Travis Kelce
There were so many important decisions that went into building the rosters of the 49ers and the Chiefs that may, or may not, have involved Taylor Swift’s music label. The Chiefs took Kelce in the 3rd round back in 2013. This was between the Red and 1989 albums for Taylor who hadn’t completely vanquished all other female artists from the radio as of yet.
Charlie Campbell did not have a scouting report for Kelce perhaps due to him missing the Senior Bowl due to injury and rumors of some immaturity issues. But he did have him mocked in the 4th round going to GB and listed as his 4th best TE in the 2013 class behind 1. Eifert, 2. Ertz, and 3. Escobar. Walt interestingly had him going to the 49ers in the 3rd round despite them having one Vernon Davis holding down the spot. That said the Chiefs got a C- Grade from Mr. Cherepinsky as they didn’t need another TE let alone one with off-the-field issues.
Now some may look back at this and think something like ‘gee whiz and willagers, Walt got that one wrong’. But I’d argue that at that time Walt assumed Alex Smith would be the one throwing Kelce the ball. Not one of the greatest QBs to ever play. Which brings us to…
Patrick Mahomes
If you were at recess and you had seen the peek play of all the great QBs from Unitas to Brady but that is all you knew about them, nothing about their super bowls or MVPS, and it was your turn to pick, I think most would take Mahomes. The guy has the complete toolbox and then for good measure can go Allen Iverson on you and make a perfect throw while falling the wrong direction. But instead of stepping over you and your entire career after making a play, apologizes for liking ketchup on his steak. So what did the WF Brain Trust have to say about this guy back in 2017….
Charlie had him as his 3rd highest QB behind Trubisky and Watson. Walt fittingly had him going to the Texans with the 25th pick in his 2017 NFL Mock Draft. When the Chiefs took him 10th Walt could see Mahomes was good but didn’t like the context around the pick.
Brock Purdy
Where as writers look to come up with new accolades of greatness to describe what Mahomes has been able to do thus far in his career, most are content with the simple affirmation that Purdy does indeed play QB for an NFL team … and he may have graduated to being relevant as a player. He hasn’t done so for long. It was only in 2022, or year one post Covid, or year 0 still covid, that Charlie was assessing the 7th listed prospect at the QB position in Purdy.
4/26/22: Purdy helped Iowa State avoid a big upset with a narrow win over Northern Iowa in Week 1, but he struggled against Iowa and was benched in the fourth quarter. Purdy returned to start against UNLV and led a blowout, but he did not impress in the loss to Baylor prior to playing well versus the two Kansas schools. Purdy looks like a third-day pick and backup-caliber player.
–https://walterfootball.com/draft2022qb.php
Charlie did offer a scouting report on the future backup QB here who happens to be the Superbowl. (Hey, I’m an Igglez fan and backups can catch a divine spark if only for one game.) The report rounds out with a player comparison of Matt Barkley but its much more complementary than one would think with hints at what would work for Purdy in San Francisco. Good decision making. A catchable ball. Etc.
Walt had Purdy in his Mock going in the 5th round to the Eagles as a Jalen Hurts could get ‘hurt’ insurance policy. As far as a draft grade goes…well Walt gave 2022’s Mr. Irrelevant a B Grade but he ‘would have preferred Carson Strong’.
Christian McCaffrey
Nothing but high marks for Christian McCaffrey as an NFL Draft Prospect of the 2017 draft class. Charlie makes clear in his Scouting Report that he thought McCaffrey deserved the Heisman in 2015 when on factors what a player means to his team and was comparing him to Jamaal Charles. Charlie had McCaffrey as the 2nd best RB of his class behind Fournette and had him mocked at the 19th pick to the Bucs.
Walt had Christian mocked to the Panthers at 8. Yeah Walt got it right, its kind of what we do here at WalterFootball.com…and by ‘we’ I mean Walt and Charlie…not me. That said, when Walt looked back at it 5 years later he downgraded the selection to a D as to him this shows that drafting a RB high can be a disaster even if the RB is a great player.
