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

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Bob_Loblaw said:
I am not a Leidner basher, but don't you think it's entirely possible that out passing scheme had to stay pretty vanilla because of the execution? When Leidner was playing bad, I never thought "this play calling is really hurting Mitch". He was missing open receivers.
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I think it's a combination of things. Leidner's game really elevated last year after Kill stepped down. I don't think we saw Lingen go down the field at all when Kill was in charge. Kill steps down and Lingen is doing a lot of the same routes Maxx was running the year before. I'm not comparing Lingen and Williams, but the defenses were creeping up consistently the first half of the season. I suppose it can be argued that our opponents didn't fear Leidner so they were willing to sell out against the run knowing they wouldn't have to pay for it. On the other hand, our passing game was such under Limegrover that the opponents' DBs could cover our guys man-on-man because they couldn't get free. Part of that may be the overall quality of the WRs, particularly their lack of speed, but I never really saw any misdirection or use of motion (outside of Maye) and none of the motion was ever really used to spring a guy down the field. I'm not advocating the run-and-shoot, but the Kill/Limegrover preferred use of WRs was really geared toward blocking for the RBs down the field.. I could easily be wrong. We'll just have to see what Johnson does.
 


Some guy said:
I'll never understand Kiper and McShay?

If they were actually any good wouldn't an NFL team hire them?
If they were actually grading talent wouldn't they occasionally rate a player picked in the first round low and have a lower round player rated as higher?

Clearly they are just in it to get their list as close to the first round as possible.
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McShay is Kiffen to me. How in the world did he end up in his position? Groomed by somebody. But why?

Kiper, Chucky, and Berman:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5bSN2ZRiaG4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 


Okay Mitch, i need you to do two things, ready: 1. Take care of the football, no more fumbles and no bad interceptions. Got it? Okay 2. Now listen Mitch, I am going to help you as a passer with this next thing I am about to tell you, you ready? This is important, do you here me? Good, hear it is, throw the ball to your targets so that they can continue to run with the ball instead of having to go to the ground to make the catch. Does this make sense to you Mitch? You sure? Because when you throw the ball low, your guys can't get you more passing yards, you have to hit them in stride so they can run with the ball after they catch it. Do we understand each other Mitch? Okay good, your'e a fine QB and you're going to have a great year if you can do those two things, now what are those two things again Mitch?
 


HoustonTXGopher said:
Okay Mitch, i need you to do two things, ready: 1. Take care of the football, no more fumbles and no bad interceptions. Got it? Okay 2. Now listen Mitch, I am going to help you as a passer with this next thing I am about to tell you, you ready? This is important, do you here me? Good, hear it is, throw the ball to your targets so that they can continue to run with the ball instead of having to go to the ground to make the catch. Does this make sense to you Mitch? You sure? Because when you throw the ball low, your guys can't get you more passing yards, you have to hit them in stride so they can run with the ball after they catch it. Do we understand each other Mitch? Okay good, your'e a fine QB and you're going to have a great year if you can do those two things, now what are those two things again Mitch?
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It's a darn good thing that the program has us GHers to get them ready for the next level. They should be very thankful.
 


Some guy said:
A scout yes. If they were really the best no question someone would want them as a GM. Then it would be much closer
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There are more than three times as many U.S senators as pro football GM's, tough gig to land. I would imagine a GM makes more money than a ESPN commentator. Although I couldn't tell you how much Mel kipper makes, but if ESPN got rid of him would he really have much of a market?
 

Mitch threw 10 td's in the last 8 games. His play improved for sure, but he only had 3 games all year with more than 1 td passing. Losing KJ Maye, I just don't see it. I hope I am wrong. Schedule is definitely more friendly.
 



The NFL is a QB driven league and teams are desperate to find a good QB. You can be worse at the position of QB and still get drafted than you can be at any other position. Barring injury/meltdown Leidner will get drafted.
 

bemidjigopher said:
There are more than three times as many U.S senators as pro football GM's, tough gig to land. I would imagine a GM makes more money than a ESPN commentator. Although I couldn't tell you how much Mel kipper makes, but if ESPN got rid of him would he really have much of a market?
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The blogosphere.
That is probably about it.

I would have more respect for these types of people if every once in a while they would make a bold prediction that came true.


Usually 1/3 or so of first round picks are what I would consider busts...I would have a lot more respect for these guys if they could predict that every once in a while.
 

They are a bit like weathermen. It is no science. It's probably hard to tell with all of college demands on players who will keep improving and who are really going to use the extra time of not being in college to improve their games.

I recently saw a Jamarcus Russell quote that he wanted a chance to play again and he would play any position, he would be the water boy. I told my wife if he had that kind of attitude when he came into the league he would probably be starting somewhere right now.
 

march madness said:
They are a bit like weathermen. It is no science. It's probably hard to tell with all of college demands on players who will keep improving and who are really going to use the extra time of not being in college to improve their games.

