Demarious Randall

[Curly Calhoun]

TT's comments on the Randall pick:

http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/n...-thompson-discusses-packers-pick-of-damarious

• We feel fortunate we were able to get him that late.
• Good ball skills, heady, he's a good player.
• For some time now we've had him pretty high up on our board. The more you go back and look, he's just a good football player...we took a very good football player and we took him at a place that was very reasonable in terms of cost.
• There wasn't much conversation when it got to be our pick.
• Took a few, couple of teams were wanting to move back up at the end of the round. Obviously, we didn't do anything...quite frankly, some of the trade proposals to us were a little bit skewed in the other team's favor.
• I think he's got really good ball skills, he's got kind of a knack for catching the ball. He's capable of punt returns, he's played center field in junior college, which I think is a marvelous trait to have as a defensive back.
• It was told to me that he would have been their best corner, based on what was told to me (by the Sun Devils' coaches), their defense, the safety play is so important and crucial to the play of their defense that he had to play inside.

Its hard to not be excited about this pick. At least for me.

Good post. I'm happy about this as well.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Pretty surprised by the pick. Randall has the speed and change of direction to play outside corner. He hasn't played CB in college so it's pretty tough to make an educated guess about his potential at the position. I'm neither excited nor disappointed about the pick at the moment as I have to see him play the position before being able to evaluate this selection.

 

[Wood Chipper]

All these overreactions make me LOL

 

[scotscheese]

i have no idea who this guy is, but the same can be said for every other person in the draft

so all i'll say is, welcome to green bay

 

[gemoran4]

I don't mind the pick, CB was a big need in this draft, and randall (as far as I'm aware) was one of the best available players at the position. Don't get me wrong, we need ILB but besides Anthony all of the major ILBs are still on the board going into the 2nd round.

My only complaint with the pick is Randall's size. We have Sam Shields, Casey Heyward, and this guy presumably as our top 3 CBs (unless Hyde beats out Randall in training camp). You're talking 3 CBs who are under 6 ft. Who's going to cover Calvin Johnson, or Alshon Jeffrey or Kevin White or any of the big, talented receivers we'll be matched up with. But that's a minor complaint, and if the guy can play the guy can play. We'll just have to wait to see if this is a good pick or another Justin Harrell.

 

[PikeBadger]

Needs - CB, DL, LB, TE

CB - check

On to rounds 2 and 3 tonite.

 

[rodell330]

What I'm curious about, is if he'll be our boundary corner? Meaning take Williams spot? Is that the plan? And just keep Casey in the slot? Or will Randall be asked to be our slot corner? Or?

Randall most certainly has a boundary CB build and skill set.

This I do agree with. He's got 4.4 speed to. It's like I said earlier..corners don't get drafted in the first round and ride the bench .

 

[Mondio]

Looks like a good pick. good overall speed and more importantly, he can change directions quickly and go without losing much speed. Can play the ball in the air. I admittedly haven't watched a ton of ASU games, but his tackling doesn't look to be any worse than anything we've had in the secondary for years. He's not going to line up a runner in the hold like a Perryman would, but he still looks to be able to make contact and get them down even when giving up 20-40lbs.

 

[Leather&Lacy]

Who is Demarious Randall? I think we drafted someone named DAmarious Randall.

 

[jetfixer]

I said on the first page here he was not a strong tackler, I didn't say he wasn't a good player. I will stick with my opinion and say this, Peterson, Dez, and those types of guys run through arm tackles. This young guy will get beter though and be a good player.

 

[AmishMafia]

TT: "There wasn't much conversation when it got to be our pick"

My impressions of this statement - there was near consensus among scouts, coaches, and TT when the pick came up. Means to me that this was a BPA pick and he was clearly the player to go with.

I am getting excited about this pick. Its always the picks that fans don't see coming that do the best. Nick Collins and Jordy Nelson come to mind. Harrell also comes to mind but if he stayed healthy he was Probowl caliber.

