OBSERVATIONS FROM SENIOR BOWL PRACTICES
Since the majority of readers here are fans of the Kansas City Chiefs(all other fans need not write, eventually I'll get to your team), I'm watching a large portion of these practices thru the eyes of a Kansas City fan. Meaning I'm looking first & foremost at players who play positions the Chiefs need. I can't pass up a few prospects who have outshone their competition this week.
Practice Standouts:
Von Miller--OLB--Texas A&M
The 6' 2 1/2" 237-pound marvel is going to make some team very happy they drafted him. Miller reminds me of Derrick Thomas for his lightening-like first step & his ability to contort his body underneath a tackles' arms to blow past him & right into the quarterback. His body control is as amazing as his first step, both truly elite. no one has had much success blocking him one-on-one. He can drop into coverage & move laterally better than Thomas ever did. He'll have to play in a 4-3 defensive scheme because I doubt he can put much more weight on his frame & maintain his quickness & body control. He could be frightening.
Gabe Carimi--OT--Wisconsin
The massive, 6' 7" & 315, Badger left tackle has shown he can play either side. His run blocking might be the best at the Senior Bowl, he could start at right tackle in the NFL right now. Carimi has 35" arms, just the right length for keeping pass rushers off him. He isn't a great pass blocker, but he's adequate now & has the tools to improve. Was sensational Monday & Tuesday but on Wednesday, he was beaten by Iowa DT Christian Ballard. Really looking forward to seeing him go against Von Miller in Saturday's game.
Cameron Jordan--DE--Cal
Played in a 3-4 scheme in college but he might be even better as a strongside 4-3 DE. He has the largest, heaviest, strongest hands I've seen in a while. His entire game is superior hand fighting, that & a great swim move. Jordan will be an impact player at the next level. He looks like he could carry another 15-pounds(currently 287) on his 6' 4" frame.Watch him Saturday, he won't disappoint.
Brooks Reed--OLB--Arizona
I first saw this 6' 2 1'2" 257-pound whirling dervish in the Iowa game. He refused to be blocked by a quality Hawkeye line. He played down end at Arizona but he'll stand-up as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He looked fairly fluid dropping into coverage, but his real strength is rushing the passer, which he has done exceedingly well so far this week.
Phil Taylor--DT--Baylor
Massive at 6' 3 1/2" 337-pound Bear is pretty amazing. His body looks very solid, he's obviously ultra-powerful, yet he isn't stiff like so many huge defensive strongmen. Played for Penn State originally but got in some trouble & left for Baylor, where he has been a model citizen. Came to Waco at 367-pounds, says he wants to shed another 5-10 lbs before the combine. He doesn't look fat or sloppy. He could play any of the line positions in a 3-4 scheme as well as either DT in a 4-3. He has a bull rush that walks the offensive linemen right back into the quarterback. He stands his ground defending the run as well & occupies double-teams. Uses a strong hand punch & stays low maintaining good leverage.
Demarco Murray--RB--Oklahoma
Easily the best receiving running back in the country. he's as smooth as they come. He's where he's supposed to be & snatches the ball cleanly every time. He doesn't show the open field running ability one would like but he's a very dependable pass catcher. The only thing that will keep Murray out of the 1st round will be his injury history at OU.
Titus Young--WR--Boise State
Somewhat diminutive at 5' 11" & 174, but he gets off jams from corners seemingly with ease & once he's loose, he's very dangerous. Young can blow by most corners quickly. He has superior hands, almost always snatching the ball away from his body. He does have lapses of concentration which caused him to false start on one snap & follow that with a dropped pass. Still, he can stretch a defense & go get it. Can also return kickoffs.
Vincent Brown--WR--San Diego State
Not the speed merchant Youngis, Jackson is a more polished receiver. Runs great routes & has the best hands at the Senior Bowl. His doesn't get a lot of separation, but his route-running allows him enough margin to catch the ball. I haven't seen him drop a pass yet this week. At 5' 11" & 184, he's not huge, but he should blossom into a quality NFL #2 receiver.
Leonard Hankerson--WR--Miami
At 6' 1 1/2" & 205, Hankerson has the size & enough speed to become a quality NFL wideout. He catches the ball very cleanly & wastes little motion doing so. His routes need to be sharpened up, he rounds some of them off right now.
