DRC in Foxboro today

[BradyToMoss]

The Pats will tell him, "thanks for coming out but were not going to draft you with the 7th overall selection. Have a nice day".

Ofcourse, why would we want a guy that can jump like a deer and run like cheetah with natural ball skills, with great height to offset our smurf CB on the otherside to take on the Plaxico Burress's of the world, who can return kicks and punts, why would we want that wearing a Patriot uniform?

 

[VJCPatriot]

I don't like the idea of drafting someone at #7 overall who previously was considered a 2nd round prospect.

Yet Gholston falls under that same category. Have the same reservations about drafting him?

I do like the idea of Talib falling to #62 though.

I would much rather pick up a first round prospect who fell to the 2nd than vice versa.

If Talib is a pothead, he's fallen off my draftboard. Just look at Rickey Williams, and you'll understand why it's not a good idea to draft a guy that puts his high ahead of his job. It doesn't even matter to me that normally he's a 1st round talent, I like the abilities but I'm not going to take the risk. There are reasons why some prospects fall out of the 1st round. Some of them are vaild.

 

[Kontradiction]

Ofcourse, why would we want a guy that can jump like a deer and run like cheetah with natural ball skills, with great height to offset our smurf CB on the otherside to take on the Plaxico Burress's of the world, who can return kicks and punts, why would we want that wearing a Patriot uniform?

He did all of this in DII. This is the NFL. It's a very, very big step. If he makes it, then all the congrats in the world to you for being right. But there's an even bigger chance he'll be a bust simply because of where he came from. That's the logic that people are using on him and, personally I agree. All big DII prospects have had a 'wait and see' attitude with fans, media, and teams alike in the draft (this includes Roethlisberger).

 

[sebman2112]

I was going to go with Daymeon Hughes out of Cal.

From what I can remember the players mentioned had these issues:

Hughes fell because he was short (5'10"), timed slow [4.65(C) & 4.56(PD) forties, 4.43(C) & 4.36(PD) Shuttles], and recorded a less than stellar 28.5" vertical. Hughes finished the 2007 season with 14 TT's, and 2 PD's.

McCauley didn't play as good his senior year, and had some other question marks. I believe he started 5 games his rookie year, in place of an injured Antoine Winfield. In the first four games he played well, but struggled in the fifth start. Ended the 2007 season with 63 TT's, and 8 PD's.

Eric Wright had major issues off the field. He was charged with suspicion of rape, and transfered to UNLV. The Chargers were later dropped, but the police also found ecstasy in his apartment, which he shared with a roommate. He also had some durability issues. I wouldn't say Wright really fell though, as the second round is pretty high for a player with those issues. In 2007 Wright recorded 76TT's, 1 sack, 1 INT, and 11 PD's with the Browns.

I noticed some things that I liked about both McCauley and Wright, but I wasn't completely sure where they would go in the draft, because of the issues listed.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Ofcourse, why would we want a guy that can jump like a deer and run like cheetah with natural ball skills, with great height to offset our smurf CB on the otherside to take on the Plaxico Burress's of the world, who can return kicks and punts, why would we want that wearing a Patriot uniform?

I'm not going to wade into the argument of should-they-or-shouldn't-they. But I will say that the biggest question in my mind is: which is more indicative of what he'll be in the NFL, his performance to date or his potential? One is clearly worth a #7 pick, one of them just as clearly, IMO, isn't.

 

[miDeuce]

Still waiting to hear from someone who saw DRC play in college and can comment on what his strengths/weaknesses are based on that and not just what he did at the Senior Bowl/Combine. Any one?

 

[VJCPatriot]

He did all of this in DII. This is the NFL. It's a very, very big step. If he makes it, then all the congrats in the world to you for being right. But there's an even bigger chance he'll be a bust simply because of where he came from. That's the logic that people are using on him and, personally I agree. All big DII prospects have had a 'wait and see' attitude with fans, media, and teams alike in the draft (this includes Roethlisberger).

Well aren't you defeating your own point here? Ben Rothlisberger won a Superbowl Championship in only his 2nd year in the pros, and his team played in the MAC. Not the strongest of competition.

Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora played at Troy University, a small college with a student body of 6,800 and played against the less than fearsome competition of the Sunbelt Conference. But they turned out pretty good, don't you agree?

