2024 Edge Talk

[MikeT14]

16 hours ago, Tugboat said:

Chris Braswell - Has some intriguing traits, but it's gotta be concerning that it hasn't translated to more action.  It's not like Bama is some wasteland for talent development.

I'll be intrigued to see where he ends up. I think he can do quite well, but he's limited on the teams that should take him to be successful. 

[Tugboat]

14 hours ago, FalconFan13 said:

I think thats why im so high on Latu as to me as a pure pass rusher and player he is by far the most pure and polished edge in this class with very little flaws.  Even the 1 flaw people said he had in lack of athleticism was proven wrong when he got tested.   His only real flaw is his medical history and even that im not to worried about because of the DR who worked on and cleared him.  Dr. Robert Watkins is the same guy who done the work on Peyton Manning and Danielle Hunter on the same type of issues and cleared both of them.  So if he got the clear bill of health from that man and has had no issues since then.  Im pretty ok with that at this point.   The only group that really wouldn't let him get cleared is Washington because the UCLA doctors and the specialist in the field both cleared him when he left washington.   So at that point im almost wondering if their was something up with washington's doctors. 

Just different ways of looking at it i suppose.  I see Latu getting shut down by future NFLers and it really begs the question for me...where is the improvement going to come?

Is he going to get any more athletic than he is?  More quick twitch and powerful to dislodge and disrupt?  No.  Not really.

Is he going to add significant refinement and technical polish to his game?  Some, sure...but he's already clearly put a lot of work into developing those tools for handfighting, setting up a rush plan, etc.  How much "headroom" is there as a technician?

It's not like he's got a poor motor either.  It's not as crazy high revving as a few guys in this class, but it's not like he loafs around and takes plays off.  So it's not going to come there.

 

So what is he going to improve that is going to let him match up against say...Fuaga or any other quality NFL tackle and not get his lunch eaten?  And not just as a pass rusher...but in being moved out of the way in the run game as well.

He's weird in that he looks really "athletic" in space...but in the muck, he seems to lack some functional play strength, and lacks that explosive "jolt" as an athlete.  Being fast and athletic looking in space is great, but impact NFL rushers usually look more dynamic in the trenches to me.  Be that quick, powerful, slippery, jolting...something.  Latu wins more with his hands, or in setting up a plan that he's basically won the second the ball is snapped.

It's not really knocking him for being really well honed in that.  That part's great.  It's just seeing that it's often still not enough...and wondering where the "headroom" is?

 

4 hours ago, MSURacerDT55 said:

His stat line isn’t anything to sneeze at, I actually thought he ate pretty well being opposite of Turner.

It's not like Braswell's statline is empty.  But it's not really that sparkling either.  Especially given his experience level and being opposite another top pick future NFLer to help him feast.

But it's really more about the distribution of where those stats come from.  And more so, just watching him against "good teams" and seeing far too many plays where he's just not having an impact.  Not pathetic effort that stands out as lazy.  Just...not getting much work done.

 

But at least there, in contrast to Latu...you can kind of see where the "headroom" is.  Because when he really turns it on and shows up, he's got that extra gear he can get to.  He's got room to grow and improve in most areas.

 

3 hours ago, MikeT14 said:

I'll be intrigued to see where he ends up. I think he can do quite well, but he's limited on the teams that should take him to be successful. 

I can definitely see him being a bit sensitive to the landing spot.  Not that uncommon really.  Between scheme, personality, motivation, technical fits...it's a really underrated part of how the draft tends to work out in the end.  But when you have a player who looks the part...but doesn't consistently deliver, it definitely starts to make you wonder how many landing spots will really be able to consistently "unlock" his upside.

[goldfishwars]

Latu 🫡

 

[Hunter2_1]

Been sayin’…

[Hunter2_1]

With Latu’s injury “history”, wasn’t a case of one doctor rendered him done and another cleared him to play and all of his production that he’s being graded on is post-surgery?

there’s not much more he can do to show he’s over the injury. It hasn’t affected him once at UCLA as far as I’m aware.

The only thing that would worry me about taking him high is that he can be shut down by big tackles. This happened against Fuaga mostly, but then I have Fuaga projected as a pro-bowl calibre T in his career. Loads will get shut down by him. He won’t be going up against that level of OT every week - we know how scarce effective OTs are.

I do think he can continue to refine his pass rush, add more strength and power over the coming seasons. I don’t think he’s topped out like some do, simply because he already has a good arsenal of moves.

