I know many of us wanted Ealy 2 years ago

Are you thinking that he would have been a better pick than Easley?

he is rushing against shhoefield or whatever. that tackle isnt that good.

The only thing that really made him desirable was his combine (sub 7 second 3-cone if memory serves). His tape wasn't great and I don't think anyone really wanted him based upon his tape. It wasn't terrible - there was some good stuff - but not good enough to excite.

When I heard the pick announced, for a millisecond I thought that the Pats had picked Ealy instead of
Easley, who should not ever have been even considered until AT LEAST their 2nd-rounder.

captain stone said:

When I heard the pick announced, for a millisecond I thought that the Pats had picked Ealy instead of
Easley, who should not ever have been even considered until AT LEAST their 2nd-rounder.

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Its was widely reported that Seattle was going to take Easley two picks later. He probably would have never made it until the second round.

Ealy gonna be a beast for the Panthers, that team knows how to draft great D-Linemen.

Easley was the most dominate pass rusher we had when he was on the field. Percentage wise he had the most QB pressures out of anyone. And it was all up the middle, the most important kind of pressure you can bring. He just needs to stay healthy for the love of god.

Second guessing the draft is always clearer in that "rosy rear view mirror"...

"Many of us"??

Speak for yourself and dont base stuff off of one game

VectorPrime said:

Easley was the most dominate pass rusher we had when he was on the field. Percentage wise he had the most QB pressures out of anyone. And it was all up the middle, the most important kind of pressure you can bring. He just needs to stay healthy for the love of god.

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Yes but I don't think he was the most dominant defensive lineman. He still had some issues vs the run.

I was sweating Ealy pre-draft and mocked him to the Pats in a few of my mock drafts. He was raw but the physical talent was there. I like Easley too, if he can ever stay on the field. He's shown he can make it in the pro's but the injury history is certainly something to be monitored, going forward. I think Ealy is one of the only guys that I ever disagreed with mayoclinic about. Only reason I'm not entirely sure (without going back to look up the posts) is that I'm not sure if it was him or manx that I disagreed with on Ealy. Both guys are studs in the draft forum. Speaking of, where the hell IS mayoclinic?

robertweathers said:

Yes but I don't think he was the most dominant defensive lineman. He still had some issues vs the run.

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That's why he said "dominate pass rusher"

JMC00 said:

That's why he said "dominate pass rusher"

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He had five sacks in the regular season as a situational pass rusher. I expect the Panthers will use him in a bigger role, going forward. As I said, he was raw coming out. The Panthers have been smart to ease him in and that may be a decision that will pay off for them soon.

I wonder if the pats would have picked him if the Panthers had passed; I doubt it, they obviously wanted jimmy G at that pick.

OMG. People want to complain about Dominique Easley? What? The defensive front was the least of our concerns in 2015. Easley was fine, he was a value pick when they took him, and the defense had nothing to do with not making the Super Bowl.

He played in 11 games both of his first two years after coming off ACL surgery. He's 23-years-old. He's learning how to play professional football and is doing just fine. Easley's on a rookie contract that pays him $4.2 million over the next two years. He's part of a young group of guys 26 or younger who can anchor this defense for a long time. Why worry about him?

Malcolm Brown, Easley, Jones, Hightower, Collins, Butler, Sealver Silinga, Flowers, Grissom, Logan Ryan, Akiem Hicks, Jonathan Freeny are all 26 or younger. I'm probably missing somebody.

The graybeards among the better defensive players are Chung and McCourty and they're only 28! This defense is going to be excellent for a long time.

The only position where I see a pressing need is for one more top-notch linebacker to replace Mayo, and that may not even be necessary if guys like Vaughters or Snyder develop.

Please return your attention to the other side of the ball if you want to complain, starting with OL, OL and OL. It would be nice to get the running backs healthy for a full season, especially Lewis and Develin, and a durable outside the numbers WR would be helpful.

Fixing the offensive line are priorities one, two and three for 2016.

JMC00 said:

That's why he said "dominate pass rusher"

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I suspect he values him higher than I do.

goheels22002 said:

OMG. People want to complain about Dominique Easley? What? The defensive front was the least of our concerns in 2015. Easley was fine, he was a value pick when they took him, and the defense had nothing to do with not making the Super Bowl.

He played in 11 games both of his first two years after coming off ACL surgery. He's 23-years-old. He's learning how to play professional football and is doing just fine. Easley's on a rookie contract that pays him $4.2 million over the next two years. He's part of a young group of guys 26 or younger who can anchor this defense for a long time. Why worry about him?

Malcolm Brown, Easley, Jones, Hightower, Collins, Butler, Sealver Silinga, Flowers, Grissom, Logan Ryan, Akiem Hicks, Jonathan Freeny are all 26 or younger. I'm probably missing somebody.

The graybeards among the better defensive players are Chung and McCourty and they're only 28! This defense is going to be excellent for a long time.

The only position where I see a pressing need is for one more top-notch linebacker to replace Mayo, and that may not even be necessary if guys like Vaughters or Snyder develop.

Please return your attention to the other side of the ball if you want to complain, starting with OL, OL and OL. It would be nice to get the running backs healthy for a full season, especially Lewis and Develin, and a durable outside the numbers WR would be helpful.

Fixing the offensive line are priorities one, two and three for 2016.

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I love what Easy brings to the pass rush but there is a legitimate concern regarding his ability to stay on the field and being a decent player vs the run.

Just because a unit is not an overall team concern it does not mean that a player in that unit gets a free pass on his play and availability being questioned.

I would rather have Sheard and Jones.......I'm leaving Ninko due to age, but if he were younger, I would rather have him, too

Ealy is solid, but no need to go running off screaming because he had a high visibility play

robertweathers said:

I love what Easy brings to the pass rush but there is a legitimate concern regarding his ability to stay on the field and being a decent player vs the run.

Just because a unit is not an overall team concern it does not mean that a player in that unit gets a free pass on his play and availability being questioned.

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I don't disagree at all. I'm looking forward to 2016 with Easley, Brown and Siliga in their second year as a group in the middle.

The guy I'm concerned about is Alan Branch at 31-years-old. He's been one of the best veteran pickups in Belichick's tenure. He's a leader, he was durable in 2015, and he's got the size to keep two blockers busy while the younger, faster guys work the gaps.

I like Kony Ealy and all but not necessarily more than Easley. The main thing that Ealy seems to have going for him is his health. However, I'm optimistic our Easley will be back and I pray he makes it all season/postseason for us.