NFL teams working feverishly to solve the Margus Hunt mystery

Being 6-8 can be problematic for a defensive player, too, and that’s another aspect of Hunt’s game that has some scouts concerned. During Senior Bowl week, when moved out to a 4-3 end spot, Hunt struggled to maintain leverage against some of college football’s elite tackles.

“If you have that kind of height, there’s a disadvantage of standing up tall way too early, looking in the backfield — you’re driven off the line of scrimmage and can’t really control the opponent,” Hunt says. “It’s getting better, but I still have to improve a little bit.”

For NFL teams, the draft is as much a challenge in deciphering a player’s upside as it is picking apart his current skills. Perhaps no 2013 prospect is as much a walking Rubik’s Cube as Hunt.

http://nfl.si.com/2013/03/28/nfl-teams-working-feverishly-to-solve-the-margus-hunt-mystery/

 

Sure he does, 3/4 DE or 4/3 DE. Being a bit older and new to the game isn't a great combo, but then again consider the case of Menelik Watson. Hunt is 6-8 and almost 280 lbs and runs a 4.6, one of the quicker DEs I've seen coming off the corner, also one of the strongest players at the combine.

There are concerns over hunt no doubt, but he not only has potential, he can fill what I see as an immediate need- a legitimate pass rusher. Passing down DE off the bat, and we lack depth in terms of pass rushers as well. The bottom line is that he's huge, strong, fast, has a quick burst and 1st step and we could use all of those qualities. Hunt doesn't seem to be a crowd favorite around here, but count me in as interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIV8LYURsc

 

Danny Watkins? Eagles 1st rd pick, must have been 25 or 26 as a rookie. And Hunt can bend the edge, that's nonsense. At the least you have a jumbo DE pass rusher that goes 6-8 275-280 runs a 4.6 and is extremely strong. Not sure where your'e going with the misdirection/combo block stuff, Hunt can learn just as well as any rookie I would imagine, and should have a steeper learning curve. Watch some tape, Hunt is one of the best edge rushers in the draft imo, and that is exactly what we need.

 

Because he's extremely big, extremely strong, extremely fast and he can rush the passer, which is a big need for us. On top of that he has 16 or so career sacks and is one of the best kick blockers in college football.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72SLCNaHJco

 

Don't act as if every game Hunt played against was Fresno St. and every OT Hunt beat was your favorite whipping boy from that school, the one that you've mentioned more than once as a low rated pos OT. No matter how you cut it Hunt has done a good job producing as a pass rusher and his triangle numbers are off the charts. This draft is chock full of flawed pass rushing prospects, and Hunt is one of them- that being said, he's definitely on my radar, and if not yours so be it.

The bottom line is that Hunt is an explosive pass rushing DE, has a very good first step, has produced more career sacks than most of the pass rushers in this draft iirc and he's fast, huge and exceedingly strong. That's not the worst resume in the world, not to mention his 15 or so career sacks, and small wonder that he seems to be rated as a solid 2nd or 3rd round pick despite his advanced age and limited football experience. There's worse things in the world than drafting a 6-8, 280 lb DE who ran a ludicrous 4.6 flat at the combine and led the entire combine with 38 reps of 225, along with Brandon Williams. That's what we call strength and speed in excess, and the NFL tends to value those, along with his planet theory size and uncanny abililty to block kicks. There's hardly a mystery as to why he's rated highly, as his athletic tools and size are off the charts. 4.60 in the 40 at 6-8, 280. 38 reps of 225 to lead the combine. And despite that your choice is to bring up how lousy the Fresno St. OT was who got beat like a drum by Hunt. Good Lord, maybe you can focus on something else for a change- maybe some of his positive attributes or the 3 sacks that he got against Pitt, his sack of Johnny Manziel, 2 sacks vs Houston, take your pick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72SLCNaHJco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXIV8LYURsc

 

Taylor is a pretty intriguing player, at least in my opinion. Pretty darned fast, good in sideline pursuit, large wingspan, excellent size, he's got some serious tools to work with. Overshadowed by having Clowney across the line from him, but Taylor managed to get 18 1/2 sacks at USC, solid number. Granted he's got those long arms, but his 14 reps of 225 at the combine failed to impress, same number of reps iirc that Tavon Austin got.

 

Point taken on the sack total, I should have referred to his Senior year, not career, my bad. The point was that he produced, bottom line. Regardless, when I look at the film of Hunt I see the speed translating on the field, I see an explosive edge rusher with a very good first step. I have no idea where you get the notion to plug a 6-8 guy with that speed as a pass rushing DT as you did in an earlier post , I don't like that idea at all, except that he'd probably bat down some passes.

There are always multiple ways of looking at things- Hunt's competition at SMU is not going to be exemplary by nature, that's SMU. He did get a sack against Texas A&M, but even there it looks to me as if one of their OL- not Joeckel or Matthews- blew the pass pro and Hunt got to Manziel- and got there fast. Look at Bjoern Werner for example- he got about half of his sacks early against crap competition in 2012 (Murray St., Savannah St and Wake Forest) then got shut out in 6 of the next 7 games, then came back strong against UM, UF and Maryland iirc. I like Werner, don't love him, but he's a good player with an excellent 1st step. I'm not going to throw him unfder the bus because he disappeared for half the year after the cream puff first three games of the FSU schedule. Likewise, Hunt has excellent quickness off the line, very good 1st step and the competition he faced was sporadic- that's how it goes. You seem awfully quick to dismiss Hunt and his physical tools imo- players that big, that fast, that quick and that strong don't grow on trees.

If you want to harshly criticize the production of a very athletically talented DE I would suggest starting with Cornelious Washington from Georgia, who shows signs of Tarzan (Senior Bowl and combine) and signs of Jane (the actual 2012 season) where he got all of 1/2 sack and 22 tackles (solo plus assist) on the year. I looked at the film and a lot of what I saw was truly odious, clueless, nonproductive football. I would take Hunt or Devin Taylor over Washington in a heartbeat- Washington looked so bad at times that he made Ezekiel Ansah look like he knew what he was doing in comparison, and that's quite a feat to pull off.

Look at the film- Hunt has the size, speed, quicks and strength to be an effective edge rusher and he's very quick off the snap. Granted he's not the most flexible guy in the world as you and Boomer pointed out earlier and in a separate thread, but he can bend the arc and this is football, not limbo. He can get the job done. If he looked crappy as an edge rusher I would be the first to say so- he does not. He's flawed, and as I've said before all of these DEs are flawed in this draft class. I would be looking at Hunt and Taylor in the late 2nd to 3rd rd range and Washington and Gholston as late round possibilities with large bust potential. Bottom line, I don't know how you can watch the film and not see significant edge rushing potential in Hunt. But to each his own.