Lonnie Ballentine/S/Memphis... Pro Day #s: 6-3, 219, ran 4.38-4.40, 38 VJ, 18 Bench. Very impressive measurables. I don't know much about his game but If any of you guys do please fill us in. I remember Taylor Mays having similar measurables but he has yet to make any noise in the league thus far. I'll try to find film on him, but in the meantime I want to make sure you all are aware of him.
Interesting prospect, he certainly has great measurables. From the little I saw he had pretty good instincts for diagnosing plays, but I never really saw him play as aggressively as I'd like to see. He looks like he relies on his athleticism to make plays more than utilizing it to dominate the weaker talent around him. With measurables like his, you want to see him put the less athletic guys to shame. He could be a decent later round pick, but I just don't see the aggressive attacking style I'd want from a FS. In the NFL, if you catch tackle the way he does, you'll miss a lot. I'm curious to see if I can find any tape of him playing against a QB who has NFL caliber arm strength as well.
He takes good angles too but I don't see the aggression that converts great athletes to great pro football players. I'd like to have seen him go for the strip, and I'd like to have seen him explode into a tackle in run support as opposed to slowing up before the tackle. You can get by in the AAC that way especially with elite athleticism, but the NFL is a whole different ball game.
Who would have thought I would have wanted mr. Irrelevant. Boy was I hoping he made it through this one pick. I hope we kick Houston's ass.
