BleedTheClock Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 So I was thinking about what prospects changed the most about their games from being 20-23 year old prospects to being NFL veterans? I think my answer is Le'Veon Bell. I always had him as a 1st round pick, but not at all for the reasons he's good right now. He was very smooth, had great vision, and ran with power. Legs like tree trunks. Had receiving ability out of the backfield. Thought he was the next great power back. He doesn't even look like the same player now. Slimmed down SIGNIFICANTLY and runs with an unparalleled patience that I never saw him utilize in college. It's strange that he developed that patience, as that was not a part of his game whatsoever at Michigan State. His smooth running style remains, but he never came to a complete stop like that in college. I'm lazy, but if you put a side by side frame of him in college vs. him now, I would be shocked at the difference. He literally looks like a different human being. Any QB's that became accurate? Any WR's that solved a major drop issue? Poor tacklers becoming great tacklers? Who improved the most in their NFL career? NOTE: I think this is a NFL Draft topic, but it might also fit in NFL General. Not sure where this fits best. EDIT: This could also work for college. For example: A scrawny WR turned DE that became a monster by the time he graduated or something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Tamba Hali was a defensive tackle early on at Penn State, then obviously made a name for himself as a LB in the NFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich7sena Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Dak Prescott: The Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlash Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Anthony Barr comes to mind. Did basically nothing but run straight forward at UCLA and even though 2016 was a so-so year, he's turned into one of the more complete 4-3 OLB's in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich7sena Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 17 minutes ago, Jlash said: Anthony Barr comes to mind. Did basically nothing but run straight forward at UCLA and even though 2016 was a so-so year, he's turned into one of the more complete 4-3 OLB's in the game. I think it's different with him because he went through a positional change. When I think of prospect transformations, I think of a player who wins differently than they did in college while playing the same position. Another example for me is Marshawn Lynch. He went from being a quick and fast player at Cal, to a quick, and slow but powerful player in Buffalo/Seattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedTheClock Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 Yeah Dak pretty much wins the thread. I wouldn't have drafted him in the 7th round to be honest. I only formally evaluated him once (his senior year bowl game) and made the snap judgment that he was an abortion. Nobody was more shocked than me at his success. Even though he came back to earth a little bit this year, he's 1000x the player I thought he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedTheClock Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 2 hours ago, Jlash said: Anthony Barr comes to mind. Did basically nothing but run straight forward at UCLA and even though 2016 was a so-so year, he's turned into one of the more complete 4-3 OLB's in the game. If you would have told me he would be playing a true OLB spot in the NFL I would have told you that you were crazy. I did not think he was capable of playing in space coming out. I actually thought he was overrated as a prospect in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedyg Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 A bit outdated, but Marcedes Lewis was a pass catching TE who's blocking was questioned as a prospect. Once he got to jax, he never really flashed the pass catching but has been one of the best blockers in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w4rrior723 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 This goes back a bit, but it always amazed me how Clinton Portis was a speed back with little power his first 5 years in the NFL. Then he bulked up and became a grinder. He had 2 very different styles and was successful with both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 3 hours ago, Speedyg said: A bit outdated, but Marcedes Lewis was a pass catching TE who's blocking was questioned as a prospect. Once he got to jax, he never really flashed the pass catching but has been one of the best blockers in the league. Vance McDonald was very similar for the 49ers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlash Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 6 hours ago, Forge said: Vance McDonald was very similar for the 49ers He always had terrible hands though, so if he was gonna make it, he needed to block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopherwrestler Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Matt Kalil went from a pure dominant mean son of a gun to a big softy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSURacerDT55 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 -Tyrone Wheatley went from a big fast back, tore up his knee and redefined himself as a power back in Oakland -Peyton Hillis went from a fullback at Arkansas blocking for the likes of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and became a feature back for the Browns - Alshon Jeffery was fat as hell at South Carolina, looks totally different now. - Ali Villanueva was a 6-9 WR at Army and became a serviceable OT in the NFL -Ted Ginn Jr was a pretty much a return specialist the early part of his career and really salvaged his career as a WR in the NFL - Courtney Upshaw went from being a 3-4 OLB with the Ravens to being a 1 Tech for the Falcons. - Teddy Brushi was a NT as Arizona and became a borderline HOF MLB - Jason Peters was a TE at Arkansas, became a stud LT for Buffalo/Philadelphia - Devin Funchess lost a lot of weight so that he could play WR in the NFL. (I personally think he would be better off at TE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWil23 Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Devin Hester was a CB in college who ended up being a very dynamic returner/one of the best of all time and a decent WR as a #3/#4 deep threat/gimmick guy in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownLeader Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Joey Bosa looked noticably trim his rookie year compared his junior year at OSU. Michael Thomas also carried more weight at OSU than he does now. Tom Brady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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