Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

[CPF4LIFE]

I was intrigued by Brockers, so I went back and watched two of his games (Arkansas and Georgia) and focused on him every snap.

He is much better as a run defender. Generally, he wasn't in the game on obvious passing downs. Saw a guy that got good initial push, but seemed to lack that final burst to get to the QB for effective pressure.

For a guy that was part of a great D-line on a great D, he was underwhelming. Maybe it was just these two games, but he has not shown me enough to be anything more than potential, and we don't have the luxury to wait 2 years on his development.

Overall, I think I would pass if the decision had to be made today.

Thats what you go for when you are picking that high. Upside and potential is what separate the superstars from the average. In case you forgot we drafted Cam for similar reasons and it has paid off so far. The Giants also took JPP for the same reasons also and it has paid off well for them. The guy is a 6'6 300 pound freak athlete he has the potential to be the most dominant DT in the league and a game changer there isnt anymore reasons not to pull the trigger on somebody like that in the top 10 and long as he has the work ethic and drive to get better.

[Herbert The Love Bug]

I really like Brockers, but I'd wait to see if one of the top DTs on the Panther's board is still available in the 2nd. Maybe Poe or some other guy I haven't heard of. Just please, not another Mcclain or Fua

[unicar15]

Here are the DTs drafted in the top 10 over the last 10 years:

Dareus

Suh

McCoy

Alualu

Raji

Tyson Jackson

Dorsey

Ellis

Okoye

Dewayne Robertson

Jonathan Sullivan

Kevin Williams

Ryan Sims

John Henderson

So, out of 14 DTs over the last 10 years who were drafted in the top 10 players I'd say that 6 of them were worth it (Dareus, Suh, Raji, Williams, Henderson). The rest of them have been underwhelming or flat out busts.

Michael Brockers could be great or he could be a bust. DT IMO is the most difficult position outside of QB for a rookie to come in and make a difference. There have been a ton of them who get injured or just don't pan out and you never hear about them again. Dorsey and Ellis were supposed to be perennial pro bowlers and were DOMINANT in their time at LSU and USC. Brockers surfaced to the top of the list what...a week ago? Those guys started at the top during their final seasons and ended at the top and now they are has beens.

CBs: (Just for the record IDT we should go DT or CB with the first pick)

Patrick Peterson

Joe Haden

Pacman Jones

Antrel Rolle

Carlos Rogers

Deangelo Hall

Dunta Robinson

Terrence Newman

Quentin Jammer

Not nearly as many CBs as DTs (probably the same amount if you include safeties) but to tell you the truth I'd say that outside of Pacman and Quentin Jammer (who actually had some good years) the CB crop far exceeds the DT crop as far as being active players on current teams. I'd say that every one of those guys on that list either was the best DB on their team or currently is the best DB on their team Peterson hasn't had time to prove he's better than Wilson but I think he will be in the near future.

Here is the LB breakdown: The position I am starting to think we need.

Von Miller - Pro Bowler

Aldon Smith - Already a top 5 pass rusher

Rolando McClain - Headcase...and plays for the Raiders

Aaron Curry - Who knows?

Keith Rivers - Solid LB but pretty sure the Hines Ward rule and a string of injuries have hit him.

Jerod Mayo - Pro bowler

Vernon Gholston

Patrick Willis (putting him in here b/c he was drafted 11th and was the #1 LB on the board which is who we would draft if we went that way) - Pro Bowler

AJ Hawk - Solid player for Pack

Ernie Sims - Solid player

Demarcus Ware (again..drafted #11 but was the #1 LB chosen) - Pro Bowler

Terrell Suggs - Pro Bowler

So, in the same amount of time when looking at LBs drafted in the top 10 there are 6 pro bowlers and another guy in Aldon Smith who will be a pro bowler. The only true busts that you have are Aaron Curry and Vernon Gholston. Who knows what happened to Curry and I think a lot of Gholston's struggles were motivation and change of position. Anyways...history shows that if you have a chance to grab the #1 rated LB in the draft its typically a good idea to do so. This year it looks like it'll be a guy we could get lower so moving down would be a good idea.

Just for fun lets do defensive ends (the other position I think we could use):

Julius Peppers

Mario Williams

Gaines Adams

Jamaal Anderson

Chris Long

Derrick Harvey

JJ Watt (#1 rated DE drafted 11th)

What a disaster that turned into.

So, actually when it comes to defensive players it seems like taking a cornerback is a pretty safe bet compared to DE and DT. However, it seems that taking the top rated LB is actually the best bet...unless the draft ends up being ridiculously week at LB, which it could.