Danny Watkins--OG--Baylor
Over-aged brawler with just the right disposition for a guard. Played left tackle in college but coaches moved him inside on Monday & Watkins has thrived. Very tough & physical, will play past the whistle at times. Was a hockey player in his native Canada before moving to football, which he's played just 4 years. Stood up to bull rushes all week, very tough to move. Did a little too much lunging when called upon for a reach block.
Other players who have shown well in practices:
Nate Solder--OT--Colorado
Anthony Costonzo--OT--Boston College
Clint Boling--OG--Georgia
Jeremy Kerley--WR--TCU
Derek Sherrod--OT--Mississippi State
Ian Williams--DT--Notre Dame
Kendall Hunter--RB--Oklahoma State
Owen Marecic--RB--Stanford
Rodney Hudson--OG--Florida State
Christian Ballard--DT--Iowa
Practice Disappointments:
Jake Locker--QB--Washington
If Locker had come out after his junior year, he might have challenged Sam Bradford for the top spot in the draft. He had a pretty bad senior year & he has looked really awful at times this week. He is excellent throwing off the run, both his velocity & accuracy are way above average. But in the pocket he looks extremely uncomfortable & his accuracy is nowhere near NFL minimums. I know there are those who think they can change Locker, we'll see. He's an excellent playmaker outside the pocket either throwing the ball or running with it.
Mark Herzlich--LB--Boston College
Strickened with Ewings Sarcoma, a very rare cancer that attacks the legs, last year. He is completely cancer-free now but it has taken quite a toll on Herzlich. He was a top-10 draft pick after the 2008 season. But now he's nowhere near what he was then. Sadly, he's going to have to work very hard to be anything more than a special teams player.
Jeremy Beal--OLB--Oklahoma
Beal came into this week a solid 2nd round prospect hoping to improve his stock. That hasn't happened. Beal just can't get off blocks when he's engaged by larger blockers. They just push him into the ground. He loses leverage way too easily, he'll need a lot of patient coaching to fix his faults. Big, quick & fast, beal made a lot of plays against lesser competition but in Mobile, most everybody is a player.
Niles Paul--WR--Nebraska
The 6' 1" & 224-pound receiver runs poor routes, his small hands don't allow him to be a consistent catcher. One thing Paul does do extremely well is block, he handled every assignment easily. He seemed to enjoy engaging DB's & putting them on their ass.
Greg Jones--LB--Michigan State
The 2-time All-American came out of the weigh-in 1/8" under 6-foot. He has shown himself to be really stiff in pass drops & coverage. He takes too long to get going again after changing directions. Here's a kid who should have come out after his junior year, he had a better grade.
Lee Ziemba--OT--Auburn
This prospect is sliding down draft boards all over the league. Super-stiff waist-bender who was moved inside to guard because he couldn't keep up outside. Not fairing any better inside. Fundamentals just aren't there.
Every tight end in Mobile except D.J. Williams(who won't become an NFL tight end because of his lack of size, 6' 2" & 236). Williams runs good routes & catches the ball very well, but can't block anybody & doesn't have the frame to get any bigger. The rest of the TE lot is pretty sad as is the entire group available for this draft.
Most of the DB's have failed to impress, but this isn't a great year for them, especially safeties. The two best corners aren't in Mobile, but they'll be high first round picks come April, Nebraska's Prince Amukamara & LSU's Patrick Peterson. Both are true shutdown corners.
The other 5 quarterbacks are fairly pedestrian. Each has had their moment in the sun followed by bouts of inaccuracy & poor mechanics. I'd say TCU's Andy Dalton is my favorite followed by Florida State's Christian Ponder. Dalton knows his limitations & doesn't force anything. Ponder has a long list of injuries he sustained at Florida State, the worse being to his throwing shoulder. He does show excellent accuracy at times tho.
Of course this being the Senior Bowl, there aren't any of the 56 underclassmen in Mobile, which is very disappointing. I figure at least half of the first round will juniors & 3rd year sophomores. Also missing are the two corners mentioned above, DE's Adrian Clayborn & J.J. Watt & center Mike Pouncy. All-American DE Cameron Heyward wasn't able to play because he had recent elbow surgery from a hyper-extension suffered in the Sugar Bowl.
