Players are suspended on the first positive test under the performance enhancing drug policy. At that time the first positive PED test brought a four game suspension and a second positive was eight games. Cushing got four games. You're thinking of recreational drugs.

Was Luis Castillo suspended for 4 games his rookie season for testing positive at the Combine?

Regardless, I would not have drafted Castillo or Cushing and I would not want Gregory this year with my 1st round pick. Red Flag that isn't worth the risk.

Good point, a positive test at the combine doesn't result in a suspension. But I think it does get them on the double-secret probation you talked about so if Cushing had tested positive at the combine it wouldn't have been treated like a first offense when he failed the test a year leader. And when Castillo tested positive at the combine, it was one of the big stories of that draft. If Cushing had done that it would've gotten out and it would've been a big deal. There were rumors of him juicing at USC, but never anything substantiated.

As for Gregory, you have to really wonder about a guy who tests positive when he knew he was going to be tested and how much was riding on the combine. It raises a lot of questions about his commitment, focus, and general mental state.

That is exactly the reason why I would not draft him in the 1st round. There are other talented players who have not demonstrated that type of stupidity and immaturity. It tells me that he thought because he's talented that he can get away with it. Drafting him in the 1st round would only substantiate his belief of entitlement. It sends the wrong signal to the rest of the team in my opinion.

Fanspeak 4/12 with Walter Football Big Board
 

Having the Walter Football board produced some unique challenges.

I started with my two favorite moves:

1) Traded 1-16 to Pittsburgh for 1-22 and 2-24.
2) Traded 4th, 5th and 6th to Green Bay for 3-30.

When I got to 22, however, all four of my favorite receivers were off the board and many of my defensive favorites too. CB Trae Waynes had slid to us but, personally, I think he could be both the best CB in the draft and somewhat overrated. Breshard Perriman is there as well as Arik Armstead, Randy Gregory, Cam Erving and Andrus Peat.

But I took the best LB left on the board, Eric Kendricks of UCLA who some project inside and others outside.

That then changed my normal pattern and the rest of the draft went like this. You should see the gobsmacked expression I had when OLB Hauoli Kikaha of Washington was still on the board. Most project him as a second or third. He was still there with a sixth round comp pick. In fact, I like the back of the draft almost better than the front part.

22 - R1P22 (from PIT): ILB ERIC KENDRICKS, UCLA
51 - R2P19: WR SAMMIE COATES, AUBURN
56 - R2P24 (from PIT): CB-FS ERIC ROWE, UTAH
82 - R3P18: G A.J. CANN, SOUTH CAROLINA
94 - R3P30 (from GB): DT GRADY JARRETT, CLEMSON
175 - R5P39 (comp): TE JESSE JAMES, PENN STATE
211 - R6P35 (comp): OLB HAUOLI KIKAHA, WASHINGTON
216 - R6P40 (comp): WR-KR ANTWAN GOODLEY, BAYLOR
235 - R7P18: CB DAMIAN SWANN, GEORGIA

I would take Gregory in a second. No debate needed from me.
He is by far the most talented DE/OLB in the draft. Period. So the guy smoked a little weed. I'm sure at least 50% of players smoke weed, it's so glorified now in society, it's in music, movies, ect. It's legal now in a few states, with more states probably being added this year. I believe Justin Houston tested positive at the combine and he's hasn't had any problems. So you never know.

After watching this scout break down how ridiculously talented he is, you might be swayed too.

https://youtu.be/S8AdCCOD4iw

I thought I could do better and took the same arrangement through a second time, only a situation developed where I couldn't resist trading up which caused another trade back:

1) Traded 1-16 to PIT for 1-22 and 2-24
2) Traded 4th, 5th and 6th to GB for 3-30

Sitting at 22 this time were several players I liked but the best on the board was Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson. As I started the second, I noticed Jaelen Strong was still on the board so I traded up to get him.

3) Traded 2-19 and 3-18 to WSH for 2-5. Now, I'm really happy. I got one of the best pass rushers in the draft as well as the WR I've wanted all along. I then used the 2-24 from Pittsburgh to take ILB Stephone Anthony of Clemson. We've got a real haymaker of a draft starting out but I had to give a third, so what do I do with one I still have from the Packers? An offer from the Patriots came up:

4) Traded 3-30 to NE for 3-32 and 7-2. With that selection, I took Tre Johnson, OG, Florida St. to shore up the interior line.

There was a big chasm then to the late 5th but I still had 5 picks and I like what I have with those.

