Like or Dislike Mays pick?

Originally posted by Ibleedgoldnred:

Originally posted by simplyfloyd:
I loved it. I was hoping for earl thomas, but taylor mays will be a great fit I think for us...

I was right there with you, although i keep liking this pick more and more to whoever pulled the strings on that one

Same here. Dude has the tools to be great, the wildcard is does he really learn from Lott and the coaches and bring it all together.

Originally posted by ninerlifer:
You know, I will take Ronnie Lott's view of him a whole lot more than any other draft guru....he has paid close attention to Mays, and is so stoked that the Niners grabbed him.

And his "hips" thing....everywhere I have seen has his "hips" as fluid.

This. Lott would know more than all of us put together. granted he does have his rose coloured glasses on since Mays played for his college team and now will play for his pro team; but if he didnt believe in this guy he would be alot less vocal. I agree with most on here by saying in the first round it wouldve been a bad pick but as a mid 2nd round pick, its a steal. IMO we got 4 1st round talents in this draft, 5 if you count Ginn.

Originally posted by DaveWilcox:
I would not have liked the Mays pick with either #13 or #17, but at #49, I like it a lot.

Great value at that spot and now he'll have a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.. I especially like how Lott is his mentor.

Exactly what I wanted to say. I agree that Mays has a lot to prove and I believe he is going to be special. He coudn't have a better mentor to help him transition from college to the NFL.

IMO drafting Davis, Iupati, Mays and Bowman is going to really lift the Niners to the next level.

Originally posted by ninertico:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
I think you guys know where I stand on this pick. It was a bad selection.

We picked up a guy with poor coverage skills that many scouts think will have to transition to LB in the NFL. One bad Senior Bowl week, serving roasted Taylor Mays as the Duck of the Year, should have been enough to persuade the team that, while he looks pretty, he's not a good football prospect in the NFL.

Did we just burn our 49th overall for an "in-the-box" safety. Give me a guy who can cover someone, take good angles, and make a wrap-up tackle. You can keep the Adonis body and pretty face.

P.S. Many Mays supporters, overwhelmed by the highlight reel hits, just don't understand the idea that coaching can only do so much to solve the problem with stiff hips. This is a BIG, BIG DEAL.

Of course it is.

However, we have had physical limitation issues with another player out of college, Mr. V.D. So Davis couldn't improve on his rock hands and body? But he did, and was able to improve on those physical attributes by becoming more limber and practicing continually on catching the ball. It took great pains, but he did it and last year it showed!

I understand the biology and physiology of your point, but stiff hips can be improved on especially if he may have no structural limitation to full range of motion in the joint. Why can't he focus on developing the range of motion in those hips? Why can't he practice continually exploding off the "twist" motion. I believe it is a combo of technique and physical ability. If he can stretch and work those joints exceeding his limit of range, then I believe he can improve on the "stiff hips" diagnosis. A combo of coaching and physical regime can help for sure.

Why do you got hate, man? You know I am kidding, but your point as well as those other professional scouts has been well taken. It is a legit beef.

I believe he can change it. I respect what you are saying, but I hope he proves all you nay-sayers wrong. I believe many have underestimated his ability to cover.

We shall see...

Oh, someone get this boy some JOINT JUICE!!!! Let's send a box compliments of the Zone. I will chip in...are you in MadDog?

I keed, I keed...

Joint Juice? I'm in. Sounds illegal, but if it works...

I hope Mays proves me wrong. I just don't buy the hype.

i love the pick i truly believe we got a player with 1st round talent in 2nd round we needed a younger faster harder hitting replacement for mike lewis who is a concussion away from retirement and slow as hell we got the fastest db at the combine i trust ronnie lott opinion alot he signed off on taylor mays i believe he will be a probowler in 1st 3 years and here is a taylor mays highlight reel to support may faith in taylor mays

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d817803fd/2010-Draft-Vignettes-Taylor-Mays-USC

[ Edited by 49ersswagger on May 13, 2010 at 07:10:09 ]

So, the real question for those of who hated this pick is...Can Mays cover? Well ask this instead, will Mays' get a ton of interceptions? And the obvious answer is no. However; if this kid hits like freight train, two things will happen; The receivers WILL start hearing footsteps, and he will be knocking the ball loose. I do not see this as being a bad trade off. He will be a huge help in run support and blitz packages. Now that is UPSIDE. I don't care who you are. You have to at least admit that.