I recently saw a Jamarcus Russell quote that he wanted a chance to play again and he would play any position, he would be the water boy. I told my wife if he had that kind of attitude when he came into the league he would probably be starting somewhere right now.
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Humility is a helluva thing
 



march madness said:
They are a bit like weathermen. It is no science. It's probably hard to tell with all of college demands on players who will keep improving and who are really going to use the extra time of not being in college to improve their games.

I recently saw a Jamarcus Russell quote that he wanted a chance to play again and he would play any position, he would be the water boy. I told my wife if he had that kind of attitude when he came into the league he would probably be starting somewhere right now.
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Hmmmmm :confused:
 


per Mel Kiper:

Last week I released the Way-Too-Early 2017 Big Board, but that short list was pulled from a huge number of players currently in the evaluation pool for next year's draft. We have a long ways to go, but here's an early look at prospects across every position.

This is a mix of seniors and underclassmen, but early on I separate the two so you see more senior players, as these are guys certain to be in the draft. By "underclassmen," I simply refer to players who technically could return to school for another season. Those are true juniors and third-year sophomores. I've denoted the third-year sophomores with an asterisk.

Quarterbacks

Seniors

1. Davis Webb
2. Mitch Leidner, Minnesota
3. Chad Kelly, Mississippi
4. C.J. Beathard, Iowa
5. Cooper Rush, Central Michigan

Underclassmen

1. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
2. Brad Kaaya, Miami (FL)
3. Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
4. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
5. Pat Mahomes, Texas Tech

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2016/in...every-offensive-position-senior-underclassmen

Go Gophers!!
 

Kiper also mentioned Leidner as a possibility for the first round. Commence freak out!
 

This is the insanity of the NFl. Beathard IMO is a better QB but gives up a little height. He was the reason for The Season.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
This is the insanity of the NFl. Beathard IMO is a better QB but gives up a little height. He was the reason for The Season.
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Right. I have zero problem with the love Leidner is getting, but Beathard is definitely a better QB.
 



As a badger fan I try not to come on gopherhole and stir the pot, as I'm genuinely interested in following gopher football and the big ten in general.

I really am curious as to how Leidner can be considered by at least a few "draft scouts" to be a top 5 QB and first round possibility. I don't scour the NCAA for the best players at their position but I've watched Leidner the last three years and nothing screamed possible first rounder to me.

Is the overall QB class that down? If I recall correctly Kerry Collins in 1995 is the last Big Ten QB to be taken in the first round. Is Mitch Leidner the best NFL prospect of the last 20 years to come through the Big Ten? There's been a lot of good QBs in the league since then and I have a hard time thinking Mitch will be the one to break that streak. I guess we will see next April.
 

MNBadgerGuy said:
As a badger fan I try not to come on gopherhole and stir the pot, as I'm genuinely interested in following gopher football and the big ten in general.

I really am curious as to how Leidner can be considered by at least a few "draft scouts" to be a top 5 QB and first round possibility. I don't scour the NCAA for the best players at their position but I've watched Leidner the last three years and nothing screamed possible first rounder to me.

Is the overall QB class that down? If I recall correctly Kerry Collins in 1995 is the last Big Ten QB to be taken in the first round. Is Mitch Leidner the best NFL prospect of the last 20 years to come through the Big Ten? There's been a lot of good QBs in the league since then and I have a hard time thinking Mitch will be the one to break that streak. I guess we will see next April.
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It's the NFL. It's not about statistics at the collegiate level. At least not to the degree that it probably should be. It's about size, speed, arm strength. A lot of coaches believe that they can teach accuracy. How many guys have the Vikings signed or drafted over the years because they simply fit the mold of an NFL player? Remember at this time last year, most of these same "experts" had Hackenberg and Connor Cook vying for the #1 overall pick. Didn't work out that way.
 

I think more than Leidner being in the top five or ahead of Beatherd, the presence of Cooper Rush in the top five is where the list falls apart.
 

Let's see him win ten games first then we can start talking.
 


Thought experiment

Put Leidner in as NDSU's QB this year. What round would he be drafted?
 

GoldenRodents said:
Put Leidner in as NDSU's QB this year. What round would he be drafted?
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Leidner would go high in the draft for sure (maybe the first round) because with NDSU's run of national championships, dominating offensive line, multiple wide receivers who get open and don't drop passes, aggressive play calling, and their less than stellar schedule he would be putting up huge passing numbers. Leidner has never had any of those advantages during his entire time with the Gophers.
 

At the risk of slightly highjacking the thread, Kiper also lists Lingen as is #3 Underclassman tight end. (same link as Bleed's)

Tight ends

Seniors

1. Jake Butt, Michigan
2. O.J. Howard, Alabama
3. Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas
4. Jordan Leggett, Clemson
5. Evan Engram, Mississippi

Underclassmen

1. Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech
2. DeAndre Goolsby, Florida
3. Brandon Lingen, Minnesota
4. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
5. Jeb Blazevich, Georgia
 

hungan1 said:
Let's see him win ten games first then we can start talking.
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He only needs to improve slightly over last year...which should mean more wins and the schedule favors both to happen. If he has the same or better yrds and TDs, completion % in low/mid 60s, and fewer T/Os, he'll get a real hard look for 1st round.
 

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