DB Obi Melifonwu

Originally posted by jcs:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by jcs:
Visiting the 49ers, this guy is your single high safety that won't cost you a top 10 pick and has the potential to be the best one in this draft.

I see him more as an in the box SS then single high FS..more Chancellor than Thomas.

I think physically he can play either role well. His length, vertical, speed and experience as a CB make him an intriguing FS prospect. His tackling numbers and size make him a fit for SS.

agreed

I think this guy is just a combine warrior, not impressed with his play at UConn and now he's getting over-valued because of a good combine week
Would give him about a 5th round talent grade in this class

Originally posted by Quest4six:
I think this guy is just a combine warrior, not impressed with his play at UConn and now he's getting over-valued because of a good combine week
Would give him about a 5th round talent grade in this class

First Team All American Athlete, All ECAC

118 Tackles 2.5 For loss as a SR 4 INT. Had one of the most most dominate Combine performances in history for a DB.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

I see him more as an in the box SS then single high FS..more Chancellor than Thomas.

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

Originally posted by jcs:

Visiting the 49ers, this guy is your single high safety that won't cost you a top 10 pick and has the potential to be the best one in this draft.

Was pretty much the freakiest athlete at the combine pound for pound. Anyone Watch any tape against good offenses he went up against?

Originally posted by SmokeCrabtrees:

Originally posted by jcs:

Visiting the 49ers, this guy is your single high safety that won't cost you a top 10 pick and has the potential to be the best one in this draft.

Was pretty much the freakiest athlete at the combine pound for pound. Anyone Watch any tape against good offenses he went up against?

Try watching this video it will help you get a better perspective on Obi Melifonwu. Now I think he could be a beast as a single High Safety.

Originally posted by jcs:

Originally posted by Quest4six:

I think this guy is just a combine warrior, not impressed with his play at UConn and now he's getting over-valued because of a good combine week
Would give him about a 5th round talent grade in this class

First Team All American Athlete, All ECAC

118 Tackles 2.5 For loss as a SR 4 INT. Had one of the most most dominate Combine performances in history for a DB.

So did Taylor Mays

All I saw in that video was horrible QB play.
Again I'm not calling this guy a bust, he's obviously a unfinished products with the physical tools to be great

I just don't see the talent there right now to justify taking him late first/early second like a lot of mock drafts are

These Uconn boys are athletic freaks! This guy seems intriguing as hell! But so was Taylor Mays. Hopefully he ends up like Byron Jones, who to me lived up to his combine hype so far.

Originally posted by gold49digger:
These Uconn boys are athletic freaks! This guy seems intriguing as hell! But so was Taylor Mays. Hopefully he ends up like Byron Jones, who to me lived up to his combine hype so far.

Bad comparison imo, Mayes was simply a big hitter in college who was drafted high in part because of his combine. Obi has coverage skills I don't think the two are that similar, Mayes only had 5 ints in 4 years of college football no sacks, no forced fumbled, and just two tackles for loss. His tackle numbers numbers weren't that high either.

I like Obi. But I'd let him do what he does best - Box Safety.

From PFF:

Best box safety: Obi Melifonwu, Connecticut

At 6-foot-4 and 223 pounds., Melifonwu is capable of erasing tight ends with his size and physicality in a way that less than a handful of current NFL safeties are capable of. He is also a viable run defender, capable of taking snaps at linebacker based on personnel and game situation.

Best versus the run: Obi Melifonwu, Connecticut

Melifonwu is a solid wrap-up tackler who consistently breaks down to make open-field tackles and is capable of delivering huge hits coming forward. His excellent run-stop percentage ranking was already highlighted above, but he also finished 17th in the FBS in tackling efficiency, and considering his size, awareness and technique, this should translate well to the next level.

Best in center field: Malik Hooker, Ohio State

While there are a number of strong contenders for this category, this is what makes Malik Hooker a viable top-20 pick. Hooker has an uncanny ability to track the ball in the air, and has the size and explosiveness to consistently outplay receivers for the ball in the air.

What's interesting though - we may very well, at times, "flop" our Single High (Box goes high, High goes to Box). In situations like this, SS that can also go high increase in value. Players that come to mind:

Adams
Melifonwu
Peppers? - hard to tell, imo
Maye
Hill

And of course:
Our very own Eric Reid, who is already being asked to go to the Box safety role, but could "flop" to single high - he has range)
Our very own Jimmy Ward, who probably played his best football in college in the Box, but he's a little small to be the box S on the regular)

We could be targeting SSs.. but I truly think Reid/Tartt can get do their jobs. I think Reid is gonna win the job but Tartt is gonna take it next year and they'll put him in on some Dime packages as another enforcer.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-draft-how-obi-melifonwu-has-gone-from-an-unknown-to-a-likely-first-round-pick/

"Obi Melifonwu is arguably the best athlete in the 2017 NFL Draft. His metrics are world class across the board, and the versatile defensive back is less than a week away from cashing in on all of his hard work preparing for the most grueling and lengthy job interview of his life. He's about to accomplish something strikingly similar to what former college teammate Byron Jones, another freakishly athletic safety, achieved just two Aprils ago, when Jones went to the Dallas Cowboys with the 27th overall pick. Melifonwu appears on the cusp of becoming just the third player in the history of the UConn program to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Melifonwu, 23, is hardly just a workout warrior. He was a four-year starter for the Huskies who can toggle between free safety and strong safety; a tackling machine who loves to play physically and can also hunt for the football in the air. But it's impossible to ignore the ridiculous athletic feats throughout the lead up to the draft that have distanced him from all but the truly elite prospects. From the combine on he has completely wowed the scouting community with his somewhat incomparable combination of size, height, weight, speed, quickness and leaping ability, morphing the high-end speed of a top corner (4.40 in the 40) with the thumping frame of a linebacker (6-feet-4, 224 pounds)."