Tag: Zack Baun

Seahawks select linebacker in Touchdown Wire’s mock draft 6.0

In his “how I’d do it” mock draft, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield believes the Seattle Seahawks should select linebacker Zach Baun.

Touchdown Wire’s mock draft 6.0 is a little different than the first five, with analyst Mark Schofield calling it his “how I’d do it” version if he was the general manager of each team calling the shots.

As of now, the Seahawks hold the No. 27 pick in the first round of April’s draft. Barring a trade, Schofield believes Seattle should linebacker Zach Baun out of Wisconsin in the first round.

“A quiet area of need for the Seattle Seahawks is up front on the defensive side of the football,” Schofield writes. “They did bring Bruce Irvin back in free agency, and there are hopes that they can re-sign Jadeveon Clowney as well, but even if Clowney does return, pass-rush is still a question mark.”

“Zack Baun was listed as a linebacker on the Wisconsin Badgers’ depth chart but is is a versatile player in the mold of Kyle Van Noy,” Schofield continues. “You could see him set the edge on first down, run with a slot receiver on second down, and collapse the pocket off the edge on third down. He can give the Seahawks another pass-rushing piece, while also giving them a Swiss Army knife type of defender they can utilize in a variety of ways. As a pass-rusher, he displays an impressive set of tools, including a solid dip/rip combination, but he was also solid in coverage for the Badgers. Pete Carroll and Co. will find lots of creative ways to employ him on Sundays.”

The NFL virtual draft is set to kick off on April 23.

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Zack Baun tests positive for a diluted combine sample, but will it have a major impact on his draft stock?

Will it have a major impact on his draft stock?

Badger linebacker Zack Baun recently told all 32 NFL teams that he has tested positive for a diluted sample at the combine per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter via Twitter. The Wisconsin native blamed the test on drinking too much water before his combine weigh-in:

The impact of the positive test will be relatively unknown until draft day, although a recent rule change in the NFL CBA may help the former Badger star according to Schefter.

Baun is currently projected to be as high as a late-first round pick, with a floor of being taken in the late-second round. Time will tell if the positive test has a major impact on his draft position, but the new CBA will certainly help lessen the effects of this.

Scouting breakdown: The 11 best edge rushers in the NFL draft

More than ever, it’s important for defenses to bring pressure. Here are the best edge-rushers in the 2020 draft class.

The argument over which defensive asset — coverage or pass rush — is more important in the modern NFL is a fascinating one. One could say that in an era where a lot of teams are playing more than 75% of their snaps with at least five defensive backs on the field at all times, and others double down with at least six on more than 40% of their snaps, coverage is obviously the superior factor.

One could also say that with so many defensive backs on the field against three- and four-receiver base sets, getting a pass rush going with four defensive linemen and a handful of smart blitzers is the order of the day. After all, it doesn’t matter how many defensive backs you have on the field and how good they are — if they have to cover their receivers for five seconds because your pass-rushers can’t get home, your defense is in big trouble.

In the 2020 draft class, there are all kinds of edge-rushers with all kinds of responsibilities. Here are the 11 best as we see them.

1. Chase Young, Ohio State

(Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

Height: 6’5″ Weight: 264
40-Yard Dash: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Bio: Young started high school as an undersized quarterback, switching to defensive end and tight end once he saw a growth spurt. By his senior season, he’d earned Washington Post Defensive Player of the Year honors with 118 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 19 sacks and five forced fumbles. Offers came from just about every major program in the country, but after a flirtation with Maryland, he chose Ohio State, following in the footsteps of Joey and Nick Bosa as top-shelf Buckeye edge-rushers. He put up 98 tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss, and 30.5 sacks in three seasons at Ohio State, though there were some concerns about the three-game sackless streak at the end of his collegiate career against Michigan, Wisconsin, and Clemson, Young had a ready answer for that at the scouting combine.

“I had a lot of quarterback hits, a lot of pressures. If you understand football, you would see that. You’ll see how they changed their whole offensive game plan for one guy. A lot of people might not know how to really study a tape or may not know how to watch football, but if you know football,  I made an impact in those games.

“Being the best defensive end isn’t about sacks, it’s about being the most disruptive player on the field. You can do that without having a sack.”

