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2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
All this Sauce talk got me thinking about next year's NFL Draft. That could be a coup for our program in terms of the number of players drafted and the number of players taken in the higher rounds. Talk about a big time recruiting tool. We don't care that we're not P5 - our coaching and system can get you ready for the NFL. Sauce. Sanders. Ridder. Pierce. Bryant. Hicks. Brooks. Brown. Others? Does Whyle leave early if he has a solid season?
 
02-23-2021 10:48 PM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
So, I'll take a stab at it...

Gardner CB - 1st Round
Sanders DE - 2nd Round
Hicks S - 3rd Round
Ridder QB - 4th Round
Bryant CB - 4th Round
Pierce WR - 5th Round
Brooks DT - 7th Round
Brown DT - 7th Round

A couple of comments. I believe if Ridder has an outstanding season including a NY6 win then he could be a 3rd Rounder for sure. There are also several players that would likely be an UFA and WR Michael Young, Jr. is one that comes to mind. The 2009 squad had 6 players drafted so I'm probably being on the optimistic side of things for the 2022 draftees. That said, I believe it is reasonable to argue that we could certainly end up with as many draft picks as the 2009 class. That is exciting and telling of where our program is heading.
 
02-24-2021 11:03 AM
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BearcatMan Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 11:03 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  So, I'll take a stab at it...

Gardner CB - 1st Round
Sanders DE - 2nd Round
Hicks S - 3rd Round
Ridder QB - 4th Round
Bryant CB - 4th Round
Pierce WR - 5th Round
Brooks DT - 7th Round
Brown DT - 7th Round

A couple of comments. I believe if Ridder has an outstanding season including a NY6 win then he could be a 3rd Rounder for sure. There are also several players that would likely be an UFA and WR Michael Young, Jr. is one that comes to mind. The 2009 squad had 6 players drafted so I'm probably being on the optimistic side of things for the 2022 draftees. That said, I believe it is reasonable to argue that we could certainly end up with as many draft picks as the 2009 class. That is exciting and telling of where our program is heading.

I think Hicks is high (probably a 6th round grade would be his ceiling if I had to guess), Brown will not be drafted because he won't even start for us this year, Bryant is high (5th round is his ceiling to me if he didn't think he was getting drafted this year after the body of work he already has), and you're forgetting about Darrian Beavers, who with another year at LB will likely have a lot of solid tape (and if given the opportunity, would test extremely well physically). Pierce doesn't have enough tape and the injuries have racked up...between our senior receivers I think Young has a better shot than Pierce even though we know how athletic Alec is. I think McConnell and Cook might get looks, but there are enough talented guys at their spots that they'll probably end up UDFAs.

My guess:

1st Round: Gardner and Sanders
3rd Round: Ridder
5th Round: Beavers
6th Round: Bryant, Young, and Hicks
7th Round: Brooks

Least confident in Young and Hicks

Wildcard:
Whyle, 3rd Round if he enters early
 
02-24-2021 11:58 AM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
^^^^
Good add on Beavers. I can buy that for sure. My hesitation on Sanders as a first rounder is he seems a bit underweight, less leg strength, power/bull rush for an edge guy at that spot. He has speed, athleticism, and some good technique but I don't see him [yet] as an all-tool rusher from the edge. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid but he still has some work to do IMO.
 
02-24-2021 01:15 PM
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BearcatMan Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 01:15 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  ^^^^
Good add on Beavers. I can buy that for sure. My hesitation on Sanders as a first rounder is he seems a bit underweight, less leg strength, power/bull rush for an edge guy at that spot. He has speed, athleticism, and some good technique but I don't see him [yet] as an all-tool rusher from the edge. Don't get me wrong, I love the kid but he still has some work to do IMO.

