Poe Is Not A Top Dt

[MHS831]

I have been saying for a few weeks that Dontari Poe will not be drafted in the First round. Not only would I not take hin in the first, I would pass on him in the second.

The worst thing NFL Network ever did was televise the combine and post results.

Many got excited because a 350 lb man ran a sub 5.0 40 and benched 225 44 times. Yea!!!

That is great, but the first measure of a player is game tape. Poe was not good at Memphis. He had 1/4 the production Suh had during his last year. Did I mention that he played at Memphis where no Conference USA prospects at DT are serious prospects in the draft, and he was second team all-conference?

Some will say, "He got doubled." Yeah, he did. All DTs get doubled. He also was fast to hit the ground, had a low motor, and there is no evidence on film that he could run a 4.97 40 or bench press a bus. It doesn't translate to the field.

I have been told that I crazy and my children should be placed in special classes (joking--was not told that) because I stated that I thought he would drop.

Poe is a workout warrior. He will bust in the NFL. There are many DTs who have gone before him with more ability, a higher motor, and more success at bigger schools in college who have busted. If you look back a few years in the draft, you will see that most DTs underperform in the NFL.

If track and field had weight classes like wrestling, then I would draft Poe if the Panthers were a track and field team. Since neither is accurate, and since he was average at a poor school in a small conference, I see BUST written all over him. I have no doubt scouts will too. Nobody is going to waste their first round pick on a guy with weak tape. Period.

Today, this came out. Poe is starting to fall. Maybe I can put my kids back in the gifted classes in May. Will Poe play DT at a high level in the NFL. "Quoth the raven......"

These guys get it:

http://profootballta...nt-do-anything/

http://thehuddlereport.com/Free/Dontari.Poe.shtml

[chknwing]

hate much?

[DaCityKats]

as much info you find about Poe busting, you have the same if not more saying he will be a pro bowler. talent can be coached up, and im not saying you take him at 9. but if he is there in the 2nd you would be a fool to pass on him.

[MHS831]

hate much?

Just stating facts with some reservations about picking a guy in the top ten who has to be coached up. Hate will happen if we draft this underperforming, low-motor project who can run fast and can bench press a ton. Probably developed those skills chasing down the ice cream truck and flipping it over.

[MHS831]

as much info you find about Poe busting, you have the same if not more saying he will be a pro bowler. talent can be coached up, and im not saying you take him at 9. but if he is there in the 2nd you would be a fool to pass on him.

I have watched about 30 minutes of Memphis games. I do not see anything to make me want him in the second. Someone will bite, and they will be drafting a probable bust. I do, however, agree with your comment.

There is MORE that suggests he is a top DT--that is why I presented this view. If Poe needs to be coached up to be worthy of a top ten pick, why draft him.

Workout warriors who had better tape have busted after spectacular combines--I challenge anyone to name a successful NFL player who was drafted in the first round who had poor to average game tape and was a stud at the comine. Here are some workout warriors who flopped:

Cleveland was certain it had found its defensive line anchor in Courtney Brown when they took him with the first pick of the 2000 draft. The sheer strength and wide receiver speed he showed at the combine ended up in an injury-plagued career and a whole lot of so-so play.

A crazy workout at the 2001 combine (40-yard dash, vertical leap, and bench press all through the charts), led St. Louis to take defensive back Adam Archuleta in the first round. He had a few nice seasons with the Rams, but none that warranted the most expensive salary for a safety in NFL history that he got from the Redskins in 2006. He was out of football a year later.

New Orleans made Johnathan Sullivan the second defensive lineman to come off the board in the 2003 NFL draft after a stellar combine. His career highlights? 57 tackles and 1.5 sacks in three seasons.

Vernon Gholston set all kinds of records as a defensive end at Ohio State. He then tied the bench press reps record at the 2008 combine, leading to a sixth overall pick by the Jets. Gholston was out of football last season with a career that so far includes 16 total tackles and zero sacks.

Oakland's infatuation with speed and agility reached an all-time high when it took wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey with its first round pick in the 2009 draft. Everyone's consensus top wideout, Michael Crabtree, was still on the board, but Raiders execs went with the guy with a super fast 40 time instead. Heyward-Bey followed that up with two not-so-great years.

What about the first-round DTs who have better game tape than Poe? Do they bust? You be the judge. This is the list of the first DTs taken each year since 1998 (stopping at 2009)--

Top defensive tackle taken by year

2009- BJ Raji (Boston College) 9^th by Packers

2008- Glenn Dorsey (LSU) 5^th by Chiefs

2007- Amobi Okoye (Louisville) 10^th by Texans

2006- Haloti Ngata (Oregon) 12^th by Ravens

2005- Travis Johnson (Florida State) 16^th by Texans

2004- Tommie Harris (Oklahoma) 14^th by Bears

2003- Dewayne Robertson (Kentucky) 4^th by Jets

2002- Ryan Sims (North Carolina) 6^th by Chiefs

2001- Gerard Warren (Florida) 3^rd by Browns

2000- Corey Simon (Florida State) 6^th by Eagles

1999- Anthony McFarland (LSU) 15^th by Buccaneers

1998- Jason Peter (Nebraska) 14^th by Panthers

What percentage were not underachievers or busts? (Easily under 50%). All had better college tape than Poe.

[pantherj]

I can't imagine Poe will go in the top 10 because he wasn't an impact player in college. When you see a DT rush the QB, start to get around an o-lineman, and the o-lineman gives him a shove, and the DT plops on the ground, and that happens multiple times in every game, you don't draft him 9th. Rivera is not insane, and we're not drafting Poe at 9.

[KendrickPanther]

Per Greg Cosell Twitter:

Asked about Cox v. Poe. Cox a much better prospect than Poe. Can play inside + outside at times. Much more versatile. Could be gone by 12.

[nagai]

I honestly think he's even worse than what you described. Watch the tape, he didn't really get doubled that much. He didn't need to be doubled when he just gets stoned by a single guard/tackle almost all game long.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Poe's a project. He's a freak of nature but he never utilized those gifts in school. Some say stats don't tell all the story, I agree. The tape never lies. This guy getting stunned at the line by a Running back is not something I want in my DT that will anchor a defense. That's pathetic. I said the guy would rise, because I knew he was unique, but never did I imagine he would blow up like he did. Granted it's because of the media. I always thought he'd be a mid second round pick. I doubt he gets out of the top 20 now. Someone will fall in love with his combine tape instead of his school tape. It's bound to happen. I just hope it's not our front office.

[ClarkCam]

Really, not take him in the second? I'm not so sure about that one.