Which 2009 NFC East first round pick will have the best rookie season?
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 22, 2009 9:44 PM EDT
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PrintI include Roy Williams as a choice because the Cowboys traded their first round pick to Detroit to acquire him. Personally,I think Orakpo will have the best year,and I think he will be the Redskin that most benefits from the addition of Albert Haynesworth. Not to take away from Maclin's or Nicks' talent,but Orakpo has less of a transition then either of them. I don't think Roy Williams can be the #1 WR the Cowboys need him to be and he'll have the worst stats of this group. The loss of T.O. could mean the loss of an effective passing game in Dallas. They still have Jason Witten,who is a great TE,but they have a dangerous backfield with Marion Barber,Felix Jones,and Tashard Choice,so I expect them to run the ball alot more then pass.
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Hakeem Nicks
One of my best friends coached under Butch Davis at UNC the last 2 years…so I’ve watched Hakeem Nicks for some time. The dude is a straight beast…Chris Carter-like hands. I am interviewing Butch Davis next week and plan to ask a question or 2 on Hakeem and whether he’ll make an impact year 1 for the Giants.
That scares the hell out of me...
I think he’s gonna be a thorn in our side for years to come…That should be a very interesting interview,i’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say,particularly on Nicks.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Orakpo has the biggest transition of them all
He’s playing an entirely new position that he’s never played before. Nicks and Maclin have a big transition as well but they’re stilling playing w/r.
I think it’s pretty ridiculous to say that Roy Williams isn’t going to put up bigger numbers than nicks and maclin, he’s got a huge advantage over the two in that he has experience and he might not be a number one w/r but he’s definitely better than anything we have at number 2. He’ll be there number one reciever in dallas, maclin and nicks are just trying to get as much playing time as possible.
I voted for Orakpo because i’m a skins fan but i see him and roy williams contributing the most
DE ---> OLB
While it’s an entirely new position,it’s not like he was randomly chosen to play it. There was a lot of talk leading up to the draft about whether or not he’d play it. My reason for saying Williams won’t put up big numbers is that he did close to nothing for the cowboys last season during the time they had him. T.O. may be the reason for that but he was brought in to take pressure off of T.O. and he didn’t do that. Also,the cowboys have a scary good backfield with Marion Barber,Tashard Choice,and Felix Jones. I expect to see them run the ball a lot more,which would mean less chances for Williams to put up numbers. I believe he’ll do better then Maclin,he’ll have to compete more for playing time then Nicks and obviously Williams will. Nicks will be more of the focus in the Giants passing game with Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress both gone,and he’s got amazing skill,to me,that equals big numbers.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Williams is not a route runner, to come in the middle of a season and be the qb’s number three target (after TO and witten) and do as poorly as he did isn’t hard to fathom. It’s pretty hard to fathom that he’ll have that bad of a year again after the offseason, i’m not saying look out for roy williams he’s the truth, but he’ll put up decent numbers. I think nicks and maclin will have a hard time converting to the nfl, eagles definitely won’t have another ridiculous season from their new rookie w/r like they did with jackson. I see nicks having a mediocre season at best but thats just my opinion. I think he’ll be competing for playing time just as much as maclin will be though. They both have alot of competition ahead of them.
I’m not so sure about
maybe a little, but i think just about everyone agreed that he would be best suited to stay with being a pass rusher. People are still questioning the decision to have him as a linebacker, the only people convinced are skins fans and the coaches. I personally think we should keep him at his bread and butter, in the trenches rushing the passer.
People are still questioning the decision to have him as a linebacker, the only people convinced are skins fans and the coaches. I personally think we should keep him at his bread and butter, in the trenches rushing the passer.
messed up the block quote see if this one works
ignore those block quotes
you said:
There was a lot of talk leading up to the draft about whether or not he’d play it.
