mcsully

Kiper sides with fans - The News-Herald Sports : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

No one is 100% right with their projections on players but in this article, the written mentions a couple of interesting notes Kiper makes

"Reminds me a great deal of the Patriots' Mike Vrabel (matthews)"


"but when he was asked to name the top pass-rushing linebacker in the draft, he did not name Curry.

The best pass rushers are Larry English from Northern Illinois and Clay Matthews from USC,"



Very interesting.. My thought process is if the Pats draft a OLB (we can debate what player in another thread) they can move AD Thomas inside with Mayo.. This would allow Vrabel and Crable (or Redd or who ever) to rotate.. It would seem to me you would strengthen the middle and build talented youth at the OLB position..

Metaphors

Both are risky if the presumption is that they are taken in the 1st round. English has questions about quality of competition. Matthews only has one season of meaningful snaps. That defense was LOADED and so Matthews got very little focus (meaning double-teams, chipping, etc).

In the games I saw, he pretty much played with his hair on fire to get into the backfield. While that isn't a bad thing, he also didn't have to play with much discipline because the players behind him could cover up when he lost containment. I also recall seeing him play exclusively on the LOS.

Both of them could turn out to be solid NFL players, but I think they are significant risks as 1st round selections.

Richter

I don't think anyone had Curry as the best pass rusher in the draft anyway. Great all around type guy, but he's not an edge rusher by any stretch of the imagination. The best guy in my mind for just pure pass rushing will be Everette Brown, but whether or not he can play standing up is a matter of debate.

dryheat44

Are we really attaching value to Kiper's evaluation skills?

Hairdo has his uses. He seems to have sources on NFL clubs who feed him information about who their considering....and some even tell him the truth.

Fact it, he's a worse talent evaluator than most of this forum.

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BradyManny

Agreed - I wait for Mayock's take on things. He gave Reiss a few tidbits yesterday:

Mayock, the Patriots, & outside linebackers - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

patchick

...and even so, Matthews finished the season with a whopping 4.5 sacks.

Good player, great guy, but it's flat-out bizarre that Kiper would call him the country's #1 pass rusher. Matthews may be setting a record for the fastest turnaround from shift to overrated.

aaron spacemuseum

I really think our best option to bite the bullet and take Sintim with #23. He's the only one that can challenge for a starting spot based on his experience in the system. We'll get chided by every prognosticator for "reaching" when we MAYBE could have gotten him with the SD pick, but it's too risky to let every 3-4 team get a crack before we pick second. I could EASILY see Mangina going after Sintim in the second round or GB or DEN using their two on him.

I think English is another good option who maybe has a higher ceiling, but I don't think he could have the same type of immediate impact. Maybin scares the hell out of me. Immature players do not mix with BB and that's the vibe I get from him.

Box_O_Rocks

Kiper has Matthews as his #1 pass rushing OLB!

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patchick

It's beyond wrong to just plain weird.

Richter

Especially given not only his lack of production in that department, but all the talent he had around him that covered up his weaknesses and allowed him to just attack the line like a screaming banshee. I'm not a Matthews guy, as in I don't think he's a first round pick. He's more like a third rounder, he looks somewhat limited athletically, great motor and terrific bloodlines, but he doesn't have the skills or track record to make you think he's a better pass rusher than a whole host of guys that are ahead of him.