Originally posted by LieutKaffee:
That is just... not analogous at all.
yeah, that guy in the UFC fight is just roided up, but he looked slow and uncoordinated which are important in boxing. Okoye is huge and fast for a 3-4 DE, but I wonder how long his arms are and if he can bend. His 3 cone drill suggests he has some quickness too.
In my opinion, the fact that he went undrafted means he has short arms for his height. I could be wrong, but if he had 34+ inch arms, I think a GM would've pulled the trigger in the 6th or 7th round (maybe earlier if his arms were longer than Aldon Smith's).
Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
6'6" 306 lbs. Olympic world class athlete. 4.7's in the 40. My goodness..... Maybe we can teach him how to play. He's a worthwhile project.
So excited about this pick. This is the ultimate very low risk/HIGHHHH reward signing.
and yeah, he wasn't anything special as a rugby player, but they're different games - you don't get breaks in rugby, so there aren't many 300 pounders because they don't have the endurance. Linemen in general would not be good at rugby, because you need to be able to move in space (some DE's like JPP would be successful though). It's bizarre to me that this guy played wing given he's not very fast - I would expect him to have played forward, but maybe he's afraid of contact which would be a major concern.
In my opinion, the fact that he went undrafted means he has short arms for his height. I could be wrong, but if he had 34+ inch arms, I think a GM would've pulled the trigger in the 6th or 7th round (maybe earlier if his arms were longer than Aldon Smith's).
So how did Gates get so good at catching? It wasn't from playing college football, since he didn't. Some guys can catch and some guys can't. We just dont know with Okoye which it is. If he struggles catching the ball, you keep him away from offense - not a hard call. But if he shows some aptitude with his hands (and as a guy who played rugby and who was an olympian in a sport that involved manipulating a heavy object with his hands, I believe he may have some aptitude), then I think TE is his most interesting position in the NFL.
Gates played basketball. Ever try to catch a basketball that was thrown like a dart?
And we have McDonald, who is only 30 or so lbs lighter than this guy but just as fast. Are those 30 lbs going to make such a dramatic difference?
Yes, he did play basketball. So you can develop catching skills outs ide of football. There si a good possibility Okoye has this skill as well - but we can't know unless they try.
McDonald isn't great at catching the ball either - even on his NFL.com profile they mention that he would drop the ball once a game. If Okoye has equal hands, but is bigger/stronger/taller, I think he'd be a more interesting TE prospect, wouldn't you?
If we were forced to play him on the offense for some strange reason I would rather try him as a halfback, Like the Nigerian Nightmare
We're converting this guy to either TE or DB, I totally see it coming, he's gonna become something really f**king special for us once we coach him up to the game's standards.
I mean seriously, this guy has the strength and body of a lineman, but THE SPEED OF A RECEIVER. -Nobody is gonna wanna get in this motherf**ker's face the moment he's out there.
Harbaugh molding the clay once again, and making greatness.
Maybe we can teach him how to play. He's a worthwhile project.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/lawrence-okoye?id=2541134
Yes, he did play basketball. So you can develop catching skills outs
ide of football. There si a good possibility Okoye has this skill as well - but we can't know unless they try.
