TicketsNow that we know the destinations for one of the most prolific classes in UC history, the question is how will these players fit in at each of their stops.
The situation can only do so much. Remember, Mardy Gilyard went to a St. Louis team devoid of talent at WR, but could never latch and find the same dynamic playmaking he showcased at UC. Yet, a player like Connor Barwin showed up in Houston and had to switch positions midway through while dealing with an injury that stole a season, but still owns the third-most sacks in his draft class.
All of that said, an advantageous situation can make all the difference.
--- Let's start with Derek Wolfe. Maybe the most shocking aspect of all the UC draft picks was that Wolfe went to a Broncos team utilizing the 4-3 defense. Wolfe was categorized as the ideal 3-4 DE with teams like Baltimore and New England in hot pursuit.
There's little doubt Wolfe can play the DT position in a 4-3. He showed that all season as he moved in and out of UC's front line. The biggest reason Wolfe will be be set up for success is the guy who will be line up directly next to him: Elvis Dumervil.
Dumervil owns 52 sacks in 75 career games. With that type of pass rusher next to you, the double team, chip and all attention leaves one-on-one on the interior all day. With the possibility of Von Miller charging in from the opposite side, it's almost impossible to devote more than one blocker to Wolfe.
Remember, this was a young defense that really came on at the end of last season. Five of the final eight games last year, the Broncos held their opponents to 13 points or less. Now, the postseason debacle at New England showed what happens when they can't pressure the passer, but there is a ton of potential/expectations for that unit.
Oh, and some guy named Manning might help them win a few games.
John Fox comments on the want-to and nasty element to Wolfe being a big reason why they drafted him in this BroncosTV piece.
The Denver Post dug even deeper into the true story of Wolfe with this profile.
--- Maybe the best match for any of the drafted plays is Isaiah Pead in St. Louis. The Rams are looking for the heir apparent to Steven Jackson. According to Adam Schefter, Pead is that guy.
One comment I made immediately after hearing Pead went to the Rams was that you have to believe Jeff Fisher saw a little bit of Chris Johnson in Isaiah Pead. Now, Pead doesn't have the 4.28 straight-line speed of Johnson, but the ability to hit home runs in space runs on parallel tracks. Fisher loved that philosophy in Tennessee and obviously hopes to bring it to St. Louis.
Some knocked the size of Isaiah Pead when discussing the concept that he could be an every-down back in the NFL. He weight in at 5-10 and 197. What was Johnson's height/weight on draft day? 5-11, 197.
During his senior year at East Carolina, Johnson averaged 6.03 yards per carry. Pead for his career: 6.03 yards per carry.
These two are certainly different backs with Johnson owning more speed and Pead more cut-and-go wiggle, but the big-play correlations rang true for Fisher.
Match Pead with the 29-year-old Jackson at 6-2, 240 pounds and you have one nasty thunder-and-lightning mix. Jackson's contract will be up in 2014 and he's set to make $7 million each of that next two seasons. At that point, if Pead has done anything resembling what he showed at UC while splitting carries with Jackson, then you have the full-time back of the Rams.
Also, to mention again, you have to love Pead on the speed turf of the Edward Jones Dome. Two of his best games his senior season came on grass (14 for 155 @Tennessee; 22 for 118 @Pittsburgh), but if you compare his turf/grass numbers for his career, he's undoubtedly better on the synthetic stuff. Which makes sense considering his quick-cut style of play.
Career turf: 443 carries, 2,736 yards, 6.2 yards per carry
Career grass: 102 carries, 552 yards, 5.4 yards per carry
We've all heard Isaiah talk before, but here he is talking to the Rams site about how he wants to affect the Rams.
--- John Hughes to Cleveland on Friday night was a pick that shocked even Hughes himself, who planned his draft party for Saturday. His fit will be an interesting one as he'll jump into the rotation behind last year's first-round pick Phil Taylor and tackling machine Ahytba Rubin.
Hughes brings an alternate size to the front line dominated by massive humans.
