The Wulf Den: Senior Bowl Reflections

[Prossman]

You gotta love the guys we can get our hands on the the 3rd and 4th rounds. The trenches really look solid and deep. Thats good news for us being thats were we need the help.

[Wulfman]

Originally Posted by Rack Bauer

I would have liked to see Ansah go up against a half decent tackle tbh. Wagner freaking sucked.

He went up against both Fisher and Johnson at different times in the game as well. He beat Fisher on a dipped shoulder speed move to disrupt the timing of a pass play, and bull-rushed Johnson before sliding off the tackle to get in on a tackle on a running play.

Fisher is going to be a top 10 pick, in all likelihood, and Johnson likely will be a mid-to-late first rounder as well. That's about all you can expect from the guy.

Have to agree about Wagner, btw.

[kjcmeb]

Great recap.....A few thoughts....Ansah is going to be one of those guys that goes under the microscope....as mentioned, boom or bust pick....but, it only takes one team to fall in love with him.....issue for him in college was actually conditioning....and teams are going to have to be 100% sure that he can hold up in a more demanding environment....it does no good to have one of your best players on the sideline on key downs.....if he can show that his conditioning can be fixed, you have him high on your board....if you think that he won't ever be able to be a full time player due to his medical, you don't put him on your board.

Warford - won't make it out of the 2nd round...might even go at the late end of the 1st.....he is a mauler and is so quick on his feet considering how much weight that he carries.....he's one of those guys that "if" you can get him in the 2nd, you have no problem passing on either the kid from Alabama or UNC.

Fisher - love the kid....2nd best OT in the draft....if he somehow slipped to 18, i would have no issue with him.....Mayock thinks that he'll be a top 12 guy.

Johnson - seems like he could be the bottom of 1st or top of 2nd round guy....has the tools.

Long - depends on if he is viewed as an OG or OT....IMO - i agree with the OP that his best work would be in a phone booth (inside at OG).

i would love to see us go DL and OL in the top 2 rounds and look for a S in the 3rd or 4th round......i'd like to see us take a smaller, fast, RB with some wiggle in the mold of J Rodgers or D Sproles too....not an every down guy, but some one that brings energy when on the field....now that felix is gone, we have a spot to invest a middle to late round pick on a RB that couldn't do it every down, but is more of a specialty guy that creates a mismatch when used properly.

[Wulfman]

Originally Posted by kjcmeb

Great recap.....A few thoughts....Ansah is going to be one of those guys that goes under the microscope....as mentioned, boom or bust pick....but, it only takes one team to fall in love with him.....issue for him in college was actually conditioning....and teams are going to have to be 100% sure that he can hold up in a more demanding environment....it does no good to have one of your best players on the sideline on key downs.....if he can show that his conditioning can be fixed, you have him high on your board....if you think that he won't ever be able to be a full time player due to his medical, you don't put him on your board.

Warford - won't make it out of the 2nd round...might even go at the late end of the 1st.....he is a mauler and is so quick on his feet considering how much weight that he carries.....he's one of those guys that "if" you can get him in the 2nd, you have no problem passing on either the kid from Alabama or UNC.

[View Full Quote]Fisher - love the kid....2nd best OT in the draft....if he somehow slipped to 18, i would have no issue with him.....Mayock thinks that he'll be a top 12 guy.

Johnson - seems like he could be the bottom of 1st or top of 2nd round guy....has the tools.

Long - depends on if he is viewed as an OG or OT....IMO - i agree with the OP that his best work would be in a phone booth (inside at OG).

i would love to see us go DL and OL in the top 2 rounds and look for a S in the 3rd or 4th round......i'd like to see us take a smaller, fast, RB with some wiggle in the mold of J Rodgers or D Sproles too....not an every down guy, but some one that brings energy when on the field....now that felix is gone, we have a spot to invest a middle to late round pick on a RB that couldn't do it every down, but is more of a specialty guy that creates a mismatch when used properly.

Nice thoughts, kjcmeb.

Honestly, I don't think Ansah's conditioning is going to be a problem at all. He was a track guy initially at BYU (ran a 10.9 sec 100m from what I understand) and a lot of that training is for burst speed, not the kind of endurance you need to go at a high level for 60 minutes of football. Change the training regimen, and he'll be fine. Also, the reports I've seen say that, off the field, he not only works hard, but takes coaching well. The Cowboys will find out more in their interviews, but I don't think he'll even last to the Cowboys' pick at this point.