[Yaboychris28]

Here are the DTs drafted in the top 10 over the last 10 years:

Dareus

Suh

McCoy

Alualu

Raji

Tyson Jackson

Dorsey

Ellis

Okoye

Dewayne Robertson

Jonathan Sullivan

Kevin Williams

Ryan Sims

John Henderson

So, out of 14 DTs over the last 10 years who were drafted in the top 10 players I'd say that 6 of them were worth it (Dareus, Suh, Raji, Williams, Henderson). The rest of them have been underwhelming or flat out busts.

Michael Brockers could be great or he could be a bust. DT IMO is the most difficult position outside of QB for a rookie to come in and make a difference. There have been a ton of them who get injured or just don't pan out and you never hear about them again. Dorsey and Ellis were supposed to be perennial pro bowlers and were DOMINANT in their time at LSU and USC. Brockers surfaced to the top of the list what...a week ago? Those guys started at the top during their final seasons and ended at the top and now they are has beens.

I agree 100% with this

[DaCityKats]

well another guy to keep an eye on is Aikem Hicks DT played college ball up in Canada, but was a LSU recruit. has good size at 6'4 324. read he has been beasting so far this week in the east-west practice.

[cdandi1]

well another guy to keep an eye on is Aikem Hicks DT played college ball up in Canada, but was a LSU recruit. has good size at 6'4 324. read he has been beasting so far this week in the east-west practice.

If that kid flies under the radar..might not be a good late round quality type of player. Unless of course he is highly rated already..and isn't a sleeper.

[Marguide]

Thats what you go for when you are picking that high. Upside and potential is what separate the superstars from the average. In case you forgot we drafted Cam for similar reasons and it has paid off so far. The Giants also took JPP for the same reasons also and it has paid off well for them. The guy is a 6'6 300 pound freak athlete he has the potential to be the most dominant DT in the league and a game changer there isnt anymore reasons not to pull the trigger on somebody like that in the top 10 and long as he has the work ethic and drive to get better.

Please don't try to compare what Cam did in college with what Brockers did. Without Cam, Auburn was not relevant that year. Without Brockers, you may not have noticed a huge difference in LSU.

I am all for drafting high potential guys, depending on our situation and the other players on the roster. I don't think a project is what we need or want at DT right now.

Don't get me wrong, I am still very interested in Brockers, but for the games I was able to watch, he was not all that impressive. That is especially true when you consider how strong that defense was this year.

I'll keep an open mind though.

[rayzor]

brockers is a project, but he's also able to come in right away and do some corrupting of the pocket. he's got a lot of natural ability.

[Marguide]

brockers is a project, but he's also able to come in right away and do some corrupting of the pocket. he's got a lot of natural ability.

Agree that he can apply some pressure up the middle, and he still gets some push against double teams. I just don't see him making a lot of signature plays, the type where you say "wow". Fully realizing those types of plays are fairly rare for most DT's, I just kept thinking back to Fairley, for example. And although Fairley is more of a penetrating type DT so it is not a completely valid comparison, it still makes you think.

When we are talking about taking someone at 8 or 9, I want to at least see a few eye-opening plays when they are going against their peers at the college level. I've seen some of those with Still, not so much with Brockers.

[rayzor]

i can't help that you aren't seeing those plays. they are there and lots of people are seeing them.

it's just funny to me that you are seeing more in still than in brockers.

[Marguide]

i can't help that you aren't seeing those plays. they are there and lots of people are seeing them.

it's just funny to me that you are seeing more in still than in brockers.

And I hope it's just that I haven't seen his full repertoire, because I'm not real enamored with Still, and really want to see us improve at DT.

Our defense would improve so much with a strong presence in the middle of the DL.

[JawnyBlaze]

In response to the "he's on a talented D-line, so he might be benefiting from that" argument, from the videos I've watched the rest of his D-line benefits a lot more from him than he does from them in my view. I think if you take him out, those tiny DEs wouldn't look half as good.

[Marguide]

In response to the "he's on a talented D-line, so he might be benefiting from that" argument, from the videos I've watched the rest of his D-line benefits a lot more from him than he does from them in my view. I think if you take him out, those tiny DEs wouldn't look half as good.

That is true on running plays. But at least in the Arkansas game (don't know if this is true for all their games), he was off the field for all obvious passing situations. Once Arkansas fell behind later in the game, you never saw Brockers back in there.

What to make of this? It just leaves a question mark. It would be nice to see him have the opportunity to collapse the pocket and get after the QB in obvious passing situations. Maybe someone who has watched a lot of LSU this year can fill in the blanks on how he did in those situations, or if he even got the opportunity.

And that is damn important with teams passing more than running in the NFL.

[JawnyBlaze]

http://nflsfuture.com/2012/01/17/2012-nfl-mock-draft-the-finalized-underclassmen-edition/

I like this mock. They have us trading down with Arizona (for them to take Riley Reiff) and we take Brockers at #13 :)