Freshman Stillers

  Here is a look at the newest Stillers, courtesy of the 2006 NFL draft.  I thought it would be helpful to toss up a snapshot of each player the Stillers selected.  This is not my work or research.  Stats are provided, where available, from www.espn.com and the strengths and weaknesses for each player were taken from www.nfl.com in conjunction with GM JR Scouting LLC.  The player assessments are obviously one agency�s view and not necessarily Stillers.Com. 

Round 1

25^th Pick:  Santonio Holmes, Wide Receiver, Ohio State University

H: 5-11

W: 187

STRENGTHS:  Holmes is a very good athlete with the playing speed, elusiveness and explosiveness to make big plays running with the ball in the open field. He has very good vision and instincts running with the ball, follows blockers well and has an explosive burst through the hole and the speed to take plays the distance. He runs very smooth routes and has a good burst out of cuts to get separation and uses his body well to shield cornerbacks from the ball. He has the hands, body control and coordination to reach out and catch the ball away from his body and can adjust to make the tough catch easily.

WEAKNESSES:  Holmes is a little thinner than ideal for his height and it limits his strength to break tackles. He does not protect the ball well -- he carries it very loosely and will be a fumbler in the NFL if he does not improve how he carries ball. He makes bad decisions fielding punts and does not consistently field kickoffs well because he tries to body catch the kickoff while on the run. He tends to lose focus occasionally, and it leads to him running nonchalant routes, body catch some easy passes and drop some passes he should catch easily.

Round 2

No players selected.

Round 3

83^rd Pick:  Anthony Smith, Safety, Syracuse

H: 6-0

W: 193

STRENGTHS:  Smith is an athletic safety with the playing speed to make plays outside along the sideline. He can run with tight ends and running backs in man-to-man coverage down the seam and has shown the ability to use his front arm to break up passes. He has good hands to make tough interception. When he stays under control, bends his knees and tackles aggressively, he can break down and tackle well in space.

WEAKNESSES:  Smith is not a consistent player. He does not consistently come up quickly in run support, and often seems content to allow teammates to make tackles. He does not consistently tackle well in space and often ends up lunging and missing too many tackles. While he can run with tight ends down the seam, he does not stay with them out of cuts well and allows separation too often. When his back is to the quarterback in man-to-man coverage, he lacks the ball awareness to make plays on the ball.

95^th Pick:  Willie Reid, Wide Receiver, Florida State

H:  5-11

W:  187

STRENGTHS:  Reid is a very good athlete with the explosiveness, playing speed and elusiveness to consistently make big plays once he has the ball in his hands. He runs sharp routes and has an explosive burst out of cuts to consistently get separation from defenders -- especially on deep post routes. He has good hands and has consistently shown the ability to adjust and make great catches seem routine. He gives a consistently good effort blocking down the field which helps him eliminate his man. He has the ability to consistently make big plays as a punt returner.

WEAKNESSES:  Reid is a little shorter than ideal at 5-10 and looks shorter and thinner on film. He lacks the size/strength to break tackles consistently in the NFL. Despite being an explosive receiver, he does not explode off the ball into routes and does not consistently defeat the jam to get into his route fast. Until his senior season, he was not a consistently productive receiver, so the real question is whether he can maintain this level of production in the NFL.

Round 4

131st Pick:  Willie Colon, Offensive Tackle, Hofstra

H: 6-3

W: 321

STRENGTHS:  Colon is a good athlete with the quick feet and balance to slide and shuffle quickly side to side to handle quick pass rush moves. He consistently gets set to block quickly in pass protection and can stand up defensive linemen with a good, hard punch. He does a good job of bending his knees and blocking with base and leverage. He has good playing strength in pass protection which allows him to hold his ground vs. straight-line power rushers. He has the foot quickness and playing speed to pull and lead blocks on outside runs and can make the quick trap block.

WEAKNESSES:  Colon played tackle at Hofstra and will have to adjust to playing guard in the NFL. He will need to do a better job of punching every time in pass protection and maintaining arm extension. He is not an aggressive fire-off-the-ball run blocker and tends to be more of a stand, grab and push run blocker who struggles to get movement and eliminate his man consistently. He is a positional run blocker and will struggle greatly to block defensive linemen effectively on inside runs. He doesn't always read and react quickly to stunts/loops.

133^rd Pick:  Orien Harris, Defensive Tackle, Univ. of Miami (FL)

H:  6-3

W: 302

STRENGTHS:  Harris is a good athlete with the very quick feet to consistently disrupt plays in the backfield. He shoots the gap surprisingly well because of quickness off the ball. He gets inside reach block, keeps blocker on back/shoulder and has the playing speed to chase down plays in pursuit. He has quick and strong hands to defeat one-on-one pass blocks and has the strength to jolt an offensive lineman and drive him backward when he bull rushes aggressively. He is a competitive player who consistently hustles and chases hard after the ball from snap to whistle and never quits; even when he gets chopped to the ground by low/cut blocks.

