Senior Bowl week is here and I’ll be tracking events in Mobile up until Saturday’s game.
Of course it was also the East/West Shrine game on Saturday and a chance for prospects to put their name on map following a week of practises in Florida.
ESPN’s Todd McShay reviews who impressed:
Syracuse running back Delone Carter received high praise. Here’s more from McShay:
“Of all the running backs here, Carter showed the most quickness and was the most consistent runner. While he still has weaknesses in his game — he dances around too much at times and is not a great pass catcher — he runs hard. He’s very competitive and fights for extra yards. Much more than we saw on tape, he also showed a good initial burst to turn the corner. We gave him a fourth-round grade off game tape and if nothing else, he showed he is worth of being picking in the mid-rounds after this week.”
Although McShay wasn’t as impressed with Oregon’s receiver Jeff Maehl:
“We expected more from Maehl this week. We knew going in that he doesn’t have the size, but we expected more savvy after watching him on film. He has a lack of burst out of his breaks, a limited strike zone and we saw some uncharacteristic drops. He is a one-speed route runner and doesn’t have the speed to stretch the field. He also lacks suddenness and tempo in his routes. We just wanted more from him this week.”
Probably the best special teams player available in this draft is Iowa punter Ryan Donahue. He was clearly the best punter in college football the last two years, combining accuracy with a strong leg and decent hang time. He was again impressive during the shrine work outs and he should get drafted and provide one team with a solid long term roster-filler.
Rob Rang lists his ten players who did the most to help their stock during work outs.
Sports Illustrated has a photo gallery and review of the prospects participating in Orlando last week.
TFY Draft Insider reports Cameron Heyward (DE, Ohio State) had elbow surgery this week. I was never that high on Heyward and felt he was generally over rated – but this may have a small impact on his stock anyway.
TFY also lists all 56-players granted eligibility for the 2011 NFL Draft.
Looking ahead to the Senior Bowl – Adrian Clayborn (DE, Iowa) will not participate and has been replaced by South Carolina’s Cliff Matthews (a LEO candidate in Seattle). Unsurprisingly the ever-injured Christian Ponder (QB, Florida State) isn’t healthy and won’t attend. Nathan Enderle (QB, Idaho) will work out instead after a solid week at the Shrine practises. ***Update*** – it now appears Ponder has arrived in Mobile after a U-turn.
Charles Davis publishes the rest of his first round mock draft for NFL.com. He has the Seahawks taking Stephen Paea (DT, Oregon) with the #25 pick. In terms of scheme, I’m not sure how Paea would fit. He’s not an ideal fit at the one-technique given his lack of pure size, but can he translate to the Red Bryant position?
Mike Mayock lists his ‘top fives’ at each position with some interesting choices. He isn’t high on Robert Quinn (DE, UNC) and he doesn’t even name five corner prospects.
why can’t Stephen Paea play the 3 tech? I always thought he was clearly a 3 tech.
Alex
Having look at him further, it’s clear he’s going to struggle to offer a consistent pass rush but he’s surprisingly strong against the run for a guy without major size. The problem for Seattle is – he’s not that useful if he isn’t offering any penetration at the three and can he be as succesful vs the run playing in the one? That’s why I think he might be better at the 5-tech in Seattle’s scheme offering that size and ability vs the run that Bryant can without relying on elite pass rush speed.
True. And why would we draft an undersized nose in rd 1? Pure run stuffers (especially undersized ones) can be found late in the draft every year. Cam Thomas last year is a perfect example. Sione Fua is no less of a run stuffer than Paea, but will be available 100 picks later. It seems like taller, longer guys would fit better at our 5 tech. Bryant and Balmer are both 6’4″ and 6’5″ respectively, but Paea is only 6’1″. This is also why I can’t see Nevis on our roster at only 6’1″. It makes a big difference when trying to shed blocks on the outside, and that is why I don’t think he is an option for us at 5 tech. We’ll see how much they are willing to deviate from the established weight of about 320, but Heyward, Wilkerson, Bailey, Jordan, Ballard, and Watt are all 6’5″ and about 290. Could be options early. Jarvis Jenkins and Jared Crick could be options in the middle rounds.
Rob, looking back at our draft needs have you changed your mind on the order of any of them now that the season is done? Walter Cherepinsky published his top needs for us as CB, SS, RT, Left End, #1 WR, G/C, QB, and K. Not that I agree with this, but it is interesting. He also failed to realize that our left end is a 5 tech because he listed Raheem Brock’s possible departure as the reason that we need a new left end.
