Erasmus James

[BengalNation1281]

NFLDraftBlitz has us taking him with our first-round pick, and though I have heard his name before, I don't really know much about him. Does anybody have information on him or his stats/abilities?

BN1281

[jamesbrooks21]

6-4 263 pounds

4.75 40 yd dash

Strengths: Tremendous athlete...Quick and agile...A terror as a pass rusher...Extremely productive as a senior...Has only played football since his senior year of high school and still has a lot of upside and potential...One of the better sack artists in the draft.

Weaknesses: Missed the entire 2003 season due to injury...Needs to get bigger and stronger...Raw in terms of technique and gets by on his natural athleticism...Inconsistent...Doesn't have top-notch speed.

Notes: Came through with a dominant senior campaign and may have improved his stock more than anyone in the entire country...Went from an afterthought to a potential first rounder.

Stats: 34 tackles(25 solo) 11.5 TFL 8 sacks 7 QB hurries 2 FF

From what I have seen he is a very good pass rusher yet he is very average against the run. So I don't see us taking him, because the last thing we need is someone "average" against the run.

[volcom69]

i really like this guy alot, i love watching him play so i would like to have him and get a DT in free agency if they can. We need a good pass rusher to help out the DBs and i think he would be a great fit.

[HoosierCat]

I would be very surprised if we took a DE in the first, tho like BengalNation I keep seeing James pop up on early mock drafts. They just extended Clemons, drafted Geathers -- who has gotten a lot of playing time -- last year, and don't seem eager to dump Justin Smith, who has had a decent year, if still not one up to his draft status. Carl Powell is a UFA, tho, but he played well in relief of the injured Clemons Sunday and is, of course, one of Marvin's Guys. My bet is he gets resigned.

I think the only way they go DE in the first is if they decide to give up on Justin Smith. His cap number is something like $3.6 million in 2005, which is a lot for a guy who's giving you just 6-8 sacks a season. But he had a $10.8 million signing bonus and is signed through 2006, so cutting him would accellerate '06's portion of the SB into '05 and result in $3.6 million in dead money.

So I don't see a first round DE.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

You usually don't expect defensive ends coming out of college to be anything other than "average" against the run.

[chrishcovga]

Erasmus James has actually been timed ( according to the Wisconsin coaching staff - draftburough ) around the high 4.5's and low 4.6's. The thing that'll hurt his draft status the most will be the conditions of his injuries. I wouldn't be surprised if he Doesn't slip to the 2nd round and a guy like Justin Tuck from Notre Dame move from round 2 into lower round 1.

However, ( as I've been saying for about a year now ) The guy that pops out to me the most as a Marvin type player and the athlete to boot is Marcus Spears DE, L.S.U.

6'4 295 good against the run and a very solid pass rusher with 4.8 speed. Several things I like about him...

1. Plays with perhaps the best leverage I've seen on a defensive lineman since Reggie White.

2. Can't be run out of a play.

3. Great Pursuit. Takes few plays off.

This is a player that probably could get you 6- 7 sacks a year as an end, but his size and athletic ability could create so much more. Automatically improves the rush defense, and if need be could be moved inside as a DT on third downs, so a " speed " rusher could come in !

- His versatility makes him my early choice for our first round pick !