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Marlon Humphrey

Draft Notes: QBs, Browns, Alabama

January 13th, 2017 at 6:12pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thanks in part to his heroics this past Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, outgoing Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s draft stock is soaring, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN. After Watson completed 36 of 56 passes for 420 yards and four touchdowns (one rushing) in Clemson’s 35-31 win over Alabama, two NFL personnel directors and one general manager informed Schefter that the 21-year-old will go in the top half of the first round this spring. All regard Watson as a soon-to-be top 10 pick, and it’s possible he’ll go to the Browns at No. 1 overall.

“He struggled some in midseason, so everyone got off him,” said a personnel director. “But these last couple of weeks, he’s skyrocketing up to the top 10 picks, with the two playoff game wins. Now people are going to say, ‘Wait a minutes, he’s played Alabama the past couple of years really well, he won a national championship, he can be a Mariota, he can be a [Dak] Prescott, great character, great kid.’ People will not want to miss him. I think he’s definitely going in the top 10.”

A bit more on Cleveland and the draft:

  • While the Browns also own the 12th pick in the draft, odds are they’ll have to take a quarterback at No. 1 – be it Watson, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky or Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer – if they like him enough, several draft experts and talent evaluators told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “A lot of teams need quarterbacks and they will overvalue them and reach,” an NFL personnel executive said. In assessing the three signal-callers, a talent evaluator opined, “[Watson] was very impressive in that game and has a special skill set. Accuracy is always a concern. His body of work makes him safer than Trubisky, but Trubisky has a big upside. Kizer is solid, but I don’t think he’s ready to play right away. Watson appears to be the only one who could hold his own right now.” The Browns reportedly “love” Trubisky, but taking him, Watson or Kizer would mean passing on Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett – with whom they’re also smitten.
  • Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson, wide receiver ArDarius Stewart and cornerback Marlon Humphrey each declared for the draft Friday. CBS Sports ranks Robinson as the 12th-best player in this year’s class and the top tackle in a weak crop. Humphrey isn’t far behind (No. 15), while the outlet projects Stewart to go in the second round.
  • Another Alabama product, edge rusher Tim Williams, is likely to slip out of the first round because of Randy Gregory-esque issues with substances (marijuana, to be exact), according to Charlie Champbell of WalterFootball.com. Like Gregory, whom the NFL handed a one-year suspension earlier this month (already the third ban of his two-year career), Williams has several failed drug tests to his name. Williams picked up 18.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss during his final two years at Alabama, but similarly excellent college production wasn’t enough for Gregory (16.5 sacks, 26.5 TFL) to go in Round 1 in 2015. It seems Williams’ case will be a repeat this year.

Miller’s Latest: Walker, Watson, Trubisky, Kizer

November 18th, 2016 at 8:35pm CST by Dallas Robinson

When reports surfaced earlier this week that defensive tackle Charles Walker would leave Oklahoma immediately in order to prepare for the 2017 draft, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that the move wouldn’t be well-received by NFL front offices, which already had reason to doubt Walker’s work ethic. In the days since, Miller has spoken with scouts and coaches around the league, and opinions have certainly not changed.

“We’ll put up with a lot of s–t, but not quitters,” one NFL man told Miller. “Talk to anyone [at OU] and they’ll tell you he’s not even hurt,” said another. “He doesn’t want to get hit anymore.” While Miller cautioned that some NFL staffers might have different views, every observer he talked to shared the same outlook. However, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com recently reported that other scouts/coaches might believe that Walker chose the correct path, especially given that he recently suffered the third concussion of his collegiate career.

Let’s take a look at the other highlights from Miller’s notebook, which — as always — is well worth a full read:

  • A “longtime NFL GM” reached out to Miller to discuss the 2017 quarterback class, and the former executive offered some interesting observations on the top signal-callers. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson‘s size worries the ex-GM, who compared him to Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The exec also put forth concerns about UNC’s Mitch Trubisky, but was more complementary of Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, predicting he “could be the one we all fall in love with between now and April.” Meanwhile, the former GM called Miami’s Brad Kaaya — whom the Bears are already researching — the “smartest of the crop.”
  • Miller posed several questions to an AFC scout, whose most insightful responses were on the topic of domestic violence. Some scouts — such as the one in question — have a hardline stance toward DV, but the staffer admitted that the risk versus reward debate takes place higher up the organizational hierarchy. A team’s owner, general manager, or head coach may be more willing to accept a player with domestic violence background if he is extremely talented, meaning such a decision is more likely to be made on a first-round prospect.
  • Alabama’s defense figures to boast several first-round draft picks, but at least one NFL scout isn’t a fan of cornerback Marlon Humphrey, per Miller. “I think he’s overrated,” said the evaluator. “You guys don’t see how stiff he is or that he can’t turn and run.”