Prospect Deep Dive - Derwin James SS/WILL

[diamondbull424]

Yeah, I guess I’m late to the party but WILB. And throw him in as the dimebacker in passing sets.

You take a talent like James and find a way to incorporate his talent. If we pass on him, we would regret it like many teams that passed on Ray Lewis were too short sighted to see.

[drd23]

15 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

You take a talent like James and find a way to incorporate his talent.

Hopefully Martindale isn't like Pees in that regard then

[DreamKid]

8 minutes ago, diamondbull424 said:

Yeah, I guess I’m late to the party

You started the party DB. When I just glanced at Derwin and called him a rich man's Tony Jefferson on a lazy quick take, you stuck to your guns about him being blue chip elite and made me go back to pour over his cut ups. Boy oh boy, was I selling him short. They do have similar skill sets in that Tony can play as a traditional safety and then also as a hybrid LB, but that's where it stops. Derwin is a true freak, and there really aren't any comps for him. His play at LBer is like a faster RoMac with better coverage skills and edge capabilities, his safety play is like Sean Taylor with more ability to lock down in man, and his intangibles are like Ray's.

It's mind boggling that he keeps getting mocked to the second half of round 1.

[diamondbull424]

I just hope that if James IS available at our pick, we don’t skip over him for an inferior offensive player, just because offense is a need.

I mean, I can understand going receiver over OT in round one even if the OL is a better player. I could even understand passing up talented defensive players to go offense. But the one thing I refuse to pass up is a prospect with the leadership intangibles plus production plus freakish athleticism.

For instance, I like Taven Bryan. I think he’s a freak athlete. But his production is one hit wonder status and his leadership intangibles aren’t a known quantity. So I’m completely down with passing him up. But James is one of the few trifecta players in this draft class IMO.

We usually never have a shot at those types of players. The Joey Bosa, Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Patrick Peterson, Eric Berry, Larry Fitzgerald, etc. slam dunk players. And I think James is that caliber of... you really can’t screw this up type of prospect.

[DreamKid]

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

1 hour ago, DreamKid said:

This point has been made for months. We all want him at WILB. Geez Darth, I'm beginning to think you don't read my countless rambling draft posts in their entirety.

Guilty as charged!

But yea that's where he would play. He's a rare player that is elite in coverage and plus against the run as well. He's a tone setting hitter and benches over 400 pounds at 230+, he'd be our strongest LB.

If we're drafting him to be an ILB then sign me the F up and let's go.

 

 

 

[DreamKid]

"James is a chiseled 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, with strength and explosiveness that set him apart even in one of the most talented locker rooms in the country. He can bench press 450 pounds, and he's approached 600 on the squat rack. He's broad jumped 11 feet, 3 inches, which would have ranked him in the top five among more than 300 players at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine. You want speed? He was clocked at 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the Nike Opening coming out of high school."

"He's pretty-looking. He's got one of those body types where you could play him at about seven different positions," said an NFC scout. "He looks most like a strong safety, but he's got the frame to put weight on and be a linebacker, he could be a huge corner. He looks kind of like what Patrick Peterson was coming out. Just a great-looking frame." 

"Former Haines City coach Jake Chapman coached James and, before that, Pittsburgh Steelers LB Ryan Shazier at Plantation (Fla.) High, which has produced a handful of NFL athletes over the last decade. Shazier blew scouts away at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, with a 42-inch vertical leap at 237 pounds, and a 10-10 broad jump. A week later, he clocked a blazing 40 at Ohio State's pro day (between 4.35 and 4.41 seconds, depending on whose stopwatch you're using), yet Chapman doesn't hesitate to put James squarely in Shazier's class as an overall athlete. "No question," he said, "the best two athletes I've coached." 

"He was a three-down player with a role in every package -- regular, nickel, dime -- and could easily transition between them. And as a blitzer, he was truly dynamic. Former Seminoles OT Roderick Johnson, now with the Cleveland Browns, claims James could not only blitz with a speed rush, but showed power like a defensive end at just 210 pounds. Seminoles OL Landon Dickerson says nothing about that has changed. "
 

"Of all the praise heaped upon James and his potential as a pro, that might be the highest: that there is no single comparison befitting of what experts see in him. At his essence, he breaks the mold. "

“He’s a separate entity,” said Hall of Fame and former FSU cornerback Deion Sanders. “There aren’t too many people who do what he does or have what he has.” 

