Tag: pierre strong jr.

The most underrated prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar reveals his most underrated prospects in the 2022 NFL draft class.

When we media yahoos talk about “sleepers” in any draft class, it’s true what NFL teams will tell you — it’s generally a case of the media simply catching up to what those teams have known about those prospects for months. Perception versus reality means that what we’re really talking about are prospects we’re just getting around to after the top-tier players at every position.

So, maybe it’s better to say for the purposes of this exercise that the prospects you see here are the ones whose tape stands out beyond the recognition they’ve gotten. With days to hours left until the 2022 draft, these players are the ones you may not have heard of, or have experienced in passing but haven’t watched, or have watched and wondered where they might be drafted.

Any of these guys going in the first round would be a longshot, but they each have remarkable attributes that show their professional potential, and could seal their NFL futures.

Giants to host SDSU RB Pierre Strong Jr. for private workout

The New York Giants will host South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr. for a private workout later this month.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The New York Giants have been sniffing around several running back prospects ahead of the 2022 NFL draft and that will continue in April.

Justin Melo of The Draft Network reports that South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr. will arrive in East Rutherford for a private workout later this month.

Once viewed as a potential undrafted rookie, Strong’s solid performance at the NFL Combine now has many believing he’ll have his name called at some point during the three-day draft.

Here’s what NFL Network draft guru Lance Zierlein has to say about Strong:

Instinctive running back with NFL traits and talent to find a home as a committee back or an eventual RB1. Hyper-focused vision provides him a variety of cut options and rush paths but also causes him to overthink his approach at times. Strong is more reactive than manipulative but is quite impressive with his spatial awareness and ability to slalom around bodies on a smooth, linear pathway without slowing his roll. He struggles when forced to slow his feet and make early cuts. He needs a north/south run scheme where he can square his pads and find his rhythm quickly. Strong lacks third-down value at this time, but has shown enough to believe it could be in his future.

Our friends over at Touchdown Wire also recently broke down Strong’s game and came away impressed. They view him as a potential third- or fourth-round pick, which puts him right in the Giants’ wheelhouse.

Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

FILM ROOM: What speedy RB Pierre Strong Jr. can bring to an NFL roster

Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick examines the game film of speedy South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr.

Draft prospects from small schools typically have to dominate their competition in order to get recognition from scouts.

South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr. did just that.

Strong rushed for 4,495 yards in four collegiate seasons, including three 1,000-yard campaigns, with 40 rushing touchdowns at a whopping 7.1 yards per carry. He was a bully out of the backfield with five games of at least 150 yards last season, and he ranked first in the FCS with 30 carries of 15-plus yards, according to Pro Football Focus.

After an impressive week at the East-West Shrine Bowl, he turned heads at the NFL scouting combine by recording the fastest 40-yard dash time (4.37 seconds) among all running backs in the 2022 NFL draft class.

Strong had an impressive college career and although he’s flying under the radar of many observers, his skill set on film shows why he shouldn’t be overlooked.

2022 NFL draft: The top 11 running backs

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar analyzes the top 11 running backs in the 2022 NFL draft class.

Yesterday, Mark Schofield kicked off this year’s draft position rankings for Touchdown Wire with his Top 11 quarterbacks. Now, it’s time to get into the 11 best running backs in this class. And before we even start analyzing these backs, a few words on the “Running backs don’t matter” thing you hear all the time.

First of all, only a Sith deals in absolutes. Don’t be a Sith.

Second, there are all kinds of running backs for all types of schemes, and this particular class is as deep and varied as any I can remember in recent years. Each one of the 11 backs profiled here, and several others who just missed the cut, have the opportunity to “matter” in the NFL as they did in college.

When we say “Running backs don’t matter,” what we’re generally insinuating beyond the bumper-sticker sloganeering is the idea that it’s unwise to spend too much draft capital or free-agent money on any running back, because the position is fungible with very few exceptions. While that may be true for the rank and file, tell the Tennessee Titans that Derrick Henry doesn’t matter. Tell the Indianapolis Colts that Jonathan Taylor doesn’t matter. Once their coaches are done laughing, come back and we’ll continue.