Anyhow, he definitely has the physical talent and skills to be a very good corner. Keep in mind - he was moved to safety because it is a critical position in their defense. It was because he was so good that they moved him. Sounds to me that even though he would have been very successful at CB he accepted the move for the team. Makes me think he is a great team player and puts his own personal goals behind team goals.

 

[jetfixer]

I don't mind the pick, CB was a big need in this draft, and randall (as far as I'm aware) was one of the best available players at the position. Don't get me wrong, we need ILB but besides Anthony all of the major ILBs are still on the board going into the 2nd round.

My only complaint with the pick is Randall's size. We have Sam Shields, Casey Heyward, and this guy presumably as our top 3 CBs (unless Hyde beats out Randall in training camp). You're talking 3 CBs who are under 6 ft. Who's going to cover Calvin Johnson, or Alshon Jeffrey or Kevin White or any of the big, talented receivers we'll be matched up with. But that's a minor complaint, and if the guy can play the guy can play. We'll just have to wait to see if this is a good pick or another Justin Harrell.

We've done ok covering these guys in the past, Williams wasn't physically imposing, lets hope this kid is better.

 

[tynimiller]

Some of you need to breathe....was this pick surprising? Yes....but it tells us a lot.

#1 - The days of Hyde being our primary backup at Safety is gone and he'll most likely be given more time at nickle and dime CB situations (as will Randall now).

#2 - TT/Company truly sees something in Hayward or Goodson to not feel the need to draft a DB that is fit for the outside....now I just pray they're right.

#3 - My hunch is TT has a couple sleeper ILBs he'd be comfortable with should more teams grab them like the Saints did with Anthony moments after our pick....I still think an intriguing player is Hayes Pollard. If we don't get Kendrick I could easily see us hold off till the 3rd or later to fill this slot.

#4 - TT is true to his board. Even I was setting there like "I know it may be early for Kendrick or Anthony but the pick would be one I'd be 100% fine with....then when I heard Randall's name I'll admit I smiled....I knew of him I just didn't see us going that route, but instantly liked it. TT basically just told Hayward and Goodson we believe in your skill and ability to take over for Tramon/House loss.

#5 - Pick proves TT isn't freaking out or desperate...and I like a calm TT while drafting

 

[tynimiller]

Also don't go nuts.....this pick reminds me a #21 we lost a few years back from the secondary. #21 was just plan athletic and versatile....I don't see that kind of career out of him, but dangit if this dude isn't capable of playing both Safety spots....nickle and dime CB and some say has the hips and speed to become an outside CB....weapon plain and simple.

 

[jetfixer]

#2 - TT/Company truly sees something in Hayward or Goodson to not feel the need to draft a DB that is fit for the outside....now I just pray they're right.

I think he will compete with these guys for the same job too.

 

[tynimiller]

I don't mind the pick, CB was a big need in this draft, and randall (as far as I'm aware) was one of the best available players at the position. Don't get me wrong, we need ILB but besides Anthony all of the major ILBs are still on the board going into the 2nd round.

My only complaint with the pick is Randall's size. We have Sam Shields, Casey Heyward, and this guy presumably as our top 3 CBs (unless Hyde beats out Randall in training camp). You're talking 3 CBs who are under 6 ft. Who's going to cover Calvin Johnson, or Alshon Jeffrey or Kevin White or any of the big, talented receivers we'll be matched up with. But that's a minor complaint, and if the guy can play the guy can play. We'll just have to wait to see if this is a good pick or another Justin Harrell.

1 thing to remember is this....size is great to compete with size...but form and technique will always keep guys like Calvin corralled and limited more so. Height only wins jump balls...technique and coverage skills stop big plays. It is a trade off...but one a lot of the time is one I'm willing to concede.

 

[tynimiller]

#2 - TT/Company truly sees something in Hayward or Goodson to not feel the need to draft a DB that is fit for the outside....now I just pray they're right.

I think he will compete with these guys for the same job too.

Oh don't get me wrong I think Capers is going to look at every single DB (not named Shields) whether they're drafted, un-drafted or what and say, "Want the position, take it."

