Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Some guys I'm keeping an eye on in the first three rounds that haven't been mentioned much in this thread as options for the Ravens (in the last half-dozen pages or so):
Shareef Floyd, DT, Florida - Love his motor and size/speed/power combo. Could probably play either a 5-tech or a 3-tech at the next level due to his size and athleticism.
Nuk Hopkins, WR, Clemson - Elite hands and body control, good route runner, decent speed. I bet he runs in the 4.6 range at the combine, but it'd be a mistake to pass on him for that. He's still got plenty of physical projection left, as he's spent his college career in a sub-par S&C program.
Levine Toilolo, TE, Stanford - The other Stanford TE. Monstrous physical specimen (6'8", 263) for the position. A natural pass-catcher who plays with an edge and is actually proficient blocking. Would be an excellent foil to Pitta.
David Amerson, DB, NC State - Really instinctive ball hawk in the secondary who's tough in run support. I don't like him at all as a corner, where he's listed by seemingly every service--too stiff in the hips with sub-par speed. But I think he could excel as a safety. Reminds me a bit of Antrel Rolle as a prospect, who moved off the corner and turned into an All-Pro safety.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mizerooskie
Some guys I'm keeping an eye on in the first three rounds that haven't been mentioned much in this thread as options for the Ravens (in the last half-dozen pages or so):
Shareef Floyd, DT, Florida - Love his motor and size/speed/power combo. Could probably play either a 5-tech or a 3-tech at the next level due to his size and athleticism.
Nuk Hopkins, WR, Clemson - Elite hands and body control, good route runner, decent speed. I bet he runs in the 4.6 range at the combine, but it'd be a mistake to pass on him for that. He's still got plenty of physical projection left, as he's spent his college career in a sub-par S&C program.
Levine Toilolo, TE, Stanford - The other Stanford TE. Monstrous physical specimen (6'8", 263) for the position. A natural pass-catcher who plays with an edge and is actually proficient blocking. Would be an excellent foil to Pitta.
David Amerson, DB, NC State - Really instinctive ball hawk in the secondary who's tough in run support. I don't like him at all as a corner, where he's listed by seemingly every service--too stiff in the hips with sub-par speed. But I think he could excel as a safety. Reminds me a bit of Antrel Rolle as a prospect, who moved off the corner and turned into an All-Pro safety.
Huge fan of Toilolo. He would instantly bring something to this offense it doesn't have, a huge blocking TE, who can move the chains on 3rd downs, and a huge natural end zone threat. We should be targeting him at round the 3rd to 4th round IMO.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
And speaking of centers... I am a massive fan of Barrett Jones, he would be the safest pick in the late first round, he could offer the Ravens not only a great player on the field, but a great player off the field. Think Ray Rice work ethic on and off the field, he really has all the perfect character strengths you want in a prospect. He has great intangibles, great size (6'5, 315 lbs), and his screen blocking is out of this world. He is probably the best screen blocking lineman I've seen coming out of college in the last decade.
He isn't overly athletic, and despite doing well at LT for Bama last year, I think he isn't athletic enough to play there in the NFL. I think he is an average RT in the NFL, and will be able to offer depth there in the mold of Marshall Yanda. His best position is without doubt at center, but he could excel at both guard positions too. He reminds me of a younger Matt Birk, who was a 6 time pro bowler with Minnesota. I too believe that if you are going to pay your QB and RB big money, you better invest into an elite Oline. We have the receivers, we need a better Oline. If Barrett Jones is on the board, I won't be surprised at all if Ozzie makes the pick.
If we don't end up with Barrett Jones, there is another guy I really like who hasn't really been mentioned here at all. Mario Benevides is a sleeper out of Louiseville. Here's a guy who compares heavily with Chris Myers. He is the most athletic center in the draft, and if we want to shift our focus to the ZBS, he's a guy we should certainly consider in the 3rd to 5th round. He has great size at 6'4 and 300 lbs, but it's all good weight, he carries a lot of muscle for a center, which is why he's so athletic, similar to Myers.
Right now, I'm thinking Eric Fisher (LT, 6'7, 305 lbs) out of Central Michigan in the first round, and Mario in the 4th. That would at least give Gino a chance to prove him self over the offseason as the potential starter, while giving him some legit competition, but wouldn't throw him completely off by drafting Barret Jones.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Some good tape on Mario Benavides as a sophomore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0grTSgMb6yE
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
I wouldn't class YouTube as tape. You only see the good highlights.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
arnie_uk
I wouldn't class YouTube as tape. You only see the good highlights.
That's not true, you can find loads of videos that break down a players every snap in the game, and highlights the bad plays as well as good plays.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Here's one of the guys that uploads the O vs. D videos.
