Damarious Randall, 2015 First Round Pick

[wist43]

One thing is for sure, half of ths scouts and evaluators are out to lunch on this guy, because it seems half really like him and half are not impressed at all.

Some criticize his tackling, yet in 2014 he led the team with 106, and was the first DB to get 100 since 2003. So, at least he seems to be a willing tackler. That was evident also on the videos. That is the bigger part of the battle in making a DB a good tackler. Many don't want to tackle. If he wants to tackle, he can be taught to tackle. If he doesn't want to tackle, he will never be good at it.

From the combine video he looks solid, but on the field he is very noticeably small. It will be interesting to see him on the practice field with Hayward and Shields. House was the only answer the Packers had last year for a couple of the big receivers that went nuts against them. I can't see this guy filling that role at all.

Wist said he saw him ranked as a 5th round pick. I have not seen any that low, although old ones have him much lower than more recent ones. McGinn had him as a first round pick and the #2 overall safety. A couple write-ups said he was the best NFL prospect at safety, because of much better cover skills than other safeties.

The league seems to be moving toward more and more big CBs, to face the huge WRs that are taking over. GB seems to be going the opposite direction, with shorter and slighter CBs who can run and jump. It did not serve them well last year.

I think everyone agrees that he reacts quickly to the ball, and catches it very easily and naturally. Looks like he has huge hands, but those darned gloves they wear now sometime make it deceiving.

I don't know if I should think of him as a CB or S. I don't hate the pick, but I'm not excited by it either. I would be if they didn't have HHCD from last year.

That 106 tackles is just a number... watch the tape, and everytime he escorts a receiver out of bounds?? That's considered a "tackle". He may not have even touched the guy, but b/c he was the closest defender, he gets credit for the tackle.

He's so small, and plays even smaller - that the only chance he has to get guys on the ground is to dive at their ankles, hence the charge that he is an "ankle biter".

He may be able to play the slot, and he may be able to stay with #3 WR's on the NFL level, but he had no business being a 1st round draft pick... terrible tackler, just terrible.

The more I watch of this guy, the more I'm shocked that anyone would think he was a 1st round pick.

[Patler]

In Mike Mayock's one and only mock, he had Randall going to SEATTLE at #20 pick.

Oops...maybe it was the EAGLES. Either way, it's #20 pick.

McGinn had him at #20 to the Eagles, too.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Willie Wood was the surest tackler I've ever seen and he was a 5'10" 190 lb. ankle-biter.

[mraynrand]

It's just a shame they couldn't get House resigned. I understand the pick as you can't be shorthanded in the secondary with today's pass happy rules. But with Malcolm Brown sitting there it would have been nice to not feel compelled to pick a backend player.

Steelers' secondary is a mess, and they picked the pass rusher. Hmmm....

[Freak Out]

Well...when the QB is on his back it's hard to complete a pass.

[mraynrand]

Just in general though, I think Teddy picks some of these guys a little raw, because it's the only way you can get a player outside the top 20. Every year I see those top 20 guys go by and am amazed at the combination of physical traits they have. I don't think this Randall guy woulda lasted much longer and maybe he has enough upside to make him a very good player in a few years. The Byron Jones guy on the other hand may just not get all that much better.

[mraynrand]

Well...when the QB is on his back it's hard to complete a pass.

that's how the Giants won two SBs. That and some serious good fortune.

[wist43]

Willie Wood was the surest tackler I've ever seen and he was a 5'10" 190 lb. ankle-biter.

That was at a time when NFL Offensive Linemen weight 230 lbs... and to mention Randall in the same sentence as Willie Wood is enough to get your thrown out of any Green and Gold tavern in Wisconsin!!

[Cheesehead Craig]

I don't see this guy as a disaster like others are and making it sound like we just signed Bush to a 5yr/$50M contract. CB was a position we needed and we got one (albeit a converted S). He's got coverage skills and is willing to be physical. Sounds like a real good pick.

[Maxie the Taxi]

That was at a time when NFL Offensive Linemen weight 230 lbs... and to mention Randall in the same sentence as Willie Wood is enough to get your thrown out of any Green and Gold tavern in Wisconsin!!

Actually, you put Randall and Wood in the same sentence. I didn't.

[red]

I think he's a corner with the versatility to play safety, and later he will. Kind of like Antrell Rolle. I don't hate or like the pick, but he wasn't a reach. Bob and Kiper had him going in the early 20's. Most had him going in the top 40--Lindy's and their two month old scouting reports notwithstanding. I think if people had been thinking of him as a CB, they'd like him a lot more. To me, he's similar prospect to Eric Rowe.

you're gonna rip on me for reading lindy's, yet you're gonna listen to mel kiper? i'd rather listen to scouting reports from my dog then listen to mel

[Carolina_Packer]

I think part of the reaction to Damarious Randall is that his name is not Stephone Anthony, which many were expecting, the way things fell. Even worse for some, he was the very next pick to the Saints. Is that fair?

[MadScientist]

I don't see this guy as a disaster like others are and making it sound like we just signed Bush to a 5yr/$50M contract. CB was a position we needed and we got one (albeit a converted S). He's got coverage skills and is willing to be physical. Sounds like a real good pick.

CB was a big need, and this guy gives them some flexibility. They can use him as the slot corner, or take MB or HaHa out and use him in the Woodson role (might be a bit much to ask in his first year). Combine with Clay moving in and out and you have a recipe for confusing the offense. Or a recipe for confusing themselves when there are 'communications breakdowns'.

I won't say I love this pick, but I certainly don't hate it.

[red]

I think part of the reaction to Damarious Randall is that his name is not Stephone Anthony, which many were expecting, the way things fell. Even worse for some, he was the very next pick to the Saints. Is that fair?

i think part of the reaction was that he was announced as a safety when there were better safeties on the board in many peoples mind, and we didn't need a safety.

then it came out he would be a CB, even though he hasn't played there in two years, so he will not only have to make the jump to the nfl, but also relearn the position, not to mention, there were still good cb's on the board ranked highly, who already know how to play the position

[red]

I don't see this guy as a disaster like others are and making it sound like we just signed Bush to a 5yr/$50M contract. CB was a position we needed and we got one (albeit a converted S). He's got coverage skills and is willing to be physical. Sounds like a real good pick.

its funny you mentioned bush. while watching that oregon state clip, i thought to myself "my god, we just drafted jerrett bush in the first"