Tennessee alum here. Went to the Bama game. Pearce probably needs to put on 5-10 pounds to anchor against the run but he’s a sudden athlete.
Gannon's scheme usually has a 3-4 DE type at one DE despite playing a 4-3.
RT of the future
Pearce is going to be interesting because he disappears at times which is not something coaches like to see on tape. He also needs to put on weight. He could get the Will McDonald love and go top 20. Brian Burns was the same. That said, I feel Pearce's tape is more inconsistent than both of those players.
I don't know that this is the draft class to get that.
The Cards’ lack of depth would seem to indicate taking the best available player at an area of need. The free agent options aren’t compelling. I think they go for defensive depth and a fast receiver but there’s much that can happen before the draft.
Anything can happen, but it will be tough for the Cardinals to look at best available prospects in rounds 1 and 2 and not see multiple defensive front 5 players. Between the current roster, FA next year, and the quality of the draft class...it's going to be tough to pass up.
RT of the future
Long time to the draft, we will not draft in the top 10 and there is no urgency to start him. A 2nd or 3rd round RT could sit for the entire year.
Just not projecting to be a deep draft class for OTs. Why this matters IMO is if you are using a top 90 pick on a RT, that player better be significantly better than Christian Jones who we just drafted. I am not sure that the talent available at the end of round 2 or 3 will be that much better.
Well I completely agree that the front 5 is the priority. But the question was what other positions should be a target.
agree...but I think age alone will give him 15 pounds or so over the next few years
It’s nice to see the Vols competitive again and fielding great defensive players. I got the privilege of meeting Eric Berry before he got drafted in 2010. Super humble dude.
This is more difficult now than it used to be. College programs have so much money invested in nutrition and strength training that guys come to the league more maxed out in terms of size. 15 pounds of muscle is not easy to add.
knowing monti? he probably didn't trade for a certain edge rusher (or two) because their contract was up at the end of the year - that's who id expect him to go after in free agency
Nah...based on his frame and body type natural maturation should add the mass between 21 and 25... that's not even taking into consideration any boost from a possibly better strength and conditioning program. Because like you said, most of the top colleges are pretty solid in that respect.
By all standards it is physically impossible to do that naturally in a short time frame. Yet it happens regularly when players jump to the NFL, so much so that people think NFL programs have a magical strength and conditioning program or that its a natural part of entering your mid 20s.
Gaining weight and strength is in fact a natural part of a human male entering their mid twenties
Agreed, I’d like to see our first two rounds go front 7 minimum.
Freaking high schools now do year round strength training and try to bulk up the kids. The difference from 20 to 30 years ago is striking. Lots of really big 16 to 18 year olds. And, for the vast majority of them, it's a bad thing.