And lest we forget, Steve Mcnair, an MVP QB in his prime, went to Alcorn State, a D-2 school. Big program prejudice is just that, prejudice. The level of competition is a vaild concern but hardly an overriding one. Not when DRC showed he could play with and dominate the big boys in the Senior Bowl. And those who would discount the Senior Bowl as a 'meaningless practice game' are also saying that Patrick Willis' explosive performance there last year showed absolutely nothing about his abilities. Gee who was defensive rookie of the year again?

As for drafting ANY corner in this draft, including DRC and McKelvin, I'd be more comfortable drafting them in the teen range, 10-15. However I'm not going to discount a football prospect outright based solely on the size of the football program they played in. This view I can see is not shared by many here, but I stand by it.

 

[dryheat44]

Well aren't you defeating your own point here? Ben Rothlisberger won a Superbowl Championship in only his 2nd year in the pros, and his team played in the MAC. Not the strongest of competition.

Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora played at Troy University, a small college with a student body of 6,800 and played against the less than fearsome competition of the Sunbelt Conference. But they turned out pretty good, don't you agree?

And lest we forget, Steve Mcnair, an MVP QB in his prime, went to Alcorn State, a D-2 school. Big program prejudice is just that, prejudice. The level of competition is a vaild concern but hardly an overriding one. Not when DRC showed he could play with and dominate the big boys in the Senior Bowl. And those who would discount the Senior Bowl as a 'meaningless practice game' are also saying that Patrick Willis' explosive performance there last year showed absolutely nothing about his abilities. Gee who was defensive rookie of the year again?

As for drafting ANY corner in this draft, including DRC and McKelvin, I'd be more comfortable drafting them in the teen range, 10-15. However I'm not going to discount a football prospect outright based solely on the size of the football program they played in. This view I can see is not shared by many here, but I stand by it.

You're largely correct of course, that descrimination exists. However, it serves notice that all of these players, with the possible exception of Umenyiora (and what round did he go in?) dominated their lesser competition. Roethlisberger was undefeated for two years. McNair was a Heisman runner-up (A D-2 Player!!). DeMarcus Ware was a known commodity, with 11 sacks (2nd in D-1).

DRC doesn't have that on-field resume to back him up.

And come on...Willis was a devastating linebacker for two years in the nation's top conference. He didn't go 12th overall because he had a good senior bowl week.

 

[sebman2112]

Well aren't you defeating your own point here? Ben Rothlisberger won a Superbowl Championship in only his 2nd year in the pros, and his team played in the MAC. Not the strongest of competition.

Demarcus Ware and Osi Umenyiora played at Troy University, a small college with a student body of 6,800 and played against the less than fearsome competition of the Sunbelt Conference. But they turned out pretty good, don't you agree?

And lest we forget, Steve Mcnair, an MVP QB in his prime, went to Alcorn State, a D-2 school. Big program prejudice is just that, prejudice. The level of competition is a vaild concern but hardly an overriding one. Not when DRC showed he could play with and dominate the big boys in the Senior Bowl. And those who would discount the Senior Bowl as a 'meaningless practice game' are also saying that Patrick Willis' explosive performance there last year showed absolutely nothing about his abilities. Gee who was defensive rookie of the year again?

As for drafting ANY corner in this draft, including DRC and McKelvin, I'd be more comfortable drafting them in the teen range, 10-15. However I'm not going to discount a football prospect outright based solely on the size of the football program they played in. This view I can see is not shared by many here, but I stand by it.

You simply don't get it.

It's not because he played against a low level of competition, but that he played against that lower level, and didn't dominate.

Again, a few different CB's in this class put up better numbers and performances against the top competition in the nation. If, DRC had dominated against those horrid teams, then your argument would be more accurate, as some of the players you brought up to support your argument actually dominated.

Patrick Willis was a beast at Ole Miss, and one of my absolute favorite players, before the Senior Bowl. His performance (as well as Meriweather's) at the 2007 Senior Bowl was nice to see, but he played at an extremely high level, and was very productive in the SEC. So, that's also not an accurate comparison, and the Senior Bowl really is nothing more than a glorified scrimmage. Ask any actual scout, and they'll tell you the practices are more important.

 

[Kontradiction]

And lest we forget, Steve Mcnair, an MVP QB in his prime, went to Alcorn State, a D-2 school. Big program prejudice is just that, prejudice. The level of competition is a vaild concern but hardly an overriding one. Not when DRC showed he could play with and dominate the big boys in the Senior Bowl. And those who would discount the Senior Bowl as a 'meaningless practice game' are also saying that Patrick Willis' explosive performance there last year showed absolutely nothing about his abilities. Gee who was defensive rookie of the year again?

That was actually my point.