Archived Draft evaluations

[NorthHawk]

I was looking at some of the Huddle Report archived Draft Evaluations and thought I would look up some of the Seahawks.

Here's one for Richard Sherman:

BOTTOM LINE

Richard is very raw at this point of his career. When you watch him play on film, his talent just screams out at you. This kid looks to intercept the ball...he needs to intercept the ball...he wants to intercept the ball. He is smart and if he gets fooled once, he remembers and does not get fooled twice. A soon as Richard learns better techniques, he will be able to fool a lot of QB's into making bad passes and intercepting them in the future. He can help right away if you use him to defend in the Red zone and to return punts on special teams. He does have to learn how to tackle. Watching him tackle right now is like watching two girls fighting in a bar. The only technique I don't see him using when he is tackling someone is trying to gouge a player's eyes out. But, in his defense, he does get the player to the ground. He is not afraid of contact; he just doesn't know how to break down, collect himself and tackle. He might never be a great form tackler, but he can learn techniques like turning plays in on sweeps and making players cut to gain angles when tackling so that he can stay away from injuries. Richard has a ton of talent to be an impact corner for the team that drafts him, but he has to be coachable and stay away from injuries because of poor tackling techniques. I think he can do it. This kid might wind up being better than a few first rounders in the draft in the future. With good combine workouts and a great interview, Richard could easily move up to being selected in the first three rounds of this draft. Most of the time, CB's like Richard get drafted later in a draft, but Richard could be an exception. I don't usually give nicknames to third round draft choices, but in this case Richard is making me make an exception so I'm calling him Richard (The Interceptor) Sherman.

Not a bad evaluation considering how Sherman has turned out.

Here's the page if anyone has extra time on their hands and wants to check out a player.
Not all of them are evaluated, but a lot are.

http://www.thehuddlereport.com/archive/archive.shtml

[RiverDog]

That's a pretty good analysis of Sherman. He's a better run defender than some people want to give him credit for. The standard for a cover corner is Deion Sanders, and Sanders was nothing less than horrible at defending against the run. I've seen more than one play where he's taken a dive rather than stick his face mask between a RB's numbers. Sherman is not like that at all.

[Hawktawk]

Yeah the tackling thing is kind of funny these days. I've heard several announcers describe Sherman as "the best tackling cornerback in the nfl". The guy is a load that brings the lumber these days.
Otherwise its a spot on analysis.
Love this FO

[c_hawkbob]

Yeah I pay the annual premium content subscription with them. Huddle Report is my most trusted draft info source.

[NorthHawk]

That's a pretty good analysis of Sherman. He's a better run defender than some people want to give him credit for. The standard for a cover corner is Deion Sanders, and Sanders was nothing less than horrible at defending against the run. I've seen more than one play where he's taken a dive rather than stick his face mask between a RB's numbers. Sherman is not like that at all.

Pete taught him how to tackle properly, but he was always willing to stick his nose in and try even when he didn't really know the techniques.
He's obviously worked on it, so kudos to him for putting in the effort to become a complete CB.

[NorthHawk]

On the other hand, here's his review of Earl:



BOTTOM LINE

The truth is, I think Earl would be better suited at the next level as a cornerback than as a safety. He does not possess the quick-twitch reaction time that you like to see in a CB who can play and defend against any size receiver. However, he does have similar talent to Charles Woodson (CB - Packers). I think if you are looking for a big corner who can shut down those big possession wide receivers and has the speed to go deep with just about any other kind of receiver, then Earl just might be your man. Put him at safety and he will be a liability in the run game unless he can get an angle on the runner. As a safety, I would not draft Earl until the second or third round. As a potential corner, I would draft Earl late in the first round. It seems to me that keeping Earl as a free safety will be great during the season. I'm sure he will look like a Pro Bowl player, but I fear he would be a liability against a team with a strong running game in the post-season. Just look at him trying to tackle those big Alabama running backs in the last game of the season and you will see what I mean. Give him a year to adjust to the cornerback position at the next level, use him on special teams and in your nickel-dime packages and I believe eventually Earl could become a Pro Bowl corner for the team that drafts him. Leave him at free safety and his impact will be less at that position. I have to rate Earl as a cornerback. If his workouts are what I think they will be and Earl has the cornerback talents I think he has, then, you bet partner... I would draft Earl someplace in the first round. Cornerback - 1st round, Safety - 2nd round. How's that for a wishy-washy profile?!

Looks to me like Earl also learned to tackle properly. It was a concern early in his career, though as many of us commented on it, but he improved that part of his game and look how good he is.