I'm inclined to agree about Warford after his performance last week. He'll likely be taken with the 10-15th pick in the second round, assuming his interviews and workouts go well, with a chance to go slightly higher. I don't think he gets into the first simply because there are three other interior O-linemen rated ahead of him (Chance Warmack, Jonathan Cooper, and Barrett Jones), and the position isn't regarded as highly in terms of importance and value as most other positions.

The Cowboys taking a safety in the third or fourth wouldn't surprise me, but for all intents and purposes they already have a fourth round rookie at the position. Matt Johnson never saw the field last year because of his injuries and late start, and many on the coaching staff really think he's going to be a player. I think they'll try to pick up a reasonably priced veteran as insurance against Barry Church not being 100% and roll with that. Not saying it's a good thing, or that they won't jump on a guy if he slides to them in the draft...but if they didn't take one, I wouldn't be surprised either.

At RB, the guy you want them to take to be the change of pace back is already on the roster in Lance Dunbar. The RB they need IMHO is someone who can step in and carry the ball 20-25 times per game if (and when) Murray gets hurt. I think they were hoping Tanner would develop into that guy, and he still might. But he didn't really pick up some of the nuances of the position last year--like blitz pick-up--and he's not going to see the field like that. A guy like Mike Gillislee might not make it out of the 3rd round after his performance last week, but there were some other guys there like Johnathan Franklin from UCLA and Kenjon Barner from Oregon that have fourth round grades on them. And considering the Cowboys love to take high potential, currently injured players, don't be surprised to see Marcus Lattimore from South Carolina get a long look if he's still on the board in the fourth.

[kjcmeb]

Good Point on the safety position.....I tend to forget about Johnson....I know that some people have high hopes for him....I guess that I look at him as fighting for a roster spot at best next year....In terms of Church, I love his game....But, I am worried about him coming back from that type of injury.....So, a veteran insurance policy would be a good thing to have for camp.

As for Dunbar, flashes it from time to time...With Felix looking like he lost his burst, I wonder why Dunbar didn't get more chances when Murray was out......So, I am not 100% sold on him either.

Net - let's get more players on the field to compete for the S and RB positions....May the best players stick regardless of salary or round drafted.

[Wulfman]

Originally Posted by kjcmeb

Good Point on the safety position.....I tend to forget about Johnson....I know that some people have high hopes for him....I guess that I look at him as fighting for a roster spot at best next year....In terms of Church, I love his game....But, I am worried about him coming back from that type of injury.....So, a veteran insurance policy would be a good thing to have for camp.

As for Dunbar, flashes it from time to time...With Felix looking like he lost his burst, I wonder why Dunbar didn't get more chances when Murray was out......So, I am not 100% sold on him either.

Dunbar got more and more looks as the season went on, but I don't really see him as a guy that could step in and start for 2-3 games and be viable, even with an improved O-line. As a change of pace, though, I think we'll see him make some plays next season.

Net - let's get more players on the field to compete for the S and RB positions....May the best players stick regardless of salary or round drafted.

I'm all for that.

[Bluefin]

Originally Posted by Wulfman

I'm inclined to agree about Warford after his performance last week. He'll likely be taken with the 10-15th pick in the second round, assuming his interviews and workouts go well, with a chance to go slightly higher. I don't think he gets into the first simply because there are three other interior O-linemen rated ahead of him (Chance Warmack, Jonathan Cooper, and Barrett Jones), and the position isn't regarded as highly in terms of importance and value as most other positions.

If Larry Warford does well in interviews and workouts, it won't surprise me to see him come off the board late in round one in place of Barrett Jones.

Jones is dealing with an injury and will likely drop much like Peter Konz did a year ago.

Looking past these top rated prospects, the G who has piqued my interest is Arkansas red shirt junior Alvin Bailey, an early entrant.

Bailey appears no better than a 4th rounder at this early juncture and I expect his stock to rise moving forward.

Any thoughts on him or some of the other projected later round guys?

[Wulfman]

Originally Posted by Bluefin

If Larry Warford does well in interviews and workouts, it won't surprise me to see him come off the board late in round one in place of Barrett Jones.

