I see too much Job Bostic in Perryman. Not that I don't think he cant be a solid player who is a 10+ year guy. The only slight edge i'm giving Perryman over Bostic is that Perryman wasn't allowed to think, he just attacks. Bostic tries to think, and thanks to Mel Fucker, it backfired. Perryman looked like he stayed right in his wheelhouse at the U and was a product of that. He would be too limited at the NFL level where sometimes you have to do more than your own job. We have one heat seeking torpedo. I don't want 2. Unless you find a sucker to take or flat out cut Bostic. You need one for the 3-4, which is why I have to assume Bostic isn't going anywhere. Also--as we mention Borland and Wagner lets not forget--those guys (2nd--3rd round LBs that weren't the creme de la creme) were put in a position to succeed. Lavonte David too. Lance Briggs too. Jon Bostic looks like a retard, but look what he was doing with the genius calling the plays. Borland was really lucky. Justin Smith, Ray McDonald and Ian Williams all were big helps to him up front. Opened up a lot of lanes and you gotta give credit for taking advantage and looking great. Same with Wagner. Same with Lavonte David. Chris Borland would have looked like a bust/wasted 2nd round pick in a bears uniform in 2014. But for the 7th pick of the 3rd round? I could buy Perryman. It depends who's on the board and who's taken.
Brandon Marshall has departed, leading the way to speculation for possible WRs to be taken, anywhere from rounds 2-7. I know--broad, but we just dont know with what's on the board and what will be available. Let me be clear, I think rounds 1 and 2 should be the best available defensive player on the board. But if a 1st round talent at WR were to fall to the 2nd round, is the idea of picking him on the table? What about round 3? And if so, what kind of receiver are we looking for/at? Marshall, Jeffery, and Wilson are all tall, lanky, physical guys as they are described. Will Pace look for one of those? How about a shorter 'burner' type player? Short and fast out of the slot, possibly could handle PR/KR duties? Or do we want a balance/meet somewhere between the two? The first name I'm going to look at is Justin Hardy from Eastern Carolina. 5'10, 190 lbs, 4.4 40 time. Hardy is currently projected as a 3-5 round selection. To the tape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwZ87bnYTbQ First game against UConn. Game in 2014, Hardy matched up on 2-3 round CB prospect Byron Jones as well as a lot of time in the slot. Right off the bat, a couple 'chair' routes, or the 5 and out then turn upfield. Shane Carden, his QB, actively looks for him on a few plays. Stares him down, which means reliability. Blocking skills are not so good. He failed to handle an OLB, who seems to cast him aside and blow up a WR screen. Matched up against a nickel CB, he gets off the block, cuts through the hand to hand, and gets behind him for a TD. Love the physicality. ECU uses him as a decoy a lot. He's torching the #6 in the nickel. His comeback/first step on the break of the route is tremendous. #6 bites hard constantly, when he's not biting hard, he's committing PI. UConn's LBs jump a lot of his shorter routes. That's on the QB Carden. He stares him down. Tunnel Vision. 2 and a half minutes in, I count 3 times where he's gotten behind UConn's safeties easily. On 2 of these 3, Carden overthrows him. ECU knows what a quick slant is........and Hardy is tremendous. They exploit UConn and he's wide open in the middle of the field. Don't really know what to make of his ST play. He returns punts, and doesn't get far. But his unit blows. First impressions: Sneaky, fast, great in open field. Great hands. Cons: Cant block, ran backwards on 2 of the punts not called for fair catch. 2nd game tape: ECU at Florida Gators early 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgzp2WrS3a8 Big on small routes, especially slants in the slot again. Florida takes him seriously, 3 guys around him over the middle. The TE has nice field opened up for him as a result. Great decoy again. His cut move and separation of a man coverage DB is solid yet again. Pushed off big time for the first TD though. That's a flag every time at the NFL Level. Bad blocking. He was supposed to chip the LB on a strong side sweep, LB easily made an open field tackle. Really good at making guys miss in open field. Poor ST blocking. Nowhere to go. Awesome field awareness. Knows where the 1st down markers are. Squared Dante Fowler Jr. up on an block and held it for a couple seconds on a sweep. Shocker. #1 on Florida is clearly their most competent, physical CB. 6:20 into the 8 min clip, Hardy beats him and makes a great catch. Shoved out of bounds. Final Thoughts: Slippery burner who would make a great #3 and slot receiver. Bad blocking and tries to do too much on ST. Sometimes you're bottled off. That doesn't mean you run backwards. 4th round sounds perfect.
