SB Nation User Blog: Braun Holio

Orion Martin

Braun Holio — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:41:41 -0000

Of the four UDFA's that we signed early, three of them (Jared Bronson (TE), Mark Lewis (OG) and Ryan Baker (DE)) appear to be practice squad/filler guys, but one guy worth keeping an eye on might be Orion Martin (DE/OLB) from Virginia Tech.

He might not have the requisite size (260) to be a DE in the NFL, however he seems to possess the speed and tackling ability to play a decent OLB. What's more, he has an interesting story, and seems like the kind of guy Parcels likes.

A couple of draft sites had him going in round 5, so we might have picked up another steal here.

Here's a quick synopsis from walterfootball.com

Orion Martin, Virginia Tech

Height: 6-2. Weight: 260.
Projected 40 Time: 4.70.
Combine 40 Time: 4.88.
Pro Day 40 Time: 4.70.
Benchx225: 24. Vertical: 31.
Projected Round (2009): 5-6.
1/9/09: Orion Martin finished strong, collecting 13 TFL, 7.5 sacks and four passes broken up.

5/7/08: Probably a right end in the 3-4 at the next level. Orion Martin notched 78 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season.

For more detail, I've linked his CBS scouting report, but the cool bit is here:

"Still, some scouts believe that Martin might be a better fit as a strong-side linebacker in the National Football League. He has proven to be capable of shutting down the passing attack, as only 18-of-97 passes (18.56%) have been completed in his area by the opposition, good for 112 yards. Those numbers translate to a miniscule 1.15 yards gained per pass attempt and 6.22 yards per pass completion during his time at Tech."

Shouse to Tampa

Braun Holio — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:27:12 -0000

Brian Shouse, a veteran left-handed reliever, has agreed to a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, according to baseball sources. The deal is pending a physical exam, which he will take on Thursday.

Shouse, 40, pitched in 69 games for the Brewers last season, mostly as a specialist against left-handed hitters. Lefties hit just .180 against him with a .192 on-base percentage and a .482 OPS. Shouse has pitched in more than 422 games in the big leagues over nine seasons with 216 strikeouts and 111 walks in 322.2 innings.

Shousey was one of the more stable members of the Brewers bullpen last year - which wasn't saying a lot. But, we'll miss your ability to get out the lefties and your ability to walk on water.

via www.brianshousefanclub.com

Why it might make sense to draft a WR on the first day...

Braun Holio — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:57:42 -0000

Before I did a little research, I assumed that finding a #1 quality WR was a fairly luck driven process. However, this appears to not be the case.

I looked at the top 40 WRs by yards this season - this cutoff included all players who caught for more than 750 yards.

It appears that front offices are highly adept at scouting wide receivers. In that, of the top 40 wide receivers by yards, 25 were round 1/2 guys. All but five of the top guys went in the first 5 rounds, with three guys going in round seven and two being undrafted.

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

If you can't see this chart, it is available here.

Basically 29 guys of the top 40 in the NFL drafted in the first three rounds. Looking a bit deeper at the other 11:

Round 4: Cotchery (#2), Marshall and Mason (drafted 1997).

Round 5: Breaston (the #3 on his own team! Probably in this group due to how his offense is structured than anything else).

Round 7: Colston (#2), Walter(#2 on team), Driver (drafted in 1999)

Undrafted: Welker, Moore. (Everyone picks up 750 in New Orleans).

Realistically, of guys drafted in the 2000s, only Marshall and potentially Colston could be considered true #1 wide receivers that have lasted beyond the first three rounds. Welker is an unusual case - the Wayne Chrebet of his generation perhaps.

I'm going to infer from this that NFL teams are incredibly good at scouting wide receivers through the draft process. Looking to catch lightning in a bottle in the later rounds... well, the stats suggest that you aren't going to have much luck.

Of course there is another interpretation from this data. Teams are more likely to invest playing time in early draft picks and as such they are more likely to "stick."

It would still pain me to burn one of our top picks on a WR, but there does appear to be evidence that we should...

Would trading up make sense?

Braun Holio — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:15:18 -0000

Using the ESPN draft pick value board, it seems possible that without trading away too much that we could find ourselves in the middle of the first round.

1st round (25) + 2nd round (52) = 1070 points. This puts us on the cusp of getting the skins pick.

Given we've got two second round picks, this could be a worthwhile strategy if it addresses a position of real need. Most boards don't have the first ILB going until New Orleans pick 14th - and this pick varies between Laurinitis and Maualuga.

Depending on how the cards fall in FA, ILB could be a glaring need going into the draft. And as mentioned here, the draft is not really deep in quality beyond these two.

So, at the cost of a late 2nd rounder is it worth moving up? With this strategy in mind, does this allow the Phins to look to other needs in Free Agency? I vote, yes. Doing this allows the front office to focus on other areas - (Peppers, Peppers, Peppers....).

Poll

If the Phins are not stocked at ILB by draft day, would you trade up?

No, lets stockpile the picks.

34 votes

Yes, but only for Laurinitis

2 votes

Yes, but only for Maualuga (I like stockpiling vowels)

22 votes

58 votes | Poll has closed

Hart/Sanchez?

Braun Holio — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:15:36 -0000

Per Rosenthal,

The Giants may have discussed trading for Corey Hart with Jonathon Sanchez the potential return...

Sanchez would be a nice pitcher to add. His 2008 FIP was 3.85 based on a really nice strikeout rate: 8.94 K/9.

Moving Hart would be more problematic than moving Fielder in terms of there being no obvious in house replacement in the outfield. Gwynn - Kendall - Pitcher seems like a great time to go and grab a beer.