3-4 Defensive End/Defensive End

Iowa

6-3 281

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #46

Draft Board Overall 3-4 Defensive End Rank: #7

Rating: 78 (mid 2nd)

40 time: 4.81

4/16/11: Nothing new, but his Erb’s Palsy in his right arm, which limits his strength, is really starting to scare me a little. Between that, his history of the off field problems, and his lack of production this year, it’s really hard for me to give him a first round grade. 

2/19/11: Adrian Clayborn burst onto the scene with 11 sacks in 2009 as a 280+ pound defensive end/defensive tackle hybrid for Iowa, a down season as a pass rusher in 2010, 3.5 sacks, have dropped his stock. He also is part of one of the strongest defensive line classes in NFL history.

Despite the mere 3.5 sacks, Clayborn continued to dominate against the run and some would even say he had a better year against the run this year. He is a very streaky player on the defensive line, as a run stopper and doesn’t have a non-stop motor. Combine that with a 2009 arrest for assaulting a cab driver and he’s got a few character red flags.

Then there’s also the issue of his Elb’s Palsy. Clayborn struggled with this as a child, a birth defect that caused muscle weakness in his right arm, but he obviously preserved through it to get to where he is today which, offseason arrest aside, makes for a pretty inspirational story.

I think he’s got the potential to become a solid pass rusher again, like he was in 2009. Whoever drafts him will try to coach him up and get the most out of him. His best case scenario is either as an above average overall 3-4 end, or as a 4-3 left end, who is a stud against the run and also offers some pass rush. He is looking like a first round pick lock, potentially as high as 20 to Tampa Bay, but he could slip out of the first round entirely because of the depth of this class. 

NFL Comparison: Shaun Ellis

Offensive Tackle 

Texas

6-5 300

40 time: 5.53

Draft board overall prospect rank: #93

Draft board offensive tackle rank: #10

Overall rating: 71* 

1/23/10: A very good athlete at 6-8 310 who uses his size well to stop the pass rush, but he’s not thick enough and doesn’t play with enough leverage to be an elite run blocking tackle. He’s heavily decorated in college, but a bit of a project.

            10/2/09: The first thing scouts notice about Adam Ulatoski is his size and how he uses it well. He is extremely athletic and moves well. He uses his size to block the seeing ability of defensive players. He runs blocking well and has great footwork and angles on blocks. He fits both zone and man blocking scheme though his athleticism makes him a better fit for zone blocking. He is a right tackle by trade but made the first team in the elite Big 12 conference last season blocking Colt McCoy blindside at left tackle. It remains to be seen whether or not he’s a left tackle at the next level, but he looking very good moving around and blocking speed outside rushers as a left tackle. He doesn’t get great leverage because of his height and does not have a powerful initial block. He’s more of a finesse blocker, using his long arms and his smarts to redirect pass rushers from the quarterback and blitzers from running backs. He’s currently 23 and will be a 24 year old rookie so his upside is limited. He projects as a 2^nd round prospect, but with the way offensive tackles have been flying off the boards earlier over the past few years, he could go in the first round with his excellent athleticism and his ability to play both tackle positions.

NFL Comparison: David Stewart

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

This move is being talked about as a good one because of Arizona’s struggles up front and Snyder’s versatility. After all, he has played every position. However, he hasn’t played any of them very well. Most recently, he was at right guard for the 49ers, ranking 73th or 75^th eligible guards on ProFootballFocus. For the Cardinals, he will probably play guard or right tackle, but he wasn’t worth 17.5 million over 5 years with 5 million guaranteed. He’s not very good.

Grade: C

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Deal for Rams: Pretty sad to see. Carriker was the 13^th pick in the 2007 draft and one of the most dominant defensive tackles in NCAA history from Nebraska with 16.5 sacks in his last 2 years (why does this sound eerily familiar). However, injuries and inconsistencies destroyed him as he only has had 2 sacks in his career. Now he’s gone for the right to move up 29 picks in the 5^th round, pretty much nothing. I would have liked to have seem them try to restore his career, but I can’t really blame them for getting rid of him here.

Grade: B

Deal for Redskins: I like this. I know they’re already short on picks, but they don’t lose a pick in this process, only move down 29 picks and they get a guy in Carriker who still has some upside and is a great fit in Washington’s 3-4 defense.

Grade: A

Elam is a pretty marginal safety, but he’s definitely an upgrade over Alan Ball, arguably the worst starting safety in the league last year. The market for players has collapsed lately and players are being signed for cheap and given that even 2.5 million over 1 year for Elam seems like a lot. Gerald Sensabaugh is their other safety and he just got 2.5 million. He’s much better than Elam.

