RyanC883 Posted January 14, 2013 Posted January 14, 2013 Could be this year's Vontaze Burfict.... all in the risk/reward exactly. I'd def take him in the 4/5th, good replacement for mckelvin, which frees up $$ to sign Byrd, Levetre, and Kruger.
NewEra Posted January 14, 2013 Posted January 14, 2013 I'd take him in the 3rd. He smokes weed. He got caught. Get over it. Many great athletes do. He's a great talent and I'd be happy to land him in round 3.
NoSaint Posted January 14, 2013 Posted January 14, 2013 I'd take him in the 3rd. He smokes weed. He got caught. Get over it. Many great athletes do. He's a great talent and I'd be happy to land him in round 3. well, theres a bit more to it than that. frankly, more than a bit. and thats not to mention the on field questions.
NewEra Posted January 14, 2013 Posted January 14, 2013 well, theres a bit more to it than that. frankly, more than a bit. and thats not to mention the on field questions. What I know of him: he smoked a lot of weed. Reading a few articles, it seems he smoked a lot because he put an unnecessary amount of pressure on himself and it calmed him down. His dad is in prison for murder. I'm sure it has some play in his drug use. He hangs out with the wrong people. He was put on a flyer that was promoting a party. He wasn't allowed to do that as a scholarship athlete. He's been working with former nba player and drug addict John Lucas to help clean up the issues he has. If there more to it, I'd love to know more. He's really talented but if he can't cure his demons he's worthless. It doesn't seem to me, that his issues can't be helped. A risky pick for sure
peterpan Posted January 14, 2013 Posted January 14, 2013 Anytime you can get a 1st round talent not in the 1st round you do it IMO. CBS sports had him as a 5th-6th prospect FWIW. Id take him in the 3rd or 4th if there. Id also like to target Lattimore in the 3rd. I had that in my sig but it was too much of a pain to keep updated before all the people declared and our D scheme changed so I deleted it till further notice.
Justice Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Last I heard he was rooming with former LSU teammate Patrick Peterson to stay away from trouble. Looks like he's trying to clean up his act. These are kids we're talking about! Give him a break.
NoSaint Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Last I heard he was rooming with former LSU teammate Patrick Peterson to stay away from trouble. Looks like he's trying to clean up his act. These are kids we're talking about! Give him a break. I've alluded to this some but never really hashed it out on here..... Some of the "bad influences" aren't just kids being kids. They are hardened New Orleans criminals that are not far removed from the honey badger. This is much more than a little weed once or twice in the grand scheme. That's what he's been caught with publicly so far. His track record is remarkably consistent with his poor judgement. You could've said he turned the corner right before his arrest, just as easily. I don't know the man personally, but from what I gather (especially being intimately familiar with his home town) this really is going to be a fight for his life - especially once the money starts rolling in. If he can't seperate himself from some of these New Orleans people, he's going to have a rough go of it. Hopefully his family is ready to leave the city behind, otherwise they will always be an anchor to keep him around people he MUST get away from. Knowing New Orleans culture and the deep roots that so many struggle to take out of the ground.... there's a very good chance that this is going to be incredibly hard to accomplish. I hope it's a story of redemption, I worry its going to end short of that.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 They missed Mathieu but Tharold Simon was named Honey Badger for this year's squad and he did a pretty darn good job.
filthymcnasty08 Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 exactly. I'd def take him in the 4/5th, good replacement for mckelvin, which frees up $$ to sign Byrd, Levetre, and Kruger. Love the matter of fact talk of the Kruger signing..... that's the power of positive thinking right there!
Alphadawg7 Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 If any of you are delusional enough to think he will last to the 4th round, then think again...This kid is a top 10 talent in this draft, and is off field troubles are not of the Pacman Jones type. And smoking weed is hardly a big deal in terms of people citing "drug use". This is not like when Mallet was rumored to allegedly be messing around with heavy narcotics at campus parties. He is going to light the combine up and his stock will sky rocket. He has been taking steps to clean his act up, teams will see that and realize this kid is too talented. Especially after Janoris Jenkins came in and excelled already for the Rams who slid to the 2nd round last year because of some off field concerns. Not to mention the impact Vontaze has who actually went undrafted despite being an early round talent. But his issues were more concerning than a kid who made a couple of harmless yet irresponsible decisions, especially since all he has done since is try to change that image and get help to stay straight. I honestly expect him to go in the first round once he shows his skills off at the combine. Seriously, we should look hard at him in the 2nd if he makes it to us, and we would be absolute fools to not take him in the 3rd if he was somehow magically still there which I will bet anyone that he will not be. All that being said, I fully expect this organization to pass on him even if he went undrafted because they would rather draft more Kelseys than talent.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 If any of you are delusional enough to think he will last to the 4th round, then think again...This kid is a top 10 talent in this draft, and is off field troubles are not of the Pacman Jones type. And smoking weed is hardly a big deal in terms of people citing "drug use". This is not like when Mallet was rumored to allegedly be messing around with heavy narcotics at campus parties. He is going to light the combine up and his stock will sky rocket. He has been taking steps to clean his act up, teams will see that and realize this kid is too talented. Especially after Janoris Jenkins came in and excelled already for the Rams who slid to the 2nd round last year because of some off field concerns. Besides Jenkins, another comparable is Jimmy Smith who was a Top 5 talent who slid to 27 because of failed drug tests and an aggravated assault charge.
