Skull Session: NFL Coaches on "Draft Dinging" C.J. Stroud, Kyler Murray Wants Paris Johnson Jr. in Arizona and D'Angelo Russell Has Been Pivotal in the Lakers Playoff Run

By Chase Brown on April 26, 2023 at 5:00 am
Paris Johnson
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

The first round of the NFL draft is always full of Buckeyes.

Also, the Cleveland Cavaliers' comeback efforts to defeat the Knicks starts tonight. We move. #LetEmKnow

Let's have a good Wednesday, shall we?

 WHAT IS "DRAFT DINGING"? It happens every year – draft dinging. That is, nit-picking a prospect who is extremely talented but has one or more questionable qualities that may or may not (usually the latter) affect their performance on the football field. This year's latest example is C.J. Stroud.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Bruce Feldman asked over a dozen NFL coaches about topics related to the draft. One was about whether Stroud's decline in draft stock in the last week is real or if the pontifications over S2 scores, a Manning Passing Academy absence and the fact that he hails from Ohio State are all smoke.

Here is what some of them said in Feldman's article:

Is this just the latest round of ‘NFL Draft Dinging’?

QB coach 2 said he was really impressed with Stroud from meeting with him and dismissed the blowback that suddenly has come Stroud’s way.

“It’s every f—— year,” he said. “Heck, it was (Will) Levis a month ago, and now it’s Stroud. I don’t care. I had a great interview with him. On the board and talking to him, he did a great job. He was aware of the stigma about past Ohio State quarterbacks. I was like, ‘Dude, you just threw 41 touchdowns. You’re good. You don’t have to sell me. I just want to get to know you as a dude.’

“The only reservation that I would have that would keep me up is C.J.’s receiving corps (at Ohio State) that’s gonna be the best he ever has for the rest of his life. Garrett Wilson, (Chris) Olave, (Marvin) Harrison, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. You’re lucky to have one guy like that. Best case two. He had four or five like that! Yeah, his game tape is NFL concepts and big boy throws but well, s—, I would have conviction too ripping this ball if Marvin Harrison Jr. is out there. This could be the best version of him as well. I think if Aidan O’Connell from Purdue was at Ohio State, I think he would’ve thrown for 40 touchdowns, to be honest.”

A third NFL quarterback coach, another younger one and whose team could be in the market to take a QB in the first round, echoed something similar. “I feel like every year now they pick one guy to drag through the mud at the end, and now it’s C.J. Where it this coming from? … When you meet him, he’s very nice, very humble. A lot of stuff analytically that has come out is not good, but I think we’re still early in this S2 stuff. Is there really enough data? The total score is not important. A good overall score doesn’t mean they scored high in what’s important.”

But why is Stroud this year's player suffering from a draft ding? Your guess is as good as mine. After the NFL Scouting Combine, Stroud was the talk of the town. Once the Carolina Panthers traded for the No. 1 overall pick, Stroud was the favorite to be the first player taken. Now, Stroud may not even be a top-five pick, according to some mocks.

That's the way this thing goes, I guess.

As was the case with QB Coach 2 in Feldman's article, here are some analysts that think highly of Stroud as the draft approaches, including Joel Klatt, Peter Schrager and others from Good Morning Football on NFL Network:

 PARIS JOHNSON JR. → ARIZONA? Paris Johnson Jr. is one of the best offensive lineman prospects in the NFL draft, along with Northwestern's Peter Skoronski. In mock drafts, either Johnson or Skoronski has been the first lineman selected, with those picks usually landing in the bottom half of the top 10.

But as draft week started on Monday, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer said his sources think Johnson – not Skoronski – could be off the board sooner than people realize when the first round starts on Thursday.

For Johnson to be selected at No. 3, that would mean the Arizona Cardinals would pick the 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle to lock down the left side of the offensive line and protect former Oklahoma quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray's blind side.

While many mocks have the Cardinals drafting a defender or trading back to acquire more draft capital as the franchise heads for a total rebuild, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Murray has let Arizona's front office know he would be in favor of them selecting Johnson with the third pick.

In his column for Sports Illustrated, Breer wrote this about the Cardinals' plans:

It’s well-established that new (Cardinals) GM Monti Ossenfort is looking to move down from No. 3, to accumulate more capital and build up a roster with needs everywhere. But it seems like it won’t be easy to move the pick. One thing that would help is Stroud getting past Houston—opening up an opportunity for someone to leapfrog the Colts to have their pick of any of the non–Young quarterbacks in the class. But if the Cardinals get stuck? One thing that comes up consistently is that Ossenfort is going to want to park the ball in the middle of the fairway with his first pick, be it at No. 3 or further down. Anderson is the name that most commonly comes up, but I also know Arizona passed Wilson on his physical, which would make him a possibility too. And if there’s a curveball coming, I’ve heard the Cards love Witherspoon at corner and Johnson at tackle. Both would be considerations—maybe at No. 3, maybe after a trade down.

