2034 Draft Preview
QB – Washington’s Russell Lawson is a good lock to be a solid starter within the league and UCLA’s Thomas Scott is also a worthy first-round consideration, although his Wonderlic score has some concerned. Down the line there are some good backup/emergency starter options here as well. Grade: B
RB – It is a great year to need an RB as the position goes potentially 7 deep with first-round talent, although none is an absolutely lock for greatness. Kent State’s Kenneth Snipes might be the safest selection here at an 87 default and mid-30s volatility, despite UCLA’s Henry Just tipping the scales at a 92 default. Then again, Arizona Wildcat Joey Sheridan is going to make someone extremely happy. Grade: A
FB – You need a fullback? You need to get creative…sure, TCU’s John Johnson has a nice default score, but rumor out of the Indy combine is that they clocked his 40-yard time with a sundial. FB’s aren’t really first-round talent typically anyhow, but there is definitely not a Round 1 body here. Honestly, there’s maybe 1 body I’d consider taking before Round 4 at this position. Grade: F
TE – Small college prospect Robert Ball and Wolverine Timothy Trapani both look solid and will likely start for many years in the league. Fellow Michigan product Phillip Driskill will probably earn some PT in the league. Beyond that, my crystal ball shows a whole lotta nothing. Grade: D
WR – Folks in need of young receiver talent will trip over themselves to score the rights to write Fresno St. Bulldog Shaun Swain’s name on their notecard. He could be the No. 1 overall pick. Surely he goes top 5 in the draft as the sort of talent we don’t see every season. Behind him though, it is a super thin board that promises not much help to anyone. Grade: Give it a C- only because Swain is pulling the curve up.
OL – Not a great year for O-linemen as the top of the crop – Stephen F. Austin’s Jose Moore – comes with volatility issues. Jose Gonzales, Horace McCoy and Charles Parker will also be among the first names of offensive linemen called. Not a lot of top-end talent, but midlevel depth available. Grade: C-
P/K – Two punters available, both with 80+ volatility. No kickers worth mention here, even for the insanely desperate. Grade: D
DT – Not much depth, not much guaranteed quality. Hopefully folks are already set in the interior of their D-line. Grade: D
DE – The left side has three worthy first-round considerations, led by Washington St. grad William Hanson. On the right side, Aggie Paul Dwyer provides some safe solid first-round talent. Overall, there’s some quality depth and if the D-line gets passed over in an early rush for the more glamorous positions, this is an area that could see some bargains dropping into the early/mid second round. Grade: A
OLB – Maryland Terp Brandon Barnes looks like he is head-and-shoulders above the other strong-siders here, but he also doesn’t have a lot of competition. Most of the SLB’s from this class will come from other positions that get converted in. On the weak side, things aren’t quite as thing, but I’m also not sure there’s a player listed at WLB who deserves first-round consideration. If there is, that player probably falls late in the Round 1 program. Grade: D
MLB – This will be an active position on Day 1 of the draft. Aztec Roy Morgan is true top-shelf stuff and there’s at least three more middles that likely get their name called before Round 1 comes to an end. All of them come with mid-level volatility risk, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, and the chance to throw a solid defender in the middle of the D will be a strong pull for folks to roll the dice. The down-board talent might be a little shorter than folks would like, but overall, a good year. Grade: A-
CB – What the Fricks??!? A Clemson grad who defaults out in the low/mid 90s at corner will get plenty of No. 1 pick consideration despite a high-ish volatility score. I mean, how long can something like that hang around on the board? Dropping down from there, San Diego State’s Eric Hubbs likely also vanishes in Round 1 and Michael Howell will get a look from someone because of the low volatility. The positional depth is thin though, so after the early names vanish, it might be a while before the next CB’s come down. Grade: C (short on depth, but…Fricks…)
SS – San Diego State must have had one **** of a defensive unit last season, because say hello to your possible No. 1 overall selection, David Harrison. Unlike the draft’s other elite potential selections, Harrison has the uber-low volatility that makes writing his name down an extremely safe play. Memphis’ Juan Foster also deserves a good look in the first round. At a position that some years provides zero names, having 2 solid is nice. It does run thin quickly after this, however. Grade: A- (only for lack of overall depth)
FS – Top level talent abounds here. We can argue about whether Javier Kotter or Stephen Carolina headlines that talent, but there’s no denying that both should be off the board in short order. Other free safeties could follow in Round 1. Again, for a position that sometimes runs thin, this season’s crop is suh-weeeeeet! Grade: A
