Quote:
Originally Posted by HUbison
It appears to be a simple equation so far.......Alan Branch = Jimmy Kennedy
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I don't think it's that simple at all...?
Pro Bowl DT Shaun Rogers has weight issues and is criticized for an inconsistent motor at times, but despite those criticisms, he's one of the top players in the league at that position.
Last year's top nose tackle prospect Haloti Ngata had the same criticisms leveled at him - "doesn't play with a sense of urgency on every snap," "has not proven that he works very hard off the field to stay in shape," "clearly soft bodied and not in the best of shape." And yet he was a very important cog to the Baltimore Ravens defensive line as a rookie and did well on the interior.
These are the kinds of things that tend to come out when prospects are put under the intense microscope of numerous spring workouts and drills. Teams are looking for anything that might be the slightest hint that he's not going to work out, and I'm sure some teams put it out there just to have it out there. That's not to say that it isn't true, but I don't think a 320-lbs man not giving it all on every single down and not being in the best of shape is as big a red flag as some seem to believe it is.
I just don't see how we can pass on a guy whose expertise is plugging up the middle and stopping the interior run when that's hands down our biggest weakness right now. If you base your draft around skipping over talented players because you're afraid they're going to turn out like past failures, then you're not going to have a very successful offseason IMO.