Great non-highlight looks. He has 2 or 3 years posted so you can see current draft eligible guys's previous year's performances as well.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JoshMTD?feature=watch
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
leachisabeast
Huge fan of Toilolo. He would instantly bring something to this offense it doesn't have, a huge blocking TE, who can move the chains on 3rd downs, and a huge natural end zone threat. We should be targeting him at round the 3rd to 4th round IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
leachisabeast
And speaking of centers... I am a massive fan of Barrett Jones, he would be the safest pick in the late first round, he could offer the Ravens not only a great player on the field, but a great player off the field. Think Ray Rice work ethic on and off the field, he really has all the perfect character strengths you want in a prospect. He has great intangibles, great size (6'5, 315 lbs), and his screen blocking is out of this world. He is probably the best screen blocking lineman I've seen coming out of college in the last decade.
He isn't overly athletic, and despite doing well at LT for Bama last year, I think he isn't athletic enough to play there in the NFL. I think he is an average RT in the NFL, and will be able to offer depth there in the mold of Marshall Yanda. His best position is without doubt at center, but he could excel at both guard positions too. He reminds me of a younger Matt Birk, who was a 6 time pro bowler with Minnesota. I too believe that if you are going to pay your QB and RB big money, you better invest into an elite Oline. We have the receivers, we need a better Oline. If Barrett Jones is on the board, I won't be surprised at all if Ozzie makes the pick.
If we don't end up with Barrett Jones, there is another guy I really like who hasn't really been mentioned here at all. Mario Benevides is a sleeper out of Louiseville. Here's a guy who compares heavily with Chris Myers. He is the most athletic center in the draft, and if we want to shift our focus to the ZBS, he's a guy we should certainly consider in the 3rd to 5th round. He has great size at 6'4 and 300 lbs, but it's all good weight, he carries a lot of muscle for a center, which is why he's so athletic, similar to Myers.
Right now, I'm thinking Eric Fisher (LT, 6'7, 305 lbs) out of Central Michigan in the first round, and Mario in the 4th. That would at least give Gino a chance to prove him self over the offseason as the potential starter, while giving him some legit competition, but wouldn't throw him completely off by drafting Barret Jones.
+1 to both. Very high quality posts right here. Barrett Jones is a fantastic player that really fits what the Ravens want in a player and in an offensive lineman particularly. They value versatility and he is the most versatile lineman in the draft. He can play every position, although I agree his best fit is center. Grabbing him in the 1st would solve C or LG and the team could build off of that to strengthen the OL for 2013.
Regarding Benavides, wow. Quite simply he is one of my favorite players in the entire draft, bar none. Just watch Louisville execute the stretch zone, watch him set up the double team on the backside and get to the second level on the playside, he is VERY impressive. The Chris Myers comparison is very, very accurate. The ONLY problem I see with him is that he is a center only and can't play guard. Will the Ravens want to draft a guy who can only play center when they got Gino Gradkowski last year? If they think he can play guard I would do it. Hell, I'd do it anyway because Benavides has the upside to be one of the league's best centers one day.
I think at this point I'm leaning towards the Ravens getting a blue-chip defender in the 1st (LB, DL, or DB) and then focusing on offense. Once we get healthy on defense I really think they can get back to their winning ways with a new DC and just one more blue-chip player. After thinking about it more I really think they need to continue to funnel talent into offense if they want to see success there.
Re: Way Too Early 2013 Draft/FA Thread: Fixing the Defense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bmorecareful
+1 to both. Very high quality posts right here. Barrett Jones is a fantastic player that really fits what the Ravens want in a player and in an offensive lineman particularly. They value versatility and he is the most versatile lineman in the draft. He can play every position, although I agree his best fit is center. Grabbing him in the 1st would solve C or LG and the team could build off of that to strengthen the OL for 2013.
Regarding Benavides, wow. Quite simply he is one of my favorite players in the entire draft, bar none. Just watch Louisville execute the stretch zone, watch him set up the double team on the backside and get to the second level on the playside, he is VERY impressive. The Chris Myers comparison is very, very accurate. The ONLY problem I see with him is that he is a center only and can't play guard. Will the Ravens want to draft a guy who can only play center when they got Gino Gradkowski last year? If they think he can play guard I would do it. Hell, I'd do it anyway because Benavides has the upside to be one of the league's best centers one day.
I think at this point I'm leaning towards the Ravens getting a blue-chip defender in the 1st (LB, DL, or DB) and then focusing on offense. Once we get healthy on defense I really think they can get back to their winning ways with a new DC and just one more blue-chip player. After thinking about it more I really think they need to continue to funnel talent into offense if they want to see success there.
I agree, but I think if someone like Xavier Rhodes (cb out of Florida State) or Keenan Allen (WR out of Cal) are there, they should definitely consider them.