Jalon Walker player comp: Haason Reddick

[TheSpecialJuan]

https://x.com/movethesticks/status/1895183361330884962?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA
 

[WarPanthers89]

No one should be upset with this guy if we get him. We are in a good position as there are not many blue chip guys in this draft, and we will certainly have the option to get one at pick 8

[Basbear]

10 1/4 hand- that's nearly cleve dean massive hand 

 79 7/8 wing- big chest with 32 arms

This is a fair comp. Id draft post-zona Reddick at 8..

[LinvilleGorge]

Reddick was a great player after the Cardinals finally put him in a pass rushing role instead of trying to force a pass rusher to be a drop back LB. They bought a thoroughbred and tried to turn it into a plow horse.

[tukafan21]

He's still way too much of a raw project for me to be on board with at #8, he's not likely to be an impact player for at least a year or two, he's Burns 2.0, a tweener who is going to need a couple years to add bulk/strength to be able to play edge full time in the NFL.

1 year of actual playing time, edge rusher in a MLB body, seems like a 3-4 defensive player who if/when we switch back to a 4-3 in a year or two after we move on from Evero, won't have a natural position for us at that point either.

We need to stop falling in love with high RAS score guys and thinking we're going to turn them into elite players through coaching.

[Basbear]

3 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

He's still way too much of a raw project for me to be on board with at #8, he's not likely to be an impact player for at least a year or two, he's Burns 2.0, a tweener who is going to need a couple years to add bulk/strength to be able to play edge full time in the NFL.

1 year of actual playing time, edge rusher in a MLB body, seems like a 3-4 defensive player who if/when we switch back to a 4-3 in a year or two after we move on from Evero, won't have a natural position for us at that point either.

We need to stop falling in love with high RAS score guys and thinking we're going to turn them into elite players through coaching.

 

Bro, did you see that Morgan combine interview I posted here. If you listen, he uses RAS talk when talking what he wants. It's on front page. He was give some insight and not much GM-speak 

[tukafan21]

1 minute ago, Basbear said:

 

Bro, did you see that Morgan combine interview I posted here. If you listen, he uses RAS talk when talking what he wants. It's on front page. He was give some insight and not much GM-speak 

It wasn't a specific statement about this draft or anything Morgan has said, it's that this franchise and fan base has fallen in love with high RAS score athletes for the last decade or so and put far too much weight behind pure athletic ability instead of actual football impact.

[Basbear]

Just now, tukafan21 said:

It wasn't a specific statement about this draft or anything Morgan has said, it's that this franchise and fan base has fallen in love with high RAS score athletes for the last decade or so and put far too much weight behind pure athletic ability instead of actual football impact.

 

Im guilty of that. 

I still believe in the late rounds its ok to focus on that in weak drafts. Early picks you always want everying including RAS.....plus with the injuries, most lose speed/strength/athletic, if you are already slow, you are out the league. If you are very fast/quick and lose .3, you are still fast/quick..... 

[Jon Snow]

10 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

It wasn't a specific statement about this draft or anything Morgan has said, it's that this franchise and fan base has fallen in love with high RAS score athletes for the last decade or so and put far too much weight behind pure athletic ability instead of actual football impact.

I personally never look at what the RAS score or any analytics data says. I am old school when it comes to football. I just know an nfl player when I see one. I take everything like scheme and competition among other things in my overall evaluation. So no, I do not base who we should pick on combine performance. It's just a small part of the puzzle. 

Edited 6 hours ago by Jon Snow

[tukafan21]

3 minutes ago, Basbear said:

 

Im guilty of that. 

I still believe in the late rounds its ok to focus on that in weak drafts. Early picks you always want everying including RAS.....plus with the injuries, most lose speed/strength/athletic, if you are already slow, you are out the league. If you are very fast/quick and lose .3, you are still fast/quick..... 

My issue with the RAS score is that it's based on these combine tests, which as I've said numerous times, I despise.

Even beyond them not wearing pads or doing actual football drills/skills, players don't practice and play in games the same way.  Some guys are just gamers, who won't ever test well for whatever reason, but crush it on the field, just as some are the opposite and are workout warriors who look like 1st ballot HOFers Monday thru Saturday but are replacement level players on game day.

So losing a step on your 40 yard dash because of injuries doesn't bother me when that player might just be a gamer, who when the lights are on, the adrenaline takes over and they just play at a different speed.  Whether it's actual running speed or even just processing speed, it's a thing that some players translate differently to actual games.

[jayboogieman]

16 minutes ago, Basbear said:

If you listen, he uses RAS talk when talking what he wants.

[tukafan21]

4 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I personally never look at what the RAS score or any analytics data says. I am old school when it comes to football. I just know an nfl player when I see one. I take everything like scheme and competition among other things in my overall evaluation. So no, I do not base who we should pick on combine performance. It's just a small part of the puzzle. 

And that's totally fair.

But every year, you see fans (and analysts, as well as teams) talk about how their opinions change on players coming out of the combine, and it just bothers me.

Again, 30 years ago, before HD cameras and before there was dedicated cameras for every player/position on the field to properly and easily view every snap a player had in college, those things made more sense to me to use when evaluating players.  When some players you only had the TV and All 22 angles to go on with crappy pre-HD cameras, then yea, you needed more things like the combine to help evaluate them.

So I just get a little ruffled when I see people talking about changing opinions based on combine testing results.  If someone wants to say, "I finally got around to watching more film on X player and it changed my opinion because of Y or Z" then I'm totally fine with that of course.

Edited 6 hours ago by tukafan21

[Basbear]

Just now, tukafan21 said:

My issue with the RAS score is that it's based on these combine tests, which as I've said numerous times, I despise.

Even beyond them not wearing pads or doing actual football drills/skills, players don't practice and play in games the same way.  Some guys are just gamers, who won't ever test well for whatever reason, but crush it on the field, just as some are the opposite and are workout warriors who look like 1st ballot HOFers Monday thru Saturday but are replacement level players on game day.

So losing a step on your 40 yard dash because of injuries doesn't bother me when that player might just be a gamer, who when the lights are on, the adrenaline takes over and they just play at a different speed.  Whether it's actual running speed or even just processing speed, it's a thing that some players translate differently to actual games.

 

I do agree and Im sure Ive said it before, players should be in full uniforms. The weight of that use to add 15 some LBs, not that with current tech. I agree there are gamers and suck at testing and there are workout warriors that are SOFT...

Just the game has changed, it favors speed, quickness, twitched up players are play makers. Sure the thinking and film watchers still make plays, but they are not for long if they lose some speed/quickness. Just the current game, tough went a long way.....now with all the rule changes and protection of players, tough guys can not will their way onto the team and stay for 10 years. 

Have you seen this, 30 is now a fossil in the NFL. They can still play, but price and twitch/quick/speed wise, they can not compete will the rookies... and each year there's like 1,000 players and 350 take jobs form those slower guys who just had 120 tacks....

[Basbear]

7 minutes ago, jayboogieman said: