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Hurricanes S
Ed Reed
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Editor’s note: This is the ninth and final article in a series previewing the top
NFL prospects, by position, for the 2002 draft.
NFL teams will always pick a top corner over a top safety, and many will take a good
corner over a really good safety. Some teams won’t draft pure safeties in the first
three rounds of the draft because they feel you can always make a corner into a safety if
he is not really short.
However, safeties can make a tremendous difference. Look what John Lynch does for the
Buccaneers, Mike Brown for the Bears, Darren Sharper for the Packers, and how much poor
safety play hurt the Raiders and Broncos in last year’s playoffs.
The 2002 NFL draft should have a number of safeties who will get consideration in the
first three rounds, but no super-duper-type player like a Ronnie Lott, Kenny Easley or
Dennis Smith. Many people feel the best of the bunch could be Ed Reed of Miami
(Fla.), a two-time All-American and four-year starter who has picked off 17 passes in the
past two years. That is, unless Oklahoma junior Roy Williams comes out early. The
thing that really stands out about Reed is his great knack for making big plays at big
times in big games. He also is so athletic, some teams feel he could play as a jam corner
on the next level. Reed can pedal and burst to the ball and flip his hips. He is smooth in
his backpedal and much more sudden than most safeties. He is a leader on and off the field
and has an excellent work ethic. He has also competed in track and field and threw the
javelin for the Miami track team 217 feet, seven inches in 1999. While there are no huge
knocks against Reed, scouts would prefer if he were a little taller. His tackling seems to
have fallen off a little this year, but that may be because he played part of the year
with a bad shoulder. In coverage, he is much better when the play is in front of him. At
times he has let receivers get behind him because he was guilty of peeking or biting on
play-action fakes.
Williams is a great in-the-box safety who has played more like a linebacker than a
defensive back in college. He is a very explosive, big-play maker, but because of the way
he was used in college, his cover skills are a big X-factor. Scouts would love to see him
go back to school for another year and play more like a true safety and then go to the
Senior Bowl, where they will be able to see him in coverage against real players, not just
in workouts.
On paper, Kansas State’s Jon McGraw sounds almost like the prototype NFL
safety. He measures in at 6-3, 205 pounds with the frame to carry 220, runs the 40 in
about 4.5 or better, has a big vertical jump and is a supersmart, dedicated young man with
great intangibles. McGraw is a leader by example and can be a vocal leader as well. He has
good range, hands and tackling form. He can be a wrap tackler, is quick to read and react
and rarely takes a false step. McGraw made the team as a walk-on in ’97, earned a
scholarship in ’99 for his fine play on special teams in ’98 and has started the
past two years. However, while McGraw is a very good player, he really is not a great
impact player who dominates games. While he hits hard, he does not blow people up like a
John Lynch, and while he can backpedal, he is a little stiff and not as smooth and sudden
as a player like Darren Sharper.
Mississippi State’s Edward Devon "Pig" Prather is a former
running back who has become one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference.
A three-year starter who generally plays "Dog" safety in Mississippi
State’s unique defensive scheme, Prather is almost half a linebacker and half a
safety. He is big and physical vs. the run and gets high grades for his hitting and
tackling. In coverage, he is not bad, but he will get in trouble when he starts peeking
and guessing. Man-on-man coverage is not his forte, but he is a very good athlete. He also
can return kickoffs. In three years as a starting defensive back, Prather has picked off
only four passes, in part because of the way he has been used.
Colorado’s Michael Lewis may be the top senior safety in the Big 12, if
McGraw is not. Lewis became a starter as a true freshman in ’98 and has gotten better
every year since then. He has good size, speed and range, and he can plant and drive on
the ball. A good hitter and tackler, he will often play up in the box. The leader and
quarterback of the entire Colorado defense, Lewis has been the team’s most valuable
and best defensive player the past two years.
Georgia’s Jermaine Phillips is a former high school quarterback who moved
to wide receiver after arriving in Athens, Ga., and has played safety only the past two
years. Phillips is an above-average to good all-around athlete who has excellent hands for
a safety and good ball skills. In run support, he will make some big hits and plays, but
he is a little bit of a straightline player who will miss some tackles in the open field.
He had an up-and-down senior year but played very well in some late-season games.
At 6-3, 225 pounds, Stanford’s Clevan "Tank" Williams looks like
a linebacker. Yet, on timing day, he outran some of the Cardinals’ little
cornerbacks. A four-year letterman and three-year starter, Williams can be a little hard
to figure out at times. He has moments and games in which he makes game impact plays and
will show everything teams want to see from a safety. But at other times, he does not show
great awareness in coverage, will miss some open-field tackles and looks like a
straight-line player who struggles to go back on the ball.
As a freshman, Washington State’s Lamont Thompson played a key role in the
Cougars’ trip to the Rose Bowl, when he picked off three passes in the Apple Bowl vs.
Washington and two more in the Stanford game. However, after playing well as a sophomore
in ’98, Thompson almost had his promising career derailed by a neck injury which
forced him to sit out the 2000 season. As a senior, he was a big reason Washington State
went 9-2, and he had four picks in one game against UCLA. Thompson is a big, athletic
safety who can really run. At times, he seems to have the hands and ball skills of a wide
receiver. Coming off the neck injury, he looked to avoid big collisions early in the
season, but he became more aggressive as the season went along.
A number of quality college cornerbacks will either be zone or bump corners in the NFL
or safeties. Brian Williams of North Carolina State does not have great speed for
an NFL corner, but he is very effective in press coverage and is tough, instinctive and
alert enough to be a good safety. Washington’s Omare Lowe had a monster game
vs. Michigan early in the season, but he really has only average man-on-man coverage
skills and speed for an NFL corner. With his ball skills and range, he could be a better
fit inside, though he does not have the killer instinct of a safety.
Boston College’s Lenny Walls is a fine basketball player whose twin brother
starts for the Eagles’ basketball team. Walls played corner in college, but at 6-3½
with long arms and a giant wingspan, he could wind up playing inside in the pros. However,
he may be a Joe Lavender-type of corner. With his reach and long arms, his lack of
suddenness can be hidden at times because he is so hard to throw over. Regardless of where
he plays, the angular Walls must improve his hitting and tackling and learn how to break
down correctly when tackling.
Kickers
Almost every placekicker the NFL has drafted in recent years did not make the team that
drafted him, and a combination of history and a shortage of college placekickers could
lead to none being drafted this year.
The best punter is Ohio University’s left-footed Dave Zastudil, who has
exceptional leg strength and really good intangibles for a kicker. Purdue’s Travis
Dorsch can punt, placekick and kick off, and he has a big-time leg, which he will
often show off when punting. However, he is not a directional or ball-placement kicker,
and Purdue used a pooch punter when it wanted the ball placed near the goal line.
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