Sunday, February 12, 2017

DraftTwitter Top 100 Pre-Combine Edition Revealed HERE!!!

DraftTwitter Top 100 - Pre-NFL Combine Version

(Editor's Note - The previous Top 100 has changed due to (1) a contributor who requested his data removed (no idea why but, to each his own) and (2) use of apostrophes as parts of names...there were errors in the model thanks to Tre'Davious White and D'Onta Foreman's names.  All fixed now. 2-12-17 10:50PM PST)

Having an opinion is as American as football...

DraftTwitter.  The term has always seemed somewhat of a pejorative. Whether there is an over-reaction to a perceived “can’t miss” prospect who somehow does, or a retreat from another as soon as a rumor surfaces (regardless of validity), DraftTwitter is always lurking in the shadowy corner.
Over the three years since my wife suggest I join the Twitter community (most likely so she would always know where I was), 

But, I’ve found there is also a very positive component to DraftTwitter which s composed of professional and amateur football talent evaluators who use old and new concepts to play NFL GM.  Every day, I learn something new from these women and men, everyday people who share a passion for a game that is unique to our nation.  While there are improvements can make, it is always encouraging to me when people from all walks can get together and share that tradition that is ours, alone, as Americans. The game of football.  We are at our greatest when we acknowledge that which makes us different (And isn’t that what this nation has always been, a melting pot?) and stand together on that which joins us.  Teamwork.  Competition.  Innovation.  Industry.  All of these things we share.

The team of college football evaluators we put worked to develop independent Top 100 NFL 2017 Draft prospect lists that were combined to form this aggregate DraftTwitter list are as diverse in their personal lives as they are identical in their love for America’s Sport.  Most of us are lifelong football fans who learned the game in the living room on weekends with family or in the stands watching games with friends.  Some are football historians who can find a comparable player from yesteryear for any modern star you can name.  There are X’s and O’s guys who could be on the side lines in college or the pros, in my opinion.  There are actual coaches at various levels who provide technical input and film analysis a professional evaluator might easily miss. There are analytics specialists who catalog athletic performance to project success at the next level.  There are data geeks (like me) who may fall into analytics, but focus more on manipulating statistical performance in college to normalize across peer groups and compare that to the data trends of historically successful players.  I’m sure I’m leaving out “types” but the above illustrates the variety of folks who love this game and strive to find ways to identify and evaluate talent to make it better. Please feel free to reach out to them via Twitter or their respective websites (listed below) to stay up to date on breaking sports news and fresh, innovative analysis.

Top 100

 The concept of the DraftTwitter Top 100 was developed to sort of get a consensus of the college players we evaluators felt had the most likely chance of being successful in the NFL.

