Tag: Zay Flowers

CBS Sports 2-round mock draft has Saints signing Derek Carr, Will Levis landing in the NFC South

A new CBS Sports 2-round mock draft has the Saints signing Derek Carr, with Will Levis landing in the NFC South with Carolina:

How would signing Derek Carr shake up the New Orleans Saints draft strategy? Right now, they don’t have a higher priority than getting things sorted at quarterback. If they’re able to come away with their top target under center, it opens things up for them in the 2023 NFL draft. They’re free to go after other positions at different areas of need.

It’s a scenario explored by CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso, who recently completed a two-round projection ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine. Here’s what he has New Orleans doing after acquiring Carr, and what that move kicks off around the NFC South:

Patriots knock it out of the park in this 3-round mock draft

Everything fell just right for the Patriots in this three-round mock draft.

There’s always a certain bit of luck involved when it comes to the NFL draft board. We can twist our brains like pretzels thinking up scenarios, but the reality is that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won’t know what he’s dealing with until names start coming off the actual board.

Maybe a team he isn’t expecting takes a player he really wants, or on the flipside, maybe they pass up on a player they were initially projected to draft, opening an opportunity for Belichick to draft a player later than expected.

The latter would be the case for this latest three-round mock draft to come to fruition for the Patriots. This one was simulated with the mock draft simulator over at the Pro Football Network, and it ended up being quite the haul.

The Patriots addressed their issues on the offensive line, added a dynamic playmaker at the receiver position and shored up their defensive backfield by landing an Alabama prospect.

Here’s how the latest mock draft turned out for New England.

Vikings Mock Draft Roundup 8.0: 44 unique players

The Vikings continue to get mocked new players each week and we are getting close to having 50 unique players

Mock draft season is upon us and that means our mock draft roundup is back!

What we do every week is track the mainstream outlets mock drafts and aggregate how many times a player gets selected. Last season, we tallied up 173 mock drafts and only 10 of them were on offense. This season could end up being much of the same.

We will track them and try to determine trends and patterns, along with giving my own analysis on how they could fit with the Minnesota Vikings.

This week, we have 23 new mock drafts and they are all over the place with what the Vikings are projected to do.

Mock Draft Roundup 7.0

Pre-combine WR rankings: Who is WR1 in an odd class?

Who are the top wide receivers coming into the combine this week?

With the NFL Scouting Combine now here, it is time to break down some positional rankings as the Cleveland Browns look to take this opportunity to find playmakers to add to their roster in the 2023 NFL Draft. We have already covered defensive tackles and pass rushers, leaving the third main need for the Browns: wide receiver. This is an odd class, and one player who will remain under a microscope is Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba after he appeared in just three games this season, leaving all of them with a nagging injury.

As the Browns look to get more explosive in the passing game this season, here are the top receivers to keep an eye on.

CBS Sports sends the Vikings one of the top wide receiver prospects

The Vikings offense would get a burst of speed if the NFL draft turned out like this

The Minnesota Vikings enter the 2023 NFL Draft with several needs to fill, including wide receiver and cornerback. While some experts argue that the Vikings should prioritize adding a top-tier wide receiver to complement Justin Jefferson and help ease the burden on him, others argue that their need for a quality cornerback is more pressing.

On Thursday, Josh Edwards of CBS Sports supported the notion that the Vikings should add a wide receiver. In Edwards’ latest mock draft, he helped the Vikings out by having them select Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers.

“Minnesota adds some speed to compliment Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. Zay Flowers will one day become the long-term complement to Jefferson.”

Flowers has been getting a lot of buzz lately from NFL Draft experts, and rightfully so. Flowers has a very polished route tree that he runs with ease while gaining constant separation. There would be a lot of excitement in Minnesota if the Vikings left on Day 1 with Flowers.

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Seahawks go EDGE, WR in Round 1 of this NFL.com 2023 mock draft

With Georgia’s Jalen Carter going to the Bears at No. 1 overall in most recent mock drafts, a new favorite for the Seahawks and their No. 5 pick has emerged.

With Georgia’s Jalen Carter going to the Bears at No. 1 overall in most recent mock drafts, a new favorite for the Seahawks and their No. 5 pick has emerged. Now the most-common mock pick at that spot has Seattle taking Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr., the top-ranked edge defender in this class.

