silverbear
Semi-Official Loose Cannon
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Hos made what I think is a really good point in his "Latin" thread, that being the Boys ought to focus on the offense in this year's draft... I agree with him completely, but at the same time, you don't want to be entirely stagnant in your personnel on the defensive side of the ball... you want to at least bring in a little competition...
With that in mind, and having just worked my way through the defensive prospects on NFL Draft Scout's website, I have come up with a list of players who might go undrafted, but might be worth an offer to come to training camp... here's what I've come up with:
DEFENSIVE LINE
Doug Worthington, DE, Ohio State... 6-5, 286 pounds, 4.9 second 40... the 296th rated player by NFLDS... showed steady improvement throughout his college career, his best ball may be ahead of him... though he was a DT for Ohio State, his NFL future might lie as a 3-4 DE... had 42 tackles as a senior...
Jay Ross, NT, East Carolina... 6-3, 315 pounds, 5.1 second 40... rated 305th by NFLDS... was the anchor of a pretty fair ECU rush defense...
Sean Lissemore, DE/DT, William & Mary... 6-3, 297 pounds, 4.75 second 40... rated 403rd by NFLDS... great speed for a player that size...
Tommie Duhart, NT, Valdosta State... 6-3, 330 pounds, 5.1 second 40... rated 483rd by NFLDS... if nothing else, might make an interesting conversion project to OL...
Kade Weston, NT, Georgia... 6-5, 325 pounds, 5.2 second 40... rated 542nd by NFLDS... started his college career strong, then seemed to regress... perhaps he needs to have a fire lit under him, perhaps he would be better off moving to the OL too... the potential he showed as a redshirt freshman might merit a close look...
DeMarcus Granger, NT, Oklahoma... 6-2, 325 pounds, 5.05 second 40... rated 601st by NFLDS... IF he checks out medically (which is a big "if", he suffered serious injuries his last 2 seasons, including a back injury), he might be a free agent steal... he was looking really good before all those injuries... the problem is, if he does check out medically, some team might grab him late in the draft...
LINEBACKERS
Danny Batten, OLB, South Dakota State... 6-3, 250, 4.65 second 40... rated 249th by NFLDS... might be drafted, might not... played DE in college, will move to OLB in the pros... in his last 2 seasons, he had 160 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 17 sacks... also played some ILB at the Texas Vs. the Nation bowl game, and looked good there...
Arthur Moats, OLB/ILB, James Madison... 6-0, 245 pounds, 4.55 second 40... rated 333rd by NFLDS... a bit of a homer call here, I live about 20 minutes from JMU and follow their program... won the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in FCS this year... had 90 tackles as a senior, 23.5 tackles for loss (tops in FCS), and 11 sacks... can't quite figure out why he's not higher rated by most scouts, unless it's his height...
Tim Knicky, OLB/DE, Stephen F. Austin... 6-4, 245 pounds, 4.6 second 40... ranked 360th by NFLDS... had 41 tackles, 15 for loss, and 12.5 sacks as a senior...
Joe Pawelek, ILB/OLB/FB, Baylor... 6-2, 235 pounds, 4.75 second 40... ranked 368th by NFLDS... what caught my attention here is that NFLDS thinks he might be able to play FB in the NFL; could he be a budding Robert Thomas?? He's had 422 tackles in his college career, and most impressive, 9 career ints... he looks like he might make a nice cover 'backer, though he doesn't have top speed (coaches say he "plays fast")...
Larry Hart, OLB/ILB, Central Arkansas... 6-0, 245 pounds, 4.55 second 40... 401st rated by NFLDS... a very similar player to Moats... in his last 2 seasons, he had 31 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks... simply put, he's a playmaker...
Jarvis Geathers, OLB/DE, Central Florida... 6-2, 240 pounds, 4.6 second 40... rated 422nd by NFLDS... the son of former NFL DE James "Jumpy" Geathers, and a cousin of DE prospect Clifton Geathers, a favorite of many on this forum... Jarvis had 13.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in 2009...
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Rafael Priest, CB, TCU... 5-10, 180 pounds, 4.45 second 40... rated 347th by NFLDS (frankly, I think that's a bit low, and wouldn't be surprised if Priest was drafted in the late rounds)... he's small, but he's a hell of a cover man; he posted 36 pass breakups in 51 games played, doubly impressive when you consider that by his senior season, opposing QBs were staying away from him for the most part...
Shann Schillinger, FS, Montana... 6-0, 200 pounds, 4.4 second 40... rated 388th best by NFLDS... has 249 career tackles and 10 career ints, including over 90 tackles and 4 ints as a senior...
Cornelius Brown, CB/FS, UTEP... 5-11, 195 pounds, 4.4 second 40... rated 465th by NFLDS... I'll admit, this is a pure homer pick, I once attended UTEP and still follow the Miners... I don't get to see them much on TV, but the few opportunities I had this year, it seemed like Brown was always making a play on special teams... he did it again in the Texas Vs. the Nation game, downing a punt inside the 3 yard line, and he also returned a fumble 35 yards for a TD, winning the MVP award for the game... he's only marginal as a cornerback (UTEP's defense was quite awful in 09), but I think he'd be better off in a free safety, centerfield role, and I think he'd be a good special teamer... but of course, I'm biased...
