I have to agree with you with regards to the JPP comparison. The only thing they have in common is the Haitian blood flowing through their veins. He may have Aldon's strength or may even be stronger but certainly does not have that first step. That said I would still take him at 16 because of the following reasons: -We've been in desperate need of a pass rusher since Johnny Abe left -He's had success in the Illini's scheme which uses a lot of stunts and blitzes so he should fit right in -If anything he does show a motor and is relentless. As Maybin has shown that can lead to sacks with the way we cover in the back I'm really anxious to see how he does in the LB drills at the combine.
Actually i am more confident in the jets these days to make a solid pick at OLB because of the VG cluster fuk.
I would also say it is a red flag but definately not a deal breaker. I think we are lucky in his case that he was a 1 yr wonder. Say for example he had 8-10 sacks and 3 forced fumbles, this guy would be a top 10 pick looking to crack the top 5 like a von miller. His 1 yr wonder tag will only help him make it to us a 16. It is risky but every player drafted comes with a chance to be a bust, so we have to let the stain of VG go.
Mercilus doesnt compare with JPP or Aldon Smith athletically, both are freaks, but football wise Mercilus might be better than the two as prospects. Im starting to come around to Mercilus and definetly think he can be effective in a 3-4.
lol i'm an illini fan and watched this guy. honestly, i think he is just a tad over hyped. he's a real great player, but a majority of his sacks came from pretty bad offensive linemen, and at the end, he was not as big of an impact as he was in the beginning (he was still making great plays, but for the first few games he was a beast). maybe its because we had such a bad end of the year, his huge plays almost made no impact due to the disfunctional offense we had (we lost the last six games of the regular reason... out of 12) whatever the case is though, it would be awesome if the jets took him but right now i think courtney upshaw would be the better choice if we is still available
Non thread related, but this place is honestly the only part of the forum that offers any glimpse of hope... I mean damn, as Jets fans, we just got annihilated by the sports world with our worst nightmare coming true. Just the hope for the future relieves some of torture after a more than disappointing season combined with a SB consisting of our cross town “rival” who we gave life to and our divisional rival. Sad day for Jets world. I would just like to say that this part of the forum is greatly appreciated because without it, it would be one dark place here on TGG.
Haha the draft forum in particular is refreshing because there is always hope in the draft and seeing guys become Jets as they enter the NFL.
So you're saying he's used to dealing with shitty incompotent offenses ? In that case welcome to the Jets
It's WM's fault Illinois' offense sucked?? You need to rewatched WM's sacks, he played very well against a lot of solid Big 10 lineman. "It would be awesome if the Jet's took him"....please make up your mind. The Caps key is your friend at begining of sentences, proper names and to indent. Thanks!!
I like him, don't love him. Does look a little stiff, but I agree with many here that the priority is to get younger, faster and more athletic at OLB. Anyone take a look at WVU's Bruce Irvin? I like him a lot, reminds me of the SF backers.
So, I thought I would start up a new angle on Mercilus. It's not going to be popular.. BUT.. Here it is. lol I've spent most of my day watching a ton of Mercilus tape, and I gotta say I'm officially off that bandwagon. Everything I've watched has lead me to believe that he would absolutely struggle as a 3-4 OLB. I can't see him excelling in any other system then a 4-3, I really can't. This guy is not very athletic at all, his hips are so stiff, very stiff. He is robotic at times, and his pass rush moves are not as limited as a "Ghost", but it's nothing to write home about. I just think that his flexibility issues, robotic movement, inability to shed a block, consistent blown assignments. It almost seems like that is all Illinois did, had him rush the passer every down to where their scheme almost worked around him. Then when you throw in the fact that he couldn't even sniff the starting lineup until last year, kinda makes you wonder. I don't know, I'm just not sold, and I just got a feeling he is more of a product of the scheme, not so much the talent itself. Bash me if you like, that is fine, but I'm off this bandwagon.
I don't agree with everything there, but I can honestly say that I've never watched Mercilus play and say to myself, "wow, we need this guy". I've said it with Hightower, Upshaw, Ingram, and even Perry, but never WM. I get what there is to like about him, and there are parts of his game that translate, but there's just something off about him. I feel like he doesn't do anything really well enough for me to justify where he's being drafted.
What I really like abouit Mercilus is potential. WM has a huge upside potential to be a prolific player in the mold of Suggs/D-Ware. No question there will be a higher risk/reward in WM's game. I still like Upshaw & Ingram better and would draft them ahead of WM. Right now, I don't think Ingram and Upshaw will be available at #16 next April.
I thought Mercilus played the run subpar and got washed up in run plays. He does have potential as a passrusher, but i dont think that he has that freakish athletic ability like JPP and Aldon Smith. But we have seen guys like Ryan Kerrigan who looked stiff in the hips and not the ideal athleticism come in and be effective. I guess the most promising thing hearing about WM is that he strives to be great and in that sense he’s like D Ware. With mixed signals of WM, what does everyone think of Chandler Jones?
