pakowitz

THE HUDDLE REPORT

Joey Thomas CB Montana St


Strength
Joey has very good size for his position. He has nice long legs and long arms. He has good hip flip to go along with his speed. Joey has good quickness and the ability to change direction equal to the better CB\'s in this draft.

Needs to Improve
Joey has had some injury problems that have kept him from being on the field. He has a very slight frame. Joey gets pushed around a lot by the receivers. He is not a good tackler at this stage of his career. Joey will need to work hard on his techniques. I’m not convinced that Joey is up to the pounding that his body will take on the NFL level mentally.

Bottom Line
Joey needs to get a lot stronger. He has very good talent as a cover corner, but in the NFL Joey will have to do more than just cover a receiver. He will have to come up and meet the point of attack on a sweep. He will have to learn to fight through blocks to tackle a WR or a RB. He will have to learn the bump and run techniques that are used in the NFL and he will have to stay injury free for more than five games at a pop to have any impact for the team that picks him. He plays light and doesn\'t tackle very well and gets injured a lot at the level at which he plays now. Imagine what would happen in the NFL. This kid is a personal trainer’s dream come true. Skinny is not the word I would use to describe this kid’s build. I would say, more Bambi-like. In fact, if he doesn\'t get into the weight room soon and become a better tackler, he will get buried in the forest with the other creatures.

I Live In Beastmode!

pakowitz

THE HUDDLE REPORT


Keith Smith CB McNeese St



Strengths

Keith has good size and speed for his position. He is a good cover corner and is very smart. He has good change of direction abilities and is strong. He dominates most receivers at the college level of play. He is a quality kid who takes pride in his abilities and is a good teammate.



Needs to Improve

The level of play is the biggest concern with Keith and his confidence. These two questions will not be answered for a few years. Keith will have to get stronger and learn the bump and run techniques of the NFL.



Bottom Line

Cornerbacks with this type of athletic talent that have good size and speed like this kid has are definitely at a premium when it comes to a draft. The problem in this case is the level of competition and Free Agency. You see, it can take a kid from this level of competition about three years to really come up to the level needed to be a starter in the NFL and that’s if he doesn’t get burned too much and lose his confidence. If you sign him to a four-year contract, then you run the risk of training him for another team. So you are the GM, you’re doing the draft, this kid has the talent and maybe the mental makeup. So, what do you do? Beeeep wrong answer, or should I say partially wrong answer. You got the part right about the length, but you have to do something to make this kid want to learn faster. If he doesn’t handle the pressure mentally, it will hurt him in the pocketbook. Watch my lips, INCENTIVE LADEN CONTRACT. A GM’s dream contract come true. You interview him and his agent before the draft and hammer this out before you Draft Day -- then you take a shot and draft him. Keith has the talent to play in the NFL. The only question will be, does he play as a starter or a back-up? Personally, I think he has the talent to be a #2 Corner in the NFL.

I Live In Beastmode!

Danno

Great stuff pak, thanks
If Loomis and Co can\'t drasticaly improve this defense with our 1st 4 picks, they just need to pack it up.

Donterrious Thomas: I thought he was a MLB, but I was corrected by someone here that he\'ll an OLB, now its back to ILB. What the?
He is a pure MLB...If you don\'t respect him and his effort, he just might put YOU through the wall instead. Dontarrious might make the top 15 in this draft, but it really doesn\'t matter to him, so I don’t expect him to push very hard for it. He will start right away and be a main cog in someone\'s defense for a long time. He is a search and destroy type of linebacker. Vilma who?
Oh well. I\'m looking forward to this draft and there are about 20 players (CB/LB) the Saints could choose from in the 1st 3 rounds that I\'d be extremely happy with.

deadflatbird

it all depends if there is a run on a certain position or not. Last year should not be an indication on whats to come this year. Last year there was a run on DT\'s... Saints had the feeling that would happen and moved up to snag Sully.

Danno

I\'m hoping since so many teams $igned corner$ in free-agency that it won\'t be the hot position in the draft.

I think WR and QB may be the hot run this year. There are about 7 1st round quality WR\'s and 4 1st round quality QB\'s this year. Everyone wants that Moss type WR.

The flip side being that many teams may feel they can still get a stud 1st round WR in the 2nd.

WhoDat

I would wet myself... only thing I would change...

1-CB - Hall, Gamble, or Robinson
2A-OLB-Donterrious Thomas
2B-ILB-Rod Davis
3-CB-Joey Thomas

5-WR
6-FB
7-doesn\'t matter

Cadillac

Looking at the Draft order, I\'d say the three teams we would have to worry about would be
10 Texans
11 Steelers
12 Jets
13 Bills
14 Bears
15 Bucs
16 49ers
17 Bengals

That said, I think Gamble will go first to the Steelers Jets or Bills, but we may have to jump over the Bengals. I believe the 49ers would take a trade, as they have so many needs this offseason after cutting half their offence.

whowatches

I think, after serious reflection, that I have changed my mind and believe that we should draft a corner in the first round even if Vilma is available.

My thought is that any of the top three or four corners we could draft in the first will be able to start by at least the middle of the season. With one of our second picks, we can draft Rod Davis, who I promise will be the answer we need for the next decade at the position. At 2b, we then have the luxury of picking up the best LB or CB on the board. In the third, we can take either a center (the kid out of Iowa) or a WR.

I know I\'m lovin\' hard on Davis lately, but I tell ya, he\'s the real deal. Just wait. We draft him, and you guys can thank me later. Just ask Danno about Davis knockin\' some sense into Andrew Zow a couple of years ago.

.02

Euphoria

I think you are right as well... Haslett and company have set this up to draft CB, perhaps 2 CB\'s early. I am thinking They are going to go with Cie Grant in the middle if they have to

Boogro

With the looks of Hall\'s pro day, he might have put himself in the top ten. That\'s just what I am hearing. I have a feeling we will draft Robinson if Hall is the only cb gone by the time we pick. We all know that Haslett loves those SEC players in the first round. The only way I wouldn\'t draft a lb or cb with 2A is if Jake Grove is available. I really think this guy would be LeCharles Bentley-type steal. I would be happy with a D. Thomas, R. Davis, or D. Smith. I am all for 2 cbs and 2 lbs with the first 4 picks. It think if we get Bryan Johnson, we may focus on something other than FB in the later rounds. I wouldn\'t mind drafting a kicker in later rounds to compete with Carney. Also, I\'d like to see a safety and a wideout taken in later rounds.