sdogo

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This is a column I used to do for various draft sites and will start posting on my blog in February. Typically, this piece is filled with brief quotes, opinions and thoughts on a several prospects but it's rare that I get this much face time to sit down with several scouts and discuss one player.

Over the last 15-20 years I have been lucky enough to not only meet but work with some of the best scouts in the league. They influenced my life and my thoughts on the draft greatly. It's a eye opening and special occasion when anyone including myself get a few minutes to pick the brain of past and current scouts on this years NFL prospects, these are the guys who's opinions influence a teams direction on draft day and ultimately can control a players destination.

I hope you enjoy

Sunday, January 16th, 2011

For what on the surface seems to be a sure fire top 10 choice no player has been openly discussed and evaluated as much as LSU DB Patrick Peterson. No scout I have spoken to has doubted his freakish athletic ability, his hard hitting style nor can they deny his accolades. All American, Thorpe award winner, Bendarik award winner, SEC Defensive player of the year, SEC Special Teams players of the year. His numbers are also equally impressive, As a JR he recorded 42 tackles, 6 pass break up's and 4 INT's despite opposing defenses avoiding him at all cost. He finished with an LSU record 932 kick off return yards and as a punt returner proved to be a game changer with a 16.1 average and 2 TD's. He scored a TD 3 different ways the Tigers recording TD's on a punt return, Int return and a blocked FG.

On the surface it appears Peterson is a lock to be selected in the top 5 of this upcoming draft, for sure a top 10 pick and draft projections around the net support it but more then a few scouts are taking a second look.

Several current scouts feel Peterson is a much better athlete then he will ever be a football player. Some question his instincts, some question his desire in run support but most if not all agree that he is simply not fundamentally a great player and all follow that up with "yet".

Two scouts I spoke to say they believe Patrick is an immediate special teams contributor but is two or three years from being ready to implant himself permanently in a NFL defensive backfield.

Another scout I spoke to expanded on this by saying that his athletic traits allowed him to get away with a lot at the college level and wont translate to the NFL. He went on to say that one knock on Peterson at LSU was that he was too much or a "free roamer" and had trouble grasping and understanding schemes.

A current NFL scout for the Saints told me that Peterson reminds him a lot of former Redskins LB Lavar Arrington. An athletic freak that will never produce as expected due to the simple fact there is no scheme that can contain him.

The over whelming consensus was that Peterson's future in the NFL will be made at safety but his responsibilities will need reduced in order for him use his athletic ability to make plays. The problem being as they said is that as a pure safety he's not the game changer that teams typically look for if they spend a top 10 pick on a safety.

A current Bills scouts explained to me, only 10 Safeties have been taken in the top 15 picks in the NFL draft since 1991, Arguably only two of them can be considered game changers and one lost his life too early. The one thing every one of them have in common is that they had higher draft grades then Peterson currently has. He also went on to point out that the two safeties chosen in last years top 15, Eric Berry and Earl Thomas received two of the highest draft grades for a DB let alone safety that scouts have seen in several years and Berry was chosen 5th while Thomas slipped to 15th. He emphasized, Peterson is no where near the caliber player of those 2.

I finished up by speaking to one scout who team holds a pick in the top 7 selections of the first round, he stated to me that a lot can happen between now and draft day. Players will improve on their 40 time, they will get stronger, they will get more agile and they rehearse their interviews and as always teams will fall in love with numbers but a player is not going to improve on being a football player in that time.

Of the 4 current NFL scouts I spoke to, 2 of them work for teams that have pick in the top 7 selections of the 2011 draft, while one rounds out the top 15 and the other sits at the bottom half of the first round. The consensus was that we may very well see a situation like we had last year with Earl Thomas where you will hear Peterson's name mentioned a lot in the top 10 but will settle in around the middle part of the first round.

Of the 2 former NFL scouts I approached about Peterson, neither felt he was a lock for the top 10 and went on to explain that not only does he not grade out as one of the best safeties in recent memory but evaluating teams in the top 10, it's not they year that those teams have the luxury of investing in a safety.

I found it interesting that not a single one of the scouts I spoke to projected Peterson to CB at the next level and were very clear in stating that there were very few teams who are grading him right now as a CB.

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dbair1967

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Not the guy I want at 9, even before I read this. I've thought he was destined for safety for most of this season.
 

LAZARUS_LOGAN

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A current NFL scout for the Saints told me that Peterson reminds him a lot of former Redskins LB Lavar Arrington. An athletic freak that will never produce as expected due to the simple fact there is no scheme that can contain him.


Sean Taylor was the same way. A free lancer, however, as a safety he could get away with it.



The over whelming consensus was that Peterson's future in the NFL will be made at safety but his responsibilities will need reduced in order for him use his athletic ability to make plays. The problem being as they said is that as a pure safety he's not the game changer that teams typically look for if they spend a top 10 pick on a safety.

A current Bills scouts explained to me, only 10 Safeties have been taken in the top 15 picks in the NFL draft since 1991, Arguably only two of them can be considered game changers and one lost his life too early.



I wouldn't call Taylor a game-changer. Polumalu and Reed are and remain this game sole game-changers at the safety position.