I said:
I don’t know about that, maybe a little, but i think just about everyone agreed that he would be best suited to stay with being a pass rusher. People are still questioning the decision to have him as a linebacker, the only people convinced are skins fans and the coaches. I personally think we should keep him at his bread and butter, in the trenches rushing the passer.
I too prefer he remained at DE
I mean I guess I understand having him play some OLB if he is so talented we have to get him on the field as much as possible(if he’s better than any other OLD candidates we have) but he can have a huge impact as just a third down guy. It’s not like he’s gonna be sitting at the end of the bench with a sad look on his face all game if he doesn’t start. He can easily only see PT as a third down pass rush specialist and still put up 6-10 sacks this year. Guys like Robert Mathis and KGB have had great seasons only coming in on passing situations. Of course those guys did it because they were too small to play every down and I think Orapko is big enough to play DE full time he would just be coming off the bench since he’s a rookie. So basically if I don’t care if he plays some OLB as long as it doesn’t interfere with him coming in on passing downs and even if he fails as a OLB he can have a huge impact just as a rush specialist.
by BayAreaBullet on Jul 23, 2009 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
Williams will have,at least,a decent season.I don’t expect him to break the 1,000 yard mark,but it’s quite possible. I think H.B. Blades should be named the starter at OLB.Playing Orakpo at LB is a little bit like watching a NASCAR driver drive really well in a particular car,and then taking that one car away and giving him a different car that handles differently and is different then the car he drives so well in. It’s like,he’s still racing,he just won’t win as many races until he has practiced in the new car.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions
-1
I just realized that analogy dosn’t make sense….
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Also...
If Orakpo wasn’t able to transition to OLB,he could just play DE. With Nicks and Maclin, they only play WR (Maclin is a return guy too,but unless he was REALLY good at it,they’d want him to contribute at WR) so if they don’t transition,they’re busts.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree with travisjh86
I voted for Rak, but let’s not kid ourselves. Rookie pass rushers (DEs and OLBs) generally struggle in their first season to make a significant impact. One of the reasons is that they haven’t learned all of the moves to beat out the more experienced OTs. They may come in with 1 or 2 moves/counter moves, but they need more to mix it up and keep the OTs’ hands off and get to the QB. There have been 12 defensive ends taken in the first round since 2005 — three in each year. The 12 defensive ends have 39.5 sacks in their combined rookie seasons, which equates to 3.3 per player. Last year the three rookie defensive ends — Chris Long (4.0 sacks), Derrick Harvey (3.5) and Lawrence Jackson (2.0) — hit an average of 3.2.
We know that Orakpo is a physical phenom and is playing on a very solid DL (4th overall before Big AL). That will help tremendously. But let’s face it, we are entering undiscovered territory here regarding Rak at OLB. Without having to deal directly with bigger OTs, he might actually get more sacks pass rushing from the OLB position. But how will he handle covering TEs in the open field? He’s got the speed, but will he have the instincts for it?
I think it’s pretty ridiculous to say that Roy Williams isn’t going to put up bigger numbers than nicks and maclin,I have to agree here also. Roy Williams will never replace T.O., but he is a helluva lot more experienced and familiar with the speed of the NFL than the other 2 rooks. I think Nicks might actually have a slight edge over Maclin because Maclin has stiffer competition at WR and will probably be used mostly in the return game at first.
RAK EM UP!
Rookie DEs struggle
but so do rookie WRs. We can point out guys like Eddie Royal (my high school teammate) and DeSean Jackson, but they’re largely the exception and not the rule. Anyway, look at Shawne Merriman’s rookie year. He got 10 sacks, a Pro Bowl nod, Rookie of the Year, and made the All-Pro team. He is a guy very much like Orakpo in build (6’4 272 to Orakpo’s 6’3 260) and 3-4 OLB, which is basically a standing DE, which is what the Redskins are asking Orakpo to be. Anyway, I am confident Orakpo will be better than Nicks and Maclin, but not sure about Williams. But here’s the thing, Williams is NOT a rookie. I know they used their first round pick to get him, but they also used their third and sixth round picks, so it’s not a one-to-one comparison. Also, did I mention that he’s NOT a rookie?
