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Originally Posted by Direckshun
Say what you will, but if I can call Phillip Gaines two months in advance of Dorsey drafting him, then he's got a type.
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Considering Gaines had the perfect combination of Size, length, speed, and coaching to FIT in Sutton's defense, it wasn't a far off pick at all. In fact, I had him ranked #3 on my list of "guys" for this system in terms of measurables and talent, and drafting positional value. You're not alone, nor are you some magical fortune teller that called it without anyone else saying a thing lol. Interestingly enough, Gaines is playing better on special teams in the NFL than ANY talking head ever gave him credit for, assuming he'd be a "nickel" corner type who saw a limited role on ST. Fastforward to now and he's a ST stud who's about to see some serious time going forward in this defense with Owens and Berry both out. I could totally see him on the outside in a few of these packages.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Direckshun
ILB Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State -- A high tide raises all boats, as they say, and it's natural to assume that the recent groundswell of love for Benardrick McKinney is due to the Bulldogs' ascent to the #1 spot. The problem is, however, I can't remember being less enthused about a player supposedly projected to go somewhere in the top three rounds of the Draft. There's no question he's a very large LB even by NFL standards: 6'5" (!!!), 250 lbs, a truly imposing presence on the field. But I can't pinpoint anything he does that screams "draft me." As you'd probably expect for a guy this size, he's horrid in coverage. The Bulldogs play primarily zone coverage with their 'backers, and McKinney is utterly lost in it, either out of position or (far more frequently) in no man's land. He doesn't eat up space well at all -- he looks like he runs a 4.8 at best -- and he's not remotely a sideline-to-sideline player. Truth be told, he's built to ransack the line of scrimmage, but he's not particularly great there, either. He has good gap integrity, but he frequently gets washed out and struggles to shed blocks. His passrushing is nonexistent, as can be expected for a guy who drops into coverage close to 100% of passing downs, and his tackling is woeful as well. There might be a team somewhere that loves his measurables and think they can turn him into a quality thumper. (It is curious to me that Mississippi State puts a guy his size constantly deep into coverage.) As of now, I'd consider passing on him until deep into the draft.
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Uhhh, I think you're off a little on this one, especially in regards to his pass rush and him being a sideline to sideline player.
That being said, like I said in the other thread, he's a thumper with a pass rush who I don't see being the prototypical "signal caller" type that we're going to need to replace DJ with. He's more of a Jovan Belcher type, and I"m okay with that.