since Tom Ciskowski went to North Carolina

[Bob Sacamano]

I decided to look at some potential draft picks:

the obvious one is WR Hakeem Nicks, the best UNC prospect available

then I looked at WR Brandon Tate, that's a little obvious since we would like to have a dominant returner

my eyes lit up when I thought about SS Trimane Goddard, he's likely to go undrafted, picked in the 7th round at the earliest, but he's an interesting guy, not quite the athlete of Gerald Sensabaugh, also from UNC, Goddard is a ballhawk (7 INTs in '08), can cover receivers, TEs, and RBs in the short-to-intermediate area, pretty good athlete (4.19 short-shuttle, 9'10" broad jump, 6.86 3-cone at his Pro Day), he's not overly fast though (4.68 40, 1.57 10-yard), but he has the instincts to overcome those

[Woods]

His cone drill and 10-yard split was pretty good.

[jterrell]

I'm not sure Tom C has that Lacewell bias.

He seems to be pretty much a straight on value guy.

We haven't really been scooping up UNC guys.

All that said Butch Davis does have Cowboy ties.

[Doomsday101]

Would love to get Nicks in this draft if he is still on the board

[RS12]

You forgot Brooks Foster athletic freak, productivity--not so much.

[Bob Sacamano]

You forgot Brooks Foster athletic freak, productivity--not so much.

I thought about him, but we already have a couple of developmental, athletic freaks in Stanback and Austin

[cowboyjoe]

if you listen to the tape where butch davis is talking to tom c.... he says this guy is a beast, but you have to stay on top of him, keep him underneath your thumb

so to me, it has to be a top player, very talented player, but needs someone on him night and day,

[Chocolate Lab]

Anyone hear about Nicks showing up at Pro Day fat? Apparently 15 pounds or so.

Makes me wonder if he was the one Butch was talking about.

[Doomsday101]

Anyone hear about Nicks showing up at Pro Day fat? Apparently 15 pounds or so.

Makes me wonder if he was the one Butch was talking about.

Nicks weighed in at combines at 212 but played at 215 in the 08 season for NC

Analysis
Positives: Passes the eyeball test. Good initial quickness off the snap. Good strength and lateral agility to fight through press coverage. Sneaky downfield speed. Good burst out of his breaks to generate separation, especially on slants. Rare body control for a player of his size. Can contort his body in space to make the spectacular reception. Sticky hands. Can snatch out of the air or absorb with his body when he feels an impending big hit. Knows where the sidelines, down markers and, most importantly, end zone are. Good height and leaping ability for the fade. Rare strength, balance and agility to turn short and intermediate catches into long gains. Good vision to cut back against the grain. Improved with each year of experience. Might just be scratching the surface of his potential.



Negatives: Questionable deep speed. May lack the top-end speed to challenge defensive backs over the top, allowing savvy NFL defenders to close off the crossing routes on which Nicks generated much of his success. One of three legitimate NFL-caliber receivers for the Tar Heels, and capitalized on defenses spread thin.



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[big dog cowboy]

Would love to get Nicks in this draft if he is still on the board
He won't get out of the first round.