Prospect of the Day: Manti Te'o, ILB, Notre Dame

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by jth1331

I never understood why he was so highly regarded. I mean, top 5 pick? Top 10? No way to me.
Like someone else mentioned, his INT number is a fluke. Is he a good prospect? Yeah, he most definitely is, but people basically saying he's the best MLB prospect in awhile/top 5 pick stuff was just mindblowing to me.

I always thought he'd be a mid 1st rounder, and thats where he probably will go. Maybe late 1st after that horrible showing.

It's all relative based on this year though. Te'o's leadership is going to be a huge positive for a lot of teams in need for guys like that, thinking Lions, Bills etc

Now in general I am not a fan of drafting LBs who don't rush that high, and despite how well Keuchly played at MLB I still think he was taken too highly. That is simply a principle thing though, but if the top tier talent isn't as strong or deep then of course these guys can be considered top players.

Consensus seems to state that the QBs aren't great but you can be guaranteed that at least 1, likely more will go top 10.

I would be hugely surprised if any RBs or WRs go top 10.

Joeckel and Lewan will liekly go top 10 but it's unlikely that either Warmack or Cooper do.

So offensively there is possibly 4, at most 5 guys who may be top 10 picks.

Eric Reid isn't a top 10 safety and neither is Kenny Vaccaro.

Dee Milliner will likely go top 10 but it's a reach to say Banks or Rhodes will.

Jarvis Jones may have top 10 talent but I would be willing to bet he falls.

That leaves defensive linemen. Star, Richardson, Werner, Moore, Ansah, Jordan are all possibilities but likely only 4 are certainties (at this point).

I don't think we can say a certain player doesn't have top 10 talent without comparing the players in this draft they may go up against.

Say Detroit, for instance, likes Milliner and Werner a lot but both are off the board along with Joeckel and Geno. They then will be left in a bad spot for them. And Detroit is a team with a LB need and more importantly a need for defensive leadership. I could very well see a scenario where they take Te'o

[cmarq83]

Originally Posted by AntoinCD

Now in general I am not a fan of drafting LBs who don't rush that high, and despite how well Keuchly played at MLB I still think he was taken too highly.

You are wrong about this. Luke Kuechly is a god on the football field, and it's a shame that mere mortals like Justin Blackmon, Mark Barron, and Ryan Tannehill were picked before him.

[PackerLegend]

Manti looked like **** last night.

[PossibleCabbage]

He's a better Rey Maualuga. Fiery and physical with leadership ability, but range and coverage (and recognition, but this has improved) are question marks.

Certainly not a good fit for every team. If you need your Mike to run sideline to sideline a lot and cover TEs one one one, Te'o is not a great fit.

[Iamcanadian]

Te'o was a top 5 pick before last night IMO and I'm not sure yet if Notre Dame simply wasn't fired up enough or he was exposed by his play. He had difficulty seperating from his blocks, filled the holes poorly and missed tackles in space time after time.
Sometimes when a team sits out a month, they come to a Bowl game flat and that might be what happened to Te'o. He will have to have a big post season if he wants to remain in the discussion as a top 5 pick but right now, he has slipped considerably to the 18-25 range.
I disagree that range and sideline to sideline speed aren't there. That is his strength IMO.

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by Iamcanadian

I disagree that range and sideline to sideline speed aren't there. That is his strength IMO.

The contrast to Mosley last night was startling (IMO Mosley is a better LB prospect). If range and sideline-to-sideline speed are Te'o's strengths, what can you say about Mosley whose ability to close is, quite frankly, jaw-dropping.

[AntoinCD]

Originally Posted by cmarq83

You are wrong about this. Luke Kuechly is a god on the football field, and it's a shame that mere mortals like Justin Blackmon, Mark Barron, and Ryan Tannehill were picked before him.

I can't argue with Tannehill and as for Barron, safety is becoming more important than LB these days IMO. Blackmon!! Eughhhh!

