PFW Insider Draft Notes - Feb 7th

[Nick]

Insider on Ansah: 'He's a one-year wonder'
Posted Feb. 07, 2013 @ 12:46 p.m. ET
By PFW staff

The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

• “Everyone has been talking about (BYU DE) Ziggy Ansah and throwing around comparisons. If a guy has length, some twitch and a motor, people think it’s Jason Pierre-Paul. He ain’t. Otherwise, they wouldn’t align him inside so much. He’s a one-year wonder and a tweener. ... Put on the bowl game. He was getting pushed down the field and a ball was thrown at his chest and he intercepts it. He fell into it — he didn’t create it. That’s how he produced this year.”

• “(Utah NT) Star Lotulelei has a 30-plus (inch) vertical at 320 pounds. He’s athletic and can run. He can rush the passer. I think he will get better with coaching at our level. They line him up as more of a nose, but he is athletic enough to be a three-technique. As strong as he is working half a man, he is going to create pressure.”

• “(Georgia OLB) Alec Ogletree moves like a DB playing linebacker. He’s fast, quick and athletic — he moves like a gazelle. He has run into some trouble off the field and is going to need things kept simple, but I would like to have him.”

• “I do like (Mississippi State CB Johnthan) Banks. He reminds me of the type of corners they have playing in Seattle. He’s a lot like Richard Sherman. He can play off or on and is not bad off, but that’s not his deal. He is a press cover guy. Everyone wants a big man corner. He does not get too out of whack shadowing in the four games I watched. For a long guy, he can come out of breaks.”

• “(Notre Dame LB) Manti Te’o is a very religious, religious, religious kid. I haven’t gotten a vibe for bull---- from him. When this came out and the way it came out — it wreaks of someone trying to see him fall. I will tell you this — Baltimore is losing their leader (Ray Lewis). They always seem to land the guy with ‘issues’ and then they go on to play in Pro Bowls the next 10 years. It could fall into their hands again.”

• “(South Carolina S) D.J. Swearinger will drop down in the box and hit you. He looks to take your head off. I love his intensity and approach. Every secondary needs a lightning rod like him. When you think of a lot of the great ones — the Ed Reeds and Brian Dawkins — they had that spark. ... He’ll miss some tackles that he should make, but he’s a big-time hitter.”

[Vinnie25]

People get on Manti T'eo a lot because he's from Notre Dame and had a bad game against Alabama (honestly though, who doesn't have bad games against Alabama?), but I think he's going to be a hell of a player for whoever picks him up. He's not overly athletic or fast, but like James Laurinaitis, he's a tackling machine who always seems to be in the right place. As for the whole fake GF think, I don't think he was in on it. He's a pretty religious guy, and in my experiences younger guys like him seem to be more gullible than others.

[richtree]

"He's not overly athletic or fast"

^^^That is the problem -- He doesn't have the strength nor instinct JL does.....

I don't think he can play in 4-3 as ILB only 3-4 with complimentary LB -- not a top 50 pick for me

[TekeRam]

"He's not overly athletic or fast"

^^^That is the problem -- He doesn't have the strength nor instinct JL does.....

I don't think he can play in 4-3 as ILB only 3-4 with complimentary LB -- not a top 50 pick for me

Ray Lewis was regarded as too small to play middle linebacker and that he couldn't play the run effectively against the bigger, stonger backs in the NFL. He fell to the bottom of the first round and was the fifth linebacker selected.

I'm not saying that T'eo is that good, but when a player has intensity and desire on the field, that matters more than measureables such as speed and strength. T'eo does have good instincts and can flow to the ball. He may not be a sideline to sideline guy, but I think he'd be a great follow up to Lewis in Baltimore.