Updated First Round Mock w/ 2 Trades

[kerouac9]

Im not sure how others rate him or why they view him highly but i can give you the reasoning for me liking him in the second. with most ILB prospects size seems to be a concern however i think Chaney has good size at 6'1'' and 240 pounds. He has been clocked as fast as 4.52 in the 40-yard dash, although he generally runs a 4.60 plus he put up the best overall numbers for ILB in the draft. from the video footage ive seen of him he has excellent overall range, plays with a very high motor is more then tough enough although it could be argued that he doesnt execute all his tackles very well. He has excellent zone coverage and we know we need that from our ILB's. Combine this from what i saw and the fact that he was the Senior Bowl defensive MVP, the best overall numbers at the combine and a superb pro day performance and it all adds up to a very good rising ILB and id be happy with taking him in the second. I will admit that i personally wouldnt have thought that last year where he'd have been lucky to get drafted bu the guy has excelled at everything put in front of him since then and though id prefer Rolando, Spoon, McClain and Washington ahead of Chaney i would take him in the second if these guys are gone.

I dont like to trump up expert opinions on why i support a player as i try and only back the player i have a decent knowledge of myself, but Mel Kiper has said that Chaney is the fastest rising Linebacker in the draft and expect him to go between 2nd and 3rd.

I can honestly tell you from watching every Senior Bowl practice that the guy did not stand out one bit. Not even a little bit. No one was mentioning his name until his Pro Day where he put up a trumped up 40 time, and since then it's mostly been you and Mitch.

For me, we're looking for either a 3-4 ILB like McClain, or a 4-3 OLB like Weatherspoon. That being the case, I'd take McClain, S. Lee, D. Butler, S. Kindle (yes, even to play the WILB position in this D), N. Bowman, and maybe even Roddrick Muckelroy (I'd love to hear what Hook'em and Duckjake have to say about this kid) ahead of a 40 time and an MVP of an utterly meaningless game.

Watch that highlight tape, and tell me what jumps out for you. For me, it looks like a mid-round pick. He's a special teamer. I don't think he's an upgrade over Paris Lenon.

 

[CardLogic]

although it could be argued that he doesnt execute all his tackles very well.

This is what really stood out to me on the clip that was referenced in this thread. Chaney always seemed to be arm tackling, not getting square in the lane and taking the ball-carrier head on. Chaney did look more instinctive against the pass, in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6FErsTC47s&feature=related

 

[HookemCards]

I can honestly tell you from watching every Senior Bowl practice that the guy did not stand out one bit. Not even a little bit. No one was mentioning his name until his Pro Day where he put up a trumped up 40 time, and since then it's mostly been you and Mitch.

For me, we're looking for either a 3-4 ILB like McClain, or a 4-3 OLB like Weatherspoon. That being the case, I'd take McClain, S. Lee, D. Butler, S. Kindle (yes, even to play the WILB position in this D), N. Bowman, and maybe even Roddrick Muckelroy (I'd love to hear what Hook'em and Duckjake have to say about this kid) ahead of a 40 time and an MVP of an utterly meaningless game.

Watch that highlight tape, and tell me what jumps out for you. For me, it looks like a mid-round pick. He's a special teamer. I don't think he's an upgrade over Paris Lenon.

I don't know if Muck will ever be a standout and think he'd fit better backing and eventually replacing Hayes. He's a big hitter and is around the ball alot, but think he'd struggle in coverage. I'd also probably take Spikes over him if they were both there in the 4th (think Spikes will be gone in the 3rd somewhere). I'm not even sure i'd take Muck in the 4th and since we don't have a 5th, if hes there in the 6th .

 

[Monty]

I can honestly tell you from watching every Senior Bowl practice that the guy did not stand out one bit. Not even a little bit. No one was mentioning his name until his Pro Day where he put up a trumped up 40 time, and since then it's mostly been you and Mitch.

For me, we're looking for either a 3-4 ILB like McClain, or a 4-3 OLB like Weatherspoon. That being the case, I'd take McClain, S. Lee, D. Butler, S. Kindle (yes, even to play the WILB position in this D), N. Bowman, and maybe even Roddrick Muckelroy (I'd love to hear what Hook'em and Duckjake have to say about this kid) ahead of a 40 time and an MVP of an utterly meaningless game.

Watch that highlight tape, and tell me what jumps out for you. For me, it looks like a mid-round pick. He's a special teamer. I don't think he's an upgrade over Paris Lenon.

So you're saying that even though he did nothing meaningfull at the senior bowl he wound up getting defensive MVP over the likes of Brandon Graham and Daryl Washington who had excellent games. I guess perception can be relative but to say the guy that nothing of note is i think blinding yourself . Ive already highlighted what i saw of him at the senior bowl and a mississippi game i saw last year and the most impressive aspect of his game is his excellent zone coverage and good side-to-side consistency. He is fast explosive and probably has the best closing movements of all the ILB prospects IMHO. In regard to the senior bowl i dont take it too much into consideration but it did add to a liking i had for Chaney as a possible sleeper and it wasnt just me and Mitch who thought he performed well, all the scouts did and MVP selectors must have done as well.

