How Good Are Monti's Draft Picks?
By Walter Mitchell
I thought it would be interesting to go back and take a look at Lance Zierlein's (nfl.com) and NextGenStats' draft grades and projections for the players in each of Monti's four draft classes.
Zierlein's Grades:
6.83 - Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio St - R1/24
6.73 - Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame - R1/26
6.50 - Walter Nolen, DT, Mississippi - R1/25
6.50 - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan - R2/25
6.39 - Paris Johnson Jr., T, Ohio St. - R1/23
6.37 - Darius Robinson, DE, Missouri - R1/24
6.35 - B.J. Ojulari, ED, LSU - R2/23
6.34 - Chase Bisontis, G, Texas A&M - R2/26
6.28 - Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Texas Tech - R4/24
6.27 - Jordan Burch, ED, Oregon - R3/25
6.24 - Max Melton, CB, Rutgers - R2/24
6.23 - Elijah Jones, CB, Boston College - R3/24
6.23 - Trey Benson, RB, Florida St. - R3/24
6.22 - Cody Simon, LB, Ohio St. - R4/25
6.19 -Garrett Williams, S/CB, Syracuse - R3/24
6.16 - Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio St. - R5/25
6.14 - Carson Beck, QB, Miami (FL) - R3/26
6.10 - Isaiah Adams, G, Illinois - R3/24
6.10 - Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois - R3/24
6.00 - Michael Wilson, WR, Stanford - R3/23
6.00 - Xavier Thomas, ED, Clemson - R5/24
5.96 - Dante Stills, DT, West Virginia - R6/23
5.98 - Christian Jones, T, Texas - R5/24
5.95 - Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn - R5/23
5.94 - Kitan Crawford, S, Nevada - R7/25
5.92 - Jon Gaines II, G, UCLA - R4/23
5.92 - Kei'Trel Clark, CB, Louisville - R6/23
5.92 - Kaleb Proctor, DT, SE Louisiana - R4/26
5.86 - Clayton Tune, QB, Houston - R5/23
5.69 - Jayden Williams, T, Mississippi - R7/26
5.69 - Hayden Conner, G, Texas - R6/25
5.68 - Karson Sharar, LB, Iowa - R6/26
5.67 - Tejhaun Plamer, WR, UAB - R6/24
5.66 - Jaden Davis, CB, Miami (FL) - R7/24
NextGenStats' Composite Grade of College Production/Athleticism/Total Score
96 - Love
90 - Harrison Jr.
85 - Johnson Jr.
83 - W. Johnson
80 - G. Williams
80- Nolen
80 - Benson
78 - Melton
78 - Bisontis
77 - Tune
77 - Pappoe
76 - Reiman
74 - E. Jones
74 - Beck
73 - Robinson
73 - Taylor-Demerson
73 - Burch
73 - Sharar
72 - Wilson
71 - Adams
70 - C. Jones
69 - Gaines II
69 - Clark
69 - Simon
69 - Proctor
67 - Crawford
65 - Thomas
66 - Stills
64 - Virgil
59 - Conner
N/R - Palmer
N/R - Davis
N/R - J. Williams
Projections Per Lance Zierlein (nfl.com)
1st year Starter
Marvin Harrison Jr.
Jeremiyah Love
Plus Starter:
Paris Johnson Jr.
B.J. Ojulari
Darius Robinson
Chase Bisontis
Boom or Bust
Walter Nolen
Will Johnson
Average Starter:
Trey Benson
Elijah Jones
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
Jordan Burch
Cody Simon
Backup/Potential Starter:
Garrett Williams
Max Melton
Isaiah Adams
Tip Reiman
Denzel Burke
Carson Beck
Average Backup:
Jon Gaines II
Clayton Tune
Owen Pappoe
Kei'Trel Clark
Dante Stills
Christian Jones
Xavier Thomas
Kitan Crawford
Kaleb Proctor
Reggie Virgil
Bottom Roster/Practice Squad:
Tejhaun Palmer
Jaden Davis
Hayden Conner
Karson Sharar
Jayden Williams
Zierlein's Grades: Playing Up to His Potential?
6.83 - Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio St - R1/24 - No
6.73 - Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame - R1/26
6.50 - Walter Nolen, DT, Mississippi - R1/25 - Yes, but injured
6.50 - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan - R2/25 - No
6.39 - Paris Johnson Jr., T, Ohio St. - R1/23 - No
6.37 - Darius Robinson, DE, Missouri - R1/24 - No
6.35 - B.J. Ojulari, ED, LSU - R2/23 - No, but injured
6.34 - Chase Bisontis, G, Texas A&M - R2/26
6.28 - Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, S, Texas Tech - R4/24 - No
6.27 - Jordan Burch, ED, Oregon - R3/25 - No
6.24 - Max Melton, CB, Rutgers - R2/24 - No
6.23 - Elijah Jones, CB, Boston College - R3/24 - Yes, small sample
6.23 - Trey Benson, RB, Florida St. - R3/24 - Yes, but injured
6.22 - Cody Simon, LB, Ohio St. - R4/25 - No
6.19 -Garrett Williams, S/CB, Syracuse - R3/24 - No
6.16 - Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio St. - R5/25 - Yes
6.14 - Carson Beck, QB, Miami (FL) - R3/26
6.10 - Isaiah Adams, G, Illinois - R3/24 - No
6.10 - Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois - R3/24 - No, but injured
6.00 - Michael Wilson, WR, Stanford - R3/23 - Yes
6.00 - Xavier Thomas, ED, Clemson - R5/24 - Cut
5.96 - Dante Stills, DT, West Virginia - R6/23 - No
5.98 - Christian Jones, T, Texas - R5/24 - No, but injured
5.95 - Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn - R5/23 - Yes, small sample
5.94 - Kitan Crawford, S, Nevada - R7/25 - Yes
5.92 - Jon Gaines II, G, UCLA - R4/23 - No
5.92 - Kei'Trel Clark, CB, Louisville - R6/23 - No
5.92 - Kaleb Proctor, DT, SE Louisiana - R4/26
5.86 - Clayton Tune, QB, Houston - R5/23 - cut
5.69 - Jayden Williams, T, Mississippi - R7/26
5.69 - Hayden Conner, G, Texas - R6/25 - No
5.68 - Karson Sharar, LB, Iowa - R6/26
5.67 - Tejhaun Plamer, WR, UAB - R6/24 - No
5.66 - Jaden Davis, CB, Miami (FL) - R7/24 - No
Are there any of the assessments here that you disagree with?
Coaching Factors
Can we fairly judge these draft picks given the relative inexperience of the coaching staff the past three seasons?
No, we can't.
But we also shouldn't think that if the previous coaches didn't favor a player that there is a good reason to count that player out.
Players whom I believe should be above average players and, with professional coaching, could possibly be of strong value to the team, considering all three phases:
Note: not including rookies, for now.
RB Trey Benson
WR Michael Wilson
WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
TE Tip Reiman
T Paris Johnson Jr.
G Jon Gaines II
G Isaiah Adams
DT Walter Nolen
DT Dante Stills
DE Darius Robinson
ED B.J. Ojulari
ED Jordan Burch
LB Cody Simon
LB Owen Pappoe
CB Elijah Jones
CB Will Johnson
CB Max Melton
CB Denzel Burke
CB Kei'Trel Clark
S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
S/CB Garrett Wiliams
S Kitan Crawford
Red Rain Questions of the Day
What grade would you give Monti?
What grade would you give the coaches?
Difficult to grade these kids given the lack of quality coaching they've endured-ask Max Melton, who I think speaks for most of his teammates, when he released that video showing his real displeasure upon hearing of the FO retaining Rallis as their D play caller schemer. So, I give the squad an incomplete and believe everyone one of them will improve with the bolstering of the position staff and, more impact fully, solid competition at camp ( finally, even though the talent might be elite, completion improves all players).
ReplyDeleteGrading the coaches-Incomplete -enough new faces to think positive even though Rallis is the DC, and the biggest idiot in the NFL, N. Hackett, is the de facto OC (clown, who's will be a culture messenger for his good friend who knows Hackett's an idiot). I have some confidence in Lafluer given his NFL legacy and education by the best in the business. J Fry will continue to improve the play of the OL (and so will J Love).
Monti-he probably gets an incomplete too but he made the coaching hires that he just had to fire so he gets an D-. If he gets a chance to draft a QB at the top of the '27 draft, and doesn't screw it up, continues to upgrade the coaching staff, he might get a B+ this time in 2028. If not, he will be spending his days with Steve Keim-doing absolutely nothing.
Just like Brissett helped M Wilson almost double his yards per season average and helped McBride go from a 3 TD season high to 11 TDs, a coaching staff either makes or breaks a player. Some QBs and coaches make the players around them better and some don't. Last season, I would give the previous coaching staff on defense an F and on offense a B. I would give the previous HC an F. It's his job to orchestrate, fix and put out fires and he sucked at it. The defense ran like an old muscle car running on half its cylinders and Gannon was supposed to be a defensive minded HC. So glad lots of things are gone from last season.
ReplyDeleteI think (over the years):
ReplyDelete(1) Been a disconnect between GM/owner and coaches as to players they wanted from draft and actual players they got
(2) Coaches have not been able to develop players; thies rests on position coaches as well as OC & DC - but as they say the buck stops at the top (Head Coach).
(3) Injuries happen, but Cardinals seem to have more pre-season injuries relate to training facility and training coaches.
IN looking over the drafts, it is not that talent hasnt been drafted but all most every cardinals draft pick suffers from 1 of the 3 points. Every one! That tells me it is a systemic problem and not an isolated incident the coaches and front office wish to hide.
It's true that better coaching leads to better performance by players. It's also true that the GMs job includes identifying players that his coaches will use properly, not to mention hiring competent coaches in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIf you go back through each of those players, how many were actually ideal fits for the systems that Petzing and Rallis were trying to run? At the very least, you have previously made the case that MHJ was a horrible fit for Petzing. You've also made the case that the Cardinals have not had the CBs to play the type of defense they want to play. They've avoided drafting the type of pass rushers that are necessary to give that defense any hope of working as well. The main issue for me is that he's traded down when several players were on the board just to take a guy that's not on the same level. Imagine having Will Anderson instead of PJJ. Imagine having Cooper DeJean instead of Max Melton.
This! To a tee!
DeletePer my mocks, my Day 1 and 2 picks would have been:
ReplyDelete2023 - (R1) Will Anderson, Jr., Alabama; (R2): Brian Branch, S/S-CB, Alabama; (R3) Michael Wilson, WR, Stanford (great Senior Bowl)
2024 - (R1) Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia; (R2) Cooper DeJean, CB/S/PR, Iowa; (R3) Jonah Ellis, ED, Utah
2025 - (R1) one of the top 3 DTs Kenneth Grant (13th - MIA), Walter Nolen (16th) - ARI or Derrick Harmon (21st - PIT); (R2) Aireontrae Ersery, T, Minnesota; (3) Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa St.
2026 - (R1) Jeremiyah Love (after Reuben Bain's red flags); (R2) Jacob Rodriguez. LB, Texas Tech; (R3) Keionte Scott, CB, Miami (FL)