Would you draft Taylor Mays to play OLB

barrett · #1 12-14-2009, 08:59 AM

What happened was (1) he played injured and (2) he appeared to put on more weight.

He looked very stiff in coverage this year and has started to look more like Roy Williams (the safety) than I would feel comfortable with as a GM with a high 1st round pick.

nunusguy · #2 12-14-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrett

What happened was (1) he played injured and (2) he appeared to put on more weight.

He looked very stiff in coverage this year and has started to look more like Roy Williams (the safety) than I would feel comfortable with as a GM with a high 1st round pick.

I plead ignorance because I didn't even know he had been injured ? Actually I don't think I saw him & his team play this year except for their contest vs Stanford, and in that game Toby Gerhart was busy running over every Trojan defender on the field as I recall.
So you're saying when he's fully recovered from his injury and down to his optimal playing weight he might be worthy of a relatively high first round pick again even though most don't recommend using real high Draft picks on all but the most extraordinary safetys ?

barrett · #3 12-14-2009, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I plead ignorance because I didn't even know he had been injured ? Actually I don't think I saw him & his team play this year except for their contest vs Stanford, and in that game Toby Gerhart was busy running over every Trojan defender on the field as I recall.
So you're saying when he's fully recovered from his injury and down to his optimal playing weight he might be worthy of a relatively high first round pick again even though most don't recommend using real high Draft picks on all but the most extraordinary safetys ?

I'm not sure honestly. I don't know enough about him. I just know I was very impressed the one time I saw him as a Junior, and then not very impressed the three games I watched as a Senior. I was told a lot of it had to do with a knee injury in the beginning of the year that he played with all season.

Either way he looked too big and a little stiff. Like he had accidentally lifted himself out of the safety position. As far as OLB it would depend on if we are still in a 4-3 next year (which depends on our coach). He may be able to play LB in a 4-3 but definitely not in a 3-4. Plus I like our current LB crew. I wouldn't draft him unless it was to play FS (which means I wouldn't take him in the 1st at all if based on what I saw this year).

painekiller · #4 12-14-2009, 03:21 PM

Taylor the safety does remind me of Roy Williams, he plays more a hybrid LB that many of the colleges are using now. Taylor is not the clean tackler I want from a safety. He does not wrap well.

As for coverage, the small bits I can see on TV, he is not an elite coverage guy like our team needs.

Would I draft Mays to be an OLB? No I would rather take Weatherspoon, who is lower on every draft chart I have seen.

Taking Weatherspoon to play with Ryans and Cushing would give the Texans one of the best pass coverage group of LBs in the league, and they are better against the run then they are against the pass.

NBT · #5 12-14-2009, 04:13 PM

NO! He needs to stay at safety. Besides I don't think we need to waste a first round pick on a LB. We need defensive and offensive lineman in a worse way.

mussop · #6 12-14-2009, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NBT

NO! He needs to stay at safety. Besides I don't think we need to waste a first round pick on a LB. We need defensive and offensive lineman in a worse way.

I should of been more specific. I think he is going to fall into the second round.

painekiller · #7 12-15-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mussop

I should of been more specific. I think he is going to fall into the second round.

As you pointed out, Al Davis still in the league, no way he drops to the 2nd.

Roy P · #8 01-29-2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by painekiller

No I would rather take Weatherspoon, who is lower on every draft chart I have seen.

Taking Weatherspoon to play with Ryans and Cushing would give the Texans one of the best pass coverage group of LBs in the league, and they are better against the run then they are against the pass.

Now we are talking. Remember when people were talking abour Aaron Curry being the "safest" pick last year? That's Weatherspoon.

idymoe · #9 01-30-2010, 10:55 AM

He may be the safest, but the only I would be more shocked is if they took a wide receiver in the first.

nunusguy · #10 03-17-2010, 07:43 AM

My former SC teammate Taylor Mays has been under the microscope lately since the Combine. All I can tell you is he’s a hard worker, a solid kid who wants to play football. Whatever his time was in the 40, he’s a guy who could catch anyone on the football field. I saw him plenty of times, if anyone on the other team got loose, he was the last line of defense and always made the tackle. There’s absolutely no question that I would be thrilled to have him on our team.
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Did Cushings endorsement of former teammate Taylor Mays change any minds about the USC safety in the upcoming Draft ?