I really respect your opinions Box, but how were they projects in a similar sense to Barwin is?
Both had produced at the college level.
How did Barwin not produce?
As for how they were projects:
- Wilfork: Switching from being a one-gap to a two-gap DL is a major change, per BB himself.
- Meriweather: Was he a S or a CB project? Let's look at the timeline.
---- In 03 BB drafted two CBs, but had to convert one to S.
---- In 04 he drafts two Safeties and another CB late and signs a UDFA (Gay) trying to build depth at CB.
---- In 05 he drafts a CB and a S because he needs depth at both.
---- In 06 he went offense, but still drafted a DB who played both SS and CB in college.
---- In 07 he drafts a S and a CB. Only in 07 he drafts the S in round one when the depth at CB is Hobbs, an oft injured Gay, and a Franchised Samuel...and he had three Safeties whom he considered starters.
---- Hypothesis: Meriweather was intended to be a CB (despite the reservations expressed by others). He was subbed in for Samuel in his early days as a rookie, he didn't take a lot of Safety reps until later in the season when he began playing the Dime package. Using Meriweather as a CB to 'develop his coverage skill' for Safety could just as easily be done using him as a FS or Nickelback, positions he would have been expected to play. Working him at CB only makes sense if you were considering him for CB. With Asante playing under the Franchise Tender, it sure looked like BB was hoping to using the ballhawking Meriweather to replace him - when that didn't work BB doubled up on CB in the 08 draft and signed two veterans, then had to sign O'Neal after losing his veterans.
I believe Meriweather set a precedent, a "project" meant for a position change, who had a fall back if he didn't work at the new position.
An argument can be made that the switch to OLB from DE is more challenging than either of the two moves above. This will hold true for all but Clint Sintim amongst the LB projects, and Sintim is going to be just as challenged in coverage as the rest of them.
Some of the folks who insist BB needs to draft a "safe" choice in round one, a player who can produce immediately, are also noting how BB can take BPA in round one because there are no holes in the current roster. If there are no holes, taking a project hurts only if there's no return on investment, Barwin has TE and STs to fall back on if he never makes it as an OLB.
