top safety prospects

[HairOnFire]

I thought the Darnell Bing/Ronnie Lott comparisions were a little over the top. Bing is a true thumper with superior instincts, and above average coverage skills, but IMHO he lacks the change of direction skills that made Lott and Polomalu special. Perhaps that was what the scout who called him a love or hate prospect was alluding to, but the breakdown didn't go into detail. That said, put me in the love camp. He's a true SS with better than average coverage skills and is a very sure tackler who makes the occasional monster hit. If projections about his draft status are accurate he'll be an option for the Bengals. And like you pointed out, even if the Bengals are looking for a different type of safety and pass on him...assuming he does declare...he'll push another prospect lower in the draft.

I think both local TE prospects have improved their blocking greatly, but Byrd can't seem to put it all together for prolonged periods of time. The scout remarks about how raw he is seem as accurate as the ones about him having more upside than any other TE prospect in the draft. The wow factor is definately there, but it's still strictly hit or miss. As for Marcedes Lewis, his play speaks for itself, but he's just as impressive off the field. Very motivated and very high character. He's often been described as the hardest worker on the Bruins, and his improvement from season to season is easy to see. Trust me, I'm gonna spend some time pimping this guy when the time comes.

Last, I read today that FSU DT Marcus Thomas has petitioned the NFL to find out where he might be drafted if he comes out early. I'm not that familiar with him, but I like the idea of the DT pool getting deeper.

[schweinhart]

Last, I read today that FSU DT Marcus Thomas has petitioned the NFL to find out where he might be drafted if he comes out early. I'm not that familiar with him, but I like the idea of the DT pool getting deeper.

There's another SEC DT who could impact Day 1...Deljuan Robinson of Mississippi State.

But hands down the best non-senior DT I've noticed in action this year is Jason Shirley of Fresno State. This dude is huge, strong, and quick. He's only a soph, though, and I doubt he'd come out.

USC-UCLA is on ABC Staurday at 4:30. A great game to watch with a bunch of prospects besides.

I'm looking forward to getting looks at mainly Bing and some other UCLA players besides Lewis such as Spencer Havner OLB, Justin London ILB, and Jarrad Page SS.

[HairOnFire]

USC-UCLA is on ABC Staurday at 4:30. A great game to watch with a bunch of prospects besides.

I'm looking forward to getting looks at mainly Bing and some other UCLA players besides Lewis such as Spencer Havner OLB, Justin London ILB, and Jarrad Page SS.

Yeah, plenty of interesting prospects, but the head to head matchup between Bing and Lewis is why I'll be watching. Considering where they're projected to go in the draft it's must see stuff for a Bengal fan.

[schweinhart]

#20 Darnell Bing

Other Trojans of interest on defense

#24 Justin Wyatt CB

#90 Frostee Rucker DE

#98 LaJuan Ramsey DT

#59 Collin Ashton 59

#18 John Walker

Trojans on offense other than the obvious

#86 Dominique Byrd

UCLA offense

#19 Marcedes Lewis TE

#73 Ed Blanton T

#59 Mike McCloskey C

UCLA defense

#4 Jarrad Page SS

#41 Spencer Havner OLB

#9 Justin London ILB

#15 Marcus Cassell CB

[NJ29]

I think that if we're going for a corner/ strong safety, we have only a few options: Jimmy Williams, Jahmile Addae, and Mike Huff.

[cover2]

Top Safeties

http://football.about.com/cs/positionalran...ldraftsrank.htm

[cover2]

a negative on Bing has been his injury history....................

[schweinhart]

It's starting to sound like Mike Huff will be drafted as the top CB in the draft...at least that's Mike Mayock's take on NFLN. He's got Huff slotted as the 5th best senior in the draft and the top senior CB.

Jimmy Williams is still in Mayock's top 10 but it remains to be seen if he'll slide based on whether or not teams view him as a safety or corner.

I really liked what I saw of Bing in back coverage. He strikes me as a Rodney Harrison type who's got deceptive range and a whole lot of hit when he brings it.

[Stripes]

I'd like to nominate this as the most informative thread I've ever seen in my Bengalszone tenure, outside of the Bengals Forum. Cool beans.

