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Wes' Weekly Draft Chat: An Inside Backer Worth Considering
Posted by Rafael at Tuesday, March 22, 2011
In part one of Cowboys Nation's weekly chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting, we discuss offensive tackle value, shaky players at the top of the board and one possible inside linebacker prospect for Dallas to consider high.
Cowboys Nation: I want to work off a piece you wrote yesterday, where you slotted players according to their readiness. You had the tiers. I want to start near the top, with Tyron Smith. There are some YouTube video clips which show him struggling, notably a game against Virginia, which are being pointed to as evidence that he's being hyped off his measurables. Yet you have him as your most NFL-ready offensive tackle prospect. Can you address concerns like this?
Wes Bunting: First, is it him from 2009 or 2010 Virginia game? My guess is its from 2009. If that's it, it's his first year starting, and he's facing well-coached players by Al Groh, and they run a 3-4 and they bring backers and that would be confusing.
Overall, however, you have a guy who has the measurables and who has tape against top-level competition, which is what I've seen. People are going to have bad performances and you have to figure out why. Was it inexperience? Was he hurt? Was he confused? Those are the things you have to figure out, but I've seen enough good tape against good competition that I have conviction that he's going to be a good player for someone in the NFL.
CN: You're not concerned about his size? About his weight gain this off-season?
WB: Absolutely not. No. The guy has tremendous growth potential. He's up to 307 now. He's 6'5'' and I love 6'5'' tackles. A long-armed 6'5'' tackle I'd have over a 6'7'' guy cause he can play with more leverage. I think he can get up to 320 without batting an eye.
CN: Let's stay with his weight. I started writing profile pieces for the site and put all the Combine heights and weights for the top seven tackle prospects together and Tyron Smith was not much smaller than any others. Sherrod was the biggest and he's 321. I wouldn't be surprised if Tyron Smith showed up at his pro day at 310, 311.
WB: If you go back a couple of years and look at that class, with Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith and Michael Oher, they were all under 310. They were all 307, 308 in that range and they were short-armed guys. It's just whatever draft you get to, and it's one reason why I wasn't that high on Jason Smith. I don't think it's even a question, am I worried about Tyron Smith's size? No.
CN: I want to talk about Derek Sherrod because he's the OT we've discussed the least. He was the biggest of that top OT tier, which surprised me a bit, I think because I had Gabe Carimi's college listing of 327 in mind and then he comes to Indy at 314. I'm taking more of a look at Sherrod as a possible option if Dallas trades down. Talk about him as a right tackle and say something about his long-term projection.
WB: I really like Derek Sherrod. He's the one guy who's kind of fallen under the radar the whole time but if you watch this guy... The one knock on him is that he plays a bit high. That's obvious when you watch on tape. But he does the the ability to bend, to sit into his stance consistently. He's just so talented he can get sloppy with his technique at times.
But when you're talking about a guy who can reach the edge versus speed, who can re-direct with balance, who can stick through blocks and who can get a pop in the run game, he's the full package. I think I have him as the 2nd best OT on my board right now. I think Tyron Smith has the best grade and Sherrod and Carimi have the same grade after him.
I think you can win with Derek Sherrod as a starting left tackle in the NFL.
CN: I saw a John Gabriel piece today on your site and he had very similar comments to yours, but he ended by saying he thought the team which drafted Sherrod could go the Michael Oher route, starting him on the right side and then moving him to the left. Do you see any problems for Sherrod if he was moved to the right side his rookie year?
WB: No. He's a pretty bright guy. He's well spoken. I can see him picking up pro pass protection schemes quickly. I don't see any problems with that. A lot of times when you take an offensive lineman in the 1st round, you've got to get them on the field. Jonathan Ogden played guard his rookie year for the Ravens. He was a 6'8" guard, and then they moved him to left tackle his second year.
With a lot of these rookies this year, where they won't have time to develop and get mini-camps, as much time as past rookies, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Sherrod start on the right side or even inside.
CN: Talk about Martez Wilson and talk about Mason Foster. I get a lot of questions about both guys, specifically whether they can play inside in a 3-4.
WB: I like Mason Foster. He's like your Sean Lee from last year. It would not shock me if a team like the Packers or a team late in the 1st round that needs an inside linebacker takes him, and he plays 8-10 years for you. He's instinctive, he's tough. He finds the football. He doesn't have elite physical attributes so he's not talked about that much, but he's a very good football player. So yes, I can see him playing inside in a 3-4.
