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What We're Hearing

By: Chris Horwedel
Rob Bryant

3/4/06

- Following the combine one scout we spoke to called Mario Williams a better prospect than Julius Peppers was when he entered the draft and went on to say that in a normal draft class, Williams would almost be a lock to go #1 overall.

- Proving that sanity does in fact reign supreme (and regardless of the media's infatuation with him) not one of the NFL people we spoke to said they would draft Jay Cutler over either Vince Young or Matt Leinart. One went on to say that "There's a grand canyon sized gap between those two (Leinart/Young) and Cutler".

- Another player who the media seems to like more than NFL people do is Louisville's Elvis Dumervil. Given his size at the combine he seems to have to play a pass rush OLB spot in the NFL and the people we spoke to had concerns about that.

- Despite his strong combine, there doesn't seem to be a lot of support for Mississippi State running back Jerious Norwood, mainly do to his lack of running instincts.

- "Michael Huff is a safety, plain and simple" said one scout we spoke to early on and that seemed the consensus. "At corner he could be similar to the kid from Jacksonville (Mathis), but as safety he's got a shot to be the best in the league in a couple years".

- Who's the #2 safety prospect in the draft? While the majority of people still feel it's South Carolina's Ko Simpson, Ohio State's Donte Whitner is gaining ground.

- "Ingle Martin went from probably signing as a free agent to potentially being picked early on day 2". Said a scout from an AFC South team.

- Another position which seemed to have a clear favorite was the defensive tackle position. But after a strong combine Broderick Bunkley has jumped ahead of Haloti Ngata on a number of team's boards.

After reading this makes me wonder how good Mario Williams can be.Of course I don't want to get caught up in the hoopla of past like Mike Mamula and other work out warriors but is Williams the real deal? Manny Lawson had better production than Williams at NC State why? If Williams is the real deal if I am the Falcon's I try to find a way to move up.I think Williams could go in the top 5 or 7 and you just don't get a shot at a pass rusher much. I wonder if the no15 pick,Schaub would be enough or maybe we would have to throw something else in a 3rd rounder?

Ko Simpson the second best safety next to Huff. What does that make Jimmy willliams? If the Falcon's get Williams will he be another tweener that never fulfills potential. Big corners are hard to get so maybe Williams eventually replaces Webster if Wiliams doesn't become a star at safety? Do we need a pure safety(not a tweener) Ko Simpson or is Tye Hill better at coverage than Jimmy williams? We can't afford to get caught in the middle again like Bryan Scott.I know Williams is a better player but when you can get a safety that can be a pro bowler like Ko Simpson or a running back becomes available that will be hard to pass up (Deangelo Williams) perhaps and we get Jimmy ? I just don't know other than every prospect has a question about them we just need to make the right choice.