Tag: 247 Sports rankings

Top 247 for 2016 finalized

Brandon Peters

247 Sports released its final list of the top 247 prospects for 2016 (LINK). You can see the movement for each player next to his name if you wish, but notable movements for Michigan players:

• Brandon Peters moved up from #45 to #34
• Michael Onwenu jumped up from #72 to #36
• Ben Bredeson dropped from #58 to #67
• Jordan Elliott dropped from #56 to #70
• Dylan Crawford dropped from #132 to #134
• Nate Johnson jumped up from #243 to #198
• Devery Hamilton dropped from #222 to #228
• Ron Johnson jumped from #246 to #238

Hit the jump for the full list of Michigan targets on the list.

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Comparing the Recruiting Sites: Star Ratings for 2015 First Round NFL Draft Picks

Marcus Mariota

Questions often get raised about which recruiting site is the most accurate. There might be many ways to calculate, and some of them are beyond the scope of this here blog. But one way to analyze recruiting rankings is by looking at the star ratings of each first round draft pick, which I have done below. Each of the four recruiting sites was mined, although admittedly, 247 Sports is at a bit of a disadvantage since they are the newest site; fifth year seniors were not evaluated by 247 Sports coming out of high school.

1. Jameis Winston – QB – Florida State (Buccaneers)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 4

2. Marcus Mariota – QB – Oregon (Titans)
ESPN: 2
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 4

3. Dante Fowler, Jr. – OLB/DE – Florida (Jaguars)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

Hit the jump for the star ratings of the other 29 first-rounders.

4. Amari Cooper – WR – Alabama (Raiders)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 4
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

5. Brandon Scherff – OT – Iowa (Redskins)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: Not ranked

6. Leonard Williams – DE – USC (Jets)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 4
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 4

7. Kevin White – WR – West Virginia (Bears)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 2
Scout: 2
247 Sports: 3

8. Vic Beasley – OLB/DE – Clemson (Falcons)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: Unranked

9. Ereck Flowers – OG – Miami (Giants)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 4
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

10. Todd Gurley – RB – Georgia (Rams)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 4
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

11. Trae Waynes – CB – Michigan State (Vikings)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 2
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 2

12. Danny Shelton – DT – Washington (Browns)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 4
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 3

13. Andrus Peat – OT – Stanford (Saints)
ESPN: 5
Rivals: 5
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

14. DeVante Parker – WR – Louisville (Dolphins)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 3

15. Melvin Gordon – RB – Wisconsin (Chargers)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 4
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 4

16. Kevin Johnson – CB – Wake Forest (Texans)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 2
Scout: 3
247 Sports: Unranked

17. Arik Armstead – DE – Oregon (49ers)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 4
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

18. Marcus Peters – CB – Washington (Chiefs)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 3

19. Cameron Erving – C – Florida State (Browns)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: Unranked

20. Nelson Agholor – WR – USC (Eagles)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

21. Cedric Ogbuehi – OT – Texas A&M (Bengals)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 4
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 4

22. Alvin “Bud” Dupree – DE – Kentucky (Steelers)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 3

23. Shane Ray – DE – Missouri (Broncos)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 4
247 Sports: 3

24. D.J. Humphries – OT – Florida (Cardinals)
ESPN: 5
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

25. Shaq Thompson – LB – Washington (Panthers)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

26. Breshad Perriman – WR – Central Florida (Ravens)
ESPN: 2
Rivals: 2
Scout: 2
247 Sports: 2

27. Byron Jones – CB – Connecticut (Cowboys)
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 2
Scout: 2
247 Sports: Unranked

28. Laken Tomlinson – OG – Duke (Lions)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: Unranked

29. Phillip Dorsett – WR – Miami (Colts)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 4

30. Damarious Randall – S – Arizona State (Packers)
ESPN: 3
Rivals: 3
Scout: 3
247 Sports: 3

31. Stephone Anthony – LB – Clemson (Saints)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

32. Malcolm Brown – DT – Texas (Patriots)
ESPN: 4
Rivals: 5
Scout: 5
247 Sports: 5

CONCLUSIONS
The average star rating of a first round pick for each recruiting site:

1. Scout: 3.65625
2. Rivals: 3.59375
3. ESPN: 3.3125
4. 247 Sports: 3.09375*

The average rating for 247 Sports is thrown off by so many unranked prospects. Six prospects were not ranked by 247 while they were still getting their feet under them. ESPN, Rivals, and Scout have no excuse since they have been around for a longer time period. Interestingly, if those six prospects are removed and you average the ratings of the other 26 players chosen, the average ranking jumps to 3.807, easily the highest of the four. That’s not a fair comparison because they could have completely biffed on the other six prospects, but it’s an indication that 247’s ratings should be taken seriously. In my opinion – and not only because of this study – the 247 Sports site is surpassing its counterparts.