As I wrote during the combine, Young was absolutely correct about this. He was a top disruptor throughout the entire season, and he projects to be the same type of weapon at the NFL level very quickly.

Stat to Know: Young recorded a preposterous 75 total pressures in 2018, and while his opportunities were relatively limited in 2019, he still had 56 pressures in just 320 pass-rushing snaps (as opposed to 470 the year before).

Strengths: True field-flipping defender who forces opposing offenses to design their game plans around avoiding him. Has ideal first-step quickness to set tackles on edge and prime wins through the arc to the pocket. Turns the corner to the pocket with excellent bend and power. Strong enough to disable blockers when he gets his hands into their chests. Maintains his speed through the pocket to work mobile quarterbacks. Has a nice array of moves from bull-rush to swim and club/rip that can be developed more specifically at the NFL level. Sorts and sifts through multiple blockers to get where he wants to go. Spies the quarterback through the snap and has an innate sense of how to create pressure from broken plays. Adept enough with his feet to do a decent job in short coverage. Works gaps more than he uses a true inside counter, but has the tools to make it work.

Weaknesses: Young needs a more complete plan when he heads wide and gets beaten. Inside counter isn’t developed as it needs to be. Needs better awareness for run plays, zone reads, and misdirection when he’s pinning his ears back. Redirection reaction can be a problem at times, though the recovery speed is obviously there. Wins more on pure athleticism and power than advanced traits, though he’s well on his way.

Conclusion: The question of whether Yonng is the best and/or most valuable defensive player in this draft class is a fascinating one, and probably highly reliant on whether you think pressure or coverage is more important at the NFL level. There are those who might prefer cornerback Jeff Okudah, Young’s Ohio State teammate, because Okudah brings a lockdown man-coverage mentality that’s as worthy of franchise consideration as any non-quarterback skill set. But if you’re looking for an edge defender with an obvious and easily transferable ability to terrorize quarterbacks at the NFL level, look no further. Young is a different player than either of the Bosa brothers, but he certainly looks to have the same type of potential.

NFL Comparison: Aldon Smith. Smith was an absolute force as a pass-rusher before off-field issues unfortunately wrecked his athletic potential. But when Smith was on his game, he had the same combination of size, explosive speed, and unusual power that allowed him to total 33.5 sacks in 2011 and 2012 — the most for any NFL player in his first two seasons since the sack became an official statistic in 1982. Young absolutely has the ability to make the same kind of impact, and has All-Pro potential especially if he cleans up a few non-pass rush issues that will make him a more complete player.

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The Badgers pro day came at the perfect time for Wisconsin’s NFL hopefuls

The Badgers pro day was one of the last sporting events to take place. It could prove to be huge for UW’s NFL hopefuls.

Wisconsin’s NFL pro day came on one of the wildest days in sports history. Luckily, it took place in the morning. On March 11th, eleven Badger hopefuls participated in drills that were put on for NFL coaches, scouts, and other team personnel. That night in Oklahoma City, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and the NBA went into shutdown mode. Had the pro day been one day later, you never know if UW would have gone forward with it.

For players with established NFL Draft futures like Jonathan Taylor and Zack Baun, the pro day was a chance to improve their already solidified stock. Arguably more importantly, the luck of the timing allowed Badger prospects with larger draft questions to show out in Madison. If Quintez Cephus hears his name called at the 2020 NFL Draft, the results of the pro day could be a big reason why. The Badger wide receiver ran a 4.73 in his 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, a number that was a major red flag for NFL teams. In just a matter of weeks, the Georgia native improved that number to 4.58 at Wisconsin’s pro day. Had he not been given the chance, who knows what NFL team’s would be speculating about his 40-yard dash time.

For Chris Orr, the lack of a combine invite was a slap in the face after a phenomenal senior season. His 11.5 sacks in 2019 were not enough to get him to the combine, but he was able to put up solid numbers at Wisconsin’s pro day. The Badger ‘backer ran a 4.65 40-yard dash, to go along with a 36.5 inch vertical jump. For Orr, those numbers could be the difference at the NFL Draft.