Martez Wilson is 6'4", 250 but he's got that Y-shaped cut, where he's really wide at the shoulders, but gets really narrow in his lower half. Honestly, when I look at him I don't think he's an inside backer cause there's too much frame for people to get under him and drive him off the ball. I think he could play outside, either strong or weakside. I think he has some pass rush ability and could get some looks outside in a 3-4 but I wouldn't want him playing inside in a 3-4.
CN: I don't want to let Mason Foster go so quickly. Where does he project now?
WB: I've always said I thought he was a 2nd-3rd round guy, and a team that really liked him would take him in the 2nd, just because he was a solid football player. I'm getting the feeling now that he's without a doubt a 2nd rounder, and I've heard from some people that they would not be shocked if he had that Nick Barnett type of rise and snuck into the late 1st. If you asked me to put a bet on it, I'd say no, but I've heard anywhere as high as 26 to the Ravens, all the way to the end of the 2nd round.
CN: Cowboys fans are scouring the player lists looking for corners who they could transition to free safety and this isn't the first time I've seen this question: could you address Aaron Williams, from Texas, as a possible NFL safety.
WB: Some people I've talked like that idea, but I don't, because he's leggy, he's tall and he struggles to change directions. I don't want that in a safety. If I'm looking for that I want a guy who's shorter, a Brandon Hogan, who can throw his body around and change directions cleanly. I'd look for thicker corners, not these tall, leggy guys, because you have to be able to read routes developing, and click and close. These press corners like Aaron Williams have never been asked to do that. They just play cat-and-mouse. See the mouse and chase it. I don't trust him
CN: To follow up, which corners in the 3rd through 5th are in that Brandon Hogan mold, the squattier corners who possibly could make the move?
WB: I'm looking though the list now. Honestly I don't feel comfortable giving you any other names besides Hogan. It takes a special quality. I don't see it to be honest.
Tomorrow: Players who are rising, players who are falling. Who could be available at pick 40, reader questions, Wonderlic scores, and which teams are the most likely candidates to trade for Dallas' pick at 9?
Posted by Rafael at Tuesday, March 22, 2011
In part one of Cowboys Nation's weekly chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting, we discuss offensive tackle value, shaky players at the top of the board and one possible inside linebacker prospect for Dallas to consider high.
Cowboys Nation: I want to work off a piece you wrote yesterday, where you slotted players according to their readiness. You had the tiers. I want to start near the top, with Tyron Smith. There are some YouTube video clips which show him struggling, notably a game against Virginia, which are being pointed to as evidence that he's being hyped off his measurables. Yet you have him as your most NFL-ready offensive tackle prospect. Can you address concerns like this?
Wes Bunting: First, is it him from 2009 or 2010 Virginia game? My guess is its from 2009. If that's it, it's his first year starting, and he's facing well-coached players by Al Groh, and they run a 3-4 and they bring backers and that would be confusing.
Overall, however, you have a guy who has the measurables and who has tape against top-level competition, which is what I've seen. People are going to have bad performances and you have to figure out why. Was it inexperience? Was he hurt? Was he confused? Those are the things you have to figure out, but I've seen enough good tape against good competition that I have conviction that he's going to be a good player for someone in the NFL.
CN: You're not concerned about his size? About his weight gain this off-season?
WB: Absolutely not. No. The guy has tremendous growth potential. He's up to 307 now. He's 6'5'' and I love 6'5'' tackles. A long-armed 6'5'' tackle I'd have over a 6'7'' guy cause he can play with more leverage. I think he can get up to 320 without batting an eye.
CN: Let's stay with his weight. I started writing profile pieces for the site and put all the Combine heights and weights for the top seven tackle prospects together and Tyron Smith was not much smaller than any others. Sherrod was the biggest and he's 321. I wouldn't be surprised if Tyron Smith showed up at his pro day at 310, 311.
WB: If you go back a couple of years and look at that class, with Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith and Michael Oher, they were all under 310. They were all 307, 308 in that range and they were short-armed guys. It's just whatever draft you get to, and it's one reason why I wasn't that high on Jason Smith. I don't think it's even a question, am I worried about Tyron Smith's size? No.
