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I've been curious to see if he recovered form after his injuries. GREAT athletic profile.



This guy is completely insane. Did you read that same article that I did?

Behind Porter Gustin's superhero look, a super-strict diet

He consumes more than 10,000 calories a day, blends most of his meals into greenish shakes and eats so many sweet potatoes that the soles of his feet and palms of his hands are an unnatural shade of orange. He has played a football game with a cast on each hand and two bloody screws protruding from a swollen big toe.

His right big toe was split down the middle when he stubbed it into a door after a win over Stanford in the second game of the year. The next Wednesday, doctors inserted two screws into the toe, and four days later, he started against Texas, battling through serious pain. He had two sacks in the first half, but at halftime doctors removed his right shoe and “blood poured out,” Porter says. The screws loosened, the toe cracked back open and his season was lost. “He’s now hungrier than ever and fully rejuvenated,” his father says.

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How does one split their toe in half from stubbing it?

Anyways, I really like Gustin's chances in a cage match against just about anybody. On the field though, it's hard to evaluate. From what I've seen, he lacks foot speed to do anything side to side in a game situation. Can't bend the edge at all, doesn't even have flexibility to make any impressive power moves, can't change direction in coverage, etc. Given his injury history though, maybe I was just watching the injured version of Gustin.

Anyone have an example of *good* tape of his?
 
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Weird that the 3-cone is poor, yet the shuttle is so good. Great numbers, especially at his size! Incredible way to get himself back on the radar before the draft.



Well, he's draftable, but he's a long way from starting material. Technique issues everywhere. I'll edit and expand on this post in a bit. The good news is that he's capable of some really solid reps, so I can see the potential, but he's pretty inconsistent with applying fundamentals.

EDIT: My review after watching a few games earlier today:

The good: He had some positive reps against Zach Allen and Brian Burns. When his technique is solid, he's big enough and athletic enough to stonewall some pretty decent pass rushers. His short set is quick. He can generate movement in the run game (when he keeps a flat back and low pads). His foot speed is adequate to stay at RT. Not bad on the move. Able to MOM, downblock, reach, pull, etc. Has all the physical tools and occasionally flashes proper technique. Faced some tough opponents and more or less held his own apart from some ugly breakdowns.

The bad: As he gets fatigued, his kickslide starts to bob up and down because he doesn't stay low in his stance. Conditioning issues? Too often he disconnects upper and lower body, particularly against speed rushes, following them with his hands while his feet stop moving. Bends forward from his waist too much to reach targets instead of trusting foot speed (which is good enough when his technique is proper), often lunges to close gaps. Late hands, more of a catcher / grabber than puncher. Will too often stop his feet in anticipation of anchoring against a bull rush, giving up the corner. Plays too tall when threatened with speed and is vulnerable to counters because he loses balance and leverage. Sometimes fails to recognize outside blitzes and unnecessarily helps his guard instead of picking up the free rusher (that may be a scheme requirement by coaching, so won't downgrade him completely).

Outlook: All flaws correctable with coaching. Some reps he does everything flawlessly and he looks like a franchise cornerstone, but they're too few and far between to give him more than a developmental grade. A year or two with Scar and he could be a legitimate replacement for Cannon, but he's certainly not there yet. Good gamble with any of our 7ths.
 
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Well, he's draftable, but he's a long way from starting material. Technique issues everywhere. I'll edit and expand on this post in a bit. The good news is that he's capable of some really solid reps, so I can see the potential, but he's pretty inconsistent with applying fundamentals.

EDIT: My review after watching a few games earlier today:

The good: He had some positive reps against Zach Allen and Brian Burns. When his technique is solid, he's big enough and athletic enough to stonewall some pretty decent pass rushers. His short set is quick. He can generate movement in the run game (when he keeps a flat back and low pads). His foot speed is adequate to stay at RT. Not bad on the move. Able to MOM, downblock, reach, pull, etc. Has all the physical tools and occasionally flashes proper technique. Faced some tough opponents and more or less held his own apart from some ugly breakdowns.

The bad: As he gets fatigued, his kickslide starts to bob up and down because he doesn't stay low in his stance. Conditioning issues? Too often he disconnects upper and lower body, particularly against speed rushes, following them with his hands while his feet stop moving. Bends forward from his waist too much to reach targets instead of trusting foot speed (which is good enough when his technique is proper), often lunges to close gaps. Late hands, more of a catcher / grabber than puncher. Will too often stop his feet in anticipation of anchoring against a bull rush, giving up the corner. Plays too tall when threatened with speed and is vulnerable to counters because he loses balance and leverage. Sometimes fails to recognize outside blitzes and unnecessarily helps his guard instead of picking up the free rusher (that may be a scheme requirement by coaching, so won't downgrade him completely).

Outlook: All flaws correctable with coaching. Some reps he does everything flawlessly and he looks like a franchise cornerstone, but they're too few and far between to give him more than a developmental grade. A year or two with Scar and he could be a legitimate replacement for Cannon, but he's certainly not there yet. Good gamble with any of our 7ths.

Oof, I haven't seen Nijman, but if all of this is the case, then hard pass. We do not want a project OL with a first round pick. Not sure why some people believe you can just train raw athletes there because it essentially never works. It's the equivalent of putting a football player in the UFC and expecting them to dominate with athleticism. Linemen are essentially martial artists.
 
Oof, I haven't seen Nijman, but if all of this is the case, then hard pass. We do not want a project OL with a first round pick. Not sure why some people believe you can just train raw athletes there because it essentially never works. It's the equivalent of putting a football player in the UFC and expecting them to dominate with athleticism. Linemen are essentially martial artists.

He's projected as a 7th - priority free agent, and that seems about right to me.
 
I had some concerns about Arcega-Whiteside's ability to separate but 4.49 is a great number. He's immense in the red zone and he has unnatural ability to position his body perfectly at the catch point. I'm not convinced he can be as productive in the short to intermediate routes but he's in the frame at 64 or 73.
 
A couple more Arcega-Whiteside numbers

 
Did he run a three cone or short shuttle?
 


McLaurin and Arcega-Whiteside has been my go to pairing at WR lately when I try mock drafts (AJ Brown is usually off the board too soon and I keep taking defenders / OL instead of receiver at 32 and 56). In my notes I wrote that they both represent prototypical Z/X receivers. I'm pretty happy with his showing so far, even though I expected a better vertical. That doesn't really matter though, since he has an incredible ability to position his body and come away with the pass -- probably the best contested catcher I've seen in the last couple years.
 
McLaurin and Arcega-Whiteside has been my go to pairing at WR lately when I try mock drafts (AJ Brown is usually off the board too soon and I keep taking defenders / OL instead of receiver at 32 and 56). In my notes I wrote that they both represent prototypical Z/X receivers. I'm pretty happy with his showing so far, even though I expected a better vertical. That doesn't really matter though, since he has an incredible ability to position his body and come away with the pass -- probably the best contested catcher I've seen in the last couple years.

We certainly need an end zone threat, especially with Gronk gone.
 
Good 3-cone for Okereke, too.

 


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