woodbuck27
07-03-2006, 11:50 AM
I just discovered (this dated article) today and thought it would be worth pasing along to y'all.
Hawk soars LB considered by many to be best player in '06 draft
By: Don Banks > Inside the NFL
At some point, the NFL draft morphed into an all-out debate, a cacophony of voices and opinions. This year the topics that dominated the discussion were Reggie Bush versus Matt Leinart, and later Mario Williams, in the battle for the No. 1 pick; Leinart versus Vince Young in a clash of quarterbacking styles; and the NFL viability of Jay Cutler, given his meager win-loss record as a collegiate starter.
All of those topics made for fascinating dissection, but as the league's two-day rookie job-fair extravaganza prepares to kick off in New York City on Saturday, have we overlooked the most obvious question of all? Who's the best pure football player with the highest probability of being a great professional?
In interviewing league personnel men, coaches and executives for the past two months, I've heard one name mentioned more than others, and it might surprise you. It's not Bush, as gifted a game-breaking talent as he is. It's not Williams, Leinart, Young or Cutler, all of whom have at least one or two significant question marks attached to their scouting reports.
It's Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, who has inspired nary a negative word in the months-long predraft screening process. Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage, one of the more respected personnel evaluators in the league, labeled Hawk "the safest pick in the draft.'' New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, whose Saints have strongly considered taking Hawk with the No. 2 pick, said his personnel men believe Hawk is the best linebacker prospect since Junior Seau was the No. 5 pick in 1990 by San Diego.
And a handful of team officials have told me that Hawk is the one player in this year's draft who's guaranteed to start, and make an impact, immediately. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard that level of certainty about any other prospect in this year's draft, including Bush, who is considered a once-in-a-generation talent at running back.
People have questioned whether Bush can make enough of an impact with 15 to 20 touches a game. Williams, for most of his college career, wasn't even the best defensive end at N.C. State, and he has yet to show consistent production over an entire season. Some personnel men theorize that Leinart benefited greatly from the talented USC offensive system and that he's already as good as he's ever going to be. And Cutler has some mechanical issues and bad habits that even his staunchest supporters acknowledge will have to be worked out early in his pro career.
But Hawk, who most agree will be taken at No. 5 by Green Bay, is talked about within league circles as the obvious Defensive Rookie of the Year-in-waiting, a can't-miss talent in a first-round pool that always carries as much risk as reward.
"He is the real thing,'' Browns head coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said of Hawk. "He's a playmaker. He runs all over the place, and he runs to the ball. He's got some size, some speed, some production. I like all those things.''
The Packers are desperate for playmakers and leadership on defense, and that's why Hawk figures to be a no-brainer if he's available at No. 5. Green Bay's belief is that Hawk will walk in the door and instantly help change the mentality on defense.
"I'd like to come in and see what I can do in the NFL and try to make an impact,'' Hawk said. "[Linebacker] is a position where a lot of times they say they don't want to draft people too high because they think, How much impact can a linebacker have? But guys like Shawne Merriman and Lofa Tatupu had huge years [as rookies last year].
"The linebacker position ... with all the defenses they're playing, and with the offenses you have to face -- one week you're facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you. You have to be able to do a little bit of everything.''
Hawk does a little bit of everything and he does it all well. He can play any linebacker position in a 3-4 or 4-3 alignment. Some scouts see him as the ideal inside linebacker in a 3-4, while others suggest he would be best used as the weakside linebacker in a 4-3, chasing the ball from sideline to sideline.
At 6-foot-1, 248 pounds, Hawk has the size to shed NFL blockers and get heavily involved in run defense and jamming a hole at the line of scrimmage. But he's also quick enough (he ran a 4.45 in the 40 at Ohio State's pro day) to drop into coverage and blanket a potential receiver or chase down a quarterback on the blitz. You won't see Hawk coming off the field in certain situations, and that only adds to his value in the eyes of league personnel evaluators.
San Diego's Merriman and Seattle's Tatupu were impact rookies at linebacker last season, with Merriman becoming the fifth player at that position in the past six years to earn the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Merriman went 11th overall to the Chargers and Tatupu was taken by the Seahawks in the second round. Linebackers may not be selected as high these days as they once were, but Hawk will be an exception. The last top-five linebacker was LaVar Arrington in 2000, who went No. 2 to Washington out of Penn State.
"It's understandable,'' Hawk said. "Obviously we're not big defensive ends, who are going to get 15 to 18 sacks a year. We're not going to be a running back, who's going to rush for 1,500 yards. [Linebacker] is a spot where there's three or four of them on the field. I guess you can justify not taking [linebackers] too high. But all I want is a chance, regardless of where I'm taken.''
Hawk is going to get his chance. And though he won't have a No. 1 next to his name on Saturday, that doesn't mean he's not the guy many NFL scouts seem to think of first when it comes to a sure bet.
