Reminder: the Pro Day season just ended. Every mock or big board you've read before now is meaningless

[Mr. Scot]

Past experience has taught us that draft boards can vary, sometimes wildly, from team to team.

Expecting anybody in the media to have a handle on that is asking a lot.

[LinvilleGorge]

I don't care where people want to rate Jaelen Strong. I've been screaming for that guy way before the combine.

[Toker Smurf]

Saying things are meaningless, is meaningless.

[iamhubby1]

What I would consider the bigger picture...

Everything that you've been hearing up to now and everything you'll hear between now and the draft about who's rising, who's falling, what round someone is projected to, etc etc is all coming from media and draft analysts. As such, it's accuracy is very hit or miss.

You'll see guys talk about what they're hearing from inside sources, but at a time of the year when nobody wants to show their cards, how seriously would you really take that?

Draft projections are rarely worth much past the first few picks. Nobody has the kind of info they think they do, and even the best analysts rarely see things the way team scouts and personnel men do.

Draft prognostication is loads of fun to talk about, but putting any real faith in it is generally a mistake.

I had a friend back in the day that did both radio, and wrote for the local paper. He said you would be amazed at what you would hear in the bars. Most guys love to talk football. Just not about their own teams. And if they did, it was always "Off the record".

He always had great stories. Man I hated that guy. Although, because of him, I did get to meet a lot of sports people.

Although that was a long time before all these mock drafts starting coming out. So you only heard and read about a handful. Local papers, and Sports Illustrated was about the gist of it.

[Riverboat Ron]

Do you mean to tell me the draft mag I got back in November is useless?

[gettlemanjack]

I don't care where people want to rate Jaelen Strong. I've been screaming for that guy way before the combine.

No, you liked Devin Smith. Thread: "What receiver do you want the panthers to draft?" Third post in thread. What did you write?

[jdpanther5]

No, you liked Devin Smith. Thread: "What receiver do you want the panthers to draft?" Third post in thread. What did you write?

Obviously we can only like one player at each position.

[gettlemanjack]

Obviously we can only like one player at each position.

Since the Combine, he has only liked Jaelen Strong. Every WR thread he posts in now he swears Jaelen Strong is up there with Parker, White, and Cooper and that there is this huge drop off after that.

[LinvilleGorge]

Since the Combine, he has only liked Jaelen Strong. Every WR thread he posts in now he swears Jaelen Strong is up there with Parker, White, and Cooper and that there is this huge drop off after that.

 

Evidently the combine happened on January 16th this year.

[LinvilleGorge]

FWIW, I still really like Devin Smith.  He's the type of deep threat we could really use.  I'm just a little afraid he's a one trick pony, but it's a helluva trick.

[bababoey]

Most scouts will go by game tape.  The combine, pro days, private workouts are nice for guys who work for the media and may get some guys drafted late, but most scouts go by game tape.  Now how many GM's listen to just the scouts and not as much to coaches, that's a whole nother question.

 

Mostly the combine and pro days are important for medical and background checks and interviews with the players,  but 40 times and strength and quickness,  you can see that on the game film.  The guys moving players from the 3rd round to the 1st round based on how they ran at the combine or how quick they ran the 3 cone,  that's guys in the media that want you to go to their website or watch their discussions on TV to get better ratings.

[PanthersUnited]

I think people look at mock drafts with the wrong idea. Mock drafts arent meant to be accurate per se, they are however very useful to get a consensus on what players are legit 1st round prospects. I only look at mocks from the big names. Bucky Brooks, Prisco, Mel Kiper etc. I dont put stock into fan made mocks

[PntherPryd]

Has there ever been a mock draft that was accurate? Even half-way through first round ? That is the guy I would take seriously. The 3-5 round mocks are stupendously not useful.

[csx]

The only thing really interesting is to see how the chips actually fall On draft weekend. Mocks just fill space.