[alleycat]

The draft talk tends to be that way. I see you joined after the draft last year. I actually think I spend more time and have more fun on this board during the draft lead-up than the season itself for precisely the reason you mention.

[HairOnFire]

...the head to head matchup between Bing and Lewis is why I'll be watching. Considering where they're projected to go in the draft it's must see stuff for a Bengal fan.

Just a quick note on how this one played out. USC coaches claimed before the game that they felt their pass rush could dominate UCLA so completely that not only could it contol the Bruin running game, but there would be no time for long passing plays to develope. Thus, they felt they could completely shut down the Bruin passing game if Bing could shut down TE Marcedes Lewis....which he most certainly did.

Very impressive.

[bengalsLB]

Anybody else hear rumers that ko simpson might declare?

[NJ29]

I think that Ko is a true sophomore.

[bengalsLB]

I think that Ko is a true sophomore.

ya but he is 3 years removed from highschool so he is draft eligable

[NJ29]

Gotcha, LB.

BTW, Charlie Peprah, anyone?

[schweinhart]

Peprah sure looked like a corner to me. He might go before Roman Harper but I'd rather see Harper in stripes if it came down to it.

[schweinhart]

The Bowl season so far has offered season-ending glimpses of some safety prospects.

Among those, Harrison Smith of Cal showed solid coverage ability against a really good TE in BYU's junior Johnny Harline. Smith didn't shut him down but draped him well and played the ball strong, including a knack for timing the strip after the catch. Plus, he closes fast in the open field and hits hard vs. the run. Smith's straightline speed should take him out of the running as a CB prospect but as a Day 2 safety prospect with skills interchangeable between free and strong, he'd be an improvement for the Bengals.

Wesley Smith of Memphis State drills people and showed great pursuit of the run with an ability to disengage blocks. He's got range in coverage and looks to make up what he may lack in straightline speed with his reaction and skills playing the ball. He really likes to hit but he's also a form tackler. I'd be surprised if he isn't off the board late Day 1.

Keon Jackson of Toldeo was very impressive vs. UTEP. He hits hard and showed sure tackling ability in the open field vs. a faster RB. He closes well in coverage and recovered well for the tackle after getting turned around in man coverage on a stop route to an extremely fast WR in Johnnie Lee Higgins. This guy can play -- he's looks much better to me than Body did last year. Maybe a mid Day 2 pick who will stick.

Trevis Coley of Southern Miss is LB sized playing FS. His strength is playing forward where he can detonate, which he is highly effective at doing. However, he looks like he might lack the foot speed and swivel to go backwards that will be necessary at safety in the NFL. Maybe a late Day 2 or rookie free agent.

[NJ29]

Anthony Smith of Syracuse?

[schweinhart]

Anthony Smith was real impressive vs. Notre Dame. He might be slightly undersized for a NFL safety but definitely makes up for it with a whole lot of pop and closing speed to the ball.

There's been some other safeties worth watching in bowl games from the last week.

Brian Iwuh of Colorado: He showed extremely fast lateral speed but not top notch speed when he has to chase downfield. He played LB and some down at DE but might get consideration as a safety for the NFL. Most of his coverage was limited to dropping back underneath in zone whenever he lined up off the slot receiver and his quickness and reaction dropping back isn't what it is going sideline to sideline. He's a really good player but proly a real project at safety.

Daniel Bullocks of Nebraska: Sure looks like a NFL safety (maybe because his twin brother already is ). Not sure why his bro Josh would enter early and he wouldn't -- might have something to do with straight speed. But Bullocks is a great open field tackler who flashed his vertical in the game vs. Michigan dropped back in zone. Mike Hart beat him on a catch and juked him for a whiff but Bullocks got back pretty quick to make the tackle.

Justin Phiniese of Orgeon: Played corner but has good size. Showed great break on ball, excellent open field tackling, and great timing. Pretty intriguing player IMO plus a PR.

Brandon Marshall of Central Florida: Played WR this year but led team in tackles at safety last year. Superb athlete who might get looked at more at safety than WR by NFL teams.

