Conversations with Clayton: NFL Draft Analyst Daniel Parlegreco

In this week’s “Conversations with Clayton,” I talked about the upcoming NFL Draft with our good friend and draft expert, Daniel Parlegreco. Parelgreco’s fantastic draft guide is now available on Amazon.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Daniel and I discussed the draft prospects of players from the American Athletic Conference, the strengths and weaknesses of the 2019 draft and the worst seats Daniel has ever had at a sporting event.

Clayton Trutor (CT): How would you assess the NFL prospects of the players coming out of Cincinnati this year?

Daniel Parlegreco (DP): Not a lot of guys that are draftable. The best of the bunch is by far Marquise Copeland. He’s been outstanding and is one of the best interior defensive lineman in this draft.

CT: Who would you consider the top players coming out of the AAC?

DP: Ed Oliver is the obvious pick and is one of the top five players in this draft. Darrell Henderson and Rock Ya-Sin are probably my two next favorite players in the conference. Both should get drafted on day two of the draft.

CT: We’ve got a lot of Bengals fans who read Down the Drive. In what direction should the Bengals head with their early picks?

DP: I think TE should be targeted at some point, it doesn’t need to be a first round pick. I think they need added depth at linebacker and possibly a successor to Andy Dalton.

CT: If you were given the reins to an expansion NFL franchise, which player from this draft would you build your team around?

DP: I think Nick Bosa. He’s the best player in this draft. He’s such a stud and will be a mainstay on a teams’ defensive line for 10+ seasons.

CT: What are the strongest and weakest positions in this draft?

DP: Strongest is probably TE or defensive line. The weakest is at linebacker.

CT: What value do you place on post-season all-star games like the Senior Bowl?

DP: The Senior Bowl is important on a lot of fronts. It allows players to compete against each other in a football setting unlike any other pre-draft workout. It also allows guys from smaller schools to prove they can have success against Power Five school players

CT: Do you tend to put more or less value on the combine than other draft analysts?

DP: Less. It basically should be used to confirm what you see on film. Too many scouts/evaluators get too hung up or discouraged based on the combine. I can give you too many instances of guys that have had bad combines but great film and the film almost always wins.

CT: Describe the worst seats you’ve ever had at a sporting event.

DP: Worst seats ... Hmmm ... I sat in the upper upper corner of a Giants-Cowboys game that wasn’t great. Had a hard time seeing what was going on.

Head over to Amazon and Buy Daniel Parlegreco’s fantastic draft guide: DTP’s 2019 NFL Draft Guide

Follow Daniel Parlegreco on Twitter: @DTPDraftScout

For more of the same, Follow me on Twitter: @ClaytonTrutor