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Draft Network: Christian Wilkins 5-Play Scouting Report


DCOrange

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https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/5-play-prospect--clemson-idl-christian-wilkins

 

Can't help but read this excerpt and feel like this is 100% the guy that McDermott wants at #9.

 

Quote

"He's just a guy who truly, truly enjoys every day," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said of Wilkins. "He likes practice, he likes meetings, he likes the training. He just has that mindset that it takes to be great, and he's rubbed off on so many people during his time here. He'll do anything you ask him to do, and he believes he can do anything."

 

"I try to be a person of excellence in everything I do, but I wouldn't be playing the game if I didn't absolutely love it," Wilkins said. "Every time I step on a field, I still have an 8-year-old's innocence about it. I love putting thigh pads in my pants and pulling them on. This game has been a ticket for me, and I'm truly in love with it. Yeah, I care about a lot of things but I realize football is going to end for me one day. That's why I try to be diverse in other areas."

 

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1 minute ago, SCBills said:

I love his personality/mindset but he seems to have a lower ceiling than an Ed Oliver.   

 

I see him always being above average, but I don’t see “elite”. 

5 star recruit with tons of athleticism.  Even played end early in his career.  Sky high ceiling, IMO

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5 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I love his personality/mindset but he seems to have a lower ceiling than an Ed Oliver.   

 

I see him always being above average, but I don’t see “elite”. 

I'll take the guy who's a natural leader, excelled against top competition and had one of the best games of his career on the biggest stage against a team loaded with NFL talent instead of a hyped-up guy who had a mediocre year in the American Athletic Conference while bickering with his coach.  I'd bet that McDermott and Beane feel the same way.  

Edited by mannc
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5 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

5 star recruit with tons of athleticism.  Even played end early in his career.  Sky high ceiling, IMO

Yep.  Very mature guy; instant starter and contributor.  Reminds me of a DL version of Tre White coming out of LSU.

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1 minute ago, mannc said:

I'll take the guy who's a natural leader, excelled against top competition and had one of the best games of his career on the biggest stage against a team loaded with NFL talent instead of a hyped-up guy who had a mediocre year in the American Athletic Conference while bickering with his coach.  I'd bet that McDermott and Beane feel the same way.  

 

I wouldn’t oppose taking Wilkins over Oliver.   I just hope I’m wrong about Wilkins ceiling.  

 

Hes zero risk.  I know he’s going to be very good and a massively positive locker room presence. 

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He's such a great teammate and leader you forget he's just a dang good football player. Never going to be an All Pro guy like Ed Oliver has the chance to be but just a really good player and one who is probably wearing the 'C' for a decade.

 

1 minute ago, DJB said:

No question in my mind hes more of a process guy than Oliver and very much a draft possibility 

 

Oliver is much more talented but he's a great kid too. Hard worker, worked on a farm his whole life, chose Houston over other big colleges and routinely won 'Best Effort' award given out weekly for his play on the field. 

Edited by FeelingOnYouboty
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1 minute ago, SCBills said:

 

I wouldn’t oppose taking Wilkins over Oliver.   I just hope I’m wrong about Wilkins ceiling.  

 

Hes zero risk.  I know he’s going to be very good and a massively positive locker room presence. 

I'm not sure why you think Wilkins's ceiling is relatively low.  He really athletic and versatile.  I'm not a big fan of drafting an interior lineman this high, but if the Bills feel Wilkins can be highly disruptive (like he was against 'Bama), I'm fine with it.  He could also be taken after a trade back.

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7 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

I wouldn’t oppose taking Wilkins over Oliver.   I just hope I’m wrong about Wilkins ceiling.  

 

Hes zero risk.  I know he’s going to be very good and a massively positive locker room presence. 

Yep, my thoughts basically mirror both of your posts. I rate Oliver higher but I'll be happy with Wilkins too and as I mentioned in the OP, I expect McD to want Wilkins pretty badly. I don't necessarily think Wilkins ceiling is low but I do think Oliver's is higher.

Edited by DCOrange
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2 minutes ago, mannc said:

I'm not sure why you think Wilkins's ceiling is relatively low.  He really athletic and versatile.  I'm not a big fan of drafting an interior lineman this high, but if the Bills feel Wilkins can be highly disruptive (like he was against 'Bama), I'm fine with it.  He could also be taken after a trade back.

