Jeff Owens. Photo from Georgiadogs.com
One man's opinion of the Top 5 NFL prospects on the team excluding true freshmen. They are ranked based on a combination of potential and what they've shown to date.
1. Jeff Owens1. Jeff Owens -- Owens seemed to improve in every game last year. He reminds me of a slimmer Jonathan Sullivan or a not quite as quick Tommie Harris. I'm expecting a huge increase in his strength going into his Sophomore year. Defensive tackles with his size, quickness and speed don't grow on trees. The sky is the limit if he stays healthy. Fourth on the team in sacks in 2005 leading all defensive tackles.
2. Charles Johnson
3. Quentin Moses
4. Paul Oliver
5. Thomas Brown
Charles Johnson vs. GT. Photo by Jim Hipple
2. Charles Johnson -- While not as fast as Moses, he's stronger and has more of an NFL body. Moses would need to put on 20 lbs. to get his full value at the combine. Described by Coach Richt as "unblockable" this spring. Although, that may be based on the limited talent of our offensive tackles. Played running back and returned punts in high school when he wasn't mauling QBs at defensive end.
Moses and Owens clobber Russell. Photo by Jim Hipple
3. Quentin Moses -- SEC defensive player of the year candidate for 2005. Combines speed and effort to create major problems for offensive tackles and offensive coordinators. Reminds me of a thicker Jason Taylor. Landed 11.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss in 2005
Paul Oliver. Image Scout.com
4. Paul Oliver -- After a rocky true freshman year that saw a redshirt, a suspension, pouting and frustration on his part and the coach's part, Oliver has grown up considerably. His game has matured light years since the abuse he took at the hands of the Vols in 2004. In 2005, he played exceptional football against Sidney Rice and Calvin Johnson. He will be the leader of the defensive secondary this year, and one of the best CBs in the SEC. Lead the team in fumbles forced and was second in INTs in 2005.
Thomas Brown vs. GT. Photo by Jim Hipple
5. Thomas Brown -- The real question is...will we give enough carries to Brown to let him shine? Only one back last year got 20 carries in a game, and it was Brown who rushed for 144 yards against the Gamecocks. He's got the speed and moves plus more strength than many guys much larger. He just needs the carries.
The others:
Let's look at the two biggies that I didn't list. Kregg Lumpkin and Mohammad Massaquoi. Lumpkin is a terrific running back prospect, and maybe the #6 guy on the list. But he has struggled with injuries in two of his three years here. Hamstrings and knee injuries tend to depress the value of an NFL pick. Brown has greater speed and his power has been incredible.
Massaquoi is one of the top college players on the team, but I doubt that he has the speed to get drafted by the NFL as highly as the other five guys.
Agree? Disagree?
pwd
11 comments:
agree with all of the list. a wild card is Kenneth Harris. His size and athleticism are NFL caliber. Hopefully he can combine that with Massaquoi's technician-like approach and you've got a dang good WR on your hands.
I'm a different anonymous, but I also agree. That said, I am a poor NFL prognosticator: I would have thought L. Pope would have been a higher pick than he turned out, and thought the same about MJG. Maybe I am just a Disney Dawg. One thing I do think is true - Jonathan Sullivan aside, most UGA picks don't disappoint once they get there.
I'm with you -- I was thinking that a lot of the Dawgs drafted this past year would've gone a lot higher, Jean-Gilles being first and foremost among them. But like you said, even the Dawgs who've gotten picked in the lower rounds have, historically, been given pretty good opportunities to shine, which is why I'm optimistic about Shockley's chances.
Hines Ward probably wasn't considered fast enough for the NFL either.
The problem with MJG was he ate himself out of the a high draft. He packed on to much weight and lowered his own value. Leonard Pope was still selected as one of the top TEs. Eventhough with the exception of that freaky fast guy at Maryland and and the UCLA guy who had better numbers I'm not really sure why Pope didn't go higher especially with the sucess of the past couple of TEs to come out of Georgia.
I got one who I think will end up on an NFL roster one day, though probably not as highly drafted as anyone you've listed: Brandon Coutu. He's got the size and leg strength to be a long time player in the NFL, continuing the Dawg tradition.
At 7/13/2006 8:46 AM, Anonymous said...
"Hines Ward probably wasn't considered fast enough for the NFL either."
Hines didn't get drafted til around the 4th round either. I wasn't attempting to predict who would make the better pro. Just who might get drafted higher.
i disagree with the running back analysis-lumpkin emerged at the end of last year because he was fresh-i'm not sure brown will be able to take the punishment in the NFL-still looking for big things out of ware-lso Brandon Miller is going to turn some heads this year-has great size for NFL as well
Wow, really? Those two and THEN Moses? I already saw one extremely early mock draft for 07 with Moses going NUMBER 2 OVERALL!!
And Sullivan definitely isn't the best measuring stick, even if he did go really high... no pun intended.
Jarvis Jackson: Undersized for the middle, but has the speed to play outside. Jarvis was our best LB last year and I really think he will turn some heads in the SEC this year.
Wild Card --> Remarcus Brown
I'd like to see some more playing time and see how he covers and tackles, but dude can throw down a 40. I heard Clemson timed him at a 3.97
I would also love to see what Thomas Brown could do in the Falcons' cut-back scheme.
Yet another anonymous. I think you're mostly on the mark with the defensive guys, though Johnson being the top guy would not surprise me, either. But I think that Lumpkin is a better overall prospect than Brown, though injury problems could admittedly be his weakness. As far as the "quantity of carries" point goes, I think it's even truer of Lumpkin considering his size. I would love to see what he could do if fed the ball 25 times in a game (now that he's 100% again). Also, if Milner can learn to consistently catch the ball, his stock could skyrocket. He has the tools- just needs to show up when it matters.
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