Matt Paradis Really??

[Joshecalpoly]

Josh, I agree with you that he could be somewhat of a reach. I never heard of Paradis before Saturday's draft but since then I have heard a lot of good things about him and several statements that he may be our starting center of the future. Look at the bright side, in a year or two you may be the first to attach "BUST" to his name. ha ha
We need to wait two or three years before doing final judgement on him! lol As for now, I chose to trust in Elway and his staff's judgement over these "would be scouts" that do mock drafts. lol

I heard of the guy since the combine

Im not calling him a bust, the kid displays amazing footwork only surpassed by Johnson and Ikard and leverage capability on par with Ikard and only surpassed by Johnson Stone and Harrison. Hes got better endurance then Ikard which was the knock that dropped him off the draft boards, but has horrible length compared to any of the players I mentioned. Its not needed to have a C who can block downfield but it would be nice and he isnt very good at that.

Still with Johnson off the draft board and with harrisons issues combined with his and Stones footwork problems. The only player ild consider drafting ahead of him at this position is Ikard, who can improve his endurance through training which in all honest Paradis needs anyway. I like the kids supposed personality hes a hard worker so I do hope he succeeds. He may have shorter arms then Walton and even worse endurance (waltons main problems besides injury though he has better leverage with a stronger lower body and can sweep a bit better) from what ive seen and read but he will get time to improve which is whats best

[Kansas Bob]

Josh, I agree with you that he could be somewhat of a reach. I never heard of Paradis before Saturday's draft but since then I have heard a lot of good things about him and several statements that he may be our starting center of the future. Look at the bright side, in a year or two you may be the first to attach "BUST" to his name. ha ha
We need to wait two or three years before doing final judgement on him! lol As for now, I chose to trust in Elway and his staff's judgement over these "would be scouts" that do mock drafts. lol

[Joshecalpoly]

From what I've read, Paradis impressed the Broncos with his maturity, character and football IQ, something that is not accessible to us just by reading draft sites that focus on height, weight, speed and production. The Broncos liked his tape and his experience with 25 starts at center.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/matthew-paradis?id=2543560

I guess people also did not think much of Tom Nalen when he was a 7th round pick in 1994.

Actually ive heard hes a coach pleaser he works hard and knows the game. Hes also a leader and was a DT before being converted which shows he worked hard to get this far because thats not an easy change. The argument isnt whether hes going to be good its whether or not he would have fallen. He will be successful in the future but its just one of those things when you see talented players falling out of the draft you wonder why we went after a kid we could of gotten as a FA.

Though risk losing him I guess is the problem

[-Rod-]

From what I've read, Paradis impressed the Broncos with his maturity, character and football IQ, something that is not accessible to us just by reading draft sites that focus on height, weight, speed and production. The Broncos liked his tape and his experience with 25 starts at center.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/matthew-paradis?id=2543560

OVERVIEW

Grew up on an Idaho farm. Played eight-man football in high school, won a state championship and was named Idaho's 1A Player of the Year award. Also won a state discus championship and played basketball. Tore his left ACL in 2007. Was lightly recruited, walked on and grayshirted in '08. Redshirted as a defensive tackle in '09, earning Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Saw action in only one game in '10. Earned a scholarship going into '11 when he converted to center and played eight games, drawing one start as an injury replacement. Stepped into the lineup and started all 25 games at center 2012-13.

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS Plays on his feet with good balance. Generates movement in the run game. Seeks to bury defenders. Strong 6-inch punch. Good hand placement. Firm base in pass protection. Plays with leverage to bend and slide. Alert to stunts and blitzes. Tough and competitive. Terrific intangibles, including leadership traits -- humble, hardworking and highly respected.

WEAKNESSES Is not big-framed and body is nearly maxed out. Could stand to improve weight-room strength. Average athlete for the position. Might be stressed by larger, more powerful wide-body nose tackles. Falls off blocks when he bends at the waist. Questionable long-term durability (hip).

