Ragland

[dawhizz]

Decided to really focus on him tonight and I'm not overly impressed. Doesn't run hard all the time and seems to be coming out on 3rd down, which I don't get if he's a top pick.

[AZ54]

Decided to really focus on him tonight and I'm not overly impressed. Doesn't run hard all the time and seems to be coming out on 3rd down, which I don't get if he's a top pick.

 

I just asked that question (was Ragland out on 3rd and long?) in another thread. That's not what I want to see from a draft pick at #11. Plus not running hard all the time fits what I saw in some earlier games; when the play goes away from him he doesn't hustle to get in on the action. His draft stock has been dropping on Drafttek lately into the 20's. If people start thinking he's just a two down LB that'll plummet further. With Smith injured and Ragland falling Myles Jack is the last man standing in the ILB top 15 discussion.

 

 

[jason]

I just asked that question (was Ragland out on 3rd and long?) in another thread. That's not what I want to see from a draft pick at #11. Plus not running hard all the time fits what I saw in some earlier games; when the play goes away from him he doesn't hustle to get in on the action. His draft stock has been dropping on Drafttek lately into the 20's. If people start thinking he's just a two down LB that'll plummet further. With Smith injured and Ragland falling Myles Jack is the last man standing in the ILB top 15 discussion.

 

And he's an injury concern as well. Nkemdiche or OL. That's the way to go!

[adam]

I agree, he didn't do much and was out on 3rd Downs.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

And he's an injury concern as well. Nkemdiche or OL. That's the way to go!

If Stanley and Jack are gone, I hope there is a QB sitting at pick #11. Perfect situation to trade down. With NO, PHI, STL, BUF, NYJ, and HOU below us, we should get a bite. #12, 13, 15, 19, 20, & 22 are their slots. Teams may bid better than usual since they are in a close range. I doubt NO and BUF would be in the bids, but could take QB if one fell.

 

The move up should net us a 2nd and 3rd or 4th, more so if Hou trades.

[scs787]

And he's an injury concern as well. Nkemdiche or OL. That's the way to go!

 

I know people are scared off by injuries because of White, but if I were in charge and Jack or Smith are there, I would have a tough time passing.

 

With them apparently keeping Long at OT, it'll be interesting to see if they go OT early. Leno was a pleasant surprise, and I might look into waiting till the 3-4 rounds and finding a guy to compete with him.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I know people are scared off by injuries because of White, but if I were in charge and Jack or Smith are there, I would have a tough time passing.

 

With them apparently keeping Long at OT, it'll be interesting to see if they go OT early. Leno was a pleasant surprise, and I might look into waiting till the 3-4 rounds and finding a guy to compete with him.

I am a ND fan and would love to see Smith in Chicago, but that injury is a high risk. He may never be the same.

I am reading good things on Cody Whitehair OG and would not flinch if they took him in the 2nd. I would be OK giving Leno another year.

[Mongo3451]

And he's an injury concern as well. Nkemdiche or OL. That's the way to go!

Said it multiple times! I'm in!

[scs787]

I am a ND fan and would love to see Smith in Chicago, but that injury is a high risk. He may never be the same.

I am reading good things on Cody Whitehair OG and would not flinch if they took him in the 2nd. I would be OK giving Leno another year.

 

Latest I read was the injury was not as expected and he'll make a full recovery. Maybe 11 is too high for a guy who's gonna miss half the season, but man, dude is special. Long term I would love to have him on this team and I'm a ND hater. All my ND fan friends say he's the best defensive player they've ever seen at ND.

 

Would love to trade back or trade up from the 2nd to get him. I don't think there's a way he drops to us in the 2R.

 

As for the OL, I'd like to 2nd a name AZ brought up, Kelechi Osemele would be fantastic. One of the best guards in the league and he even played LT a few games down the stretch. That type of flexibity coupled with Longs flexibility would be huge. Let them both get reps in at tackle and whoever is better wins and the "Loser" goes to OG. Grab an OT in the 4th to compete with Leno, bring back Montgomery and boom, you actually have a solid line with great depth.

[AZ54]

Latest I read was the injury was not as expected and he'll make a full recovery. Maybe 11 is too high for a guy who's gonna miss half the season, but man, dude is special. Long term I would love to have him on this team and I'm a ND hater. All my ND fan friends say he's the best defensive player they've ever seen at ND.

 

Would love to trade back or trade up from the 2nd to get him. I don't think there's a way he drops to us in the 2R.

 

As for the OL, I'd like to 2nd a name AZ brought up, Kelechi Osemele would be fantastic. One of the best guards in the league and he even played LT a few games down the stretch. That type of flexibity coupled with Longs flexibility would be huge. Let them both get reps in at tackle and whoever is better wins and the "Loser" goes to OG. Grab an OT in the 4th to compete with Leno, bring back Montgomery and boom, you actually have a solid line with great depth.