Rubin: 6-2, 330
Taylor: 6-3, 335
Hughes: 6-3, 309
Still, those big boys certainly can't handle breathing through 60+ plays a game, so it leaves plenty of opportunity for Hughes to touch the field and show what he can do. It would have been unrealistic to think Hughes was going to land into a starting position, so to show up as more of a pass-rushing DT spelling one of the biggest men in the game isn't a poor position to be in at all.
--- The Giants know how to cycle through productive tight ends. Over the last five years, they have had three tight ends lead them in receiving from that position, each stepping in flawlessly from his predecessor.
2011-Jake Ballard: 38-604
2010-Kevin Boss: 35-531
2009-Kevin Boss: 42-567
2008-Kevin Boss: 33-384
2007-Jeremy Shockey: 57-619
They don't expect Robinson to be that guy this year. He's a physical specimen who needs to be developed. He'll play behind Martellus Bennett and Jake Ballard this season while learning how to translate his athleticism into results.
It's a concept familiar to GM Jerry Reese who compared Robinson to Jason Pierre-Paul, an athletic wonder hoping to come into his own out of South Florida.
"A guy we haven't talked about - our first fourth-round pick is Adrien Robinson, the tight end from Cincinnati. We really think this guy has a huge upside. He is a big, big man; long arms. He didn't catch a lot of balls for them. But he is kind of a late bloomer who has really come on. And we think this guy is kind of a JPP of tight ends. We like these kind of people. We will get Mike Pope involved with this guy. We brought him in for one of the visits. We are excited about him. We think he can really come on and develop and be a terrific football player for us. So it is very exciting for us to get him."
--- Some randomness...
--- Only if this means her awful show on NBC won't be back does Whitney Cummings getting her own talk show sound like an appealing concept.
--- I think this goatee is sweet. However, I'm not sure my opinion would match that of his employer.
--- Since many local news shows linger on unwatchable some nights, I'd highly recommend adding videobombing dogs to every one.
--- This catchy little tune has been stuck in my head for days. Sorry, now it will be in yours.
The situation can only do so much. Remember, Mardy Gilyard went to a St. Louis team devoid of talent at WR, but could never latch and find the same dynamic playmaking he showcased at UC. Yet, a player like Connor Barwin showed up in Houston and had to switch positions midway through while dealing with an injury that stole a season, but still owns the third-most sacks in his draft class.
All of that said, an advantageous situation can make all the difference.
--- Let's start with Derek Wolfe. Maybe the most shocking aspect of all the UC draft picks was that Wolfe went to a Broncos team utilizing the 4-3 defense. Wolfe was categorized as the ideal 3-4 DE with teams like Baltimore and New England in hot pursuit.
There's little doubt Wolfe can play the DT position in a 4-3. He showed that all season as he moved in and out of UC's front line. The biggest reason Wolfe will be be set up for success is the guy who will be line up directly next to him: Elvis Dumervil.
Dumervil owns 52 sacks in 75 career games. With that type of pass rusher next to you, the double team, chip and all attention leaves one-on-one on the interior all day. With the possibility of Von Miller charging in from the opposite side, it's almost impossible to devote more than one blocker to Wolfe.
Remember, this was a young defense that really came on at the end of last season. Five of the final eight games last year, the Broncos held their opponents to 13 points or less. Now, the postseason debacle at New England showed what happens when they can't pressure the passer, but there is a ton of potential/expectations for that unit.
Oh, and some guy named Manning might help them win a few games.
John Fox comments on the want-to and nasty element to Wolfe being a big reason why they drafted him in this BroncosTV piece.
The Denver Post dug even deeper into the true story of Wolfe with this profile.
--- Maybe the best match for any of the drafted plays is Isaiah Pead in St. Louis. The Rams are looking for the heir apparent to Steven Jackson. According to Adam Schefter, Pead is that guy.
