Kyle Rota from College Talent Scout gives his opinion on the newest additions to the Seahawks roster exclusively for Seahawks Draft Blog. Today we start with first round draft pick Aaron Curry."Curry does not look as thick on film as he did at the combine, but that's not too surprising. He still has a very good build for a 4-3 OLB, especially in Seattle's scheme and he has the natural athleticism to go with it. He's probably at his body's peak weight, but nothing wrong with that - you don't need or want him any bigger. What's really interesting is you don't see guys with his size at linebacker in Seattle, so his style of play is different from what we're used to.
"He's very good at beating the TE on run plays, uses his hands and strength well. He's also very good at getting through trash when working inside, has good balance and doesn't get knocked off his blocks. As a blitzer, he looked very good and I think he could contribute in this area. Unfortunately, he isn't perfect either. He was mediocre in zone coverage (barely saw him in man, I've heard he's good in man) and while he backpedals quickly, he doesn't have a good feel for it. He's a pretty good tackler but sometimes goes high when he should go low - strong enough to usually get the job done though.
"What bothers me the most is he doesn't appear to be a real read/react or instinctive guy. Whilst everything I've heard suggests he is very smart and a great person, on the field he doesn't show great intelligence or instincts. He bites too often on play action and seems both slow and sometimes incorrect on reads. He's a good player and with his work ethic and intelligence it isn't like his flaws are unfixable. But they're there. In some ways he reminds me of Jason Smith at a less crucial position. Both have impressive natural skills and are high character/intellect guys. But both should have a better understanding of their position, at least to be top prospects. I'm not sure either is a must-have guy in a better class. But they're the best at their position in this class and it's easy to look at the film and see why they could be successful."
- Kyle Rota, College Talent Scout
5 comments:
Wow, sour grapes....
Why or how is any of Kyle's review 'sour grapes'?
"He was mediocre in zone coverage"
Wow, maybe the people at Madden knew what they were talking about in giving him a 45 in zone coverage. Although 45 still seems low, 60 would be mediocre in my mind, 45 would seem like he flat out sucks.
Like all rookies Aaron Curry has positives in his game and some areas that need work. He seems like the kind of hard working guy prepared to put the effort in to maximise his talent and that's probably one of the reasons Seattle took him at #4.
I admit to being perplexed by the sour grapes comment.
I gave ~half the report praising him, ~half criticizing him, and ended it by comparing him to Jason Smith and saying the film shows why he could be successful.
Frankly, the only guy this year who wouldn't get 1/2 praise and 1/2 criticism is Knowshon Moreno, who frankly I am likely biased in evaluating. And even with Moreno I would mention his lack of elite speed. Stafford got a sterling report from me, though it sounds like Detroit is going to screw him up. I could easily write 3 paragraphs about his strengths, weaknesses, and conclusion, and I'd have been thrilled if we took Stafford #4.
Oh... EA sports gets their reports from David Te Thomas, who writes for NFLDraftScout.com. Or at least they did a few years ago, given Curry's grade and Sanchez's grade I wouldn't be surprised. Anyways, According to DTT, Curry had a 71.1% completion percentage on passes thrown against him (30something/45ish). That's probably why his Madden grades got killed. I feel Curry deserves better speed, though it looks like this year EA is going to assume all rookies except a couple are slow (Jenkins an 86, Moreno an 86).
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