Just some random thoughts on this pick and what I've read:
- There is some talk about "lazy", and "taking plays off" but man it seems like you get that with 80-90% of DL guys. I never know what to make of that. Sometimes it's real, sometimes I think it's because a lot of college teams don't rotate their DL, and those big guys just can't go hard play after play. In a rotation, they can hopefully go hard for the few plays at a time that they are in - some don't or can't, and they are gone after a couple of seasons.
- Some scouts seemed to say he was stiff but he looked OK, to my untrained eyes, for a guy his size. His 40-time shows he has some explosion and athleticism. Those totally stiff big men usually don't run well. He also had a decent 3-cone for a guy his size, though the 20-yard shuttle wasn't very good.
- S.I. mentioned that he was productive from several spots in the 3-4. I didn't know Auburn was a 3-4 team so kind of consider it a bonus. Sounds like he's played some nose, some 3-technique as a pass rusher and also some 5-technique. The way the Packers use their DL I'm not that worried about fit. They play some 2-gap in base, single-gap in nickel/dime. I'm more worried about having guys that will play hard for the limited time they are in. I kinda threw fit out the window years ago. Daniels isn't the perfect fit in the 3-4, but he's been pretty good. The only guys that seems like they don't fit at all in the 3-4 are the more prototypical 4-3DE's - the 265-280 pound guys. Too big to play OLB, too small to play 5-technique. Other than that, give me some 300 pounders who'll play hard and have decent strength and you can maybe find a way to get something out of them.
- There is some talk about "lazy", and "taking plays off" but man it seems like you get that with 80-90% of DL guys. I never know what to make of that. Sometimes it's real, sometimes I think it's because a lot of college teams don't rotate their DL, and those big guys just can't go hard play after play. In a rotation, they can hopefully go hard for the few plays at a time that they are in - some don't or can't, and they are gone after a couple of seasons.
- Some scouts seemed to say he was stiff but he looked OK, to my untrained eyes, for a guy his size. His 40-time shows he has some explosion and athleticism. Those totally stiff big men usually don't run well. He also had a decent 3-cone for a guy his size, though the 20-yard shuttle wasn't very good.
- S.I. mentioned that he was productive from several spots in the 3-4. I didn't know Auburn was a 3-4 team so kind of consider it a bonus. Sounds like he's played some nose, some 3-technique as a pass rusher and also some 5-technique. The way the Packers use their DL I'm not that worried about fit. They play some 2-gap in base, single-gap in nickel/dime. I'm more worried about having guys that will play hard for the limited time they are in. I kinda threw fit out the window years ago. Daniels isn't the perfect fit in the 3-4, but he's been pretty good. The only guys that seems like they don't fit at all in the 3-4 are the more prototypical 4-3DE's - the 265-280 pound guys. Too big to play OLB, too small to play 5-technique. Other than that, give me some 300 pounders who'll play hard and have decent strength and you can maybe find a way to get something out of them.
