2010 Draft: Overrated / Underrated Prospects

This is something I've worked on the last few days. I tried to get ten under each one and I may have been able to go further but I kept it at ten for now because I still want to see more tape, as I'm a bit behind others. Some will notice that I'll have a couple 2nd or 3rd rounders in the underrated list but that's because they aren't talked about enough IMO. Either way, here's my thoughts.

2010 NFL Draft Prospects

Overrated

Taylor Mays, FS, USC - Whenever you ask someone about Taylor Mays, the first thing they tell you he's got linebacker size and cornerback speed. Don't believe me? Go look at every big board that Mel Kiper has compiled and look at the wording to the right of "analysis" under the name Taylor Mays. Mays is overrated and everyone has him slotted high because of potential. He has potential to be a quality player but I don't see the hype when I look at him as a pro prospect. He's played centerfielder in USC's Cover 1 and Cover 3 looks but has made countless blown assignments as well as been late to several passes. He allows completions and doesn't create turnovers in the secondary. To add, many talk about his devastating hits, yet he doesn't dislodge the ball often (1 FF in four years).

Ed Dickson, TE, Oregon - Is there any room for a poor blocking tight end that doesn't show great quickness consistently? I'm not so sure but that's what I see when I watch Dickson. He's put up nice numbers this year and a lot of his work seems to come from him lining up in the slot and just slicing defenses down the middle with his big body. When it comes to run blocking, he comes off as an unwilling and soft blocker at times. He doesn't give consistent effort and just attempts to mirror the defender. He's got good, strong hands, he comes back to the quarterback but he needs to give consistent effort in both blocking and running routes.

Adam Ulatoski, OT, Texas - Several NFL Scouts, and Tony Pauline, have stated that Adam Ulatoski of Texas has risen his draft grade from a seventh rounder to a mid rounder. How? I would like to know the same thing because he's not quick off the line and he struggles with speed rushers. His hand placement isn't always the best either. I watched him last year a few times and wasn't impressed.

Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas - When one looks at Kindle as a pass rusher, they see great height/weight ratio but when you take a closer look at him, you notice that he struggles to shed blocks and he's very raw in terms of getting after the quarterback. He relies on his quickness quite a bit. When I look at him as a pass rushing pro prospect, I find him to be very overrated. However, when I look at him as a true OLB in a 4-3 scheme, I like him as a prospect. He really runs well, he's done some dropping and he is good in pursuit.

Willie Young, DE, NC State - A prospect who has potential to be a good player because of his size and quickness but just doesn't show up consistently on Saturdays. He's a bit raw as well and doesn't flash big time. He has eight sacks this year but three were against Murray State and Gardner-Webb and he has a grand total of two quarterback hurries this year.

Micah Johnson, ILB, Kentucky - Johnson is a nice linebacker, don't get me wrong. He shows good range, does a good job of getting into the backfield and is a quality reader of the game. However, I have questions about him covering as I've seen him completely blow his hook assignments in the past and Kentucky has limited him to playing trail on tailbacks out of the backfield in their Cover 2 Man look. He's also not a great play maker at the ILB position and is lacking instincts in the pass defense department IMO. I've seen him graded as a second rounder and I'm not buying it.

Tim Tebow, QB, UF - I think several amount of people think Tebow is overrated but I put him here anyways because some refuse to believe it. Tebow is probably one of the greatest college players ever, however he's not one of the greatest pro prospects. Not even close, in my eyes. The reason is because he's wildly inaccurate when pressured and his mechanics are very sloppy. He's had a lot of open receivers in UF's spread offense because of the speed he has around him and it's tough to keep up with the UF receivers. Few teams do, though I believe the University of Texas can but some may disagree. Anyhow, Tebow has a lot of issues and he needs to revamp his mechanics. Break him down and start all over with the basics.

Perrish Cox, CB, OSU - This is a guy that I've seen some talk about (positively) but I don't really know why. He's got nice size and quickness but he gives up quite a few completions, he's late to plays and I question his long speed.

Carlos Dunlap, DE, UF - Another Gator. Sorry to the Gator faithful but I couldn't pass him up on the list. He's big at 6'6", 290 lbs. and he's quick off the line of scrimmage but he's very raw and is living off of potential right now. Some have him slotted as a high pick because of that potential but he's very raw and does a lot of leaning into the blocker. He relies on his quickness and brute strength to beat the blocker. He's shown flashes of brilliance with powerful inside spins but he's lacking consistency.

Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma - I'm not a big believer in taking a right tackle early in the first round, which is why I put Trent Williams here. Like I did with Andre Smith last year, I question if Trent Williams can play left tackle in the NFL because he struggles with speed rushers and he's not very quick off the line. He is dependent on his long arms to ride pass rushers wide of the line of scrimmage, much like Chiefs Branden Albert, who's struggled a bit with speed rushers in the NFL.

Underrated

Alterraun Verner, CB, UCLA - Probably the most underrated cornerback that I can think of. I've been his biggest fan for two years now. He's got good quickness, good closing burst, he does a good job of attacking the ball in the air and he simply makes plays. He had a pick six on Saturday as a matter of fact and he's still running to the end zone. He gets a bit high in his backpedal and isn't always the best contributor in run support but he's always making plays. Against ASU this past weekend, he had a pick six on a badly thrown ball and managed to recover a fumble whilst he was setting the edge.

