Film Review of 2014 Draft Class

[dantheman41]

I dont know about all that....not sure you can really say a guy that had 100 solo tackles in a 13 game season struggles with tackling. Maybe you just watched an off game or something.

And I only found tape on Kirksey vs Nebraska and he looks just ok to me. A little stiff for my liking. I'd worry about his ability to handle the transition from Big 10 athletes to NFL athletes. He'd be an ok pick around the 4th round but not much higher.

Yes rewatching kirksey I was a little disappointed. Liked him better first time I saw him. But still think he very natural in coverage.

I watched 4 or 5 shazier games.. The amount of tackles means nothing. Bruce Carter had over 100 tackles and most people would say he played bad.

Every game I watched of him he whiffed on several tackles. I even watched him again last night and saw the same things

 

[dantheman41]

Stanley Jean-Baptiste (Nebraska) Scouting Report

Positives: Unbelievable size and length. Has experience playing different types of coverage, both off and at the line. Both man and zone. Gives little separation. Good tackler. Makes a lot of stops in running game, and does a nice job of getting off blocks.

Negatives: Easily fooled by play fakes and play action. Do not see great athleticism or catch up speed. Has difficulty covering speedy receivers. Not a physical player for a guy his size. Does not always play the ball in the air.

How he could fit on this team: Can play either outside spot

Overall feeling: Really hard to get a good read on this player. Doesn't WOW me. Kind of like Roby for me in the respect that he makes a lot of plays, but gives up a lot of plays. But he certainly has some good attributes. I see him get beat a lot down the field. Usually its off a play fake or a speedy receiver.

 

[dantheman41]

Terrance Mitchell (Oregon) Scouting Report

Positives: Good size. Plays off and man. Can play physical at times when he needs to. Has enough quickness to cover the slants. Gets his hands on a lot of balls. Very good at press man to man when he gets an opportunity to jam receivers. Play maker with the ball in his hands.

Negatives: Not an overly athletic player. Doesn't have great speed or natural ability. Is not overly good at any one thing.

How he could fit on this team: Can play either side.

Overall feeling: Doesn't get me overly excited. Probably my least favorite corne reviewing so far, not because he isn't good, but because I don't see anything special in me.

 

[dantheman41]

Bashaud Breeland (Clemson) Scouting Report

Positives: Good size and length. Plays with nice awareness. Good when balls in the air goes and goes and gets it. Possesses above average catch up speed. Good at getting his hands on receivers and jamming them. Willing tackler. Not fooled by fakes or option plays. Has experience playing outside and in the slot. Nice job of covering the underneath routes. Plays both zone and man at times. Plays very physical with receivers and frustrates them. Excellent vertical ability.

Negatives: Plays a little too upright in his hips. Difficulty turning and running with receivers at times. Does not possess great movement skills fluidity. Needs to improve his technique.

How he could fit on this team: Play either corner spot.

Overall feeling: Like him. Reminds me a lot of the the Florida kid Purifoy. Little raw, but has really nice athleticism and rarely gets beat. Does not have the ceiling of Purifoy, but I think he is a really good player. Rarely lets receivers get by him.

 

[dantheman41]

EJ Gaines (Missouri) Scouting Report

Positives: Really good tackler. Excellent against the run and getting off blocks. Plays outside and in the slot. Nice recovery speed. Does not allow big plays.

Negatives: Undersized. Does not possess great athleticism or explosion. Do not see make a lot of plays. Does nothing outstanding.

How he could fit on this team: More of a zone cover corner. Plays 5-10 yards off every receiver. Can play all the corner spots.

Overall feeling: Not a huge fan. Bend but not break player. Gives up small plays and screens, but usually makes the tackle almost immediately. He is a typical cover 2 corner who is a really good tackler. The thing that worries me is he undersized and he isn't super explosive or athletic. He also had the benefit of having one of the best pass rushes in the country so he wasn't exposed.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Shayne Skov (Stanford) Scouting Report

Positives: Big, strong physical linebacker who can really move. Excellent tackler, always gets ball carrier on the ground. Really good size. Does a nice job of getting off blocks. High motor guy. Makes a lot of tackles. Really good side to side speed. Tracks and runs down ball carriers.

Negatives: Did not see used in a coverage a lot, worries me.

How he could fit on this team: I would play him either at Mike or Strong side linebacker in this scheme. Has the ability to play either.

Overall feeling: Really really good football player. Really like this kid. Hard to find negative about him. Does everything really well. This kid deserves more hype then he's getting. What a pleasant surprise. I don't see a huge discrepancy between him and Mosley. Much better to me then Borland.

Skov has issues in his background. I like him very much but we would need to really check him out to make sure the issues are not too significant. I am not certain of what the issues were, I think he was suspended form the team in 2012, but then again, I haven't really looked to try and find out.

 

[DoctorChicken]

Skov has issues in his background. I like him very much but we would need to really check him out to make sure the issues are not too significant. I am not certain of what the issues were, I think he was suspended form the team in 2012, but then again, I haven't really looked to try and find out.

Skov tore his ACL in 2011, and he used to be really over-aggressive. He took out a lot of players because he was just lunging at them.

 

[dantheman41]

Skov has issues in his background. I like him very much but we would need to really check him out to make sure the issues are not too significant. I am not certain of what the issues were, I think he was suspended form the team in 2012, but then again, I haven't really looked to try and find out.

Thanks for the insights guys!