Another weakness is this type of study is the number of 5-star ratings given. Typically, Scout gives out 40+ of those ratings, whereas ESPN gives out only 10-20. Rivals and 247 Sports give out roughly enough to fill out the first round of an NFL draft (somewhere around 30). This gives Scout somewhat of an advantage in an analysis like this, and it gives ESPN a disadvantage.

Scout’s biggest goof seems to be Melvin Gordon, who was a 4-star to two other sites and was going to Wisconsin. Any running back headed to Wisconsin has a good chance of being a mighty fine player, but the signs were there for Gordon and Scout missed them. However, Scout did label Leonard Williams a 5-star prospect when no one else did, and they also had DeVante Parker as a 4-star when others saw him as a 3-star.

Rivals did well to name Danny Shelton a 4-star (everyone else had him as a 3-star) and they were the only ones to give Nelson Agholor a 5-star rating (seriously, how did everyone else miss out on that?). Overall, Rivals seemed to be the most consistent with the fewest outliers.

For being such a large outlet, ESPN misses on too many players. Looking just at the top ten – the cream of the crop – they ranked Winston, Mariota, Fowler, and Flowers lower than any of their counterparts, aside from Winston’s 4-star ranking to fledgling 247 Sports. They also failed to even evaluate Byron Jones.

Overall, what can we take away? The people running 247 Sports seem to know what they’re doing, and it will be interesting to see the results as they get more experience, widen their net, and increase the sample size. Scout and Rivals both do a pretty good job and are pretty consistent without too many outliers. ESPN is consistently the least reliable source, both in up-to-date information and ability to evaluate players.

(On a side note, I probably spent more time on Scout’s site than ever before while looking up these rankings. I must say that even though they revamped their site in the last year, that is still absolutely the least navigable site there is. I have never had a subscription to Scout and use it the least, and I cannot understand why anyone would tolerate paying money to deal with that. It boggles the mind to think that such a large website could have such terrible programming.)

Top 247 for 2017 released

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell (image via Twitter)

247 Sports released its top 247 prospects for 2017 (LINK).

Here are the players who have been offered by Michigan:

5-stars:
2. A.J. Epenesa – DE – Illinois
3. Josh Myers – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)
4. Calvin Ashley – OT – Florida

4-stars:
8. Marvin Wilson – DT – Texas
9. Hunter Johnson – QB – Indiana
10. Anthony McFarland, Jr. – RB – Maryland
13. Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Michigan
15. Shaun Wade – CB – Florida (Ohio State)
16. Najee Harris – RB – California
17. Osiris St. Brown – WR – California
18. Devon Hunter – ATH – Virginia
20. D’Andre Swift – RB – Pennsylvania
22. Jeffrey Okudah – S – Texas
23. Jeff Thomas – WR – Illinois
28. Isaiah Pryor – S – Georgia
33. Joseph Lewis – WR – California
39. Stanford Samuels – CB – Florida
42. Greg Johnson – ATH – California
44. Tyrell Ajian – ATH – Ohio
46. Dylan McCaffrey – QB – Colorado
47. Richard LeCounte – ATH – Georgia
48. Maleik Gray – ATH – Tennessee
55. Darnay Holmes – ATH – California
58. Brock Wright – TE – Texas
68. Jake Moretti – OT – Colorado
76. Anthony Hines – LB – Texas
77. Juwan Burgess – WR – Florida
81. JaRaymond Hall – OT – Michigan
87. Marcus Williamson – CB – Ohio
88. Hezekiah Jones – WR – Texas
99. M.J. Webb – DE – Texas
106. Jamyest Williams – CB – Georgia
111. Josh Ross – LB – Michigan
125. Kedrick James – TE – Texas
136. J.T. Cauthen – WR – North Carolina
139. Paris Ford – S – Pennsylvania
150. Todd Sibley – RB – Ohio
178. Corey Bolds – DE – New Jersey
180. Jaylen Kelly-Powell – S – Michigan
183. Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – Michigan
229. Darnell Ewell – DT – Virginia
240. Juan Harris – DT – Iowa

247 Sports: Top 247 for 2016 updated

Erik Swenson

247 Sports updated their top 247 players for 2016 (LINK). Here’s what it looked like previously (LINK). As you can see, Michigan’s lone commit on the list, Erik Swenson, dropped from #240 to #242.

