Would you rather . . . ?

Assuming both are available and 'neither' is not an option.

These are two of my fantasy picks. If Gurley rebounds from ACL surgery, he appears to be the closest thing to a Beast Mode replacement in this draft. Shelton, on the other hand, could be a contributor from day one with enough power/leverage to play NT and enough athleticism/pass rushing ability to start at the three technique. Shelton is the much safer bet, IMO. But Gurley has even more upside.

I'd take a healthy Gurley over anyone in this draft. An O-lineman would come next. I like TJ Clemmings, he's only been playing Tackle two years and he's already really good. You wonder what that guy's ceiling is.

Haven't watched enough of Shelton but I think we'll rework Bane's deal and extend him at a lower hit.

I'm hoping that the cap space not spent on Russell will keep on going to this superb defense,eg Wagner, Maxwell, Mebane, Irvin etc. While it would be great to draft another stud D lineman I really hope (and believe) that the focus of the draft will be overwhelmingly on offense. So, I think the first few picks should be BPA on offense. If that's Gurley then great, sign him up.

Why not both?

Totally unconvinced that Shelton is going to go anywhere near as early as some are projecting. Also seen reports of a difficult personality, tough to manage or control.

Gurley on the other hand is an absolute monster -- with or without the ACL issue.

Assuming health, Gurley because he allows this team to keep its tough, run first personality.

theENGLISHseahawk":33w3b37q said:

Why not both?

Totally unconvinced that Shelton is going to go anywhere near as early as some are projecting. Also seen reports of a difficult personality, tough to manage or control.

Gurley on the other hand is an absolute monster -- with or without the ACL issue.

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Well from what I have been reading you may be on to something. My question is though..do you actually think someone is going to take Gurley in the 1st round with the ACL issue? I ask because running backs are severely undervalued currently and that injury can't help things.

MizzouHawkGal":2pgfxa6q said:

theENGLISHseahawk":2pgfxa6q said:

Why not both?

Totally unconvinced that Shelton is going to go anywhere near as early as some are projecting. Also seen reports of a difficult personality, tough to manage or control.

Gurley on the other hand is an absolute monster -- with or without the ACL issue.

Click to expand...

Well from what I have been reading you may be on to something. My question is though..do you actually think someone is going to take Gurley in the 1st round with the ACL issue? I ask because running backs are severely undervalued currently and that injury can't help things.

Click to expand...

I think part of it's been a talent/need thing. For me, Gurley's the most impressive back to enter a draft in a while. For all the teams supposedly able to get production out of late round/undrafted RBs you've got Jacksonville, San Diego, Carolina, Cleveland, Oakland, Buffalo, Arizona, Jets, Atlanta, Miami, Titans, Giants, Buccs, Rams and Lions who could probably do with a #1 running back (some more than others). Even the Ravens are unlikely to invest much in an aging Justin Forsett. Minnesota's been built around AP and it's possible he'll go somewhere else next year, they might see Gurley as their next great back. Mark Ingram becomes a free agent next year and New Orleans are in cap hell. Even Denver could see Gurley as a guy to take them to the next level.

That's well over half the teams in the NFL and I've not even mentioned us. I put that I'd love us to grab Gurley in the second a couple of weeks ago, but on review that seems ridiculously unlikely. I could see him falling to our first though. Teams want an immediate contributor with their first pick, we're one of a few who could probably afford the luxury of taking an injured stud, though it depends on Lynch of course.

MizzouHawkGal":19hvf9um said:

theENGLISHseahawk":19hvf9um said:

Why not both?

Totally unconvinced that Shelton is going to go anywhere near as early as some are projecting. Also seen reports of a difficult personality, tough to manage or control.

Gurley on the other hand is an absolute monster -- with or without the ACL issue.

Click to expand...

Well from what I have been reading you may be on to something. My question is though..do you actually think someone is going to take Gurley in the 1st round with the ACL issue? I ask because running backs are severely undervalued currently and that injury can't help things.

Click to expand...

I do think someone will take Gurley in R1. Heck, Dominique Easley managed it this year. Gurley is similar in that regard. Absolutely insane potential.

A good team will be happy to take him and let him rehab until he's 100%. Brilliant, brilliant talent.

To my eyes, Danny Shelton is a future pro bowler. Guys that big and stout are not supposed to be that agile or that fast off the ball. He's a better prospect than Aaron Donald was last year because of his run stuffing ability, and I would rather have Shelton than Leonard WIlliams this year. 89 tackles . . . 16.5 tackles for loss . . . 9 sacks . . . and 4 fumble recoveries so far this year.

theENGLISHseahawk":tkpphu1a said:

Why not both?

