Panthers sniffing around Josh Sweat. Late first day 2 pick

[LinvilleGorge]

Just now, davos said:

The curious thing which I don't get is that he has the top SPARQ score of the class by 8 percentage points.  

Some guys are much better athletes than they are football players (and vice versa). The workouts are just part of the picture.

[LinvilleGorge]

But, it definitely seems like the workout warriors get overdrafted year after year after year. It's easy to get lured in by potential. But for the most part, if these kids haven't figured it out on the field to the point that they're serious producers by the time they're draft eligible they probably never will.

[davos]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Some guys are much better athletes than they are football players (and vice versa). The workouts are just part of the picture.

He kind of reminds me of Jordan Willis from last year.  Big program, not a stand out but meets all the measurables.  Then, you watch him in games and really don't see anything. 

This kid just needs to get to 265 to combine with his bend and upper body strength, then he could easily become a 4-3 DE but that's a task and a half.  I'm confident we have a potential 3-down starter in Hall but it takes time.  We still need to go after the 3-down 4-3 DE mold and this isn't that type bottom line.  Unless we're looking for an eventual speed rushing Addison replacement, here you go.  

[LinvilleGorge]

I wish I was as confident in Hall as you are. It worries me that we pretty much redshirted him with a fairly minor injury. The guy just wasn't ready at all to compete at the NFL level. He's one of the guys that I'm most interested to hear reports on in training camp this year.

[davos]

8 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I wish I was as confident in Hall as you are. It worries me that we pretty much redshirted him with a fairly minor injury. The guy just wasn't ready at all to compete at the NFL level. He's one of the guys that I'm most interested to hear reports on in training camp this year.

I was a huge fan of his and Basham in the draft build-up.  We traded up right after Indy grabbed Basham and also got Moton right after Dawkins went to Buffalo (They leap frogged us in a trade...still suspicious of the Beane).  OT--I truly believe Basham DE and Dawkins LT/G were our top targets.  

Concerning Hall--he has a quickness off the snap that's really appealing.  His size is there, has the bend but he's getting used to playing with his hands on the ground.  DEs are 2-3 year projects more times than not.  I'm personally rather excited about him still.    

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, davos said:

I was a huge fan of his and Basham in the draft build-up.  We traded up right after Indy grabbed Basham and also got Moton right after Dawkins went to Buffalo (They leap frogged us in a trade...still suspicious of the Beane).  OT--I truly believe Basham DE and Dawkins LT/G were our top targets.  

Concerning Hall--he has a quickness off the snap that's really appealing.  His size is there, has the bend but he's getting used to playing with his hands on the ground.  DEs are 2-3 year projects more times than not.  I'm personally rather excited about him still.    

I don't blame Beane at all for using his knowledge of the Panthers draft process to make a move. He would've been doing his current employer a disservice if he didn't.

[ncfan]

32 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

So, sell me on Sweat as a 4-3 DE. I watch quite a bit of ACC football and honestly I didn't even know his name until recently.

I like him a lot.

Dude is a absolute freak and was the top high schooler coming out compared to Clowney.  His HS highlights he was a monster coming off the edge.

His senior year towards the end he had a major knee injury and that scares most people (im just just as scared about James for the same reason and would take Harrison over him)

Sweat was setback his freshman due to the knee injury.

Since he has been a simple product of wrond fit for system.  Sweat came in and played 250 until this year was around 260.

Problem he played a 3-4 DE, the same position as the likes of Jonathon Allen last year.   Sweat is a freak who is terror coming off and setting the edge similar to a Pep.  Not rushing mainly interior.  If you watch his film, most of the time he is getting manhandled by a OG on the inside.  For a 6'5 lanky 260 guy he doesnt have the build to hold leverage on the inside.  

Just my 2 cents coming from a FSU household.

[Jon Snow]

48 minutes ago, Panthers8969 said:

Lol what’s your point? 

That a lot of Huddlers don't know poo about player evaluation?  That would be my take.

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, ncfan said:

I like him a lot.

Dude is a absolute freak and was the top high schooler coming out compared to Clowney.  His HS highlights he was a monster coming off the edge.

His senior year towards the end he had a major knee injury and that scares most people (im just just as scared about James for the same reason and would take Harrison over him)

Sweat was setback his freshman due to the knee injury.

Since he has been a simple product of wrond fit for system.  Sweat came in and played 250 until this year was around 260.

Problem he played a 3-4 DE, the same position as the likes of Jonathon Allen last year.   Sweat is a freak who is terror coming off and setting the edge similar to a Pep.  Not rushing mainly interior.  If you watch his film, most of the time he is getting manhandled by a OG on the inside.  For a 6'5 lanky 260 guy he doesnt have the build to hold leverage on the inside.  

 

I usually don't buy into the "out of position" arguments at the college level. If he was such a terror coming off of the edge, I suspect that the FSU coaching staff would've found a way to utilize that talent. When you have high level NFL talent at the college level (even a program of FSU's caliber) you figure out a way to get the most out of him instead of forcing him to fit into your system. Kind of like how UGA played TD at "safety" when he was essentially a 4th LB on the field.

[TheSpecialJuan]

4 hours ago, rhyslloyd said:

He would need to put on 20+ pounds to play DE in our scheme.

True. This is why Peppers coming back is so important. Sweat can be our pass rush specialist this year while he indeed puts on weight and become a starter next year. 

[Panthers8969]

1 minute ago, Jon Snow said:

That a lot of Huddlers don't know poo about player evaluation?  That would be my take.

yeah and neither do the coaches/gm. People are right/ wrong all the time

[Khyber53]

Whole lot of thunder and flash, but no rain. 

[Woodie]

53 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I wish I was as confident in Hall as you are. It worries me that we pretty much redshirted him with a fairly minor injury. The guy just wasn't ready at all to compete at the NFL level. He's one of the guys that I'm most interested to hear reports on in training camp this year.

In college, he showed the technique, bend, motor, etc. to be a fairly high draft pick.  The biggest thing that held him back from being a top 50 pick was his strength.  And that showed in his play for us last season.  The hope is that a year in an NFL strength program should get his functional strength up to a level that he can compete against NFL tackles. 

But I agree that we can't count on it.  Until he shows on the field that he has significantly improved his playing strength, then we can only look at him as a developmental prospect.  This is why it's so important for Peppers to re-sign.  We need a reliable pass rusher opposite Addison, and with the draft pretty weak in that regard, we need a solid stopgap for this year.

[LinvilleGorge]

Like I said, I'm pretty comfortable with our current DE situation for this season IF Peppers comes back. If Peppers isn't back, then all of a sudden you could argue that DE might be our #1 need.