Wisconsin’s pro day was one of the last sporting events to take place in the United States. We would never have completely known it at the time, but the Badger hopefuls were lucky they had the chance to ball in front of NFL teams.

BadgersWire Mock Draft 1.0: The most likely landing spots and best fits for the departing Badgers

With sports still on hold mock draft season is in full swing around the sports media world. Most mock drafts posted by NFL analysts and…

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With sports still on hold mock draft season is in full swing around the sports media world. 

Most mock drafts posted by NFL analysts and media members run through the first round of the draft, or a bit further, and predict which direction each team will go with their selections. These mock drafts vary a lot, and often do not incorporate trades into the draft position for each team and thought process behind each pick.

So, in order to do something a little bit different, here is the BadgersWire NFL Mock Draft 1.0, a mock only focusing on the recently departed Wisconsin Badgers by looking at their most likely landing spots, possible draft position and best fits for their skill sets.

 

Running Back Jonathan Taylor

Most likely landing spot: Miami Dolphins at No. 26

Projected draft position: Late first or early to mid second round

Best fits: New Orleans Saints at No. 24, Kansas City Chiefs at No. 32 or the Buffalo Bills at No. 54

 

There has been much debate about how to rank the top running backs in this year’s class. Recently, several NFL analysts have expressed their concerns with Taylor’s ball security and mileage and, as a result, have moved him down on their draft boards behind guys like J.K. Dobbins, D’Andre Swift and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. To me, the former Badger is hands down the most complete running back in the draft and, were he to find himself on the Chiefs, Saints or Bills come week one, has the potential to make a significant impact as a day-one starter. It is important to note, though, that whatever team drafts Taylor should have a developed pass-catching back to use on third downs when Taylor does need a breather.

Overall, Taylor’s strengths outweigh his weakness (yes, ball security is my one red flag) and he should be the first running back off the board come draft day.

(Taylor in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes, that offense and Head Coach Andy Reid’s history with running backs? Talk about a fit)

 

Linebacker Zack Baun

Most likely landing spot: Baltimore Ravens at No. 28

Projected draft position: Late first or early second round

Best fits: Baltimore at No. 28, Green Bay Packers at No. 30, Kansas City Chiefs at No. 32, Miami Dolphins at No. 39 or the Houston Texans at No. 40

 

Almost every draft analyst loves Baun’s NFL potential and has him slated to be selected at the end of the first round or early in the second round. His specific draft position is a lot harder to predict given the amount of teams that need to upgrade at EDGE and the value that Baun will bring to a defense. I think his most likely landing spot and best fit is with the Baltimore Ravens at No. 28 as they have a need at the position and would be adding the former Badger to an already-loaded defensive front and stacked roster without many offensive needs.

No matter which team selects the Milwaukee product, though, his pass-rushing skills will provide solid production off the edge from day one while his versatility and athleticism will make him a valuable asset in pass coverage as well.

 

Center Tyler Biadasz

Most likely landing spot: Seattle Seahawks at No. 101

Projected draft position: Early to mid third round

Best fits: Denver Broncos at No. 95, Kansas City Chiefs at No. 96, Cleveland Browns at No. 97 or Seattle at No. 101 

 

Biadasz has an impressive collegiate track record as he was a centerpiece for the Badgers’ exceptional offensive lines in 2017 and 2018 that helped Taylor break records running the football. He also proved to be durable throughout his career at Wisconsin as he is entering the draft having started in 41 consecutive contests, though draft analysts have written that offseason hip surgery did affect his production a bit during the 2019-20 season. Regardless, the former Badger center will be a day one starter for whatever team selects him and his abilities would be put to great use by teams in need of interior offensive linemen including the Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs and Browns.

 

 

Wide Receiver Quintez Cephus

Most likely landing spot: Philadelphia Eagles

Projected draft position: fifth round

Best fits: New York Giants at No. 150, Philadelphia at No. 168, Tennessee Titans at No. 174 or the Green Bay Packers at No. 175

 

Cephus is the biggest sleeper of the Badgers who are entering this year’s draft. Despite Wisconsin not being known to produce NFL-caliber players on the outside, Ohio State cornerback and projected top-5 pick Jeff Okudah called him the best wide receiver he faced during his time in college (compared to receivers including Clemson’s Tee Higgins, Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson and Penn State’s K.J. Hamler).

