2016 NFL Draft: Matt Miller's Scouting Notebook for Week 2

Depending on how Week 1 went for your favorite NFL team, you may be reading this Friday morning looking for information about the top draft prospects who can come in and start the rebuilding process in your city. You could also be a fan of a team that looked dominant, and you want to see me admit to being wrong about one of your favorite players—and you're going to see that here.

You're also going to get a brand, spanking new mock draft (based on the definitive Bleacher Report NFL Power Rankings), a breakdown of the best quarterback prospect I've seen this season and a whole lot of news and notes from my conversations with coaches and scouts. And if you're a college football fanatic, like me, you'll get a list of players to watch and know for this weekend's games.

The Scout's Report

—Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood has suspended star wide receiver Leonte Carroo, adding to the laundry list of problems the program has endured this season (including players arrested for robbery and a coach that pressured professors to change grades). Carroo was supposed to be a bright spot for the team, but he's now sidelined after allegedly slamming a woman onto the concrete outside the team's facility, per Patricia Alex of the Record.  

—Carroo received a late first-round grade from me over the summer, but obviously this puts his draft stock into a tailspin. It's best to wait and see with situations like this, but the early word is not good for Carroo's future.

—Speaking of wide receivers, I had one scout tell me after I released last week's Big Board that Ole Miss' Laquon Treadwell is "overrated" by the media and doesn't have the explosiveness of a true No. 1 wideout. I reminded him that the same was said of Anquan Boldin and Alshon Jeffery, which prompted him to remind me they're two of 96 starting wide receivers. 

—Staying at Ole Miss, left tackle Laremy Tunsil has yet to see the field this season. He was arrested in June after allegedly assaulting his stepfather, per ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy, who in turn said Tunsil had been talking to an agent (which is not against NCAA rules), per Riley Blevins of the Clarion-Ledger. But Tunsil has been held out due to claims he violated NCAA rules—part of an investigation at Ole Miss that is now three years old—by accepting benefits from agents and school officials. According to ESPN.com's Chris Low, the "sticking point" is that Tunsil received a loaner vehicle while his car was being worked on and kept it longer than he should have—which is an impermissible benefit. To make a long story short, it's unlikely Tunsil will play anytime soon. 

—As for Tunsil's draft stock, one college scouting director I texted with this week didn't think this would hurt his stock. They felt the domestic violence charges were "b------t" and the benefits claims were something his team "doesn't care about" as long as he checks out in terms of maturity and work ethic.

—Tennessee edge defender Curt Maggitt was a top-20 senior in the country, but a hip injury suffered last week will keep him out "around eight weeks," according to a team source. Maggitt, I'm told by the same source, is expected to play again this year and the team expects the senior to head to the NFL next year instead of seeking a medical redshirt.

—Florida State outside linebacker Terrance Smith is drawing a comparison to a former Seminole of the same last name. One area scout this week said Smith is "a carbon copy of Telvin Smith," and teams shouldn't make the same mistake in letting this Smith fall through the draft. The Jacksonville Jaguars scooped up Telvin during the fifth round in 2014.

—If you're looking for the strength of the 2016 draft class, look to the lines. One scouting director told me this week "the skill players aren't great, but man, the linemen could be special" when asked which positional group stood out to his team.

Five Names to Know

5. No. 4 WR Kenny Lawler, California
Lawler is just a junior, but he’s the star of the Cal passing attack down the field. His ability to win with body control on fades and sideline plays is definitely eye-opening.

Jackson Laizure/Getty Images

4. No. 3 WR Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma
The next Tyler Lockett or John Brown might be at Oklahoma. Shepard has insane quickness in space and is the all-around playmaker that Lockett and Brown were in college.

3. No. 96 DT Adam Gotsis, Georgia Tech
The Notre Dame offensive line is pretty dang good, and for Georgia Tech to make life miserable for the Fighting Irish’s new quarterback, Gotsis has to beat Nick Martin and Co. on the inside.

2. No. 93 DL Jonathan Allen, Alabama
Allen, playing the left defensive end position, wouldn’t be facing Laremy Tunsil if he were going to be on the field, but he’ll still be the focal point on a loaded defensive line. The junior end is extremely quick, powerful and has NFL scouts watching to see what he does next.

1. No. 74 RT Vadal Alexander, LSU
The Auburn Tigers have pass-rushers, and they’ll attack both edges of the LSU offensive line. That means former guard and current right tackle Vadal Alexander has to be on his game. Alexander is nipping at the first round on my big board. This is the spotlight that could push him inside the top 32.

Scouting Report: Jared Goff, California

Throughout the 2016 draft season, one draft prospect will be highlighted each week with a first-look scouting report.

Jason O. Watson/Getty Images

No. 16 Quarterback Jared Goff, Cal (6'4", 205 lbs)

Strengths: Goff is a smart, analytical film nerd and it shows on the field. A three-year starter, he's developed well in the Bear Raid offense (a progression-based offense featuring plenty of run/pass options and largely based on downfield throws). Goff loves the game and spends his time off the field immersed in football.