It’s difficult trying to judge team needs if you don’t follow the team. Nobody can be an expert on every franchise – it’s one of the reasons I’d struggle badly to do a ‘NFL’ draft blog instead. I would hate assuming needs for any other team, so I’m never too critical when others do. However, clearly SS and RT are not bigger needs as QB. I stand by the priority needs that I’ve had pretty much since week 1 – they need to find a long term QB. If that is impossible, then CB, WR and DL would be my suggestions.
Anyone see a guy by the name of Caleb Haine? I was very impressed with this kid! Coming in down 0-14 in the NFC championship in such conditions, he did an excellent job. On that second TD drive, Green Bay was inexplicably playing a very soft prevent, so Haine’s performance on that drive is discounted a bit. But I think the real reason i was so impressed was not the 2 TD drives, but rather the poise he showed in the pocket, and most impressive of all were the throws he was making under pressure. He has an arm on him, throws a tight spiral, and is pretty accurate.
I would love to get this kid somehow because i think he has some talent. But, the more important point is that this guy is a undrafted FA signing, was the 3rd QB on the depth chart and basically has never played in real NFL games. This should tell us that there is plenty of talent in the NFL at the QB position. Gems can be found, and just because their current coaches can’t see their talent doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. The Hawks must make finding a QB their number #1 priority. They don’t need to draft one in the 1st round, but they do need to free up the money and playing / development time that would go to Hass in my opinion.
Anyways, what did people think of Caleb Haine and his potential?
Hanie had a decent performance when he came on. At the same time – Green Bay appeared to be desperate to throw the game away. He faced a lot of soft coverage and made some mistakes to go with a few nice plays. It’s impossible to say how he would perform over 16-games and in a weird way… having the adrenalyne going in that big game probably helps him in a way it wouldn’t in week one. Gems can be found, but they are rare.
His two big plays to Knox were nothing to be proud of. Both were lofted out there like wiffle balls-albeit with good accuracy-and Knox made the plays. Nick Collins’ terrible missed tackle was 20 more yards and a TD on his box score. I was also impressed with his poise and how he stepped up in the pocket for that shallow cross to Greg Olsen, but his arm strength makes him a solid backup at best. Obviously you know this as well as anybody Plyka, but he’s no Bill Stull : )
I think you’ve got this idea that nfl coaches and scouts are so great and rarely make mistakes. Just not true. And I can’t believe that you thought the passes to Knox were weak throws. They were nothing of the June.
Nothing of the kind.
Ya I dunno if we were watching a different game or what but his throw to Knox outside the left numbers was decent (no better than Hass can throw) but his loft out there to the right hash to hit Knox on the shallow cross was terribly weak. Knox made all the yardage on both of them if you watch it again. You probably think Kolb and Flynn are franchise QBs as well. While that may be true, there is literally no proof or anything to base that on other than one solid game from Flynn and two good games from Kolb against terrible defenses. They both have ELITE weapons around them and would likely look like scrubs with our supporting cast. Oh wait you think BMW is an elite WR. So I guess you also probably think that Kolb and Flynn would have a lot of success with our elite weapons as well. You’re definitely entitled to your opinion, but when there is nothing to base it on it deteriorates your credibility.
Haha I know that people mess up on scouts but you saying that Bill Stull was truly special is one of the funnier things I’ve heard in this short 2011. Also how you “did your research” and “figured out” that it was some true freshman. Ya I’m laughing about it again. Obviously its not a big deal, but when the opportunity presents itself, I’m going to make fun of your comment. If it makes you feel any better about yourself, I thought AJ Jefferson was going to be a starting corner after he blew up the combine last year. I believe he went UDFA and is now on Cardinals practice squad so it wasn’t much better than your Stull prediction. The only difference is you verbalized yours with a lot of confidence and got shot down by multiple people on this blog, then got pretty butthurt last week when I poked fun at you about it. Thicken up.
I saw a few guys in the East/West shrine game that could be a good fit for the LEO position;
DE Justin Trattou 6-4 255 lbs Florida: Showed a nice burst and good speed when chasing plays.
DE Chris Walker 6-3 245 lbs Tennessee: He flashed a quick burst, but he may need to put on about 10 pounds to stick at DE.
DE Ryan Winterswyk 6-4 270 lbs Boise St: Good frame, long arms. He has a good motor, plays with good awarness, and is stout agaist the run. He may not have the 1st step quickness as the above players, but he looks like a real solid player.
All three would be good options for the Seahawks in the later rounds of the draft.
I also really liked Boise St SS Shiloh Keo (5-11 215 lbs). Keo is a poor man’s Troy Polamalu. He has a quick burst and acceleration, although I’m not sure how fast he is, and is a fiery player. He blocked a extra point attempt in the game. He has 11 career interceptions and I believe he lead his team in tackles this year. He looks like a mid-round prospect.