NFL GMs have time and time again proven that they value athleticism more than technique on both sides of the line of scrimmage, that's why I think he'll be up there when it's all said and done, because the man will put on a show in the speed/agility tests at the Combine next April and has enough good tape to show he puts it on the field. I think he could easily get another 10lbs on him this off-season (which would get him around 260), something that would do a lot to get him set up for either a 4-3 End or a 3-4 rush backer...best comp in the league right now as far as ceiling/athleticism is concerned for me is Bud Dupree, oddly enough, another guy who was a physical beast but needed work on refining pass rush techniques who went in the 1st round,
 
02-24-2021 01:30 PM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
I'll say this for the both of us - whether Sanders goes late first or early second coupled with Sauce in the first round is one hell of a start to the 2022 draft. That would set the tone for the remainder of the rounds for sure.

Here's the 2009 draft class:

2nd Round Barwin DE Texans
5th Round Huber P Bengals
5th Round Smith S Cowboys
6th Round Underwood S Packers
7th Round Mickens CB Cowboys
7th Round Canfield G Cardinals
 
02-24-2021 03:16 PM
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BearcatMan Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 03:16 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  I'll say this for the both of us - whether Sanders goes late first or early second coupled with Sauce in the first round is one hell of a start to the 2022 draft. That would set the tone for the remainder of the rounds for sure.

Here's the 2009 draft class:

2nd Round Barwin DE Texans
5th Round Huber P Bengals
5th Round Smith S Cowboys
6th Round Underwood S Packers
7th Round Mickens CB Cowboys
7th Round Canfield G Cardinals

I'm glad to see life working out for Mickens now (even if he's not with us anymore), because, man, did he have a **** run of it there. Playing in the Orange Bowl on a partially torn ACL probably cost him millions of dollars and a lot of accolades in the NFL IMO. For as good as Gardner is, I'd still put Mickens above him as an all-around corner when at 100%.
 
02-24-2021 03:39 PM
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skylinecat Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
K'Lavon Chaisson went 20th overall at 6'3, 254. He had 6.5 sacks and 2 PD's but that was SEC. 2 sacks in the Peach Bowl against Oklahoma probably made him a ton of money. Both Sauce and Myjai will have big hurdles to overcome because of the American Conference. The first player drafted last season not from a P5 conference was Jordon Love QB at 26 and then Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne at 37 to the patriots. Seems much more likely they end up 2nd/3rd round picks than 1st/2nd for that reason.
 
02-24-2021 03:54 PM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 03:39 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  
(02-24-2021 03:16 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  I'll say this for the both of us - whether Sanders goes late first or early second coupled with Sauce in the first round is one hell of a start to the 2022 draft. That would set the tone for the remainder of the rounds for sure.

Here's the 2009 draft class:

2nd Round Barwin DE Texans
5th Round Huber P Bengals
5th Round Smith S Cowboys
6th Round Underwood S Packers
7th Round Mickens CB Cowboys
7th Round Canfield G Cardinals

I'm glad to see life working out for Mickens now (even if he's not with us anymore), because, man, did he have a **** run of it there. Playing in the Orange Bowl on a partially torn ACL probably cost him millions of dollars and a lot of accolades in the NFL IMO. For as good as Gardner is, I'd still put Mickens above him as an all-around corner when at 100%.

I dunno BM. That's a tough-'n. Sauce is all freegin' world as a press corner, cover guy, red zone defender. One thing Mickens could do, or was willing to do based on the scheme was come up in run support or blitzes. Sauce looks at run support and says "what's that?" I kid, but it's probably an apple to an orange based on their strengths and the different schemes they were asked to operate in. But yes, I'm happy for Mickens as well. He's a solid dude and one of the great Bearcats.
 
(This post was last modified: 02-24-2021 04:16 PM by UCGrad1992.)
02-24-2021 04:14 PM
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BearcatMan Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 03:54 PM)skylinecat Wrote:  K'Lavon Chaisson went 20th overall at 6'3, 254. He had 6.5 sacks and 2 PD's but that was SEC. 2 sacks in the Peach Bowl against Oklahoma probably made him a ton of money. Both Sauce and Myjai will have big hurdles to overcome because of the American Conference. The first player drafted last season not from a P5 conference was Jordon Love QB at 26 and then Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne at 37 to the patriots. Seems much more likely they end up 2nd/3rd round picks than 1st/2nd for that reason.

