Mel Kiper's initial draft prediction

[Bob Sacamano]

the reason Ware and Merriman are such good 3-4 OLB prospects is because they have the ability to drop back into coverage, they have good hip movement and are fluid dropping back and turning around in coverage

since noone has really seen Kiwi drop back into coverage, and haven't really seen how fluid he is, can't say for sure if he could make the transition

[shnagy]

Ware was not proven in coverage. He had no experience in coverage as far as i'm aware. I guess you never know what someone can do until they try. I just think he's an awesome prospect and i would be happy to have him on the team.

[SDogo]

Originally Posted by shnagy

Ware was not proven in coverage. He had no experience in coverage as far as i'm aware. I guess you never know what someone can do until they try. I just think he's an awesome prospect and i would be happy to have him on the team.

I just see it as a bunch of if's and unknowns at a backup position when we have so many other needs.

[Bob Sacamano]

Originally Posted by shnagy

Ware was not proven in coverage. He had no experience in coverage as far as i'm aware. I guess you never know what someone can do until they try. I just think he's an awesome prospect and i would be happy to have him on the team.

true, but in Senior Bowl workouts, Ware showed the ability and fluidity to drop into coverage in LB drills, that's what I'm saying, wait till hear how Kiwi does dropping back into coverage in LB drills, if in fact, team scouts are even entertaining the possibility of Kiwi being an OLB in a 3-4

[Cornish83]

Why isnt OT Scott from Texas on Kipers board?? I think if he is there at 18 we should get him....Ive seen him maul people this year.

[Nors]

Originally Posted by Cornish83

Why isnt OT Scott from Texas on Kipers board?? I think if he is there at 18 we should get him....Ive seen him maul people this year.

This is the time of year where the draftniks have 90 guys graded 1st round and everyone is a top 10 pick. As usual players will slide and some will jump up later in process.

OT is a deep position in this draft and may push them all down. Supply/demand till a run starts on them draft day.

[VACowboy]

Everyone raves about Kiwi but he's never really stood out to me. He's injured a lot.

[marchetta]

Jimmy Williams CB/S Virginia Tech

Strengths
Jimmy is a remarkable athlete. He has excellent speed and size for a DB and can play any of the defensive backfield positions. He has excellent size to handle the big possession WR’s and the impact TE’s at the next level. Jimmy has long legs, long arms and shows good quickness for his size. He is a head up, wrap up, squeeze and drive tackler and has very good strength. Jimmy has the potential to be an impact defensive player at the next level.


Needs to Improve
He needs to settle on one position and learn it. At the college level, his athletic talent has bailed him out of a lot of mistakes. At the next level, this won’t work. He will need to take time to develop and the team that drafts him will need to be patient -- especially until he learns zone coverage’s.


Bottom Line
This kid reminds me of when Brian Urlacher came out. No one was sure what position he would be best at in the NFL. Brian was drafted in 2000 and because of a change of position and injuries, he is really just this year starting to peak. When a team picks Jimmy, he will need a good three to four years before he’ll show his ability to impact on an every down basis. In the meantime, he can help you out and make an impact covering in one-on-one situations the closer you are to the goal line. He should get a lot of interceptions on those fade passes to big WR’s; however, at first, if you play a lot of zone, he will make a lot of mistakes which could hurt your team as he learns. He is a smart kid, don’t get me wrong. I’m talking about football instincts. Because he’s moved around so much, he hasn’t been able to develop those for just one position. Jimmy Williams is way too talented to drop any lower than a top ten pick in this draft, but I have seen stranger things happen. Draft him, but be patient and you will have an impact Pro Bowl player in about three years.

- Drew Boylhart (thehuddlereport.com)

[HTownCowboysFan]

I can't see us using a third #1 on a CB -- especially with the money we gave Henry last season.

[5mics]

Originally Posted by JPM

This is an interesting pick. I don't see him falling to us.
I still too early to get all excited/pissed at a mock draft.

