Dont Stop Billeiving Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) First off, I have to confess something. My initial reaction to the name that followed 'The Buffalo Bills select...' wasn't a overly positive one. My eyes kept getting wider as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Teven Jenkins, Elijah Moore, and others appeared to be falling to us (Greg Newsome going to the Browns was a real gut-punch for me personally though) and I was almost certain that one of those prospects would be the pick at #30. However, as the surprise wore off, Gregory Rousseau has made more and more sense. While he undeniably has some bust potential as he's a raw, inexperienced prospect, Rousseau has a lot of traits that the Bills love (versatility, high football character, freakish physical gifts, etc.) and the reports are that coaches love this kid and his character/work ethic/intangibles. His length and ability to find the football are elite and we could really choose to view his limited number of snaps as a positive thing (converted WR/safety whose best football is ahead of him). Looking through the main thread about the pick, I noticed more than a few references/doubts and comparisons to Aaron Maybin, a seemingly good human being who is now an artist and elementary school teacher (true story!), but unfortunately for us, was an extremely disappointing football player. To my eye, I don't understand these comparisons as they look like very different defenders, but I thought I would dig into the numbers and see what happens. Here goes. Gregory Rousseau Height- 6’ 7” (technically 6 foot 6 5/8 inches) Weight- 266 lbs Arm Length- 34 3/4 inch arms (11 1/8 inch hands and a wingspan of 83 1/4 inches) Stats- Career (14 games)- 59 total tackles, 19.5 TFL, 15.5 sacks, 1 PD, and 2 FF. Combine Results- 4.68 40 Yd Dash (with a 1.57 10 Yd Split and a 2.71 20 Yd Split), 4.45 Shuttle, 7.50 Three Cone, 30" Vert Jump, 9'-7" Broad Jump, 21 Bench Reps. Relative Athletic Score (RAS)- 7.75 (out of 10) Aaron Maybin Height- 6’4” Weight- 245 lbs Arm Length- 35 1/4 inch arms (10 inch hands, spent about 15 minutes trying to find his wingspan, but couldn't locate it) Stats- Career (26 games)- 61 total tackles, 24.5 TFL, 16 sacks, 4 PD, and 4 FF. Combine Results- 4.64 40 Yd Dash, 4.38 Shuttle, 7.52 Three Cone, 38" Vert Jump, 10'-4" Broad Jump, 22 Bench Reps. RAS- 6.44 (out of 10) In summary, Rousseau is a significantly taller and heavier player who despite his poor pro day (I saw reports and other posters who mentioned that he fell on his vertical and had to run his three cone drill multiple times which wore him down a bit), still tested as a better athlete than Maybin when comparing their Relative Athletic Scores. Rousseau has slightly shorter arms, but he has larger hands and I think it's fair to assume he has a longer wingspan given his height advantage and build. In a relatively small sample size for both players, Rousseau's stats are much more impressive on a per game basis. Hopefully, if you were concerned about Rousseau becoming the next Maybin, I’ve at least managed to mitigate your doubts. I believe Rousseau has some prototype-level physical gifts that you can't teach and a ton of untapped potential. While Maybin had tweener size and was never a plus run defender, Rousseau's build, length, and effort allows him to set the edge effectively and his size enables him to line up across the defensive line which is very valuable. Rousseau is still a raw, unrefined prospect in many respects and he may not have a huge impact from Day 1 given how new he is to playing defense, but I trust the coaching staff to develop him and the kid seems like a process guy who will work his tail off to reach his enormous ceiling. It's a big swing, but I'm come around to seeing it as a worthwhile one. Thanks for reading and Go Bills! Good luck to us all tonight! Edited April 30, 2021 by Dont Stop Billeiving Changed Title 4 1 1 1
WotAGuy Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) I appreciate the effort to compare measurables, but it really has no bearing on whether Greg will be Maybin or Bruce Smith. Edited April 30, 2021 by WotAGuy 7 1 1
NewEra Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 Is there really a myth? The only comparison is that they only had 1 good season 3 1