 

[dantheman41]

Keith McGill (Utah) Scouting Report

Positives: Ridiculous size and length. Gets his hands on a lot of balls. Difficult to escape his length. Plays physical. Good blitzer. Good catchup speed. Very solid tackler. Plays ball really well in air. Does not get beat down the field for long receptions. Play maker.

Negatives: Terrible hands, drops a lot of interceptions. Doesn't always play full speed, jogs a lot, especially in the running game. Long strider, has tough time against short quicker routes. Better in man to man then off coverage. Worry about his quickness covering across the field routes.

How he could fit on this team: Can play either outside spot, lacks the quickness to move inside.

Overall feeling: Good player with excellent size. I think because of his size, he will be taken early. I really like him, but he does have some worries. He makes a lot of plays!

 

[dantheman41]

Jaylen Watkins (Florida) Scouting Report

Positives: Has experience playing both corner and safety. Very fluid hips and feet, can turn and run. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. Excellent tackler. Good quickness. Can play all over the field, including in the slot. Really good in the run game.

Negatives: Lacks ideal size. Doesn't play with the greatest awareness, especially when the ball is in the air. Not a ball hawking player. Created very few turnovers in college.

How he could fit on this team: Can play anywhere.

Overall feeling: Reminds me of a poor man's Orlando Scandrick. Doesn't have the quickness of Scandrick, but similar play style. Good player, but nothing to get excited about in my opinion.

 

[dantheman41]

FINALLY! On to the offense now. Will review offensive tackles starting tonight

 

[dantheman41]

Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama) Scouting Report

Positives: Shows really quick feet in his backpedal. Imposes his physicality on defenders. Dominates in the running game. Gets to the 2nd level in the run game. Generates little movement against bull rushes. Really strong and stout player. Really powerful hands, when he gets his hands on you, you are done. Does a good job against outside rushes.

Negatives: Holds a lot, and gets a lot of hands to the face penalties. Raw in the passing game. Gets beat by quick inside moves against rushers who possess good hands. Has a difficult time in space in the passing game. Plays a little too upright, and looks like he's on ice at times. On the ground a lot.

How he could fit on this team: Right tackle.

Overall feeling: Some things to like, but more that worry me. He was really exposed in his pass protection at times. Gave up a lot more pressures then I would want for a 1st round player. Between that and his penalties, I would not want this player. I think he has some nice characteristics, but to me, he is more of a 2nd round player.

 

[KingintheNorth]

Jaylen Watkins (Florida) Scouting Report

Positives: Has experience playing both corner and safety. Very fluid hips and feet, can turn and run. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. Excellent tackler. Good quickness. Can play all over the field, including in the slot. Really good in the run game.

Negatives: Lacks ideal size. Doesn't play with the greatest awareness, especially when the ball is in the air. Not a ball hawking player. Created very few turnovers in college.

How he could fit on this team: Can play anywhere.

Overall feeling: Reminds me of a poor man's Orlando Scandrick. Doesn't have the quickness of Scandrick, but similar play style. Good player, but nothing to get excited about in my opinion.

Fun fact..he is Sammy Watkins' half-brother.

 

[dantheman41]

Jake Matthews (Texas A&M) Scouting Report

Positives: Fundamentally sound player. Excellent at getting to the 2nd level. Excellent at finishing and sustaining blocks. Really athletic. Easily handles speed rushers. Excellent in the passing game. Picks up stunts effortlessly. Plays smart.

Negatives: More of a finesse player then a mauler. Struggles with players that are powerful and have a good bull rush.

How he could fit on this team: Can play either tackle spot.

Overall feeling: Love this kid. I don't see a whole lot of flaws in his game. He is going to be an awesome player. Needs very little development. Instant impact player. Good in every aspect of the game. Could add some strength, but that is about it! Rarely allows any pressures on QB.

 

[dantheman41]

Fun fact..he is Sammy Watkins' half-brother.

Lol yeah I know. Only if he was as talented.....

 

[dantheman41]

Greg Robinson (Auburn) Scouting Report

Positives: Huge ceiling! Unbelievable athlete for a man his size. Very, very powerful. Really good in space. Does a really nice job with reach and pull blocks. Gets to the 2nd level in a flash. Dominates in the run game.

Negatives: Does not always finish or sustain blocks. Little raw in using his tools. Needs to refine his footwork and his pass protection skills.

How he could fit on this team: Can play either tackle spot.

Overall feeling: Really like what I have seen. His ceiling is through the roof. He is not as refined as Jake Matthews, but his ceiling is higher. I prefer Matthews, but Robinson is a heck of a player. Has potential to dominate in the run and passing game. Already dominates in the run game.

 

[Afigueroa22]

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Thank you for doing this.

 

[Afigueroa22]

Calvin Pryor (Louisville) Scouting Report

Negatives: Always goes for the big hit. Not the greatest form tackler. Not used in a lot of man coverage, so hard to gauge his overall coverage ability.

I agree about his tackling, but I think that can be fixed.

 

[dogberry]

Really enjoying all the reading.

Thank you Dan.

Ok, question, Robert Mathis got 19.5 sacks as an OLB. But for many years he was a DE. He is 6 foot two and 246 pounds. Does this open up a lot of players to be DEs for the Cowboys? The 246. Dee Ford?

 

[Donny Phoenix]

Great reads. Thank you for the hard work. When you get to evaluating the RBs, would you please take a look at James Sims from Kansas? 'Preciate ya!