Ever hear of Josh Norris? Me neither, but he nailed it.

DaBruinz said:

Upstarter - Could you provide the link where Easley supposedly has off-field character issues?

Also, where do you get that Easley only excels at one thing?? He's an excellent run stuffer behind the line and he get's pressure on the QB. Does he have room to improve? Yep.. But he's not a one trick pony the way that Spikes was..

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He is not an excellent run stuffer. He was involved in an assault where he clobbered a guy from behind. I've actually known about Easely since he was a junior in high school so I've been following his career closely. He is a bit of a loose cannon. Let's put it that way.

He butted heads often with Urban Meyer and Meyer's coaching staff. Didn't take to practicing, came late to practice. He was even benched for away games, didn't travel at all. Back then, there was an article that quoted Urban Meyer as saying, "Easley is not part of the team at all anymore." He was kicked off the team, then reinstated. To be fair, he has had a good relationship with Muschamp, but he and Meyer did not get along at all. If Meyer had stayed, Easley would have transferred out of Florida.

manxman2601 said:

He's not a pass rusher? Who have you been watching? Easley is all about pressure up the middle.

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Spiral said:

I was listening to a Ross Tucker podcast last week, and he had a guy on there by the name of Josh Norris, who evaluates players for Rotoworld using solely his judgment of the player on tape. He said he's never seen anyone as explosive off the snap as Easley, and had him at #4 on his draft board. Said he wouldn't be surprised if he wound up with the Patriots, even with the 2 ACLs.

Goto iTunes, download the Ross Tucker Football Podcast #34 with Josh Norris, and start listening at around 24:00.

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Ever hear of Abdual7? He nailed it too.

AzorianPats said:

Agreed. I'm an Easley fan, I didn't want them to take him with our first pick, but that tells me the Pats couldn't find a trade partner for him, and they weren't gonna risk another team behind them snatching him up.

He's a guy that if it wasn't for the injuries would have gone before Aaron Donald last night. Where we pick every year in the draft, we have to take chances on players with this talent. We don't always get a crack at them.

This pick reminds me of the Gronk pick. Its a giant boom or bust pick.

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It would have been interesting to see Easley workout and compare his results to Donald. Donald's 4.65 forty time was impressive. On tape Easley is the most explosive interior player off the snap I have ever seen at the college level.

I do not think Belichick took him at #29 due to a lack or a trade partner, I think he took him because he felt each of the next five teams - SF, Denver, Seattle, Houston, Washington all would have been interested in his him.

I gotta ask - who does Josh like in the 2nd round?

scott99 said:

This is all about IF. IF he hadn't blown out his knee he would have been a higher pick. IF his knee is ok, he MIGHT make an impact in the 2015 season, I can't see him making an impact NEXT season. IF IF IF, you don't blow a 1st round pick on an IF. Plus he's too small, and is NOT a pass rusher, which is what we need.Terrible pick

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Of course he's a pass rusher. That's what Easley is known for. He is an interior rusher in the Geno Atkins mold.

Why exactly won't he contribute in 2014? Welker and A Peterson blew out their ACLs in December and were back for camp. Mankins blew his in February and returned the next year. Times have changed, and an ACL is no longer a 18+ month injury. Guys are ready 6 months after surgery.

scott99 said:

This is all about IF. IF he hadn't blown out his knee he would have been a higher pick. IF his knee is ok, he MIGHT make an impact in the 2015 season, I can't see him making an impact NEXT season. IF IF IF, you don't blow a 1st round pick on an IF. Plus he's too small, and is NOT a pass rusher, which is what we need.Terrible pick

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IF you ever saw or read anything at all about him you would never say he is NOT a pass rusher. IF I thought your opinion carried any weight I might ask why he wouldn't have an impact this year IF his knee is healthy.... but I don't.

upstater1 said:

He is not an excellent run stuffer. He was involved in an assault where he clobbered a guy from behind. I've actually known about Easely since he was a junior in high school so I've been following his career closely. He is a bit of a loose cannon. Let's put it that way.

He butted heads often with Urban Meyer and Meyer's coaching staff. Didn't take to practicing, came late to practice. He was even benched for away games, didn't travel at all. Back then, there was an article that quoted Urban Meyer as saying, "Easley is not part of the team at all anymore." He was kicked off the team, then reinstated. To be fair, he has had a good relationship with Muschamp, but he and Meyer did not get along at all. If Meyer had stayed, Easley would have transferred out of Florida.

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At the end of his tenure at UoF , Meyer was not in a good place. There are many stories or Meyer going off on players for no reason and being incredibly cruel. Easley and Powell were freshman at the time. They may have reacted immaturely but they were kids. Not a good data point for trying to build a case on Easley being a malcontent.

Brady6 said:

I do not think Belichick took him at #29 due to a lack or a trade partner, I think he took him because he felt each of the next five teams - SF, Denver, Seattle, Houston, Washington all would have been interested in his him.

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I heard a report today that he wasn't getting past Seattle at 32, and that once NE grabbed him, that freed up the trade with Minny.

robertweathers said:

At the end of his tenure at UoF , Meyer was not in a good place. There are many stories or Meyer going off on players for no reason and being incredibly cruel. Easley and Powell were freshman at the time. They may have reacted immaturely but they were kids. Not a good data point for trying to build a case on Easley being a malcontent.

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I don't know if Meyer "went off" on any of his players, but that was the year after he resigned then un-resigned, so it's easy to believe that he just wasn't at his best that year.

Man, I'm on the fence with this pick. I like what this guy is able to bring to the table and what his skill set is. He seems like he can really create havoc and get into the backfield.

But I don't understand why BB is making gambles when this team needs to be trying to win a championship right now. These picks are to important to make a gamble in my opinion, but I like what I see of this guy on tape. But two ACL's??? Ouch. That has to be concerning to anyone man.

Either way, I'm really excited to see what this guy can do this year and how he can help to bolster the D line.

I heard an interview today with a sports reporter from the Florida.

Really wasn't all that insightful but he did state with some real assurance that Easley's immaturity issues are a thing of the past.. that recovering from his two injuries have really matured him as a man.