The bye week is upon us, guys and gals; and for those interested in the future, or college football, I got a fun little thread I?ve done before. The draft thread. I know, 2015 draft is half a year away; but seriously, we could use something to take our minds off the suck fest. I?ve been watching tapes, researching, and noticing trends with many collegiate players, and right about now, about ? of the way through the NCAAFB season is where we see the cr?me de la cr?me rise to the top. Flashes in the pan for 2-3 weeks gone, the consistent players we know. I?ll try not to drone, but there will be a lot of information, particularly with the bears. I?ll try to break it up into different posts. I have several listed needs for the bears, starting with MLB as the strongest, Sam LB, SS, then RT, then DE. With this year looking shitty, I forecast the bears right now picking anywhere from 8-32. Depending on this position, we have many options. Yeah, I?m half full. Fuck you doubters. But seriously, between 8-17, maybe worse the way this is going. Lucky for us, right now LBs are a lot stronger this year than in years past. I came to the LB conclusion quite simply. DJ Williams is atrocious, Shea is a failed experiment, Jon Bostic is one of the best athletes I?ve ever seen, but complete shit for brains when it comes to being a linebacker. Wrong instincts, wrong gap assignments, runs into his own guys, not a real threat to cover a halfway decent TE taller than 6?2, and just is sad. He?s a cannonball. When he hits, we cheer, when he misses, we cringe. Christian Jones is average, but looks significantly better than the rest, which says a lot. Dede Lattimore aint gonna be on this team next year. Briggs has checked out for the year (and likely career), and Daryl Sharpton, like Jones, isn?t another turd wasting a roster space and stealing his paycheck unlike some players and coaches, but he?s certainly not above average. So let?s start there. We will definitely need 2, and right now I gotta think LB is first round pick next Spring. Research at Walterfootball, CBS, and a few other websites and people I trust have a slew of pretty decent names. First, from University of Washington; we got Shaq Thompson. OLB?though projected to be either a Sam or a Mike in a 4-3, cover LB. Precisely what the bears need right now. He?s a sideline to sideline guy, like Urlacher, significantly better than being a downhill runner. Great size at 6?2, 235 lbs. Great speed, converted safety out of high school. Knack for stripping the ball. 7 forced fumbles, 3 of them taken back for touchdowns. Also excels in zone coverage. Calls his defense?s plays, also knows where the hell he?s supposed to be. A month ago many projected him a mid to late 2nd rounder, but with his consistency and great speed/instincts, he?s in the late 1st round conversation right now. With a solid finish to the year, decent combine, we?re looking at mid 1st round pick. 10/18/14: In 2014, Thompson has 46 tackles, two tackles for a loss, one sack, three passes broken up, one interception and three forced fumbles. He has produced some clutch turnovers for the Huskies. Thompson has also shown his athleticism by contributing at running back by rushing six times for 82 yards and a score. Lots of QBs projected again, lots of OTs, and 2 top tier DLinemen, 2 top tier WRs, and a couple 1st round projected RBs. Second is Benardrick McKinney. Mike LB from Mississippi State. Towering young man at 6?5, 250 lbs. From Walter Football: 10/18/14: In 2014, McKinney has 41 tackles, six tackles for a loss, three sacks and two passes broken up. One of those sacks came when he beat Texas A&M left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi off the edge. McKinney is a big-time presence in the Bulldogs' defense and has shown the ability to be a three-down starter who can drop into pass coverage or rush the quarterback. Ogbuehi is right now the 3rd ranked OT scheduled to go next spring. Not small potatoes. Started the year 2nd round projections, but like Thompson, his great play this year has moved him into late 1st round, and the help of his team?s success (look like NCAA playoff contenders of the final 4) may increase. He will likely also be a 1st round pick. Third on my list is Eric Kendricks, OLB/ILB from UCLA. Smart young man, 10/18/14: In 2014, Kendricks has 68 tackles with three tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, one pass broken up, one interception and one sack. Projected to be a Will LB in a 4-3 or an ILB in a 3-4. He?s taken over where recent top 10 pick Anthony Barr left off at UCLA. All of these guys have 1st round potential. If we?re going to look beyond the first, I like Jake Ryan from Michigan. Ryan screwed up in 2012-13 by not entering the draft after a great Junior year, he?d have been a 2nd rounder. Tore his ACL, was out the 13-14 season, and was allowed to be a 5th year senior this year and he?s still cranking out plays for a pathetic Michigan team. 10/18/14: Ryan has shown flashes of his 2012 form, and looks better on a weekly basis. This year, he's totaled 56 tackles with nine tackle for a loss, two sacks and two passes broken up. Ryan had three tackles for a loss with double-digit tackles against Penn State and Utah. Nothing about Ryan screams ?star.? But as a 3rd or 4th round idea, he?d be a solid player. Nothing flashy about him. Wraps up, makes plays. Wont be a star, but will be reliable. An outlier here is Vic Beasley, this year?s Anthony Barr. 3-4 ?rush? LB for Clemson, but is athletic enough and has the football brains enough to successfully be a Sam or Will in a 4-3. Tall at 6?3, 240, and fast, the blitzing Clemson linebacker will be a top 15 pick projected right now. Emery cant screw up here, this is a luxury that can be left alone. Beasley will make some 3-4 defense feel great, cant be the bears trying to plug him into a different scheme.. Denzel Perryman from the U started hot then disappeared. Otherwise there are a lot of talented underclassmen such as Erik Stryker from Oklahoma, Lorenzo Malduin from Louisville, Eli Harrold and Jordan Jenkins who may or may not go out. Too early to tell.
