Originally Posted by
JustinHarrell
reading The comments McGinn got from personnel guys, there isnt a first round safety in this bunch. And Ive been saying that for a while. Pryor and Dix know how to play, but this is the NFL and you better be the sharpest knife in the set if you're going to run 4.6 from the safety position, especially free safety where covering ground is at the very top of your job description. Clinton-dix skillset just doesnt transfer. He has no real redeaming quality other than being the most refined free safety in a poor class.
Pryor, now heres a guy who brings legitimate strong safety skills, but he's slow and he's not a true leader of the defense type that you would want from a less than stellar athlete. And strong safety just isnt as important as free safety as of late. 20 years ago, yeah, today, i wouldnt take pryor either.
And that brings us to Jimmie Ward, a more impressive athlete than Haha, faster, but smallish, from a smaller school and has character concerns. 21st pick? Id probably feel better about him than the other two, but no friggin way, not when hes immature.
So we're left looking at corners and ILBs if we want to really improve our back 7. Fuller is probably the best player, but light and injury prone. I dont knowmif our guy is there. Shazier and Mosley are our best bet, in this draft, to really improve our back 7. Shazier scares me the more i read. Hes not a true "leader of the defense" type and i put a lot of stock in that from ILBs and safeties. Their games tie together with so many other players, you need a guy who really knows what is going on or mistakes happen over and over and over. Love his speed, looks like Patick Willis when hes chasing. Love his big hits, again, Willis. But Willis is a true leader, a guy who studies and sets the tone for preparation. Shazier, it looks like its all about him.
So for me, if we're going to get better in the middle, the guy I like in the first round is Mosley. Unlike Clinton-Dix and Pryor, mosley is a very good athlete for his position. Runs the same as haha and Pryor, but bigger and more explosive 35" vertical jump. He's a legit 1st round talent. And hes a true gamer, unlike both safeties. Hes the heart and soul of his defense. Hes the leader. He diagnoses and anticipates as well as anyone. His zone coverage is off the charts. The NFL is littered with elite athletes like Shazier who just never put it together. It's also littered with long-time quality inside players like mosley who are poor athletes but more than any other position, ilB makes up for it with awareness and instincts. Mosley isnt a poor athlete though. Hes a really fine athlete. He has the complete package and hes the back 7 player im most hoping for on Thursday because he has the qualities that dominate iLBs have in the nFL, not just combine, but all of it.