Phil ****ing Nevin Hal Neuhauser was the Astros scout, iirc, and he quit after that draft. Jeter was from Kalamazoo Michigan, which is not exactly a baseball hotbed....and then a few years later the entirety of MLB slept on Mike Trout, pride of Millville New Jersey, for that same reason. Cold weather guys didn't get to play as much, and thus didn't get scouted as much, as the TX/FL/CA/ETC guys, so there was a bias against them. I think they may have learned their lesson by now. I know the NFL has wrt small school players.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/...-first-round-predictions-32-picks-field-yates 1. New York Giants (2-11) | Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado 2. Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) | Cam Ward, QB, Miami 3. New England Patriots (3-10) | Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado* 4. Carolina Panthers (3-10) | Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State 5. Cleveland Browns (3-10) | Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas* 6. New York Jets (3-10) | Mason Graham, DT, Michigan* 7. Tennessee Titans (3-10) | Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona* 8. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-10) | Will Johnson, CB, Michigan* 9. Chicago Bears (4-9) | Will Campbell, OT, LSU* 10. New Orleans Saints (5-8) | Mykel Williams, Edge, Georgia* 11. Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) | James Pearce Jr., Edge, Tennessee* 12. Dallas Cowboys (5-8) | Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State* 13. Miami Dolphins (6-7) | Malaki Starks, S, Georgia 14. Indianapolis Colts (6-7) | Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon* 15. San Francisco 49ers (6-7) | Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss* 16. Arizona Cardinals (6-7) | Jalon Walker, LB/Edge, Georgia* 17. Atlanta Falcons (6-7) | Shemar Stewart, Edge, Texas A&M* 18. Los Angeles Rams (7-6) | Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6) | Nic Scourton, Edge, Texas A&M* 20. Washington Commanders (8-5) | Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri* 21. Denver Broncos (8-5) | Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan* 22. Houston Texans (8-5) | Jonah Savaiinaea, OT/G, Arizona As the Texans work to fix their porous interior offensive line, Savaiinaea -- an offensive tackle who could slide inside in the pros -- would provide some immediate relief. This is a value relative to my personal rankings (No. 15 overall), and Savaiinaea brings a ton of versatility to the table. He split time this season between right and left tackle but previously played guard for the Wildcats. Savaiinaea has light feet and a huge frame, packing as much power as any lineman in the class. 23. Seattle Seahawks (8-5) | Tyler Booker, G, Alabama* 24. Los Angeles Chargers (8-5) | Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State 25. Baltimore Ravens (8-5) | Mike Green, Edge, Marshall* 26. Green Bay Packers (9-4) | Kyle Kennard, Edge, South Carolina 27. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) | Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky* 28. Philadelphia Eagles (11-2) | Cameron Williams, OT, Texas* 29. Buffalo Bills (10-3) | Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State 30. Minnesota Vikings (11-2) | Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina 31. Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) | Aireontae Ersery, OT, Minnesota 32. Detroit Lions (12-1) | Donovan Jackson, G, Ohio State
I don’t watch enough college football to know much about these players’ potential, but I want a surefire upgrade on the O-line, whether through the draft or free agency. At the same time, I don’t want them drafting just for need, so honestly, I’m torn on what I want them to do. That said, a bona fide TE does sound pretty appealing.
A TE that can block us an extension of the ol. Schultz being a terrible blocker is a large part of the inability to run block. Add a guy like Kittle,Kelce, LaPorta etc... and you have a weapon that can help both the run game and pass game. Warren, Mason Taylor and Loveland are these guys in the 2025 draft. If I'm picking I'm picking Warren in the 1st and trading back up into the early 2nd to draft the best IOL I can draft. That's provided that a guy like Nolen or Harmon doesn't fall to the Texans pick. Those guys are studs.
Have you watched much Harold Fannin Jr? While he may not be as impactful blocking as Warren he’s a dynamic playmaker from the TE position and we could use our traditional 3rd round pick on him maybe? I’d be looking to trade up to get offensive line help instead of going TE at 1 hell I may even be fine with going OL with 1&2. Warren is a physical specimen with some sticky hands no doubt I’ve just got insane fomo as to me there is a bigger talent gap between rounds 1&2 linemen than the top 5 TEs. We have to nail the early picks I don’t think we have the cap space for difference makers up front where we could look at skill guys with pick 1 and hope for the best with pick 2 and beyond.
I haven't looked at Fannin Jr. I've read about him and if the writeups are true he's a playmaker. The reason why I like Warren so much is I watched Warren against Oregon's very good defense and they were having to double team him on pass routes. He's also a very good blocker. Blocking to me is the most important job for a WCO TE IMHO.
No I haven't seen enough, but Warren is better than Stover IMHO. Stover hasn't ever and will never draw double teams like Warren does. Plus Warren is a better blocker. Stover can develop into a Cole Kmet type TE which is very good. If Stover can develop like this and then you add Warren you will have true difference makers with depth at that position. Kinda like Kelce and Gray for the Chiefs.
The more film I digest the more Im falling in love with Harold Fannin Jr. His route running is superb. He understands coverages. He always gets open and is a YAC monster. I totally understand the Warren love though it's merited dude is a freak. I just dont think we can afford to spend 1 on him with what is the glaring problems on the team. Im not sure Fannin Jr even makes it into the 3rd round, but he really reminds me of Antonio Gates on the field with soft hands and open field moves and if we could land OL studs with the first two picks and he's on the board it would be a home run. edit: sorry for the annoying at times content creator here, but it was the best mashup of clips I could find.
We talked about him recently in one of the college football threads. He's a stud. So is Warren. So is the guy from Michigan. The one thing I know nothing about is Fannin's blocking. I wouldn't be upset if the Texans ended up with 1 TE and 2 OL w/in their 1st 4 picks.
His blocking is not great. Not as good as either Warren or Loveland, but his knack for the game is higher IMO. Warren makes some circus catches because his catch radius is absurd and he's a freak of nature as an athlete. Im just not over the moon enough to use the 1st rounder. Im trying to trade up with that 1st to nab a blue chip OL. I'll be honest Im not very high on Loveland but I havent taken the deep dive yet. I think the value is great if you can select Fannin in round 3, but I wont be surprised if he's off the board by then either once the draftniks start to do their thing.
1TE + 2OL + 1(DL?) in their 1st 4 picks would be nice. But I hate "drafting for need", unless your scouting dept is really good
I'd typically agree, but you cant expect these yahoos to be able to identify later round linemen if they failed miserably with Green and the book is still out on Fisher. Lets go the KISS route and get as high as possible and remove some of the guesswork for them and even then they still might screw it up. It would be bittersweet to land a great skill guy only for them to wither away as CJ Is sacrificed on live TV and then start the QB carousel all over again. If the team could generate some cap space and get proven OL in free agency even better then you could do anything with the 1st rounder.