On the field, Goff has the ability to make changes to play calls and protection in the shotgun, no-huddle offense. He's asked to process many things pre- and post-snap and handles it well. Goff pops up when hit and shows an on-field toughness. He's an above-average athlete with quick feet and flexible hips and shoulders.

Goff puts the ball on the correct shoulder when throwing down the field and won't lead his receivers into traffic. He understands touch and anticipation. His arm is strong enough to throw the 15-yard-out on a line, to thread the ball into tight windows on underneath routes and throw 50-yard bombs such as he did against San Diego State. Goff is quick to step up in the pocket and slides from pressure using short, quick, choppy steps in the pocket with the ball always held in the ready position and his eyes downfield (a la Peyton Manning). 

Weaknesses: Goff has a lean frame and has had to work to pack weight on. Cal lists him at 215 pounds, but scouts say he's closer to 205. The Bear Raid system gives him the protection of coaches making audibles and calls from the sideline, so he hasn't huddled or called a play in three years.

Goff isn't a tackle-breaker as a runner and won't elude blitzers to gain positive yards. His arm strength is good, but not great, and he can float the ball to the sideline at times.

His biggest flaw is a fadeaway tendency when throwing the ball. He doesn't always step into throws, but instead fades the ball off his back foot with his momentum going away from the line of scrimmage rather than toward it. 

Pro Comparison: Eli Manning, New York Giants

Goff is close to perfect as a quarterback prospect, and his flaws are all fixable ones. Like Eli Manning, he has picturesque footwork in the pocket, aggressive downfield vision and the arm to make every throw in the playbook. Goff doesn't turn the ball over at Cal as much as Manning has in the NFL, but from a skills and athleticism perspective, they're very similar.
 

The Big Board

If the good people on Twitter had their way, I'd do a new mock draft every day. Instead, I'm going to aim for once a month unless something major changes on the field. With the NFL season started and a few weeks of college football in the books, here's a way-too-early mock draft with the order based on the Bleacher Report NFL power rankings.

Pick	Player
1. Tampa Bay	T Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
2. Cleveland	QB Jared Goff, Cal
3. Washington	QB Cardale Jones, Ohio State
4. Jacksonville	DL Joey Bosa, Ohio State
5. Oakland	CB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
6. Chicago	LB Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame
7. Houston	QB Christian Hackenberg, Penn State
8. Tennessee	CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
9. San Francisco	DL Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
10. Carolina	T Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
11. New York Jets	T Jack Conklin, Michigan State
12. New Orleans	DL DeForest Buckner, Oregon
13. New York Giants	RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
14. Detroit	DL Kenny Clark, UCLA
15. St. Louis	WR Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
16. Minnesota	T Taylor Decker, Ohio State
17. Miami	G Vadal Alexander, LSU
18. Atlanta	LB Myles Jack, UCLA
19. Baltimore	EDGE Kemoko Turay, Rutgers
20. Pittsburgh	CB KeiVarae Russell, Notre Dame
21. Arizona	DL A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama
22. San Diego	WR Tyler Boyd, Pitt
23. Kansas City	LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama
24. Cincinnati	LB Scooby Wright, Arizona
25. Philadelphia	CB Cameron Sutton, Tennessee
26. Indianapolis	EDGE Leonard Floyd, Georgia
27. Buffalo	DL Adolphus Washington, Ohio State
28. Seattle	SS Vonn Bell, Ohio State
29. Denver	T Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M
30. Dallas	WR Michael Thomas, Ohio State
31. New England	No Pick
32. Green Bay	EDGE Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State

Parting Shots 

10. All the focus from fans goes to the quarterback first, and this is a quarterback-heavy article today, so I wanted to share a quote I have on all my scouting sheets for quarterback evaluation.

"Do not evaluate a quarterback the way you evaluate the other 21 positions. They're playing a different sport. With a quarterback, it's the things you can't put down on paper that make all the difference." —Duke Klosterman

9. Another bit of wisdom I was handed over the years is to always scout in a bubble. What that means is to take the individual player and look at him, not the system or helmet or players around him. The most current example of this is Marcus Mariota. Too many people jumped on the scheme or the lack of success from former Oregon quarterbacks instead of looking at the throws and decisions he was asked to make. 

Cliff McBride/Getty Images

8. Speaking of Mariota, and No. 1 pick Jameis Winston, don't go tearing up your scouting reports of them just yet. And it's way too early to say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the wrong pick. Mariota played amazing in Week 1, and some credit needs to go to Ken Whisenhunt and his staff in Tennessee for developing a game plan that would fit Mariota's strengths while taking advantage of the weaknesses in the Tampa 2 defense.

But the key for Mariota—and what will keep him from becoming a Robert Griffin III-type bust—is developing his skills so that he becomes a more diverse quarterback. Griffin dominated the NFL as a rookie, but he never made it to step two of his development.

