So watching Randall's highlights.....is he really a poor tackler or do scouts just not like his size? Obviously his highlights won't show missed tackles but he looks willing to throw his body around and he has quite a few TFLs. He probably won't ever be a big hitter but his athleticism and explosiveness are evident when he tackles in those highlights. And he wraps up. Again, this is all based on his highlight video but this guy does not look like Deion Sanders trying to tackle out there.
Randall is another versatile player for the defense and he makes sense in the modern NFL given his coverage abilities
Teams try to go real fast and keep GB from substituting - having guys like Randall and Hyde means that we don't get caught in a poor match- up as often.
They can move around and handle different roles depending on the scenario. It also makes it harder on the QB - who needs to identify what the safeties/CBs are doing pre-snap. Dom uses lots of packages and versatile players are what makes those packages work.
Matthews can play inside or out, Peppers at OLB or DE, Neal inside rusher or outside LB. Guion at NT, Guion at DE. Interchangeable safeties with Burnett and HaHa capable of playing either Strong or Free or even in the slot. Hyde at slot, corner, safety and ILB. Richardson at SS or ILB. Hayward in the slot, Hayward outside on the boundary. It allows them to mix & match based on who they are playing and what they want to take away
Giving Whitt another talented player to work seems like a pretty smart move, its just not one the fanboys could have foreseen.
And instead of using this unconventional choice as a reminder of how little they know, they question the sanity of the guys building the team.
"I can't possibly be rong, ergo it must be Ted who messed up"
Originally Posted by Satori:
Giving Whitt another talented player to work seems like a pretty smart move, its just not one the fanboys could have foreseen.
Nice write up. And I'm one of those fanboys that never saw this coming. I've always gotten on board with TT's draft picks eventually and this will be no different........but fans really can only evaluate 'need' as we know jack s**t about scouting 'talent', which is where the negativity comes from. But if he becomes a player, he'll be fun to watch. You can never have too may cover guys and he looks to be a good one.
I look at Randall's tackling this way: he had 135 solo tackles in 25 career games at ASU which is roughly 5 solo tackles per game. I think the solo tackles made are a great way to judge how willing you are as a tackler. Look at the best Safety in the NFL, Earl Thomas, in 2014 he had 71 solo tackles in 16 regular season games which is roughly 4 solo tackles per game. This is not comparing Randall to Earl Thomas or saying he's better, but rather pointing out that Randall seems as willing to tackle as even the best Safety in the NFL. Compare him to other top prospects like Landon Collins at Safety, he had 4 solo tackles per game the last two years, Trae Waynes and Kevin Johnson averaged 2 solo tackles/game the last 2 years. Point is Randall is as willing or more willing to tackle compared to any other top prospect or NFL player. Does he need technique work? Definitely, but that is extremely teachable, you can't coach that willingness to sacrifice your body to make a tackle though.
I hope Damarious Randall is a quick study.
The Pack lost a lot of defensive experience with the departure of Tramon Williams, House and Hawk. The guys replacing them need to be assignment sure for Capers to fully utilize/scheme the flexability/complexity that these players afford him.
Originally Posted by antooo:
I hope Damarious Randall is a quick study.
He's a smart guy and a real film-hound if you believe the scouting reports
He measures up favorably to Marcus Peters, but without the ****-head component
D.Randall...... (M. Peters)
Ht: 5107....... (5115)
Wt: 196...... . (197)
40: 4.46.... .......(4.47)
Vert: 38.... ........(37 1/2)
Broad: 10'00".... (10'01")
Shuttle: 4.07 .....(4.08 )
3 Cone: 6.83...... (7.08 )
From what I've heard the defensive scheme used at ASU required him to do a lot of man-to-man coverage. TT and crew pretty obviously liked what they saw on tape and I'll trust Whitt and the coaching staff to help make the successful transition. Time will tell if TT's typically keen eye for talent served him well in this case.
Couple more factoids.
