RS12
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In close paraphrase and some direct quotes, here are some of the thoughts he shared:
–DJ Hayden was worth the trip to Houston. According to this scout, Hayden “was the second best corner I saw all year” before his freakish injury. The ruptured vein in his chest “is obviously a big concern” but he added that team doctors would worry about that and he was ordered by his GM to evaluate Hayden strictly for his on the field prowess. On that front Hayden “is probably the best ballhawk in this draft. He gets to outside throws better than anyone”. His 40 time at his workout affirmed the speed, as this scout had him at 4.36 and “that’s about what he plays at”. Without the injury Hayden would have been a Senior Bowler and almost certainly would have been a top 50 pick. Now? “I’ll be surprised if he isn’t drafted Friday”, which means before the end of the third round according to the scout. I’ve felt around about Hayden with others and heard much the same, with the constant caveat that the medical evaluation is paramount. This scout was unsure of how his team doctors evaluated him but confirmed they have done so.
–Houston LB Phillip Steward also made a positive impression on this scout during the season, much moreso than I anticipated. He raved about Steward’s cover skills and natural instincts in the passing game. “There’s not many college linebackers that have a feel for passing routes like (Steward).” The 26 bench press reps earlier in the day made an impression, as the biggest knock on Steward is his lack of size and strength. He is small at 6’0.4” and 237 pounds (up from 230) but showed off 4.6 speed and very smooth in position drills. The scout gave me an interesting comparison for Steward: Dannell Ellerbee. His team will consider Steward as early as the 5th round.
–I asked him to compare and contrast Luke Joeckel and Lane Johnson, two of the top tackles in the draft that are widely expected to be top 12 picks. Note that this is a regional scout who has not closely evaluated Eric Fisher, but he has seen both Joeckel and Johnson in person in both practices and games. Joeckel “is the real deal. Love his feet. Love his feet.” He raved about Joeckel’s technique and athleticism, though said the latter attribute was “being played up too much above his waist.” The scout liked Johnson but sees more of a project than many do. “He’s still too deliberate with his feet” and he went on to talk about a practice session at Oklahoma where the OL Coach spent a long time working with Johnson about stepping into his punch and widening his base on his slide step. “Joeckel doesn’t have those issues” though he did add that he feels Johnson is a better run blocker in space than Joeckel.
–Staying on Oklahoma, the scout surprised me some with his thoughts on QB Landry Jones. He told me that he felt Oklahoma’s offense stymied Jones and “dumbed him down”. He advised me that the Sooners coaches emphasized being a game manager but that when he saw Jones asked to make plays he was a much better quarterback. “He feeds off confidence and he felt like the coaches didn’t trust him enough” to turn him loose and let him attack. Jones nailed their Combine interview, showing a more complete understanding of running an offense than showed in his play. I do not see Jones this way at all, and that led to an animated but amicable discussion on Jones’ prospects. The discussion ended with this quote, “Like it or not, someone is going to take Landry Jones on Friday night”. I emptied my Dos Equis rapidly on that note.
http://www.detroitlionsdraft.com/20...ut/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
–DJ Hayden was worth the trip to Houston. According to this scout, Hayden “was the second best corner I saw all year” before his freakish injury. The ruptured vein in his chest “is obviously a big concern” but he added that team doctors would worry about that and he was ordered by his GM to evaluate Hayden strictly for his on the field prowess. On that front Hayden “is probably the best ballhawk in this draft. He gets to outside throws better than anyone”. His 40 time at his workout affirmed the speed, as this scout had him at 4.36 and “that’s about what he plays at”. Without the injury Hayden would have been a Senior Bowler and almost certainly would have been a top 50 pick. Now? “I’ll be surprised if he isn’t drafted Friday”, which means before the end of the third round according to the scout. I’ve felt around about Hayden with others and heard much the same, with the constant caveat that the medical evaluation is paramount. This scout was unsure of how his team doctors evaluated him but confirmed they have done so.
–Houston LB Phillip Steward also made a positive impression on this scout during the season, much moreso than I anticipated. He raved about Steward’s cover skills and natural instincts in the passing game. “There’s not many college linebackers that have a feel for passing routes like (Steward).” The 26 bench press reps earlier in the day made an impression, as the biggest knock on Steward is his lack of size and strength. He is small at 6’0.4” and 237 pounds (up from 230) but showed off 4.6 speed and very smooth in position drills. The scout gave me an interesting comparison for Steward: Dannell Ellerbee. His team will consider Steward as early as the 5th round.
–I asked him to compare and contrast Luke Joeckel and Lane Johnson, two of the top tackles in the draft that are widely expected to be top 12 picks. Note that this is a regional scout who has not closely evaluated Eric Fisher, but he has seen both Joeckel and Johnson in person in both practices and games. Joeckel “is the real deal. Love his feet. Love his feet.” He raved about Joeckel’s technique and athleticism, though said the latter attribute was “being played up too much above his waist.” The scout liked Johnson but sees more of a project than many do. “He’s still too deliberate with his feet” and he went on to talk about a practice session at Oklahoma where the OL Coach spent a long time working with Johnson about stepping into his punch and widening his base on his slide step. “Joeckel doesn’t have those issues” though he did add that he feels Johnson is a better run blocker in space than Joeckel.
–Staying on Oklahoma, the scout surprised me some with his thoughts on QB Landry Jones. He told me that he felt Oklahoma’s offense stymied Jones and “dumbed him down”. He advised me that the Sooners coaches emphasized being a game manager but that when he saw Jones asked to make plays he was a much better quarterback. “He feeds off confidence and he felt like the coaches didn’t trust him enough” to turn him loose and let him attack. Jones nailed their Combine interview, showing a more complete understanding of running an offense than showed in his play. I do not see Jones this way at all, and that led to an animated but amicable discussion on Jones’ prospects. The discussion ended with this quote, “Like it or not, someone is going to take Landry Jones on Friday night”. I emptied my Dos Equis rapidly on that note.
http://www.detroitlionsdraft.com/20...ut/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