CN: I want to talk about Derek Sherrod because he's the OT we've discussed the least. He was the biggest of that top OT tier, which surprised me a bit, I think because I had Gabe Carimi's college listing of 327 in mind and then he comes to Indy at 314. I'm taking more of a look at Sherrod as a possible option if Dallas trades down. Talk about him as a right tackle and say something about his long-term projection.
WB: I really like Derek Sherrod. He's the one guy who's kind of fallen under the radar the whole time but if you watch this guy... The one knock on him is that he plays a bit high. That's obvious when you watch on tape. But he does the the ability to bend, to sit into his stance consistently. He's just so talented he can get sloppy with his technique at times.
But when you're talking about a guy who can reach the edge versus speed, who can re-direct with balance, who can stick through blocks and who can get a pop in the run game, he's the full package. I think I have him as the 2nd best OT on my board right now. I think Tyron Smith has the best grade and Sherrod and Carimi have the same grade after him.
I think you can win with Derek Sherrod as a starting left tackle in the NFL.
CN: I saw a John Gabriel piece today on your site and he had very similar comments to yours, but he ended by saying he thought the team which drafted Sherrod could go the Michael Oher route, starting him on the right side and then moving him to the left. Do you see any problems for Sherrod if he was moved to the right side his rookie year?
WB: No. He's a pretty bright guy. He's well spoken. I can see him picking up pro pass protection schemes quickly. I don't see any problems with that. A lot of times when you take an offensive lineman in the 1st round, you've got to get them on the field. Jonathan Ogden played guard his rookie year for the Ravens. He was a 6'8" guard, and then they moved him to left tackle his second year.
With a lot of these rookies this year, where they won't have time to develop and get mini-camps, as much time as past rookies, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw Sherrod start on the right side or even inside.
CN: Talk about Martez Wilson and talk about Mason Foster. I get a lot of questions about both guys, specifically whether they can play inside in a 3-4.
WB: I like Mason Foster. He's like your Sean Lee from last year. It would not shock me if a team like the Packers or a team late in the 1st round that needs an inside linebacker takes him, and he plays 8-10 years for you. He's instinctive, he's tough. He finds the football. He doesn't have elite physical attributes so he's not talked about that much, but he's a very good football player. So yes, I can see him playing inside in a 3-4.
Martez Wilson is 6'4", 250 but he's got that Y-shaped cut, where he's really wide at the shoulders, but gets really narrow in his lower half. Honestly, when I look at him I don't think he's an inside backer cause there's too much frame for people to get under him and drive him off the ball. I think he could play outside, either strong or weakside. I think he has some pass rush ability and could get some looks outside in a 3-4 but I wouldn't want him playing inside in a 3-4.
CN: I don't want to let Mason Foster go so quickly. Where does he project now?
WB: I've always said I thought he was a 2nd-3rd round guy, and a team that really liked him would take him in the 2nd, just because he was a solid football player. I'm getting the feeling now that he's without a doubt a 2nd rounder, and I've heard from some people that they would not be shocked if he had that Nick Barnett type of rise and snuck into the late 1st. If you asked me to put a bet on it, I'd say no, but I've heard anywhere as high as 26 to the Ravens, all the way to the end of the 2nd round.
CN: Cowboys fans are scouring the player lists looking for corners who they could transition to free safety and this isn't the first time I've seen this question: could you address Aaron Williams, from Texas, as a possible NFL safety.
WB: Some people I've talked like that idea, but I don't, because he's leggy, he's tall and he struggles to change directions. I don't want that in a safety. If I'm looking for that I want a guy who's shorter, a Brandon Hogan, who can throw his body around and change directions cleanly. I'd look for thicker corners, not these tall, leggy guys, because you have to be able to read routes developing, and click and close. These press corners like Aaron Williams have never been asked to do that. They just play cat-and-mouse. See the mouse and chase it. I don't trust him
CN: To follow up, which corners in the 3rd through 5th are in that Brandon Hogan mold, the squattier corners who possibly could make the move?
WB: I'm looking though the list now. Honestly I don't feel comfortable giving you any other names besides Hogan. It takes a special quality. I don't see it to be honest.
Tomorrow: Players who are rising, players who are falling. Who could be available at pick 40, reader questions, Wonderlic scores, and which teams are the most likely candidates to trade for Dallas' pick at 9?
