#31 - 1st Round - Philadelphia, Mike Patterson, DT, USC

[Hostile]

Eagles select...Mike Patterson, DT USC.

[StonetheCrow77]

reggie brown

[Juke99]

Mike Patterson, DT, USC
Height: 5:11.4 Weight: 292

Overview: One of the premier nose guards in the collegiate ranks, Mike Patterson was nicknamed "Baby Sapp," as his style of play is very similar to that of Oakland's Warren Sapp. Both rely on their suddenness off the snap, instincts and aggression to make plays in the backfield, despite yielding considerable bulk and size to the offensive linemen. Patterson teamed with Shaun Cody to give the Trojans the premier tackle tandem in college football: both garnered first-team All-American honors as seniors. Patterson moved to the Los Angeles area as a high school sophomore to live with a cousin and his family. The All-CIF wrestler and defensive tackle earned Prep Star and Super Prep All-American honors as a senior at Los Alamitos (Ca.) High. He recorded 94 tackles with seven sacks and 18 stops behind the line of scrimmage in his final prep season. He arrived on the Southern California campus in 2001 and expected to redshirt, but injuries forced him on to the field as a reserve defensive tackle for the team's final 11 games. Patterson struggled a bit to adapt to classroom work and the playbook during his first year at USC, but made considerable strides over the course of his career. He finished his rookie year with only nine tackles, but registered three sacks, five stops for losses and caused and recovered two fumbles. Patterson started the first six games of the 2002 campaign at nose guard before shifting to tackle for the next four games, then moved back to nose for the final three contests. He totaled 37 tackles (27 solo) with 5.5 sacks, 11.5 stops for losses and four fumble recoveries. During the Trojans' march for a share of the national title in 2003, Patterson had a career-high 55 tackles (36 solo) with seven sacks, 13.5 stops for losses of 61 yards and returned three fumble recoveries for 68 yards. Those figures earned the nose guard first-team All-Pac 10 Conference honors. As he entered his senior year, Patterson was the subject of constant double-team coverage. Despite those stacked odds, it was he doing the stacking (and disengaging) at the line of scrimmage, as he earned consensus All-American and All-Pac 10 Conference honors as a senior. He recorded 45 tackles (25 solo) with six sacks, a team-high 16 stops behind the line of scrimmage, two forced fumbles, a conference-high four fumble recoveries and two pass deflections. The three-year starter finished his career with 146 tackles (96 solo), 21.5 sacks for minus-139 yards, 46 stops for losses of 213 yards, four forced fumbles, 13 fumble recoveries (team record) and three pass break-ups.

Analysis: PositivesPatterson has excellent quickness and plays with recklessness and an aggressive style. He shows good pursuit speed to cover ground from sideline to sideline. Might be a little too short to play the two-gap system, but his explosion, long arms and strength make him ideal to handle the trash and double teams at nose guard. Patterson plays very quick in the short area, as his clocked 40-yard speed indicates. Does a very good job of avoiding blockers and making plays. In the past, he needed to use his hands more to shed quicker, but showed marked improvement in this area as a senior. Now uses his hands effectively to hit and shed, moving down the line to make the play. Can anchor and read, doing a nice job of taking a side to beat the blocker or attack the gap. When he is quick to spot the plays, he reacts well to blocking schemes and is stout at the point of attack, consistently getting leverage and getting his feet free. At times, Mike will run underneath blockers and that causes him to take a bad angle, causing him to then has to chase down the ball carrier from behind. Plays with a high motor and is quick and sudden coming off the edge of a blocker. His brute strength (Patterson earned several weight lifting honors with the Trojans) and wrestling experience makes him a very disruptive force, as he gets a lot of his tackles (one third) in the backfield. He keeps a low center of gravity versus the run and can anchor and neutralize with his lower body strength and very long arms. Extremely difficult to block one-on-one because of his power and low pad level. Physical hitter, wraps up strongly and is a good pass rusher with above average foot speed to fight through traffic en route to the quarterback. A little slow recognizing the run and pass, but has the foot speed and to get there once he spots the play. Patterson shows a great short area burst and has good change of direction skills. Gets adequate depth dropping back in zone coverage and breaks on the ball well, but struggles with his man to man cover skills, resulting in him generally being replaced in nickel situations. Can easily beat the single block with his speed and power. Effective pushing the pocket if the center attempts to block him and can also do it when the center gets help. Will rip or swim off the bull rush and has a very good burst to push and close the pocket. Patterns his play and is even nicknamed "Baby Sapp," in honor of Warren Sapp, but his backfield penetration agility is superior to that of the once-dominant Oakland Raider.

Negatives

Agility tests: 4.83 in the 40-yard dash. ... 520-pound bench press. ... 700-pound squat. ... 410-pound power clean. ... 34-inch vertical jump. ... 9'9" broad jump. ... 32-inch arm length. ... 9 -inch hands. ... Right-handed. ... 27/31 Wonderlic score.

High school: Attended Los Alamitos (Cal.) High. ... Earned Prep Star All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-Western Region, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best of the West second-team, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County, Orange County Register All-Orange County first-team, Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team first-team and All-Sunset League honors as a senior. ... Posted 94 tackles, 18 stops for losses and seven sacks in 2000. ... As a junior, his honors included All-CIF Division VI Defensive MVP, Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team second-team and All-Sunset League first-team honors. ... Patterson also was an All-CIF wrestler at Los Alamitos.

Personal: Sociology major. ... His family lived in Sacramento, but he moved south and lived with relatives in order to play football at Los Alamitos High. ... His sports hero is NFL star Warren Sapp (his nickname is "Baby Sapp"). "He's my favorite player, for sure," Patterson said. "He was one of the short guys and we have similar body types. He worked very hard and now he is one of the best. So that's who I try to emulate. I try to work really hard to be the best. We have different attitudes, but I love the way he plays. But I don't hear the 'Baby Sapp' nickname much anymore. It's almost like I'm finally making a name for myself."... Born 9/01/83. ... Resides in Los Alamitos, California.

Information provided by NFLDraftscout.com, powered by The Sports Xchange

[Eagles-UK]

love the pick as an eagles fan, great quickness great production and outstanding durability, this signals the end for simon almost certainly, potentially now or for some picks in 2006

[Shotgun Dave]

As a Cowboys fan, I hate this pick. He will end up stuffing more than his share of Julius's runs. Great pick by Philly.

[MichaelWinicki]

A real reach in the 1st round. Don't know which pick was worse this or New Englands.

[adbutcher]

^ditto

[Chuck 54]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

A real reach in the 1st round. Don't know which pick was worse this or New Englands.

He was rated almost as highly as the #1 DT in most reports....he's short, but he was probably the best DL on the national champions if you look at production...this kid is quick and sometimes unblockable even by a doubleteam...he just didn't get much press due to being 5'11"

[adbutcher]

Originally Posted by wayne_motley

He was rated almost as highly as the #1 DT in most reports....he's short, but he was probably the best DL on the national champions if you look at production...this kid is quick and sometimes unblockable even by a doubleteam...he just didn't get much press due to being 5'11"

that is short for a kicker. i betcha he has baby arms like pollack, lol.