Grade: B

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Cornerback/Safety

Texas

6-0 204

Draft board overall prospect rank: #51

Draft board overall cornerback rank: #8

Overall rating: 77 (2^nd round)

40 time: 4.51

3/23/11: Scouts were very high on Aaron Williams going into the season, an athletic junior cornerback coming off of a strong sophomore season. I was higher on his teammate Curtis Brown and slotted Brown in the first round earlier this season. Unfortunately, it seems like we were both wrong. Brown and Williams are both likely 2^nd round picks after not living up to their potential last year.

I actually have Aaron Williams rated lower than Brown, though some disagree. Williams does have the ability to play safety in addition to cornerback, but I see Williams as a huge tweener. He’s have to bulk up about 10 pounds to play safety and he’s way too stiff to play cornerback effectively in the NFL right now. He’s very raw and needs a lot of work in mirroring and anticipating receivers’ routes. He’s slow in his backpedal and doesn’t change directions fluidly. He’s got good timed speed and good recovery speed, but he relies too much on his natural gifts to be an effective cornerback in the NFL right away.

He’s got good size and good leaps and plays the run well for a cornerback, but he doesn’t make enough plays on the ball. He’s probably best as a zone cornerback as he struggles in man to man. Teams will look at him as a safety. Several draftniks have slapped the Antrel Rolle comparison on him and I think that’s fair. As a much hyped cornerback out of Miami, Rolle was drafted 8^th overall by the Cardinals in 2005, but struggles at the position and 3 years later was moved to safety. He’s an above average safety now, but he was hardly worth the 8^th overall pick. Williams doesn’t have that same hype around him and will likely be taken in the 2^nd round, which is fitting for him, but his career could be very similar to Rolle’s.

By Sean Geddes 

Even though this will go down as a “W” in the win/ loss column, it was not without significant losses to the Steelers.

Defensive end Aaron Smith has been lost for at the very least the foreseeable future. He partially tore his left triceps in the third quarter, and underwent surgery on the arm Tuesday. The surgery went well, by all reports, but no timetable has been set for a return as Coach Tomlin wouldn’t go further than calling his time spent dealing with the injury “an extended period of time”.  Of course, Aaron being a 34 year old veteran who has spent most of 2 of his last 3 seasons on the sideline with injury, there is speculation by some in the fan base that this could be the end of his great run; but with Coach Tomlin coming out and saying that the team will wait and see, there is clearly hope that Smith could return to the team late, for or during a desired postseason run. We’re pulling for you Aaron, because our defense just isn’t quite the same without you. First rounder Ziggy Hood is expected to step in to Aaron’s spot for the time being, while we rotate in Nick Eason and Chris Hoke.

LaMarr Woodley also left the game with a hamstring injury, and according to Tomlin he’s also on a “let’s see” basis, although he is hopeful he will be able to play against New Orleans. He will be limited in practice, but if he shows enough during the week, I am sure he’ll be out there. This is very tricky though, because you can’t rush a hamstring. That can linger and cause you to be less effective for even longer than you could have been out, had a player fully rested and let it properly heal. Jason Worilds came in and applied good pressure in his first real game extended action. If Woodley can’t play I am sure we’ll see a similar situational rotation, subbing in either Worilds for passing downs, and Foote on short yardage or running downs, moving Timmons over to the edge on those plays. 

Flozell Adams left the game with an ankle injury. His ailment seems to be the least worrisome, as Coach said he would tough it out. Jonathan Scott took over for The Hotel while he missed time snaps, and that would be the plan, in the seemingly unlikely scenario Adams can’t go. I guess we’ll wait and see there too

In further, less recent injury news, Brett Keisel appears to be poised for a return this week. Brett has missed time with a hamstring injury of his own, but after missing the Miami game he should be back in action Sunday night. With Aaron out, we can use all hands on deck against the defending champs in their house in primetime.

“Any time you lose a player… others have to step up. You know the philosophy that we bind to as far as the standard being the standard and what we mean by that, quite frankly, is that those who step in… have to play winning football. That there are no excuses; that our intentions are the same on Sunday night, and that is to play winning football.”

-Coach Mike Tomlin

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/

Go back to Steelers Fan Spot 

Ross has never lived up to his billing as a former first round pick and he’s had injury problems in the past. The Giants have an excess of cornerbacks with Corey Webster, Terrell Thomas, and Prince Amukamara all under contract for next season so they should be fine at the position provided they don’t suffer major injuries (injuries to Thomas and Amukamara forced Ross to play more than he was originally supposed to in 2011).

The Giants won the Super Bowl in spite of Ross, who allowed 67.9% completion, 9.7 YPA, and 6 touchdowns, though he picked off 4 passes. He was above average against the run, but one of the worst cornerbacks in coverage. His 102.8 QB rating allowed was 5^th worst among cornerbacks who played at least 75% of their team snaps.

 He probably shouldn’t be starting any more. The Jaguars had a need for a cornerback with Derek Cox, William Middleton, and Rashean Mathis all coming off major injury, but the fact remains that the Jaguars paid starter caliber money to someone who has struggled time and time again as a starter. Ross will be paid 15.3 million over 3 years.

Grade: C