Mile High Monday: It’s the time when mock drafts have gotten silly

The Denver Broncos and every team in the NFL are putting the final touches on their draft boards. With the 2021 NFL Draft less than a month away, the final preparations are being made in order to find the best talent that college football has to offer.

I’ve finished writing up over 300 player reports that have taken me three months to do so. I’m not running a team, but I’m ready to give our listeners the best information I possibly can when it comes to the NFL draft.

I like when all the work has been done. I can breathe a sigh of relief and take a moment to enjoy the reports I’ve written. I’m excited to share my opinions with everyone online and on the airwaves.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Yes… and No

Everybody loves a good mock draft. Well, most everybody does, as I’m not the type of person who hangs on every word in the latest mock draft – regardless of the source. Todd McShay from ESPN, one of the most well-respected draft analysts out there, recently released his latest mock draft and he had the Broncos taking Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain in the first round.

It’s not a bad pick, but McShay did have both Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell falling out of the top 10 – and past the Broncos. No offense to McShay, but you know there are too many mock drafts when we’re at a point where Fields and Sewell are both projected to fall that far.

Honestly, the draft board doesn’t change that much unless there’s a trade. Sewell is the second-best player I’ve graded in this class, behind only Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Fields is my No. 4 quarterback in this draft class and could fall out of the top 10, but I feel that the market is too hot in this quarterback-desperate league and he should be off the board by the time the Broncos pick.

BLOG | In the latest mock draft from #ESPN's Todd McShay, the #Broncos opt to forgo a quarterback at No. 9, settling on a top cornerback prospect instead | by @JohnnyLoveStuffhttps://t.co/Z5ASZP6b4K

— 104.3 The Fan & DenverFan.com (@1043TheFan) April 1, 2021

Surtain would be a great fit for the Broncos, and as I’ve highlighted many times on the airwaves a cornerback is not out of the question early in the draft regardless of what the team did in free agency to address the position. However, passing on Sewell – who could make a great right tackle or left tackle, and passing on Fields – who would be an upgrade over Drew Lock, doesn’t make a lot of sense. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but I’ll be unlikely to have either one of these players fall out of the top 10 in my one – and only – mock draft coming to DenverFan.com the week of the draft.

***

What Might Have Been

Everyone in the sports world was glued to the TV for the Final Four, and Gonzaga versus UCLA did not disappoint. Jalen Suggs set the internet on fire with his last-second three-point bank shot to propel the Zags to the championship game. It was a tremendous game, and the ending was one of the best we’ve seen in the history of March Madness.

It didn’t take long for Twitter to find high school tape of Suggs – second cousin to Terrell Suggs – playing football. Suggs was a three-star quarterback in high school and won both Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Minnesota. He had several offers to play college football but opted for the hardwood instead.

.@ZagMBB's Jalen Suggs had football skills too 👀

In the 2020 recruiting class, Suggs was ESPN's No. 5 player in the state of Minnesota with offers from Ohio State, Nebraska and others.

(via @thecheckdown) pic.twitter.com/2f58vwQkfW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2021

We’ll see Suggs head for the NBA instead of the NFL, but it’s always fun to think of what might have been. There have been a ton of players in the past that played in the NBA but once shined on the gridiron. I mainly remember the high school highlights of Allen Iverson playing quarterback. He was smaller (obviously) but was a playmaker as a passer and runner. It would be fun to see what that looked like in the NFL. With Suggs, we’ll enjoy him in one sport just like we did with Iverson.

***

Here We Go Again

Justin Fields became the latest African-American quarterback to get thrown under the bus by some in the media during the pre-draft process. Last week, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said in an interview that he’s heard Fields is a “last guy in, first guy out” type of quarterback and there are some who question his work ethic. Without checking, double-checking and triple-checking this information, Orlovsky just put it out there as a possible reason why Fields’ draft stock seems to be falling with the draft a month away.

Had Orlovsky talked to sources, coaches, teammates close to Fields, he would have learned that the opposite is true. To the people I talk to, scouts, executives, general managers all say that Fields has a tremendous work ethic and wants to be great.

In this business, it’s important to properly vet information and trust the multiple sources you’re hearing things from. Instead, we get people who “hear” things (likely from poor sources) and others who supposedly “break down the film” (these hacks usually just watch YouTube highlights) to discover flaws in these players.

https://t.co/iVGEEGG4cC pic.twitter.com/crvtxzY8Ok

— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 4, 2021

Haven’t we learned by now? Orlovsky was foolish to run with something he heard without vetting the information, and he should know better. This is the “season of lies” and you hear all sorts of things – usually from agents but sometimes from teams – that are not true. The lies are spread to impact a player’s draft stock and the tactic has worked for years. Good analysts know how to determine what is being fed to them with bad intent and what is good intel.

For Orlovsky (and others) to spread this false information about Fields is more than just draft sabotage – it ignores the gravity of this “take.” African-American quarterbacks are regularly subject to disinformation before the draft that often has racist undertones. I remember when Cam Newton came out in 2011 there were questions about why he smiled so much and concerns about his ego being too large. That was 10 years ago and some still haven’t learned.

I’ve never been overly impressed by Orlovsky, either on the field or as an analyst. Does he put in some work? Sure, but he tries to go for more style than substance. He’s received a platform on ESPN that quite frankly others would do better with (Emory Hunt, Matt Miller anyone?). By running with false information on Fields, it shows how reckless he is with information. Trying to paint this as “what he’s heard” and not his own opinion further shows the flaws in his analysis.

I hope in the future Orlovsky and others like him do a better job, but I have a feeling we will unfortunately be having this discussion again.

***

Space Jam 2

I love the original “Space Jam” movie for multiple reasons. First, I’m a huge Bugs Bunny fan – always have been and always will be. I spent every morning waiting for the school bus watching Channel 2 play classic “Looney Tunes” cartoons and have loved Bugs Bunny (and company) ever since. Second, I’m a huge Michael Jordan fan. As someone who now owns more than 100 pairs of “Jordan” sneakers, to say I’m a fan is a bit of an understatement. He’s the greatest of all-time in my opinion, and nobody will take that title away from him.

LeBron James has always been seen as “The King” and someone who will challenge Jordan for the title of GOAT in the NBA. I appreciate James, but I can’t say I’m his biggest fan – mostly because of the obnoxious fans who insist that nobody has done it better. So, it’s not a surprise that I was a bit skeptical when “Space Jam 2” starring James was announced.

How could anyone do better than MJ did in the cheesy 90s classic? Well, we got our first glimpse of “Space Jam 2” and I have to say I came away impressed. I’m actually excited to see this movie when it comes out, although I probably won’t rush out to see it (or rush to watch it at home). I’m convinced it won’t be better than the original but at least this sequel looks good.

#SpaceJam2 Trailer BREAKDOWN

All the #WarnerBros easter eggs!

Did you see the #Thundercats references?
And #ClockworkOrange?!https://t.co/jyx7PjKW5Z

— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) April 4, 2021

Are you excited about Space Jam 2? Hit me up on social media and let me know!

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