Motorin' Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 Josh Allen is JP Losman. I heard that on this board. After Josh's second season... Some people. 1 1
CEN-CAL17 Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 Trust me... the FO sees something in this kid. Obviously they think he can improve. They will also be in his ear to prove everyone wrong. They like these guys and usually prove everyone wrong
0017 Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) Plus his draft position at 30 is much easier pill to swallow if he is a bust, but on the film I watched I thought he had Shaw Lawson type potential to play the run day 1, I think that is a huge help to our defense. Edited April 30, 2021 by Dr. Football 1
BuffaloBillyG Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 The name I think about is Margus Hunt, not Aaron Maybin. Hopefully this coaching staff gets more out of Rousseau than the Bengals got out of the tall, strong and extremely raw Hunt. I think they will...but Hunt is my "worst case" comparison. 2
MJS Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 This is not a thing. No need to even say it is a myth. 2 1
ProcessAccepted Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 8 minutes ago, Dont Stop Billeiving said: Gregory Rousseau Stats- Career (14 games)- 59 total tackles, 19.5 TFL, 15.5 sacks, 1 PD, and 2 FF. Aaron Maybin Stats- Career (26 games)- 61 total tackles, 24.5 TFL, 16 sacks, 4 PD, and 4 FF. Personally I hadn't heard of the myth. Maybin's name never came up as a comparable to Rousseau in any coverage I've watched or read. That said I'd only need to look at the gameplay stats to see that they are not the same guy. When you factor in that Rousseau has only played the position for about one season you can only wonder how high the ceiling can be. 2
Dont Stop Billeiving Posted April 30, 2021 Author Posted April 30, 2021 8 minutes ago, WotAGuy said: I appreciate the effort to compare measurables, but it really has no bearing on whether Greg will be Maybin or Bruce Smith. Yeah of course, measurables and college stats are about all we can compare at this point. My argument is that physically Rousseau and Maybin are very different prospects. Whether Rousseau can reach his ceiling is the un-answerable million dollar question. 1
0017 Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, No Place To Hyde said: The name I think about is Margus Hunt, not Aaron Maybin. Hopefully this coaching staff gets more out of Rousseau than the Bengals got out of the tall, strong and extremely raw Hunt. I think they will...but Hunt is my "worst case" comparison. Margus brother Mike is also extremely raw 😂 Edited April 30, 2021 by Dr. Football 2
ChronicAndKnuckles Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 13 minutes ago, Dont Stop Billeiving said: First off, I have to confess something. My initial reaction to the name that followed 'The Buffalo Bills select...' wasn't a overly positive one. My eyes kept getting wider as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Teven Jenkins, Elijah Moore, and others appeared to be falling to us (Greg Newsome going to the Browns was a real gut-punch for me personally though) and I was almost certain that one of those prospects would be the pick at #30. However, as the surprise wore off, Gregory Rousseau has made more and more sense. While he undeniably has some bust potential as he's a raw, inexperienced prospect, Rousseau has a lot of traits that the Bills love (versatility, high football character, freakish physical gifts, etc.) and the reports are that coaches love this kid and his character/work ethic/intangibles. His length and ability to find the football are elite and we could really choose to view his limited number of snaps as a positive thing (converted WR/safety whose best football is ahead of him). Looking through the main thread about the pick, I noticed more than a few references/doubts and comparisons to Aaron Maybin, a seemingly good human being who is now an artist and elementary school teacher (true story!), but unfortunately for us, was an extremely disappointing football player. To my eye, I don't understand these comparisons as they look like very different defenders, but I thought I would dig into the numbers and see what happens. Here goes. Gregory Rousseau Height- 6’ 