ON BOARD WITH BROOKS REED-- Article

[RashanGary]

cbssportsline just stopped listing 10 yard splits, 3-cones, jumps and shuttles. Does anyone know anywhere else that offers that information?

[wootah]

cbssportsline just stopped listing 10 yard splits, 3-cones, jumps and shuttles. Does anyone know anywhere else that offers that information?

Combine numbers & measurements can be found at combine nr's. It's not updated by pro day numbers, but IMO that's a good thing; the combine means identical conditions for all prospects. The link is the OLB page, but you can switch by position. 10 yard splits are not available there, but for the OLB's the main ones are listed here; OLB 10 yard splits.

[Smidgeon]

I like Reed but I wonder if TT isn't hoping to draft him in the 2nd round, after all, Jones, Zombo, and Walden are all pretty good, and probably will make the team, so it's debatable how much they would use Reed. This draft is loaded at DL, Harrell is gone, Jenkins is on his way out, Pickett is getting old, Neal has been hurt, so DL is definitely a need. A guy I'm hoping will drop is Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State, he's strong as an ox, takes on double teams, and plays violent.

Ryan Pickett is 31 and won't turn 32 until October. While this is starting to get old for skill positions such as WR and RB, it isn't uncommon for players to play until 36, 37, or 38 on the DL. With how often they spell Pickett to keep him fresh, I'd expect him to be around and starting for another 5 years.

I personally don't see the need for DL that other people do. I could be wrong, but I don't see the need. Now, if TT sees a DLinemen as the best player available at 32, I won't whine.

I wish Harrell had worked out since he was (apparently) a run-stuffing beast in college, but sometimes those things don't work out and sometimes weight-lifting gurus lose jobs...

[Fritz]

I'm getting on the Justin Houston train. Just because.

[Bretsky]

Reed ain't lasting til the end of round two.

Poor Houston

[RashanGary]

I don't like Akeem Ayers. I watched his clip. He looks very AJ Hawk pedestrian to me. He's alright but no way I spend a first on him.

Justin Houston, they didn't show a lot of run game in his clip, but I like his size. If he's a dominant run stopper and solid in coverage, he has a chance. His pass rushing, I think he's good. I'd guess he's a 6-7 sack per year type player. If the rest of his game is complete, OK

Brooks Reed is my favorite. He plays a step faster than the two above. As a pure pass rusher, he's my favorite, but how their complete games come together, that's hard for me to say.


Ayers is the best coverage guy and worst against the run or rushing the passer.
Houston is the best against the run, 2nd best pass rusher and worst in coverage.
Reed is the best pass rusher, 2nd best run player and 2nd best in coverage.

With the info available to me, I like Reed the best.

Reed, Houston, Ayers in that order.

[woodbuck27]

cbssportsline just stopped listing 10 yard splits, 3-cones, jumps and shuttles. Does anyone know anywhere else that offers that information?

You get all that information and lots more on draft prospects by position @ this site (LINK below).

Has anyone looked at Rickey Elmore of Arizona who played with Brooks Reed and led the Pack 10 in sacks the past two seasons? He is a projected 4th round pick. Watch Rickey Elmore in videos of Arizona State games in video links. He can play and like Brooks Reed has a high motor.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=78819&draftyear=2011&genpos=DE

GO PACKERS!

[packrulz]

What worries me with Paea for the Pack is his length. DE's are typically not that short, and we already have a good NT and back-up. Where do you see him contribute, packrulz?

With Reed, it's the vertical that is a red flag. But like Fritz, I've complete faith in TT. Whoever he picks, I'm confident it'll be a good one

Paea is 6-1 tall, Jenkins is 6-2, so I don't think it matters that much. Last year scouts said Bulaga's arms were too short. Lol. If you remove Harrell and Jenkins the backups for Pickett are Howard Green, Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson, and Jarius Wynn, who are pretty good, but we could use more depth there.

[packrulz]

Ryan Pickett is 31 and won't turn 32 until October. While this is starting to get old for skill positions such as WR and RB, it isn't uncommon for players to play until 36, 37, or 38 on the DL. With how often they spell Pickett to keep him fresh, I'd expect him to be around and starting for another 5 years.

I personally don't see the need for DL that other people do. I could be wrong, but I don't see the need. Now, if TT sees a DLinemen as the best player available at 32, I won't whine.

I wish Harrell had worked out since he was (apparently) a run-stuffing beast in college, but sometimes those things don't work out and sometimes weight-lifting gurus lose jobs...