Michael Neal, DT, Purdue - Some like him, some don't. I'm in the former, meaning I like him quite a bit. Very powerful defensive tackle that is quick and runs well laterally. He can collapse the pocket well and shows good pursuit. What's most important to me is that he does a good job of holding up blocks and getting off of them. My issues with Neal are that he doesn't always lock out his arms when hand fighting with blockers and his pad level will get high at times, which means when he goes to a bulrush, he fails to sink his hips low and power through. Last, I know there are some workout warriors who love numbers so here's some of Neals; 510-pound bench press, a 615-pound squat, and a 385-pound clean.

Alex Carrington, DE, Arkansas St. - Quality strength doesn't look too bad running laterally. I think if you're going to put him on the exterior of the defensive line, it has to be in a 3-4. In a 4-3, I think you slide him over to defensive tackle. He doesn't have a bad rip move for a big man. I think Carrington goes at 6'4", 284 lbs but he showed some flashes of getting under the blockers pads. I just don't think it's something that will be consistent with him. However, I think he can do a good job as a 3-4 defensive end. He's about an inch or two shorter than what most prefer at end but I think he could end up being a decent player as a mid to late rounder.

Jaiquawn Jarrett, S, Temple - Jarrett bites on the play action at times but he's an instinctive player that shows good range and does a good job of setting the edge against the run when playing in the box or working the sideline. He runs well and he lays the wood. I question his long foot speed but he's played as a centerfielder and rover in Temple's scheme and shows very good lateral foot speed..

Kendric Hawkins, DB, Buffalo - Hawkins has struggled with injuries at Buffalo University but he's got talent. He does a good job attacking the ball downhill, he's willing in run support and he plays the dangerous side-saddle technique well. The issue that stands out to me with Hawkins is his open field tackling, as he could improve on that. However, he's talented if he stays in one piece.

Roddrick Muckelroy, OLB, Texas - Muckelroy isn't the biggest linebacker but he's athletic and runs really well. He's also instinctive in pass coverage and does a good job of reading plays. He shows good range and pursuit of the ball carrier. I like his toughness and work rate on the field as he fights through blocks to make plays, despite being 230 or so pounds. He's graded as a sixty to ninety pick but I like him quite a bit. I think he needs to work on getting proper depth in pass coverage but overall, I think he's very talented and will make a team happy.

D'Anthony Smith, DT, Lousiana Tech - Smith is somewhat talked about. I know some have him rated pretty high, as high as second round, but he doesn't seem to get a lot of love from the talking heads (Probably has to do with Ndaumkong Suh dominating everything in his sight). He's got pretty good quickness, very good strength, shows the ability to disengage, versatile as he's played end and tackle and than he's also shown of doing a good job of setting the edge. Also, he's got good lateral quickness and can make plays on his feet. However, what's stood out to me about him at defensive tackle was that his pad level tends to get high. His high pad level as well as him sometimes not having his shoulders squared gets him in trouble because he loses leverage and therefore, he's knocked back, gets stood up and fails to make the play. Also, he doesn't always wrap up when tackling. When he's disciplined and playing with the right mindset, he shows a good bulrush and the ability to collapse the pocket with quickness.

Tyson Alualu, DE/DT, California - Alualu is rated as a sixty to ninety pick but I still put him here because he is flying under the radar despite the rather high grade. The reason he's flying under the radar is because of players like Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Jared Odrick, Arthur Jones, etc. overshadowing him with their quality play. Alualu has a great motor as he's relentless and is also quick off the edge. He does a pretty good job of shedding blocks as well as holding them up. He shows good athleticism by running well laterally and fighting off trash at his feet. He's played some two gap and one gap in California's 3-4 zone defnense and he's impressed me.


Nate Byham, TE, Pittsburgh - I don't usually include blocking tight ends in these types of lists but he's a quality one. As said, he's a blocking tight end that I haven't seen a lot when it comes to running routes and catching balls. However I have seen him block and he does a good job of it. Good intensity, sustains blcoks, locks out his arms and really does a good job of walling off ends to create holes for the ball carrier to run through. He's helped Pitt become one of the best rushing offenses in the nation and I think he's a guy that this regime could end up really liking. Michael Hoomanawanui of Illinois is another guy that is a quality blocker and not a bad pass catcher over the middle. I think he needs to get more strength as a blocker however. Last, one other blocking tight end that is very good is Mike Owens of Syracuse. Great job sealing the edge by him.

A.J. Edds, LB, Iowa - I could have put more players here but I decided I wanted ten and I wanted to include AJ Edds. He's an impressive linebacker who's only been playing the position since 2006 I believe. Has quite a bit of coverage responsibilities and handles them really well. He's quick changing directions, tackles well, disciplined and runs well laterally. He's also an intelligent player and has done a good job of fighting through blocks against tight ends and tailbacks. He's probably a mid rounder at the moment but will go up IMO.

UDFA Sleeper


Chris McCoy, DE, Middle Tennesee St. - One of the more explosive ends that many don't talk about. It's very tough to come by MTST games here but I've managed to catch at least one and I was immediately impressed by McCoy, a pass rusher that I didn't even go into the game intending to watch to be completely honest. McCoy goes at 6'4", 250 pounds and shows good explosiveness off the edge. He does a good job of dipping his shoulder and a good closing burst. He's dropped back in coverage at times and I think it's safe to say he hasn't done a lot of it. His head/feet ratio is not good as he's erect when dropping back in coverage. However, I'm looking for a pass rusher and I would be willing to take a flier on McCoy in the late rounds or as an UDFA.

 

If he stays disciplined, sure.

 

He may be successful in the NFL but I think he's got to revamp his mechanics.