I stilll believe Quinnon Williams is not a sure thing & wouldve benefitted from another year at Bama.Hes extremely reliant on shedding blocks which hes elite at at the college level but thats a hard projection at the next level. Its hard to know if hes winning w superior technique or dominant physical ability.When you remove all his rip/swim moves his skills (Anchor/get off/QAB) are good not great.I will say that he does have fantastic flexibility so maybe thats something to hang our hat on. His combine will be extremely important.He needs to show he can win match ups against NFL big boys who wont be phased or overmatched by rip & swim moves. That means 10 yard split/3 cone/Broad & Vert will be vital if hes indeed going top 3..
Dion Jordan was never a stud pass rushing prospect.He was better suited to be a Strong side 3-4 OLB w plus coverage skills. He was inconsistent at setting the edge & never dominated as a pass rusher except for disrupting w his wingspan against inferior opponents. He showed potential given his size/wingspan & bend to be a decent pass rusher but that was never his game. It wasnt till the Dolphins desperate to make a splash traded up for him & immediately annointed him a full time pass rusher in a 4-3 scheme that the perception was perpetuated. He stood no chance w his hand in the dirt drafted at that spot for that team. To be fair ive heard the comp of Allen & Jordan.Both were very good dropping back into coverage & were inconsistent setting the edge. However i think Allen is a stud pass rusher through & through.He has get off,burst,bend & motor. And unlike Jordan i think he projects well as a weak side wide 9 & rushes better w his hand in the dirt
Except for a qb they can look good to ok in college, if you think he will grow and become elite later you trade up to top 3 for him. The QB is a rare animal. If you don’t have a good one your endlessly looking for one. So you will do what ever it is to get one. Even if you over pay for a guy you fell in love with.
The point was, he was thought of as an ELITE talent with massive size, speed and wingspan that could disrupt plays all over the field. And he went 3 regardless of how stupid the Fins are/were. You cannot DEMAND and EXPECT and GUARANTEE you are going to get ELITE talent at the 3. Just because you say so. We have NO idea what Allen is going to be at the next level. Or Bosa for that matter. He may be more of a dickhead than his brother for all we know.
No, I've seen plenty of his games. He's a GOOD player but I'm not sure he's GREAT let alone elite. My biggest problem: he's disappeared for stretches against good teams/competition, and now he's going to be in the NFL where the WORST teams/players are better than anybody he faced at Georgia, LSU, and Clemson. I don't. I've nailed some previous busts quite easily like JaMarcus Russell and Dion Jordan but I'm not sold on any of the Top 5 guys being busts so much as NOT being difference-makers for the Jets. LIke I said, he had a meteoric rise this year which gives me pause but the trajectory is great. I would be shocked if he is a bust. Could just be OK though -- next few months and more film (which I don't do, admittedly) is needed. I had Jordan middle of the 1st Round at best. He was overpicked by a Miami team that drafted according to a consensus of 6-8 people. They overdrafted him -- they NEVER should have even traded up to #3.
The teams wanting a QB want to move up. Enough teams are now desperate that they are willing to overpay to move up to the Top 5. All of the teams are built-to-win-now and/or have GM's or Coaches that are on the hot seat and don't have another 2-3 years to get it right (Broncos, Jacksonville, etc.).
Dion Jordan was NOT thought of as "elite." Even Armando Salguero, the Miami Herald ace Dolphines reporter, noted it at that time. It was a stretch pick. And he had personality flaws, which were obvious to anybody who did their work. Just like teams that did their work on Justin Blackmon knew he was a ticking time bomb and took him off their draft board.
Agreed, Rollo. And I'm not 2nd-guessing the team. It's a difficult job they have and I respect their process and how tough it can be to look at kids who play against 1-3 teams that are actually "good" and then guestimate how they will do when the worst team in the NFL is probably 3 TDs better than either Clemson or Alabama.
I'm not defending Jordan but plenty of draft gurus (Walter Football, BR) had him as an elite talent that was simply raw and needed to add weight. I have not idea who Armando Salami is--but unless he was from Oregon and watched him weekly I'll assume he's the Manish Mehta of the Dolphins. The point is--you have NO idea what you're getting in terms of ELITE talent just because you demand it and put it in bold caps.
I'd be SHOCKED if he is a bust. I wouldn't be shocked if he is merely a solid LB with 1 or 2 Pro-Bowls. Ditto Bosa. These guys are not Vernon Ghoulstons, who had 1 good game (against Jake Long) and somehow parlayed that and a great combine into a rising stock (like DeWayne Robertson). That's the pattern....invisible guys their junior or senior years having 1 great game and a great combine and then being the "hot name" at the draft.
Yes we dont know if theyll be elite PLAYERS on the next level but we can determine if they are elite PROSPECTS based on specific skills & traits. Just because the draft isnt a 100% sure thing doesnt mean you gloss over the process or overlook quality prospects.FRee agency isnt a sure thing either. Somewhere down the line a team has to be able to project & develop w some degree of accuracy..otherwise you end w a history like the team we all root for.
Scouting grades differ greatly from team to team. People are thinking trade up for QB only when quality edge players are in almost as high of regard.i have a hard time believing prior to the combine Allen & Bosa not having elite grades..same w Quinnonin certain schemes & if he has a good combine. Do not underestimate someone trading up for an edge or even Q Williams before even considering one of the QBs
I don’t see a team moving up for anything other than a qb here. There are plenty of pas rushers and no worthy tackles.
Pass rusher grades tend to be all over the place based on scheme & just the sheer difficulty of scouting the position.Its again..alot like the QB position on O. Not all pass rushing prospects are created equal or valued that way.Certain teams will like certain guys & will be in a race w teams of similar thinking. Missing out on Allen/Bosa but still having a shot at Sweat or Banks certainly makes sense but may not be applicable given the variables. Same could apply for Q williams, Ed Oliver & Dexter Lawrence bc they are specialized
Raekwon Davis was 'the man' going into last season for 'Bama. Quinnen Williams stepped up and took over the defense. Davis is skipping the draft and retuning for his senior year. The other 'Bama defender orginally projected as a 1st round pick (Deionte Thompson-S) was exposed vs. Clemson while Williams was one of the few defensive bright spots for Alabama. Williams also bring pass rushing ability. Personally would prefer a trade down for additional draft capital but if they grabbed Quinnen Williams I think both he and Leo Williams would thrive as interior bookends together under Gregg Williams. .
