2011 Draft Class at a Glance- Defense
The draft is my favorite part of the SFL year. Every team feels like they can improve and every time is laying the foundation for their future either via trade by trading draft picks or via actual drafting of players. The draft also reveals the diversity of GM talent evaluations. Some GM’s value raw physical talent usually speed others value awareness or tackle or blocking skills. The entire draft process is inundated with this diversity which makes it fun. Although I may do a mock draft at some point, this article is just going to focus on the top talent at each position without reference to which team might draft them. Having done the offense in a previous article I will now turn to the defensive side of the ball. In my opinion there is less talent depth in this class on the defensive side than there is on the offensive side of the ball.
The first players to look at are the defensive ends.
DE’s
Cameron Jordan- 21 years old, 6’4”, 287 lbs., 90 SPD, 70 STR, 54 AWR, 78 AGI, 75 ACC, and 76 TAK
The best DE available is this draft for my money is Cameron Jordan. I have seen in the mock drafts a favoring of Quinn as the best but I prefer Jordan. It’s highly unlikely that he holds his 90 SPD through the skew but he is a better tackler than Quinn and he is still much faster pre-skew that him. Neither have the desired acceleration, but Jordan’s speed and tackle put him first in my rankings.
Robert Quinn- 21 years old, 6’5”, 276 lbs., 82 SPD, 84 STR, 52 AWR, 80 AGI, 76 ACC, and 65 TAK
Quinn is not far behind Jordan in my evaluation. I think Quinn sets up quite well as a RE with his speed and strength combination. I worry a bit about his tackling skills but I also don’t know how much of a factor that should be. I think both Jordan and Quinn should go in the first round.
J.J. Watt- 23 years old, 6’6”, 285 lbs., 76 SPD, 80 STR, 60 AWR, 82 AGI, 83 ACC, and 69 TAK
Watt is a prototypical RE. He doesn’t have the high end speed, though I wonder if that might skew up, but he has all the other qualities you would want except for tackle if you think that matters. His 60 AWR is also the best of the four DE’s I have highlighted.
Karl Klug- 21 years old, 6’3”, 278 lbs., 83 SPD, 72 STR, 56 AWR, 73 AGI, 80 ACC, and 76 TAK
Klug is the last of the four DE’s worth mentioning in this class. He’s got decent size and and good speed and acceleration. He is a good tackler out of the gate. I think his weakness is the agility. I hesitate to play a player with that low agility but maybe the skew will help him.
Class Rating: It’s a thin class lacking the top tier talent we have seen in previous years but there are still guys here if you need someone at the position.
DT’s
Kendrick Ellis- 23 years old, 6’5”, 340 lbs., 80 SPD, 75 STR, 55 AWR, 74 AGI, 87 ACC, and 79 TAK
Ellis is the best player listed as a DT in this draft. He certainly has the side to play DT but I don’t love his lack of strength for the position. I do think he would be a nice DE though. If a player’s weight actually matters in the engine having him at LE or RE would be a massive matchup problem. I will be interested also to see his skew as that could also make or break him. With his current ratings, I see him as a top 20 talent.
Phil Taylor- 23 years old, 6’4”, 355 lbs., 57 SPD, 85 STR, 59 AWR, 71 AGI, 78 ACC, and 83 TAK
Taylor brings the more traditional DT profile. I feel like he should be a nose tackle but he doesn’t have the strength I prefer for that position. Having said that I can easily see a scenario where he could be very close to 60 SPD, 90 STR, 70 AGI, and 80 ACC at 6’4”, 355 lbs. I know I’m projecting out a bit, but teams will understand this and that’s why I think he’s the second best DT available.
Marcel Dareus- 21 years old, 6’3”, 306 lbs., 60 SPD, 89 STR, 60 AWR, 67 AGI, 77 ACC, and 83 TAK
Dareus, Fairley, and Paea are all a couple of notches below both Ellis and Taylor each for different reasons. Dareus is young and can still get to the 60 SPD, 90 STR, 70 AGI, and 80 ACC mark so I see potential but the skew could really hurt him and he’s on the short side too.
Nick Fairley- 20 years old, 6’5”, 293 lbs., 65 SPD, 87 STR, 64 AWR, 71 AGI, 75 ACC, and 78 TAK
Fairley has the height Dareus lacks but he doesn’t have the strength and acceleration he has. Fairley does have good AWR which is a decent deal plus he’s only 20 years old so you could theoretically get many years out of him.
Stephen Paea- 23 years old, 6’1”, 311 lbs., 52 SPD, 94 STR, 64 AWR, 64 AGI, 79 ACC, and 79 TAK
Paea is a very small DT and lacks speed. But he has good strength and acceleration which both matter for me. Plus he has good AWR. I can see this being a big deal for a team looking for a DT in the middle rounds.
