The Ultimate Sleeper Pick. Jonas Gray, RB, Notre Dame.

liked what I saw from Gray before his injury, but I wouldn't draft him. A UDFA yes, but not a draft pick.

The simple truth is that given when he tore his ACL, it's unlikely that he would do anything next season for anyone. And we need immediate help at the RB position. Somebody who can at least contribute this season. Gray isn't that player.

And he just looks like an NFL running back.

Mayock saying that Gray was a 4th Rd pcik BEFORE Gray got hurt. Rounds 6, 7 or UFA seem about right now.

And miles to go before you sleep...

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You can't draft this guy while he's still rehabbing the ACL. UDFA? Sure. But draft picks are too precious, especially this year (because of the new CBA and the Giants' cap issues).

If he'd torn it his junior year and had reduced #s his senior year because he missed some games, that's one thing. In fact, the Giants have scored big in the draft with guys who had big seasons as underclassmen but were limited as seniors because of injury (Tuck, Webster). But this guy wasn't an elite talent before. He's a candidate for "redhshirting" for a year to regain strength in the leg anyway.

I think there’s a lot to like about Jonas Gray. And I was going to advocate him also after reading some analyses and watching video. But one report I read he may not have great vision, and I consider that critical to a RB. So I went back and re-watched the video and decided it may be a valid criticism. Specifically that he misses holes that are there, and thinks he sees ones that aren’t.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing for certain what the cause is. He may be coached to do just that, i.e., to take over the called gap whether the play is well blocked, or not. But it causes me enough concern to not be sure about him. IMO, vision is often what separates good backs from great one, or in the less athletically gifted good ones from inadequate ones. It’s a large part of what made Tiki as effective as he was.

My alternative is Alfred Morris. Slower and smaller than Jonas Gray, video shows a hard-nosed player that is much more athletic than analyses of him give him credit for being, who has fine hands and is an effective and sometimes devastating blocker.

Frankly, I couldn't find any report that questioned Gray's vision, from sources both reputable (like Draft Countdown), or disreputable (like Bleacher Report). I found concerns about ball security, and the fact that he was something of a one-year wonder (seemed like the light went on for him after some pep talks from Jerome Bettis), but no one was questioning his vision.

I've got us taking him in the 6th round.

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J. Gray analysis - ( New Window )

I spend a lot of time thinking about such things these days. I think every position can be said to have one intangible that separates the best from the good that are often encapsulated by some kind of vague term -- RB's have vision, LB's have "instincts," CB's and WR's have "ball skills," etc. I think the common ingredient present in all of these intangibles throughout all positions is simply reflexes. You get a guy who processes the information essential to his position just a split second faster than the opponent who's trying to negate you can process *his* information, and you have a considerable advantage.

Nearly every Victor Cruz highlight illustrates this. Athletically, he's probably not light years ahead of every CB's he's made to look silly. But he knows what to do before they do.

game last year? Cierre Wood and Dayne Christ drive their team down to the 1 yard line against South Florida, and in comes Jonas Gray, fumbles the ball, and South Florida runs it back 99 yards for a TD.

but there really isn't any such thing as a sleeper from ND. There are injury risks from Notre Dame. No school is as scrutinized as are the Irish, and if a player slips through the cracks it is almost invariably because of injury.

The ND RB ready to go is sitting on the Bears practice squad. Robert Hughes. Buried by Charlie Weiss on the depth chart at ND, Hughes is 5' 11" and 235, a punishing runner with straight ahead speed. It was only at the end of Hughes' college career that Brian Kelly realized what he had.
Hughes ND highlights - ( New Window )