atljbo Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 A Oldie but Goodie Quote http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000646511/article/ten-most-underrated-defensive-prospects-in-2016-nfl-draft Most underrated defensive prospects Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech: Butler (6-foot-3 5/8, 323 pounds, 5.33-second 40-yard dash) is an inside player who plays well vs. the run. He's tall, athletic and strong (26 bench lifts). His best position is nose tackle. He was a standout at the Reese's Senior Bowl, and could be one at the next level. Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska: Collins (6-1 7/8, 311, 5.03) is very athletic with speed and strength (25 bench lifts). He has very good ability to get off blocks and make plays. He has long arms. If you want to get a starting nose tackle in the second round, this is your guy. Chris Jones, DT, Mississippi State: Jones (6-5 3/4, 310, 5.03) has all the ability in the world, but it doesn't always show up on every play. He's an outstanding athlete, strong (26 bench lifts), and has long arms (34 1/2). He's young (played just three years at MSU). He could be a very good NFL player but needs to work harder on every down. Deion Jones, OLB, LSU: Jones (6-0 7/8, 222, 4.59) plays like Buccaneers LB Lavonte David. He's very athletic and quick. He needs to get stronger and I think he will. He'll start and play on all downs in the NFL. He's one of my favorite players in this draft. Jonathan Jones, CB, Auburn: The only negative on Jones (5-9 1/8, 186, 4.33) is his lack of height. He plays a lot like Senquez Golson, who was taken by the Steelers in the second round last year. He's strong (19 bench lifts) and very athletic (36-inch vertical jump). Jones has good coverage skills; he had six interceptions in 2014. Keanu Neal, SS, Florida: Neal (6-0 1/2, 211, 4.62) is ultra-athletic and strong; he had a 38-inch vertical jump, an 11-foot broad jump and 17 bench lifts last month at the NFL Scouting Combine. He has coverage ability. A good pro-day workout on Tuesday could possibly get him into the bottom of the first round. Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville: Rankins (6-1 1/8, 299, 5.03) is strong and very athletic (34.5-inch vertical jump). He has the speed and quickness needed for the position. Along with Butler, Rankins stood out at the Senior Bowl. I would expect him to be taken in the 25-40 range in the draft. Hassan Ridgeway, DT, Texas: Ridgeway (6-3 3/8, 303, 5.02) has a lot of ability, but like Chris Jones, he doesn't always use it on every play. He's strong (24 bench lifts) and fast. He's very mature but needs better work habits. If he learns how to work, he'll be a very good NFL player. Joe Schobert, OLB, Wisconsin: Schobert (6-1 3/8, 244, 4.76) makes plays all over the field. He's very athletic and strong. Besides playing on all four downs, he'll also be a very good special-teams player. He plays with the same intensity of the Cowboys' Sean Lee. Jihad Ward, DE, Illinois: Ward (6-5 1/8, 297, 5.17) was a high school wide receiver and defensive back who started at a junior college before transferring to Illinois. He has an unbelievable backstory of perseverance. He played just two years with the Illini with only one spring practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HASHBROWN3 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Sweet, love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazoo Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Neal ended up not just having a good pro day, he blew the scouts away at his pro day. He also blew the Falcon coaches away in his private workout. Neal was briskly rising up teams draft boards right up to the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam25 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 I love Gil, can't wait to see these two this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific_Falcon Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Am I the only one that finds it odd the artical talks about a 1st and 2nd round pick as 'underrated'? If they weren't thought highly of wouldn't they have gone significantly later in the draft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySG Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Don't mean to rain on the parade but this was prior to the draft. That said, I never understood why some people liked Lee but not Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLFalcons11 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 4 minutes ago, AndySG said: Don't mean to rain on the parade but this was prior to the draft. That said, I never understood why some people liked Lee but not Jones. 1st round vs 2nd round Almost everybody who didn't like Lee, including myself, didn't like him as a 1st round pick. Wouldn't have minded hin as a 2nd round pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phrootdawg Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 44 minutes ago, East_Coast_Falcon said: Am I the only one that finds it odd the artical talks about a 1st and 2nd round pick as 'underrated'? If they weren't thought highly of wouldn't they have gone significantly later in the draft? yep but this is a really old article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insight Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 (edited) 10 hours ago, gazoo said: Neal ended up not just having a good pro day, he blew the scouts away at his pro day. He also blew the Falcon coaches away in his private workout. Neal was briskly rising up teams draft boards right up to the draft. Pure speculation, you have no glue where Neal stood on other teams draft boards. The article stated Neal could find himself draft at the end of the 1st round and was