Perry, Worthy, Daniels, Manning

These 4 guys were taken in the first 5 rounds for us last draft.

OLB Nick Perry
DL Jerel Worthy
DL Mike Daniels
ILB Terrell Manning

I liked Perry, but he hurt his wrist in the opener, which cost him IR in week 6.
He helped a bit initially but wasn't an impact rookie a la Matthews in 2009.

Worthy didn't do a thing.
Daniels added more than Worthy did, but that wasn't much either other than rotations.

Manning had a health issue and added nothing to the defense even though our ILB's suck with no Bishop.
He was solid on special teams.

Of course, CB Casey Heyward was a super nickelback, gotten in round 3.

Will these guys make the team better in 2013?
I'm really really disappointed in Worthy. I expected a lot more.... and he gave us almost nothing.
Then he went and tore his ACL week 17.

I do believe in Perry though, but the guy has to stay durable.

Out of your list, I think that Perry will be the biggest impact player if he stays healthy and then Danials will contribute better as well. As far as the other, NO.

Hayward was the gem in the draft. Until I see otherwise Perry in my opinion is an undersized DE. I don't think he is a 3-4 backer. Worthy's quick first step in college isn't enough in the pros. Daniels is also undersized and a backup.

I'm not particularly worried about Worthy and Daniels. The jump to the pros is particularly hard on the defensive line because of how good everyone is. More so than other positions, other than maybe QB, defensive linemen need 2-3 years to adjust to the Pro game. Worthy probably got by a lot in college on pure ability, so he'll need to get better.

Daniels appeared better because coming from Iowa, he had some hard-assed coaches. He is more physically limited that Worthy, but more polished for his rookie year.

Manning--no idea. Maybe he's good enough to play Hawk less, maybe he's just a career backup. Who knows?

I expect everyone, expect Worthy due to the ACL, to make a jump next year. Just being in the Pro weight room with Pro trainers for an entire offseason will help.

Only guy of the group to really write home about was Heyward last year obviously. But of the other 3 I only really expected Perry to impact the team. The other two did not come into the league NFL ready (as do 95% of post round 1 draft picks). I'm still ready to see more from both of them. Hopefully Worthy doesn't loose this whole year with his knee. But I would be surprised if either of them ever become more than rotational guys. Biggest point is only time will tell come back to this post in March of 2014 or 15 and then we can talk.

One of those guys should excel this year. Not one seems more obvious than the other though

until they realize Perry needs to gain about 10 more pounds and move to DE he will not be an impact player in this 3-4. The other guy's are career backups imo. TT does not draft that well when it comes to defense imo.

I said during the draft that Worthy was Neal 2.0. Then Neal became what we expected Worthy to be. Worthy is still the new Neal, he has 3 more years to prove himself. Daniels may turn into a solid rotation guy, Perry will be a two down LB for at least another year, Manning has potential to be that coverage ILB I've longed for, but I was still against picking him. We shall see...

I prefer to wait until after Year 2 to pass judgement one way or the other. They all show promise, although I'd agree that I would've liked to see more out of Worthy.

Yeah, give them their final judgments next February.

The biggest jump for a rookie player is from year 1 to year 2, so we will see how they progress. I also am not sure why Jerron McMillian isn't on this list He was drafted in the 4th round and he could possibly be our sarting safety next year if we don't draft anyone or pick up anyone. So far what i've seen I can only tell what 2 player's futures are. Hayward is our slot cornerwhich is very important in today's game and Mike Daniels will be a very good back up D-Linemen and a situational pass rusher only because of his physical limitations. He is our Rudy.

I go three years to see if a player will fully realize their potential. I don't expect much at all from rookies their first year, regardless of what round they were drafted in. Year two I'd like to see some improvement, but though I don't expect them to be at the top of their game yet. Year three is where I really expect things to kick in.

Why I said Worthy has 3 years and why I gave Perry another year for coverage. I don't count the first injured year.

McMillian is definitely an underneath (borderline box) safety. He needs some serious improvement in his deep game before I'm comfortable handing him the reigns. The farther he gets from the LOS the less you like him.

I gave this draft a B- at the time. That was a bit too generous. Heyward saved it from "hot mess" status. There isn't a 3 down player in the lot.

This seems like the kind of statement that should be dug up in two seasons

I have a feeling Manning is going to have a great year next year since he will be healthy. But i am biased because i am an NC State fan.

Feel free.

Thompson needs to put up a better draft this year. We can't afford another one like that.

The "optimistic" on that last post of mine was pretty funny. CMAO...chuckling, not laughing.

It says something when the player you single out is the guy who didn't play.

We run through a dozen guys a year that have star potential in the eyes of the fans...until they actually take the field. I'm not saying Manning is a dud; I'm saying he's a 5th. round pick who has not played.

Idk man it's just my opinion, you can take it or leave it. I'm just excited about the guy taking the field when he's actually healthy and has a full training camp.

I think its funny the OP leaves out the obvious success of that draft. Hayward wasn't an afterthought - he was a second rounder Thompson traded up to grab. And he had a fantastic season.

At this early date (for evaluating a draft) the worst pick IMO is Worthy. Thompson traded up for him too and 20/20 hindsight tells me he would have been better off staying put at #59. Worthy's best attribute was supposed to be his first step quickness and he even dropped some weight to increase it but Daniels was a better pass rush DL. And Worthy wasn't strong enough to be the long-term starter at DE in the base. Now with the injury he'll likely sit out this season and will he ever recover enough and be motivated enough to be a contributor?

IMO Perry was coming on as he became more and more familiar with his responsibilities at the position. The best thing about him is he has all the physical attributes needed. He just has to want it - and if he's as motivated as Clay or Daniels he has a chance to be great. From what I've read he should be fully recovered and ready to go this year so I don't expect them to spend an early pick at OLB.

Daniels has plenty of "want to" - he finished second on the DL in pressures per snap and third in tackles per snap. He's not big enough to start at DE in the base but I can see him succeeding as one of the DL in the nickel and dime for years to come. If that turns out to be true that'll be another very good pick by Thompson.

I'm excited to see how Manning does. Nothing is guaranteed of course but he really didn't have a chance in TC last season. It's a position of need and if he's healthy, there'll be no excuses for him.

As I said it's too early to evaluate last year's draft but IMO it still has a chance to be a very good one. IMO it's realistic to believe all but Worthy can justify their draft status.