DE Jason Pierre-Paul Could Be First Round Pick For Falcons
by Dave Choate on Feb 21, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in Falcons News
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PrintThe Falcoholic will periodically be looking at potential first round picks for the Atlanta Falcons in the 2010 NFL Draft. Today, South Florida defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.
Hey, a pass rusher! What a novel idea!
I've been tracking Jason Pierre-Paul for a while now, but with sister site—or brother site in high heels and eyeliner—Mocking The Draft giving us the South Florida product at #19, I thought I'd take a look at him. Bottom line? The sky is the limit for Pierre-Paul, but there's always the chance he gets sucked into a jet engine. Ouch.
The biggest issue with Pierre-Paul that's going to scare a lot of people away is his surface resemblance to Jamaal Anderson, another junior defensive end with a ton of promise who has thus far been an enormous disappointment in the NFL. Pierre-Paul has been playing defensive end longer than JA98, but his freshman and sophomore years were spent with JuCo schools. While Anderson racked up 17.5 sacks in his brief career at Arkansas, Pierre-Paul had 6.5 this past season, his last before entering the NFL draft.
So why is everyone so high on this guy? He's probably the best pure pass rusher in the draft, from a speed and talent perspective, and scouts are salivating over what he might be able to do with a few more pounds on his frame and some work with an NFL coaching staff. He learns quickly and turns the corner like Pac-Man after a blue ghost. Effort has never been a question and likely never will be, as he pours into tackles.
Downsides? He's exceedingly raw, has a lot of learning to do against the run and needs to get stronger to deal with your two-ton NFL tackles. While he has no problem hitting people, his tackling form will have to improve if he's going to bring down running backs. To put it bluntly, he's very one dimensional at this stage of his career. The fact that he's widely projected to go in the first round should tell you just how good a pass rusher he could be.
That alone makes him a potential fit for the Falcons, who at this point can't be blamed for the fact that Anderson never developed. Given that they've been able to maximize the talent of Kroy Biermann and Lawrence Sidbury showed promise last season, I'm pretty comfortable they'd squeeze the talent out of Pierre-Paul. If he adds 10 pounds, hits the weight room hard and listens to the coaching staff, he could be an amazing player at the NFL level, with the potential to hit double-digit sacks without blinking. The question is whether the Falcons want an arguably more polished player (Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Graham) or are willing to swing for the fences on a guy who may take a little longer to bring along. It's a tough call, really, but it'd be hard not to be excited about Pierre-Paul's potential.
Your thoughts?
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No, thank you.
I am never a fan of project DEs in the first round. Your first round pick should be a known quantity that will more than likely produce. You take your dice rolls in the later rounds. Further, we already have two projects DEs on the roster in Bierman and Sidbury. So I say no, thank you.
by danielduello on Feb 21, 2010 9:17 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I agree but
I’ll take it one step further. One name…Kampman. As long as he’s ready to go at start of training camp. Signing won’t break the bank, he’s a veteran, he’s a pro-bowl 4-3 DE, he plays on the right side (opposite of Abe), no character issues, and has a great motor.
B. Williams won’t break the bank either. We could then have a bunch of different scenarios for the draft.
by Fear Me on Feb 21, 2010 6:56 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
is there some explanation
from the team as to why JA98 never performed? I mean he was drafted for some reason, obviously, and never met expectations. So there’s got to be a a reason for that too.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Ive been looking into Bowman
And I have my heart set on him now.lol
If we dont get him, at any point in the draft. Im going to be highly dissapointed
DE
I am scared about the raw talent at th DE position again. Reading all the great press on Graham and how he just dominated against the best players in college in the all star game makes me think he is the pick (Dunlap will be gone by then won/t he? plus, he does not seem to fit the character players TD looks for).
DE
Get rid of JA98 and give the reps to Davis, Biermann, and Sidbury and you would have more ability than you can draft. Those three guys are not bad, Davis is definitely a rotation player but Biermann and Sidbury have the explosiveness to be very good. We need a tall corner or three and OL help more than DE.
Draft a safety
Eric Berry(ten) or Taylor(usc) sound like a great option to me, look at what a great safety can do for a defense. Moore was hurt so not sure what he can do. Anybody that has seen Berry play knows he can be a game changer like sanders or troy. Can we please draft a KR/PR with speed like a desean jackson in the second round
Safety is
The Laaaast thing we need. We have a solid starter in DeCoud, and we have a second round pick who we haven’t seen play a down yet. We also have a decent veteran in Coleman. Pretty much every other defensive position is more important than Safety.
