Kony Ealy

[stirs]

Ealy is a second round pick that we hope will develop into the first round talent grade we had on him.

 

nothing more to say than that at this point.

[Woodie]

DE's typically take time to develop.  Anyone that expected Ealy to come in and be dominant, or even a solid starter, from the beginnning had unrealistic expectations.  Particularly if you understood that he needed to improve his strength and technique.  Most DE's struggle with those things in their rookie year, but you hope to see growth and improvement throughout the year, and that's exactly what we've seen with Ealy.  That's what separates a Ealy from guys like Everette Brown.  Brown really only showed minimal growth throughout his time here, and never really developed like we hoped.  But, IMO, Ealy has already shown more improvement this season than Brown ever did.  So, with the growth he's already shown along with a complete offseason to work on his game, I think Ealy will be a very good starter for us. 

 

  

[Toundra]

I am not a big fan of Ealy mostly because the team needed an OT and not a DE.

But with the Krakken and Alexander gone we need him bad.

And Ealy is playing better, so this is all good.

Late welcome Ealy !

 

[WCUcats]

In your guy's opinion, how has he looked so far? Haven't heard much of him but it seems like he's coming along nicely. He's gonna be important for them moving forward considering Hardy won't be here.

He looks like we should have drafted an OT with the second pick.

[Nick_81]

He looks like we should have drafted an OT with the second pick.

You'd be regretting that decision, if it would have happened.

[WCUcats]

Really? Justin Britt is better right now than any tackle we have. 

[Mr. Scot]

He looks like a good rookie DE.

 

Given Hardy's issues, the pick looks brilliant now.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

Decent but needs to work on pass rush skills and burst off the line.

 

He wasnt much of a pass rusher in college either.  He does seem to have a lot of potential.  I know a lot of folks did not like the pick due to the need for an OL but he might end up being a great pick. 

[KSpan]

Really? Justin Britt is better right now than any tackle we have. 

 

That's saying very little given the curretn roster, and 'because they're better than X player' is a poor primary reason to invest a second-round pick in someone.

[Plewis]

We have such a small sample size that it's difficult to form an intelligent opinion but so far I like Kony. I saw him recently at Pisces Sushi Bar and dude is huge. He's definitely got the size to be a stud and he hasn't done anything on the field that would suggest he doesn't have the potential to be a stud.

[hepcat]

WAY too early to tell but for a rookie he has played well given the circumstances.

[bandu]

He looks like a good rookie DE.

Given Hardy's issues, the pick looks brilliant now.

9 tackles and 1 sack looks brilliant?ok,whatever.

[UKPanther94]

I don't think anyone expected Ealy to have such a prominent role so soon which might account, or at least excuse not being elite out of the box but I don't think he's been a liability

[Mr. Scot]

9 tackles and 1 sack looks brilliant?ok,whatever.

 

Were you around for Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson's rookie years?  They didn't exactly set the world on fire either.

 

Other than the guys picked at the very top of the draft, rookie DEs tend to have quiet transitions.