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2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:39 am
by claver2010
Figures to be quiet outside of flowers.

kiper has him at #16 overall, great for zay

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2023/insi ... y-position

16. Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
HT: 5-10 | WT: 172 | Previously: NR

Flowers, who has 300 catches and 31 touchdowns in his college career, is one of my favorite prospects in this entire class. He's so elusive, so quick in and out of his breaks. He plays out of the slot or lined up outside. He can take a jet sweep to the house. He just gets open and makes plays. He forced 25 missed tackles this season, the third most in the country for wideouts. Flowers' size won't "wow" teams, but just put on the tape, and they'll see why I think he's a first-round talent.

Re: 2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:02 am
by claver2010
https://theathletic.com/4153431/2023/02 ... n-college/

How Boston College’s Zay Flowers became one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - OCTOBER 08: Zay Flowers #4 of the Boston College Eagles carries the ball during the first half against the Clemson Tigers at Alumni Stadium on October 8, 2022 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
By Chad Graff
5h ago
7

Save Article
LAS VEGAS — The call came in around midnight last April. Zay Flowers answered it, unsure of what to expect so late. It was from Eric Dounn, the marketing agent for the Boston College wide receiver who had just finished his junior year.

There’s another school, Dounn told Flowers. They want you to transfer there. And they’re willing to give you $500,000 for going.

Flowers was stunned. No one really recruited him out of high school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Boston College was his only Power 5 offer. And now someone was willing to give him half a million dollars without so much as meeting him?

Flowers grew up the 11th of 14 kids. His mom died when he was 5. He bounced around from his grandmother’s house to his dad’s. They didn’t have much growing up. This was a chance at life-changing money. He could buy his dad, Willie, a house or his grandma a car. And he could get himself new fishing gear for the early mornings he likes to send casts into the South Florida water.

He talked it over with his dad, and they let themselves dream for a moment. They knew what the money could do.

“Then my dad said, ‘If those schools would’ve wanted you from the beginning, they would’ve gotten you from the beginning. But Boston College was the only school that wanted you,’” Flowers said. “When he said that, that really made me want to stay. He said, ‘Don’t chase the rat cheese. It’s poison.’ It was basically (saying) not all money is good money.”

Flowers stayed at Boston College and put together one of the best seasons in program history — 78 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns — finishing as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards (3,056). His work there has him as one of the most intriguing prospects in the NFL Draft, where insiders here at the Shrine Bowl suggest Flowers could hear his name called in the first round.

But there’s something else to know about Flowers, BC coach Jeff Hafley said. Yes, it’s very impressive, he said, that in today’s Wild West of NIL deals and transfer windows, Flowers stayed to play his final year with the teammates he’d grown up with. But what Flowers did during the Eagles’ disappointing 3-9 season was just as notable.

“What people need to know is we struggled a little bit this year, and most guys in his position would’ve taken their foot off the gas,” Hafley said. “Some even opt out. But he played harder at the end of the year. Go watch him block for his other receivers and the backs downfield. It just shows you who he is. You know what you’re getting in good times and in bad times. He’s just a remarkable kid.”

Flowers described himself as a late bloomer on the football field, which is why scholarship offers didn’t flood his inbox during high school. He went to Boston College to play cornerback but was quickly switched to wide receiver. He played his freshman season, but he mostly was used on jet sweeps and gadget plays.

After that, Boston College changed coaches and Hafley took over the program. He watched film of the little receiver who ran jet sweeps as a freshman. Flowers is 5 feet 9 inches tall. He weighed 155 pounds as a freshman (he was up to 182 pounds last week).

Hafley didn’t know how much more there was to Flowers’ game, but he gave him a shot as an outside receiver during one of their first spring practices together.

“It only took a couple of one-on-ones to realize, ‘Yup, this guy’s got it,’” Hafley said.

Hafley spent seven years coaching defensive backs in the NFL. He game planned for the small, gadget type of receivers it once seemed Flowers would become.

