Talking Yellow Jacket NFL Draft Potential

by Winfield Featherston on Jan 14, 2010 12:30 PM EST Comment 11 comments

We decided to go to our resident NFL Draft experts, Mocking the Draft, to learn more about the Jackets' draft potential.

1. Jonathan Dwyer and Derrick Morgan were no surprises when they announced they were going pro. However, for some Tech fans, Demaryious Thomas and Morgan Burnett foregoing their senior seasons came as a surprise. Were any of these decisions surprising to you at all?

The Thomas decision was no surprise. To be a premier wide receiver in an option offense has to be a mighty difficult thing. Thomas is unbelievably ready for the NFL – he's big, strong, has great hands. Burnett, I was a little back and forth on whether he should go pro. There was never really a time this year where he blew me away. I figured if he came back and Tech installed the 3-4 that he'd be able to play a more traditional safety role and help himself there.

2. Can you briefly discuss the NFL potential for our juniors?

Immense potential. There was no team I was more interested to see what their juniors would do. Are there better underclassmen that entered? Yes. But are there as many quality players from one team? No. All four are starters in the NFL. Morgan and Thomas should start immediately. Dwyer, at worst, could split carries. Burnett has the talent to start, but may have to learn a bit at first.

3. What about our seniors? In addition to our four juniors, we are also losing three starting seniors in OG Cord Howard, OT Brad Sellers, and LB Sedric Griffin.

None of the seniors really do much for me. Cord Howard is pretty solid and should be drafted. Athletic guards who can move are a good scheme fit in the NFL. Sellers is just ordinary. Griffin is really undersized, so it's hard to see him being more than a special teams player. No offense (and please don't send the fans after me), but Rennie Curran he is not.

4. Rank the Yellow Jackets in order from first picked to undrafted free agent.

1) Derrick Morgan (1st round), 2) Jonathan Dwyer (mid-first to early second round), 3) Demaryius Thomas (late first, early second), 4) Morgan Burnett (second round), Cord Howard (fifth or sixth round), Brad Sellers (UDFA), Sedric Griffin (UDFA).

5. Finally, what NFL teams seem to be in need of our players and who should we pay attention to as we wait for the Draft?

It's a little hard to say what exact teams may take those guys. Thus far, the information I have, is scouts visiting the team as a whole and not individual players. That stuff will come out more as the Combine comes ups and Tech holds its pro day.

As for where they should go, I'd say any 4-3 team would want Morgan. He's an outstanding pass rusher. If he gets taken in the top 10 picks I wouldn't be surprised. Buffalo could use another pass rusher if Aaron Schobel retires. Jacksonville has failed so many times at taking defensive ends that he could be a possibility there.

In October I projected Burnett to go to the Jaguars, so I'll stick with that.

Dwyer, I think, could go as early as San Francisco's second first round pick. I could also see teams like Houston and New England giving him a look.

Thomas is in a unique situation. So many teams need big receivers. The Jets and Ravens at the back-end of the first could take receivers. The Buccaneers, Rams and really any of the top five teams at the top of the second round could take receivers. Even with all the other junior wide out that came out, it was a wise move for Thomas to enter.

Thanks to Dan for working on this. For more draft information, be sure to check out

Mocking the Draft!

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Comments

I would for the Falcons to go after Bebe, but they gave up their 2nd Rd pick for Tony Gonzalez.

by Yakub2 on Jan 14, 2010 12:53 PM EST reply actions

This is going to be one of the most exciting NFL drafts in recent memory for GT. I wish all our players the best of luck. I would also like to see a lot of GT talent on the Falcons but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen this year.

Ramblin', Gamblin', HELL OF AN ENGINEER!

by JBar on Jan 14, 2010 2:57 PM EST reply actions

Its a shame, because I really hate Mike Jenkins.

by Yakub2 on Jan 14, 2010 3:08 PM EST reply actions

He's ok

But we have plenty of WR talent considering we get Douglas back next year and how Weems stepped up. We have the 19th or 20th pick depending on the outcome of a coin flip, so we could easily get Dwyer to back up Turner. Or, it is possible that Morgan could drop to us and then we would have a suitable end rusher opposite of Abraham.

I think most places have us taking a corner since we had the 28th pass defense.

