After watching the famed video again (for those of you who missed it the first time it was circulated around the FFC http://mackbrown-texasfootball.com/page ... hnson.html), and I am just awestruck at the way this guy plays. I have seen a few of his games, as I'm a quasi-Longhorns fan (more of an Aztec fan though, for obvious reasons if you've read my "location"), and the guy just looks like a man among boys out there.
It got me thinking, if this is one of the top LB prospects we've seen in a while, why isn't he up for #1 overall contention? Maybe SF doesn't need an OLB... as least as much as their other needs... but I definitely can think of many teams with resources available to trade up and nab this guy. DJ seems to me like a Ray Ray-type LB that is an immediate impact on a franchise. You would think that say... Minny might want to trade up to get this guy. In my own mock, I see him going to Cleveland at #3. And yes, maybe a OLB doesn't get your team to the Super Bowl, at least not as much as a stud QB helps, but it would certainly raise the caliber of quality.
This thought in my head is stemmed from the fact that I would love for DJ to stay in Texas and adorn the Silver and Blue. Of course, I can't forsee a scenerio in which DJ would fall to #11. But I would definitely not be mad if we traded up to get this dynamo.
Go Dj Go Dj, man that blocked pass towards the beginning was really cool I would like to see the vikings grab him, but rumors be true we are looking WR. At least Mike Nugent in the 2nd will be nice.
no1cowboysfan wrote:After watching the famed video again (for those of you who missed it the first time it was circulated around the FFC http://mackbrown-texasfootball.com/page ... hnson.html), and I am just awestruck at the way this guy plays. I have seen a few of his games, as I'm a quasi-Longhorns fan (more of an Aztec fan though, for obvious reasons if you've read my "location"), and the guy just looks like a man among boys out there.
It got me thinking, if this is one of the top LB prospects we've seen in a while, why isn't he up for #1 overall contention? Maybe SF doesn't need an OLB... as least as much as their other needs... but I definitely can think of many teams with resources available to trade up and nab this guy. DJ seems to me like a Ray Ray-type LB that is an immediate impact on a franchise. You would think that say... Minny might want to trade up to get this guy. In my own mock, I see him going to Cleveland at #3. And yes, maybe a OLB doesn't get your team to the Super Bowl, at least not as much as a stud QB helps, but it would certainly raise the caliber of quality.
This thought in my head is stemmed from the fact that I would love for DJ to stay in Texas and adorn the Silver and Blue. Of course, I can't forsee a scenerio in which DJ would fall to #11. But I would definitely not be mad if we traded up to get this dynamo.
which Silver and Blue, eh? some mocks have the Lions nabbing DJ at number ten (which i have mixed feelings about, since we already seem to have 3 starting LBs.) but number ten overall seems pretty late, especially if the same mocks have Alex Baron going before DJ.
Of course, i'm sure the Lions would switch to a '4-4' defense if they picked him up. That wouldn't be below them
This guy should be a force and on ability alone is a top 5 pick. LB just happens not to be a pressing need for any top 10 team. The Vikings could use one but the must address WR first in their minds.
I think the Lions could take him but I would toss the idea out to Dallas to go up one spot and grab another early pick. Parcells would love this guy and they do have extra picks to throw in. Plus with all the need on the Lions side of the ball one extra pick wouldn't hurt.
I've watched Derrick Johnson play since his freshman year and, IMO, he is the #1 "impact" player in this year's draft. By that I mean I think he's a better prospect at his position than any other player at another position and the most likely to become a perennial All-Pro type player in the league. The receivers are solid at the top, but they certainly don't blow away the talent at that position from previous years. Last year's WR class alone was better than this year's. The top-3 running backs are very good and they come closer to Johnson than anyone else, but I'll tell you this: from watching DJ and Benson for 4 years at Texas, DJ was the better of the two players and Benson is rated right up there with Brown and Cadillac. Just the fact that there are 3 such backs available should move DJ up the board. As for Rogers and Smith...are you kidding me? If either of those two are taken in the top-5 picks, they will be need-based picks only.
FF Newbie wrote:I've watched Derrick Johnson play since his freshman year and, IMO, he is the #1 "impact" player in this year's draft. By that I mean I think he's a better prospect at his position than any other player at another position and the most likely to become a perennial All-Pro type player in the league. The receivers are solid at the top, but they certainly don't blow away the talent at that position from previous years. Last year's WR class alone was better than this year's. The top-3 running backs are very good and they come closer to Johnson than anyone else, but I'll tell you this: from watching DJ and Benson for 4 years at Texas, DJ was the better of the two players and Benson is rated right up there with Brown and Cadillac. Just the fact that there are 3 such backs available should move DJ up the board. As for Rogers and Smith...are you kidding me? If either of those two are taken in the top-5 picks, they will be need-based picks only.
I concur... this was what I was trying to say earlier, though it was really late...
Anyways, as far as the most talented player in the draft, I also have to give this to DJ. He's the one player I'd like on my team more than any other right now.
Personally I think the Vikings would be best off taking him instead of a WR. Trading an elite WR in his prime to draft a WR and get an above average LB makes no sense at all to me.
Instead, they should take DJ with that #7 and then if they feel the need to address WR, do it with their 2nd pick. They have plenty of offensive weapons as it is. Burleson, Wiggins, and the deepest backfield in the league are not stellar, but adequate, and with one of the top QBs signal calling for them, it should suffice.
However, I expect the Vikings to go with Mike Williams, because they fail to realize modeling themselves after the Colts won't work, and because they don't understand that in a division where all you would really need is a defense, and you'll win, that DJ would go a longer way towards bringing them to the playoffs than Williams would.
Personally, I think he'd be up for #1 contention if the very top teams needed an OLB. Does DJ play ROLB or LOLB, because if he plays left, the 49ers have Juilian Peterson, so I wouldn't see them getting Johnson. There is always the X factor though, the factor that SF may trade down and another team in need of a LB at the #1 spot, where he could be taken.
The complaint's I've read on DJ include overpursuit and poor tackling mechanics. Apparently his size issues are not as much of a concern since he came in closer to 245 than 235 at the combine, but he is still kind of undersized to be used at any position but OLB in a 4-3 system.
At his size with the drawbacks he's had, I don't see him making more of an impact than a Jonathon Vilma or the other, better DJ that was drafted in 2004. Top5 talk for a LB with has possible flaws in his game, is not something I want for my team even if he turns out to be the next Ray Lewis. I won't argue that him being a top10 pick, but top3 talk is kind of crazy if you are the Browns sitting with Trent Dilfer starting at QB....
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by no1cowboysfan » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:05 am 
