mayoclinic

I'd love to see him on the Pats, and am glad to hear someone else laud him. Morgan's been on my short list for 4-3 DE/3-4 elephant for a while. He's a bull, and reminds me a bit of Shawne Merriman in his prime (without the attitutde or steroid issues). He's been pretty unstoppable this year. He may not have quite us much athleticism as Carlos Dunlap, Everson Griffen or Jason Pierre-Paul, but his motor is unreal and so far this year he can't be blocked. I've been hoping he flies under the radar and falls to the Pats. He won't put up quite as eye-popping combine numbers as guys like Griffen or Dunlap, which may help.

Right now I have him 1A just behind Greg Hardy as my top pick at the position and as someone who would clearly merit a 1st round pick.

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ctpatsfan77

Remember that the Pats have to operate on an "expected value" principle, especially with regard to the first few rounds. I'm not yet convinced that the net gain from taking Campbell would justify taking him, even if he were available.

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mayoclinic

I expect he'll go top 15 if he comes out and we won't know the answer. But I certainly see a top OT as value in the late 1st round. It's hard to argue against keeping the OL and DL strong. As great as Mayo has been for us at a position of extreme need, I still sometimes think whether we should have taken Ryan Clady #10 in 2008.

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BritPat

Any thoughts on Dezmon Briscoe?

I know he's a Junior and plays in that funky offense, but he's having a fine year and could crack Day 1 if he keeps on producing.

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mayoclinic

This from ESPN Insider today on Derrick Morgan:

"Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan turned in an impressive performance in the Yellow Jackets' 30-27, overtime victory over Wake Forest, showing why many scouts rank the junior as a first-round lock. Morgan did a great job anchoring and disrupting against the run, including a second-and-4 play on the first possession of overtime on which he blew up a lead block from Demon Deacons FB Mike Rinfrette, forced Josh Adams to chance direction and allowed his teammates to clean up the play for a 4-yard loss. Morgan also victimized Rinfretti earlier in the game as a pass rusher, running through him on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 24. Wake was driving in Georgia Tech territory for the potential game-winning score, but Morgan came off the edge and exploded through Rinfretti before getting to QB Riley Skinner, forcing a punt and keeping Tech alive. Both plays showed the explosiveness Morgan has in his hips. He overwhelmed the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Rinfretti and made game-changing plays when his team needed them most. Morgan has the frame (6-4, 268) and power to be an effective 4-3 end, and though we haven't seen much of him dropping into coverage we don't doubt the he could do so as a 3-4 rush end. Morgan has all the tools NFL teams look for and is shooting up draft boards. Given how well he is playing and that it's hard to see him getting out of the first round, chances are Morgan is headed to the next level after this season."

I assume when they say "3-4 rush end" they mean "3-4 OLB", since they are talking about dropping into coverage.

I think Morgan will be another young Shawne Merriman as a 3-4 OLB, without the attitude. He will overpower people. And I think he's athletic enough to stand up and play the elephant.

Scouts Inc.: Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan is shooting up NFL draft boards. - ESPN

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BillBelichickFan79

I haven't seen this guy play much so I am going to try to catch some of his games in the coming weeks, but hearing you compare him to Shawne Merriman makes him extremely intriguing. I love Shawne Merriman (minus the roids and attitude) and was hoping maybe we would take a shot at him in free agency this year, but if we can land this guy in the draft I'd much rather that. Shawne Merriman talent minus the attitude and knee injury plus a cheaper contract = perfect for our OLB need.

mayoclinic

Right now I have Morgan and Greg Hardy neck and neck as my #1 defensive prospects. I think there's a good chance one or both of them may fall to the 20's and be within reach of where we pick. Hardy has been injury prone. Morgan is absurdly productive, but I think that players like Carlos Dunlap, Sergio Kindle and Everson Griffen (assuming all juniors declare) are likely to come out of the combine wowing people with their workout numbers, so that Morgan and Hardy may slip just a little bit. I certainly hope so.

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glm

So what do you guys think of Sean Weatherspoon?

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16 game average:
Points: 28.778
Yards/G: 416.778

Brady: Yards-4869 TD-34 INT-10
Moss: Catches-103 Yards-1584 TD-12
Welker: Catches-113 Yards-1177 TD-7

Pats D:
Points: 16.667
Yards/G: 304.556

mayoclinic

We've talked about him a bit on this board. I started a thread a couple of months ago about him:

Sean Weatherspoon

My thoughts are currently something like this:

1. He clearly is one of the elite coverage, pursuit and tackling LBs in the country.

2. Prior to this year I thought he was purely a 4-3 weakside backer without the size or physicality to play for the Pats.

3. He has now bulked up to the 245+ range without a loss of speed. Now he reminds me more of Patrick Willis than anyone since Willis came out. I think he could be a dynamic playmaker at both 3-4 WILB and 4-3 WILL, making plays all over the field. He and Mayo could be terrific together.

4. With us playing more 4-3 mixed with 3-4 I could see hybrids who can play both schemes being highly prized, and could see him being in the mix for the Pats.

5. With that said, Gary Guyton's development this year has made Weatherspoon somewhat of a luxury. They bring the same kind of skill set. Weatherspoon might be more talented than Guyton but Guyton has a 2 year head start. Tyrone McKenzie also has some of the same kind of skills. Someone like Rolando McClain or Eric Norwood is a better complement to what we already have than Weatherspoon.

6. Given the need for pass rushers (not Weatherspoon's forte), I'm not sure I can see prioritizing a player like Weatherspoon over a top rusher like Greg Hardy or Derrick Morgan. I don't think Weatherspoon will last pass the first round with teams like Atlanta and New Orleans being good fits for him.

So right now he'd definitely someone I'm keeping my eye on and in the mix as a possibility, but he's not someone I consider at the top of my list. But I like him a lot as a player.

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mayoclinic

Here's a recent article on Idaho OG Mike Iupati, who I like a lot for the Pats:

Vandals' Iupati is a 'goofy kid,' NFL prospect | Idaho Vandals Sports | Idaho Statesman

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