Eagles ~ 6000/213
Today's Strong Safety needs to be a true Hybrid ~ precisely like the Gryphons of The Yankee 245.
The most compelling Attributes of a Strong Safety are, in my view, and in no particular order:
Processing Speed ~ The ability to Rapidly Read & React to the Play as it develops
Diagnostic Acuity ~ The ability to do so effectively and with Precision
Range ~ Lateral Velocity & DownHill Burst
Verticity ~ Turn & Burn Acuity ~ Flip of the Hip to Rotate & Run with Receivers
Combat ~ The ability to work through Traffic
Tackling ~ Consistency & Precision
Pass Defense ~ Wilcox already commands amazing Verticity ~ ability to Turn & Burn ~ and that, above all other considerations, is the Name of the Game when you're playing Defensive Back. Many simply don't have it. Is he Raw?? Duh. But he's highly Intelligent, and has been improving by Leaps & Bounds in his very first Year.
Hello???
We do realize that James Wilcox ~ James Junior ~ has only played Defensive Back for one Year of his Life, after playing SlotBack, HalfBack, and FlexBack for his first 3 Years at Georgia Southern...right?? And we do realize that ~ his utterly blank Defensive Back Resume notwithstanding ~ he immediately seized a starting Gig...right??
As the expression goes: I am, in fact...just sayin'!!
Rant over.
I love this kid, obviously, but of course when we're looking at James "JJ" Wilcox, it's All Projection.
Frankly, I think the kid commands enormous Potential as a Strong Safety at The Next Level. For someone to take on an entirely new Gig on the other side of the Ball, and in'is first Year to excel at it tells me a great deal.
You can't use the same YardStick to project this kind of situation as you would a guy who's been playing Safety for 10 Years. You'd have to be an idiot to do so.
When I assess a guy in a new Gig, I look for raw physical Talent, I look for raw Intelligence that can produce Instinct in time, and I look for Ambition ~ raw, passionate, driven Ambition.
And I look, above all, for signs of Rapid Improvement.
James Wilcox has scored 4x4, Ladies & Laddies, and I would love to drop a 3rd Day Pick on'm and see what's next.
Consensus Market Value 3rd Round | Yankee Grade 3rd Round |