East West Shrine Game

Devin Taylor (6'7", 275) is dominating. Reminds me a little of a younger Calais Campbell who was a 6'8", 280lb rookie prospect who has developed into a 300lb 3-4 DE pro-bowler. Not comparing them in terms of talent, more about frame and potential.

Yeah Taylor is breaking out this game, definitely worth taking a look into. He is a lean 275 too, another 15-20 pounds would look natural on him.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Devin Taylor (6'7", 275) is dominating. Reminds me a little of a younger Calais Campbell who was a 6'8", 280lb rookie prospect who has developed into a 300lb 3-4 DE pro-bowler. Not comparing them in terms of talent, more about frame and potential.

Originally posted by 5280High:
Yeah Taylor is breaking out this game, definitely worth taking a look into. He is a lean 275 too, another 15-20 pounds would look natural on him.

He scares me. He was utterly underwhelming this year. He's not a fluid athlete, didn't show the greatest of explosiveness off the line, but he's got pass rush ability, no doubt and after adding more weight, could have the utterly perfect size for a 3-4 DE. I'm not just sold on him, he had every opportunity in the world to blowup this year, he had straight 1-1 matchups all year and failed to deliver, time and time and time again. I can't think of any top DE's that routinely failed to win their 1--1 matchups against college opponents. I'm still leaning more towards him winding up in the bust category.

Terry Hawthorne CB 6'0" 190lbs Illinois "The best cornerback of the day from my eyes was Terry Hawthorne. The most talented cornerback here and our top rated one coming into the game, he showed great press ability, showing a good understanding of when to sink and adjust vertically as well as stay tight to defend against in-breaking routes. I didn't see every snap he had, but from what I saw, against both smaller/speedy guys and Dan Buckner, he stayed tight and physical across the field."

One of my favorite CB's in this draft, 49ers have to snag at least one, there are several like Hawthorne, Trufant and McFadden that are highly impressive.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Quote:

Terry Hawthorne CB 6'0" 190lbs Illinois "The best cornerback of the day from my eyes was Terry Hawthorne. The most talented cornerback here and our top rated one coming into the game, he showed great press ability, showing a good understanding of when to sink and adjust vertically as well as stay tight to defend against in-breaking routes. I didn't see every snap he had, but from what I saw, against both smaller/speedy guys and Dan Buckner, he stayed tight and physical across the field."

One of my favorite CB's in this draft, 49ers have to snag at least one, there are several like Hawthorne, Trufant and McFadden that are highly impressive.

Would be happy with this guy.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Devin Taylor (6'7", 275) is dominating. Reminds me a little of a younger Calais Campbell who was a 6'8", 280lb rookie prospect who has developed into a 300lb 3-4 DE pro-bowler. Not comparing them in terms of talent, more about frame and potential.

Originally posted by 5280High:
Yeah Taylor is breaking out this game, definitely worth taking a look into. He is a lean 275 too, another 15-20 pounds would look natural on him.

He scares me. He was utterly underwhelming this year. He's not a fluid athlete, didn't show the greatest of explosiveness off the line, but he's got pass rush ability, no doubt and after adding more weight, could have the utterly perfect size for a 3-4 DE. I'm not just sold on him, he had every opportunity in the world to blowup this year, he had straight 1-1 matchups all year and failed to deliver, time and time and time again. I can't think of any top DE's that routinely failed to win their 1--1 matchups against college opponents. I'm still leaning more towards him winding up in the bust category.

Can't say i watched him that closely this year, but he did say that he was able to make more plays today because he wasn't constrained by scheme like he was at South Carolina. Btw, he looked very fluid today and along with his great size, he has a ridiculous wing span. Since the 3-4 DE position doesn't require huge production, he seems like a potential development candidate.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Can't say i watched him that closely this year, but he did say that he was able to make more plays today because he wasn't constrained by scheme like he was at South Carolina. Btw, he looked very fluid today and along with his great size, he has a ridiculous wing span. Since the 3-4 DE position doesn't require huge production, he seems like a potential development candidate.

He was also playing against a subpar level of competition. He got snubbed by the Senior Bowl where he should have ended up had he played better. If this guy couldn't produce against college level talent with Clowney taking up blockers on the other side, I don't see it happening in the NFL. He seems like the million dollar body, 10 cent head type.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Can't say i watched him that closely this year, but he did say that he was able to make more plays today because he wasn't constrained by scheme like he was at South Carolina. Btw, he looked very fluid today and along with his great size, he has a ridiculous wing span. Since the 3-4 DE position doesn't require huge production, he seems like a potential development candidate.