Cephus’ big red flag is missing the 2018 season with a legal issue, though he did return in 2019 and produce the best season we’ve seen from a Badger wide receiver in years. His best fits are with any team in need of a sure-handed wide receiver with experience and success against some of the nation’s top cornerbacks.

To me, the Eagles fit this bill perfectly and would be wise to select Cephus with one of their late-round selections.

 

Linebacker Chris Orr

Most likely landing spot: any team in need of a rotational/developmental linebacker prospect

Projected draft position: un-drafted

 

Orr is not projected to be selected in April’s draft though he should find himself signed as an un-drafted free agent and receive an opportunity to make an NFL roster come August.

Orr’s experience and skill set remind me of T.J. Edwards when he was coming out of Wisconsin a few years ago. Edwards went on after the draft to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles, make the week one roster, crack the starting lineup during his rookie season and now is currently in line to start at middle linebacker for the team this season. Maybe a similar path will become available for Orr were he to go un-drafted later this month.

 

The NFL Draft is slated to begin on April 23 and run until April 25 in an entirely online format.

Seahawks Wire mock 3.0: Predicting Seattle’s picks in 2020 NFL draft

Seahawks Wire put together their third Seattle mock draft, and this one includes a pair of trades back the team could make.

We are less than two weeks away from the 2020 NFL draft, a spectacle that – thanks to COVID-19 – will happen completely virtually for the first time in NFL history.

The Seattle Seahawks are known for working the phones and making a lot of trades, so they will be particularly fun to watch in light of these new circumstances.

We at Seahawks Wire have already put together a pair of mock drafts, but version 3.0 is the first one to include potential trades – a staple of Seattle’s draft strategy in the John Schneider era.

Two trades occur during this mock draft, and below is a look at what trades they make, and who they end up with in our latest mock.

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Lions 2020 NFL draft: A pass rusher for every round

Lions 2020 NFL draft: A pass rusher for every round

Next up in the series of finding a draft prospect at a given position for the Detroit Lions in each round of the draft: pass rusher.

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Rather than just limit it to one specific position, the focus here is on generating pressure on the opposing quarterback. It can come from a hand-in-dirt DE, a stand-up OLB or a hybrid of the two, more commonly known as the EDGE position.

First round: K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU

Chase Young from Ohio State is the obvious choice, and the best player in the 2020 NFL Draft would look fantastic in the Honolulu Blue and silver. Presuming he’s off the board before the Lions pick at No. 3 overall, the focus turns away from Young and onto another option.

Chaisson is almost universally regarded as the second-best EDGE in this draft, and it’s for good reason. Athletically, he’s a marvel at 6-3, 254 well-chiseled pounds and one of the fastest firsts steps in recent memory. He’s got great bend and ankle flexion to sharply turn the corner and attack the QB. Chaisson can win inside too.

There are some drawbacks. He missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL and was hobbled by a foot injury last fall. Chaisson is still learning how to play football; just 20 years old, he didn’t play organized football until high school. His lack of game experience shows at times.

If the Lions trade back from No. 3, Chaisson should definitely be in play with the team’s first pick. He won’t last out of the first 10 or so picks.

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New destinations for Baun and Taylor in the latest USA TODAY Mock Draft

Taking a look at where former Badgers fell in the latest USA TODAY Mock Draft

[lawrence-newsletter][lawrence-auto-related count=2]Our friends at USA TODAY’s DraftWire site recently uploaded the latest edition of their 2020 Mock Draft series. 

Here is where the five Wisconsin Badger’s taken through the first four rounds fell:

Jonathan Taylor, RB — 29th overall to the Tennessee Titans 

The only Badger taken in the first round was Taylor, who by nearly all projections will be the first Badger off the board in a couple weeks. The two-time Doak Walker Award Winner had previously been slotted by USA TODAY to end up going 28th overall to Baltimore and 24th overall to New Orleans in the previous two mock’s respectively. The Titans do not seem like the most natural fit for Taylor given the play of bruising back Derrick Henry, but the Badger legend landing anywhere in the first round feels like a win.

