Ethan Pocic was one of the offensive linemen I studied and graded for the 2017 Inside the Pylon Draft Guide. I watched five games of his film to break him down. A five-game minimum is typically the benchmark I like to hit when fully evaluating a player. This allows for exposure to the player dealing…
The Cleveland Browns made the right decision staying with Myles Garrett and not taking Mitchell Trubisky. In the end, I believe the Trubisky hype was all media-driven and that the Browns were locked in the entire time, which is what I maintained throughout the process. Cleveland allowing teams to come up around them for Deshaun…
Organizational philosophy is a widely debated topic. There are many ways to build a team’s roster up – whether it’s through free agency, trades, and/or the draft. In addition to all the different methods of going about acquiring roster talent there is also potentially an order of what position to acquire first. Should a team…
Click here for a full explanation of methodology and categories used in the chart above. About the class: Marshon Lattimore: #2 In the context of rankings, “#2” is usually associated with being the runner-up, the second best, or the first loser. For Marshon Lattimore, #2 means his overall ranking in this class from me. In…
Click here for a full explanation of methodology and categories used in the chart above. Mask On, Mask Off: Malik Hooker and Jamal Adams Ohio State’s Malik Hooker has the chance to eventually be the best free safety in the NFL. A bold statement, I know, but when you see Hooker on tape, you know…
Series Introduction: A scheme fit is when a player’s traits and abilities line up with a certain coach’s style and scheme. Imagine if every NFL team could draft a player that fit perfectly into their scheme. That would benefit both the teams and the players simultaneously, as general managers and coaches wouldn’t be putting a…
You can count on one hand now the days remaining until day 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft. Over these next few days, teams will be finalizing their strategies and big boards if they haven’t already. Who do these teams want on day 1? Are they looking to draft the best player available (BPA)? Or are…
Click here for a full explanation of methodology and categories used in the chart above. About the class: “Malik McDowell: Enigmatic and Supremely Talented” I have a prediction about Malik McDowell: In three years, he will either be blossoming as one of the premier young defensive linemen in the NFL or he will be “just…
Click here for a full explanation of methodology and categories used in the chart above. Head of the Class Western Kentucky left tackle (and friend of the #PylonU podcast) Forrest Lamp highlights the interior offensive line class. Lamp, a left tackle for the Hilltoppers, could play the position at the next level, but he best translates…
(Click to enlarge table) Click here for a full explanation of the methodology and categories used in the chart above. “The Headliners” The headliner of this class is Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, who I would be comfortably take in the early teens in round 1. The specialness of McCaffrey comes from a presence on the…
After getting the opportunity to travel to Mobile, Alabama to take in the practices live, Joe Ferraiola and Michael Nuttle went home to watch the game, collect their thoughts, and exchange some notes on the wide receivers participating in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Below are their thoughts on who impressed them and who could’ve done…
Shane Alexander’s notes from Weigh-ins and Day 1 of practice: Quarterbacks: Davis Webb came in as the de facto top quarterback of the South and neither Antonio Pipkin nor Josh Dobbs did anything to challenge him. The Browns’ system is completely different from what both Texas Tech and Cal ran, and we saw Davis struggle…
In preparation for the 2017 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, three Inside the Pylon writers previewed the crop of wide receivers heading to this year’s event. Michael Nuttle, Justin Twell and Joseph Ferraiola split up the receivers attending the all star game and broke down their skillset, including what they do best and what they…
If you’ve listened to the Pylon U podcast this season, you’ve probably heard me reference pythagorean expectation, or pythagorean win percentage, many times. Originally designed by Bill James as a way to calculate a baseball team’s projected winning percentage based on runs scored and runs allowed, the formula has been adapted for use in other…
In his preview of the 2017 NFL Draft EDGE defender class, Jon Ledyard examines the true seniors available to NFL teams. The first in a five part series, Jon looks at EDGE players who can set the edge, rush the passer, and defend the run. Check out his preview of redshirt seniors here. Over the next several weeks,…
You can learn a lot from a quick look at football, even from just two drives. Here, with big changes afoot for the LSU Tigers, Mark Schofield shows us how you can learn about a clicking offense from just two plays. After a tumultuous week that saw long-time head coach Les Miles fired in the wake…