Jones is dealing with an injury and will likely drop much like Peter Konz did a year ago.

Looking past these top rated prospects, the G who has piqued my interest is Arkansas red shirt junior Alvin Bailey, an early entrant.

Bailey appears no better than a 4th rounder at this early juncture and I expect his stock to rise moving forward.

Any thoughts on him or some of the other projected later round guys?

Bailey is my #4 ranked G (I count Jones as a C in my rankings), and I currently have a late 3rd rank on him. If they go a different direction in the first two rounds, he'd certainly be a quality alternative in the third.

As for some other guards that should go in the mid-late rounds, here are three of particular interest for one reason or another:

G Blaize Foltz from TCU (6-3, 329) - On a very inconsistent O-line this year, Foltz was by far the best and most consistent. He's an excellent pass protector, and shows the footwork to be able to shift and pick up blitzers. He hasn't shown the raw strength to dominate in the run game, and is likely a RG prospect only because of it (needing to line up next to a bigger RT). He had a lingering ankle injury early in the season, but improved towards the end as it got healthy. Currently has a late 6th-7th round grade on him.

G Travis Bond from North Carolina (6-7, 330) - As you might expect from his stature, is a road-grader. Biggest problem with his size is that he has to really bend his frame and concentrate to play low. He has gotten better each and every season, and has a fairly impressive record of pancake blocks, as you might expect. Also a RG, and again, late 6th-7th round grade.

G Earl Watford from JMU (6-4, 300) - Smaller school prospect who was the best to be had in the CAA. Member of the All-CAA team, was an All-American, and a team captain, and was the first player from the conference in 6 years to be invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game (and the first ever from his school). Guy is a LG, and a natural leader. His blocking technique is very crisp, and he gave up only one sack on the season. Will likely be seen as the "right type of guy". I currently have a 5th round grade on him, but he could easily climb into the fourth.

I was really watching for something from a center, and the only one who was even really on the radar was Schwenke. But he's more of a technician, zone-blocking guy. Has high effort, and some position flexibility, although he's a little undersized to play G regularly, in my opinion. High motor guy, though. Has a low 4th-5th round grade on him, and could climb into the top half of the 4th with good interviews and workouts.

The others were pretty pitiful and disappointing. In particular, I was hoping to see Braxston Cave show up considering he anchored the line for the Irish last year. But he didn't have a good week by all of the accounts I saw, and was consistently beaten by various DTs in the Senior Bowl. I originally had a 4th-5th round grade on him, but unless he really impresses in workouts and interviews, I could see him sliding into the 6th.

I'll likely have other guys that I like as I watch more film, but those are some guys I'm looking at that are somewhat under the radar.

[Jay]

Sio Moore is the real deal. Was glad to see him getting positive reviews. As a season ticket holder at UConn, it's been a pleasure watching him in a Huskies uniform. I would jump for joy if we could land him.

[Bluefin]

Originally Posted by Wulfman

Bailey is my #4 ranked G (I count Jones as a C in my rankings), and I currently have a late 3rd rank on him. If they go a different direction in the first two rounds, he'd certainly be a quality alternative in the third.

I'll likely have other guys that I like as I watch more film, but those are some guys I'm looking at that are somewhat under the radar.

Thanks.

Alvin Bailey seems to be flying under the radar right now, all the talk is focused on the 1st and 2nd round guys.

I'd love Bailey in round 3 if we go defense earlier.

What about Tennessee T/G Dallas Thomas, whom I look at as a G, is he round two material or will the arm length issue ding his value?

[Wulfman]

Originally Posted by Bluefin

Thanks.

Alvin Bailey seems to be flying under the radar right now, all the talk is focused on the 1st and 2nd round guys.

I'd love Bailey in round 3 if we go defense earlier.

What about Tennessee T/G Dallas Thomas, whom I look at as a G, is he round two material or will the arm length issue ding his value?

I have him rated as a late 2nd, early 3rd. If his position drills show that the arm length isn't an issue, he could rise to the middle of the second round, as he has some built-in position flexibility. Unfortunately for him, I agree that his best position as a pro is at G. He doesn't really have the mass to play RT, and the short arms would be a huge liability against speed rushers on the left side, IMHO. Has decent footwork, so as a G who can be called on to pull in the running game, he should be more than serviceable.

