Hey Steve , great insight to how these things are done ! I absolutely appreciate how detailed you are on the inside track of how this game is played ! I’ve been impressed every time I listen , I learn more about the nuances of the professional game of football
IMO, Howie should have not have drafted DeJean & instead found a way using his two rd2 picks even next years picks to move up 5 spots to get Edgerin Cooper and slide back 4 spots to get Braswell…. Both are established in their positions and really good, unlike Dejean a jack of all trades master of none & a project in Jalyx. That would have killed the draft
Braswell senior bowel 1 v 1 reps were impressive, he beat all his guys I saw…. I can’t help comparing that with Hunt who got stonewalled…..As Gates said it was never Braswell v Hunt but Braswell v DeJean, but get me someone who has played in a better division or can win a pass rush rep at senior bowl…. We lost Kneeland by 2 picks and Adissa Isaac by 1 pick & Trice …. Howie lost out on this and Until I hear Fangio say it himself, I don’t believe the “spin” that Hunt was 1 of his favourite players in the draft….. why?? when there’s names I mentioned with good measurable who aint projects.
What's up 20/20! I heard some reporting about the Eagles trying to trade higher than pick #40, and they couldn't get a deal worked out. I think the vast majority of teams knew there was 45-50 truly highly graded players in this draft, and teams were probably less inclined to move back because of that. I know the Eagles had interest in Edgerrin Cooper, but I don't know exactly how they had him graded on their board. Basically, I'm not 100% sure who they had graded higher, Edgerring Cooper or Cooper DeJean. My gut tells me they had Cooper DeJean rated higher because they considered him in the first round, and there was some talk of him being one of the five red star players they drafted.
@@CoachHeitter interesting to hear about,…..who do you think they were targeting if they wanted to get higher than 40 ? It sounds like someone else besides DeJean, Given that 40 was enough to get Dejean.
What’s up Steve! Been a while. That doesn’t mean I don’t watch. I’m just super busy. (Turns out I was right on the whole Wentz out Jalen In thing after all huh? lol late I know😂) Good talking to you bro! Fly Eagles Fly 🦅
What’s up Jason! Good to hear from you. I totally understand, and I reduced the amount of my uploads recently because of life too. I’m trying to get back into the flow of it all again. Fly🦅Fly!
What’s up Unspoken! To be fair, he didn’t miss any games his rookie year, but his rookie season was slowed by a torn pec. I think the issue here is the vicious cycle of rehabilitation during the offseason. That can be a nasty cycle, and it can cause delays in development. Not sure where he is following the surgery for his Lisfranc fracture. I remember he was in a walking boot back in January, but that’s a tricky injury to predict the rehab on. I had it myself, and there is a psychosomatic element to that injury. I still get weird phantom pains in my foot, and at times it will just give out. Although, structurally there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with it. Over time the frequency of these events have greatly decreased, but once in a great while, I get a surprise while walking. For Nakobe’s sake, I hope these injuries aren’t a real factor in the continuation of his career. I think he’s a better player than he is often given credit for, but I am concerned these little setbacks could delay his development.
I'm sorry, but I can't imagine us keeping Ghost. Isaiah Rodgers is making this squad. Kelee,Slay,Mitchell,and Dejean are locks for me. A lot of big nickel this year again
What’s surprising about Nolan Smith’s use last year is, he played on the weak side more than the strong side. Basically, he was playing the backup to Josh Sweat more often than Haason Reddick. It will be interesting to see if Vic Fangio changes that up this season. With that said, the short answer to a very complicated question is we really don’t know what Nolan Smith is yet. There is a lot of explosiveness to his play, and he can bend and flatten. However, we have to see his percentage of use this season, and he needs to develop his hand placement this year. The underlying tools are there, he just needs to show some refinement this season.
Every team passed on Wilson at least once. The team that drafted him passed on him 3 times before picking him up with their 4th pick. If he was a can’t miss, other worldly prospect. They’d have definitely picked him up with at least their 3rd pick right?
