Tag: draft

Cooper Flagg Q&A: ‘Brian Scalabrine filled me with confidence’

Cooper Flagg, the young phenom currently projected as No. 1 pick for the 2025 NBA draft, has been a name on many basketball fans’ radar over the past couple of years After one practice at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, the 6-foot-11 forward from …

Cooper Flagg, the young phenom currently projected as No. 1 pick for the 2025 NBA draft, has been a name on many basketball fans’ radar over the past couple of years

After one practice at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, the 6-foot-11 forward from Maine sat down with HoopsHype to talk about transferring to the powerhouse Montverde Academy, the impact of Brian Scalabrine, getting advice from LeBron James, preparing for Duke, and more.

Report: Arizona WR Jacob Cowing visiting 49ers on Wednesday

The Arizona WIldcats wide receiver grabbed 90 receptions with 13 touchdowns in his final season in Tuscon.

Although the NFL draft is nearly a week away, there is still time for prospects to make visits at different NFL facilities across the league.

On Wednesday, the San Francisco 49ers reportedly welcomed an All-Pac 12 honorable mention to town for a visit. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Jacob Cowing is visiting the 49ers on Wednesday.

Via @AaronWilson_NFL on Twitter:

After three seasons at UTEP, Cowing transferred to Arizona for his final two seasons of college football. At Arizona, Cowing had back-to-back seasons with 85 or more receptions. In his senior year, Cowing recorded 90 catches for 848 yards while snatching a career-best 13 touchdowns. Cowing’s 13 touchdown receptions tied for sixth-best in the country last year.

Cowing put an exclamation mark on the end of his college career with seven catches for 152 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Cowing was named Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP after his red-hot performance against the Sooners.

After the season, Cowing was invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

The first round of the NFL Draft is set for next Thursday, April 25.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Zaccharie Risacher: NBA draft scouting report and intel

2005 | 6’10 | 6’11 | 210 LBS Team: JL Bourg (France) Best aggregate mock draft rank: 1 / Worst rank: 18 Across 51 games in all leagues, Risacher averaged 10.5 points, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range. He …

2005 | 6’10 | 6’11 | 210 LBS

Team: JL Bourg (France)

Best aggregate mock draft rank: 1 / Worst rank: 18

Across 51 games in all leagues, Risacher averaged 10.5 points, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range. He also contributed 3.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per contest.

Risacher’s father, Stéphane, won a silver medal with the French National Team at the Olympics.

Chargers make multiple trades in Mel Kiper’s latest two-round mock draft

The Chargers stock up on picks in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft.

The Chargers are a prime candidate to trade down in the first round of this year’s draft, which is what ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. sees them doing in his latest two-round projections.

Los Angeles moves back six spots with the Vikings, who come up to select quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The Bolts add pick No. 23 and a 2025 first-rounder.

With pick No. 11, the Chargers select offensive tackle J.C. Latham.

The Chargers want to run the ball more efficiently, which Latham could aid.

Hulking at 6-foot-6 and 360 pounds, Latham is a force in pass protection and the run game with a great combination of size, strength, physicality and agility, projecting as a starter from Day 1.

Latham would likely replace Trey Pipkins at right tackle, but he possesses the versatility to play guard.

Later in the first round, Los Angeles takes Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

The Chargers need to get younger and faster at the positional, and Worthy, who ran the fastest 40 time (4.21) in combine history, would bring that.

Los Angeles trading down doesn’t end there, as the Rams move up 15 spots to take QB Michael Penix Jr. The Bolts acquire Nos. 52, 83 and 196.

With their second-round pick, the Chargers draft defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro.

Orhorhoro is a versatile player capable of playing different spots along the defensive line, and he plays with great size, strength and athleticism.

Is Texas DL T’Vondre Sweat still an option for Texans following arrest?

Following his arrest Saturday evening, the Houston Texans must decide if they still believe in the upside of T’Vondre Sweat.

Defensive tackle and the Houston Texans go together like peas and carrots, especially when talking needs entering the NFL draft.

It’s no secret the Texans must continue to build their interior defensive line following the departures of Sheldon Rankins and Maliek Collins. Multiple prospects, including Texas defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat, have consistently been mocked to Houston since the start of the offseason.

Sweat feels like an ideal one-tech for DeMeco Ryans’ front seven, but following this weekend, is he still a viable option?

Sweat, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Outland Trophy winner, was booked into jail after an arrest for driving while intoxicated Sunday. He was later released by the Travis County Jail Sunday afternoon after paying his bail.

Sweat dominated during his final season in Austin, racking up two sacks, eight tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and 45 total tackles. Stats suggest that he underwhelmed, but his play style set the tone in helping Texas secure its first Big 12 title since 2009.

An arrest less than three weeks before the draft isn’t ideal. Teams are fine-combing over every detail of a player’s past, present and future plans to justify the selection. Sweat also faces a Class B misdemeanor, which in Texas carries a fine of up to $2,000 and 180 days in jail.

While not a first-round pick, Sweat likely would have been a lock as the third defensive tackle taken behind fellow Texas star Byron Murphy and Florida State’s Braden Fiske. For the Texans, he was a familiar face at pick No. 59, though he now could be in play at pick No. 86 given his status on draft night.

