MAYOCK is HIGH on EARL THOMAS

Originally posted by LilAzn9er:
I would not take a safety in the 1st round unless it's Berry. However, I'd rather have Thomas than Mays.

Agreed, just take Nate Allen in the 2nd.

Originally posted by DaveWilcox:
Mayock has a really keen eye for talent. I value his analysis and opinion more than any other "draft guru".

That said.. I am now officially conflicted.. not sure what we should do with our 2nd first rounder. Assuming we grab an OT the other first could be Spiller, Iupati, Graham, Thomas, Haden...the list goes on and on,

I feel like a kid in a candy shop.

feel your pain.

I've been on the Earl Thomas bandwagon since the beginning of the Longhorns season.

I'll be stunned if we draft him.

Originally posted by DesiDez:
You can mark it down:

McCloughan will NOT draft Earl Thomas in the 1st round. Scot loves size and Thomas's biggest flaw is height and lack of muscle mass. Look at our current roster: Frank Gore is our shortest player but he's at least a 220 lbs RB. Look at our starting secondary: Spencer, Clements, Goldson, Lewis (no one under 6 ft). Even though I think Thomas is a superior safety to Taylor Mays, Mays has a better shot of being drafted by the 49ers as ridiculous as that sounds.

I'll be surprised if Thomas is taller than 5-9. Can you imagine him trying to tackle Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Fitzgerald, or Boldin?

With our front seven and how solid the group is against the run, I think coverage and playmaking ability against the pass is the more important than tackling. I mean, we had Deon and Merton back there at the same time and they sucked at tackling.

Originally posted by znk916:
I'll be stunned if we draft him.

Totally agree. If Berry falls to us with 1a we'll grab him there, otherwise we won't draft a safety until the 2nd or later.

Originally posted by ninertico:



As far as Thomas, I know Mayock was high on him, but the review wasn't all glowing. He excels in coverage and can roam the field very well and has recovery speed. It is his size. Would he be able to start at FS while moving Goldson to SS or would it take time?

I think that the "immediate" starter label needs to be discussed. Out of these players below, who could start now?
Haden?
McClain?
Spiller?
Davis?
Bulaga?
Iupati?
T. Williams?
Graham?
D. Williams?

Out of these I say Spiller, Bulaga, Davis, Iupati, and T. Williams, possibly Graham. The others, including Graham, it seems would have some serious competition at their spots.

That's why I am in with any combo of these three with our first two: Spiller/RT/Iupati. Can't go wrong with that.

Don't want Thomas at #16/17. This safety class is way to deep with much larger S who can play center field well, too. Value is the word of the day with Safeties, IMO.

I agree with that a lot of these players will have some serious competition at their spot but that's a great thing. Last year's draft was a lot simpler in our 10 spot to see that someone pretty decent was going to fall to us. This year it's a lot harder to see if we'll get 2 top picks fall to us that also fill needs.

I actually don't like Spiller for the same reason that you do like him. Yes, he fills a need as a return man but he isn't the best returner in the draft. I just don't see him as good value for the pick. For me, if we didn't have Gore then it would be a different story.

Now, although Thomas would have to compete for a spot as a corner or safety, I think either this year or next he would start. Like another poster said, our pass defense is pretty bad. He fills a need and this year he pushes Roman off the field. Roman...ugh
We aren't going to compete in the superbowl next year. We can still take time to develop some top picks this year. The fact that he's a little small might allow him to drop to us so it's a mixed blessing. I'd take the chance on the guy.

I like RT and Iupati. Guard isn't the most exciting but if Gore can run behind a probowler that'd be good. Graham has dropped on some boards and I see him more as a DE than an OLB. He would have to compete with a bunch of our guys as a DE.

Earl Thomas and Doshon Goldson will make a good combo at saftey

Originally posted by 9erHIGH:

Originally posted by KRS-1:


From an old Q&A with Scot :

Quote:
YOU MENTIONED YOUR PHILOSOPHYY ON PLAYERS, WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?:

I will give away a little on the height, weight and speed for a consistent player. I think it's important to be mentally and physically tough. You got to let them understand that it's a team game, not an individual game, that the only way we are going to be good is as a group.

look at those words carefully... e.thomas gives away A LOT on both height AND weight. many also question his toughness which is another "knock." he doesnt play like the also undersized b.sanders, that's for sure.

Sanders plays SS not FS.