Not necessarily. When teams set their draft boards, among a few factors, one is the relative consensus on how the league views a player. Some other factos include, positional value, future roster needs, and contract outlook. So, a team could believe the guy they took in the 3rd round is the best LB/EDGE/CB/S/ETC... basically insert alignment inside a draft class. However, they're not going to select that player ahead of where the consensus is on the player. In addition, the "consensus" or value given to a player, that goes beyond just pure talent. Another example from this draft class was T'Vondre Sweat, Josh Sweat's brother. He's the best run stuffer from the IDL inside this draft. He has some upside as an interior pass rusher. However, he had a DUI charge following the combine. Go back to 2019, and D.K. Metcalf. There were 8 WRs drafted ahead of him. This didn't occur because teams were confused about his underlying talent. He had a complex neck injury, and some teams Sports Science Departments had major concerns with him lasting through a second contract. It's the same thing with Payton Wilson. This is an incredibly talented player. However, he is older at 24. He has a complex injury history with a reconstructed knee without an ACL. In addition, he got into legit legal trouble early on at NC State. Teams are not confused about his talent level, they know he's a really good prospect. However, the evaluations on his medical grade, prior personal conduct, and length of years he can play in the league is what has created the "consensus" or value.
I liked issac, cedrick gray, ellis,wilson and others. I just dont like the pick after a few yrs of exp he'll be 26. if we get lucky he'll b able to start then
@@christianrodm means nothing hines ward had 1 acl doesnt changed anything 😂 he has been healthy gor 2 straight full seasons he is the beat LB in the draft
@@lososcotti926 missing an acl is definitely not nothing. just because someone manages only means its not 100% finality. but it definitely impacts the likelihood of injury derailing your career. there is a reason people almost always opt to try and reconstruct it. its a major stabiliser.
My only disappointment was taking Smith the wr over Jacob cowing who would of been the perfect slot/ returner guy for the eagles now they will have to cover him on the ninere
I think you’re reaching by making up reasons why they passed on Wilson. He played the past 2 seasons without injury and won the Butkus and Bednarik awards for last season. Sounds like you’re reaching with your excuses.
You can’t possibly be this dense. As I stated in the video, I’ve met the young man before, and I think he’s a quality player. At no point did you hear me say the words, I don’t think he can play, or he is going to wash out in the league. You will never hear me give hot takes like that because there are too many variables to predict those type of things. However. I am a member of the NC State Alumni, and I’ve literally scouted Orange County, and Orange High School. The former head coach over there is Van Smith. He is now a retired coach and Social Studies teacher. He was pretty well regarded as a defensive mind, and his only real fault in life was his love of UNC. With that said, let’s address your use of the words “reaching”, “making up reasons”, and “excuses”. Okay, since you know more than me 🙄, let’s hear you explain why you think a Berdnarik Award Winner, an All-American, 2 Time First Team All ACC player, and ACC Player of the year recipient slid to the 98th overall pick, and became the 6th backer taken? Exactly! Maybe think before you type. As I stated in the video, I think Payton Wilson landed with a very good organization. Personally, I think he landed in the best possible spot for him. The head orthopedic surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dr. James Bradley, is very highly regarded. They also have the UPMC’s Rooney Sports Complex. Inside the Rooney Sports Complex, exists Freddie’s building. Freddie Fu is the head Orthopedic Surgeon there, and he is very well known. This is why I don’t think it was a coincidence that Troy Fautanu fell to them at pick #20 with a late knee injury rumor, and Payton Wilson would ultimately land with them at pick 98. They have the infrastructure to take on these kind of complex injury questions that other teams don’t. In terms of why I brought up his 30.5” arm reach, I’ll let you in on some of the inner working of scouting. The line of demarcation is 32” for LBs. Case in point, the last two year’s pro bowl roster at stacked LB. The Jets C.J. Mosley 33”+, The Seahawks Bobby Wagner 33”, The 49ers Fred Warner 32”, New Orleans Demario Davis 32”, Baltimore’s Roquan Smith 32”, and Baltimore’s Patrick Queen 31.63”. Patrick Queen is the lone outlier among this group. It’s not a deal breaker to have shorter arm length, there have been guys to beat the trend, but the data is solid. Outside of Luke Kuechly, Kwon Alexander, Zach Orr, Joe Schobert, Patrick Queen, LaVonte David, T.J. Edwards, and Nick Bolton, the 21st Century has not been kind to LBs with arm length that is shorter than 32”. Also, out of all the names I mentioned, in the last 10 years, only 4 LBs have been named All Pro Players with shorter than 32” arm length. Those names are Zach Orr, Luke Kuechly, LaVonte David, and Patrick Queen. That’s it. You might disagree with NFL teams for prioritizing arm length at the LB position, but this is not a made up reason.
