Abdul Hodge

Jackson holds up well against the run. He gets off blocks and works his way through traffic better. Plus he can cover.

Hodge would be more of a liability in coverage. I'm not saying I wouldn't want him if D'Qwell is gone, but he's clearly the more versatile of the two.

A lot of the other MLBs are making plays when they get to them. You want a guy who can get up there and make the play rather than having it come to them. Kassell made a lot of tackles, but not an overwhelming number of plays.

If we can't get Jackson or possibly Hodge, to me it's not even worth taking a MLB until day two.

 

Some draft "experts" are extremely high on Jackson saying he could be a real steal in the 2nd. They see him as a premiere MLB and one I heard said he has similar instincts but not quite the athleticism of Hawk.

Jackson was a 130 tackle guy in college. He also would give us a backup on the outside if one of the other guys went down. I don't know if Hodge is quite at Jackson's level and we might not be interested in a MLB in the 2nd unless it is Jackson or a guy like Carpenter.

 

There was some mention of Thornton being able to play the middle. Not sure if it was his words or someone else's. Been wondering if Thomas Howard is a possibility. He could play outside, and then if we go the nickle, he just comes off the field and Thornton slides outside.

You would say, "you don't want your 2nd round pick only playing 2/3rds of the d snaps", but then again, if we draft Jackson, aren't we looking at about the same situation?

 

I would much rather have Jackson in the middle with Thornton on the outside than Thornton in the middle with Howard on the outside.

IMO Jackson is a much more polished and instinctual player than Howard who might be a great athlete only. Jackson would also be a better MLB than Thornton.