22 - R1P22 (from PIT): OLB VIC BEASLEY, CLEMSON
37 - R2P5 (from WSH): WR JAELEN STRONG, ARIZONA STATE
56 - R2P24 (from PIT): ILB STEPHONE ANTHONY, CLEMSON
96 - R3P32 (from NE): G TRE' JACKSON, FLORIDA STATE
175 - R5P39 (comp): C B.J. FINNEY, KANSAS STATE
211 - R6P35 (comp): DT DERRICK LOTT, CHATTANOOGA
216 - R6P40 (comp): DE DEION BARNES, PENN STATE
219 - R7P2 (from NE): CB QUANDRE DIGGS, TEXAS
235 - R7P18: WR ANTWAN GOODLEY, BAYLOR

PFT Round 1 Mock
 

I'd be OK with Waynes in Rd. 1.

1. Buccaneers: QB Jameis Winston, Florida State.
2. Titans: DT Leonard Williams, USC.
3. Jaguars: LB Dante Fowler Jr., Florida.
4. Raiders: WR Amari Cooper, Alabama.
5. Washington: LB Vic Beasley, Clemson.
6. Jets: QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon.
7. Bears: WR Kevin White, West Virginia.
8. Falcons: OT La’El Collins, Louisiana State.
9. Giants: DT Malcom Brown, Texas.
10. Rams: WR DeVante Parker, Louisville.
11. Vikings: OT Brandon Scherff, Iowa.
12. Browns: S Landon Collins, Alabama.
13. Saints: LB Alvin “Bud” Dupree, Kentucky.
14. Dolphins: OT D.J. Humphries, Florida.
15. 49ers: DE Mario Edwards, Florida State.
16. Texans: CB Trae Waynes, Michigan State.
17. Chagers: RT Ereck Flowers, Miami.
18. Chiefs: CB Kevin Johnson, Wake Forest.
19. Browns: OL Cameron Erving, Florida State.
20. Eagles: DE Randy Gregory, Nebraska.
21. Bengals: OT Andrus Peat, Stanford.
22. Steelers: OT Donovan Smith, Penn State.
23. Lions: DT Danny Shelton, Washington.
24. Cardinals: RB Todd Gurley, Georgia.
25. Panthers: WR Jalen Strong, Arizona State.
26. Ravens: WR Breshad Perriman, Central Florida.
27. Cowboys: RB Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin.
28. Broncos: DT Jordan Phillips, Oklahoma.
29. Colts: LB Shane Ray, Missouri.
30. Packers: WR Nelson Agholor, USC.
31. Saints: WR Dorial Green-Beckham, Oklahoma.
32. Patriots: CB Marcus Peters, Washington.

I would have liked to have been able to trade down for extra picks and perhaps selected OLB Shane Ray or Eli Harold or even WR Strong or Perriman.

If they draft Waynes, I won't cry.

I'm steering way clear of Perriman in RD1. Reminds me too much of CPat or Justin Hunter - all hype. I'd rather go LB, OL, CB in RD1, and then hope Devin Smith, Nelson Agholor, Dorsett are there in RD2. Agholor will likely go higher, but Smith or Dorsett might be there.

The knock on Perriman is he has world class speed but only marginal hands. Until somebody comes up with a 40-time for hands, the guys who can post really fast numbers at the combine are going to be overrated. Dorsett is another guy who is climbing because he clocked a 4.2.

If the "first four" are gone (Cooper, White, Parker and Strong), then I'd look for guys like Sammie Coates and Tyler Lockett. Those two have solid production and come up big in big games. Coates doesn't have top speed but he faced SEC defenders and produced big numbers.

Devin Smith, from what I read, is strictly a straight-line speed guy. If that's what I want, I can get Antwan Goodley much later.

Regarding Waynes, what I read is he can run really fast and can break up passes. Ok, nice. What I didn't read was that he can tackle well or intercept passes. So, IMO, he reminds me of Aqib Talib who runs really fast and can shadow your top receiver but he gets hurt if you ask him to make a tackle and he rarely picks off passes. Is that what you want to spend a mid-round #1 on?

Now if he fell to the late first or early second, then, yeah, let's get him. In the 8-16 range, whoever gets him may feel disappointed. I still think he's the top corner in the draft but I'm not sure he merits where he's being ranked.

Excellent points about "hands" on the prospects. Sammie Coates drops a lot of passes. I think Perriman is a little bit better. Dorsett actually has larger hands, but Tyler Lockett seems to catch the ball more easily. Finding the "natural hands catchers" with size and speed is kind of limited to the top 3. So, we're going to have to find players who we can hide insufficiency and demonstrate strength.

13 April Mock
 

16 OL Cameron Erving
51 ILB Stephone Anthony
82 QB Bryce Petty
116 WR Tyler Lockett
152 WR Chris Conley
175 WR Ty Montgomery
195 OLB Kyle Emanuel
211 RB Karlos Williams
216 CB Justin Coleman
235 TE Blake Bell

3 WRs in one draft. Kyle Emanuel is cheap OLB insurance. Erving can play any position on the OL.

Here's a good write up on some of the WRs:

http://www.thebackyardbanter.com/201...-rankings.html

He's still developing his "Reception Perception" model, but I like where he's going with it.

