The Mel Kiper Jr. 2007 Draft Report has arrived

[Spaulding]

Gureski, first off thanks for sharing the publication. With regard to Henry, I don't see TT drafting him as he's not his type of guy (i.e. measureables but no on field production).

Hope he takes a long look at Weddle from Utah in the 3rd if still around. What does the mag say about him?

[oregonpackfan]

Re: Kiper on Lynch

Marshawn Lynch

Kiper gave Lynch props for finishing as one of only 5 RB's in the nation with over 6 yards per carry average (in a tough Pac-10 division).

"A tough Pac-10 Division?" Since when has the Pac-10 been a tough defensive conference?

Since I moved out here to Oregon 17 years ago, I have been amazed as to how the Pac-10 is so weak in their defensive units. This is a conference known to value strong offensive teams but to pay lip service to their defensive units.

Games tend to be interesting, high-scoring affairs but the emphasis seems to be aimed clearly on the offense.

Showing Lynch's stats by competing in the Pac-10 is a liability for Lynch rather than an asset, IMO.

[BallHawk]

You beat me to it, OPF. The Pac-10 has its share of good teams, USC, Cal and OSU the top ones. However, those teams make it by on their Offense. 6 teams in that division averaged 25 points a game and up. Also, all but one team (USC) allowed more than 150 PA (Points Against) the whole season. The Pac-10 is a razzle-dazzle conference. I really would've of liked to see Marshawn against some Big 10 Defense like OSU, Michigan, or Wisconsin.

[gureski]

Re: The Mel Kiper Jr. 2007 Draft Report has arrived

What does he say on Garret Wolfe from NIU? I'll start with a play that doesn't get much talk.

Garrett Wolfe

5' 71/2" tall, 183 lbs, & 4.45 (40)

According to Mel, Wolfe's production in college was off the charts. "His diminutive size will probably limit him to situational status in the NFL."

Wolfe was a 2-time All-Illinois and an all American pick in high School from Chicago. Wolfe put up over 4,311 yds rushing and 56 TD's over his final two seasons in high school. He set 11 school records in high school.

Wolfe also played track in high school.

Wolfe joined Northern Illinois and had to redshirt his first year (2002) and then missed his second year (2003) for academic reasons.

Wolfe finally got a chance to play in 2004 and immediately went from third on the depth chart to leading the Nation in rushing that year. He played in 11 games and started 6 while putting up 1,656 yds and 18 TD's. (6.5 yd per carry avg)

Quoting Mel, "While most backs count the number of 100-yard games in a season, Wolfe was counting his 200 yard efforts." Wolfe had 4 games over 200 yards as a third year sophomore and topped the 300 yd mark once. In one game vs Bowling Green, Wolfe had over 200 yds rushing and 3TD's in just the second half alone!

Wolfe was first team All-MAC and won the conference triple crown (rushing, scoring, and all-purpose yards)

In 2005, Wolfe repeated his triple crown and added Team MVP honors to his growing list of accolades. Despite missing 3 games due to injury, 2005 saw Wolfe rush for 1,580 yds and 16TD's 20 pass receptions for 222 yds and 1 TD. Of Wolfe's 9 games in 2005 he went over 100 yards in 7, topping the 300 yd mark 3 times. Included in those numbers were performance's against Michigan (17-148, TD) and Northwestern (34-245, 3TD's).

Going into 2006, Kiper says Wolfe was a legitimate Heisman candidate. Wolfe didn't disappoint tying or setting career highs for yards (1,928), carries (309), receptions (28), receiving yards (249), and TD's (18).

Wolfe started 2006 with 6 straight 100 yd games (some 200 yd & a 350 yd game mixed in there) but then had a bad stretch to end the season, finishing with only two 100-yard games over the last 7 contests. '

Wolfe finished as the career rushing leader for the MAC conference and was Northern Illinois career leader in rushing yards and TD's.

Kiper says Wolfe is a, "...small back with quickness and good change of direction. ...good balance....low center of gravity..."

Mel feels Wolfe will need to be used in the right situation so he doesn't wear down from the pounding of the NFL. Mel also feels Wolfe will need to learn to return kicks to last in the NFL.

Kiper says Wolfe will be a day two pick.

Combine notes: didn't run, bench press 22 times, 35&1/2" vertical leap.

Thoughts as I read the bio:

What a surprise this kid was to read about.

Yeah, he's small and didn't play at a major college but he produced and like Greg Jennings, played well against tough teams like Michigan and Northwestern.