DRAFT PROJECTION Round 7-Priority free agent

BOTTOM LINE A converted defensive lineman and former walk-on, Paradis is a stoutly built, intelligent, hard-nosed overachiever who will make it difficult for coaches to cut him.
-Nolan Nawrocki

I guess people also did not think much of Tom Nalen when he was a 7th round pick in 1994.

[Straz1999]

If the biggest complaint is about a 6th round draft pick, I'd say we drafted fairly well.

[Joshecalpoly]

We will never know these things 100%, but when you look at the available talent that was still on the board (2nd-5th rd prospects) in the 6th and 7th rds, that tells me that Elway stuck to his board.

Correct and since Elway seems to draft on a combination of need and BPA it tells you what he and Fox think of our current roster (like our O-line and receiving corps). Though a lot of those guys were off of every draft board because of character issues or health concerns. Drafting is not only an exercise in the positions you want or wish to fill but in the type of personnel you wish to have. The Broncos had Roby off their board because of the DUI till the report came out that it wasnt as bad as it sounded. This lets us the fans and the current players on the roster know that some things will not be tollerated (hopefully von got the memo)

[JayJack]

Yep. Personally, I thought Paradis might have been available as an UDFA. We'll never know now.

We will never know these things 100%, but when you look at the available talent that was still on the board (2nd-5th rd prospects) in the 6th and 7th rds, that tells me that Elway stuck to his board.

[Joshecalpoly]

Yep. Personally, I thought Paradis might have been available as an UDFA. We'll never know now.

At the time I wanted Jeffcoat or Gayle didnt realize either of them would fall off the board completely

[samparnell]

Dont get me wrong I think we needed a C and the kid is a hard worker with a supposedly high IQ and with time to develop into a starter like we used to do with C's. We cant afford to make shift our line like last year so we need more players that can play at LT and C 2 of the 3 most important positions on field. However, I felt at the time we could have addressed the RB position or DE/OLB positions depth instead of drafting a kid who more likely then not would have been available in FA. St Louis was high on Rhaney and the only team that seemed interested in our new C was GB and they picked up Linsley instead (most likely because he has great endurance)

Give the kid a year or 2 and he will be fine hes developmental like any C, he has better footwork then Stone or Harrison so hes not a bad player to have. He was a convert so he needs a bit more time at the position and some endurance training, but he could be a good future leader of this team

Yep. Personally, I thought Paradis might have been available as an UDFA. We'll never know now.

[Joshecalpoly]

Silent count. Peyton moved his leg and started walking around. After counting three seconds, Manny snapped the ball and the whole O-Line took zone steps right. Why Manning was walking around the backfield on a called run is for him to answer.

As to the topic of this thread, a third Center was needed. The Broncos had Paradis in for a visit and liked him, so they drafted him.

The draft is interesting because it is the ultimate ranking of the players, and it tells one what the Broncos think of the players they already have.

Dont get me wrong I think we needed a C and the kid is a hard worker with a supposedly high IQ and with time to develop into a starter like we used to do with C's. We cant afford to make shift our line like last year so we need more players that can play at LT and C 2 of the 3 most important positions on field. However, I felt at the time we could have addressed the RB position or DE/OLB positions depth instead of drafting a kid who more likely then not would have been available in FA. St Louis was high on Rhaney and the only team that seemed interested in our new C was GB and they picked up Linsley instead (most likely because he has great endurance). Give the kid a year or 2 and he will be fine hes developmental like any C, he has better footwork then Stone or Harrison so hes not a bad player to have. He was a convert so he needs a bit more time at the position and some endurance training, but he could be a good future leader of this team

As for why it happened he saw the LB's shifting and tried to call an audible which is difficult to do with large noise levels. It was also because of the noise we had to use hand signals the rest of the night and they disected those signals and knew what we were going to do because of them. The crowed noise in that game had a major impact on the O-line especially

[samparnell]

No he wont "snap the ball" so probably not lol. ManRam had issues hearing so I can kind of give the excuse but that wasnt the first time he botched a snap just the worst one hes had of the 20 or so he seemed to have.

Silent count: QB moves his leg; one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three; snap the ball. The O-Line took zone steps right. Why was Manning walking around the backfield on a called run?

[samparnell]

One thing he definitely won't do? Snap the ball before Peyton tells him to.

