ESPN: Way-too-early 2017 NFL mock draft has Gophers Mitch Leidner going in 1st round!

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GopherinPhilly said:
Is this more about Mitch being first round material or about Dallas being an incompetent franchise?
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Bingo. I think this is actually a rip on Jerry Jones as much or more than it is a real prediction of where Mitch will go.
 

I have always been hard on Mitch until he proved himself in the second half of the season last year... I'm actually not surprised his name is being mentioned for the NFL, and even as a 1st rounder. You have to remember these NFL "experts" usually go on physical attributes first and foremost. So Mitch definitely has the prototypical build of an NFL QB, and my guess is that if our offense is more QB friendly this year, and Mitch excels at it... who knows what could happen. I hope he's taking this attention and realizing he has a great chance if he works hard.
 

These early season projections are always interesting. But, considering the pass protection and the receiver group as a whole (thinking of Maxx as an outlier) you have to compare to the Hack situation. Hack had all world talent coming in and the scouts gave him a pass because of his ridiculous offensive line.

Not saying Mitch has the natural passing skills of Hack, because he doesn't, but if he can show he's developing pocket awareness, improving his reads, and stand in the pocket he's got a chance to not only go to the combine but NFL guys seem to value size near the top of the list. He's also got some mobility.

Maybe the new QB coaches can work some magic this year and the offensive line will give him time and the WRs will run good routes and catch the ball. Maybe all this press will go to his head and he'll implode. It's going to be a fun ride.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Care to make a wager? If you're so certain of it ("zero chance") you should be willing to give me odds. It's like free money for you. 10:1? Your $100 vs. my $10? Should be an easy bet for you to make since there's "zero chance".
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I'll take those odds.
 

Mackey and Judd don't generally have great Gopher takes, but Judd had a good one: "If Leidner is a 1st round pick, I will go on a hunger strike that will lead to my demise."
 



As most here know, it isnt just McShay that predicts Mitch to be a draft pick...maybe the only guy that is predicting first round, but plenty of people, for the last 6+ months have been predicting round 5+....

things Mitch has that NFL teams love...
-Size
-Athleticism for the postion
-3 year starter in a major conference (assuming he doesnt get replaced by Green or Demry)
-Team loves him

Of course there are the decision making, and throwing inaccuracies...but the other things mentioned will get him some notice on the NFL level.
 

I would love for for this to happen as it would mean great things for next season. I would be surprised if he is selected in the first few rounds. But it a year ago you had told me wentz from NDSU would be drafted as the second player in the first round I would have said no way too.
 

If go back and look at Mitch objectively and remove our emotional attachments, he does show some NFL promise. For most of his career he was put into impossible passing situations. They would very seldom pass until it was 3rd and very long. In games where they were down so far that they had to open up the passing game he was able to throw some very nice passes. Also, when they took the chains off of the offense in the second half of last year he also looked fairly good as a passer. He was the best QB in the last two bowl games they played.

Of course, it is all predicated on this years performance, but he has the chance to have a breakout season. Mitch will be healthy this season and he is very seasoned...


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I'd love for it to happen and for him to succeed in the NFL
 



He wont go in the first round but I can see him getting drafted. I don't think he will play much in the NFL if at all.
 





If Mitch gets drafted at all I will eat my phone.
 


theTurning said:
If Mitch gets drafted at all I will eat my phone.
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You'd rather eat your phone than lose $100? Something tells me you're just talking to look cool and detached and that you don't really believe what you're saying.
 

tikited said:
There is zero chance that he has zero chance of being drafted, so you would lose automatically.
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I never said it was 0%. But I'll take DP's 10/1 odds. I'm spending his $10 already.
 

theTurning said:
If Mitch gets drafted at all I will eat my phone.
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Have you seen the YouTube videos of what happens when the battery is punctured? Please join Judd on his hunger strike, it's more humane.
 