Ill allow McClain and Lee as i rate them both higher then Chaney but to say Muckleroy or Butler for that matter are better is ridicolous. Neither have done anything of note and neither of them have even been mentioned as anything better then 4th round and lower picks. So even by your own evaluation of Chaney as a mid round pick, Butler and Muckleroy are at best on par with Chaney. Anyways i suppose it boils down to personal opinions as none of these players can actually be argued to be premium prospects nor possible mr irrelavance's.

 

[Monty]

This is what really stood out to me on the clip that was referenced in this thread. Chaney always seemed to be arm tackling, not getting square in the lane and taking the ball-carrier head on. Chaney did look more instinctive against the pass, in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6FErsTC47s&feature=related

That's a pretty spot on assessment as i think his tackling technique does need some adjustments. However i like that he has the instintics and closing range and speed to get to the player regularly and i think tackling technique is certainly something that can be coached. He tackles too high and i dont think it would take a great deal of coaching to sort something like that out. The second part of your assesment is true as well and if he didnt have such good insticts and good pass coverage i wouldnt be quite so high on him as that is something that is much harder to coach.

 

[Monty]

See, these are normally the reasons I would not like a draft board climber; everything you mentioned added together doesn't equal what happened on tape or in Senior Bowl practices. Remember that the game is pretty meaningless for scouts and coaches, but the practices are where these kids are really given the chance to shine. Combine, workouts, private workouts, these all to me are merely eliminators; if they bomb, then lower them on your draft board. Otherwise, don't drop them, but don't bump them up too far either.

As to Chaney, I don't know nearly enough about the kid to have formed an opinion myself.

I think you might've misunderstood some of what i was trying to say. I liked what he did at the senior bowl and pro days but they only supplemented the fact that i thought he could be a nice sleeper to pick up in the middle rounds. What he did at the senior bowl and pro day just elevated his stock and whether we like it or not teams do take into account what they see at the pro days, senior bowl and combine performances. These will have improved his draft stock and where i would've rather seen us picking him in the third or fourth i just dont see him dropping to us there because of this. Just to reiterate what id said in terms of where i rank him i see my top five ILB's as follows-

McClain
Weatherspoon
Lee
Washington (just because i think he is a very good prospect now that will become very very good)
Chaney

Therefore if the other guys are of the board i would be very happy taking Chaney.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I have a draft on another site that went pretty similar to the one that Mitch posted. (in that I had Jerry Hughes, Cody available to select) Although Dan Williams was selected by Baltimore one pick ahead of us or I would have ran to the podium. Baltimore with Ngata and Williams isn't fair.

I ended up selected Hughes. Trying to trade back up to the 2nd to grab Cody.

 

[Monty]

Here is a quote from Nfldraftscout.com which highlights how he impressed during the Senior bowl contrary to K9's impression of an umpressive showing from Chaney at the Senior Bowl.

[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]03/14/10 - TOP RATED NFL DRAFT SCOUT INSIDE LINEBACKERS: Jamar Chaney, Mississippi State, 6-1, 242, 4: He started at inside and outside linebacker in college and was just beginning to show outstanding pro potential when his progress was interrupted in 2008 by a broken leg. He returned in 2009 to lead the team with 90 tackles, including 4½ for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. After making the Senior Bowl with a late invitation, Chaney impressed scouts in practice and was named defensive MVP in the game after collecting eight tackles and a fumble recovery. - Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com/CBS Sports/USA TODAY

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[Stout]

I think you might've misunderstood some of what i was trying to say. I liked what he did at the senior bowl and pro days but they only supplemented the fact that i thought he could be a nice sleeper to pick up in the middle rounds. What he did at the senior bowl and pro day just elevated his stock and whether we like it or not teams do take into account what they see at the pro days, senior bowl and combine performances. These will have improved his draft stock and where i would've rather seen us picking him in the third or fourth i just dont see him dropping to us there because of this. Just to reiterate what id said in terms of where i rank him i see my top five ILB's as follows-

McClain
Weatherspoon
Lee
Washington (just because i think he is a very good prospect now that will become very very good)
Chaney

Therefore if the other guys are of the board i would be very happy taking Chaney.

Fair enough, Monty. Your logic is sound. You don't have Chaney ranked up there ahead of the top 3, so I can't really argue, my friend.

 

[kerouac9]

Here is a quote from Nfldraftscout.com which highlights how he impressed during the Senior bowl contrary to K9's impression of an umpressive showing from Chaney at the Senior Bowl.

[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]03/14/10 - TOP RATED NFL DRAFT SCOUT INSIDE LINEBACKERS: Jamar Chaney, Mississippi State, 6-1, 242, 4: He started at inside and outside linebacker in college and was just beginning to show outstanding pro potential when his progress was interrupted in 2008 by a broken leg. He returned in 2009 to lead the team with 90 tackles, including 4½ for a loss, two sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. After making the Senior Bowl with a late invitation, Chaney impressed scouts in practice and was named defensive MVP in the game after collecting eight tackles and a fumble recovery. - Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange, NFLDraftScout.com/CBS Sports/USA TODAY

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I think he'll be there in the third. Hopefully someone takes him in the second or early third so a better player falls to us.

Reaching for Jamar Chaney in the 2nd is why you don't leave gaping holes on your roster heading into the draft. I'd rather live with starting Paris Lenon for a year than reach for an average player like Chaney in the second.