Monday, April 13... DE/DT Everette Pedescleaux… 6-5, 305, Northern Iowa… Canada’s Vaughn Martin maybe the biggest defensive line sleeper prospect in the 2009 draft class, but the most intriguing, at least from a pure size/athleticism perspective is Northern Iowa’s Everette Pedescleaux; indeed, Pedescleaux is one of the most intriguing physical specimens on the defensive line period! Pedescleaux was originally recruited at Minnesota as a 6-6, 240-pound basketball power forward who was a ‘Mr. Basketball’ finalist in the state, but switched to football when he arrived on campus. Pedescleaux, though, transferred to NIU after only one year at Minnesota during which he was charged with shoplifting a CD from a local computer store. Pedescleaux, in fact, had rather undistinguished sophomore and junior seasons at Northern Iowa, but blossomed this past fall when he had 6.5 sacks and 5 other tackles for loss despite being double-teamed on most plays. While the production hasn’t always been there, there is no questioning Pedecleaux’s athletic potential. He has grown up to be a full-sized 305-pounder who is very light on his feet and ran just under 5-seconds flat at his pro day workout. Pedescleaux has an especially quick first step for a big man and is a long strider who goes hard in pursuit; he also has long arms and has been a big-play special teamer who blocked 7 kicks during his college career. Pedescleaux has adequate strength - he did 22 reps on the bench at his pro day - and can hold the point of attack, but needs to add strength, although he has the frame to add extra muscle. Pedescleaux, though, is still very raw from a technical standpoint and doesn’t always find the ball. While still raw, Pedescleaux possesses a ton of upside and potential, particularly as a 3-4 DE, although 4-3 teams like the Giants may also be tempted to take a later round flyer on him as a sometime DE who can slide inside on passing downs.
Sunday, April 12... DT Vaughn Martin, 6-3, 331, Western Ontario… NFL teams rarely bother to bring in prospects from Canadian universities which are considered to be about the same level as NAIA programs. There is a big - both literally and figuratively - exception this year, though in emerging Western Ontario DT Vaughn Martin, a huge interior run-stuffer with outstanding quickness and athleticism who has really caught the attention of a number of NFL teams. Martin, in fact, has visited, or will visit, with a number of teams this month including Green Bay, Indianapolis, Carolina, San Diego, Miami, St. Louis and Cleveland among their 30 allowed on-site visits while Houston and the Jets sent scouts north to check to Martin this winter. What they have seen in Martin, a one-time Michigan State recruit who is actually only a redshirt sophomore, is a 330-pound plus mountain of a man who still was able to run the 40 in 5-flat at his "pro day" across the river from Detroit in Windsor, while he also had a 31-inch vertical leap which would have been the second highest figure at the position at the combine. And while Canadian schools don’t invest in weight programs like the big-time U.S. colleges, Martin has good strength and was able to do 33 reps in the bench press which again would have put him in the top 5 among DTs at the combine. What NFL will see on tape from Martin is a very mobile interior defender with excellent lateral quickness and a pretty good motor; he also does a nice job tying up blockers at the point of attack and can hold up against double teams. Martin, though, is still very raw and is limited as a pass rusher, although he has the athletic ability to develop some pass rush moves. Right now, though, he’s a pure bull rusher who needs to work on keeping his pads low when trying to collapse the pocket. Indeed, Martin had just 3.5 sacks in 16 career starts playing against a much lower level of competition than he will ever see in the NFL. If he isn’t drafted or signed as an NFL free agent Martin will be eligible to return to Western where he has 3 years left in the OUAA; in fact, he won’t be eligible for the CFL draft until 2011.The Jamaican-born He also ran the ball in Western's big package for short yardage situations, rushing two times for six yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Saturday, April 11:... Travellin' man... Jason Williams, OLB, Western Illinois; 6-1, 241, 4.45.… No player has made a more dramatic rise on draft boards around the NFL than the Leathernecks’ Williams who has gone from a likely free agent afterthought to a legitimate mid-round prospect in just a couple of months. Indeed, with 11 stops on his calendar already, Williams may be making more pre-draft visits to NFL team HQs this month than any other player in the 2009 draft class. For the record, Williams will visit, or has visited Seattle, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Green Bay, Dallas, Minnesota, New England, Miami, Indianapolis, Tennessee and the Jets. Williams was invited to the East-West Shrine Game where he had a solid week, but then really took off with some outstanding performances at both the Western Illinois and Northwestern pro days. Williams consistently an under 4.5 seconds for the 40 at both workouts with a best reported time of 4.42. Those times would have put Williams nearly a full tenth of a second faster than the quickest LB at this year’s combine. For good measure, the 241-pound Williams also had a vertical jump of 39 inches which also would have been tops among LBs at the combine. And Williams showed on the field at Western Illinois that he is more than just a workout warrior. While still somewhat raw technically, Williams has good football instincts, tackles well in space and is smart player who plays hard. Williams is a big hitter who led the country with a school-record six forced fumbles in 2008 and in fact forced 14 fumbles in his career. Williams is quick off the snap and gets into the backfield in a hurry posting 17 tackles for loss last fall. He can also get after the passer on occasion, although he isn‘t known as a dominating blitzer. Williams also has good agility and has decent range in coverage, although his ball skills are limited. If there is an issue for Williams, its that while he is very effective in space, he doesn’t always get off blocks that well and needs to work on better usage of his hands and arms to disengage.