WEAKNESSES:  Harris does not play with knee bend and leverage consistently, which is what causes him to struggle to finish plays/sacks regularly. He gets up high and misses tackles/sacks too often. When he plays up high, he can be driven off the ball on running plays at him and, even when he sinks his hips, plays with leverage and holds ground, he does not shed quick enough to make the tackle. He does not use his hands well to protect his legs and gets cut to the ground way too easily. He does not feel/sense side blocks coming and gets driven down the line of scrimmage way too easily.

Round 5

164th Pick:  Omar Jacobs, Quarterback, Bowling Green

H: 6-4

W: 233

STRENGTHS:  Jacobs is a very smart quarterback who shows very good patience and poise in the pocket vs. the rush. He does not panic and will wait a long time to try and make good throws. His natural size and strength enable him to keep his feet in the pocket while pass rushers try and grab at his feet to trip him up. He has good size and the natural arm strength to make all the throws with zip and accuracy when he does everything right technique-wise. He reads the defense well at the line of scrimmage and can adjust to the blitz, finds the vacated area and hits the receiver who goes there. He has consistently shown the ability to step up and convert important downs into first downs. While he lacks good playing speed when he scrambles, he has the strength to break tackles and gains yards after contact.

WEAKNESSES:   Jacobs is an adequate athlete who lacks the foot quickness and playing speed to make big plays with his feet. He has bad footwork and throwing technique really hinder his ability to consistently throw accurately. He stands very upright in the pocket and usually does not stride into his throws -- even when he does, he strides with a stiff front leg and snaps over it. Because he does not stride into or follow through on passes, his passes do not consistently have zip and they tend to dip in front of the receiver on medium/deep routes. He has a sidearm throwing motion, which leads to him getting passes tipped at the line of scrimmage, and he's a little bit deliberate, which allows defenders to read the pass quickly and break and close fast to make plays on the ball.

167^th Pick:  Charles Davis. Tight End, Purdue

H: 6-5

W: 254

STRENGTHS:  Davis is a well-built tight end with the strength to seal his man off on positional blocks and to consistently gain yards running after the catch. He has very good hands and can reach away from his body to make tough catches easily. Once he gets to full speed, he has good enough playing speed to get separation down the seam, and can make the tough over-the-shoulder catch. He is a smooth and fluid route runner, who uses his size well to shield the defender from the ball. He has the natural flexibility to bend his knees and make seal blocks with a good base and leverage. He can get through to the second level quickly to block linebackers -- he delivers a good initial blow and has the ability to stay over his feet while blocking with a good base to maintain the block.

WEAKNESSES:  Despite being a good athlete, who is smooth and fluid, Davis lacks the quickness, explosiveness and elite playing speed to be an impact receiver -- he's much more of a possession receiver. He lacks a burst off the ball into routes and struggles to get separation on short routes. He is not an aggressive in-line run blocker, and he does not get movement and drive his man off the ball consistently. He does not consistently pass block with good leverage, and he struggles to stay on and keep his man from pressuring the quarterback.

Round 6

201^st Pick:  Marvin Phillip, Center, California

H: 6-1

W: 306

STRENGTHS:  Philip is a highly competitive, smart and instinctive center who does a very good job of getting set to block quickly and finds a way to keep his man from impacting/disrupting the play. He has the flexibility to bend his knees, sink hips and pass block with a wide base -- he can stand up power rushers in their tracks. He does a good job of driving defensive tackles down the line of scrimmage on down/side blocks and is surprisingly effective making reach blocks. He does not get his body around and into good position, but makes contact, keeps his feet running and maintains enough contact to tie his man up.

WEAKNESSES:  Philip is an undersized center who lacks the good athletic ability to make up for it. He does not have the power to drive his man off the ball on straight ahead run blocks. His lack of athleticism and foot quickness hinder his ability to get through the line of scrimmage to the second level quick enough and he cannot adjust to block a moving target well. He lacks the playing speed to pull and lead block on outside runs. His lack of size and athleticism also hinder his ability to cut off the explosive gap-shooting defensive tackle.

Round 7

240^th Pick:  Cedric Humes, Running Back, Virginia Tech

H: 6-1

W: 228

STRENGTHS:  Humes is a very tough running back who has consistently shown a willingness to play hurt and fight through the pain. He has good size and strength, which help him keep his feet vs. hard hits, and when he picks up his feet, he can run through arm tackles. He is a highly competitive runner, who consistently lowers his shoulder, delivers a hard blow to the tackler, and keeps his legs churning as he fights until the whistle for every last yard. He has good hands catching the ball out of the backfield -- he can twist his body to adjust to off-target passes. He is an instinctive and patient runner who waits for blockers to open the hole, and he has the quickness to get through the hole.

WEAKNESSES:  Humes has decent foot speed, but he lacks the burst to bounce runs outside and does not have the explosiveness through the hole to shoot through and get behind the defense. He lacks the playing speed to get to the corner on his own, and he cannot outrun the defense for long touchdowns. He does not pick his feet up when he runs in traffic, and he gets tripped up too often by grab tackles. He gives only an adequate effort at best in pass protection and does not consistently keep his man from pressuring the quarterback. He has had some injury issues at Virginia Tech, and he missed half the 2005 season with a broken arm and had to have surgery to have a plate inserted.