At any level of football, running backs are like insurance. They don’t necessarily matter until they do, at which point, they REALLY matter.

When Henry missed nine games for the Titans last season due to injury, per Sports Info Solutions, Tennessee’s Offensive EPA dropped from 0.08 to -0.1, their Passing EPA went from 0.15 to -0.11, and their Rushing EPA plummeted from 0.03 to -0.09. The mere threat of Henry on the field changed the structure and complexion of the Titans’ offense, and how defenses dealt with that offense. Tennessee went with a lot more 11 personnel with Henry off the field, the favored 12 personnel packages went out the window, they faced fewer stacked boxes, and the reliance was more on quarterback Ryan Tannehill than it obviously would have been for the team’s actual field-tilter on that side of the ball. Henry also covered any gaps in the quality of Tennessee’s offensive line, and that’s another attribute common among the best backs throughout pro football history.

Henry, Taylor, and that rare ilk represent the true franchise-defining backs, and there are never more than a small handful at any given time, but the point is that such players still do exist, and even the best role-players in committees make differences well ahead of the norm.

Each of the 11 backs profiled in this year’s rankings has something special to offer, so let’s get down to extrapolating their best, and most questionable, traits to the NFL.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated. All testing data comes from the 2022 scouting combine, with percentile per position, courtesy of MockDraftable.com). 

Chiefs 2022 7-round mock draft v2.0: Post-Tyreek Hill trade edition

Our @goldmctNFL reveals his 7-round 2022 mock draft 2.0 for the #Chiefs and the first since the Tyreek Hill trade:

There are less than 30 days to go until the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs have loaded up on draft picks due to the Tyreek Hill trade, but they’ve also created an even greater need at the wide receiver position. This mock draft looks quite a bit different from our 1.0, not just because of the new draft picks, but also given our recent look at the 90-man offseason roster. There are plenty of needs to consider, both for the upcoming season, but also for the future in Kansas City.

In order to gauge player availability for the mock draft, I ran multiple simulations using the various mock draft machines to create a composite. If players weren’t available with regularity, they were eliminated from contention at a specific pick. Typically, I’d have 8-10 players on my big board to choose from at a given pick, though in Round 7 the pool is significantly larger.

Without further delay, here’s a look at our mock draft version 2.0:

Mel Kiper discusses sweet spot for Jags to draft a RB and prospects to watch

One need that gets overlooked when it comes to the Jags is the running back position. With their top-2 RBs coming off major injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jags take one in April’s draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars still have a lot of needs heading into the draft despite all the money they spent in free agency. But one that’s not being talked about enough may be the need at running back.

Sure, they have a first-round selection in Travis Etienne and star running back James Robinson, but both will be coming off season-ending Lisfranc and Achilles injuries, respectively. Etienne is on track to return sooner than Robinson, but it still would be wise to bolster the depth behind both after their respective situations.

The team lost one of its most experienced backup running backs, Dare Ogunbowale, in free agency who also helped out on special teams. That said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Jags add a player with similar abilities who can help them offensively and possibly as a specialist.

One way they could go about it is to select a running back at some point in the upcoming draft. And according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the third round and later would be a great place to address the position as there are several running back prospects to choose from who could end up being solid contributors.

In a recent conference call, Jags Wire asked Kiper about some notable names at the running back position who the Jags could select during the second half of Day 2 or on Day 3, and he had a pretty long list of options.

“The sweet spot for running backs for me is always around the third. Talk about [prospects like] Elijah Mitchell last year, a sixth-rounder out of Louisiana-Lafayette to the 49ers, so you’re always going to find those gems at running back.”

Isaiah Spiller of Texas A&M runs hard. He was rated a little bit higher but slipped a bit. He could get into the later rounds, looks like four to seven [round range]. Kyren Williams of Notre Dame, who I’ve touched on, he falls in that category. Dameon Pierce, a hard-charging runner out of Florida. Pierre Strong Jr., from South Dakota State, based on production and the way he ran and tested. He could be in that fourth-round mix very easily.”

Spiller played in the toughest conference in football and still managed to garner 179 carries for 1,011 yards and six touchdowns, but as Kiper said, his stock may slip a bit, and it could be due to him turning in a 40-time of 4.63, which is a little slower than expected.

Round 3 would certainly be too soon for the Jags to take Spiller (or any running back projected in that range aside from maybe James Cook), but if he falls to Round 4, they would have a lot to think about.

As for Kyren Williams, Dameon Pierce, and Pierre Strong Jr., they would be worth considering in Rounds 4-5. Pierce could give them a similar presence to Robinson with his powerful style, while Strong and Williams could catch Doug Pederson’s eyes for their receiving abilities in addition to their abilities as rushers.

Kiper continued with a few other names to watch in addition to Williams Pierce, Spiller, and Strong.

“Jerome Ford from Cincinnati is another one,” Kiper added. “Very athletic kid who has great hands catching the ball down the field. Then there is Rachaad White at Arizona State. Tyler Badie at Missouri is another one who could be in that mix. Ty Chandler, formerly of Tennessee, had the one year at North Carolina [this past] year, I highlighted him as an underrated player. Tyler Goodson of Iowa is another one. It goes on and there is a lot of good running backs who fall into that Day 3 area that certainly could be a guy you can hit the jackpot with. All of these guys won’t, but you can rest assured one, two, or maybe three of the guys I mentioned will turn out to be productive players in the NFL.”

Kiper is right, the Jags could find a Day 3 pick at the position who could help them in a big way if they wanted. After all, Robinson himself went undrafted and has garnered 1,837 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns for the team.

Seven round Browns mock draft from Mock Draft Database

What happens when the computer and @joshkeatley16 seemingly merge for a mock draft simulator? A very different kind of Browns mock draft:

This week the NFL Scouting Combine is in full swing and like most NFL fanatics it is always a bright spot in the off-season to get the testing results, but we have to make do with what we currently have. We have been using mock draft simulators from The Draft Network, but I wanted to mix it up this week and try out the interesting mock on NFL Mock Draft Database.

Just like in previous versions, I did an automated simulation without my opinion. In the following slides, I will provide the simulation’s selection and then my choice instead in the next slide. To be honest, I was actually shocked I agreed with so many of the selections.

7 takeaways from the top RB, OL performances at NFL Combine

Here are 7 takeaways from the top RB, OL performances at night 2 on the field at the #NFLCombine

On Thursday, the Eagles were able to get an up-close look at a talented group of wide receiver and tight end prospects for April’s upcoming draft.

On Friday the running backs and offensive linemen took the field in Indianapolis, with several big-named offensive linemen and dual-threat running backs greatly improving their stock.

The NFL Combine got off to a blazing start on Thursday night and Friday’s group from the offensive line was record-setting as well.

Here are seven takeaways from night two.

Cleveland Browns seven round mock draft simulation reviewed 2.0

Our guy @JoshKeatley16 did two simulations, allowing the computer to pick for the Browns, and reviewed the selections. Here is the second:

It may be the end of the Cleveland Browns football season, but it is just the beginning of draft season and I love me some draft hype. We here at Browns Wire are trying to do our best to provide out reactions to the most popular mock drafts being published by some of our favorite pundits, but most of them just supply the first round or if we are lucky the first three rounds, but if you are like me, you need more.

Our friends at The Draft Network have a wonderful mock draft simulator tool and I was curious to see what they had the Browns select. This will be the second time we have run this exercise and it has surprisingly turned out some different results. Just like last time, the first slide will be The Draft Network (TDN) selection and the second will be my preference.