 

Right now Drafttek has us taking Stanley at #11. I just watched a few games on Stanley (Clemson, OSU, Texas) and I'd be perfectly happy if we signed Osemele and drafted Stanley. Stanley has a couple things to work on with anchoring better at times but that's easily fixed. He's a heck of an athlete with great vision, great hands, and very quick on his feet. At times he's covering blitzes with one arm on two pass rushers. No issues at all having that Oline.

[scs787]

Right now Drafttek has us taking Stanley at #11. I just watched a few games on Stanley (Clemson, OSU, Texas) and I'd be perfectly happy if we signed Osemele and drafted Stanley. Stanley has a couple things to work on with anchoring better at times but that's easily fixed. He's a heck of an athlete with great vision, great hands, and very quick on his feet. At times he's covering blitzes with one arm on two pass rushers. No issues at all having that Oline.

 

Stanley-Slauson-Grasu-Osemele-Long would be incredible, but I do wonder how they feel about Leno. He was solid and should only get better.. I'm cool is they wanna give him another year or if they wanna upgrade or if they wanna give him some mid round competition.

 

I would prefer they go ILB/DL, or maybe corner depending on how they feel about Porter, in the early stages.

 

 

[jason]

If Stanley and Jack are gone, I hope there is a QB sitting at pick #11. Perfect situation to trade down. With NO, PHI, STL, BUF, NYJ, and HOU below us, we should get a bite. #12, 13, 15, 19, 20, & 22 are their slots. Teams may bid better than usual since they are in a close range. I doubt NO and BUF would be in the bids, but could take QB if one fell.

 

The move up should net us a 2nd and 3rd or 4th, more so if Hou trades.

 

Yeah, that would be ideal.

Jack is an injury concern.

Smith is an injury concern.

Ragland is a hustle(?) concern.

 

I'd love a trade down, but only if both top OTs and Nkemdiche are gone. If any of those three are there, we should grab them. But if we like all three, and they are all there, we should trade down a few spots. Trading to 13 or 15 would be great. More than that is scary.

 

Stanley-Slauson-Grasu-Osemele-Long would be incredible, but I do wonder how they feel about Leno. He was solid and should only get better.. I'm cool is they wanna give him another year or if they wanna upgrade or if they wanna give him some mid round competition.

 

OMG. That gave me a chubby. I guarantee that OL would produce a top 5 rushing game. You could expect the #1 RB to go for big yardage. And if Forte is let go, Langford would have 1500+ yard, first round fantasy draft pick potential.

[Stinger226]

Latest I read was the injury was not as expected and he'll make a full recovery. Maybe 11 is too high for a guy who's gonna miss half the season, but man, dude is special. Long term I would love to have him on this team and I'm a ND hater. All my ND fan friends say he's the best defensive player they've ever seen at ND.

 

Would love to trade back or trade up from the 2nd to get him. I don't think there's a way he drops to us in the 2R.

 

As for the OL, I'd like to 2nd a name AZ brought up, Kelechi Osemele would be fantastic. One of the best guards in the league and he even played LT a few games down the stretch. That type of flexibity coupled with Longs flexibility would be huge. Let them both get reps in at tackle and whoever is better wins and the "Loser" goes to OG. Grab an OT in the 4th to compete with Leno, bring back Montgomery and boom, you actually have a solid line with great depth.

I have several conflicting reports on Smith, one said he may not play in 2016. As far as I am concerned, you dont draft a player you may not see for a year. Hmm, Whites name comes to mind. That will not happen again. Nothing is for sure but drafting a pre injured player is not in cards. Jack is another story, he will be ready to play and would love him. Another name would be Scooby Wright, made it back from injury to play a few games. Will be a stud at the next level.

[Stinger226]

Yeah, that would be ideal.

Jack is an injury concern.

Smith is an injury concern.

Ragland is a hustle(?) concern.

 

I'd love a trade down, but only if both top OTs and Nkemdiche are gone. If any of those three are there, we should grab them. But if we like all three, and they are all there, we should trade down a few spots. Trading to 13 or 15 would be great. More than that is scary.

 

 

 

OMG. That gave me a chubby. I guarantee that OL would produce a top 5 rushing game. You could expect the #1 RB to go for big yardage. And if Forte is let go, Langford would have 1500+ yard, first round fantasy draft pick potential.

I dont get all the rave for Nkemdiche, all the talent in the world and didnt play that way in college.

