminated with the national title.

POSITIVES:  If you have watched any college football in the last two seasons, chances are you have seen Watson play against the best competition and do so very well.  He has beaten everyone and he does so with an ability to make throws all over the field that are difficult to defend and then using his feet with RB type ability on the edge.  He diagnosis blitzes well and throws very nice seam throws and slants.  He can fit the ball in tight spaces and has off-the-charts field general characteristics.  He also seems to have a great head on his shoulders off the field and that scores quite well.  He is calm in big game settings and confident he can beat whatever you throw at him.  He delivers the ball on time and excels at the 2nd phase of the play when you defy the Xs and Os.   He makes you leave a QB spy on him, which helps his coverage reads with fewer defenders available.  

CONCERNS:  He lacks the gun of Mahomes or Trubisky to the outside, and sometimes can get baited by coverages into throwing the ball into harm's way.  He is another high risk QB who is willing to break a few eggs to make an omelette in the sense that he knows he needs to score 35-40 points to win, and it might require a INT or two to get that done.  He loves to use his feet, but like Robert Griffin III, he might not have the frame to handle the beating and already, like Griffin, enters the league with prior ACL history.   He takes chances and risks the ball without the biggest gun in the league, so these are issues that a team will have to accept.  But, it never kept him from dealing with everything college football could throw at him, including Nick Saban's best.

Watson is up on Tier 1 for me with Trubisky and above the others at this point.  

2015 NFL Draft #68 - Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State

I have never been a scout or a NFL General Manager, but I am willing to watch a ton of football. By watching about 200 snaps of each prospect, we can really get a feel for a player and then know what we are talking about a bit better. It is no exact science, but the NFL hasn't quite figured out drafting either, so we are going to do the best we can.

Find all the profiles here.

Click here to see an interactive of how Strong compares with the top WRs of the draft.

Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State - 6'2, 217 - Senior - 4.44 40

If this hasn't been said already several dozen times, let me say it again for emphasis.  Due to trends in today's game and the cyclical nature of how drafts work, 2015 is the ideal year to pick in the 1st round if your team lacks a #1 wide receiver.  There are between 5-8 wide outs who can and should be selected in the first 32 picks and that trend is one that was also true in 2014.  Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham, Brandin Cooks, and Kelvin Benjamin were all selected in Round 1, with Marqise Lee, Jordan Matthews, Paul Richardson, Davante Adams, Cody Latimer, Allen Robinson, and Jarvis Landry in Round 2.  That is 12 Wide Receivers in the first 2 rounds!

This tells us a few things:  1) - that there is no position scarcity when it comes to this spot on the field.  One argument is that you should not draft a WR too high, because even the 10th best wide receiver in the draft can be someone like Davante Adams.  And 2) - that means that hypothetically, the crop will all be collectively pushed down, right?  Well, not really.  If you look at the best receivers in the NFL these days - Dez Bryant, DeMaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, and even Andre Johnson - they all went in the 1st round.  If you want a top #1 WR, you better pick them quickly.  There is a real difference between a #1 option that demands safety help, and just a nice wide receiver.

This brings us to yet another consensus 1st round receiver who seems to have potential WR1 status.  He is Jaelen Strong from Arizona State who is both blessed with size, speed - 4.44, and a ridiculous 42" vertical leap (Dominique Wilkins best measured vertical).  For a closer look, we studied Utah, Washington, and Oregon State to see what he had.

Jaelen wears #21 for the Sun Devils:

What I liked:  Strong is a very impressive player with great size and much faster speed than you might imagine for how he appears.  He made one of the most amazing plays of the season (shown above), but for any observer, we spend more time wondering why the safeties of USC were standing by rather than making an actual attempt at knocking down the ball.  But, he can really win on a ball and has versatility in route running that shows off nearly the entire route tree and has explosiveness in the air that allows him to dominate for a ball with that "catch radius" that we look for in a #1 WR.  He is very good against zone coverages and underneath out of the slot.  He also blocks with a vengeance and below you can see him look for a knockout block in the middle of the field that would impress Hines Ward.