Totally unconvinced that Shelton is going to go anywhere near as early as some are projecting. Also seen reports of a difficult personality, tough to manage or control.

Gurley on the other hand is an absolute monster -- with or without the ACL issue.

Click to expand...

I'd agree with this assessment.

If we look at the last several drafts, it's pretty clear that the premium for DTs in the draft is pass rush ability. It's evident by looking at a host of DTs that were all forecast to be late 1st type talents that dropped to day 2

2014:

Rashede Hageman
Tim Jernigan

2013:

Kawaan Short
Johnathan Hankins

I would add Muhammad Wilkerson and Cameron Heyward from 2011 as well. They ended up end of R1 prospects in a draft that was really very very weak elsewhere. Had there been any kind of average quantity talent they would have pushed to R2 as well.

The reality is, Shelton is playing a position/role that doesn't benefit him draft wise. Additionally, I'd put him squarely behind Jordan Phillips from Oklahoma in terms of athletic NTs in this draft. That's not really a knock on Shelton. It's just that these two guys are really some of the better NTs to come out in years. Both superior to Justin Ellis of last year's class. That redundancy can serve to hurt both of them as teams might wait longer or trade back feeling comfortable they can get one or the other.

Shelton to me is not the equal of Vince Woolfork. He is a splendid athlete with incredible stamina. Shelton gets visibly gassed as the games/drives linger on. Conditioning will need to be addressed at the next level. He also can get erect on his pass rush and needs to work on pad level in that instance. He anchors splendidly and really just stonewalls double teams with relative ease. He has very good quickness and with work can be a 2-4 sack per season kind of NT with the occasional 5+ sack performance.

Run stuffers just aren't drafted on day 1. The relative difference in pass rush quality is fairly negligible to a prospect who can defend the run but little else. I'd expect Phillips/Shelton to get taken in the latter half of R2. Simply because there are enough teams running 3-4 schemes and the general quality of NTs over the last few years has been pretty uninspiring. There should be enough demand to prompt for overdrafting at that position.

hawknation2014":a5q2fge2 said:

To my eyes, Danny Shelton is a future pro bowler. Guys that big and stout are not supposed to be that agile or that fast off the ball. He's a better prospect than Aaron Donald was last year because of his run stuffing ability, and I would rather have Shelton than Leonard WIlliams this year. 89 tackles . . . 16.5 tackles for loss . . . 9 sacks . . . and 4 fumble recoveries so far this year.

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Better than Donald???

They're different players, but Donald was shown to be a true freak of nature at the combine. What a tremendous player. He's on a different level completely to Shelton IMO and he's shown it with a fantastic rookie season in STL.

I honestly believe Shelton goes in the mid-rounds. And among the nine sacks -- four against Eastern Washington, two against Hawaii and one against Georgia State. 9.5 of his TFL's came in those three games too.

In the PAC-12 he had half a sack against Oregon, half a sack against Washington State and one sack against Arizona. That's it.

theENGLISHseahawk":vfx7ck4r said:

hawknation2014":vfx7ck4r said:

To my eyes, Danny Shelton is a future pro bowler. Guys that big and stout are not supposed to be that agile or that fast off the ball. He's a better prospect than Aaron Donald was last year because of his run stuffing ability, and I would rather have Shelton than Leonard WIlliams this year. 89 tackles . . . 16.5 tackles for loss . . . 9 sacks . . . and 4 fumble recoveries so far this year.

Click to expand...

Better than Donald???

They're different players, but Donald was shown to be a true freak of nature at the combine. What a tremendous player. He's on a different level completely to Shelton IMO and he's shown it with a fantastic rookie season in STL.

I honestly believe Shelton goes in the mid-rounds. And among the nine sacks -- four against Eastern Washington, two against Hawaii and one against Georgia State. 9.5 of his TFL's came in those three games too.

In the PAC-12 he had half a sack against Oregon, half a sack against Washington State and one sack against Arizona. That's it.

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Nah, he's going in the first round easy. Shelton's game is so much more than sacks.

Take away the production headlines and he's just another big run stopper IMO. Don't see what all the fuss is about.

Gurley n don't look back

A running back corp of a guy named Christine and a gurley man running the ball. Then we just need to sign a boy named suh to play dt.

In an either/or scenario?

It would have to be Gurley. No question.

I like Shelton and I think he is a poor mans BJ Raji (Packers DT). Shelton is the same height/weight as Raji, but I think Shelton is a little less athletic. IMO Gurley is a top-10 talent and the type of RB that only comes along once every five years or so. With his injury we would be getting him at a big discount price and our roster is set to red-shirt Gurley his rookie year. Gurley would take over the role of Beast Mode his second year with us. Gurley would be the center piece of our offense for the next 8-10 years.