Interview with Eric Galko of OptimumScouting.com

1. What under the radar players are you looking out for in this year's draft?
Well to me, under the radar players are ones that slip past the 2nd-3rd round where their talent is and end up in the mid-late rounds. I think RB Bernard Pierce of Temple, WR Rishard Matthews of Nevada, WR Joe Adams of Arkansas, CB Ryan Steed of Furman, CB, Micah Pellerin of Hampton, DE Cam Johnson of Virginia, and QB BJ Coleman from Chattanooga all could do just that.

2. With the release of Buccaneers Free Safety Tanard Jackson, who are the best safety prospects after Mark Barron and Harrison Smith? Are any of this year's safeties good enough to be worth a 1st round pick?
Barron is the only one worthy of a first round pick in my opinion. Only one other safety got a top two round grade from us, and that's George Iloka of Boise State. He's lanky, plays long, can get physical with bigger receivers across the middle, and most importantly, can pick up tight ends between the hashes. This safety class also gets quite deep in the 4th-6th round range as well.

3. What do you make of Demario Davis? What round do you think he will go?
Davis is very athletic and has the bulk and explosion to be a sneaky good prospect. Still limited in coverage, vision in traffic, and using proper footwork/hand technique, but I could see a team reach for him in the 3rd round because of his talent, though his value is in the 5th round area.

4. Can Devon Wylie contribute as a slot wide receiver straight away?
I think so, yes. His lack of college playing time combined with his injury history is worrisome, but he's explosive, cuts quickly and efficiently, plays with a wide catch radius, and is an explosive playmaker in the open field. He has room to become a Wes Welker (sorry for the obvious Caucasian slot receiver comparison, but similar prospects) type slot guy with added explosiveness.

5. I really like Robert Turbin as a player, do you think he has better pro potential than speedsters like Lamar miller and Lamichael James?
The NFL is different now, and speed, big play ability, and open field moves are viewed higher than shear strength and power. Turbin has some of the biggest arms I've ever seen on a running back, but open field guys like Miller and James could add value in multiple ways, especially early, whereas Turbin is far too situational.

6. Do you think Sean Spence of Miami could make the move to safety?
I think he MAY be able to, but I wouldn't do it. The guys a playmaker who flies to the ball, has a great understanding of the game, and has been a leader and productive since early high school time. He needs to work on staying aggressive while still improving on his angles to the ball, but he's a guy who can hide his size concerns with his natural football instincts.

7. Where should Ryan Broyles be drafted given his recent injury?
He came into the year as a high second round value as a slot receiver. But thanks to his severe injury, depth at receiver (especially in the slot), and the fact that he's mainly a route-technician, possession guy who's not an ideal slot fit for every team, I think the 3rd-5th round is safe, completely depending on which slot needy teams want to grab him first.

8. Is Brock Osweiler really too tall to be a successful QB, does he have too little game tape or both?
At 6'7, the height may be a concern to some. But he's a former basketball player (almost went to Gonzaga to play basketball) who isn't a lumbering, Drew Bledsoe type. His game tape is aggravating because his mechanics are poor, he has erratic accuracy with a good, not elite, arm, and he played in a short passing offense. Still, I've heard from scouts that rave about his leadership and gutsiness as a quarterback, and with his size, coachability, and intangibles, he seems like a worthwhile project.

9. Would you draft Ryan Tannehill with a first round pick or do you think he is over rated?
It's tough to put a round grade on quarterbacks when you're thinking as a GM. If I need a quarterback, I'd have to consider him. But if I'm a GM, I'd make sure he doesn't play more than scrub time his rookie year, and he's eased in his second year. If he's rushed to play early, his growth could be stunted similar to Mark Sanchez. If he sits for 1-2years, he has a lot of comparable abilities to Aaron Rodgers.

10. Given that Green Bay's draft picks from last year have yet to live up to the hype, who should they be targeting early this year?
Green Bay has done a fantastic job in maintaining depth at key positions if you ask me, but they are still a team that isn't quite a finished product for the long term. They still need more stability on the offensive line and in the secondary, as well as a pass rusher to complement Clay Matthews. All three are options, but I'd say Boise State's DE/OLB Shea McClellin or Oklahoma's CB Jamell Fleming are two sleepers to watch out for with their first rounder.