That’s no guarantee he will be the first one to get picked, though. In Daniel Jeremiah’s latest 2023 NFL mock draft Texas Tech’s Tyree Wilson goes to Arizona with the third overall pick, leaving Anderson still on the board when the Seahawks get on the clock, setting up a steal pick.

“Yes, this would indeed be a steal for the Seahawks. Anderson teams up with Uchenna Nwosu to give Seattle two explosive edge rushers.”

Anderson (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) brings obvious value with his ability to blow plays up around the line of scrimmage.

In 41 games at Alabama he totaled 34.5 sacks and 58.5 tackles for a loss.

When they’re on the clock again at No. 20 overall, Jeremiah has the Seahawks selecting Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“Seattle adds another weapon to complement Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Smith-Njigba is a pure route runner and will be a high-volume target.”

It’s a small sample size, but Smith-Njigba’s production during his Sophomore season (2021) is enough to be confident he’ll make it at the next level. That year he posted 95 catches, 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns. He also has the required willingness to block for all Seattle receivers.

Taking a wide receiver so early when you already have Lockett and Metcalf may seem like a reach. However, Seattle has a long-standing need for a true No. 3 option in the passing game. If Pete Carroll and John Schneider can fill that hole it could raise Geno Smith’s ceiling considerably.

You can find Jeremiah’s full mock at NFL.com here.

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Boston College WR Zay Flowers to Saints in Daniel Jeremiah’s second mock draft of 2023:

The New Orleans Saints picked Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers in Daniel Jeremiah’s second mock draft of 2023:

Few draft experts are as clued-in to what evaluators around the league are thinking as NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, so it’s important to pay attention to what he’s saying come draft season. And Jeremiah recently published his second mock draft of the 2023 cycle, this time with a pick for the New Orleans Saints after they received a first rounder from the Denver Broncos in exchange for their old coach Sean Payton.

And Jeremiah has the Saints spending that pick on a wide receiver to pair with Chris Olave, selecting Boston College standout Zay Flowers.

“Flowers is one of the most enjoyable players to study in this year’s class. He’d be a lock for the top 15 if he were two inches taller,” Jeremiah writes of New Orleans’ pick at No. 29 overall.

Jeremiah put Flowers fifth among this year’s crop of wide receivers, clocking in at No. 41 in his top-50 prospect rankings. In this mock draft he has USC wideout Jordan Addison going to the Houston Texans at No. 12, Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 20, TCU’s Quentin Johnston to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 21, and Tennessee prospect Jalin Hyatt to the New York Giants at No. 25. Flowers is the only other receiver going off the board in the first round.

How big of a need will receiver be for the Saints by April? They’re likely to part ways with Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Deonte Harty this offseason which would leave Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Tre’Quan Smith on top of the depth chart. Practice squad wideout Keith Kirkwood was recently re-signed for 2023 along with reserves Kirk Merritt and Kawaan Baker. The Saints could look to free agency for help, but the steadily-rising costs of free agent receivers may push them to draft another one early instead.

Which brings us back to Flowers. He’s vaulting up draft boards after impressing at East-West Shrine Bowl practices for a week, but he isn’t a perfect prospect. He had to bulk up to 182 pounds for NFL tryouts and weighed in at just over 5-foot-9 with a 72-inch wingspan. Below-average size isn’t the end of his NFL aspirations — undersized playmakers like Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Tyler Lockett, Brandin Cooks, and Diontae Johnson are proof of it.

But there’s a lot of pressure on Flowers’ performance at the upcoming NFL scouting combine to show he can move exceptionally well even for someone of his size to justify a first-round grade. If he can’t push the envelope with a 4.3-second 40-yard dash and impress in other athletic testing drills, he’s likelier to fall to the third round like Lockett and Johnson than be picked in the first frame like Waddle and Cooks were. Someone with 199 receptions (29 of them touchdown catches) in their college career shouldn’t need to prove how quickly they can sprint in a straight line to justify the hype, but that’s what NFL scouts will be looking for in a few weeks.

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Geno Smith working out with Boston College WR Zay Flowers

Yesterday, Smith posted an Instagram story of himself working out with Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers.

WR3 won’t be first on the Seahawks’ list going into the 2023 NFL draft. However, a chance to land a true third Musketeer to help out DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett shouldn’t be overlooked as a genuine need this offseason.