This is all just my opinion on who I would have. I wouldn't have Blackmon over him but I would have taken Gilmore, Cox, Brockers etc over him

[Flaming Mo]

Originally Posted by Halsey

Fans that saw him on TV last night have decided his stock is down based off that one game. The same thing happened with UGA defenders after the SEC Championship Game. I have a hard time believing NFL teams are going to make major changes to how they view a 4 year player based on one game against a dominant offense.

There is a big difference between the SECCG and the BCSCG. The players for Georgia atleast all flashed their talents and showed that they actually can make plays against serious competition - Ogletree goal line tackle, Jones and Jenkins had their moments rushing the passer, Rambo & Shawn Williams had a few nice hits just from the top of my head. Just like guys as Riddick or Nix had their moments yesterday.

Teo?! NOTHING! He didnt make a single impact play and worse, he looked completely overmatched on a number of others. This is a huge red flag if you want to draft him in the first round. Hes a great kid and will provide leadership but taking not specially talented ILB in the top 15 is just stupid.

[Iamcanadian]

Originally Posted by PossibleCabbage

The contrast to Mosley last night was startling (IMO Mosley is a better LB prospect). If range and sideline-to-sideline speed are Te'o's strengths, what can you say about Mosley whose ability to close is, quite frankly, jaw-dropping.

Big fan of Mosely, he will be a 1st rounder next season but clearly Alabama with its experience, handled the month's layoff better than Notre Dame, it often happens in Bowl games where 1 team comes out flat from the layoff. Te'o will need a big post season from here on in to resurrect his draft status otherwise he'll fall to the 18-25 range from the top 5 where he stood before the game. just have to wait and see what occurs.
I never judge a player on one performance otherwise, I'd think Alabama's players weren't as good as advertised after they played Texas A&M.

[bucfan12]

Teo got embarrassed last night. Not elite prospect but he's a solid first rounder.

[bucfan12]

Teo was embarrassed last night. Not an elite prospect but still solid fiest rounder.

[D-Unit]

Well I don't know how many times Te'o will be faced with an OL in the NFL made up of 5 1st round picks.

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by cmarq83

You are wrong about this. Luke Kuechly is a god on the football field, and it's a shame that mere mortals like Justin Blackmon, Mark Barron, and Ryan Tannehill were picked before him.

Pretty much. Our defense instantly improved when he moved to the middle. Some argued it was somewhat of a luxury pick when we weren't in a position to make such picks, but Kuechly was more than worth it.

[rawdawg]

Originally Posted by D-Unit

Well I don't know how many times Te'o will be faced with an OL in the NFL made up of 5 1st round picks.

Bama doesn't have 5 first round picks on the OL (pretty close though). But they do have 5 NFL caliber offensive linemen. And Te'o will face 5 NFL caliber offensive linemen in nearly every game (admittedly, there are a few players who shouldn't be in the pros he'll face).

I'm not as down on him after this game as most are. Of course, I was never as high on him. He is what he is. I was intrigued by his improvement in the pass game (mainly INT numbers), but his style of play (thumping, run stopping LB, with leadership skills) doesn't play as well in the NFL today as "flying all over the field making plays sideline-to-sideline" with all the passing going on.

I ranked him at 14 overall at the midway point. In reality, he's probably around the 14-18th best player in this draft. May go higher based on team needs, but I don't expect him to go any lower than the Giants pick at 19.

[DBNYDP]

Fans are fickle. His body of work against many good teams over the past few years outweighs a bad game where his team got overmatched. That whole defense got destroyed and it all started up front, look I'm not really sure a lot of linebackers would have good games with their line getting dominated like that.

[Big_Pete]

I was always thinking Teo is a top 20 talent, due to positional value and physical skills alone. He doesn't have blazing speed that ILBs like Kuechly and Willis demonstrated which pushed them so high. The other factor is the depth and talent in the LB group, a top 20 team passing on Teo in the first can still get a pretty good LB in the 2nd or 3rd rounds.

I think he was over hyped initially and is probably back around where he should be.

Teo is still a very good prospect and brings a strong set of intangibles to a team. Sure like most rookies he will have areas that need to be worked on, but with Teo's attitude and work ethic he should be able to correct these.