Silent count. Peyton moved his leg and started walking around. After counting three seconds, Manny snapped the ball and the whole O-Line took zone steps right. Why Manning was walking around the backfield on a called run is for him to answer.

As to the topic of this thread, a third Center was needed. The Broncos had Paradis in for a visit and liked him, so they drafted him.

The draft is interesting because it is the ultimate ranking of the players, and it tells one what the Broncos think of the players they already have.

[causticon]

Haha, I love average fans that think they are draft scouts. I hope it pays well.

[Joshecalpoly]

http://www.football.com/en-us/2014-s...-matt-paradis/

http://www.footballamericain.com/draft/matt-paradis-interview-c-boise-state.html

http://nfldraftblitz.com/sleepers.html

http://www.baysportsnet.com/2014-nfl-draft-positional-rankings/

He was a sleeper for a lot of folks. He wasn't known by your average Joe, but he was known around scouting circles.

Ive seen his name mentioned before but its always under Harrisons and Larsens, though in some cases Ikard all of who were still on the board. Granted Harrison has character concerns, and Larsen well hes injured and honestly I think hes a better C then Larsen. As for Ikard I think his major issue is his endurance but Paradis is not much better. Its not that I havent seen him but most of the scouts Ive seen werent that high on him being drafted though all it takes is a little buzz from 1 team for anyone to move up. I remember reading a story once about a draft pick that wasnt on anyones boards but 1 teams but word got out about him and he climbed up analysts draft boards but teams still didnt have him on theres in the end one team ended up picking him higher all because they were worried others wanted him, when in fact it was a bidding against yourself thing. Then again the story talked about how great the player actually turned out so it wasnt a tragedy.

Anyway it doesnt matter hes not a bad pickup hes not the most athletic nor does he have a lot of endurance or very long arms but hes not a high pick so its not that important. Hard workers do well and if he has a chance to get his endurance up he wont be another JD Walton (who had very similar issues). Personally I love his footwork over Swanson and Richburg, which is important for a C, though not as important as LG

[coloradomedic]

The bottom line is: Matt Paradis is a leader and a hard-working lineman with great intangible qualities. He snaps the ball well and engages quickly with defenders. Paradis is consistent and most importantly, he's reliable. We saw in the Super Bowl how important a center is (see the Broncos' first play from scrimmage). Paradis is definitely a last-day draft pick but he's going to be a starter in this league. Look for him to go in the 6th round.

http://www.football.com/en-us/2014-sleeper-interior-linemen-matt-paradis/

For the fourth straight year, Footballamericain.com proposes a series of NFL Prospects Interviews from all over the US.

Boise State Center

Matt Paradis may be a sleeper pick in the late rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft.

http://www.footballamericain.com/draft/matt-paradis-interview-c-boise-state.html

2014 NFL Draft Sleepers

Updated - 4-19-14

By: Alex Khvatov


QB Keith Wenning (Ball State)



RB Rajion Neal (Tennessee)



RB Lorenzo Taliaferro (Coastal Carolina)



RB Dri Archer (Kent State)



FB Trey Burton (Florida)



WR Matt Hazel (Coastal Carolina)



WR Kain Colter (Northwestern)



WR Damian Copeland (Louisville)



TE Crockett Gilmore (Colorado State)



OT Kevin Graf (USC)



OG John Urschel (Penn State)



C Matt Paradis (Boise State)

http://nfldraftblitz.com/sleepers.html

Rounding out the offensive positional rankings is the center position. These are the quarterbacks of the offensive line and are responsible for calling protection along with the quarterback.

1. Weston Richburg Colorado State
2. Travis Swanson Arkansas
3. Marcus Martin USC
4. Brian Stork Florida State
5. Tyler Larsen Utah State

Under The Radar: Jonatthan Harrison Flordia
Draft Gem: Matthew Paradis Boise State
Rising Prospect: Marcus Martin USC

http://www.baysportsnet.com/2014-nfl-draft-positional-rankings/

He was a sleeper for a lot of folks. He wasn't known by your average Joe, but he was known around scouting circles.