@@CoachHeitter Wow you really got issues with any kind of criticism or takes that don’t blow smoke up your rear. Nobody is impressed with you looking up and vomiting online information found everywhere. This comes down to your ridiculous explanation of why Hunt was the better pick over Wilson, which you try to validate with you reaching for anything you can come up with to try to show how right you are. Not having 32 inch arms? Are you kidding me? I wonder how he made all those tackles and interceptions and was all everything in college with those short arms? Maybe besides having shorter arms he makes up for it with hustle, football IQ, speed, and determination? Didn’t see you mention those things. I guess those other qualities are for dense people to talk about. Maybe you need to think first before you reply and start calling people dense. What’s the real reason Eagles took Hunt over Wilson? Probably they didn’t want to take a chance on whether Wilson would last long in the NFL and they appear to want a pass rusher more than an off ball LB. That’s a fair take. If true it’s not right or wrong.
Okay, instead of typing that you're dense, let me reframe it to say that, you're being dense about this topic. This video is not proclaiming Hunt to be a better pick than Wilson. The fact that you don't understand this basic point leads me to believe this conversation is in vain. But I'll give it one last shot. To begin, I don't have a problem with criticism, but I do take issue with strawman fallacy arguments. That is what you presented. At no point did I say that Hunt or Wilson were a better fit, pick, or player than one another. That is not what is being proclaimed by this video, but that is absolutely the assumption you seem to be making. The facts of the situation are... my community knew I would have a rational explanation for what occurred during the 3rd round. Also, many members of my community knew that I had information about Payton Wilson, and everyone knew that I put out tweets about Jalyx Hunt prior to the pick. So, I received a lot of requests to speak on what occurred. That's what this video is about. The process that led to a pick, and not a proclamation on who I think will have the better career, or even who I personally thought the Eagles should draft. That is not the intent of the video. Let me type this one more time so maybe it sets in, you're making an assumption about my viewpoint on Payton Wilson, and your assumption is not correct. This video is just simply an explaination about how I navigated the rivers of PERCEPTION with regards to these two players. One player was PERCEIVED to be sliding, and the other player was PERCEIVED to be rising within the draft. I'm using the word perceived facetiously. The truth of the situation is that those media members that cover the draft have different grades than the actual scouts. That's not throwing shade at the Daniel Jeremiahs, Louis Reddicks, and the Jim Nagys of the world. Those guys have actual backgrounds working with front offices and scouting, and they're often unjustly lumped in with the Todd McShay's and Mel Kiper's of the world. However, a lot of people get unduly influened by draft media, and they think these players have higher grades on them than they actually do around the league. Also, I can see that you're trying to downplay the information I provided. At the end of the day, the information I provided is well reasoned, and backed up by data. However, what I will maintain is... it doesn't appear that you knew the information prior to talking with me, and for that, you're welcome! Come on now, save me the b.s. because if you did know all that info, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. I find what you're doing to be just straight up disengenious. Someone being of reasonable mind and of rational thought would have just said I get what you're saying, and there's merit to it. However, I just personally believe that we're dealing with one of those outliers when it comes to Payton Wilson. That would be an opinion, and wether I agreed with it or not, I at least could recognize that we wouldn't really know the outcome for another five to seven years. I have no problem with someone believing in that opinion because it's not running afoul of the underlying analytics on positional value, measureables, and testing data. Nor would it run afoul of the tape, or the overall durability outlook of the player. That would be acknowledging the complexity of the situation, and admitting it's still a projection. It would be a projection that you're betting on to beat the odds. With that said though, in our discussion, you have never once acknowledged there is violatility in the underlying data on Payton Wilson. You're straight up trying to deny that any violatility exists with this player in your discussion with me, and that's just a very rose colored glasses outlook on the player. Basically, that's where you and I are at odds. I know he was a great player at NC State, and I think he is a really good athlete. As I stated in other videos, he is one of the most athletic LBs I've personally watched during positional drills. However, I also understood his early injury history, early behavioral issues, Age, and his Arm Length which is two standard deviations away from the average were probably going to keep him from being a top 50 pick. I was very early to that conclusion, and took a lot of sh*t for it when I told everyone a couple of months ago that I didn't think he would be a top 50 pick. I said this as someone