Click here for the Excel spreadsheet


 2017 "Draft Twitter" Top 100 NFL Prospects
RANK PLAYER POS. POS. RANK SCHOOL CLASS HT. (Inches) WT. Density Index Avg Score Behind Prior Behind Pos #1
1 Myles Garrett DE 1 Texas A&M Jr                  76            268       3.53 98.77 0 0.00
2 Jonathan Allen DT 1 Alabama Sr                  75            291       3.88 96.27 -2.50 0.00
3 Jamal Adams SS 1 LSU Jr                  72            211       2.93 94.58 -1.69 0.00
4 Solomon Thomas DE 2 Stanford rSo                  74            275       3.72 89.54 -5.04 -9.23
5 Leonard Fournette RB 1 LSU Jr                  73            230       3.15 88.58 -0.96 0.00
6 Dalvin Cook RB 2 Florida State Jr                  71            206       2.90 88.42 -0.15 -0.15
7 Mike Williams WR 1 Clemson rJr                  75            225       3.00 86.92 -1.50 0.00
8 Malik Hooker FS 1 Ohio State rSo                  74            205       2.77 86.62 -0.31 0.00
9 Reuben Foster ILB 1 Alabama Sr                  73            236       3.23 85.54 -1.08 0.00
10 Derek Barnett DE 3 Tennessee Jr                  75            265       3.53 80.19 -5.35 -18.58
11 Corey Davis WR 2 Western Michigan Sr                  75            213       2.84 77.62 -2.58 -9.31
12 Takkarist McKinley OLB 1 UCLA Sr                  74            258       3.49 75.92 -1.69 0.00
13 O.J. Howard TE 1 Alabama Sr                  78            249       3.19 74.92 -1.00 0.00
14 Sidney Jones CB 1 Washington Jr                  72            181       2.51 74.23 -0.69 0.00
15 Deshaun Watson QB 1 Clemson Jr                  74            215       2.91 74.04 -0.19 0.00
16 Ryan Ramczyk OT 1 Wisconsin rJr                  77            314       4.08 73.96 -0.08 0.00
17 Zach Cunningham OLB 2 Vanderbilt rJr                  75            230       3.07 72.84 -1.12 -3.08
18 Tim Williams OLB 3 Alabama Sr                  75            252       3.36 72.73 -0.11 -3.19
19 Malik McDowell DT 2 Michigan State Jr                  77            276       3.58 72.69 -0.04 -23.58
20 Marshon Lattimore CB 2 Ohio State rSo                  72            195       2.71 71.19 -1.50 -3.04
21 Jabrill Peppers SS 2 Michigan rSo                  72            205       2.85 69.27 -1.92 -25.31
22 Cam Robinson OT 2 Alabama Jr                  78            310       3.97 69.08 -0.19 -4.88
23 Teez Tabor CB 3 Florida Jr                  72            201       2.79 67.81 -1.27 -6.42
24 Christian McCaffrey RB 3 Stanford Jr                  72            202       2.81 67.12 -0.69 -21.46
25 DeShone Kizer QB 2 Notre Dame rSo                  76            230       3.03 64.88 -2.23 -9.15
26 Taco Charlton DE 4 Michigan Sr                  77            272       3.53 64.69 -0.19 -34.08
27 Mitch Trubisky QB 3 North Carolina rJr                  75            220       2.93 64.46 -0.23 -9.58
28 John Ross WR 3 Washington rJr                  71            190       2.68 64.23 -0.23 -22.69
29 Marlon Humphrey CB 4 Alabama rSo                  73            196       2.68 63.31 -0.92 -10.92
30 Carl Lawson DE 5 Auburn rJr                  74            253       3.42 61.23 -2.08 -37.54
31 Charles Harris DE 6 Missouri rJr                  75            255       3.40 60.23 -1.00 -38.54
32 David Njoku TE 2 Miami (Fla.) rSo                  76            240       3.16 59.65 -0.58 -15.27
33 Dan Feeney OG 1 Indiana rSr                  76            304       4.00 59.23 -0.42 0.00
34 Budda Baker FS 2 Washington Jr                  70            192       2.74 57.73 -1.50 -28.88
35 Quincy Wilson CB 5 Florida Jr                  72            209       2.90 57.73 0.00 -16.50
36 Jarrad Davis ILB 2 Florida Sr                  73            238       3.26 51.58 -6.15 -33.96
37 Caleb Brantley DT 3 Florida rJr                  74            297       4.01 51.54 -0.04 -44.73
38 Tre'Davious White CB 6 LSU Sr                  72            184       2.56 49.88 -1.66 -24.35
39 Patrick Mahomes QB 4 Texas Tech Jr                  74            229       3.09 49.04 -0.84 -25.00
40 Cordrea Tankersley CB 7 Clemson Sr                  72            200       2.78 48.96 -0.08 -25.27
41 Garett Bolles OT 3 Utah Jr                  77            296       3.84 48.81 -0.15 -25.15
42 Forrest Lamp OG 2 Western Kentucky rSr                  76            305       4.01 48.16 -0.65 -11.07
43 Gareon Conley CB 8 Ohio State rJr                  72            195       2.71 45.73 -2.43 -28.50
44 Jourdan Lewis CB 9 Michigan Sr                  70            188       2.69 44.85 -0.88 -29.38
45 Ryan Anderson OLB 4 Alabama rSr                  74            258       3.49 44.27 -0.58 -31.65
46 Adoree' Jackson CB 10 Southern California Jr                  71            185       2.61 43.35 -0.92 -30.88
47 JuJu Smith-Schuster WR 4 Southern California Jr                  74            220       2.97 42.36 -0.99 -44.56
48 Pat Elflein C 1 Ohio State rSr                  74            300       4.05 42.08 -0.28 0.00
49 Desmond King CB 11 Iowa Sr                  71            206       2.90 41.62 -0.46 -32.62
