Senior Bowl Game Thread....

[Wings]

LOL now we are taking WR in rd 1???

 

[Iggloo]

Hey I was never against it...

 

[Birds4life81]

Devin Smith wasn't asked to do much route wise at Ohio State. Wether that was scheme based or talent, perhaps a little bit of both, I'm not quite sure. I love Smith's movement skills, his ability to high point the ball, great body control and vertical ability, very smooth runner with top notch deep speed and the hands to pluck the ball right out of the air. He does a great job battling D-backs for the ball, and he plays a lot bigger than his size. The boxes he needs to check off is route running and blocking. As far as route running, I just haven't seen many route concepts on film, but that doesn't mean he can't run the full route tree. He has natural ability that not many humans have, you can teach him the route tree if he has the work ethic. I really like his upside.

I'm a fan of Coates and Dorsett as well. I really do like Lockett as well, but I just don't know if he has that elite top end speed you'd like from a WR his size. Not saying he's not fast, because he is…but I'm not quite sure he has that elite gear.

 

[Iron Eagle]

LOL now we are taking WR in rd 1???

....would you put it past him?


I wouldn't.

 

[eaglesnut]

I really do like Lockett as well, but I just don't know if he has that elite top end speed you'd like from a WR his size. Not saying he's not fast, because he is…but I'm not quite sure he has that elite gear.

Antonio Brown ran a 4.56 at the combine and a 4.48 at his pro day. And he still gets elite separation.

 

[old duke]

As long as we solve the secondary in FA, then I would be delighted with Devin Smith.
I think he does have elite speed, and think he'll run a 4.4 forty or better.
What was OBJ's 40 time at the Combine last year?

 

[Birds4life81]

Antonio Brown ran a 4.56 at the combine and a 4.48 at his pro day. And he still gets elite separation.

I'm well aware of those statistics and facts. How many Antonio Brown's are there in the NFL? I'm not slighting Lockett, nor do I really care too much about his 40 time. Game speed is much more important. I'm not saying Locket is slow by any means - I think he's fast, but I'm not sure if he has that elite top end speed. I still have to watch more film though.

 

[Birds4life81]

As long as we solve the secondary in FA, then I would be delighted with Devin Smith.
I think he does have elite speed, and think he'll run a 4.4 forty or better.
What was OBJ's 40 time at the Combine last year?

Beckham ran a 4.43. Though I still thought he was faster on tape than Brandin Cooks. I was so pissed when the G-men drafted him, he was my #2 WR behind only Watkins. Beckham will likely turn into one of the very greats and the best in that draft class loaded with talent. He will torment us for many years to come.

By no means am I calling Devin Smith the next Beckham. Though there are some similarities in their game. They both have elite top end speed and when they run they're both very smooth. I love their ability to play the ball in the air, fight the DB and high point the ball in tight coverage. They can both make fantastic adjustments to the ball and possess very impressive body control. They aren't the biggest guys on the field but they play much bigger than their size. Beckham was an elite all around WR prospect and Smith isn't close to that level. Though, I see a ton of upside with Devin Smith -- he's got to learn the full route tree and understand different coverages. He also needs to improve on his blocking.

 

[old duke]

I'm sure you know that OBJ was Chip's fav WR, but Howie didn't want to move up to get him. At least that's the way I heard it. After he was picked, Chip then wanted to get Cooks, but same story.

 

[Birds4life81]

I'm sure you know that OBJ was Chip's fav WR, but Howie didn't want to move up to get him. At least that's the way I heard it. After he was picked, Chip then wanted to get Cooks, but same story.

Yeah I don't blame him. I loved OBJ. My target was Brandin Cooks or Kyle Fuller because I knew Beckham didn't have a snowballs chance in hell dropping to us. Fuller went earlier than most thought and the damn Saints leapfrogged us to take Cooks, I'm still mad about that lol.

 

[old duke]

Yeah I don't blame him. I loved OBJ. My target was Brandin Cooks or Kyle Fuller because I knew Beckham didn't have a snowballs chance in hell dropping to us. Fuller went earlier than most thought and the damn Saints leapfrogged us to take Cooks, I'm still mad about that lol.

Yes, but the crime of all these guys is that we should have moved up to get OBJ or Cooks. That's why Howie was kicked upstairs, him and his value board. Marcus smith wasn't who chip wanted, but Howie talked him into picking him too early. How Seattle works, is that Pete Carroll tells Schneider and the scouts what he wants, and they get them. Now, Chip wants to go get his man, and do whatever it takes to get him. We shall see, but I have faith in Chip.