that really thought Payton Wilson was a good player, and someone who is part of the NC State Alumni, and a major supporter of NC State athletics. I don't allow my allegiance to teams, players, or the staff affect my evaluations. What you're getting WRONG about this evaluation is whether or not I think he will be successful in the NFL. You're making assumptions about my viewpoint, and you're not even remotely close. Where a guy gets selected is a value proposition. You don't draft a guy outside of their respective range. While Payton Wilson has violatility with his long term outlook, and his physical measurements (Tall but lean with short arms), I still think he is an A+ athlete, and I think he has a natural feel for the game. In contrast, I think Jalyx Hunt lacks ideal experience, needs refinement with secondary pass rush moves, but I also think he is traits based edge, and an A+ athlete for the position. They're kind of the inverse of one another, and I don't like one player more than the other. They both include gambles with their selection, but both of them have unique ceilings that are high. Also, you completely missed the point of why I said Pittsburgh was a great fit for Payton Wilson. They have a renowned orthopedic surgeon in their sports science department, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has one of the best Orthopedic surgeons too. They had an inherent advantage in taking a risk on such a player. While for a different set of circumstances, it's the same as when we had an inherent advantage with Jalen Carter last year. Not every situation is the same for a player. Lastly, I’m not a fan of using total tackles and interceptions as justification for performance. To me, this is not a solid strategy. I would argue this is a very elementary understanding of the position. Basically, it’s too devoid of context. Payton Wilson was a great player for NC State, and he was very productive for us last year. No doubt about it. However, it's still college ball and he didn't exactly have a historic season. He didn't exactly put up Luke Kuechly's 2011 numbers, and I would argue that's a good thing. Not all tackles are equal, and if you're low on the 3 yards or less tackle rate, but high in the total tackle rate, I would say you're looking at a bad defense. To me, there are far better ways of evaluating Payton Wilson's play than being heavily reliant on production. It's important, you don't want to see him disappearing in games, but it's also a very incomplete strategy when scouting a player. When I'm scouting LBs, and I'm looking over production, I'm filtering by the analytics on specific game situations. A tackle for a 2 yard gain on 3rd &1, that's not the same as a tackle for 2 yards on 1st &10, 2nd & 8, 1st & 5, 2nd & 4, etc. Context matters. In terms of when I'm watching tape, or if I’m at games in person, some things I look for at the LB position are… backside vs playside pursuit, the strike in their hands at the second level when stacking and shedding a blocker, left or right foot dominance when opening up and pursuing, general understanding of gap integrity, and their ability to read Guard, Center, Guard. Past that, my secondary evaluation surrounds coverage and if there is hip fluidity, feel for where their zone is, who is entering and exiting zone, and if in a APEX defender role, can they guard the hash? Then I look at their pass rush ability. How they time their rush on replacements blitzes, does the staff trust them enough to play as an overhang, how is their hand use, ability to bend and flatten edge, do they show signs of complexity like speed to power rushes? I go beyond just the basic statistics because that leads to drafting JJAW.
I appreciate you presenting the intangibles along with the empirical data concerning Howie's draft picks.
I'm sorry I missed your live... I really enjoy the banter between you and other Eagles fans.. you learn a lot on this channel
Keep killin it, Gate 💯 we all appreciate the work you do brotha! 🫡
Hey Steve , great insight to how these things are done ! I absolutely appreciate how detailed you are on the inside track of how this game is played ! I’ve been impressed every time I listen , I learn more about the nuances of the professional game of football
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate your ability to explain complex traits to us, yet I can understand you, keep up the great work 👍.
Thank you brother for making this video. I requested it and you delivered 👍🏻
Fly🦅Fly!
IMO, Howie should have not have drafted DeJean & instead found a way using his two rd2 picks even next years picks to move up 5 spots to get Edgerin Cooper and slide back 4 spots to get Braswell…. Both are established in their positions and really good, unlike Dejean a jack of all trades master of none & a project in Jalyx. That would have killed the draft
Braswell still needs to improve his pass rusher and Edgerrin pass coverage is sus but not too bad
Braswell senior bowel 1 v 1 reps were impressive, he beat all his guys I saw…. I can’t help comparing that with Hunt who got stonewalled…..As Gates said it was never Braswell v Hunt but Braswell v DeJean, but get me someone who has played in a better division or can win a pass rush rep at senior bowl…. We lost Kneeland by 2 picks and Adissa Isaac by 1 pick & Trice …. Howie lost out on this and Until I hear Fangio say it himself, I don’t believe the “spin” that Hunt was 1 of his favourite players in the draft….. why?? when there’s names I mentioned with good measurable who aint projects.