Originally posted by 49ers_4ever:
So, the real question for those of who hated this pick is...Can Mays cover? Well ask this instead, will Mays' get a ton of interceptions? And the obvious answer is no. However; if this kid hits like freight train, two things will happen; The receivers WILL start hearing footsteps, and he will be knocking the ball loose. I do not see this as being a bad trade off. He will be a huge help in run support and blitz packages. Now that is UPSIDE. I don't care who you are. You have to at least admit that.

Alligator arms. Just ask Ricky Watters: "For who? for what?"

Originally posted by 49ers_4ever:
So, the real question for those of who hated this pick is...Can Mays cover? Well ask this instead, will Mays' get a ton of interceptions? And the obvious answer is no. However; if this kid hits like freight train, two things will happen; The receivers WILL start hearing footsteps, and he will be knocking the ball loose. I do not see this as being a bad trade off. He will be a huge help in run support and blitz packages. Now that is UPSIDE. I don't care who you are. You have to at least admit that.

I believe that he will be strong in both of those categorizes, but the Niners biggest deficiency is in pass coverage and Mays biggest deficiency is in pass coverage.

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by 49ers_4ever:
So, the real question for those of who hated this pick is...Can Mays cover? Well ask this instead, will Mays' get a ton of interceptions? And the obvious answer is no. However; if this kid hits like freight train, two things will happen; The receivers WILL start hearing footsteps, and he will be knocking the ball loose. I do not see this as being a bad trade off. He will be a huge help in run support and blitz packages. Now that is UPSIDE. I don't care who you are. You have to at least admit that.

I believe that he will be strong in both of those categorizes, but the Niners biggest deficiency is in pass coverage and Mays biggest deficiency is in pass coverage.

Also this is a pass happy league that flags guys like Mays for pretty much everything.

He's probably gonna be a good player, but considering the circumstance and the fact he's the ultimate spoiled child, I dislike the pick.

Singletary and others have said their safeties are interchangeable at times so at some point hes going to have to drop back in coverage, and he doesn't excel at that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWx_lBIdxDI Check out 6:15, thats just painful to watch.

If anyone else made this pick, I really would have been laughing at them. This guy was a total punk at USC. He'd routinely take personal fouls, taunt opposing teams and generally seemed unfocused. The other 10 guys might be huddling up discussing a play and you'd see Mays interacting with a fan or flirting with the cheerleaders. And he only had 1 INT in his last two seasons. He had chances at more but was more concerned about getting on sportscenter with a big hit.

Heres what Pro Football Weekly said in their draft preview about him:

Average instincts and anticipation. Does not play to timed speed and is too often a step late getting over the top. Takes poor angles. Is tight in the hips and does not transition smoothly or change direction easily. Is not a face up tackler, misses too many tackles and allows more yards after contact than he should.

Summary:

Throw out the stopwatch and eye-popping 40 time at the Combine - the tape of Mays playing at his speed does not exist. Can start readily in the NFL like he did in college and get away with his lack of instincts in the pros because of his rare recovery speed, but lack of intelligence and toughness will always leave teams wanting more. Enamors with his measurables, but disappoints with his play, and will need more than straight-line speed and a flash hit to become more than a serviceable starter in the pros. Will be overdrafted and underperform.

Now I know people will say, Singletary will coach him up and get on him! And I hope he does. But not everyone is Vernon Davis, not ever malcontent can be turned around. I hope Mays is a great 49er for years to come I just think he has a lot of things that need to change before that becomes true.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Joint Juice? I'm in. Sounds illegal, but if it works...

Originally posted by Druckenmiller14:
Singletary and others have said their safeties are interchangeable at times so at some point hes going to have to drop back in coverage, and he doesn't excel at that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWx_lBIdxDI Check out 6:15, thats just painful to watch.

If anyone else made this pick, I really would have been laughing at them. This guy was a total punk at USC. He'd routinely take personal fouls, taunt opposing teams and generally seemed unfocused. The other 10 guys might be huddling up discussing a play and you'd see Mays interacting with a fan or flirting with the cheerleaders. And he only had 1 INT in his last two seasons. He had chances at more but was more concerned about getting on sportscenter with a big hit.