1. Houston -- *Reggie Bush, RB, USC
2. New Orleans -- Matt Leinart, QB, USC
3. Tennessee -- *Vince Young, QB, Texas
4. New York Jets -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia
5. Green Bay -- *Mario Williams, DE, NC State
6. Oakland -- A.J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State
7. San Francisco -- DeMeco Ryans, LB, Alabama
8. Buffalo -- *Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon
9. Detroit -- Jay Cutler, QB, Vanderbilt
10. Arizona -- DeAngelo Williams, RB, Memphis
11. St. Louis -- *Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland
12. Cleveland -- Chad Greenway, LB, Iowa
13. Baltimore -- Tamba Hali, DE, Penn State
14. Philadelphia -- *Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State
15. Atlanta -- Michael Huff, DB, Texas
16. Miami -- *Winston Justice, OT, USC
[View Full Quote]17. Minnesota -- *LenDale White, RB, USC
18. Dallas -- Jimmy Williams, DB, Virginia Tech
19. San Diego -- *Ko Simpson, DB, South Carolina
20. Kansas City -- *Ashton Youboty, CB, Ohio State
21. New England -- Bobby Carpenter, LB, Ohio State
22. Denver (from Wash.) -- Mathias Kiwanuka, DE, Boston College
23. Tampa Bay -- Derek Hagan, WR, Arizona State
24. Cincinnati -- Claude Wroten, DT, LSU
25. New York Giants -- *Ernie Sims, LB, Florida State
26. Chicago -- *Leonard Pope, TE, Georgia
27. Carolina -- *Anthony Fasano, TE, Notre Dame
28. Pittsburgh -- *Antonio Cromartie, CB, Florida State
29. Jacksonville -- Thomas Howard, LB, UTEP
30. Indianapolis -- *Laurence Maroney, RB, Minnesota
31. Denver -- *Darnell Bing, DB, USC
32. Seattle -- *Chad Jackson, WR, Florida

Hmmm, IF Michael Huff was gone then, according to this draft, Mathias Kiwanuka would still be avaialble at #18. I would go w/ Kiwanuka and have him play OLB/DE opposite Ware. Damn, that'd be potentially an awesome pair!!!

[5mics]

Originally Posted by summerisfunner

true, but in Senior Bowl workouts, Ware showed the ability and fluidity to drop into coverage in LB drills, that's what I'm saying, wait till hear how Kiwi does dropping back into coverage in LB drills, if in fact, team scouts are even entertaining the possibility of Kiwi being an OLB in a 3-4

Agreed, I'd like to see how Kiwi tests out as an OLB in the workouts BUT he sure can get after the QB! I know dropping back into coverage is part of being a 3-4 OLB/DE BUT LT and Kevin Greene come to mind as 3-4 OLBs who did pretty well even though they weren't very good coverage guys.....

[Bob Sacamano]

Originally Posted by 5mics

Agreed, I'd like to see how Kiwi tests out as an OLB in the workouts BUT he sure can get after the QB! I know dropping back into coverage is part of being a 3-4 OLB/DE BUT LT and Kevin Greene come to mind as 3-4 OLBs who did pretty well even though they weren't very good coverage guys.....

all true, but look at the responsibilities Ware had this year, alot of coverage responsibilities, the same thing Parcells asks all his OLBs to be able to do, and do it often

dont' have to be good, just be able to do it when asked of

[Nors]

Originally Posted by 5mics

Hmmm, IF Michael Huff was gone then, according to this draft, Mathias Kiwanuka would still be avaialble at #18. I would go w/ Kiwanuka and have him play OLB/DE opposite Ware. Damn, that'd be potentially an awesome pair!!!

Kiwi is 6-7, gangly and lacks NFL strength. He has abou nill chance of having any Roll as a LB in our 3-4. He better prey he lands in the right 4-3 scheme. He'd get eaten alive as a 3-4 DE. He is dropping like a rock, this years Antajj draft day?

[tyke1doe]

Originally Posted by shnagy

Ware was not proven in coverage. He had no experience in coverage as far as i'm aware. I guess you never know what someone can do until they try. I just think he's an awesome prospect and i would be happy to have him on the team.

Did you see his coverage INT in the preseason against the Seahawks?

[InmanRoshi]

Originally Posted by 5mics

Agreed, I'd like to see how Kiwi tests out as an OLB in the workouts BUT he sure can get after the QB! I know dropping back into coverage is part of being a 3-4 OLB/DE BUT LT and Kevin Greene come to mind as 3-4 OLBs who did pretty well even though they weren't very good coverage guys.....

Does anyone think Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Thomas, Kevin Greene, Pat Swilling, Willie McGinnest, Charles Haley with the 49ers, were all multi-year All Pros because they were so phenomenal at dropping back into pass coverage?

Its not like these guys are covering WR's man on man. They're jamming guys at the line of scrimmage and dropping back into a zone. The main transition is a mental one because they have to read the scheme and react accordingly.