NFL
By: Greg Rector
I love seeing all Mock Experts, including Mel Kiper Jr., make bold predictions about the next generation of players. As you all know, I do my mock drafts. However, I also emphasize in every article that a mock draft is simply an exercise to see where teams might take every player.
This season, I won’t do a full seven-round mock draft. The reason is simple: There will be many trades in the first round of this draft, and I cannot even come close to being accurate. Let’s get real about the NFL Draft. What I mean is the mere fact that all of these so-called experts predict who is going to be the next superstar. Every year, all the experts keep pushing players’ names up the draft boards. Why do you think Travon Walker was selected first in the draft two seasons ago? Walker has been hyped up after his draft combine.
Many experts have hailed Caleb Williams as the next “God Of Quarterbacking” this season. As I have said many times, playing quarterback in the NFL is a far different animal than playing quarterback in college. If you watch the games the way I do, and I only use the draft combine and the pro days as a further example of what I saw on tape, that’s how you should evaluate players.
NFL DRAFT
I’m sorry, Chicago Bears fans. The guy your hopes lie on isn’t ready to play quarterback in the NFL, nor is Drake Maye, Jaylen Daniels, or JJ McCarthy. So, fans in Washington and New England, especially those in Minnesota if they select JJ McCarthy, don’t yell at me when your teams continue to struggle. I don’t care what anyone says about the most honored part of any football team. The quarterbacks will get blamed when these teams continue to struggle.
Please don’t buy into what the experts tell you all, folks. Caleb Williams and the rest of the quarterbacks should be playing behind a veteran quarterback. Much like the best quarterback in the NFL currently, Patrick Mahomes, did when he sat behind Alex Smith.
You see good characteristics when you watch Caleb Williams play quarterback at Oklahoma and USC. However, go back and look at Caleb Williams’s losses, especially the loss to the Trojans’ number-one rival, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I’m sorry to my “Brother In Anger” Team NBS Media member George Lopez, who cheers for USC. The way the Notre Dame defense stymied Williams and caused him to throw three interceptions shows the work that Caleb Williams needs to do to be a number-one quarterback. Every NFL Draft, all the experts say, “This player is a generational player.” If you need proof of that statement, read what the “experts” said about Zach Wilson.
A Generational Player?
I don’t use that term with anyone entering the NFL Draft, especially when it comes to being the next great quarterback. To succeed as an NFL quarterback, you must also have ten other players on the field to help you succeed.
The obsession fans and NFL teams have with the quarterback position is ridiculous. Yes, great quarterbacks abound in the NFL. Yet, as great as Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen might be, neither has ever played in the Super Bowl.
The only reason none of these quarterbacks are ready to play in the NFL is simple: They are getting drafted every season at the NFL Draft, and the rest of the team still has huge holes. None of these quarterbacks have my first-round grade, and I rarely give one out in any season. The real hope for these players is that they will survive their first season without getting injured.
NFL defenses are the best in the business, and when these quarterbacks meet up with the likes of Aidan Hutchison, Chris Jones, and the rest of the great defenders in the NFL or throw several interceptions, don’t yell at them. Stop blaming these kids for the failure of the NFL teams to protect them better. Stop blaming them when they get sacked continually in the game after the game.
In this NFL Draft, I have one generationally talented player. That’s Marvin Harrison Jr.
The wide receiver is simply a fantastic athlete. Here’s another reason I believe in Harrison Jr: he didn’t participate in the draft combine or perform at the Ohio State pro day. This young man has enough game tape to prove his abilities.
NFL DRAFT ON TEAM NBS
Join TEAM NBS MEDIA on our YouTube channel rather than watch the big networks. Jeff Barnes and Bill Carroll are masters at detailing and discussing every player, whether the first guy taken or the 257th player drafted. We don’t just focus on the first round. We will be live on YouTube from when Caleb Williams gets drafted until the final pick is made on Saturday.
Find me on X @GregCowboys