I can’t see us drafting a PR/KR in this draft. We already have Eric Weems and Harry Douglas. Flashy players are great, but not what this team needs right now.
Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!
by phoenix falcoholic on Feb 21, 2010 4:41 PM EST up reply actions
Our problem is not
at safety. I would be surprised if our first round pick is something other than DE, CB, or OT
We don't need to draft a safety
We have a couple of kids that look good and vetern in Coleman. Better to spend the draft pick on a more needed position, like DL.
Offense Play calling
Does anyone else here thing a new OC or DC would be a bad thing? Our offense is predictable and the defense doesn’t blitz enough
Yea we sure could use a new DC
However my dislike (Hate is a strong word) for our OC Mike Mularkey rages on. I want him out the team!!! He has cost us many games like Jason Elam has (Who was cut from the team). God I want a new OC. Look at the talent we have on offense, and when everybody was healthy Mularkey came up with BS plays!!!
by !AtlFalcons-fan! on Feb 21, 2010 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
i think
the biggest problem with Mularky was that he tended to get away from what he does. He likes running, play action, and the occasional trick play. Last season with Turner hurt and the running game lacking in explosiveness the play action wasnt all that effective so he turned to those run and dump plays with Ryan.
With Turner healthy, Ryan having a better command of the playbook, hopefully the offense will return to its 2008 explosiveness. We have the talent to be a top 5 offense, just need all our pieces clicking. When we are firing on all cylinders this season, teams WILL fear us
If peeing your pants is the coolest, consider me Miles Davis
we hope so
but it’s one of the qualities of a great OC – being able to adjust your game depending on who’s healthy. if Mularkey failed in many cases simply because his favorite weapon went down it’s a not a good sign.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
mularky sucks!
We need a better offensive coordinator bad, but how long does it take to learn a new offense?
by DEMBIRDZCUZ! on Feb 22, 2010 5:33 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Mularkey doesn't suck!
When Turner was healthy we had one of the best rushing attacks in the league. Turner goes down and, although Snelling filled in somewhat admirably, the play action pass wasn’t the same. Your game plan changes when your star players can’t play due to injury. I mean we were working with our 3rd string running back for God’s sake!!
I want to also add that the front office should make re-signing Redman on of their priorities.
I agree with the offense
being too predictable. I think the defensive coordinator did what he could do with limited talent on the squad at key positions, particularly CB and DE. The pass rush wasn’t working with just sending 4 or 5. And when we sent more than that, we got burned on the corners. I think we should give the DC another year and a couple of playmakers.
Yeah
At the end of the season, we held the Jets and the Bills to under 100 yards rushing combined. Thats pretty darn good. Van Gorder is not the problem with the defense. Its just that the personnel isn’t there yet.
Its true. I'm a Falcoholic! I just can't live without Falcohol!
by phoenix falcoholic on Feb 21, 2010 6:37 PM EST up reply actions
one of the reasons
why we were able to hold both the Jets and the Bills to low rushing numbers is predictability of these teams. both teams had awful passing attack and from game planning perspective it was relatively easy to set the goal and make those young QB’s beat us. problem is – this hasn’t worked with the better passing teams.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
before week 14
I was saying the best thing they could do in the offseason is replace both BVG and Mularkey. and then I knew as the team picked up its game to finish strong that nothing of this sort will happen. it was their luck that we faced inferior teams at the end of the season.
all we can do now is hope that with the better personel next season both coaches will in fact bring some creativity into their gameplans.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
by Gemini-RU on Feb 22, 2010 3:47 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Bucs
Seems like the Bucs would be interested to draft Pierre-Paul as the 3rd pick, if Suh and McCoy are gone with 1st and 2nd (and the Bucs don’t trade up):
The same sources told me that if the Bucs don’t trade up, and Suh and McCoy, who are ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively on Tampa Bay’s draft chart, are off the board at No. 3, that the Bucs surprisingly favor South Florida DE Jason Pierre-Paul over Tennessee’s Eric Berry. The No. 3 pick in the draft is widely considered the most pivotal selection in the top 10, as it can alter the view of how the opening frame will ultimately turn out; a prime example of that was in last year’s draft when the Kansas City Chiefs reached for LSU DE Tyson Jackson with the third pick.