Here are the rest of Michigan’s offerees:

5-stars:
1. Greg Little – OT – Texas (Texas A&M)
2. Rashan Gary – DT – New Jersey
3. Jacob Eason – QB – Washington (Georgia)
10. Tommy Kraemer – OT – Ohio (Notre Dame)
12. Ben Cleveland – OT – Georgia (Georgia)
14. Malik Henry – QB – California (Florida State)

4-stars:
15. Isaac Nauta – TE – Georgia (Florida State)
16. Liam Eichenberg – OT – Ohio
17. Jauan Williams – OT – Washington, D.C.
18. Dexter Lawrence – DT – North Carolina
20. Willie Allen – OT – Louisiana
24. Kareem Walker – RB – New Jersey (Ohio State)
26. Ben Bredeson – OT – Wisconsin
28. Deontay Anderson – S – Texas
29. Caleb Kelly – LB – California
37. Brandon Jones – S – Texas
39. Nate Craig-Myers – WR – Florida (Auburn)
41. Demetris Robertson – ATH – Georgia (Alabama)
43. Devin Duvernay – WR – Texas
47. Dwayne Haskins – QB – Maryland
50. Michael Menet – OT – Pennsylvania
51. Josh King – DE – Illinois
53. Levonta Taylor – CB – Virginia
56. Scott Bracey – WR – Virginia (Duke)
57. Nigel Knott – CB – Mississippi
62. Shea Patterson – QB – Louisiana (Ole Miss)
64. Steven Smothers – WR – Maryland
65. Josh Brown – DE – Virginia (Florida State)
66. Eli Stove – WR – Florida
67. Trayvon Mullen – CB – Florida
68. Steffon McKnight – WR – California
69. Janarius Robinson – DE – Florida (Florida State)
71. Binjimen Victor – WR – Florida
73. Daelin Hayes – LB – Michigan (USC)
77. Dylan Crawford – WR – California
78. Sam Bruce – WR – Florida (Miami)
80. Ed Oliver – DT – Texas
83. Donnie Corley – WR – Michigan
87. Isaiah Chambers – DE – Texas
92. Jordan Fuller – ATH – New Jersey
94. Cameron Chambers – WR – New Jersey (Michigan State)
95. Richard Merritt – OG – Washington, D.C.
98. Justin Layne – WR – Ohio
100. Dontavious Jackson – LB – Texas
101. Jarrett Guarantano – QB – New Jersey
102. Clark Yarbrough – OT – Virginia
104. Jared Mayden – CB – Texas
108. Kaden Smith – TE – Texas
110. Joseph Jackson – DE – Florida (Miami)
112. Auston Robertson – DE – Indiana
113. Shaquille Quarterman – LB – Florida (Miami)
114. John Broussard – CB – Alabama
117. K.J. Costello – QB – California
121. David Long – CB – California
122. Austin Mack – WR – Indiana
127. Quayshon Alexander – DE – New Jersey
129. Erick Fowler – LB – Texas
133. Miles Sanders – RB – Pennsylvania (Penn State)
134. Collin Johnson – WR – Texas (Texas)
135. Ahmir Mitchell – ATH – New Jersey
139. Cary Angeline – TE – Pennsylvania
140. Terrance Davis – OG – Maryland
142. Khalid Kareem – DE – Michigan
146. Kendell Jones – DT – Texas
151. Rahshaun Smith – DE – Florida
152. E.J. Price – OT – Georgia
154. Tavares Chase – WR – Florida (Clemson)
155. Lavert Hill – CB – Michigan (Penn State)
168. Antonio Williams – RB – North Carolina (Wisconsin)
179. Brad Hawkins – WR – New Jersey
180. Damar Hamlin – CB – Pennsylvania
181. Jordan Woods – DE – Florida
189. Michael Jordan – OT – Michigan
190. Jaquan Yulee – LB – Virginia
193. Jake Hausmann – TE – Ohio (Ohio State)
194. Michael Onwenu – DT – Michigan
197. Kyree Campbell – DE – Virginia
201. Jonathan Jones – LB – Florida
203. Naseir Upshur – TE – Pennsylvania
209. Frank Martin II – OT – California
210. Craig Watts – S – Florida
237. Devery Henderson – OT – Maryland
240. Josh Imatorbhebhe – WR – Georgia
241. Luke Farrell – TE – Ohio
242. Erik Swenson – OT – Illinois (Michigan)
247. Darrian Franklin – LB – California

247 Sports: Top 116 for 2017 updated

Detroit (MI) Cass Tech wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones is within the range of being an eventual 5-star to 247 Sports

247 Sports updated their top prospect list for 2017 back in November (LINK), although I missed it at the time. Here’s what it looked like back in August of 2014 (LINK). At that time I included players who might have Michigan interest or vice versa. This time I’ll include only the players Michigan has actually offered.

5-stars:
3. Josh Myers – OT – Ohio (Ohio State)

4-stars:
6. Calvin Ashley – OT – Florida
7. Devon Hunter – S – Virginia
12. Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Michigan
14. Shaun Wade – CB – Florida (Ohio State)
21. Jeff Thomas – ATH – Illinois
31. Darnay Holmes – ATH – California
42. Najee Harris – RB – California
56. Josh Ross – LB – Michigan
70. Isaiah Pryor – S – Georgia
84. Jamyest Williams – ATH – Georgia
111. Corey Malone-Hatcher – DE – Michigan
114. Anthony Hines – LB – Texas