What's up 20/20! I heard some reporting about the Eagles trying to trade higher than pick #40, and they couldn't get a deal worked out. I think the vast majority of teams knew there was 45-50 truly highly graded players in this draft, and teams were probably less inclined to move back because of that.
I know the Eagles had interest in Edgerrin Cooper, but I don't know exactly how they had him graded on their board. Basically, I'm not 100% sure who they had graded higher, Edgerring Cooper or Cooper DeJean. My gut tells me they had Cooper DeJean rated higher because they considered him in the first round, and there was some talk of him being one of the five red star players they drafted.
@@CoachHeitter interesting to hear about,…..who do you think they were targeting if they wanted to get higher than 40 ? It sounds like someone else besides DeJean, Given that 40 was enough to get Dejean.
I think nakobe is going to surprise people
What’s up Steve! Been a while. That doesn’t mean I don’t watch. I’m just super busy. (Turns out I was right on the whole Wentz out Jalen In thing after all huh? lol late I know😂)
Good talking to you bro!
Fly Eagles Fly 🦅
What’s up Jason! Good to hear from you. I totally understand, and I reduced the amount of my uploads recently because of life too. I’m trying to get back into the flow of it all again. Fly🦅Fly!
I read that Wilson had both shoulders seperated on the same play. His shoulders may be even more of a concern than his knee(s).
Are we really going here with Nakobe Dean... he was hurt for 1 year. He played his rookie year. What are we talking about here???
What’s up Unspoken! To be fair, he didn’t miss any games his rookie year, but his rookie season was slowed by a torn pec.
I think the issue here is the vicious cycle of rehabilitation during the offseason. That can be a nasty cycle, and it can cause delays in development.
Not sure where he is following the surgery for his Lisfranc fracture. I remember he was in a walking boot back in January, but that’s a tricky injury to predict the rehab on.
I had it myself, and there is a psychosomatic element to that injury. I still get weird phantom pains in my foot, and at times it will just give out. Although, structurally there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with it. Over time the frequency of these events have greatly decreased, but once in a great while, I get a surprise while walking.
For Nakobe’s sake, I hope these injuries aren’t a real factor in the continuation of his career. I think he’s a better player than he is often given credit for, but I am concerned these little setbacks could delay his development.
Round 3 defensive players seem to usually be high risk/ high reward picks for the Birds.
Great pick in Jalyx Hunt! Time to show out Big Little Bro ✊🏾🫶🏾💪🏾
Great content Gates secondary will be scary..No fly zone!!!
I'm sorry, but I can't imagine us keeping Ghost. Isaiah Rodgers is making this squad. Kelee,Slay,Mitchell,and Dejean are locks for me. A lot of big nickel this year again
Can Nolan Smith fill the Reddick void??
What’s surprising about Nolan Smith’s use last year is, he played on the weak side more than the strong side. Basically, he was playing the backup to Josh Sweat more often than Haason Reddick. It will be interesting to see if Vic Fangio changes that up this season.
With that said, the short answer to a very complicated question is we really don’t know what Nolan Smith is yet. There is a lot of explosiveness to his play, and he can bend and flatten. However, we have to see his percentage of use this season, and he needs to develop his hand placement this year. The underlying tools are there, he just needs to show some refinement this season.
We haven't been a 4-3 for years???
Also older than Nakoba Dean and Dean coming up on 3yo exp🤔
Gate City!!! I'm waiting for your draft analysis period. Pause... personally, I'm tired of Nakobe disrespect🦅🦅🦅
Every team passed on Wilson at least once. The team that drafted him passed on him 3 times before picking him up with their 4th pick. If he was a can’t miss, other worldly prospect. They’d have definitely picked him up with at least their 3rd pick right?
Not necessarily. When teams set their draft boards, among a few factors, one is the relative consensus on how the league views a player. Some other factos include, positional value, future roster needs, and contract outlook. So, a team could believe the guy they took in the 3rd round is the best LB/EDGE/CB/S/ETC... basically insert alignment inside a draft class. However, they're not going to select that player ahead of where the consensus is on the player.