Class Rating: If I’m being honest, I would say this is a pretty poor DT class. You have two guys that are good and worth taking and then three others who need kind skews and some development. Outside of them, I think it’s a pretty worthless class.
Up next is the OLB class. It’s a good class this year but one that will force GM’s to choose between attributes and player features.
OLB’s
Von Miller- 22 years old, 6’2”, 240 lbs., 84 SPD, 81 STR, 59 AWR, 85 AGI, 88 ACC, and 78 TAK
The name Von Miller alone makes him a focus of teams evaluation but he’s not just a name, he has the physical attributes to back up his name. He’s my number one OLB on the board because of his size and physical attributes together.
Mason Foster- 20 years old, 6’0”, 200 lbs., 85 SPD, 85 STR, 59 AWR, 85 AGI, 87 ACC, and 82 TAK
Foster has the best attributes of any OLB in this class and it’s not rally close. However, he’s smaller than most RB’s and S’s and I think that raises questions about his ability as an OLB. Now I have recently run some tests to try to figure out if his size effects his production and it’s too early for me to tell. I will be fascinated to see where Foster goes in the draft.
Jonas Mouton- 23 years old, 6’2”, 228 lbs., 83 SPD, 71 STR, 51 AWR, 87 AGI, 90 ACC, and 72 TAK
Mouton is a fascinating prospect. He has great agility and acceleration and that’s important for the position It’s not that he is slow but other OLB’s have been speed. I think he’s a good prospect because over 90 ACC assuming every other attribute is decent is a big deal.
J.T. Thomas- 23 years old, 6’2”, 225 lbs., 86 SPD, 76 STR, 50 AWR, 81 AGI, 82 ACC, and 70 TAK
Thomas is a speedster with decent other physical attributes. What he lacks though is awareness and tackle and he’s really poor in both. He will be a project but perhaps one worth undertaking.
Aldon Smith- 20 years old, 6’5”, 245 lbs., 80 SPD, 75 STR, 69 AWR, 85 AGI, 85 ACC, and 80 TAK
Smith wasn’t on my radar through the first two passes. But on the third pass I started looking at him and he actually has a ton of potential. He’s a big OLB with really good awareness and good athleticism less his speed. The skew will determine his value. If he skews up in his speed he becomes an instant stud. A skew down leaves him with a very low ceiling.
Bruce Carter- 23 years old, 6’3”, 230 lbs., 80 SPD, 82 STR, 60 AWR, 78 AGI, 82 ACC, and 86 TAK
Carter has the potential to be a great run stopping OLB. He already has elite tackle and strength. He’ll need time and activity points to develop his speed and agility but he’s a potential good player.
Gabe Miller- 24 years old, 6’3”, 250 lbs., 86 SPD, 70 STR, 58 AWR, 83 AGI, 80 ACC, and 77 TAK
Miller is a big speedster who could be a good investment for a team. He lacks acceleration and just as importantly is already 24 years old. With our new progression system his age truncates the number of years he can play. I think he will drop because of this.
Ross Homan- 23 years old, 6’0”, 228 lbs., 82 SPD, 83 STR, 55 AWR, 79 AGI, 83 ACC, and 73 TAK
Homan is the final player I’m highlighting at OLB in this draft class. He’s a strong OLB with decent speed and acceleration. He’s on the small side and he struggles to tackle but a favorable skew could make him very attractive to GM’s.
Class Rating: I like this OLB class. Not anyone I would call elite but good depth and a number of options depending on what type of attributes you find valuable.
I have a theory that the position GM’s are most content with on their rosters is MLB. Whether that’s because of the talent there or perhaps a lack of importance in GM’s minds regarding the position, but I just don’t see any demand for MLB’s. I think that’s true of free agency, trades, and more recently drafts. This draft has pretty good players at the position.
MLB’s
Chris White- 23 years old, 6’3”, 244 lbs., 86 SPD, 86 STR, 63 AWR, 82 AGI, 88 ACC, and 78 TAK
White is a physical attribute stud. He’s unlikely to get to 90 SPD, 90 STR, and 90 ACC but the fact that he even has a shot at that should tell you just how elite his physical attributes are. And it’s not like he small either, he has good size for the position. He lacks the high end awareness and tackle but it’s not horrible. I see White as a top 20 talent.
Kelvin Sheppard- 23 years old, 6’3”, 239 lbs., 84 SPD, 75 STR, 67 AWR, 81 AGI, 87 ACC, and 83 TAK
For quite a while I had Sheppard as the possible #1 at the position. However, his physical attributes just can’t hang with White. I do like that Sheppard has better awareness and tackle than White and many GM’s place a premium on both awareness and tackle so Sheppard is in the mix but I think in the end he will likely be an early 2nd round pick.
