Rover ~ James Sample ~ LouisVille Cardinals 6020/210
Rovers are of course Hybrids, in that they are tasked equally with Run Defense and Pass Defense.
When evaluating RoverBacks, this is how I break things down:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, and Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed.
Pass Coverage: Agility and Processing Speed.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Ricochet ~ How crisply and how rapidly one breaks in a new direction.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness. Closing Speed.
* Verticity ~ The Ability ~ or lack thereof ~ to Flips Hips and Turn & Burn in Pass Coverage.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
Pass Coverage
* Agility
* Processing Speed
Processing Speed: Outstanding. Improved considerably over the course of 2014, his only Year at LouisVille.
Run Defense: Extraordinary. Outstanding Field Vision, tremendous Ricochet and excellent Acceleration to the Ball, terrific Combat Skills navigating Traffic, an outstanding Motor and Appetite for Combat, and an exceptional Tackler.
Pass Coverage: Outstanding. Sample brings an extraordinary Fusion of Field Vision and Agility to the Field of Battle, and while he didn't see many Direct Coverage Snaps, he appears to have equally exceptional Verticity.
What a tremendous Game this kid's got. There's really not much more to say. His Resume is wafer thin, but so, too, are those of many top Prospects who finally put it all together in their last Year at School.
He has extraordinary Potential, not only as a 21st Century Rover ~ and not to be confused with a 20th Century "In The Box" Strong Safety, I hope!! ~ but as an equally outstanding CenterFielder. He has the Potential to excel in either Role, or in a Cover 2, or in any configuration. The only real question I have about'm is if he can drop down and operate effectively in Direct Coverage, but his Agility is so tremendous that I'd be astonished if he didn't excel there, as well.
The RoverBack is the General of the Secondary, and finding one who is not only a potentially dynamic Impact Player in Run Defense but manifests equally exciting Potential in Pass Coverage is both rare and remarkable. And to compound this tremendous Impact Potential with extraordinarily acute Field Vision and Processing Speed is simply amazing.
And as for his thin Resume, I believe the concern there would be along the lines of two things:
01 ~ The Risk of 2014 proving to be a Flash In The Pan because of Fleeting Motivation ~ A Contract Year.
02 ~ The Risk of 2014 proving to be a Flash In The Pan because his Foes didn't have "Book" on'm.
To those Concerns, which are of course very Fair, I would respond that in my opinion James Sample has demonstrated tremendous Pass Coverage and Run Defense Talent, outstanding and improving Field Vision indicative of elevated Intelligence, and, by dint of his impressive Motor on the Field and the stunning speed with which he managed the development of that remarkable Field Vision and Processing Speed, unmistakably intense Drive.
"Trajectory > A mercurial Formula that blends Talent, Speed of Improvement, and the Probability of continuing that Speed of Improvement, based on perceived Intelligence, Passion, and Work Ethic: Talent x Intelligence x Drive."
That's James Sample, Ladies & Laddies!! Yeah, I presume Nothing, and Everything's a Risk, after all...
But I sure like this kid's Chances.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value 4th/5th Round | Yankee Grade 1st/2nd Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!