So, there's 15 rookie defensive prospects, only 1 rated in the 295 by NFLDS (Batten), at least 12 of whom will go undrafted... if I was the Boys, I'd have scouts waiting with contracts in hand for several of them...
With that in mind, and having just worked my way through the defensive prospects on NFL Draft Scout's website, I have come up with a list of players who might go undrafted, but might be worth an offer to come to training camp... here's what I've come up with:
DEFENSIVE LINE
Doug Worthington, DE, Ohio State... 6-5, 286 pounds, 4.9 second 40... the 296th rated player by NFLDS... showed steady improvement throughout his college career, his best ball may be ahead of him... though he was a DT for Ohio State, his NFL future might lie as a 3-4 DE... had 42 tackles as a senior...
Jay Ross, NT, East Carolina... 6-3, 315 pounds, 5.1 second 40... rated 305th by NFLDS... was the anchor of a pretty fair ECU rush defense...
Sean Lissemore, DE/DT, William & Mary... 6-3, 297 pounds, 4.75 second 40... rated 403rd by NFLDS... great speed for a player that size...
Tommie Duhart, NT, Valdosta State... 6-3, 330 pounds, 5.1 second 40... rated 483rd by NFLDS... if nothing else, might make an interesting conversion project to OL...
Kade Weston, NT, Georgia... 6-5, 325 pounds, 5.2 second 40... rated 542nd by NFLDS... started his college career strong, then seemed to regress... perhaps he needs to have a fire lit under him, perhaps he would be better off moving to the OL too... the potential he showed as a redshirt freshman might merit a close look...
DeMarcus Granger, NT, Oklahoma... 6-2, 325 pounds, 5.05 second 40... rated 601st by NFLDS... IF he checks out medically (which is a big "if", he suffered serious injuries his last 2 seasons, including a back injury), he might be a free agent steal... he was looking really good before all those injuries... the problem is, if he does check out medically, some team might grab him late in the draft...
LINEBACKERS
Danny Batten, OLB, South Dakota State... 6-3, 250, 4.65 second 40... rated 249th by NFLDS... might be drafted, might not... played DE in college, will move to OLB in the pros... in his last 2 seasons, he had 160 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 17 sacks... also played some ILB at the Texas Vs. the Nation bowl game, and looked good there...
Arthur Moats, OLB/ILB, James Madison... 6-0, 245 pounds, 4.55 second 40... rated 333rd by NFLDS... a bit of a homer call here, I live about 20 minutes from JMU and follow their program... won the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in FCS this year... had 90 tackles as a senior, 23.5 tackles for loss (tops in FCS), and 11 sacks... can't quite figure out why he's not higher rated by most scouts, unless it's his height...
Tim Knicky, OLB/DE, Stephen F. Austin... 6-4, 245 pounds, 4.6 second 40... ranked 360th by NFLDS... had 41 tackles, 15 for loss, and 12.5 sacks as a senior...
Joe Pawelek, ILB/OLB/FB, Baylor... 6-2, 235 pounds, 4.75 second 40... ranked 368th by NFLDS... what caught my attention here is that NFLDS thinks he might be able to play FB in the NFL; could he be a budding Robert Thomas?? He's had 422 tackles in his college career, and most impressive, 9 career ints... he looks like he might make a nice cover 'backer, though he doesn't have top speed (coaches say he "plays fast")...
Larry Hart, OLB/ILB, Central Arkansas... 6-0, 245 pounds, 4.55 second 40... 401st rated by NFLDS... a very similar player to Moats... in his last 2 seasons, he had 31 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks... simply put, he's a playmaker...
Jarvis Geathers, OLB/DE, Central Florida... 6-2, 240 pounds, 4.6 second 40... rated 422nd by NFLDS... the son of former NFL DE James "Jumpy" Geathers, and a cousin of DE prospect Clifton Geathers, a favorite of many on this forum... Jarvis had 13.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks in 2009...
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Rafael Priest, CB, TCU... 5-10, 180 pounds, 4.45 second 40... rated 347th by NFLDS (frankly, I think that's a bit low, and wouldn't be surprised if Priest was drafted in the late rounds)... he's small, but he's a hell of a cover man; he posted 36 pass breakups in 51 games played, doubly impressive when you consider that by his senior season, opposing QBs were staying away from him for the most part...
Shann Schillinger, FS, Montana... 6-0, 200 pounds, 4.4 second 40... rated 388th best by NFLDS... has 249 career tackles and 10 career ints, including over 90 tackles and 4 ints as a senior...
Cornelius Brown, CB/FS, UTEP... 5-11, 195 pounds, 4.4 second 40... rated 465th by NFLDS... I'll admit, this is a pure homer pick, I once attended UTEP and still follow the Miners... I don't get to see them much on TV, but the few opportunities I had this year, it seemed like Brown was always making a play on special teams... he did it again in the Texas Vs. the Nation game, downing a punt inside the 3 yard line, and he also returned a fumble 35 yards for a TD, winning the MVP award for the game... he's only marginal as a cornerback (UTEP's defense was quite awful in 09), but I think he'd be better off in a free safety, centerfield role, and I think he'd be a good special teamer... but of course, I'm biased...
So, there's 15 rookie defensive prospects, only 1 rated in the 295 by NFLDS (Batten), at least 12 of whom will go undrafted... if I was the Boys, I'd have scouts waiting with contracts in hand for several of them...