Mariota and the Titans beat up the Buccaneers with great execution of a brilliantly schemed game. Now that their scheme is on film, it's on Mariota and Co. to continue developing to stay ahead of what NFL defenses are prepared to stop.

7. I'm not ready to make this comparison, as you saw above, but I thought it was really interesting that Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford compared Jared Goff to Aaron Rodgers. If you're talking about Rodgers at Cal, there are some legitimate similarities (especially in their footwork and build).

6. One more quarterback nugget for you guys, courtesy of Bill Parcells. The Tuna had four rules for quarterback evaluation, and while I've never completely agreed with them, they are:

Must be a college graduate, must be a senior, must win at least 23 games in college and must be a three-year starter. 

Given that set of criteria, Michigan State's Connor Cook looks like the best quarterback prospect in the country—but the film says otherwise.

5. With Ryan Mallett set to start at quarterback for the Houston Texans, I was asked to share my predraft notes on him. I'll summarize for space reasons:

Ryan Mallett, redshirt junior, 6'7", 253 pounds, 5.4s 40-yard-dash

Pros: Mallett has a big arm with the ability to hit any area of the field. He's an exceptional deep-ball thrower and has the power to throw the ball through receivers on short routes. He's a big, tall pocket passer who has experience in a shotgun-based offense. Mallett has considerable upside as a passer and should increase his accuracy through repetition.

Cons: A former Michigan transfer, there are big off-field questions surrounding Mallett (note: there were questions about alleged drug use at the time) that must be answered before he can be drafted. Mallett isn't a great mover and will struggle to slide from the pass rush. If pressure comes in his face, he can get flustered and be thrown off for the rest of the game. He's a rhythm passer and a bit of a system player.

Grade: Round 2, No. 35 overall

"

@nfldraftscout #scoutingnotebook Right now, where does this potential draft QB class compare to from previous draft year QB classes?

— Jay (@RedskinsCult) September 17, 2015"

This quarterback class looks strong on potential, but there aren't the two "sure-things" like Winston and Mariota from last year. Looking back at 2014, there were four quarterbacks considered to be first-rounders (Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr), and I don't see that many in this year's class. That said, this is much better than 2013 (EJ Manuel, Geno Smith and Matt Barkley). All in all, I'd put 2016 behind the 2014 class but above the other more recent groups.

"

@nfldraftscout How does this Ohio State team rank in terms of overall NFL talent with other teams since you started? #scoutingnotebook

— Ryan Evans (@Rycrev) September 17, 2015"

Ohio State is loaded. If you look at the mock draft above, there are seven Ohio State players represented in the first round. On my scouting watch list, Ohio State has 17 players. Compared to the 2002 Miami Hurricanes—who had 11 players drafted total and five in the first round alone—this is the best class from one school that I've seen.

"

@nfldraftscout Who do you see as the number one safety (Strong or Free) so far for next years draft? What round grade? #Scoutingnotebook

— Simon Bruus (@Bruusen) September 17, 2015"

The safety class looks very strong, especially if you include Jalen Ramsey as a safety and not a cornerback. He would be my top-ranked player there, but if you want to keep him at cornerback, there's a group of players (Darian Thompson at Boise State, Vonn Bell at Ohio State and Tony Conner at Ole Miss) that are ranked very close together. Thompson, a free safety, is probably my favorite to watch of the three, but Bell may have the most NFL qualities. I'd put the three players mentioned above firmly in the top 40 players in the nation.

1. The San Francisco 49ers were dominant in their take down of the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, and it got me thinking about how many players they lost this offseason (they lost 16 contributors and a head coach) and how tough that change would be on any roster. But general manager Trent Baalke was, seemingly, prepared for this. Take a look at the starting lineup from Monday night and where the 49ers acquired each player. Good drafting keeps teams competitive, and Baalke's last four drafts paid off big time in Week 1.

Position	Acquired	Position	Acquired
QB Colin Kaepernick	2011, Rd 2	LE Glenn Dorsey	Free Agent
RB Carlos Hyde	2014, Rd 2	NT Ian Williams	2011, UDFA
FB Bruce Miller	2011, Rd 7	RE Quinton Dial	2013, Rd 5
WR Anquan Boldin	Trade, Rd 6 pick	LOLB Aaron Lynch	2014, Rd 5
WR Torrey Smith	Free Agent	ILB NaVorro Bowman	2010, Rd 3
WR Bruce Ellington	2014, Rd 4	ILB Michael Wilhoite	2011, UDFA
TE Vernon Davis	2006, Rd 1	ROLB Ahmad Brooks	2006, Supp.
LT Joe Staley	2007, Rd 1	CB Tramaine Brock	2010, UDFA
LG Alex Boone	2009, UDFA	SS Antoine Bethea	Free Agent
C Marcus Martin	2014, Rd 3	FS Eric Reid	2013, Rd 1
RG Jordan Devey	Free Agent	CB Dontae Johnson	2014, Rd 4
RT Erik Pears	Free Agent	SS Jaquiski Tartt	2015, Rd 2

Matt Miller covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report.