Akeem Dent- 22 years old, 6’1”, 239 lbs., 85 SPD, 84 STR, 56 AWR, 83 AGI, 87 ACC, and 80 TAK
Dent is another physical attribute stud, but he’s much more raw than White. 56 awareness will scare many GM’s away because they know how much work is involved in getting that to an acceptable level. Still his physical attributes will attract many GM’s. I think the 2nd round is a good projection for him.
Martez Wilson- 23 years old, 6’4”, 250 lbs., 82 SPD, 70 STR, 60 AWR, 83 AGI, 85 ACC, and 87 TAK
Wilson has great size and is a really good tackler but outside of that he is slightly above average.
Quan Sturdivant- 22 years old, 6’2”, 235 lbs., 85 SPD, 66 STR, 66 AWR, 78 AGI, 81 ACC, and 82 TAK
Sturdivant didn’t make my list through the first couple of passes looking at the class. But on the third look he jumps onto the list. The problems for me are his agility and acceleration. I like the speed and his awareness and tackle are very passable.
Class Rating: A good not great MLB class. I think the top 3 guys are clear cut starters with good to great potential. What you get after them is less clear to me.
Net up the CB class. I think this is the most important position in this year’s draft. In order to compete with so many elite WR’s in this league you’ve got to have high end CB’s. And many of the current high end CB’s are regressing like a 60 year’s hairline. I’ve got a minimum of 10 CB’s worth drafting in this class and a couple real studs.
CB’s
Cortez Allen- 23 years old, 6’1”, 197 lbs., 99 SPD, 57 STR, 56 AWR, 95 AGI, 97 ACC, 64 CTH, and 68 TAK
Allen is an absolute stud. He got size, speed, agility, and acceleration. Really the only thing he lacks is awareness and he will be able to gain that quickly. He’s a top 5 player in this draft and I don’t expect him to make it out of the top 5.
Ras-I Dowling- 23 years old, 6’2”, 200 lbs., 97 SPD, 63 STR, 57 AWR, 90 AGI, 90 ACC, 63 CTH, and 64 TAK
Speaking of legit studs in this draft, Dowling is certainly one of them. 6’2” and 97 SPD are all you need to know. Now I don’t love his agility and acceleration for being this high but they will develop. I believe he is still a top 10 talent.
Chimdi Chekwa- 23 years old, 6’0”, 190 lbs., 96 SPD, 54 STR, 52 AWR, 93 AGI, 94 ACC, 61 CTH, and 64 TAK
Chekwa is another great talent in this draft. He’s really good athletically and everyone is looking for speed at CB position. Chekwa should be a first round pick.
Richard Sherman- 22 years old, 6’3”, 195 lbs., 92 SPD, 47 STR, 57 AWR, 95 AGI, 92 ACC, 54 CTH, and 64 TAK
Sherman is the type of guy you might not notice if you are only looking at speed. But when you realize he is 6’3” with 92 SPD, 95 AGI, and 92 ACC, your evaluation quickly changes. With all the tall WR’s in this draft and the previous ones, teams need a guy Sherman’s size to counteract them. He should be a first round pick.
Patrick Peterson- 21 years old, 6’1”, 211 lbs., 91 SPD, 61 STR, 60 AWR, 96 AGI, 94 ACC, 71 CTH, and 67 TAK
Peterson’s name makes you think he’s automatically a first round talent but when you look strictly at his attributes you don’t get that impression. One thing to watch with Peterson is his speed post-skew. The speed attribute is what is keeping him from being a first round pick.
DeMarcus VanDyke- 24 years old, 6’1”, 95 SPD, 38 STR, 53 AWR, 92 AGI, 92 ACC, 56 CTH, and 48 TAK
VanDyke is a wildcard because he actually could turn out to be really good, but my projection is that he won’t lol. For some reason he doesn’t seem to have the awareness in Madden leagues. You need to also factor in the fact that he is 24 years old. He’s high risk because you won’t get him with high AWR for very long. Still an intriguing player.
Jimmy Smith- 23 years old, 6’2”, 210 lbs., 90 SPD, 56 STR, 59 AWR, 91 AGI, 92 ACC, 63 CTH, and 67 TAK
Smith reminds me of Peterson. Both have big names, good size, and relatively good awareness. But both lack the necessary speed. If Smith skews up in speed he moves up GM’s boards.
Marcus Gilchrist- 22 years old, 5’11”, 190 lbs., 95 SPD, 52 STR, 54 AWR, 92 AGI, 92 ACC, 50 CTH, and 68 TAK
The final three CB’s in this list are the short, speed CB’s. Gilchrist is the first of the three. He’s one year younger and one inch taller.
Chris Harris Jr.- 23 years old, 5’10”, 199 lbs., 95 SPD, 56 STR, 55 AWR, 94 AGI, 95 ACC, 55 CTH, and 56 TAK
Harris and Hogan have the athleticism you like but they are really short and lack ideal awareness.
