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By Russ Lande
For Sporting News
With the NFL Scouting Combine a week away, many NFL teams are holding draft meetings to get ready for their trip to Indianapolis. Here are some players who are stirring discussion and debate:
Andy Dalton, QB, TCU. Halfway through the 2010 season, Dalton was viewed as a solid but developing prospect who needed a lot of work on his footwork and accuracy. After that, Dalton showed much improvement -- especially with his accuracy and consistency. Though he was not the best quarterback at the Senior Bowl and lacks elite physical tools, Dalton (6-2, 213) is a well-built prospect with good athleticism and a strong arm. Combined with his outstanding intangibles -- he's extremely smart, tough and a hard worker--he has everything it takes to be considered a good gamble in the third round. If Dalton tests out well physically at the Combine and his pro day, he could move up draft boards as coaches tend to fall in love with quarterbacks with great intangibles and enough physical ability to succeed.
Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas State. Thomas (6-1 5/8, 228) is a big back creating a lot of debate in draft rooms. No one denies he was a tremendously productive college player who has shown the strength, toughness, competitiveness and skills to be a dominant runner between the tackles. Many in the NFL believe he has all the physical tools to become a very good starting big back. But others believe he lacks the quickness, burst and speed to be a productive starter. He will need to test out well at the Combine and his pro day to allay those concerns and avoid sliding on draft day.
Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin. With Nate Solder, Anthony Castonzo and Tyron Smith headlining the class of tackles in the draft, Carimi has slipped under the radar a bit despite receiving a lot of recognition at Wisconsin. Carimi (6-7, 315) is a super-tough tackle who is viewed by some as a good athlete who can be a solid NFL pass blocker and merits a late first-round or high second-round pick. However, another faction views Carimi as a stiff player who lacks the athleticism and feet to play left tackle, will struggle to be productive at right tackle and warrants only third- or fourth-round consideration.
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State. Because of the success of players like Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL teams are much more willing to draft short backs. Consequently, Rodgers (5-6 3/8, 192) is getting a lot of attention and there is a lot of debate over where he should be drafted. Scouts agree that he has the explosiveness, quickness, speed, run skills, vision/instincts and deceptive strength to be a dangerous weapon if used effectively. Unless he falls apart this spring, we think he'll go by the end of the second round because teams are desperate for playmakers and Rodgers can be a difference-maker regardless of his height.
Rob Housler, TE Florida Atlantic. There isn't much hype about this class of tight ends, but Housler (6-5 1/2, 239) is getting a lot of attention after a strong season and a good showing at the Texas vs. The Nation game. He has surprising quickness and athleticism for such a big, tall tight end. He also displays natural hands plucking the ball away from his body and has consistently shown the ability to twist and adjust to make tough catches on off-target passes. He has the quickness, speed and strength to run through hits and arm tackles to consistently gain yards after contact.
Marcus Gilchrist, CB, Clemson. With his ability to play the ball in front of him, Gilchrist has the makeup to be a good cover 2 corner. Gilchrist (5-10, 193) is an aggressive, physical player who has consistently shown the willingness to come up and make hard hits on passes in front of him and in run support. Because he is better at moving forward and not as consistent at flipping his hips and turning and running with receivers, a number of teams view him as a better safety prospect. This debate will likely be decided by how well he works out at the Combine and his individual workouts with coaches.
Mitch Mustain, QB, USC. Before 2010, Mustain was regarded as a QB to keep an eye on. Some thought he could be the next Matt Cassel--especially because he had been such a highly recruited player out of high school and had been surprisingly successful starting eight games as a true freshman at Arkansas. But when Mustain (6-2, 200) did have to play in 2010, he didn't shine and didn't look like an NFL prospect. Then when he got in trouble off the field recently, it pretty much closed the door on his chances of being selected with a late draft pick. Now, he needs to shine this spring to get a shot as a free agent.
For Sporting News
With the NFL Scouting Combine a week away, many NFL teams are holding draft meetings to get ready for their trip to Indianapolis. Here are some players who are stirring discussion and debate:
Andy Dalton, QB, TCU. Halfway through the 2010 season, Dalton was viewed as a solid but developing prospect who needed a lot of work on his footwork and accuracy. After that, Dalton showed much improvement -- especially with his accuracy and consistency. Though he was not the best quarterback at the Senior Bowl and lacks elite physical tools, Dalton (6-2, 213) is a well-built prospect with good athleticism and a strong arm. Combined with his outstanding intangibles -- he's extremely smart, tough and a hard worker--he has everything it takes to be considered a good gamble in the third round. If Dalton tests out well physically at the Combine and his pro day, he could move up draft boards as coaches tend to fall in love with quarterbacks with great intangibles and enough physical ability to succeed.
Daniel Thomas, RB, Kansas State. Thomas (6-1 5/8, 228) is a big back creating a lot of debate in draft rooms. No one denies he was a tremendously productive college player who has shown the strength, toughness, competitiveness and skills to be a dominant runner between the tackles. Many in the NFL believe he has all the physical tools to become a very good starting big back. But others believe he lacks the quickness, burst and speed to be a productive starter. He will need to test out well at the Combine and his pro day to allay those concerns and avoid sliding on draft day.
Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin. With Nate Solder, Anthony Castonzo and Tyron Smith headlining the class of tackles in the draft, Carimi has slipped under the radar a bit despite receiving a lot of recognition at Wisconsin. Carimi (6-7, 315) is a super-tough tackle who is viewed by some as a good athlete who can be a solid NFL pass blocker and merits a late first-round or high second-round pick. However, another faction views Carimi as a stiff player who lacks the athleticism and feet to play left tackle, will struggle to be productive at right tackle and warrants only third- or fourth-round consideration.
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State. Because of the success of players like Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew, NFL teams are much more willing to draft short backs. Consequently, Rodgers (5-6 3/8, 192) is getting a lot of attention and there is a lot of debate over where he should be drafted. Scouts agree that he has the explosiveness, quickness, speed, run skills, vision/instincts and deceptive strength to be a dangerous weapon if used effectively. Unless he falls apart this spring, we think he'll go by the end of the second round because teams are desperate for playmakers and Rodgers can be a difference-maker regardless of his height.
Rob Housler, TE Florida Atlantic. There isn't much hype about this class of tight ends, but Housler (6-5 1/2, 239) is getting a lot of attention after a strong season and a good showing at the Texas vs. The Nation game. He has surprising quickness and athleticism for such a big, tall tight end. He also displays natural hands plucking the ball away from his body and has consistently shown the ability to twist and adjust to make tough catches on off-target passes. He has the quickness, speed and strength to run through hits and arm tackles to consistently gain yards after contact.
Marcus Gilchrist, CB, Clemson. With his ability to play the ball in front of him, Gilchrist has the makeup to be a good cover 2 corner. Gilchrist (5-10, 193) is an aggressive, physical player who has consistently shown the willingness to come up and make hard hits on passes in front of him and in run support. Because he is better at moving forward and not as consistent at flipping his hips and turning and running with receivers, a number of teams view him as a better safety prospect. This debate will likely be decided by how well he works out at the Combine and his individual workouts with coaches.
Mitch Mustain, QB, USC. Before 2010, Mustain was regarded as a QB to keep an eye on. Some thought he could be the next Matt Cassel--especially because he had been such a highly recruited player out of high school and had been surprisingly successful starting eight games as a true freshman at Arkansas. But when Mustain (6-2, 200) did have to play in 2010, he didn't shine and didn't look like an NFL prospect. Then when he got in trouble off the field recently, it pretty much closed the door on his chances of being selected with a late draft pick. Now, he needs to shine this spring to get a shot as a free agent.