Gryphon ~ Kwon Alexander ~ Louisiana State Fighting Tigers ~ 6006/228
The Gryphon would optimally be able to play RoverBack in "Base" Formations, and drop down to MidFielder for Big Nickel.
Gryphons could thus quite conceivably emerge as the Field Generals of the Defense in the Years to come.
When evaluating Gryphons, 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, Navigating Traffic, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Catch Point Capacity.
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
* Navigating Traffic
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Agility
* Processing Speed
* Catch Point Capacity
Processing Speed: Marginal. Oy. Yeah, this is his Achilles Heal. He's gonna need a lot of intensive Training and Study.
Run Defense: Rovers are Hybrids in themselves, and Gryphons are Hybrids of Rovers and MidFielders ~ who are in fact Hybrids themselves ~ so I'm extrapolating intensively, in projecting a MidFielder on Tape to a Gryphon, so be warned. Having said that: I believe he projects as Exceptional and with the Potential to become Outstanding. His Power, though Deficient for a MidFielder taking on 300 Pound Gorillas, translates, in my eyes to Impressive for a Gryphon. And his Combat Skills, forged in the Trenches, suddenly look great, too!! Mind you: His marginal Processing Speed is an enormous Hindrance to Success, but that can be improved, and his Acceleration is sensational.
Pass Coverage: Competitive but potentially Extraordinary. Yes, there certainly is a yawning, gaping Chasm between those Grades, so I will do my utmost to explain the radical, almost diametrically opposed Divergence in what I see and what I foresee: Right now, his athletic Capacity to Cover is sensational, but his Field Vision sucks. Say, that was easy.
Alexander should not be playing near The Line of Scrimmage and engaging 300 Pound Gorillas in Combat.
He clearly doesn't possess enough Core Power to play MidFielder in the 20th Century.
Oh...Wait a moment.
This isn't the 20th Century???
Well...imagine that.
For those who haven't Gotten The Memo: 21st Century Defenses require Speed, and 21st Century Defenses plead for Versatility. There is a lot of Beta in Kwon Alexander's Stock, I'd be the last to say otherwise ~ a lot of Risk.
I don't know if things will ever click for'm enough ~ or even close to enough ~ for his Field Vision to catch up to'is awesome Athletic Skills. If so, there'd be no shame in that: I'm an intelligent guy, myself, but if he fails to actualize his extraordinary physical Talent because his Processing Speed doesn't match his Speed, he'll be in the same boat with me.
Well...except for the Athletic Talent part.
Haw.
Anyway, here's how I see it:
If Alexander doesn't figure it all out, he'll be a Special Teamer.
But if he does, he could become a Perennial All Pro.
Some folks will get intoxicated with his sheer Athletic Prowess and declare "He'll figure it out."
Some folks will say "Hey, let the kid attack...and we'll figure it out from there."
Worring about Flanks is highly OverRated, after all.
Like me, for instance.
I say that.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
3rd/4th Round Market Value | Yankee Grade 2nd/3rd Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!