50 Haason Reddick OLB 5 Temple rSr                  73            237       3.25 40.92 -0.70 -35.00
51 Ethan Pocic C 2 LSU Sr                  78            307       3.94 39.73 -1.19 -2.35
52 Carlos Watkins DT 4 Clemson rSr                  76            312       4.11 39.27 -0.46 -57.00
53 Joe Mixon RB 4 Oklahoma rSo                  73            226       3.10 38.69 -0.58 -49.88
54 D'Onta Foreman RB 5 Texas Jr                  73            249       3.41 33.69 -5.00 -54.88
55 DeMarcus Walker DE 7 Florida State Sr                  74            273       3.69 33.12 -0.58 -65.65
56 Jaleel Johnson DT 5 Iowa rSr                  75            309       4.12 33.00 -0.12 -63.27
57 Curtis Samuel WR 5 Ohio State Jr                  71            200       2.82 32.48 -0.52 -54.44
58 Evan Engram TE 3 Ole Miss Sr                  75            236       3.15 31.73 -0.75 -43.19
59 Montravius Adams DT 6 Auburn Sr                  75            308       4.11 30.38 -1.35 -65.88
60 Raekwon McMillan ILB 3 Ohio State Jr                  74            240       3.24 29.96 -0.42 -55.58
61 Chris Wormley DT 7 Michigan rSr                  77            297       3.86 29.56 -0.40 -66.71
62 Alvin Kamara RB 6 Tennessee rJr                  70            215       3.07 29.32 -0.24 -59.26
63 Isaiah Ford WR 6 Virginia Tech Jr                  73            190       2.60 29.20 -0.12 -57.72
64 Cooper Kupp WR 7 Eastern Washington rSr                  73            198       2.71 27.19 -2.01 -59.73
Injured
65
Dede Westbrook WR 8 Oklahoma Sr                  71            175       2.46 26.42 -0.77 -60.50
66 Antonio Garcia OT 4 Troy rSr                  78            293       3.76 25.00 -1.42 -48.96
67 Justin Evans SS 3 Texas A&M Sr                  72            193       2.68 24.92 -0.08 -69.66
68 Dorian Johnson OG 3 Pittsburgh Sr                  77            300       3.90 24.80 -0.12 -34.43
69 Cameron Sutton CB 12 Tennessee Sr                  71            182       2.56 24.42 -0.38 -49.81
70 Zay Jones WR 9 East Carolina Sr                  74            202       2.73 23.92 -0.50 -63.00
71 Marcus Williams FS 3 Utah Jr                  72            195       2.71 23.72 -0.20 -62.90
72 Jake Butt TE 4 Michigan Sr                  77            250       3.25 23.19 -0.53 -51.73
73 Brad Kaaya QB 5 Miami (Fla.) Jr                  76            210       2.76 22.52 -0.67 -51.52
74 Samaje Perine RB 7 Oklahoma Jr                  70            235       3.36 22.12 -0.40 -66.46
75 Bucky Hodges TE 5 Virginia Tech rJr                  78            245       3.14 21.84 -0.28 -53.08
76 T.J. Watt OLB 6 Wisconsin rJr                  76            243       3.20 20.60 -1.24 -55.32
77 Taylor Moton OT 5 Western Michigan rSr                  77            330       4.29 19.81 -0.79 -54.15
78 Chidobe Awuzie CB 13 Colorado Sr                  71            205       2.89 19.54 -0.27 -54.69
79 Roderick Johnson OT 6 Florida State Jr                  78            308       3.95 18.32 -1.22 -55.64
80 Dion Dawkins OG 4 Temple Sr                  76            317       4.17 17.72 -0.60 -41.51
81 Obi Melifonwu SS 4 Connecticut rSr                  76            219       2.88 17.69 -0.03 -76.88
82 Jordan Willis DE 8 Kansas State Sr                  76            255       3.36 16.92 -0.77 -81.85
83 Jordan Leggett TE 6 Clemson Sr                  77            258       3.35 16.12 -0.80 -58.81
84 Rasul Douglas CB 14 West Virginia rSr                  74            204       2.76 15.52 -0.60 -58.71
85 Jamaal Williams RB 8 Brigham Young rSr                  72            211       2.93 15.50 -0.02 -73.08
86 Dawuane Smoot DE 9 Illinois Sr                  75            255       3.40 15.40 -0.10 -83.37
87 Elijah Qualls DT 8 Washington rJr                  73            321       4.40 15.40 0.00 -80.87
88 Adam Bisnowaty OT 7 Pittsburgh rSr                  78            307       3.94 15.38 -0.02 -58.58
89 Joe Mathis DE 10 Washington Sr                  74            255       3.45 15.35 -0.04 -83.42
90 Eddie Jackson SS 5 Alabama Sr                  72            194       2.69 15.28 -0.07 -79.30
91 Corn Elder CB 15 Miami (Fla.) Sr                  70            179       2.56 15.24 -0.04 -58.99
92 ArDarius Stewart WR 10 Alabama rJr                  72            204       2.83 15.00 -0.24 -71.92
93 Amara Darboh WR 11 Michigan rSr                  74            215       2.91 14.04 -0.96 -72.88
94 Kevin King CB 16 Washington Sr                  75            192       2.56 13.60 -0.44 -60.63
Injured
95
Dalvin Tomlinson DT 9 Alabama rSr                  75            312       4.16 12.12 -1.48 -84.15
96 Jarron Jones DT 10 Notre Dame rSr                  77            315       4.09 12.08 -0.04 -84.19
97 Tanoh Kpassagnon DE 11 Villanova Sr                  79            280       3.54 11.69 -0.39 -87.08
98 Marcus Maye FS 4 Florida rSr                  71            216       3.04 11.68 -0.01 -74.94
99 Davon Godchaux DT 11 LSU Jr                  76            293       3.86 11.48 -0.20 -84.79
100 Vincent Taylor DT 12 Oklahoma State rJr                  74            310       4.19 11.08 -0.40 -85.19


