H
HardRightEdge
Guest
I think there's a case for trying Dix on the perimeter in camp and/or preseason.
Let's start with Rollins, a guy with upside, but more a strong safety / nickel type who needs a fair amount of perimeter technique work to steal the perimeter job. His flip-run-track-the-ball skills are not ready for prime time.
Randall has free safety stamped all over him in terms of recognition, angles and ball tracking, while being a suspect tackler and inexperienced at the perimeter.
While Dix is also inexperienced at cover corner, he's a much more physical player than Randall and thereby a better complement to Shields. He played a fair amount of nickel corner at Alabama, and he's got a year of experience in the system. At the same time, he led the team in missed tackles which suggests he might not be optimal at the free safety position for tackling-in-space ability.
While Randall has been characterized as an "ankle biter", that's pretty much the technique you need getting at receivers or backs down field in space, and would be a center field complement to Burnett who came on last season exercising his natural strong safety instincts in not having to worry about what M.D. Jennings was doing (or not doing as the case would be).
Hayward presents several issues at cover corner. He'll be a free agent after 2015. His strength to date has been as a zone nickel ball hawk. When it came time to cover Gronkowski in man, Hyde got the job. I'd think there are teams that run a lot of two-high safety zone who will be in need of a nickel back who would prize Hayward. Since nickel backs are not as highly paid as cover corners, I'd not expect Hayward to snag a House-like contract to play that role, but he should command decent coin.
So, the issue with Hayward is how much do the Packers want to risk with him in terms of growing pains, if not failure in man coverage on the perimeter, when he may be gone next season.
If the Packers try this, it works, and the presumptively redundant free safety in Randall is then no longer redundant, I'd bump up my grade for the draft from C+ to something higher.
Let's start with Rollins, a guy with upside, but more a strong safety / nickel type who needs a fair amount of perimeter technique work to steal the perimeter job. His flip-run-track-the-ball skills are not ready for prime time.
Randall has free safety stamped all over him in terms of recognition, angles and ball tracking, while being a suspect tackler and inexperienced at the perimeter.
While Dix is also inexperienced at cover corner, he's a much more physical player than Randall and thereby a better complement to Shields. He played a fair amount of nickel corner at Alabama, and he's got a year of experience in the system. At the same time, he led the team in missed tackles which suggests he might not be optimal at the free safety position for tackling-in-space ability.
While Randall has been characterized as an "ankle biter", that's pretty much the technique you need getting at receivers or backs down field in space, and would be a center field complement to Burnett who came on last season exercising his natural strong safety instincts in not having to worry about what M.D. Jennings was doing (or not doing as the case would be).
Hayward presents several issues at cover corner. He'll be a free agent after 2015. His strength to date has been as a zone nickel ball hawk. When it came time to cover Gronkowski in man, Hyde got the job. I'd think there are teams that run a lot of two-high safety zone who will be in need of a nickel back who would prize Hayward. Since nickel backs are not as highly paid as cover corners, I'd not expect Hayward to snag a House-like contract to play that role, but he should command decent coin.
So, the issue with Hayward is how much do the Packers want to risk with him in terms of growing pains, if not failure in man coverage on the perimeter, when he may be gone next season.
If the Packers try this, it works, and the presumptively redundant free safety in Randall is then no longer redundant, I'd bump up my grade for the draft from C+ to something higher.
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