Everything comes down to Nick Caserio and ownership. Houston, which claimed its first division in four years, is riding high entering 2024. People are buying stock into the C.J. Stroud hype and have been impressed with the overspending in free agency.

In years past, adding Devin Singletary and Dalton Schultz was “winning the offseason.” Adding Pro Bowlers like Stefon Diggs, Joe Mixon, and Danielle Hunter symbolizes the change from “off” to “on.”

Does Houston want to ruin the good vibes surrounding the franchise? Could it pivot from say cornerback at No. 42 to defensive tackle? Does Caserio believe there’s depth beyond Sweat that could make sense in Rounds 3 or 4?

Sweat likely remains a Day 2 prospect. His talent defending the run might be one of the best in the class while his bull-rushing passing sets add that extra “oomph” up the middle.

That doesn’t mean the Texans lock themselves on one specific player. If Sweat already came with some concerns given his weight (361 pounds) or consistency, it likely just moves him down the pecking.

Instead of being the first defensive tackle mentioned, perhaps he’s the third? Perhaps another team values his upside more, making the decision easier for Houston to surpass its temptation.

Sweat fits Houston’s current needs, but so do countless other defensive linemen. It’s a need, yes, but the Texans don’t have to make Sweat their only option when on the clock at either of the three picks.

2024 NFL draft: Chargers hosted LB Edgerrin Cooper on visit

Edgerrin Cooper is a speedy, rangy and explosive linebacker.

The Chargers hosted Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper on a pre-draft visit on Thursday, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Cooper is a speedy, rangy, explosive linebacker whose coverage skills and ability to defend the run and blitz are high-quality NFL traits.

For his Aggie career, Cooper finished with 205 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Los Angeles signed Denzel Perryman, who will likely be one of the starters. They also added Troy Dye in free agency and they return Daiyan Henley and Nick Niemann. But they need to add depth to the middle of the defense.

Cooper projects as a Day 2 selection and one of the first linebackers to be off the board.

Chargers trade back with Vikings in Field Yates’ latest 2-round mock draft

The Chargers go all offense.

The Chargers may trade back to receive more draft capital to retool their roster. That’s the case in ESPN’s Field Yates’ latest mock draft, as he sees Los Angeles trading with the Vikings, who come up to No. 5 to get their quarterback of the future in J.J. McCarthy.

As for the Bolts, they acquire the 11th and 23rd selections from Minnesota. With their first pick, they select Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham.

Following the projected move down, the Chargers can now get to work building this roster how new coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz envision it — which I expect will be through the trenches. Though the Chargers have Trey Pipkins III under contract for another two seasons, Latham would represent a short- and long-term upgrade. And he has the positional versatility to play guard if Los Angeles wanted to keep Pipkins on the field. Latham’s overwhelming strength is a perfect fit for a team that will want to wear opponents out with its physicality.

The Chargers want to run the ball more efficiently, which Latham could aid in that department.

Hulking at 6-foot-6 and 360 pounds, Latham is a force in pass protection and the run game with a great combination of size, strength, physicality and agility, projecting as a starter from Day 1.

Latham would likely replace Trey Pipkins at right tackle, but he possesses the versatility to play guard.

Later in the first round, Los Angeles takes Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

There is a plausible scenario in which the Chargers stand pat at No. 5 and take the best wide receiver available. After releasing Mike Williams and trading Keenan Allen, they have to reshape their wide receiver room. But here Los Angeles can stockpile picks and still take advantage of a deep receiver class, landing a buttery smooth route runner in Mitchell. He has excellent size, great speed and reliable hands, with just one drop in his lone season at Texas (he transferred from Georgia). He also averaged 15.4 yards per catch last season and would be a good fit with quarterback Justin Herbert.

After the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the wide receiver room is rather thin, so it’s imperative that they address that early on.

With a 4.34 40-yard dash, Mitchell is a speedy wideout with great size and ball skills. He could step in and immediately be a threat at all three levels of the field.

In the second round, the Bolts select West Virginia center Zach Frazier.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Jim Harbaugh wants to build up his offensive line aggressively this offseason. Frazier is super tough and exactly the type of guy Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz would covet. He did not allow any sacks over 328 pass-block plays in 2023.

The Chargers signed Bradley Bozeman, but they won’t shy away from selecting the long-term fix at the position, especially since Jim Harbaugh wants to build through the trenches.

One of the top centers in this year’s class, Frazier is a pro-ready player with the athletic ability, anchor strength, highly impressive awareness and toughness. He started 47 games for the Mountaineers, so he possesses plenty of experience playing the position.

2008 NBA re-draft: The way it should have been

HoopsHype re-drafts the 2008 draft class, which features the likes of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose.

The 2008 draft is low-key one of the best of the century with a bunch of players still productive in the NBA to this day.

This class is of course led by Russell Westbrook and it features six other All-Stars. (Two of them were selected in the second round).

Additionally, this draft has a low number of busts, with only two lottery picks not being featured in our re-draft’s first round.