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Here is the 3rd and 4th rounder

Drew Boylhart February 2008

Steve Slaton RB West Virginia



STRENGTHS

Steve is an athletic player that could play more than one position for the team that drafts him. He is the type of player that does not need to get many repetitions in a game to impact that game. Steve has the quickness to go along with good speed to become a match up nightmare. He has strong hands and can catch the ball down the field as well as any WR in this draft. Steve is a RB who has the speed to sweep around the corner and the vision and lateral agility to run in between the tackles. He can play in any style of offense. He plays with a lot of heart to go along with his talent.



NEEDS TO IMPROVE

Steve has injury problems and he has a bad habit of fumbling. The team that drafts him has to look at him as future WR because he is just not mentally tough enough to take the pounding at the next level as a RB. He is a specialty player and that’s how you should think of him when drafting him.



TALENT BOARD ROUND 3

I feel that Steve will have to be used as a slot receiver / return man for the first few years in the NFL. He might turn into a WR later in his career, but to be honest, I would not worry about it. He has the talent to impact as a return man and a slot receiver so just use him in that way. He reminds me of Antwaan Randle-El (WR Washington Redskins). Steve will take some time to learn the slot, but while he learns, he can impact on special teams. He has to learn to hold onto the ball and not fumble or he will not play very much at all. Steve has talent, but I don’t feel he understands his limitations. He tries too hard at times to make the big play and this causes him to get injured and sometimes lose the ball. He wants to impress so much that he loses himself. He needs to learn situational football -- when to go down, out of bounds or how deep to run his route. He just needs to settle down and learn the game of football and he will impact. Right now, he is just a better athlete than most of the players he is up against. He has a lot to learn and he needs some good coaching. Give him time and he’ll be just fine.

Drew Boylhart March 2008

Xavier Adibi LB Virginia Tech



STRENGTHS

Xavier is an excellent coverage LB. He is quick, fast and shows good instincts for defending on passing downs. He likes defending against the pass and when you see a player who likes to do something on the field, you would be a fool not to take advantage of it. Xavier has been playing more MLB than OLB and I feel for the next level that OLB will be his impact position. VT also wants all its players to be good special teams players and Xavier is no exception to that rule.



NEEDS TO IMPROVE

There is a big hole in Xavier's game in that he does not tackle very well. The reason for this is that he doesn't like the contact. He will drag you down from behind, but he does not like to meet you head up and challenge you at the college level; therefore, don't expect it to get better at the NFL level.



TALENT BOARD ROUND 5

It's a shame this kid is not a better tackler because Xavier is very athletic. However, the fact that he does not like contact means to me that he picked the wrong game to in which to use his enormous athletic talent. He tries hard, but facts are facts. He runs around blocks and tries to arm tackle way too much. I know he was playing out of position, but at any of the LB positions you have to be able to tackle. He could be a solid cover LB in a nickel-dime package and help on special teams, but I don't see him challenging for a starting position. It's very tough to pass on an athletic person when you are about to draft, but if you draft Xavier thinking he is going to be your starting anything for your defense, you are making a big mistake. Xavier will do fine if he is not on the field for any length of time and might be able to assist with turnovers when defending in the passing game, but if he is on the field down after down, your defense will have big problems. Remember, tackling is fundamental to the game of football. If you don't like to do it and cannot force yourself to be at least average, then I suggest you play flag football instead. Oh, by the way, don't bother to suggest to me that he can be switched to the safety position. Safeties have to be excellent open field tacklers or they are of little use to a defense.