There have been 7 AAC first rounders in the past 5 years, with another potentially there this year (Zaven Collins, James Hudson, and Richie Grant all have grades in the Top 50 of most every updated Big Board now).

While it's not exactly a shoe-in obviously, there is more than enough precedent in the past few years, and people with resumes/athletic profiles like Sanders and Gardner at highly desired positions...it's definitely a possibility if they remain healthy and don't see a drop-off with new coaching. Only knock I think you'll see on Gardner is how one-dimensional he is (he plays about 94% of his snaps in man, which is INSANELY high). With how poorly Jeff Okudah did transitioning to an NFL defense this year with similar play styles, it might negatively impact Sauce regardless of the fairness of it.
 
02-24-2021 04:33 PM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
I'll say this for Mickens...he finished his UC career with 234 tackles - 71 during his senior year! He also finished with 14 career picks - 3 taking it to the house. Not too shabby. Mike was as good as they come at the corner, no doubt about it.
 
02-24-2021 04:38 PM
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 04:38 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  I'll say this for Mickens...he finished his UC career with 234 tackles - 71 during his senior year! He also finished with 14 career picks - 3 taking it to the house. Not too shabby. Mike was as good as they come at the corner, no doubt about it.

Please note...all-around corner means zone, man, run support, and ball skills. Sauce beats Mickens in Man, obviously, as he is one of the better straight man corners in the last decade or so in college, but I think Mickens beats him in the other three, which is enough to win out over the clear advantage Gardner has in man. That's not his fault, he may be a great zone corner too, we just play so much friggin man that there's no real way to know.
 
02-24-2021 04:40 PM
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
copied this over from another thread...
(10-20-2021 03:41 PM)Cal1362 Wrote:  
(10-20-2021 03:34 PM)SeniorBearcat Wrote:  

I love Des and his attitude, but I don't see him as the #1 pick or even the 1st QB to go in this draft.

Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love it... for him and for UC but I don't see it. I think he's as talented as the others (also thought a couple of our former QBs were up there too) but IMO, the G5 tag and who did he play cards will get played against him. But I love that the national media are talking about him! Go Des!

I feel similarly. I love the guy and obviously am rooting hard for him but he just doesn't strike me as the #1 pick or even a sure-fire 1st rounder if I'm being honest. And it's not about the G5 thing - we saw the BYU (non P5) and ND St. QB both taken in the top 3 overall last year.

Maybe I'm just hung up on some of his earlier struggles even though experience says that doesn't necessarily matter. I mean you look at Burrow not starting at Ohio St. and then being good but not great his first (of two) year at LSU. (Isn't it weird to contemplate how things would have worked out if Burrow had transferred here rather than LSU?)

It's gonna be a fun ride to see how it all ends up this season and into the draft...
 
10-21-2021 01:45 AM
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
Opinions are going to vary and there's a lot of time before the draft, but I just stumbled onto PFF's new 1st round mock draft and recent rankings by position and they share my current take on Des and don't have him going in the R1 mock. But it's not like they've got something against UC in the mock as they have Sauce going 6th overall (to the Jets). And it doesn't seem biased against G5 QBs as they have Liberty's Malik Willis as the 1st QB picked (11th). Other R1 QBs are Ole Miss' Corall (20th) and NC's Howell (29th).

The position breakdowns are done by a different author (although the top 3 QBs are the same) but I'm not buying these rankings. Only 2 Bearcats made the top 10 at their positions (dated Oct. 18):
- Des is 8th among QBs
- Sauce is 5th among CBs
 
10-21-2021 02:08 AM
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nachoman91 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(02-24-2021 11:58 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  My guess:

1st Round: Gardner and Sanders
3rd Round: Ridder
5th Round: Beavers
6th Round: Bryant, Young, and Hicks
7th Round: Brooks

Least confident in Young and Hicks

Wildcard:
Whyle, 3rd Round if he enters early

I'll eat my hat if Sanders is a first round pick. He certainly has speed and athleticism but that hasn't translated to big time results. As teams have schemed around him a little more this year his production has dropped off dramatically. Maybe my expectations are too high but I've been watching him specifically and he's not disrupting the game like a first round draft pick should.
 