What I did not like:  One thing that is difficult to evaluate at the college level is that there is very little press coverage compared to what we see in the NFL.  Trouble is, when Strong did see press coverage against Washington's Marcus Peters and then a few weeks later against the diminutive Steve Nelson from Oregon State, we see that he had a very difficult time doing his thing.  He also may not have that over-the-top long speed to win consistently on the long routes.  That said, he is a competitive guy who looks like he is interested in battles.  There are a few red flags where people have mentioned attitude issues along the way and even some effort items, but I will confess that I did not perceive that in 2014.

Summary:  Yet another high quality wide receiver who seems to have a ceiling that can make him a WR1 or a very talented and productive WR2.  The thing that makes the range so difficult to ascertain is clearly the issue that he played on a team that did not have what you would consider to be top notch QB play.  Strong is a very impressive player who can develop into a high caliber receiver at the next level.  It does make you nervous that he did not excel when he faced press-coverage, because at the NFL level, if there is one thing that they will do to a player consistently, it is to face the thing he doesn't excel at.  I imagine job #1 for Strong will be to show that press coverage is not going to limit him.  If he can, there is no reason he won't be exceptional.

You can view plenty of his tape here at Draftbreakdown.com.

And, if you don't mind, please check out the Bob and Dan (BaD) Radio show in Dallas-Fort Worth, from 12p-3p, Monday-Friday, on Sportsradio 1310 and 96.7fm, The Ticket.  www.theticket.com 

2015 NFL Draft #35 - Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest

I have never been a scout or a NFL General Manager, but I am willing to watch a ton of football. By watching about 200 snaps of each prospect, we can really get a feel for a player and then know what we are talking about a bit better. It is no exact science, but the NFL hasn't quite figured out drafting either, so we are going to do the best we can.

Find all the profiles here.

Click here to see an interactive of how Johnson compares with the top CBs of the draft.

Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson answers a question during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football kickoff in Greensboro, N.C., Sunday, July 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest - 6'0, 188 - RS Senior

As we continue to roll through the corners, we come to the rare NFL prospect from Wake Forest and find the very impressive Kevin Johnson.  Johnson turned plenty of heads at the combine with testing that was near the top of his class in all sorts of measure-ables.  That and his ideal size for "today's corners" put him at the top of many lists, but of course, in our exercises, we are quite concerned with how well his football playing ability shines.  To investigate, we looked at Clemson, Florida State, and Syracuse to find enough of his college football performance to see what all the talk is about.

What I liked:  First and foremost, this is a very strong cover corner who is a big believer in his own ability and has a fantastic grasp for knowing the game and awareness over what is being done by the offense.  You can often see him running the defensive backfield from the corner spot which is a bit uncommon.  He sees the ball and reacts as he played in plenty of zones where he can focus and keep his eyes on the backfield, whereas your man corners often have their backs turned.  He plants his foot and drives forward with conviction and explosion to make a break on the ball or to attack a WR screen with the attitude that you are really looking for.  I have heard his run support criticized, but to be honest, in the games I have watched, I was satisfied with his desire to be a physical force and to not play off, soft, and passive at corner which you often see with zone guys.  He seems capable in man and often runs hip to hip with the receiver with his athletic skills.  He loves attacking north and also is able to find the ball in the air and make a play.  He is beyond confident and occasionally has to be reeled in, but emotionally, know that he is ready to rumble.  He also likes to hit.  Sometimes, his judgement is not great as he can certainly border on "targeting" (see below), but he is not allowing you to run across without retribution.

What I did not like:  Maybe the biggest issue is that he might be over-aggressive going forward.  This means that if there is a double-move, he might bite.  if there is a fake underneath, he might bite.  Not all of the time, but he will have to be coached to not peek too much into the backfield and to understand at the NFL level, they will try to use his aggressiveness against him.  You want to stay disciplined and only gamble when it is the proper time.  He also gets "grabby" with the receiver and overly-physical which means he might have to be weened off of that habit, lest he becomes a target for officials.  But, these are two things you might expect of a rookie in the NFL and surely something that would not chase me off of this pick.