@ByRyanWood: Damarious Randall was one of 6 safeties targeted at least 60 times in 2014, per @PFF. His 53.2 completion % allowed was lowest in the group.
@PackersNotes: According to .@JasonBelzer, No. 1 pick Damarious Randall's 4-year contract with the Packers will be worth $7.2 million.
@ByRyanWood: Damarious Randall lined up at FS on 60.5% of snaps last season, per @PFF. He played slot corner 26.5%. Only 2 snaps came at perimeter CB.
He does have a bit of experience at corner after all. Liking the pick more and more.
Originally Posted by St. Hoolligan:
I am happy we got a safety, but he does seem a bit small. Maybe we can bulk him up a bit.
He could be the next Aaron Rouse which will be great when covering slot receivers. Should they bulk up Sam Shields also?
Read a lot of comparisons between him and Tyrann Mathieu, as well as Devin McCourty. Ceiling wise....can't ask for much more than that with a late 1st. Those are 2 very good players
As far as his tackling goes, looks like he wraps up well and gets the guy down when he has the opportunity. He seems to struggle in space though when the receiver has a window...gets easily juked and often misses. Definitely won't be a hitter but that's not why GB brought him in. Need to add that thumping ILB today who can deliver those blows + they already have H yde/Burnett for run support from backend
The more I read opinions from scouts the more I'm convinced some of them are really good and some of them are really bad.
How do this many people watch 3 years worth of tape of the same guy and come up with that kind of opinion range?
How do this many people watch 3 years worth of tape of the same guy and come up with that kind of opinion range?
Some of them lie.
Not sure all of them watch that much tape all of the guys, the regional scouts probably do, but their bosses may only watch the full tapes of a few of the guy's that they are targeting or that get the best reccomendations from the regional scouts.
While no one has any idea whether the pick will work out, I like the fact that we picked up speed on the DB side of the ball. No offense to Tramon, House, or Hyde, but you can't teach speed.
I thought that's what 'Beebe's House of Speed' was for.
Originally Posted by 50k Club:
While no one has any idea whether the pick will work out, I like the fact that we picked up speed on the DB side of the ball. No offense to Tramon, House, or Hyde, but you can't teach speed.
House had some speed and good size. I was bummed out to see him go. Quite frankly, I am a bit concerned about our CBs.
Couple comments from his post 1st rd presser I get the sense Thompson had Randall in the top 15-20 on his board. Not sure which tier that is though.
Randall uses his hands very well in coverage. From the clips I watched today he does not get moved off the spot easily from the offensive player. He'll handle the slot very well and I'm not concerned with him taking on TEs.
Time for the Wizard to stir the brew.
First-hand opinion on Randall.
...There was one player on the roster who knew the method to G.M. Ted Thompson's madness in taking Damarious Randall.
Carl Bradford, Randall's teammate at Arizona State.
And Bradford, a fourth-round pick last spring, sees Randall as a playmaking fit in this defense at cornerback.
“He’s a ballhawk, man," the Packers inside linebacker said. "He’s always around the ball. I loved playing with him at Arizona State. He’s definitely a guy, when the ball’s in the air, you know he’s going to be around it and have an impact on that play somewhere, somehow. That’s what I always loved about him. He’s great in man coverage. We blitzed a lot, so he played man a lot. He’ll come up and tackle if he needs to.
“A great athlete. Fast. Has great hands. I believe he’s the total package. I’m happy we drafted him." ...
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/302224301.html
I wonder what Woodson's true weight was when he played for us? I'm guessing less than his program weight. So, can't bash Randall because of size quite yet. Sounds like Randall will take over Hayward's former spot to start with. Sounds like ball player. We'll see.
His true weight was that he knew how to play football and make plays on defense.
I was expecting Bradford to be critical of his former and now current teammate.