 

I don’t think he has a low ceiling.  I just would rather take a guy at 9 who could be a top DT in the NFL over a guy who I don’t see having that ability.  

 

I do think Wilkins can be a Top 10 DT, but I don’t see say, Top 3.  

 

I do see potential for that in Oliver. 

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His ceiling looked plenty high in the championship game.  He was dominant.  One thing I love about him is his upper body torque.  He engages the blocker but has so much upper body flexibility that he gets around them easily.  I think he could be a dominant interior pass rusher.  I know he plays a different position, but dare I say he’s ‘Bruce-like’ in his ability to engage and use his upper body flexibility to get around blockers.  

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I just can't bring myself to get onboard with either Oliver or Wilkins. I'm not going to flat out call either a bust, but I have concerns that either will live up to the draft hype, and we cannot afford to miss on top-10 picks...

 

Granted, it's a bit of an apples/oranges comparison, because most saw John McCargo as a bad pick to begin with, but I'd be afraid of a similar situation drafting ANY of those Clemson defensive lineman... McCargo benefited immensely by playing next to Mario Williams and Manny Lawson and as a result was grossly overdrafted. I can't tell you which player I think is the McCargo and which are the Mario/Lawson on that Clemson line, but I do think any of them pose some risk there -- none of Wilkins/Bryant/Lawrence/Ferrell are great athletes, Lawrence has the PEDs issue, etc. I just think between inferior ACC competition and playing together for as long as they did, the whole was better than the sum of those parts... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that attitude, and it certainly seems like Wilkins would fit well in this locker room, but I don't see him being a major disruptor in the NFL. Hope I'm wrong, seems like an awesome kid.

 

Oliver, to me, feels like the NFL's version of Marcus Fizer. NBA scouts thought Fizer was too big and strong for small forwards to guard and too quick and athletic for power forwards... Instead, he was too small and weak to do anything against PFs and too slow/not skilled enough to beat SFs... Oliver's first step is exciting, but to me, I'm worried that he's too small to constantly contribute in the trenches AND stay healthy, yet not athletic enough to play on the edge. I think you're drafting him hoping and praying that he can become Melvin Ingram, but Ingram dominated against vastly superior competition and STILL took 4 years to emerge into much of anything...

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5 minutes ago, glazeduck said:

I just can't bring myself to get onboard with either Oliver or Wilkins. I'm not going to flat out call either a bust, but I have concerns that either will live up to the draft hype, and we cannot afford to miss on top-10 picks...

 

Granted, it's a bit of an apples/oranges comparison, because most saw John McCargo as a bad pick to begin with, but I'd be afraid of a similar situation drafting ANY of those Clemson defensive lineman... McCargo benefited immensely by playing next to Mario Williams and Manny Lawson and as a result was grossly overdrafted. I can't tell you which player I think is the McCargo and which are the Mario/Lawson on that Clemson line, but I do think any of them pose some risk there -- none of Wilkins/Bryant/Lawrence/Ferrell are great athletes, Lawrence has the PEDs issue, etc. I just think between inferior ACC competition and playing together for as long as they did, the whole was better than the sum of those parts... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that attitude, and it certainly seems like Wilkins would fit well in this locker room, but I don't see him being a major disruptor in the NFL. Hope I'm wrong, seems like an awesome kid.

 

Oliver, to me, feels like the NFL's version of Marcus Fizer. NBA scouts thought Fizer was too big and strong for small forwards to guard and too quick and athletic for power forwards... Instead, he was too small and weak to do anything against PFs and too slow/not skilled enough to beat SFs... Oliver's first step is exciting, but to me, I'm worried that he's too small to constantly contribute in the trenches AND stay healthy, yet not athletic enough to play on the edge. I think you're drafting him hoping and praying that he can become Melvin Ingram, but Ingram dominated against vastly superior competition and STILL took 4 years to emerge into much of anything...

 

I actually agree with your take on Oliver.  In regards to Wilkins, it works both ways.  He played with talented guys but he also might’ve been held back because he didn’t need to dominate every game.  I think the Alabama game answered a lot of those questions when Lawrence was out and they needed Wilkins to dominate and he did on the biggest stage against other guys who are gonna play in the NFL.  

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