Smoke Monday (1 Viewer)

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football said:
And that is very true too. I am not rooting against these players. In fact I am rooting for all of them to make the team just because they have something to prove. Undrafted are never guaranteed a roster spot. Their odds are against them. As a fan looking in, we can be amazed at finding something in a store so great and valuable for way less. But in the past I used to get so excited and can't wait for these undrafted rookies to get on the field. Watching their highlights and convincing myself we got some gems or rookie undrafted player of the year or camp beast would get me pumped. However I don't want to see another Chase Thomas or Sentavious Jones disappointment. Those two players were some of the players I was very high on and didn't make the team. Since then, I brush off looking at highlights and videos of rookies as much. Occasionally I might look at videos to see what is all the fuss about. But I am staying on the "wait till training camp and preseason" camp. Hopefully a lot of them will surprise us and make it hard to cut them.
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There's nothing wrong with tempered expectations with UDFAs. I do think we have better talent evaluators in the building so we went from sign whatever UDFA we can to signing decent prospects that went undrafted for one reason or another. Chase Thomas was before Ireland arrived and Jones was in Ireland's first year in 2015. Looking at the draft strategy of finding a few guys you love and go get them leads to less filler picks and a greater emphasis on bringing in better UDFAs.
 
He comin'

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TCUDan said:
the guy is EXTREMELY 1) instinctive, 2) physical, 3) assignment sound. He also plays with a f-ton of attitude, just exudes swagger, but not for swagger's sake. You can see when he's on the field, he's comfortable, he's a fish in water.

.
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You just described CGJ.

I'm officially pumped about this dude.
 
TCUDan said:
I know most of the UDFA hype right now is centered around Abram Smith and Rashid Shaheed (rightly so), but I think Smoke makes the team. I had him as a late alternate on my utopia draft and was really glad to see the Saints get him as a UDFA.

I'm even more happy now that I've gone back and watched a little film. I don't have his measurables off the top of my head, but the guy is EXTREMELY 1) instinctive, 2) physical, 3) assignment sound. He also plays with a f-ton of attitude, just exudes swagger, but not for swagger's sake. You can see when he's on the field, he's comfortable, he's a fish in water. Honestly... I'm really impressed.

He's a great special teamer to boot, and I think he easily bumps someone like Sorensen out for a roster spot. In fact, the three UDFAs who I give the best chance of making the roster--Smoke, Smith, and Shaheed--all are huge value+ on ST (Abram isn't talked about enough in that regard, dude started games at Baylor at freaking LB).

Anyway, I see a bright future for Smoke in the NFL. He'll be much more than a STer one day. I'm sure he ran a pedestrian 40 or something that made him drop, but this guy really fits the Saints defensive backfield and defense as a whole. I think he's going to turn some heads in camp and the preseason.
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I'm with you, coach.

If I was a betting man, I'd bet dollars to donuts that Monday makes the team over Sorensen... and even those odds would be unfair to any taker.

:gosaints:
 
ShortFuzed9 said:
I'm rooting for him to get Sorenson or PJ off the team. He's a big play waiting to happen. He's been coached real well I think he can become really really good if he learns how to run or adds plyometrics to his routine
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Why PJ? Been with the team longer than a lot of players on the team now. Of course he had some bad plays here and there but he made a lot of great plays for us. Look at the interception against Brady. But Sorenson....definitely him.
 
ShortFuzed9 said:
I'm rooting for him to get Sorenson or PJ off the team. He's a big play waiting to happen. He's been coached real well I think he can become really really good if he learns how to run or adds plyometrics to his routine
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I'm with you on Sorenson, he can kick rocks if he's as bad as I've read about. PJ though, I want to stay on the team. He's a viable option at safety if Maye doesn't work out, or has a lengthy suspension. Plus he's good at the nickel, knows the defense, and has really improved the last few years.
 
Smoke Monday
Dai'Jean Dixon
Jaylen Wydermyer
Sterling Weatherford
Justyn Ross
Carson Strong...

Every year there are players that surprise everybody and go undrafted. This year I felt there were more of those than usual.
I'd even seen QB Strong listed a few times as a 1st round prospect, yet he went undrafted. That was the one that shocked
me the most this season.

I agree that Smoke could end up becoming more than a STer/backup safety, but I think he might have landed in the worst
place for that to happen any time soon (barring injury or maybe multiple injuries to the position group) Mathieu, Maye,
Lattimore, Chauncey, Adebo, Taylor, Roby, PJ, and yeah... even Sorenson. That's a deep and very talented secondary
including depth. I still think he makes the team, but may have to wait a year to see meaningful snaps outside of special
teams.

He really does have the coolest name in football. In a blind test I'd have said NASCAR driver.
 
I wonder how he compares with other aggressive and heady undrafted free agent safeties in Saints' history, specifically Sammy Knight.
 
SweetT said:
Very very true, but we’ve had great success finding some UDFA diamonds in the rough. Sometimes players just get overlooked for whatever reasons. That doesn’t mean that all of the UDFAs can’t crack a roster spot or bc they don’t belong. A chip on a shoulder can do wonders for a player’s work ethic and desire to excel. I mean, Pittman vs PT is a huge example of that. Heck, Callaway and Harty kept our receiving core afloat. Harty made a Pro Bowl as a rookie. Lance Moore literally had to work his tail off to carve out role for himself and ended up playing 10 years in the league. The list goes on and on for us.
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That is also part of the draft strategy or this team: focus on nailing the premium picks, and then focusing on UDFAs instead of later round players. This is the reason why seeing three or more UDFAs in the final roster is never out of the question.
 
dutar76 said:
Smoke Monday
Dai'Jean Dixon
Jaylen Wydermyer
Sterling Weatherford
Justyn Ross
Carson Strong...

Every year there are players that surprise everybody and go undrafted. This year I felt there were more of those than usual.
I'd even seen QB Strong listed a few times as a 1st round prospect, yet he went undrafted. That was the one that shocked
me the most this season.

I agree that Smoke could end up becoming more than a STer/backup safety, but I think he might have landed in the worst
place for that to happen any time soon (barring injury or maybe multiple injuries to the position group) Mathieu, Maye,
Lattimore, Chauncey, Adebo, Taylor, Roby, PJ, and yeah... even Sorenson. That's a deep and very talented secondary
including depth. I still think he makes the team, but may have to wait a year to see meaningful snaps outside of special
teams.

He really does have the coolest name in football. In a blind test I'd have said NASCAR driver.
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We just need a " Drinq Tuesday" and a "Sleep Wednesday " and we are set. ;)
 

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