[Sarge]

Great post Wulfie - much obliged.

[justbob]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Great post Wulfie - much obliged.

Ditto ---Thanks Wulf

[burmafrd]

Originally Posted by Wulfman

Bailey is my #4 ranked G (I count Jones as a C in my rankings), and I currently have a late 3rd rank on him. If they go a different direction in the first two rounds, he'd certainly be a quality alternative in the third.

As for some other guards that should go in the mid-late rounds, here are three of particular interest for one reason or another:

G Blaize Foltz from TCU (6-3, 329) - On a very inconsistent O-line this year, Foltz was by far the best and most consistent. He's an excellent pass protector, and shows the footwork to be able to shift and pick up blitzers. He hasn't shown the raw strength to dominate in the run game, and is likely a RG prospect only because of it (needing to line up next to a bigger RT). He had a lingering ankle injury early in the season, but improved towards the end as it got healthy. Currently has a late 6th-7th round grade on him.

[View Full Quote]G Travis Bond from North Carolina (6-7, 330) - As you might expect from his stature, is a road-grader. Biggest problem with his size is that he has to really bend his frame and concentrate to play low. He has gotten better each and every season, and has a fairly impressive record of pancake blocks, as you might expect. Also a RG, and again, late 6th-7th round grade.

G Earl Watford from JMU (6-4, 300) - Smaller school prospect who was the best to be had in the CAA. Member of the All-CAA team, was an All-American, and a team captain, and was the first player from the conference in 6 years to be invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game (and the first ever from his school). Guy is a LG, and a natural leader. His blocking technique is very crisp, and he gave up only one sack on the season. Will likely be seen as the "right type of guy". I currently have a 5th round grade on him, but he could easily climb into the fourth.

I was really watching for something from a center, and the only one who was even really on the radar was Schwenke. But he's more of a technician, zone-blocking guy. Has high effort, and some position flexibility, although he's a little undersized to play G regularly, in my opinion. High motor guy, though. Has a low 4th-5th round grade on him, and could climb into the top half of the 4th with good interviews and workouts.

The others were pretty pitiful and disappointing. In particular, I was hoping to see Braxston Cave show up considering he anchored the line for the Irish last year. But he didn't have a good week by all of the accounts I saw, and was consistently beaten by various DTs in the Senior Bowl. I originally had a 4th-5th round grade on him, but unless he really impresses in workouts and interviews, I could see him sliding into the 6th.

I'll likely have other guys that I like as I watch more film, but those are some guys I'm looking at that are somewhat under the radar.

I noticed Cave did not play well against USC. I am wondering if he is injured or something. He really looked sad at the Senior Bowl practices. For most of the season he had beena very good center.

[CowboysFaninDC]

I am not much for athleticism alone. remember Jason williams. he was 250. ran a 4.3. side line to side line. didn't have a lick of football knowledge. give me football players. who cares if they are a freak athelticiaclly. you don't draft those type of guys in the first or second. you draft football players in the first and second.

leave the freaks for 5th round on down.

Originally Posted by Wulfman

The Wulf Den: Senior Bowl Reflections

Having watched as much of the Senior Bowl practices as I could, and now having seen the game, I'm going to throw out some names that we should be keeping an eye on going forward. There will likely be others once I've had a chance to go back and break down the tape of the game, but from my perspective, there were some guys who helped themselves:

Offense

I liked what I saw from G Larry Warford from Kentucky. This guy is massive, yet showed the ability to get to the second level on running plays. At 343 lbs., he's going to flatten a lot of guys in one-on-one situations. I currently have a third round grade on him.

[View Full Quote]There was a lot of talk about OTs Eric Fisher from Central Michigan and Lane Johnson from Oklahoma, and they dominated during the majority of the workouts. In the game, however, the defensive linemen as a group dominated the offensive linemen, even these two guys on a couple of plays. They're both still legitimate starters at the next level, and I think Fisher is still a lock for the first round. Johnson likely will sneak into the end of the first round as well.

