Would Malik Hooker Really Be A Bad Selection at 8?

[KDawg004]

Seriously. You don't pass on Hooker because of Coleman. Especially if you believe he can be the next Ed Reed/Earl Thomas.

[Verge]

If he is available, hell yeah, best safety since Eric Berry.

[SOJA]

No it would not OP. 

Ideally yes we would rather have Adams because it fits better with Coleman. 

But if you believe you could draft Ed Reed 2.0 you don't really care that Coleman is playing out of position. 

[Castavar]

Passing on Hooker just because of Coleman would be like passing on Kuechly just because we had Beason. I know, not exactly the same comparison, but you get what I mean.

[Untouchable]

The staff has said they prefer safeties that can play both positions which is what makes Adams more appealing because Hooker profiles as more of a center-fielder FS.  That being said, Hooker is still a great prospect and would be an easy pick if he's the best available at 8.  

[Catufb85]

If Hooker is there, you HAVE to take him.  He is the best "center field" safety coming out in years.  Dude has the ball hawking quality comparable to Earl Thomas and he knows what to do with it once hes snagged it.  ive been jumping trains from Barnett to Jamal Adams to Fournette to Cook, but if Hooker some how gets past the Jets, Titans, and Chargers, its really a no brainer.  We were torched this year over the top and Hooker would definitely help.  Could still get your RB later in the draft as well as pass rusher and tackle.  You don't let an elite Safety like that get pass you at 8 if hes there. 

[csx]

9 hours ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

Davis stated in the past that he went for the big hit, not the tackle. It wasn't until he got injured that he changed his approach and focused on the fundamentals.

Fresh out of Georgia, TD needed work on tackling.

It didn't really show watching him play there.  He was  tackling machine.

Hooked doesn't even go for the big hit. He goes for the sort of dive towards the legs in an awkward rolling twisting way...it's strange 

[CPF4LIFE]

Dude would definitely help cam improve in practice kinda like what Norman did. A safety with those instincts who can be everywhere on the field has to help your growth as a QB. 

[RockyTopVol]

In no way would Hooker be a bad pick. Just because SS is a bigger immediate need, Hooker is a great talent. Remember that MLB wasn't a need when we drafted Kuechly. 

[Soul Rebel]

I like the Kuechly comp too when we drafted him.  No, it's not 'exactly' the same, but very very similar with the Beason situation.

I think it just comes down to playmakers and improving weaknesses, which Hooker checks off those boxes. Will he be the next Ed Reed or Eric Weddle type of leader back there? Nobody can predict that for certain, but watching his vids online and I'm a believer. We love tapping into the Ohio State well, so if he's there, I hope he's the selection.  

 

[MV%doe]

I currently believe most teams have hooker above Adams. I mean it's a passing league, most teams are around 60/40 pass/run. Plus theres a term being thrown around with hooker-playmaker. I do have one issue, ive seen bell form the saints play and hooker did not beat him out last year. I don't know how OSU handles Thier business, but bell was meh at best for the saints.

My issue with spending a 1st on safety or even RB is the overall value. Look the Huuuuge benefit of 1st rounders is the contract. 5 years attached to a nfl-low salary, that's Fing pure gold. The current contracts being given out to DEs, QBs, and LTS is insanely high. If you hit on a rookie DE, the difference in salary can be 3mill per to 15mill per. Think of the value cams rookie contract was for a team that was in salary cap jail. That's why I'm not on the RB/safety support group(in the first). Of course it's a risk the rookie is a dud, but if he's not the value isanely high.

Just to add I've reeeedally warmed up to Ryan Ramczyk the LT form Wisconsin, he's in my list of acceptable 8th overall picks now. Rather have the best LT or #2-4 best DE in this draft, than safety/RB......Unless it's a rare talent.

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, MV%doe said:

Rather have the best LT or #2-4 best DE in this draft, than safety/RB......Unless it's a rare talent.

In a vacuum that sounds good, but draft classes vary a lot in terms of strength and depth of specific positions. What if this is 2012 all over again where Matt Kalil is the best LT in the class? Fletcher Cox was the #2 DT that season. Harrison Smith was the #2 safety. Stephon Gilmore was the #2 CB. All three of those were 1st rounders and I'd take all three of them over Matt Kalil.

[csx]

I have no interest in a mediocre or bad LT over a great player at a variety of positions.

[Soul Rebel]

45 minutes ago, MV%doe said:

Just to add I've reeeedally warmed up to Ryan Ramczyk the LT form Wisconsin, he's in my list of acceptable 8th overall picks now. Rather have the best LT or #2-4 best DE in this draft, than safety/RB......Unless it's a rare talent.

I would be willing to hedge my bets that Malik Hooker is a 'rare talent'. Nobody, including 32 NFL GMs have a crystal ball for the future, but I've seen quite a few times that Hooker has Ed Reed potential... and Reed was a rare talent. Vonn Bell was a great safety at OSU, but he didn't come anywhere close to sniffing the top 10 of the draft last year. 

On the other note, I too have warmed up to Ramczyzk at 8, but there would have to be a serious run on a lot of players I really like at 8. Tough call bro.... we need a LT, but we've seen all we are going to see of him until the draft because of his injury.  No pro day or combine for Ramczyzk.