George Kittle
I don’t care if you the reader and sports fan are sick of people trying to tie in Taylor Swift into analysis for the sake of a joke, or having the reference somewhere in their respective article. I don’t write that often and I’ve only just got here and there is fun to be had. How about this one where I bring you into a dramatic fantasy that lives in the inner teenager of all of our souls that has never stopped listening to Teenage Dirtbag or You Get What You Give. Kittle goes out there and out plays Travis Kelce to the point where he catches the Pop-star’s eye setting up what should be a great Season 2 of Taylor Swift attends NFL Games. OK. I’m done. And now I’m tired of it all too.
Kittle is a really good TE BTW. Walt would have had him going in the 3rd round in 2017 and thought he could start for the Seahawks if Graham moved on (which he did going to GB) two rounds of where he went in the 5th. He gave the 49ers an A despite them not having a need for a TE due to how promising Kittle was as a prospect. Charlie had him 12th in his 2017 TE Rankings.
Deebo Samuel
Out of team loyalty I should try to take a couple knocks at the WR who felt it necessary to take a couple shots at my Igglez. But he was proven right and he did OK for me in Fantasy when he was healthy. If a WR isn’t brash at times is he even a WR? Deebo was drafted in 2019 along with my home town flavored bit of talented brashness that is AJ Brown. Charlie had Deebo just one spot below AJ as the 5th best WR prospect of that 2019 class. He noted that his RB type build both counted against him and for him in his rankings and had nothing but high praise for the versatile wide out in his scouting report comparing him to Golden Tate. Charlie had him mocked at pick #34 going to the Colts to pair up with Andrew Luck (remember him?), whereas Walt had him going 46 overall to the Redskins (still officially the Redskins at that time) noting his ‘tremendous pre-draft process’. When the 49ers took Deebo with the 36th pick Walt gave them a B+ for making a ‘very logical’ choice that would help with the sting of not landing Antonio Brown in free agency.
Isiah Pacheco
Well Walt didn’t think too highly of Mr. Pacheco. When the Chiefs took him with the 251st pick Walt gave them a C grade and noted that the Rutgers’ backs game probably wouldn’t translate in the NFL. The Scarlet Red of Rutgers maybe creates a blind spot for some people. A bias against Jersey mayhaps?. (I’m from South Jersey) The league didn’t think much of him either. While it is noted that Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant…Pacheco was the last RB taken in 2022.
Charlie did note he had some talent ranking him 17th in the 22 class and noted Rutgers struggles in conference play didn’t exactly put a young running back talent into a position where he could succeed. One only hopes players eventually find a guy that can put them into a position to succeed. (I’ve heard one or two too many Reid pressers back in my day.)
Nick Bosa
Walt was the only analyst in 2019 who though Nick Bosa would be any good. I’m kidding. Everyone knew. Walt still gave the 49ers selection of Bosa at 2 an A+ despite having a contrarian streak in him and loving when teams get extra value. Sometimes its as easy as take the best guy. Charlie had many positive things to say about Bosa in his Scouting Report noting how his talent ‘jumped’ off the screen back as prospect. Charlie did some heavy research looking far and wide to come up with an appropriate player comparison and finally settled on his older brother, Joey Bosa. And yes the younger Bosa was the top DE of Charlie’s 2019 Rankings.
Both Charlie and Walt had Bosa pegged as the 2nd pick of the draft in their respective mocks. Charlie triangulating the various sources he was hearing things from while Walt went with reports that Bosa was deleting some Tweets that may not go over well in San Francisco. Walt’s. Charlie’s.
Chris Jones
Charlie had Chris Jones as his 5th ranked DT in 2016 noting that he had him underrated for a while due to his game not matching his talent with rumors that he may not love football enough. In his Scouting Report Charlie elaborated about his versatility and compared him to Muhammed Wilkerson.
Walt gave the Chiefs an A- for drafting him early in the 2nd round noting he thought he would have gone in the first round if the Patriots hadn’t lost their pick that year…for …well..you know … cheating. Deflategate.
Walt had him mocked as the 54th pick while Charlie had him at 56.
Thats it. Thanks for coming along. My son is doing that thing where he likes to root for teams that beat my teams. So last year he liked the Chiefs. This year since the 49ers are red as well, and he is anti-Taylor Swift, he’s going 49ers. I like Mahomes and want to see him add to his ledger despite usually going for underdog stories like Purdy’s.
