Excellent 3-Cone Drill Article

Um...

Anything below 7.0 is GOOD. Anything above and you have to look at other factors...shuttle, 40, difference between 40 and shuttle, and game film.

I like that the article makes a point in how useful the 3 cone drill is...but then it makes a couple of bad analogies. It compares 2 players. The guy with the better cone, has a 'successful' season even though he was on a dreadful D. The faster guy...was hurt. Where's the comparison?

Further, it says Jenkins cone is in the below avg range...but under his description says it's impressive??!?!?!?

Game film, senior bowl practices are more important than any particular stat as long as that stat is not crazy. Did a 4.72 40 stop Boldin from not only being a starting WR in the NFL, but a Pro Bowl caliber WR?

Furthermore, there are plenty of guys with blistering 40, shuttle, and cone who can't play...so you can't put too much stock in these things or you're gonna draft the most athletic guys...not the best prospects. Happens every year.

Why did we take Calico...Woolfolk? How did they work out?

You know who probably has the best combo of 40, shuttle, cone and size? Fuller. How come he can't start and be a Pro Bowler?

Playing the game is more than triangle numbers so upgrading or downgrading too much based on those is a mistake in my opinion.

Gut

 

Um...

Instead of saying this was the 18th or 24th or whatever, just give the number...

DJ Moore's 7.0 cone isn't bad. Butler - who's probably the most athletic CB who can really play well had a 6.92.

And while you wanna jump all over Alphonzo Smith, where do you list he's at the top or top 3 in coverage skills, anticipation, hands for the INT, ect? Seems to me Dre Bly was a pretty sucessful CB in the NFL and Smith is a fair comparison.

You don't want Smith in rnd 1 - fine. But you make it sound like he can't play in the NFL because his cone was a 7.09. You're talking 9 HUNDRETHS of a second from solid.

When I hear these kinds of arguments, I remember a conversation I heard between two coaches...

Coach A - We have great athletes playing LB, but they don't play nearly as well as your guys.
Coach B - I'll take a 4.75 (40) LB who has great instincts and will instantly go where he needs to go over a 4.50 LB who doesn't (have great instincts). The 4.75 guy will beat the 4.50 guy most of the time.

I'm not saying Alphonzo Smith is a top 10 pick...just pointing out that everything is in context. There will be UNDRAFTED CB's who will have better triangle numbers than many CB's who get drafted. The difference is...Football is not all about running a 40, doing a cone drill, or doing a 20yd shuttle in shorts.

Gut

 

Well...

FYI, the knocks on Harris (besides what you already know) are that despite his excellent change of direction ability, he's not good in man coverage. He also has a fairly poor vertical (34") which will be seen as a detriment considering he's under 6'0. And I believe his 4.46 40 was on astroturf so you can add a few hundredths for comparison sake.

Gut

 

Um...

Which Cb's do you think are worth pick 30?

Harris I'm sure is knocked down because he wasn't an elite cover corner in college. He was good, but he also played on a very good D so he didn't have to cover as long and could gamble more. He's not that fast, tall and has a mediocre vertical.

You want gilbert in rnd 1? WHY? We already have a few good DT's who are undersized and quick. And Gilbert is athletic, but doesn't have a great first step which limits him at DE and he doesn't hold the double team well which means he'll be a 3 technique DT. ALL of our DT's are 3 technique DT's. Someone's gotta play off the OC's shoulder. I think that's a reach...even if we didn't have a 3 tech starting DT.

Ayers is interesting for you to project as a worthy first rnd pick. Here's a guy who's official 40 at the combine is 4.90...which is terrible unless you're 290lbs! He had only 18 reps of 225lbs...BAD for a DL and his sub 30" vertical indicates a lack of explosiveness in the lower body. He was virtually non-existent until his senior year and even then only got 3 sacks. He was also arrested in 2005 for assault I believe. Meanwhile, you dog Alphonzo Smith because his 40 is mediocre (not bad) and his cone is a little below avg...but Smith was a dominant player on the field. Ayers had a nice Senior Season but if not for one week of practices (Senior Bowl), he's not close to sniffing rnd 1.

Marks I also don't like in rnd1. He had a bit of a disappointing final year and doesn't play to his athleticism. And while he's a good one on one run defender, he's not good at holding up vs the double team.

Gut

 

Ayers ran a 4.77 in the 40 and had a best time of 4.68.

A misdemeanor charge in 05' and no further trouble since then is hardly a warning flag.He was a team captain last season.

His bench press is poor but Jason Jones also only managed 18 reps and he looked good as a rookie.

 

I like Sean Smith or Darius Butler with our first pick. I think we can reach for either of these two players.

 

Um...

Where did you get 4.77 and 4.68 times on him? I know Draftscout lists him at 4.77 because they don't seem to trust all the combine numbers...but those are guesses...

However, he did run an avg of 4.90 at the combine. Even if you bump his time up .05 for that seemingly slow electronic timing, he still runs a slow 4.85. Everyone knows he doesn't have a great first step and doesn't have good speed. He didn't play hard til this last season...why?

He had a nice senior year but not first round worthy...more like 3rd. And that with him being able to line up all over the place to create mismatches. And even with all that, he had what? 3 sacks?

He's an average athlete who's rise in draft stock comes from playing Andre Smith well and giving Michael Oher good battles at Senior Bowl practices (and the game). Question is, if he can play 2 of the top OT's well, how come he didn't dominate everyone else? This lack of production is disturbing if you're projecting him as a pass rusher.

It's also thought that he didn't play hard til he was playing for an NFL contract. How hard is he gonna play when he's a millionaire?

His likely upside is as a good run defending LDE or he bulks up and is like a Jovan Haye. We don't need another Jovan Haye. Jason Jones/Tony Brown and I wouldn't spend a 1st rnd pick on a nice run defending LDE.

So he likely has limited upside and could be a complete bust if he's just playing for one contract. In general, if you're not a high motor or motivation guy, you don't belong in rnd 1.

Gut