Part II Safeties. Conte has been quite decent in 2014. No, he?s not a hall of famer. But he?s shown that last year?s criticism of him was unfounded. There are different safety prospects, varying from 1-3 rounders, so possibly a 2nd round choice on one, possibly 3rd. Mundy is about as nice to watch as kissing your cousin without teeth. Vereen we don?t know what we have, but he?s not trending up to me. Danny McCrae? Pass. First is Cody Prewitt from Ole Miss. 10/11/14: In 2014, the senior has 25 tackles with an interception. He played well against Alabama and was around the ball. Against Boise State to open the season, Prewitt totaled eight tackles with an interception and was very impressive. Prewitt won?t make it out of the 1st round at the rate he?s going. So if you want a safety problem solved round 1, this is your guy. 10-20 pick range. May trend higher, but too many OT and QBs trending high. Second is Kurtis Drummund from Michigan State Natural ballhawk, one of the possible 4 first round picks Michigan State may see go in the 1st round on the defensive side of the ball ALONE. QB Connor Cook is looking like a mid-late 1st round pick. 10/11/14: In 2014, Drummond has two interceptions, 24 tackles and two passes broken up. The senior is a smart and instinctive safety who covers a lot of ground in the back end. Right now 2nd round pick projection. Third is Sam Carter, S from Texas Christian. 10/11/14: Carter has 15 tackles, one pass broken up and one interception thus far. Great size at 6?2, Carter?s been overpowering opposing TEs in the big 12. Physical SS, and a 2-3 round pick projection right now. Like Jimmy Ward from NIU a year ago, may creep up to the late 1st/early 2nd area. Outlier is Landon Collins. SS from Alabama and looks a lot like Haha Clinton-Dix in Green Bay. But right now projected to be a top 10 pick. Onto the RT/OT category, which is weird for me to talk about because, well, we haven?t talked about OLinemen need for a while. Jordan Mills sucks, Michael Ola against Chandler Jones? back up was pathetic. Looking for a 3rd to 4th rounder for compensate, there are options. You could kick Kyle Long out to OT, possiblility which may make finding a RG easier. But right now no need fixing what isn?t broken. The cr?me de la cr?me in OT are Andrus Peat from Stanford, who?s going top 3. Brandon Scherff from Iowa, top 7, Cedric Ogbueghi, top 10, and Spencer Drango from Baylor late 1st. That doesn?t include underclassmen possibilities to come out like La?el Collins from LSU, and Erik Flowers from the U. All 1st round potential. Then there are top flight OG prospect AJ Cann from South Carolina and Riese Dismukes. Dismukes is a 1st round Center. Not likely. After that we have first up; Jake Fisher OT from Oregon. #75. Little brother of Eric, who went #1 to KC. Fisher is a very effective double-team blocker, releasing from one target to hit another. Fisher has broad shoulders, long arms and quick, strong hands to latch onto opponents and good lateral agility to shuffle. He can get himself in trouble when his feet stop moving and when he tires and loses the leverage battle. Not elite, but a project 3rd or 4th round selection right now. Up next we have Sean Hickey from Syracuse. Didn?t get noticed until the Clemson game earlier this year. He was the only bright spot in a blown out, prime time CFB performance. Lined up against Vic Beasley, often had to hold his own when other side got to double teaming their guy.
