Big hitting safety Calvin Pryor, Louisville

I love Calvin Pryor's play & potential to bring some big hits, but there are so many great DBs in this draft (and WRs) I just think the Niners could get a lot better value going after some guys who are slotted to go lower.

Pryor's one of the few pure safeties who are really good in this draft. There's Lamarcus Joyner who's kind of a slot guy / CB / FS tweener, there's Stanley Jean-Baptise who's a CB with the size to play safety, there's Clinton-Dix who's probably gonna be a first rounder...

After that the talent level (in coverage) really drops off IMO. Joyner & SJB are probably my favorites based on where they're projected (2nd & 3rd round respectively).

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by buck:

At the combine weigh in, Pryor is listed at 5-11 not 6-2.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AseLAGMydisldHE0Rl9kOGxPXzhPckREX3NQd0dQTGc&usp=drive_web#gid=6

Yep. Still not bad size for the position. Most of the safeties are on the smallish side this year with the exception of Dowling but he's skinny as a rail.

But, a 3 inch difference is pretty big.

Originally posted by VPofCarnage:

I love Calvin Pryor's play & potential to bring some big hits, but there are so many great DBs in this draft (and WRs) I just think the Niners could get a lot better value going after some guys who are slotted to go lower.

Pryor's one of the few pure safeties who are really good in this draft. There's Lamarcus Joyner who's kind of a slot guy / CB / FS tweener, there's Stanley Jean-Baptise who's a CB with the size to play safety, there's Clinton-Dix who's probably gonna be a first rounder...

After that the talent level (in coverage) really drops off IMO. Joyner & SJB are probably my favorites based on where they're projected (2nd & 3rd round respectively).

Jimmie Ward has good coverage skills. At the Senior Bowl he played safety and slot corner.

Well only one interview from the combine has been made known.

Calvin Pryor.....He's the only Safety we've met with....This of course could change as more information on interviews is released/leaked.

My top 3 pure safeties in this draft (omitting Joyner 'cause he's a tweener) are all just about even IMO.

1a - Calvin Pryor
1b - C-Dix
1c - Terrence Brooks

Originally posted by jimrat:
Looked pretty good in this game

that was a nice blend of taking the hits when they are there and wrapping up when you are the last line of defense.

He is not head hunting every hit....looks a smart, instinctual player.

He could be the new Lance Schulters

I'm not sure why he is so highly rated. Watch the film from his 3 toughest games from 2013(Cincinnatti, Kentucky and South Florida) and he looks average at best. Can't just go by his highlights and his stats in a weak conference.

Originally posted by a49erfan77:

I'm not sure why he is so highly rated. Watch the film from his 3 toughest games from 2013(Cincinnatti, Kentucky and South Florida) and he looks average at best. Can't just go by his highlights and his stats in a weak conference.

You must not have watched the South Florida game. Cause never played them this year. Maybe Central Florida? Kid was really good in that. 11 tackles, 1 INT and a knockout. Also vs. Cincy he had 12 tackles and 2 for loss coming from the Safety position.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
You sound more like a fan than an objective viewer. I see a lot of similarities to Goldson, more than I see with Chancellor. I think the hype surrounding him right now has more to do with his overall size then his performance. At times he looked outstanding in coverage, at others, completely lost. Doesn't always have the best discipline, likes to freestyle at times, does his own thing, leaving his teammates to pick up the slap. He's definitely a headhunter type, always looking for the knock out blow. This can be a big negative in the NFL if he can't clean that stuff up...ala Goldson. Its not to say that he's a bad prospect at all, he's very talented, he does have great size for the position, does well in deep coverage but of course, as always, there's also downsides to his game. Both his pro's and con's remind me a lot of Goldson, which isn't a bad thing to be compared to a multiple time NFL Pro-Bowler.

Personally, I think teams that overdo it trying to draft the "next" Kam Chancellor or Richard Sherman by focusing on much bigger defensive backs are going to swing and miss more often than they hit. Its the thing all the cool kids are doing but there's no way I'd take Pryor over Clinton-Dix.

Don't draft safeties that lack discipline and struggle in coverage, no matter how hard they hit.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
You sound more like a fan than an objective viewer. I see a lot of similarities to Goldson, more than I see with Chancellor. I think the hype surrounding him right now has more to do with his overall size then his performance. At times he looked outstanding in coverage, at others, completely lost. Doesn't always have the best discipline, likes to freestyle at times, does his own thing, leaving his teammates to pick up the slap. He's definitely a headhunter type, always looking for the knock out blow. This can be a big negative in the NFL if he can't clean that stuff up...ala Goldson. Its not to say that he's a bad prospect at all, he's very talented, he does have great size for the position, does well in deep coverage but of course, as always, there's also downsides to his game. Both his pro's and con's remind me a lot of Goldson, which isn't a bad thing to be compared to a multiple time NFL Pro-Bowler.

Personally, I think teams that overdo it trying to draft the "next" Kam Chancellor or Richard Sherman by focusing on much bigger defensive backs are going to swing and miss more often than they hit. Its the thing all the cool kids are doing but there's no way I'd take Pryor over Clinton-Dix.

Don't draft safeties that lack discipline and struggle in coverage, no matter how hard they hit.

That logic gave us Taylor Mays