cstjohn17

Luck likely NFL's top pick if he declares - NFL - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

For those front seven fans out there, 14 out of 32 fit the bill.

3-4 End candidates - Nick Fairley, Cameron Jordan, Adrian Clayborn, JJ Watts, Cameron Heyward, Marcell Dareus, Clayborn

3-4 OLB candidates - Robert Quinn, Bowers, Von Miller, Akeem Ayers, Aldon Smith, Ryan Kerrigan, Jeremy Beal

serifyn

out of that list, this is what ive heard about these guys.

Nick Fairley - Beast, almost unblockable DE top 5 pick. any team could fit him into their system.

JJ Watts - Seen this guy mocked to the patriots alot at the 32-33 slots, he figures to be a pretty good fit.

Marcell Dareus - top 10 pick from Alabama, nick saban connection might help, he anchors the Alabama D line.

Cameron Heyward - ive seen him mocked to the patriots anywhere from 10 to 64, which should give you some idea of not only his fit (poor mans richard seymour), but he is wildly inconsistent for such a high pick.

Robert Quinn - top 15 talent would probably be top 10 or top 5 if he wasent suspended for the year for selling jerseys or something. he is a great rush linebacker.

Da'quan Bowers - top 5 talent who is Unblockable, mostly gaining recognition from this year as it is a statistical behemoth.

Von Miller - ive heard he is a pure rush linebacker, which is something the patriots dont like, they like versatility, maybe if this guy dropped to the late 2nd or 3rd round.

Ayers - Great coverage guy with alot of versatility, but is fairly weak for pass rushing atm. i think the patriots would put more value on this guy than most. tracks down ball carriers well, did well in a leadership role which is something the patriots value (spikes, chung, mayo).

Ryan Kerrigan - top 20 backer but a little slower which would worry me in coverage, but he compares to Brandon Graham from last year, who obviously the patriots had no shot at but there was some buzz about.

Jeremy Beal - ive seen this guy mocked all over the place, from the middle of the first to the back of the 2nd, apparently he is tremendous work ethic which obviously the patriots would value. has at least 7.5 sacks in 3 seasons. he is fast and athletic. ive seen him mocked to the patriots alot.

cstjohn17

Nice write up, the more opinions the better.

Quick comment on Kerrigan. He is quite a bit taller than Graham, better fit for what the Patriots look at from a Height \ Weight perspective. Sure he is slow, but all Patriot OLBs have always been slow. I don't think they have ever had a guy who ran under 4.75 and they don't tend to cover a lot, they drop into zones in the flat but don't chase TEs down the field. IMO people over emphasize speed for Patriot LBs.

patchick

I can think of two: Adalius Thomas and Shawne Crable. Of course, they tend to support your point.

I think people quite naturally look to Ware and ('roids-era) Merriman as the physical prototypes. If you can find that kind of speed in that size body, so much the better.

Marqui

Willie Mac as well.

cstjohn17

Big Willie may have been fast at USC but by the time he played for BB he was on the decline. I doubt he could break the 4.8 barrier during his peak years 2001 - 2005, plus he was a top 4 pick. Also I never so #55 covering anyone down field, only in the flat.

MaineMan

Out of all the top OLB prospects I've seen/read about so far, Kerrigan appears to be the best fit for the BB 3-4, maybe the best high-rated prospect in quite awhile. There's a lot more 3-4 Ds in the NFL now, so there will likely be a lot of competition for him that may tend to drive his price up out of range, though.

DE for the BB 3-4 is another story. Honestly, none of the most popular prospects has impressed me as being anywhere near the next Richard Seymour or even 1st-round worthy (for the Pats). The only guy I've seen as being consistently decent is Watt, and I barely see him as 2nd-round worthy.

jsull87

as long as we come up with another OLB comparable to Cunningham in this draft i am happy. i think this D is a more consistent pass rush (specially on 3rd down) away from being a top 10 D consistently.