drafted in the middle of the 1st round. Edited May 30, 2016 by insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazoo Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 2 hours ago, insight said: Pure speculation, you have no glue where Neal stood on other teams draft boards. The article stated Neal could find himself draft at the end of the 1st round and was drafted in the middle of the 1st round. That article was written before his pro day. We have quotes not just from TD, but from Gil Brandt and others stating he subsequently blew the teams away at his pro day and again in private workouts. He was slated as early as late first round ***prior*** to these occurances. We also have the fact he was drafted in the middle of the first round and heard a couple of other teams picking just after us were really interested in him. Have you been in a coma since the article came out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndySG Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 3 hours ago, ATLFalcons11 said: 1st round vs 2nd round Almost everybody who didn't like Lee, including myself, didn't like him as a 1st round pick. Wouldn't have minded hin as a 2nd round pick. I didn't like Lee. That's what I'm saying. Jones in the 2nd over Lee in the 1st every time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insight Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 2 hours ago, gazoo said: That article was written before his pro day. We have quotes not just from TD, but from Gil Brandt and others stating he subsequently blew the teams away at his pro day and again in private workouts. He was slated as early as late first round ***prior*** to these occurances. We also have the fact he was drafted in the middle of the first round and heard a couple of other teams picking just after us were really interested in him. Have you been in a coma since the article came out? You know as well as I do several articles suggested Neal was a reach at 17 but let's not rehash that argument. If Neal becomes a cornerstone impact player on our defense for years to come everybody will be happy. If he is nothing more than a serviceable starter 17 was too high. No coma just reserving judgement before fitting Neal for a yellow jacket as some suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLFalcons11 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 1 hour ago, AndySG said: I didn't like Lee. That's what I'm saying. Jones in the 2nd over Lee in the 1st every time! I didn't like him much but him and Lee have the same style of play. Obviously there are many differences between the two that's deeper than this convo should go....lol. But I agree, Jones in the 2nd over Lee in the 1st. Both of them in the 2nd makes it a lil bit tougher but I might still go with Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazoo Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 8 hours ago, insight said: You know as well as I do several articles suggested Neal was a reach at 17 but let's not rehash that argument. If Neal becomes a cornerstone impact player on our defense for years to come everybody will be happy. If he is nothing more than a serviceable starter 17 was too high. No coma just reserving judgement before fitting Neal for a yellow jacket as some suggest. Those articles you speak of were written by pundits who did not attend his pro day and private workouts. What happened was teams realized he had far more skills than were utilized in college, especially as they relate to playing up close the the LOS with his incredible back pedal, ability to flip out of his back pedal and cover, as well as his ability to track and close explosively on ball carriers coming out of the backfield limiting yards after contact. He was used mostly in the outfield in college. His pro game skill set for a guy that size are off the chart for what we need in a SS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayOzOne Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 LOL. Some of y'all got TD looking like Reed Richards reaching out to draft players like... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazoo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 2 hours ago, JayOzOne said: LOL. Some of y'all got TD looking like Reed Richards reaching out to draft players like... To make that even better you could have TDs back hand pushing back FFS70 and his mock draft, with TDs front one reaching! LMAO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayOzOne Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I might have to work on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDaveG Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Article is nonsense. I have it on good authority from MB experts that Neal is a huge reach at 17 and can't cover, and Jones is too "light butt" to play in the NFL. Troffed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momak Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Cant wait to see how how our LB group pans out we finally have some talent to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlantaFanatic Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 On 5/30/2016 at 11:38 AM, insight said: Pure speculation, you have no glue where Neal stood on other teams draft boards. The article stated Neal could find himself draft at the end of the 1st round and was drafted in the middle of the 1st round. Sheldon Rankins projected 25-40 in this article. Went 12th overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigerfan Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I'm hoping the Jones to David comparison pans out. We would be set at LB if that is the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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