Thread: Defensive Lineman Impress in Today's Workouts

Originally Posted by Jimmors

Also, i have nothing to base this on, but perhaps Mario wouldnt mind being teamed up with Okoye again (and across from Peppers)

I think they would all be licking their chops and their egos would drive them individually to beat each other to the QB. It would almost be unfair.

Originally Posted by Jimmors

Also, i have nothing to base this on, but perhaps Mario wouldnt mind being teamed up with Okoye again (and across from Peppers)

Williams would look pretty darn good wearing #95 now that AA is gone.

Originally Posted by 4DaBERS

I know I brought this up in another thread, but now that he has performed well in the combine, we might want to be taking a better look at Mercilus. I know he only had one standout year, but it was a dandy. All the measurables just point to a guy that finally matured and progressed to a level to break out, and he did so against very good competition. The guy is fast, quick, great size, strong and huge long arms to be able to beat the hell outta OT's. I know we can show examples of guys that didn't pan out as one year wonders, but there are just as many, if not more that do very well. If he had stayed for his final year and had similar numbers, he would go top 5 in 2013. If someone like DeCastro is there, I take him, but short of that, I would be very excited to see Whitney with a "C" on his head.

I know his measurables gave him a boost at the Combine and I think some post season coaching has gotten him around some issues he may have had in college both physically and with his technique but I would guess he still has some maturing to do. You're right, he may well have benefited from staying for one more year if for no other reason than the opportunity to prove he wasn't just a one year wonder.

The one thing in his scouting report that concerns me the most is the criticism that he lacks instincts and a natural feel for the game. Marinelli many be able to help him with a lot of issues as far as his technique is concerned but I don't know if you can coach football instincts into a guy. I think either you are or your not.

Mike Brown was a great example of a guy who wasn't the biggest, fastest or most athletic Safety in the game but the guy had All-Pro instincts and could find the ball whether it was on the ground of through the air. J'Marcus Webb may be an example of just the opposite. A guy with size, natural strength and a lot of athleticism for a 335 lb man but if you ask me I don't think he's very bright nor does he have a real feel for the game which is why despite his physical tool he gets beaten as often as he does.

I think the question that needs to be answered is he a JWebb kind of guy with a lot of physical tools who will never be as good as he could be if he was just a better football player and less of an athlete. I don't have a serious problem taking him but I think we could drop down a ways and still get him. NFP has him in the #32 spot in the draft and a number of guys have passed him up so he's dropped down in the DE rankings. Maybe his Combine interviews didn't come off well.

Here's the summary of his NFP scouting report;

Impression: Physically he looks the part and has the skill to simply man handle college lineman at times. However, he's a raw kid who is stiff in the hips and doesn't have a great feel for the game when asked to find the football. He's got some upside, but his tightness and overall lack of natural feel for the game are two very big concerns that will keep him from being the type of pass rusher his freaky skill set says he could.

He and Vinny Curry are real similar in size and rankings and it's possible both may end up in the early to mid 2nd round. I think we'll know more as we close in on the draft. He may look better to teams at his pro day. As it stands he's probably not going as high as #19 but that's now. He may climb or fall more before that draft.

Originally Posted by motownbear

I would say it all depends on FA. If we splurge on Mario Williams or Cliff Avril its obvious we arent getting a DE. If we splurge on wrs its obvious we arent going after a WR


either way we are super thin at WR, OT, DE, LB, DB and as far as quality we are really lacking at WR and OT

You're 100% right mo and that's exactly what I hope we do. MWill is the guy I want to see in Chicago. I think overall he a much better player than Avril and he comes with a better attitude. If we can convince him he has a better chance to go to a SB here and of the excitement of playing with guys like Pep and Urlacher we may stand a chance. He's already come out and said $$$ won't be the only factor whereas Avril has said it will be the only factor for him. "No hometown discount", "Show me the Money".

I'd love to see us get MWill, Royal and another taller WR in FA and then draft another in the 2nd so we can use that first on any of the positions you listed. There's not one where we couldn't stand to upgrade at least one starting position with that guy. I'd like to be in a position not to have to draft for a specific position in the first round. There are gonna be some very talented guy still on the board and it would be nice if we could grab a sure thing.