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by Rafael
Part one of this week's chat with the National Football Post's draft analyst Wes Bunting covers the rush linebacker prospects at the NFL Combine.
Cowboys Nation: Let's start with Dontari Poe. His workout numbers were the talk of Indy. Now, some draftniks had Poe in the top 12 prior to the Combine. You spoke to one of them yesterday in your draftnik roundtable. He had Poe going to the Chiefs. How high has Poe's stock risen?
Wes Bunting: The thing with Poe is from a tape standpoint he's not a first-round pick. You don't have to be a tape evaluator to know when you watch him he's not a first-round caliber player. You're looking at the upside, and that's what's so tough to figure out. Right now, though, I would not be surprised if he was the first defensive tackle off the board. Does his tape say he should be? Absolutely not, but that's where NFL teams get in trouble, falling in love with these measurables.
CN: Tell us more about Fletcher Cox. Like Poe, he had really good numbers. He's not a guy we've discussed in detail.
WB: I like him. I think he's got a 6.9 on my grading system right now. That was based on tape. I think I'll raise it because he's an elite athlete. I thought he was a good athlete. He's got a solid 1st-round grade. I've never been down on him, like say, Whitney Mercilus. I have a 3rd round grade on him.
With Fletcher Cox I had a late 1st grade. Now, I'll likely move him up. He's an explosive guy, who's got some power. He plays a little too upright. He can get washed out at times b because of it.
I have him as a defensive end. A lot of people have him as a tackle, but I think he's a 3-4 end in a Cowboys scheme, in a Packers scheme where he can get up the field and make negative plays. And he's a good pass rusher outside as well.
CN: Last year was a very good 5-technique class. Is there anybody in that group Cox resembles?
WB: Not really. He's a one-gap guy. He was played on the nose sometimes. He played as a 3-technique. He played as a 5-technique. A J.J. Watt is a more physical player. Cox is strong, but not as strong. He's got that get off to knife into the backfield. I'd say this guy is more powerful than Cam Jordan was, a little more explosive. Cox isn't going to flatten out around the edge but inside, he does some things that are pretty impressive.
Overall he worked out better than [Michael] Brockers. I still think Brockers is a much better prospect, and the scouts I talked to all ranked it Brockers, Cox, Poe of those three, but I know some people out there who like Cox better.
CN: Are there any scouts you know who are most bullish on Poe now? People knew he was strong coming in, so I don't think his bench numbers caught anybody by surprise but his 40 time was unreal.
WB: The one reaction I kept hearing was, "I've got to go back and watch more tape." I have a couple of real good contacts in the SEC who cover Memphis, who cover the SEC teams and nobody thought Poe was better than Brockers. No one. I was talking to one scout and told him I had given Poe a 6.8 grade and he told me keep him there for the time being. None of them said, "wow, he's flying up our board," but they said, "we're going back and watching more of this guy to see if we missed anything," because he is a rare athlete.
Ultimately, I think he'll go in the top 20, because he is a rare athlete, but at the same time I think he'll be over-drafted because of his skill set.
CN: Is there anybody else who fits that profile? A couple of weeks ago you brought up Miami's Tommy Streeter as a guy who shows average speed on tape but who was going to test really well, and you said the biggest risks are guys with a great disparity between what you see in pads and what you see on the track. Were there other players like this? Go beyond the receiver position, because I don't think the Cowboys will think about a receiver in the early rounds.
WB: Not really. I had Stephen Hill from Georgia Tech rated pretty high. I knew he could run. I'm not going to tell you I thought he would run in the 4.3s, but I thought he could run 4.4s.
We knew Poe would work out well. Luke Kuechly was a bit of a surprise. I thought he was a good athlete, but his numbers are a plus athletes'. I don't think he plays that fast. I thought he was a less athletic version of Sean Lee, to be honest. I didn't think Kuechly was in Lee's class, I thought he was one notch below. But Kuechly proved his athleticism. He's more explosive. He's a safe player, but I see him more as a James Laurinaitis-type.
