Tag: Doug Farrar

Seahawks DT Jonah Tavai named top undrafted player to watch

Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire has named Tavai his top undrafted free agent to watch in 2023.

The Seahawks seem to be absolutely obsessed with turning over their interior defensive line this offseason. While they passed on Jalen Carter at No. 5 overall in the draft, most of this team’s energy has gone into improving and reshaping that underperforming iDL unit.

Yesterday, the team added three more interior defensive linemen to their roster: former Raiders defensive end Mario Edwards Jr., former Chargers nose tackle Forrest Merrill and former Seattle Sea Dragons DL Austin Faoliu. The team also has some interesting undrafted free agent defensive linemen. In fact some believe they have the best UDFA class this year by a wide margin.

Perhaps the most-intriguing guy in the group is San Diego State defensive tackle Jonah Tavai. Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire has named Tavai his top 2023 undrafted free agent to watch.

“I’m highly intrigued by San Diego State defensive lineman Jonah Tavai, who landed with the Seahawks. Last season, he led all FBS interior defensive linemen with 12 sacks and 69 total pressures, and he wasn’t doing it all against lower-level competition — there’s enough “like as like” tape to make you think that Tavai can be pretty disruptive at the NFL level, as well.”

Tavai’s numbers in college were undeniably impressive and we are expecting him to be one of the UDFAs who wind up making the initial 53-man roster. Seeing is believing though, so here is a look at Tavai’s 2022 highlight reel.

Seahawks initial 53-man roster projection before OTAs

4-Down Territory: Best and worst team drafts, steals and reaches

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson get into the NFL’s best and worst team drafts, steals and reaches.

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Kyle Madson of Niners Wire and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire get into the four most important questions as the 2023 NFL draft has come to an end.

  1. It’s time to grade these picks far too soon, before the prospects-turned-pros have actually done anything in the NFL, because that’s part of our jobs! Let’s start with overall draft classes. Which team in your mind had the best draft haul overall?
  2. Conversely, which NFL team had a draft that left you wondering, “Is this all there is?”
  3. Give us one or two of the biggest reaches in this draft in your mind – the guys who were simply taken far sooner than their tape might have deserved.
  4. And to finish, who are your biggest sleepers in this draft class – the guys who will perform far above their pick numbers.

You can watch this week’s episode of “4-Down Territory” right here:

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar: Greg’s 2023 NFL Draft All-Underrated Team

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” Greg names his favorite underrated prospects in the 2023 NFL draft.

Every week, in “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire talks with Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup about the intricacies of the game. With the 2023 draft just around the corner, Greg gets into six of his favorite underrated players in this draft class — guys who won’t be taken in the first round, and maybe not even in the second round, but Greg just enjoyed watching their tape, and he believes them to have impact potential at the next level.

In addition, Greg and Doug get into concepts about the draft, and current positional value, that are highly relevant to the NFL today.

Here are Greg’s All-Underrated players:

  • Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn
  • Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
  • Xavier Hutchinson, WR, Iowa State
  • Riley Moss, CB, Iowa
  • Jartavius Martin, DB, Illinois
  • Trey Dean III, S, Florida

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar: Paths to NFL success for top draft QBs

In this week’s “Xs and Os,” Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar map the paths to NFL success for C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis.

In “The Xs and Os,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar is joined every week by the great Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup. Greg has been with NFL Films since 1979, and he and Steve Sabol invented the concept of putting game tape on television with the Matchup show in 1984, so who better to get intricate with the game than Mr. Cosell himself?

Doug and Greg will be discussing all kinds of football things throughout the year, but as the draft is just around the corner, it’s time to discuss the ideal paths for NFL success for the top four quarterback prospects in this draft class: C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis. Not just where they are right now, but what kinds of offenses their coaches will need to construct at the next level to maximize their attributes, and minimize their liabilities.

You can catch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os” right here.

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2023 NFL Draft: What’s the most important skill for quarterback prospects?

Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup tells us why ball location is the most important attribute for quarterback prospects.

In the debut episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg and Doug discussed the non-negotiable attributes for draft prospect quarterbacks, offensive tackles, edge defenders, and cornerbacks.

When it comes to draftable quarterbacks, it’s a bit like real estate — it’s all about location, location, location.

Greg: “I would say it starts with ball location. If you can’t control the football — if you can’t throw the football where you want to throw it — you don’t really have anything. The word ‘accuracy’ gets used a lot, and that’s a more general term, but if you go back to the Bill Walshes of the world, and some people might say, ‘Who’s Bill Walsh?’ But he was one of the greatest quarterback coaches and teachers the game has ever seen, [and he would tell you] it’s about ball location. I’ve had this conversation with coaches and former quarterbacks. I remember having a great conversation with Troy Aikman years ago, and this was after he retired, and he told me, ‘If you can’t throw it where you want to, then it doesn’t matter what else you can do.’ So, it starts there. Because no matter whether you’re throwing it from the pocket or on the run, if you cannot control the football and place it where you want to, you will not be successful.

