Saturday NFL Draft watch notes
by Mocking Dan on Nov 28, 2009 11:59 AM EST
in 2010 NFL Draft
13 comments
• The Clemson/South Carolina game features two of the best 3-4 outside linebacker prospects in Ricky Sapp (Clemson) and Eric Norwood (South Carolina). Both are seniors and having good seasons. Norwood might be the most-ready college player for a 3-4 outside linebacker spot, but Sapp's physical tools give him more upside.
• The North Carolina/North Carolina State game also features top 3-4 linebacker prospects in junior Bruce Carter (North Carolina) and senior Willie Young (NC State). Quietly, Young is putting together a solid year with 12 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. Carter is much stronger and is good at handling the run and the pass.
As mentioned previously here at MTD, North Carolina has perhaps the best group of junior talent on defense in the nation. Tackle Marvin Austin is full of athleticism. His numbers may be down, but he consistently faces double teams. Middle linebacker Quan Sturdivant leads the team in tackles with 71 and an impressive 12 tackles for loss. Strong safety Deunta Williams is a big hitter with six interceptions. Cornerback Kendric Burney might be short, but he's a playmaker.
• The key players in the Wake Forest/Duke game are interior defensive linemen. Wake's Boo Robinson is an underrated pocket pusher and Duke's Vince Oghobaase is incredibly athletic.
• Syracuse running back Delone Carter has injury problems throughout his career, but he's been a solid player this season. He's only a junior, but someone to keep an eye on. In the last three weeks, he's rushed for 339 yards and two scores.
• While teammate Carlos Dunlap has had a very disappointing season, Jermaine Cunningham has shown to be a solid contributor. He might not be a starter at the next level, but he can be a solid contributing backup because he can get after the passer and is decent against the run.
• Ole Miss running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster has been one of the most buzzy-worthy player the last two weeks. Against Tennessee and LSU, he rushed for a combined 430 yards and four touchdowns. He's very undersized, but could be the next Darren Sproles.
• The LSU defense has plenty of NFL players, so it will be one of the biggest challenges Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett faces all season. Third nationally in pass efficiency, Mallett has 3,195 yards passing and 28 touchdowns this season. The redshirt sophomore seems ready for the NFL right now. A big game against the Tigers today, and maybe he should enter.
• Hey, remember Eric Berry? You know, the Tennessee safety. One of the best players in the nation? His pass defense numbers – two interceptions, six pass breakups – might be down this year, but he's played more against the run. This is just a friendly reminder that the junior is still one of the top five players in the nation.
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Anthony Dixon
Looked good today against a respectable defense in Ole Miss. He isn’t ranked all that high among running backs but I think he may have one of the better pro careers among this years running back class. He has such a nice combination of straight line speed and power.
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by Bestjagfan on Nov 28, 2009 11:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Just wondering about Eric Berry
What has he done this year Dan? From what I’ve seen, he’s been pretty poor against the run. He whiffed quite a few times against Dexter McCluster a few weeks ago, and it looks like all he usually does is dive at guy’s legs. And then he got run over by Ben Tate against Auburn, can you imagine him trying to tackle Steven Jackson or Adrian Peterson? I know he’s listed the same size as Polamalu or Ed Reed, but it doesn’t seem like he’s nearly as aggressive as they are, and he honestly looks small.
And then for a supposed huge playmaker in the passing game he hasn’t really done much. It’s had to judge safeties on TV, but the numbers aren’t there.
I don’t know, just color me unimpressed for someone who many people are hyping as the best prospect in the draft. I say no way he goes top 5, and I could see him falling out of the top half of the first round. If Polamalu, Reed, and Bob Sanders aren’t good enough to go in the top 5, Berry surely isn’t.
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 29, 2009 3:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
If Polamalu, Reed, and Bob Sanders aren’t good enough to go in the top 5, Berry surely isn’t.
Agree 100 %, furthermore if Tom Brady wasn’t good enough to go before #199 then surely no other QB should be picked before then. No QB’s before round 6!!!!!
If Adrian Peterson isn’t good enough to go before #7 surely no other RB should ever go top 7. If Maurice Jones Drew lasted til #60 surely CJ Spiller can’t go higher than that.
Brandon Marshall falls to pick #119 surely no WR’s should go before that, hell they shouldn’t even go before #252 that is where Marques Colston went.
If Dwight Freeney was worth the #11 pick then surely Jerry Hughes is as well. Ryan Sims, DeWayne Robertson, Jonathan Sullivan, Jimmy Kennedy were all top 12 picks so Arthur Jones, Marvin Austin, Brian Price, etc should be top 12 locks.
