Scouts Views on OL prospects (Bob McGinn)

[perrykemp]

Bob McGinn's writeups of OL prospects:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/draft19g-rt9i5uh-203726121.html

 

[MonsterD]

Brennan Williams had a wonderlic of 35 and Jon Cooper had a 34

 

[MonsterD]

What's up with the third scout and his line "I know everybody loves him, but he scares the hell out of me."?

 

[visionary]

this is why i would love an extra rd 3 pick this year

if we miss out on cooper in rd 1, we could go

3a: Schwenke/Barret Jones (OC)
3b: Winters/Thomas (OG)

and have both those positions set

if we really wanted to rebuild the OL, we could take Chris Faulk/Brennan Williams in 4 or Reid Fragel/Bakhtiari in 5-6 as developmental OT

this is a real good year to get value on OL if we are smart

 

[Smith22]

Thanks for the good read

 

[DBOY3141]

this is why i would love an extra rd 3 pick this year

if we miss out on cooper in rd 1, we could go

3a: Schwenke/Barret Jones (OC)
3b: Winters/Thomas (OG)

and have both those positions set

if we really wanted to rebuild the OL, we could take Chris Faulk/Brennan Williams in 4 or Reid Fragel/Bakhtiari in 5-6 as developmental OT

this is a real good year to get value on OL if we are smart

I thought I read something that said the Cowboys were not big fans of Barret Jones.

 

[visionary]

I thought I read something that said the Cowboys were not big fans of Barret Jones.

its possible, i dont recall

point is, there are options this year

 

[DFWJC]

I thought I read something that said the Cowboys were not big fans of Barret Jones.

That comment that NFL players will "just march him back to the QB" was not too thrilling.

The other guys liked him though.

 

[DFWJC]

Brennan Williams had a wonderlic of 35 and Jon Cooper had a 34

UNC

But it sounds like Brennan Williams may be one of those smart guys who doea not love football.

Cooper just sounds almost too good to be true though.

 

[visionary]

That comment that NFL players will "just march him back to the QB" was not too thrilling.

The other guys liked him though.

we will make him feel right at home then

 

[Angus]

Very good information, perrykemp. Thanks!

 

[Oh_Canada]

UNC

But it sounds like Brennan Williams may be one of those smart guys who doea not love football.

Cooper just sounds almost too good to be true though.

Yup and scouts are pretty convinced Cooper can play all three interior positions, meaning he will probably go before Warmack and most likely before the Cowboys pick.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I would love to have another 2nd or 3rd round pick but honestly, we could probably fix this line with what we have.

If, and that's a big question mark, Cooper falls to us, then I think we would take him. However, I really don't know that he will. I think the Cowboys are looking at an OT but I'm not certain which one. I doubt that any of the top 3 reach us so it's probably Fluker, Long, Watson or Pugh. Could be Armstead as well but I doubt that the Cowboys would consider him as a guy who could come in and play in his 1st season. There are way to many things wrong with his game at this point. I think it's one of the other 4 mentioned but not necessarily any of the 4. I think the Cowboys have their eyes on 1 or 2 of them specifically. All of these guys could be there in the 2nd or 3rd round.

I think we could follow up with a guard in the later rounds. I think that there is a chance that Warford, Winters would be available in the 2nd or 3rd rounds. I also think that a Bailey or a Thornton would be there in the 3rd to 5th rounds.

There is also the possibility that you could look at Long, Fluker, Thomas or Pugh as Guards, which they could probably project to, and consider taking a Watson, Baktiari, Armstead, Painter, Quessenberry, Mills, Fragle or Faulk to develop and sign a Clady or a Winston as a stop gap. Lots of ways we can go at OL in this draft because it is really deep.