Part III The defensive ends. I?m impressed with Willie Young, but not Jared Allen or Lamar Houston. This year in CFB has many Des to choose from, and there are two elite/top 10 players in Randy Gregory from Nebraska and Leonard Williams from USC. With Williams being the best talent, Gregory, if the bears totally suck would be the best option. If you get a shot at Gregory. You take Gregory. But in terms of picking beyond that we have Shawn Oakman up first. 6?9, 280 lb down linemen projected to be a 5-tech in a 3-4 defense first, but also could handle a 4-3. They say he can move for a man who?s 6?9. He can. Some off the field issues?kicked off Penn State a few years ago, found a home at Baylor. Also, for a man this big at the NFL level, many question his durability. When you?re that big, hips aren?t kind to you as you get older, and fight off guys fatter than you. He?s got stats, size, quickness, and drive to be a great pick. He?s going top 20 right now. Shilique Calhoun from Michigan State is next. Calhoun has a fluid lower body and bends well off the edge with natural flexibility to curve the arc. He is coordinated in space to easily change directions and keeps his feet well, protecting against cut blocks. Does an excellent job playing the edges and holding contain. Does a nice job using his length to jolt blockers. The guy has long arms and sets up to be a prototypical DE in a 4-3, though there is much speculation he would pull a Whitney Mercilus and get thin enough to be a 3-4 rush LB. 1st round projection. Dipping into the 2nd round we have Nate Orchard from Utah: Leader and playcaller of the Utah Utes defense. Like Trevor Reilly a year ago, guy is putting up stats. Held his own against best LT Andrus Peat. Always around the ball, good size. Has great size, needs more weight, which he is expected to put on. Projected 4-3 DE. Last is projected 2nd-3rd rounder Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE from UCLA. Odighizuwa, who missed the entire 2013 season after two separate surgeries on his left hip, provides consistent disruption from right defensive end position. Scouts love pass rushers with long arms and the 6-foot-3, 270 pound Odighizuwa has that trait. He?s been busy this year. 10/18/14: Odighizuwa has a nice skill set of size, speed and athleticism. He has 23 tackles with 5.5 tackles for a loss and one sack this year, but was phenomenal against Virginia in the season opener and has been far more disruptive than the numbers indicate. **Steal to look out for. Devonte Fields, formerly of TCU. He?s in the D1-AA somewhere after being kicked off TCU. Guy was a projected 1st round pick and will fall to the 5th or 6th round this year. Possibly undrafted. So; with this information here (hopefully you?re still following) the bears can mix it up and go with a few different variations, like a Oakman in the 1st, Sam Carter 2nd, Jake Fisher 3rd. Or Shaq Thompson, Drummund, Fisher. Now its too early, and come the day after the superbowl, draft season starts, so I wont kill too much of your time. I?m not gonna do a 1st round mock, because I just don?t know, plus they make me angry when I read them. Many picks make sense then there?s one retarded one. Any questions or comments I?ll get back to as fast as I can. So please feel free guys and gals.
Well done Pat. Interesting how there are a ton of guys named Shaq who are all college aged now. Do you personally place a premium on guys who come out of the SEC compared to other conferences? McKinney sounds like a freakish athlete and I love his size. But from a MIKE I want to see a guy with some football brains. It seems hard to judge that based on college success. If this guy is another Bostic between the ears, no thanks obviously.
I don't because the SEC tends to cater to 3-4 defenses. Not as big, fast, more finesse than physical beyond linemen. McKinney is an outlier. Mississippi State boasts on of the top CFB defenses. McKinney's value lies with his versatility and raw athleticism. He lines up all over the field for the Bulldogs, taking snaps at middle linebacker, as well as rushing off either edge. He is a well-built and fluid athlete for his size, showing good lateral agility and very impressive acceleration to track down ball-carriers from behind. He has long arms and good hand-eye coordination to trip up ball-carriers that appear out of his reach and breaks down well in the open field to deliver strong, wrap-up tackles. His athleticism has been well documented with McKinney reportedly clocking in the 4.5s and posting a 34" vertical jump at 245 pounds http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1852910/benardrick-mckinney Jack of all trades guy. But primarily lines up at Mike for the Bulldogs. He's corrected many of the weaknesses listed on this page, but has work to do. I just like Shaq Thompson. Every time I go looking for CFB defensive highlights, this guy is near the top of every search.