Two other interior offensive linemen I liked were C/G Brian Schwenke and G/OT Kyle Long. Schwenke will be a better C than G at the next level, in my opinion, but does have the quickness to play at the position, especially if you're looking to pull and lead block. Long is likely going to end up playing G instead of OT, but he has huge upside. Has some off-field baggage from Florida State, but you cannot deny his bloodline. He's also only started 11 games, so his upside is huge.

At the skill positions, I liked what I saw from RBs Mike Gillislee from Florida and Stepfan Taylor from Stanford. Gillislee seemed to be the most explosive out of the backfield, and Taylor was far and away the best RB all week. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield as well as pick up the blitz make him one of the few 3-down players available at the position this year. He had a heavy workload at Stanford, but putting him in a RB rotation should prevent him from getting used up too quickly. Taylor right now has a third round grade on him, but will likely go late in the second. As for Gillislee, he may be one of those guys who slides with little reason like DeMarco Murray did. He currently has a 4th round grade, but likely will be targeted by a team towards the end of the third.

When talking about WRs, I was expecting to be talking about Louisiana Tech's Quinton Patton and Baylor's Terrance Williams in this post. Instead, I saw them covered and unable to get open very much throughout the game. Instead, I'll talk about a couple of guys who showed up in a big way: Marquise Goodwin from Texas and Markus Wheaton from Oregon State. Goodwin is going to get marked down because of his size (only 5'9", at best), but he simply got open and caught the ball. And that's what you expect him to do. As for Wheaton, it's rare that you not only see a guy who gets open, but who automatically keeps both feet inbounds coming out of college. For the few that do, it's clearly instinctive, and that's the kind of effort that you have to have at the next level. Wheaton currently has a 4th round grade on him, but a good combine could move him into the third round. Goodwin's lack of size will be used against him, and is one of the primary reason he only has fifth round grade on him. It will be hard for him to get far above that...but he'll be a huge value pick there for the team that takes him. I'll also throw a shout out to Conner Vernon from Duke, the ACC's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. He's not the biggest or the fastest, but he might run the best routes of any receiver that's come through the Senior Bowl in recent years, and he doesn't drop the ball. At the next level, he could develop into a security blanket possession receiver in the Steve Largent mold. I know that's high praise, but I think he has the potential.

Here's a pet cat of mine that showed up: FB Kyle Juszczyk from Harvard. He can get the hard yards inside when he needs to, and lays down some nasty lead blocks. He likely will be available in the 6th round, and could potentially start from day 1.

I'll also say I didn't see much in the way of TEs making plays, but I did like what I saw from Alabama TE Michael Williams. He has the size to be a better than average in-line blocker at 272 lbs., and showed nice hands in his 6'5" frame down the field.I currently have him with a late 5th/early 6th round grade.

I wasn't really impressed with any of the QBs. E. J. Manuel from Florida State made some nice plays with his arm and feet, and several of the others showed good arms. But they were all too inconsistent, and since the Cowboys don't need to look at that position this year, I tuned out fairly quickly. This appears to be a fairly poor year for QBs overall.

Defense

The Cowboys need defensive linemen, and they were on display in a big way in Mobile, Alabama this afternoon. There are a lot of them that I could pick out, but I'll focus on a few that were dominant.

Leading the pack was Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah from BYU. My goodness, this guy is a freak...and yes, I mean in the Jevon Kearse-JPP sense of the word. The biggest question about him was his lack of football experience, but you can't teach what he's got. A 270-pound guy that was running 10.9 in the 100 meters just before he started playing football?!? Are you kidding me?!? He may not have practiced the best through the week, but I'll take the guy who brings it on gameday EVERY time. I know Anthony Spencer is saying that he wants to stay in Dallas, but if Ansah is available at #18 you take him and start him opposite Ware from day 1. The image of those two on the line would make RG3, Eli Manning, and {insert random Eagle QB name here} piss themselves. Officially a pet cat.

There were a couple of other DEs who did well for themselves. Cornelious Washington from Georgia was in the QB's face all day long, and pushed the much-heralded OT Eric Fisher straight back into the pocket on more than one occasion. I only had a 5th round grade on him, so I'm going to have to go back and look at some more film. He certainly played better than that. Also, Datone Jones from UCLA had a nice week of practice and followed it up with a nice game. If you want quick upfield penetration and disruption in the backfield, these two guys brought it.

