PonyExpress

When people have discussed “Work-out Wonders” Wimbley has escaped scrutiny. Lawson has been mentioned, but Lawson was highly productive over a two year period in college. Also, contrary to the popular belief, watching NCState you will see that Mario Williams was not regularly double teamed. Some have tried to discredit Lawson’s production by saying it was a byproduct of the heavy attention paid to Williams. I don’t see it that way at all. Lawson’s production was genuine. I would say McCargo, the DT, was the beneficiary of both Lawson and Williams and is quickly becoming one of the most overrated players in the draft.
But getting back to Wimbley, if you had never laid eyes on him you would say he is a marginal prospect. Poor against the pass compared with his draftable peers, marginal production against the run over the past two years, and lacking in durability. Yet, after the offseason process, he suddenly is a top-12 pick. People claim he is this year’s Demarcus Ware. First of all, that comparison is faulty because Wimbley isn’t the athlete Ware was. For example, Ware (6’4’’ 251) had 27 reps, ran a 4.56 40, had a 4.08 short shuttle, a 10.93 long shuttle, and a 6.83 3-cone drill, Wimbley (6’4’’ 248) had 24 reps, ran a 4.61 40, 4.49 short shuttle, an 11.80 long shuttle, and a 6.97 3-cone drill. The agility drills set them apart by a wide margin. So what is it about Wimbley that has drawn so much attention? My conclusion is that he is your classic “looks like Tarzan” case. There is no denying the cat looks like Tarzan in shorts. He is a certifiable beast. And he did well at the senior bowl. But so did Gabe Watson… where is the production? Wimbley showed up in the Miami game to open the season, and pretty much disappeared until the VT game in the ACC championship, where he had some good contain on Marcus Vick. To me, this says he turns it on when the TV cameras are on, and goes through the motions the rest of the time.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Wimbley is a stalking horse. Sounds conspiratorial, but Wimbley’s surge to the top of the charts is hard to justify. If the Pats take him at #21, as Pro Football Weekly suggests, I will be shocked.

Box_O_Rocks

Wimbley was a mirage in the Senior Bowl alright, blowing by lead-foot RTs and being easily handled by a TE rated barely adequate in blocking skills.

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bucky

Wimbley has decent production in his Sr year. His ESPN profile also mentions that he missed significant time this year due to injuries. One thing I remember is how that guy on the NFL network was praising Wimbley's form in the pass-rushing drill during the combine.

I think he's one of those hard-to-judge prospects BB was talking about becuase of his limited playing time. I guess his pass-rushing ability is hard to overlook though. He could be a John Abraham type of player. I agree with you though that Lawson is a better prospect based on production.

PonyExpress

To be honest I made a mistake in my analysis of Wimbley. I said he had good contain on Marcus Vick of VT in the ACC championship. I meant good contain against Michael Robinson of PSU in the Fiesta Bowl. I believe Wimbley missed the ACC championship with an injury. So I screwed up- just letting you know.

stinkypete

PONY, great post. I've been as confused as you about Wimbley. Lawson was clearly the more productive player in college, against both pass and run, and he's faster in the 40 and the short shuttle. I think if any DE/OLB pass rusher type gets piched top 12-15, it's going to be Lawson.

patchick

I'm relieved to hear I'm not the only one. Wimbley didn't even crack the starting lineup until his senior year and played no LB in college. His measurables are excellent, but not mind-blowing -- behind both Lawson and Mark Anderson, both of whom had far more impressive college careers. And he didn't dominate in post-season appearances. But he has all the buzz.

PonyExpress

The NFL.com profile on Wimbley is pretty much on the money as I see him. http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/wimbley_kamerion

patchick

Thanks for the link! Want to see something funny? Try browsing through that site's evaluations of Wimbley, Lawson, Carpenter, Tapp, Kiwanuka, even Gocong and Wyche...every single one starts of with something like "X was a frustrating player to evaluate..." And in almost every case the reason cited was inconsistency. According to that evaluator, the only talented and consistent 3-4 LB prospect in America is A.J. Hawk (and maybe Greenway).

PonyExpress

I believe the author of those pieces for GM jr is Russ Lande, a former scout for the Browns. He seems like a very irritable fellow. I can picture him throwing things at the screen watching these poor kids play...

drewdagreat

Wimbley was a monster last season. Was the ACC sack leader(a conference which had Mario Williams, Manny Lawson, and Kiwanuka), before getting injured. He's a beast.