If I
was my building my defense around one prospect in this draft, I would
definitely consider Glenn Dorsey, Chris Long, Sedrick Ellis, Keith
Rivers, and Vernon Gholston. But there is another prospect I
would consider, and I may even take him ahead of all of the other
prospects. The beauty of this prospect, I could probably easily
draft him in the 2nd or 3rd round. Why is he then not a top
prospect? Is it because he has a criminal record, too small, too
slow, a hybrid position player, lack of experience, poor attitude,
injury history, too stupid to read a playbook, or poor stats.
Actually, none of those fit J Leman:
Criminal record – not
even close, if helping elementary school kids is a crime, then Leman is
guilty.
Too small – at 6-2
Leman has the ideal size to play ILB.
Too slow – Leman’s 40
may be only 4.8, but I watched plenty of tape to know he is one fast
player.
Hybrid position
player – he is a perfect fit for ILB.
Lack of experience –
He played in 47 collegiate games.
Poor attitude – This
guy is a team captain and a leader, his teammates look up to him.
Injury History – 47
collegiate games is all I need to say.
Too stupid to read a
playbook – already has his Masters.
Poor stats –
collected 407 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, and 8 sacks.
I watch Leman, and I
just can’t figure it out, why is he not a top prospect? My
pundits will keep throwing me the 4.8 time, but the number is
meaningless to me. A guy can be 4.5 fast, but can’t tackle worth
a darn. A guy may be timed at 4.8, but be a total tackling
machine. Lofa Tatupu was timed at 4.83, you know the Pro Bowler
from the Seahawks. Tatupu also is 2 inches smaller. Draft
experts thought the Seahawks reached with Tatupu in the second
round. Looking back, I think they got a
bargain.
J Leman is my ideal
franchise defender, a player I would love to build my defense around,
and I wouldn’t even have to use a first round pick on him. I was
a big fan of the book Moneyball
and have since tried to develop my
scouting in a similar method the Oakland Athletics do in
baseball. I try to find a statistic or factor that separates the
great players from the others. One factor I consider more than
anything else is heart/leadership. Just watch a college football
game one day, and pay attention to each player. Watch the
players’ movements/attitude before the play, during the play, and after
the play. Watch how teammates respond to a certain player.
I swear some players will stand out more than others. When I did
this last year, the two players that stood out for me were Patrick
Willis and Eric Weddle. Their presence on the field is
incredible. When these prospects are being measured at workouts
and the Combine, one measurement that is never considered or measured
is heart. Both Willis and Weddle play the game with
it. Leman plays the game the same way, and I truly think he
can make the same impact Willis made as a rookie.
So I go back to the
beginning. If I was the general manager of a team and had to
choose between Glenn Dorsey, Chris Long, Sedrick Ellis, Keith Rivers,
Vernon Gholston, and J Leman, would I really consider taking
Leman. And the answer is absolutely. But I would probably
take one of the others knowing I could easily take Leman in the 2nd
round. That is unless some NFL team already knows what I
know.
Michael
Abromowitz's 2008 NFL Mock
Draft
Gregory Cox's 2008
NFL Mock Draft
Paul Eide's 2008 NFL
Mock Draft
Jared
Donnelly's 2008 NFL Mock
Draft
Mock
Draft Database
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