NFL Draft Thread: Gophers predictions, articles, analysis mock draft, tweets, etc.

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,588
Reaction score
15,671
Points
113
Big week for a number of Gophers and for the program. We could have 4-5 players drafted with a few others as highly sought undrafted free agent rookies.

Go Gophers!!
 

Big STrib profile: Ex-Gophers star set to catch NFL dream, maybe as a first-rounder

Life outside football hardly existed for Maxx Williams over the past year. The former Gophers tight end was making a seamless transition from collegiate athlete to NFL prospect, without a break until the week before the NFL draft.

So the Waconia native is now on a weeklong vacation in Aruba. It’s a brief moment for Williams to unwind away from football.

“My life is changing pretty drastically and pretty quickly when I get back,” Williams said. “This is the last part of my life where I can just relax and really have no worries.”

The draft, which begins Thursday night in Chicago, will be a hectic process that will determine the team for which Williams, widely regarded as the top tight end prospect in the draft, will play. He’ll be a third-generation draftee in his family.

Williams opted to turn pro after his redshirt sophomore season, leaving behind two years of eligibility, to follow a family tradition. His grandfather, Dr. Bob Williams, played quarterback at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Bears in 1959 in the 28th round (332nd overall), passing up pro football to enter medical school. Maxx’s father, Brian, was a first-round pick (18th overall) for the Giants as a center in 1989 and played 11 seasons in New York. Brian Williams met his wife, volleyball player Rochele Goetz, when both were athletes for the Gophers, and Rochele’s father and brother also are former Gophers football players.

“I just always remember the night I got drafted, the look in my dad’s eyes that you finally made it to that pinnacle,” Brian Williams said. “All your dreams as a child, fortunately [Maxx] was around a lot of NFL activities. He understood what the NFL is. But for me, sitting back the last couple months, I’m dying for draft day.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/301380681.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Chronicle Telegram: Minnesota’s Maxx Williams brings wealth of potential as top tight end prospect

After only two seasons playing for the University of Minnesota and before he could legally buy a beer, Maxx Williams declared for the NFL Draft.

He’s expected to be the first tight end taken Thursday night, sometime in the bottom third of the first round. The potential is obvious, but the question remains: Is he ready for life in the NFL?

“He’s ready athletically and physically,” Golden Gophers tight ends coach Rob Reeves told The Chronicle-Telegram. “And he has a great football mentality, a great football mind. He learns real fast and doesn’t make a lot of mental mistakes.”

Williams, who left Minnesota after his redshirt sophomore season, turned 21 earlier this month. The draft is all about forecasting future talent, and Williams’ youth, size (6-foot-4, 249 pounds), athleticism and NFL bloodlines make him attractive to teams in search of a tight end.

“The best thing about him is his ball skills, without a doubt,” Reeves said. “That’s what gets him noticed, that’s where he makes special plays.

“That’s obviously No. 1 and from there it becomes pretty balanced. He can do a lot of things, he’s not just a receiver in a big body. He’s tough, physical, will block at the line of scrimmage. He’s a pretty complete all-around tight end.”

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/...ings-wealth-potential-top-tight-end-prospect/

Go Gophers!!
 

STrib: Former Gophers running back rolls with NFL draft punches

David Cobb might not get picked until Day 3 of the NFL draft, between rounds four and seven, but analysts have referred to the former Gophers running back as a potential steal.

Cobb’s stock climbed at the Senior Bowl in January, when he rushed 11 times for 69 yards after checking in at 5-11, 229 pounds. Then, after weeks of training in Carson, Calif., Cobb went to the NFL combine and strained his left quadriceps while running the 40-yard dash.

It took an additional seven weeks before he finally could show teams he was healthy at his pro day in Minneapolis, on April 13. The Vikings and Ravens were among the teams with multiple people watching, and about 17 teams were represented.

Cobb said it had been “stressful” watching his name drop in the running back rankings. His cousin, former Gophers linebacker Damien Wilson, worked to keep his spirits up. Wilson made it through the combine healthy and hopes to become a late-round pick.

“I got kind of down a little bit when I got hurt, and it wasn’t healing as fast as I wanted it to,” Cobb said. “[Wilson] just always says, ‘Great things take time.’ He jokes about that a lot.”

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/301379971.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Sometimes Cobb moves the pile, sometimes he squirts through it.
 


Leidner's on the front page of ESPN right now. Getting sacked by Randy Gregory. But he's there nonetheless!
 

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NFL Draft Zone is very high on Wilson and Thompson.
 


<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

NFL Draft Zone is very high on Wilson and Thompson.

I think Wilson gets drafted, but I don't know if he can play outside. He looks like an ILB/MLB to me.
 



Turner is the guy who runs NFL Draft Zone.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>5) Favourite Day 3 Players:
Cedric Thompson, FS
Damien Wilson, LB
Chaz Green, OT
Darryl Roberts, CB
Bobby Richardson, DL
Josh Robinson, RB</p>— Dan Turner (@dtsturner) <a href="https://twitter.com/dtsturner/status/592830018428018688">April 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Man, I'd like to see the Vikings take Cobb in the third or fourth round. You can win games with a guy like that.
 

Projected top 10 pick Missouri DE Shane Ray just got arrested for marijuana with the draft being on Thursday.
 