i never
agreed with drafting a guy with one “good” year in college in the first rd, i don’t have the numbers in front of me but i think that’s all JA98 had was a solid jr season and i was a little upset when we took him
i still lean towards
offensive lineman….tackle…or a shutdown corner back.
a first round pick shouldn’t be used on a project player.
with a shutdown cornerback maybe abe wouldn’t be needed to backoff his pass rush into coverage.
hey guys
saints fan here. ive heard alot about pierre-paul and he is projected to be very similar to a guy like a justin tuck or aaron kampman. yall will give us the biggest challenge next year without a doubt—great qb, receiver, tight end, runningback. your defense showed some promise in the last two games of the season. peria jerry will be back and you can pair him with babineaux and jamal andersen in the middle. abraham will be one DE. if you get pierre-paul he can be another solid option. lofton is a really good linebacker, stephen nicholas is solid, but i think you can upgrade mike peterson because he began to fade at the end of the season. brian williams will be back at corner and william moore will be back to play some safety. good luck next season.
Thanks and congrats on the Super Bowl.
But I would rather not see us take JPP in the first round. I’m sure this has been said multiple times, but project players do not belong in the first round. A 1st round pick should make an instant impact…. someone like Sean Weatherspoon or Brandon Graham.
i agree
theres nothing i hate seeing more than these first rounders with scouting reports that read
“an athlete, not a football player”
“lacks the fundamentals”
“a little raw at the position”
when i see someone drafted in the first round, they should be a cornerstone for the team for years to come, unless you just need the depth and can coach the fundamentals for a few years and really groom the player
If peeing your pants is the coolest, consider me Miles Davis
I'd rather have Graham
If he is available, but even more importantly i think we still need help at corner. We gave up at least 2 to 3 big plays a game because people dont respect our corners. To them one on one coverage is equal to wide open. How about a corner over 5’6.
Please NOOOOOOO!!!
No more DE’s!! I would rather develop Sidbury than draft another project! Lets get someone in here who could help us now. Maybe a CB or LB? And I am not sold on Vangorder as our DC….I might be alone on that one!
I was hoping that the bears would have given up on Lovie and we could have brought him in.
But if “ifs were fifths, we would all be drunk!”
"If I disagree with you, it's because you are wrong..."
you're not alone
in what you think about BVG ))
and yes, a DE should be something we go after in free agency, not the 1st round of the draft
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
Maybe I am alone in this...
But I think we also need to look at where they are in college scholastically. I mean, if we draft someone that is at a minimum with the rest of their class as far as credits go this means the individual might be someone who is willing to do the extra things like studying. I dont know how many people we see drafted in the first round that are Jr or Sr’s as far as years in college go, yet they do not even have the credits of a sophomore. That, to me, means they are only about playing football and they dont have the inner fire to study and do whatever it takes to make themselves better. Something too many seem to forget is that the NFL isnt just about playing ability but studying ability as well. You must know your playbook as well as the opposing teams tendencies as well. This isnt about Pierre-Paul, but all our potential draft picks. We have heard it said many times about great players “so-and-so spent their night off studying film” as well as “character matters”. Lets make sure our draft picks (whoever they may be) are strong characters on and off the field. All we have to do to find a team of superstars that cant seem to win despite their all-pro talent is look at the redskins and raiders.
interesting thought
I thought something as important as you brought up is covered in the scounting reports. if not, I’m surprised. not that those credits would make a DE or a OL smarter, but the idea that a guy is not just playing football, but also spending hours in the library to pass an exam – something not many people expect from a star football player.
Atlanta Falcons fan in Moscow, Russia
What about Julius Peppers?
what about signing some proven free agents for a year. I still think a good number 2 WR is the way.
Atlanta will win a championship....someday
Getting JPP at the 19-20th pick would be a bargain...
He isn’t J Anderson. The kid is fast, has a huge wing span, and knows how to get to the QB. No way he makes it that far down in the draft…
"If lessons were learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education." -Murray Warmath
The way Mocking Dan has his mock draft playing out
I’d prefer Brandon Graham, but I would still probably be happy with JPP. Words like “potential” and “very raw” scare the crap out of me, though.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
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