zonabb Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 This is why watching, reading and listening to what media honks have to say, especially the more animated and louder talkers, is worthless. Last year Levy was a buffoon, now he's a trend setter? Todd McShay on ESPN Insider on draft myths. The myth this comes from was "Don't Waste a High Pick on Tight End or Safety." Safeties who can do it all (support the run, match up one-on-one in the slot and hold up in deep-middle zone coverage) are worth big bucks. That's why it should be no surprise that after the 49ers took Davis No. 6 last year, the next two players selected were Michael Huff (Raiders, No. 7) and Donte Whitner (Bills, No. 8) -- both 203-pound safeties who hit like linebackers and cover like cornerbacks. The recent shift in this trend bodes well for LSU safety Laron Landry and Miami TE Greg Olsen, as both could be top-15 selections. Also, not sure if this has been brought up, but in another McShay insider piece there are some major rumblings now about Lynch's maturity and durability. Probably not unknown to this board, but his sources say teams are downgrading him now, which is driving the interest in Turner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Actually Safeties have been drafted in top 15 not just last 2 years, but more so in the last 5 years....Troy Polamalu (16), Ed Reed, Sean Taylor (5), Roy Williams (8) etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Safeties have become more valuable because of their versatility. They're getting bigger and stronger (guys like Taylor and Williams) and they're athletic enough to cover like corners (Sanders, Polamalu, Reed, and this year's group led by LaRon Landry). Just like Steve Hutchinson has made people aware of the value of guards in the NFL (notice the contracts Dockery and Steinhach signed), these guys are waking people up to the value of safeties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Safeties have become more valuable because of their versatility. They're getting bigger and stronger (guys like Taylor and Williams) and they're athletic enough to cover like corners (Sanders, Polamalu, Reed, and this year's group led by LaRon Landry). Just like Steve Hutchinson has made people aware of the value of guards in the NFL (notice the contracts Dockery and Steinhach signed), these guys are waking people up to the value of safeties. Centers, and MLB's, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max997 Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 it was more about Whitner being selected that high then it was about a saftey being selected that high....you didnt hear anyone say Huff was taken too early did you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 it was more about Whitner being selected that high then it was about a saftey being selected that high....you didnt hear anyone say Huff was taken too early did you? Unfortunately, the mindset is still there, as there are some who even question a team taking LaRon Landry in the top 5 of the draft, regardless of the fact that he's more than likely the top defensive PLAYER in this draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Unfortunately, the mindset is still there, as there are some who even question a team taking LaRon Landry in the top 5 of the draft, regardless of the fact that he's more than likely the top defensive PLAYER in this draft. Whatever team gets Landry is going to have the centerpiece for their defense for 10yrs. Not many safeties you could build a defense around. This guy is one of them. He could do it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 it was more about Whitner being selected that high then it was about a saftey being selected that high....you didnt hear anyone say Huff was taken too early did you? On TSW we heard that alot. Prior to the draft there were at least a couple of posters who insisted that the Bills not take Huff with the #8 because one could find a good safety later on the first day of the draft. They were badmouthing Huff because he seemed like the only safety the Bills might even possibly take with the #8. They were among the folks who were pretty incensed when the Bills took Whitner and would point to past levels where safeties were picked to try to prove their arguments. Its hard to remember who insisted on this view, but perhaps they would be brave enough now to step up and say this was (is?) there view. They were generally right about the past stats, but failed to realize that the game had changed the old stats were simply just that old. Thanks to better conditioning, diet, steroids, HGH and who knows what this league is working to a place where DL players are still big but better athletes and LBs are hitting the weights that used to be reserved for DL players and now the safeties are bulking up to hit like LBs. The game has changed the advent of high drafting for safeties is merely a sign of the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 it was more about Whitner being selected that high then it was about a saftey being selected that high....you didnt hear anyone say Huff was taken too early did you? Well, evidently he was. Here are their meaninless statistics from 2006 Huff: GS 16 Total 78 Tkl 64.0 Ast 14 Sacks 0 Int 0 Yds 0 Avg 0.0 Lg 0 TD 0 Pass Def 1 Whitner: GS 15 Total 104 Tkl 67.0 Ast 37 Sacks 0 Int 1 Yds 10 Avg 10.0 Lg 0 TD 0 Pass Def 4 Obviously Oaklawn !@#$ed up by not taking Whitner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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