In addition, the "consensus" or value given to a player, that goes beyond just pure talent. Another example from this draft class was T'Vondre Sweat, Josh Sweat's brother. He's the best run stuffer from the IDL inside this draft. He has some upside as an interior pass rusher. However, he had a DUI charge following the combine. Go back to 2019, and D.K. Metcalf. There were 8 WRs drafted ahead of him. This didn't occur because teams were confused about his underlying talent. He had a complex neck injury, and some teams Sports Science Departments had major concerns with him lasting through a second contract.
It's the same thing with Payton Wilson. This is an incredibly talented player. However, he is older at 24. He has a complex injury history with a reconstructed knee without an ACL. In addition, he got into legit legal trouble early on at NC State. Teams are not confused about his talent level, they know he's a really good prospect. However, the evaluations on his medical grade, prior personal conduct, and length of years he can play in the league is what has created the "consensus" or value.
So how you feel about Jalix Hunt
I liked issac, cedrick gray, ellis,wilson and others. I just dont like the pick after a few yrs of exp he'll be 26. if we get lucky he'll b able to start then
I'm thinking if someone is going to play nickel. It would be CJGJ
If Vic likes him… I like him!
Gardner is a safety in my opinion
If you did become a scout, at least the money would be worth it I think that’s the only benefit to it in your case😂
We could of had roman wilson peyton wilson we got dude who wont play mark my words
I was praying for Cedric Gray
I think ainius Smith can be a very good wr
Great Intel gate
He's a 24 year old 6 year College player who has had a serious injury nearly every year since 2017, and a Drunk driver.. The End.
Hunt is a bust 😂 wilson is 100x better
@@lososcotti926 at least he has 2 acl i gues
@@christianrodm means nothing hines ward had 1 acl doesnt changed anything 😂 he has been healthy gor 2 straight full seasons he is the beat LB in the draft
@@lososcotti926 missing an acl is definitely not nothing. just because someone manages only means its not 100% finality. but it definitely impacts the likelihood of injury derailing your career. there is a reason people almost always opt to try and reconstruct it. its a major stabiliser.
@@christianrodm comeback to me when hes playing his 8th season with no injuries related to knees
This video is for the people who whined that the Eagles should have drafted Wilson. He was a risk that they didn’t want to take.
wondering same thing
Why did we not get Payton Wilson
Old… one acl
Watch the video
@@anton_lezama_art right lol
Cedric Gray would've been a better pick then Hunt
How do you know that already?
And yet you have heard about hmmmm I wonder why
My only disappointment was taking Smith the wr over Jacob cowing who would of been the perfect slot/ returner guy for the eagles now they will have to cover him on the ninere
We should have drafted Payton Wilson
Naaaaah
Nope, we have bad luck with players and injuries. They said we should have taken Nakobe Dean, but teams passed on him because of injuries.
@@charlieg4732said the same about Landon
A bag of Doritos... Sweet
Eagles drafted Wilson
We run this sh.... PAUSE! BIRDS
This was a Huge mistake period
And if it is not
I think you’re reaching by making up reasons why they passed on Wilson. He played the past 2 seasons without injury and won the Butkus and Bednarik awards for last season. Sounds like you’re reaching with your excuses.
You can’t possibly be this dense. As I stated in the video, I’ve met the young man before, and I think he’s a quality player. At no point did you hear me say the words, I don’t think he can play, or he is going to wash out in the league. You will never hear me give hot takes like that because there are too many variables to predict those type of things.
However. I am a member of the NC State Alumni, and I’ve literally scouted Orange County, and Orange High School. The former head coach over there is Van Smith. He is now a retired coach and Social Studies teacher. He was pretty well regarded as a defensive mind, and his only real fault in life was his love of UNC.
With that said, let’s address your use of the words “reaching”, “making up reasons”, and “excuses”. Okay, since you know more than me 🙄, let’s hear you explain why you think a Berdnarik Award Winner, an All-American, 2 Time First Team All ACC player, and ACC Player of the year recipient slid to the 98th overall pick, and became the 6th backer taken? Exactly! Maybe think before you type.
As I stated in the video, I think Payton Wilson landed with a very good organization. Personally, I think he landed in the best possible spot for him. The head orthopedic surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dr. James Bradley, is very highly regarded. They also have the UPMC’s Rooney Sports Complex. Inside the Rooney Sports Complex, exists Freddie’s building. Freddie Fu is the head Orthopedic Surgeon there, and he is very well known. This is why I don’t think it was a coincidence that Troy Fautanu fell to them at pick #20 with a late knee injury rumor, and Payton Wilson would ultimately land with them at pick 98. They have the infrastructure to take on these kind of complex injury questions that other teams don’t.