 

[RS12]

4. D.J. FLUKER, Alabama (6-4 ½, 334, 5.31, 1) - Fourth-year junior and three-year starter at RT. "Road-grading right tackle all the way, but somebody could try him at guard," one scout said. "He'll come off the ball and knock you out. Every once in a while he gets in trouble with his (pass) set. If he doesn't get any width and depth, he doesn't have the feet to get wide. I liked (Bryan) Bulaga a lot, but this guy is the same thing except he's stronger and as competitive. Maybe not as smart." Several scouts expressed major reservations about Fluker's study and work habits. "Great kid, but you don't want him doing your taxes," said one. Attended three high schools (spent senior year in Foley, Ala.) after his family was forced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. Effervescent personality. Emotional leader of national champion Crimson Tide. "He's an Aaron Gibson type," a third scout said. "He's got real long arms (36 ¾). At the point, he gets on you. Fluker won't pull. He's similar to (the Vikings' Phil) Loadholt. He'll have some problems with speed rushers. I like his demeanor, but I worry about his quickness."

You mean Aaron "I ate my way out of the league" Gibson?

 

[Idgit]

Regarding Fluker: ""Great kid, but you don't want him doing your taxes." Lol.

 

[xwalker]

3. JUSTIN PUGH, Syracuse (6-4 ½, 304, 5.15, 1-2) "He doesn't have the feet to play out on an island. He is ornery. Good technician. He's high intangibles. He bends well enough. He's a second- or third-round guy that will be a solid player for a long time."

??? Great feet is his primary asset. Many reports say that he might have the best feet of any of the OL prospects.

4. KYLE LONG, Oregon (6-6, 312, 4.96, 1-2) - Hall of Famer Howie is his father. Chris, his older brother, is a Rams DE. "If his last name was Smith he wouldn't be getting all this publicity as a first-round pick," one scout said. "He'd be just kind of a middle-of-the-road plugger guy inside. He's getting a little overhyped." Went to Florida State in 2008 as a fire-balling, left-handed pitcher. Didn't attend college in '09 and admitted at the combine to "chemical dependency."

8. RICKY WAGNER, Wisconsin (6-6, 309, 5.17, 3) "Didn't do real well in the Senior Bowl," a third scout said.

That might be the understatement of the year. He was beaten like a rented mule in the Senior Bowl by both power and speed.

1. TRAVIS FREDERICK, Wisconsin (6-3 ½, 316, 5.56, 2) - "He's just a bad athlete . . . surprisingly bad," another scout said. "Usually those Wisconsin guys aren't top-flight, but he just doesn't move very well. Great (intelligence), effort, the whole deal."

3. BARRETT JONES, Alabama (6-4 ½, 308, 5.44, 3-4) - " Can't run a lick and coming off Lisfranc ligament surgery in January. "People in that league just take him and march him right back to the quarterback," said another scout. "He's pretty good to the second level . . . but he has no strength or power." Will need the right type of NFL O-line coach because he can be a know-it-all.

 

[xwalker]

Every year I become less and less impressed with NFL scouts. I can only judge by the ones that talk to the media or the ones that have become media guys, but Wow, they say a lot of things that come across as underwhelming analysis.

I guess the pool of people to pick from when hiring a scout is limited. First, they probably need to have a background playing football which eliminates a large percentage of the population. Then you take out all of the people that became coaches and the remaining pool of talent is small.

At some point, and maybe it already here, teams are going to start looking at people that didn't play football but have superior analytical skills. Maybe money-ball in baseball is an example of analysis over gut-instinct.

 

[Rack]

I didn't see a wonderlic for Fluker. Did I miss it or did he not take it?

 

[Rack]

Every year I become less and less impressed with NFL scouts. I can only judge by the ones that talk to the media or the ones that have become media guys, but Wow, they say a lot of things that come across as underwhelming analysis.

I guess the pool of people to pick from when hiring a scout is limited. First, they probably need to have a background playing football which eliminates a large percentage of the population. Then you take out all of the people that became coaches and the remaining pool of talent is small.

At some point, and maybe it already here, teams are going to start looking at people that didn't play football but have superior analytical skills. Maybe money-ball in baseball is an example of analysis over gut-instinct.

 

[jterrell]

First, great stuff from McGinn.

Sucks that the DMN used to be the go-to place for this type of info and now we have to scour Wisconsin papers....

Nothing too shocking in any of that to me and a lot of what I believe.