NFL Scouting Combine: Feb 27–Mar 2
Kikaha didn't pass the athletics test for me.
So great production, but still not someone that checked all the boxes and is really irrelevant to this conversation since he wasn't being talked about as a first round prospect.
40 times for the undersized/tweener pass rusher types are extremely important. Outside of an anomaly guy here and there like T-Sizzle and James Harrison, the guys with poor 40 times like Kikaha virtually never succeed (I believe Kikaha was a 4.8 guy, easy bust to pinpoint).
The tweener guys that produce well are worth a day 2 or 3 gamble, but for a first round pick, especially a top 10 first round pick, if I am going pass rusher, I want it all...athletic traits (including a sub 4.6 40 time ideally) and big-time production displayed versus amateur level competition.
I can remember years back having this same discussion on here about Jarvis Jones. He didn't pass the athletic bar for me despite the production, and I made it known that he wasn't someone I'd like to take because of it and I got blasted for it. I recall even writing an entire dissertation on this topic here at one point. lol
Dion Jordan and Taco Charlton are a couple more I talked about here on this topic when everyone else was in love with them.
Both items matter - Big time traits AND production. Gamble on the guys with one and not the other with the day 2 or 3 pick realm.
I’m always going to ask the question when these athletic phenoms haven’t shown much production - if you’re so athletically great, why were you not able to absolutely terrorize and dominate kids that are future office managers and insurance salesmen at the amateur level every week and why should I believe you suddenly will now against actual professionals that are grown men and the absolute best in the world at stopping guys like you?
Hau'oli Kikaha
:)
Kikaha didn't pass the athletics test for me.
So great production, but still not someone that checked all the boxes and is really irrelevant to this conversation since he wasn't being talked about as a first round prospect.
40 times for the undersized/tweener pass rusher types are extremely important. Outside of an anomaly guy here and there like T-Sizzle and James Harrison, the guys with poor 40 times like Kikaha virtually never succeed (I believe Kikaha was a 4.8 guy, easy bust to pinpoint).
The tweener guys that produce well are worth a day 2 or 3 gamble, but for a first round pick, especially a top 10 first round pick, if I am going pass rusher, I want it all...athletic traits (including a sub 4.6 40 time ideally) and big-time production displayed versus amateur level competition.
I can remember years back having this same discussion on here about Jarvis Jones. He didn't pass the athletic bar for me despite the production, and I made it known that he wasn't someone I'd like to take because of it and I got blasted for it. I recall even writing an entire dissertation on this topic here at one point. lol
Dion Jordan and Taco Charlton are a couple more I talked about here on this topic when everyone else was in love with them.
Both items matter - Big time traits AND production. Gamble on the guys with one and not the other with the day 2 or 3 pick realm.
I’m always going to ask the question when these athletic phenoms haven’t shown much production - if you’re so athletically great, why were you not able to absolutely terrorize and dominate kids that are future office managers and insurance salesmen at the amateur level every week and why should I believe you suddenly will now against actual professionals that are grown men and the absolute best in the world at stopping guys like you?