Louis Delmas, Eric Weddle & Reggie Nelson are all under 6 feet tall and around 200 LBs each, give or take a few pounds. So being under 6 feet and about 200 pounds should not take away too much from Thomas, and on tape he shows up and is fairly consistent. I think he'll have a 1st round grade on him by us but how high that grade is IDK. Possibly 15-20 range, possibly 20-30 range who knows but he remains a possibility IMHO.

Good for Mayock...problem is, we really don't need a S in the 1st round. We could use one of the top CB's, RB's, or DL, though. The one knock on Thomas is he's not much of a run-stopper...and that would be a must. Goldson came on well in the 2nd half of last season, so FS isn't really a big need. Michael Lewis is an effective run-stopper, but not so strong in pass defense. However, Coach has Reggie Smith and Curtis Taylor already...getting Thomas would be practically pointless.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
Good for Mayock...problem is, we really don't need a S in the 1st round. We could use one of the top CB's, RB's, or DL, though. The one knock on Thomas is he's not much of a run-stopper...and that would be a must. Goldson came on well in the 2nd half of last season, so FS isn't really a big need. Michael Lewis is an effective run-stopper, but not so strong in pass defense. However, Coach has Reggie Smith and Curtis Taylor already...getting Thomas would be practically pointless.

Wow.

Coach has Gore and Coffee so getting a RB would be useless.

Coach has Clements, Spencer, Brown and possibly Harris and or Bly so CB would be useless.

I could make those statements all day too, but what has Taylor or Smith shown thus far ? Do either of them or Goldson have the potential Thomas does ? Thomas would not be pointless, and it's also possible he could be drafted as a CB by us.

Cough, cough ... the next Michael Huff.. cough.

I am just not that high on Earl Thomas. I know he has had an great year in college, but I feel like there is much better value later in the draft. Plus Earl is only a FS, meaning dashon must move to SS, which is not his natural position. Chad Jones in round 2, Darrell Stuckey & Reshad Jones in round 3 i like a lot better and are much better value, as well as all being true SS. my favorite is Reshad Jones, who can do a little bit of everything form run support in the box, to laying the wood on recievers, to jumping a reciever and picking it off. Ball skills, athleticism and good instincts make him an all around player.

Chad Jones has mad athleticism and is a quick learnerwith ball skills and, other than JPP has the most potential to grow. Finally Darrell Stuckey is one of the MOST UNDERRATED players in the draft. he would be a steal in round 3!

Originally posted by GoldenGateFan:
Cough, cough ... the next Michael Huff.. cough.

I am just not that high on Earl Thomas. I know he has had an great year in college, but I feel like there is much better value later in the draft. Plus Earl is only a FS, meaning dashon must move to SS, which is not his natural position. Chad Jones in round 2, Darrell Stuckey & Reshad Jones in round 3 i like a lot better and are much better value, as well as all being true SS. my favorite is Reshad Jones, who can do a little bit of everything form run support in the box, to laying the wood on recievers, to jumping a reciever and picking it off. Ball skills, athleticism and good instincts make him an all around player.

Chad Jones has mad athleticism and is a quick learnerwith ball skills and, other than JPP has the most potential to grow. Finally Darrell Stuckey is one of the MOST UNDERRATED players in the draft. he would be a steal in round 3!

I hear what you're saying but if we think there's a possibility Thomas becomes a solid corner, then we take him. Clements has been ok but not great and he's getting more expensive. Yeah, if Thomas goes FS, we gotta shift Goldson but we have time. If you look at Goldsons measurements and how hard he hits, he looks like he'd make a natural SS.

If we think Thomas is only a FS and that's it, then I'd be ok with passing.

Ok...so we draft Thomas...where do they play a guy who's not a good tackler...S? CB? What I'm saying is if Singletary wants to improve his secondary at a critical position, then CB's the place to do it. Do you really think he'd draft a guy who's played S in college and try to convert him to a CB as a 1st rd pick? Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me...if Haden's not there, Donovan Warren would be a very good pick...he's an accomplished CB. As for Reggie Smith and Taylor, neither has been on the field that much...yet. But coaches are high on both guys...which tells me it'd make more sense to get them on the field than draft Thomas, especially as a 1st rd pick. Or, Coach could opt to beef up his DL...which was good last season, but could be great with a real stud at LDE. Sopoaga's not the guy...we don't know yet what Jean Francis will do. Odrick has all the making of a beast...and plays with the kind of attitude that would compliment Justin Smith well.

Thomas' size scares me, I say pass.