 

[Sunshinepacker]

I don't mind the pick, CB was a big need in this draft, and randall (as far as I'm aware) was one of the best available players at the position. Don't get me wrong, we need ILB but besides Anthony all of the major ILBs are still on the board going into the 2nd round.

My only complaint with the pick is Randall's size. We have Sam Shields, Casey Heyward, and this guy presumably as our top 3 CBs (unless Hyde beats out Randall in training camp). You're talking 3 CBs who are under 6 ft. Who's going to cover Calvin Johnson, or Alshon Jeffrey or Kevin White or any of the big, talented receivers we'll be matched up with. But that's a minor complaint, and if the guy can play the guy can play. We'll just have to wait to see if this is a good pick or another Justin Harrell.

Size of corners is completely overrated once you get to 5'10" or above. You're talking about a difference of four inches when both players are jumping for the ball. So long as the corner has decent ball skills and timing, there's NO reason that a 5'10" can't either knock the ball down or get his arm between the receiver and the ball to knock it out. Give me a 5'10" corner with decent ball skills 10 times out of 10 over a 6'2" corner who has no clue what to do once the ball is in the air.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

Pick will certainly be interesting. Packers asking him to change positions but he seems like a guy who can do it.

Packers really need to get NT and ILB help in the next couple rounds though or else fans will never get to see Randall in coverage since teams will just run the ball up the middle all game long (Matthews can play ILB but I doubt he stays healthy playing 16 games inside).

 

[PackerFlatLander]

LOL. Nothing better than a hot cup of Tim Horton's coffee, to go with criticisms of armchair GM's, who clearly scout college football players for a living.

 

[jetfixer]

LOL. Nothing better than a hot cup of Tim Horton's coffee, to go with criticisms of armchair GM's, who clearly scout college football players for a living.

Well, that is what this forum is for......we all know we arn't GM's, just having fun playing the role.

 

[Jz3]

This was a terrible pick. Already written off as a big potential bust with little reward for me. The Packers reached on a player that does not belong in the first round. You can take fliers on players like this in the 2nd or 3rd.

I feel like the Packers just wasted a late 1st round pick on a 2nd/3rd round player. Nothing to get excited about.

 

[bubba]

The pick just caught me off guard last night because I thought he was a safety only. I was hoping for Brown at that spot because I thought he was good value there. I have calmed down now and read up on this guy and he is very versatile who will probably play CB for us. The more I hear about him the more I like him. Ted usually makes the right picks in the draft and I will trust his judgement.

 

[tynimiller]

This was a terrible pick. Already written off as a big potential bust with little reward for me. The Packers reached on a player that does not belong in the first round. You can take fliers on players like this in the 2nd or 3rd.

I feel like the Packers just wasted a late 1st round pick on a 2nd/3rd round player. Nothing to get excited about.

There were only about 12-17 players that were true 1st round grades. I highly highly doubt TT and company didn't try to trade back but not many people desired to trade up into essentially the 2nd round still at the 30th pick....although TT said they got a couple calls but nothing in their mind was worth more than taking Randall where they were going to.

TT even said they have had this guy extremely high on their board for some time...that says a lot to me and means they throughly researched him. I say if he comes in and contributes like Hyde or even Hayward dude was well worth it...we shall see. I hope you're wrong, but I bet you do as well!

 

[AmishMafia]

Keep in mind the following is highlight tape of Randall tackling. That's not a strong tackler.

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This video is a year old. So this is his first year playing college football after having played only baseball the previous 2 years at a community college.

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This is after last season and you can see definite improvement in tackling.

The things that jump out are his horrible taste in music (I think he did the first clip). On the field he appears to be operating at a different gear than everyone else. Very quick and fast. Very willing tackler. Technique still needs work - but you can see the improvement over the 2 tapes. The reason he led the team in tackles is because he is so darn quick - he beats everyone else to the ball.

Packers got a very interesting player who is already effective - and still has a lot of upside.