[NJ29]

Pat Watkins is looking very. very good. He made a big hit and is making good open field tackles.

[alleycat]

Funny Rover, you beat me to it. I just logged on to post the same exact thing. NFLdraftcountdown.com has him listed at 4.5 40 and various sites have him listed at 6-4 and 6-5. He's certainly challenging the notion that he's not physical enough tonight.

Strengths:

Has tremendous size with long arms and the frame to add more weight...Is a very good athlete...Mobile and has excellent range to make plays sideline-to-sideline...Smart and a leader on the field...Great leaper who knows how to go up and get the ball...Will support the run...Still has some upside and potential.

Weaknesses:

Must hit the weight room and get stronger...Needs to bulk up...Not overly physical or explosive despite his size...Inconsistent...Struggles a bit and gets turned in man coverage...Has some minor durability concerns...A bit of an underachiever who didn't always play up to his ability...Only two years of starting experience.

Notes:

Top recruit coming out of high school...Could be chosen earlier than he should based on workouts...From a physical standpoint he would seem to have all the tools you look for and is exactly what the pros are looking for in a safety today.

[schweinhart]

Happened to catch Mike Mayock give his pre-Orange Bowl assessment of Pat Watkins after the fact and he had Watkins as a late 3rd-early 4th.

Watkins definitely helped himself with his play: sure tackling in open field vs. run both stretch and up middle, good timing and reaction playing the ball in both vertical coverage and plays in front of him, and decent enough speed and range. The most intriguing thing about Watkins is his size -- both his height (which will give him some advantage in help coverage against taller WRs and man coverage on TEs) and his frame which could clearly stand a lot more muscle and make him a 240 pounder instead of the gangly player he is now. I liked what I saw of him last night a lot more than I did in other games this year.

As for the Sugar Bowl, once again Jahmile Addae looked fast and active vs. pass and a willing tackler with a lot of energy vs. the run. I still think he's slightly undersized but his game speed is pretty impressive. And once again Greg Blue looks like a liability in coverage as a safety and more of an undersized WSLB than anything else.

As for the Ohio State safeties, Donte Whitner looks like the best Huff-type safety after Huff -- one that's got fifth gear speed everywhere on the field and can cover as well as play the run physically. If Whitner enters early, he'll be sought after but maybe not viewed as much as a CB prospect as Huff and therefore slide to maybe the end of the second. As for Nate Salley, I'm pretty much seeing a deep cover 2 free safety whose not going to bring much in the way of man coverage skills or effectiveness coming up to play the run at the next level.

The big safety play is tonight, though. Michael Huff #7 Texas and #20 Darnell Bing USC. Mayock mentioned he expects Huff to be man on Reggie Bush whenever Bush splits as a receiver. Should be something to see one way or another. Mayock is still projecting that Huff will be rated the top senior CB in the draft rather than safety, which would spike him up draft boards. Mayock also projected Texas CB Cedric Griffin #8 might be a late 1st rounder-early 2nd rounder as a safety.

[HairOnFire]

File this one under the heading of...."Not so fast."

Prior to the Rose Bowl there was some local scuttlebutt going around the Los Angeles media about Darnell Bing returning to USC if they lost the championship game AND if the NFL's evaluation of where he would be drafted was projected to be lower than the 1st round. So check out the following snippet from the sports section of my Sunday morning Los Angeles Daily News. The writer is Scott Wolf.

"Bing Grade: The NFL evaluated USC safety Darnell Bing and listed him as a second- or third-round draft pick. Bing, who is a junior, requested the evaluation before deciding whether to turn pro. The NFL usually is conservative in it's projections.

Bing previously said he would turn pro if he were a [projected] first-round pick."

[alleycat]

Ko Simpson declared. Whether we get him or not, it seriously deepens the top talent at the position and helps us out. Now if only Bing and Landry will declare, will be guaranteed some serious talent in the first and VERY GOOD talent in the second.

[Whur CHad At?]

Ko Simpson is a stud...I don't think he is a first rounder but he should be available for us in round 2. Def. Should grab him becuase he has potential to be a beast.