I think he would start right away and be a great run stuffing ILB. He wasn't good in coverage at Alabama, but he should be better at it in the NFL if he plays at his combine weight.
Very fair evaluation, pretty well echoes my thoughts on him as well. I think someone here referred to him, at least potentially, as Rich Man's David Harris. He's obviously a pretty promising prospect but I was just curious how everyone here views him primarily because, while a good player at a position of need, everyone from the FO to the fans seems to agree that we desperately need to increase our speed at the second level which isn't really his game.
Dont get tricked into thinking weight is the only thing keeping him from being a good cover LBer. Ragland is a David Harris type. He's a hell of a down hill thumper but not going to be effective in man coverage situations. He's just not that type of athlete.
I don't think he will ever be great in coverage, but he has the ability to be the defensive leader when Harris is gone. He wouldn't be my first choice at 20, but he could be a good choice depending on how the board falls.
Defensive end Shilique Calhoun -- 6-foot-4 1/2, 250 pounds -- did the three-cone drill in 7.13 seconds and stood on the rest of his numbers from the NFL Scouting Combine. Calhoun worked out in space as a linebacker by a San Francisco 49ers assistant coach, and worked out in defensive lineman drills by a New York Jets assistant coach. I told you guys that Calhoun might end up being a jet, he is a hybrid type of lineman, fast and light, similar to Aldon Smith, can play standing up or hand on ground. Keep him on your radar.
Just curious where do you see his value? I mean before the knee injury he was easily a top 10 or 15 talent. But the reports I've been reading have been mixed regarding his knee. I'm hearing some teams have taken him completely off of their boards due to 'nerve damage', but I've also read that the knee is rehabbing on schedule. I just don't know where to value him at this point, I mean knee injuries themselves don't bother me much anymore as surgery has gotten so reliable in that regard (exception for linemen). But he tore both the MCL and ACL from what I've read/heard and the possibility of nerve damage makes him risky, but his talent is unquestionable.
So if the Jets want him, they'll have to take him in the 2nd round, trade down to the top of the 3rd round, or trade up in the 3rd. If they get him, I hope it's the second option and not the 1st or 3rd.
I can't really say I'd be that mad at trading up for Smith in the third depending. I totally understand why you're not into it though. We have a lot of needs, general depth being a big one, and trading up in any round really hurts that cause. We definitely need some top young talent too though (I know, who doesn't? But still). Most of the best guys on our roster are old fogeys. So if we could get two top caliber players in 1 and 2 and then a guy with top 10 talent in Smith along with it that could do A LOT for us, even at the cost of delaying the rejuvenation of our roster's back end. It's hard to say whether trading back to nab him (quantity), or using our second and trading up in the third (quality) would be better. Way too many variables really. It all depends on what it would take to move up, what we'd get for trading down, and how well the training staff thinks Smith will recover. Just saying that I don't think trading up to steal him in the third would be the worst thing, though I realize it's a bit of a double edged sword.
As long as they get him (possibly the best value in the draft) any of those options sounds good to me.
I understand where you're coming from. It probably wouldn't cost that much to trade up in the 3rd (4th round pick probably), and if Smith fully recovers it would be worth that cost. If there is nerve damage however, and he never plays a down...it could be disastrous. With their 3rd and 4th round picks, at the very least, Mac ought to be able to get two solid depth players, if not two solid starters. If we traded down and gained and gained a 4th and a 6th (or whatever), it would be less of a hit if he never played or was never the same player.
