2015 4th round pick is Rodney Gunther DE

[gmabel830]

Keim was on Doug & Wolf this morning and really raved about this pick. Said that Terry McDonaugh (sp?) was pacing outside his office after watching Gunter's tape and immediately played it for Keim. So, Keim sent Buckner out to work him out and "try to break him", but his will wouldn't break at all. After the interview, Wolf supplemented the discussion by saying that the usual prospect workout is 20-30 minutes, and Buckner put him through an intense 60 minute workout and the dude never even asked for a water break. I'm very intrigued by this guy.

 

[Ed Burmila]

Look, the entire draft is a dice roll so you might as well roll the dice on a guy who has the potential to be Great rather than a guy who is likely to top out at "OK" or average.

Will he become Great? Probably not. But 99% of the guys drafted after round three are washed out of the league in a year or two anyway, so why not aim high. If they think this guy is worth a flyer, then fine. Go for it.

 

[iRobot]

I understand the mantra of the selection..

Get the guy with the tools but also has the drive to succeed. Some of those guys who went to big schools have big egos and thing it's all going to work out even if they don't give 110%. These small school kids have been overlooked their whole lives and continue to grind and strive for greatness.

Look at what Zimmer did with defensive outcasts when he was in Cincinnati .. not 100% like the scenario above but often he grabbed outcasts or less than "premium players" and got the best out of them as a unit.

 

[Ed Burmila]

I also can't shake the eerie feeling look at him (and seeing his dimensions 6'5" 300) that he is a dead ringer in pads for Eric Swann.

Let's hope his knees aren't a dead ringer too.

 

[kerouac9]

Something to keep in mind while watching this: Never once in all of these plays does he draw a double-team.

There might be lesser talents at this level, but there are some good coaches. No one thinks to put two blockers on him if there's a legit NFL prospect on the field?

Interesting.

 

[gmabel830]

Something to keep in mind while watching this: Never once in all of these plays does he draw a double-team.

There might be lesser talents at this level, but there are some good coaches. No one thinks to put two blockers on him if there's a legit NFL prospect on the field?

Interesting.

Judging by the results, maybe they should have thought twice about that?

(I know, I know - it's a highlight tape)

 

[ajcardfan]

You can't question how athletic the kid is. Yes, he has elite physical talents.

However, he's clearly not being tested severely in those highlights. We'll see what happens when he goes against guys who match his physical talent level. He was worth a pick from what I've seen, but it's not certain how good he is going to be. Of course.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Something to keep in mind while watching this: Never once in all of these plays does he draw a double-team.

There might be lesser talents at this level, but there are some good coaches. No one thinks to put two blockers on him if there's a legit NFL prospect on the field?

Interesting.

That could be why those were highlight reel plays though. That video doesn't necessarily suggest that he wasn't in fact seeing a lot of extra blockers on a pretty regular basis.

 

[football karma]

Having just watched his intro presser over at AZ Cards.com--

Regardless of if he was worth a fourth rounder or not-- you can't help but to root for the kid. Worked 30+ hours a week while going to highschool to help support his family --

 

[Jetstream Green]

I have a gut feeling this guy is going to be really good... and it is the same feeling I get when we would blow a game and then did, so I am confident lol

 

[kerouac9]

That could be why those were highlight reel plays though. That video doesn't necessarily suggest that he wasn't in fact seeing a lot of extra blockers on a pretty regular basis.

I don't know. If this guy is as much a football player a he is a physical specimen, you'd expect that he'd be double teamed every down--like JJ Watt is. Playing 5-technique, a ton of his job is going to be splitting double teams.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I don't know. If this guy is as much a football player a he is a physical specimen, you'd expect that he'd be double teamed every down--like JJ Watt is. Playing 5-technique, a ton of his job is going to be splitting double teams.

I think Watt wins with far more than just physical talent. He plays with great technique as well and that might be the only thing stopping him from being the next JJ Watt, or maybe not as it is pretty much impossible to know yet.

 

[BigRedRage]

I don't know. If this guy is as much a football player a he is a physical specimen, you'd expect that he'd be double teamed every down--like JJ Watt is. Playing 5-technique, a ton of his job is going to be splitting double teams.

maybe those small schools do not scout the other team well and didnt know to double team him

 

[az jam]

The reality test always comes in training camp when they put on the pads and go against veterans.

 

[kerouac9]

The reality test always comes in training camp when they put on the pads and go against veterans.

Yeah. It's going to be a reality check for him. The real test is going to be how he comes back when someone puts him on his kiester.

The other thing I noticed in that highlight video is how he tends to grab guys by their shoulders and whip them down. That's not going to happen in the NFL, either.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Yeah. It's going to be a reality check for him. The real test is going to be how he comes back when someone puts him on his kiester.

The other thing I noticed in that highlight video is how he tends to grab guys by their shoulders and whip them down. That's not going to happen in the NFL, either.

I seriously doubt Gunter is going to see his ass getting thrown to the turf as a reason to quit since life has already did about all it could do to throw him on his ass... the question is, if he gets thrown on his ass or not because though I think he is a stud, he could be a dud with only small college tape of dominance