As I mentioned, the three different WR types, being the tall horse like Jeffery/Marshall, the short burner like Hardy--or something in between. The next player on my list is a late round possibility, Tre McBride from William and Mary. I mention McBride when discussing the EW Shrine game a couple posts back. Positive reviews on a pretty crappy game. McBride comes in at 6'0, 205 lbs, and posted a 4.5 40 time. To the tape. Against Richmond, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoJA9NIrHk So far a good first impression on sadly only one game tape. Blocking is a plus. Manhandled a safety on a weakside sweep then cast him aside for a linebacker. His comeback route is a little slow and sloppy. It can fool D1-AA DBs like it does, but you can bet he will be met with much more resistance and instincts at the NFL level. Great hands though on an unpolished quarterback. Maybe its just the camera angle, but he looks a LOT taller than 6'0. Looks 6'3 or 6'4. Maybe he's going up against 5'7 DBs? Active in the run game. Blocks, seals the edge on the sweeps. Irrelevant, but blocks the DB on the opposite side of the field when the play goes the other way. In the slot, he's either blocking on a run play or W&M is rather obvious at lining him up for a WR bubble screen. Only two possibilities, but that's a college game tape thing, not pros. I don't know if this is consistent enough because this is 5 minutes long against a team I never see........but he doesn't seem to like contact. Catch and run out of bounds, or catch and fall down (in college ball, if your knee touches the ground, you're down and the play is over regardless if you were touched or not). The 'curl' route as well as the "10 and out" route are this guy's bread and butter. That first step breaking outside gives him a lot of separation and a comfy pocket for him to catch the ball and get to the sidelines. Towards the end in 'hurry up time,' or in the 4th quarter down 14 with 6 minutes he tries to do too much. And it looks like he begins to hear 'footsteps' or thinks about what he'd try to do after the catch, leading to a couple dropped passes he easily should have pulled in. I wish I had another tape to determine consistencies and inconsistencies better, but I don't. The EW Shrine game (I believe Aggie also watched) was full of shitty quarterbacks who couldn't throw or run, but tried to. Not to know them completely though. One week's worth of practice with receivers you dont know/feel comfortable with isn't likely to guarantee ideal results. McBride was one of the nicer spots of the passing game though. Final thoughts: 6th/7th rounder who could learn and contribute in the slot with no pressure attached. Also a returner, though the 2-3 KR he had were nothing special.
We are on the same page with Hardy, I remember watching him against a few good teams and thinking what a solid player he was. At the time, I didn't think much of it because I didn't believe the Bears would be in the market. I think he would be a great option, especially in the 4th round. I don't think we need another big WR, I think we need a speedy WR to open up things for Jeffery and Bennett. I'm not looking for a smurf, just a guy who can stretch the field yet still run solid routes. Hardy is a great option in my opinion.
I would be fine with a speed WR if we get a 2nd TE to establish the run, stretch the seam, and work underneath. Maybe Orange Julius? You know I have been on the TE sets and the options good ones can bring for awhile... Too fast for a LB and too big for a safety X2. Line up in a run formation and have the run/pass option. Use motion. Make the defense struggle with packages. Another option could be drafting Cooper... Some scouts like him better than Julio Jones. There is a lot in motion right now, and it is going to be interesting. I am open to a 10 year plus starter at any position.
A two TE offense, while less explosive on paper, can be more effective in practice with the ability to protect the ball and score. For those that are on the balls of the defending champs, the Pats have been working this for awhile... The Seacocks are rumored to be chasing Orange Julius. We need to grab the TE at a cheaper cost than the two big WRs. Then add a speed guy to help Jeffery on the outside. Create the dual threat run/pass options, more deception than 10 rushing attempts a game under Trestman.
Meh, maybe. I would be more inclined to spend FA money on TE and go LB early 2nd. The value and options at LB seems to be better. He is ok, but doesn't blow me away.
I'm a huge fan of Cooper, kid was awesome at Alabama playing with mediocre QB's, similar to Jones. I'm not ready to say he will be better than Julio but he can definitely be that good. I still think defense is the way to go. Vic Beasley is the guy I have been beating the drum for up until this point. That may change but think this guy is going to be a pass rushing force.
The Denver Post expects the Jaguars to sign free agent Julius Thomas to a five-year contract worth "close" to $45 million. A $9 million annual average would put Thomas significantly ahead of Rob Gronkowski's $6.9 million average, and just short of Jimmy Graham's $10 million. The Raiders are believed to have dropped out of the running for Thomas, setting their sights on Jermaine Gresham instead. Beyond Jacksonville, it's not entirely clear who's bidding on "Orange Julius" at this point. Mar 8 - 11:28 PM 9M? I was thinking 6 or 7M. Ahhhh, what is the next best option?
Jags and Raiders are desperate for players but are going to have to overpay to get them. No one wants to go there and they will have to overpay to entice players to go there. This is why being active in the Free Agent market sucks.
I know, but I want a dual threat TE to pair with Bennett with Marshall gone now. The cat seems to be out of the bag... We missed the boat. That contract is overboard. Too much to match. Bloated.
In a way, I think we dodged a bullet. We all were high on Chris Borland, especially through the year. Dude just retired. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...nd-retires-after-one-year-for-safety-concerns
RB with an ACL... If his name isn't Adrian Peterson, not interested. And pretty much not interested in him either.
The ACL makes it scary taking him the first or second round but this guy was an absolute beast prior to the injury. I wouldn't avoid him. I guarantee if healthy he would be going in the first round, probably in the top 15 and in this day and age of RB's, that is saying something. If he is there in 3rd and the knee is medically cleared as good as it is going to get at that point, I would not be able to pass on him. Somebody will take him in the second, seen some Mocks where he still might go in the first. This guy healthy with Forte in the backfield would make for a deadly combination. I hate that he is coming off an ACL, that makes it so tough to use a high pick on him. Teams that are loaded can probably afford to do that, unfortunately the Bears are not loaded at any position.
Improved medical science and HGH allow RBs to come off these types of injuries and return to form. Frank Gore had two ACLs, and remember Willis McGahee's injury in the Rose Bowl years ago? That said I wouldn't waste a high pick on an RB, unless he is an Adrian Peterson. I don't watch a lot of college, but I don't remember people thinking Gurley was Peterson good.