And, yeah, why wouldn't the Cardinals – or the other 31 NFL teams, for that matter – want Johnson as their franchise left tackle? A consensus All-American, semifinalist for the Outland Trophy and first-team All-Big Ten honoree, Johnson was as good as a college offensive lineman can be last season. He also is a stand-up individual off the field, winning the Armed Forces Merit Award for his work with The Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation.

He's an elite prospect and a Good Dude™. I can't wait to see where he lands on Thursday.

 #LOADING... D'Angelo Russell has had a fascinating career in the NBA. The second overall pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2015 NBA draft, Russell played his first two years in the City of Angels and averaged 14.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 143 appearances.

Despite that encouraging start to his career, Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets ahead of his third season, mainly because he recorded his Lakers teammate Nick Young admitting he cheated on his fiance, Iggy Azalea, and posted it online – a decision that received more backlash than Young's choice to partake in infidelity, which is beyond me. But I digress.

In Brooklyn, Russell became an All-Star in his second season (and fourth professional season overall), collecting 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per contest as the premier player of the Nets' young core, which also included Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and Caris Lavert. But once more, Russell was traded as part of a deal that sent him to the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant to the Nets.

After a half-season in San Francisco and three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Russell was traded for the fourth time in his career – this time to the team that drafted him, back where it all started with the Lakers.

And in his second stint in Los Angeles, Russell finally feels at home.

Even more, in Game 4 of the Lakers' first-round matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Playoffs, Russell's performance was the main reason Los Angeles secured a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. 

From Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times:

The Lakers were reeling, down seven points in the fourth, their offense nonexistent, the home-court advantage they had snatched away from the Grizzlies by winning Game 1 in Memphis in jeopardy, the series on the verge of being tied.

Into the void stepped Russell, delivering three consecutive three-pointers, turning the momentum back in favor of the Lakers, allowing LeBron James to recalibrate before bringing the Lakers home in front of a raucous crowd at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.

...

“I have to give a huge shout-out to D’Angelo Russell,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “I mean, we were flailing at best offensively and he was able to catch fire and, man, he put us on our back offensively and put us in a position to have a chance to close the gap, eclipse it and walk away with the win. If D-Lo doesn’t play the way he played we don’t win this game.”

Here is a look at the 3-pointers Turner referred to in his article and some other clips, too:

It was the kind of performance Russell needed, the kind he had been looking for since his return in February. However, Russell said Monday he wouldn't let it alter his mindset or make him play outside his role, which is to take care of the basketball, set up opportunities for scorers and provide some outside shooting like he showed in Game 4.

“I’m a Laker fan, honestly,” Russell said. “I tell my people that. I’ve never been a team fan because you’re actually in it. But to enter the storm and to be here again and some of the things I’ve witnessed, I can say it’s fair to say that I’m a fan. But it’s good. I’m treating it really with open arms. They’ve welcomed me since I’ve been here. It’s been a good feeling.”

 NBC SHOOT, YOU SAY? Ohio State and Notre Dame will play the second leg of a home-and-home series in South Bend, Indiana, in Week 4 of the 2023 season. Since the Irish will host the matchup, the contest will be broadcast on NBC, the exclusive network for Notre Dame football.

That said, Ohio State took photos and videos at Ohio Stadium this week that will be shown on that broadcast. The program's media team revealed one photo on Tuesday that showed a smiling Cade Stover posted next to a visor-wearing Tommy Eichenberg.

I mean, so much to unpack here.

Why is Stover not wearing a helmet, but Eichenberg is? If Stover wore a helmet for the photo, would it also have a tinted visor? Whose decision was it for Eichenberg to wear a visor? If it was Eichenberg's decision, did he make it so he didn't have to show emotion during the photoshoot? Does Eichenberg plan on wearing the visor for the 2023 season?

Of all the questions I asked, I desire an answer for the final one the most, mainly because I think it would be electric if Eichenberg wore a visor this fall. Please give him some massive shoulder pads, a neck roll, and a uniform with large numbers and traditional sleeve stripes, and he will be a carbon copy of Andy Katzenmoyer in 1997.

Andy Katzenmoyer
Andy Katzenmoyer lined up at linebacker in Ohio State's road matchup with Missouri on Sept. 27, 1997. Katzenmoyer finished the contest with six tackles and one TFL as the Buckeyes defeated the Tigers 31-10. (Photo credit: The Sporting News)

Perhaps Eichenberg would then harness the powers of Katzenmoyer in 2023, especially the hit stick he delivered when he tackled Missouri quarterback Corby Jones in the 1997 season. I'm sure many of you remember the sound to this day.

Also, one more thing. It's weird to see Ohio State and "NBC Shoot" in the same tweet, but that will be something we have to get used to around here. NBC and Peacock are one of the media partners who inked a massive deal with the Big Ten to distribute football games on Saturdays, which means Sept. 23 will be our first trial run. Hopefully, it's a good one.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Down to the River" by Ben Caplan.

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Prognosticating: Indiana

Dry Goods Contest

Across The Field: Indiana Beat Writer Zach Osterman Says This Might Be the Hoosiers’ Most Important Regular Season Game Ever and QB Kurtis Rourke Has Played Well Under Pressure

Kurtis Rourke
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