 

Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF

*2013 Mississippi SEC FR DE 9 20 8 28 6.0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

*2014 Mississippi SEC SO DT 10 9 18 27 3.0 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

2015 Mississippi SEC JR DT 10 12 14 26 7.0 3.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Career Mississippi 41 40 81 16.0 6.0 0 0 0 3 0 0

 

 

81 total tackles in 3 years and a whopping 6 sacks, if that doesnt breathe bust I dont know what does.

 

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I dont get all the rave for Nkemdiche, all the talent in the world and didnt play that way in college.

 

Year School Conf Class Pos G Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF

*2013 Mississippi SEC FR DE 9 20 8 28 6.0 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

*2014 Mississippi SEC SO DT 10 9 18 27 3.0 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

2015 Mississippi SEC JR DT 10 12 14 26 7.0 3.0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Career Mississippi 41 40 81 16.0 6.0 0 0 0 3 0 0

 

 

81 total tackles in 3 years and a whopping 6 sacks, if that doesnt breathe bust I dont know what does.

I am with you on that. He has physical traits but never stood above and beyond any of the other DT prospects. He lacks the drive and work ethic to be great. With a deep DT class, get one round 2.

[AZ54]

I am with you on that. He has physical traits but never stood above and beyond any of the other DT prospects. He lacks the drive and work ethic to be great. With a deep DT class, get one round 2.

 

 

 

 

As this draft process gets underway more and more questions about NKemdiche come to light. Given where we pick I prefer to stay away simply because there will be better options, much better options. It's way early but most likely there will be two QBs taken ahead of us. Which two I don't know but if that happens someone very talented falls to us. Plus we're not in the spot to afford a big question mark in attitude on a rebuilding team, at least not from a #1 pick, and this guy causes some issues in the locker room.

 

Right now I see Jerry Jones drafting a QB with his first pick. When Nkemdiche falls into the 20's I see him trading up to get him to replace Greg Hardy.

 

 

[killakrzydav]

I saw this guy getting stoned in the hole by the Fb too much to want him. I'm off the wagon completely.

[jason]

I saw this guy getting stoned in the hole by the Fb too much to want him. I'm off the wagon completely.

 

Really? I watched all the Alabama games and didn't see that very often. His job as a MLB in the Alabama 3-4 is to plug the running hole, take on blockers, let the Will pursue, and then pursue the ball. For a guy who is getting downgraded a lot, he sure did fill up the stat sheet doing his job in a 3-4.

 

The Alabama defense is full of future NFL players, and this is his stat line:

60 Solo Tackles (led team)

42 Assists (led team)

6.5 TFL (only beat by rush guys)

7 PBU (3rd on team, only beat by DBs)

2 FF (led team)

 

Personally, I think he's pretty damn good, and he'd be a great fit for the Bears. Right now the Bears don't have a selfless thumper on defense, a guy willing to take on blockers and let the others make plays. If he were on the team, perhaps guys like SMC and Jones wouldn't be as bad?

[scs787]

Really? I watched all the Alabama games and didn't see that very often. His job as a MLB in the Alabama 3-4 is to plug the running hole, take on blockers, let the Will pursue, and then pursue the ball. For a guy who is getting downgraded a lot, he sure did fill up the stat sheet doing his job in a 3-4.

 

The Alabama defense is full of future NFL players, and this is his stat line:

60 Solo Tackles (led team)

42 Assists (led team)

6.5 TFL (only beat by rush guys)

7 PBU (3rd on team, only beat by DBs)

2 FF (led team)

 

Personally, I think he's pretty damn good, and he'd be a great fit for the Bears. Right now the Bears don't have a selfless thumper on defense, a guy willing to take on blockers and let the others make plays. If he were on the team, perhaps guys like SMC and Jones wouldn't be as bad?

 

Maybe in run defense, but what I'm worried about the most is the gaping hole in the middle of the field in the pass game.

 

Both SMC and Jones looked lost in coverage and it showed with the Bears ranking dead last in coverage in the middle of the field(ref football outsiders).

 

Pairing one of those 2 with a guy who was pulled of the field on 3rd downs in the biggest game of the year sounds like an awful way of fixing that HUGE problem.

 

I wouldn't hate to see him paired with a guy like Trevathon or Derrick Johnson(another guy sound in coverage) but the whole thing in the Nat Championship game scares me. Saban is a great coach and if he's pulling him off the field on 3rd down, there's gotta be something off, and you don't spend a 1R pick on a 2 down LB.

[killakrzydav]

While he did his job per say by taking on the fullback it seemed to me he was puahed backward one on one with him too often. That's not my definition of thumper. Furthermore, always coming out on third down suggests he can't cover or blitz. I'm sure we can find a two down thumper later than number 11.