Jake Rigdon

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FINAL Fanspeak Mock Draft 4.26: Draft day is here! Who will make a splashy move tonight?

The “best” quarterback is also short, as in, historically short for his position. The “best” defensive tackle and arguably the best defensive player in the draft had one of the worst leadups to the draft in recent memory. The “best” pass rusher? Lacks ideal size, gets penalized a lot, misses too many tackles and ran…

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Fanspeak NFL Draft Notes: Reddit, Will Levis, and what Las Vegas knows that the rest of us don’t

Bryce Young is going No. 1 overall to Carolina, right? Maybe not. The internet was all aflutter this week after word started to spread that Will Levis was telling family and friends that he was going to be the first overall draft pick. It has to be true if he’s telling people, right? Suddenly, betting…

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Small-school G Kory Woodruff shines at pro day, 4 teams show interest

Remember Kory Woodruff, the big guard from Pittsburg State in Kansas who’s hoping to get a shot at playing in the NFL? Since we last heard from him, Woodruff was hoping to put up good numbers at his school’s Pro Day, as he did not receive a Combine invitation. Sure enough, Woodruff put himself on…

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Fanspeak Mock Draft 4.19: Follow the rumor mill – Young goes No. 1, Houston passes on a QB and Pittsburgh ends Carter’s slide

His accuracy, vision and processing skills are considered “genius level,” and yet he also had more than 3 seconds in the pocket last season. He’s a natural passer but has average to slightly above-average arm strength. And he’s a winner who excelled at one of the top programs in the nation, but Alabama’s Bryce Young…

Fanspeak Mock Draft 4.12: Dallas takes a RB in Rd. 1 – but it’s not Bijan Robinson

Bijan Robinson-to-Dallas is all but a foregone conclusion, both nationally and locally. The talk goes something like this: “You shouldn’t take a running back in the first round. Zeke just showed us why.” That’s soon followed by … “… unless Bijan Robinson is still there. I mean, how can you not? He’s, like, the top-rated…

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Fanspeak Mock Draft 4.5: Why Skoronski makes more sense for Seattle than Carter or Wilson

Remember when Seattle had a Super Bowl-winning quarterback despite paying very little attention to improving its offensive line? Now that Russell Wilson is gone, Seattle has curiously reversed course. The Seahawks drafted, then started, a pair of rookie OTs last year, including Charles Cross in the first round. Abraham Lucas was their pick in the…

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TCU WR Quentin Johnston passes speed test, but can he prove to teams he has good hands?

How fast is TCU receiver Quentin Johnston? Better yet – how good are his hands? He answered the speed question during the school’s pro day on Thursday. Johnston ran an unofficial 4.49 and 4.50. Combined with his 40.5-inch vertical jump and 11-feet, 2-inch broad jump at the Combine, and Johnston would appear to be the…

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Florida QB shows off arm, Kentucky QB Levis could slide, and Raiders remove Georgia DL Carter from draft board

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson showed off his impressive arm strength during the school’s Pro Day earlier this week, although there were a few blips. The Sporting News’ Jacob Camenker was on hand for the event and said Richardson’s workout was different when compared to the other top signal callers in that C.J. Stroud of Ohio…

Fanspeak Mock Draft 3.29: Shocker! Jalen Carter falls out of first round amid cryptic Dan Campbell comment

Let’s do a “this just makes sense” mock draft. What does that entail? Maybe a pick is made because it’s an obvious team need. Or maybe it’s because a player has extensive meetings with a respective team. Some picks will be made due to the team’s past tendencies. History and even family ties will play…

How high will Iowa pass rusher Lukas Van Ness go in the draft? … and other NFL draft news

Is Lukas Van Ness a lock to go in the first round? Not necessarily. The Iowa pass rusher, ranked No. 9 in the latest Fanspeak-Jake Rigdon big board, is widely regarded as a Day 1 prospect despite never starting a game for the Hawkeyes. A full-time hockey player until high school, Van Ness has 13…

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