ESPN: "Don't take it so hard, Lebron. Everybody gets dunked on."
Me: "I never have, punk."
1) Orakpo at DE
2) Maclin
3a) Orakpo at LB
3b) Roy Williams
5) Nicks
Sorry guys it a one or the other type thing
Use the past as an example.
I pick Orakpo for this because, In the past, rookie wide receivers have rarely made huge impacts versus other rookie positions like linebacker (Jerod Mayo). There have been exceptions though. Michael Clayton was a 1000+ yard receiver in his rookie season, though his production dropped the rest of his career. Plus Desean Jackson, Eddie Royal, and Donnie Avery were solid in their rookie seasons. But many wide receivers, no matter which round they are selected in, do not have spectacular rookie seasons. Even stars like Reggie Wayne barely got past 300 yards. Of course it is hard to compare the positions but to me, Orakpo should contribute the most.
thats what im saying
Wide receiver is arguably the 2nd hardest position to transition to,QB being #1. Defensive end dosn’t have too much of a transition,and even with him learning to play OLB. If he dosn’t learn it,he can play only DE,if Nicks and Maclin don’t transition,they don’t have anything to fall back on. Maclin is a return guy as well as a reciever,but unless he puts up great numbers returning and beats out DeSean Jackson for the starting job,then the Eagles will want more out of him.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Eagles Receiving Corps/Orakpo
With Jackson, Maclin, and Curtis/Avant, McNabb will have a wide range of receivers. I just hope they don’t end up like the Cardinals and have three 1000+ yard receivers.
Orakpo will be great as Strongside LB and third down DE. “Analysts” will be hard on him though if he doesn’t contribute in the pass rush, but they have to pay attention to the fact he will be dropping back in pass coverage and defending the run game.
by campbell4prez on Jul 23, 2009 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions
This is the most weapons McNabb has ever had at one time.
I wish he would go to the Vikings so I could not hate him. I think a lot of analysts will be quick to label him a bust if he doesn’t put up huge sack numbers right away. He might be like DeMarcus Ware when he’s playing OLB,though,and line up at the line of scrimmage.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m thinkin more like Orakpo being like Greg Ellis when playing a DE/LB hybrid.
by campbell4prez on Jul 23, 2009 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
either one would be great. Only time will tell. I’m just worried Rak won’t be as involved with the pass rush as he should be.
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions
yea same here. that is what he was known for in college so a lot is expected of him.
by campbell4prez on Jul 23, 2009 11:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I had to vote Maclin
…and I found myself struggling to type the letters for obvious reasons.
Maclin will find himself as the #3 WR, but will make a bigger impact in the return game and could be the NFL’s next great kick returner.
1st year pass rushers don’t normally get noticed until their 2nd or third year, so while Orakpo may have more upside, my guess is it won’t be him.
Nicks is a future stud, but he will be behind others who already have had a lot of reps with Eli and have their timing down.
Williams? Ugh…no.
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I agree with Maclin
but I think Hakeem Nicks has a serious shot at getting the #2 or even #1 receiver spot. He would have to beat out David Tyree and Steve Smith,but I believe he’ll do that in pre-season. This guy is good
"I'd run over my own mother to win a Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby
by FletchIsUnstoppable on Jul 23, 2009 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
Nicks has almost no competition ahead of him. The Giants have a lot of good 3rd down, possession, and slot receivers (wait a minute, that’s the same thing lol).
ESPN: "Don't take it so hard, Lebron. Everybody gets dunked on."
Me: "I never have, punk."
LeSean McCoy
I don’t know if he’ll have the best rookie season in the division, but I think he’s in a better position to contribute for the Eagles than Jeremy Maclin is.
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