[regoob2]

I've always been a fan of CJ Mosley. I've always had him very close to Teo.

Teo has been great for years. He had a bad game. He also got no help from his once dominant DL. Nix played well but Tuitt was a ghost and Moore got hurt. Also ND has no other LB help. It was Nix Teo and Motta vs Alabama. There arent many LBs that can take on Warmack and that Alabama line.

He's still a great LB and a great prospect.

[underscore]

Te'o is a good to very good college LB. How he got invited to NYC, though, is beyond me. If he didn't play for ND, he wouldn't be in the headlines.

To me he's a 2nd/3rd round pick at best.

[rawdawg]

Originally Posted by underscore

Te'o is a good to very good college LB. How he got invited to NYC, though, is beyond me. If he didn't play for ND, he wouldn't be in the headlines.

To me he's a 2nd/3rd round pick at best.

Let's not be ridiculous. He was very highly recruited. Top rated LB in his HS class. And if he wasn't at ND, he'd be at USC and still in the headlines. He's been in the headlines since HS and that was in Hawaii. He had 113 tackles, 7 INTs this year. 5 sacks last year. If he's a 2nd or 3rd rounder to you, congratulations you achieved seclusion on your own limb. He's been a shoe-in 1st round pick since high school.

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by rawdawg

Let's not be ridiculous. He was very highly recruited. Top rated LB in his HS class. And if he wasn't at ND, he'd be at USC and still in the headlines. He's been in the headlines since HS and that was in Hawaii. He had 113 tackles, 7 INTs this year. 5 sacks last year. If he's a 2nd or 3rd rounder to you, congratulations you achieved seclusion on your own limb. He's been a shoe-in 1st round pick since high school.

Well, he's definitely not a third round pick, but I wouldn't say that second round is totally out of the question. Let's remember at this point in 2009, Rey Maualuga was the top rated USC linebacker, and a virtual shoe-in to go in the top half of the first round. Come draft time, he goes third among the USC linebackers, and falls all the way to #38.

Considering that "linebacker who doesn't rush the passer" isn't really highly valued by a lot of NFL teams relative to other positions, and even if you give Te'o a first round grade, you might have somebody else you like more when it comes time for you to pick, I would say there's an outside chance he goes high in the second.

[brasho]

Originally Posted by Cigaro

Pretty much. Our defense instantly improved when he moved to the middle. Some argued it was somewhat of a luxury pick when we weren't in a position to make such picks, but Kuechly was more than worth it.

Yeah, I hoped, wished, prayed, and begged for the Bucs to take Keuchly. How many elite defenses DON'T have a stud in the middle? 49ers? Check... Ravens? Check Bears? Check... granted Lewis and Urlacher are older, but their impact is felt no less when they are on the field. Keuchly is one of those guys.

[brasho]

Te'o is a not mentally challenged version of Rolando McClain. Fast but terrible in man coverage. A big guy, but not a crushing hitter or able to take on and shed blocks. He's a good prospect. I would've been surprised if he went top 10 before, now I'll be surprised if he goes... top 16.

[BeerBaron]

So did his stock take that big of a hit in the NC game? Seems to be the general consensus most places.

If he does fall, some team in the mid teens is going to potentially get a steal. I don't think there is a defensive front 7 player in the country who would have looked good with the way Alabama's o-line showed up to play. It's hard to fault Teo too much.

[bigbuc]

This guy is going to fall a little and a team is going to move up to grab him. He's going to end up in the best place he can...... Ravens.

[nobodyinparticular]

Originally Posted by brasho

Te'o is a not mentally challenged version of Rolando McClain. Fast but terrible in man coverage. A big guy, but not a crushing hitter or able to take on and shed blocks. He's a good prospect. I would've been surprised if he went top 10 before, now I'll be surprised if he goes... top 16.

You realize Rolando McClain was considered a coach on the field when he was coming out, right? McClain was EXACTLY what Te'o is, except better. Bigger, taller, longer. Leadership and maturity beyond his years--in spades.