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Bears MLB
Brian Urlacher
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While no defensive rookie has had quite the impact Jevon Kearse had last year, many
scouts say they can’t remember another year when so many defensive rookies were able
to step right in and make an impact.
One scouts says the Eagles’ Corey Simon is a better football player than Warren
Sapp was as a rookie with the Bucs. Another says that Brian Urlacher of the Bears may be
the the best rookie MLB he has seen since Jack Lambert and claims Urlacher has
Butkus’ size and Lambert’s range.
Both the Jets’ John Abraham and the 49ers’ Julian Peterson have been compared
to former 49ers and Cowboys great Charles Haley, and some people say Shaun Ellis, not
Abraham, is the best rookie on the Jets. Courtney Brown, the first pick in the draft,
probably has played as well as you have any right to expect a rookie left defensive end to
play, regardless of where he is taken, and he has done better as a rookie than Bruce Smith
did. Yet if a midseason vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year were taken, Brown might not
finish in the top two.
While the Packers’ top pick, Bubba Franks, has struggled on offense, Green
Bay’s fourth-round pick, strong-side LB Na’il Diggs, looks like a real keeper.
The 49ers’ Ahmed Plummer has established himself as a legitimate NFL cornerback, and
both the Chiefs’ Greg Wesley and the Bears’ Mike Brown are starting at safety
and more than holding their own. The Saints can’t stop raving about their rookie
defensive end, Darren Howard, and at least a dozen other defensive rookies have had
somewhat of an impact on their teams.
What follows are scouts’ quotes on the top defensive rookies over the first half
of the season.
1. DT Corey Simon / Eagles
"Moves around like a big cat. He is a 300-pound linebacker with a motor that does
not slow down. Looks like the best they have had in there since Jerome Brown. He is a
legitimate disruptor."
2. MLB Brian Urlacher / Bears
"He’s a freak like Kearse. A huge linebacker who is faster than a lot of
defensive backs and has better hands than most tight ends. Considering that he was a rover
in college, he has made the move to linebacker a lot faster than anyone had any right to
expect him to, and when he really figures out what he is doing in there, he will be so
good that they may have to outlaw him. Great attitude, loves to play. Unreal talent. I
would take him over LaVar Arrington in a minute because this kid is just as gifted and
much better grounded."
3. DE Courtney Brown / Browns
"He is a complete defensive end with great skills and a great motor. When he
learns what to do when they grab and hold him, he is going to be incredible. He is going
to be the type of player that Kevin Carter was with the Rams last year, and he may be even
better than that. Mature beyond his years and a great team player. Darren Howard may be a
better pass-rusher right now, but Brown is the better all-around player. Remember, Howard
is the fourth player on a great line, and Brown is the best player on the Browns’
defense, so Brown gets doubled."
4. DE Darren Howard / Saints
"He was the fourth part New Orleans needed on its defensive line. He is a big-play
pass-rusher type with great vision and has a bigger motor than I thought he had. Does not
have great speed off the edge and at times still gets crushed vs. the run, but he plays
hard and has great vision and feel for the pass rush. He is not as good as they think he
is, but (he) has some special qualities as a pass rusher because of his vision and has
made an impact as a rookie."
5. DE-OLB John Abraham / Jets
"Hybrid DE-OLB like Haley who has Kearse-type speed and quickness off the edge and
a motor that never slows down. Rare speed and intensity. A great pick for them and just
what they needed. When he was out against the Dolphins and Bills, their pass rush really
suffered." (Abraham may miss the rest of the season because of a hernia.)
6. FS Mike Brown / Bears
"The two most impressive things about him are his instincts and his toughness. He
just does not look like a rookie."
7. DE Shaun Ellis / Jets
"He not only has made the conversion from 4-3 to 3-4 defensive end, he also is
playing the run well and doing a terrific job of rushing the quarterback. Without Ellis
and Abraham, the Jets would be a .500 team with a pretty good, but not really good
defense. Instead, they turned Mike Nolan (Jets defensive coordinator) into another Bill
Belichick (considered one of the greatest defensive coordinators in the history of the
game)."
8. LB Na'il Diggs / Packers
"He is a better pro than Andy Katzenmoyer already. When Diggs was at Ohio State he
only looked good playing over air, but now he is playing over the tight end and handling
him really well."
9. CB Ahmed Plummer / 49ers
"He does not have the speed or athletic ability to be a Champ Bailey or Charles
Woodson, but he is a really smart, mature, solid player already who is just going to get
better the more he plays. However, he is playing hurt with a cast on his hand now."
10. SS Greg Wesley / Chiefs
"Physically, he is just what you want a strong safety to be, and the more he plays
the better he will get."
11. LB Julian Peterson / 49ers
"He is going to be another Haley when he figures things out mentally. He already
is the most natural pass rusher they have. Has Haley-type initial quickness off the edge.
As fast over 10 yards as anyone. If injuries did not set him back, he would be an impact
guy already. The 49ers may have wound up getting a half-dozen players out of this draft
that will be starting for them on defense next year (Plummer, Peterson, CB Jason Webster,
DL John Engelberger, MLB Jeff Ulbrich and S John Keith), but Peterson could be the best of
the litter." |