[DirtyDez]

14 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Latu 🫡

 

Turner/Braswell.  👀 

[Soko]

17 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said:

With Latu’s injury “history”, wasn’t a case of one doctor rendered him done and another cleared him to play and all of his production that he’s being graded on is post-surgery?

there’s not much more he can do to show he’s over the injury. It hasn’t affected him once at UCLA as far as I’m aware.

Getting cleared to play, and even playing two seasons of CFB, is a lot different than actually playing NFL seasons year after year after year. Like, LVE was cleared to play and came back from aggravating neck injuries, had two mostly healthy seasons, and then got IR’d and retired a year after that. Peyton was cleared to play, played some great football too - but he didn’t have feelings in his finger tips and by 2015 could barely turn his head. 

It’s the NFL, so anything can happen to anyone. Guy could be an iron man, get hit the wrong way one time, then be medically retired. But the neck fusion surgery is a really big red flag towards longevity, one that I think shouldn’t really be dismissed on the basis of being medically cleared to play + 25ish games in college. Maybe it’ll be an issue, maybe it never will again, but the concern has to be there.

[Tugboat]

On 4/3/2024 at 10:29 PM, goldfishwars said:

Latu 🫡

 

 

Interesting chart.

But at the same time...it seems like there are pretty good pass rushers in pretty much every quadrant.  Also kind of leaves out "bad Pro pass rushers" as a reference and comparison point.  Top right seems like an instant win...but how many absolute nobodies from prior classes were also in that "can't miss" zone?  Also just at a glance, feels like there are hints at some pretty strong "scheme/role correlation" over strictly talent/ability.

[vikes635]

Does anyone have any cut ups on Jalyx Hunt? Am I crazy for projecting him a 4th round prospect? I only got to watch 1 game of his, I know he will need some time to develop but I believe he has a natural pass rush ability.

 

Thoughts? 

[Tugboat]

18 hours ago, vikes635 said:

Does anyone have any cut ups on Jalyx Hunt? Am I crazy for projecting him a 4th round prospect? I only got to watch 1 game of his, I know he will need some time to develop but I believe he has a natural pass rush ability.

 

Thoughts? 

 

He's such a weird one.  Insanely tall and spindly with crazy long limbs.  But actually moves surprisingly well in space.  A lot of guys that gangly tend to run around in pretzel mode.

But the real question is...what is an NFL strength program going to be able to do for him?  Because he looks weak against nobody competition.  NFL caliber blockers are just going to engulf him if he doesn't get substantially stronger.  But you have to kind of wonder if he's got the frame to take on much more weight, or if he's just gonna be stuck as this super tall skinny guy without much strength, particularly in the lower body.  At that point he's maybe a ST ace, but i don't think he'll too useful as an Edge presence at his current weight/strength.

[nicfre2011]

13 hours ago, Tugboat said:

 

He's such a weird one.  Insanely tall and spindly with crazy long limbs.  But actually moves surprisingly well in space.  A lot of guys that gangly tend to run around in pretzel mode.

But the real question is...what is an NFL strength program going to be able to do for him?  Because he looks weak against nobody competition.  NFL caliber blockers are just going to engulf him if he doesn't get substantially stronger.  But you have to kind of wonder if he's got the frame to take on much more weight, or if he's just gonna be stuck as this super tall skinny guy without much strength, particularly in the lower body.  At that point he's maybe a ST ace, but i don't think he'll too useful as an Edge presence at his current weight/strength.

Good points. The Chiefs draft BJ Thompson from Stephen F. Austin in round 7 last year and short of the last game of the season (IIRC), he really didn't see the light of day in his rookie year. I imagine this is largely due to (1) level of competition and (2) need NFL weight training. Thompson was 10 or so lbs. lighter than Hunt, but both were probably tagged as needing time in an NFL strength & conditioning program before really getting a chance to see the field.

From NFLDRAFTBUZZ (Sorry about the wonky formatting)

HEIGHT: 6-6 (89%*)

WEIGHT: 238 (2%*)
HANDS: 10 (56%*)

ARM: 34 3/8 (67%*)

SPAN: 82 (75%*)
FORTY: 4.61 (P) (92%*)

SHUTTLE: 4.46 (P) (44%*)
VERTICAL: 37.5 (P) (91%*)

BROAD: 125 (P) (94%*)
3 CONE: 7.06 (P) (78%*)    

BENCH: 13 (P) (1%*)