Put a MIKE filter on all the LB scouting. Ideally, we would sign a top end candidate and draft one, compete, and put one on the outside. DL is always a strong option. Safety is an option in the 1st, but he really has to blow it away or we are looking trade down or 2nd rounder. Not just a tackler, absolute complete CF package ( elite range/tackling/ballskills/intelligence/leadership ). Better than HAHA or Pryor and they were strong prospects. I am dead red on LB, but somebody has to live up to the pick and I won't force my opinion. It has to be legit.
Where is the guy from the U this year? He impressed me and if he is going in the mid rounds, that is a killer pick. Gotta do more research, but man...
I am thinking possible Bobby Wagner. JMO I see football players, I don't give a shit about the combine or if you can jump out of a pool. We should have taken Trevaithan, dude lit it up in the SEC at Kentucky. Don't look for the freaks, look for the production and the natural players.
Denzell Perryman has fallen off after a hot start. Well not fallen off, tapered off. When you play stagnant, other people who play and rise up the ranks get recognition. Right now he's projected as aa late 2/early 3 after being a late one, early 2. Can easily pick it back up. But other guys are flying by......gotta make yourself look good.
He won't test well either, but that is a 3rd round pick that will make other teams say WTF ( Briggs style ). Might not be the solution at MIKE, but he would be a valuable player on the outside. We have to tackle and he can. [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfSa4V15324[/video] [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NZbhgf33sg[/video] That is the mid round pick we need with our swing gate LBs.
Loving this, as always, Pat. Fan-damn-tastic. Looking forward to contributing, and discussing as the year moves on. For now, though, I'll say this: As a Miami fan, I don't think drafting Denzel Perryman is a particularly advisable move. Right now, I'd consider him the Lance Briggs of the college world. He's big and slow, and while he can lay a hit, you just don't see him making enough plays in a game. In fact, I'd say he's the second or third most standout LB on that team, right now. The problem with Perryman is that he's playing for the college equivalent of Mel Tucker. I mean it - it's like watching an exactly identical defense on Saturday as I do on Sunday. It's pretty unbelievable, really. Perryman is not being given the opportunities to make plays, nor is he being given the opportunities to show what he can do in the fields some suspect him weak in. Unfortunately, when he does have these opportunities, he's not making anything out of them. I've seen him have poor positioning and poor tackling with the ballcarrier coming straight at him. And his DC does not allow him to audible, nor is he being vocal on-field. Perryman is an inside thumper, but we knew that coming in. He's not getting the opportunity to show us much more. He's going to be a tricky pick - surely he'll work hard, be in shape, and try to show well at combine and organized events. If he does, then you have to weight the lack of showings this season with what you see afterwards. He's looked slow sideline to sideline, in my estimation. I'm not blasting the guy, I just haven't seen what I need to, and I don't anticipate we will - and I don't necessarily think it's all his fault. I think you've got the positions right on, for now, Pat. We'll just have to hope that Emery recognizes the same needs. I'm willing to bet he thinks the solution is there between Bostic, Shame, and X player. We'll see how highly he prioritizes a top draft pick on the position.
Truly talented Mikes don't come around often, are successful early, and most importantly--talented Mike LBs don't last very long in the draft......
I'm going to have to look closer at the LB from Miss St. That sounds like my kind of player. The little I've watched of them has been very good, obviously. Will have to steal the TV on a Saturday to check him out.
It needs to be a first round concern. A hard look. They don't grow on trees. It is a hard pick in today's NFL. But if you can find a field general, it is invaluable. I haven't really done my research yet, we will discuss it... I could sour quick.
I can tell watching him, he is going to test like crap. And if he can't play sideline to sideline, play him at OLB. If we can get him in the mid rounds, I see a lot of a youthful Briggs. It is a shorter zone, he can develop into a three down and thump as a two down. You have watched him more than I have, but he is a very sound tackler and that seems to be becoming more and more rare. I can't explain it, and the scouting report will probably tell me I am wrong, but he just jumps at me as a great mid round pick.
A QB isn't out of the conversation. Very unlikely the talent is there, but we can't dismiss any position at this point.
As of right now, I wouldn't trust him in coverage against an NFL TE. That's problematic. He won't get the chance to show otherwise this season. Combine and organized event testing is going to be all the evidence we have to go on. I think he has a limited skill set at the next level. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong. And he very well might be a great selection - I do think he'll end up in that third-ish round area. I just won't count him among targets right now, until the roster for next season starts to shape up - his role will have to be too specific to say otherwise. And P.S. If I'm going to be talking draft at all, I have to own up to past mistakes. Off the top of my head: Khaseem Greene isn't making me look very good. I'll have more as I look over lists of past years.
