Quote (Randolph @ Feb 11 2013 02:58pm)
I'm going to rank and give a quick analysis of some of the top talents per position in this year's draft. I am going to make a new thread for each position and will keep old threads listed in each new thread.
Keep in mind, this is purely my opinions. I am not saying this will be the order, this will be how players turn out or anything along those lines, it's just simply my own personal thoughts.
If you'd like a specific position to be done next, feel free to post, I don't mind jumping around. If not, I'll go in order (QB, WR, RB, TE, OT, etc...)
3-4 Outside Linebackers:3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE are fairly interchangeable positions as most of you know. Most players can be formed to play either position depending on what their team runs. So, in these lists (3-4 olb and 4-3 DE) I’ll order the positions after a player’s name for what they are best fit for. Example: Damontre Moore, DE/OLB, Texas A&M, this is saying Moore is best suited for a DE position but can still play the OLB spot. But, if a player has only DE or OLB in their position spot that doesn’t mean they can’t play the other, it just means they are much better off in that one position.
1) Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia – Teams will shy away from Jones because of his back problems and it’s hard to really fault them for it. It is a risk that needs to be taken into consideration when selecting Jones but it isn’t one that is big enough to overlook his absolute pure talent. Jones is a Von Miller in waiting. Fans of whichever team ends up selecting him in the middle of the first round (if he makes it that far) are going to be loving this pick for years and years to come.
2) Damontre Moore, DE/OLB, Texas A&M – Moore has the size and speed you want to see in your pass rusher. He’s better suited for a 4-3 DE position but I have no concerns about his ability to play at the OLB spot in a 3-4. The only issue might be his pass coverage skills. If he goes to a 3-4 team, he’ll need to work on that.
3) Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU – Ansah is my favorite all around pass rusher in this year’s draft but he needs to play DE. I put him in the 3-4 OLB list as well just because he is so incredibly raw and new to football I believe that, if need be, he could make the transition given the proper time.
4) Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State – Werner is a strong bull rusher. I don’t believe he has a snowballs chance in hell at playing in a 3-4 successfully but I’ll give him the nod for this list regardless.
5) Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon – I like Jordan a lot. He’s a former TE so you know he has some ball skills. He played a lot in coverage at Oregon so his pass rush opportunities were cut down some but he still was able to be a force to be reckoned with. He’s a monster of a man at 6’7’’, 234lbs and has some nice speed to him. He can be a dominate DE or outside linebacker because he’s still fairly raw to football. So, whichever team takes him, they’ll be able to shape him into their system. Not very often is a project first rounder a sleeper but I consider Jordan a sleeper, he could turn into the top pass rusher from this draft.
6) Barkevious Mingo, OLB/DE, LSU – Mingo simply does not have the strength to be a DE in the NFL and that was proven this past season. He needs to play in a 3-4 as an OLB to be very effective. If that’s the case, he can be a disruptive force for any team that takes him. I’m not particularly a fan of either LSU pass rusher (Mingo and Montgomery) but I can’t leave them out entirely haha.
7) Alex Okafor, DE, Texas – Okafor is built to play in a 4-3 as a DE. He has the size, strength and speed to do whatever is asked of him. If need be he could stand up and play OLB but I don’t think it’d be worth it to even try. He should be quite the talent for whoever lands him.
8) Corey Lemonier, DE/OLB, Auburn – Lemonier is a great athlete who simply needs to bulk up some to be great in the NFL. He’s much more naturally suited for a 4-3 but he has the athleticism to play OLB If needed in a 3-4.
9) Sam Montgomery, DE/OLB, LSU – Unlike Mingo, Montgomery is much more suited to play as a 4-3 DE but Montgomery has a little bit more versatility to him so he could stand up and play as a 3-4 OLB without as much trouble as Mingo would have trying to play DE. If Montgomery can have a good showing at the combine, he may be able to leap over a handful of these other guys.
10) Trevardo Williams, OLB, Connecticut – Williams is one of my bigger sleepers this year. He’s a natural 3-4 OLB but he’s fairly small for that spot at 6’1’’, 235. He may be best set moving inside for a 3-4 or increasing his coverage abilities even more and becoming an OLB in a 4-3. He does have the ability to play as a 3-4 OLB in the NFL but because of his size, teams may shy away from him for that spot. It will all depend on who ends up drafting him.
11) Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford – Thomas is the ideal 3-4 OLB. He has the size and speed to go around or push through blockers and wreak havoc on the quarterback. He also has the versatility to play ILB if it’s asked of him but whoever takes Thomas needs to take him to play OLB in a 3-4, otherwise it’s a waste of his talent.
12) Jamie Collins, OLB, Southern Miss – Collins is fast and physical. During his time at Southern Miss he was very consistent for the team, getting to the QB on a frequent occasion. Don’t be surprised to see him rise up draft boards after the combine.
13) Travis Long, OLB, Washington State – Long fits the mold of a 3-4 OLB and much like Chase Thomas, any team who drafts Long needs to draft him with that position for him in mind. Otherwise it’ll be a waste of his talents. At 6’3’’, 256lbs he’s a force to be reckoned with and has all the natural ability to get to the QB. Long isn’t quite the NFL level talent yet, but given some time to develop, he can turn into a starter.
14) Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State – Carradine is a 4-3 DE but like with a few others, I’ll throw him into a 3-4 OLB conversation too. Carradine is big and physical but needs to add some weight to be a 4-3 DE in the NFL.
15) Brandon Jenkins, DE/OLB, Florida State – Jenkins probably should have gone back to school but he entered the draft. He can play DE or OLB but he’s probably better set at DE if he can add some weight.
16) Quanterus Smith, OLB/DE, Western Kentucky – Smith will be great in a 3-4 as an OLB. He had an ACL tear late in the season and that is going to kill his stock but if he can come back from that and be what he was, some team is going to strike gold here late in the draft. Smith had a 3 sack game against Alabama and it’s NFL caliber blockers, that is really all I need to know to be willing to spend a 5th round pick on this potential gigantic steal.
Other PositionsQB: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66429688&f=204RB: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66443964&f=204TE: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66483178&f=204DT/NT: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66457812&f=2043-4 DE: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66495698&f=2044-3 DE: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66495692&f=2043-4 OLB: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66495708&f=2044-3 OLB: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66495722&f=204CB: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=66470785&f=204EDIT: Putting in the links to all of today's lists.
This post was edited by Randolph on Feb 16 2013 06:13pm