He was also playing against a subpar level of competition. He got snubbed by the Senior Bowl where he should have ended up had he played better. If this guy couldn't produce against college level talent with Clowney taking up blockers on the other side, I don't see it happening in the NFL. He seems like the million dollar body, 10 cent head type.

You seem pretty black and white about your evaluations. Again, I didn't watch him closely enough to have a strong say either way so I'll leave it at that.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
You seem pretty black and white about your evaluations. Again, I didn't watch him closely enough to have a strong say either way so I'll leave it at that.

He's actually been doing worse as his college career has progressed. In 2010 people were talking about him as a future early 1st rounder and he's fallen off since, this year was the worst of all.

Here's one online report that addresses some of the same things that I've stated.


http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Overrated-Prospect-Devin-Taylor-8818.html


Like it says, he looks the part, but he sure doesn't play like it. Everything was setup for him to have a monster year, dominate and jump into first round consideration, to say he failed in that regard would be a major understatement.

In doing some other reading on Taylor it looks like his strength is more against the run and not necessarily pass rush. He's ok, but not elite in any way as a pass rusher, but he's a hard worker and stayed at SC to add weight/strength. With that frame and abilities, seems better suited as a developmental 3-4 DE.

No disrespect Phoenix, but Russ Lande is very much an outlier as an online scout. He strikes me as someone who wants to stand out in his analysis and be more of a contrarian than an accurate scout. Some of his evaluations are so off that it makes you wonder if he actually saw any film of the guy.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
You seem pretty black and white about your evaluations. Again, I didn't watch him closely enough to have a strong say either way so I'll leave it at that.

He's actually been doing worse as his college career has progressed. In 2010 people were talking about him as a future early 1st rounder and he's fallen off since, this year was the worst of all.

Here's one online report that addresses some of the same things that I've stated.


http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Overrated-Prospect-Devin-Taylor-8818.html


Like it says, he looks the part, but he sure doesn't play like it. Everything was setup for him to have a monster year, dominate and jump into first round consideration, to say he failed in that regard would be a major understatement.

You want to use this guy as someone to support your argument? Because if you do, he has Jonathan Jenkins,( the guy you like so much for the Niners first rd pick) as the 124th ranked player.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFPS-Top-200-Draft-Prospects-Version-40.html&page=2

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
You want to use this guy as someone to support your argument? Because if you do, he has Jonathan Jenkins,( the guy you like so much for the Niners first rd pick) as the 124th ranked player.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFPS-Top-200-Draft-Prospects-Version-40.html&page=2

Of course, its a single source, not the Gospel. I can find many other sources that are highly positive about Jenkins while Taylor seems to get relatively the same report on him. That's why Jenkins is expected to go in the Top 30 picks while Taylor will be a 3rd rounder or worse, even with all his considerable physical gifts.


I think Jenkins is a terrific 2-down NT prospect, he plays with active hands, is aggressive, has a good motor, has some pass rush ability, as long as his snaps are controlled, he'll be able to stay active and keep attacking. He made life difficult for quite a few NFL quality offensive linemen like Barrett Jones. I do see a lot of positives with him, he goes perfectly as zero technique, not saying there aren't downsides, just the same as with any other player, IMO the pros outweigh the cons significantly.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
You want to use this guy as someone to support your argument? Because if you do, he has Jonathan Jenkins,( the guy you like so much for the Niners first rd pick) as the 124th ranked player.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFPS-Top-200-Draft-Prospects-Version-40.html&page=2

Yea he has Jarvis jones and demontre moore at 49-50. Hes a retard.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
No disrespect Phoenix, but Russ Lande is very much an outlier as an online scout. He strikes me as someone who wants to stand out in his analysis and be more of a contrarian than an accurate scout. Some of his evaluations are so off that it makes you wonder if he actually saw any film of the guy.

""Devin Taylor, you kept expecting for some things. Everyone said, 'Oh, he's so great in practice and did so many good things there.' But when he's out on the field, he's not the productive player you need to be. He looks the part. He's got all the physical talent. Maybe in the NFL, you coach him up there. Maybe you find something there that's not showing there at South Carolina in game situations. I thought he could be a second-round pick. He hasn't been productive enough to go that high, in my opinion. I project him more in that third-, fourth-round discussion, just because he's so physically gifted. But the production doesn't equal the talent."-Mel Kiper

You gotta figure that either everyone else is wrong and that this guy is a diamond in the rough, or maybe there's a reason why guys like Lande, Kiper and Rang are all saying the same exact thing about him.

"Looks the part of an NFL stud, doesn't play like it whatsoever."