Another Poll: Suh, McCoy, Bradford, Clausen

[#39 Fan]

Who of the big four are you leaning towards currently?

[BarronWade]

I think this is a pretty easy one. I want a Franchise QB preferably Sam Bradford. But i am anticipating he has a strong Pro day.

The Pick in this thread has to be Suh.

There are questions surrounding Clausen and Bradford's health. This thread is before the pro day/ combine is finished so it has to be suh or McCoy.

But im sure this will be asked again after the pro day in which case my vote may change.

[RockinRam]

I went with Bradford.

[cfh128]

I like these guys exactly in the order you have listed them. Suh, then McCoy, then Bradford, and Clausen bringing up the rear

[Nick]

I voted Suh. He is, IMO, the best combination of value and need on the board.

I wouldn't throw something through my TV screen if they selected a quarterback, because I understand the team's need and the value of the position. But I simply don't agree with reaching for need with that kind of pick, and I think that's what they'd be doing by taking a quarterback first overall ahead of Suh or McCoy.

Right now, neither Bradford nor Clausen are among the top five prospects on my overall draft board. It's just really hard for me to justify taking a guy first overall when he's not one of the top five best prospects in the class. And what's interesting is that, in some rankings around the 'net, they're not even in the top 8-10.

Maybe they gain some momentum and rise up boards a bit through interviews at the combine or in their private workouts. If so, I'm open to adjusting my thought process, as everyone should be. But right now, as it has been for a while now, I still prefer Suh.

[txramsfan]

I went with Gerald McCoy. He's more polished right now than Suh. Suh to me just manhandles people, will he be able to do that in the pros? Maybe, but maybe not. McCoy has better technique but he doesn't look as dominating as Suh. I'll take the technique guy.

[Bing69]

I went with Suh, stick him at QB, see what the big guy can do

[BarronWade]

I went with Suh, stick him at QB, see what the big guy can do

Thats what i said about Steven Jackson lets let him play QB and let Marc Bulger be our running back in week 1 he lowered his shoulder if you remember

[AvengerRam]

I went with Gerald McCoy. He's more polished right now than Suh. Suh to me just manhandles people, will he be able to do that in the pros? Maybe, but maybe not. McCoy has better technique but he doesn't look as dominating as Suh. I'll take the technique guy.

I just don't get the logic behind this analysis.

Suh and McCoy played against essentially the same competition, and Suh had literally twice as many tackles and sacks as McCoy.

Even if I were to accept your statement that McCoy is "more polished" (I don't agree, as I've discussed previously), wouldn't the logical choice be the guy who has MORE UPSIDE because he is not yet "polished"?

As far as I'm concerned, the only way one can conclude that McCoy is a better prospect than Suh is through pre-draft overanalysis.

[AvengerRam]

To me, it comes down to Suh and Bradford. Until Bradford is tested, I'm going with Suh.

If the consensus on Bradford is that he's 100% and has an "NFL arm," I may very well shift.

[txramsfan]

Well, it's not like Suh is that much above McCoy in all mock drafts. In fact, most have them both 1 - 2. I don't just go by stats like most of you. I've seen them both play quite a bit living in Big 12 country and honestly, there isn't much difference in the two except for technique.

I look at stats like this.....you could say unemployment went down 2% but is that a big thing if unemployment is already at 20%? And they really didn't play a comparable schedule. Nebraska has to face all the Big 12 North teams and just two I think from the South while Oklahoma has to face all the Big 12 South teams. Quite a big difference in competition.

[AvengerRam]

And they really didn't play a comparable schedule. Nebraska has to face all the Big 12 North teams and just two I think from the South while Oklahoma has to face all the Big 12 South teams. Quite a big difference in competition.

Fine, let's look at common opponents:

2009 (Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas)

Suh: 21 tackles, 5 sacks
McCoy: 7 tackles, 3 sacks

2008 (Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Missouri)

Suh: 36 tackles, 3 sacks
McCoy: 9 tackes, 2 sacks

Total (vs. Common Opponents, 2008/9)

Suh: 57 tackles, 8 sacks
McCoy: 16 tackles, 5 sacks

I agree that stats don't always tell the whole story, but here the disparity is HUGE. So... given that they are essentially the same size, and Suh has outproduced McCoy by a very big margin (no matter how you slice it), I think the choice is pretty clear.

[txramsfan]

Ok, those are rather impressive. All I am saying is, it's 1 or 1A with those two. You get either one, you will get a very productive player.

[AvengerRam]

Don't get me wrong, I think McCoy is a Blue Chip prospect. If the Rams had a choice of Suh at No. 1 or McCoy at No. 2 or 3 plus an extra second round choice, I think it would be a very tough call. I'd probably go with McCoy plus a pick there. But if the Rams keep the No. 1 pick, to me its Suh or Bradford.

[39thebeast]

Bradford is 3 on my board behind the DTs. Going into this year he was in the top 3 if not number 1 on almost all boards. If the shoulder checks out we have no reason to drop him, we have the tape we know what he can do. He is the type of guy who will excel in interviews and that's where a QB specifically can make a ton of headway. Thats how Peyton Manning solidfied his spot over Ryan Leaf and its how Matt Ryan solidified his selection to the Falcons. I fully expect Bradford to shoot himself up the boards and endear himself to Devaney and company, too become the Rams selection.