By Kip Earlywine
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 307
40 time: 5.29
Positives:
- Ideal size for a Gibbs mold interior lineman
- Fast off the snap
- Good run blocker, notably so in goal line situations
- Seems to have good pass pro awareness
- All-time combine record tying 45 bench press repetitions
- Plays faster than his 40 time would indicate
- Above average athleticism
- Effective at the 2nd level
- Student of the game
Negatives:
- Not a high pedigree prospect, a former walk-on TE
- Missed 2008 season due to an academics related mishap
- Not as strong on the field as he is in the weight room
- Only settled on guard after first attempting TE and FB
- Mixes good snaps with bad ones
- Still a little raw and not as experienced as a typical senior would be
My thoughts:
Sorry, no video this time. As I preview later and later round prospects, especially at unsexy positions, video highlights could prove impossible to come by.
I did get to watch a little of Petrus through clips of Arkansas games last year. Again, these POTD's are never real scouting reports, but I feel confident I've been able to see enough to form an initial impression.
Physically, Petrus looks the part. He's the shortest guard among the top guard prospects (officially 6'33/8"), and the only one of which which meets Alex Gibbs' height preference. That he benched 225 lbs. 45 times- more than double Anthony Davis' or Charles Brown's totals- is amazing and shocked everyone in attendance including Petrus himself. A great bench press is not an indicator of future success, and Petrus is nowhere near that strong on the football field, but hey, it's something. At the very least, its inflated Petrus' draft stock, which is kind of silly I think.
Petrus plays right guard and has been part of a couple very good run blocking offensive lines, including the 2007 version which featured Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. He's fast off the snap and maintains excellent leverage in run blocking, making him an asset in short yardage and goal line situations. I wasn't watching highlights- just random plays. And twice I saw Petrus flat out pancake a defender which directly resulted in a touchdown. Does this mean he's always that good? No. And from the scouting reports I've read, he looks terrible from time to time. But it does prove that he's got very good run blocking potential if he can find consistency.
I didn't see anything that indicated that Petrus struggles with pass protection. He seemed adequate to good in this regard. Of course, it could be that I just saw a couple of his good games.
Petrus changed majors in 2008 and because of a screw up, ended up being a few credits short of reaching his academic requirements. As punishment, he had to miss (redshirt) his 2008 season. Petrus continued to practice with the team and invested that time with coach Bobby Petrino and gained a better understanding of the zone system.
Because Mitch Petrus is still a bit raw, he'd be a good prospect to acquire, but probably would struggle as an NFL rookie. He may need a year before he's adequately prepared to be an NFL guard. While the Seahawks have a pressing need for a quality guard, Gibbs has stated that he prefers to not start rookie interior linemen, so that drawback would not likely faze the Seahawks from considering Petrus.
Petrus is considered a top 5 overall guard by most draft sites, and is expected to be selected in rounds 3 or 4.
9 comments:
Awesome, sounds like Chris Gray. He was a hard working country strong student of the game who would have one noticeably terrible play a few times a season.
Sign me up!
Kip, any chance the Seahawks find Jon Asamoah yet to be drafted when we are on the clock in the 4th round? I read that he has an high football IQ and is incredibly agile. Or are those evaluations wrong? Thank you!
I haven't looked at Asamoah yet, but he's similar in size to Petrus and figures to go at approximately the 4th round. Zane Beadles, too.
Marshall Newhouse looks like a great match for Gibbs & he's probably available in 4th round or so.....
Bulaga - Sims - Unger - Petrus - Locklear
Looks pretty good to me, fits the Gibbs protocol except maybe Locklear.
Great write up Kip. Petrus is definitely an intriguing prospect, and would be a great pickup in the 4th round. He may not start in year one, but I think in a few years he could be a Gibbs' favorite (assuming Gibbs stays for a long time).
Any thoughts on Roger Saffold?
Here is one person's scouting report on him:
http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2010/3/20/1383104/roger-saffold-scouting-report
"According to every IU fans I talked to, this guy is just balls to the wall on every play. One reason his coaches played him so early was his leadership by example"
"However, Zone blocking teams will drool over this guy in the 2nd round and I would even bet the first one in the 2nd round takes him."
He sounds like a Gibbs guy.
Rob & Kip.
I have a question for you both and would like to get insight from both of you.
We know the facts:
Seattle needs a #1 WR target...and Marshall would be their current choice.
Seattle needs offensive playmakers like CJ Spiller
Seattle needs a DE pass rush like Derrick Morgan
And Seattle needs O-Line help and schematically Charles Brown seems to fit into the system
We also have heard that Gibbs does not like to draft OT's early in drafts.
Now...I see on Rob's latest mock draft that he has Charles Brown going 26 overall to Arizona. Here's an idea, Instead of reaching for Charles Brown at 14, as some suggested we do, couldn't we possibly move to the lower 20's pick up a couple decent picks (2-3 rounders) and still get him. Perhaps than put together a package for Marshal and draft spiller at 6? That might take care of 2 out of our 3 needs/wants and we could still possibly pick a DE in the 4th round with good upside and depth. Another potential Nick Reed type.
Makes pretty good sense to me...
Whatcha think?
I still feel a trade for Marshall is pretty likely, but I can't offer any insight on how the deal would be constructed, especially given the surprisingly tough Seahawks trades we've seen to date.
If we do stick with two firsts- I think 3 positions stand out as the most likely to be drafted: DE, S, and LT.
The team inexplicably traded a quality, young starter and opened up a hole at arguably the most valuable position on a Tampa 2 defense. This makes absolutely no sense at all- unless its a precursor to adding an elite DE talent in the draft. Everson Griffen, Derrick Morgan, and JPP are all very likely candidates for us. (if you were wondering, Clemons is NOT an every down DE). DE's tend to drop off in quality significantly after the 1st round or two, and since its such a crucial position, I wouldn't rule this out.
The team waived Deon Grant when the didn't have to, opening up another hole which forces them to add a safety. Babineaux is very ill-suited to play strong safety, being significantly smaller than Grant who was iffy himself. This makes Taylor Mays a very substantial possibility at #14.
With left tackle, we need an immediate starter- and we ain't getting one in free agency. Gibbs teams have drafted 1st round left tackles before, and if we don't draft one in the 1st, we are probably screwed.
I'm a big fan of trading down at #14 or #6 if a DT/QB isn't there.
I think drafting Spiller at either #6 or #14 is highly unlikely. We have more urgent needs. Gibbs isn't about the homerun, he's about consistent inside running, and Spiller is not a good inside runner either.
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