Prospect Comparisons

[PSU_dropout43]

Terrence Cody/NT/Alabama/6’4/350 Ted Washington

Though very limited in his athleticism because of his bulk, his size and natural strength are rare. They are also an absolute necessity for a 3-4 scheme. Amazingly, as pointed out by TONY SPARANO in Mobile, some of these massive guys last a long time in the NFL. WASHINGTON used his bulk to carve out a 15 year NFL career. If CODY can get in some semblance of “massive shape” for the next 5-6 years he too could put together a 10-plus year career, absolutely controlling the line of scrimmage ala BIG TED. RANK 37/ROUND 2


Sergio Kindle/OLB/Texas/6’4/250 Brian Orakpo/Redskins

KINDLE played the pass-rush DE position for the Longhorns this season as a favor to the TEXAS coaching staff. Do not be fooled... he is a stand-up OLB who should be comfortable in either a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. There is no reason to believe he will not be just as successful as a Rookie in the NFL as ORAKPO was in his first year in Washington. Just like ORAKPO, KINDLE should be a double defensive threat in his ability to stop the run and provide some pass-rush on a regular basis. He possesses a nice combination of strength and speed off the edge. RANK 11/ROUND 1


Dan LeFevour/QB/Central Michigan/6’3/230 Tony Romo/Cowboys

One of the key things to remember in this comparison is that even though LeFEVOUR played in D1 his readiness to play the pro game will require a couple of years of learning on an NFL bench. His size, arm strength and athleticism are very comparable to ROMO’s. But his mechanics coming out of college ball, just like ROMO’s, will need fine tuning by an NFL QB guru. Despite often being a scapegoat for failures in Dallas ROMO is clearly in the top dozen QBs in the NFL right now. In time I think LeFEVOUR has the talent and athleticism to follow in ROMO’s footsteps. RANK 62/ROUND 3


Anthony McCoy/TE/USC/6’4/260 Heath Miller/Steelers

McCOY is not a big offensive weapon, but he will catch more than his share of short and intermediate balls in a West Coast style system. But some folks forget that his initial signature skill was his blocking ability. That’s why I see him having an NFL career similar to that of HEATH MILLER. He will block solidly for the running game, help in picking up outside blitzes and catch enough balls to help keep an NFL Offense advancing the chains. I see him having a more productive pro career than he had as a collegian. RANK 56/ROUND 3


Koa Misi/OLB/Utah/6’3/250 Anthony Spencer/Cowboys

Thanks to his week in Mobile we all have a pretty good sense of what MISI can do with his hand off the ground after his college career as a DE. And the picture we got was very attractive for at team looking for a strong, pass rushing edge player, who can actually drop into space n pass coverage. He is ahead of SPENCER already in that area, but otherwise they are very similar in size and athleticism. The footwork and awareness he displayed out in space, while in Mobile, make me think he could possibly handle either a 4-3, or 3-4 scheme, more likely the latter. MISI is not going to crack Round 1 like SPENCER did, but I will be surprised if he is not gone by late in Round 2. RANK 55/ROUND 2


Ndamukong Suh/DT/Nebraska/6’4/305 Dan Hampton/Bears

I had to go back a couple decades to find a guy I felt had the kind of package SUH brings to the table. And HAMPTON represented the combination of size, strength and quickness that SUH brings to the field of play. HAMPTON even swung outside to End in certain situations. And there is no reason to think that MR. SUH couldn’t do so as well. A major reason for my selection of HAMPTON is that I seem to recall he was extra special at using his hands to keep blockers at bay, and literally throw people around, which is fairly rare at the NFL level. Based on his play in college it certainly appears as though SUH will bring that skill to the League. RANK 1/ROUND 1

Post your prospect comparisons.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Comparing this year's prospects to established players:

The most obvious comparison would be Brandon Graham to LaMarr Woodley. Same school, same basic size, same conversion from college DE to NFL 3-4 OLB.

Everyone has been comparing Eric Berry to Ed Reed basically forever. I'm VERY high on Berry, and think that it is an apt comparison.

Trent Williams reminds me of Marvel Smith for some reason. It's hard to quantify why, exactly. I think Trent, like Marvel, will start his career off at RT, and may be able to move to LT.

Toby Gerhart reminds me of Brian Leonard. Because we all know, when you are talking about NFL skill position players, you can only compare white guys to other white guys and black guys to other black guys. It's a law or something.


Comparing this year's prospects to last year's prospects:

I think Maurkice Pouncey is similar to Max Unger, who was taken by the Seahawks with the 49th overall pick in the second round. Both played in spread attacks in Florida and Oregon, respectively. Both have positional flexibility that allows them to play anywhere along the interior o-line, and possibly at RT as well. I think Pouncey goes earlier than Unger, though, because Unger had Mack and Wood ahead of him in last year's class, while there is no one ahead of Pouncey this year, so he will likely come off the board in the late first instead of the mid-second.

I think Anthony Davis is similar to Andre Smith. Both were rated as top 10 prospects early, but consistency questions and work ethic issues at the combine and pro day popped up which dropped their stock. The Bengals still took Smith with the #6 pick last year, but I don't think there is a team that will take the risk in the top 10 on A. Davis this year (since the other A. Davis, undead Al, will likely prefer the workout warrior Bruce Campbell instead). Davis may get taken by San Fran with one of their two 1st round picks since they need a RT prospect badly.

Alex Carrington reminds me of Jarron Gilbert. He's my late-second, early-third 3-4 DE prospect from a small school du jour.

Chris Cook reminds me of Sean Smith. Both tall CB/S prospects with 2nd round grades.