In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (Touchdown Wire’s editor) discuss the six prospects Greg liked the most, regardless of draft pick or position, from among the more than 200 players he watched in detail in the pre-draft process.
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Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M (Miami Dolphins, 3rd round, 21st pick)
Greg: “He’s a really interesting kind of runner, because he has a track background. I mean, he was a sprinter running 60 meters and 200 meters… therefore, he runs a bit differently. He’s a bit stiffer through his core, because that’s how you train for track. Normally, when you think of running backs, you think of looser-hipped guys, and guys who make defenders miss at the second and third level. He’s more of a darter and a slasher than he is shifty and elusive. He has a stop-and-start, change-of-direction suddenness and explosiveness, and he can re-accelerate to top speed from a stop.”
Nick Herbig, EDGE, Wisconsin (Pittsburgh Steelers, 4th round, 30th pick)
Greg: “I think he just knows how to rush the quarterback, and that’s trait that’s always in demand. Now, people are going to look at his weight [6-foot-2, 240] and his arm length [31 1/4 inches, which is 18th percentile among edge-rushers since 1999], and that’s one reason I’m sure he was drafted in the fourth round. His tape tells you that he’s a very good pass-rusher, but then, you try to project his transition, and teams might say, ‘I’m not sure.’ And that’s a fair debate to have. He played almost exclusively on the ball, and some people have projected him to be an off-ball linebacker. I don’t know what the Steelers’ plan is for him. But he has slippery, explosive traits as an edge-rusher, he had subtle hand usage, he was able to clear the arc, flatten his rush path, and close with speed to the quarterback.”
Jonathan Mingo, WR, Mississippi (Carolina Panthers, 2nd round, 8th pick)
Greg: “I watched him super-early in the process — I may have watched his tape before I went to the Super Bowl. And I came away saying to myself, ‘This guy is a really good receiver.’ He has size, he has stride length, he has a physical style, he’s competitive, and you can line him up anywhere. Stylistically, he reminded me of [Eagles receiver] A.J. Brown. And in some ways, because he did line up in the backfield at times, and he was clearly formation-versatile, there were times I thought of Deebo Samuel. He could be used in the context of an offense in a similar fashion.”
Riley Moss, CB, Iowa (Denver Broncos, 3rd round, 20th pick)
Greg: “He’s got great size. Almost 6-foot-1, 193, and he has phenomenal athletic testing measurables. I have no idea why people think he should move to safety, but if you look at his size, hie testing measurables, and his tape, he is a pretty good cornerback prospect! He ran a 4.45, which is just fine. And by the way, on the second play of the game against Ohio State, he was matched up in press man against Marvin Harrison Jr. — it was a vertical route, and he was stride-for-stride with him. He had no issues playing mirror-match press-man against all of Ohio State’s receivers, who are all five-star recruit receivers.”
This is the play Greg's talking about with Riley Moss, who went to the Broncos — second play against Ohio State, and he takes Marvin Harrison Jr. all the way up at the top of the screen. C.J. Stroud went elsewhere with the ball, and you can see him looking Harrison's way first. pic.twitter.com/W60z9kQnyb
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 2, 2023
Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami (Chicago Bears, 2nd round, 25th pick)
Greg: “I didn’t view there to be a lot of mystery with this guy and his projection and transition to the league. He is a physical, press man corner. I didn’t see every cornerback that was eligible for the draft, but of the cornerbacks I saw, I thought he was as physical as any I had seen. He’s clearly comfortable playing that way, and he’s got explosive athletic traits. He plays with a swager, and a physical and mental arrogance, that every defensive backs coach would love to have.”
Byron Young, DL, Alabama (Las Vegas Raiders, 3rd round, 7th pick)
Greg: “I really liked Byron Young. I thought that he was scheme-versatile and position versatile. He played inside at Alabama, and there were times when he lined up as a wide-9 [end] and rushed the quarterback. He showed off-the-ball quickness to play in a one-gap system if you wanted him to, and he had point-of-attack strength to be a two-gap player if you chose to do that. Teams now are not one or the other 100%. I thought he had refined hand usage for a college player, particularly when he was rushing the quarterback, and it did show up when he was a run defender, as well.”