One comment I made immediately after hearing Pead went to the Rams was that you have to believe Jeff Fisher saw a little bit of Chris Johnson in Isaiah Pead. Now, Pead doesn't have the 4.28 straight-line speed of Johnson, but the ability to hit home runs in space runs on parallel tracks. Fisher loved that philosophy in Tennessee and obviously hopes to bring it to St. Louis.
Some knocked the size of Isaiah Pead when discussing the concept that he could be an every-down back in the NFL. He weight in at 5-10 and 197. What was Johnson's height/weight on draft day? 5-11, 197.
During his senior year at East Carolina, Johnson averaged 6.03 yards per carry. Pead for his career: 6.03 yards per carry.
These two are certainly different backs with Johnson owning more speed and Pead more cut-and-go wiggle, but the big-play correlations rang true for Fisher.
Match Pead with the 29-year-old Jackson at 6-2, 240 pounds and you have one nasty thunder-and-lightning mix. Jackson's contract will be up in 2014 and he's set to make $7 million each of that next two seasons. At that point, if Pead has done anything resembling what he showed at UC while splitting carries with Jackson, then you have the full-time back of the Rams.
Also, to mention again, you have to love Pead on the speed turf of the Edward Jones Dome. Two of his best games his senior season came on grass (14 for 155 @Tennessee; 22 for 118 @Pittsburgh), but if you compare his turf/grass numbers for his career, he's undoubtedly better on the synthetic stuff. Which makes sense considering his quick-cut style of play.
Career turf: 443 carries, 2,736 yards, 6.2 yards per carry
Career grass: 102 carries, 552 yards, 5.4 yards per carry
We've all heard Isaiah talk before, but here he is talking to the Rams site about how he wants to affect the Rams.
--- John Hughes to Cleveland on Friday night was a pick that shocked even Hughes himself, who planned his draft party for Saturday. His fit will be an interesting one as he'll jump into the rotation behind last year's first-round pick Phil Taylor and tackling machine Ahytba Rubin.
Hughes brings an alternate size to the front line dominated by massive humans.
Rubin: 6-2, 330
Taylor: 6-3, 335
Hughes: 6-3, 309
Still, those big boys certainly can't handle breathing through 60+ plays a game, so it leaves plenty of opportunity for Hughes to touch the field and show what he can do. It would have been unrealistic to think Hughes was going to land into a starting position, so to show up as more of a pass-rushing DT spelling one of the biggest men in the game isn't a poor position to be in at all.
--- The Giants know how to cycle through productive tight ends. Over the last five years, they have had three tight ends lead them in receiving from that position, each stepping in flawlessly from his predecessor.
2011-Jake Ballard: 38-604
2010-Kevin Boss: 35-531
2009-Kevin Boss: 42-567
2008-Kevin Boss: 33-384
2007-Jeremy Shockey: 57-619
They don't expect Robinson to be that guy this year. He's a physical specimen who needs to be developed. He'll play behind Martellus Bennett and Jake Ballard this season while learning how to translate his athleticism into results.
It's a concept familiar to GM Jerry Reese who compared Robinson to Jason Pierre-Paul, an athletic wonder hoping to come into his own out of South Florida.
"A guy we haven't talked about - our first fourth-round pick is Adrien Robinson, the tight end from Cincinnati. We really think this guy has a huge upside. He is a big, big man; long arms. He didn't catch a lot of balls for them. But he is kind of a late bloomer who has really come on. And we think this guy is kind of a JPP of tight ends. We like these kind of people. We will get Mike Pope involved with this guy. We brought him in for one of the visits. We are excited about him. We think he can really come on and develop and be a terrific football player for us. So it is very exciting for us to get him."
--- Some randomness...
--- Only if this means her awful show on NBC won't be back does Whitney Cummings getting her own talk show sound like an appealing concept.
--- I think this goatee is sweet. However, I'm not sure my opinion would match that of his employer.
--- Since many local news shows linger on unwatchable some nights, I'd highly recommend adding videobombing dogs to every one.
--- This catchy little tune has been stuck in my head for days. Sorry, now it will be in yours.