Actually, Harrell is still on the roster, but I'm losing hope he'll ever contribute. Pickett needs a breather now and then, I just think that there is more quality on the DL in the 1st round, most of the boards I've seen have Houston and Ayers ranked ahead of Brooks, who will probably be drafted in the 2nd round. And I'm not knocking Brooks, I like him, I'm just saying the draft is deeper at other positions early on.

[RashanGary]

I think the NFL is about big plays and some things matter more than others. Waldo showed me that the Packers at least are interested in great athletes who also make big plays.

Last year I went through and looked at the best athletes, then looked at their production, then looked at their highlight videos. I found two freak athletes who had excellent production (one a little less due to an injury) and were amazing on the highlight film. And when I say amazing, I don't mean an OT missed his block so the pass rusher had a free shot. I don't mean a RB had a free wide open lane and nobody touched him on his way to the endzone.

The guys I picked to be underrated were Ryan Matthews and Tyson Alualu. Matthews was picked anywhere from about pick 20 to the 2nd round. Alualu was early to mid 2nd round. Alualu tossed OL around like Gerald McCoy. His production was just as high and his athletic ability was equal. Plus he's as solid of a personality as you're going to find. Matthews showed break away speed, very good one cut agility and an amazing ability to break tackles. Guys with that skillset tend to be dominant runners in the NFL. People called him Ryan Grant, but when you watch the highlights, all of his big plays came after breaking one or two tackles. That's more AP than Ryan Grant-like.

When the draft finally rolled around, both guys went in the top 12 I believe. NOBODY had them going that high. I said Matthews looked bettre than Spiller and McCoy and Suh had nothing on Alualu.


I think it's better to look at the athletic numbers (only take great athletes), look at the production (I don't think we're good enough to find the deep diamonds in the rough), and then look at the game tape for the must haves at each position. Maybe I was lucky last year, but I picked the two players that people at the most underrated in the whole draft. Sometimes just the WOW factor mixed with athletic ability and production is enough. Of course, Ted tends to find guys who didn't even have good production in college, just going off of tape. I can't do that, but I think I there is enough info to pick some underrated players if you just go with what you see and ignore what Kiper writes.

[wootah]

Paea is 6-1 tall, Jenkins is 6-2, so I don't think it matters that much. Last year scouts said Bulaga's arms were too short. Lol. If you remove Harrell and Jenkins the backups for Pickett are Howard Green, Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson, and Jarius Wynn, who are pretty good, but we could use more depth there.

When looking at the depth charts of the 3-4 teams on nfl.com, these are the lengths of the 2 starters.

cleveland 6-5 & 6-6
pittsburgh6-3 & 6-5
packers 6-2 & 6-2 (Pick & Jenkins)
dolphins 6-6 & 6-3
pats 6-4 & 6-4
jets 6-5 & 6-3
cowboys 6-5 & 6-5
chiefs 6-4 & 6-1
chargers 6-2 & 6-3
cards 6-8 & 6-4

The one guy who is 6-1 (Chiefs) is Glen Dorsey, who was drafted to be a 4-3 DT. I'm not saying it can't be done by Paea, but he sure doesn't fit the mold as the typical DE. There should be some "classic" DE's available though at the end of the 1st in the likes of Muhammed Wilkerson or Cameron Heyward.

[Smidgeon]

Actually, Harrell is still on the roster, but I'm losing hope he'll ever contribute. Pickett needs a breather now and then, I just think that there is more quality on the DL in the 1st round, most of the boards I've seen have Houston and Ayers ranked ahead of Brooks, who will probably be drafted in the 2nd round. And I'm not knocking Brooks, I like him, I'm just saying the draft is deeper at other positions early on.

I know Harrell is still on the roster, and I'm holding onto a sliver of hope that he gets another shot. I want him to have another shot, but I really don't see it happening with his injuries. The possible silver-lining is that the ACL tear meant that his back got a lot of extra rest. Who knows, he could come into OTAs or training camp in the best shape of his life. But I sadly think he gets cut before he can try to show anything.

[vince]

I'm a bit iffy on Reed. I like him, and if TT likes him that's good enough for me, but while he busted out against Iowa, his production wasn't great overall and I don't see the explosiveness that Matthews possesses. But he has good size and I think could complement Matthews well. I'd be happier with Houston personally, who also has the size but is a better edge rusher IMO.

[woodbuck27]

Reed ain't lasting til the end of round two.

Poor Houston

I predict that his draft status will rise over the next month. Having predicted that:

Ted Thompson will not error with pick # 32. We have a solid core at the LB position. I predict that we will not see Brooks Reed in a Packer jersey as we have more pressing needs on the DL and OL. Ted Thompson will not risk 'the glamour pick' to appease Packer fans.

GO PACKERS!