But over the next three years, Flowers developed. He became a deep threat — even at 5-9. He was used in the intermediate game. He averaged more than 13 yards per catch in all four seasons. He didn’t just play in the slot.

Now when Hafley gets a question about whether Flowers will just be a slot receiver in the NFL, he laughs. It’s clear, he said, that they haven’t watched him play.

“We got him to the point where we don’t have to sell anyone on that,” Hafley said. “All they have to do is turn on the tape and it’s there. They can see it. I don’t have to tell them. It’s pretty clear. I think he’s going to be a phenomenal NFL player.”

Flowers didn’t practice much at the Shrine Bowl. His status as the best receiver there was already evident. But he was at each session, rooting on his new teammates. That left a positive impression of who he is off the field.

“This guy’s going to be a pain to cover,” Hafley said. “But then when you interview him and meet him, teams are going to fall in love with him. He’s a guy whose draft stock is just going to continue to rise and rise.”

Flowers was coached by the Patriots staff last week at the Shrine Bowl. He spent four years in Chestnut Hill and got a firsthand look at this sports-obsessed area. Now he could have a chance to stay in New England.

The Patriots hold the 14th pick in the draft and are in dire need of weapons for quarterback Mac Jones, which opens the door for them to consider selecting Flowers.

“There’s a great community out there that I’ve built already in Boston,” Flowers said. “So it would be fantastic. It would be great.”

The next step for Flowers is to impress at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month. That’s where he’ll have a chance to separate himself from what most scouts see as a deep and crowded group of wide receivers entering the draft.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler is projecting that 10 wide receivers, including Flowers, will be selected in the first two rounds.

“Flowers is the quickest, shiftiest, stop-on-a-dime receiver in this class, and it’s not even close,” Dounn said.

A year ago, Flowers could have left college for the draft and probably been a mid-round selection. He turned that down, then turned down $500,000 to stay at Boston College. Now he’s on the doorstep of becoming a first-round pick.

“It worked out perfectly,” Flowers said. “That’s why I’m in this position — because I turned that down.”

Re: 2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:01 pm
by twballgame9
He would be perfect in the slot for O'Brien, but they'll have to trade up in the second or trade down in the first. Zero chance they pick him 14.

Re: 2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:18 pm
by BostonCollege1
twballgame9 {l Wrote}:He would be perfect in the slot for O'Brien, but they'll have to trade up in the second or trade down in the first. Zero chance they pick him 14.


Agreed, no way at 14. Even if they traded down in the 1st, do you think they would take him? I think they have more important needs.

I'd love it if they could trade up in the 2nd and get him there.

Re: 2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:35 pm
by twballgame9
BostonCollege1 {l Wrote}:
twballgame9 {l Wrote}:He would be perfect in the slot for O'Brien, but they'll have to trade up in the second or trade down in the first. Zero chance they pick him 14.


Agreed, no way at 14. Even if they traded down in the 1st, do you think they would take him? I think they have more important needs.

I'd love it if they could trade up in the 2nd and get him there.


They are going to take one of the two big corners, the kid from Illinois if he slips, or the tackle from Georgia if he is there. Otherwise, they trade down. If they trade down, all bets are off.

Also depends on what they do leading into the draft. If they go sign McGlinchey or trade the first for Jalen Ramsey, they can draft what they want. I can certainly see them taking Flowers if he is there when they pick in the second though.

Re: 2023 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 3:08 pm
by durkcal
I ran the NFL draft simulator on PFF with me drafting as the Chargers, and the simulator picked Zay Flowers for Dallas Cowboys in the 1st at pick #26 . Would be tough to watch Dak as his QB, but at least Zay would be playing in a potent offense. The memory of losing to the 49ers without the ability to challenge down the field looms large for Dallas. Of course, he might not last to them. If Zay continues to get such good marks, the team that picks him will probably have traded into position to do so. If DAL likes Zay, they'll probably feel compelled to trade up at least a few spots.

Re: 2024 NFL Draft

PostPosted: Fri Mar 22, 2024 5:49 pm
by DomingoOrtiz
Interesting that Maitre worked out at BC and not Wisc pro-day