I can't recall too many other RB's with this kind of resume. It's really astonishing to read the statistics this kid has collected in High School and in college. He makes me wonder if he's the kind of guy who is always discounted because of his size but never lets that stand in his way.

I wondered what his size was compared to W.Dunn and found out the following: W.Dunn is 5' 9" tall and weighs 180 lbs. Wolfe is 5' 7&1/2" tall and 183 lbs. He's not that far off Dunn's size. Dunn has been incredibly successful in the NFL and specifically in the Zone Blocking System. This kid could be a late round steal for someone. That's my impression. He sounds special. I don't understand why guys like Chris Henry who have no resume to go along with their ability are considered better prospects then guys like Wolfe who have proven themselves on the field.

[gureski]

Jason Hill WR

WR Jason Hill 6' 1/2" tall, 205lbs, 4.34 (40)

Kiper says Hill is an, "...athletic wideout that can run. ...has the speed to beat you...but needs to refine a few things before he'll be a complete receiver in the NFL."

Hill, from S.F., was all-region in high school both as a WR and DB. H was also a standout basketball player.

Hill spent most of his true freshman season (2003) on special teams covering punts and kickoffs. He had two big time tackles in the Fiesta Bowl vs Texas.

As a sophomore, (2004) Hill started and in 11 games he earned team Offensive MVP honors with 45 receptions for 1,007 yds (22.4 yd avg) and a school record 12 TD's.

In 2005, Hill missed all of one game and part of another with a quad contusion. Still, he managed 62 receptions for 1,097 yds and 13TD's in 2005 (breaking his own team record). Hill started racking up receptions this season having 8 receptions in a game twice and 10 once.

In 2006, Hill was again named Co-MVP with 41 receptions, 600 yds receiving, and a team high 7 TD's in just 10 games. (he missed two games with a high ankle sprain)

Hill ended his college career with 32 TD receptions, second only to D.Jarrett for tops in Pac-10 history.

According to Mel, "Hill played vs. some very skilled CB's in the Pac-10 during his career and put up some impressive numbers in those games. ....though his senior numbers were down, he has alot of talent, particularly in deeper routes. He can stretch the field and catch the deep ball. ....he will drop catchable balls every now and then. ...an indication that his concentration level leaves something to be desired.... He does need to refine some things in his game, including becoming a more consistant option and getting more physical when coming off press-coverage."

combine notes:
4.32 (40), didn't lift, 37" vertical leap

my thoughts as I read this bio:

I have read of this kid before and his production was big time in college. The numbers support this. Solid WR stats and obvious big play ability. High number of TD's.

Good speed, nice size. Sounds like he's going to be a good player. Possibly something the Pack could look at given his deep ball ability.


KIPER has Hill going in the third round to Detroit with the 2nd pick of that round.

[gureski]

While we're on this Running Back tangent could you add Michael Bush to your list?

Michael Bush 6'-1&1/2" tall, 245 lbs, 4.59 (40)

Kiper starts with strong praise saying, "a very good all-around back, Bush would have definitely been in the first round mix had he not missed virtually all of the 2006 season with a broken lower leg."

Played high school ball in Louisville and played QB his senior year after seeing time at RB, WR, DB, LB, and DE in prior years. He was named Kentucky's Mr. Football in 2002 after completing 63% of his passes for 2,891 yds passing and 35 TD's. He also rushed for 911 yds and 7 TD's and caught 17 balls for 240yds and a score.

As a freshman at Louisville (college) in 2003, Bush went for 100 yards twice.

As a sophomore (2004) Bush played in 12 games and got 3 starts adding up to 734 yds rushing and 7 TD's. Avg'd 5.6 yds per carry. Had one 100 yard game.

Per Kiper, Bush, "Emerged as a force in 2005, setting a Louisville record for rushing TD's " (23) and leading the conference with 1,243 yds rushing. He earned 1st team all-conference honors starting 9 of 10 games he played in. He did miss 2 games due to injury that year.

Kiper states that entering 2006, Bush was a legitimate Heisman contender, but a broken leg against Kentucky in the opener slammed the door on that dream. In the game where Bush broke his leg, he had racked up 128 yards rushing on 17 carries in the third quarter before the injury struck.

Mel says Bush is, "...a north/south runner with a ton of ability. He's a big back, but has just enough shiftiness to be an effective every down option. He runs with power and shows ability in the passing game, effectively catching the ball out of the backfield. ...... if he can come back at 100%, Bush has the athleticism, size, and production to be a difference maker in an NFL backfield. .....would've have definitely been a first round pick in 2006" if not for the injury.