10-21-2021 07:19 AM
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eroc Online
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(10-21-2021 07:19 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  
(02-24-2021 11:58 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  My guess:

1st Round: Gardner and Sanders
3rd Round: Ridder
5th Round: Beavers
6th Round: Bryant, Young, and Hicks
7th Round: Brooks

Least confident in Young and Hicks

Wildcard:
Whyle, 3rd Round if he enters early

I'll eat my hat if Sanders is a first round pick. He certainly has speed and athleticism but that hasn't translated to big time results. As teams have schemed around him a little more this year his production has dropped off dramatically. Maybe my expectations are too high but I've been watching him specifically and he's not disrupting the game like a first round draft pick should.

Myjai's highlight reel might as well be all the times he's been held with refs swallowing their whistles. He's gotten into the backfield plenty and if he got a flag every time he was held, his impact would be both significant and noticeable. The hope is that the scouts/personnel people understand that he's simply not getting the calls he should be getting.

i don't know about first round but i could easily see him being a second day pick. if he goes 3rd day, someone is getting a steal.
 
10-21-2021 07:27 AM
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(10-21-2021 07:19 AM)nachoman91 Wrote:  
(02-24-2021 11:58 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  My guess:

1st Round: Gardner and Sanders
3rd Round: Ridder
5th Round: Beavers
6th Round: Bryant, Young, and Hicks
7th Round: Brooks

Least confident in Young and Hicks

Wildcard:
Whyle, 3rd Round if he enters early

I'll eat my hat if Sanders is a first round pick. He certainly has speed and athleticism but that hasn't translated to big time results. As teams have schemed around him a little more this year his production has dropped off dramatically. Maybe my expectations are too high but I've been watching him specifically and he's not disrupting the game like a first round draft pick should.

To be fair...that was a projection from FEBRUARY, but ok. I think he'll be a 2nd rounder. I would've gone after my take on Pierce more than Sanders, but that was also based on what we knew at the time (he couldn't finish a season, and for all of his athleticism it had yet to translate to the field). Myjai is being doubled/chipped basically every play and is disrupting plays far more than you give him credit for...but the thing that'll put him in the 1st/2nd round window is his combine performance. If there is one thing NFL personnel guys love, it's an athlete to mold, and his numbers are probably going to shock some people.
 
10-21-2021 07:36 AM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
Yeah, it is interesting to look back at our projections. I still believe Sanders goes in the second round. He just looks a bit undersized [lean] to me. Athletic for sure but project his game against NFL lineman and I don't know that the first round is possible. That is no slight against him because he will play in the NFL. I think the fast riser is Alec Pierce. Size, speed, hands and the ability to go up and get a ball in traffic. Plenty of tape now on the kid exhibiting all those skills. Not to mention, and with all due respect to Rid, those other instances of an under thrown ball when Pierce was open. Suffice to say, we're going to get multiple dudes drafted and that is exciting for them and for our program.
 
10-21-2021 08:15 AM
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UCGrad1992 Offline
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
What about Len Taylor? He's showing out way more this year than I ever anticipated.
 
10-21-2021 08:17 AM
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RE: 2022 Bearcats NFL Draft Prospects
(10-21-2021 08:17 AM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  What about Len Taylor? He's showing out way more this year than I ever anticipated.

I'm not surprised about him, I just thought it would happen the year after Whyle left. I expect them both to play on Sundays eventually but I'm hoping one of them decides to come back next year.

Bryan Cook stands out to me as the guy forcing himself into NFL consideration. All he does is make plays.
 
10-21-2021 10:10 AM
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