I'm sorry, but Sean Taylor was one of the most overhyped and overrated players of his time. It wasn't until his death that year when he started to live up to that hype. It seems like since he died, they tried to canonize him.
 

dbair1967

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Then Prince Amukamara is the one.

Not sure using the top pick on a CB is the best use of the pick.

We're weak on the OL, DL and Spencer is gonna be a very interesting decision for Ryan and Garrett. If they think 2010 was indicative of all he can do, they'll draft his replacement early IMO.
 

dbair1967

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Bob Sanders may classify as a game changer.

But he's always hurt.

He doesnt change anything, except all the bandages he uses.

This guy has to be one of the all time made of glass players.

Even when he is healthy (that 10% of the time) he doesnt make any plays.
 

LAZARUS_LOGAN

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Not sure using the top pick on a CB is the best use of the pick.

We're weak on the OL, DL and Spencer is gonna be a very interesting decision for Ryan and Garrett. If they think 2010 was indicative of all he can do, they'll draft his replacement early IMO.



Well I see no OL worth the #10 pick. And the only other DL prospect that might be there at #9 would be Bowers if he fell that far. Other than that, if Prince is the BPA there, then we should take him or trade down. I doubt that they will be drafting Spencer's repalcement in this draft. The same thing tha tyoua re saying about Spencer, can be said about either Newman or Jenkins, and in either case if it comes down to Amukamara, Quinn, or Miller, then defintely Prince is the better value at #9 than the oher two.
 
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I guess. If hitting 160 lbs. punters makes you awesome. And you remain easy and clueless.

Taylor died at the age of 24 and had more highlights then a ten year vet, come on man Taylor if given the chance prob would be right with troy and ed reed for the best saftey in the league.
 

dbair1967

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Taylor died at the age of 24 and had more highlights then a ten year vet, come on man Taylor if given the chance prob would be right with troy and ed reed for the best saftey in the league.

He had alot of bad highlights too. He was pretty overrated as a player.
 
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Taylor died at the age of 24 and had more highlights then a ten year vet, come on man Taylor if given the chance prob would be right with troy and ed reed for the best saftey in the league.

His style of play is illegal now and the guy was a dirtier than dirt-troublemaking-bad angle taking-spitter who missed more than he connected. (Like his predessor Laron Landry)

I'm not sure he could have adjusted to the new rules and been effective. I think he would have been no more special than Adrian Wilson which is good not great.

He was no ballhawk like Reed and Troy.
 
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Taylor was an up and down player. He was attrocious in 2006. Virtually every highlight of him that year was him in a trail position as a receiver was going to the house.

I was at the Redskins at Cowboys game that year, where Taylor lined up 20 yeards off Terry Glenn. Glenn ran right to him, and Taylor barely moved. Then Glenn put a little move to his left, which Taylor bit on hard, Glenn cut to the inside, and Bledsoe lobbed it up perfectly. Glenn ran under it in the end zone, with Taylor trailing from 10 yards away.

Taylor was having a dominent 2007 before his death. But overally, he was an inconsistant player.

Redskins fans always want to talk about how Taylor had "turned the corner" and hypothethize that Taylor was going to play the remainder of his career like he was that 2007 season, but that is impossible to know.

It was a tragic loss, without question.


Regarding Peterson... if he's a great free-lancer with freakish ability, how would he work in a Troy Palamalu type role?
 

LAZARUS_LOGAN

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Taylor died at the age of 24 and had more highlights then a ten year vet, come on man Taylor if given the chance prob would be right with troy and ed reed for the best saftey in the league.


He had more bad highlights than good ones. And let's not forget Roy had his share of highlights. The year before Taylor died, he along with another DB led the league in TDs given up, this all the while Redskins' fans claiming the reason Taylor wasn't getting many INTs because opposing QBs were avoiding him---much like how opposing teams avoided running to Arrington's side, according to them. He gave up no less than 20 TDs that year. I remember because Redskins' fans tried to scapegoat Archuleta, even though Archuleta at the time was leading the team in tackles and even after Archuleta was benched, Taylor continued to stink it up.
 
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but he died at 24 thats all im saying he was improving now if he was playing that way and was 29/30 then people could of said things like him being overrated but 3 years in the league and

2 be consider overrated and not giving the fair chnce to prove his self do 2 what lets see "death" is kinda a dumb plus sean was forced to play SS early on in his career till they drafted

laron which moved sean back to his natural position FS
 

LAZARUS_LOGAN

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but he died at 24 thats all im saying he was improving now if he was playing that way and was 29/30 then people could of said things like him being overrated but 3 years in the league and

2 be consider overrated and not giving the fair chnce to prove his self do 2 what lets see "death" is kinda a dumb plus sean was forced to play SS early on in his career till they drafted

laron which moved sean back to his natural position FS


You want to argue semantics, fine. Ok then he was OVERHYPED. Is that better now? The OVERHYPED made him OVERRATED. Taylor had always played FS when he first came aboard. He never played close up to the LOS consistantly. He was a centerfielder.And with all the hype on Taylor he should have been able to play both safety positions, it was bragged about how he could even play CB. But to say he was one of the best safeties makes him OVERRATED.
 
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