First Round Pick 2019, Rashan Gary

[wist43]

Fritz has watched him play and witnessed the overhype for four years in row. He's probably the best Gary source in here as he has seen and heard more about Gary than all of us combined. Just because Wist is trying to backtrack from his ex strong views doesn't mean Fritz will

Some rationalization involved in that backtracking, lol... but, truth be told, I decided to drink some koolaid, calmly watched all of Gute's pressers, and heard him out. Went back and looked at a lot more tape of Gary... I can honestly say now, that at least I see the rationale behind the pick, and think the kid has a chance.

Low floor, high ceiling... and not really sure what we have there.

[HarveyWallbangers]

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'm excited about the pieces that Pettine can fit together. P. Smith, Clark, and Daniels are no slouches, but the chess pieces that are Z. Smith and Gary are going to be fun to watch. If Savage and Amos are as good as I think they'll be and King and Alexander can mostly stay healthy, there's no reason this defense shouldn't easily be in the top 10.

[HarveyWallbangers]

He had two 1 on 1 pass rush opportunities in the first game (Rutgers). The first three plays in the second game (Penn State) are funny. Starts at the 16:00 mark. Winovich cleaning up Gary's dirty work at 17:00 mark.

Guy doing the evaluation is a Lions fan who was pounding the table for the Lions to take Gary at #8.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Gute said they are going to play him primarily standing up, so the possibilities are endless there. It sounds like Pettine will be employing a lot more 3-3 this year - which I've been beating the drum for for quite some time.

You might get your wish. The guy in the video said Gary would be best in a 3-3-5 over.

[mraynrand]

I'm excited about the pieces that Pettine can fit together. P. Smith, Clark, and Daniels are no slouches, but the chess pieces that are Z. Smith and Gary are going to be fun to watch. If Savage and Amos are as good as I think they'll be and King and Alexander can mostly stay healthy, there's no reason this defense shouldn't easily be in the top 10.

yep. There's plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this defense.

[HarveyWallbangers]

The Lions fan in that video also absolutely loved Savage. He had Gary ranked #8 as an overall prospect and Savage #17.

[pbmax]

Gute said they are going to play him primarily standing up, so the possibilities are endless there. It sounds like Pettine will be employing a lot more 3-3 this year - which I've been beating the drum for for quite some time.

Where have you been? Pettine was playing 3-3-5 all last year when the down and distance might have allowed for a run.

[RashanGary]

[RashanGary]

That’s a really good cut up of Gary. Takes time to look at what’s actually happening. If you’re really curious about what Gary did on the field and want some commentary from someone who puts a lot of energy into evaluating talent, that’s worth a look

[wist43]

Where have you been? Pettine was playing 3-3-5 all last year when the down and distance might have allowed for a run.

I know he played it it some, and be honest I cant say how much b/c I didn't watch every game last year as my life has gotten too busy to keep up.

Gute has made some significant upgrades over the past 2 years though, and I think we're actually going to see a legitimate, upper tier defense next year.

If Gary can stay healthy, and improve his technique - 2 big ifs - our front 6/7 could actually be close to badass.

I love the Savage pick, and the Smith's and Amos were on my FA wishlist - so outside of the Gary curveball, I've pretty much gotten what I wanted out of this offseason; and, as I said, upon reflection and further study I get the Gary pick... I hope he works out.

[HarveyWallbangers]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhFmPap0WwM

18:25 mark

[mraynrand]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KhFmPap0WwM

18:25 mark

This guy had Savage going to the Patriots due to versatility. He did also have Julian Love from ND going in the first round (went in the fourth)...

But he made interesting points about Gary's fit in the Pettine defense. His fit for Fant in the Packer O applies to Sternberger.

[Deputy Nutz]

I was really surprised how some player completely fell in this draft. Look no further than DK Metcalf. The guys was the number 1 receiver on every big board from the pundits. He went towards the end of the second round. That was a huge free fall. Same can be said about Love, he was a top 5 corner pre-draft and he fell to the fourth round. Greedy Williams top 3 corner on every board dropped to the second round. Crazy stuff in this draft.

[Fritz]

Now that you've come down off the ledge, can you get Fritz off the ledge?

I'm afraid Fritz is still standing high above the ground, looking down, mere inches away from the edge of the building.

It's hard for me to say which players I like, as I do not watch film or read up on guys like Nutz or Wist or others. My experience is limited to what I see watching Michigan football. So had the Packers drafted Bush in the first round, or Winovich in the third, I'd have been fine with that, as they were playmakers in that defense.

I know people keep saying that Gary was limited because his role was to eat up blockers and so on, and that he was chipped by tight ends, but he was not recruited to Michigan as the nation's #1 defensive recruit so he could do those things - he was supposed to be a playmaker. He was not.

While I appreciate Justin Harrell's attempt to cheer me up (and I always, always appreciate his use of Phyllis George as his avatar), I will say, again, that those highlights come against the Rutgerses and the Indianas of the world. To paraphrase the old Lions coach Wayne Fontes, who for all his buffoonery had some good sound bites, big players make big plays in big games. Gary did not.

Maybe Harv and others are correct - he's not that different, statistically, from some great pass rushers who did not do a lot in college - Clowney, Mathews, et al. And maybe that does stem, as I suspect, from his business-like thinking. I believe he thinks of himself as a "brand," and so he might have been preparing for his pro career and not leaving all out there. In that line of thinking, I suppose he might now realize that in order to get that really big money (how much difference is the salary between a rookie taken in the top five versus the top fifteen, now that there's a rookie sal cap?) he'll have to produce, and he will suddenly begin to make plays. Maybe Nutz is correct that moving him to OLB will free him up to utitlize his talents better. I hope so.

But I do not think so. I think he's a marvelous athlete but he's not a football player. Like KY, I'm a bit leery of how in love with workout statistics Gutekunst seems to be.

I think the draft, as a whole, could be good, but I think Rashan Gary was a complete throwaway pick.