Eric Reid - Video analysis for NinerSickness critique

[SeattleOspreys]

I finally saw the Niners - Broncos preseason game earlier in its entirety, and it was pretty much what I heard it was.

The one thing that stood out to me about Corey Lemonier (besides his quickness) is how well he usues his hands. He usues those long arms to keep the defenders off him on running plays. There was this one play where he broke through a double team to hit the RB in the backfield where even my buddy (a Cowboys fan who hates the Niners) had to say "wow." This guy has it all IMO. Great quickness, great core strength, great hand useage / long arms... he beat a guy around the edge & forced the QB to roll out; the OL held him from behind & Lemonier still fought him off to chase the QB to the sideline and closed on him right as he got rid of the ball. Lemonier looks to me like he's everything I was seeing / hoping for when I watched him at Auburn. I'm as excited about him as anyone on the defense not named Aldon or Justin. I seriously think he's going to be a probowl caliber OLB & will be better than Ahmad Brooks soon.

Vance McDonald (outside of that one drop) looked quick, strong & natural catching the ball. I still can't believe Dallas drafted Gavin Escobar ahead of him. Obviously, he doesn't have the pure speed of Delanie Walker, but he has way better length & 34 pounds on him. If the Niners get Crabby back at any point this season, I don't know how defenses are going to be able to stop Vance, Vernon, Crabby & Boldin in the 5-10 yard range, stop the run, make sure Kaepernick doesn't run all over them and make sure nobody slips by 'em for a deep play all at the same time. Especially if Kaep is getting quicker at reading the defense & at pre-snap reads.

Reid could lay the wood & wrap up well, and he was consistently around the ball. Like I heard people say, the Broncos didn't really test him in the passing game. He played a lot of single high like I saw at LSU, which is weird to me because I think Reid was made to play SS. But I didn't see him out of position even once. He looks every bit like the player I wanted before the draft & I still think he'll be the best safety in the entire class (I was pretty lonely in that camp, but I'm optimistic).

AJ Jenkins looked pathetic. Tolzien looked pathetic (like I've always said; he's lucky to be in the league). Lockette made a nice ST play.

That's why I had the Lemonier info handy because I wanted the Hawks to draft him and did a write up on the espn forum. I like Jordan Hill but not in round 3. I wanted Lemonier and was pissed that you guys got him. I believe Hill would've been there in rd 4 but who the f knows. I think Hill surprises if given the op for rushing from the 3 tech.

I also did a piece on Vance because he was another guy I wanted the Hawks to draft. I couldn't believe you drafted both guys I wanted.

Why did I choose Lem and VM? I thought Lem could take over for Clemons in 2014 and Vance could replace Zach Miller in 2014. It would save the Hawks around $14mm in the cap and use that $$ on ET and Sherm extensions while having replacements at Leo and TE.

PC/JS have a plan and have proven to be excellent at forecasting needs and developing this roster in 3 years. Frankly, it's flat out amazing how they've flipped this roster in short order.

Reid is a definite SS starter in this league. It'll be interesting to see his ballhawk FS skills. He has the speed but does he have the instincts? Instincts trump speed all day long. See Taylor Mays.