Geno Smith is working out with one potential solution to that problem. Yesterday, Smith posted an Instagram story of himself working out with Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers.

Update: Flowers told reporters at the NFL Combine that this video is actually three years old.

Nevertheless, Flowers fits the Pete Carroll wide receiver build perfectly (5-foot-10, 177 pounds) and has proven he can produce as a pass-catcher. In 48 college games he totaled 200 catches, over 3,000 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns.

Flowers does his best work producing plenty of YAC from the slot, which is exactly where and how this passing offense could use a boost. He also made an impression as an occasional rushing weapon, racking up 345 yards and two scores on 57 attempts. Let’s take a look at the tape.

Flowers vs. Rutgers

Flowers vs. Wake Forest

Flowers vs. Clemson

Flowers vs. Louisville

Flowers vs. North Carolina

The only issue with Flowers is that it’ll likely take a first-round pick to get him. The Seahawks have two this year though and if he’s available at No. 20 overall they should consider it.

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Giants land WR Zay Flowers in latest Todd McShay mock draft

In the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Todd McShay, he has the New York Giants selecting Boston College WR Zay Flowers.

Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers to the New York Giants is rapidly becoming a common projection in early 2023 mock drafts.

ESPN’s Todd McShay was the latest to jump on that bandwagon, sending the undersized receiver to the Giants in his post-Super Bowl LVII mock.

We saw a run on corners in the middle of the first round, and now we get another on receivers. The Giants’ wideout issues are well documented, as they relied on Darius Slayton, Richie James and Isaiah Hodgins to carry the load last season. Wan’Dale Robinson will be returning from a torn ACL, but Slayton and James will join Sterling Shepard (also had a torn ACL) in free agency. It looks like Daniel Jones will be back in New York, but will GM Joe Schoen improve the supporting cast?

I really like Flowers’ skill set. He’s elusive in the open field and has the speed to separate from coverage. Last season, he caught 78 balls for 1,077 yards and 12 TDs while forcing a bunch of missed tackles.

Flowers is a speedy, shifty target who would provide a lot of value on the inside. But the Giants already have Wan’Dale Robinson and expectations remain that they will eventually bring Sterling Shepard back.

At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Flowers is too small to line up outside and take on the larger NFC East cornerbacks.

There’s no denying that Flowers has a ton of talent and explosiveness, but he doesn’t fit the role of a true X receiver and that’s precisely what the Giants need to find this offseason.

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PFF identifies perfect early/late-round fits for Chargers in 2023 NFL draft

Pro Football Focus suggests a wide receiver and a linebacker for the Chargers.

With the 2022 season in the rearview, all attention has shifted to what the Chargers can do to their roster this offseason to be as competitive as possible to dethrone AFC West rivals and Super Bowl 57 champions, the Chiefs.

The 2023 NFL draft should be where the Bolts can pull out a slew of young talent.

Pro Football Focus recently identified the perfect fits for every team in the early and late rounds.

Given the huge need to address the wide receiver position, PFF has Boston College’s Zay Flowers as the perfect fit for the early round.

The Chargers’ offense could take the next step with some extra speed infused into it, and that’s the kind of player Zay Flowers is.

The Chargers head into the season with a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, who is expected to unlock the true potential of Justin Herbert. But, to do so, they need to find the missing piece to the puzzle, which is a speed element. And Flowers could be that.

While undersized at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, Flowers is a very experienced and dynamic receiver, with not just deep speed but the quickness and twitchiness in space, making him a threat with the ball in his hands, as evident from leading the ACC with 503 yards after the catch.

The perfect late-round fit for the Chargers that PFF identified is Tulane linebacker Dorian Williams.

As for their defense, they could use some extra linebacker help, and Dorian Williams brings high-ceiling athleticism for the position as a mid-round pick.

The Chargers have to make a decision on Drue Tranquill, who is slated to be a free agent in March. If they let him walk, the linebacker corps will need additional players.

Williams is instinctual and physical in run defense and has plenty of downhill speed to make an impact as a blizter. Additionally, Williams has a natural feel for coverage with an understanding of route concepts to make plays.

Williams was productive in college, finishing his career with 316 tackles, 27 for a loss, 9.5 sacks, 44 quarterback pressures, eight passes defended, and two interceptions and two forced fumbles.