Kipers mock

I'd take Ansah if both are available. My opinion is that Warmack isn't even the best OL'man on the Tide. I'd rather take Jones in the 2nd than Warmack in the 1st. If the Steelers can't make a line with (2) 1st rounders and (2) 2nd rounders work, there's a bigger problem than talent.

 

I wouldn't even consider Ansah with Pick #17 based on the info that's available right now. What do we really know about him? 1. He's a great natural athlete for a guy who is 6'5", 270; 2. He flashed very good ability as a 4-3 DE at the end of the college season and in the all star game; 3. by all accounts he sounds like a good kid. What do we not know about him? 1. if he has a mind for the game - it seemed to me like his coaches kept things really simple for him and basically just said "go get 'em"; 2. whether he has the ability to drop back in coverage; 3. whether he has durability (he has played VERY little football so far); 4. how he will respond to adversity on the field (be it injury, going up against someone who can match him athletically, or some other form of adversity that he has likely not faced in his limited time playing). To be clear, I do like the kid. I think he's got huge potential upside, but right now I only see that upside as a 4-3 DE. He's built for that position. He will gain more weight as he further matures and fills out his frame. For a base 3-4 team picking #17, he is a lottery ticket kind of pick. Granted, IMO he's a better lottery ticket pick than guys like Dontari Poe, Darrius Heyward Bey and Matt Jones (to name a few), but if take him at #17 we lose out on getting a proven player who is likely to impact in our system. LeBeau's system demands a lot of a 3-4 OLB, and being able to physically overmatch a RT is only part of it. We need to hit on pick #17, and that player needs to fit what we do.

 

I agree 100% but I think you may have had a typo on the 3-4 DE.. He'd be a 4-3 DE IMO..Dion Jordan is a much riskier pick IMO.. We're talking about him not being thick enough and having to gain weight and strength to set the edge.. Yet somehow maintain his ability to drop into coverage.. He's questionable for our system, if you ask me.

 

Fair enough. That's why I said based on the info available - perhaps I should have said based on the info I've found. I haven't watched a ton of stuff on him, but I haven't seen anything that you mentioned. I haven't seen any video of him working on drops. Did they work him at LB in the Sr Bowl practices? I watched them all, and I only saw him doing 1v1 Oline vs Dline drills. To be sure, I will not have the opportunity to watch his pro day and private workouts, and I won't have the opportunity to interview him. Our evaluators will have the opportunity to do those things, so if we take him at Pick #17, I will be all in because I will know that they did their homework. That said, I still see him as a 4-3 DE. His upside in that role is a lot easier to see based on his game tape.

 

I agree with this also.. It is much easier to see him as a 4-3 DE. However, not many saw Woodley as a 3-4 OLB coming out of Michigan either. I just think that you find a role for a player like Ansah..

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on Jordan. I went into watching film in him expecting to see a guy who was too weak to hold the edge and beat tackles in the pass rush. In fact, based on his thin frame I almost passed over him as a 1st round prospect with very little film review. However, when I started watching him I saw a guy who can impact as a 3-4 OLB right away and I just kept watching more and more film because I was intrigued. He is adequate as a pass rusher right now - as good IMO as Worilds and better than Carter - and he will only get better with an offseason of work with our coaches. However, he brings more to the table than most 3-4 OLB prospects. He is better in coverage, great at corralling athletic QBs, and gives a full effort on every play - even when the flow of the play is away from his responsibility. I like Jenkins too, but he's pretty far from a finished product as a 3-4 OLB. I like him in the 2nd or 3rd if we draft another position in R1, but I wouldn't expect him to make a big impact year 1.