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“That is really the No. 1 starting point. You can make a list of 15 different traits, and pretty much every quarterback coach and coordinator would have the same 15 traits, and it would just be a matter of what value they ascribe to each one. But my guess is, they would all start with ball location.”

Top prospects C.J. Stroud from Ohio State, and Alabama’s Bryce Young, each have reams of tape in which their ball location is above reproach, so NFL teams will be starting there when looking for quarterback attributes in the 2023 NFL draft evaluation cycle.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Non-negotiable skills for QB, OT, EDGE, CB in the draft

In the debut of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg and Doug discuss the non-negotiables for draft prospects at QB, OT, EDGE, and CB.

In this new show, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar is joined every week by the great Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup. Greg has been with NFL Films since 1979, and he and Steve Sabol invented the concept of putting game tape on television with the Matchup show in 1984, so who better to get intricate with the game than Mr. Cosell himself?

Doug and Greg will be discussing all kinds of football things throughout the year, but as the draft is just around the corner, let’s start with the non-negotiable traits and attributes draft prospects must have at arguably the game’s four most important positions — quarterback, offensive tackle, edge-rusher, and cornerback.

You can catch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os” right here.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: The non-negotiables for draftable QB, OT, EDGE, CB

In the debut of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg and Doug discuss the non-negotiables for draft prospects at QB, OT, EDGE, and CB.

In this new show, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar is joined every week by the great Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup. Greg has been with NFL Films since 1979, and he and Steve Sabol invented the concept of putting game tape on television with the Matchup show in 1984, so who better to get intricate with the game than Mr. Cosell himself?

Doug and Greg will be discussing all kinds of football things throughout the year, but as the draft is just around the corner, let’s start with the non-negotiable traits and attributes draft prospects must have at arguably the game’s four most important positions — quarterback, offensive tackle, edge-rusher, and cornerback.

You can catch this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os” right here.

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Vikings predicted to select Georgia CB Kelee Ringo in Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

Resident draft guru Doug Farrar has the #Vikings selecting Kelee Ringo in his latest Touchdown Wire mock draft

The Minnesota Vikings already made a considerable upgrade in their secondary by signing restricted free agent Byron Murphy Jr. this week, but the experts at Touchdown Wire don’t think the team is done adding talent at the cornerback position.

In their latest mock draft released on Wednesday, resident guru Doug Farrar has the Vikings selecting University of Georgia product Kelee Ringo with their 23rd overall pick in April.

Ringo possesses all of the traits that scouts look for in a starting cornerback, with the size, speed, and coverage skills to excel at the NFL level. A proven star at the collegiate level, he is a two-time national champion and Tacoma, Washington native who majored in communication studies during his time in Athens.

The only issue with this pick is that Ringo has the potential to rise up draft boards as the league adjusts their big boards in the leadup to the annual selection meeting. His pedigree as one of the country’s top cornerbacks will have personnel departments salivating at his potential, and given that he will be just 21 years old at the start of the 2023 season, Ringo may not be available when Minnesota picks at 23.

Breaking down Packers’ picks in Doug Farrar’s post-combine mock draft

The Packers went OT-DL-WR in Doug Farrar’s post-Scouting Combine mock draft. Check out the picks here.

The Green Bay Packers received help along both the offensive and defensive lines and at wide receiver in Doug Farrar’s post-scouting combine mock draft at Touchdown Wire.

In this three-rounder, expect to see some unfamiliar names in terms of mock draft picks for the Packers, especially in the first round.

Let’s get to who Farrar sent to the Packers over three rounds.

Seahawks trade up for No. 1 overall pick in this 2023 NFL mock draft

Once at the top of the mountain, the Seahawks use their selection on the consensus best player in the draft: Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

The Seahawks hold the No. 5 overall pick in the draft, which puts them in rare position to land one of the most special talents in this year’s class. They also have enough total draft capital – second most in the league – to move up if there’s a prospect they feel they absolutely need to have.

In Doug Farrar’s latest 2023 NFL mock draft, Seattle does just that, dealing three picks to the Bears in exchange for the No. 1 overall choice. Once at the top of the mountain, the Seahawks use their selection on the consensus best player in the draft: Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

“We have Seattle trading the fifth, 20th, and 53rd overall picks to Chicago, and taking Carter as the first new piece in a much-needed overhaul of Pete Carroll’s front seven…. The thing about Carter that puts him above most players at his position, college or pro, is the complete skill set. Carter can wind by blockers with estimable power, killer speed and quickness, and an impressive technique palette which should be even better with the benefit of NFL coaching… Previous results in these instances have not been great, but anybody watching a lick of Jalen Carter tape would be hard-pressed to call the Seahawks foolish for pushing their chips in on a player like this”

It’s a lot for any one player and Carter’s college numbers (six sacks, 18.5 tackles for a loss) don’t exactly leap off the page. However, on film his disruptiveness is impossible to ignore.

 

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