In terms of why I brought up his 30.5” arm reach, I’ll let you in on some of the inner working of scouting. The line of demarcation is 32” for LBs. Case in point, the last two year’s pro bowl roster at stacked LB. The Jets C.J. Mosley 33”+, The Seahawks Bobby Wagner 33”, The 49ers Fred Warner 32”, New Orleans Demario Davis 32”, Baltimore’s Roquan Smith 32”, and Baltimore’s Patrick Queen 31.63”. Patrick Queen is the lone outlier among this group.
It’s not a deal breaker to have shorter arm length, there have been guys to beat the trend, but the data is solid. Outside of Luke Kuechly, Kwon Alexander, Zach Orr, Joe Schobert, Patrick Queen, LaVonte David, T.J. Edwards, and Nick Bolton, the 21st Century has not been kind to LBs with arm length that is shorter than 32”. Also, out of all the names I mentioned, in the last 10 years, only 4 LBs have been named All Pro Players with shorter than 32” arm length. Those names are Zach Orr, Luke Kuechly, LaVonte David, and Patrick Queen. That’s it. You might disagree with NFL teams for prioritizing arm length at the LB position, but this is not a made up reason.
@@CoachHeitter Wow you really got issues with any kind of criticism or takes that don’t blow smoke up your rear. Nobody is impressed with you looking up and vomiting online information found everywhere. This comes down to your ridiculous explanation of why Hunt was the better pick over Wilson, which you try to validate with you reaching for anything you can come up with to try to show how right you are. Not having 32 inch arms? Are you kidding me? I wonder how he made all those tackles and interceptions and was all everything in college with those short arms? Maybe besides having shorter arms he makes up for it with hustle, football IQ, speed, and determination? Didn’t see you mention those things. I guess those other qualities are for dense people to talk about. Maybe you need to think first before you reply and start calling people dense.
What’s the real reason Eagles took Hunt over Wilson? Probably they didn’t want to take a chance on whether Wilson would last long in the NFL and they appear to want a pass rusher more than an off ball LB. That’s a fair take. If true it’s not right or wrong.
Okay, instead of typing that you're dense, let me reframe it to say that, you're being dense about this topic. This video is not proclaiming Hunt to be a better pick than Wilson. The fact that you don't understand this basic point leads me to believe this conversation is in vain. But I'll give it one last shot.
To begin, I don't have a problem with criticism, but I do take issue with strawman fallacy arguments. That is what you presented. At no point did I say that Hunt or Wilson were a better fit, pick, or player than one another. That is not what is being proclaimed by this video, but that is absolutely the assumption you seem to be making.
The facts of the situation are... my community knew I would have a rational explanation for what occurred during the 3rd round. Also, many members of my community knew that I had information about Payton Wilson, and everyone knew that I put out tweets about Jalyx Hunt prior to the pick. So, I received a lot of requests to speak on what occurred. That's what this video is about. The process that led to a pick, and not a proclamation on who I think will have the better career, or even who I personally thought the Eagles should draft. That is not the intent of the video.
Let me type this one more time so maybe it sets in, you're making an assumption about my viewpoint on Payton Wilson, and your assumption is not correct. This video is just simply an explaination about how I navigated the rivers of PERCEPTION with regards to these two players. One player was PERCEIVED to be sliding, and the other player was PERCEIVED to be rising within the draft. I'm using the word perceived facetiously. The truth of the situation is that those media members that cover the draft have different grades than the actual scouts. That's not throwing shade at the Daniel Jeremiahs, Louis Reddicks, and the Jim Nagys of the world. Those guys have actual backgrounds working with front offices and scouting, and they're often unjustly lumped in with the Todd McShay's and Mel Kiper's of the world. However, a lot of people get unduly influened by draft media, and they think these players have higher grades on them than they actually do around the league.
Also, I can see that you're trying to downplay the information I provided. At the end of the day, the information I provided is well reasoned, and backed up by data. However, what I will maintain is... it doesn't appear that you knew the information prior to talking with me, and for that, you're welcome! Come on now, save me the b.s. because if you did know all that info, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. I find what you're doing to be just straight up disengenious. Someone being of reasonable mind and of rational thought would have just said I get what you're saying, and there's merit to it. However, I just personally believe that we're dealing with one of those outliers when it comes to Payton Wilson.