I'll give you a complete recap of the final practices as well as Saturday's game by Sunday.
Practice Standouts:
Von Miller--OLB--Texas A&M
The 6' 2 1/2" 237-pound marvel is going to make some team very happy they drafted him. Miller reminds me of Derrick Thomas for his lightening-like first step & his ability to contort his body underneath a tackles' arms to blow past him & right into the quarterback. His body control is as amazing as his first step, both truly elite. no one has had much success blocking him one-on-one. He can drop into coverage & move laterally better than Thomas ever did. He'll have to play in a 4-3 defensive scheme because I doubt he can put much more weight on his frame & maintain his quickness & body control. He could be frightening.
Gabe Carimi--OT--Wisconsin
The massive, 6' 7" & 315, Badger left tackle has shown he can play either side. His run blocking might be the best at the Senior Bowl, he could start at right tackle in the NFL right now. Carimi has 35" arms, just the right length for keeping pass rushers off him. He isn't a great pass blocker, but he's adequate now & has the tools to improve. Was sensational Monday & Tuesday but on Wednesday, he was beaten by Iowa DT Christian Ballard. Really looking forward to seeing him go against Von Miller in Saturday's game.
Cameron Jordan--DE--Cal
Played in a 3-4 scheme in college but he might be even better as a strongside 4-3 DE. He has the largest, heaviest, strongest hands I've seen in a while. His entire game is superior hand fighting, that & a great swim move. Jordan will be an impact player at the next level. He looks like he could carry another 15-pounds(currently 287) on his 6' 4" frame.Watch him Saturday, he won't disappoint.
Brooks Reed--OLB--Arizona
I first saw this 6' 2 1'2" 257-pound whirling dervish in the Iowa game. He refused to be blocked by a quality Hawkeye line. He played down end at Arizona but he'll stand-up as a 3-4 outside linebacker. He looked fairly fluid dropping into coverage, but his real strength is rushing the passer, which he has done exceedingly well so far this week.
Phil Taylor--DT--Baylor
Massive at 6' 3 1/2" 337-pound Bear is pretty amazing. His body looks very solid, he's obviously ultra-powerful, yet he isn't stiff like so many huge defensive strongmen. Played for Penn State originally but got in some trouble & left for Baylor, where he has been a model citizen. Came to Waco at 367-pounds, says he wants to shed another 5-10 lbs before the combine. He doesn't look fat or sloppy. He could play any of the line positions in a 3-4 scheme as well as either DT in a 4-3. He has a bull rush that walks the offensive linemen right back into the quarterback. He stands his ground defending the run as well & occupies double-teams. Uses a strong hand punch & stays low maintaining good leverage.
Demarco Murray--RB--Oklahoma
Easily the best receiving running back in the country. he's as smooth as they come. He's where he's supposed to be & snatches the ball cleanly every time. He doesn't show the open field running ability one would like but he's a very dependable pass catcher. The only thing that will keep Murray out of the 1st round will be his injury history at OU.
Titus Young--WR--Boise State
Somewhat diminutive at 5' 11" & 174, but he gets off jams from corners seemingly with ease & once he's loose, he's very dangerous. Young can blow by most corners quickly. He has superior hands, almost always snatching the ball away from his body. He does have lapses of concentration which caused him to false start on one snap & follow that with a dropped pass. Still, he can stretch a defense & go get it. Can also return kickoffs.
Vincent Brown--WR--San Diego State
Not the speed merchant Youngis, Jackson is a more polished receiver. Runs great routes & has the best hands at the Senior Bowl. His doesn't get a lot of separation, but his route-running allows him enough margin to catch the ball. I haven't seen him drop a pass yet this week. At 5' 11" & 184, he's not huge, but he should blossom into a quality NFL #2 receiver.
Leonard Hankerson--WR--Miami
At 6' 1 1/2" & 205, Hankerson has the size & enough speed to become a quality NFL wideout. He catches the ball very cleanly & wastes little motion doing so. His routes need to be sharpened up, he rounds some of them off right now.
