Did Mike Mayock Slight FSU Players? Check out his Comments

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock hosted a conference call with members of the media this afternoon, speaking for nearly two hours on various topics related to next week’s NFL Draft. He spoke about several Florida State players who will be suiting up on Sundays, and, I thought, aside from his initial comment, about FSU DT Eddie Goldman, came across as a bit negative regarding the ‘Noles, but you can decide for yourself. Here’s the response in which Goldman is mentioned, followed by the rest of his comments about Florida State players:

"Q. With the Lions at 23 how do you see them in this draft shaking out, obviously a lot of needs and options at that spot.MIKE MAYOCK: When you’re sitting there with 23, and I think what they really need is either “D” line or “O” line and you could throw corner in there also, you know, with Mathis being 34 years old, but I think when you’re at 23, you’ve got to let the board come to you a little bit and see what’s available.And where do you have the highest rated defensive tackle at that point? Is it Malcolm Brown, Eddie Goldman, who is still on the board at 23 when it’s your turn versus who are the offensive tackles on that board. Because Ladrian or Leandrean (pronounced) Waddle. I don’t know how to pronounce his first name. LaAdrian. He’s coming off the ACL in January.I don’t even know who really is going to play left guard or they trust in Travis Swanson, their third round pick. So they need some bodies up front on offense. And I think you’ve got to play the board, who is available at that particular point and how do you value that guy."

"And I already mentioned a couple of defensive tackles that may or may not be because Malcom Brown, Eddie Goldman, you could throw Jordan Phillips in there. All three of them are all in that range.And at offensive tackle, if you’re looking at a right tackle that could also potentially play guard, which I would think would make a lot of sense in Detroit, I think you’re looking at La’el Collins who will probably be gone and a guy like Ereck Flowers."

Mayock later brought up FSU offensive lineman Tre’ Jackson, mentioning that he was “sliding a little bit,” but referring to his draft projection as fundamentally altered. I’m not sure where Mayock is getting this idea about Jackson, or what it’s based on, but Jackson’s NFL.com profile still has him going in the second or third round. Mayock’s comments:

"Q. The Seahawks being at 63, obviously they’ve got to wait a long time, assuming they don’t make a move, and they’ve been pretty open about offensive linemen probably being something they need. Are there a couple of guys you could pinpoint that would seem like obvious fits for what they do and given their track record of the kind of guy they maybe looking at there?MIKE MAYOCK: Sure. If Laken Tomlinson from Duke was there, I think he’d be a heck of a pick. That would be my No. 1 pick for them at 63 as far as an interior lineman. A couple other names that would be in that range, AJ Cann from South Carolina can play center and guard. I think Tre Jackson from Florida State has been sliding a little bit, and I don’t even think he’s going to go in the second round. I think he’s a guy that they would like down the road a little bit later in their draft.I think they have three fourth round picks if I remember, and I think he’d be a logical guy late in the fourth round.Two other names would be Mitch Morse from Missouri who played tackle and will be a guard, and Ali Marpet, the Division III kid from Hobart what’s kind of an intriguing developmental inside prospect."

Mayock then offers some nice concessions about the Florida State program, while also chalking up its success to location:

"Q. I’ve got two questions: First of all, how many guys from Florida State do you have a draftable grade on at the moment?MIKE MAYOCK: I don’t know off the top of my head. There’s got to be 10 or 12.Q. Kind of going along those lines, among the college football programs that have recruited so well nationally in the last three or four years, Alabama and Southern Cal, teams like that, is there anything that sets Florida State apart with what they’ve done?"

"MIKE MAYOCK: Well, I think what they’ve done is they’re sitting in the middle of maybe the best state in the country, and they’ve done a great job recruiting in their home state. They’ve done a nice job developing their athletes, and if I’m not mistaken, if they get, what, 10 players are drafted this year, it will be the best three year number in the history of the modern seven round draft; is that correct?Q. Yeah, I think that’s right.MIKE MAYOCK: I mean, I go back to those great Miami teams in the early 2000s where it was first rounder after first rounder after first rounder, and while Florida State hasn’t had quite as many first round picks as that Miami group did back then, I think rounds 1 through 7 and just the sheer volume of athletes they’ve been able to recruit and develop certainly puts them in the top echelon of the country."

Mayock then turns to ‘Nole wideout Rashad Greene, stating that he “really like[s] everything about him,” right before proceeding to go after his size, speed, and toughness, while omitting Greene’s top WR Wonderlic score.

"Q. I wanted to ask you about Rashad Greene, wide receiver out of Florida State. He’s a guy that’s obviously undersized in terms of prototypical NFL wide receiver, but is he the kind of guy with his work ethic and his ability to run those routes, is he a guy that teams could possibly fall in love with earlier in the draft?MIKE MAYOCK: Here’s the deal with Rashad Greene: Considered to be one of the safest picks in the draft, love his route running, love his hands, his toughness. Really like everything about him. The one question really is when you’ve got a guy that’s 5’11”, 182, and by the way, the word is he’s under 180 now, so if he’s 180 or 178 and runs 4.53 there’s some concerns there. He’s just really slight, what kind of durability he’s going to have. Can he mix it up with the big guys, can he handle it. My answer would be he did it at Florida State at the highest level and continued to play and be productive, but I think he’s going in the third round. Could he slide into the second with a team that loves him? Sure, but remember, this again is the deepest position in this draft."

Finally, Mayock turns to the main event, Jameis Winston, stating that Winston’s 18 interceptions in the 2014 season “could have been 40 very easily,” while also implying that Winston, who’s not had an “issue” since his outburst in the student union, is only behaving because of the extensive handling he’s received:

"Q. Here in Tampa they’re way down the road on Jameis apparently, locked and loaded, and the character and the off field stuff, I’m curious, one question is how do you feel? Where are you on Jameis’, character, off field, and second, in your experiences how many times have you seen a guy with red flags, with issues, get all that money, all that attention, and to a certain extent, all that entitlement and turn their lives around?More from Chop ChatFSU football: Q&A with Clemson experts at Rubbing The Rock 2023FSU football: 3 reasons Noles beat Clemson, two reasons they loseFSU football: QB Brock Glenn out with an injury for ‘a few weeks’FSU football: Which TV announcers will call Clemson game?FSU football: Is Jared Verse ready to make an impact versus Clemson?"

"MIKE MAYOCK: Interesting question, and where I am is pretty well documented. I’ve got Mariota one because I do believe in Marcus Mariota, but the other piece of that is as far as Jameis Winston is concerned, I’ve got trust issues, both on and off the field. Do I trust him with the football on the field, given the way he turned the ball over, especially this year with 18 interceptions that could have been 40 very easily, so can I trust him with the ball, which is the most important thing during an NFL game, and then No. 2, can I trust him off the field. To me, those red flags are significant enough that my answer is I would go the other way with Mariota, and I have to put my hand up and say I missed that last year on Manziel, and I’m upset with myself for that, kind of just ah, he’s an immature kid, and that leads into your second question, which is when kids have significant red flags, how often do they change, and I would say my perception in my experience is that plus or minus 90 percent of the time, the kid ultimately turns into who he’s always been. When you get a repeated pattern of bad decisions, you might be on your best behavior leading up to the draft, you’ve got all kinds of people around you telling you what to say and how to act, but once you get comfortable, whether it’s one year in, two years in, three years in, once you get comfortable again in the NFL and you get paid, typically that kid goes back to being who he always was."