Barrett Ruud (36), Lofa Tatupa (42) so maybe no MLB’s until round 2? But then what about Patrick WIllis?
Please, please explain to me why it matters where Polamalu, Reed, and Sanders were drafted compared to Eric Berry?
Sanders his height was a major question but he was still the 2nd safety to be drafted. He was listed at 5’8 had foot problems his entire senior year and it even affected his senior bowl and some teams viewed him as a corner. He was always viewed as a 2nd rounder.
Polamalu was knocked for not being a ballhawk and being out of position frequently, does not have great speed or change of direction.
Draft guru in training.
by tj.hendricks on Nov 29, 2009 3:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, the look where Polamalu, Reed and Sanders went argument is more an argument for taking Safeties sooner.
What non-QB player has had as much impact as Reed or Polamalu? The list is short. If teams think this kid is on that level he’ll go fast.
by Phantaskippy on Nov 29, 2009 5:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Disagree
Do we really think Berry is a better prospect than any safety in the last decade? No team recently has decided any safety was worth such a high pick as what many people have put in their mock drafts.
And there’s a few players at each position (except for maybe inside linebacker and interior lineman) that are worth as much as Reed or Polamalu.
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 29, 2009 7:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
doesn't matter if he's a 'better prospect'
what matters is the impact on the team that those guys have. Reed is rarely injured, plus he has another HOFer in Ray Lewis to make up for it if he’s out.
You can certainly see the impact Sanders and Polamalu have when they are there. Their respecitve D’s are good without them, but with them in there they are swarming unit’s that are damn near impenetrable at times.
Teams see what a safety can do for your team, namely a great one like Berry has the potential can do.
These types of safeties can mask some of the problems of the defense as well as take a defensive unit over the top.
The reason not many mocks in the past have a player like Berry in their top 5, like he’s been, is cuz there wasn’t a safety as gifted as Berry seems to be going into the draft.
No one though of highly as they do of Berry in the drafts of Polamalu, Reed or most definitely Sanders (who being only 5"8 would drop any DB in a draft…for some reason).
Berry is an impact player. He’ll go high.
"It ain't over till its over"---
by FreeBradshaw on Nov 29, 2009 9:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
what matters is the impact on the team that those guys have. Reed is rarely injured, plus he has another HOFer in Ray Lewis to make up for it if he’s out.
Not true, position makes a big difference. Safeties just don’t get picked in the top 5, even the elite ones, whic I’m not sure Berry is. Again, what has Berry done to be an elite player? What makes him a better prospect than other top safety prospects in the last few years (who haven’t gone in the top 5)?
Teams see what a safety can do for your team, namely a great one like Berry has the potential can do.
Again, a great player at nearly any position can do great things for your team. Do Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Ryan Clady, Demarcus Ware, Nhamdi Asomugha, Albert Haynseworth, etc. have any less of an impact than Reed or Polamalu?
The reason not many mocks in the past have a player like Berry in their top 5, like he’s been, is cuz there wasn’t a safety as gifted as Berry seems to be going into the draft.
Okay, so what has he done that makes you say that he’s more gifted than any safety in recent memory?
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 29, 2009 10:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
so...
your saying there a AP, a Clady, a Ware, etc. in this draft?
All I hear about Berry is he’s a great player. Not just the best DB (not just safety..DB) in the draft, but he’s an impact player from the Safety position.
Safeties don’t get picked in the top 5…unless they are head and shoulders the best DB in the draft and also possibly the best defensive player in the draft.
When Laron Landry and Sean Taylor came out…it really wasn’t a stretch for them to be drafted in the top 5 was it?
Reed and Polamalu WERE NOT the prospects Berry is going into the draft. Sounds dumb now, but it was true then, there was no talk of them going that high cuz they seemed to simply not be good enough.
Berry seems to be good enough to be taken in the top 5. Not only that, but the impact that Polamalu and Reed have for their teams, a team drafting in the top 5 just might want to get a potentially similar talent.
Also…after Suh…WHO is the best defensive player in the draft? Rolano McClain? Gerald McCoy? Tebow? Who?
To me, that’s Berry.
"It ain't over till its over"---
by FreeBradshaw on Nov 30, 2009 7:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You're missing the point
Is Berry a better prospect than those guys? If not, why would we expect him to go higher in the draft?
I’m not saying there aren’t steals like Brady in every draft, but the bottom line is that safety is one of the least valuable positions on the field. No safety has gone in the top 4 picks in the last 20 years, and only a handful have gone in the top 10. There’s no reason to expect Berry to be a top 4 pick, for the same reason there’s no reason to expect a fullback to be a top 4 pick, history tells us they don’t go that high. Teams felt that even a prospect like Reed or Polamalu wasn’t worth that high of a pick, I don’t see how Berry could be considered a better prospect than them. He hasn’t looked that good this year.
