Does cutting Chavous open up for M. Jenkins?

[A-Web]

Just putting this out there, as we found out recently that Chavous was released, that we now have a hole in our secondary (DUH!). Being that defense is something Spags is going to advocate greatly, and secondary being something you cannot skimp on and be successful, I think something has to happen to address this. (DUH AGAIN!).

Well, the way I am looking at it is;

1) I don't see any safeties in the draft that appeal to me. William Moore is probably the best option in the draft at the position, but if you check on some scouting reports, like the short one on NFL.COM, you will find a part of an article that goes like this;

"Despite earning first-team All-Big 12 honors as a senior, Moore struggled early in the year before picking up his play. Scouts love his athleticism and mentality as a ball-hawk, but Moore isn't the intimidating hitter in the middle some teams prefer and with only two seasons as a fulltime starter."

This makes me think that if he had trouble adjusting into the games in college, that he will really struggle to transition into the NFL, where everything is faster, stronger, better, and harder. The receivers don't go down as easy, and the running backs weigh 50-80 lbs more than they did. If he can't deliver that kind of hit, than he may struggle on open field tackling.

2) This puts me in the position to point out another prospect, and something interesting people may not have looked at. First, know that there must have been a plan set before Chavous' release to replace him, or else they would have attempted some sort of contract, if not just for depth.

Malcom Jenkins (OSU Senior) is known to be the best CB in the draft. Some argue he has the best potential in the draft. But, compare the same scouting report on NFL.COM that he received;

"There isn't much NFL scouts don't like about Jenkins. Athletic, intelligent and consistent, Jenkins surprised many when he elected to return for his senior season despite a first-round grade from the NFL Advisory Committee in 2008. The three-time first-team All-Big Ten pick and two-time All-American improved his overall consistency, winning the Thorpe Award as the nation's elite defensive back as a senior. A shutdown cornerback who intercepted 11 passes over the past three years, Jenkins was effective at cutting the field in half and sometimes moved him to free safety to generate big plays. A first-round caliber prospect at safety or cornerback, Jenkins' consistent play and versatility should land him a spot in the draft's Top 10."

He has the potential, he has the skillset. He has the experience and knowledge. He makes the plays, he delivers the hits. He has the trophy room and stats to back it up. He has the dedication as evidenced by his return his senior year, which demonstrates a team first attitude. Everything we are looking for in a player, he has. He could come right in and play CB, or transition over to Safety if needed, and start week 1.

Just saying...something that could be in the cards.

[TekeRam]

The first problem with this idea is that the position is all wrong. If you were to say franchise Bartell and then trade him for a SS, then I could see taking a CB in the first, but assuming that we resign Bartell, we had enough talent last year at corner that I think we can assemble a fair enough corps. This suggestion is kinda like saying "we have a hole at RB, should we draft a WR?" SS and CB are vastly different, and while Bartell can play FS, he'll be getting paid as a corner, and has shown that he is a top corner in the league.

In my opinion, the best thing we can do for our SS hole is sign the SS that's a free agent from the Giants. He'll know the system and will be able to help the whole defense learn it.

[MarshallMarshall]

It doesn't matter how good your secondary is, if your not getting pressure on the quarterback, If we go Defense in 1st round I believe we should build our front seven either a DT or MLB.
I think in our situation with having bigger holes than CB we should try picking up a FA.Solid CB's can be found in FA ( especially this year ) they have more experience, Plus it would leave cap room to sign bigger need.

[Nick]

Jenkins is a cornerback prospect who may make a transition to free safety if his speed becomes an issue on the perimeter. But Chavous is our starting strong safety, which I don't think Jenkins projects well to. So I don't think Chavous being cut makes us any more likely to draft Jenkins.

[djdeeznutz]

Jenkins is not good enuff to the 2nd pick so if we trade down would we take him?

NO!

Anywhere we drop down we have a bigger need.

If we stay in the top 10- take 1 of the big 4 OL

If we go to the top 15- BJ Raji, Rey Malauga, Aaron Maybin be better for us

if we go to the top 20 he will already be gone

[shower beers]

I love this guy, but we have much more glaring needs. He could go either way (CB/S) but even still, he would be more of a luxury pick, and that is something we don't have right now.

[39thebeast]

How does cutting our SS make room to draft a CB. I don't see us taking Jenkins even if we don't lock up Bartell. I don't see the logic on this one.

[cfh128]

I don't see how this would be a "luxury pick." Bartell is a free agent and we have no other quality proven corner to play along side him. If we lose Bartell then this really becomes an area of need. I think Jenkins is one of the elite talents in this draft and I would definitely consider taking him with the #2 pick.

[RockinRam]

I would consider taking him, but not with the number two pick of the draft.

Cutting Chavous would mean that we have a hole in our SS position, not make us have a more glaring need at CB..

[djdeeznutz]

How does cutting our SS make room to draft a CB. I don't see us taking Jenkins even if we don't lock up Bartell. I don't see the logic on this one.

i picked no but the logic in this one is Jenkins could play SS and help our coverage. Atogwe cannot really cover a guy so Jenkins could be the safty that cood help us. But just too many other needs.

[Nick]

i picked no but the logic in this one is Jenkins could play SS and help our coverage.

Except it would be a waste of his coverage skills because he wouldn't be matched up with top receivers as a strong safety. Additionally, I question whether he's strong/physical enough to make such a switch worth it.

There's been talk of Jenkins potentially being a free safety in the pros as well as a cornerback, but strong safety doesn't make much sense to me.

[Chase the Eagles Fan]

Except it would be a waste of his coverage skills because he wouldn't be matched up with top receivers as a strong safety. Additionally, I question whether he's strong/physical enough to make such a switch worth it.

There's been talk of Jenkins potentially being a free safety in the pros as well as a cornerback, but strong safety doesn't make much sense to me.

not to me either...and I don't think Otogwe is really aggressive enough at the point of attack to be that eighth man in the box neither...

Some have Jenkins making a switch...but I don't think it would happen...i think he's good enough to play corner in this league and the safety thing in college is a strictly collegiate strategy that wouldn't work in the NFL IMO...if you guys were picking lower in the draft, I would say go for it...but at #2 overall it's a bit of a reach...and no I don't think the Chavous cut has anything to do with Jenkins whatsoever...not one safety should be selected in the first round IMO...there will be safeties later in this draft believe me..especially SS...