Brandon Hogan- 23 years old, 5’10”, 190 lbs., 94 SPD, 48 STR, 50 AWR, 97 AGI, 97 ACC, 60 CTH, and 48 TAK
I like Hogan’s athleticism. Including in that athleticism are 97 AGI and 97 ACC. His awareness is dangerously low however and I think that limits his ceiling.
Class Rating: It’s a really good class. You can argue it ranks anywhere between 1 and 3 positionally. Two elite players and tons of depth at the position.
Safeties are next on the list and I’m bullish on some of the safeties here for sure.
S’s
SS-Austin Yancey- 22 years old, 6’3”, 230 lbs., 92 SPD, 57 STR, 51 AWR, 95 AGI, 93 ACC, 58 CTH, and 64 TAK
I really love Yancey as a great long-term prospect at SS. He reminds me of O.J. Otogwe. He’s long and extremely athletic. Yancey appears to me to be a top 15 prospect in the league.
FS-Robert Sands- 6’4”, 221 lbs., 89 SPD, 48 STR, 55 AWR, 92 AGI, 87 ACC, 69 CTH, and 73 TAK
Sanders is another tall safety with good speed. I could see how GM’s might actually see him as the best safety prospect overall. His catch and tackle are excellent, the best of the class I would say. Both he and Yancey should be first round picks.
SS-Sam Proctor- 22 years old, 6’3”, 205 lbs., 88 SPD, 49 STR, 59 AWR, 89 AGI, 91 ACC, 61 CTH, and 73 TAK
Proctor is yet another tall safety with speed. He might fly under the radar of GM’s but I think he’s worth a first round pick as well.
SS-Chris Prosinski- 22 years old, 6’1”, 213 lbs., 90 SPD, 58 STR, 51 AWR, 90 AGI, 90 ACC, 56 CTH, and 69 TAK
Prosinski is very athletic but he has some weaknesses. I’m not sure if GM’s care about jump in a safety but his is unbelievable low at 60.
FS-Chris Conte- 21 years old, 6’1”, 205 lbs., 91 SPD, 61 STR, 58 AWR, 88 AGI, 88 ACC, 60 CTH, and 74 TAK
Conte and Prosinski are very similar players, one at strong safety and the other at free safety. They are both speed guys with horrible jump. I would think they are both second or third round picks.
FS-Quinton Carter- 23 years old, 6’2”, 192 lbs., 86 SPD, 79 STR, 60 AWR, 81 AGI, 89 ACC, 62 CTH, and 74 TAK
Carter lacks the speed of most other guys in this class, but his 79 STR stands out. He also has higher awareness than most in this class. If this was the first or second draft class I think he is a for sure second round pick. I don’t think that now.
FS-Courtney Viney- 23 years old, 6’0”, 204 lbs., 91 SPD, 48 STR, 50 AWR, 85 AGI, 89 ACC, 59 CTH, and 65 TAK
Viney is a really low awareness speed safety. I think he has good potential and if skews up in speed or agility or acceleration he will ascend draft boards but for now, the guys above are ahead of him.
Class Rating: It’s a really good safety class. There is elite level talent and tons of depth. Yancey, Sands, and Proctor are all first round picks.
The final group of players to be profiled in this draft are kickers and punters. They are never the stars but if you don’t have a good one, then you know how important they can be. Two kickers are worth a look in this draft and really only two.
K’s
Dan Bailey- 24 years old, 64 AWR, 94 KPW, and 83 KAC
Bailey has better awareness than Zendejas so he gets the nod, but they are both essentially the same player. He lacks the KAC he needs to play right away.
Alex Zendejas- 23 years old, 55 AWR, 94 KPW, and 83 KAC
Zendejas doesn’t have the awareness of Bailey but they are essentially the same player. He lacks the KAC he needs to play right away.
P’s
Chris Jones- 21 years old, 6’0”, 205 lbs., 57 AWR, 92 KPW, and 86 KAC
Jones is the best of the Chris’s. He could be an immediate starter.
Chris Fuchs- 23 years old, 6’1”, 195 lbs., 59 AWR, 92 KPW, and 85 KAC
Fuchs is just a little bit behind Jones only lacking one in KAC. He also could be an immediate starter.
Chris Hazley- 23 years old, 6’3”, 222 lbs., 61 AWR, 89 KPW, and 87 KAC
Hazlet has the best kicking accuracy of the bunch. But his kicking power isn’t that great.
Class Rating: The kickers and punters are decent but honestly most teams don’t even rank these guys until the actual draft begins. I personally believe punters are the worst people in Madden.
This concludes a look at the defensive side of the ball. I would say overall the defensive talent isn’t as deep as the offensive talent but particular at CB, S, and OLB there is some pretty good talent to be had.
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