Today’s Blog is a reply to a nice email I received. Here it is: 

Fellow Draft Enthusiast

Found your site for the 1st time & was impressed with its thoroughness, something most sites lack as I'm sure your aware of.  so props for some excellent work!

 If you don't mind & have some time I would like to ask you a couple questions?

 Your opinion of Mike Jenkins? 

 from film I've watched he lacks the physical presence he will need to dominate @ the next level.  he is an arm tackler, not technically sound in run support & while he has good speed its his closing speed & ability to adjust for the ball in flight.  I also question the level of competition he's competed against.  adding everything up he seems more like the end of the 1st early 2nd rd. pick.  I like Flowers more with his ability to blanket cover his man..

 last question, rate the RB class & why? 

 thanks, keep up the outstanding work, wes

Greetings,

Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to email me.  As for questions, I love questions. They tend to end up on my Blog;-)

Mike Jenkins? I like Mike Jenkins. And I agree it is a little tougher judging players from lower levels. But, I tend to judge Corners by their ability to play the Bump and Run. The Pats are at their best when their Corners really press their opponents Wide Receivers. Jenkins may be the best Press Corner in the draft. He consistently makes plays in Press Coverage. He plays smart and shows superior instincts on the field. And when he makes a mistake, he has great closing speed. He is very physical at the line a scrimmage and can really bump a Wide Receiver off his route. He has excellent hips and can really turn and run after his bump. He is a very physical Corner who played more at FS last season then ever before. He looks big  on the field and is listed as 6’ almost 200, But with smaller school players it can be hard to just; Like Ryan Clady, who looks like a Giant on the field, freakishly huge, but how much of that is the smaller players around him. And, this year is a strange year, the Corners this year are all so big? Both Malcolm Jenkins and Agid Talib are listed at 6-2, and Michael Jenkins, Reggie Smith, Jack Ikegwuonu, Terrell Thomas and Simeon Castille are all listed at 6’ of above. I have never seen a Draft with such big Corners at the top of the Draft. The problem, some question his speed. But he looks plenty fast to me! He will need to run a 4.45 or under to stay in the First Round. And of course in the new Bill Polian NFL Corners are not allowed to touch his precious Wide Receivers. Corners are allowed to actually cover Wide Receivers in college, so when physical Corners come to the NFL they have a big adjustment. Jenkins is  no different, and his aggression is his best asset.

Flowers is an interesting prospect as well, a super athlete with a knack for staying on the hip of the man he’s covering. But, he is small in the Assante Samuel mode, He can turn and run with any receiver. He is going to be a steal for someone in the 3^rd or 4^th Round, just like Assante. Usually smaller Corners are better at man coverage, but this year may be the exception.

As for RB I think Darren McFadden, Jonathon Stuart, and Rashard Mendenhall are the only First Round Running Backs in the Draft.

I really like McFadden. He so fast and tough on the field. The scary part about him is that he looks like he could add 10-20 pounds without losing much speed or quickness. I wish he were a little shiftier. Rumors have been swirling that he is not smart, but when he is on the field he definitely plays smart. I don’t understand how he can play the QB position so well, and not be smart?

I always saw Stuart as a power back, but the speed he displayed in his Bowl game, at 230 pounds, was a revelation. I think he has similar talent to Steven Jackson, and I didn’t think that before his Bowl Game. I thought he was much slower.

Mendenhall was another Back who I thought was more of a power back, but his Bowl game he displayed the big play ability that McFadden has showed all season. At 5-11 210 pounds he is not as big as the other two, but he has better quickness then both McFadden and Stuart.

Thank you for the email. I hope this helped.

Thanks,

TOM