Dontari Poe

[dasher]

If you put the combine aside, I have no idea what people see in this player. Having watched 4 full game tapes of him and he wasn't even the 2nd best player on the Memphis line. His instincts are horrible and his play lacks fluidity.

Positives : Memphis has a great Strength and Conditioning Coach. If your child is looking to get in shape, perhaps that's the place to go

Negatives :

PASS -

- Against extremely weak competition, Poe brings very little to the Pass Rush.
- Only uses a Rip Move to get past a single coverage blocker
- First "punch" was rarely used, but it had not been coached or developed by the Memphis training staff
- Was useless in Double Teams during a pass rush. Seemed to give up.
- Wasn't used to create gaps for linebackers or safeties to sail threw in basic 4-3 plays
- Failed multiple times to get in a Passer's face while they were scrambling.


RUN -

- Doesn't have the energy of a starting NT or DT against the point of attack. Hard to say that he wants it.
- Initial Burst is inconsistant. You only see it about 50% of the time.
- Insticts are slow. He obviously has the power to shed a blocker and get to the runner but he's about a full second too slow.


OVERALL -

I feel like we get excited about a player like this ever year. DTs have the highest first round BUST rate of any position over the past decade - and a large part of it deals with the 3 year period it takes to learn the position. Poe is a player that could make sense for the Ravens or a team that will be patient for him. In no way should he be playing more than 20 snaps a game. Or even see the field in the first half of the season. This is not a BJ Raiji, high instinct / heavy motor player.

The speed of a NT isn't just straight-line. Watch Kris Jenkins or Ngata or Wilfork. They are basically asked to be heavy weight boxers for 8 seconds after the snap. Watch Jenkins split a double team or Wilfork swim on a pass-down. This was their college tape being maximized much more than their 40 time at the combine. Ngata played soccer and is as quick as most linebackers.

If he were on the Alabama Roster or LSU Roster I wouldn't know about him. I feel that Memphis maybe even made the wrong choice with his ability by having him play DT instead of Guard.

http://youtu.be/AZxD_uV5kyk

[Nastradamus]

Pretty fair assessment I think, reminds me of Jarron Gilbert or one of those types

[TrueNBlue]

Yeah, I see Jimmy Kennedy or a fatter Dwayne Robertson.

[TMC]

I see the reason he is rated so highly. He is raw as anything. He is unpolished, lacks technique, and needs to get better overall feel for the game. But, his power and quickness in a 350 pound guy does not fall off the back of a truck everyday. Could he bust? Absolutely. But, if you watched the film, you also watched a 350-pound DT try to get skinny into a hole and turn his shoulder into the blocker while he tried to push past. My question is why? Why not use your power and jack up the OL? There are plays where he grabs the OL with both hands and just throws him aside. His spin move is as good as any. When he plants his feet and uses the club, he can uproot guys.

He simply will have to learn to use his abilities. Not sure if the DL coach at Memphis wanted him playing that way or what, but he has the physical attributes to be an elite level player. It will take time, but he could be the best DL in this draft in 2 years. His physical attributes are unmatched in this draft, you just have to get him to play to them.