Football question

[BoulderSooner]

Okay, so you name two guys who you think will be high picks in 2027 at the earliest. I don't disagree that there is a chance that is true. But again to my point -- we need to build the roster and talent so that we have two or three guys like that every season, plus some additional picks. And notice that I HAVE not argued that we can't do that. The one thing Brent can do is coach defense, and that does help us attract good defensive players. All I said in my post is that we aren't there yet. We need to keep bringing in more and more of those guys. The reason teams like Bama and Georgia and OSU can lose tons of players to the draft every year, but continue to remain in the mix for titles, is because they have other studs waiting in the wings.

OU defense is complicated .. they want retention and wanted to build from recruiting .. they are now doing that .. next year is the first real sr class of brents recruits ..

I think you are going to see a constant wave of defensive draft picks going forward .. (now on offense i agree )

 

[Eielson]

OU isn't in the top 5 in scoring defense or total defense in the traditional NCAA rankings, nor are they top five in ESPN's FP defensive ranking, which is one of the more analytical metrics lot of people like to use.

Ahhhh yes, one of ESPN's advanced analytics tools has us at 4 while the other has us at 6. Definitely not elite!

 

[stormspencer]

David stone and Jayden Jackson are NFL players and likely day one draft picks, maybe first round.

I agree with this. I think Stone is trending towards a 2nd rounder (at worst) and is likely a 1st rounder.

In regards to the draft, especially when drafting defensive guys, there are several variables that need to be considered. Size and "fit" within a scheme are very important to NFL teams when drafting. I believe that is why we don't get as many LBs drafted as you might would think. While we have had some very good college LBs play for us lately, only Stutsman, Kenneth Murray, and Bonito (more of an Edge/outside LB) have been higher draft picks. There may be another one or two that I'm forgetting. Kip Lewis is a good example. He is a very good player that fits very well in our scheme. However, his size will probably limit his draft potential. He is far too small to play in the interior in the NFL, but he could be drafted by a team that moves him more outside and/or plays him "situationally"....NFL teams typically don't often spend high draft picks on "tweeners" like him. They wait until the second day to grab guys who were very good college players who could potentially fill more of a secondary need.

 

[Eielson]

David stone and Jayden Jackson are NFL players and likely day one draft picks, maybe first round.

We have NFL guys on the first, second, and third string of our DL. This isn't BV Clemson level by any means, but we are absolutely loaded at the position.

RMT went down and we still had Aguilar running for his life. Okoye came in and they couldn't block him either.

 

[Eielson]

I agree with this. I think Stone is trending towards a 2nd rounder (at worst) and is likely a 1st rounder.

Nah, Wichita let us know last year that Stone and PJ were bigger busts than Soares and Moore.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Ahhhh yes, one of ESPN's advanced analytics tools has us at 4 while the other has us at 6. Definitely not elite!

How many teams qualify as "elite" in a given year in your eyes? If one tool has us top 5 and most others have us in the 6-10 range, if not lower, does that make us elite? That word is thrown around way too liberally. But again, you're moving the goal posts. The topic I presented was whether we have enough NFL talent on our overall roster to realistically be in the mix for a national title. Whether our defense is playing well, great, elite, stupendous, the best of any team to walk the planet, etc., is a different discussion.

 

[Sooner04]

What five teams have better defenses than OU?

After a very brief scan of a few metrics that matter to me (PPG, YPG, 3rd Down%) I see five that track ahead of us: Ohio State, Indiana, Texas Tech, Iowa and Oregon.
I FREELY ADMIT that I don't know how to get down into the weeds of the advanced stuff. We've improved by leaps and bounds. Love the D-line. Backers are getting better. I'm just worried about the backfield if the front six or seven can't get home.

 

[WaymanFan]

The offense undoubtedly has to improve. No argument there. I just can't understand anybody trying to have an honest conversation complaining about the defense right now.

My one complaint about the defense is that the corners play too far off the ball and the opposing WRs are often wide open. Outside of that, this defense would have won us a natty in both 2017 and 2018.

 

[NickZepp]

Thomas 1st-2nd round.

Daniels is 3rd to 5th round

Jones and Halton will get looks in the mid rounds.

Damonic Williams and RSJ are late rounds.

Next year about 3 or 4 LBs will be drafted.

Stone and Jackson 1st 2 rounds.

Gentry's injury issues will keep him down but his tape is a high pick.

Payton Bowen will get drafted high.

2026 is setting up to be better defensively than this year. We may get like 10-12 guys drafted from that team all together.

 

[WichitaSooner]

Thomas 1st-2nd round.

Daniels is 3rd to 5th round

Jones and Halton will get looks in the mid rounds.

Damonic Williams and RSJ are late rounds.

Next year about 3 or 4 LBs will be drafted.

Stone and Jackson 1st 2 rounds.

Gentry's injury issues will keep him down but his tape is a high pick.

Payton Bowen will get drafted high.

2026 is setting up to be better defensively than this year. We may get like 10-12 guys drafted from that team all together.

So you think sox guys off the defense will be drafted in April 2026?

 

[Eielson]

After a very brief scan of a few metrics that matter to me (PPG, YPG, 3rd Down%) I see five that track ahead of us: Ohio State, Indiana, Texas Tech, Iowa and Oregon.

Problem with those statistics are that they don't account for competition level, pace, or situation. I'm a firm believer that when the offense throws a pick-6, it shouldn't count against the defense.

Those teams have good advanced metrics as well, so if you want to rank them ahead, that's fine. I don't agree but I won't argue for long. I still think being 6th out of 138 is elite.

 

[NickZepp]

So you think sox guys off the defense will be drafted in April 2026?

Williams and RSJ could go undrafted I guess. RSJ is most likely gonna test enough to get drafted. I think all 6 have a good chance to make NFL rosters though.

 

[Eielson]

How many teams qualify as "elite" in a given year in your eyes? If one tool has us top 5 and most others have us in the 6-10 range, if not lower, does that make us elite? That word is thrown around way too liberally.

The advanced stats mentioned in this thread have us at 3, 4, and 6. That averages out to top 5. Even if you took the absolutely worst ranking, which for some reason you cling to, 6/138 is still elite.

 

[NickZepp]

The advanced stats mentioned in this thread have us at 3, 4, and 6. That averages out to top 5. Even if you took the absolutely worst ranking, which for some reason you cling to, 6/138 is still elite.

I think next years defense has a shot at being even better. They'll probably try to add some portal pieces to help with depth but they will probably be way better at ever level on defense. Offense needs OL to get a bit more experience. Need a breakaway WR threat or two. Everything else is set up though.

I think next year is a year where OU should be competing for a deep playoff run at least.