Combine notes: no work out

My thoughts as I read:

I thought I had heard his injury was bad and that he may have to rehab through training camp? I thought he was a guy that you couldn't count on for this coming year? Odd that Mel didn't comment on his injury status as of today.

Other then the injury, the kid sounds like a bonafide prospect. Would've liked to have seen another solid year out of him but the injury took it away so you have to go on what he did the year before. That and he started strong in the game he got injured. Looked like he was moving right along, 128 yds by the third quarter is pretty good.

Not bad for the Pack to take but I wonder if he's going to be healthy enough to help anyone this year. I could've swore I heard his injury status took a turn for the worse a few weeks ago.

Kiper has Bush going in the third round to Atlanta with the 75th overall pick.

[gureski]

Re: The Mel Kiper Jr. 2007 Draft Report has arrived

it just came? I've had for almost a month! (yes, i'm sad...at least that's what my girlfriend tells me).

It was just mailed on 04/13 so you couldn't have had it for a month. He has other publications. The free agent guide would've been out a month ago, did you buy that too? I didn't this year.

[J-Rok]

Being that I live about thirty minutes from NIU, I caught plenty of their football games on Comcast. Wolfe rarely takes a direct hit. He's extremely quick, shifty, and wiry--I hardly ever saw someone lock-on Wolfe. He's fast as well. He can scoot by DBs on breakaways. A few games I saw, they would just dump the ball off to him in the flats and he would avoid a few tackles and break it for a long gain. I'm not sure about the stats, but I would expect you would find a high yards per catch average. If a DLinemen gets a hold of him, Wolfe will probably go down easily. And I would hate to see Urlacher running in his direction.

If I remember right, he had scholarships to some division one schools, but his grades were way too low, so they stripped the scholarships away. He drove over to DeKalb and got on the team. He was behind Michael Turner, then. The last two years he was tearing it up. Many big games came against some really tough opponents. I saw the game against Ohio State. I think he had +200 yards against the Buckeyes. Then he kept getting 300 yard games over and over until teams basically stacked the line and only paid attention to the run. NIU had an okay passing game, but teams realized the passing game couldn't beat them without Wolfe's help.

I really really liked Wolfe--I'm a homer, I guess. I would be ecstatic to have him on the Packers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_N4jeoGz2M

At least watch until he cuts through three Buckeyes for the endzone. It's crazy.

Edit: Haha. A Hawk on D and a Wolfe on O. Hahaha.

[gureski]

Gureski, first off thanks for sharing the publication. With regard to Henry, I don't see TT drafting him as he's not his type of guy (i.e. measureables but no on field production).

Hope he takes a long look at Weddle from Utah in the 3rd if still around. What does the mag say about him?

Kiper has Weddle going to Jacksonville in the 2nd round, the very pick after the Packer's are predicted to take TE Ben Patrick so Mel doesn't think Weddle is making it into the third round.

Kiper writes a TON about this kid and I'm a bit tired to overly detail it but I'll give you some highlights....

Kiper starts off by saying that Weddle is, "One of the more, if not the most, versatile players in this draft, Weddle was a stwo-way start fot the Utes and will offer the team that drafts him a ton of options in how to best employ his skills."

High School in Alta Loma, CA as a two time league offensive and defensive MVP. As a senior he made 129 tackles, intercepted 5 passes, forced 4 fumbles and recovered 5 fumbles on defense. On offense, he rushed for 587 yds and 22 TD's while passing for 965 yds and 5 TD's. Also lettered in basketball and baseball.

In 2003, Weddle was named a freshman all-American. He played in all 12 games and started 9 at CB. From this point on, the 2003 and 2004 stats make it clear that the kid has a real nose for the ball. Going through multiple statistics that are too many for me to mention, it's clear that Weddle made tons of plays (tackles, interceptions, fumbles, and key defense's of the pass).

Per Kiper, in 2005 "Weddle really elevated his game as a junior, leading the conference in total passes defended, breaking up 12 and intercepting 4, and earning first team All-Mountain West accolades and conference Defensive player of the year honors. He was credited with 78 total tackles, including 11 stops for loss and 4 sacks and he forced 3 fumbles."

This is meaningful.....per Kiper, Weddle, "held All-American WR Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech to just 2 receptions for 19 yards in the Emerald Bowl, earning game MVP honors."

