Let's Hope we draft Myron Rolle

[SkinsBoss]

Landry and Taylor would have been a great safety combo for 10 years had the unfortunate not happened. This isn't a thread designed to harp on that point instead I want to advocate a guy who could be a steal possibly 3rd round or later and someone I would love for us to draft.

I know we don't have a 3rd this year but I wouldn't be opposed to making a move for Rolle if need be. If we could get him in the 4th, great but if not, I want us to make a move to land this guy.

Forget the combine because I can already predict what's going to happen with Rolle in Indy.

His speed and athleticism will come into question. Scouts and personnel people will question his football readiness having been out of football last year. and all this will play into the draft day fall of Myron Rolle.

I've heard already Rolle is projected as a 3rd or 4th round pick depending upon the combine.

Well, sometimes you just have to put all that hype aside and look at his body of work at FSU. It was awesome! I saw this kid play in person when he was being recruited out of high school and all the college scouts were salivating at how good he could be.

ESPNU's 150 ranked him as the #1 HS recruit in 2006 ahead of Percy Harvin, Matthew Stafford and Tim Tebow among others. See link

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/espnu150?&season=2006

and after starting at FSU he continued to play at a high level and live up to the hype coming out of high school.

Well far too often the NFL draft is built on hype and momentum. That's why guys who play big in bowl games sometimes get drafted higher than they should. But the fact is sometimes too much hype can lose sight of a player who is in fact worthy of it.

Myron Rolle is a guy who should be a first round pick but won't be. We have a lot of pressing offseason needs but I love the idea of us getting this guy. Forget what you hear at the combine and what you see with the so called Mock Drafts with this kid in the next few months. Come day 2 or 3 of the draft I hope we're drafting this guy to eventually cover the secondary for years to come. Maybe he won't be the tour de force that Sean Taylor was but the idea of having Landry and Rolle for a long time sounds really good to me.

So let's hope we draft Myron Rolle

[Laxpunk2006]

I'm in love with the guy and I've never seen him play. I'm not sure where it would be appropriate to draft him or what his potential is but I think he'd be a great guy to have on the team.

[Chopper Dave]

I would love to get this guy if he's available in the 3rd, but only if we trade down in the first to get more picks. Otherwise, we can't really afford to use a 3rd or 4th rounder on a DB, especially if we take a QB in the first or 2nd.

[SkinsNoles21]

As an avid Nole ... From what Ive heard about Myron Rolle ... he is better now than he was in college and well prepared for the NFL combine and draft.

[fullnelson9999]

No offense SkinsBoss, but dont you think you might be a little biased coming from New Jersey?

Im not doubting his talent, but theres a reason why hes being projected as a 3rd to 4th round pick, and I guarantee you it isnt because other players are having good bowl games.

[SkinSince87]

if we can trade down or somehow acquire a 3rd round pick i think he would be perfect or if we can steal him in the 4th that's good too...I'm still a Kareem Moore supporter and I love the was Moore hits but I'm for Rolle also

[Chopper Dave]

As an avid Nole ... From what Ive heard about Myron Rolle ... he is better now than he was in college and well prepared for the NFL combine and draft.

Nah man, there's no way he's better than he was in college. I'm guessing Oxford's football conditioning program leaves a little bit to be desired. There's a reason he's only projected as a 2nd-4th rounder and not in the Berry/Mays class, and it's not a lack of physical ability. You can't stop playing football for a whole year and get better. It just isn't possible.

[Fear Our D!]

This is such a confusing article!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3831211

[SkinsBoss]

No offense SkinsBoss, but dont you think you might be a little biased coming from New Jersey?

Im not doubting his talent, but theres a reason why hes being projected as a 3rd to 4th round pick, and I guarantee you it isnt because other players are having good bowl games.

[ThePreciating]

Nah man, there's no way he's better than he was in college. I'm guessing Oxford's football conditioning program leaves a little bit to be desired. There's a reason he's only projected as a 2nd-4th rounder and not in the Berry/Mays class, and it's not a lack of physical ability. You can't stop playing football for a whole year and get better. It just isn't possible.

Ricky Williams just pooped in your cereal.

[SkinSince87]

Nah man, there's no way he's better than he was in college. I'm guessing Oxford's football conditioning program leaves a little bit to be desired. There's a reason he's only projected as a 2nd-4th rounder and not in the Berry/Mays class, and it's not a lack of physical ability. You can't stop playing football for a whole year and get better. It just isn't possible.

Well according to everyone at the Senior Bowl and their practice sessions he was better than Mays who might convert from a Safety to a Linebacker cause he hip movement is a problem....can we say Roy Williams

[SkinsBoss]

The fact that I'm in NJ and he went to school in NJ doesn't make me biased. I saw him play in High School and that might be the reason I know a little more about him than most but aside from that fact alone, I think the guy can play and ultimately what I want are the best group of players our team can summon. Had Rolle come out last year he would have been drafted much higher than where he's projected now but the one thing no combine or scout or personnel guru can measure is the heart of a man. And Rolle is one guy who has talent and heart and IQ and those are qualities rare in a football player thats why I want him because I think he can be a stud for us for a long time to come

[Chopper Dave]

Ricky Williams just pooped in your cereal.

No, Ricky Williams didn't come back better. He came back and eventually got better. Either way, it's not a relevant comparison. Ricky had already logged many years in the pros, and was well-removed from having to make the jump from the college to pro game. At that point it was a matter of getting in better shape and mentally recommitting himself to the game. It's apples and oranges.

I'm not saying Rolle can't be way better than he was in college, but he just isn't now. Anyway, to say he's better now makes no sense because a) it's an unprovable claim, seeing as that he hasn't played football since he left FSU, and therefore has no post-college body of work (other than the Senior Bowl, which isn't very extensive or comparable to his previous body of work) to compare to his prior level of play, and even if there was a tangible comparison to be made, there's just no way it would show improvement, given the circumstances.

