combine - safety talk

[I miss Dawkins]

Obi Melifonwu

What do you guys think of this guy?? I see he is ranked about the 5th best Safety, but it sounds like he has it all. Incredible speed (4.40 at 6' 3", 220 lbs!!), incredible vertical and leap, and huge hitter. How far could this guy fall??? If we don't use our 2nd in FA, is this guy worth looking at in the 2nd?

 

[Rey]

At the end of the season I was hearing Rd 3 for him ... but this kid is a freak of an athlete with size and can play both Safety and Corner (possibly some LB too). He's likely going to be considered early to mid 2nd. Reminds me of a bigger Malcolm Jenkins. I've heard Seattle really liked him.

 

[LegoDoom]

Came here to post about him and saw there was already a thread. I think he goes in the first round. There's a possibility that he goes early 2nd, but I think there's an equal chance that he goes in the top 20. I honestly wouldn't mind the pick at #14. Any chance he can play corner (at least for a few years)?

I'd much rather him or corner at #14 than I would a RB/WR.

 

[old duke]

If we trade down, then yes, but he is raw, and has a way to go as a coverage S or CB. I don't think we can gamble in the first round, this year. All of a sudden, a lot of teams are mentioned as a first round pick, including Dallas (grrr!). I think we have to go with best player - not best athlete.

 

[LegoDoom]

He doesn't seem all that raw to me. Maybe not a big hitter, but a good tackler and has good instincts.

 

[old duke]

But, can he cover?

 

[I miss Dawkins]

honestly, watching that highlight reel... I like his instincts to the ball. Seems like a great tackler as well. I like his aggressiveness. And he had some good knock downs. His size and speed is definitely a huge plus - especially at S. I would LOVE to have this kid in eagles green. No doubt!

But keep in mind he is going against college WR's, not the size and type of WR's he will face in the NFL. That's important when ur thinking about a 1st rounder. But the thing that jumped out at me also - all the INT's he caught... ALL OF THEM were bread basket catches - not going up after the ball in the air with his hands. Good WR's in the NFL will go after the ball. Anyone can make an INT when you can just catch it in your body because it was a bad throw that came to you. That's totally different than going up after the ball, being physical and coming down with it. I didn't see that in him. This may be a solid reason that he is a S and not a CB. I'm not saying he has bad hands, I'm saying his highlights didn't show any of it, if he does. I'd love to see him covering Mike Williams. I'm thinking low 1st (reach) and more accurately a 2nd round. Of course that also goes to who else is available. In a draft that is suppose to be such good CB's, doesn't that drive his value DOWN as a safety???

 

[old duke]

If we go CB n the first, and he is still there in the 2nd, then I'm in. But, since we do not have a good CB, and as much as I want Corey dvis, we have to go CB, IMO anyway, and I always want the BPA, but as Dougie says "Gosh" - we need to get 3 CBs in this off season, in order to feel competent.

 

[LegoDoom]

But keep in mind he is going against college WR's, not the size and type of WR's he will face in the NFL. That's important when ur thinking about a 1st rounder. But the thing that jumped out at me also - all the INT's he caught... ALL OF THEM were bread basket catches - not going up after the ball in the air with his hands. Good WR's in the NFL will go after the ball. Anyone can make an INT when you can just catch it in your body because it was a bad throw that came to you. That's totally different than going up after the ball, being physical and coming down with it. I didn't see that in him. This may be a solid reason that he is a S and not a CB. I'm not saying he has bad hands, I'm saying his highlights didn't show any of it, if he does. I'd love to see him covering Mike Williams. I'm thinking low 1st (reach) and more accurately a 2nd round. Of course that also goes to who else is available. In a draft that is suppose to be such good CB's, doesn't that drive his value DOWN as a safety???

I haven't watch the video for a few days, but weren't most of his INTs in front of him and somewhat low? How do you expect him to catch the ball in those situations? If I recall correctly, he caught the ball just fine with his hands at the combine.

 

[LegoDoom]

If we go CB n the first, and he is still there in the 2nd, then I'm in. But, since we do not have a good CB, and as much as I want Corey dvis, we have to go CB, IMO anyway, and I always want the BPA, but as Dougie says "Gosh" - we need to get 3 CBs in this off season, in order to feel competent.

The team definitely needs 2-3 CBs. Expecting a player at #14 to have a huge impact in his rookie season probably isn't the best thinking. This is a deep CB class. No reason to "have" to go CB in the 1st. BPA is the way to go.

 

[Screamin Eagle]

Nice player with great measureables but not in the 1st round and the Eagles are not drafting a safety that high.

 

[eaglesnut]

We need a 3rd safety, but there are a lot of resources already tied up in the position. Now, maybe drafting a safety that high frees up some of those resources a little sooner than otherwise. I wouldn't rule it out, but there are a lot of broken parts of the team that we don't need to mess with a part of the team that isn't broken.