In 2006, Weddle saw action at CB, Safety, QB, RB, Holder, Punt & Kick return specialist, and on coverage teams. He repeated as Mountain West's Defensive player of the year and added first team All-America recognitionto his resume. Led the conference with 7 interceptions, had 64 tackles, 2.5 tackles behind the lind of scrimmage, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries. On offense, Weddle carried the ball 44 times for 203 yds and 5 TD's. He completed 2 of his 4 pass attempts for 43 yards and a score, and returned 8 punts for a 5.5 yard average. He scored 9 total TD's and pulled one incredible stunt where he scored a TD on offense and then took the field on defense, picked off a ball on the very first play and ran it in for a score thus scoring back to back TD's.

I said I wouldn't do this but this is good stuff that has to be shared....

In a game vs Air Force, Weddle had 8 tackles, rushed for 72 yds, scored 2 TD's, and held fthe placekick on the game winning FG! That's clutch.

In the Armed Forces Bowl win against Tulsa, Weddle made 6 tackles, 1 sack, intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, and rushed 10 times for 56 yds and a TD.

Per Mel, "Weddle is a true gamer out there. He's smart, always in the right place at the right time to make a play, acting like a coach in the huddle. He's a good tackler and has good hands to make the interception. He wont wow you over in workouts, but when he puts on the pads and gets down to business, Weddle will go above and beyond what you expect from him and at the end of the day leaving you surprised at the scope of his abilities. He has the athletic prowness to play CB or Safety at the next level, and with his offensive and special teams experience, he can offer some wrinkles in those areas as well. He made alot of good plays over his 4 years with the Utes, and his production plus his versatility should takehim a long way in the NFL."

Combine note:
4.48 (40), 11 reps on bench press, 33-1/2" vertical leap.

My thoughts....

The bio is good enough that I wrote way more then I intended. The kid sounds like an Urlacher type player. He's a football player. I wouldn't mind seeing him line up at safety for the Packers.

[gureski]

Being that I live about thirty minutes from NIU, I caught plenty of their football games on Comcast. Wolfe rarely takes a direct hit. He's extremely quick, shifty, and wiry--I hardly ever saw someone lock-on Wolfe. He's fast as well. He can scoot by DBs on breakaways. A few games I saw, they would just dump the ball off to him in the flats and he would avoid a few tackles and break it for a long gain. I'm not sure about the stats, but I would expect you would find a high yards per catch average. If a DLinemen gets a hold of him, Wolfe will probably go down easily. And I would hate to see Urlacher running in his direction.

If I remember right, he had scholarships to some division one schools, but his grades were way too low, so they stripped the scholarships away. He drove over to DeKalb and got on the team. He was behind Michael Turner, then. The last two years he was tearing it up. Many big games came against some really tough opponents. I saw the game against Ohio State. I think he had +200 yards against the Buckeyes. Then he kept getting 300 yard games over and over until teams basically stacked the line and only paid attention to the run. NIU had an okay passing game, but teams realized the passing game couldn't beat them without Wolfe's help.

I really really liked Wolfe--I'm a homer, I guess. I would be ecstatic to have him on the Packers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_N4jeoGz2M

At least watch until he cuts through three Buckeyes for the endzone. It's crazy.

Edit: Haha. A Hawk on D and a Wolfe on O. Hahaha.

I'm sold. I'm a believer after reading about him. If Dunn was big enough to excel in the zone blocking system then why couldn't Wolfe? They're almost exactly the same size.

[The Shadow]

I would love to see Weddle in a Packer uniform.

[gureski]

Tell me why my gut tells me we get Paul Williams.

Kiper says this about Williams:

"Still a work in progress, Williams is a guy who could fight for time as a starter if a team is patient and brings him along gradually."

Paul Williams 6'-1 & 1/2" tall, 203 lbs, 4.49 (40)

Ran 4.45 (40) at the combine, didn't lift, and had a 38-1/2" vertical.


See, I'm reading more now and I see that as a high school senior in Avenal, CA, Williams caught 954 yds receiving and scored 18 TD's while 13 passes as a DB.

He was league defensive player of the year and was a first team All-Star on defense. He also was an All-League basketball player, and an established sprinter.

Kiper has Williams going in the end of the third round with a supplemental pick that was given to S.F. (97 overall)

[ND72]

A guy I don't think we have a chance at, but Joe Staley...I like him a lot, just curious as to what he has to say about him...(by the way, I have a Mel Kiper Draft report, but it's a "pre-combine" report) so things have changed.

[b bulldog]

I've read that the Pats like him a lot, I was hoping he would slide to us in round two but the chances of that happening are zero.

[pbmax]

The main reason a D1A prospect would go to a D1AA (or lower) school would be to avoid sitting out a year, wouldn't it?