“His athleticism jumps off the charts. His size and physicality is a whole ’nother asset as well,” said Sanders. “And he loves the game of football. One of my dear friends, Mario Edwards, works down there (as FSU's director of player development) and can tell me about his intangibles, his practice habits, who he is off the field. All those coincide for a recipe of success.” 

One of the few concerns scouts have about James is whether he'll be able to play deep in coverage, because Florida State's scheme called for him to play most snaps closer to the line of scrimmage. But just because there won't be much film of James ranging deep in coverage doesn't mean he'll be incapable of it. In fact, the cornerback position might not even be out of reach for him. 

"If you put him at corner and you were patient with the technique stuff, he'd be able to do the physical stuff," the scout said. "But with his size, you'd prefer him covering tight ends. It's as hard to find guys to cover tight ends as it is to cover wideouts right now." 

 

"as an elite athlete are leadership qualities that figure to further galvanize his eventual draft standing with NFL clubs. When Viloria expressed uncertainty as to whether he'd ever train another player quite like James, it wasn't just the athleticism to which he was referring; it was also to James' intangibles."
 

"He'll focus on bar speed and technique when he's trying to get other skill guys to work out with him," Viloria said. "If he really wanted to, he could embarrass those guys and they'd go work out on the other side of the room." 

"James first met Sanders in the summer of 2016 at Sanders’ Prime 21 youth camp, where top college players, pros and former pros serve as instructors for the nation's elite high school players. There, Sanders was impressed by the way he blended in with likes of former NFL greats Aeneas Williams, DeAngelo Hall and Kevin Mathis."

“He was very hands on (with the campers). He was very knowledgeable of the game and his position,” Sanders said. “Derwin didn’t lay back, he really was involved. I loved it. And he asked a lot of questions to help his own game as well.” 

"As a strength coach, it's weird to hear me say this, but I'll kick guys out of the weight room if they're only coming in to make their combine numbers better," he said. "They're combine freaks. Derwin only trains to be a better football player. He runs and gets his body in shape only to chase offensive players. … Sharpening your skill set, that's what the gym is for. And that's why Derwin does it." 
 

"The Seminoles tend to rally around James' determination, adopting his methods, learning from his example. Chapman saw much the same thing in James at the high school level." 

"He was always the best athlete on the field, but with some guys, it's 'You need me,' " Chapman said. "With Derwin, it was 'I need you. I'm not Superman here. I need you.' Whatever NFL team gets him, they're getting a diamond who is going to make the rest of the team shine." 

http://www.nfl.com/labs/cfb247/derwin-james/derwin-james.html?campaign=tw-cf-sf175377864-sf175377864&sf175377864=1

 

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

"chiseled 6'3" lmao

[DreamKid]

"If I run this 4.3, it's top 5 money"- Derwin James. lol That would be crazy but Derwin's only top 10 shot is Tampa and then it's Green Bay or us. 

 

[diamondbull424]

3 hours ago, DreamKid said:

"If I run this 4.3, it's top 5 money"- Derwin James. lol That would be crazy but Derwin's only top 10 shot is Tampa and then it's Green Bay or us. 

 

This was a very informative video. It actually also helped me feel a little more for Orlando Brown.

You can tell that he’s actually training hard out there with the rest of the guys. He’s simply not an athlete.

But yeah, I fully expect Derwin James to go freak mode and go top 10 in the draft.

Im not foolish enough to convince myself that he will make it to pick #16, no matter what the analysts are assuming in their mocks. Someone will pick him just purely based off of BPA.

[Danand]

If his knee checks out, his versatility and personality should make him a sure pick before ours. One of the only defenders I can get behind selecting high.

[DreamKid]

No shock here. Derwin asked to do LB drills.

 

[diamondbull424]

2 hours ago, DreamKid said:

No shock here. Derwin asked to do LB drills.

 

Yeah, he’s the only player that could make me second guess taking DJ Moore in the first round.

[DreamKid]

 

Derwin is coming in light for that 40, I'm excited.

[berlin calling]

if James is testing like expected he'll be a Bengal. they need a safety and i am not sure the value is there for any OL to be taken over James. Nelson of course but he'll be gone by their pick.