Turner is the guy who runs NFL Draft Zone.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>5) Favourite Day 3 Players:
Cedric Thompson, FS
Damien Wilson, LB
Chaz Green, OT
Darryl Roberts, CB
Bobby Richardson,[/B] DL
Josh Robinson, RB</p>— Dan Turner (@dtsturner) <a href="https://twitter.com/dtsturner/status/592830018428018688">April 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


One of my favorite players of all time. He and Tony Kubek made a fantastic keystone combo.

Bobby Richardson.......tried bolding in the quote but wouldn't take.

:cheer:
 



MN Daily: Cedric Thompson hopes to overcome the odds once again

Navigating the Draft process

Because Thompson wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, he made sure he impressed teams at Minnesota’s Pro Day in March.

He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.37 seconds, below the 4.40-second range NFL scouts covet. And since then, teams have been frequently reaching out to him. Paguyo said more than 20 teams called Thompson last weekend alone.

“I had some really good numbers, and it made people go back and look at my film because I think the big question was, ‘How athletic really am I?’” Thompson said.

“On my Pro Day, I just opened a lot of eyes. Now, they see I’m athletic and a really good football player as well.”

The draft process can be nerve-wracking because there are no guarantees, especially for a prospect like Thompson.

Vereen has been a key resource for Thompson over the past four months as he’s gone from being a player flying under teams’ radar to a likely selection.

“I was in [Thompson’s] position a year ago,” Vereen said. “You have your workouts with your teams, you have your visits. But the majority of your time, you’re just working out and just waiting. Four months feels like a year.”

Vereen and Thompson talk about once per week, with the one-year NFL veteran Vereen offering advice.

“His name might have blown up after his Pro Day, but [for] anybody who’s played with him, his performance wasn’t a surprise at all,” Vereen said. “He’s just one of those guys who’s just a freak athlete [and] smart — definitely as smart of a [defensive back] as you’ll come across. He just loves the game.”

http://www.mndaily.com/sports/footb...e-again?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 

STrib: Cedric Thompson could be answer for NFL Draft's safety puzzle

Anybody who's followed my Gophers coverage closely the past 2+ years can probably guess how I feel about Thompson. In my 20+ years of sports writing, he ranks right at the top of the people I've ever come across. The story of his rise from Bombay Beach, Calif., to the Big Ten, and soon the NFL -- it's the stuff of movies. Actually, Thompson was featured prominently in the award-winning documentary "Bombay Beach."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/301575821.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BTN: 2015 NFL Draft: Top 3 Big Ten players at every position

TIGHT END

1. Maxx Williams, Minnesota
2. Tyler Kroft, Rutgers
3. Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State

Many believe Williams will be the first tight end to come off the board, either late in the first round or early in the second. Kroft is a project with the frame to develop into an every-down tight end, while Heuerman is a more complete tight end with good hands.

INSIDE LINEBACKER

1. Taiwan Jones, Michigan State
2. Damien Wilson, Minnesota
3. Curtis Grant, Ohio State

This is not a top-heavy position in this year’s draft, which means any of these guys could come off the board at any time. Jones leads the trio, as he possesses the size, power and athleticism to carve out a long NFL career.

http://btn.com/2015/04/28/2015-nfl-draft-top-3-big-ten-players-at-every-position/

Go Gophers!!
 


I was at a gym in Milwaukee last week and was eavesdropping on two local sports personalities working out next to me. One guy seemed pretty firm that the packers would take Maxx in round 1.
 

One of my favorite players of all time. He and Tony Kubek made a fantastic keystone combo.

:cheer:

Good one! Unfortunately, the reference will be lost on everyone born later than 1965 or so.
 


Damien is now ranked the #10 ILB on CBS and a projected 5-6th rounder so it looks like he is finally getting his due coupled with the NLF draft zone projection. They must have finally took the time to do a thorough film evaluation because forever he was a projected 7-FA and only ranked #20 for ILBs yet he did nothing to raise or lower his stock recently.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2060755/damien-wilson
 

Possibility of 3-4 Gophers drafted. When's the last time we had that many?
 




Thanks.

See, I knew the easiest way to find out.

Really the best way:
Cunningham's Law states "the best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer."
 

I will predict 3 Gophers get drafted.

A total of 4 rookie Gophers will be on NFL 53 man rosters week 1.
 



Pioneer Press: Ex-Gopher Williams could join elite father-son club

Archie and Eli Manning did it. So did Clay Matthews Jr. and Clay Matthews III. Maxx and Brian Williams could be next.

The Mannings (Mississippi) and the Matthewses (USC) are the only father and son who attended the same school to be taken in the first round of the NFL draft, according to draft analyst Dane Brugler.

In Thursday night’s first round of the draft in Chicago, University of Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams will try to follow his father, Brian Williams, a Gophers center taken No. 18 by the New York Giants in 1989.

“That would be pretty great to be a part of something like that, especially seeing what kinds of things (the Mannings and Matthewses) have done in the NFL,” Williams said Wednesday. “It would be an honor to go in the first round, but really I’m just looking for an opportunity to be in the NFL.”

http://www.wctrib.com/sports/pro/3734441-nfl-ex-gopher-williams-could-join-elite-father-son-club

Go Gophers!!
 




Top Bottom