Damarious Randall, 2015 First Round Pick

[Pugger]

I confess, I don't see him as a safety. But I am routinely wrong about college to pro moves. But it seems safe to say the Packers see him as a CB as well.

He better be able to play CB. Why in the hell do we keep trying to shove round pegs into square holes like we did here and a couple of years ago with Nick Perry?

[Pugger]

alright, i watched the rest of those videos, and although he looks "ok", at no point did i think i was watching a must have first round player

and it can't be overlooked that we just went from picking from all the ILBs to probably hoping we get at least 1 left over after everyone else is done picking through them, just to draft this guy. so he damn well better turn out to be wood jr, or else this will go down as a massive fail for TT in my eyes

I really don't think this was a great draft class. I heard some say only the top 20 guys in the first round were first round value this year.

[pbmax]

Packer Report @PackerReport 15m15 minutes ago
Seale on Damarious Randall: Baseball player, good hands, slot, free safety

[call_me_ishmael]

Did they give him number 36? He is only a corner because he they have good safety depth. He will play center field by the end of the season.

[wist43]

I know some of these have been mentioned, but I went on line to list as many evaluations as I could. Here goes:

NFL. Com:

Maycock - #30 of his top 100, mocked him being draft at #20.
Brandt - #35 of his top 40 list.
Jeremiah – not included in his top 50.
Brooks – mocked at #29. Ranked as a “Red Chip Prospect” (contribute immediately, starter by end of the year).
Zierlein & Reuter – mocked at #40.

National Football Post - #85 on their "Big Board".

Banks (Sports Illustrated) - mocked at #29

Walter Football - mocked at #38.

Rang (CBS Sports) - #29

Matt Miner (Bleacher Report) - mocked at #29

Schrager (Fox Sports) - mocked at #27

McGinn (JSO) - mocked at #20, ranked as the #2 safety available.

Can't believe anyone really believes the kid should have gone that high... sounds like someone started a misdirection campaign that this kid was a player, and people began to believe the ruse.

Seriously, just put on the game tape of the guy... he couldn't tackle your grandmother. Soft, softer, and please don't hurt me type of player. The more I watched of the guy, the more I thought I was alone in the Twilight Zone - wondering, am I the only one who is seeing this??

Apparently I am the only one who is seeing it, b/c what I saw of Randall should have him flipping burgers at McDonalds before he belongs on an NFL roster.

I'm sure he'd be All-World in a flag football league - but the NFL aint that.

[3irty1]

Some stuff that sticks out to me:

1) He obviously is a guy you want on your team when the ball is in the air. Has a high end skill set as a coverman and flys on a football field.
2) You can tell we loved the footage where they blitzed him from the slot. Its a move we pull a lot and he's nightmarishly quick in that situation. Teleports to the QB.
3) An excellent gunner. Really just awesome at slipping blocks in general.
4) A form tackler but puts no momentum behind it. I think I could be describe it as a catcher mentality. Goes low, even while blitzing. Tons of examples of him being drug an extra yard for a first down in a situation where Haha or Burnett would have stopped the guy cold.
5) The rest of his team is the EXACT SAME WAY! Makes you wonder if this is a coaching mandate. You start to see a different player at the senior bowl. Maybe its just the extra weight but he's spinning guys down much more violently there.
6) I saw some brain farts filling in for the run. Going to the totally wrong gap, lots of false steps. Nothing like Jimmy Ward in this regard. Stuff I've never seen from Burnett or Haha. Between this and the block slipping talent that's mostly wasted as a safety, it does make this move to corner come into focus a bit.
7) You know that Seahawks game where Haha fucked up that open field tackle that went for a TD? Randall does that all the time. Like 0 for 4 in that situation where its just him and a guy who's just out of reach. He'll find a way to fuck that up. Its that catcher mentality I was talking about. Take one more step towards the guy and he's got him but he never does this. I think this is correctable by coaching. If he were such a film guy you'd think he'd have this solved before it becomes such a pattern.