[Chopper Dave]

Well according to everyone at the Senior Bowl and their practice sessions he was better than Mays who might convert from a Safety to a Linebacker cause he hip movement is a problem....can we say Roy Williams

He could be better than Mays. Mays is really overrated though. One could argue he's always been better than Mays.

[Laxpunk2006]

There's no way to say he's a better football player now than he was at FSU because as Chopper Dave pointed out, he hasn't played other than the Senior Bowl. What can be proven are things like vertical jump, 40 time, etc. I suppose a coach could sit down with him and go over film to see if he's learned anything there but that surely isn't something any of us as fans, or journalists could determine. I believe he is a better athlete than he was at FSU, and possibly that he understands defensive schemes better. Neither of these prove he can put it together better on the field.

After looking at his college stats he wasn't much of a big play guy, but I still love his work ethic and strong academics. A true STUDENT athlete.

[Going Commando]

No offense SkinsBoss, but dont you think you might be a little biased coming from New Jersey?

Im not doubting his talent, but theres a reason why hes being projected as a 3rd to 4th round pick, and I guarantee you it isnt because other players are having good bowl games.

The third and fourth round projection is generous. He's a great guy but he's not a very impressive football player. And as smart as he is he has ****ty instincts. He never made big plays in college and I don't see how taking a year off from football is going to help him do it at the next level.

He's a stiff athlete who lacks fluidity in coverage so he's nothing but a strong safety. No thanks, we already have three of those on our roster. Reed may not have won a Rhodes Scholarship but he can certainly do everything Rolle can on a football field.

[Going Commando]

Well according to everyone at the Senior Bowl and their practice sessions he was better than Mays who might convert from a Safety to a Linebacker cause he hip movement is a problem....can we say Roy Williams

That's not saying much. Mays was god-awful senior bowl week which put the cap on a terrible senior season. Take away his 40 time and Taylor Mays is a 3rd or 4th round pick at best. I'd be shocked if he goes in the first 50 picks.

[Going Commando]

No, Ricky Williams didn't come back better. He came back and eventually got better. Either way, it's not a relevant comparison. Ricky had already logged many years in the pros, and was well-removed from having to make the jump from the college to pro game. At that point it was a matter of getting in better shape and mentally recommitting himself to the game. It's apples and oranges.

Plus Ricky Williams isn't better now than he was before he quit football.

[McD5]

Would love him on our team.

FSU has sucked, but they do one thing incredibly well--they breed secondary players like nobody's business.

The greatest of the last 50 years, Prime Time for starters.

Cromartie is another.

Rolle would be a huge asset to our team, but offense is the top priority.

We will be cheering for this kid, (within reason), as he plays for another team.

[Reaper 21]

if he was not on espn for going to oxford, would we even be talking about him. Granted I have only seen a few games, but I was not in awe of some saftey making crazy plays all over the field. Or even getting interceptions, not even batting passes down. Do not get me wrong the seems to be an incredible guy, but why draft somebody who did not even make a great impact in college.

[VaBeachRedskin]

We already have 3 strong safeties on the roster and we don't need to add a 4th.

[Reaper 21]

his website says he only had one interception and 12 passes battled down in 3 seasons. It also said he 206 tackles so props there. Granted he was an all american. who knows really.

[Chopper Dave]

Plus Ricky Williams isn't better now than he was before he quit football.

I dunno, I'd say he's better now than he was before he quit. He put up 1800 yds b/c he got an insane amount of carries, but his YPC wasn't very good. He was awesome this year before Brown got hurt, and the offense barely missed a beat once they did lose Brown because of how well Ricky was running. He looks more explosive and just as hard to tackle as ever.

[Going Commando]

I dunno, I'd say he's better now than he was before he quit. He put up 1800 yds b/c he got an insane amount of carries, but his YPC wasn't very good. He was awesome this year before Brown got hurt, and the offense barely missed a beat once they did lose Brown because of how well Ricky was running. He looks more explosive and just as hard to tackle as ever.

Meh, I think he's running behind a much better offensive line with better surrounding talent that opens things up for the running game. Ricky was a top 5 RB before he quit and that's definitely not the case any more.

[Spartacus87]

Let's clear one thing up here. It's hard to really evaluate what Rolle is actually capable of, because his responsibilities at FSU were pretty limited.

Mickey Andrews' defense was always predicated on speed and athleticism over proper assignment football. In this defense, Rolle manned the rover spot, and basically just acted like a 4th linebacker, playing the run alongside FSU's smaller LBs and helping to cover TEs and RBs out in the flat. Nobody can say much about his coverage potential given the fact that he was never assigned deep coverage at FSU, despite the fact that he was one of the most athletic players on the defense. Mickey Andrews actually apologized to Myron when he graduated and told him that he was sorry that he didn't come up with better ways to utilize him in his scheme.

I do know this though. When Myron Rolle was in the secondary, FSU's defense was ranked in the 20s and had a pretty good pass defense. The year he went to Oxford, our secondary fell apart and we ended up with the 2nd worst defense out of all BCS teams. A few factors go into that, but anybody who closely follows FSU will tell you Rolle played a huge part as a leader of that secondary and helped cover up other people's mistakes.

I don't think the guy's going to be a Pro Bowler, but I do think Rolle would be a worthy 4th round pick for somebody and should be at least a very productive 3rd safety in a strong rotation. I just don't think it should be the Redskins though, as safety isn't an area of need (although contrary to stevemcqueen, I think Rolle is going to be better than Reed Doughty), and I'd much rather see our picks invested in the offense.