I gave him a first round grade, but I wouldn't take a linebacker in the first round unless he could rush the passer. That's just me, but I wouldn't do it.
by Rafael
Part one of this week's chat with the National Football Post's draft analyst Wes Bunting covers the rush linebacker prospects at the NFL Combine.
Cowboys Nation: Let's start with Dontari Poe. His workout numbers were the talk of Indy. Now, some draftniks had Poe in the top 12 prior to the Combine. You spoke to one of them yesterday in your draftnik roundtable. He had Poe going to the Chiefs. How high has Poe's stock risen?
Wes Bunting: The thing with Poe is from a tape standpoint he's not a first-round pick. You don't have to be a tape evaluator to know when you watch him he's not a first-round caliber player. You're looking at the upside, and that's what's so tough to figure out. Right now, though, I would not be surprised if he was the first defensive tackle off the board. Does his tape say he should be? Absolutely not, but that's where NFL teams get in trouble, falling in love with these measurables.
CN: Tell us more about Fletcher Cox. Like Poe, he had really good numbers. He's not a guy we've discussed in detail.
WB: I like him. I think he's got a 6.9 on my grading system right now. That was based on tape. I think I'll raise it because he's an elite athlete. I thought he was a good athlete. He's got a solid 1st-round grade. I've never been down on him, like say, Whitney Mercilus. I have a 3rd round grade on him.
With Fletcher Cox I had a late 1st grade. Now, I'll likely move him up. He's an explosive guy, who's got some power. He plays a little too upright. He can get washed out at times b because of it.
I have him as a defensive end. A lot of people have him as a tackle, but I think he's a 3-4 end in a Cowboys scheme, in a Packers scheme where he can get up the field and make negative plays. And he's a good pass rusher outside as well.
CN: Last year was a very good 5-technique class. Is there anybody in that group Cox resembles?
WB: Not really. He's a one-gap guy. He was played on the nose sometimes. He played as a 3-technique. He played as a 5-technique. A J.J. Watt is a more physical player. Cox is strong, but not as strong. He's got that get off to knife into the backfield. I'd say this guy is more powerful than Cam Jordan was, a little more explosive. Cox isn't going to flatten out around the edge but inside, he does some things that are pretty impressive.
Overall he worked out better than [Michael] Brockers. I still think Brockers is a much better prospect, and the scouts I talked to all ranked it Brockers, Cox, Poe of those three, but I know some people out there who like Cox better.
CN: Are there any scouts you know who are most bullish on Poe now? People knew he was strong coming in, so I don't think his bench numbers caught anybody by surprise but his 40 time was unreal.
WB: The one reaction I kept hearing was, "I've got to go back and watch more tape." I have a couple of real good contacts in the SEC who cover Memphis, who cover the SEC teams and nobody thought Poe was better than Brockers. No one. I was talking to one scout and told him I had given Poe a 6.8 grade and he told me keep him there for the time being. None of them said, "wow, he's flying up our board," but they said, "we're going back and watching more of this guy to see if we missed anything," because he is a rare athlete.
Ultimately, I think he'll go in the top 20, because he is a rare athlete, but at the same time I think he'll be over-drafted because of his skill set.
CN: Is there anybody else who fits that profile? A couple of weeks ago you brought up Miami's Tommy Streeter as a guy who shows average speed on tape but who was going to test really well, and you said the biggest risks are guys with a great disparity between what you see in pads and what you see on the track. Were there other players like this? Go beyond the receiver position, because I don't think the Cowboys will think about a receiver in the early rounds.
WB: Not really. I had Stephen Hill from Georgia Tech rated pretty high. I knew he could run. I'm not going to tell you I thought he would run in the 4.3s, but I thought he could run 4.4s.
We knew Poe would work out well. Luke Kuechly was a bit of a surprise. I thought he was a good athlete, but his numbers are a plus athletes'. I don't think he plays that fast. I thought he was a less athletic version of Sean Lee, to be honest. I didn't think Kuechly was in Lee's class, I thought he was one notch below. But Kuechly proved his athleticism. He's more explosive. He's a safe player, but I see him more as a James Laurinaitis-type.
I gave him a first round grade, but I wouldn't take a linebacker in the first round unless he could rush the passer. That's just me, but I wouldn't do it.