"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC

by Jesse28 on Jan 14, 2010 3:29 PM EST up reply actions

Falcons don't need Dwyer

with Snelling and Norwood. But I do see Morgan possibly falling to the Falcons. I think we’ve seen a lot of “over-hype” for Morgan and a lot of sandbagging for Dwyer. I bet when combine numbers come out and people see how fast and strong Dwyer is, he’ll be first or second RB taken.

I kinda have a feeling the draft is gonna be disappointing for Tech fans. We’ve got a lot of guys but A LOT of juniors declared. There’s gonna be a lot of speculation and hype from everywhere. Wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t have a first rounder or two first rounders.

I guess the atmosphere that I've tried to create here is that I'm a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.

by BirdGT on Jan 14, 2010 3:47 PM EST up reply actions

Norwood is a FA so might not be back.

Also Snelling is a solid three but not quite the game changer you want for a two.

by GTwill on Jan 14, 2010 6:24 PM EST up reply actions

This was my thinking as well

Besides the fact that Norwood is a FA, both he and Turner have been having injury problems of late and Snelling isn’t the youngest of the three. Dwyer would be a solid pick to secure the RB spot for the future. Add in the fact that Turner’s contract is extremely back-loaded and it’s easy to see why Dwyer would make a viable choice from a business standpoint.

"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC

by Jesse28 on Jan 15, 2010 7:20 AM EST up reply actions

The Falcons primary concern is DE. I believe Abraham is on a down swing, and Jamal Anderson is the defensive equivalent of Mike Jenkins. Suh will be long gone, and I’m not too familiar with all the other DE prospects. I would like to get D Morgan, but its still a stretch that he’ll drop to 19. Bird is right, we don’t need a running back. Plus, you can always find serviceable RB’s in later rounds (I’m thinking as a Falcons fan, I still love Dwyer).

They also need a corner back. The secondary seemed to come around near the end of the season, but we also played crappy teams with nothing to play for. My wet dream would be to get Eric Berry, but that won’t happen.

by Yakub2 on Jan 14, 2010 4:06 PM EST reply actions

Agreed

RB isn’t the priority for the Falcons, I simply mentioned Dwyer because the topic was the possibility of GT players getting drafted by the Falcons. With as many players that are declaring, Dwyer and Morgan both have the possibility of being available in the first round when the Falcons pick comes up, and Dwyer moreso than Morgan because last night they were saying Morgan is projected to go around the eighth pick.

DE should be the Comrade’s priority. If Morgan were to drop to us, I think we should take him if he’s the best DE available. While the Falcons did end up with the 28th pass defense, a very large part of that was because we had little to no pass rush and BVG’s retarded zone blitz packages. Abraham had no one on the opposite side that could put pressure on the QB in the first half because JA98 was playing the end. BVG’s scheme also had Abraham dropping back into coverage roughly 10+ times a game. Sending your best, and only pass rusher into coverage ten plus times a game is just plain stupid. However, around the fifth or sixth game, they moved JA98 inside to DT and let Beerman and El Sid rotate the end spot and things got better. JA actually got pressure on the QB and I believe he got his first sack of the year from that position.

The secondary was improving late in the season and I believe they will get better. They fired the secondary coach and Houston was supposed to be that stub corner, so while I do think we could use some help in the secondary, I think we would be better served fixing the pass rush through the draft and letting the secondary get better with the return of many of our injured players and through experience.

"Big Ten can have this challenge. Duke loses, we all win..."
-Marcus Ginyard, G - UNC

by Jesse28 on Jan 15, 2010 7:30 AM EST up reply actions

Dwyer to San Diego

I think San Diego would be a great fit for Dwyer. LT only has a few years left on his legs and they have Sprolles to be the quick/speedy 3rd down back. Dwyer would work great getting 3 yards up the middle a few plays in a row then breaking a 20 yard run. He would also work great in all the underneath draws they like to run taking advantage of Gates and their WRs downfield.

by FuzzyB17 on Jan 15, 2010 9:23 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

they'll look at a pass catching RB

one of the drawbacks of our playbook, the FB doesn’t get many (effective) screens or underneath route running.

I guess the atmosphere that I've tried to create here is that I'm a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third.

by BirdGT on Jan 15, 2010 9:47 AM EST up reply actions

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