Hawk soars LB considered by many to be best player in '06 draft
By: Don Banks > Inside the NFL
At some point, the NFL draft morphed into an all-out debate, a cacophony of voices and opinions. This year the topics that dominated the discussion were Reggie Bush versus Matt Leinart, and later Mario Williams, in the battle for the No. 1 pick; Leinart versus Vince Young in a clash of quarterbacking styles; and the NFL viability of Jay Cutler, given his meager win-loss record as a collegiate starter.
All of those topics made for fascinating dissection, but as the league's two-day rookie job-fair extravaganza prepares to kick off in New York City on Saturday, have we overlooked the most obvious question of all? Who's the best pure football player with the highest probability of being a great professional?
In interviewing league personnel men, coaches and executives for the past two months, I've heard one name mentioned more than others, and it might surprise you. It's not Bush, as gifted a game-breaking talent as he is. It's not Williams, Leinart, Young or Cutler, all of whom have at least one or two significant question marks attached to their scouting reports.
It's Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, who has inspired nary a negative word in the months-long predraft screening process. Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage, one of the more respected personnel evaluators in the league, labeled Hawk "the safest pick in the draft.'' New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, whose Saints have strongly considered taking Hawk with the No. 2 pick, said his personnel men believe Hawk is the best linebacker prospect since Junior Seau was the No. 5 pick in 1990 by San Diego.
And a handful of team officials have told me that Hawk is the one player in this year's draft who's guaranteed to start, and make an impact, immediately. I don't know about you, but I haven't heard that level of certainty about any other prospect in this year's draft, including Bush, who is considered a once-in-a-generation talent at running back.
People have questioned whether Bush can make enough of an impact with 15 to 20 touches a game. Williams, for most of his college career, wasn't even the best defensive end at N.C. State, and he has yet to show consistent production over an entire season. Some personnel men theorize that Leinart benefited greatly from the talented USC offensive system and that he's already as good as he's ever going to be. And Cutler has some mechanical issues and bad habits that even his staunchest supporters acknowledge will have to be worked out early in his pro career.
But Hawk, who most agree will be taken at No. 5 by Green Bay, is talked about within league circles as the obvious Defensive Rookie of the Year-in-waiting, a can't-miss talent in a first-round pool that always carries as much risk as reward.
"He is the real thing,'' Browns head coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said of Hawk. "He's a playmaker. He runs all over the place, and he runs to the ball. He's got some size, some speed, some production. I like all those things.''
The Packers are desperate for playmakers and leadership on defense, and that's why Hawk figures to be a no-brainer if he's available at No. 5. Green Bay's belief is that Hawk will walk in the door and instantly help change the mentality on defense.
"I'd like to come in and see what I can do in the NFL and try to make an impact,'' Hawk said. "[Linebacker] is a position where a lot of times they say they don't want to draft people too high because they think, How much impact can a linebacker have? But guys like Shawne Merriman and Lofa Tatupu had huge years [as rookies last year].
"The linebacker position ... with all the defenses they're playing, and with the offenses you have to face -- one week you're facing a spread offense and the next week a team is trying to pound the ball on you. You have to be able to do a little bit of everything.''
Hawk does a little bit of everything and he does it all well. He can play any linebacker position in a 3-4 or 4-3 alignment. Some scouts see him as the ideal inside linebacker in a 3-4, while others suggest he would be best used as the weakside linebacker in a 4-3, chasing the ball from sideline to sideline.
At 6-foot-1, 248 pounds, Hawk has the size to shed NFL blockers and get heavily involved in run defense and jamming a hole at the line of scrimmage. But he's also quick enough (he ran a 4.45 in the 40 at Ohio State's pro day) to drop into coverage and blanket a potential receiver or chase down a quarterback on the blitz. You won't see Hawk coming off the field in certain situations, and that only adds to his value in the eyes of league personnel evaluators.
San Diego's Merriman and Seattle's Tatupu were impact rookies at linebacker last season, with Merriman becoming the fifth player at that position in the past six years to earn the league's Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Merriman went 11th overall to the Chargers and Tatupu was taken by the Seahawks in the second round. Linebackers may not be selected as high these days as they once were, but Hawk will be an exception. The last top-five linebacker was LaVar Arrington in 2000, who went No. 2 to Washington out of Penn State.
"It's understandable,'' Hawk said. "Obviously we're not big defensive ends, who are going to get 15 to 18 sacks a year. We're not going to be a running back, who's going to rush for 1,500 yards. [Linebacker] is a spot where there's three or four of them on the field. I guess you can justify not taking [linebackers] too high. But all I want is a chance, regardless of where I'm taken.''
Hawk is going to get his chance. And though he won't have a No. 1 next to his name on Saturday, that doesn't mean he's not the guy many NFL scouts seem to think of first when it comes to a sure bet.