If your a QB you don’t need to be a once-in-a-generation prospect to be a top 5 pick, since someone for your position is almost guaranteed to go that high every year. All you need to do is be the best at your position that year.
I really want to hear someone like Mayock weigh in on Berry. I know it’s easy to follow the Berry hype train, but I’d love to see someone brek down the film and actually show me what he’s done this year to be a top 5 prospect.
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 29, 2009 7:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Is Berry a better prospect than those guys? If not, why would we expect him to go higher in the draft?
Every draft is different. If Matt Leinart came out as a junior he most likely gets picked by the 49ers and is the # 1 pick. Where does Alex Smith fall to? In hindsight yes Reed and Polamalu would be taken higher but it is in hindsight. Also that is why everyone says the draft is a inexact science, you will fail more often than you succeed.
Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry, Donte Whitner, Michael Huff and Roy Williams were all top 8 picks this decade. Were they better than Reed, Polamalu, or Sanders? Maybe Berry doesn’t go top 5 but there have been safeties to do so, it wouldn’t be out from leftfield like Sebastian Janikowski. This year there is talk of a guard Mike Iupati going high in the draft does that mean it’s wrong? If a team feels it’s of good value then so be it.
but I’d love to see someone brek down the film and actually show me what he’s done this year to be a top 5 prospect.
What has Sam Bradford done this year to go top 5? He may or may not go top 5 just like Berry. It’s not always that year it’s more of the body of work. Antonio Cromartie missed his junior year due to an ACL and entered the draft and was still a 1st round pick. What did he do that year to warrant that?
Draft guru in training.
by tj.hendricks on Nov 29, 2009 11:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
As for your first point, you're right
It’s obviously an inexact science. But even the best safety prospects have not been thought of as worth a top 5 pick, so I don’t see why Berry will. Guys like Donte Whitners, Michael Huff, and Roy Williams did not go in the top 5, even though they were the best players at the safety position that year.
And yes, Iupati could be worth a first round pick, sure no one is arguing that. But could he go in the top 5? I think anyone would agree that’d be pretty absurd, because the guard position does not hold enough value for even the best guard prospect to get picked that high.
Safeties have more value than guards, but still, a safety having a down year (and I could be wrong on that, that’s just my impression) is not anything close to good value. The most important positions on the field are quarterback, offensive tackle, and edge rushers. Berry plays none of those spots, so he really needs to be an absolute stud to be a top 5 pick (notice how guys like AP and Crabtree look head and shoulders above everyone else but don’t go in the top 5 because they don’t play a premium position). Has Berry been that type of player? I don’t think so.
What has Sam Bradford done this year to go top 5? He may or may not go top 5 just like Berry. It’s not always that year it’s more of the body of work. Antonio Cromartie missed his junior year due to an ACL and entered the draft and was still a 1st round pick. What did he do that year to warrant that?
Being hurt is one thing, at least you can say they would probably be playing well if they were healthy, but if a guy is just not playing all that well it’s hard to argue he deserves to go anywhere near the top 5. If Bradford were pulling a Snead this year would he still deserve to go in the top 5? Of course not. Berry won’t jump off the charts at the combine (is the upside there?), so if he hasn’t been a stud performer on the field how can he be one of the 5 best players in the nation?
by Brendan Scolari on Nov 30, 2009 5:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Gators
One interesting thing i noticed about the Gator’s D-front was that Dunlap was playing a lot of 5-tech DE which personally i think is his best position (second place would be 4-3 DE). He isn’t fast enough to play as a 3-4 OLB or stout enough for DT in the 4-3.
He’ll need to put on more muscle mass and get stronger but i think he could be a force at 3-4 DE because if you can get a 3-4 DE with some pass-rush ability then you are onto a dominant D (think Richard Seymour)
I wouldn’t be surprised if he dropped to the second and NE picked him up. They have faith in their coaches that they can get anyone motivated and ready to play and they should’t have to rush him into playing and can leave him in rotation. Another possibility would be KC in the second as he has a higher chance of still being around then.
If he adds bulk and has a good showing in the combine – measures up in strength terms to some DTs – then i see him as having teams who run a 3-4 as pondering about him as a DE
by Sheffieldbengal on Nov 29, 2009 7:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
How is Fordham's Senior Qb John Skelton ?
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by TheTealDeal on Nov 30, 2009 6:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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