"Scary Interest" in USC S/LB Su'a Cravens

[Bartin]

46 minutes ago, CarolinaNCSU said:

Turning down private workouts tends to make me think a player has gotten a guarantee from a team he wants to play for. Basically, a team (say the Panthers here) told him we're taking you in the 1st...shut down all other workouts so another team doesn't decide they want you before us. 

Not saying that's what's happened with him and a mystery team...but just what makes sense to me in explaining why a player basically on job interviews, cancels all interviews.

 

Edit...he obviously still has actual interviews with teams set up. But not showing them what he does in a workout, it could be hard to raise his stock. Again, just spitballing potential reasons...not saying I believe it's the case. 

Taking a guarantee to be drafted more than a month from the draft and banking on it would be incredibly stupid though. What if someone drops and the team that gave him the guarantee likes that guy more? Now you've got wait a whole round before that team has another pick or hope a team you stonewalled is willing to take you.

The best explanation I heard was from Florio and he said that Cravens' agent told him that they just got so many requests to do private workouts that there was no way he could do them all so rather than pick and choose they just decided to not do any of them since the private workouts are essentially the same things he has alreday done at the combine and pro day. The main thing he misses out on is the opportunity for the position coaches to work one on one with him which can be a factor in drafting a player and really raise his stock if he hits off with a few of them(of course the opposite can happen as well). I know that's something Ricky Proehl really values, but I don't know about our other coaches.

As you said, he is still doing visits so I really doubt he is trying to hide an injury or anything because that would have been found at the combine and teams do medicals during visits.

It's probably not a huge deal that he's doing this but it is pretty unprecedented. I doubt it hurts him that much but it definitely can't help him. I found it interesting that it was Greg Gabriel who railed against the strategy in the linked article. Gabriel is an old scouting buddy of Gettleman's from Dave's early Giants days so there may be some shared philosophy there. Voth did a podcast with him last year where he talked about his time working with Gettleman.

[FuFuLamePoo]

Yeah I like this guy the more I read about him.  But I'd feel much more comfortable about nabbing him in the second than I would the first.  I'm just really, really wanting a pass rusher in the first.  Would be fine to surrender another third to move up early into the second to snag him like we did last year with Funch.

[Untouchable]

Those similar hybrid types have gone late one the last couple of years (Thompson 25th, Buchannon 27th) and seem to always be rated lower by the media than by the scouts.  Both Thompson and Buchannon were rated Rounds 2-3 by NFL.com. From what I've seen and read I like him a lot but I think a our 1st is needed to grab him if he even gets to the 30th pick.