Making the case for Gregory and Gurley

I made the case for Marcus Peters first in large part because I actually think he could be a good pick for the Saints. I’m not of the same opinion for either Gurley or Gregory, although for different reasons. Nevertheless I think it’s important for each guy to ‘get his day in court’ so to speak and so I will attempt to make the case why each of them would be a good pick for the Saints.

Todd Gurley: 6’1″, 222ILBS. RB, Georgia

This actually only requires me to make two statements: first off that if Gurley gets a clean bill of health from the doctors he is a top 3 player in this draft PERIOD; and second, that he would be a redundant pick up after the Spiller signing. If we were talking about a situation where I could take gurley ‘in a vacuum’, meaning just looking at him as a prospect. I might actually take him over Cooper. Does that explain this guys talent level enough? The fact is that if he is healthy Gurley is not only a great draft pick and the best back to come out in a really long time, but a total game breaker. Gurley is the rare ‘total package’ runningback who is able to literally do anything. He has great hands, tremendous burst, is nimble, shifty, has great vision, is thick through the lower body, breaks tackles, and excels in pass protection. The one and ONLY knock on this guy is his health. That’s it. He is as close to a sure thing prospect at the position as we have seen since Peterson came out, but the issue with Gurley is not only is he coming off of a major surgery, but he has been dinged up in the past as well. The notion (put forward by Ralph) that Gurley could be taken in the top 10 is not only far from ‘far-fetched’, but is actually pretty likely if he checks out medically. I don’t think he is even on the Saints board (unless he drops to like round 3…which he won’t), and he shouldn’t be, but it’s entirely because of his redundancy to the team, not his lack of talent.

Randy Gregory: 6’5″, 235ILBS. OLB, Nebraska

Idiot, fool, numbnuts, the list goes on. There are simply a lot of ways I can describe Gregory after he tested positive for weed at the combine. However, there are other words too. Words like: special, freak, long, gifted pass rusher, raw talent, ETC. I don’t think there are many people who truly question Gregory’s talent, just the vacuum between his ears. The thing with Gregory is that if this were 2010 and the Saints still had the tremendous amount of veteran leadership that they had then…i would say draft him. He fills a position of need and I have him as my third best pass rusher and second best OLB prospect in this draft. He has pro-bowl potential and if doesn’t make the mistake again he could be a truly special player. The issue for me isn’t whether or not he is a good fit for us, he is. The question is, is he a good fit for us now? And the answer is no….at least at 13. I am in no way predicting this, but the NFL is a fickle league. If by some miracle he drops to 31 and you didnt already address the need at OLB, I think Gregory has to be given some serious consideration.

Just think about it. One of the biggest talents in the draft, a guy with a big ego (they all have them) and a ton of confidence/belief in himself, gets taken at the end of the first round. A guy like that could turn it into a massive chip on his shoulder that fuels him to pro-bowls and beyond.  Gregory has an undeniable lack for getting into the backfield and making plays. He really is a version of Gallete that doesn’t suck against the run, but sadly is potentially even more of a knucklehead (or less…one mistake as a kid doesn’t doom a guy for life folks).  If it only came down to the off the field issue with Gregory I might say that there is a legitimate argument to be made that his talent alone makes him worth the risk.

Sadly that isn’t the only issue. Gregory has also really struggled to add weight and fill out his frame, this means that when a tackle gets their hands on him, more often than not, he is done for that play. Gregory will also significantly struggle against the run (like..worse than Junior bad) if he can’t get and stay above 235. He does have excellent burst and a great motor, but the competition he will face in the NFL is unlike anything he faced in college. I don’t claim to be an expert or anything, but Gregory just smells like a bust to me and I wouldn’t take him if I were the Saints….even if his talent makes it a harder choice than it should be.