Zack Baun, LB — 36th overall to the New York Giants 

This is the highest spot that the former Badger has landed in USA TODAY’s Mock Draft series so far. The first team all-Big Ten performer could make an immediate impact on a defense that needs help in New York. We also know that the Dallas Cowboys are interested in the linebacker with the 51st pick near the end of the second round given they interviewed Baun via Zoom last week.

Here is where the rest of the Badgers taken in the first four rounds fell:

Tyler Biadasz, OL — 78th overall to the Atlanta Falcons

Chris Orr, LB — 109th overall to the Detroit Lions 

Quintez Cephus, WR — 127th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles 

Trade for No. 1 pick changes things up for the Ravens in TD Wire’s latest mock draft

In a 2020 NFL mock draft, Doug Farrar has the Miami Dolphins trading up for the No. 1 pick, sending shockwaves down to the Baltimore Ravens.

The NFL Draft is one of the most hectic and chaotic events in football. Nearly every year we’ve seen shocking picks, reaches for players well before they should go and prospects that fall for some unknown reason. As is the case every year, we’ll likely see trades happen all the way to the final seconds before picks are made. One such trade that could completely alter the landscape of the 2020 NFL Draft is if a team trades up into the No. 1 spot.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire took that into account with his latest mock draft, having the Miami Dolphins trade for the Cincinnati Bengals’ first-overall pick and grabbing LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. It led to a bit of a shakeup down the first round.

The Bengals, after getting the Dolphins’ three first-round picks in the hypothetical trade, took a player many have mocked to the Baltimore Ravens in LSU linebacker Patrick Queen at No. 18. At No. 28, Farrar has the Baltimore Ravens sticking with defense, grabbing Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun.

It’s well-known that no NFL team has blitzed more over the last two seasons than the Ravens — they led the league with a 39.6% blitz rate in 2018, and doubled down with a 54.9% blitz rate in 2019. It worked well enough, but it also spoke to the defense’s need for more edge pressure from versatile players. Last season, Baun played 68 snaps of off-ball linebacker for the Badgers, and 664 snaps as an edge-rusher outside the tackles. He totaled 12.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 28 quarterback hurries, adding in just 112 yards allowed on 195 pass defense drops over the last two seasons, per Pro Football Focus. There are few better player/scheme/need fits in this draft, and Baun’s presence might be the difference between a Super Bowl and not for the Ravens if he can do what he did in college.

Baltimore does need to bolster their entire linebacking corps, from inside linebacker to outside linebacker. The Ravens’ only question marks on their defensive starting lineup are who will play inside and who will play opposite outside linebacker Matthew Judon.

Finding a defensive player like Baun, who can do a little of everything, is something Baltimore tends to covet. Defensive coordinator Don Martindale has also seemingly loved versatile players, moving them all over the field and out of normal position in order to create more confusion in opposing offenses.

With a high motor and explosive athleticism, Baun is the type of player the Ravens could easily be drooling over at the end of the first round.

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An example of the strange, quarantined NFL Draft process for Zack Baun

The former Badger star met with an NFL franchise via facetime, and we got to listen in to a portion of the interview

With nearly all sports on a worldwide shutdown, the NFL Draft is one of the few sporting events still pushing forward. Of course, there are major changes being made not only to the draft itself, but also to the process.

For the athletes, the NFL Draft is already a time of uncertainty. You are wondering where you will land, if you are a first round pick, or maybe if you will be drafted at all. There are a number of factors that go into the draft process, and there is a considerable amount of work to be done off the field as well as on. One of the main off the field tasks for prospective NFL players is the draft interview process. This is, after all, a full-time job that requires a job interview. You have to be ready for any and all questions.

This year, those interviews look very different, as instead of meeting with teams in person, players and teams have to conduct interviews over the internet. This morning, the Dallas Cowboys gave us an inside look at one of these interviews with former Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun. The Badger outside linebacker had a fantastic senior season in 2019, as he racked up 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, and has been a second-round selection in most mock drafts.

The Wisconsin native met with the Cowboys organization today for a virtual interview. With Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and newly-hired Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on the line, we saw a glimpse of Baun talking about his motor and his love for the game of football thanks to the Cowboys Twitter account: