Official 2013 NFL Draft - Round 1 Thread

[painekiller]

I would have gone with the speed guy, Patterson, over Hopkins, but I have been wrong before and Rick haas been right. So I'll wait until August to see the what he can do.

[gunn]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I would have gone with the speed guy, Patterson, over Hopkins, but I have been wrong before and Rick haas been right. So I'll wait until August to see the what he can do.

An impact player on offense, not on the offensive line would be a first for Smith and Kubiak. I'll take the wait and see approach too

[Nconroe]

Anyone with nickname Nuke can't be all bad. And compares to Reggie Wayne sounds ok, so yeah, gotta see it here with Texans.

last analysis for now from CBS sports

Nicknamed "Nuke", Hopkins isn't the biggest or fastest, but he plays quick, controlled and tough with reliable hands and focus to locate and pluck. He is a natural receiver with outstanding awareness for the position and has been productive wherever he's been, why should the NFL be any different?


Analysis
Strengths: Nice job catching the ball in stride and immediately creating after the catch with a very good sense of his surroundings, always appearing to have a plan. Deceiving body strength and powers through arm tackles, playing with toughness.

Strong hands with above average body control and focus to highpoint and attack the ball in the air. Tracks the deep ball and shows a second gear to separate at the final moment and finish. Very good short-area burst in his cuts with some beautiful stop-and-go moves and route acceleration to create room.


Good shoulder dip and footwork to set up his routes with very good feel, taking pride in his patterns. Handled quarterback Tajh Boyd's fastballs the past three years and uses his extension to reel-in tough grabs - high, low or outside, he goes and gets it. Uses his body well to box-out defenders and is fearless over the middle.


Changes gears well and knows how to turn on the jets, using his vision and awareness to create. Competitive and physical attitude and wants the ball more than anyone else on the field, never conceding the top receiver distinction to Watkins. Dedicated himself to the weight room this past off-season and it shows on the field. Much improved maturity took even the coaches by surprise with his goal oriented approach and work ethic. Super productive the past three seasons, leaving with school with numerous school and conference records.


Weaknesses: Lean torso with average height and frame with limited growth potential. Won't break a lot of tackles and has room to get stronger. Will have his share of focus drops, running before securing the grab at times.


Will attempt to corral the catch at times instead of using his palms. Lacks track speed and won't be able to leave NFL cornerbacks in his dust on foot speed alone. Showed steady progression each year, but still improving his consistency and is not yet a finished product.


Compares to: Reggie Wayne, WR, Indianapolis Colts - Like Wayne, Hopkins isn't the biggest or fastest, but he's able to manipulate his routes to create separation and is a reliable pass catcher with the body control, focus and competitive nature to finish. And like Wayne (30th pick in the 2001 NFL Draft), Hopkins will likely fall out of the top-25 picks and prove to be an excellent value in the late first or early second round

[Arky]

First Round complete:

1 Kansas City Eric Fisher (OT) C Michigan
2 Jacksonville Luke Joeckel (OT) Texas A&M
3 Miami Dion Jordan (OLB) Oregon
4 Philadelphia Lane Johnson (OT) Oklahoma
5 Detroit Ezekiel Ansah (DE) BYU
6 Cleveland Barkevious Mingo (DE) LSU
7 Arizona Jonathan Cooper (OG) UNC
8 St. Louis Tavon Austin (WR) W Virginia
9 NY Jets Dee Milliner (CB) Alabama
10 Tennessee Chance Warmack (OG) Alabama
11 San Diego D.J. Fluker (OT) Alabama
12 Oakland DJ Hayden (CB) Houston
13 NY Jets Sheldon Richardson (DT) Missouri
14 Carolina Star Lotulelei (DT) Utah
15 New Orleans Kenny Vaccaro (S) Texas
16 Buffalo EJ Manuel (QB) Florida St
17 Pittsburgh Jarvis Jones (OLB) Georgia
18 San Francisco Eric Reid (S) LSU
19 NY Giants Justin Pugh (OT) Syracuse
20 Chicago Kyle Long (OG) Oregon
21 Cincinnati Tyler Eifert (TE) Notre Dame
22 Atlanta Desmond Trufant (CB) Washington
23 Minnesota Sharrif Floyd (DT) Florida
24 Indianapolis Bjoern Werner (DE) Florida St
25 Minnesota Xavier Rhodes (CB) Florida St
26 Green Bay Datone Jones (DE) UCLA
27 Houston DeAndre Hopkins (WR) Clemson
28 Denver Sylvester Williams (DT) UNC
29 Minnesota Cordarrelle Patterson (WR) Tennessee
30 St. Louis Alec Ogletree (ILB) Georgia
31 Dallas Travis Frederick (C) Wisconsin
32 Baltimore Matt Elam (S) Florida

[HPF Bob]

Monti Te'o tweeted that he was proud to be selected by the 49ers in the first round.

Or at least he should have tweeted that if he had a quality sense of humor.

[popanot]

A lot of people had Hopkins at the top of their board and the most starter-ready/ most polished WR in the draft. That's exactly what the Texans need right now. They"re in a SB push and need someone who can step in right now that can consistently catch the ball and produce. Yes, some of the other guys have more speed and maybe a higher upside, but they also have some Jacoby Jones to them too. This was a good, solid pick and I doubt they're done at WR this draft.

[barrett]

I watch a few College games but I have never pretended to know enough about College Football to project whether a guy from Texas or Morehouse St will be better. I watch no film and don't tune in to Senior Bowl practices or the combine on NFLN. So I tend to restrict my opinions to what position we select and how that fits with our roster and identity.

With that said, I like that we appeared to have our choice of WRs and wanted Hopkins above the rest. I have serious doubts about our ability to use a 2nd WR effectively, but at least now we will no if it was a WR corp talent deficit, lack of ability from Schaub, or a stubborness from Kubs. I hope it was #1 but I fear it was mostly #3 with the other two mixed in to varied degrees.

[dadmg]

Very happy with Hopkins, he was the top pick on my board for us for awhile by that point but I thought they'd go with one of the Tennessee WEd, so I was pleasantly surprised.