Wes Bunting's 3-4 Prospects

[dryheat44]

Somehow he left of Suh, Hardy, and Jones, but it's a start point, even if some of the D-linemen are awfully light:

Top 3-4 defensive prospects | National Football Post

 

[cstjohn17]

Thanks but no longer relevant, we are now a Tampa 2 team. LBs are 215, DTs are 260.

Selvie is a kid worth watching.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Thanks but no longer relevant, we are now a Tampa 2 team. LBs are 215, DTs are 260.

Selvie is a kid worth watching.

I'm fairly sure BB did not plan on dumping the 3-4 completely and permanently.

In any case, even if the Pats run a 4-3 exclusively for the rest of the season, I don't think it's going to be the "same" 4-3 everyone else runs.

 

[mayoclinic]

Strange list. Bunting left off 2 of the best 3-4 DE prospects, Syracuse senior Arthur Davis and Florida junior Leonard Marsh. Not to mention Pittsburgh junior Greg Romeus and Troy senior Brandon Lang as 3-4 OLB prospects.

 

[dryheat44]

Strange list. Bunting left off 2 of the best 3-4 DE prospects, Syracuse senior Arthur Davis and Florida junior Leonard Marsh. Not to mention Pittsburgh junior Greg Romeus and Troy senior Brandon Lang as 3-4 OLB prospects.

Arthur Jones. He was the Jones I was referring to in to OP

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Strange list. Bunting left off 2 of the best 3-4 DE prospects, Syracuse senior Arthur Davis and Florida junior Leonard Marsh. Not to mention Pittsburgh junior Greg Romeus and Troy senior Brandon Lang as 3-4 OLB prospects.

Even though he is not the greatest run stupper in college, I agree Romeus should have been on the list.

Lang looked so pitiful against Florida, easy to see why he was left off.

If McClain makes it past Pittsburgh, we have to take him at #32.

 

[mayoclinic]

Even though he is not the greatest run stupper in college, I agree Romeus should have been on the list.

Lang looked so pitiful against Florida, easy to see why he was left off.

If McClain makes it past Pittsburgh, we have to take him at #32.

He would get serious consideration, but it depends who else is available, where our 2nd round picks are, and where he ends up being projected. ILBs have a tendency to fall. Not sure I take him over Jonathan Dwyer, or possibly Sergio Kindle. Would you take him over your boy Dunlap?

I'm still not sure I don't like Eric Norwood better as an SILB. But McClain should definitely be on any short list, not doubt about that.

 

[sebman2112]

I've got my eye on junior Derrick Morgan. From NFLDraftScout:

"Morgan's early season success has him flying up draft boards. Morgan, who has 5 sacks over his first two games, was especially dominant last week in a nationally televised game against Clemson. Morgan had a game-high 10 tackles, a personal-best four tackles for loss (13 yards), and three sacks (nine yards). I've spoken to NFL scouts who believe that when it is all said and done, Morgan could leap ahead of SEC stars Greg Hardy (Ole Miss) and fellow junior Carlos Dunlap (Florida) to be the highest rated DE potentially available for the 2010 NFL Draft."

"The junior cannot be blocked one-on-one."

6'4" 272lbs is about the correct size for an elephant in NE's 34, and if they play more 43 I could see him being effective as a DE, as well.

 

[mayoclinic]

I've got my eye on junior Derrick Morgan. From NFLDraftScout:

"Morgan's early season success has him flying up draft boards. Morgan, who has 5 sacks over his first two games, was especially dominant last week in a nationally televised game against Clemson. Morgan had a game-high 10 tackles, a personal-best four tackles for loss (13 yards), and three sacks (nine yards). I've spoken to NFL scouts who believe that when it is all said and done, Morgan could leap ahead of SEC stars Greg Hardy (Ole Miss) and fellow junior Carlos Dunlap (Florida) to be the highest rated DE potentially available for the 2010 NFL Draft."

"The junior cannot be blocked one-on-one."

6'4" 272lbs is about the correct size for an elephant in NE's 34, and if they play more 43 I could see him being effective as a DE, as well.

Interesting. I'll have to keep my eye out for him.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Ironically, if you visit the NFLdraftscout link, it mentions that he was tried out at OLB during the game on Thursday, and really struggled in space. He lacks the awareness in space required of a top-flight OLB. That said, I think he's a great talent, and I wouldn't be upset if we nabbed him.

Really interesting that Witten shot so high up the OLB ranking after being invisible before the start of the season. Seven sacks through two games will do that for you.

 

[sebman2112]

Ironically, if you visit the NFLdraftscout link, it mentions that he was tried out at OLB during the game on Thursday, and really struggled in space. He lacks the awareness in space required of a top-flight OLB. That said, I think he's a great talent, and I wouldn't be upset if we nabbed him.

Really interesting that Witten shot so high up the OLB ranking after being invisible before the start of the season. Seven sacks through two games will do that for you.