theTurning said:
If Mitch gets drafted at all I will eat my phone.
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Apparently you haven't paid attention to all of the awful QBs that have been drafted over the years. Leidner definitely gets drafted if he has a good year. Plus next year's QB class is worse than this years.
 

howeda7 said:
Mackey and Judd don't generally have great Gopher takes, but Judd had a good one: "If Leidner is a 1st round pick, I will go on a hunger strike that will lead to my demise."
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Judd's demise happened years ago.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Apparently you haven't paid attention to all of the awful QBs that have been drafted over the years. Leidner definitely gets drafted if he has a good year. Plus next year's QB class is worse than this years.
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Yeah I think people are equating being drafted with NFL starter which is far from the case. Now if he did turn out to be a first round guy that would be a different story but it would shock me if he was drafted in the first or 2nd round just based on what we have seen out of him for the past 3+ years.

I agree that if he has a solid year he probably gets drafted, would need to have a spectacular year to get drafted in the first round. With that said, the chances of him being anything more then a 2nd or 3rd string guy in the NFL seem really thin at this point. There is just nothing about his game right now that screams "future NFL starter".
 

Mitch won't go in the 1st round, but what is the more preposterous statement: Mitch is a 1st rounder or Mitch is not a D1 QB?
 

GopherHomer said:
Mitch won't go in the 1st round, but what is the more preposterous statement: Mitch is a 1st rounder or Mitch is not a D1 QB?
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Both statements are stupid though I would say right now the 1st rounder one is more preposterous because if the team had a backup that could get the job done Mitch would have been demoted already.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Both statements are stupid though I would say right now the 1st rounder one is more preposterous because if the team had a backup that could get the job done Mitch would have been demoted already.
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A third entry!
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Apparently you haven't paid attention to all of the awful QBs that have been drafted over the years. Leidner definitely gets drafted if he has a good year. Plus next year's QB class is worse than this years.
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I will say it again: Trevor Siemian was drafted a few years ago for crying out loud. His stellar senior season included a 5.6 yards per attempt average, 7 TDS and 11 INT.

Good info over at The Daily Gopher: http://www.thedailygopher.com/2016/5/6/11607834/minnesota-football-in-defense-of-mitch-leidner-gophers-quarterback
 

march madness said:
In the years leading into their final seasons that McShay is comparing.



In 2012, Bortles was 63%, 251 for 3000yards, 25 td, 7 int. He left after 2013.

Wentz in 2014 was 63.7%, 228 for 3111 yards, 25 td's and 10 int.

Leindner 2015 was 60%, 242 for 2700 yards, 14 td's and 11 Int.

While I liked what I saw of Leidner the second half of the season, I just don't see him going this high. Nor do I see the possibility of him throwing 20+ td's on this team. I would love it but I sure wouldn't bet on it. If he has similar numbers I don't see him going higher than the 3rd round.
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Actually, with this year's schedule I do see him throwing 20 TDs and having 2-3 fewer Int's. Mitch only has to be moderately better compared to last year...really just more consistent. If he plays close to how he did the last half of the year, he'll have the numbers.
 

Does any other fan base in D1 have as many people as the Gophers who hate their starting QB?

Look - Leidner is not a "pretty" QB. He's not going to throw pretty spirals that make fans go "ooh" and "aah."

But, we've now seen more than one NFL analyst throw out the possibility of Leidner being drafted - or even drafted early. These people study this stuff for a living - but they're wrong and all the Gopher fans who hate Leidner are right. Sure!

If I had to bet my mortgage, I would say Leidner is drafted in rounds 4-6 - unless he either A: has a huge season with career-best stats, or B: has a bad year/gets hurt/gets benched.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Does any other fan base in D1 have as many people as the Gophers who hate their starting QB?
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Justin Gaard basically went off about this on KFAN a few days ago, and he's right. I'm with the rest that think it's unlikely that Leidner goes in the first round, but who cares? Having one of the big draft experts on ESPN talk about Leidner as a potential 1st round pick is only a good thing for Leidner and the Gophers program. Not sure why some are so wound up about this...
 

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