  • Avg Score - The ranking were compiled from individual ballots provided by 27 evaluators (out of 75 asked to contribute).  They were asked to list the Top 100 prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft.  We specifically asked them NOT to attempt a “mock” draft, but to just list the best prospects, whatever that meant to them.  Their number 1 overall pick was awarded 100 points, their number 2 received 99 points and so on until their final selection at number 100 received 1 point.  The score listed below represents the average score each player received (that the #1 did not receive a score of 100 indicates he was not a unanimous choice).  Because of the aggregate nature of the poll, each evaluator included some really interesting picks that did not make the final list – the picks were so brilliant, not everyone thought of them and so, their average score did not make the final cut. Fortunately, we will be posting each evaluators’ Top 100 and comparing the degree to which each departed from the final aggregate list.  

  • Position Rank represents that player’s rank at his position.


  • Density is the player’s Weight in lbs. divided by his height in inches.  This is useful in helping determine how massive a player is. Who is bigger: a player who is 6’2” and 203 lbs or a player how is 5’9” and 189?  Interestingly, they have the same “density”, 2.47 lbs/in.   This is useful in comparing players within their position groups or opposing players (OL vs DL; WR vs. CB, LB/S vs RB/TE or whatever combination).   
  •  “Behind Prior” indicates how many points a player is from the player in the slot directly before him (for example, if the 5 player has a score of 92.00 and the 6th player has a score of 91.25 the “Behind Prior” for #6 would be -0.75.
  • Behind Pos #1 indicates how many points a player is behind the number 1 player at his position.


The Evaluators


I would recommend taking a moment to check out each evaluators media pages.  There are a lot of insightful people out there, so get to know them.  