 

[Wings]

We could have just stayed where we were and drafted Roby! I'm still pissed off about that, especially because our Cbs suck!!!

 

[Birds4life81]

Yes, but the crime of all these guys is that we should have moved up to get OBJ or Cooks. That's why Howie was kicked upstairs, him and his value board. Marcus smith wasn't who chip wanted, but Howie talked him into picking him too early. How Seattle works, is that Pete Carroll tells Schneider and the scouts what he wants, and they get them. Now, Chip wants to go get his man, and do whatever it takes to get him. We shall see, but I have faith in Chip.

I'm not ready to write off Marcus Smith just yet. He was a player I really liked, albeit in the 2nd round. He was raw but had a ton of upside. I think he still needs more time to develop, but once he does we could have a real nice player on our hands. There's been a bunch of things reported….like how Chip wanted Jordan Matthews in the first and Taylor Hart in the 3rd, both reaches, same could be said for Marcus Smith. I would've loved a trade up for ODB or Cooks but I don't know the full story so it's hard to tell what really happened. We could've offered something reasonable to move up for both of those guys and just might've not had any takers -- maybe teams were asking far too much and made a deal difficult. Not sure.

 

[Rey]

I'm not ready to write off Marcus Smith either ... he was a bit raw in the pass rush moves department coming in (why many of us would have liked him in Rd 2 as opposed to 1) and we didn't really need him this past season. In the end he may be better because he wasn't thrown into the fire off the jump. He has excellent tools, it's just a matter of seasoning imo.

 

[Wings]

I'm not ready to write off Marcus Smith either ... he was a bit raw in the pass rush moves department coming in (why many of us would have liked him in Rd 2 as opposed to 1) and we didn't really need him this past season. In the end he may be better because he wasn't thrown into the fire off the jump. He has excellent tools, it's just a matter of seasoning imo.

Me neither....Loved him at Louisville, wanted him in rd 2.

 

[Iggloo]

I think Smith showed some good athleticism in coverage as a rookie. But he showed he had no pass rush moves and had coasted up to that point on sheer speed off the corner. He needs to learn pass rushing technique. His technique holding the edge against the run also looks nonexistent.

In short, he has ages to go before becoming a player. He does seem smart but if you watch, say, Connor Barwin and the way he does things, you see Smith has so much to learn.

You saw the light go on for Graham a bit last season as an OLB, where he started to grasp the nuances of the position. So maybe it just takes Smith a few years.

 

[old duke]

Hopefully! It is disconcerting that he couldn't even play special teams, which requires athleticism and effort.

 

[Northern Eagle]

Year 2 will be big for him no doubt... He's got the right attitude, just has to put it together. I'm hoping he'll get to training camp a little more rocked up, some added strength could help him to be a better pass rusher too. One of the knocks on him coming out was Mayock said he had to develop more core strength.

 

[Northern Eagle]

Beckham ran a 4.43. Though I still thought he was faster on tape than Brandin Cooks. I was so pissed when the G-men drafted him, he was my #2 WR behind only Watkins. Beckham will likely turn into one of the very greats and the best in that draft class loaded with talent. He will torment us for many years to come.

By no means am I calling Devin Smith the next Beckham. Though there are some similarities in their game. They both have elite top end speed and when they run they're both very smooth. I love their ability to play the ball in the air, fight the DB and high point the ball in tight coverage. They can both make fantastic adjustments to the ball and possess very impressive body control. They aren't the biggest guys on the field but they play much bigger than their size. Beckham was an elite all around WR prospect and Smith isn't close to that level. Though, I see a ton of upside with Devin Smith -- he's got to learn the full route tree and understand different coverages. He also needs to improve on his blocking.

I like Smith in the 2nd round, his value as a vertical threat right off the bat would bring tremendous value as a #3 or #4 WR, then as he develops could grow into a larger role. To me he's more like Torrey Smith of the Ravens.

As for Beckham, he was my favorite player coming out last year, I was very sad when of all the teams the Gints got him. I think there was an opportunity to trade up to 11 with Tennesee, I remember watching the draft just before the Titans made their selection that they were trying hard to move out of that spot - if we were willing to part with our 2nd (and maybe 4th) we could have had him. Oh well.

 

[old duke]

Oh well just isn't good enough. The fact is, with OBJ, Maclin, and maybe still adding Matthews, we would be awesome @ WR. Before you comment on how unlikely it would have been to still get Mathews - you never know. All I do know is that OBJ would have meant much more success for us than Marcus smith did.