I don't know about that, Woodson was pretty built. I think he was listed at 200 lbs and I'd be willing to bet he played pretty close to that. Hard to be much smaller when he was asked to play some LB, cover TEs, blitz the QB, and be such a good run defender in the box. You just can't do that consistently playing at 185-190 lbs.
But I don't think Capers is going to play Randall like that. The more I read, the more it seems he'll be a cover guy that can move all around the field as a CB and safety, confusing the defense a bit. Definitely a versatile weapon for Capers, just not in the mold of Woodson.
Let's stop with the Charles Woodson comparisons. Damarious has the ability to play the same role. But he's not Charles. Charles is one of the 10 best talents to ever play secondary in NFL history.
Sure, he's no Charles Woodson , but he's certainly a Jarrett Bush...
And given Randall's ST talents, I think we can close the door on the Bush Era
He's a rich mans Bush with early stock options in Yahoo?
Originally Posted by ChilliJon:
How do this many people watch 3 years worth of tape of the same guy and come up with that kind of opinion range?
Ask 10 people what color a stop sign is and one a hole will say it's orange because he's color blind, and at least one more a hole will say it's orange simply because he's an a hole.
That's how. 
Originally Posted by Grave Digger:
I look at Randall's tackling this way: he had 135 solo tackles in 25 career games at ASU which is roughly 5 solo tackles per game. I think the solo tackles made are a great way to judge how willing you are as a tackler. ... Does he need technique work? Definitely, but that is extremely teachable, you can't coach that willingness to sacrifice your body to make a tackle though.
Thought this was a great post, so I had to join up to point it out.
I like that Randall has good athleticism, the willingness to work and as Grave Digger said, to tackle. Last and perhaps most important, he has a great coach to maximize those talents.
Looking ahead, Randall has the potential to drop Hyde into the 4th DB role, add speed to the D and immediately improve special teams. Great pick.
Welcome aboard, LT. Great post and even better nom de guerre.
Will LT be bringing the hookers and blow to the draft party?
Originally Posted by oldschool:
simply because he's an a hole.
Somebody say something?
Updated depth chart:
| LDE | Datone Jones | Josh Boyd | Bruce Gaston | |
| NT | B.J. Raji | Letroy Guion | Mike Pennel | |
| RDE | Mike Daniels | Josh Boyd | Bruce Gaston | |
| LOLB | Clay Matthews | Mike Neal | Jayrone Elliott | |
| LILB | Carl Bradford | Jake Ryan | ||
| MLB | Sam Barrington | |||
| ROLB | Julius Peppers | Nick Perry | ||
| LCB | Casey Hayward | Quinten Rollins | Demetri Goodson | |
| RCB | Sam Shields | Damarious Rollins | Jarrett Bush | |
| SS | Morgan Burnett | Sean Richardson | Chris Banjo | |
| FS | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | Micah Hyde |
Originally Posted by Satori:
Sure, he's no Charles Woodson , but he's certainly a Jarrett Bush...
And given Randall's ST talents, I think we can close the door on the Bush Era
Best post in the last 2 weeks!
With how terrible ST coverage units were, not sure how smart it is to get rid of a monster on the coverage units?????
Well, I like thinking of him playing safety where the inside of the field from medium to deep is now well covered.
Still concerned with inside of the field short (ILB play).
Originally Posted by RatPack:
Originally Posted by Satori:
Sure, he's no Charles Woodson , but he's certainly a Jarrett Bush...
And given Randall's ST talents, I think we can close the door on the Bush Era
Best post in the last 2 weeks!
Is it safe to say we'll be trimming the roster's Bush?
Are you trying to tell me the roster will be shaved? or waxed?
I think it makes sense Randall plays free safety and Dix strong safety. So Randall is not that big. Fine, let him patrol the deep portion of the field and be more likely to be hitting wide receivers more often than RB's.
Let Dix be the safety patroling short and LoS. That is close to Woodson's use with the Pack where he was often right at the LoS.
Dix: 6'1" 208 4.58 40
Randall: 5'11" 196 4.46 40