Alphadawg7 Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) Besides Jenkins, another comparable is Jimmy Smith who was a Top 5 talent who slid to 27 because of failed drug tests and an aggravated assault charge. Very true, and this kid has a way higher grade than Smith too. Teams have to trust they can create the right environment, that's why the Ravens take talent and NE takes talent...no surprise they rep the AFC championship regularly Edited January 15, 2013 by Alphadawg7
NoSaint Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) Besides Jenkins, another comparable is Jimmy Smith who was a Top 5 talent who slid to 27 because of failed drug tests and an aggravated assault charge. Both pure cover corners. Not what Matthieu is. Matthieu was not a top 5 talent. Edited January 15, 2013 by NoSaint
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Both pure cover corners. Not what Matthieu is. Matthieu was not a top 5 talent. Well I have no idea what kind of player Mathieu is but I do know that cornerbacks in general are quite coveted.
NoSaint Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Well I have no idea what kind of player Mathieu is but I do know that cornerbacks in general are quite coveted. He's shorter than Jenkins or smith, weighs a chunk less, anticipated to run a slower 40 - many don't think he even matches up to corner at the next level and project him to safety. He was never an "island" type player at lsu even At 5'9 and a 4.5+ anticipated 40 he wasn't a top end corner prospect. He will have to come out absolutely on fire at his workouts to be viewed in that light.
Alphadawg7 Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) He's shorter than Jenkins or smith, weighs a chunk less, anticipated to run a slower 40 - many don't think he even matches up to corner at the next level and project him to safety. He was never an "island" type player at lsu even At 5'9 and a 4.5+ anticipated 40 he wasn't a top end corner prospect. He will have to come out absolutely on fire at his workouts to be viewed in that light. Where are you getting that info? He was projected mostly as a top 10 pick while at LSU before his troubles. There are many different sources talking about him anywhere from a top 5 prospect, top 10 prospect and top 15 prospect. Edited January 15, 2013 by Alphadawg7
NoSaint Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) Where are you getting that info? He was projected as a top 10 pick while at LSU before his troubles. By who though? From watching a wide majority of his snaps. He wasn't the Patrick Peterson or Claiborne style shut down corner - Matthieu was more of a roving playmaker at his best (hidden inside to blitz from a lb role, often played over the top at safety to read eyes as his two biggest playmaking positions) and is regularly discussed as needing to move to free safety at the next level, or having a package/playbook tailored to him. The guys more of a playmaker, read the qbs eyes in a zone than a "sticky" man coverage corner which is everyone else in the discussion. For a comparison point- He's 5'9, and like 175 soaking wet (though allegedly working on bulk currently). I've never seen him projected under a 4.5 (ran a 4.6+ coming into lsu). Patrick Peterson for instance was 6'1, 200lbs and ran a 4.45 coming into lsu and a 4.35 at 220 lbs at the combine and was also electric when he got his hands on the ball and went in that top ten group. Gilmore went 10 at a shade over 6ft and 200 lbs - ran a 4.4. Good man coverage player. Matthieu would struggle in man coverage on the outside. What is he supposed to do when asked to man up a majority of WRs who taller, bigger, faster, more physical. He needs space and a chance to break on the ball. Cover corners go top ten. Undersized tweeners with a good highlight reel typically do not. Edited January 15, 2013 by NoSaint
GG Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Let me see if I get this straight. Matthieu is not seen as a starting grade CB by the sages. Yet he beat out the guy who the sages think is the next starting outside CB on the Bills? One of those can't be true.
cage Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 I'd be surprised if he lasts til the fourth, but if he's there I'd sure take a chance on him. Lets ask this a different way.... what is the highest round you'd draft him in w/ the 8th pick of each round??
NoSaint Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 (edited) Let me see if I get this straight. Matthieu is not seen as a starting grade CB by the sages. Yet he beat out the guy who the sages think is the next starting outside CB on the Bills? One of those can't be true. Brooks regularly lined up outside, while mathieu roamed. A starting corner at the collegiate level can also have a different skill set than an nfl player. Lots of great college players don't transition to a prototype at the next level. A top ten pick has to be a prototype - he never was that. He may play well at the next level but it'll not be as a "shut down corner" Edited January 15, 2013 by NoSaint
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