At DT, there were a lot of guys who played very well. But none was better than Kawann Short from Purdue. This guy was constantly pushing the middle of the pocket, and split double teams to make the tackled for little or no gain on multiple occasions. He has a strong second round grade on him right now, but it's likely now to be a high second rounder with a chance to squeeze into the bottom of the first round.

A couple of other DTs who I particularly noticed on more than one occasion were Jordan Hill from Penn State and Sylvester Williams from North Carolina. Both guys showed an ability to push the pocket and penetrate the backfield, and both beat at least one double team to make a play. Hill would be a 3-technique at just under 300 lbs., while Williams has the size at 320 lbs. to play the 1-technique. Williams has a second round grade on him at the moment, while Hill has a fourth. If there's a run on DTs in the draft, though, I'll be surprised if Hill last that long. I'll also give a shout out to Missouri Southern State's Brandon Williams. He went up against a much higher level of competition this week and showed himself very well. And at 328 lbs., he could be a very nice pick-up in the third or early fourth round.

At LB, a guy the Cowboys should be looking at is Sio Moore from Connecticut. This guy was all over the place making sure tackles, and there was a lot of positive talk about him from the coaches and scouts throughout the week. He has the size to play SLB, and with a fourth round grade, he could be a very nice find. I also liked Vince Williams from Florida State. He played inside for the Seminoles, and I don't know that the Cowboys will look his way unless they think he can play outside as well. But he was delivering some "impact hits" (just for you, CC), and you can't get too much of that. He's currently borderline to be drafted at all, but I think his performance this week will move him at least into 5th-6th round round consideration. If he shows well at the combine, he could climb even higher than that. I also liked Zaviar Gooden from Missouri. He was really flying around to the ball, and with a fourth round grade, he could be a good pick-up.

In the defensive backfield, I was really expecting to see Desmond Trufant from Washington continue the excellent work he'd been putting in all week. But aside from a nice pass defense early in the game, I really didn't notice him at all. Now that could be because he was shutting his man down all night, and I'll have to go back and look at the tape again to see. But he still has a second round grade on him, so he certainly didn't lose any ground.

The guy that made a move up the draft boards at CB was Robert Alford from Southeastern Louisiana. Not only did he have excellent ability at the corner, defending several passes, but started off the game with a 95-yard kickoff return. He also went down and covered kicks, coming away with at least one special teams tackle as well. That's a guy that can contribute immediately and develop into a starter in a few years. He had a third round grade on him coming in, but if he shows well at the combine, he likely moved into the second. Jordan Poyer from Oregon State played well, and solidified his second round draft grade by breaking up a pass that was intercepted by a teammate.

At safety, I was really hoping to see some good things from T. J. McDonald from USC, especially considering his ties with Monte Kiffin. I came away somewhat disappointed. He supported the run well, but was beaten for a TD on a ball where he had perfect position. Granted it was a perfect pass to a tall receiver, but he was there and didn't locate the ball until it was too late. I'm going to leave the third round grade on him for now, and I still think it will be up to Kiffen to determine whether or not the Cowboys will show any interest. The safety they should be interested in, though, is Jonathan Cyprien from Florida International. This guy came in with question marks about his ability to cover, and I never saw him out of position. He laid the wood on ball carriers consistently, and played with a chip on his shoulder. I had a sixth round grade on him, but he's likely not going to make it past the fourth round now, if he even makes it that far. J. J. Wilcox from Georgia Southern also had a nice week despite not doing much in the game. He had a fifth round grade coming in, and it doesn't change on my board.

Having seen what I've seen so far, and recognizing that there are a number of seniors and underclassmen who were not represented today, here's a look at a potential draft just using these guys based on where their stock is currently:

Round 1 - DE Ansah
Round 2 - DT S. Williams
Round 3 - G Warford
Round 4 - LB Moore
Round 5 - S Cyprien
Round 6 - FB Juszczk

Despite not getting another O-lineman, a back-up RB, or a developmental CB, I'd take that draft in a heartbeat based on what I've seen thus far. Of course, some of those draft grades are going to change significantly as the offseason progresses, but that's half the fun of following it.

Considering the depth of quality linemen on both sides of the ball in this year's draft, the rest of the offseason promises to be fun.

Stay tuned...