thebandit27 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 It's through this kind of reasoning that NFL teams picking in the top 10 blow their high draft picks. At this level it's as much about the heart of a player as it is about combine measurables. Blocking is just about the easiest thing to coach up as long as you're strong and have the size which he does on both accounts. This guy is a baller, he's extremely confident, he's a hard worker, and he wants to be the best. Ebron will be a fine blocker in the NFL. In case I was not clear: I have based a very small amount of my opinion on combine measurables. When I look at the two players' productivity in college, here's what I see (using Jr season since both had their best seasons as juniors): Davis - 11 games, 51 rec (4.64 rec/game), 871 yds (17.1 avg), 6 TDs Ebron - 13 games, 62 rec (4.77 rec/game), 973 yds (15.7 avg), 3 TDs So I see Davis as a better receiver. I also noticed that neither did much blocking in college, and I'm not willing to make what I feel is a pretty substantial leap to say that blocking is easy to coach up. If it were that easy to coach up, then guys like Jimmy Graham would be all-world blockers. Scott Chandler is 6'7" and 260 lbs and is a poor blocker. Is that because he's not strong? I doubt it. Is it because he doesn't have the will to learn? Not likely. Blocking is a skill, and it's not a given that a guy that hasn't done it much can simply step in and learn it. Which leads me back to my point, which I will only cover once more in this discussion to avoid being a broken record: Because I can only reasonably evaluate the player as a receiver, since he hasn't done much blocking, I'm going to base my grade upon his receiving talent. When I see a 6'3", 250 lb guy playing mostly a receiving role, I want him to have better than 4.6 speed if I'm going to make him a top 10 pick. The reasoning here is that I can draft a natural WR with equal (or better) size to be a receiving threat who isn't a natural blocker either. I would much rather spend a 2nd round pick on a guy like Troy Niklas or ASJ, who are solid receiving threats at TE, but very good blockers as well. It's fine if you disagree; just please remember that you're stating your opinion, not a fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kellyto83TD Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Give me upgrades at NT, OLB, FS, LG, OT, TE via FA & the draft and I'll be good. Superman: We don't have a true NT, but I do get your point. We have two pass rushers and not one pure Run defender. I say get a big ass DT In here and move Dareus to DE or something. I go MLB and move Kiko outside with his athleticism. Can't disagree with the rest my friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billykaykay Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thanks for injecting some reality into the debate. Ebron might very well wind up being a top tier TE, but I'm not for using a top 10 pick on him and he isn't at the level Davis was coming out of the combine. Davis was seen as an athletic freak, perhaps the best TE in the combine ever. The fact that guys like Gronkowski I and Graham have outshined Davis in the NFL despite being later picks, shows what a crapshoot all of this is. Outshine ??Perhaps, Gronk & Graham playing with Brady & Brees has something to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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