@elevenbravo138 – Bill Carroll is the Consensus Draft Services Director of HBCU Scouting National Gridiron Network Special Contributor with weekly call in shows.   

@NflDraft_KC Blake is a writer and contributor for  TheChiefswire.

@Vixticator resides in my maternal homeland of South Carolina and contributes to ZoneReads.

@KylePollockFF Kyle is a Nittany Lion and current contributor to Rotoviz and Dynasty League Football.

@Draftday101 Antoine is a self-described football junky, nfl draft novelist and faithful USC, Chargers and Padres fan.

@BenjaminSolak is a staffer for @sec125 covering the Philadelphia Eagles. Hasn’t had a bad day in 6 years.

@Jimetrics Jim Cobern specializes in age, athletic and production analysis in football.  A real numbers guy.

@MontelNFL Montel Hardy is a Kinesiology Masters candidate at NIU and NFL Draft Analyst INSC who contributes his G.O.O.D. QB analytical profiles to NGSCSports.

@GeoffTheScout UT Volunteer Geoffrey Godfrey actively scouts and recruits baseball and football through his  4 Aces Scouting.

@dbyrne70 Doug Byrne is life long Giants fan who runs with the Crimson Tide.  Oh, did I mention he’s a American Yankee who now lives in Sweden? 

@_ChristianPage Normally, Star Wars, Auburn sports and Tar Heel basketball do NOT mix, but CP makes it work.  A contributor to The Draftster.

@Mathbomb Kent Lee Platte never met a formula he didn’t like. Writer for PrideofDetroit.com through the SB Nation platform.

@zonereads Football bloggers providing NFL Draft prospect breakdowns; film, stats, & subjective analysis; commentary on issues of the day; and more. FBS coach on staff! Zonereads.com

@AJMilackNFL A.J. is a hard working man, offering content through three sources:  NFL Film Study and Fantasy Football reporting for his own site, QB Analysis at QB Mecca,   and NFL Draft updates at The Draftster.

@TheFFMadman – Buckeye who is a self -described draft junkie and recovering Browns fan.

@SMBLOB Proudly proclaiming “There is no offseason!”  SMB covers the Pacific Northwest like rain clouds for all your sports needs.

@pacificscouting Lead Devy Analyst for DraftFFactory who boasts 10.7M Vine loops (as a Gen X’er, I’m assuming that’s pretty good).   Self-proclaimed KD Cannon and Carlos Hernandez Truther.
@Russell_Brown51 Father, Detroit Lions and MSU Spartans fan and High School defensive line coach.  In that order.  Contributor to nflmocks.com.

@DTC_RileyB  Looking out from Chattanooga, Riley is Lead ADP Analyst and Staff Writer for FFDynasty Trades DTC stands for Dynasty Trade Calculator…check it out. He is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association…so he’s got, like, papers.

@ChaseCameron_ A self-described socially awkward NFL Draft Nerd, Chase hails from the Land of Mork and Mindy country, Boulder, CO.

@Draft_Brian Brian Johannes lives in Cornhusker country and is NFL Draft Analyst for nfldraftgeek.com who dabbles in WWE.   (But, who hasn’t?)

@TheMockingDraft NFL Draft and Football Recruiting coverage out of ATL.  Adds to the Sparty posse in the evaluator pool.

@DonreyMarinas My foxhole mate on Hackenberg Hill.  The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “Faith, Family, Football,” says it all.

@nfldraftscout Straight outta Joplin, a crazy NFL draft lead writer for Bleacher Report named Miller gave me permission to use his top 100 in our aggregate list.  Find him on Snapchat/Instagram/Facebook at @nfldraftscout.  

(One contributor requested to have his name and data removed and two others went AWOL and dropped off Twitter so we will allow them to remain anonymous.)

Shameless Self-Promotion!

The Post Combine Ballot will be available in a few weeks so please feel free to email me at boombearfootballmail to be added to the list of evaluators.


Also, go like the new Boombearjr Football Analysis Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/boombearjr/.

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