Courtney Upshaw = Lamarr Woodley v2.0

[Jackofalltrades]

How is he in cvg? He'd have to cover Graham, Gonzo and Winslow twice a year, that being my main concern. He certainly has the size, but what about speed, hip fluidity, agility, etc.

[DaCityKats]

Hightower dropped into coverage more than Upshaw, so im assuming his coverage skills are not that good.or maybe he is just better going after the QB.

[Kuech the Sneak]

I'd like to take Hightower in the second maybe, it'd be pretty funny of we took Kirkpatrick then hightower in the second

[Kevin Greene]

It appears that the Jets covet Upshaw.. and their fans are oogling over him in their forums. They think it would be a slam dunk pick at #16, if he's there.. but I think the Cardinals and Cowboys could look at him at #13-14 respectively. Maybe the Jets will want to trade up to jump both teams. We have been known to make draft day trades with the Jets before.

So if we do trade down, it could only be a few spots.. not sure that is possible.

Would be great for us if it worked out.

How is he in cvg? He'd have to cover Graham, Gonzo and Winslow twice a year, that being my main concern. He certainly has the size, but what about speed, hip fluidity, agility, etc.

Combine is about 40 days away, it should be very interesting. :yesnod:

The regional Combines start Jan 28, will be interested to see what skill level of player attends those.

Edit:

Players who attend a regional combine could be invited to a super-regional at Ford Field in Detroit on March 30-31. That event will be attended by NFL team scouts and player personnel directors.

Designed to spotlight players who are not invited to the Indianapolis event, the eight combines also will be conducted specifically for players with college playing experience who want to gauge their pro potential, and for players with some pro experience who have been out of the game for a period of time.

"The NFL regional combines program provides players who may not have had the chance before the opportunity to work out for NFL personnel executives," said NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson. "It allows all 32 clubs a chance to further evaluate future prospects."

[Woodie]

The thing I like most about Upshaw is his "want to." A lot of players have skill sets that could make them very good, but the ones that become dominant are the ones that have the drive, motor, and relentlessness to enforce their will. And that's what I see in Upshaw.

With a guy like Upshaw, I don't think you can pidgeon hole him into any role. He is the type of talent that allows you to get creative (which plays right into Rivera's hands, by the way). He is a good enough pass rusher that you can bring him in from the SAM, strong enough to line up at DE, and actually could probably play some DT on passing downs, much like Johnson and Hardy. As for his speed, he may not be the fastest guy in the world, but he is explosive and has elite burst...not to mention the power to put OT's on their heels. And don't forget, it's not like he did all this against scrubs, he was dominant against SEC (and many future NFL) OT's.

[Woodie]

And one final point to ponder, he is already bigger than Everette Brown, who many thought had the ability to develop into a nice DE for us (until it became obvious that development would never come). However, in addition to being bigger, he's far stronger and already has more pass rush moves than Brown. So not only would he provide the pass rushing we so desperately need, he would give us the flexibility to run any defense we want to without him having to leave the field.

[Woodie]

not really a need but whatever.

so we move anderson over to Will? anderson and TD compete for the job there?

Disagree. We are desperate for pass rushing...particularly from someone that can also play the run. IMO, just by improving the pass rush, we would exponentially improve our secondary and overall coverage. Think about it, right now, all we have is Johnson and an inconsistent Hardy to count on for our pass rush. None of our DT's have shown the ability to disrupt passing plays, and as much as I like guys such as Keiser, they really don't have the skills to consistently be a dominant force against the pass.

And while I love Davis as much as the next guy, I don't think there is any way he is a full-time starter this year...and maybe ever again. So we need to look at him as a rotational player (and yes, I do think he will be back), which would actually give us all kinds of flexibility. TD could sub for either Anderson at Will or Upshaw at Sam, or even fill in when Upshaw plays on the line. Regardless, we would have four quality LB's that can all play multiple positions which would make us scheme diverse, which is what Rivera has been selling since he was hired. I don't know, the more I have seen of Upshaw, the more I have started thinking he would be a perfect fit for our team.

[CPF4LIFE]

Upshaw is just way too versatile. You can put him at any position in the front 7 and get production from him. I jus think he is worth the pick in the fact you can use him in so many different ways and im starting to lean more towards pass rushing than coverage now anyway. We can get a good DB in the second round hopefully but we have to be able to get to the QB which is something we are just as bad at as covering.

[stirs]

It appears that the Jets covet Upshaw.. and their fans are oogling over him in their forums. They think it would be a slam dunk pick at #16, if he's there.. but I think the Cardinals and Cowboys could look at him at #13-14 respectively. Maybe the Jets will want to trade up to jump both teams. We have been known to make draft day trades with the Jets before.

So if we do trade down, it could only be a few spots.. not sure that is possible.

5th post in this thread.

i was reading the same stuff on Jets. Who to take at 16, maybe DeCastro

probably pick up a 3rd and a 4th rounder for the trade down to 16

[JawnyBlaze]

I wouldn't be completely opposed to Upshaw. But like Peppers90NC said, the idea of moving Beason out of the MLB spot needs to be forever forgotten. He is far more effective in the middle where he can impact both sides of the field.

Upshaw would be somewhat miscast in our defense, but like you guys have said, Von Miller proved a 3-4 OLB isn't completely wasted in a 4-3. I'd sure as hell rather have Upshaw than Kirkpatrick.

[JawnyBlaze]

Moving down 7 or 8 spots would probably get us a 2nd at least. Especially if we're picking #8 ahead of the Dolphins. The Jets could think Miami will take him (Taylor is retiring, they have no pass rush outside of Wake).

[stirs]

The key to the trade is to get in front of Buffalo. If we are 8th, they might still trade with us, but they could trade with Miami instead for less in return. Both Miami and Buffalo in their division, so they could still trade trade with us seemingly. Another 2nd, or a 3rd and 4th. I would be glad to get either.

[Lout]

Moving down 7 or 8 spots would probably get us a 2nd at least. Especially if we're picking #8 ahead of the Dolphins. The Jets could think Miami will take him (Taylor is retiring, they have no pass rush outside of Wake).

http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/Value-Chart.php

According to this, the #8 pick is worth 1400 points.

The #16 pick is worth 1000, and the Jets 2nd rounder (pick #47) is worth 430 points. So I think this trade is highly feasible. We would get the better in of the trade by 30 value points, which is equivalent to about our 6th round pick.

Would you guys take that trade?

Panthers trade: #8 and 6th round pick

FOR

Jets: #16 and #47 (2nd round pick)

And who might we target at #16?

[stirs]

At 16, we would have an outside chance of landing DeCastro

Better chance of getting Dennard, Coples, Z Brown, Still, Poe