2024 NFL Mock Draft 3.0: I Was Wrong to Start 2.0 Before Free Agency, I'm Sorry • Page 12

Why ignore the grades? Should that not provide additional context? I can’t imagine this website is knocking him that hard if they still rank him as the third best corner

 

Is DJ claiming that of Rakestraw? I don’t see any tweets of that and the last mock he had of him going in the first was on Feb 20

 

He probably changed course after the Combine

 

Yeah I remember hearing from a handful of analysts that Rakestraw was a round 1/2 corner with five other corners ahead of him typically, but I’ve generally heard that the combine hurt his stock

 

Also think that measuring yards per coverage snap isn’t that clean. We’re talking about corners who sometimes allow less than 200 yards in coverage all year. Rakestraw slipping and allowing a single 61 yard reception that didn’t ultimately matter hurts his averages a lot compared to other top CBs - that one fluke play was literally 1/3 of the TOTAL yards he allowed in 2023.

I still think only being targeted 28 times is very impressive and I still saw great film against good receivers. You also definitely have to factor in how good he is at coming downhill and making tackles because teams definitely view that as valuable. He might be smallish but he HITS, takes pretty good angles, and does not hesitate to attack blocks.

 

I assume you were going to dismiss it entirely because of the grades and their subjectivity haha

 

Matt Miller had him as a first rounder, but I think I’ve seen most have him around 2nd-3rd rounder ish.

 

He was projected as high as "will definitely not be there for Jacksonville at 17". I think he's perfectly average. Maybe it's a good pick at 48 but I don't think he's a top 50 player.

 

What he has is very hard to coach. I'd say hes top 50 all day on skill and physicality alone. He has great footwork, he loves to hit and tackle and has an "attack" mentality but without being reckless, he steps up his game against good talent and frustrates them / keeps them uncomfortable. At the corner position, sometimes I personally like that more than traits.

That said? Terrion Arnold getting targeted 23 times and allowing 0 catches in the Iron Bowl... that's what you want in round ONE. haha. Or Quinyon Mitchell allowing literally 0 catches in all the 1 on 1 drills he did at the Senior Bowl and getting 3 PBUs in the Senior Bowl game.

 

He allowed a very high reception rate and high QBR. I know also his ball skills were on the lower end. Didn't have his hand on the ball very often. He's experienced in press and run defense so he is a scheme fit for sure. Quinyon I like a lot but limited in press and slot so I don't think we are gonna target him. I think it's gonna come down to Alabama

 

well hold on, let me clarify a few things here. I know you are annoyed by this at times but these are legitimate questions I have:

1) By reception rate, do you mean allowing 18 receptions on 28 targets = more than 50% of targets caught? Because only getting targeted 28 times as the top guy is still good coverage. Naturally a guy who plays press a little bit more often than most, the nature of press is: if he gets targeted its probably because he made a mistake. So I feel like it just comes with the territory that it'd be a higher catch "rate".

Imo a better measure of press-heavy corners is how often they're dissuading QBs from throwing there at all cause they're right in the receiver's pocket. By that measure, Rakestraw's doing great. Most CB1s got thrown at more than him.

2) QBR or passer rating? They actually are not the same thing at all & I think the former is stupid so just clarifying here.

3) Ennis Rakestraw only got targeted 28 times and got his hand on 4 of them. Last year he played 13 games and got 12 PBUs. When people say he "doesn't have ball production" they must strictly mean interceptions because he definitely got his hand on the ball. He also forced two fumbles this year and forced one and recovered one last year, so he's around the ball when defending the run and YAC as well.

I personally think Quinyon could do anything. Imo off-man coverage is the hardest thing to do cause it's all read-and-react, and he's great at that. At the Senior Bowl and on red zone passes on film I saw a lot of physicality so I don't think he'd have any issues in a press scheme. Not one of those guys who needs to be "protected" by off-man cause he can't jam and fight at the catch point / LOS... he definitely can.

 

Okay if you're going to give me those long posts I have to wait until I'm not on my phone at Ana's parents lol. I want to respond but don't have the patience to do it in the phone so im gonna pause this until I'm home so I can give you an actual response haha

 

update the OP you turd @CarpetElf

 

*when you get home, cause that sucks on a phone too* yeah can you add in the trades for Aiyuk and Sneed pretty please

 

Tbh I'd be pretty stoked if we went Aiyuk / Sweat, but in this scenario I'd still wish we kept Darious Williams for the last year of his deal lol. Even if he's now a slot corner and Darby is now the outside guy in this scheme. Maybe he would've said yes to an extension that lowers his cap hit for more job security in his hometown of Jax.

 

Still plenty of great nickels left. (And a few better than rakestraw )

 

Done

 

I don't want a nickel only per se. I want a guy who can step in for Darby when he inevitably gets injured and take over him when his contract ends in 2 years as well.

 

With the 55th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida



Though Miami arguably has the best WR duo in the NFL, their depth after those 2 is severely lacking. Pearsall can step in right away and play a decent amount of snaps in Mike McDaniel's high octane offense.

 

Getting higher and higher on him. Would be an excellent Ridley replacement.

 

not nickel only, but that's where he's likely to play at least year one

 

Ennis Rakestraw is the name of a side character in Star Wars or something

 

He’s absolutely a human macguffin our main characters need to find for information to the final macguffin

 

same

the AR/Pearsall reunion sounds great if they go round 2/3 WR and the top guys go first

 

He's gonna be a much better pro now that he has a QB that won't throw him graveyard balls*

*beyond hospital ball. Straight to the morgue