11. If Cleveland trade back to the 8th spot and see Blackmon, Claiborne, Richardson and Tannehill all get picked before them what do you think they'll do?
The Browns would like to focus on offense in this draft after adding to the defense the past two drafts, but I don't think they'll want to reach. I'd doubt they take Blackmon at 4, and Richardson makes a lot of sense for them at #4. But I wouldn't rule out another impact DT (Fletcher Cox) to finish off the defensive line, or reaching for Baylor WR Kendall Wright to pair with Greg Little for the future.

12. Which team's playoffs hopes for this year are the most dependent on a good draft?
Cool question because it's both never wise to "draft for now", but yet some teams need to. I think Kansas City and Tennessee both could really use some added depth these year to make a playoff push. Both are in fairly winnable divisions, both need OL depth still, and both could use 4-5 guys that could contribute/spot start for injuries.

13. Who do you think are the first 5 small school players taken in this year's draft?
First off, CB Janoris Jenkins of North Alabama has been the talk now for all his character concerns, but from ALL the extensive research, talking to sources, and meeting the guy myself, I'm not worried. I don't think NFL teams will be worried enough past pick 50. After Jenkins, WR Brian Quick of Appalachian State and OG Amini Silatolu of Midwestern State carry fringe 1st round grades for some teams, so they'll likely go next. After that, we could see a small school run on CBs with Furman's Ryan Steed, Hampton's Micah Pellerin, Coastal Carolina's Josh Norman, and Montana's Trumaine Johnson going in the 50-96 range.

14. What do you make of Russell Wilson? I think he's much better than people give him credit for and people care about his height too much, he played behind a Wisconsin O-line after all, do you think he can make it in the NFL?
I firmly think he can make it. People throw out the "short quarterback-Drew Brees comparison", but I think Wilson may actually merit that comparison in some ways. He's smooth, confident, and decisive in dissecting the defense from the pocket, analyzing safeties maybe second in the QB class to Andrew Luck. Combine that with a high throwing release that limits balls being batted down, a very impressive Senior Bowl, and fantastic athletic ability, and Wilson is worth a 2nd round pick by our evaluations. Landing in Buffalo makes all the sense in the world, and I wouldn't rule out the Bills securing him in the 3rd round, even trading up to do so.

15. Whose draft stock is being hurt the most by off the field issues and where could they be taken without the problems?
As I said before, I'm not as worried about Janoris Jenkins's off the field problems, but he'd be in the Top 15 mix without them for sure. Also, Vontaze Burfict of Arizona State and Dwight Jones of North Carolina both would be fighting for the top ILB and WR (respectively) in this class if not for laziness and character concerns. Both may struggle to find the Top 4 rounds on draft day, with Burfict almost likely to fall out of the draft completely.

16. A lot of people see DeQuan Menzie as being a player who would be better playing in a different position in the NFL to where he played in College, are there any other prospects you think would benefit from a change of position?
Yeah, Menzie likely is best at the slot/nickel cornerback because he's physical and has great initial reaction skills. Taylor Thompson of SMU played DE this past season, but after working out at the Players All-Star Classic (where we had a scout at) as a tight end, he may get drafted on his ceiling alone there.

17. What is your opinion of Chris Owusu and his draft potential? Will his injury history prevent him being drafted? Where would he go with no injury problems?
Owusu really flashed early in his career, and he looked like the perfect number two receiver in the NFL at times in college. But the concussion issues are serious, and with the NFL cracking down on making sure this isn't a long term problem, teams may not view him as draft worthy at all. Look at Jahvid Best, who had serious concussion issues in college, had a few as a pro, and may be done for his career now. Teams don't want to mess too much with concussion prone prospects, especially early.

Will do a quick google for some pictures.

Robert Turbin for question 5

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Janoris Jenkins for question 13

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Introduction- With just 1 week 1 day and a handful of hours at the time of uploading this to go until the NFL draft kicks off, with the Indianapolis Colts selecting their future franchise quarterback, v2 have had the opportunity to interview Eric Galko the Director of Scouting for http://www.optimumscouting.com/ as part of our build up to the draft.

For the end- If you're one of those fans who no matter where you are will still be staying up to watch the NFL Draft then you should sign-up to 606v2 so that you can discuss every single pick and any trades live on our chatbox that will be up open for the big event.