Summary:  This player is high on my board as a guy who I feel great about.  He has the mentality and the makeup that I look for in a corner, and unlike Peters from Washington, he is far more ready to attack the line of scrimmage and is a team defender which make his abilities far more useful to me.  I am confident that this player has the skill-set that is required to deal with the challenges that are ahead and he has all the attributes you are looking for in a 1st round corner.  He also looks able to contribute on special teams and provide depth.  If you are Dallas and in need for a scheme fit with tremendous upside and looks to be a real value, I believe this player would be pretty high on the list if he falls to #27.  Easily, my 2nd favorite corner to this point of the study.

You can view plenty of his tape here at Draftbreakdown.com.

2015 NFL Draft #17 - Benardrick McKinney, LB, Mississippi State

I have never been a scout or a NFL General Manager, but I am willing to watch a ton of football. By watching about 200 snaps of each prospect, we can really get a feel for a player and then know what we are talking about a bit better. It is no exact science, but the NFL hasn't quite figured out drafting either, so we are going to do the best we can.

Find all the profiles here.

Click here to see an interactive of how McKinney compares with the top LBs of the draft.

Benardrick McKinney, LB, Miss. St - 6'5, 249 - RS Junior

Mississippi State Bulldogs player Benardrick McKinney talks to the media during the SEC Football Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel on July 15, 2014. (Marvin Gentry / USA TODAY Sports)

There is one final inside linebacker (or non pass rushing LB) to add to our top group of possibilities that has to this point included Shaq Thompson, Denzel Perryman, Eric Kendricks, and Paul Dawson, which would be this highly touted Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State.  He was one of those that was projected highly before the season began, rather than a player who emerged onto the scene recently.  But, as you can see by his dimensions, he is pushing the envelope of how big we would want a middle linebacker in today's NFL.  Of course, the bigger they get, we assume the less their mobility would be.  To find out, we examined his work against Texas A&M, LSU, and Auburn from 2014.

What I liked:  First, it is rather clear that he was running the Bulldogs defense this year as he is quite demonstrative in pre-snap where he wants his troops.  Any middle linebacker better know clearly what the opponent is trying to do and it would seem he is a guy who studies hard and then takes that to the field.  He is a very big man and while it appears well sculpted, he is at his best when a play is between the tackles where he can charge ahead with confidence in confined spaces and lay the hit with abandon.  In short yardage, he really excels, for instance.  He also plays very hard and will give you ever bit of effort he has and is quite aggressive and enthusiastic in his play.  At times, they line him up on the edge to pass rush and although this is seldom their play, when it is, he looks way more comfortable making me wonder if you might experiment with him as a defensive end in your training camp.

What I did not like:  Unfortunately, there is quite a bit that is disconcerting.  He really doesn't move very well at that position in all of the directions that the job calls for.  He is very big in both height and weight to a point where he seems to be a Defensive End being assigned to play coverage in the middle of the defense.  This might be a result of Mississippi State taking advantage of the lack of sophistication in SEC offenses and passing games, but we can assure you that this won't work well on 3rd Down on Sundays.  He just doesn't possess the type of high end athleticism that we look for at this position relative to Dawson or Kendricks who are as athletic as the RBs they will deal with.  McKinney is also not great at working through tight spaces and is easier to block because, frankly, the target is larger for the offensive linemen to hit.  He also doesn't seem to get to the plays in time when the play goes outside the tackles.

Summary:  Overall, there are too many questions to value him in the Top 2 rounds (where you want a guy who you are sure can come right in and be a starter).  I have no doubts that he will be a useful roster player and may even overachieve as so many linebacker have over the course of time, and play a decade. But you want way more answers than questions if you take a guy at the top of your draft and I really don't feel comfortable tabbing him with a high investment.  I believe that he does not have enough top-end athleticism for assured success on Sundays.

You can view plenty of his tape here at Draftbreakdown.com.