Here's more info regarding the model:

http://www.thebackyardbanter.com/the...n-project.html

6) Devin Smith, Ohio State

From the moment I popped on the first Devin Smith cutup, I was intrigued. His big play ability was screaming off the screen. After I studied Smith for Reception Perception, I was hooked. Starting with the obvious, he is a master of the vertical game, and he still owns the most ridiculous deep game Reception Perception I’ve charted. While prospects like Sammie Coates and Phillip Dorrsett have speed, Smith is the one player in this class with near complete vertical ability. Meaning, he has the speed to fly, the subtleties to inch away from coverage at the last moment to separate, and can win contested catches. His ability to track the ball is second to none in this class, especially in the deep game. When Devin Smith walks into an NFL team’s building, he will already bring true vertical artistry, and be an immediate deep threat. That is enough of a trump card for him to get first round consideration.
If O'Brien is looking for a WR with the real top-end speed, a real burner this might his man.

Downgrading him is not about how bad marijuana is. If I told a guy not to eat shell fish for a month before the draft because it was worth millions of dollars and would seriously impact his professional future, and then he ate some delicious bacon wrapped shrimp and tested positive for shell fish, I would downgrade him. Not because those shrimp were bad, but because knowing the situation and eating them anyways would show a huge lack of professionalism/poor decision making combo I would not be excited to invest a 1st round pick in.

Occasionally this results in the Randy Mosses of the world being undervalued and tumbling down draft boards, but the flip side is when character concerns are ignored (Lawerence Phillips is an old school example with a recent headline grabbing example that many leopards never change their spots).

I am all about attempting to make analysis more objective and less subjective, and appreciate the information. I took a look at his tiers, My Ranking, Average Mock Draft position, CBS Sports Scouting "Grades", and Combine Measurables.

My Rank Grade Avg Draft Position Tier Pos Name School Height Weight 40 Cone Shuttle Vert Bench Arm Jump Hand
3 7 4 1 WR Amari Cooper Alabama 6' 7/8" 211 4.42 10"
4 6.2 6 1 WR Kevin White West Va 6' 2 5/8" 215 4.35 4.14 36.5 23 32 5/8" 10'3" 9 1/4"
6 6.2 12 2 WR DeVante Parker Louisville 6'3" 209 4.45 17
13 5.8 24 4 WR Jaelen Strong Az State 6'2 217 4.44 42 10'3" 9"
24 5.8 16 2 WR Breshad Perriman Central Fla 6'2" 212 4.25
27 5.7 38 4 WR Phillip Dorsett Miami 5' 9 3/4" 185 4.25 6.7 4.11 38 13 30 1/4" 10'9" 10'2"
28 5.6 39 2 WR Nelson Agholor USC 6' 1/8" 198 4.48
29 5.7 44 2 WR Devin Smith Ohio St 6'0" 196 4.42 4.15 39 10 31" 10'2" 9"
43 5.5 70 4 WR Tyler Lockett Kansas St 5'10" 182 4.4 6.89 4.07 35.5 30" 8 3/8"
44 5.7 91 4 WR Rashad Greene Fla State 5'11" 182 4.53 6.88 4.12 36.5 31 5/8" 9"
59 5.5 157 4 WR Chris Conley Georgia 6'2 213 4.35 45 18 11' 7" 9 7/8"
65 5.3 85 2 WR Tre McBride Will&Mary 6 210 4.41 16
68 5.6 123 7 WR Ty Montgomery Stanford 6'0" 221 4.55 6.97 4.21 40.5 31" 10'1" 10 1/8"
71 5.4 86 3 WR Justin Hardy East Carolina 5'10" 192 4.56 6.63 4.21 36.5 11 32 1/8" 9'5" 10"
78 5.5 175 7 WR Antwan Goodley Baylor 5'10 1/4" 209 4.44 30 3/4" 9 1/4"


The main take-away is that everyone agrees that Cooper and White are the cream of the crop. Then the list and opinions begin to spiral at 3 - Parker, Strong, Perriman, Dorsett, etc. The guru at TheHuddleReport.com has Ty Montgomery as a 1st round talent while this guy trashes him. Nelson Agholor is gaining some steam as a top 2nd round pick. Devin Smith and Chris Conley could potentially be the steals of this draft. It will depend upon the team the player is selected as to how successful they will be at the next level. Seems like everyone has an opinion.

Exactly. If I were making the call I'd have to be convinced that he's someone the team could count on and not another Sam Montgomery. The positive test indicates the exact opposite.

Here's a good article on Waynes' tackling: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...ostly-imagined. Summary: Not a good tackler at all, but he is a top cover guy and he does make an effort at tackling. You can work on his tackling and he has coverage ability that you can't teach.