Heres what Pro Football Weekly said in their draft preview about him:

Average instincts and anticipation. Does not play to timed speed and is too often a step late getting over the top. Takes poor angles. Is tight in the hips and does not transition smoothly or change direction easily. Is not a face up tackler, misses too many tackles and allows more yards after contact than he should.

Summary:

Throw out the stopwatch and eye-popping 40 time at the Combine - the tape of Mays playing at his speed does not exist. Can start readily in the NFL like he did in college and get away with his lack of instincts in the pros because of his rare recovery speed, but lack of intelligence and toughness will always leave teams wanting more. Enamors with his measurables, but disappoints with his play, and will need more than straight-line speed and a flash hit to become more than a serviceable starter in the pros. Will be overdrafted and underperform.

Now I know people will say, Singletary will coach him up and get on him! And I hope he does. But not everyone is Vernon Davis, not ever malcontent can be turned around. I hope Mays is a great 49er for years to come I just think he has a lot of things that need to change before that becomes true.

To be honest, I really don't care what the "draft experts" say about him.

Do you know what I remember a scout saying about Vernon Davis? "He is an unwilling blocker and will struggle in the NFL". Ya....Vernon Davis is one of the best Blocking TE in the NFL and almost made a Pro Bowl 2 years ago on that aspect of his game.

These guys are just guessing. Taylor may be the best Safety to ever play the game ot he could be a complete washout and never even start a game. The key tho is that what he has done in the past doesn't matter. Its all about what he does now and how he responds to coaching.

What I have seen so far is that he has a chip on his shoulder and KNOWS there are weaknesses in his game that he needs to work on. He is willing to sacrifice to get better because he knows that he doesn't know it all.

Hoe can you NOT love a guy with those measurables who deperately wants to improve and work his a$$ off to be better.

My personal opinion? I think he'll prove his doubters wrong and be pretty good in coverage and a MONSTER in the box.

Originally posted by Marvin49:


To be honest, I really don't care what the "draft experts" say about him.

I don't always believe what they say either. But in my post I was using it more as a support of my own opinion. I saw Mays play most of his college career and agreed with many of the above opinions.

Quote:
Do you know what I remember a scout saying about Vernon Davis? "He is an unwilling blocker and will struggle in the NFL". Ya....Vernon Davis is one of the best Blocking TE in the NFL and almost made a Pro Bowl 2 years ago on that aspect of his game.

These guys are just guessing. Taylor may be the best Safety to ever play the game ot he could be a complete washout and never even start a game.

And this goes pretty much without saying, and is true for every player drafted. No one knows for sure, but that doesn't stop us from having opinions and discussing them. I mean why have message board?

Quote:
The key tho is that what he has done in the past doesn't matter.

Really? Then what do you evaluate draft picks on?

Quote:
Its all about what he does now and how he responds to coaching.

I completely agree and just hope he can turn himself around. At USC he was at times very undisciplined and unfocused. He'd spend time taunting fans when his teammates were huddled up discussing a play. He just seemed very bored and unmotivated as a senior and I believe thats part of the reason he dropped so far in the draft.

Quote:
What I have seen so far is that he has a chip on his shoulder and KNOWS there are weaknesses in his game that he needs to work on. He is willing to sacrifice to get better because he knows that he doesn't know it all.

We haven't SEEN anything. All we've seen is him talk. And talk is cheap. The kid thinks very highly of himself and felt slighted that his college coach didn't draft him. Thats just petty and narcissistic if you ask me. I hope he does work hard, but don't kid yourself, we haven't SEEN any of this yet.

Quote:
My personal opinion? I think he'll prove his doubters wrong and be pretty good in coverage and a MONSTER in the box.

I hope you're right, I just was never very impressed with him at USC. When he came up in the box on occasion at USC he struggled with basic tackling techniques. He would always try to make the video game type big hit and rarely would wrap up with his arms. As a result ball-carriers would occasionally bounce off of him for more yards. I guess I was just really turned off by the large number of personal fouls, his arrogance and generally unfocused attitude in college. I just hope Singletary can turn the kid around. Hes a big project at this point.

I like the pick, but don't love it. I wanted us to select Terrence Cody at that point. Still, we needed better range in the secondary, and I will be optimistic that Mays will be a big asset to SF soon enough.