Playing LB in Georgia Tech's Wolf is a little different than being the elephant in NE's 34.......

Also, I said he'd be an option as a 43 end, if NE continues to move in that direction.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Playing LB in Georgia Tech's Wolf is a little different than being the elephant in NE's 34.......

Also, I said he'd be an option as a 43 end, if NE continues to move in that direction.

And there is the rub. I think BB will start looking for players that can project well in BOTH styles of defense. I think these type players are very rare and very difficult to spot on the college level.

I have identified a couple in McClain of Alabama and Dunlap of Florida. Some of the maybes include Romeus of Pittsburgh and a few others.

 

[mayoclinic]

Really interesting that Witten shot so high up the OLB ranking after being invisible before the start of the season. Seven sacks through two games will do that for you.

Here's what Nolan Nawrocki of PFW had to say about Witten: "Connecticut senior DE Lindsey Witten, after working in a rotation with Arizona Cardinals 2009 second-round pick Cody Brown and Julius Williams, who earned a roster spot with the Jacksonville Jaguars despite being undrafted, has really emerged the first two weeks of the season, breaking out with an NCAA-leading seven sacks, including four last week against North Carolina. The half-brother of Buffalo Bills' standout safety Donte Whitner, Witten has elite NFL bloodlines and outstanding initial quickness to beat blockers off the ball at the snap. At his current 3½-sacks-per-game pace, he would shatter Derrick Thomas' single-season sack record (27) set in 1988 at Alabama and would finish with 42. Witten was slowed by a stomach virus and did not practice early in the week, but he might not need a lot of practice time to turn the corner against a struggling Baylor offensive line that lost both of its offensive tackles to the NFL a year ago, although it might not be as easy to track down the Bears' athletic QB Robert Griffin. With very long arms and natural bend]/B], Witten has not been easy to block and he has been playing with a new sense of urgency, perhaps in part in tribute to his close grandmother, who passed away last March."

ProFootballWeekly.com - Athletic passers Clark, Brown raising profile

The part about long arms sounds appealing. BB loves guys who can get their arms up and clog the passing lanes.

NFLdraftscout currently has him ranked #89 among Senior prospects, and projects him to the 3rd-4th round. That could change in a hurry.

 

[mayoclinic]

And there is the rub. I think BB will start looking for players that can project well in BOTH styles of defense. I think these type players are very rare and very difficult to spot on the college level.

I have identified a couple in McClain of Alabama and Dunlap of Florida. Some of the maybes include Romeus of Pittsburgh and a few others.

That's the rub indeed. It's hard enough to find players who excel in the 3-4, much less players flexible enough to excel in both systems.

What do people think of Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri? I had generally viewed him as a 4-3 WLB, with great speed and pursuit, and didn't have him on my radar for the Pats. But he's up to 245# and seems like a more athletic and physical version of Gary Guyton. In the 3-4 I would prefer an SILB like McClain. But a 4-3 LB corps of Thomas, Mayo and Weatherspoon would be pretty interesting. He's probably too small to play 3-4 OLB, but could he play inside in the 3-4 as well as outside in the 4-3? I'm not sure.

 

[SidelineSid]

He would get serious consideration, but it depends who else is available, where our 2nd round picks are, and where he ends up being projected. ILBs have a tendency to fall. Not sure I take him over Jonathan Dwyer, or possibly Sergio Kindle. Would you take him over your boy Dunlap?

I'm still not sure I don't like Eric Norwood better as an SILB. But McClain should definitely be on any short list, not doubt about that.

Right now, Dwyer isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. His slow start could cause him to fall more than you think. In this league, running backs are kind of a dime a dozen. Carolina and Pittsburgh spent first round picks on running backs and they haven't been spectacular. The crazy thing is, late round draft picks like Darren Sproles are making highlight reals while these guys aren't. We only need rotational players.

 

[mayoclinic]

Right now, Dwyer isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. His slow start could cause him to fall more than you think. In this league, running backs are kind of a dime a dozen. Carolina and Pittsburgh spent first round picks on running backs and they haven't been spectacular. The crazy thing is, late round draft picks like Darren Sproles are making highlight reals while these guys aren't. We only need rotational players.

You're absolutely correct about Dwyer's slow start. He apparently had an injured shoulder that limited him in the Miami game, but he didn't look that stellar in the Clemson game and supposedly hasn't looked as explosive as last year. We'll see how he looks over the course of the college season, but right now he doesn't look like a top 20 pick. Beanie Wells was considered a potential top 5 pick going into last season, so it obviously doesn't take much for a RB to slip.

Finding the late round gems like Darren Sproles and Michael Turner isn't so easy. There are lots of Cedric Cobbs picks as well. If Dwyer is available in the 2nd round, I'd be thrilled. He reminds me a lot of Corey Dillon, of whom I have some very found memories.