Simmons is 240 and ran a 4.4. Lorenzo Carter is a similarly gifted athlete and posted a 4.5 combine 40 at a weight of 250, and also posted elite short splits, showing he has excellent acceleration.
So far, Carter has been something of a disappointment, although I don't think many are writing him off just yet.
Many here are advocating drafting Isaiah Simmons to shut down short patterns. (I don't view this as a priority, but I'll concede this is important for the sake of argument.) Meanwhile, Simmons may not have a true NFL position.
Instead of using our #4 pick on Simmons, wouldn't it be far more prudent to try a couple of different things with existing personnel. Jabril Peppers already fills a similar role to the one Simmons would play. Besides seeing if Peppers can improve on his ok play from 2019, how about converting a plus athlete like Zo Carter from OLB, which doesn't seem to play into his strengths, into an ILB and see if he can fill this role?
I'm not positive it would work, but isn't it the height of irresponsibility to use a premium draft pick on a solution (Simmons) when players already on the team may conceivably solve this problem? Fire away.
The argument for Simmons (and I am agnostic on him being the pick at 4) is that he makes it much harder for offenses to create mismatches by motioning a RB or WR into a position where they have to be covered by a LB. Simmons is an elite pass defender, Carter almost certainly is not.
I coach LBs in HS and the job is to match skills with assignments in a given scheme. (also matching the scheme to skills).
As pointed out in Leon's thread, the Giants haven't done a good job of this the past few seasons.
I don't have any idea if Zo can play inside but I do believe that the Giants defense can be much better than it has shown.
that is the difference. 40 is nice to evaluate people but its only one test. Rarely do guys run 40 straight yards without stopping, starting, cutting.
Carter is so stiff he can't even use his speed to get around the edge from a OT. He wouldn't be able to do anything in the open field cutting and driving in coverage.
Grade: 78
Strong Points:
-Physically gifted with a rare combination of speed, height, length, and speed
-Progressed throughout the 2017 season as much as any defender in the class
-Versatile skill set that can be used in multiple roles, in space and in the trenches
Weak Points:
-Still a step behind mentally when it comes to reading defenses and reacting
-Hesitant when taking on blocks
-High hipped, too much of a straight line athlete
Summary:
A former 5 star recruit that earned the newcomer of the year award for UGA in 2014, Carter simply took awhile to blossom. He has always been packed with talent and ability, but the football sense wasn’t quite clicking for him until 2017. He was a situational guy, a good edge rusher with burst and long strides that would eat up a 5-10 yard window in a blink. But his role expanded in 2017 and he showed the kind of versatility and overall progress that could end up getting his name called in the 1st round. The NFL loves tools paired with a good attitude, and that he has. Carter is a little to manufactured for me, meaning he is only a top tier player when the role is simple and he can burst in to a straight line. He comes back down to earth when the game is quickly changing directions and quality reads need to be made. I love the upside here, but he is a 3rd round-only option for NYG in my book.
It seems to me that Sy was dead on. The passage I highlighted was with regard to what Joe Judge said about what a player can do as opposed to what he can't do. Carter may end up being nothing more than a situational pass-rusher, however, he could also end up being a pretty damned good one. It will be interesting to see how the Giants use him going forward (pun intended).
that is the difference. 40 is nice to evaluate people but its only one test. Rarely do guys run 40 straight yards without stopping, starting, cutting.
Carter is so stiff he can't even use his speed to get around the edge from a OT. He wouldn't be able to do anything in the open field cutting and driving in coverage.
It's kind of pathetic Engram doesn't frequently break big plays against mismatched LBers. Shurmor's and Mcdoo's wco dragon spacing routes probably don't help, thats not Engram's game.
Simmons is super smooth and fluid, difficult thinking of a LBer comparison, easier to think of a bball player he reminds me of or Anderson Silva from MMA.
Not sure if its a good thing or bad thing.
That shouldn't come as a surprise. An increase in playing time did not translate into an increase in production. Carter seemed to regress in 2019 after a promising rookie season (or at least he failed to make an progress).
However, the same thing can be said for every other member of the 2018 rookie class, which leads me to believe that all of them might benefit from a better scheme and better coaching, in addition to a stronger supporting cast in 2020.
Quote:
Unfortunately, I’m not sensing a lot of positivity about Carter as a player.
That shouldn't come as a surprise. An increase in playing time did not translate into an increase in production. Carter seemed to regress in 2019 after a promising rookie season (or at least he failed to make an progress).
However, the same thing can be said for every other member of the 2018 rookie class, which leads me to believe that all of them might benefit from a better scheme and better coaching, in addition to a stronger supporting cast in 2020.
Once Williams arrived, he seemed to get better. Both he and Tomlinson appeared to bump it up after DG said some players are not performing as expected about midseason.
But Carter is not Simmons and should not be expected to do the same things as Simmons. Now he may be better suited as an ILB than ER, IDK, but it is possible.
I don't think he should play ILB, for the reasons that Sy'56 spelled out in his pre-draft review. I do think, though, that he can have a greater impact coming off the edge, where his straight-line speed can be put to good use.