[vince]

Of all the picks Ted made, this is the one I don't like the most. They obviously had lower grades on all the ILB's but Kendricks or Anthony would step in and provide great value almost immediately. I'm sure Randall is a good player but I'm just not seeing how he brings more value than one of those two guys at the 30 spot.

He looks like he will be a great special teamer and perhaps a great boundary cover corner but he'll have to be that to bring greater value than one of the two ILB's I think. I'm not apoplectic about his tackling but I don't think anyone is going to value him in the slot for run support over Hyde or Hayward.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.

[Brandon494]

Of all the picks Ted made, this is the one I don't like the most. They obviously had lower grades on all the ILB's but Kendricks or Anthony would step in and provide great value almost immediately. I'm sure Randall is a good player but I'm just not seeing how he brings more value than one of those two guys at the 30 spot.

He looks like he will be a great special teamer and perhaps a great boundary cover corner but he'll have to be that to bring greater value than one of the two ILB's I think. I'm not apoplectic about his tackling but I don't think anyone is going to value him in the slot for run support over Hyde or Hayward.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.

This is a passing league in which teams now throw 68% of the time. Finding replacements Williams and House imo was more important the replacing Hawk and Jones. I also think getting Jake Ryan in the 4th made up for not drafting a ILB with the 1st pick, I really like this kid and see him as a future starter for us. I think it also means we are going to see Clay Matthews at ILB a lot this upcoming season.

[vince]

This is a passing league in which teams now throw 68% of the time. Finding replacements Williams and House imo was more important the replacing Hawk and Jones. I also think getting Jake Ryan in the 4th made up for not drafting a ILB with the 1st pick, I really like this kid and see him as a future starter for us. I think it also means we are going to see Clay Matthews at ILB a lot this upcoming season.

I can buy that. I do think he's very sticky covering 1 on 1 - and not in the Ahmad Carroll sense - and makes plays on the ball.

[3irty1]

It seems to me NFL fans in general value balance more than NFL brass. Look at draft histories of teams like the Texans, Giants, Rams, and even Lions. Those teams would ignore big holes on their rosters in favor of bolstering an already strong defensive line via the draft in hopes of turning it dominant. They'd rather be 3 or 4 deep at DE or DT than even field quality starters in other units. I wonder if that's what the Packers are up to. Attempting to construct a dominant and injury proof unit for the defensive scheme to revolve around. After a superbowl featuring the two best secondaries in football it might make a little sense.

The types of secondary players they took is also telling. The Packers have Joe Whitt who they clearly view as an advantage worth leveraging.

[Patler]

This is a passing league in which teams now throw 68% of the time. Finding replacements Williams and House imo was more important the replacing Hawk and Jones. I also think getting Jake Ryan in the 4th made up for not drafting a ILB with the 1st pick, I really like this kid and see him as a future starter for us. I think it also means we are going to see Clay Matthews at ILB a lot this upcoming season.

Agreed, and I think they are willing to overlook tackling deficiencies in a CB if they think he will provide tight coverage, especially if he has a knack for interceptions.

[Pugger]

should be noted that walter football gave the pick a B- because it was a bit of a reach and ILB was clearly a bigger need with all ILB's available at the time

But would taking a ILB at 30 be also a reach? And wasn't CB a need too?

[wootah]

Reading the panic reactions after the draft is almost as fun as getting the new players. Relax, guys. They are handpicked by TT who clearly isn't flawless, but who has proven himself as one of the best at this and CLEARLY knows more than any of us... I can somewhat enjoy the constant pessimism/trolling of some here, but to condemn the careers of these guys, who still have to see their 1st NFL training session, is silly.



NO WIST, NOT THE YOUNGLINGS!!

[Patler]

I thought that half-way through the year, with Randall apparently now the starter at CB, it might be fun to look back on our comments when he was drafted.

[mraynrand]

with Randall apparently now the starter at CB,

apparently not anymore