Danny Watkins--OG--Baylor
Over-aged brawler with just the right disposition for a guard. Played left tackle in college but coaches moved him inside on Monday & Watkins has thrived. Very tough & physical, will play past the whistle at times. Was a hockey player in his native Canada before moving to football, which he's played just 4 years. Stood up to bull rushes all week, very tough to move. Did a little too much lunging when called upon for a reach block.
Other players who have shown well in practices:
Nate Solder--OT--Colorado
Anthony Costonzo--OT--Boston College
Clint Boling--OG--Georgia
Jeremy Kerley--WR--TCU
Derek Sherrod--OT--Mississippi State
Ian Williams--DT--Notre Dame
Kendall Hunter--RB--Oklahoma State
Owen Marecic--RB--Stanford
Rodney Hudson--OG--Florida State
Christian Ballard--DT--Iowa
Practice Disappointments:
Jake Locker--QB--Washington
If Locker had come out after his junior year, he might have challenged Sam Bradford for the top spot in the draft. He had a pretty bad senior year & he has looked really awful at times this week. He is excellent throwing off the run, both his velocity & accuracy are way above average. But in the pocket he looks extremely uncomfortable & his accuracy is nowhere near NFL minimums. I know there are those who think they can change Locker, we'll see. He's an excellent playmaker outside the pocket either throwing the ball or running with it.
Mark Herzlich--LB--Boston College
Strickened with Ewings Sarcoma, a very rare cancer that attacks the legs, last year. He is completely cancer-free now but it has taken quite a toll on Herzlich. He was a top-10 draft pick after the 2008 season. But now he's nowhere near what he was then. Sadly, he's going to have to work very hard to be anything more than a special teams player.
Jeremy Beal--OLB--Oklahoma
Beal came into this week a solid 2nd round prospect hoping to improve his stock. That hasn't happened. Beal just can't get off blocks when he's engaged by larger blockers. They just push him into the ground. He loses leverage way too easily, he'll need a lot of patient coaching to fix his faults. Big, quick & fast, beal made a lot of plays against lesser competition but in Mobile, most everybody is a player.
Niles Paul--WR--Nebraska
The 6' 1" & 224-pound receiver runs poor routes, his small hands don't allow him to be a consistent catcher. One thing Paul does do extremely well is block, he handled every assignment easily. He seemed to enjoy engaging DB's & putting them on their ass.
Greg Jones--LB--Michigan State
The 2-time All-American came out of the weigh-in 1/8" under 6-foot. He has shown himself to be really stiff in pass drops & coverage. He takes too long to get going again after changing directions. Here's a kid who should have come out after his junior year, he had a better grade.
Lee Ziemba--OT--Auburn
This prospect is sliding down draft boards all over the league. Super-stiff waist-bender who was moved inside to guard because he couldn't keep up outside. Not fairing any better inside. Fundamentals just aren't there.
Every tight end in Mobile except D.J. Williams(who won't become an NFL tight end because of his lack of size, 6' 2" & 236). Williams runs good routes & catches the ball very well, but can't block anybody & doesn't have the frame to get any bigger. The rest of the TE lot is pretty sad as is the entire group available for this draft.
Most of the DB's have failed to impress, but this isn't a great year for them, especially safeties. The two best corners aren't in Mobile, but they'll be high first round picks come April, Nebraska's Prince Amukamara & LSU's Patrick Peterson. Both are true shutdown corners.
The other 5 quarterbacks are fairly pedestrian. Each has had their moment in the sun followed by bouts of inaccuracy & poor mechanics. I'd say TCU's Andy Dalton is my favorite followed by Florida State's Christian Ponder. Dalton knows his limitations & doesn't force anything. Ponder has a long list of injuries he sustained at Florida State, the worse being to his throwing shoulder. He does show excellent accuracy at times tho.
Of course this being the Senior Bowl, there aren't any of the 56 underclassmen in Mobile, which is very disappointing. I figure at least half of the first round will juniors & 3rd year sophomores. Also missing are the two corners mentioned above, DE's Adrian Clayborn & J.J. Watt & center Mike Pouncy. All-American DE Cameron Heyward wasn't able to play because he had recent elbow surgery from a hyper-extension suffered in the Sugar Bowl.
I'll give you a complete recap of the final practices as well as Saturday's game by Sunday.
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