Odell Thurman
 

From ESPN.com,

ILB Odell Thurman (Georgia)
Vital statistics: 6 foot 0 1/8, 233 pounds, 4.62 in the 40.
Numbers game: Was a partial qualifier in 2001, then, after some off-field and academic problems, played at Georgia Military Academy in 2002. Transferred back to Georgia in '03 and started in 22 of 23 appearances. Had 186 tackles, 29½ tackles for loss, 9½ sacks, 24 pressures, two forced fumbles, three recoveries and two interceptions. Returned one interception for a touchdown. Was all-SEC and a semifinalist for the Butkus Award in 2004. Was suspended for the first three games of the '04 campaign for violating unspecified team rules.
Upside: Huge hitter who strikes a natural, rising blow and really gets his legs and hips into a tackle. When he smacks you, chances are you're going down. An explosive first-contact defender who can jolt a ball carrier and stop him in his tracks. Wraps up on tackles and drives through people. Reads keys well and gets up into the hole. Hustles and will make plays outside the tackle box. A decent inside blitzer. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. Solid work ethic.
Downside: His motor might actually run a little too high – he bites easily on play-action fakes. Has a tendency to overrun some plays and doesn't redirect back into the flow. Not very good in coverage and will struggle in space. A ton of off-field issues, including two suspensions, and definitely lacks maturity.
The dish: Just grading him on football skills, probably the best inside linebacker in the draft, and maybe the premier backer, period. But teams that are doing background checks on him can't like some of the stuff being unearthed. No worse than a second-round pick on ability, but it will be interesting to see how much the character red flags will hurt him.

Do the Saints take a flyer on this guy in the Second Round?

Also with three potential first rounders on defense how did the Bulldogs not win the national championship last year?

[Edited on 14/4/2005 by stockman311]

Odell Thurman
 

This may not sit well with the majority of people here, but I\'ve never had Rudd rated any higher than Thurman. I\'d rank them as 2 & 2a.
Rudd\'s better in coverage, Thurman is better against the run. Take your pick.

Odell Thurman
 

then why was ruud taken out on passing downs?

Odell Thurman
 

I\'ve also read, how should I put this kindly, Odell Thurman is dumb as a stump.

Don\'t know if thats true or not, but thats what I hear.

Odell Thurman
 

new orleans brought thurman in-maybe it\'s because he\'s not that bright--

Odell Thurman
 

Who is the bigger gamble/reward at ILB this year? Thurman or Crowder?
I think the reward of Crowder is off the charts if he can stay healthy. I think with a second rounder we have to take a flyer on him.

Odell Thurman
 

risk/reward-crowder-he is apparently very smart, but he\'s got a few off the feild bonehead stuff-vandalism, fights in a night club..the thing that worries most is the knee surgery..but that doesn\'t worry me as much as the off the feild.

thurman-suspended several times for team rule violations, off the feild problems galore, knee injuries.

I go with crowder as a potential steal because he will drop to the second round maybe third..but I don\'t want him in the first and would rather have ruud over both of them.

Odell Thurman
 

I don\'t know, why don\'t you tell me. I didn\'t see that many Nebraska games this year to know whether or not they pulled him on every single passing down. Would find that hard to believe though, with the lack of talent they had last year.
But if I was comparing the two, I would rather have Rudd in coverage than Thurman. I\'ll take a linebacker that can intercept the ball over one that overpursues, any day of the week.

Odell Thurman
 

\"There are also some concerns regarding his mental capacity, as he struggled academically and scored poorly on the Wonderlic Test.\" (ESPN)
He scored a 12 on the Wonderlic. That\'s ouch bad. For comparison: Ruud scored a 35, Crowder a 30.
Don\'t take him any higher than the 3rd round at which point he\'ll probably be gone and won\'t cause headaches in N.O.

Odell Thurman
 

OK, I need to chill for a while.
Idreamed last night we took Barnes in the 1st, Crowder in the 2nd and McPhearson in the 3rd.
I think about this crap WAY too much. ;)