This guy can move, has some pop. I have to wonder if he's better at chasing than engaging OTs, that seems to be a theme this year. But he can provide some outside rush and he can certainly track down some ball carriers, take a look at :30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqCLp7M5AxY I wonder if he might be a jumbo 3/4 OLB candidate. Interesting at DE, but I'd like to see him dominate OTs at the LOS more. Worth a look.
First off, Jim, I appreciate your consistent effort to share new guys with us. That said, on this guy I'd say "No thanks." Yes, he has some power and chases guys, but literally all his tackles are from behind (and not because he's fast). From the front, he is so easily sidestepped that he misses potential tackles on running backs, sacks on QBs.. the guy has zero lateral movement quickness. He can;t finish a play with a ball carrier in front of him, face-to-face. I mean, I know you dislike Ziggy Ansah to some extent, but if you took away Ansah's speed, made him incapable of moving a foot sideways to complete a tackle on a QB or RB trying to move away from him, and added a lumbering gait, you'd have Gholston. His FRAME looks the part, but he's going to be about as impactful as Tony McDaniel is on games. What round were you thinking you'd want him in?
Thx- as to Gholston I'm not sure that I would want him. Interesting comment about his lack of lateral quickness, and I have the same problem with him that I see in Ansah- what I want to see mainly is him straight up beating OTs, that far more than the ability to track down players laterally or from behind. Gholston showed surprising speed and pursuit ability imo, but that's the potatoes and not the meat- positive secondary characteristics. That being said, as to Ansah- very intriguing talent with a huge hole in his game. If he corrects that he could be outstanding, but to me it's a big red flag that after a couple of years he really has no pass rushing repertoire to speak of. Look at Menelik Watson- equally as new to the game and he looks exceedingly proficient at RT to me, in the basic traits that you want to see plus the extras- if Ansah can make a similar leap he could be a tremendous DE. There's some ability there with Gholston but he seems to come with a major flaw, the whole beating OTs thing. And as always, me watching a bit of film hardly makes me an expert, I'm just looking for some positive and negative traits/tendencies. Unless I see more evidence of him getting through OTs and not being a chaser I'd be hesitant to take him- I'd rather get an OLB pass rusher like Sean Porter in rds 3 or 4, if he lasts that long. What round for Gholston?- I really don't know. Part of the process imo is posting the clips and seeing what traits others can recognize, or even better if they know more from watching guys like this in games than I do. Gholston impressed me with his tracking speed, but my guess is that I'd rather go in rds 4-5 with Taylor, Washington or Goodman for a DE. Probably Jenkins as well, but he showed less on film than I expected. I wonder if Gholston could be a jumbo 3/4 DE with his movement skills, I really don't know. But if he can't disengage from OTs and make plays/be a straight up pass rusher then he'd probably prove to be a liability if taken at any round in the draft. The ability to track people down the sideline or from behind is just not what I'm looking for. I'm not for taking a DT, but look at Lotulelei or Floyd attack with speed right up the gut. Look at Ogletree close in vertically on a QB or RB quicker than anyone I've seen. Now that's the good stuff- a player running down the field or across the field and making a play after a 5 or 10 yard gain is not where it's at imo- beat the man in front of you and create a negative yardage play or stop a guy for a small gain- that's where it's at I think.
I haven't watched Ogletree much yet, but I would like to. I just don't see us taking a true LB in the first couple rounds. As for Gholston, I think he's a UDFA as far as I'm concerned. Some team might actually spend a 6th on him though. Any higher and they'll regret it, IMO.
