Going off a rotoworld comment on how his stock is falling... do you think he would fit well in our version of the 3-4? Or is he better fit in a 4-3? According to the National Football Post's Wes Bunting, there are "growing concerns in draft circles" about Purdue DE Ryan Kerrigan's NFL position. "He doesn't look fluid enough to play in space and lacks the anchor to hold up as a down defensive end," explained Bunting. We've seen other draft analysts expressing similar concerns about Kerrigan. The Boilermaker star is going to have to show better-than-expected athleticism at the Combine to erase doubts. He's already dropping weight in an effort to do so.
MR E is banned, if he was here he would tell you what he thinks about Wes Bunting. Kerrigan was playing around 260- 265 and is currently at 255. It looks like he wants to keep all options open and possibily have teams look at him as a 3-4 OLB and trying to improve combine times with his weight loss. Rex likes bigger OLBs, so losing weight wouldn't be a good thing as far as the Jets are concerned. It is going to be a transition that may take some time to develop. Kerrigan hasn't played much dropping into coverage, so they're questions. Kerrigan isn't going to run a fast time at the combine...probably 4.7 -4.8 range. Kerrigan is more quick than fast. Has a good first step and is tenacious. Hard to overlook Kerrigan's production and attitude, he's a force that never stops and is relentless.
almost in the same way as bleacher report articles put it in the title so people know not to bother... On the topic, I would be happy to have Kerrigan. The guy just has that never say die motor. He's not exactly the energizer bunny but he refuses to quit on any play and that is something we desperately need from a pass rush standpoint. A guy who never stops going after the QB and actually has the ability to get there. But I still doubt he makes it past TB in the first round, I think he is going to go in the top 25 at the very latest. But then again, I have been wrong before and it's not as though some teams don't overvalue combine numbers. So if Kerrigan doesn't display lightning speed at the 40 he could see a slide. Even though as WW said, his strength is quickness, not speed. He has a great first step and that gives him a jump on guys, but he isn't going to straight up run by anyone in a footrace.
All I know is to not doubt Purdue DEs. Shaun Phillips was massively underrated coming out, as was Ray Edwards, and they both made themselves into real good players. I'd be all over Kerrigan at #30, because I want a passrusher over everything else.
I was very high on Avril, thought he would be an excellent 3-4 OLB. The Lions have used him mostly as a 4-3 DE and he's had a good short career. Avril is around 6'3", 260 and very athletic. I'll have to check, but I believe he is going to be a FA....but who knows with the CBA crap right now.
I just peaked at how many former Purdue DEs there are in the league. Color me shocked at how many productive players they've shot out... 10 former Purdue DEs are in the NFL: Akin Ayodele Cliff Avril Rosie Colvin(FA) Rob Ninkovich Anthony Spencer Ray Edwards Landon Johnson(Reaching, but he did start at DE 10 times there) Alex Magee Chike Okeafor(FA) Shaun Phillips
Damn that is quite the list. While it by no means guarantees Kerrigan's success, it certainly doesn't hurt that he is coming from a program thats been turning out damn good players recently.
I, among many, thought he was gonna have a breakout year, instead he followed suit with his team and had a very average year. I think ProFootballFocus formulated he was just the 6th best pass rusher on that team in 2010. Hopefully Rob Ryan can fix that and have some fun with both Spencer and D-Ware rushing the edges...
I thought Spencer had about 6 sacks this year. He started very slow in his career, at first I thought he was going to be a bust. Slowly has played better, not great, has had to live in the shadows of to D Ware, which is unfair.
He had 5, 2 of which came in the last game of the season. He had zero sacks between week 8 and week 17. The white hot way he ended the 2009-2010 had many's expectations up, he looked like he was gonna be a formidable partner to D-Ware. I personally don't expect him to play on D-Ware's level, having 2 great pass rushers at OLB is a luxury(Looking at you Pitt), but not a necessity. I do however expect him to at least take advantage of having a great pass rusher across from him drawing double teams...
He's a restricted free agent. Will probably be tendered a 3 rd pick, since he was drafted in Round 3. I would assume the Lions would match the offer. Avril has played DE for the Lions, but I believe would be a very effective 3-4 OLB. Something interesting, check out link and look who's Avril's best friend: http://www.avril92.com/bio.html