7” (technically 6 foot 6 5/8 inches) Weight- 266 lbs Arm Length- 34 3/4 inch arms (11 1/8 inch hands and a wingspan of 83 1/4 inches) Stats- Career (14 games)- 59 total tackles, 19.5 TFL, 15.5 sacks, 1 PD, and 2 FF. Combine Results- 4.68 40 Yd Dash (with a 1.57 10 Yd Split and a 2.71 20 Yd Split), 4.45 Shuttle, 7.50 Three Cone, 30" Vert Jump, 9'-7" Broad Jump, 21 Bench Reps. Relative Athletic Score (RAS)- 7.75 (out of 10) Aaron Maybin Height- 6’4” Weight- 245 lbs Arm Length- 35 1/4 inch arms (10 inch hands, spent about 15 minutes trying to find his wingspan, but couldn't locate it) Stats- Career (26 games)- 61 total tackles, 24.5 TFL, 16 sacks, 4 PD, and 4 FF. Combine Results- 4.64 40 Yd Dash, 4.38 Shuttle, 7.52 Three Cone, 38" Vert Jump, 10'-4" Broad Jump, 22 Bench Reps. RAS- 6.44 (out of 10) In summary, Rousseau is a significantly taller and heavier player who despite his poor pro day (I saw reports and other posters who mentioned that he fell on his vertical and had to run his three cone drill multiple times which wore him down a bit), still tested as a better athlete than Maybin when comparing their Relative Athletic Scores. Rousseau has slightly shorter arms, but he has larger hands and I think it's fair to assume he has a longer wingspan given his height advantage and build. In a relatively small sample size for both players, Rousseau's stats are much more impressive on a per game basis. Hopefully, if you were concerned about Rousseau becoming the next Maybin, I’ve at least managed to mitigate your doubts. I believe Rousseau has some prototype-level physical gifts that you can't teach and a ton of untapped potential. While Maybin had tweener size and was never a plus run defender, Rousseau's build, length, and effort allows him to set the edge effectively and his size enables him to line up across the defensive line which is very valuable. Rousseau is still a raw, unrefined prospect in many respects and he may not have a huge impact from Day 1 given how new he is to playing defense, but I trust the coaching staff to develop him and the kid seems like a process guy who will work his tail off to reach his enormous ceiling. It's a big swing, but I'm come around to seeing it as a worthwhile one. Thanks for reading and Go Bills! Good luck to us all tonight! This is a good write up and it's interesting to look at head to head combine numbers. I wasn't a huge fan of the pick, but now that it's done then I'm on board. Rosseau showed more productivity in fewer games. Hopefully w/ that huge 6'7 wingspan he'll be able to bat down a ton of passes. 1
Jauronimo Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 Maybin's playing weight was closer to 230. He maxed his narrow frame for the combine gaining about 15 lbs between the end of the season and the combine. He clearly trained for it and it paid off big for him. Unfortunately it came at the expense of our Bills. Maybin had that "quick first step" but that isn't enough at the NFL level. IIRC, Maybin and Ed Wang was a big camp battle. Wang never played a down in the NFL. MAybin got swallowed up by any NFL lineman worth a damn. I don't see the similarities. 1
Don Otreply Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 One might add, that Beane drafted for the future more so than the present, Just like he said he was going to do in his pre draft interview. Some how that tidbit is completely ignored by so many..., 1 1
BuffaloRebound Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 What is the point of this thread? Might as well compare Rousseau to Erik Flowers. He’s about as relevant as Maybin. 2
msw2112 Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 10 minutes ago, WotAGuy said: I appreciate the effort to compare measurables, but it really has no bearing on whether Greg will be Maybin or Bruce Smith. Here's my hot take - Greg will end up somewhere in between. (Considering that one is one of the biggest busts in Bills history - albeit a good person - and the other is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who is the all-time NFL sack leader).
RobbRiddicksTDLeap Posted April 30, 2021 Posted April 30, 2021 You can watch ANY highlight clip, and see that Rousseau is an actual football player. Maybin was a clown, dressed as a football player. 1
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