1st Round DL

[James]

Jerry and Raji are very different players. Jerry is a 3 technique one gap tackle, whereas Raji is a 2 gap run stuffer. That is why I am so enamored with the guy, because he is different than any other DT in the draft, if we want another 3 technique, I think we can trade down from 15 and grab Moala or Hood, but Raji fills a need that we haven't been able to fill since Walker/Payne were here.

[danger6]

I wonder what type of defensive tackle the new coordinator and d-line coach might want. That will probably be a secret until after the draft.

[mussop]

Originally Posted by James

Jerry and Raji are very different players. Jerry is a 3 technique one gap tackle, whereas Raji is a 2 gap run stuffer. That is why I am so enamored with the guy, because he is different than any other DT in the draft, if we want another 3 technique, I think we can trade down from 15 and grab Moala or Hood, but Raji fills a need that we haven't been able to fill since Walker/Payne were here.

actually Raji is both. He can do either which is why I think it would be insane to pass him up at 15 should he fall.

[James]

True, which is why I would advocate us moving up for the man.

[Roy P]

While I like what Raji can do, I'm not 100% sure of what he will do once he has guaranteed money in his bank account. During the Senior Bowl practices he looked like Shaun Rogers. On Tuesday he was good, on Wednesday he was there, then on Thursday after Mayock got on him the day before he was great. If you watched the game on Saturday, there were plays where he was pretty average. While I've never heard him talk, his body language is somewhat disappointing. Is this a guy who has to have a boot in his ass in order to perform? What motivates him to perform to his highest ability is something that our team is going to have to determine before it thinks about using its #15 pick, much less mortgaging the future with extra picks to move up to get him.

None of us will be in the room when Raji is interviewed. We will not know how he will explain his academic problems at BC. Hopefully, we'll get to see what he scores on the Wunderlich to determine a little insight into his mental capacity. However, even that isn't proof positive if he'll be a risky pick to play NT in the NFL or not. We can only hope that coach Kollar and coach Bush will be able to get a feel for how lazy Raji is or is not and how dedicated he will be at the Pro level. If we draft him, we'll have to hope that the staff has done their homework.

If Raji didn't have unique skills at a position of need for us, we might not be willing to take the risk. Perhaps we would look for a player who has a better probability of making an impact for the team. I would guess that Peria Jerry has a better work ethic based upon how I saw him play consistently when he was on the field. His "downside" is the fact that most people see him as a player who would fill the same need as Amobi Okoye and would we see his strengths utilized if he was asked to simply stop the run and hold the point of attack. Perhaps Jerry's ability would keep OLs off guard not knowing which DT would attack and which would have the "stop the run" responsibility on any given down. This is a similar aproach of keeping the offense guessing which LB or which S is going to Blitz. Something to keep in mind.