That would be an opinion, and wether I agreed with it or not, I at least could recognize that we wouldn't really know the outcome for another five to seven years. I have no problem with someone believing in that opinion because it's not running afoul of the underlying analytics on positional value, measureables, and testing data. Nor would it run afoul of the tape, or the overall durability outlook of the player. That would be acknowledging the complexity of the situation, and admitting it's still a projection. It would be a projection that you're betting on to beat the odds. With that said though, in our discussion, you have never once acknowledged there is violatility in the underlying data on Payton Wilson. You're straight up trying to deny that any violatility exists with this player in your discussion with me, and that's just a very rose colored glasses outlook on the player.
Basically, that's where you and I are at odds. I know he was a great player at NC State, and I think he is a really good athlete. As I stated in other videos, he is one of the most athletic LBs I've personally watched during positional drills. However, I also understood his early injury history, early behavioral issues, Age, and his Arm Length which is two standard deviations away from the average were probably going to keep him from being a top 50 pick. I was very early to that conclusion, and took a lot of sh*t for it when I told everyone a couple of months ago that I didn't think he would be a top 50 pick. I said this as someone that really thought Payton Wilson was a good player, and someone who is part of the NC State Alumni, and a major supporter of NC State athletics. I don't allow my allegiance to teams, players, or the staff affect my evaluations.
What you're getting WRONG about this evaluation is whether or not I think he will be successful in the NFL. You're making assumptions about my viewpoint, and you're not even remotely close. Where a guy gets selected is a value proposition. You don't draft a guy outside of their respective range. While Payton Wilson has violatility with his long term outlook, and his physical measurements (Tall but lean with short arms), I still think he is an A+ athlete, and I think he has a natural feel for the game. In contrast, I think Jalyx Hunt lacks ideal experience, needs refinement with secondary pass rush moves, but I also think he is traits based edge, and an A+ athlete for the position. They're kind of the inverse of one another, and I don't like one player more than the other. They both include gambles with their selection, but both of them have unique ceilings that are high.
Also, you completely missed the point of why I said Pittsburgh was a great fit for Payton Wilson. They have a renowned orthopedic surgeon in their sports science department, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has one of the best Orthopedic surgeons too. They had an inherent advantage in taking a risk on such a player. While for a different set of circumstances, it's the same as when we had an inherent advantage with Jalen Carter last year. Not every situation is the same for a player.
Lastly, I’m not a fan of using total tackles and interceptions as justification for performance. To me, this is not a solid strategy. I would argue this is a very elementary understanding of the position. Basically, it’s too devoid of context.
Payton Wilson was a great player for NC State, and he was very productive for us last year. No doubt about it. However, it's still college ball and he didn't exactly have a historic season. He didn't exactly put up Luke Kuechly's 2011 numbers, and I would argue that's a good thing. Not all tackles are equal, and if you're low on the 3 yards or less tackle rate, but high in the total tackle rate, I would say you're looking at a bad defense.
To me, there are far better ways of evaluating Payton Wilson's play than being heavily reliant on production. It's important, you don't want to see him disappearing in games, but it's also a very incomplete strategy when scouting a player. When I'm scouting LBs, and I'm looking over production, I'm filtering by the analytics on specific game situations. A tackle for a 2 yard gain on 3rd &1, that's not the same as a tackle for 2 yards on 1st &10, 2nd & 8, 1st & 5, 2nd & 4, etc. Context matters.
In terms of when I'm watching tape, or if I’m at games in person, some things I look for at the LB position are… backside vs playside pursuit, the strike in their hands at the second level when stacking and shedding a blocker, left or right foot dominance when opening up and pursuing, general understanding of gap integrity, and their ability to read Guard, Center, Guard. Past that, my secondary evaluation surrounds coverage and if there is hip fluidity, feel for where their zone is, who is entering and exiting zone, and if in a APEX defender role, can they guard the hash? Then I look at their pass rush ability. How they time their rush on replacements blitzes, does the staff trust them enough to play as an overhang, how is their hand use, ability to bend and flatten edge, do they show signs of complexity like speed to power rushes? I go beyond just the basic statistics because that leads to drafting JJAW.